New Champion Concept: Horacio, the Cursed Marionette

LORE

There are tales of a village from long ago. It was a small village, built in a forest clearing. This village was home to a skilled craftsman, called Horacio. Horacio was a modest man; he chopped his own firewood, tended his own garden, and hunted his own meals. Everyone in the village knew him for his wonderful woodworks. Horacio built furniture, and shelves for his neighbors. But, above all else, Horacio loved making toys. Horacio's toys brought joy to the quiet village in the woods, which made the craftsman happy.

One night inspiration struck, and Horacio went to work on a large log from his wood stack. He worked through the late hours of night, and early hours of day. When he finished, he proudly displayed his creation upon a stool. It was a puppet. A marionette, in fact- with an odd face and wide smile. Horacio smiled back.

Horacio showed the puppet to the towns people, and was met with great audience. Everyone loved watching the puppet dance and play, so Horacio began playing a show everyday for the people to enjoy. At the end of his show, on a warm summer day, Horacio was approached by a hooded lady in her final years.

Lady: What a fine display, young man. You've got quite the talent. Horacio: Thank you. I have a small show everyday. I've never seen you before. What brings you to this small village? Lady: Oh, I've lived in these woods for years. May I take a look at your marvelous puppet? Horacio reluctantly handed the marionette over to the woman. Horacio: What brings you to this village, if you don't mind my asking? Lady: Such a wonderful design. He really is quite curious. The lady brings the marionette inches from her nose for closer inspection. Lady: Beautiful, remarkable. My husband used to create such wonders. Oh, how my old heart does miss him. She looks up at Horacio with admiring nostalgia floating in her eyes. Lady: This puppet looks just like him... You've brought joy to an old woman's dying bones. How would you like to be a better puppet-master? The lady's eyes were hidden under her hood, presumably staring at the marionette. Horacio places his hand upon the woman's shoulder. Horacio: Of course. I'd be happy to learn from you. The woman quickly snatched Horacio by the wrist with a painfully tight grip. Horacio gasped slightly, and took a step back. The woman's eyes stared into his, her eyes shone fierce and ghostly. Horacio stood stunned. He was helpless as the woman steered him by the arm and walked them into his home. The door closed behind them. The shutters were closed, and the cot was quite dim. Lady: Oh, I really miss my dear husband. Her eyes began to glow bright. There was a shrill cackle, and a bright light. Then a deep, terrible scream echoed through the woods. The village people gathered to Horacio's home, and barged in. What they found inside was gruesome. Blood covered the cot as if it had been thrown about casually. There was a lump huddled in the corner, the clothes had been ripped through and blood pooled around the hooded corpse. Sitting next to the corpse, was Horacio's wooden puppet. Its face stared into the faces of the people. Blood dripped from its grin. Horacio was nowhere to be found, and the people assumed the body was his. What that witch did to Horacio remained unknown to everyone, but one thing was certain- the puppet was cursed.

Horacio was first picked up by his neighbor, Figoro. Figoro envied Horacio as a man, and kept the puppet shelved up as a trophy. Screams could be heard coming from Figoro's one night, and the neighbors shortly came running through his door. Figoro laid torn to ribbons on his bed, and the little wooden puppet sat at his feet- its eyes staring at the intruders.

Everywhere Horacio went ended in misery, and the people simply abandoned the village out of fear. But, through the years many had come to explore the abandoned village for its haunted tales. It wasn't long before Horacio was picked up from a collapsed house, and carted away from the woods.

Horacio, the cursed marionette brings terror wherever he's found. People pick him up in intrigue, and quickly aim to dispose of him. Nobody is quite sure how he wound up in the League of Legends, but his presence frightens many who approach.

ABILITIES

Passive- Living Artifact Cooldown: 30 seconds

• If Horacio stops moving for 1.5 seconds, he sits down. For up to 20 seconds, Horacio acts as a small shrine creating a 500 unit radius. Casting an ability, attacking, or moving cancels this effect, placing the effect on cooldown.
• Allies in the AOE of Living Artifact gain +30% movement speed that decays for 2.5 seconds after leaving AOE.
• Enemies that take damage from any source while in in AOE of Living Artifact take bonus magic damage equal to 2.5% of Horacio's Ability Power for each source of damage.

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Q- Puppet Strings Cooldown: 15 seconds Mana Cost: 35/45/55/65/75

• Horacio tosses his strings at target enemy, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 damage, and snaring them for up to 2.0/2.25/2.5/2.75/3.0 seconds.
• Horacio can reactivate Puppet Strings to pull his strings back, dealing 5% of Horacio's Ability Power in magic damage, and causes the enemy to take 5/10/15/20/25 damage per second for 4 seconds, and reduces their movement speed by 50% for the remaining duration.
• Reactivating Puppet Strings removes the snare effect and adds the slow effect.

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W- Horrify Cooldown: 20 seconds Mana Cost: 55/60/65/70/75

• (passive): Horacio can cast Horrify while under the effects of Living Artifact without cancelling Living Artifact.
• (active): Horacio scans the area with a creepy turn of his head. Enemies caught in the line of sight have Fear for 1.5/1.75/2.0/2.25/2.5 seconds, and enemies caught at the end of the gaze are stunned for 1.5/1.75/2.0/2.25/2.5.
• Activating Horrify brings up a red line, indicating Horacio's direct line of sight. Moving the cursor to the left or right of this line will bring up a cone-shot that runs flush with the red line, on either side. Horacio starts at the red line and scans the area of the cone.
• Horacio can reactivate Horrify to stop his gaze, and stun enemies sooner.
• A laser-like animation should illustrate where he is currently gazing.

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E- Puppet Cooldown: 15 seconds Mana Cost: 60

• (passive): While Horacio is under the effects of Living Artifact, allies may activate Horacio to pick him up.
• (active): Horacio jumps on target enemy biting them mercilessly, dealing 40/50/65/85/110 magic damage for as long as he remains.
• Horacio deals 5% of his Ability Power in magic damage every .5 seconds, and gains that much in restored health to enemy with possession for 1.0/1.5/2.0/2.5/3.0 seconds.
• Reactivating Puppet causes Horacio to jump off the target.
• Ally with possession of Horacio gains +50% movement speed. Ally must throw Horacio within a 750 unit radius, or wait to drop him until being able to cast abilities. If Horacio is thrown at enemies, the enemies become stunned for 1.5/1.75/2.0/2.25/2.5 seconds and take damage equal to 10% of ally's Attack Damage. Horacio gains +50% movement speed for 3 seconds after being thrown.
• Horacio can only be held by an ally for 5 seconds, or upon reactivating Puppet.
• Allowing allies to pick up Horacio during Living Artifact should balance team play. Sometimes I wish I could throw an ally Teemo that's abusing his passive.

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Ultimate- Marionette Cooldown: 60 seconds Mana Cost: 100

• Horacio throws his strings to target enemy, binding their limbs. For 3/4/5 seconds, the enemy mimics Horatio's movement and takes magic damage equal to 5% of Horatio's Ability Power for every 100 units traveled.
• If Living Artifact becomes active while Marionette is active, Horatio deals 20/30/40 magic damage to enemy every .25 seconds for the remaining duration of Marionette.
• Enemies bound by Marionette are suppressed for the duration.

CONCEPT IN GAMEPLAY

Horacio is meant to be terrifying. Imagine a puppet just sitting there. Then he turns his head- and it stops at you- you're stunned. Then, before you know what to do- the puppet snares you with his strings, so tight it cuts through your skin as he rips them away, more strings entangle themselves around you and you become the puppet. And as you try to escape he launches himself at you, biting your neck mercilessly. Horacio is great for a good engage, and drawing enemies close. Living Artifact can be used to quickly turn the tides in a fight. By allowing yourself to be chased into your minion wave, you can snare the enemy with Puppet Strings before going into Living Artifact to increase the DOT effect from Puppet Strings and increase the damage output from friendly minions. Horacio would make great use of while in Living Artifact for the same reason, and allowing Horacio more time with his passive. As a support, Horacio is designed to be able to support in a fight. Puppet allows Horacio to be picked up, so when it comes to team fights and supporting, Horacio can't use his passive longer than necessary (like some Teemos). Horacio can fit into a variety of roles, Mage, Jungle, or Support. As a mage, Horatio has sustain, and AP scaling abilities. He can utilize his passive to increase damage enemies take in AOE, which helps against enemies with high wave clear- as you can slip into your passive and practically increase your minions damage output. As a support, Horacio's passive buffs nearby allies, and practically increases their damage output (adding magic damage to enemies in AOE). The movement speed buff can allow an ADC to peel from a fight, and when the speed isn't enough Horacio can be thrown to stun enemies for greater peel. Horacio can then snare the enemy with Puppet Strings, activate his ultimate, use Puppet to regain some health, or use the movement speed buff to make an escape. As a jungler, Horacio can counter-jungle very easily. By waiting in a bush by a chosen camp, Horacio's passive will cause the enemy jungler to take more damage from the neutral monsters. This can be useful for taking blue or red early game, when the enemy is most vulnerable. Then Horacio can throw his Puppet Strings for a quick steal, or he can smite to steal and throw Puppet Strings for a First Blood. Puppet Strings and Marionette are great tools for ganking or roaming, and allow some time to set up a nice play.