Licensed Non-horror chapter concept: "Fallen Legends"

Demogordon_Ramsay

I've wondered for a while what non-horror or non-scary licensed characters would fit well with DBD. Even the least spooky people and creatures in this game have their roots in at least a tiny, tiny shred of horror, with the possible exception of Bill Overbeck. But what would a licensed work completely separate from horror look like?

I'm going to try to answer one variant of such a question with the Fallen Legends chapter concept.

This chapter introduces a new Survivor, Lamb, and a new Killer, The Kindred.

First, let's go over the new Survivor: Lamb.

----------

The Entity can take over any creature, so long as it has a mind of its own. Big or small, weak or strong—and mortal or immortal. No matter who you are, what you are, if you can think, the Entity can make you think for it.

It was any other day in Runeterra when Wolf’s bloodlust took over. He didn’t know who it was in his head, or how they’d managed to best him, but they were tearing his shackles away, the shackles created by Lamb’s ceaseless orders. “Run forth, be free, kill to your heart’s content,” they whispered. “But only if you kill for me. And your first target… is that small white lamb.”

Wolf obeyed. With a hungry snarl, he dove upon his dear friend, slashing and tearing at her throat. Something in the back of his head screamed at him to stop, but he ignored it. The hunt was on, and he’d found his prey.

A shard of Lamb’s mask was mercilessly ripped away, revealing her wide blue eye. Desperate, she grabbed at the sharp stone piece and sank it into Wolf’s scruff. He reeled back in shock and pain, buying Lamb enough time to stumble into a nearby fog of choking thickness, shocked, injured, and above all else, afraid.

When she came to a stop, she found herself at a campfire, surrounded by several strange-looking humans. As she soon came to found out, they were prey like anyone else—but not her prey. Her bow was gone. She was as defenseless as the rest of them for the new hunters.

The other prey would come and go. Sometimes they died, but they came back. Lamb would meet new prey too. All of them were caught in these terrible, terrible hunts.

And for the first time in her life, Lamb was not the hunter.

----------

Lamb comes with three teachable Perks.

Lamb's Respite: You will not die, not yet. When healed from the dying state into the injured state, gain a 4% Haste status effect for 30 seconds and 40/45/50% of the dying recovery progress made on your own is converted into your healing progress when injured.

Mounting Dread: The unfamiliar sensation of relying on others for help and having your life on the line makes your adrenaline levels spike. Every time a Survivor is hooked, gain a token. Each token increases the speed at which you heal others and others heal you by 2/3/4%.

Jungler: You have a tendency to avoid heavy combat. Your slow vault and slow locker entry and exit speeds are increased by 15% and the noises are 30/40/50% quieter.

----------

If you haven't guessed at this point, this chapter borrows characters from the 2009 MOBA game "League of Legends". I picked the character Kindred from this game for several reasons. The first is that they are two characters in one, Lamb and Wolf. What is interesting about this duo, however, is their role in the game's universe. In the words of their lore, "Kindred represents the twin essences of death." Essentially, Lamb represents the cold and quiet of a peaceful, dignified death, and as such is the gentle but cold and unfeeling member of the duo; when the reaper comes, those who accept their death are dealt a painless blow by Lamb's bow and arrow. Wolf, on the other hand, is wild and filled with a rageful bloodlust, as he is the face of a violent, agonizing, and disgraceful death. Those who refuse to accept their end are dealt a vicious, painful shredding by Wolf's teeth.

Naturally, Wolf would make a good Killer, while a version of Lamb who was stripped of her powers as the face of death would be quite defenseless and make for the perfect prey. The Entity saw this, and took advantage of this. However, without his eternal hunting partner, Wolf's abilities were hindered and dulled. The Entity took note of this and knew the perfect remedy—which brings us into our next Killer: The Kindred.

----------

A void overcame Lamb’s vision. All things faded. For the first time, the face of death came to meet death itself. 

Her lifeless corpse was dragged off the rusty meathook and into the foggy night sky above by a gargantuan set of spiderlike limbs, disappearing into the mist like she’d seen so many others fall victim to. Just like them, she awoke some time later, alive and well—but not at the campfire. She awoke to see her killer, her friend, Wolf, sitting patiently and waiting for his new master to parlay with her. In his jaws, he held her bow and a knife, crafted especially for her.

The Entity had realized its mistake in making her a Survivor. Her potential as the face of death suited its needs much more. Its spider limbs ensnared Lamb, dragging her closer to Wolf and laying the new hunting equipment down at her hooves. Lamb picked it up, and a sense of calm came over her. 

Once more, she had become the hunter.

----------

The Kindred's power is called "Twin Hunters". Separate, but never parted, Kindred represents the twin essences of death.

Press the secondary power button to switch between two Killers: the Lamb and the Wolf.

While playing as the Lamb:

-Your movement speed is reduced to 4.5 meters/second or 112.5%.

-Your Terror Radius is 20 meters.

-Default lunge is replaced with a “tumble” attack, considerably increasing range but slightly reducing steering.

-Each Survivor with Mark of the Kindred applied increases the Lamb’s vaulting, breaking, opening, and pickup speeds by 7%.

While playing as the Wolf:

-Normal Killer stats.

Special Ability: Storm of Arrows

-Gain Storm of Arrows tokens by doing damage to Survivors as the Lamb.

-Press the primary power button as the Lamb to activate Storm of Arrows, firing a fast-moving arrow after a brief channel. Hitting a Survivor damages them, restores your spent Storm of Arrows token, and applies the Mark of the Kindred status effect for 45 seconds.

-Reaching 4 tokens of Storm of Arrows immediately applies the *Mark of the Kindred* status effect to all Survivors for 60 seconds.

Special Ability: Wolf’s Frenzy

-Press and hold the primary power button while playing as the Wolf to activate Wolf’s Frenzy, dramatically increasing your movement speed (150% or 6 meters/second base).

-Each Survivor who has Mark of the Kindred applied increases movement speed in Wolf’s Frenzy by 10%, up to a maximum of 40% for a speed of 190% or 7.6 meters/second.

-Steering is limited in Wolf’s Frenzy but the Wolf maintains full directional control (full WASD).

-Press the attack button in Wolf's Frenzy to initiate Frenzied Slash, dashing forward in a straight line and doing damage to anyone within range.

The Kindred introduces two special new status effects into the game.

Mark of the Kindred: Mark of the Kindred is applied to Survivors for 45 seconds when taking damage from the Kindred. All Survivors receive Mark of the Kindred for 60 seconds if the Lamb reaches 4 stacks of Storm of Arrows. Mark of the Kindred does not deliver detrimental effects to the Survivors inflicted by it; instead, they grant the Kindred cumulative bonuses: Each Survivor with Mark of the Kindred applied increases the Lamb's vaulting, breaking, locker search, and Survivor pickup speeds by 7%, and increases the Wolf's movement speed in Wolf's Frenzy by 10%.

Dread: When a Survivor with Mark of the Kindred applied is put into the dying state, all other Survivors are inflicted with Dread for 30 seconds. While inflicted with Dread, performing a repair, heal, or sabotage action forces a difficult skill check every 6 seconds. Failing the skill check results in a 7% progress reduction and reveals the Survivor's aura for 4 seconds.

---------

The Kindred comes with three teachable Perks.

Relentless Hunt: No amount of intervention will stop you from catching your prey. If a Survivor takes a hit to protect another Survivor, your attack's cooldown is reduced by 15/20/25%.

The Sound of Feathers: Your hunter ears pick up even the slightest of disturbances. The sound of slow vaulting, slow locker entries and exits, and footsteps and their hearing distances are increased by 30/40/50%.

A Quick Death: Grievous and painful, your wounds are sure to kill fast. Dying Survivors bleed out 50/75/100% faster and their dying recovery speed is reduced by 15%.

---------

And there you have it. My non-horror licensed concept. I've put a lot of time into both Lamb and the Kindred, putting the Killer and several Perks through the rework grinder several times. Let me know what you think.

Demogordon_Ramsay

(This post is to share concepts for the addons and mori.)

Common

Bone Shard

A small fragment of bone collected from one of Wolf’s catches.

-Increases Mark of the Kindred’s movement speed bonus to Wolf’s Frenzy by 2%.

Weighted Grip Blade

A specially-fashioned blade that is slightly heavier, but allows for great control when properly used.

-Replaces the Lamb’s tumble attack with a normal lunge.

-Trumps all other addons.

Leather Quiver

A minimalist leather quiver that allows for light and easy drawing of arrows.

-Slightly reduces the channeling time of Storm of Arrows.

Shed Fur

-Clumps of thick hair from both Lamb and Wolf’s pelts. When it gets onto their prey, it carries a trace of the Kindred’s scent.

-Increases the duration of the Mark of the Kindred status effect by 5 seconds.

Damaged Whetstone

A small, worn whetstone used to crudely sharpen blades.

-Increases the Lamb’s interaction speed bonus from Mark of the Kindred by 1%.

Uncommon

Furry Blade

Lamb curiously used this knife to shave her fur. The clippings cling to the blade and leave a lasting scent on prey struck with it.

-Increases the duration of the Mark of the Kindred status effect by 10 seconds.

Old Hairpiece

A knot of fabric used to tie hair. Holding back her large mane allows Lamb lighter, surer movement.

-Reduces the Lamb’s Terror Radius by 2 meters.

Black Bone

A coal-black bone taken from a very curious creature. Gnawing on it sharpens Wolf’s teeth.

-Increases the duration of Dread by 6 seconds.

Refined Whetstone

A clean, like-new whetstone that sharpens blades well.

-Increases the Lamb’s interaction speed bonus from Mark of the Kindred by 2%.

Old Music Sheet

A piece of worn parchment that contains one of Lamb’s favorite songs.

-Slightly increases the steering of Lamb’s tumble attack.

Fresh Meat

A hunk of flesh torn from an unknown animal. Provides Wolf with even more energy.

-Slightly increases the lunge range of Wolf’s Frenzy.

Rare

Cracked Rib

A broken, damaged rib taken from a prey that Wolf tore to shreds.

-Increases Mark of the Kindred’s movement speed bonus to Wolf’s Frenzy by 5%.

Yellow Bone

A bizarrely-hued bone from an unidentified prey.

-Increases the duration of Dread by 10 seconds.

-Reduces the time between Dread skill checks to 5 seconds.

New Music Sheet

A like-new piece of sheet music that contains one of Lamb’s favorite songs.

-Slightly increases the lunge range of the Lamb’s tumble attack.

-Slightly increases the arrow travel speed of Storm of Arrows.

Lamb’s Blood

Lamb recklessly cut herself with this blade. The blood stuck to it leaves a strong scent on prey struck with it.

-Increases the duration of the Mark of the Kindred status effect by 20 seconds.

Reflective Fragment

A shard of a mirror broken during a fight with an unruly prey in their own home. Gazing into it fills Lamb with an unexplainable emotion.

-Increases the Lamb’s movement speed to 115%.

Very Rare

Tattered Scarf

A piece of old cloth that Lamb was given by a very young girl taken by sickness.

-Reduces the Lamb’s Terror Radius by 4 meters.

Japanese Water Stone

An esoteric but masterful whetstone from a land the Lamb does not know.

-Increases the Lamb’s interaction speed bonus from Mark of the Kindred by 5%.

Spoils of War

A fresh, still-warm arm of one of the Survivors of the Fog. Eating it fills Wolf with vast surges of bloodlust.

-Increases the initial movement speed of Wolf’s Frenzy by 15%.

Lamb’s Masterpiece

A song that Lamb wrote herself.

-Moderately increases the difficulty of Mounting Dread skill checks.

-Increases Mounting Dread skill check fail penalty by 3%.

Ultra Rare

Iridescent Masks

A pair of masks crafted by the Entity that matches the Kindred’s likeness. The cold glass fills the wearers with intense bloodlust.

-All Survivors are affected by Mark of the Kindred for the duration of the trial.

Lamb’s Favorite Poem

A lullaby to Wolf. The weft and wave of fate guides…

-Attacks made during Wolf’s Frenzy immediately puts Survivors into the dying state.

----------------------

MORI CONCEPT

The Kindred's mori is different depending on if you perform the mori as the Lamb or as the Wolf.

Lamb: Lamb slowly approaches the Survivor as they try and fail to back away. When she is close enough, she gently reaches forward to caress their face. The Survivor stares deep into the glowing eyes of Lamb's mask and slowly accepts their oncoming death, leaning their head against Lamb's touch. Lamb then drives her shank into the Survivor's neck, killing them instantly and painlessly.

Wolf: The Survivor puts up an arm to defend themselves, only for Wolf to dive upon them and rip it off with his teeth. He paws at the ground as the Survivor screams, driving his claws into their stomach and disembowling them in the process. Finally, Wolf pins them down and rips out their throat, lapping up the blood spilling from their neck before slinking away