Benny, the Macrocosmal Musician

The Arch-Muge

He Who Hears The Song Of The Universe

## Explore

**Benito Taliesin**, or **"Benny"** as he is known, is a young bard who travels the mystical land of Runeterra. Despite his youth and seemingly harmless disposition, Benny holds an odd connection to the mysterious primordial force of which the universe finds its innermost source. He hears it as music which he can channel through his instruments.

He doesn't know what he wants, nor where he's truly going, all he knows is his faith in this mysterious force is beyond all reason for no amount of thought or imagination could dare fathom what awaits.

## Personality

Benny is an incredibly calm person and comes across as harmless. He tends to mumble on if conversations tend to drag on. One thing to note about Benny is that he's also surprisingly fearless, most likely due to his nomadic lifestyle exposing him to a wide variety of dangers.

Due to his travels, Benny is also quite knowledgeable about the cultures of Runeterra. He's quite a polyglot.

## Abilities

### Passive: Music of the Universe

* Benny can harness the power of the Great Music that acts as the source of the universe. With this, he can cast magical spells through his instruments, granting him a litany of abilities depending on the mixture of his active slots. He has 6 elements which he can alternate with by pressing select keys (or icons depending on chosen interface). Switched-out elements enter a cooldown period.
	+ **Fortissimo**: Increases Benny’s armor and magic resistance.
	+ **Diminuendo**: Increases the rate of Benny’s debuffs.
	+ **Piano**: Decreases the duration of debuffs on Benny.
	+ **Falsetto**: Increases Benny’s CDR.
	+ **Decrescendo**: Every seven auto-attacks, Benny casts a small stun that lasts up to a second.
	+ **Allegro**: Increases Benny’s movement speed. When fleeing from an enemy champion, increase exponentially.

### Q, W, & E

#### Fortissimo + Diminuendo

* **Q: Melody of Malady**
	+ Passive: Benny’s basic attacks can also restore health scaling with his missing mana.
	+ A skillshot that restores health equivalent to half the damage dealt.
* **W: Momental Virtuosity**
	+ Buffs an ally and cleanses the self. The buff in question improves select stats by 25% for a few seconds depending on if their build is on AD or AP.
* **E: Adaptive Progression**
	+ Creates a small barrier around self that moves with the user. All gain a temporary shield and as long as they are within the barrier they cannot be damaged or affected by any ability they were already struck within a few seconds prior to entering the barrier.

#### Diminuendo + Piano

* **Q: Refrain of Denial**
	+ Stuns target for 2 seconds and silences them for 4. Skillshot.
* **W: Song of Future Sight**
	+ Passive: Immunity to Nearsighted.
	+ Reveals location of all enemies (to Benny only) on the mini-map, any nearby invisible/camouflaged champions are revealed and gain a debuff to their damage output for a few seconds.
* E: **Hymn of the Elements**
	+ Increases the AP of all allies around Benny by 33% for a few seconds.
	+ All enemies within the radius gain silence instead for double the duration of the buff to the allies.

#### Fortissimo + Piano

* Q: **Jig of Reinforcement**
	+ Increase the AD of all allies around Benny by 33% for a few seconds.
	+ Also increases both critical chance and slightly reduces cooldown.
* W: **Fanfare of the Vanishing**
	+ Benny turns invisible and gains a 40% movement buff. Invisibility lasts for 10 seconds but can be refreshed by entering brush.
* E: **Bonding Battlesong**
	+ Heals all allies, cleanses them and grants them a damage buff.
	+ Also applies to self.
	+ Scales to the amount of allies nearby. The more allies, the greater the reward.

#### Falsetto + Fortissimo

* Q: **Chorus of the Hive**
	+ Bonds Benny to an ally, allowing them to receive stronger versions of his buffs and other supportive meanuevers. The non-ult abilities they use are also used by Benny, basically making this a reverse Taric W.
* **W: Aria of Enragement**
	+ Passive: If mugic count is 5 or higher, Benny is immune to DoT abilities (like bleed), stun, root, slow and suppress.
	+ Increases the critical damage and critical chance of the target ally by half their max crit.
* E: **Harmonious Highsong**
	+ Heal allies for 30% of max HP and grant them shields worth 15% of max HP.

#### Falsetto + Diminuendo

* Q: **Ballad of the Belittled**
	+ When applied to a target ally with Deaths greater than total of Kills and Assists, boosts all of their stats by 200% for a few seconds. Quite the channelling time though.
* W: **Disarming Theme**
	+ Nullifies one random enemy gear entirely for a few seconds. If passive/active of this gear is currently active, can be used to nullify it as it is ongoing. Also, as the name implies, casts disarm.
	+ Prioritizes higher rarities.
* E: **Notes of Neverwhere**
	+ Creates a circle-cage.
	+ Destroys all terrain in contact with the cage.
	+ Shortly teleports everyone within the cage, both ally and enemy, a short select distance.

#### Falsetto + Piano

* **Q: Defender’s Song**
	+ Passive: Whenever Benny is out of battle for 13 seconds, he gains a shield worth 15% of his max HP. Can gain an additional stack worth an extra 2% for every enemy ability he is struck with. Caps at 20 (40%). Each stack lasts for roughly 10 seconds.
	+ Active: Conjures a linear wall that blocks out most projectile attacks. Destructible.
* **W: Hymn of Teleportation**
	+ After a brief channel, Benny can teleport to a select location.
	+ Roots all enemies in a radius at teleportation spot.
* **E: Gear Glissando**
	+ A linear pull that stops at the first champion.
	+ Nullifies struck enemy's gear (all of it) for a few seconds.

#### Falsetto + Decrescendo

* **Q: Canon of Casualty**
	+ Can be fired three times. Each one is a skillshot.
		- **First Shot**: Deals additional magic damage scaling with 45% of max AP after three seconds.
		- **Second Shot**: If this hits an enemy with the three second waiting burst from the first shot, that shot is cancelled and instead creates an AoE debuff that decreases both armor and resist by 25%
		- **Third Shot**: Gives Benny increased movement speed as an AoE comes from fired shot. The AoE deals extra magic damage and pulls everyone to the center.
* **W: Cadence Clash**
	+ Passive: When a nearby ally is killed, their killer is marked. If a marked killer is slain by Benny while still in Falsetto + Decrescendo, the ally is revived and Benny instantly regains 20% of max HP. 20% of Benny’s total damage is converted to true damage on the marked target.
	+ Active: A skillshot that sets a random non-ultimate ability of the enemy’s into cooldown. Cooldown however is at half of the usual.
* **E: Carnivore’s Keening**
	+ Benny can buff an ally or himself, allowing them or him to deal 30% increased damage with 30% armor and resist ignore.
	+ Buff wears off if slowed or rooted.

#### Decrescendo + Fortissimo

* **Q: Nocturne of the Elements**
	+ An orb is thrown at a target direction, dealing AoE splash damage. All enemies hit are silenced for a few seconds and slowed.
	+ If the orb hits a target, the one closest to the center of the AoE gains a small mystical connection to Benny. If Benny activates Nocturne of the Elements again, he pulls himself towards the enemy, resetting the duration of the silence and slow as well as doing a small bit of magic damage.
* **W: Final Fugue**
	+ Passive: When at 10% of max HP or less, Final Fugue’s active ability cannot be activated but in turn Benny deals more damage with his other abilities and the charge-up for Decomposition is increased.
	+ Benny sits still, channeling for a few seconds. He then regenerates 8% of his max HP over the next 5 seconds.
* **E: Fluid Fugue**
	+ Benny drops down a cairn at a target area. Allies that are near it can get healed.
	+ Shoots small projectiles at nearby enemies. Deals light damage. Damage is multiplied with the passive of Benny’s W.
	+ If the wall of **Defender's Song** connects with the cairn, it creates a stronger wall that slowly regenerates its own HP.

#### Decrescendo + Diminuendo

* **Q: Calling of Nagakabourous**
	+ A boomerang skillshot taunt that increases the enemy’s basic attack damage, but forces them to take damage equivalent to 40% of each basic attack.
	+ Gives Benny a shield worth 40% of his max HP. When he reaches 20% of his max HP or below when in combat against a taunted enemy, Benny becomes untargetable for 1 second.
	+ Deals more magical damage on returning shot. If caught on return, reduces the cooldown of this ability.
* **W: Interlude of Consequence**
	+ Passive: When Benny switches Decrescendo with another ability, he gains a temporary buff.
		- If Fortissimo or Piano: Regenerate 4% of max HP for 5 seconds.
		- If Falsetto or Allegro: Increase gold gainable by 33% for the next 5 seconds.
	+ A slow skillshot that randomizes the opponent’s skill choices. (If they choose E they’ll end up with either Q etc).
* **E: Anthem of Stone**
	+ A skillshot that petrifies the opponent, locking them in place and rendering them unable to do anything. Basically zhonya’s but they can receive damage.
	+ The first ability they are hit with that deals direct damage will break them free, but will leave them brittle.

#### Decrescendo + Piano

* **Q: Infectious Melody**
	+ Has 5 shots that recharge over time. Effects vary on the amount of shots that hit the same target. Stacks for the effect fade quickly.
		- **1st shot connects**: Inflicts damage over time.
		- **2nd shot connects**: Inflicts nearsighted.
		- **3rd shot connects**: Inflicts 20% magic resist debuff
		- **4th shot connects**: Inflicts 20% armor debuff
		- **5th shot connects**: Creates a shockwave around the target that passes the previous effects to enemy champs around them. The stacks themselves however do not transfer.
* **W: Consuming Cacophony**
	+ Area around Benny starts to vacuum every enemy closer to him, interrupting them as well as cancelling their heals and doing extra damage to their shields.
	+ Benny gains a small shield too.
* **E: Minion’s Freesong**
	+ Passive: When an ally minion wave dies, they leave behind a small orb that Benny and/or his allies can pick up. When they do, they gain cooldown reduction for the next few seconds.
	+ Buffs minions in the target area, boosting their power. Yes, I know this is basically Banner of Command.

#### Decrescendo + Allegro

* **Q: Mightsinger’s Requiem**
	+ Passive: When Benny is killed, he can resurrect once (fixed cooldown of 200s) with 50% HP. For the next 3 seconds his movement speed is increased by 100% but he cannot switch music slots, cannot auto-attack and can’t use any of his abilities.
	+ Basically a powerful ignite that can scale with missing % of enemy’s max HP.
* **W:** **Melody of the Meek**
	+ Affects both self and a target ally. If said ally loses more than a percentage of their health within 1.25 seconds, said damage is reduced to a 3% loss instead followed by a slow to the attacker’s attack speed and movement speed.
* **E: Fighter’s Fanfare**
	+ Benny enters a stance depending on his current condition. These stances persist for a scalable amount of seconds after either Decrescendo or Allegro are replaced. Stance timer neither stops nor resets if Benny switches back. The duration of these stances are at a fixed 10 seconds.
		- **Bard Stance**: If ally team is leading kill score by 5+. Benny's magic damage is increased, ignoring up to 30% of the enemy's magic resist. When Benny enters this stance, he unleashes a few waves of golden energy that increase ally armor and magic resist.
		- **Dancer Stance**: If enemy team is leading kill score by 5+. Benny auto-evades the next few basic attacks and AD-scaling abilities. Reduces mana cost of abilities. When triggered, heavily reduces cooldown for all allies in a scalable radius.
		- **Savant Stance**: If Benny charge for Ultimate is full. Takes priority over the other two. Increases Benny's attack speed by 100% and his movement speed by 40%. When activated, Benny becomes untargetable as he dashes forward, performing magical slashes which tear the fabric of reality, dealing large amounts of magical damage in an area.

#### Allegro + Fortissimo

* **Q: Geo Flourish**
	+ Passive: As long as Geo Flourish is in cooldown, Benny and any allies he has buffed deal more damage to towers. The damage buff scales with CDR to compensate.
	+ For the next few seconds, odd bursts of magic damage quake through the earth around Benny. All enemies hit get slowed. All champion-made terrain hit by the quakes are destroyed upon contact.
* **W: Ember Flourish**
	+ Passive: Every 5 basic attacks, ignite happens.
	+ Active: Unleashes a swathe of flame in a cone in front of Benny, inflicting burn damage with scales with lost HP.
* **E: Minor Flourish**
	+ Passive: Benny receives bonus health from heals and shields.
	+ Creates a small portal (like Bard’s portal) that heals allies when they go through. Enemies can also go through, but are slowed and lose mana upon reaching the other side. Mana loss scales with distance.

#### Allegro + Diminuendo

* **Q: Melody of Parasitic Mayhem**
	+ Become untargetable for a few seconds, covering an area with a blinding fetid fog. Said fog rapidly drains enemies of HP, with damage transmuting to HP regen for Benny.
* **W: Dissonance of Will**
	+ Pulls target champion to Benny.
	+ As the target is pulled, powerful energy sweeps beside the trail, knocking up everyone.
	+ Suppresses target for 2 seconds after.
	+ Allows Benny to pull himself to a wall.
* **E: Counterpoint of Chaos**
	+ Passive: Enemies hit with any of Benny’s Allegro + Diminuendo abilities cannot gain buffs to their AP and Magic Resist for a few seconds.
	+ Benny dashes forward, he can use this to move through walls. He leaves behind a small mark where he was prior to dashing. By pressing E again in the few-seconds window, Benny will return to the target spot. He causes an AoE upon return, stunning everyone in a small radius and severing any abilities that link champions to others.

#### Allegro + Piano

* **Q: Draining Dirge**
	+ An AoE blind that gives Benny a bit of HP that scales with the current AD of all champions within. For non-champions, scales with the damage done.
* **W: Duality Dirge**
	+ Creates a cage that stuns those that pass through it and prevents escape for all enemies within for the seconds that the cage is active.
* **E: Deep Dirge**
	+ Passive: When out of combat and walking a set amount of tiles in the river, allows Benny to dive in. This renders him untargetable to most attacks and while diving he has massive movement speed boost. His basic attack will make him resurface, and stun whatever he hits.
	+ Active: Creates a massive crooked line in front and behind of Benny, all those within receive some magic damage and are then knocked aside. Damage is intensified to large amounts when in the river.

#### Allegro + Falsetto

* **Q: Mindproof March**
	+ Benny dashes forward. Dash cannot be interrupted by Charm and can work even if Silenced. Benny however receives damage based on distance if he were to crash into a wall. As implied, he cannot dash through walls with this.
* **W: Chromatic Postlude**
	+ This one scales with AD
	+ Benny runs around in a circle, covering a middling diameter. The edges, where Benny is rushing around, is what deals damage. In the middle, all enemies receive no damage but quickly receive small stacks that upon receiving 100 forces them to get knocked up.
	+ While running around in a circle, Benny can still move. His movement speed is increased thus allowing him to cover more area and allowing the edge of Chromatic Postlude to hit as many enemies for as long as possible.
* **E: Tower of Song**
	+ After a mild charge-up, Benny forms a tower, a structure that up to 2 more allies can enter. Inside they themselves receive no damage but of course, cannot move unless they leave. Here they can fire powerful shots that deal fixed magic damage which is alright early on but terrible late game.
		- The tower is destructible.
		- Knock up/away can forcefully eject a member out of the tower. The one who gets ejected is based on entrance order. Last come, first to go.
	+ Mildly changes the effects of the other two abilities
		- **Mindproof March**: Benny forcefully ejects himself from the tower, rocketing towards any given direction.
		- **Chromatic Postlude**: A rushing circle is around the Tower of Song, but since the tower cannot move, neither can the circle other than where it is.
	+ If Benny is outside the tower, the tower receives increased damage.
	+ There can only be one tower at a time.

### Ultimate: Decomposition

Passive: Decomposition has no cooldown and instead has a charge-up which can be gained through frequent use of Benny’s skills. All of this can be helped a bit with constant alternation. When at 100% charge, Benny can gain neither gold nor experience but is deathproof. When Benny is at max level, deathproof now only lasts 10 seconds after the filled meter. Either way, as long as Benny is deathproof, his CDR is reduced by 20%

Active: A point-and-click debuff with a terrifying effect. This ability reduces all of the opponent’s stats except HP to 5 and can last for a lengthy duration.

## Biography

Benito Taliesin was born in the outskirts of Noxus, specifically one which was captured relatively recently by the ever-expanding Noxian Empire. He knows not much about his birth parents, his grandmother taking him on a carriage leaving the area all together to live elsewhere. Alongside other refugees they were intercepted by Noxian troops at sea en route to Ionia. Amidst the chaos both their ships sunk and seemingly everybody died as a storm settled in.

It is unknown how, but young Benito found himself stranded on the islands that neighbor Piltover and Zaun, thousands of miles away from where the refugees clashed with the troops. Lost and alone, the storms and seas whistled into his ears a noise unlike any other, which formed and reformed until it resembled music. Guided by nothing but the music, Benito survived. His faith growing deep in the music, he grew up seeking what this cosmic sound desires. Was this the will of a higher being? If so, then why?

Little Benito would encounter a pirate crew returning to Bilgewater and from there became a bard for a small pirate crew. Known as Benny, he managed to travel the wide world of Runeterra. While his superiors plundered treasures, he learned the cultures. Eventually his pirate crew would be destroyed by Gangplank and his own fleet, but Benny would manage to escape. He had since only further grown in both his age and in his magical skills. His explorations would bring him much trouble in Demacia, much wonder in Ionia, curiosity in Piltover and desire in Zaun. Noxus gives him a sense of solace for the people he lost while Shurima a different kind of what once roamed there. He's even explored the void, to see if their noise can become music as well and to see how much it resonates with the music of the universe.

Bilgewater was kind of like home, Ixaocan was secretive and hostile, the Shadow Isles was just dreadful. Bandle city was fun.

Benny however only ever sought one place after all this, Mount Targon, where the gods dwell. After seeing as much of the world as he could, it was time to follow the music to the peak of the world, where his song shall meet the stars. What awaits him there? He does not know. All he knows is that he shouldn't mess up his notes.

## Trivia

* The names for Benny's abilities are taken from the TCG *Chaotic*.
* The concept of the great music of the universe is taken from *JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion*, which has the story of The First Music.
* Benny's last name, Taliesin, is the name for a Celtic god of poetry and music.
* Benny appears to use several instruments throughout the use of his abilities, those instruments are: mandolin, flute, kashaka, cymbals, bongos, maracas, tuba, saxophone, agung a tamlang and a triangle.
* Benny has a total of 45 abilities, 46 if his ultimate is included.
* Benny appears to have a mysterious connection to Nagakaburous, the patron goddess of Bilgewater. Some of his voicelines imply he might be deemed a false prophet by the kraken church.