[Champion Gameplay and Lore Update] Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper
Hey, guys!
I'm Kraony, and recently, I've been thinking about a possible champion update for Vladimir, after seeing the rework of 
Swain. It made me think about some concepts I've been thinking about for a few days, and today, I want to present them to you. So, without any further delay, I present to you, my concept for a new and better Vladimir.
#Vladimir, The Crimson Reaper
#Lore
The story of the monster known as the Crimson Reaper dates back to centuries ago, in the city of Noxus. Nowadays, the story is simply disregarded as a bedtime story. A fable used to scare children into obedience, teaching them about the dangers that lurk in the cold, dark streets and alleys of Noxus. There was a time, however, when this was not a fable, instead, it was a fact. The horrifying news that a beast was roaming free in Noxus, and had the nerve to walk amongst the citizens. We are, however, getting ahead of the story. The Night of the Crimson Reaper, began many dawns ago, in a time when children could still run, and play peacefully at dusk.
Vladimir was born in a simple family, in the outskirts of Noxus. Son of a butcher, he was the youngest of four sibblings. He was the only one, however, that was blessed with affinity for the magical arts, a guaranteed invitation from the High Commander to be part of the council, should he be known as a worthy member of the Noxian army. Vladimir was, however, cursed with a ever lasting thirst for knowledge that would normally disgust any kid.
Vladimir was obsessed with knowing the inner workings of the body. At the early age of six, Vladimir had already killed small animals, dissecting them, and feeling ther guts still warm on his hands. When he was ten, he was known for playing too roughly with the other kids, always pushing them, and hitting them, in a hope to see the blood that flowed inside of them. At sixteen, he had already killed his neighbor. A younger kid, known for always arriving home late. Vladimir was never accused of such a vile act, but deep down, his family knew.
As soon as he turned eighteen, he was sent to the Academy of Noxus, a place where kids from all the city wold go to learn. There, he excelled at any task given to him. Years passed, and Vladimir was able to complete any course he was assigned into, with outstanding results. He was on his way to become a member of the Council, even a personal advisor to the High Commander. He, instead, got the attention of some very powerful people, and as soon as he graduated, Vladimir was invited to be a part of the secret society, The Black Rose.
As a member of The Black Rose, Vladimir quickly gained the respect of its member, including the Pale Woman, Evaine. Vladimir had a bright future, as a prominent member of the Rose, and a distinguished citizen of Noxus, amassing gold and a reputation that many would kill for.
But he still needed more. He needed to calm his thirst.
During his years in the Academy, Vladmir commited a murder at least once a fortnite. Such acts could never be attributed to him, however. Vladimir was always careful when excercising his hobby. When he slit someone's throat, he did in a way that not eve a drop of blood would touch him. Afterwards, he would open their body, simply to study it. Every one of his moves was calculated, making sure no trace was left behind. Until that time where he made a mistake.
During his last year in the Academy, on the second to last month of studies, Vladimir attacked a homeless man, in a dark alley, behind the market of Noxus. The plan was simple, and extensively practiced. This time, however, the man fought back, wrestling the knife from Vladimir's hands. In the end, Vladimir was able to get control, stabbing the poor man in the heart. Blood splattered everywhere. Vladimir was covered in blood, with his heart pounding heavily on his chest. His face was covered in blood, and for the first time, Vladimir tasted blood. A waltz of flavors, previously unknown to him, flooded his mouth. To him, it tasted better than any wine, and nourished better than any meal he had ever had. This is when the Crimson Reaper, tasted his favorite meal for the first time.
Years after graduating, Vladimir still had his everlasting thirst for knowledge. He spent at least ten hours a day, walking though the dark halls of the private library of the Black Rose, looking for something he didn't know already. Book after book, he devoured. Grimoires, Atlas, Compediums. Anatomy, Ancient arts, rune books, necronomicons, anything. Vladimir was already a powerful warlock, and yet, he craved more knowledge and power. It was this thirst, that led him to an old book, in the last bookshelf, in a hallway that long ago saw its last visitor. The book was old, older than any other book. It didn't have anything on its cover, and yet when Vladimir saw it for the first time, it called to him. This is when the Crimson Reaper took the first step into beasthood.
The book had pages stained with blood, and in the middle of it, the book contained a few paragraphs that told a story. A story about a nameless Demon, that could grant knowledge and power, in exchange of a chalice, filled with freshly poured blood, to quench its everlasting thirst. Upon reading this, Vladimir knew what had to be done. There was no other way he could fill the void on his soul, that craved the knowledge that other people could give to him, for through all of his life, every murder, every sleepless night, he had always wondered the same thing: what is what keeps us alive?
In a dark room, lit by candles, he set a table with a chalice, and two chairs. Vladimir sat in a chair, and with a knife, he slit his right wrist. A sharp pain rushed through his body. Holding his wrist above the chalice, filling it with every heartbeat, he simply invited a friend for a drink. The room suddenly became as cold as a winter night, and every candle was blown off, except for the candle placed on the table.
"I'm honored to accept the invitation", said a disbodied voice. Suddenly, something appeared on the other chair. A man, dressed in fine clothes, with eyes of a deep shade of red, with hair that fell light strings of light from his head. The man was very good looking, but even with his looks, this thing, was no human. Vladimir was grasping to his wrist with strenght. He offered the chalice, now completely full to his guest. With a quick movement, the man took the chalice, and drank from it, never stoping for air.
"I've read the stories about you", said Vladimir, "And I'm willing to make a deal with you". "You know my terms, and you fulfilled them", said the man, putting the chalice down, "You may ask, and I will answer". "I'm not interested in a simple answer", said Vladimir, with his wrist still bleeding profusely. "You want power, don't you?". Vladimir could only nod, as the blood leaving his body had already made a puddle around him. "Very fine", said the man as he stood up. In the blink of an eye, the man moved his hand faster than Vladimir could react. The man had pierced Vladimir's chest, and was crushing his heart. "I will give you what you want, but you must give me what I want", said the man, and then he pulled out Vladimir's heart, still pounding. The man crushed the heart above the chalice. Vladimir could only see bright red fluid, dripping onto the chalice, before he collpased.
"Thanks for the drink, my friend"
Vladimir woke up, covered in blood. A scar covered the left side of his chest, where the heart should be. Vladimir fell different. He could feel power flowing through his veins. And with a movement of his hand, all the blood that covered the room began to float to him. He could see the blood still running through him, as it shined with a bright red color. He, however, felt thirst. But this time, it was a more primitive thirst. His mouth felt like burning. And he knew how to calm the thirst.
For the years to come, the murders in Noxus increased. One ever week, then one every four days, then every other day, and then, a corpse completely drained of blood was found every day. Panic flooded the streets. Guards were forced to keep an order to keep everybody on their homes every day at dusk. This is where the Crimson Reaper made a legend out of itself. The whole city, and it's neighboring towns were terrified. The terror was so deep, that not even the High Commander was safe from it. He ordered every guard, and every sorcerer on his court to hunt the beast, and to burn it in the central plaza. The terror continued for three years, until a day, the beast was cornered.
The Crimson Reaper finally fell into a trap. It attacked a poor woman, walking at night with her husband. However, these were not simple peasants. The woman revealed herself to be The Reaper's old master, Lady Evaine. She quickly summoned chains to restrain The Reaper, forcing it to the ground. Guards quickly rushed towards it, spears pointing at him. The beast was finally going to be slain. But the Beast was still not done. Using its powers, he drained a nearby guard from his blood, and moving that blood like a knife, he freed itself, killing six guards in the process. Guards were running towards it, and Lady Evaine quickly summoned another chain to trap it. But before they could touch it, the Beast disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a river of blood.
This is how the Crimson Reaper was finally vanished from Noxus. It took the city years to recover. Kids were not allowed to be alone, and people left the city by the hundreds. The High Commander, to this day, still has a bounty on the Reaper's head. The Black Rose is still moving influences to find the Beast, altough some rumors says that the High Commander, and the leader of the Black Rose, still know the current home of the Reaper. But this is just a story. A tale from centuries ago. From a time when a plague was given a human form in order to have someone to blame. And the Reaper?, nobody knows what happened to it. Some say it fled to Bilgewater, others claim to see a man matching the description far in the north, almost reaching Freljord. What do I think?, I think he never existed. But we can never be too sure, after all, this was almost 300 years ago. That man, if it even existed, must be very dead right now.
Oh, my, would you look at the time. It's very late. You must be very tired right now, aren't you? Erica, do you mind leading our guests to their rooms? They must be freezing. Thank heavens you found my manor. You could have died out there. Me?, I'll go up in a minute. I want to have a drink first. On nights like this, it's the only thing that helps me sleep...
#Abilities
Passive: The Crimson Pact:
Vladimir thirst for the blood of his enemies, and he is cappable of extracting the life essence of them. His resource bar is his Blood Chalice. Vladimir gains charges of Blood Essence when attacking his enemies with attacks and abilities. Vladimir can only hold a finite amount of Essences, and the amount of Blood Essences he can hold increases with every level (The Chalice can only hold 20+10 per level stacks of Blood Essence)
Blood Essences can be gained from various sources:
- He gains 2 stack when last hitting an enemy minion or small monster with a basic attack.
- He gains 3 stacks when killing a minion or monster with any ability.
- He gains 1 stack whenever he lands a basic attack on an enemy Champion.
- He gains 3 stacks when he hits an enemy Champion, Siege Minion, or Large Monster with any ability.
- He gains 5 stacks whenever he kills a Large Monster, or Siege Minion.
- He gains 10 stacks when he kills an enemy Champion though any means.
When Vladimir goes back to base, he can click on his portrait to activate The Crimson Pact. When the Pact is activated, his portrait is replaced with two buttons, one green, and one red. When Vladimir clicks on either button, he will spill the blood contained within himself, forming a cloud of blood. He then reaches out to the cloud with one of his hands, re-absorving the blood, granting him permanent bonuses based on what hand he used.
His left hand represents Vitality, and is activated when the player clicks on the green button. When the Pact goes to Vitality, Vladimir loses all the Blood Essences he currently has, and gains Health equal to (2.5 x Each stack of Blood Essence) . This side of the pact feeds the demon force inside of Vladimir, granting him eternal youth.
His right hand represents Power, and is activated when the player clicks on the red button. When the Pact goes to Power, Vladimir loses all the Blood Essences he currently has, and gains Ability Power equal to (0.75 x Each stack of Blood Essence) . This side of the pact feeds the demon force inside of Vladimir, granting him unnatural powers.
Despite the power that lives inside of Vladimir, he is still wears a mortal body, meaning that Vladimir will lose all the Blood Essences he has whenever he dies.
Another point worth mentioning, is that Vladimir's bassic attack works different than any other Champion. When Vladimir attacks an enemy with a basic attack, the damage is dealt as soon as you click on the enemy. He still needs to wait for the animation to end, before attacking again, but his attacks don't have travel speed. However, whenever Vladimir attacks an enemy Champion, a particle moves from the enemy, towards Vladimir, representing the Blood Essence he is stealing.
Q: Blood Knife:
Range: 650 units Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6 seconds Cost: 6% of Vladimir's current Health.
Vladimir condenses the Blood that is always floating around his right arm into a knife. After a 0.25s delay, he throws the knife in a straight line, dealing magic damage to all enemies it passes through, damaging them. Enemies beyond the first received reduced damage. However, if the knife kills an enemy unit at any point of the travel, the damage is then reset to full damage for the next enemy hit. This reset has no limits to the amounts it can proc.
When the Knife reaches the end of its range, it will drop to the ground, and waits there for up to 15 seconds. Vladimir can right click on a Blood Knife in order to call it back to him. When flying back to Vladimir, the knife deals damage again to all enemies hit, and applies the same damage reduction, and damage re-set as the first cast.
When the Knife reaches Vladimir again, it heals him for half the Health cost, plus a flat amount per each enemy hit by the knife, up to a cap.
There is no limit to the amount of Blood Knives there can be on the ground at any given moment
Vladimir will not be healed, or receive Blood Essences from any Knife, until it has been recalled back to him, and succesfuly reaches him.
Blood Knife Maximum Recall Range: 1200 Damage: 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 / 150 (+ 40% AP) Maximum Damage: 140 / 180 / 220 / 260 / 300 (+ 80% AP) Heal per enemy hit: 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 Maximum Healing: 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 180
W: Tides of Blood
Maximum Effect Radius: 650 units Angle: 60 degrees / 120 degrees Cooldown: 15/13.5/11/9.5/7 seconds Cost: 8% of Vladimir's current Health - 10% of Vladimir's Current Blood Essences.
While the button is pressed, Vladimir slows himself by 20%, while he begins to condense Blood that is always floating around his right arm into 5 Blood Daggers. While condensing the daggers, the range of the ability increases over the channel. The ability reaches full range once Vladimir has channeled for at least 1.5s. Vladimir can hold the Daggers up to 4 seconds, after which, the Daggers disipate, refunding the Health cost, and reducing the cooldown by 30%.
When the button is released, Vladimir throws the Daggers in a cone in the target direction, dealing magic damage to the first enemy each Dagger hits, and slowing that enemy by 50% for 1.5 second. Enemies can only take damage from one Dagger, but each Dagger will grant Vladimir the corresponding Blood Essences.
Vladimir can also overcharge the Daggers. After the button has been held for at least 2 seconds, the Daggers will be infused with Blood Essences, creating 5 extra Daggers, and increasing the effec radius of the ability, while consuming 10% of Vladimir's Current Blood Esences.
If any Blood Dagger kills the enemy it hits, it will fall to the ground, becoming a dormant Blood Knife, which can be called back just like the Blookd Knifes from Vladimir's Q Ability, and deal the same damage and heal Vladimir as they do.
Damage per Dagger : 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 / 190 (+ 4% maximum health) (+ 60% AP)
E: Sanguine Rush
Range: 525 Collision Radius: 80 Cost: 15% of Vladimir's Maximum Blood Essence Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12 seconds
Vladimir disolves his own body into a cloud of Blood, and then rushes in a target direction, dealing magic damage to all enemies he passes through. When he reaches the end, he materializes his body, gaining a short burst of movement speed that decays over 1 second.
While Vladimir is dashing, he is untargetable. If Vladimir was channeling Blood Daggers when Sanguine Rush is cast, the Daggers are inmediately infused, but will cost no extra Blood Essence to infuse them.
Vladimir can still recall Blood Daggers back to him while dashing, and doing so, will cause the Blood Knives to follow him while he dashes.
Damage: 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 / 185 (+ 2.5% maximum health) (+ 50% AP)
R: Hemoplague
Target Range: 650 Effect Radius 200 Detonation Effect Radius: 130 Cooldown: 140/120/100 seconds
After a 0.25s delay, Vladimir unleashes a Plague of Blood into all enemies in an area. All enemies affected take magic damage over the next 3 seconds. After the 3 seconds have passed, Vladimir causes the infected blood to erupt out of the host's body, dealing magic damage to the host, and all nearby enemies.
Enemies can take damage from multiple Hemoplagued enemies, but each additional Hemoplague deals only 30% of the original damage.
Damage over time: 150 / 200 /250 (+ 40% AP) Detonation Damage: 100 / 200 / 300 (+ 50% AP)
And with that, I give you my concept for a Vladimir Champion Update. I wanted to give the concept for a Visual Updat, unfortunately, I'm not very good at drawing, so I can only give you the concept for now. Fell free to post any comment or idea you may have. Please note that these number ARE NOT FINAL. Riot Should nerf the Update, should they ever want to go with this concept.
Thanks for reading!