[Champion Concept] Messora, The Reaper's Shadow
20 upvotes from the original thread.
Lore:
In an isolated village in Valoran, Messora grew up in an orphanage along with many other children that lost their parents in the regular pillaging of their home. A small town brought to shambles by war, and located far from major population, it suffered as an easy target to thieves and ruffians looking for a quick grab. Unlike the other children, Messora grew up through the constant terrorization quietly--laying in bed silently as others cried in fear at night and keeping to herself as they played during the day. She always did what she was told, but rarely spoke, and only few words on those occasions. Her stoic visage and impassible eyes never reveal a hint of emotion. Such traits made her an outcast, but if she was ever perturbed by it, no one could tell.
A public meeting was called among the people of the town. The elders of the village proposed an idea involving the Institute of War. That if they could succeed in acquiring a warrior formidable enough to enter on their behalf, they could gain precious influence that would protect their home and grant them the ability to live in peace. Pooling whatever money they could scrap up, the people gathered what they prayed was enough to set their endeavor in motion. With their hope collected in a pouch, they implored the aid of a seasoned mercenary traveling in the vicinity. She accepted, but under her own conditions that she would train one of their own rather than do the fighting herself.
With effortless ferocity, the warrior woman deflected her attackers’ strikes, sending them into the dust, one after the other. She was surrounded by the young men of the poor town, each rather meek and disheartened by their clearly outmatched odds against just one woman. Years of fear and hunger had made them unfit for combat. As the humiliation continued, Messora slowly made her way through the crowd of people gathered to watch the disappointment. Dressed in a small, black cloak that concealed most of her small body, she approached a collection of weapons lain in a row on top of a long curtain of sackcloth. Messora’s pace remained slow as she surveyed the mercenary’s weapons; a variety of tools of different sizes, styles, and conditions. She stopped at one in particular-- a small, dull, rusted weapon that resembled that of a sickle with odd markings.
The scarred woman looked at the armed men around her, each defeated in body and spirit. Filled with anger and regret, she chastised the crowd of people for having wasted her time. A glint caught the corner of her eye, and with a swift motion, she swung her blade to meet her attacker. A clash of metal, and Messora was knocked off her feet and into the ground. The mercenary looked at her 10-year old assailant with confusion at first, and then anger as if being insulted. Without saying a word, the young girl in black, sickle in hand, stood back up and charged again and again; dirt splotched on her face and clothes, and panting from fatigue, but refusing to give up. The war-hardened woman smiled at her with a change of heart.
In eight years’ time, the village recovered to a better state, and with it, its warriors-in-training. A usual day of drills and sparring was disrupted by a large band of brigands that barraged the quiet town. After years of having a once-easy target turned into one of great difficulty by a single mercenary, the bloodthirsty criminals and their own sellswords turned their humiluation and frustration into a wake of fire and violence. Responding to a hopeless situation, the fighters the small town had scraped up engaged the onslaught, falling one by one. When the bloodbath ended and the screams of battle and agony had gone quiet, only half of the village and its people remained. Among them, a single young woman dressed in black; her long, dark silver hair tipped in midnight black flowing in a breeze. In her hand, Harvester, the once ill-fitted sickle that mysteriously grew into a full-fledged scythe as the girl grew in skill and age.
Standing amidst the sea of bodies, she saw the mercenary that had taken pity on the town that beseeched her aid. Messora gazed upon her mentor, noticing a smile strewn across the fallen veteran’s lips. A grin of mother-like pride.
The silent girl found no farewells from the remnants of the town that had grown to fear her. Only the sound of blood-soaked grass crushed under her boots could be heard as she departed; the first steps toward the League of Legends.
"I can't tell if she follows Death or Death is the one that follows her. All I know is if she faintly smiles at you...you'll soon find out." - Anonymous
Stats:
Health -- 365 (+80) Health Regen -- 5.5 (+.55) Mana -- 240 (+45) Mana Regen -- 7 (+.7) Range -- 150 (melee) Attack Damage -- 48.5 (+3) Attack Speed -- .65 (+2.65%) Armor -- 15.5 (+3.5) Magic Resist -- 30 (+1.25) Movement Speed -- 325
*Base stats are at “Level 0” **Values in parenthesis are gains per level
Abilities
Passive - Reap: As Messora grows in prowess, Harvester grows in size and form. At levels 7/12, Messora's basic attack range increases by 25 units. -Harvest: Range increases by 100 at max tier. -Featherduster: Projectile block duration increases by .5 seconds at max tier. -Death from Above: Slow effect becomes an AOE with a 150 unit range at max tier. -Reap and Sow: After casting, Messora's chance to critically strike increases by 25% for 5 seconds at max tier.
Q - Harvest (Skillshot): Messora hurls a phantasm of her scythe forward, dealing physical damage on the way out. As the shadow yo-yos back, it deals magical damage and knocks targets toward Messora. Range: 800 (900 at max rank) Width: (100) Knockover: (50) Damage: Thrown out - Physical damage: 35/55/75/95/115 (+50% Total AD) Returning: Magical damage: 35/55/75/95/115 (+50% AP) Cooldown: 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 seconds Mana cost: 65 MP Projectile Speed: 950
W - Featherduster (AoE/Channel): Messora whirls Harvester in front of her, knocking back enemies in range and dealing damage. Additionally, Messora takes reduced damage from all basic attacks and projectiles (except turret shots and true damage) for .75 seconds in a line in front of her. Projectiles cannot pass through and cannot trigger crowd control abilities if blocked.
Persistent passive: Attack speed is increased by 5/10/15/20/25%
Range: (125) Width: (200) Knockback: (50) Damage: 35/45/55/65/75% (Total AD) Physical Damage + 35/45/55/65/75% (AP) Magic Damage Reduced damage: 20/25/30/35/40% Cooldown: 17/15/13/11/9 Mana cost: 90 MP
- Messora can still move while casting Featherduster, but cannot change the direction of the channel once cast. As this is a channel ability, it can be interrupted by stuns, fears, knock-ups, supresses, and taunts. Projectiles that introduce these conditions must hit Messora from an unprotected angle to effect her.
E - Death from Above (Target Cast): Messora teleports above an enemy through a magical circle, landing and striking the target, slowing them for 2 seconds. If the target is hit with this ability while airborne, this ability's cooldown is reset and 60 mana is refunded. The reset can only be activated on the same enemy once per displacement CC. Cast range: (450) Physical Damage: 60/80/100/120/140 (+60% AP) Slow amount: 20%/25%/30%/35%/40% Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 Mana cost: 85 MP
- All displacement CC abilities, including Messora's Q and W, are eligible to activate Death From Above's reset effect.
R - Reap and Sow (Circular AOE): Messora soars upward while swinging her scythe overhead, knocking all enemies in range up with her. At the peak of the jump, Messora counterswings her weapon, knocking her targets back to the ground and stunning them for .25 seconds. Range (Circular): (200) Knockback: (100) Magic Damage: 175/250/325 (+45% Bonus AD) (+45% AP) Cooldown: 125/110/95 Mana cost: 100 MP Total CC duration: 1.25 seconds
The goal: Messora is meant to be an AD/AP hybrid in which the player can choose between the playstyle of quick, bursty, in-your-face melee assassin or more focused on being a disruptive mage keeping a distance until the the time is right. She's focused on being more of a mid-range champion as opposed to specializing in very close range or a far distance.
This is a shortened version of the original post which contains more information including her appearance, suggested builds, and artwork.
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For those in favor of the original lore and preserving the existence of the Institute of War and Summoners, please take a look at this thread.
