[Champion Concept] Grak, the Vile Scavenger

A while back I posted an early version of this character concept, and it garnered a small but very kind cluster of fans, who were kind enough to provide both a VO and a piece of art! However, school and work got in the way of iterating on his stats and abilities and eventually the thread died out.

Now, almost half a year later, I'm going to try again! If you're interested in looking at the old version, check it out here:

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3795264

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Lore

The Noxian emissary’s eyes slowly opened. The room was mostly dark, save for a few small lamps on a table in the center of the room. It looked like a butcher’s shop of some kind, though the place had obviously been abandoned long ago. Coming to his senses, he tried to move, only to find himself restrained to some kind of stretcher with leather thongs. Struggling against them, he saw movement. A shape between the man and the table shifted slightly, light glinting off of a creature’s eyes as it turned to look at the captive, the rest of its face obscured behind a leather mask. For a moment, the Noxian’s panic was replaced with indignation.

“Release me this instant, wretched yordle,” the man growled, “or I’ll see to it your beloved Bandle City meets the same fate as Ionia!”

The stunted figure merely laughed at this, pulling his mask down to reveal a reptilian muzzle. “Well well well, don’t you like jumping to conclusions? Not too polite, either. No wonder someone wanted you dead…”

Had he not been strapped down, the diplomat might have recoiled in fear and revulsion. “What are you?”

“And there you go being rude again!” The tiny lizardman chuckled again, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “I think it would be best if I got this over with quickly. For the good of society and all that!”

“Wait!” The man cried, the reality of his situation slowly beginning to sink in. “Who hired you? Was it the Demacians?”

“Demacia and Noxus, Noxus and Demacia… You two really think it’s all about you, don’t you?” His captor drew closer, dragging a strange, bloody contraption from the table. “Someone wanted you dead because that someone needed a cadaver to work with, and apparently people just aren’t dying quickly enough on their own around here. Besides, we all know how you Noxians deal with failures… Not like anyone will miss you, eh?” A flick of a switch, and the strange device sputtered to life, the sparks it emitted revealing a jagged wheel of blades, which quickly began to spin.

“I’m an important man! Whatever they’re paying you, I can double it!”

The custom-built saw hovered over the man’s chest as the reptile seemed to be contemplating the offer, only for him to burst into another bout of laughter. “You seem to think your offer actually means something! You’re a funny guy… Just a few problems with that, though.”

“And… what are those??” The Noxian asked, hoping to keep his captor distracted long enough for him to wriggle free of his bonds. Already, he could feel some of the straps coming loose!

“First off, let’s say you had this money on you already. After I gut you, I’m just going to rifle through your things and take it anyway!”

“You vile creature!” The strap was definitely coming loose!

“Oh you have no idea…” The ‘vile creature’ smiled menacingly. “Secondly, I’m being paid quite handsomely for your corpse. Lot of scientists running all manner of horrifying experiments in Zaun, and healthy corpses are hard to come by down here in the slums, so that makes you a hot commodity.”

“This place disgusts me…” Just a bit more…

“You won’t have to worry about that much longer. Thirdly-”

“Die, foul creature!” The buckle came free, allowing the Noxian to wrench his arm out of its manacle and lash out. His attack was met with horrific pain, unfortunately, as two meat hooks stabbed into his shoulders and slammed him back onto the table. Looking up, he was met with a scarred, metal face staring back at him. A golem or automaton of some sort. It had been lying in wait all along...

“Thirdly,” The lizard smirked, watching his prisoner writhe in pain. “If I decided not to kill you, I think you’ve just proven that I couldn’t count on you to return the favor. Now, if you’ll hold the patient still, nurse, I will make the first incision. Our buyer can have his fun later. For now, I have an experiment of my own to run...”

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Physical Description

Grak is a small, violently-green, lizard-like humanoid. He is about the size of a Yordle. He wears a thick coat/cloak, hood, and face mask to hide his vibrant colors in the shadows, though a row of long spikes pierce through this clothing along his back and down his tail.

He wields two rusty meat-hooks (for utility reasons, of course!) as well as an array of gadgets of his own design.

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Abilities (No stats, just mechanics)

• Passive - Beneath Notice: Grak becomes stealthed and ignores unit collision for 1(+.05 per Level) Seconds upon entering or leaving the brush. This effect does not stack with itself.

• ** Q ** - Ripsaw: Toggle; Replace meat hooks for a rudimentary buzz-saw. Grag's first auto-attack in this mode marks his target, and is then replaced with constant damage (ramping up in speed over time) to his Marked target for as long as he is in Auto-attack range. If the marked target dies, the speed boost is reset and the mark can be re-applied. - Costs health on use?

• ** W ** - Rancid Offal: Grak tosses out a smoke bomb laced with putrid matter, creating an awful cloud of choking gas. This cloud acts like brush, allowing vision from within only and proccing Grak's passive. Enemies within this cloud are slowed and poisoned.

• ** E ** - Overcome (Hooks): Grak builds up energy, then dashes forward a variable distance (based on prep time) and reaches out with his hooks, grabbing any enemy champion in range and pulling them back, leaping over them in the process and dealing physical damage. Minions and Neutral monsters in the area will take half damage.

• ** E ** - Overcome (Ripsaw): Grak slams his saw into the ground and rides it forward a moderate distance, dealing damage and knocking enemies aside on contact. Upon reaching the end of his ride or reactivating the ability, Grak will leap off of his saw and swing it in a wide arc, dealing additional damage. Minions and Neutral monsters in the area will take half damage.

• ** R ** - The Machine: Grak unleashes his mechanical creation in the target enemy champion. After a minor fear, four hooks are deployed and the enemy is snared. For a short time, Damage will be applied until the ability ends or enough damage is dealt to the drone to destroy it. This damage will also be applied to the nearest other enemy unit in the area for the remainder of its lifespan (prioritizing champions if possible) in the form of bolts of electricity. If destroyed, the Machine will detonate for a small amount of damage, otherwise it will merely fall apart harmlessly. If only the hooks are destroyed, the snare is ended but the damage will continue.

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On Selection: "Oooooh, a scavenger hunt!"

Joke: Looks around carefully, then opens up his cloak, revealing several items.

• "Hey, buddy! Wanna buy a ward?" (Watches and wards)
• "Need a spare kidney? I'm sure it was no one you knew..." (internal organs)
• "See anything you like? Whoops! That one's not for sale..." (several weapons, the flailing claws of The Machine)

Taunt: Hooks his meat hooks into the ground and puts a foot up on one of them, making a neck-slicing motion with his finger.

• "You’ve got a nice face… I think I’ll take it!"

• "I wonder what the going rate is for 'miserable failures'...

• “Size means everything… You just have it backwards.”

• "That's a good question... What is the worth of a soul? I could get that lantern appraised for you."

• "You've made a lot of enemies, con-man... Very rich enemies."

• "I hear you’re one of a kind! That makes you valuable…”

• "You know, I think you and I will get along just fine..."

• "Oh the wonders I will make when I've stripped you down for parts!"

Dance: Grak does The Creep.

Moving

• “Mustn’t let them escape!”
• “Getting close, now…”
• “Running… running…”
• “For Zaun! And my pockets…”
• “They’ll never see me coming!”
• “Closing in.”
• “Not far now…”
• “Like living shadow…”
• “Do you think they saw me?”
• “[Sing-song] They’ll never catch me! Neeever catch me!”
• “I can smell the money already!”

Attacking

• “We strike!”
• “It was alive or dead, right?”
• “Don’t worry, I’ll save some for the rest of you…”
• “I’d ask that you remember my name if I thought you were going to survive this…”
• “Haha, now the fun begins!”
• “Hmmm… Which bit will look best mounted…”
• “I’m down here, damnit!”
• “Death from below!”
• [With Ripsaw]"Rip and tear!"
• [With Ripsaw]"Who has time for surgical precision?"
• [From a bush]”Oooooh, I do so love surprises!”
• [From a bush]”Let’s give them a good scare…”
• [From a bush]”Getting… closer…”
• [From a bush]”They won’t know what hit them!”

On using Overcome

• (Hooks) "Upsy-daisy!"
• (Hooks)"Alley-oop!"
• (Hooks)"Gotcha!"
• (Saw) "Wheeeeee!"
• (Saw) "Incoming!"
• "Coming through!"
• "[grunt] Outta my way!"

On using Rancid Offal

• "Surprise!"
• "Better hold your breath..."
• "Breathe deep!"
• "Smell familiar, pest?"

On using The Machine

• "Present for you!"
• "Sic 'em, boy!"
• "Nurse! Secure the patient!"
• "Hold 'em down!"

Deleted Content

• Old W - Spatial Rift Generator: Grak tosses out a small, mechanical beacon. Once it lands, Grak can activate it, blinking a short distance and leaving an open rift in his wake and at his destination. For a short time, these rifts can be used to follow the same path by any champion, but they will be silenced for a few seconds and grant sight in the surrounding area. If Grak chooses not to use the blink, this ability will not refresh its cooldown, but he will not be drained of his health. (Note: During the setup time on the initial toss, the device can be destroyed by the opposing team)