User blog:Poisonshark/Custom Champion: Berthram, the Kingslayer

Champions
Berthram, the Kingslayer is a custom champion in the SMNK series.

Essence
He is unique in that he works with Essence. Any spell cast in his sight including his own give him 1 point of Essence. He doesn't use the normal Essence requirements to change forms, as his ultimate is easier to access with the ranks he invests into it. He can also exit his ultimate form early by reactivating his ultimate.

Role
Berthram is an assassin-tank. He associates traits from two antithetic classes, such as the Assassin class's AD burst with the tank's sustain. Since his assassin burst and tank sustain allow to beat out both strong points of mages, a jungler Berthram should be ganking mid-lane. His disadvantage against fighters who can resist his burst and overwhelm his own defense means he also shouldn't be going top. Berthram's greatest asset is his Earth Dragon's Form. This gives Berthram most of his tank aspects, and increases the utility he brings. Sadly, this also means that most of his tankiness is unaccessible pre-6. While his skills mostly represent an assassin playstyle with slight traces of utility, his ulted up skills help him be a real tank that can barge in teamfights and abuse his assassin skills.
 * Laning Phase
 * Berthram's a gank-based jungler, and he should use his talents at dueling and his initiates to gank very often. As an assassin and a tank, his damage will fall off late, and as Berthram sports little utility besides taking damage, his usefulness is fairly low.
 * Teamfights
 * As an assassin, Berthram should wait for a key moment to pick off his targets. However, as a tank, he does not need to bow out of fights even though his ability to deal damage is greatly inhibited if he doesn't get one reset. If he's not level 6, Berthram does not have access to his Dragon Form, making him quite vulnerable. But by the time teamfights start, you at least have it at level 1, so prepare at least some Essence to have that ultimate handy.

Lore
Born in Noxus, Berthram never was interested in the sedentary life his brothers loved so much. He always thrived for more freedom and more thrills. This opposed him to his entire family, who was more focused on building a secure future for itself. To cull his will, his family sealed a power into him, that of their earth magic. While they thought would teach him responsibility instead only made him more disrespectful and eager to harness his newfound power for a more exciting life. Berthram, in what he called Noxian spirit, tried to kill his entire family for the sheer excitement of it. The battle and his great escape unfortunately unsealed what his family hid, a gate that contained the abomination one of their ancestors had become. When the gate opened, the abomination flew out. Amongst the panic, Berthram easily ran away. He clandestinely boarded a ship to Bilgewater, which turned out to be a perfect destination for him. Chased by low-rank Noxian authority, he hid in the first crew he could find, which was Gangplank's. Berthram endured years of hardship, but there was no escape from the Dead Pool. Despite this, he had no regrets. When the ship met its end, he ran away from the fire, swimming his way to the shores and looking out for a crew to lead. It's there that he first harnessed his transformation: by being one with the ground, he accumulated the energy of the soil until he transcended humanity. Jumping from the sea soil, he rammed a Noxian transport ship at high speed with his body, and the impact capsized it. He then claimed an uninhabited island as his own, and magically dragged the ship from the bottom of the sea to the shore. Worshipped by his crew, Berthram makes his way to the League of Legends. ""He's always gunning for something. The real question is what?""

- A Grim Black crewman