[Champion Concept] Tulia, the Flagbearer of Demacia

This a rework of a champion concept I made a few months ago. Special thanks to ShatteredSkys for the feedback!

#Summary#

• Introduction
• Abilities
• Strengths/Weaknesses
• Lore/Background
• Design Notes
• CCOS Good Neighbour Reviews
• Change Log

#Introduction#

Tulia is a strong fighter/support who is dedicated to helping her allies and controlling the battlefield. She does this by throwing her flag-spear, which allows her create zones of control at the cost of up-close dueling potential. The dual identity that Tulia's weapon creates allows her shift playstyles from a beefy front-liner to a backline support over the course of a teamfight.

#Abilities#

_(Passive) Symbol of Hope _ - Tulia's flag-spear generates an aura that grants herself and nearby allies bonus magic resist. In addition, all auras that Tulia gains from her abilities and items are transferred over to the spear's location.

• Tulia's flag-spear give nearby allies and herself 4/6/8/10 bonus magic resist (upgrades at levels 1/6/11/16)
• any auras that Tulia has or gains from items are transferred to the flag's location instead
• Tulia's flag-spear grants 500 sight range AoE wherever it is (this does not stack with Tulia's sight)
• the flag-spear cannot be damaged/destroyed, but may be utilized by allies similar to a ward (it despawns automatically on Tulia's death)

(R) Triumphant Spear - after channeling for a brief amount of time, Tulia throws her flag-spear towards a location, dealing damage to those it hits. In addition, Tulia gains a second set of abilities (referred to as flag form) that she can use while her weapon has been thrown. Tulia may retrieve her weapon in order to regain her first set of abilities (referred to as spear form). It should be noted here that although Tulia has two sets of abilities, both sets share the same cooldown. This means that she can only use three abilities at any given time, despite having access to six abilities.

• this spell is available at level 1, and can be upgraded at levels 6/11/16
• cast range is 200-1000, and costs 45/30/15/0 mana
• on first cast, Tulia channels for 3 seconds, slowing down by 20% and gaining range for 1.5 seconds
• on second cast, Tulia throws her weapon towards a targeted location, dealing 50/100/150/200 (+100% AD) physical damage to wherever it lands
• if Tulia doesn't use the second cast, or is interrupted, the spell is put on cooldown
• without her flag-spear, Tulia is unable to use basic attacks, but gains a flat 10 movement speed (her normal movement speed is 325)
• once the flag has landed, Tulia may cast Triumphant Spear a third time at no cost, to dash over and retrieve her flag and put the spell on cooldown (note that Tulia can cast spells in her Flag form mid-dash)
• Tulia's flag will also immediately return to her if she is more than 1200 units away from it, putting the spell on cooldown
• cooldown is at 8/7/6/5 seconds

(Q) Valiant Strike/Earth Spire - Tulia leaps into the air, before striking down and pinning anyone caught into the ground. In her flag form, Tulia sends a bolt of energy through the earth towards her weapon, which explodes and knocks up enemies nearby.

• cast range is 500,, and costs 65 mana at all ranks
• Spear: Tulia leaps into the air for 0.5 seconds, landing and dealing 60/100/140/180/220 (+40% bonus AD) physical damage in an AoE (250 units)
• when landing, Tulia pins her spear into the ground for 1.5 seconds, and can use Flag abilities for the duration
• enemies in the center of the AoE are pinned (max. 1 champion), and cannot be released unless Tulia moves or is CC'ed
• Flag: Tulia sends a bolt of energy through the earth towards her weapon; when the bolt reaches the weapon, it explodes outward as an AoE (400 units) and dealing 60/100/140/180/220 (+40% bonus AD) magic damage
• enemies near the center the AoE hits (200 units) are also knocked up for 0.75 seconds
• both the bolt and AoE explosion can damage enemies separately, meaning that you can double the damage dealt with good positioning
• cooldown is 14/13/12/11/10 seconds

(W) Phalanx/Stronghold - Tulia assumes a defensive formation with her allies, shielding them from harm. In her flag form, she creates a momentary wall that slows enemies down.

• cast range is 400, and costs 75 mana at all ranks
• Spear: Tulia and her nearby allies gain a shield, blocking 60/80/100/120/140 (+20 per nearby ally) damage for 3 seconds
• Flag: Tulia creates a barrier (400 units) around her flag for 3 seconds, slowing enemies by 50/55/60/65/70% for 2 seconds (decays)
• shield/slow effects only apply once per cast on ally/enemy champions respectively
• cooldown is 12 seconds at all ranks

(E) Pierce/Signal Flare - Tulia strikes forward with her weapon, knocking back enemies close to her. With her flag, she creates a bright flare that damages enemies, while increasing the movement speed of allies close to her flag.

• cast/knockback range is 250 units, and costs 40/45/50/55/60 mana
• passive: spells used within 1000 range of the flag charges it with ambient energy, which are consumed upon using this ability (max. 6 stacks)
• Spear: Tulia stabs forward in front of her, dealing 70/110/150/190/230 (+60% bonus AD) physical damage
• enemies in the center/side are knocked back/aside respectively; knockback is increased by 25 per stack
• Flag: Tulia fires a flare from the flag, damaging enemies and rallying allies towards it (AoE is 400)
• after a 0.5 second delay, flare deals 20/30/40/50/60 (+10% bonus AD) magic damage per stack
• allies moving towards the flag gain 20/25/30/35/40% movement speed for 3 seconds
• cooldown is 7 seconds at all ranks

#** Strengths and Weaknesses**#

Tulia's most powerful asset in a team is objective control. Using her flag, she can easily bottleneck any attempts at getting baron and dragon, or hamper enemy efforts in the jungle by making certain spots untenable to fight in. In her Spear form, Tulia provides strong disengage with her W (Phalanx) and E (Pierce), allowing her allies to survive enemy ambushes. Meanwhile, her Q (Valiant Strike/Earth Spire) are powerful CC tools which can discourage enemy champions from staying close together, allowing allies to pick them off more easily.

On the flip side, it should be noted that Tulia is not without her problems as well. For instance, her normal form is quite slow, given her weapon. She can't exactly chase down targets, or run away at a moment's notice. Her R (Triumphant Spear) and Q (Valiant Strike) are both heavily telegraphed tools that can easily be interrupted, and poor positioning of them can lose you teamfights, as it can cost you precious time and CC respectively. Teamfights in open spaces also diminish Tulia's strength, as enemies can easily reposition out of the danger that her flag poses.

#Lore/Background#

A fighter and troublemaker at heart, Tulia has never quite embraced the moral code that is instilled within all other Demacian children. Having spent a childhood being regaled with tales of powerful heroes and glorious wars by her grandparents, the one thing that Tulia desires, more than anything else, is to make a name for herself on the battlefield. As such, she would spend countless hours training herself, garnering what little martial knowledge and skills she could in order to give her an edge in combat. Eager to prove her worth, Tulia joined the ranks of the Demacian military as soon as she was eligible, hoping to make her name known.

It was however, not to be. All too soon, Tulia realized that despite her efforts and ambition, she lacked an inherent skill needed to ascend: talent. It mattered not that she trained harder than anyone else, or desired glory over any moral scruples; Tulia simply lacked the raw ability that would propel her name to those of the legendary warriors that she idolized. Her dreams broken, Tulia fell into a state of depression, and was eventually transferred to the position of ceremonial flag-bearer at the Demacian capital. Fate however, chose a different path for her, and as such, Tulia had a chance encounter with none other than Jarvan IV during a parade march.

Despite the brief meeting, the two quickly become friends, and with it, a whole new world of possibilities. Under her new friend's guidance, Tulia's confidence in herself was soon restored, and her interest in combat was again rekindled. Realizing that her martial prowess was no match against other more experienced warriors, Tulia turned to strategy and planning in order to make up for her shortcomings. Her dedication, knowledge, and strength soon garnered attention, and eventually, promotions, from higher ranking Demacian officials, but Tulia's need for glory and fame was long gone by then. Instead, a new resolve, to become a general and support her friend in battle, had replaced it. Having made peace with her own failings, Tulia now turns her attention towards the frontlines; this time not to show her skill, but the knowledge she has wrought from her own experiences.

"There are few more foolish than those who miss the knowledge gleamed from failures past."

#Design Notes#

Tulia's design is largely based around flags, and how they work in combat as signals for an allied army. I wanted her flag to actually feel tangible on the battlefield, inspiring allies to capitalize on the opportunities she creates with her weapon without adding a ton of invisible power to her kit (AKA auras). That being said, her weapon is a combination of a flag and a spear, which serves to emphasize the dual role playstyle she has. On one hand, Tulia can function up-close with the enemy, defending her allies and acting as a sort of commander in the thick of battle. On the other hand, once Tulia throws her flag over to a location, she must turn her attention to where she threw her flag in order to aid her allies. This makes her extremely vulnerable, which allows for some interesting counterplay, since an enemy could break through the battle lines and come at her directly. Staying in either form for too long is never advantageous for Tulia, so it should be that she constantly throws her flag out, casts a few support spells, retrieves the flag, and then goes to fight in close-range quarters. In doing so, a player makes use of both parts of her identity, and can generate a powerful presence in teamfights as a whole.

#CCOS Good Neighbour Reviews#

Dash, the Buggy Rider

#Change Log#

• reduced Phalanx shield amount from 60/85/110/135/160 (+30 per nearby ally) to 60/80/100/120/140 (+20 per nearby ally)
• added a Lore/Background section
• added a CCOS Good Neighbour Reviews section