Concept Lore
In the jungles of Kumungu, life is made easier in numbers. Rhodes belonged to a terramancer clan that shaped out their home from the earth. But as is life, there is no lack of surprises -- and nothing in Kumungu is safe. Rhodes' clan was attacked in the night by one of their own. The entire clan was engulfed in an earthy prison... but Rhodes managed to elude the betrayer. Now, working as a mercenary, Rhodes seeks his clan's betrayer -- and to bring upon them the earth's judgement.
Concept Game-Play
Some of my favorite abilities are those that alter the terrain for a short period of time (Jarvan ult, Anivia wall). But we don't have a champion that specializes in such abilities. Abilities I was thinking about while making Rhodes were things like; pillar prisons, earthquakes, crushing walls, landslides, shields of rock and earth, and defensive steroids. I thought it would be fun to have a champion who specialized in changing the terrain so that you could trap or pin enemies, or assist allies with more strategic play.
Art Direction
I wanted Rhodes to be tanky, but I didn't want to stick with the forested mountain motif that surround such characters. Since his abilities are earthen in nature though, I wanted to keep earth-tones in his palette. So I dropped a lot of green to favor browns, oranges, and khaki. I used a lot of rounded and thick shapes to emphasize his ability to take damage. I gave him a large hammer in which to alter the environment -- my thought process was that Rhodes is a Blacksmith... of the Earth. An Earthsmith. Since he is a soldier of fortune though, I wanted his armor to be both stone and traveler's wear at the same time. This is why he still has cloth clothing, boots, and belts. The heavier pieces of his armor though are styled after stone.
