<Champion Concept> Helena, The Priestess of War (Kit, Dialogue, Lore, and Art!)
Concept was originally teased here:
https://40.media.tumblr.com/793928189da917ad1d39903fa86ef583/tumblr_nkrth3PY3N1smb6iho1_1280.jpg
((Had to do link because attachment was working for whatever reason. Art is by me.))
Helena, The Priestess of War:
Lore:
*Someone approached the temple's entrance behind me while I held down a lamb upon the altar. The footsteps grew louder as he approached, but I continued my chant by the fireside. I spoke in an ancient tongue, which none my fellow Rakkor had knowledge of. As it was written in ancient texts, I recounted the feats of the gods, and praised them for their strength. I asked for their vigor to run through our veins while we engage in war, and that victory be with us. I spoke my offering of virgin meat. The ewe became lost within the chant, and ceased to struggle. The final words of the ritual emerged from my mouth, and echoed throughout the chamber. As the last word parted from my lips, I slit the throat of the ewe, and allowed the blaze to feast upon the crimson ichor. The golden flames roared in approval. Behind me, the footsteps stopped, and the butt end of a spear hit the stone floor. *
*"Artisan, I've been expecting you. " I greeted without turning around. There was no need. Who else would it have been? The gods had not informed me of any other visitors. And besides, I was the only one with the answers he wanted. "You seek more spoilers, no?" *
He slammed his fist against his bronze breastplate and knelled. "High Priestess." It was an unnecessary formality, but one he never forgot. He had ventured to the Temple of War many times, as all warriors had, but unlike the others of our tribe, Pantheon sought more than just victory. "I come for answers, if you would be so willing to give them.
"Rise, Pantheon," I instructed, "As always, I will indulge you, Artisan. But with your indulgence, I warn you of the dangers of foresight. If you remain eager, come forward." The last of the blood drained from the virgin lamb, and so I sheathed my dagger, and turned to face my guest. I gestured for him to take a seat by the fireside. He did so, and I sat down in front of him.
"What is it that you wish to know?"
His path was forged in flames, I told him. I withheld what I had to, but gave him enough information to give him his best chance. As for the subject matter, that is not mine to share. When he was satisfied, he bowed again, and vacated the temple. At my altar, illuminated in the golden flames, I could be seen as what I was: Alone.
My hand rose to meet my necklace, a simple trinket of woven leather with a small bronze pendant and fiery gem fashioned to it. It was all that remained of him.
I made the mistake of slipping away into the past, and the marble columns and gold relics were replaced by shades and echoes. It was like stepping into a black oil painting. Before me stood the memory of a young girl, and a boy on the verge of manhood. They were too caught up in each other to care about what was going around them.
Everything faded again, and the ink clouds fashioned themselves into a new scenery. The two now laid down on the mountain side, watching the sun lay itself to rest along the horizon. The young man had grown a great deal, though the girl seemed to have been in Time's favor. She was practically unaltered.
The two murmured sweet whispers to each other, the girl resting in the young man's arms. Then what seemed to be out of no where, the young man jumped to his feet, causing some distress in his companion. She rose and asked what was wrong. The young man answered with a shake of his head, and pulled something from a satchel. He held in his hand a simple trinket of woven leather with a small bronze pendant and fiery gem fashioned to it, and although it didn't look like much, it obviously meant the world to the girl. After securing it around her neck, she twirled around and jumped into the young man's arms.
Again, the memory shifted, and darker shades occupied the scene. Clouds thundered and rain battered the cold ground while the young man stood in the arena with sword in hand. His opponent wielded a simple spear, but held it fiercely, his eyes full of determination. As soon as the signal was given, the two clashed with all their might, each fighting for their lives, and more importantly, their futures. As the battle progressed, it was evident that the young man wasn't a match for the other combatant. It came down to the final blow, and the young man let out a cry of agony as his opponent's spear pieced his heart.
The girl let out a muffled scream, and I did what I could to hold myself together. I took a torch in hand and tore apart the echoes with golden light. As it dissipated, I fell to the ground and let my tears hit the cold marble floors.
I was alone.
Base Stats:
Health: 525.16 (+85 per level) Mana: 354 (+50 per level) Attack Damage: 53.544 (+3.4 per level) Attack Speed: 0.625 (+2.7% per level) Movement Speed: 335 Health Regen: 5.52 (+0.55 per level) Mana Regen: 6 (+0.8 per level) Armor: 22.275 (+3.6 per level) Magic Resist: 30 (+0 per level)
These Stats are a rough representation based on existing champions who are similar to both her theme, play style, and intended role (Examples: Kayle, Karma, Morgana, Lux, etc)
Helena is a ranged support/mage who thrives on map awareness, and a strong team. Her altars provide a sense of global unity, stacking up sacrifices and granting blessings (buffs) wherever one may be present. She also excels in dividing and conquering the enemy, playing against their wits. Additionally, Helena has an...interesting relationship with vision. We'll cover this more in the kit discussion.
Abilities:
Passive: Fate Weaver
Enemy champions who are at 40% or lower of their max health are susceptible to Helena’s influence. If the enemy champion is within Helena’s vision range or able to be seen by Helena, their vision becomes warped, making them see pieces of terrain that aren't really there. These false pieces of terrain can’t stop them, but they can slow targets by 30% while passing through them.
Q: Promethean Blaze Helena empowers her next auto attack, which will fire a bolt of energy from her torch at a target enemy unit, location, or one of her altars. dealing X (+0.70 AP) magic damage to an enemy, or AoE magic damage if casted on a target location. This bolt will reveal a target location for 1.5 seconds, or Helena will have truesight on an affected enemy unit for 2.5 seconds. If Helena lights one of her altars, it will grant vision for 30 seconds.
Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 mana Range: Auto Attack Range Cooldown: 4/3.5/3/2.5/2 seconds
W: Altar of War Helena raises an altar at a target location, granting stat bonuses based on how many sacrifices have been made. (Sacrifices can be made by killing enemy minions, champions, or neutral monsters near the altar.) Helena may have no more than 6 altars up on the map at any time. Enemies that destroy an altar receive a debuff which causes them to take 5% more damage from any damage source.
*Sacrifices are any enemy unit or neutral monster killed by Helena's altar.
Cost: 80/105/130/155/180 mana Placement Range: 625 (Radius) Sacrifice Range: 475 (Radius) Aura Range: 550 (Radius) Cooldown: 24/21/18/15/12 seconds Altar Health: 3/4/5
Additional information: Altars give allied units "Warrior's Blessing" while in the altar's aura range. Warrior's Blessing causes allied units auto attacks to deal bonus damage, and increases their damage resistance (both Armor and Magic Resist) by a certain percentage of their current resistance, both based on the amount of sacrifices made. Additionally, there are special bonuses for given milestones of sacrifices. Altars react similar to pieces of terrain, and can block paths if placed a certain way, but can be destroyed as well. By taking an early point in Altar of War, you can assure your team of a slight advantage throughout the game, but can also use them for quick plays when needed.
100: Allied units receive 10% bonus movement speed when moving towards enemy units.
200: Auto attacks apply a 2% slow to enemies (Stacks up to 5 times).
300: Killing enemy units within 450 range of the altar gives a bonus 5 gold per unit killed.
400: Allied Units take 5% reduced damage while in the altar's aura.
500: Lighting an altar with Promethean blaze will charm enemy minions and neutral monsters to it.
600: Allies who stay near the altar for a certain amount of time gain 50% increased health regen.
700: The altar has been deemed sacred, and will have a ghost of a fallen warrior to protect it, and will deal 60/75/90/105/120 (+0.6 AP) magic damage per attack. Once the altar is destroyed, the ghost dissipates.
E: Obscure Helena snuffs out her torch and swings it, creating a arch of smoke. Enemies that enter the smoke are blinded, and have their vision reduced to 150 units for the duration of the smoke, 3.5 seconds, or if they leave the smoke, their vision will be obscured and they will be unable to identify the difference between allied and enemy units for 1.5 seconds. Helena may ignite the smoke with Promethean Blaze to consume it and stun affected enemies for 2.5 seconds.
Cost: 65/80/95/110/125 mana Range: 575 Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10 seconds
Additional information: Helena can use Obscure when enemies are getting too close/comfortable, and take away some reliability from what they can see. While they can hit their allies, enemy units are unable to hurt them, just swing and miss really. This can be used in a battle for easy pickings, and the stun makes a nice counter engage. Skill shots fired into the smoke are lost. Casting Obsure at an altar altar will protect it from incoming attacks for 3 seconds.
**R: Eye of War ** Helena’s sight becomes inverted for up to 6 seconds, granting her vision of the entire map, except for what is directly around her. She may then select an enemy champion to determine their fate. The affected enemy champion will be marked for an additional 6 seconds, and be visible to Helena's allies, unable to pass through terrain created by Helena's passive, take 15% more incoming damage, and Helena's allied champions will move 20% faster when heading towards the marked enemy.
Cost: 120/160/200 Range: Global except for around self Cooldown: 150/120/90 seconds
Additional information: Eye of War does not reveal enemies in brush, or enemies that are stealthed. Only Helena is able to see what is revealed through Eye of War. Helena still gets vision off of allied units and structures.
Dialogue:
Upon Selection: “I shall take Fate into my own hands.” Starting a Game: “The outcome of this battle is uncertain.” “The pieces have fallen into place, but much is yet to be determined.”
Movement: “Our path is certain.” “War awaits us beyond the darkness.” “War is simply a truth of mankind.” “My torch shall light the way.” “The gods bless our path.” “This path whispers of future conflict.” “War looms up ahead.”
Attacking: “Rakkor ire!” “Sight is the greatest weapon of all.” “The flames of war do not know mercy.” “I foresee your end.” “Face me in battle!” “War is sacred.” “Meet your fate!” "You’ve already lost this fight.” “Allow me to enlighten you in the art of war.” “The gods reward me with opponents!” “The gods must smile upon our battle.” “Combat is the most sacred of rituals.”
Jokes: Helena raises her torch to light the way, looking up, but trips while walking. “Ah yes, I see it all so clearly now! Ummph!” “Come, I shall show you your destiny. Its this way! Ummph! “I foresee all things! Nothing can elude my sight! Ummph!
Taunt: Helena twirls her torch before placing the lit end against the ground, and extinguishing the flame. “Such a pathetic little flame like yourself begs to be extinguished.” “When the smoke clears, you will be nothing but ash.” “Heroes are forged in fire. However, you shall be nothing when the smoke clears.” “Fire has long since illuminated the world, yet you remain dim.”
Be sure to upvote if you enjoy the concept, and leave your thoughts below. All feedback is good feedback. I'll be sure to keep adding to this as needed, fleshing Helena out as much as possible. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be sure to post some insights into the design process as well, and you guys can see all the thinking and referencing I did when making The Priestess of War :D
PATCH NOTES:
3/13/15
Q: AP scaling and cooldown lowered (Scaling to 0.70 from 0.75, cooldown from 7/6.5/6/5.5/5 to 4/3.5/3/2.5/2 seconds. Additionally, Helena's Q now has an interaction with her altars.
W: Drastic changes and clarifications have been made. Check it out!
E: Changed to "Obscure". Ability now has drastically different behavior.
R: Now has a set duration, and the ability to mark an enemy, along with follow up effects.
3/14/15
Now with 3.14159265359...4% more pi!
E: Obscure now has an interaction with Altars of War, and can protect the pi.
R: Targeted enemy now takes 15% more incoming damage. Allies notice the Pi and run 5% faster to get it. (20% movement speed bonus from 15%)
4/2/15
Needed revisions have been made. Embarrassment has been removed (Mostly). More revisions needed, may come some other time.
