(Radiant STR) Volfrid, The Glass Vizier

Brand new day, brand new ideas. This one is loosely based off Azir from League (don't let the rest know I play a bit of League, gaah), but most of the mechanics are more adapted towards Dota - less on skill shots and more of micromanagement.

Volfrid is essentially a summon-based Strength Hero with measly Strength gain, but excels at using his summons, The Glass Legion, to protect allies or sunder his foes. While his Strength gain is miniscule, his summons have a devastating effect on laning, as he can be an excellent bully and counterganker when played with good reflexes and situational awareness.
Volfrid also has below-average Magic Resist, making good plays that much more crucial.

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Volfrid, The Glass Vizier

Radiant Strength
Base STR: 19 + 2
Base AGI: 20 + 1.6
Base INT: 23 + 2.5

Base Armor: 2
Base Magic Resist: 15%
Base HP Regen: 2.5
Base Damage: 51 - 57
Move Speed: 315
Sight Range: 1800/800
Attack Type: Ranged
Range: 550
Missile Speed: 780
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Collision Size: 24

Role:
Durable
Support
Pusher

Pros:

+ Glass Bastion acts as a free Linkens' Sphere.
+ Glass Legionnaires from Covenant can harass opponents as easily as Venomancer wards.
+ High defensive utility.
+ Low Mana Cost on spells.


Cons:

- Utility spells have long cooldowns.
- Summons make Volfrid vulnerable to Earthshaker.
- Low damage output in all stages of the game.
- Poor situational awareness can greatly diminish Volfrid's effectiveness moreso than most heroes, especially with incoming ganks.

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Lore

For many centuries, the Crystal Caliphate of a Fallen Empire foresaw the rise of a great army of immortals - ultimate soldiers, tireless and unyielding, emotionless and unstoppable. A war to be won to restore their shattered empire, as the seats of the Halls of Glass lay, quite literally, shattered. The Caliphate failed to survive, but what they did leave behind was an abundance of ancient writings and texts, tattered remnants of The Fallen Empires, a monumental rise and fall in civilization that appeared as soon as they vanished - an ephemeral yet exhilarating moment in history.

Conspiracy theorists claim the tombs are sacred and protest their disturbances, for the Glass are what remain of the immortals; all theories typically shunned. There is, of course, a certain truth value to this, as the Caliphs themselves were renowned for the art of vital preservation - a skill that ironically backfired in their final moments as an empire. Some writings discern that the souls of many were forcibly ripped from their mortal shells, implanted into dull crystal and glass, melded into the sands that destroyed them.

What was unearthed, after decades of careful excavation, was a well-preserved structure unlike any the archaeologists have ever discovered: flawlessly sculpted glass, unheard of in a technological era barely able to smelt iron ore. Each jagged edge was but a thousand divisions of fractals within the crystal itself, and the form had no fixed shape with every errant twitch in their confused discoverers' heads. This discovery was abruptly cut short, however, by the glass "coming to life", as the survivors described, and the crystal itself manifesting in one true form - the prophesied weapon of destruction - the Immortals themselves.

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Abilities

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Covenant (Q)

Ability: Target Point
Affects: Enemy Units
Damage: Magical

Volfrid targets a 250 AOE on the ground nearby, dealing minor damage, but giving rise to a Glass Legionnaire. This unit has no fixed duration, but Covenant is sealed off (not silenced) when at least 3 Legionnaires have been made.
The Legionnaire cannot move on its own accord, and will attack nearby enemies with a cleaving attack in a 200 AOE.

Cast Range: 450
Summon Delay: 1,200ms
Damage: 60/100/140/180

Cooldown: 7
MP Cost: 60/75/90/105

Glass Legionnaire
Hit Points: 190/260/330/400
Damage: 20-25/28-33/36-41/44-49 (Chaos Damage)
Attack Duration: 0.31 + 0.79
Base Attack Time: 1.65
Armor: 5 (Heavy)
Bounty: 20
Notes:
- Takes 33% less damage from all physical attacks.
- Takes 33% more damage from all other sources of damage.

Volfrid himself was not the prophesied weapon of the Caliphate, but merely its harbinger; or in some cases, its conduit.

Notes:

- Only Covenant is available as a levellable skill at Level 1.
- Legionnaires cleave in a 300 degree arc for 30% damage.
- Legionnaires already summoned will not get stat boosts from the next level of the skill until re-summoned.
- A maximum of 3 Legionnaires can be summoned with this skill alone.
- The initial damage displaces units in a 55 AOE of the initial radius, preventing units from 'fusing' into the Legionnaire.
- Legionnaires are targeted as units by abilities.

Developer Notes:
The bread-and-butter skill of Volfrid in lane harassment, setting up defensive perimeters and combining with his other skills. Legionnaires have excellent utility and can absorb a great deal of punishment from lane creeps, making them exceptionally good at pushing and counter-pushing. The Chaos damage they deal also melts through most lane creeps.
This can be further combined with any of Volfrid's other spells for greater utility.

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Phalanx (W)

Ability: Target Unit
Affects: Allied Legionnaires
Damage: Magical

Volfrid targets a nearby Legionnaire, swapping places with it. Along the way, the Legionnaire dashes through enemy targets with a piercing lance, dealing light magic damage. In addition, it gains an enchantment that slows the first enemy target it attacks thereafter.

Cast Range: 700
Damage: 80/135/190/245
Movement Slow: 20/25/30/35%
Duration: 2

Cooldown: 24/21/18/15
MP Cost: 90/100/110/120

In more dire scenarios, the Legionnaires have developed a pact that protects the Caliphate from unrest, effectively doubling as bodyguards through the Empire's crumbling city.

Notes:

- Both Volfrid and the Legionnaire travel at 920ms, and damage all units in a 110 AOE of it.
- Projectiles will not be disjointed by either the Legionnaire or Volfrid, but will be dealt at the end of the dash.
- If either of the two are repositioned midway through the dash (e.g. Hook or instant cast stun), the other will continue to dash.
- Both units can dash through terrain, and gain zero collision during the dash. Collision is restored upon reaching the destination or upon the spell being disjointed.

Developer Notes:
Effectively Volfrid's only escape; this allows him to juke enemies or chase relentlessly, following up with a skillshot from Covenant or Heavy Convergence. With this skill, I hope to transition him to not only a more nuke-oriented role, but one that also emphasizes intercepting projectiles.

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Heavy Convergence (E)

Ability: Target Point
Affects: Enemy Units
Damage: Magical

Volfrid issues a powerful move order to all of his current Legionnaires, closest to him, forcing them to converge onto a target 200 AOE. All Legionnaires dash towards this point, dealing heavy damage and leaving a residual buff around them, to all allies, for the next few seconds.
This buff increases attack speed, and gives the Legionnaires invulnerability for the duration.

Range: 800
Acquisition Radius: 950
Damage per Legionnaire: 50/80/110/140
Attack Speed Bonus: 15/25/35/45
Duration: 5

Cooldown: 16
MP Cost: 90/100/110/120

Defensive perimeters are typically used to protect the Caliphs, whereas for pure offense, the Immortal Army strikes from every direction at once, ensuring the impossibility of escape.

Notes:

- Heavy Convergence cannot be levelled if there are no levels in Covenant.
- Linken's Sphere does not block any of the dashes.
- Legionnaires dash at 1,000ms, and damage in a 110 AOE. Each damage instance is dealt separately.
- Upon reaching the destination, Legionnaires will randomly disperse in a 300 AOE.
- Invulnerable Legionnaires cannot be targeted by any spells.
- Legionnaires can be interrupted mid-dash through stuns, entangles etc. Spell damage is not taken unless the Legionnaire passes through the collision of another unit.

Developer Notes:
Allows Volfrid to easily gather up his minions, and deal a heavy offense on enemy towers or in teamfights. The invulnerability of the Legionnaires also guarantees a constant source of harassment in lane, making them extremely difficult to kill off, and giving Volfrid a chance to dive under towers from a safe distance.

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Glass Bastion (R)

Ability: Target Unit
Affects: Allied Heroes
Damage: Magical

Volfrid shields a nearby ally with one of his Legionnaires, giving them bonus armor and magic resistance. Any enemies in the path of the Legionnaires are also damaged.
If the shielded ally is hit by a single target spell instead, the attached Legionnaire instantly shatters and takes the full brunt of the spell in place of the ally. The Legionnaire also shatters after a fixed duration.

Volfrid can cast this ability on himself, but it will not deal damage.

The ability works on a charge system that restores upon a fixed duration attained. The charges restore faster when Volfrid or a Legionnaire gets kills or assists.

Cast Range: 800
Damage: 120/220/320
Armor Bonus: 6/12/18
Magic Resist Bonus: 30/45/60%
Duration: 3

Charge Restore Time: 40/35/30
Max Charges: 1/2/3
Hero Kill Reduction: 50%
Hero Assist Reduction: 9/14/19%

Cooldown: 4
MP Cost: 75/125/175

The Legion serves the Caliphate with an undying will. Some of them take undying a little too literally.

Notes:

- The Legionnaire travels at 790ms, and damages all units in a 110 AOE of it.
- The shield blocks the same spells as Linken's Sphere.
- The Legionnaire is consumed at the end of the spell. If less than 3 remain, Covenant is unlocked.
- Glass Bastion cannot be levelled if there are no levels in Covenant.
- The Legionnaire attached is considered invulnerable for all purposes of the spell, except with spell interaction against single target spells; with which it is destroyed.
- Refresher Orb refreshes all charges to its maximum.

Developer Notes:
Alternative to Linken's Sphere, but possesses a larger degree of utility. Volfrid can use this for insane levels of support potential while dealing decent damage to anything in between him and his target ally. With proper timing, it can also allow for clutch saves from potent single-target spells such as Storm Hammer or Laguna Blade.
The long cooldown on charges and short window of blocking, however, forces the player to act more judiciously when using this spell.

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Responses

Casting Covenant
- "The Caliphate calls you forth once again."
- "Caliph, arise!"
- "Huh. Smaller than I remembered."
- "One glass cannon, coming up."
- "Arise, my immortal."
- "Heed my call into battle once more."
- "Ascend."

Casting Phalanx away from enemy Heroes
- "Nope. I'm out of here."
- "Defend me, thanks, bye."
- "Sucks to be you."
- "Forgive me, my minion."
- "A deception most foul."

Casting Phalanx toward enemy Heroes
- "Where do you think you're going?"
- "You have angered the Caliphate."
- "Only a coward and a fool runs from the Caliphate."
- "Retreat, and fight for another day."
- "Your services are no longer required."
- "Excuse me."

Casting Heavy Convergence
- "All units, fan out and attack."
- "Shish-kabob!"
- "Like spear fishing."
- "Dodge this."
- "Let's see what all your dexterity is good for."
- "After them!"

Casting Glass Bastion
- "Linken's other sphere!"
- "Not so fast."
- "Attack. We dare you."
- "You have no right."
- "Glass protects."
- "A crystalline chrysalis."

Killing a Rival
- Axe: "May history never hear of such a foolish General again."
- Axe: "What monster slays his own men?"
- Chaos Knight: "Five horsemen cannot take the Caliphate alive."
- Chaos Knight: "Outplayed."
- Dark Seer: "Try as you may, General. Our strategy is superior."
- Dark Seer: "We meet at last, my fellow tactician."
- Magnus: "Only a fool skewers with his own spear."
- Meepo: "A delicate craft, that. But flawed in its conception."
- Meepo: "Riftshadow Crystals. Impressive, but insufficient."
- Meepo: "The Caliphate would delight to learn of your secrets."
- Meepo: "Your soul split in five - may your death come fivefold."
- Legion Commander: "Commander of what legion, if I may ask?"
- Legion Commander: "Poor leadership begets your sorry state of existence."
- Legion Commander: "Your army abandons you, yet you call yourself a Commander."
- Legion Commander: "Your men have perished. Mine, are immortal."
- Lion: "Your spellwork is no match."
- Lion: "The hells themselves reject your craft. So do I."
- Lina: "Inferior craft."
- Lina: "Our craft was forged from fire - what hope have you?"
- Lina: "Fire strengthens glass."
- Outworld Devourer: "Obsidian - heavy, inflexible, and falls quickly."
- Outworld Devourer: "The irony. Stone shatters to glass."
- Phantom Lancer: "I sunder your hall of mirrors."
- Phantom Lancer: "Poor display of formation."
- Phantom Lancer: "Your army of inferiors is no match."
- Skywrath Mage: "You do not deserve the gift of flight."
- Tiny: "The irony. Stone shatters to glass."
- Venomancer: "Organic craft as a result of evolution still bears the hallmark of its creator - vulnerability."
- Venomancer: "The organics are, and always will be, an inferior craft."
- Venomancer: "We fear no poisons."

Purchasing Blink Dagger
- "An excellent addition to my arsenal."
- "Divine in craft - perfect in form."

Purchasing Assault Cuirass
- "My men shall find this useful."
- "To sunder our foes and buffer our allies - verily, this is a gift from the gods."

Purchasing a Specific Item
- Desolator: "With our conquest, corruption shall follow."
- Manta Style: "A hall of mirrors."
- Manta Style: "An axe worthy of the Halls of Glass."
- Manta Style: "Vengeance in triplicate."
- Medallion of Courage: "Cunning craft."
- Medallion of Courage: "Unwieldy, but I do not dispute its utility."
- Mekansm: "Intricate mechanism."
- Refresher Orb: "The Glass Legion shall rise anew."

One think I like from Venomancer is his wards, and you create a hero based on wards, nice! ^ ^

Okay, just a quick review...

Linken Sphere is expensive because it can handle even ultimates. So, if you want to negate an ultimate, the skill is supposed to be an ultimate. My point is Glass Bastion is OP, except if it's an ultimate.

Also, Reinforced looks underpowered. 10 seconds at 95 cooldown for doubled legionnaires is balanced on my second thought, but only one legionnaire at level 1.. make it three at all level imo. Maybe it's balanced by having second charge of Glass Bastion, but there stands my first point.

So complex hero. And i appreciate your formmatings here and there.

Also... Q is OP. 180 chaos damage is strong as hell. Balance it. Also 20 bounty os ludicrous for a creep this strong.

Oh, you play league????? POLICE! HERES THE GUY!

I can work with the rescaling of Glass Bastion, given its relatively low cooldown and the huge defensive bonuses it confers on the target ally.

The problem is Reinforcement. The idea is you get more utility from Glass Bastion, or you can deal way more damage with Convergence. Convergence also doubles as a pseudo-reality rift; in the sense that if you land it, the enemy not only takes the converged damage, but the damage from the first (or maybe second) hit of the Legionnaires. Volfrid can be played into a one-hit wonder with his ultimate, or a hard support. Or both.

Extending the duration essentially gives you an almost infinite supply of Legionnaires, but I can work with reformatting the ultimate. Comments appreciated:

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Reinforcement (R)

Ability: No Target
Affects: Enemy Units

Volfrid calls forth more Glass Legionnaires that circle him for a fixed duration - unlike normal Legionnaires, these will automatically be unsummoned after the duration. Volfrid can use all spells as normal, but can gain a second charge of Glass Bastion while his ultimate is active regardless of the spell's cooldown.
The Reinforced Legionnaires have less damage than normal Legionnaires.

Additional Legionnaires: 3
Duration: 12
Cooldown: 90/80/70
MP Cost: 200

Attack Damage: 20-25/30-35/40-45 (Chaos Damage)
Convergence Damage: 50/75/100

Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
All spell cooldowns are reduced by 20%. Reinforcement cooldown reduced to 55.
In addition, Convergence Damage is increased to 125 per Reinforced Legionnaire.

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Actually, it kinda works like this:
1. Casts at a target 250 AOE. After 1.2s, the spell damage (up to 180) is dealt.
2. The Legionnaire appears, hitting for 44-49 Chaos Damage per attack, at a relatively slow attack speed.

Legionnaires don't actually do 180 damage per hit. That would be broken, yes.
I will, however, consider rescaling the Bounty to 18/26/34/42.

Now, excuse me while I run for my life.

Alright, bump here, but I decided to rework two of the skills.
Here are the changes:

[W] is no longer Glass Bastion. That would be, as Ocean suggested, an ultimate.
What I chose, instead, was this skill, that grants Volfrid decent survivability and a nice juking mechanic:

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Phalanx (W)

Ability: Target Unit
Affects: Allied Legionnaires
Damage: Magical

Volfrid targets a nearby Legionnaire, swapping places with it. Along the way, the Legionnaire dashes through enemy targets with a piercing lance, dealing light magic damage. In addition, it gains an enchantment that slows the first enemy target it attacks thereafter.

Cast Range: 700
Damage: 80/135/190/245
Movement Slow: 20/25/30/35%
Duration: 2

Cooldown: 24/21/18/15
MP Cost: 90/100/110/120

In more dire scenarios, the Legionnaires have developed a pact that protects the Caliphate from unrest, effectively doubling as bodyguards through the Empire's crumbling city.

Notes:

- Both Volfrid and the Legionnaire travel at 920ms, and damage all units in a 110 AOE of it.
- Projectiles will not be disjointed by either the Legionnaire or Volfrid, but will be dealt at the end of the dash.
- If either of the two are repositioned midway through the dash (e.g. Hook or instant cast stun), the other will continue to dash.
- Both units can dash through terrain, and gain zero collision during the dash. Collision is restored upon reaching the destination or upon the spell being disjointed.

Developer Notes:
Effectively Volfrid's only escape; this allows him to juke enemies or chase relentlessly, following up with a skillshot from Covenant or Heavy Convergence. With this skill, I hope to transition him to not only a more nuke-oriented role, but one that also emphasizes intercepting projectiles.

And here's the reworked ultimate:

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Glass Bastion (R)

Ability: Target Unit
Affects: Allied Heroes
Damage: Magical

Volfrid shields a nearby ally with one of his Legionnaires, giving them bonus armor and magic resistance. Any enemies in the path of the Legionnaires are also damaged.
If the shielded ally is hit by a single target spell instead, the attached Legionnaire instantly shatters and takes the full brunt of the spell in place of the ally. The Legionnaire also shatters after a fixed duration.

Volfrid can cast this ability on himself, but it will not deal damage.

The ability works on a charge system that restores upon a fixed duration attained. The charges restore faster when Volfrid or a Legionnaire gets kills or assists.

Cast Range: 800
Damage: 120/220/320
Armor Bonus: 6/12/18
Magic Resist Bonus: 30/45/60%
Duration: 3

Charge Restore Time: 40/35/30
Max Charges: 1/2/3
Hero Kill Reduction: 50%
Hero Assist Reduction: 9/14/19%

Cooldown: 4
MP Cost: 75/125/175

The Legion serves the Caliphate with an undying will. Some of them take undying a little too literally.

Notes:

- The Legionnaire travels at 790ms, and damages all units in a 110 AOE of it.
- The shield blocks the same spells as

Linken's Sphere.
- The Legionnaire is consumed at the end of the spell. If less than 3 remain, Covenant is unlocked.
- Glass Bastion cannot be levelled if there are no levels in Covenant.
- The Legionnaire attached is considered invulnerable for all purposes of the spell, except with spell interaction against single target spells; with which it is destroyed.


Developer Notes:
Alternative to Linken's Sphere, but possesses a larger degree of utility. Volfrid can use this for insane levels of support potential while dealing decent damage to anything in between him and his target ally. With proper timing, it can also allow for clutch saves from potent single-target spells such as Storm Hammer or Laguna Blade.
The long cooldown on charges and short window of blocking, however, forces the player to act more judiciously when using this spell.

I really appreciate the work here, kentard.

It seems you put a lot of effort into this. Have a +rep.

Unfortunately, i am a little tired and doesnt feel like skimming it.

Been awhile since I revisited my favorite hero concept. Thought I'd add a few notes regarding its interaction with several update concepts. As always, critique is welcome.

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Covenant (Q)

- Glass Legionnaires are treated as Units, which means they can be killed off with Diffusal Blade or take bonus damage from Arcane Orb. However, Arcane Orb will not affect Legionnaires on Glass Bastion.
- Glass Legionnaires can be fully affected by movement displacement spells, such as Meat Hook and Force Staff.
- Glass Legionnaires will be instantly teleported to base using Test of Faith. However, Legionnaires in mid-Phalanx, Convergence or Glass Bastion will not be affected.

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Phalanx (W)

- If the Legionnaire shatters before Volfrid completes the dash, the dash ends prematurely for both parties.
- If either the Legionnaire or Volfrid are targeted by displacement/stuns, the dash ends prematurely only for the target.
- Volfrid can use a Blink Dagger or Force Staff mid-dash, however the Legionnaire's trajectory will not change regardless of Volfrid's new destination.
- Volfrid can use a Force Staff on the Legionnaire to propel it beyond its destination. It will only stop on the new destination, but will count as dashing - i.e. the damage and attack buff will apply even at the updated destination.

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Heavy Convergence (E)

- If the Legionnaire shatters before it completes the dash, or is otherwise disjointed via displacement/stuns, the dash ends prematurely.
- Volfrid can use a Force Staff on the Legionnaire to propel it beyond its destination. It will only stop on the new destination, but will count as dashing - i.e. the damage and attack speed buff will apply even at the updated destination.
- Invulnerability to Legionnaires only applies AFTER the dash is completed. It is possible to kill off Legionnaires mid-dash.

Ken, I'm back, well, let's see... the legionnaire is sealed off after 3 are made. Wouldn't it be more safe and useful if it worked like this: the first is destroyed after you made the fourth like broodmother's web?

And phalanx, could you give me a scenario of a situation when this skill shines compared to the the others? I can imagine me playing this hero skipping the phalanx (or perhaps putting one point) and saving it for the last because I don't really exactly know how to use it as well as others because I'm suck at juking.

Well done Ken, he is above average to me. We have a same taste in general, though I'd make W explodes a legionnaire for heavy damage or something like that. ^ ^

I really like this idea. Kind of original.

Hey Ken... I'm confused as of which skills are actually the real ones... could you post all of them in one post please?