Concept - Ducard, Torn Asunder

Alright, I'm back with another of my champion ideas from the good ol' notebook :) This one's gonna require some explaining, so let's get started.

Round 2, Wall-o-Text versus you :P

Ducard, Torn Asunder

Table of Contents:

1. Overview
2. Appearance + Skin
3. Abilities

• Together
• Alone
• Reformed

4. Strategy
5. Suggested Items
6. Lore

Overview Played generally in top lane or the jungle, Ducard is an AD Fighter, and a complicated one at that. With the invasion of Ionia by the Noxus, Ducard was severely conflicted on how to move forward with his life. Having lost all that he had known, only two paths seemed to lay out before him: one of healing and forgiveness, and one of vengeance against those who had wronged his people. So distraught was he, Ducard's soul literally tore in half; one mind within two bodies. These two forms of Harmony and Discord must work in unison if Ducard can find any hope in the future. He must refocus his desires for peace and war back into a singular purpose: Reformation.

Appearance Ducard's appearance differs between his states: his two forms when they are Together on the field, and when they have temporarily Reformed into one being. "Together", his forms make for a stark contrast, one of Harmony (with blues, golds, and whites) and one of Discord (with reds, golds, and blacks). This polarity is reflected in his attire, his weapon, even his very skin. Similarly, his particle effects share their color with the form in which they originated. "Reformed", Ducard resembles a mixture, an accurate depiction of the "true" Ducard should he ever one day manage to strike a balance between his selves. This form would be primarily black, white, and gold, with golden particle effects and a colorless blade.

I have included a photo reference: the player-character of the game "Outland", from which I based in part some of this idea (especially the duality-themed appearance). The photo shows the character in each of his Dark and Light forms, although in that game he could only be one at a time.

Debut Skin - Ducard, Twilight Warrior A play on a theme already present in the game: that of the Sun versus the Moon. In this skin, Ducard's forms would take on the characteristics of this conflicting relationship, with Harmony having the orange sunlight motifs of Leona, and Discord with the moonlight theme of Diana.

Abilities Passive - One Mind, Twin Bodies Ducard exists within two forms, representative of his conflicting desires for peace and vengeance. These forms behave in unison, essentially doubling his presence on the battlefield. However, Ducard is still one person: his life is split evenly between the forms. If one side should fall the other will carry on, but is severely limited in overall effectiveness. Ducard is not officially considered slain until both forms are defeated, but he cannot recover his fallen half until he is.

Hidden Passive - Dominant Form While a member of the Blue team, Ducard's blue + white Harmony form receives a (minor) bonus to damage, while his black + red Discord form is hit with an off-setting penalty. These modifiers are reversed as a member of the Red/Purple team.

Together Q. Cross - Beam Ducard's forms fire a beam attack from their swords, forming an X-pattern in front of him. An opponent can be damaged by both, and the beams pass through enemy targets.

W. Mirrored Charge Ducard's forms dash to a target major enemy (a "major" enemy being one that is not a minion or smaller monster). This enemy is hit with a double-slash attack and slowed. The forms flank the target they charge to, ending their movement on either side of the enemy.

E. Back - to - Back Ducard's forms take up a defensive posture, deflecting (lessening) physical damage and taking reduced area of effect damage for a time. A portion of incoming physical damage is reflected back on the enemy. Ducard cannot move during the duration, but there is no limit to the damage that can be returned during this time. He can end the ability early by moving or performing another action.

Alone Q. Blade - Beam Ducard's remaining form fires a solo beam in a straight line. Weakened, he cannot inflict full damage compared to normal, though it still passes through targets.

W. Desperate Charge Ducard's remaining form dashes forward, damaging the first major enemy he encounters. This attack does not slow as it normally would.

E. Fractured Wall The remaining form defends himself as able. The AoE damage reduction is removed, and the return damage is lessened. Duration remains the same, and physical damage is still deflected.

Reformed Q. Unity - Beam The reunited Ducard fires a single, powerful beam forward, damaging and slowing all targets it passes through.

W. United Charge Ducard dashes forward, knocking up the first major enemy he encounters and damaging them.

E. United Defense Ducard defends himself, preventing most incoming damage for the duration. Physical damage is still deflected, and more damage is returned to the attacker.

R. Together As One (Toggled Transformation Ability, Ducard starts the game with it) Ducard's forms join together back into a single body, enhancing his abilities and combining his health bars. The effort to remain Reformed strains him, severely draining his mana for as long as he remains in that state. Ducard can end the state by toggling R again, splitting his remaining health evenly between the forms as they reappear. He cannot cast Together As One while out of sufficient mana or when a form is Alone, and if Ducard is defeated while Reformed he is slain.

Strategy Ducard must balance many different facets of his character at once if he hopes to be effective: cooldowns, differing health pools, separate positions, mana costs, and form state. Building AD and/or on-hit effects can greatly enhance Ducard's strength in combat (as he is considered to be attacking twice), but this must be weighed against building more defensively if the player seeks to keep the forms alive longer (as they are only half a champion on their own, more-or-less, in regards to health). Ducard should also consider acquiring more mana, to offset his considerable usage while Reformed; both in its mana-draining, and through using skills.

However, appropriately and effectively managing Ducard's difficulties grants access to powerful advantages. Whilst his forms work Together, he is two sources of damage, doubly benefiting from offensive auras and bonuses. Two forms increases his tower-taking potential, and provide an inherent dueling capability (as even when he is fighting a 1v1, it's more accurately a 2v1). Conversely, failing to be careful can result in a quick death to his fragile forms. Losing a form needlessly can severely cripple Ducard's durability and combat effectiveness; a loss that cannot be easily remedied, for his fallen half only returns upon death. As such, it is imperative that Ducard do what he can to balance additional damage with increased survivability.

Something the player has to consider is the appropriate time in which to toggle Together As One and become Reformed. Ducard's abilities are more powerful in this form, with additional effects to enhance his fighting potential. Reforming can also double as a method to save one of his forms from disaster, as the health pools of the two combine together, and then are split evenly after returning to the Together state. But again, this must be done in balance: cooldowns are shared between all states, and there exists a delay with shifting states repeatedly (similar to Elise, Nidalee, and Jayce in this manner). At the same time, non-judicious use of Ducard's Reformed state will devastate his mana reserves, leading to many a bad situation when he can no longer rely on his abilities in combat, or use Together As One as a potential tool for defense.

A note on movement: While in his Together state Ducard's forms walk side-by-side a fixed distance apart, although this may change as they attack their opponent, are affected by displacement abilities, enter an enclosed environment, or the like. They are not able to perform separate actions with the freedom that controlling two theoretical champions at the same time would provide: for example, when Ducard activates his Q, Cross-Beam, both forms stop to perform the ability just as a regular character would. They do not attack different targets, and no option exists to have them interact in non-uniform ways, by way of the Alt key or otherwise. This is intentional from a design stand-point, but also connects to the character's situation of only having one mind to direct the twin forms.

Suggested Items Stat Priorities Health > More Health > AD > Mana/Recovery > MR > Armor > Lifesteal/Regen

• Ravenous Hydra On-Hit effects are doubly effective when Ducard is in his Together state, making Ravenous Hydra the pièce de résistance of his item build. AD and lifesteal are both incredibly useful for Ducard, increasing his damage potential while offering him a means of maintaining his precious life bars.

• Manamune Ducard's abilities cost mana, and his Reformed state drains mana while still using abilities with mana costs. Therefore, Ducard's motto is simple: "the more mana, the better." If given the time to transform the item into Muramana, Ducard can benefit from the active at twice the rate, although this will cause his mana reserves to plummet drastically.

• Spirit Visage Combined with Ravenous Hydra, this can upgrade Ducard's life-gain substantially, something he sorely needs. Additional defense against magic damage is also greatly appreciated, as Ducard's E family of skills do not protect him from AP as effectively as they do against AD.

• Maw of Malmortius I'm going to be totally honest, I don't know how the Lifeline shield should interact with Ducard. If he were in his Together state, would each form have access to the shield, or is it given to the first form to fall low enough? If the shield pops while he is Together, is it on cooldown for when Ducard Reforms? Does it calculate separate AD bonuses for each form based on their health? I assume the answers would have to be "the latter," "yes," and "no" to those questions, for balancing reasons. At any rate, Maw of Malmortius is a fine item on him, granting additional AD as his forms fall in health, more magic resist to aid him as referred to above, and the aforementioned shield. Given that Ducard needs to keep both forms alive to maximize his effectiveness, any shield is a good shield.

• The Black Cleaver As already stated, Ducard benefits exceptionally well from items with on-hit effects. With The Black Cleaver, Ducard can readily shred the armor of an opponent, while also benefiting from the Phage passive for additional movement and the item's stats for increasing his health pool and damage. And while Ducard doesn't necessarily need CDR, it's never unwelcome.

• Sunfire Cape, Cinderhulk While he has twice the gains from on-hit effects, Ducard also receives a significant boon in the presence of an aura. Both items provide him with a vital bonus to his health, while doubling down on the Immolate passive. Sunfire Cape in lane gives him additional armor for protection, while Cinderhulk in the jungle yields him even more of that bonus health he craves.

Example final build (not in order): Ravenous Hydra, Spirit Visage, Muramana, Mercury's Treads, Randuin's Omen, Cinderhulk

Lore Entry "There...there must be a way to fix this. Now is the time for action.

So many lives, lost and suffering. Their deaths will not be in vain!

I should - I must do something! The Noxus will pay for what they've done!

Surely there are people left who need my help. My people will never be safe until the Noxus are dead.

They will need a protector, someone to guide them. They will fall before my blade, in justice for their crimes.

We will rebuild, and undo the damage of war. This war is not over yet. I will see to it!

Our people will learn from this tragedy, and become stronger for it. Their people will suffer for this tragedy, and have it returned to them in kind.

By my hand, Ionia shall be protected! By my hand, Ionia shall be protected!"

Friends/Allies: Karma, Irelia, Varus Enemies/Rivals: Singed, Swain, LeBlanc

Incredibly conflicted, unbalanced even, Ducard suffers greatly under the torment of his competing desires. Karma seeks to guide him back to the path of balance, something Ducard desperately craves. Meanwhile, he is torn between defending and rebuilding Ionia (as seen in the path of Irelia), and striking back at Noxus in vengeance for their actions (as seen in the path of Varus). Ducard knows that while his love for Ionia may have split him in two, it is that same love for his country that will reunite him once more.

Example Quotes A note on Ducard's lines: currently experiencing such a mental crisis as he is (one could even say a breakdown), his lines do not always follow conventional structure in relation to proper nouns and how he identifies himself. "We", "I", "me", "us"; they're practically interchangeable to him, as Ducard tries to figure out what to do with himself(selves?).

Moving, Together "We move as one." "My will carries us forward."

Attacking, Alone "I will not yield!"

Activating Together As One "We stand as one!" "For Ionia!"

Spirit Visage "My spirit, the one thing that hasn't fallen apart."

Taunt, at Singed "YOU!!"

Taunt, at Swain "Ionia shall stand! Noxus will fall!"

Jokes "They say two heads are better than one, but what if they're thinking from the same brain?" "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself..." "You know from this angle, I look pretty handsome."