Narud's signature mechanic are Disguises. These are transformations into different characters with durations controlled by Narud's gathering of PWR. PWR is gathered when he deals damage in his default form and expended over time when he transforms. The rate at which PWR is consumed depends on the Disguise. I see the Minion form as lasting longest, it would have the lowest rate of all. While the shortest durations would be for the most powerful transformations, those should last long enough to impact a team fight but not take over a prolonged engagement. I picture that as being 8~15 seconds from a full bar of PWR.
Each disguise has a radically different kit than Narud's base form, allowing him to adopt a variety of roles. Each Disguise comes with its own trait effect, two abilities activated by the Q and W buttons (by default) along with a button to revert to Narud's base form tied to the E key. These have their own cooldowns, separate from Narud's base abilities or those of any other transformation. Each Disguise has its own mount, in most cases this is the horse that Narud doesn't have but in some case it's an alternate move ability all its own. And each Disguise has its own basic attack mode, some are melee while others are ranged. Although there are all these different elements, what Disguises share with Narud's base form is a health bar. Like Tychus's transformation into the Odin, Narud doesn't gain (or lose) health by transforming. His health is conserved and any damage he's suffered carries over.
There are a few other transformations that Narud has that aren't considered Disguises for the purposes of talents and other effects. Wraith Form is Narud's alternate mount, although it burns PWR it would be considered more like Narud's base form. Narud also burns PWR to control his Shadow of Amon heroic but then he's channeling, his consciousness leaving his body behind so he's not really transforming at all. Finally, I have on the drawing board a lv20 talent called Impersonate which lets Narud transform into a random Hero, any random Hero. That would have a timed duration rather than one set by PWR.
The Disguises included are intended as a proof of concept rather than a finalized list. It woud be very difficult to get the timing of the PWR limited duration as well as the power level of each one just right so they're bound to change. I've drawn on the StarCraft universe, showcasing canonical fascades that Narud has adopted in those games as well as including some fan favorites and notables that there's really no in-story reason for Narud to pretend to be. If Mengsk or Tosh ever made it in game, they could be redone to better resemble them. As it is, the existing Disguises are adaptations of existing heroes. This is pretty apparent when it comes to the Raynor disguise but Kerrigan, too, is a reworked Nova. Rory Swann is a straight take on boiling Gazlowe down to his core strengths while others stray much further from their inspirations in the name of creating something suitable. Generally, Disguises are pitched much stronger than the heroes they're based on which I think is necessary given their limited duration. A Nova has time to recloak and reposition after a failed gank but for Narud in his Kerrigan Disguise the clock is ticking.
Narud starts with one Disguise, the Minion, as part of his core abilities. Other Disguises are unlocked with talents, the way that the Lost Vikings have to unlock their special abilities. Once unlocked, a Disguise goes in the numerical active abilities bar as its own button so Narud can change from one into another, if he wants (with a small delay that can be removed with a talent). Every talent tier other than the first one and the Heroic options at levels 10 and 20, Narud will be able to pick between several Disguises. At the moment, I have two Disguises each at levels 4, 7, 13, and 16. So, at most, Narud can access 5 Disguises in a given game, mixing and matching as the player chooses.
lv1: Minion Disguise
lv4: Classic Kerrigan, the Ghost, versus Gabriel Tosh, the Spectre
lv7: Rory Swann, the Saboteur, versus Arcturus Mengsk, the Commander
lv13: Tal'Darin Zealot, the Fighter versus Vievictus, the Assassin
lv16: Marshall Raynor, the Commando, versus Samir Duran, the Sniper
Narud starts the game with the Minion already unlocked and tied to his trait key. It's a bit of an outlier since it's more about the game's mechanics than rehashing StarCraft lore. The Minion is meant to help Narud lurk around and surprise opponents, force them to always account for empty lanes and count minions to find him hidden in a wave.
The second tier sees a choice between Kerrigan the Ghost and Tosh the Spectre (Who turned out to be more of a Reaper than a Spectre who, if you squint hard, resembles Falstad, but there aren't really many Reaper characters that would be as fun to have in game as Gabriel.). Both feature ways of conserving PWR and getting around the map that should make them viable even in the late game stages of a match. It's a choice, though, between a Kerrigan Disguise with Nova's ability to set up ganks and hide in plain sight. And Tosh who's better at getting around the map and in contributing to a fight where one's going on.
The third tier is about the Specialist role of tearing down lanes. It's got Rory Tosh, the engineer, and Arcturus Mengsk, the politician. Rory is better suited to taking merc camps and breaking down defenses while Mengsk is better at accompanying minion waves. Rory is great at tearing down minions but should struggle with actual opponents (He's a more limited Gazlowe, in that regard, thanks to shorter ranges on his skills, and Gazlowe already has a hard time in fights). Mengsk is more supportive and able to contribute in a fight. But each should give Narud the ability to create pressure in a given lane.
The fourth tier is a choice between the only two non-human disguises. I posit that Narud had to have manipulated his Tal'Darin followers to the point where he'd have the look of one in his repetoir and that lets me create a version of Zeratul that doesn't have to include more invisibility in Narud's kit. Instead, the Tal'Darin is Narud's chance to be a melee heavy and crack heads like an Illidan or Tyrael, with all the sustain and escape that entails. Vievictus is a nod to the game's earlier builds when it was included as a Zerg DPS. The real draw with it is the mount alternate ripped straight from Abathur that lets Narud get anywhere on the map in a hurry at the cost of precious time burning off of his transformation. It gets real scary, though, when combined with his other transformations as Vievictus form would let him appear out of nowhere to throw down as anyone else. Vievictus can kick out respectable damage by itself but, really, thanks to the potential of that burrow it's going to have to be a bit lackluster.
The fifth tier features what I hope are the strongest Disguises of all. It's a choice between the image of Raynor that Narud used to taunt Kerrigan and the Samir Duran he ran around Brood Wars as. Both are high damage ranged attackers that should compliment Narud's inherent talents as a burst mage. Raynor should be a beast in team fights, with fast attacks and plenty of AoE damage to throw around. He's a powered up version of Raynor that includes elements that Raynor players would really like to have. Duran is more about single target destruction, able to pound away at a given target. But both would be short lasting, lethal transformations that could really swing a game if used well.
Heroes of the Storm Build Guides
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