Elohir, The Eternal Wanderer [Sand Mage/Tank Concept]
So I started writing up this guy just before Azir was announced, spurred on by the trollsy Red posts about trying and failing to make a good sand mage for some time. You got me good, Riot! That said, it was interesting trying to come up with unique ways to utilize sand thematically, and I think I did a decent job on that front.
I originally had a long story about Elohir as a traveler who encountered Malzahar on the night the seer was first called to Icathia, was somehow clued into the dangers Malz would face, but was swallowed up by the desert before he could warn the poor guy. Now that Azir's been announced, there are probably more story opportunities on that side of things. Still, Shurima's a big place. I'm sure there are plenty of potential plot hooks that could be found with enough sifting.
Theme and Intent
Elohir is designed to something of a cross between a mummy (or possibly THE Mummy, if you’re a fan) and a revenant. Preserved by the desert sands, he has returned to unlife (originally in an attempt to warn the world about the dangers that Malzahar and the Void present to the world, but possibly for other reasons) and wanders the world, leaking the sands of Shurima from his desiccated corpse as he goes..
Gameplay-wise, he is designed to be a mage/tank, similar to Cho’Gath and Galio, able to potentially build in either direction, but finding the most success somewhere in between. His abilities would theoretically scale moderately well with AP, so as not to neuter those who would want to play him in a solo lane, but carry most of their power in the form of CC and utility.
Passive - Billowing Sands
Elohir’s auto-attacks splash in a small line to either side of his targets, dealing a portion of his damage/flat magic damage (whichever scales more appropriately) to secondary targets.
Additionally, whenever Elohir casts an ability, he will begin to seep a trail of sand for a short while. Enemy movement is slowed slightly on this trail, while his own speed in increased.
Elohir’s auto-attack range is designed to be at or only slightly above melee levels. With that short of an auto-attack range, this allows Elohir to have a moderate amount of safety while in and around the minion wave early, as well as in team fights late. It also grants him some leeway in terms of lane pushing, where many tanks lag behind in the late game (though funnily enough, Cho and Galio do not, despite being my playstyle comparisons). Note that the speeding effects of the sand do not apply as the player moves normally, but only when they walk over their trail a second time. It’s not free speed for casting, but it might be a chance to backpedal if a situation goes awry, or a way to keep up with foes when ganking from their only avenue for escape.
Q - Abrasive Blast
A powerful gale is summoned in a small line-area. Enemy units in this area are dealt damage over time and are slowed when moving against the current.
A bit like Galio’s Righteous Gust in reverse, aimed like Viktor’s laser or Rumble’s ult. This could mean that it is only possible to slow people from coming towards you beyond a certain range, or else the target area might be two concentric rings, requiring at least one end to be within the smaller of the two.
W - Sedimentary Shield
Elohir begins to cloak himself or target ally in armor made of sand, gaining a small shield and some defenses. If this shield is not destroyed within a few seconds, it will thicken and harden into stone, doubling both the shield and the defenses granted.
As a melee-range tank/mage, it seemed important to give the character another defensive option that isn’t his only mobility, especially since that mobility skill does very little for defense in a wide array of cases. Allowing this ability to be cast on allies instead of himself puts him in the Galio-like position of being able to gear up for a heavy dive or protect an ally before leaving them behind.
E - Arid Husk
Elohir abandons his current corporeal form for the moment, leaving an empty shell behind and slowly dashing a short-to-moderate distance in the specified direction. He is untargetable for the duration.
The abandoned body is considered a champion for all targeting purposes and will dissolve after a short time. If destroyed by an enemy attack, it will rupture violently and deal a small amount of damage in its immediate vicinity. Targeted attacks en route towards Elohir when this ability is activated will continue towards the husk normally.
That last line may raise some technical concerns, and if so, I’d be very interested in talking about them! Otherwise, this ability was designed to be mobility, but not rapid mobility. That is, most dash abilities are far faster than champions, making them viable for chases or rapid engages or what have you. The intention here is for the ability to be handy for dodging and repositioning (particularly over walls), but it will be useless for running away across open ground, still leaving the player vulnerable to the jumpy-catchy types.
Additionally, the inclusion of the player clone is to allow an Elohir player to fulfill their role as the body-blocking tank just that slight bit more than usual, as it can take hits and bait out abilities without subjecting Elohir himself to the damage. It should be made obvious via the model that the husk is not the player, however. It’s not meant to be a Wukong-Clone-clone situation.
R - Sandtrap
Elolir creates a large, swirling vortex of sand at the target location that deals minor damage over time and gradually pulls enemy units inward, increasing in power over time (The effect being that enemies are severely slowed when moving away from the center and sped up when moving towards it). Units that reach the center (denoted by a pit of scarabs within the sand) take another spike of damage and are stunned.
Another technical issue that didn’t occur to me as such until I started writing it down, but it seemed like a thematically appropriate ult and an interesting mechanic. It can be a powerful tool for keeping enemies clustered, but it might also boost an enemy just that little bit farther to take a lethal pot-shot at your allies.
I also went back and forth for a while on whether the ability should be ground-targeted or centered on Elohir himself. I went with the former mostly because the guy lacks real initiation power otherwise, but perhaps it’s more important to fix that problem by giving him some initiation power rather than allowing him to ult at range. I’m open to feedback on that point.
Animations, Emotes, and Quotes
A few of these will be a bit scattershot in tone since I designed the character as a sort of undead herald with an important warning for the world, but that dropped off a bit when Azir set a precedent for an ancient, more powerful Shurima and opened up some more story angles. Elohir could be some embodiment of the savagery of the desert, or else he could merely have been a powerful mage who strayed too far from civilization. Without that pinned down, I can't work in more than a few quotes and interactions, and some may only work from a given angle. Definitely weigh in if you have opinions or ideas on the matter!
Joke - Elohir reaches out, as if begging. Then, his arm cracks off and turns to sand on the ground.
"You wouldn't happen to have a drink, would you? I'm... *crack* parched!"
"Don't run, please! I only want to help! Let me give you *crack* a hand!"
Taunt - Elohir sweeps his hand along the ground, then stands and slowly releases slowly releases a stream of sand into the air.
"There is strength in numbers. In the innumerable, there is omnipotence." [If evil or a force of nature]
"Once great stones, worn to naught by time. How will you fare, I wonder?"
Champion Taunts/Interactions
"Your kind have no place in my world..." [if evil or a force of nature]
[Get hit by an ability] "It will take more than that to slake my thirst."
"Given time, even you will be worn away."
"Fool. The sun cannot be wielded. Its heat knows no ally!" [if evil or a force of nature]
"The heat of one sun is more than sufficient..."
"The higher you ascend, the farther you have to fall, Xerath..." [If a mage]
[Strikes with Q] "Haha! Your accuracy has fallen!"
- These, along with Azir, would definitely depend on Elohir's story, which is currently unsettled.
Walking/Attacking - As with the above interactions, these depend too much on the story to write out more than generic 'On my way/take that' type quotes. A surprisingly amount of characterization can be gleaned from these off-hand quips.
Release Skin Concepts
Glacial Elohir
A frozen figure in tattered Everest expedition-style gear. A glow emanates from within his cracked goggles. His passive leaves cracked, frozen earth in his wake. (Bonus points if the passive looks different in the river!)
Q - The howling wind is filled with snow and shards of ice rather than blinding sand.
W - The target is surrounded with a flurry of snow that eventually solidifies into solid ice.
E - The abandoned husk is similar to an ice sculpture, possibly still sporting a scarf.
R - Rather than a swirling vortex, the ult zone becomes a slick rink of ice with frozen spikes at its center and howling winds pushing enemies towards the center.
Deep Terror Elohir
A crushed, torn, leaking diver's suit covered in algae, barnacles, and a bit of drifting seaweed. His passive leaves a sopping wet trail behind him.
Q - The zone is filled with a rushing current of bubbles, water, and maybe the odd fish.
W - The shield begins as a trickle of water that grows in force until the target is surrounded in a lattice of seaweed or flotsam.
E - Elohir's spirit abandons the diving suit, leaving it and its dangling plant life drained of color.
R - The swirling torrent of sand becomes a maelstrom, complete with a small, tentacled creature in the center.
As always, feedback is appreciated!