The important thing about diplomat-Poppy is that, otherwise, some of her best lines make no sense (Let me demonstrate HAMMER diplomacy!, Their defeat is non-negotiable!)

I don't think of her as an 'underdog' really. That's an obvious first glance based on her appearance, of course, given she's a tanky, bruiser-y monstrosity while also being tiny, but nothing about her story or personality indicates 'underdog' in the least. I wouldn't complain too much if you decided to focus on that aspect of her character (except possibly to grumble about how most Yordles seem to have 'small' as a personality trait), but I don't feel it much from current Poppy.

I find current Poppy to be a dedicated, hard working, and loyal soldier who refuses to back down. I think one of her greatest strengths is the contrast with the rest of the yordles, since all of them are some flavor of crazy and wacky. I think overemphasizing her size or yordle-ness is a mistake; removing that contrast to make her more 'adorable' or 'yordle-like' will just end up making yordles one-note crazies, not an entire civilization, let alone a species of sapient beings.

Also, I shouldn't have to say this, but more armor. Shiny bling armor is acceptable, but I think it'd be better if most of her armor was well-used and pragmatic; maybe it should have some sort of 'family heirloom' feel to it, since basically every non-Noxian is obsessed with keeping their armor shiny.

Poppy as a diplomat to me reads more that she's a selfless civil servant despite the fact that it doesn't really suit her personality. She's more likely to smash your face in but she'll try to talk things out up to a point. She's no nonsense and will take to a show of force than try and sweet talk you.

If i were to infer how she became the way she is; my guess is that she's always been a bit serious for a yordle but her father's death was a turning point. With the opportunity to be an ambassador arose she took it not because she wants power in anyway but she saw it as her duty. Yordles are likely looked down upon literally and figuratively in much of Valoran, which makes them targets to be taken advantage of. Poppy is a yordle that can bring a serious respectable face to yordle kind and try to curry allies to a small but powerful race.

Just a quick thought i had about poppy and her diplomat identity. Diplomat in general means to me having a more "big picture" view of the world, Yordles for the most part are quite big on community and it seems like they seldom actually leave their community/Bandle city(except heimer's group) and at times seem xenophobic(rumble) . Poppy is different, shes out there talking with the "giants" and demanding that yordles be recognized on the political stage. Why not make poppy an even bigger political powerhouse and have her be more than a diplomat for demacia and have her be the diplomat bandle city turns to when negotiations become heated.Bar room negotiations in bilgewater?

Keep in mind I'm not the biggest Poppy player, and you should probably head the opinions of people who play her MUCH more than I do.

If the lore team has to remove Poppy-as-a-diplomat, I should hope they **avoid **making her a 'loves to brawl' character like Vi; that'd almost feel like a disservice to her character. I don't think she'd be the kind of character who fights because "I was bored" or "It brings me glory" or even "They made me angry". Poppy feels like the kind of character who, while she certainly wouldn't be afraid to fight, doesn't revel in it: More that she'd deal a quick, decisive blow to end a conflict before it gets too far out of hand.

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This is probably just me, but I don't really see her as much of an underdog character, although maybe it's just because I've always associated Rumble with being the underdog. For Rumble, even when he IS fighting, his mech is still made of junk and is always on the verge of falling apart, so even then you don't think much of him, no matter how much success he's had. Even his goal for joining the League of the Legends was basically "I want Yordles to start getting the respect they deserve!" If that doesn't scream underdog, I don't know what is.

Poppy, however, feels like the kind of character who'd only need to fight in one battle before the whole army knows who she is. I've heard someone think of her as "The only Yordle a Noxian might actually respect." While she didn't start out as much, just being a blacksmith's daughter, she's definitely made a name for herself, and a reputation to be respected.

But that could just be me. Referring to my disclaimer above, you should probably pay more attention to people who have invested more into Poppy than I have.

EDIT: tl;dr, Poppy seems like a character who, while she's not afraid to fight, would rather end the fight quickly and decisively so it doesn't get out of hand. Also, while I wouldn't be upset if you decided to go the more underdog route with Poppy, I feel like Rumble is better suited for that character space. Poppy, on the other hand, is more of a 'really made a name for herself' character.

I mean you basically nailed it all right there, that's why you're a Rito-er and I'm not :P

Reading through my bit again, putting in that diplomat part didn't really make sense, like yes it's her job, but it doesn't really have any bearing on like... Aesthetics or gameplay. Not really sure what angle I was going for now that I'm reading through this again but whatevs.

The big feeling that I think you're asking about for the most part is being the little dude making the big dude piss blood. Like she's small but she's bursty. Like when you use her Q on live, it's just really satisfying to hear that high pitched SMACK.

Like picking Poppy for right now is basically picking just about the smallest most (aesthetically) not scary champ in the game.

When you're up against someone beefy and hardcore like Sion top and they underestimate you based on how unpopular, small and not intimidating she looks and go in to try to bully her, it's infinitely satisfying when you cave their heads in with a few Q's.

She's small but she can handle herself big time.

Is that clarifying at all?

Also is Game of Thrones any good?.. I missed the reference because I only ever watch it when my buddy puts it on, which is infrequently.

That said, I'm open to ideas. I'm more interested what players feel viscerally when they play or want to play Poppy. What makes her compelling at her core? What makes her speak to the pint-sized terror in all of us? What makes us root for the underdog? What allows us to feel what drives her?

Firstly and this is a minor point, but i think she should keep her tails. In fact I kind of wish 2-3 more females had that hairstyle in game besides her and sona.

Visually? I really love her scale armor. I think that should stay put. I also like the gold-dark teal color theme. Her shield might need another color on it. Maybe a crest or something. Could be in teal, blue, purple, or red.

I'm not sure what should be done with the hammer. Should it be a simple blacksmith's hammer? Should it be a war hammer she or her father forged? Dunno. All I know is blacksmith's poppy hammer is a little too outthere for me. I really like the scarlet hammer and battle regalia hammer. I wouldn't call the current hammer bad, but there feels like room for improvement.

What players feel about Poppy is a difficult thing and here's why: she has different groups of players who follow her. I can basically put her into 3 crowds: supports, tanky bruisers, and assassins. I can't speak for the support players, but the tanks want to be in the thick of things, and assassins love being able to pick off someone while completely surrounded by the enemy team.

If there's one thing all poppy players feel is a sort of sense of being an unstoppable force if you get fed. If the other team feds you, that's like them giving you permission to put a Vulcan Death Grip on their balls. If you get fed as poppy (at least pre rework), you know that the game is yours to win or lose.

True in game story. I got fed as a Poppy one game. The other teams middle inner tower was down and their inhib was up. My team was off doing... something? I didn't really care at the time. I had my ult up and I was walking in that front door. So what happened? They sent a fed yi (12+ kills maybe) with a GA up and an aatrox with his passive up. I took out both of their revive effects, killed one of them, and was about to kill the other when an AP ezreal jumped in and won the fight for them.

That is what a fed poppy feels like... kicking in the front door and causing trouble. A fed poppy feels like split pushing mid because it sounds like fun at the time.

As for character examples, I've got 2 good ones for you.

The first is Rocky during Rocky 1 and 2. Poppy is a champ you have to beat early. Apollo might have won laning (Rocky 1) but he didn't beat Rocky (Poppy). Maybe he got the tower first (won the first fight) but she (in this case Rocky) picked up kills or enough CS to get to late game. Rocky 2 is Poppy's late game or when Poppy gets fed. If the champ doesn't whip you outright in the first match, you are going to beat him in the second.

The other example is when your ult is up, you feel like a vorpal bunny single-handedly attacking a group of heavily armored knights. As long as you ult the person who doesn't have the holy hand grenade of antioch, all is fine.

We need a Vorpal Bunny Poppy skin.

Looks at Iron Stylus

STARE..

I feel that people hold on to elements like Poppy being a diplomat for the wrong reasons. It's more about being suspicious towards change than anything, it feels to me.

To me, for the sake of making Poppy the best realization of her specific fantasy, things have to change. The diplomat part is probably one of the things. It is a very unintuitive title for explaining what she is supposed to be all about.

I 100% agree with you.

I want you to know that I have complete trust in your vision. I think you care about our favorite yordle as much as we do.

Give it all you got Mr. IronStylus, and y'all will do fine.

As far as as your few last questions: I think a lot of it is in her lore. Its hard to pinpoint. Part of it is that her determination inspired a depressed Galio. Her will to go on. The fact that she's a little girl facing gods, monsters, and the strongest of the strongest AND she strikes fear into the hearts of those beings. What drives her? Now that's a hard question! Maybe to be the strongest? Or to deliver justice? To fight for those who can't fight for themselves? Maybe all of the above. Remember, don't believe in yourselves, believe in the me who believes in the you!

It's important, I think, to realise that Poppy is not necessarily a Diplomat by definition. She was granted the title and acts as liaison between Demacia and Bandle City because of her courage and unfaltering convictions.

It's more of an honorary title in that sense. However, because of the way she earned that title and the respect of the "big uns", it has become a vital part of her lore.

She is a Diplomat not because of who she is, but because of how she is, if that makes sense.

That said, I'm open to ideas. I'm more interested what players feel viscerally when they play or want to play Poppy. What makes her compelling at her core? What makes her speak to the pint-sized terror in all of us? What makes us root for the underdog? What allows us to feel what drives her?

Hope it's not too late to give feedback. I think Brienne of Tarth is an excellent reference point.

Personality-wise, Poppy strikes me as the embodiment of innocence lost too early.

She is serious because her past caused there to be little room for any real childhood. She had to be strong too soon and thus, isn't the best at being sociable. Her goal is to ensure peace, and she accomplishes this by emulating those most commonly associated as warriors of truth and justice - strong, masculine figures of Demacia. This is why her persona seems a bit darker than the more commonly jovial Yordles. It isn't that she doesn't like or know how to be happy, she just isn't used to the feeling.

I feel that Poppy represents similar values to that of the fist holding greeting used in Wushu.

She is neither arrogant or high-handed. She values morals, intellect, physical and aesthetic education. While she may not be of noble blood, she is of noble mind. She seeks to embody valor and vigor, being brave without wishing to cause trouble or breaking the rules. She is ready to fight for what she believes in, but she will use her words and mind before she uses her fists.

If and when her hand is forced, it is a no nonsense fight. She will seek to end the conflict swiftly with all her might but she is not without mercy. She would subdue, not kill. Unlike the other Yordles which rely more on gadgetry or wits, she wears armour proudly and bears arms like a warrior of any other race. She stands strong and fights on regardless of disadvantage, her will unshakeable.

She shares traits with Garen, sure, but I see Garen as a patriot above all else. Poppy wants to be taken seriously regardless of her race, status or stature. Poppy may be a paragon of Demacian values, but unlike Garen, she fights for all innocents.

The big eventually fall far and hard while the small merely get tripped, so they get up again and again. When you live a life of others looking down at you, it only makes your rise that much greater.

Diplomat though..

Yes, I realize that it's something in the current iteration of her story. But what does that mean at a high level? A diplomat is a career, it isn't an identifying characteristic of a person's core. You could be an honest, peace loving diplomat. You could be a sneaky, covert ops "diplomat". You could have good, bad or neutral agendas. Either way, this is the least compelling term that currently shows up in the lexicon. I would argue that it's completely arbitrary, and is only compelling on an extremely granular level. Not something I'd build a character off of.

That said, I'm open to ideas. I'm more interested what players feel viscerally when they play or want to play Poppy. What makes her compelling at her core? What makes her speak to the pint-sized terror in all of us? What makes us root for the underdog? What allows us to feel what drives her?

The big thing that strikes me about Poppy is that she's strong-willed and loyal; the reason she's a diplomat is not that she has any real political skill, but because she feels a strong attachment to both Bandle City and Demacia, and because no one else is really in a position to do the job. She does it because no one else will. The sense I always got from lines like "Let me demonstrate HAMMER diplomacy!" and whatnot was that she's a natural warrior who simply refuses to complain about being placed in a profession (diplomat) that she isn't really cut out for, and on the battlefield - when she's finally in her element - she wants to show that she hasn't forgotten her duties.

Does that mean a reworked Poppy needs to be a diplomat? Not at all. But what it does mean is that whatever her lore is, it needs to demonstrate that she has a lot of heart, and while she's a fighter to the core she's more than willing to fill other roles out of love and loyalty.

She reminds me of a tiny, female, hammer-wielding Braum... except that Braum doesn't strike me as the type who'd set aside his larger-than-lifestyle to fill a practical role his people need. Poppy's a hero because she can stop being one when the situation calls for it.

As a person who used to main Poppy and still plays her for fun, what makes Poppy "compelling to her core" to me is her integrity. She is dutiful, uncompromising, and capable despite her stature and humble origins -- in a word, honorable.

Having the sense that this is a person who sets amazing goals against adversity and accomplishes them does not necessarily convey "underdog" to me so much as it does "honorable." I see Poppy in personality as akin to the knight-errant who protects peasants who could not possibly repay the deed, the paladin who sacrifices oneself to fight a hopeless battle, or the ronin who chooses nonviolence to resolve a conflict though capable enough to slay one hundred foes in battle. Poppy has accepted her role of protector (and often avenger) on the battlefield and is resolute in wanting to see her duty through no matter what. Such is the tale I have written when I play Poppy.

In response to other questions:

I agree with the Game of Thrones TV character reference.

Regarding visual tone, my favorite skin for Poppy is the Battle Regalia. And yes -- absolutely -- must keep the pigtail hair and serious tone of voice. If I had to pick just one of the two to keep, though, it would be the serious tone of voice.

Let me know if I'm off the mark with that.

You are off the mark.

• She's got to be that champ that you dread trading melee with when you go in to CS because she's a beefy lady with a big-ass blacksmiths hammer and HER CONVICTIONS WILL NOT FALTER . Whatever you dish out she will be able to take. To draw a parallel she > - Big power, small package. Whether she's the runt of the litter, the outcast, whatever, she's tiny and packs a punch. Contrast, love that shit.

Indeed this is an important feeling of gameplay. But this is secondary to the feeling of "my intervention in this fight will change tides" of those who knows the wheight of what we, who work with diplomacy, call a military intervention. I feel the stoicism of "this is my decision of tunnel-dive you" because this evokes resolution of purpose. Your proposition translates into a lane bully mentality, but in a gameplay standpoint I would like to feel better when I'm helping my teamates in anything from a 2v1 to a 5v5. Poppy exists for diplomacy that is taking care of the matters of the collective of people who she protects, translated into game to team decisions like ganking or teamfighting, and no dueling and lane bullying. I would choose 1v1 to be a weak-spot for her instead, in exchange for a "from peeling to diving" gameplay.

• Conviction and loyalty. Maybe she's part of the home guard, maybe she's her own little one-yordle army. Either way, she has her allegiance and it's like an oath that binds her.

This one is the real off the mark. Diplomats exists for the well-being of those who they represent, and the're invested with representative power. If one needs to twist oaths for this, they'll do it. If they need to forge new ones, they'll do it too. Poppy is the only champion in the roster that actually speaks the word "Valoran"; she's NOT for real "her own little one-yordle army". If she has a binding is to the Yordle race, those who she represents, and not to any rules. She will forge and break any of it FOR THEM, and that's the "diplomat feeling" that your are missing. Trade the word "Diplomat" for "Representative" and you're done.

I seriously recommend for you to play a game of Exalted as an Eclipse to take the feel of what "being a diplomat" means in the High Level of gaming psychology. Playing as Children of Gaia in Werewolf: The Apocalypse helps too. It's all that core of "I will bring harmony to my people" (maybe for some at high costs) that you are missing. Go for it.

For me everything about Poppy builds from the foundation of Blacksmithing, She's really strong from years at the forge, when the world tries to break her it only tempers her, just like she does metal,

When she became a diplomat she realized that Demacia Noxus and Targon all place missive emphasis on martial prowess, as does the growing militant faction of Iona, So she complimented Whomper with the best armor and shield she could make and trained herself using a combination of raw brute strength and incredible equipment compensate for lack of experience,

Allowing her to earn the respect of people like Darius and Garen, and helping to grant her a more authoritative presence,

Some day J4 Riven Karma MF and the like will make their homelands better places, But it will be Poppy who takes that and brings them together to make the world better,

Also this whole thing about Diplomat not being in her Kit, Where is Quinn's Drawing in her's? How come Garen doesn't have a ability to express his crush on Kat? Not every little thing can be easily wrapped into a persons combat abilities. But what about one of those little buff things like have but this time works by giving 0.1% shared XP as long as her team has people from 2 opposing factions?

Poppy's lore is actually really generic. It's the same "X lived a normal life then everything changed when the Noxus attacked" that every other old champion has

Well, she was the Bandle City ambassador to Demacia. I get what you mean though: it's interesting that Poppy, a native yordle, is considered the pattern for excellence in a "human" city. Maybe that's what makes the ability name significant? Perhaps Demacians were so awed by her story that they called her the model of everything they stand for. Makes sense to me, but I read into things too much.