It's not a full complete concept, as it lacks parts of design in weapon of use and a definite personality. But it was something that was taking up space in my head for far too long, and I need to get it out. So, Uh, here it is.
What's most important is having a reason for the character to exist, something unique for them to offer. In this I find myself looking at Doorman and Lash. Doorman's Doors give a new way of interacting with the map by creating shortcuts, and lash has a unique ability in that his ground pound scales with distance.
So I found myself thinking about height, and a character that plays with that in the way doorman plays with horizontal distance. And I started to think about what would reflect that and I've arrived at "trees". My first thought was "the green man" of English myth, but that draws a bit too directly close to the doorman. Thinking about what I know about new York, as an Australian, I then thought about central park? What about a hippie type character? That doesn't match the general prohibition/noir/50s art style. When it occurred to me, in the prohibition (even if this game isn't prohibition period, it still gave me the idea) someone had to be making the hooch. A moonshiner.
***Appalachian moonshiner.***
Hillbilly tree man, sap, plants, and corn to moonshine. Appalachian Hills are tall, the height theme continues. And from a meta perspective, tree people are often portrayed as very in tune with nature, often hippie like. So as an Appalachian hill person he could still be in touch with nature, reflecting himself as a tree man, but it plays against the expected type of a treant being wise and respectful. And traditionally shine is made from corn right? So he could be a sort of hillbilly corn treat/tree person. You gotta admit, that sounds pretty interesting
The first ability could be classified as the anti-lash ground pound. A single target ability that drags a character to the ground, with damage scaling off of distance. Higher ranks adding scaling, distance, and a immobile effect to reflect tree roots.
The second ability in following the theme of heights, mechanically it would function as placing a climbing rope. By growing tree roots up a wall, render any wall climbable to give your team surprise access to verticality. Ranks adding additional climb speed for team mates/slow down enemy team climbers, duration, and healing. Adding a new dimension for if a character wants to be immobile on the wall, since you can't defend yourself while climbing, in return for healing. Adds Risk to the support, instead of it being free. (Looking at you ***rem***). That and I think ropes are somewhat... under-served? The ability to suddenly climb anywhere I think would be as transformative as doormans doors.
Third ability by necessity needs to be something that knocks your enemies into the air. As lash has his leaps to gain height for his ground slam, the Appalachian tree man needs an ability to throw someone into the air to make use of his first ability slam dunk.
Taking inspiration from Yamato power slash, it'd be a charged skill shot. Release the charge midway for less damage and knock up height, full charge for more knock up height. Ranks adding knock up height, range and charge speed. Default combo being a simple disruption 1,2 punch of knock someone up, slam them down for cc.
I'm not sure what to do with the fourth ability, but I find myself wanting to give him an ability reflecting his position as a moonshiner. So similar to Ivy's support buff tether, I imagine it as giving nearby teammates a drink of the good stuff. Boosting up all nearby teammates stats while they're close to you. Ranks adding higher buffs, cool down, and the last rank changing it from "teammates have to be near to you" to a one use effect where the teammates who were near you when it's used gain the buff and no longer have to stay close, instead they can go wherever they want for the full duration.
But probably not. Problem with this is that doesn't synergize into the rest of his kit. Maybe instead a short term buff where you drink the moon shine and augment your abilities. Your knock up gets much larger and more damaging, or instant, your slam becomes an Aoe, and your wall climbing… maybe it becomes a sphere the coats the walls and floors, slowing enemies or buffing allies with whatever additional effects your wall has. Or maybe the ult just boosts one ability, ala chef from risk of rain, and has a pretty short cool down? So your instead of real big moments with a high performance ult, you have more consistent moments using your short ult to boost for picked fights.
As for what he wants from the patron? I'm not entirely sure, but there's options. More business, make the world's best shine, taste godly ambrosia, kick people out of Appalachia so it belongs to the wild men, grow central park to be a massive forest, I'm not sure, someone smarter could probably come up with something. I don't have the full grasp.
Characters he knows?
-Mo and krill are obvious answers as criminals and smugglers. They could move his goods. Or maybe they don't. Maybe he uses other people because either Mo and krill think it beneath them to smuggle shine, or maybe they charge too much. The rooms for movement, but I feel them knowing each other would be obvious.
-Vyper mentions hooch in one of her lines, so even if she didn't know him, it'd make sense for her to be interested in the shine.
-Infernus could be an option, both alcohol related. Maybe infernus refuses to serve his hooch.
-Silver is southern and a drinker. No more needs be said.
-Holiday as a sheriff might know them, previously looking to arrest but now disregarding them due to the troubadour.
-Ivy interaction could be funny, just based on her kudzu growing ability and Him being a tree man. A shot in the dark, it just occured to me.
-Billy. Billy has potential since he's always smashing beers, rather literally. Depending on the subtleties they want to do with Billy, they could have conversations about Billy buying or stealing stuff and “it ain't shine if you're paying taxes”
I'm not smart enough to give him a good name, so for now i'm just gonna go with "the Kernal". As a pun on "colonel" and a reflection of the tradition southern gentleman 'colonel' type character. And you know, Corn Kernels.
Part of the idea when this fever dream was overtaking me, is the nature of counterplay. As some characters are naturally strong against certain others, I found myself wanting someone who could decisively punish floating characters (Mina, Grey Talon, Vindicta) for their reckless air harassment, without needing to spend all your early game money on knockdown. Which started the original concept of the anti-lash ground slam and it all went from there.
Ah, anyway. Pick this apart and take pieces all you want. All I ask is that if you end up making a moonshiner , that he has a line that "it aint shine, if ya payin' taxes"
What's most important is having a reason for the character to exist, something unique for them to offer. In this I find myself looking at Doorman and Lash. Doorman's Doors give a new way of interacting with the map by creating shortcuts, and lash has a unique ability in that his ground pound scales with distance.
So I found myself thinking about height, and a character that plays with that in the way doorman plays with horizontal distance. And I started to think about what would reflect that and I've arrived at "trees". My first thought was "the green man" of English myth, but that draws a bit too directly close to the doorman. Thinking about what I know about new York, as an Australian, I then thought about central park? What about a hippie type character? That doesn't match the general prohibition/noir/50s art style. When it occurred to me, in the prohibition (even if this game isn't prohibition period, it still gave me the idea) someone had to be making the hooch. A moonshiner.
***Appalachian moonshiner.***
Hillbilly tree man, sap, plants, and corn to moonshine. Appalachian Hills are tall, the height theme continues. And from a meta perspective, tree people are often portrayed as very in tune with nature, often hippie like. So as an Appalachian hill person he could still be in touch with nature, reflecting himself as a tree man, but it plays against the expected type of a treant being wise and respectful. And traditionally shine is made from corn right? So he could be a sort of hillbilly corn treat/tree person. You gotta admit, that sounds pretty interesting
The first ability could be classified as the anti-lash ground pound. A single target ability that drags a character to the ground, with damage scaling off of distance. Higher ranks adding scaling, distance, and a immobile effect to reflect tree roots.
The second ability in following the theme of heights, mechanically it would function as placing a climbing rope. By growing tree roots up a wall, render any wall climbable to give your team surprise access to verticality. Ranks adding additional climb speed for team mates/slow down enemy team climbers, duration, and healing. Adding a new dimension for if a character wants to be immobile on the wall, since you can't defend yourself while climbing, in return for healing. Adds Risk to the support, instead of it being free. (Looking at you ***rem***). That and I think ropes are somewhat... under-served? The ability to suddenly climb anywhere I think would be as transformative as doormans doors.
Third ability by necessity needs to be something that knocks your enemies into the air. As lash has his leaps to gain height for his ground slam, the Appalachian tree man needs an ability to throw someone into the air to make use of his first ability slam dunk.
Taking inspiration from Yamato power slash, it'd be a charged skill shot. Release the charge midway for less damage and knock up height, full charge for more knock up height. Ranks adding knock up height, range and charge speed. Default combo being a simple disruption 1,2 punch of knock someone up, slam them down for cc.
I'm not sure what to do with the fourth ability, but I find myself wanting to give him an ability reflecting his position as a moonshiner. So similar to Ivy's support buff tether, I imagine it as giving nearby teammates a drink of the good stuff. Boosting up all nearby teammates stats while they're close to you. Ranks adding higher buffs, cool down, and the last rank changing it from "teammates have to be near to you" to a one use effect where the teammates who were near you when it's used gain the buff and no longer have to stay close, instead they can go wherever they want for the full duration.
But probably not. Problem with this is that doesn't synergize into the rest of his kit. Maybe instead a short term buff where you drink the moon shine and augment your abilities. Your knock up gets much larger and more damaging, or instant, your slam becomes an Aoe, and your wall climbing… maybe it becomes a sphere the coats the walls and floors, slowing enemies or buffing allies with whatever additional effects your wall has. Or maybe the ult just boosts one ability, ala chef from risk of rain, and has a pretty short cool down? So your instead of real big moments with a high performance ult, you have more consistent moments using your short ult to boost for picked fights.
As for what he wants from the patron? I'm not entirely sure, but there's options. More business, make the world's best shine, taste godly ambrosia, kick people out of Appalachia so it belongs to the wild men, grow central park to be a massive forest, I'm not sure, someone smarter could probably come up with something. I don't have the full grasp.
Characters he knows?
-Mo and krill are obvious answers as criminals and smugglers. They could move his goods. Or maybe they don't. Maybe he uses other people because either Mo and krill think it beneath them to smuggle shine, or maybe they charge too much. The rooms for movement, but I feel them knowing each other would be obvious.
-Vyper mentions hooch in one of her lines, so even if she didn't know him, it'd make sense for her to be interested in the shine.
-Infernus could be an option, both alcohol related. Maybe infernus refuses to serve his hooch.
-Silver is southern and a drinker. No more needs be said.
-Holiday as a sheriff might know them, previously looking to arrest but now disregarding them due to the troubadour.
-Ivy interaction could be funny, just based on her kudzu growing ability and Him being a tree man. A shot in the dark, it just occured to me.
-Billy. Billy has potential since he's always smashing beers, rather literally. Depending on the subtleties they want to do with Billy, they could have conversations about Billy buying or stealing stuff and “it ain't shine if you're paying taxes”
I'm not smart enough to give him a good name, so for now i'm just gonna go with "the Kernal". As a pun on "colonel" and a reflection of the tradition southern gentleman 'colonel' type character. And you know, Corn Kernels.
Part of the idea when this fever dream was overtaking me, is the nature of counterplay. As some characters are naturally strong against certain others, I found myself wanting someone who could decisively punish floating characters (Mina, Grey Talon, Vindicta) for their reckless air harassment, without needing to spend all your early game money on knockdown. Which started the original concept of the anti-lash ground slam and it all went from there.
Ah, anyway. Pick this apart and take pieces all you want. All I ask is that if you end up making a moonshiner , that he has a line that "it aint shine, if ya payin' taxes"
