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The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:03 am
by Black_Heart
The Laughing God
Intelligence; Bane.
Story

The army made camp, all the preparations for the next day's attack completed. The battlegroups huddled around their campfires, trying to stave off the freezing winds of Land's End. When the sun rose, the Hallowed Order would strike the Bane, but for now every man was left with nothing but his thoughts. For some, this was worse than the next day would be. This was particularly true for the first wave of soldiers. At the very edge of the army, they made their camp, knowing that they would be the first to charge into the battle and almost certainly the first to die. After all, who knew anything about what the Bane was capable of here? Brother Victor had fallen to them at the Desert of Exile, and no soldier would claim to be stronger than he. Every man there was occupied with thoughts of his death, and all that it entailed.

One man in particular was thinking of his family. He had joined the Order to protect them, to keep them safe. Yet now, he found himself wondering if that was what he should have done. It wasn't that he minded dying – indeed, if his death meant that they would be safe, he wouldn't have hesitated for even a second. But... what would they do after he died? His wife, would she find someone else to provide for their family? Would his children grow up with someone else for a father? Or, worse, would none of that happen, and they instead be crushed by his death? "I love you," she'd told him before he left. "I don't know what I'll do without you." What would happen if he was never replaced? If his children had no father, his wife had no husband?

This was the thought that frightened him. If the Bane slew him, he would almost certainly not be recovered. There would be no funeral, no burial, no closure for any of them. A soldier would stop by the house, deliver the news, and leave... and that would be the last they'd ever hear of him. He had seen families torn apart by war. Everyone had. Most of them never recovered.

But he couldn't think of it that way, because that meant that by joining the Order he had damned them. He had to believe he was doing the right thing, or
isn't it funny
he'd go mad.

isn't it funny the way things work out

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He had a horrible headache, all of a sudden.

isn't it funny how it's always too late

Too late? What did that mean? What the hell was he saying, and furthermore, why was he talking to himself? He should... just go to sleep. In the morning, everything would work itself out.

isn't it funny how you still think that way

His headache intensified and he winced. Was he thinking something funny? He didn't think so, why did this person thin

isn't
it
funny?


The world exploded. The campfire was blue, then green, then silver, then purple. The smoke winked at him and smiled before trailing off into the sky. Above it, he watched the clouds dancing with each other to a rhythm he could now hear ringing in his ears. The horizon shifted, tiled, contorted until it wasn't a line at all.

He laughed. He didn't know why, but neither did he stop. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Throughout the Order, others were laughing with him.

Not a soul slept well that night.
Level 1 Skill:
The Rave:
  • Targeted Chain Blink
    Lore

    The Laughing God can weave himself into a thought, dancing through the minds of others as if it were nothing. To some, his passing is as gentle a breeze, but to others it is a gale that tears at their very consciousness.
    The Laughing God blinks toward the target point or unit using nearby allies and enemies as stepping stones. He can travel up to X distance per jump and will always move toward the target. Enemy units used by this skill take Y damage.
Level 1 Skill:
Dream Eater:
  • Movement-Based Area Damage
    Lore

    The Laughing God is just as at home in your mind as you are. The moment he sees you he is already exploring every dark corner, every secret place, every hidden alcove of your thoughts. He knows all your secrets, all your nightmares, and all your delusions... and it is with these that he breaks you.
    Each enemy within X distance of the Laughing God takes Y damage for each unit moving within the area of effect.
Level 1 Skill:
Hysteria:
  • AoE Insanity
    Lore

    You only see the world through the veil of your perceptions. The Laughing God twists these perceptions to his own ends, causing chaos both within and without. The world warps and contorts around his enemies until they cannot be sure what is real and what is an illusion and they strike out in blind terror. This fear is the greatest of delicacies to the Laughing God.
    All enemy units within X distance of the Laughing God randomly attack a nearby unit, ally or enemy, for Y seconds. He proceeds to feed off of their paranoia, gaining Z life each time they attack their target.
Level 1 Skill:
Words of Madness:
  • Activated Laughter Aura
    Lore

    No one sees the joke, what makes the Laughing God laugh. He whispers in their minds, forcing them to understand it the way he does and laugh right along with him. They will laugh until they are out of breath, clutching at their sides as they attempt to continue fighting against him, and though he may laugh with them, he is far more used to it than they.
    Every second this skill is active, the Laughing God and all enemies within X distance laugh harder, slowing their movement by Y% per second. When this skill is toggled off or they move out of the area, this slow decreases over time. This slow cannot rise above Z% for the Laughing God or W% for enemies.
Ultimate:
Silence of the Lambs:
  • Worldwide Madness Manifestation
    Lore

    Any man is capable of going insane. It only takes the tiniest push on his fault line, whatever that may be. The Laughing God knows every mind and he knows madness and how close it is. He reaches out, drawing forth the dementia inherent in the mortals around him and giving it form and purpose. Men watch in fear as twisted vestiges of their selves rip and tear at their bodies.
    Every unit on the map spawns a Derangement, a unit under the Laughing God's control.
Comments:

I have to thank TheDeathstalker and Dusk both for helping me so much in putting this hero together. If it wasn't for them it would have turned out horribly. Anyway, this was just an idea I had running around in my head that I decided to put together. Comments are nice, as always.

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:21 am
by Rising_Dusk
Repeating what I said in chat so you know I read it: I like the backstory, and I'm glad you kept the random soldier in it alive. Too much character buildup with his family to just callously kill him off, would've left the reader feeling a bit hollow. Also, you may want to explain what a derangement is in the last ability. If I didn't know it was a summon, I would be asking questions.

On the whole, I like the hero. He turned out good. Glad to have been of help. rawr!

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:44 am
by Black_Heart
All right, I clarified the ult and tad and cleaned up the skill descriptions, like you suggested. Thanks again, and I'm glad you liked it.

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:34 pm
by Rectifier
Excellent hero, I completely agree with dusk, it turned out great. I particularly like Dream Eater and what it means for chasers, especially if you comboed it with a chain blink. Great escape mechanisms on this hero, sounds like a real pain in the ass for his enemies; which he should be.

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:41 pm
by Rising_Dusk
*Bumps to Exalted*

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:26 pm
by Loki
Congrats, Heart. The first person to ever get an exalted hero in before a map was even released. /tips his hat

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:33 pm
by Rectifier
That was awfully quick too, how long did you chat on wc3/irc?

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:54 pm
by Loki
The entire thing was probably being worked for atleast 3 nights in Wc3 channel. lol

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:59 pm
by Black_Heart
Yeah, I spent about three days working on it, talking with Loki, Vinn, Dusk, Death, and, like, everyone else in the channel at the time.

And <3 Dusk. Thank you!

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 3:13 pm
by SetaSoujirou
Loki wrote:Congrats, Heart. The first person to ever get an exalted hero in before a map was even released. /tips his hat
Except Kaome got his accepted.
(not saying that he would know the map concepts to make it make sense for his hero anyway)

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 3:43 pm
by Loki
Except, Hollow was already a character in AotZ by the time. And Kao is probably the only person to make that hero to give Dusk inspiration to install it into AotZ.

Re: The Laughing God

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:10 pm
by Rising_Dusk
Kaome kind of cheats, since he knows me IRL and we can discuss this stuff at infinitum together over a cup of tea.