[Champion Concept] Thrace, the Fallen King.

[EDIT NOTES: Strikethrough text is original concept stuff which has been altered/removed/changed due to feedback, and Bold text is added after the original post in consideration of further feedback.]

Hey everyone. This is a Champion Concept I've tossed around in my head for a while. Unfortunately, I'm not an artist so I don't have any visuals to offer, but I hope that the descriptions I give can aid in that regard. I've given his kit a good deal of thought, but as I'm not a professional player by any stretch of the imagination, I'm sure people will likely be able to find faults with it. It's entirely possible that I've made some grievous error in my line of thinking here, and I'm sure that if Riot were to try and implement this character, they would have every ability to better balance the abilities of the champion while still letting it fit within the character concept. I do, however, think the main feel of the abilities could provide a fun champion who has a mixture of strengths and weaknesses as well as a requirement for being able to time and land his skills to make the best effect out of them.

I hope everyone enjoys giving Thrace a read. If you like the concept, if you would like for it to be considered by Riot, or if you're just curious about anything, please feel free to comment. Thanks in advance for your time. I apologize that it's a little lengthy, but I wanted to be as thorough as I could...

[Theme/Fantasy] In a blending of themes drawn from the mythos of Runeterra, Thrace Lightshield embodies the Vengeful Ghost archetype, with the idea that in his current form he is an echo of his former self (and thereby an echo of his formerly-living glory.) Having spent untold centuries as a specter within the Shadow Isles, he bears a harrowing demeanor (not unlike a ghostly, darker version of a modern Demacian ruler), yet even though the darkness of the taint which the Shadow Isles has inflicted upon him lingers, driving the Fallen King ever toward his need to slay the living, the goodness of his former life as an ancient Demacian King shines through in brief moments of lucidity, before he finds himself once again unable to fight off the lingering darkness which has stained his soul.

[Lore] Thrace Lightshield is one of the first Kings of Demacia, with a lineage which has endured for centuries (making him an ancestor of Jarvan IV.) In the early years of Demacia's existence, Thrace was known as a ruler who was equal parts just and wise. His honor in battle was nearly as legendary as his prowess on the field - a prowess which would later become a legacy of his house. Alas, as it is all too often with benevolent rulers, his kindness and mercy were twisted against him, leading to his untimely demise.

A battle had been waged between Thrace's Demacian forces and a leader of the Noxian Empire, over rights to a plot of rich, fertile lands which bordered a mountain range which was reportedly rich in opportunities for gold mining. After their armies had clashed and the Demacian King stood above the Noxian General, the dark-haired man begged for Thrace to spare him. He had claimed that he was only doing as he had been bade by his Lord, and that he would trouble Thrace the Demacians no longer if Thrace would but spare his life.

Thrace agreed, and as he reached down to offer the man a hand up, the Noxian General broke a vial of poison in his hand and crushed it along with the broken glass shards into the King's forearm. Outraged at this trickery, Thrace lifted his mace high to deliver a final stroke of Demacian justice to the scoundrel, but the poison had already begun to take effect. He felt his strength taken from him, his mace becoming too heavy for him to even bear, and the dark haired man stood and slew the King where he stood.

That was many hundreds of years ago... now, the Fallen King's spirit wanders the Shadow Isles, consumed with vengeance but for brief moments of clarity wherein he recalls the man he used to be. Most of the time he plots to exact revenge upon the descendants of his murderer (Draven and Darius), but in those brief moments where the Light of Demacia surfaces within his psyche, all he hopes for is a chance to return to his former life... to once again rule in fairness and to see his people thrive.

[Description] Specter Thrace appears as a man clad in crown-and-armor which might have at one time been the armaments of a great Demacian Monarch (replete with the Lightshield crest emblazoned on his breastplate), however his time in the Shadow Isles has cast a dark gloom about him. Whereas once his armaments might have shone with polished glory, now they seem infused with a lingering malevolence, rusted and giving off a faded aura of dark energy. His features are faded, seeming at-times translucent, and what had once adorned him as a Kingly cloak now hangs off of him as a tattered blue and gold rag. He bears a mace shaped much like a scepter, yet a cloud of darkness seems to cling to it, as if to punctuate the corruption of the dread Shadow Isles.
Living Memory In brief moments when Thrace can shake off the darkness which clings to his otherwise tormented soul, the gloom fades and he finds himself, if only for a time, seeming like the glorious monarch he used to be. His armor returns to its full glory, and the darkness is replaced with a golden radiance. His mace reforms to resemble the kingly scepter, and his crown takes on a radiant royal splendor.

[Possible Audio Lines] In a creepy, sinister tone: "Demacia; now and forever." In a brooding/angry tone: "I'll make them pay..." Interaction with Darius: "Ah, the great great great great great grandson of my murderer... I shall stain the ground with your blood, Darius!" Interaction with Draven: "You are the descendant of my murderer? I was expecting... more... but that won't stop me from ending his legacy here and now. It's my league now, Draven!" Activating Echoes of Faded Glory: "DEMACIA!!" Movement 1: "A King goes where he chooses, Summoner." Movement 2: "I seek my vengeance..." Joke: "I used to be known as the life of the party... now I'm the death of it." Taunt: "Come any closer and I'll slay you where you sta... no... NO! This isn't who I am... YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!"

[Gameplay Role] Thrace fits into the role of an AP/AD Swapping Mage/Fighter a tanky top-laner or possibly tank support.

While his abilities are intended to scale purely off of AP, when he activates his Ultimate ability, his attacks/abilities instead convert to Physical Damage, and his Auto-Attacks gain damage from his AP rating (as Physical Damage) his auto-attacks swap their scaling from 100% AD to 100% AP, giving him the ability to dish out a little physical punishment reflective of his original martial prowess from his former life.

[Resource Used] Mana, and his Q alsocosts Health. The mana costs have not been determined, and would be up to Riot.

[Passive: Vengeance] Similar to a slower-stacking Fury, drained only by time out of combat or using his Ultimate. As Thrace deals damage to his enemies, he gains stacks of Vengeance (a bar which fills by a set amount per enemy he strikes with one of his abilities or damaging attacks. Landing a melee attack raises his Vengeance by 1 per strike (per enemy or minion hit), whereas striking an enemy with one of his Abilities raises his Vengeance by 5 points. Once his Vengeance reaches 50 stacks (and above, to a maximum of 100), his normal abilities become empowered with a [Vengeance Effect] and he becomes able to use his Ultimate Ability: Echos of Former Glory. If at any time Thrace is out of combat for 10 or more seconds, his Vengeance stacks begin to slowly Fade at a rate of 3 stacks per second until they reach zero.

[Q: Tainted Strike] Thrace draws upon the might of the Shadow Isles as he swings his mace in a 45 degree arc in front of him, dealing Magic damage to any enemies struck, and applying any on-hit effects. (High damage.) However, drawing on the power of the Shadow Isles is a taxing process for any soul, and Thrace must expend his corporeal essence (Health) to use Tainted Strike. (Costs 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 health.) [Vengeance Effect] Tainted Strike knocks back any enemies struck by the attack.

[W: Burden of the Crown] Remembering the betrayal which resulted in his death, Thrace raises his mace his mace above his head, charging his strength for up to 3 seconds (Similar to charging Varus' Piercing Arrow). The longer Burden of the Crown is charged, the greater the damage of the strike. Upon release, the mace deals damage in a medium range, narrow line of effect. [Vengeance Effect] The attack will stun targets struck by Burden of the Crown, the duration of the stun increasing proportionately with the duration of the channel. The stun lasts from .5 seconds to a maximum of 2 seconds.

[E: Ghostly Standard] Thrace places down a pale, ghostly standard reminiscent of a modern Demacian standard at the target location. This standard curses the ground around it, (radius similar to Morgana's Tainted Ground) dealing Magic Damage and slowing enemies in an AoE around it by 10/20/30/40/50% and healing Thrace for 10% of the damage done (half against Minions.) The damage is dealt as a Damage over Time effect, pulsing at a rate of once every .5 seconds, for a total of 5 seconds. (Moderate damage) [Vengeance Effect] While Thrace's Ghostly Standard is active, his auto-attacks deal additional damage as an on-hit effect (moderate increase.)

[R: Echoes of Former Glory] Thrace throws off the shackles of his vengeful side, gaining a few brief seconds of clarity wherein his pure spirit takes over. Upon activating Echoes of Former Glory, Thrace and all allies within 500 units of him immediately break free of any Crowd Control effects they may be under, and they gain a moderate-powered shield for the duration of Thrace's Echoes of Former Glory, or until their individual shield breaks from damage. During this time, all of Thrace's abilities and auto-attacks basic attacks switch their scaling from 100% AD to 100% AP, though the damage dealt is still Physical. While Echoes of Former Glory is active, Thrace cannot gain stacks of Vengeance, and his current stacks of Vengeance reduce by 10 for every second until reaching zero, at which point the effect fades and the ability ends... however, for the duration of Echoes of Former Glory, all of Thrace's Abilities have access to their Vengeance Effects until his Vengeance hits 0. Visual: Thrace's Character Model becomes more life-like and takes on a more "traditional" Demacian King look (replete with a golden radiant aura) while Echoes of Former Glory is active.

[Expected Combat Tactics]

Thrace's combat tactics depend on the level of Vengeance he has stacked up.

Prior to having at least 50 Vengeance (and thereby unlocking the Vengeance Effects in his skills), Thrace's best bet is to farm with his Auto-Attack, using his Ghostly Standard and Tainted Strike to wave clear, or saving Tainted Strike and Burden of the Crown to harass the enemy laner.

Once he has gained the requisite vengeance, Thrace's "burst combo" and various other tactics becomes available to him as follows.

Burst Combo: While Thrace is largely intended to be a tanky Champion, he needs enough damage to be able to build up his Vengeance and keep the enemy off of him while he does. By Initiating with his Ghostly Standard placed where the nearest edge of the AOE is just behind (or just on) the enemy, he can then follow up with a Vengeance-enabled Tainted Strike, knocking the enemy back into the center of the Ghostly Standard's effect. Finally, as the enemy attempts to escape, Thrace can pin them down with a well timed (and aimed) Burden of the Crown. This ensures they suffer the full effects of the Ghostly Standard (as they are stunned in it for the remaining duration) and gives Thrace time to advance on the enemy for a follow-up auto-attack empowered by the Ghostly Standard's Vengeance Effect.

Harass: At this point, Harassing the enemy with Tainted Strike is less useful than before as it will place them at a distance from Thrace, stopping him from scoring greater damage, however if all you're wanting is a quick trade, it can be helpful. Otherwise, Thrace can drop Ghostly Standard to damage the enemy and slow them, giving a better chance of landing his Burden of the Crown stun. This gives him the opportunity to simply let them sit in the AoE-DoT, or to take a few swings with his Vengeance-buffed basic attacks while the Ghostly Standard still stands.

Escape: Tainted Strike coupled with a short-channel on Burden of the Crown can result in giving Thrace the distance and time he needs to avoid a gank, however given the narrow width of Burden of the Crown, it's not a guaranteed hit. Tainted Strike is reliable at knocking opponents away, but will do little to stop champions with a gap closer or with primarly ranged-damage from bringing him down. If he happens to get CC'd, as long as he is above 50 Vengeance, Thrace has the option to utilize Echoes of Former Glory to break the CC, Tainted Strike any nearby enemies back, and drop Ghostly Standard to slow his pursuers (or to zone them) in the hopes of making an escape.

Team-Fighting: Thrace's gameplay is all about building up his Vengeance to the point where he is able to make the best use of it, and selecting the right moment to utilize his Ultimate. While he can be perfectly content to sit back and harass from a distance with Ghostly Standard, Thrace shines when he gets in the middle of the fray. Once his Vengeance has hit 50 or higher, he has to be careful about how and when he uses his abilities, lest he knock enemies away from allies who are attacking them, or even away from himself if he's not ready to pin them down with Burden of the Crown. While he has the ability to disrupt fights a bit with a well placed and well timed Burden of the Crown, he shouldn't have enough base damage on his abilities to really shine as a Tank character, and should fall solidly in the AP Fighter/Melee Mage category... That is up until either his team or the enemy team lands their CC for a good engage. At that time, Thrace sheds his Vengeful mien for one of Heroism, rallying his allies with Echoes of Faded Glory to free them from the first volley of enemy CC abilities, and to shield them as they dive into combat to grant them a little extra survival chance. Further, while Echoes of Faded Glory is active, Thrace's attacks and Abilities deal Physical damage instead of Magic Damage, making it difficult for an enemy team to equip themselves in such a way to negate his damage output. ~~If they build MR but neglect Armor, to counter his AP bully power, when he pops Echoes he's going to strike pretty powerfully. On the other hand, if they build armor to counter him during his Ultimate, he can still oppress the enemy with his Vengeful side... ~~

~~While it makes him difficult to directly "itemize against", since Thrace's base damage ratios should be fairly low, he shouldn't be able to build much of his own survivability while still dishing out respectable damage. A single survival item of some form might be all he could really afford to invest in (like many fighters) lest he end up unable to keep up with other AP casters. ~~

Playing Against Thrace would be about watching his Vengeance meter and punishing him during windows where he's weaker (lacking in Vengeance.) Once he's built up that Vengeance, CC is going to be the best way to keep him locked down. While he has the option to use his Ultimate ability to break a CC effect, it doesn't make him immune to further CC, and any further effects can easily shut him out of a fight.

It is best to try and force him to use Echoes of Faded Glory before his Vengeance reaches 100, as the lower his Vengeance is when he activates it, the shorter the duration of the buff.

[NOTE: Edited based on feedback.]