Bard/Background

travels through realms beyond the imagination of mortal beings. Some of Valoran's greatest scholars have spent their lives trying to understand the mysteries he embodies. This enigmatic spirit has been given many names throughout the history of Valoran, but titles such as Cosmic Vagabond and Great Caretaker only capture a fleeting aspect of his true purpose. When the unknowable structure of the universe is threatened, Bard steers all existence away from utter annihilation.

Lore
Main=

The Battle of Bard Mountain
Noxian troops tried to capture the Bard Mountains and obtain a Celestial artifact bestowed to the Ionians of the Floating villages. During the battle, the village sage was tasked to take the artifact to one of the Celestial shrine on the top of one of the villages peaks. The Noxians mortally wounded him with arrows before he could reach the shrine. However, as his last act of defiance, he used the artifact to strike his would-be-killer, obliterating him and slicing a nearby mountain in half (seemingly failing in his duties). This misuse of the eggs power had drawn the attention of a, who promptly intervened in the event. He retrieved the artifact and took it away from the mortal plane before the Noxians and Ionians could use its power for war.

The Wonder Above
1= ""Stories are not just history. They can be so much more. They nourish your mind and, if told well, can even fill your belly. Some tales are warnings, reaching across time. Others uplift our souls from the yoke of everyday burdens. We laugh at fools, cheer heroes, and curse villains until the fire burns down to embers.

Our first rule: The facts may be important, but they aren’t as vital as the telling, of speaking to who we are and why we live. Details might change and fade, but truth lives with us for all time.

Stories are everywhere. We build them from what we see. Even the sky above whispers to us.""

- Ionian storyteller

2= ""Look toward the Frozen Watcher.

Summer’s grip loosens; winter’s herald dominates the night skies.

A horde of these strange creatures once enslaved the tribes of the Freljord. They smothered Valoran under glaciers and cast a shadow upon all of Runeterra.

The Frozen Watcher signals the end of the harvest. It reminds us we must all be prepared to endure winter’s lash.""

- Ionian storyteller

3= ""A cloud of smoldering destruction hangs in the night sky. This is the Fall of Shurima.

The Ancients groped blindly in the darkness, threatening to unravel the very fabric of creation in their hubris. Noble Shurimans who Ascended found a loose thread in the universe’s tapestry, and pulled upon it. The vulgarity of their ambition consumed thousands of innocent lives and ended a golden age.

Such was the fate of mighty Shurima and of men who would become gods.""

- Ionian storyteller

4= ""The powers that govern life and death are not to be trifled with. The Shattered Crown is a king’s reward for defying the shadows embrace. I believe we are meant to ponder mortality through poetry and verse, not enslave it to our will.""

- Ionian storyteller

5= ""There was a time, not long ago, when this constellation was absent from the night sky. Some call it the Mountain Shrines or the Great Caretaker. Those of us from the floating villages know of an older name, a name that speaks of a universal truth. The name we took for our kind: ""

- Ionian storyteller

Quotes

 * Upon selection


 * Movement


 * With no Meeps.png Meeps present




 * With 1 Meeps.png Meep present




 * With 2 Meeps.png Meeps present




 * With 3 or 4 Meeps.png Meeps present




 * Taunt

Bard lets a meep onto his shoulder and lets it run to and from across his arms.
 * Dance


 * Laugh


 * When a Meeps.png Meep spawns


 * When collecting a


 * When collecting two in succession


 * When collecting three in succession


 * When collecting four in succession


 * When collecting five in succession


 * Upon casting


 * Upon casting


 * Upon dying

Development
 is designed by Rabid Llama.

Champion Insights: Bard
By Rabid Llama

"We’ve looked at the idea of roaming supports before. Alistar was one, for a while, before he roamed so well you guys transitioned him into a death-dealing jungler thanks to his nigh on unstoppable W+Q combo and extreme tower diving capabilities. So we made changes, nerfed his extra monster damage, and put him back in his traditional support pants. But we still liked the idea, and so started thinking of ways that we could bring a new champion into League that had all the hallmarks of a roaming utility support.

''At the same time, one of the champion concept artists had drawn up a really compelling character. He was strange and otherworldly looking, so we started figuring out how we could join these two pieces - roaming support and this character - together. After trying out a few different mechanical hooks (he was, at one stage, a pretty bardy Bard, with a musical theme and an instrument that was more central to his abilities), we ended up with a cosmic character, a caretaker who existed to protect relics and places scattered around the world.''

''So how’s he different in game? Well, Bard roams to empower both himself and his allies. Each chime he collects soups up his Meeps passive, and as he travels, he’s incentivized to help out his other lanes and jungler with Caretaker’s Shrine. Crucially, they don’t require him to hang around, so Bard can pop into mid, drop off a shrine, then carry on towards top on the hunt for more chimes. Each chime gives him a short movement boost (so he can jet around at a decent pace), experience (so he doesn't miss out on too much minion xp), and mana. All this means he’s rewarded for roaming, and can (hopefully) leave his marksman during laning without handing them a big fat death sentence."''