Champion Idea: Forva, the Raging Fist

Inspiration and Overall Idea:

As a pseudo-midlane main, I adore the expanse of versatile champions, as they allow for a wide range of tools to fit many situations. Getting ganked as Akali? Use your mobility and stealth to cleanly evade and avoid the risk of giving the enemy team a kill. Targeting a squishy and his/her tanky support as Zed? Use your shadows effectively to eliminate the highest target of importance in the blink of an eye and return without a scratch thanks to your timing and quick-thinking.

One of my favourite champions is Lee Sin, and I came up with the idea of a combo-heavy bruiser/assassin primarily played in the mid lane that would be relatively hard to play, hard to learn, and hard to master yet be rewarding and satisfying with an arsenal of abilities to allow for game-winning plays, yet punishing the player for not playing him right and blindly rushing into the enemy team or messing up an engage etc. Forva would deal a ton of damage if you land every close-range ability and pick up an early kill in a teamfight (which will be explained in his abilities) yet would be squishy enough to make you consider your options wisely. His whole theme would be about rage, and the effects of letting him go on a rampage as his whole ‘end-goal’ is to end up in a ‘raged state’.

However, don’t let the ecstacy of rage take too much of a hold on you, otherwise you might end up in a situation raw power won’t solve. To get a better idea of Forva, imagine Jayce or Lee Sin, you have a bunch of abilities allowing for versatility, utilizing them for a certain scenario will allow you to outsmart and outplay your enemy or simply burst them down in a mere second. To summarise, Forva will be a hard-hitting, risk-reward, difficult to play, melee bruiser/assassin that would primarily be played in either the mid lane or the top lane, but might see some use in the jungle.

Appearance, a basic idea of what he looks like:

Forva is of an average height, roughly five feet and eleven inches, garbed in a loose and dirty black singlet that is ripped partially at the abdomen on the side, as well as a pair of tattered grey trousers. He is around twenty years of age. His messy, blonde hair is swept to one side and he is lightly tanned, almost olive-looking. Around his knuckles are a dirty wrapping of cloth, tied just above the back of his hand. The most predominant feature are the elegant tattoos adorning his hands and arms. They almost look like Akali’s tattoos, except they give off more the feeling of intimidation rather than a rogue, ninja-esque look. Whenever Forva attacks or uses an offensive ability, these markings glow a subtle orange. However, when he is filled with rage they burst out in a flurry of flames that leave small flakes of singeing ashes floating off of him.

Personality, or what I imagine him to be like:

Forva, while at first he may seem arrogant, is typically a friendly person. He is, however; loud, impatient, and hot-headed. When rage bubbles in his blood, he loses all sense of honour and respect, choosing to openly insult whoever dares to challenge him.

Bio, a rough one at least:

The wandering challenge of Ionia, most call him. Forva is constantly seeking for the opportunity to test his strength, to improve himself. While most speak of him in hushed whispers over a drink or two, Forva dedicates his time to specialising his uncontrollable power, finding new ways to utilise it for his own desire. Many have faced him, challenged him, taunted him. But a mere few come back to recount the fight.

Abilities, complex as they may be:

(P) Fueled by Blood: Whenever Forva hits an enemy champion with an ability, his next basic attack grants a burst of movement speed and a one second reduction to his cooldowns. Every time Forva kills an enemy champion or lands his ultimate on two or more enemy champions, he enters a Raged State for five seconds.

Raged State: Forva gains 25% increased attack damage and increasing movement speed towards enemy champions, up to 50% starting at a maximum of 1000 units away from an enemy champion. The movement speed bonus increases as Forva gets closer to an enemy champion. Killing another enemy champion extends the effect for another five seconds. If there are no enemy champions visible within 1000 units, Raged State will end after only three seconds after activation.

(Q) Downward Decider (110,140,170,200,230 (+60% AD)) CD(9,8,7,6,5 seconds): Forva charges a powerful punch, gaining increasing movement speed the longer the ability is charged, up to a maximum of a 75% bonus. When cast, Forva leaps a small distance (250 units) in front of him with a downward punch that strikes the ground with a small aoe (really tiny radius, around about his attack range). Enemies hit by the strike are knocked back for 0.5 seconds and take physical damage. For a quick 0.5 second window before the strike is cast, this ability will be replaced with Fake. If cast outside of a small area, that faces in the direction of Forva’s last movement command, Forva will briefly channel before striking in the chosen direction.

Fake: Forva feigns the ability, refunding the cooldown by 75% and refunding the energy cost by 30%.

(W) Sidestep CD(21,17,14,10,8 seconds): Forva dashes in a targeted direction while becoming untargetable for 0.5 seconds (distance of 500 units). Avoiding a projectile by a distance of 150 units or avoiding damage or cc from a targeted ability from an enemy champion or champion controlled unit refunds 80% of the cooldown. This dash can leap Forva over terrain.

(E) Charged Cross Punch (From first rank 70-120(+20% bonus AD) to 200-275(+70% bonus AD) at last rank) CD(12,10,9,7,6 seconds): Forva charges a punch that slows his movement by 40% over a duration of 2.5 seconds. Once cast, Forva launches a fast punch, that increases in damage based on how long it was charged, in a targeted direction (250 units). Enemies hit by this punch take physical damage and are slowed by 40%. For a 0.5 second window before the punch is enacted, this ability will be replaced by Fake. Similarly to (Q) Downward Decider, if the ability is cast outside of a small area in front of the last movement command issued, there will be a brief channel before the ability is cast in the direction chosen.

(R) Leap of Faith: Forva lunges in a targeted direction (650 units). If Forva collides with terrain he latches onto it and is able to cast Falling Fury for 1 second. If Forva performs no action or gets hit with an immobilising effect he will fall from the terrain, slowing himself by 60% for 2 seconds.

Falling Fury (300,450,600 (+65% bonus AD)) CD(210,150,95 seconds): Forva leaps from the terrain (700 units) while becoming untargetable and impacting the ground with a supercharged punch after a 1 second freefall delay. Enemies caught in the impact zone (350 units in diameter) take heavy damage and are slowed by 70% for 1.5 seconds. The impact also knocks up a cloud of dust and dirt that lasts for 5 seconds, limiting vision for enemy champions inside the cloud, while enemy champions outside the cloud cannot see inside. Landing this ability on two or more enemy champions will activate Raged State.

Playstyle:

As you can see, Forva is a very ‘in your face’ kind of character, forcing you to get up close and personal with your enemy in order to land high damage abilities. Being close to your enemies also requires that you memorise their playstyle, learn when they’re going to use a certain ability or skillshot and time your (W) Sidestep in order to effectively reduce the amount of damage taken in trades and to make full use of the cooldown reduction.

(Q) Downward Decider is great for chasing enemies down, and the increased movement speed makes it easy to do just that. It will also allow you to become more mobile, able to outrun abilities like Lux’s root and Morgana’s Dark Binding for example.

Once you’ve gotten in range of your enemy using either a combination of (W) Sidestep or (Q) Downward Decider, or even both, use (E) Charged Cross Punch to deal heavy damage and to slow the enemy to allow you to easily get a quick (Q) Downward Decider onto them as the damage does not increase with charge time.

Use Fake in order to juke your enemy and force them to either burn a summoner spell or ability, or to intimidate and make them play a little more cautiously. (R) Leap of Faith is great because it has two uses; a gap closer or increaser, and it makes you untargetable. So feel free to use it if an ability is going to hit you that you can’t dodge.

The damage from Falling Fury would be insane late game and allow for excellent teamfighting potential if used correctly and in tandem with other CC abilities such as Malphite’s Unstoppable Force. The Nearsight debuff it gives to enemies will also aid you and subsequently your team in winning the teamfight.

In lane, you’d play a little aggressively, using your (Q) Downward Decider to scare your opponent from going near the minion wave in fear of getting a fast, angry man running towards them with a charged punch and subsequently fast attacks from (P) Fueled by Blood. However, Forva’s downfall would be in his lack of escape apart from (W) Sidestep during the early game, pre-level 6. Also, he is very susceptible to getting poked down from ranged champions as he is melee and has no way of trading back unless he closes the gap between them. If you were to miss the (Q) Downward Decider, the enemy has a free chance at getting some damage onto you as they’re free to walk away from you as you cast your (E) Charged Cross Punch, which would require you to charge it longer for increased damage but also slows you. The way to play Forva is up to you and your specific playstyle.

Mid to Late game, post-level 6, get ready to go rage mode. During a two versus one situation or in a teamfight picking up an early kill and activating Raged State will allow you to become a force to be reckoned with and one to not be treated lightly. However, greed will usually land you toward death should you try to continue being an unstoppable monster fueled with rage.

Forva’s biggest strength is his high mobility and high burst damage, while his biggest weakness is his lack of range and the difficulty in hitting his extremely short range abilities and utilising his kit effectively to fit the scenario.

For example, if an Aatrox were to attempt a trade on you, use your (W) Sidestep in tandem with your (Q) Downward Decider to dodge the knock up zones on his Darkin Blade, then hit him with both the (Q) Downward Decider and the (E) Charged Cross Punch for a nice chunk of damage onto him. An advanced tactic that would require precise timing would be to (W) Sidestep towards the enemy, possibly to dodge an ability to get the cooldown reduction, into a (E) Charged Cross Punch, then into a Fake in order to ‘spook’ the enemy so to speak. Once you’ve feigned the ability, use (W) Sidestep again to dodge backwards towards safety and to keep range, as the cooldown is quite short if you dodge something. You could also throw a (Q) Downward Decider once they burn an immobilising spell, then followed by an (E) Charged Cross Punch once it’s back up due to the cooldown reduction from Fake and (P) Fueled by Blood.

Possible Build/s:

My first suggestion would be a Death's Dance, as the aoe physical damage would keep you sustained in team fights with both your (Q) Downward Decider and your (E) Charged Cross Punch, also adding a nice chunk of damage. A Guardian Angel would also be a nice item to pick up as you are a very risky champion, and G.A allows you to play a bit more aggressively during skirmishes and team fights. Duskblade of Drakarr is essential if you want to turn the enemy ADC into grated cheese. Adding damage, cooldown reduction and lethality in order to assassinate quicker and easier. For boots, you’d want to go either Mercury’s Treads if you are in a mage matchup with magic damage to verse, or Quicksilver Boots for quicker (P) Fueled by Blood attacks. Boots of Mobility will allow you to catch up to enemies even faster in combination with your (Q) Downward Decider. Really, any boot options have their situations where you’d opt for them. Lastly, a Black Cleaver would be a good choice in general, for the health, cooldown reduction, damage and armour penetration, allowing you to grab a bit more extra damage on the enemy.

Conclusion:

Forva was an idea for a champion that I created over a period of time. Of course, everything that is here isn’t permanent and would have to be changed in order to be balanced correctly. However, I feel that he would be satisfying to play and reward the player for choosing what order of abilities to use, when to use them and on what. His mobility opens up a wide range of skill level between people that can read the enemy and know what specific ability to dodge with (W) Sidestep and the people that dodge anything with it. It would separate the reckless players from the players that think before they act, allowing game-making plays to feel even more rewarding knowing that you pulled everything off correctly or mostly correct. On the other side of the coin, enemies could easily bait Forva as his only means of escape, as mentioned beforehand, are his (Q) and (W) which are lacking in the range department. Forva would require accuracy, timing and thought in order to to pull his kit off and utilise it effectively, knowing when to ult and who to kill first to allow your rage to last for the maximum amount of time possible. He might not be the champion for everyone, but for someone who wants a challenge or to test himself, I feel like Forva would be the fun option for them. I welcome all comments and criticism below, and I deeply thank you for reading through my idea.