League of Legends playable character killed off in latest story event

A playable and perhaps most importantly purchasable League of Legends character has been killed off.

League of Legends offers some heavy lore justifying the general madness of MOBA gameplay, but most of the time its highly-involved story doesn't mean much to actual gameplay.

Today, it does: Kotaku reports Gangplank has been killed off by rival Miss Fortune as part of the ongoing Bilgewater event. The character has been removed from the roster entirely.

This has caused a bit of an outcry, because League of Legends players pay to unlock champions for perpetual use, not to mention buying cosmetic items for them. But it sounds like Riot won't let this state of affairs last too long:

"Champion death is unprecedented in League of Legends, and we do not take it lightly. We encourage all Gangplank fans to remain calm for a few days until we can fully assess the situation," Riot wrote on the MOBA's forums.

"At this time, we are not addressing refund requests for him or his skins but please know that over the next several days we’ll do our best to make things right for everyone."

Well, it's certainly a dramatic way to draw player attention to the story and setting.