[OVERHAUL] Shadow Demon --> Gnoll Torturer

[thoby123]

Finally have an excuse to use this:



Introduction
6.68 came, and with it the Gnoll hero we've all been waiting for. Unfortunately his backstory is... weird, to say the least. Turning our beloved Gnoll badass into a 'Shadow Demon' wannabe... riight.

Problems:

• Why twist words to make Gnoll not a Gnoll?
• Why does Gnoll's abilities need to be on a Shadow Demon?
• Other 'Shadow'-prefix heroes say hi

Summary:
I wanted to change Gnoll's theme without changing the current visuals, which look great and function well already. That, and I don't have sick custom SFX to replace them with With that in mind, I decided torture and pain would fit along with the decidedly evil look he has going for him. Also used by and , but only in word as it is not really shown in their spells.

Proposed Changes:

Hero Name:

Current: Eredar
Besides being the name of WC3's premier demon race, doesn't make much sense. Definitely not a gnoll-ish name.

Proposed: Gnawbone
A gnoll name (taken from WoW) and hints at the darker elements that Gnoll possesses. Pretty much any evil-sounding gnoll name would also do.
Other suggestions:

• asam3: Darkpaw

Sidenote: Gnoll should also get Hogger as a fun-name. WoW players would get this

Hero Title:

Current: Shadow Demon
Overused and almost generic for DotA. Not every Scourge hero has to be a demon. And the obvious; it's a Gnoll model.

Proposed: Gnoll Omen Gnoll Torturer
Although a bit similar to 's title (and equivalent to his one on HoN), Torturer is a nice descriptor for those sadists out there.
Other suggestions:

• angel.ft: Gnoll Darkwalker
• Monsterlord: Gnoll Doomsayer
• Fenrizzie: Excruciator
• JJE92: Gnoll Trickster

Background Story:

Current:
Long before the war of the Scourge and the Sentinel, an ancient demon named Eredar waged war on all creation. No champion of Light could match him, but he was betrayed and killed by his own underlings. However, the faintest sliver of his shadow survived; over the millenia Eredar regained a portion of his former being and grows stronger each day, but in a twist of fate his new form was that of a gnoll. Eredar's new form is not well suited to direct confrontation, but he knows a number of objurations and tricks to deal with his foes; his skills include banishment, poison, curses, and darker demonic arts.

Passing the model off as a Shadow Demon is difficult, and the story doesn't come close. Also doesn't give details on what 'darker demonic arts' he uses.

Proposed:

My attempt at backstory:
Being a lesser race, gnolls have none of the physical brawn, magical affinity or mental capability of their fellows. What they do possess, however, is a savage power-lust, the occasional prodigy and a lack of resistance to dark influences. As the Lich King's disciple, Gnawbone's sadism on the battlefield has gained sinister infamy. Amplifying his foe's pain tenfold with a curse, he can steal others' power for himself by calling forth their shadows. Infesting darkness spreads into opponents' hearts, to later trigger in a burst of torment. The gaze of Gnawbone alone stops the frightful cold, immobilised in scouring agony. Testing his gifts upon the Sentinel, their pain is the Torturer's pleasure.
Word count: 112

The below is based off the old Gnoll Omen title.
The Blackpaw gnolls of Quel'Thalas, like all living creatures, have been tainted to some degree by the passing of the Scourge. Gnawbone was one such victim, a simple mystic utterly broken by the Lich King. As the Scourge's newest lieutenant, he combines the magic of the wilds with his master's sinister gifts. Amplifying his foe's pain tenfold with a curse, Gnawbone can call forth dark duplications, seizing others' power for himself. Projectiles of infesting darkness volley outward, setting idle until a command causes the venom to trigger in a burst of torment. His very glare stops opponents cold, immobilised in scouring pain. True to his title, the Gnoll Omen's presence brings a dark sense of forboding to the Sentinel's armies.
Word count: 119

Any other story suggestions are welcome

Voiceset:

Current: Acolyte
Sounds way too intelligent for a Gnoll (no offence meant). Also used by , with whom it fits far better.

Proposed: Gnoll
Savage grunts and barks ftw
Another option: ObsidianStatue
Only used by , and sounds both sinister and beastly.

Ability Descriptions (Suggested):


Dark Duplication:
Renamed Disruption as it sounds generic (IMO brings it mind a ministun).
Gnawbone banishes the target to a dimensional pocket, removing it from play for 2.5 seconds. Upon return, two shadowy illusions of the target are created under the Torturer's control. Images deal 30/40/50/60% attack damage and last 6 seconds.


Soul Catcher:
Gnawbone unleashes a curse upon a target area, afflicting one random enemy unit within. For 12 seconds, any damage taken by the victim is amplified by 20/30/40/50%.


[W] Bane (sugg. by GEBnaman)
Renamed Shadow Poison as, like Shadow Demon, has overused wording, is somewhat vague and doesn't fit the visual that well. Other suggestions:

• kitchen: Torment Toxin
• ShadowKnight172: Stygian Plague/Soulbreaker/Soulbane
• GEBnaman: Malevolence

Gnawbone sends forth a projectile of Stygian darkness in a target direction. Enemy units hit are infested in gloom for 10 seconds, taking 50 damage and granting minor vision of themselves to the Torturer for the duration. Multiple hits of Torment renew and stack upon victims. Upon debuff expiration or Gnawbone's command, infested units take 20/35/50/65 damage multiplied by the number of times it was hit by bolts of Torment (up to 4 times; subsequent casts add 50 damage each).
Suggestions to improve the above tooltip are welcome, it's a pain to summarize nicely. Anybody get the reference?


Beholder's Glare / Torturous Glare
Renamed Demonic Purge to be more original and fit better with the suggested story, although it can be kept.
With a demonic gaze, Gnawbone stops a target enemy unit from moving for 2 seconds and removes positive buffs from it. The purged target regains its movement speed over the next 2 seconds, only to take 200/300/400 damage at the end of the duration.

Positives:

• New background does not stretch imagination as much
• Removes yet another demon antagonist
• Early enough in playtime to be changed without causing confusion amongst players
• Its a Gnoll. Don't insult him by making him a demon poser.

Comments all? This'll need a lot of feedback and polishing to go through

[Quiesce]

Darkwalker sounds cool, imo

Gnoll Omen is two nouns together, which isn't bad, but not good either.

[Linism]

I like it. Still don't understand what the reasoning behind this current theme is...

BUT if we're taking names from WoW, why not Hogger? Everyone's favourite Gnoll (for the Alliance at least).

[ZΣD]

Anyway I support this suggestion
Shadow Demon sounds plain and boring

[thoby123]

Originally Posted by Angel.ft

Darkwalker sounds cool, imo

Gnoll Omen is two nouns together, which isn't bad, but not good either.

I suggested Omen cause it's unique and doesn't shove more dark/shadow adjectives in faces. And isn't Darkwalker a noun

Originally Posted by Linism

I like it. Still don't understand what the reasoning behind this current theme is...

BUT if we're taking names from WoW, why not Hogger? Everyone's favourite Gnoll (for the Alliance at least).

Hogger's there as a fun-name

[Necro]

Thumbs way high.

[Truality]

Yes, t-up. Reasonable, and since the Hero is still fresh to players there will be no serious trouble with getting used to his current theme.

[Shadow Fury]

Originally Posted by NiKaNoRoU

Yes, t-up. Reasonable, and since the Hero is still fresh to players there will be no serious trouble with getting used to his current theme.

This.

[jesusatan]

I fully support you. Hope it gets changed in the next version.

[KiReNnA~!]

LOL Hogger! <3

On Topic: Yes It's really annoying seeing that the only Gnoll hero in the game ended up not being a Gnoll at all. Do we not have enough Shadow heroes in DotA already? Not only that, the current proper name for the Gnoll is actually called "Eredar", which it's supposed the name of a race in the Warcraft lore. The Gnoll shouldn't play such a powerful shadow theme at the very least. Gnolls are considered the weakest race in Lordaeron.
Muradin Bronzebeard, "I fought Gnolls who are tougher than you."

I also like your proposal very much.

[Lotus V Eater]

Originally Posted by jesusatan

I fully support you. Hope it gets changed in the next version.

This...

[Monsterlord]

Go for it. The whole Eredar thing certainly confused me, I was expecting to see an Archimonde or something, and was pretty lolwut when he turned out to be a Gnoll.

On top of that, shadow magic is very overused. Gnoll Omen sounds a little odd though, maybe something more like Gnoll Doomsayer?

[Fate Trap]

Instant T-up and support...
Offtopic: I wanted a killer Gnoll but this Shadow Demon wannabe sucks! So I'm suggesting a model change

[dominator02]

Originally Posted by Trap Door

Instant T-up and support...
Offtopic: I wanted a killer Gnoll but this Shadow Demon wannabe sucks! So I'm suggesting a model change

No,Gnoll Warden was the most "I wanna have a Hero Gnoll" QQ on this model.

OT:

.

[Schremba]

I was so happy to see a Gnoll hero (especially with this model), but the Story and the soundset was just disappointing. I support all you propose, the name (fits awesomely well), the hero class (well, Omen sounds a bit strange but I'm sure I'll prefer it over current one, plus I'm getting used to it), the soundset (of course!) and the background story (maybe try to reduce it a bit). All in all: Big, fat, double-handed T-up!!

[B.M.K.]

Hm, I'm russuan, but for russian guy his name sounds very very bad, so T-up.

[Rexulus]

Shadow heroes really are overused... I'd like to see this in the next version. T-UP

[1337_n00b]

Erectin' a thumbs-up-spencer here. Name ain't that good though, for reasons that are quite similar to B.M.K's

[Shukaku]

t-up gnoll hero should be gnoll not shadow-demon-watever-thing

[Cheaterhater]

T-Up. I got like WTF when the changelog told about a "Shadow Demon" named "Eredar" when the trailer clearly showed a gnoll. It's a gnoll, not a demon, and Eredar is a race in Warcraft lore, not a name for a single person. Lycan uses an Eredar model (Kil'jaeden), and naming a gnoll "Eredar" is just nonsense.