"FEAR NOT HESPERIANS, DIEPMON IS HERE!"
Diepmon (the boss, not the person) is the Gunner Legion Commander, one of the ten commanders of the Legion of the Lord, Lord Sassafras's army, in the Extended Tale of Diep. Idea by... seriously, do you really have to guess?
Backstory[]
Diepmon was a high-ranking Tank Empire soldier who became disillusioned with the ideals of the Empire and defected to the Cult of Panzer sometime during the early days of the Cult. His credentials would eventually be used by Dr. Lacus to undermine the operations of the Tank Empire, while Diepmon himself remained in the Cult as a Prophet, wearing the orange cape and black uniform but wielding his signature triple miniguns instead of a spawner. This went on for a while until the tanks raided the Tower of Gladii for the first time and entered the world's end, fighting the old god's form as he attempted to take shape once more. During a Cult Raid that was being conducted at that time of the Archprophet's battle on a town in Shattered Coasts, Diepmon mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the battle. Witnesses in the area reported seeing a flash of light in the sky like a lightning bolt, but slightly yellow. The spot where he was last known to be showed no signs of scorching, yet no traces of Diepmon were left behind.
Cut to about five years in the future, where Lord Sassafras had completed the first phase of his Realm-wide takeover: the ascension to god status, the formation and opening of the Realm of Sassafras, the creation of the Sassa Club, and the establishment of the High Sassa Council. The Hesperian League was in need of commanders, so Sassafrexen pulled Diepmon out of suspended stasis. He was enhanced with IE Energy into a hulking Legion Commander, with the somewhat unusual side effect being a bolstering to his already pompous and overly ostentatious personality. Fortunately, these qualities are desirable to Hesperians, and with power of this caliber and his brainwashing enlightenment to the cause of Sassafras complete, Diepmon was given command of the Gunner Legionnaires of the Legion of the Lord as a Legion Commander, the third of ten to be appointed as such.
Design[]
Essentially, Diepmon is a very large blue tank with a much-larger-than-normal Vulcan setup on his hands, with one large cannon mounted on his body towards the front. The cannons have all sorts of tech designs on them and circuitry lines that occasionally glow with blue or yellow power while he is firing. Dark shades are worn where his eyes would be, and he has very muscular arms, complete with decorative pauldrons. The symbol of Hesperia (the Sassafras eye on a tan background is located in the middle his right pauldron, barely noticeable, but it is there. The pauldrons themselves are a dark tan with gold fringes. He may or may not have a cigar in his middle barrel. If he does, then once the battle begins, he will put it out and toss it away.
The image shown above in the infobox is his CoS-based design.
Invasion Army Event[]
Diepmon is the Gunner-class Legion Commander, one of ten. His main ammunition is bullets, but he has a barrel of tricks up his barrels. His barrels visibly spin if firing bullets normally, and if firing grenades or lasers, unless otherwise noted, they will come out of one of his hand cannons. Legionnaires are not affected by any of Diepmon's attacks, including those that involve forced movement and/or knockback of any degree.
Phase 1[]
- Hammer Shot: Diepmon blasts 5 clusters of 16 bullets each at the nearest players clumped together in a rough ball, dealing heavy damage on impact.
- Explosive Round: Diepmon fires a small grenade that explodes on impact with something in its targeted area, dealing high damage to the main target and medium damage to everything else within a 7 tile radius, as well as inflicting Paralyzed for 1 second.
- Pulse Cannon: Diepmon fires several high-speed rounds of bullets in a sine wave pattern, each with 16 bullets. These rounds are spread over a small area and deal low damage.
- Plasma Cell: For the next 3 attacks, any bullets that Diepmon fires will be energized with superheated plasma, increasing their damage by 175%.
- Sticky Grenade: Diepmon blasts off a small grenade that latches onto a player, inflicting them with Panic and Confused. It will remain there until exploding 5 seconds later, dealing medium damage and knocking back players in the immediate area a good distance. If the grenade is damaged in any way, it will explode prematurely.
- High Impact Bolt: Diepmon fires off a large yellow single-target laser bolt that inflicts medium damage, but this damage is increased by 250% if the target is afflicted with any debuffs.
- Mortar Volley: A large Hesperian League symbol with a 12 tile radius appears on a player. It is white at first and locks onto the player for 6 seconds, but for the last 3, it will turn red and become stationary. They must get out of range of the stationary target before the 3 seconds are up, or else they will be blasted by 12 Mortar bullets that Diepmon fires into the target area.
- Cryo Grenade: Diepmon charges up a frozen grenade in his center barrel and releases it onto a wide area, inflicting Slowed for 2 seconds and an ice effect on any players hit by it in a 5 tile radius and dealing low damage.
- Heroic Moment: Diepmon raises a Hesperian League flag in the air, inspiring any Legionnaires that are currently active. All Legionnaires will then restore 2% of their maximum health every 4 seconds for 1 minute. Uncommonly used.
- Reactive Tenacity: Diepmon gains a shield that gives him a 30% damage reduction buff and clears him of any debuffs. This ability lasts for 15 seconds.
- Death by Bullet: Diepmon blasts a multitude of bullets from all of his barrels onto a single target, dealing heavy, if not fatal damage to the player. If they are some sort of Lancer class or otherwise, they can deflect as many as the bullets away as they can at 30% speed and damage.
- Hold the Line: Diepmon becomes Invincible, and 12 Tier 2 and 3 Gunner Legionnaires are summoned in to form a shield around Diepmon where the highest concentration of players is. After 25 seconds, Diepmon will lose his invulnerability.
- Adrenaline Rush: Diepmon smashes the ground and glows red, gaining 60% increased movement speed for 35 seconds.
- Stealth Scan: Diepmon's shades release green scan lasers that reveal any invisible players, whether by class or item. He will then disable their invisibility for 1 minute by sending out high-voltage electrical charges from his barrels.
- Fortification: Diepmon and any Legionnaires currently active receive a 5% damage dealt increase and 5% damage taken reduction for 2 minutes. When this occurs, an orange aura in the shape of a hexagon will appear around them.
Phase 2[]
A Cancerous Vulcan.
When entering Phase 2, Diepmon gains new attacks, in addition to his Phase 1 attacks. He will also summon 6 Tier 1 Gunner Legionnaires, 3 Tier 2 Gunner Legionnaires, or 2 Tier 3 Gunner Legionnaires after each attack, and very rarely one Tier 4 Gunner Legionnaire.
- Cancer: Diepmon summons 3 Cancerous Vulcans, each being a Penta-Vulcan with a drone spawner and a triple Missile Auto Turret. Each has 6,000 health. This attack is only used once.
- Bullet Hail the Lord Sassafras: Diepmon fires a wave of bullets at players in an area spanning a 12 tile radius, each with a yellow Sassafras eye in the middle of it. Occasionally, when this attack is used, 5 Sassafras Minions may come out of his arm barrel instead. When this happens, Diepmon looks at his weapon in confusion, taps it a few times on the ground, causing two more Sassafras Minions to fall out. He will then perform the normal Bullet Hail the Lord Sassafras attack. The bullets deal low damage each.
- Concussion Charge: Diepmon jams his barrels into the ground, causing them to become bloated with bullets over 3 seconds. When he pulls them out, anything within a 35 tile radius of him is dealt insane knockback and low damage.
- Full Auto: Diepmon fires a veritable blizzard of tiny bullets from his barrels, knocking back players hit by them for almost minute damage but heavy knockback. This attack lasts for 7.5 seconds.
- Disabling Shot: Diepmon fires an EMP Destroyer bullet at a group of players, neutralizing any firing weapons they may have for 30 seconds.
- Concussive Round: Diepmon fires a nuke-shaped projectile at a player, unleashing an explosion fenced in by a tiny force field. The player is then completely incapacitated for 10 seconds. This attack is single-target only and cannot affect more than one player at a time. Even then, it is rarely used.
- Plasma Grenade: Diepmon fires off a medium grenade that explodes on impact, spreading fire over an 8-10 tile radius from its release point. Players hit by the grenade are initially dealt medium damage, then Burning for as long as they are in the fire, then 2 seconds after getting out of it. The fire lasts for 4-6 seconds.
- Riot Strike: Diepmon blasts bullets into the sky with all of his barrels, causing bullets to land everywhere around him for low damage.
- Gravity Round: Diepmon fires off a medium grenade that latches onto a target, pulling everything that gets within a 3 tile radius of the victim towards it. Once stuck to the victim, players or entities cannot move until the 25-second timer has passed. Additionally, anything that is caught by the gravity vortex is inflicted with Weakened for the duration of the gravity well effect. Yet even more unfortunately for the stuck players, Diepmon usually follows up with...
- Demolition Round: Diepmon throws a large bomb with 8 sticks of dynamite tied around it into the tightest concentration of players, blowing them apart and dealing heavy damage to anything hit within its 5 tile explosion radius.
- High Impact Bolt: Diepmon uses this ultra-high damage attack against players after Demolition Round. He fires off a single-target blast that deals heavy damage, deducting 50% of the target's max HP and ignoring buffs.
- Explosive Surge: Diepmon releases three mini Concussion Charge pulses, each pulse knocking everything in a 35 tile radius back a very small amount from its current position. This is followed by a powered-up pulse that pulls everything in that radius towards Diepmon for 4 seconds, then launching them out for medium-low damage and Dazed for 2 seconds.
- Harpoons: Diepmon blasts Griever hooks out of his arm barrels, pulling players in, then swinging them away to release them, dealing high knockback and low damage. On occasion, he may leave one hapless player for last and spin them around in circles before sending them flying.
- Neural Surge: Diepmon glows a bright blue as the Hesperian League symbol appears around him in a lighter blue color. He then gains 25% increased movement speed and reload for the next 25 seconds.
- Shoulder Cannons: Activated at 30% health. Diepmon gains 4 Vulcan Auto Turrets on his shoulder pauldrons. They fire at players continuously without interruption and do not change targets unless Diepmon is somehow stunned or the target moves out of the 20 tile sight range.
- 1080° Vortex: Diepmon spins in place until he is a blur, then starts firing, with the bullets forming three distinct spirals as they emanate out from his tornado, hence the "1080". Anything that comes in contact with Diepmon for the 10-second duration of this attack will be knocked far away and dealt medium damage (if they can somehow avoid the thick spirals of bullets). As for ammunition, it will simply dissipate if fired into Diepmon.
Last Stand[]
When Diepmon reaches 8% health, a portal above him opens and he is showered with IE Energy. He gains 30% increased movement speed, 50% increased damage, and 200% more bullets. The portal remains open, dumping out 2 Tier 1 Legionnaires of random class every 7 seconds. Players must defeat Diepmon before they get flooded by Legionnaires, otherwise, it will be impossible to get to him. When Diepmon's health reaches zero, the following lines will be said:
"Hmm, it looks like my IE Energy has run out! I can't stay here for much longer, otherwise, I'll be stuck in this pitiful place with you spice-less idiots!"
Diepmon will then move to the portal, then use his barrels pointing down to act as rocket engines. All Legionnaires will form one long chain with the last on Diepmon. Diepmon fires his barrels, allowing him to fly into the portal, Legionnaires in tow. Once the last Legionnaire has gone through, the portal closes and the Invasion Army event ends.
Trivia[]
- Diepmon is the loudest and most outspoken of the Legion Commanders, but yet somehow remains quiet enough to hear others' opinions out, odd given his pompousness.
- I don't know what made me do this.
- Most of the attacks are based on SWTOR Trooper class abilities.