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@Riot Sweet: How would you go about developing a Voodoo Champion?

darkdill·2/6/2015, 10:07:36 PM·3 votes·1,099 views

League's got a lot of Champion niches covered, but one that hasn't been done is a Voodoo or Voodoo-esque Champion. I'm under the impression that Riot isn't making one because they want to avoid offending certain groups, but I also find that reason to be a little weak. If offending a subgroup were such a concern, Blizzard wouldn't have made the Witch Doctor for Diablo 3, or made so many Voodoo references in Warcraft.

But then there's the other issue of Champion design: a Champion needs to be super unique. As such, your typical Voodoo Witch Doctor would be too cliche and boring. To make a Voodoo Champion, we'd have to break the mold somewhere.

I already have that base covered:
http://i.imgur.com/Mgy3pAv.png
Meet Tiki Tong from Donkey Kong Country Returns. (Yes, Tiki is different from Voodoo, but they share enough similarities, right?)

How would this work? Well, what if you weren't a Voodoo Witch Doctor or Shaman, but were a VOODOO GOD INCARNATE?

Wouldn't that be badass? You're not just some mage with delusions that he's a god (), you ARE a god! And you are PISSED OFF!

Now the kit. There's a couple of paths this Voodoo could go in, but I would mainly look at crowd control insanity. Hexes and curses would be the name of the game, terrifying the enemy or turning them into critters in a much more sinister way than Lulu's "FUZZY!". To this end, Big Bad Voodoo Monster would be a Tank or Support Champion.

What are your thoughts on this?

2 Comments

Jellycake Demon2/6/2015, 10:24:52 PM1 votes

this is very interesting. Riot tried to make a Voodoo Witch Doctor long before but scrapped it, if they did make a Tiki Voodoo themed Champion i would like to see that. now on your own opinion for this type of Champion concept how would you like to see this Champion as?

when i think Voodoo i think like powerful Debuff's, decant Crowed Cotnrols & minimal Sustain & Burst Damage. this could be applied to a Tank that can disrupt enemy teams by either close or long range, or this could be a Mage or Support using his/her Abilities at distance for maximum effect.

on a different note i would like to see a Plague Doctor, i have a concept of such a champion could you please look at it & tell me what you think of it? here is the link: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/5Aufdlxv-johor-the-plague-doctor

LoquaciousKumqat2/7/2015, 6:15:22 AM1 votes

I've been thinking of a lot of character concepts lately, and the one thing I study is the true origins of tropes. For example, in this case what most people would think of Voodoo is actually mostly a fabrication of New Orleans Voodoo - which is derived from West African Voodoo - by Hollywood and misconceptions. It's mostly a tourist attraction.

What I would think would be a very cool champion is what is known as a Voudun (spellings differ) Queen - a type of leader of a group. Although New Orleans Voodoo has been known to use charms to curse enemies (often filled with herbal poisons I believe), true Voodoo is very peaceful and often associated with healing people. Also, one of the fundamental principals is that the dead and living worlds are intertwined. The point is a concept for a champion that is similar to Thresh - she uses dead champions and minions as either a source for mana, or to empower her abilities - you would visually see these spirits spinning around her. She would be a support. She would have a healing ability which heals more the more spirits surround her (and use up some of these spirits when she uses it; the concept is that she uses the spirits to heal a champion).

I'm honestly not sure what her other abilities would be; maybe some type of shield that when activated she loses spirits whenever she takes damage, and an attack which uses the spirits to deal damage. One ultimate idea would be using a resource which isn't used yet - the dead bodies of champions which linger on the ground for a short while. The ultimate could create a 'spirit' version of the champion's body she uses it on with its stats to fight for you for a short duration.

As a sidenote, the misnamed 'Voodoo' Dolls were actually used by European witches and Egyptians. I've been trying to figure out a way to use voodoo dolls but coming up blank.