Imhotep - Mummy/pharaoh character in deadlock? Unique Worship mechanic - worship the pharaoh and granted a buff

JisBeanGaming

Active member
[Hero Concept] The Mummy/the Risen Pharaoh


Been wanting a mummy style character in Deadlock for a while now, and I've been thinking about a few mechanics that would be genuinely funny if implemented. Posting these as ability ideas hoping it sparks something for the devs or at least gets some discussion going.




Ability Idea 1 - Devotion (Passive Worship Aura)


The Mummy radiates a presence aura. Any ally who points their cursor at him and crouches for 2 continuous seconds performs an act of worship, granting him a permanent Devotion stack. Each stack gives +75 bonus health and +5 spirit damage, capping at +375 bonus health and +25 spirit at full 5 stacks. Allies who worship also gain 50% of whatever bonus health and spirit The Mummy has accumulated in total.

upon death stack is lost, and must be reworshipped again.


Design note: Picture your team grouping up before a fight, someone pings the pharaoh, and suddenly your whole squad is briefly bowing to him in the middle of the lane before charging in. It would be too chaotic to fully coordinate in pubs which is part of the charm, but a coordinated team that pulls it off gets a meaningful power spike that feels earned.




Ability Idea 2 - Sarcophagus


Encase an ally in a golden sarcophagus for a short duration. While encased the ally takes 80% reduced damage and cannot attack, fire, or cast spells, but they can still move at a capped reduced speed. Rather than walking normally, the sarcophagus hops around with them inside it. When the duration ends the ally heals for a percentage of their max HP.


Design note: Similar in spirit to Ringmaster's Escape Act or Lich's Frost Shield from Dota 2, but the movement twist makes it feel distinct. Unlike Cube it doesn't hard lock the ally in place, so there's actual decision making around whether to keep hopping around or just wait it out. The visual of a golden sarcophagus bouncing around a teamfight is also just inherently funny.




Ability Idea 3 - Scarab Tomb


The Mummy summons a tomb that releases four waves of scarabs onto nearby enemies. Each wave saps health from enemies hit. Once all four waves complete, the tomb collapses and drops a health orb collectible only by The Mummy. Enemies can destroy the tomb early by heavy meleeing it once. If destroyed this way it drops a healing orb that can only be collected by heavy meleeing it, making it a deliberate effort to deny rather than a free pickup.


Design note: Think of it as a Graves tombstone but with more layers. The early destroy mechanic means enemies have to actively choose to contest it rather than just ignore it, and the heavy melee requirement on the dropped orb means denying it costs them something too.




Ability Idea 4 - Funerary Rite (Charged Ability)


The Mummy fires his wraps at an ally, removing up to one active debuff from them and storing it for 12 seconds. He can then fire the wraps at an enemy to transfer the stored debuff onto them. If fired at an enemy with no debuff stored, the wraps deal bonus damage instead. This is a charged ability with a 5 second use cooldown and a 35 second charge refill cooldown.


Design note: The stored debuff timer keeps it balanced since you can't just hold onto a stun indefinitely waiting for the perfect moment. Works on self-cast too, so if you're rooted or hexed you can strip it off yourself and immediately punish whoever threw it at you. For balance purposes this should probably stay limited to non-ultimate tier debuffs so you're not bouncing Lash ults around the map.



Ability Idea 5 - Plague of Locusts (ultimate idea)


Infect a single target with a locust plague, dealing damage over its duration. When the duration ends, the plague spreads to nearby enemies and any debuff the original target received from The Mummy during the plague is reapplied to every enemy it spreads to.

Design note: I honestly had the original idea planned differently, but this is directly from the reworked Venomancer ultimate in dota 2. I thought it would be an interesting lapping synergy because of how the wraps ability can store debuffs.



Ability Idea 6 - Ten Plagues (Channeling ultimate idea)


The Mummy summons plagues to spread from beneath his feet, it spawns indestructible scarabs that attacks all nearby enemies for the duration. The indestructible scarab each stacking damage, the more scarab hits you the more it hurts.

The mummy cannot move while channeling this spell.


Design note: Kinda similar to bullet dance, but spirit damage instead.




Would love to hear thoughts on any of these, especially whether the debuff transfer on Funerary Rite feels too strong even with the timer cap, and whether the Sarcophagus movement gimmick adds enough to justify the complexity.
 
Ability one is cool, but I think that it'd be kind of boring in a lot of scenarios, like if you get max stacks and then are just on a huge killstreak, it essentially becomes a passive, I think it'd be much cooler if while the ability was active, allies looking at him grants him a stacking effect, and of course them as well at 50% cooldown, and then the effect could just last for a very long time, you'd still have the same concept of you and your allies preparing for a fight by all standing around him, but then you'd also get the added interactivity of having to check back during the fight if it lasts for too long, or refresh it every fight. It would also be cool if the effects gained were more unique.

Sarcophagus is REALLY similar to cube, but I think that it's okay since it's not a full invulnerability and allows movement, which makes it somewhat distinct. Also of course it should be self-castable. I do think it could definitely have some twist that makes it more interesting than just a cube rework.

The scarab tomb is a decent idea, but I also think that it's just kinda too conceptually close to abilities like Mirage's scarabs, and Grave's tombstone, if it did something other than summon, or had a more supportive effect, and then kept the healing orb idea, it'd be pretty sick.

Funerary rite I think is an INCREDIBLY creative idea, personally, firing at an enemy, and an ally should not consume separate charges. In my mind the best way for it to work would be that you pick a target, ally or enemy. After picking a target, you either take the buff or debuff with the longest remaining duration from that target and store it, you then have twelve seconds to recast, which will be a skillshot, it shouldn't be difficult to hit, but it would be much more fun to use than a second target, and also make the ability much more balanced. It should also of course deal innate damage or healing, but not a very large amount. This is also one that in my opinion should NOT be self castable, that way you can't just steal a very important buff from an enemy in a 1v1 where they would otherwise murder you, and also so dispel magic doesn't become a useless item for the character. Overall though, transmitting buffs and debuffs between enemies and allies would be very sick, and being a charged ability would make sure it's still VERY useful for a support character, but also not obscenely broken if you want to get rid of affliction, you can give an ENEMY affliction, which would be very cool, but the next ally you cleanse would have already taken a bunch of damage anyways. Also, you might just get the wrong buff/debuff if you aren't careful, so while the ability is very powerful, it definitely would reward keeping track of everything that happens in a teamfight, and make the character a very skillful and interesting support to play.

Not even going to comment on six because I love idea five too much, especially for it's synergy with Funerary rite. This ult would be fucking AWESOME. I can see it working in my mind, you hit a single target, they receive the DOT, possibly a damage amp at higher levels, I think that either in base kit or at a higher level, enemies with the plague should also have a small radius around them that transfers the plague to their allies within it. Then if they DIE, of course they explode in a much larger radius, applying the plague to anyone caught in it. The plague should probably refresh duration on new targets. The idea of debuffs that are gained during the plague transferring with it is cool as hell, and synergizes perfectly with Funerary rite, especially with the single target nature of Funerary rite, if you manage to get a long lasting ult you could have a ton of debuffs on the last person and just absolutely merc them. Some changes I would make would I think that it should be called pharaoh's curse instead of the plague, and also possibly maybe it would be cool if his ult could be alt casted and given to allies as pharaoh's blessing, giving healing over time, and sharing buffs. Would make it more useful in large team fights, and also further encourage team coordination like his worship ability and funerary rite already do.

Ultimately, I think this character would be best with ideas 4 and 5 in his kit. Those would be necessary in my opinion. Idea 1 would also be amazing to have, very cool to use and see. As for his last ability, I would say that sarcophagus would be much better than the scarab tomb, but ability idea 6 could also be a normal ability if it were balanced well enough, and maybe severely reduced the mummy's speed rather than movement locking him. As for a mummy based character, hell I've made one. She's not technically a mummy, but rather an archaeologist who turned into a swarm of insects due to an idol made by Ramesses II in an attempt to recreate the plague of locusts. These character's could really have some sick ass lore and interactions, and I'm kind of sad I'm not able to include this guy in my project. As a Doorman player who thrives off of utilitarian support, I would instantly main this guy. Goated idea, and I'm glad I saw abilities 4 and 5 because they really made me fall in love.
 
Ability one is cool, but I think that it'd be kind of boring in a lot of scenarios, like if you get max stacks and then are just on a huge killstreak, it essentially becomes a passive, I think it'd be much cooler if while the ability was active, allies looking at him grants him a stacking effect, and of course them as well at 50% cooldown, and then the effect could just last for a very long time, you'd still have the same concept of you and your allies preparing for a fight by all standing around him, but then you'd also get the added interactivity of having to check back during the fight if it lasts for too long, or refresh it every fight. It would also be cool if the effects gained were more unique.

Sarcophagus is REALLY similar to cube, but I think that it's okay since it's not a full invulnerability and allows movement, which makes it somewhat distinct. Also of course it should be self-castable. I do think it could definitely have some twist that makes it more interesting than just a cube rework.

The scarab tomb is a decent idea, but I also think that it's just kinda too conceptually close to abilities like Mirage's scarabs, and Grave's tombstone, if it did something other than summon, or had a more supportive effect, and then kept the healing orb idea, it'd be pretty sick.

Funerary rite I think is an INCREDIBLY creative idea, personally, firing at an enemy, and an ally should not consume separate charges. In my mind the best way for it to work would be that you pick a target, ally or enemy. After picking a target, you either take the buff or debuff with the longest remaining duration from that target and store it, you then have twelve seconds to recast, which will be a skillshot, it shouldn't be difficult to hit, but it would be much more fun to use than a second target, and also make the ability much more balanced. It should also of course deal innate damage or healing, but not a very large amount. This is also one that in my opinion should NOT be self castable, that way you can't just steal a very important buff from an enemy in a 1v1 where they would otherwise murder you, and also so dispel magic doesn't become a useless item for the character. Overall though, transmitting buffs and debuffs between enemies and allies would be very sick, and being a charged ability would make sure it's still VERY useful for a support character, but also not obscenely broken if you want to get rid of affliction, you can give an ENEMY affliction, which would be very cool, but the next ally you cleanse would have already taken a bunch of damage anyways. Also, you might just get the wrong buff/debuff if you aren't careful, so while the ability is very powerful, it definitely would reward keeping track of everything that happens in a teamfight, and make the character a very skillful and interesting support to play.

Not even going to comment on six because I love idea five too much, especially for it's synergy with Funerary rite. This ult would be fucking AWESOME. I can see it working in my mind, you hit a single target, they receive the DOT, possibly a damage amp at higher levels, I think that either in base kit or at a higher level, enemies with the plague should also have a small radius around them that transfers the plague to their allies within it. Then if they DIE, of course they explode in a much larger radius, applying the plague to anyone caught in it. The plague should probably refresh duration on new targets. The idea of debuffs that are gained during the plague transferring with it is cool as hell, and synergizes perfectly with Funerary rite, especially with the single target nature of Funerary rite, if you manage to get a long lasting ult you could have a ton of debuffs on the last person and just absolutely merc them. Some changes I would make would I think that it should be called pharaoh's curse instead of the plague, and also possibly maybe it would be cool if his ult could be alt casted and given to allies as pharaoh's blessing, giving healing over time, and sharing buffs. Would make it more useful in large team fights, and also further encourage team coordination like his worship ability and funerary rite already do.

Ultimately, I think this character would be best with ideas 4 and 5 in his kit. Those would be necessary in my opinion. Idea 1 would also be amazing to have, very cool to use and see. As for his last ability, I would say that sarcophagus would be much better than the scarab tomb, but ability idea 6 could also be a normal ability if it were balanced well enough, and maybe severely reduced the mummy's speed rather than movement locking him. As for a mummy based character, hell I've made one. She's not technically a mummy, but rather an archaeologist who turned into a swarm of insects due to an idol made by Ramesses II in an attempt to recreate the plague of locusts. These character's could really have some sick ass lore and interactions, and I'm kind of sad I'm not able to include this guy in my project. As a Doorman player who thrives off of utilitarian support, I would instantly main this guy. Goated idea, and I'm glad I saw abilities 4 and 5 because they really made me fall in love.


Hey thanks for the detailed breakdown, really appreciate you taking the time to go through everything.


On the worship ability, the original plan actually had a layer that i did not mention in the post. The idea was that the aura would also buff nearby creeps and transform them into worshippers as well, similar to how Rem's third ability works with her creeps. So the lane push element was always part of the vision, just did not make it into the write up clearly enough.


On the scarab tomb, fair point that it overlaps conceptually with existing abilities but the scarab angle is intentional on my end. Mirage having scarabs and the Mummy also having scarabs is more of a lore thing than a design collision, kind of like how both vampire heroes in the roster drain life from targets. It adds to the world building rather than detracting from it. But your point about giving it a more supportive twist is genuinely interesting and worth thinking about.


Completely agree on Funerary Rite and Plague of Locusts, those two are the heart of the kit and the synergy between them is exactly what i was most excited about. Pharaoh's Curse is a much better name for the ultimate and the alt cast blessing idea is actually really cool, i had not considered flipping it that way but it fits the team coordination theme perfectly.


The archaeologist character sounds sick by the way, would love to see a link for that.
 
Yeah I just saw the mummy character and felt that I needed to check it out

That would also make it a lot better, as it is, either way it exists is pretty undertuned, so giving him good macro in that ability would definitely help to make up for it

I see the idea there with making scarabs associated in world with lifesteal, that's not a bad idea, idk about the real world lore on that because I'm not invested in Egyptology, but it would be an interesting facet to have in universe once we get to the point where scarabs are a common occurrence across the roster.

Funerary Rite and the ult are genuinely some of the most interesting ability ideas I've ever seen on this forum, genuinely wonderful, and I'd be ecstatic to see this turned into a full concept character someday

If you want a link to see her she's right in my signature, I'm also including her in a post that I'll be posting in about two and a half hours covering six of my favorite heroes on the forums and why I think they could be added to the game together, if you wanna catch that.
 
Yeah I just saw the mummy character and felt that I needed to check it out

That would also make it a lot better, as it is, either way it exists is pretty undertuned, so giving him good macro in that ability would definitely help to make up for it

I see the idea there with making scarabs associated in world with lifesteal, that's not a bad idea, idk about the real world lore on that because I'm not invested in Egyptology, but it would be an interesting facet to have in universe once we get to the point where scarabs are a common occurrence across the roster.

Funerary Rite and the ult are genuinely some of the most interesting ability ideas I've ever seen on this forum, genuinely wonderful, and I'd be ecstatic to see this turned into a full concept character someday

If you want a link to see her she's right in my signature, I'm also including her in a post that I'll be posting in about two and a half hours covering six of my favorite heroes on the forums and why I think they could be added to the game together, if you wanna catch that.
Just posted it!
 
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