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August 28th, 2020
Idle Champion Spotlight: Lazaapz 
Posted in Idle Champions.

"Where was this device discovered," Lazaapz whispered, "and how old is it?"

The goblin artificer reached out of her mechanized armor to run her fingers along the surface of the Eldritch Machine, admiring the elegant craftsmanship. It resembled a large metallic sarcophagus, covered in arcane runes written in an ancient language.

"It was unearthed during one of our recent expeditions to Xen'Drik," the surly envoy of House Cannith responded. "Our analysis has confirmed that this device was constructed by the Cul'sir Dominion approximately forty thousand years ago."

"Incredible. THEY WERE SO SMART! I've only seen a handful of other machines they've created. There was the one down in the Cogs but it was broken, and then there was the last one your employers brought..." Lazaapz trailed off as she wandered around the machine, inspecting it from every angle.

"House Cannith trusts that you will keep the results of your testing discrete as per our previous arrangement."

"Did you see this?"

"I'm not sure what you're pointing at." The envoy shifted to get a better view of what Lazaapz was gesturing towards.

"These are symbols associated with Dal Quor. Do you see them? WHOA! If this machine is from over forty thousand years ago, that could mean it has something to do with the Quori. Weren't the Quori corporeal on our plane back then? OH BOY! Do you know what this could mean!?"

"...I'll leave you to it," said the envoy, turning to leave the workshop. Lazaapz didn't notice. She rarely noticed people when her mind was fixated on a mechanical puzzle. AND WHAT A PUZZLE! This will be fun...

I. Goblin Armorer Artificer

Dungeons & Dragons Lazaapz

    Born in The Cogs beneath Sharn's Lower City, Lazaapz's remarkable intellect elevated her to the Tradefair district, where her mechanical genius became highly sought after by the Dragonmarked Houses. Lazaapz's first invention was a functional mechanical arm to replace the one she was born without; now she leads an elite team of engineers in cutting edge research and development.

    Following the discovery of a mysterious Eldritch Machine, Lazaapz was brought in by House Cannith to ascertain the purpose of the device. Shortly after, both Lazaapz and the machine disappeared, never to be seen again.

Lazaapz is a Tank and Support Champion who buffs other small-sized Champions with her Fury of the Small ability. She wears a suit of custom mechanized Power Armor that powers up her abilities and attacks, granting improved bonuses and additional attacks that debilitate enemies while she is under attack. When you want to add Lazaapz to your formation, you can swap her with Makos (Slot 9).

II. Lazaapz's Stats

Race: Goblin Alignment: Neutral Evil
Class: Artificer (Armorer) Gender: Female
Age: 19 Affiliation: none

STR: 8 DEX: 16 CON: 16
INT: 18 WIS: 10 CHA: 8

Role: Tanking/Support
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich


Dungeons & Dragons Lazaapz

III. Lazaapz's Design

The story of Lazaapz began with Rizz Dupree.

We receive a lot of feedback and suggestions when it comes to Champions players would like to see, and among the most popular and frequent requests is for us to introduce a Goblin Champion and to introduce some kind of Artificer now that they have been officially introduced to 5E through Eberron: Rising from the Last War.

Other feedback that came to mind:
  • A tank that uses a tower shield.
  • More short/small Champions.
  • More monstrous Champions.
  • More evil Champions.
This had been on our minds for a while, but it took the introduction of the Armorer subclass for Artificers in Unearthed Arcana: Subclasses, Part 3 in late February for it all to come together. We were inspired to create a Goblin Armorer that used a tower shield and their Arcane Propulsion Arm to fight enemies, and Rizz Dupree was born!

Side note: 'Rizz Dupree' was just a name that sounds kind of like 'Chris Dupuis' to start, and it was just part of the initial Champion design pitch. This name quickly became 'Renton' (named after Renton, Washington, where Wizards of the Coast is located) as the design came together before eventually settling on 'Lazaapz' while the design was finalized.

At this point we knew that we wanted this goblin to be an inventor, a mechanical prodigy able to build their own prosthetic arm replacement as a young child. Using their ingenuity, they worked their way up from the lowest depths of Sharn, the Cogs beneath the Lower City, making their way all the way up to the Tradefair District. The equipment cards for Lazaapz speak to this history, as she built and tested her own suit of power armor.

We knew that we wanted to base the design around a suit of Power Armor that charged up and stored power while not in combat, and that used that power to boost abilities and dish out some punishment to enemies while under attack. This suit would build up to a high power threshold while you cleared areas quickly, and once things got tough the suit would kick in and buff the small members of the party and help Lazaapz damage enemies with her Thunder Fist.

Of course, since Lazaapz has an Arcane Propulsion Arm as a prosthetic, we thought that it would be fun if it was also a kind of long range grappling fist in addition to a thunder fist. She could reach across the screen, grab an enemy, and drag them to the front of the formation for a beating. Another Champion that can manipulate enemy placement!

...and isn't it about time we had a Champion that buffed our kobolds, gnomes, halflings, and dwarves? #IshiMeta

We're still really excited about Lazaapz. We hope you are, too!

IV. Lazaapz's Abilities

Basic Attacks

Lazaapz has two basic attacks. She attacks four times with Thunder Gauntlet and then attacks with Grappling Fist, then repeats.
  • Thunder Gauntlet — Lazaapz leaps out and attacks the nearest enemies with her Thunder Gauntlet, damaging them and stunning them for 0.5 seconds.
  • Grappling Fist — Lazaapz fires her Grappling Fist at a random enemy and quickly yanks it to the front of the formation. This attack deals no damage and cannot move static enemies or blockers.

Formation Abilities

  • Fury of the Small — Increase the damage of all small races (dwarves, goblin, halfling, gnome, or kobold) by 100% for each qualifying Champion in the formation. Stacks multiplicatively.
  • Power Armor — Lazaapz has a set of Artificer Power Armor. It gains one stack for every 1 second that Lazaapz is not under attack. This caps at 100 stacks. Lazaapz gains 1% max health for each stack of Power Armor, stacking additively.
  • Tiny Bulwark — When Lazaapz is under attack, she consumes 10 stacks of Power Armor and increases the effect of Fury of the Small by 400% for 10 seconds.
  • Lightning Launcher — When Lazaapz is under attack by at least 5 enemies, she consumes 15 stacks of Power Armor and activates her Lightning Launcher (fired from a large gem located in the middle of her chest plate), targeting one of the enemies attacking her and striking all enemies in a line, causing them to take 200% more damage for 7.5 seconds
  • Shield of Sharn — Lazaapz increases the max health of all other Champions by 25% of her base max health.

Specializations

  • Stolen Power — Increase the max stacks of Power Armor by 100.
  • Team Player — Abilities that require Lazaapz to be under attack (Tiny Bulwark and Lightning Launcher) will now trigger if any Champion in the formation is attacked.
  • The Zapper — Lightning Launcher will now trigger with only one enemy attacking Lazaapz and its damage buff is increased by 100%.

Ultimate Ability

The ultimate changes based on the number of Power Armor stacks Lazaapz has available. If she has 20 or fewer stacks, her ultimate ability is Recharge. If she has 21 or more stacks, her ultimate ability is Overcharge.
  • Recharge — Lazaapz immediately regains all of her Power Armor stacks and, for the next 30 seconds, does not expend any stacks when triggering Tiny Bulwark or Lightning Launcher.
  • Overcharge — Lazaapz overcharges her Power Armor, preventing it from gaining any more stacks but increasing the effect of Tiny Bulwark and Lightning Launcher by 400% for 30 seconds.

V. Lazaapz's Equipment



Slot 1: Global DPS
Slot 2: Global DPS
Slot 3: Fury of the Small
Slot 4: Power Armor
Slot 5: Tiny Bulwark
Slot 6: Lightning Launcher

VI. Conclusion

What do you think about Lazaapz? If you have feedback, let us know in a Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!
August 26th, 2020
Idle Champions: The Grand Tour, Part 12 
Posted in Idle Champions.

We head east, to make our way towards Mithral Hall, but we're sidetracked along the way...

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Grand Tour Adventures, Lost in the Goblin Halls and The Twilight Grove, in order to access these new Adventures.

Into the Unknown

We head east, on the way to Mithral Hall, but we get sidetracked by a pair of farmers who lead us to an derro trying to blow a mountain up...
  • Variant: A Tenday at Golgamann's — Golgamann (the skeleton in Izhkin's cave) has some friends over to visit and they do not approve of the Champions! Each area a number of skeletons appear. Skeleton enemies deal 300% more damage, will not count toward quest progress, nor will they drop gold.
    Only Champions with a WIS score of 11 or lower can be used.
    Reach Area 375.

The Prison of Velkynvelve

We awake in a dungeon, prisoners on a new adventure. We're not even supposed to be here today!
  • Variant: Prisoners of Lolth — All drow enemies are blessed by Lolth, granting them an initial set of armored hit points. Only Champions with a STR score of 15 or higher may be used.
    Reach Area 375.

See the in-game Change Log for more information!
August 19th, 2020
Idle Champions: Dragon Heist, Part 10 
Posted in Idle Champions.

It's time to finish up our business in Undermoutain and reunite the party, and of course there's also finding and recruiting Ulkoria Stonemarrow into your party!

Good luck!

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Dragon Heist Adventures, An Illithid Undertaking and Déjà Vu, in order to access these new Adventures. You will also need to complete 45 Dragon Heist adventures or variants to access Ulkoria's unlock variant: "The Gargoyle".

New Champion: Ulkoria Stonemarrow

Dungeons & Dragons Ulkoria Stonemarrow

    Ulkoria has defended Waterdeep with her magic more times than she can recall. She is a well-respected member of the Watchful Order, often working closely with The Blackstaff on the city's defense. Known only as "the Gargoyle" by most, her face often locks into a scowl of concentration. Few have withstood her withering stares without relenting.

Ulkoria is a Support Champion who buffs other caster Champions with her Spellcaster School ability. She also assists greatly in adventures starting in Waterdeep or Undermountain. When you want to add Ulkoria to your formation, you can swap her with Tyril (Slot 10).

For more information about our latest Evergreen Champion, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Ulkoria Stonemarrow dev blog!

Dungeons & Dragons Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Alterdeep

The rescuers and the captives are deep in Undermountain but kept from each other, split between Seadeeps and the dream realm of Alterdeep. Will the two groups ever reunite?
  • Elder Rune Attack — The Mad Mage is frustrated that the Champions have continued their incursion into Undermountain. Whenever you change perspective between Seadeeps and Alterdeep you are affected by a different Elder Rune. The bane effect of the Elder Rune will persist until you change perspective again.
    • Halaster - Whenever an enemy spawns, a random Champion takes 20% of their max HP as damage.
    • Korombos - Each area a random formation slot is debuffed. Any Champion in that formation slot is stunned. The effect lasts until you change areas.
    • Savaros - Monsters drop 90% less gold.
    • Lammath - Champions base attack cooldown is increased by 50%.
    Reach Area 350.
  • The Gargoyle — It's time to invite The Gargoyle to join the Champions, but Halaster won't make it easy for us to recruit her! Generally, only Champions with a magic base attack can be used, but a few extra helping hands tag along as well. In each non-boss area, a different faction (Zhentarim, Xanathar, Cassalanters, and the Mad Mage) attacks. They will not count toward quest progress, nor will they drop gold. Each faction also has a unique boon granted by Halaster which will be active for the entire area.
    • Zhentarim - Champions base attack cooldown is increased by 2 seconds.
    • Xanathar - Enemies deal 300% additional damage.
    • Cassalanters - 5 Abyssal Chickens spawn.
    • Mad Mage - Champion healing is reduced by 50%.
    Unlocks Ulkoria Stonemarrow.
    Reach Area 400.
See the in-game Change Log for any additional updates!
August 14th, 2020
Idle Champion Spotlight: Ulkoria Stonemarrow 
Posted in Idle Champions.

It's time for the arrival of the long-awaited wizard and our latest Evergreen Champion, Ulkoria Stonemarrow!

This Shield Dwarf wizard has defended Waterdeep with her magic more times than anyone can remember. She's also known as "the Gargoyle" by most because her face is frozen in a scowl that frightens adults and children alike, but she has a soft spot for the urchins of Waterdeep.

If you'd like to learn more about Ulkoria, read on...

I. Ulkoria Stonemarrow

Dungeons & Dragons Ulkoria Stonemarrow

    Ulkoria has defended Waterdeep with her magic more times than she can recall. She is a well-respected member of the Watchful Order, often working closely with The Blackstaff on the city's defense. Known only as "the Gargoyle" by most, her face often locks into a scowl of concentration. Few have withstood her withering stares without relenting.

Ulkoria is a Support Champion who buffs other caster Champions with her Spellcaster School ability. She also assists greatly in adventures starting in Waterdeep or Undermountain. When you want to add Ulkoria to your formation, you can swap her with Tyril (Slot 10).

II. Ulkoria's Stats

Race: Shield Dwarf Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Wizard Gender: Female
Age: 377 Affiliation: none

STR: 10 DEX: 14 CON: 12
INT: 20 WIS: 15 CHA: 16

Role: Support
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Strahd von Zarovich


Dungeons & Dragons Ulkoria

III. Ulkoria's Design

Ulkoria has defended Waterdeep with her magic more times than anyone can recall, and is never seen without her shield guardian close by. She uses teleport spells to enter and leave her home, and while no one knows where it is, her home is rumored to be underground, perhaps in a cellar or dungeon under one of the city's oldest estates. The Champions, however, know her home to be the Trollskull Manor, their base of operations within the city.

We spent a lot of time on Ulkoria's design. She's been our outlet for information within the city, but as she joins the Champions, she's going to whip our casters into fighting shape!

When it came to Ulkoria's mechanical design, we wanted to reflect the wisdom and reinforcement a powerful archmage would pass on to other casters, empowering their spells and formation abilities.

As a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors within the city, she assists greatly in adventures within the Dragon Heist campaign, allowing you to feature her in Dragon Heist variants that are especially challenging, or in Patron runs!

IV. Ulkoria's Abilities

Basic Attack

  • Magic Missile — Ulkoria summons 3 magic missiles and fires them at random targets (each missile deals 33% of her DPS); the number of missiles can increase with upgrades, but still deal the same amount of damage.

Formation Abilities

  • Spellcaster School — Ulkoria gains a stack of Spellcaster School for each Champion with a magical base attack in the formation (including herself). Each stack increases the damage of these Champions by 100%, stacking multiplicatively
  • Watchful Order — Ulkoria provides additional buffs based on the number of Spellcaster School stacks she has. This ability is not buffed as a whole, but individual elements may be buffed by feats.
    • 3+ stacks: Attack speed of affected Champions reduced by 0.5 seconds.
    • 5+ stacks: Increase the effect of affected Champion's positional formation abilities by 25% for each stack
    • 7+ stacks: Each time an affected Champion attacks, there is a 50% chance that their base attack cooldown will immediately reset.
    • 9+ stacks: Increase the base value of Spellcaster School by 200%.
  • Defender of Waterdeep — Increases the damage of everyone in the formation by 100% if you are on an adventure in the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign.

Specializations

  • Shield Guardian — Unlocks the Shield Guardian ultimate attack.
  • Urchin Pranks — Unlocks the Urchin Pranks ultimate attack.

Ultimate Ability

  • Shield Guardian — Ulkoria's Shield Guardian steps up behind the formation and casts Lightning Bolt once for each stack of Spellcaster School that Ulkoria has. Lightning Bolt targets a random enemy and deals massive damage to all enemies in a line.
  • Urchin Pranks — Nat, Jenks, and Squiddly jump onto the screen behind the formation and start tossing things at enemies. Each enemy hit takes damage and is knocked back 20% of the screen, stunned for 5 seconds, and then slowed for 15 seconds. The kids throw 4 items each over 6 seconds, each targeting a different enemy if possible.

V. Ulkoria's Equipment



Slot 1: Global DPS
Slot 2: Global DPS
Slot 3: Spellcaster School
Slot 4: Defender of Waterdeep
Slot 5: Ultimate Damage
Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

What do you think about Ulkoria? If you have feedback, let us know in a Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!
August 5th, 2020
Idle Champions: Ahghairon's Day 3 
Posted in Idle Champions.

Each year the citizens of Waterdeep celebrate Ahghairon's Day, honoring the first Open Lord of Waterdeep and the founder of the Lords of Waterdeep. Common folk leave violets and effigies at Ahghairon's Tower and the House of Wonder, Lords toast Ahghairon and the Watchful Order, and Guildmasters offer toasts in the name of the Lords.

For this year's festivities, the party has received an assignment from the Open Lord of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand — and when the Open Lord calls, you must answer...

Ahghairon's Day 3 introduces Omin Dran, CEO and founder of Acquisitions Incorporated, and brings back Jim Darkmagic, the most famous and powerful wizard from Acq Inc, as well as Ishi Snaggletooth. Players will have until Monday, August 17th, 2020 at 12:00PM PDT, to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year Three Champion: Omin Dran

    Omin Dran built the organization called Acquisitions Incorporated to facilitate his quest to find his true sister, at least in part. Despite his unprecedented success in establishing the market for franchised adventuring across the Sword Coast and beyond, Omin's full measure eludes most people. He is known to be a worshiper of Tymora, ruthless in matters of business, feckless in matters of love, and hopeless in games of chance. He is often accused of being a Masked Lord of Waterdeep, though that would explain some things...
Omin is a Gold Find and Support Champion. He uses Champion of Tymora to buff adjacent allies and Contractual Obligations to increase Gold Find. When you want to add Omin to your formation, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3).

For more information about Omin, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Omin Dran dev blog!

Year Two Champion: Jim Darkmagic

    James Winifred Darkmagic III is the scion of a mysterious, multi-planar wizarding family. As an entertainer and purveyor of the 'Jim Darkmagic Experience,' the legendary mage can often be found in markets and town squares performing feats of mundane legerdemain. The renown he has earned for these feats is nearly equaled by the reputation that follows him as a Chief Arcanist (and occasional arsonist) for Acquisitions Incorporated.
Jim is a DPS and Support Champion. His Wand of Wonder offers varied Support effects, and his Magic Magic Magic Magic increases the DPS of Champions with magic base attacks. When you want to add Jim to your formation, you can swap him with Minsc (Slot 7).

For more information about Jim, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Jim Darkmagic dev blog!

Year One Champion: Ishi Snaggletooth

    Ishi Snaggletooth hails from a warren of Kobolds living in the sewers under Baldur's Gate. Always the type to be more curious than careful, she accidentally stowed away on a ship headed to Port Nyanzaru. There, she met her dear friend, the Firbolg Littlefox. Often shunned by humans, Ishi hopes to prove herself as a true hero however she can. Ishi's biggest claim to fame is the defeat of the known swordsman, Hershel Von Saberburg, and since that day she's touted herself as a renowned duelist to anyone that'll listen to her.
Ishi is always the fastest Champion in your formation. She increases her own damage as well as the party's Gold Find based on the number of non-human members. When you want to add Ishi to your party, you can swap her with Jarlaxle (Slot 4).

For more information about Ishi, check out the Dev Blog: Champion Balance Update (March 2020) dev blog!

Year Three Variants

  • Lords of Waterdeep — Word has gotten around that you're searching for an ex Lord of Waterdeep, and fans of the city's ruling council join your adventure. A 'masked lord' of Waterdeep starts in your formation. Every 25 areas, another one joins you, filling the formation from the back to front.
    Reach area 75.

  • Vajra's Command — Vajra Safahr, The Blackstaff, suggests you take only the heartiest of the Champions with you on this endeavor. Omin counters that there are none heartier than Acquisitions Inc. Only Champions with CON 14 or higher, and/or an affiliation of 'Acq Inc "C" team' or 'Acquisitions Incorporated' can be used.
    Reach area 125.

  • Fortune Favors the Bold — Omin starts the adventure in the formation and cannot be moved or swapped out. Whenever a Champion attacks a non-boss enemy and kills them, the next base attack cooldown of Champions adjacent to them is reduced by 0.25 seconds. Whenever a Champion attacks a non-boss enemy and doesn't kill them, the enemy moves 100% faster and deals 100% more damage. This effect can stack additively.
    Reach area 175.

Year Two Variants

  • Spelling "Bee" — Our Champions continue to struggle to spell "Ahghairon's day". Spelling Bees spawn at random, reducing the DPS of whomever kills them by 90% for 20 seconds. If that Champion kills another Spelling Bee before their debuff expires, the effect stacks and resets the cooldown back to 20 seconds.
    Reach area 75.

  • Magical Misadventure — Only Champions whose base attacks are magical may be used.
    Reach area 125.

  • Center of the Multiverse — Jim Darkmagic starts the adventure in the formation and cannot be moved or swapped out. Only formation slots which Jim considers to be useful to himself may be used (the columns in front of and behind him).
    Reach area 175.

Year One Variants

  • Memory Magic — Two slots in your formation are affected by a magical spell causing all of the bandits to fight for the Eye of Gruumsh spellcaster. These affected slots change every 15 seconds by moving to a random adjacent slot. Heroes in affected slots must concentrate on resisting the magic, so they are unable to attack and all their Formation Abilities are disabled.
    Reach area 75.

  • Orcs Among Us — One, two, or three Powered-up Orc Fighters spawn randomly with each wave. They have triple health, do triple damage, they do not drop any gold, and they do not count toward any quest progress.
    Reach area 125.

  • No Humans Allowed — Ishi has been shunned by humans too many times, and for once she just wants them to see how it feels! You cannot use Human Champions in this variant.
    Reach area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!