To Be a Pirate King

None that I'm aware of. There is no lore about Blue Flame Island other than it's three islands and that Bilgewater is a city; and the only lore concerning Bilgewater only goes as far back as to know Gangplank's father's name (Gangplank is the "captain" of Bilgewater, along with Miss Fortune; although, strictly speaking, the islands are lawless).

That works in our favor, then! I'm definitely getting some ideas for this guy.

I thinking of giving him a pistol that he never uses, with the intent on making his Taunt: "I've got one bullet in this, I'm not wasting it on you..." or "I've got one shot left in this... I don't need it to finish you."

(Similar to how Malzahar's model features a dagger, although it literally serves no purpose on Malzahar - not even for jokes, taunts, etc. I think he twirls it in his idle animations...)

Haha, first thing I thought of was Pirates of the Caribbean. Although it definitely does have a certain...something...air to it. And naturally it would fit with his name.

The whole champion is slightly inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.

Ah, well, that would explain it, then.

Is there a deadline at all on this thing? I just want to be able to give myself a window of time so I can get started on it.

Not particularly. There is a player-run contest on the forums at the moment where the prize is to have your champion suggestion voiced; the deadline for this is November. In order to be eligible, the champion has to be Hallowe'en-worthy (creature of the night, void, dead, etc) and "finished" (finished being complete skill set and a "background"). So having a background before the deadline would mean I could enter.

Gotcha! Schoolwork is a bit heavy at the moment, but I'll write when I find time.

Bump.

You can't rush perfection, sir. Trust me, I've got this on my mind.

I've just updated his article on the Wikia with a few more pictures, and since I posted this he's also got a selection of in-game quotes (which you can object or add to).

I like them! Okay, I'm going to write this thing now...I just need to figure out how not to mess it up too badly. I'm currently forgetting whether or not Mutiny is alive, dead, or some combination of both.

He's currently undead, but you can change that as you see fit.

I can work with undead. I was kind of hoping that was the case, actually.

Well, here's what I've got! It's kind of rough, but this is the general lore that I thought might work.

The wreck of the Blue Flame has long been an icon of Bilgewater's harbor. The namesake of the island itself, the wreck is rumored to have been the ship of the original Pirate King, a fearsome scourge whose name has been lost to the eddies of time. The only remaining possibility for knowledge of this once-great king is in the Captain's Lock, a solitary treasure chest found aboard the Blue Flame after years of searching its rotten depths. The chest, sealed with a lock that will only open in the presence of three distinct keys, has sat unopened in Bilgewater's deep coffers since the scum of the island first decided to hide their valuables away.

Recently, though, the efforts of Gangplank, the would-be Pirate King, unearthed what were presumably the three keys. Upon inserting them into the Captain's Lock, the chest was opened and inside sat nothing but a map and another box, humble and wooden. This smaller box was locked as well, and any efforts to pry it open were futile. Thus, the only chance for knowledge rested in the secrets of the map. After many arduous months of sailing and guesswork, a crew finally arrived at what was assumed to be the small island marked on the map.

The sole inhabitant of the island was a skeleton, leaning against a blackened rock with a ring of animal bones around him and a gun still clutched in one hand. On the rock behind was scrawled a single word: MUTINY. This, then, was the Pirate King; a decrepit skeleton abandoned by his own crew to a horrible fate. Why, then, was there a map leading to his location? And what was in the box? The answer to both lay in the bleached bones of the skeleton. Inside the ribcage sat a small, silver key, evidently having been consumed by the man at some point prior to his death. Now, it waited for eager hands to deliver it unto the box.

When the key was turned, the lid sprang open, and a beating heart was revealed, dark with age, but still pumping with life. Dark mists rose from the corners of the box and filled the sky, causing it boil with thunder and lightning. The heart itself rose from the box and floated to the skeleton, embedding itself in its former master's chest cavity. Slowly, surely, the Pirate King returned to life, the black magic he used to seal his soul away returning his decayed flesh to his form. By the end of the transformation, the man stood before the crew who had sought nothing but knowledge, terrible in his vengeance and powerful in his mysticism. He spoke only one word, then...a horrible rattle from another world: “Mutiny...”

Or so the stories go. The sailors that returned from that fateful trip were quite clearly mad and contradicted one another on nearly every point. Whatever happened, there is still one fact that cannot be disputed. From points unknown, whether some far-off island or the depths of Hell itself, a man has come. A man who can raise the dead and set them to his will. A man who can summon the ghost of the Blue Flame itself. A man who has declared himself the once and eternal Pirate King.

Very nice! I fear it might be too long, though, but it's definitely good.

Too long? I didn't realize that was possible!

Too long only with regards to what is the current norm. I think it's fine, and I think some stories are far too rush. However, this forum is considerably wider in terms of the text areas... so I'll do a size comparison now.

Alrighty. If things should be changed/if you have any better ideas, I'd be quite happy to go over some more lore-y things.

It is a bit longer than other backgrounds, but I don't think it's a problem. Thanks you.

No problem! I'm just glad I could get it to you before the deadline.

So that's what I look like.

Haha, I couldn't decide if it would be appropriate to upload Ask.com's mascot, so I stole one of the Journal Of Justice heads. Feel free to provide an alternative.

I'm trying to shorten it a tad, but I fear not doing it justice.

Don't worry about it. The main thing I was trying to go for was...um...something. I had in mind that Mutiny was this Pirate King who, despite being conspired against, was still good enough to come up with a last-ditch plan (i.e. figuring out where he would be mutinied, casting some sort of magic to preserve his soul/essence/whatever in that box, and carrying the key to his grave such that a hapless pirate crew might one day restore him to all his undead glory.) Or something.

Heyo!

Here's the current lore, with the few tweaks I made back when I posted it:

The wreck of the Blue Flame has long been an icon of Bilgewater's harbor. The namesake of the island itself, the derelict vessel is all that remains of the once-great Pirate King. Well, almost all. Prized from the ship rotten hull, the Captain's Lock remains unopened within the city's coffers awaiting such a day that it's key is discovered.

It was the Saltwater Scourge, self-appointed ruler of Bilgewater, who happened across such a key. But within the chest was nothing but a treasure map and another box, humble and wooden. Too busy to labor himself, Gangplank savvied a crew and set the two artefacts to sea. After many arduous months of sailing, the crew finally arrived at the map's destination.

The sole inhabitant of the island was a skeleton, leaning against a blackened rock with a ring of animal bones around him and a gun still clutched in one hand. On the rock behind was scrawled a single word: MUTINY. This, then, was the Pirate King; a decrepit skeleton abandoned by his own crew to a horrible fate. Why, then, was there a map leading to his location? And what was in the box? The answer to both lay in the bleached bones of the skeleton. Inside the ribcage sat a small, silver key, evidently having been consumed by the man at some point prior to his death. Now, it waited for eager hands to deliver it unto the box.

When the key was turned, the lid sprang open, and a beating heart was revealed, dark with age, but still pumping with life. Dark mists rose from the corners of the box and filled the sky, causing it boil with thunder and lightning. The heart itself rose from the box and floated to the skeleton, embedding itself in its former master's chest cavity. Slowly, surely, the Pirate King returned to life, the black magic he used to seal his soul away returning his decayed flesh to his form. By the end of the transformation, the man stood before the crew who had sought nothing but knowledge, terrible in his vengeance and powerful in his mysticism. He spoke only one word, then...a horrible rattle from another world: “Mutiny...”

Or so the stories go. The sailors that returned from that fateful trip were quite clearly mad and contradicted one another on nearly every point. Whatever happened, there is still one fact that cannot be disputed. From points unknown, whether some far-off island or the depths of the Hell itself, a man has come. A man who can raise the dead and set them to his will. A man who can summon the ghost of the Blue Flame itself. A man who has declared himself the once and eternal Pirate King.

— "A captain who goes down with his ship will rise with it." Mutiny

Anyway, after some feedback, it's been suggested that I add a little more synergy between his champion theme and his lore - mention his abilities in his lore, so to speak. I tried myself, but could not work it, so I thought I'd make a plea.

Do you think we could append the last paragraph to mention that he enslaved the poor souls who found him to charter him home to Bilgewater? Perhaps have some of the sailors flee on rowboats before they met their fate, and that is who shared the story of what happened? "A few sailors fled the island on rowboats, and came ashore dehydrated from their voyage and addled from what they had seen."

Also, I didn't win the voice over contest. But ah well.