Plagueis, the Shadow of Death (Bruiser Mage)
Remake of my previous topic, which has expired.
#Plagueis, the Shadow of Death
https://i.imgur.com/fFkgNBE.jpg[] Source: https://www.deviantart.com/andrewdobell/art/Zombie-Dragon-120743842
#Background
One of the first dragons of Runeterra, the dragon Vulfeynnax was a denizen of the Blessed Isles for centuries until the Ruined King came and unleashed the curse of undeath, changing the land into the Shadow Isles. Vulfeynnax was transformed by the catastrophe into a Dracolich, an undead dragon of untold power and with a hatred of all life. Now known as Plagueis, he now bides his time on the Shadow Isles, waiting to scourge Runeterra of all life and turn it into a land of undeath.
General Concept
Plagueis is a melee mage-bruiser who must charge up his attacks to inflict their full effects. While his charge-ups cannot be interrupted, they slow him down and make him fairly predictable, but with proper planning and execution he can be a devastating force in team fights. Between his sustain, durability and ability to reduce enemy damage output, Plagueis can be exceptionally hard to kill. However, because he cannot charge up more than one ability at a time, one must plan out a play carefully in order to use his powerful arsenal properly. Due to his reliance on wind-ups, he can be outmaneuvered or preempted by faster-acting opponents.
To alleviate his constant need for charge-ups, Plagueis generates a new resource, Hatred, by dealing and taking damage to/from enemy Champions and large/epic monsters. When at maximum Hatred, he is able to consume it to skip the charge-up on his next basic ability, letting him use it at full charge instantly. Proper management of Hatred will let Plagueis compensate for his otherwise slow kit.
Additionally, whenever Plagueis dies, he leaves behind a ghost that can move around the battlefield, able to scout positions without reprisal and apply a minor slow to enemies. This ghost mechanic allows him to maintain surveillance on those who slew him, and once he reaches level 11, it even lets him respawn at the location of his ghost, allowing him to maintain a persistent threat in late-game.
#Abilities
(highly subject to change)
NOTE! - Plagueis does not require any resources to use his abilities.
P - Undying Hatred
All of Plagueis' basic abilities can be charged to increase their power and, when fully charged, add bonus effects. Plagueis can still move and perform other actions while charging, but reduces his own movement speed while doing so. Plagueis can only charge up one ability at a time, but his charge ups cannot be interrupted.
Whenever Plagueis deals damage to enemy Champions or large/epic monsters, or takes damage from enemy Champions or large/epic monsters, he generates Hatred. At 100 Hatred, Plagueis' next basic ability will consume his Hatred and will be cast immediately at full charge. Hatred will rapidly fall off if Plagueis is out of combat.
Lingering Soul Upon dying, Plagueis releases a wave of death energies all around him that slows nearby enemies, while Plagueis becomes a ghost. In Ghost Form, Plagueis has a fixed movement speed and cannot use Summoner Spells or items (except for
). During Ghost Form, Plagueis has access to Ghost Breath, which can briefly slow enemies.
Upon reaching level 11, Lingering Soul becomes Unlocked, allowing Plagueis to respawn at the location of his ghost when his respawn timer finishes. Once Unlocked, Plagueis can use Recall while in Ghost Form.
Q - Death's Breath
Plagueis charges up a breath attack, increasing damage as he charges up. Upon release, Plagueis releases a dark breath attack in a wide cone, dealing magic damage to all enemies hit. Half of the damage is dealt immediately, while half is dealt over 3 seconds. If fully charged, 25% of the damage is converted to true damage. Plagueis is healed for X% of the damage dealt to Champions by Death's Breath.
Q2 - Ghost Breath
Plagueis breathes a cone of ghostly energies, slowing all enemies hit. Only usable while in Ghost Form.
W - Roar of Terror
Plagueis charges up a demoralizing roar, increasing the radius as he charges up. Upon release, Plagueis deals magic damage to all nearby enemies and inflicts Dismay on all enemies struck, causing them to deal X% reduced damage for a short time. If fully charged, Roar of Terror also stuns all enemies hit for 0.75 seconds.
E - Barren Flight
Plagueis charges up a powerful dive, increasing range as he charges up. Upon release, Plagueis flies unstoppably to the target location, damaging and knocking back all nearby enemies upon landing. If fully charged, Barren Flight gives Plagueis bonus resistances for each enemy Champion struck.
R - Reign of Death
Three seconds after activation, Plagueis releases a devastating death nova around himself. Enemies struck by the nova take heavy magic damage over 4 seconds. For each enemy Champion struck by Reign of Death, Plagueis is healed for a percentage of his missing health over 4 seconds, and he generates additional Hatred over 12 seconds.
Champions who Plagueis synergizes with
- Leona would normally be loathe to aid a Dracolich, but the two make a deadly combination. Leona's Solar Flare can give Plagueis a target to engage on, while Sunlight is easily triggered by the DoT on Death's Breath and Reign of Death. It helps that Leona will easily be able to follow Plagueis in on his dives.
- A very nasty combination, as Plagueis can charge up far from a battle and then use Thresh's Soul Passage to get up close to the enemy in an instant, thus mitigating his speed penalty during charge-up. Thresh can also do a good job disrupting the enemy, allowing Plagueis plenty of time to set up for the kill.
- Sona can heal Plagueis after he takes some damage, boost his speed, and her Crescendo will lock enemies in place for Plagueis to unleash his abilities on. The only thing she can't really do is follow him into a dive, which may make it harder for her to tag him with her auras.
Champions who Plagueis struggles against
- Plagueis' charge-ups make his attacks avoidable, and Akali excels at hit-and-run attacks. She'll be able to easily dance around his ponderous abilities and then strike after he misses. Her Twilight Shroud can also be used to trick him into bad dives with his Barren Flight.
- The Kraken Priestess is an enemy of death, and this is particularly the case for Plagueis, who will generally have trouble taking her down. This means that she will generally win duels with him, taking advantage of his slow speed and large size with her tentacle attacks while sustaining through whatever damage he deals.
- Tristana has all the tools needed to foil Plagueis' plans. She can easily get away from him with Rocket Jump, and blast him away from her or her teammates with Buster Shot, which can completely derail him if he's trying to land Reign of Death on multiple targets. Then she can pick him apart at range while he's recharging.
Feel free to critique this. Just no flaming, shaming, etc.