Stats
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Protection
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Health
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Mobility
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Control
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Combat Role
The Astromancer brings celestial power to the field of battle. His magic lets him harm foes while healing allies.
Lore
Power comes in many forms. Ages ago, an isolated people sought answers from the stars. Through generations of rigorous study, they learned the secrets of the night sky. Guided by the cosmos, they could divine years of good harvest, and prepare for years of famine. A select few, however, learned to harness the power of celestial bodies. They were granted sway over fate and destiny. Those descended from this bloodline have come to be known as Astromancers.
The pressence of an Astromancer is a sign of bounty. In times of peace, the Astromancers use their magics to promote growth in plants, and cure the sick. However, it is only in battle that Astromancers unleash their true powers. The Astromancer's enemies all suffer the same fate, but they may choose the means of their undoing.
Abilities
*Casttimes and Cooldowns are measured relative to other casttimes and cooldowns, respectively.
(Buffs/Debuffs)
Infusion - Deals 6 damage over 3 seconds. If the enemy attacks an allied unit, the ally is healed for the remaining damage of the debuff, exhausting all stacks. Stacks 3 times. Once Infusion reaches maximum stacks, additional applications do not reset its duration.
Dementia - Insanity turns friend and foe alike invisible for 4 seconds.
Fortune - Increases healing received by 50% for 4 seconds, or until 48 health has been restored.
Wish - Heals 9 damage over 3 seconds. If the ally attacks an enemy unit, the enemy is damaged for the remaining damage of the buff, exhausting the buff.
Infuse - M1 (Directional)
A bolt of celestial energy. Deals 9 damage and inflicts Infusion.
Casttime: (1) Very Short
Cooldown: (1) Very Short
Range: 6 Vanguards
This is, obviously, the Astromancer's basic ability. Each applied stack has the potential to cause a 6-unit change in hitpoints, whether the target chooses to attack or not. The healing can also affect the Astromancer. This debuff won't heal enough damage to completely mitigate an attack, but might discourage attacking.
Comet - M2 (Directional)
A bolt of searing power. Deals 20 damage plus any damage remaining in stacks of Infusion. Exhausts all stacks of Infusion. Enemies with 3 stacks of Infusion are knocked back by the bolt.
Casttime: (2) Very Short
Cooldown: (3) Short
Range: 9 Vanguards
A good complement to Infuse. This lets the Astromancer deal a solid 20 damage whether the target is close or far away, but with an added bonus for use against foes who have stacks of Infuse. The three-stack knockback gives it a little more "oomph". Whether or not the knockback is triggered, it removes all stacks of Infuse. I figure it will be a fun combo to look forward to.
Shooting Star - Space (Hover)
The Astromancer glows with brilliant light, and rockets through the sky toward a target location as an immaterial and invulnerable shooting star. He applies Wish to any allies he flies over.
Cooldown: (6) Medium
Range: 8 Vanguards, 2 Vanguard AoE
Primarily, this ability looks cool. He arcs high up into the air, and plummets to the targeted location seconds later. Obviously, he cannot be harmed while he's in the air.
Star Fall - Q (Hover)
Calls down one celestial meteor each .4 seconds for 2 seconds. Each deals 5 damage to a primary target and inflicts Infusion, and deals 4 damage to secondary targets in an AoE.
Casttime: (5) Medium
Cooldown: (5) Medium
Range: 9 Vanguards, 1.5 Vanguard AoE
These meteors come crashing down quickly. You can lead each meteor to a different target. The meteors are not locked into a heading until they appear on-screen. In fact, you will be locking in the next meteor while the previous meteor is still on screen.
Only one enemy can ever be the "primary target," which is the only target this ability applies Infuse on, and only take 5 damage per meteor. Secondary targets do not receive Infuse, and only take 4 damage per meteor. The Primary target is the enemy closest to the center. This spell works a little like the opposite of most other healing secondary skills, which have a primary healing target in an AoE, and heal secondary effects for other allies in that AoE.
Note that the Astromancer has to sit still while casting.
Eclipse - E (Directional)
A sphere of tangible darkness. Any enemy unfortunate enough to come into contact with the sphere is inflicted with Dementia.
Casttime: (6) Medium
Cooldown: (7) Long
Range: 9 Vanguards
Eclipses are seen often associated with craziness, and other bad things. This is the Astromancer's only guaranteed crowd control effect. Only one target is affected by Eclipse.
Align - R (Hover)
The stars align, favoring the target and applying Fortune.
Casttime: (3) Short
Cooldown: (8) Long
Range: 5 Vanguards
Throw it on an ally who's about to take a beating from Infused foes. It functions similar to a damage shield, except with healing instead. This move works well with Infusion , as it can turn a small heal into a very big heal, but without going overboard.
Celestial Cannonade - Ultimate (Hover)
The Astromancer calls down a gigantic column of celestial energy for 2.5 seconds. It deals 6-11 damage each half-second to enemies, and heals allies for 9-14 points each half-second. The magnitude is greater the closer a player is located to the center of the column. The beam focuses on your cursor, and will follow your cursor slowly.
Casttime: (9) Long
Range: 3 Vanguard diameter
It's a freaking ION CANNON! And it heals people? Win.
Appearance
Physically, Astromancers are tall and thin with sharp, elven facial features. Their posture suggests timeless authority, and their ages are not reflected in their appearance.
These wizards wear ornate robes with distinct edges. In a satchel on their backs they carry several star charts and documents of importance. Scientific instruments such as sextants, compasses, and spyglasses are fixed to their belts. Of particular interest is an Astromancer's head wear. This hat is roughly 30 centimeters tall, and shaped like a long box. It sits on their head, one edge aligned with the bridge of their nose; if their noses pointed north, then each corner is aligned with a cardinal direction. The tip of each corner (at the top of the hat) make a sharp, accented point that sticks out and away from the hat. The top of the hat has a gentle incline, with "North" as the highest point. A hood flows out of the bottom sides and back of the hat, covering those sides of the Astromancer's head and neck. In front, the hood connects with a shawl that flows down across the front of the Astromancer's robes. The shoulders are adorned with metal crescents that rise above the neckline.
In their right hands, Astromancers carry a bronze/silver staff. At the top of the staff, several metal circles with inlaid spheres oscillate around each other. It looks like a solar system diagram. The spheres represent celestial bodies. Near the top of the staff's neck, the staff splits to support the ornament. The rest of the staff is polished and smooth.
Designer's Commentary
My friend kept bugging me (and continues to bug me) to create a dragon champion for League of Legends, because shortly after I suggested a champion, a very similar champion showed up on the Test Realm (Gragas). After suggesting the Spelunker for BLC, I decided to create a Bloodline with very little CC. I decided upon creating a monk-like character, and I figured an Astronomy theme would provide a rich source of lore.
Whenever I make a suggestion for a character, I like to draw inspiration for abilities based on how I imagine the character animating in my head. Infuse started out as a melee skill. I imagined the Astromancer running in, smacking people, and blasting them away with Comet. I soon realized, though, that having Infuse be melee would not lead to many max-stacks of Infusion, since he would be very easy to hit. I left Infuse at short range, and I realized that my Astromancer would make a better wizard than a monk. This helped a lot when I went on to create his other abilities, because it meant he was no longer restricted to melee for most of his attacks.
The nice thing about Astronomy is that it is associated with stars, precognition, the moon, and a great variety of other things. The main features I focus on are shooting stars, good fortune, fate, and the heavens. I created the Infusion mechanic as a means to mitigate damage from attacks without a damage reduction debuff. The Astromancer infuses his foes with heavenly energy. When he infuses someone, the energy burns them, or is released to heal one of the Astromancer's allies. I think it conveys that the same powers he uses to benefit civilization can also be used for war.
Star Fall is probably my favorite spell, second only to Eclipse. It touches on the Astromancer's other major theme, which is flipping other mechanics to suit a different purpose. It's very similar to the Alchemist's Secondary skill, healing extra for the primary target, and splashing onto other nearby allies, except this time it is damage. Lots of damage. Plentiful bounty is the other "flipped" spell. It is like one of the damage shields that break after a certain point, except the massive healing bonus stops after a certain time or heal cap is reached. It is intended to work particularly well with Infusion, acting as a much stronger damage mitigator than Infusion on its own.
Eclipse. My favorite spell. It took a particularly long time to think up a fun CC ability to use with a projectile. I knew I wanted to work in something to do with Eclipses, and that whatever it did, it would be particularly negative. Full moons are associated with dementia, and so I worked the mechanic to "eclipse" a player. It has a unique spin on the Blind effect, letting foes see themselves so they can run around, but turning everyone else invisible. It's certainly a freakier Blind. The afflicted can do nothing, or attack wildly, which can inhibit their ability to aim. They can still see the ground. But, if their aim is hampered, they you can probably get in a couple stacks of Infusion before they actually hit something and remove the debuff. Or, they will be unlikely to waste their stronger skills, and you have no need to fear their weaker abilities as long as Infusion is triggering.
The ultimate's previous incarnation had some primary/secondary area effect stuff going on and applied Infuse, but I felt like it needed a more direct support effect. So I just decided on a straight-up damage/heal combo affected by how close the target was to the center. I imagine the Astromancer cutting a swathe across the field of battle with this thing. Enemies running away from it, allies running towards it. It also has a much more awesome name now.
Vanguard-O-Meter
