[CHAMPION CONCEPT] Derro, the Polearm of the Law

In my mad throes I occasionally have interesting ideas. As unusable as they tend to be, they are still sometimes salvageable, at least in part. With that in mind do I introduce a strange champion here today, in the hopes that something about it may inspire those more creative and productive than myself to greater accomplishment. Now: who likes three-hit passives?

Name "Derro" (real name unknown) [anagram of Order]

Title the Polearm of the Law (alternative titles include "the Executive of Order," "Judge of Judges," "Judge, Jury, and Executioner," and "Chaos's Reigns")

Classifications Fighter (Melee)

Ratings Damage 2/3 Toughness 2/3 Control 2/3 Mobility 2/3 Utility 1/3

Lore The Short of It The heavy presence of Derro is one dreaded throughout Valoran. His frowning mask leaves no doubt as to his opinions on the rest of the world. To Derro everyone is guilty. And every crime deserves the utmost of punishments. Because crime, when it comes right down to it, is the disruption of the Law, the disruption of order itself. This notion is anathema to Derro. He believes it is also anathema to existence as a whole. So, for the sake of reality, he punishes the sinners without mercy. He takes them away, to a place between realities, there to read all their offenses, real or imagined, and then cast them to any of his various cruel execution methods.

No one knows where he came from. No one knows what he looks like under his strange green-and-black suit. Some believe him to actually be some cold, overdone manifestation of the people's desire for the protection of order; a wicked facsimile of the extreme opposite of anarchy. What everyone knows, though, is that regardless of which of the three Tools of Order he has drawn on you, you're receiving the death penalty.

The Long of It The broken jack-in-the-box was only hours old. Derro had only just missed him. Curses! If only he hadn't pursued that jaywalker! Of course, risking oneself and others by wandering unaware into traffic was an act that could not go unpunished, but how Derro wished he had simply put that on hold!

What did it matter that jaywalkers jaywalked where they pleased if Shaco was still here and uncontained?

"You," Derro croaked in his impossibly deep voice, immediately stopping the nervous movement that had been trying to creep away in the shadows.

The shape did not immediately answer Derro. Derro would have taught the shape the penalties for lurking and for refusing to answer a representative of the law, but he needed answers before this malingerer needed punishment. "You will answer me or be held for obstructing the Law."

The child that stumbled teary-eyed from the shadows was filthy. Derro could not be surprised at the girl's destitution: the spawn of villains, like the villains themselves, were always caked in filth, material or otherwise. "He killed Mommy," she cried as if that mattered in the least.

Derro drummed his fingers on his spear-fork. This girl was withholding information. "Where did he go?"

Her voice hitched as she cried again.

Derro was growing impatient. "Tell me, whelp!"

The girl ran from him, crying. As Derro prepared to enact his angry carrying out of the sentence due one who flees the Law, he heard an all-too-familiar cackling above him. "Why so serious?"

Derro swapped his spear-fork out for his sleeve-entangler, turning his head towards the Demon Jester, who yet perched on the iron railings of some sort of staircase up the side of the building. "Your punishment is overdue," Derro croaked.

Slamming his polearm to the ground, Derro propelled himself up and up and up all the way to where Shaco stood. Had stood, unfortunately. Shaco had jumped higher still to clear Derro's strike, and was running for it. Derro held his weapon forward and spun it in his grip before yanking backward, yanking Shaco out of the air with a magical pull of force. Shaco flipped on his way down, laughing madly, and wrapped his arms and legs around Derro, mask-to-mask.

"You have a certain pull to you, hoohoohoohoohoo!" Derro fell backward off the railing, falling hard onto the street below. Shaco produced two large shivs seemingly out of the air, hooting musically as he raised them to plunge into Derro's chest. Derro kicked out sideways, throwing the evil clown off while pulling free his push-pole.

Twirling it as he had his other weapon, Derro thrust the weapon forward and a magic rush threw Shaco away down the alley and into the street proper. Raggedy druggies and neon-clad club-goers scattered like small fish from raging sharks as Derro came running out after his prey.

Shaco had evaded him for too long. He would not get away again.

Derro put away his weapon and pulled out his third and final: his trusty spear-fork. He jumped mightily, bellowing all his righteous fury as he fixed the weapon downward and slammed it down on Shaco's neck, pinning the Demon Jester to the street.

"Shaco, your crimes permit me to kill you in the field." Derro practically spat the words out of his mask's frown. "Have you anything to say for yourself?" Shaco laughed. Derro growled. "Do you think this a joke?"

"Yes!" Shaco laughed harder and grabbed the shaft of the weapon with both hands. "And the joke's on you!"

Shaco exploded in a burst of sharp shivs, the flew outward, reducing those foolish passersby who chose to watch the spectacle to incongruous, ragged strips of wet red. Derro had been thrown against a far wall, his suit cut badly. But shivs would not hurt Derro. Derro's hand was the hand of the Law. Mere laceration would not stop him.

He breathed hard through his mask and roared his fury into the night.

"Shaco!"

Somewhere just within the range of that rolling baritone echo, a musical hooting laughter tittered quietly into the night.

Appearance Derro is a wide-shouldered individual in a a bulkier, looser jester suit similar to Shaco's but with notably puffier sleeves and legs and with green in place of red. His face is a mask similar to Shaco's. If Shaco's mask is the mask of comedy, Derro's is the mask of tragedy. It has a heavy, wearied brow with half-moon eyes, wrinkled with pain or worry. His open, toothless frown is exaggerated in proportion, pulling downward in its wrinkled complexity in quite the caricature of a man being branded, or stuck with a barbed pin. The nose of the mask extends outward in the manner of a tengu's. He has a hat like Shaco's, but with only one corn that dangles forward on his head in front of his eyes. For dramatic effect, points of eerie yellow light can burn in his eye holes in the splash art. Derro's weapons are golden-colored wood with deep, black iron heads. They are torimono sandogu, the Japanese "implements of arresting." The first is a spear-fork called Arrest, a polearm with a round, open ring on the end, with flaring ends. The second is a sleeve-entangler called Summons, a polearm with a complex head: a spike flanked by two forward prongs and two backward prongs. The third is a push-pole called Ejection, a polearm with a metal head perpendicular to the shaft, like a hammer's head but without weight and of a shape and width similar to the shaft. He wields one weapon at a time, and wields them all similarly; only the attack animation is changed (downward thrusts, spinning inward jerks, and straight thrusts, respectively). The two weapons not in use are crossed on his back in an X, their heads upward. Derro's design is meant as a contrast to Shaco's (Shaco is thin, smiling, and red; Derro is wide, frowning, and green). To separate his model from bearing a stance too similar to other polearm champions like Jax or Wukong, Derro wields and thrusts his weapon with only his left hand, and runs with it held straight and pointed toward the ground behind him, such that the butt of it runs up along his back.

Abilities

Trinity of Trials Derro's resource bar is a three-charge yellow "Righteousness" gauge. Three of his abilities are stances. When Derro changes stance, he gains full Righteousness. After five seconds out of combat, Derro regains full Righteousness. Additionally, with the exception of his ultimate, Derro's abilities do not have cooldowns. =Derro does not naturally recharge Righteousness in combat without using his abilities =Derro regains full Righteousness after only one second out of combat if he is on the fountain and being healed by it.

Ability One: Arrest Derro flourishes for 0.1 seconds and draws his spear-fork, gaining full Righteousness. While under Arrest, Derro's weapon head glows red. Every third autoattack with this weapon against the same target expends a point of Righteousness to deal bonus magic damage scaling slightly with AP and AD and Root the target for 1 second. While equipped with the spear-fork, this ability is replaced by Pin. Pin: Expend three Righteousness. Derro leaps upward with his weapon pointed down, displaying a 45-degree cone in front of him to a range of 150 units for 0.5 seconds. After that time, Derro slams downward, pinning enemies in the cone, dealing damage to each of them as if they had been hit with the third strike of Arrest and Stunning each of them for 0.25/0.5/1/1.5/2 seconds. =Derro stacks Arrest on only one opponent at a time. If he hits another, the first loses all stacks of Arrest. =If an enemy with Arrest stacks hasn't been hit for 3 seconds, all stacks fall off. =Derro always triggers the effect on the third hit if he has the Righteousness, including through Silence. =If the attack misses through a Blind or Dodge, the target also avoids the Root. =If Derro applies Summons or Ejection, existing Arrest stacks fall off. =Derro stops moving while flourishing.

Ability Two: Summons Derro flourishes for 0.1 seconds and draws his sleeve-entangler, gaining full Righteousness. While under Summons, Derro's weapon head glows yellow. Every third autoattack with this weapon against the same target expends a point of Righteousness to deal bonus magic damage scaling with AP and slightly with AD and pull the target 100 units in your direction. While equipped with the sleeve-entangler, this ability is replaced by Yank. Yank: Expend three Righteousness. Derro holds the weapon forward, spinning it in his grip, displaying a 45-degree cone in front of him to a range of 300 units for 0.5 seconds. After that time, Derro yanks his weapon backwards, pulling enemies in the cone to his location and dealing damage to each of them as if they had been hit with the third strike of Summons. =Derro stacks Summons on only one opponent at a time. If he hits another, the first loses all stacks of Summons. =If an enemy with Summons stacks hasn't been hit for 3 seconds, all stacks fall off. =Derro always triggers the effect on the third hit if he has the Righteousness, including through Silence. =If the attack misses through a Blind or Dodge, the target also avoids the pull. =The pull of Summons's proc can move enemies behind Derro, but Yank will pull them only as far as directly in front of him. =If Derro applies Arrest or Ejection, existing Summons stacks fall off. =Derro stops moving while flourishing.

Ability Three: Ejection Derro flourishes for 0.1 seconds and draws his push-pole, gaining full Righteousness. While under Ejection, Derro's weapon head glows green. Every third autoattack with this weapon against the same target expends a point of Righteousness to deal bonus magic damage scaling with AD and slightly with AP and push the target 100 units away. While equipped with the push-pole, this ability is replaced by Shove. Shove: Expend three Righteousness. Derro twirls about in a jumping motion, both hands on his weapon, displaying a cone in front of him with a width of 200 units to a range of 300 units for 0.5 seconds. After that time, Derro shoves his weapon forward with both arms, pushing enemies 300 units away from him and dealing damage to each of them as if they had been hit with the third strike of Ejection. =Derro stacks Ejection on only one opponent at a time. If he hits another, the first loses all stacks of Arrest. =If an enemy with Ejection stacks hasn't been hit for 3 seconds, all stacks fall off. =Derro always triggers the effect on the third hit if he has the Righteousness, including through Silence. =If the attack misses through a Blind or Dodge, the target also avoids the knockback. =If Derro applies Arrest or Summons, existing Ejection stacks fall off. =Derro stops moving while flourishing.

Ultimate: Swinging Gavel (alternative names: "Police Chase," "Hot Pursuit," "Axe's Arc," "Over the Gallows") Derro thrusts his weapon downward, pushing himself off it and launching into the air toward a target location within 1100 range. Over a period of 1 second, Derro travels to the target location, untargetable during this time. On reaching his destination, Derro slams the ground, dealing mild physical damage scaling slightly with AD and less so with AP in a radius of 100 range around himself and briefly and slightly Slowing enemies hit. On landing, Derro refreshes full Righteousness. Cooldown of 15/14/13/12/11 seconds. =Derro always takes 1 second to land and has a fixed, flipping, and acrobatic animation as he arcs through the air, landing with his weapon out-held, his hand to the ground, and his legs crouched. =In some cases, Derro can cross two walls with a single cast of Swinging Gavel. =Derro is untargetable while airborne but can still die. =Derro cannot land in terrain. The ability casts to the nearest legal location if he would land in terrain. =The target indicator for where he will land is visible as soon as he casts the ability, starting off faint and then becoming more bright as he approaches for the landing. =Swinging Gavel is the only way for Derro to refresh Righteousness in combat without changing stances.

Quotes Selection "I will give you all pardons for the moment. Now let us carry out the Law." Banned "Humph. You just destined yourself for the guillotine." Movement =runs with broad strides, his free hand moving back and forth before him as he tilts forward, his weapon held straight and steady against his back "Trinity. Order. Eternity." "I never return empty-handed." "I am the Law." "Only the guilty run." "Perseverance. Vigilance. Absolution." "Mine is the word of Law." "Arrest. Summons. Ejection." Attacking with Arrest "Stay!" "You are under Arrest." "Think about what you've done." Pin "DOWN!" "ON THE GROUND!" Attacking with Summons "Here!" "Do not try to run." Yank "COME!" "YOU ARE MINE!" Attacking with Ejection "Back!" "You are not welcome." Shove "AWAY!" "BEGONE, VILLAINS!" Swinging Gavel "Hooooo-raaaaah!" "I go where I please! Legally, too." "It is I, DERRO!" "Pounce! Fly! Crush!" "A bird? A plane? THE LAW!" "Behold the swing of the Judge's Mallet!" "GUILTY." Killing Champion "Corporal punishment. As you deserved." "Your sentence is carried out." "Only the guilty die by the hands of the Law." "Sin. Penance. Death." "Guilt. GUILT. GUILT!" =killing Shaco "But one of many of your punishments to be." "The joke was on you." "Oh, it was the real one this time." Death =Derro's weapons vanish in swirls of gold light and he falls to his hands and knees, head hanging. The swirls of light combine over his back and come down in a slash onto his neck. Derro crumples to the ground as the light fades. "But I was ... innocent ..." "Twas not I ... Twas not I ..." "You know not what you have done ..." "I'm ... guilty ...?" "Pain ... Shame ... Regret ..." Joke =Derro sits cross-legged and sticks each weapon head-up in the ground in front of him slowly. He then wraps his hand around the long nose of his mask for a moment before standing up and returning his weapons. "One pole. Two pole. Three pole! ... Four pole?" "And this one'll make arrests, and this one'll make arrests, and this one ... I'll make arrests!" "These poles represent the Trinity of Trials, the holy Law that I ... ACHOO! Baaaaah, never mind."

Taunt =Derro spins his weapon rapidly over his head and does a sort of spinning jump in place before throwing it up. It falls down weapon-up on his back, resting there between the other two weapons while Derro drives on fist into his hand in a downward motion, like a gavel coming down. He then draws his weapon again. "I can see your sins crawling on your back." "You are damned. Do not deny it." "Your sins. Your wrongs. Your guilt. I can smell them." "Come quietly or I'll introduce you to good old-fashioned police brutality." "I'm supposed to take you alive, but the definition of alive is wonderfully malleable." =to Noxian champions "Your whole nation is guilty. You are no different." =to Demacian champions "Pride is its own sin, and one your nation reeks of." =to Shuriman champions "The Sun Disk was a false idol. Else, it would never have broken." =to Ascended champions "Remnants of a false god. You are a stain on this place." =to Void champions "Your very existence is a crime of the highest degree!" "Every god on this plane want you in for trial." "Don't pretend not to know better. You know exactly what you do." =to Tahm Kench, Evelynn "Demons, by their very definition, are guilty." "You have a lot to answer for." =to Shadow Isles champions "The laws of life and death have been broken!" "Don't think you're off the hook. There are worse things than the death penalty." "Monster. Abomination. ABERRATION." =to Shaco "The insanity plea will not work on me." "It's. NOT. FUNNY!" "This isn't a game; why are you laughing?"

Dance =Derro straightens up and starts doing a standard waltz in a lively circle, holding his weapon sideways. " humming the main part of the Blue Danube Waltz " [the hum loops on itself continually until interrupted]

Laugh =Derro straightens slowly, lowering his weapon. He give a few sarcastic jerks of his head, giving a fake, unamused, and flat laugh in his deep, deep voice. "Ha. Haha. Ha." "Hahaha. Haha. Ha." "Hahaha. Hehehe. Hohoho."

Strengths and Weaknesses Derro is a nightmare to have to duel, as he can dictate the pace of the fight, either expelling you from the exchange and easily escaping or else keeping you in range with maddening ease. He's less of a huge problem in teamfights unless you're the one person he's decided to bully and keep from helping in any way. Or unless he manages to hit multiple people with his abilities. The damage is moderate, but his contribution is more important for their utility, putting the guilty where he chooses so that his team can deliver the invariable verdict.

For all that, Derro is also a little of a nightmare to try and learn to play properly. Playing around his Righteousness requires careful attention and micromanagement to avoid blowing his resource on minions or accidentally putting the target in the wrong place. Since attack speed pays off in dividends for Derro, you will likely be trying to make all these quick decisions even more quickly between autos. As quick as it all happens, though, it can still feel too slow when Derro has to flourish a moment between stances, meaning that, despite their lack of cooldown, you still need to be smart and reserved about how you use them.

Derro has hybrid scaling. His Arrest and Swinging Gavel both benefit from either stat, but Summons benefits more heavily from AP and Ejection benefits more from AD. This can be difficult to play around and maximize without a clever head. His ult can be used as a phenomenal gap closer or escape but more importantly resets Righteousness without having to change stance. The fact that it always has a 1-second travel time, though, can be tricky to play around, since it cannot be reversed. 1 second is a lot of tie in a teamfight, and you may find yourself wishing you had jumped somewhere else.

Skin Ideas =Janitor Derro Derro is dressed in a white cleaning suit, reminiscent of the sorts of things worn by cleaning ladies, with big boots and rubber gloves. His frowning mask is less intense, having a frown more of worried disgust than concerned pain. His weapons are replaced with a mop for Arrest, a stick vacuum for Summons, and a push broom for Ejection. New particles and sounds for attacks would only be welcome. Landing from Swinging Gavel makes a splash of dirty water. =Iron Inquisitor Derro Derro's suit has metal plates throughout, and is a dark blue or purple in color. His mask is black and has a more despairing expression on it, with wider eyes. His weapons are replaced with a narrow spear for Arrest, a wickedly-hooked and -barbed pole for Summons, and a hot brand for Ejection. All weapons are dreary in color with obsidian heads. Ejection's head is white and glows an eerie green when drawn. Landing from Swinging Gavel makes a low, thrumming, dreadful noise. =Trump Card Derro Derro wears a black and white suit decorated with spade motifs. His mask is more of a face at this point, and is more textured, bent in a hollow-eyed snarl of disapproval. Instead of a hat, his hair flares upward in a sort of raised queue. His weapons are replaced with a red diamond-headed spear for Arrest, a black club-headed flat stick for Summons, and a red heart-tipped rod for Ejection. Jumping through the air with Swinging Gavel leaves a trail of fluttering playing cards.

Issues =I didn't provide base damage or scalings, as I'm no head for numbers and the numbers would be very delicate indeed considering how this guy's abilities flow. =Relies on a relationship to Shaco's perceived chaotic aspects, so if Shaco's story takes certain turns, Derro no longer makes sense as a character =May feel too much like Jax in concept, if not kit. As such, he might be better suited as material to be cannibalized for a Jax VGU, depending on the direction such a VGU would take. = We don't really have too many "grumpy kitty" sorts of personas in LoL, although there might be a good reason for that. Perhaps Derro's character would be unattractive to many people? =Three-hit passives seem to leave a sour taste in many mouths, and Derro is pretty much JUST three-hit passives. =His abilities make minion farming awkward and might be considered an unnecessary point of difficulty. =The success of such a kit, on paper, is hard to discern. It unfortunately would need testing to smooth out even in theory, so a development cycle for Derro would be pathwork and multicolor indeed.

Also, as an aside, Derro could quite easily be a female character. Nothing about him really hinges on his being male. In fact, his appearance hardly needs any change, as loose as his clothes are, just put a feminine twang on the deep voice and Derro is waifu material.