I've designed a champion, the first of a few. I don't know how many people give a fuck, but it's honestly better to post it here than in the shit hole on the LoL forums.
I didn't make Lore or even a name, as this is purely design based. Anyway, the concept is a Ranged Carry who switches roles on the fly to Melee Carry. As a Ranged Carry the champion is safe, has good poke, and is relatively tanky (compare to Urgot or Graves). As a Melee Carry the champion gains respectable steroids. In this the champion can wear opponents down in safety while in ranged mode, then turn melee and turn the tide of a fight when it is safe to do so. As a glass cannon build, contrast to characters like Master Yi or Xin Zhao who lose viability because they can't safely enter a teamfight until a certain point. This champion can build glass cannon and have a role in fights at all times. Contrast to other champions that switch between melee and ranged; Kayle is always better off in ranged mode, while Nidalee is built in a way that both forms are usable in the same setting. The difference between a good and great player with my champion is knowing when to change forms. Melee gives great 1v1 potential, while range is more useful going into any team fight.
Stats
Ranged DPS into Melee DPS
Health: 360 (+92)
Health Regen: 4.5 (+0.55)
Mana: 230 (+40)
Mana Regen: 6.5 (+0.45)
Damage: 46 (+3.3)
Attack Speed: 0.658 (+3.01%)
Armor: 12 (+3.2)
Movement Speed: 300
Range: 550
In coming up with these stats, I compared ranged dps and melee dps characters. Melee DPS were healthier, slightly tankier, and with more damage. This champion is very steroid heavy to make up for a loss in range, but I didn't want to include a health buff. So I put the HP fairly high for a ranged carry, coming in at second most under Urgot. Everything else is middle of the road, with Armor even a little low. Movement speed is as low as possible due to a steroid later. Most ranged carries have 550 range, and I didn't think anything about this champion warranted any more than that. I almost considered 525, but thought it would be too detrimental to an already difficult to balance character.
Passive
(Passive): For every 3% of his health missing, this champion gains 1% life steal.
I'd probably have Grave's passive here if he didn't already have it. This just goes to accentuate the champion's tankiness. It doesn't offer an overbearing amount of sustain in lane, but gives enough life steal to really make melee mode worthwhile.
Q
(Active): The champion fires a skill shot. On impact it will deal physical damage, while an explosion will deal half damage in a radius.
Range: 1000
Radius of Explosion: 300
Cost: 65/70/75/80/85 mana
Cooldown: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds
Physical Damage: 30/70/110/150/190 (+.8 per attack damage)
Explosion Physical Damage 15/35/55/75/95 (+.4 per attack damage
A fairly simple poke ability to enhance ranged mode, Q offers great pre-team fight poke and a harassment tool in lane that isn't hard to hit with. I expect this ability to be maxed first.
W
(Active): The champion creates a wall directly in front of him to block off all enemy units, even preventing dashes. In addition, he gains a shield to gain further damage. This effect lasts for 5 seconds, and is not useable with E.
Cost: 55/65/75/85/95 mana
Cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14 seconds
Shield Strength: 80/140/200/260/320 (+0.8 per ability power)
Wall Length: 400/450/500/550/600
This ability drives home the safety factor of being a ranged carry. The wall spawns directly in front of you, allowing you to get a few extra shots off an a melee enemy before they can reach you. The shield offers some protection against ranged and mages. While not usable at the same time as E, W can allow you to soften up opponents safely before dueling them with E.
E
(Passive): The champion passively gains armor, magic resist, and movement speed.
(Active): The champion charges an enemy, dealing physical damage and slowing them for 2 seconds. He then switches to melee attacks for 10 seconds, gaining attack speed. Not useable with W.
Cost: 60 mana
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Range: 550
Movement Speed: 20
Armor & MR: 10/15/20/25/30
Physical Damage: 45/65/85/105/125
Slow: 20/25/30/35/40%
Attack Speed: 30/40/50/60/70%
Difficult to balance because it does so much and yet is not the ultimate. I had to decide on what a champion would really need for trading range for melee to be worth it, and the answer is everything frankly. Originally all enhancements were part of the active, but I worried about players forgoing E (like Ez's or Kass's W) because it's not a "traditional" ranged carry ability. When the truth is it can make them so strong early game. I felt a dash and a slow were necessary to "close the gap" between ranged and melee, both are somewhat meager though.
R
(Active): The champion changes the terrain at target location for 10 seconds, gaining attack damage while his allies gain half the amount. The location becomes littered with traps that deal physical damage to enemies upon contact.
Cost: 80 mana
Radius to Center of AoE: 900
Radius of AoE: 1000
Cooldown: 80/70/60 seconds
Attack Damage: 30/45/60
Physical Damage: 150/200/250 (+0.2 per attack damage)
E offers the means to melee carry, but R massively bolsters the character in both ranged and melee modes. In addition, it is a boon to any team fight. The size of a Trundle W, it's not terribly difficult for a teamfight to move out of the effect range. However, traps are arranged not in a way that players can't avoid hitting several, but in a way that makes straight movement and kiting impossible.
