On the subject of a potential Nocturne rework tho.
Alright, so I know John was mostly joking here but this actually got me thinking about some possible angles that could be taken for a future Nocturne rework, at least lore-wise. I'm not sure how many drafts ya'll at Rito have made up for him already, or if talking too much about it might ruin some surprises, but I figured there was no harm in trying!
What if Nocturne WAS the Ruined King?
Think about this for a minute. The Blessed Isles was once an epicenter of beauty and virtue, a utopia, almost dream-like in it's existence. Now, eons later, it's been twisted into the cursed Shadow Isles -- which serves as an almost literal, waking nightmare; and the Ruined King(From what I understand thus far) seems to be the focal point for it's downfall. He is entrapped between the realm of the living and the dead, tormented eternally, driven only by his suffering, and devouring all life and purity that is touched by the Mists. If Nocturne was made into the Ruined King, he could still bare some of the deeply ingrained traits that make Nocturne as he stands now, Nocturne; while fleshing him out as a champion and giving more of a footing for the lore of the Shadow Isles itself.
Now, I personally have always favored Nocturne as being more of an Eldritch horror; which unfortunately wouldn't lend itself well to the Ruined King approach. The only way I could think of to retain both these qualities is to suggest the possibility of the Ruined King being possessed, in a sense, by the accumulation of his grief and madness. In essence, Nocturne would not be the Ruined King HIMSELF, but an anthropomorphic personification of the King's nightmares and paranoia, who upon shattering the barriers between the living and the dead, latched on to his vessel and corrupt it into what he is today(Whatever that may be). This would also add a certain level of tragedy to his back story that would make him easier to sympathize with for players who don't like Nocturne as a one-dimensional evil.
But seriously, if none of that peaks any interest, then let me just throw a ball way out into the left field here and say that Nocturne would also be REALLY REALLY FRIGGIN' HELLA COOL if he were made into something similar to Dream(Morpheus), from Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' comics (But more spoopy and corrupt 'n stuff). That would make it easy to slip him into the ethereal spirits/personifications slot, alongside the Kindred, Bard, Aurelion Sol, etc. Nocturne, lore wise, was probably one of the most overpowered champions before the retcon, and I'd be a little sad to see him knocked down to just 'spooky ghost' level. No pun intended.
Thoughts? Discussion?
,
and sometimes
being the focal point of this trend.
I mean, come on: Nocturne is a living nightmare, not an undead. He haunts people and kills them in their sleep, basically he's League's Freddy Krueger. The closest undead theme he could fit is a Poltergeist or a Mare, and that doesn't really fit the current Shadow Isles, as they are more about Zombies and Zombie-like creatures, rather than spirits/wraths.