Boards›[ARCHIVED] Miscellaneous

Is Riven "Evil"?

TheSpiritDragon·12/19/2015, 4:04:36 AM·2 votes·2,674 views
Riven | League of Legends

So after reading up on Riven's base lore and finding out she is a Noxian in self imposed exile after she lost her comrades in a battle, that lead me to ask the question; is Riven necessarily evil? It's widely accepted that those aligned with Noxus are generally dark and blood thirsty individuals, and many would argue that they themselves are the defacto villain affiliated group in the lore with their conquest based army and thirst for possession of ultimate power and all, but Riven's base lore made her seem more like a proud Noxian citizen rather than a glory seeking bloodthirsty warrior like Darius Darius, or a self righteous narcissistic psychopath like Draven Draven. The lore paints a picture of a soldier who didn't fully understand what the war she was taking part of was becoming until it was too late, probably due to her sheltered favoritism from her days as a poster child getting publicity missions, and thus went AWOL. The fact that she did even go AWOL and left the Noxian army is regarded by some as enough evidence to consider her a good person, but the last tid bit of the lore: "She shattered her sword, severing ties with the past, and wandered in self-imposed exile - on a quest to seek atonement and a way to save the pure Noxian vision in which she believed." makes me feel like her exile was meant to make her feel like what the Noxian government made her out to be to the people. Now this in itself wouldn't make her bad necessarily, as I assume not all Noxus citizens are like that, but I do feel that Noxus would still promote the ideals of personal strength for the glory of Noxus, and the concept of being a truly great, loyal, strong, and merciless soldier would be precisely what Riven was made out to look like as these are generally what Noxus values in their society. So I asked all my friends who are familiar enough with the lore and still I was greeted with mixed answers. A few claim since she wants to uphold the Noxian vision she stood for, this in turn makes her into a Noxian archetype of power and ruthlessness, while others claimed it wasn't Noxus' values that she intended to uphold exactly but rather the ideal traits of a true honorable warrior that Noxus used her as, which would make her good in the same sense that say a samurai or a knight would be in traditional stories. With that said, I would like your input on this League community. What is the truth of the matter? Is Riven good or evil?

Ultimately I would like to point out that the concept of good and evil is kinda a matter of perspective from any side so do please respect each other's opinions. Thanks m8's.

Catch this poro - summoner 31

3 Comments

UtilityPunk12/19/2015, 10:46:38 AM2 votes

What are Riven's Ideals?

Noxus Ideals: "In Noxus, any citizen may rise to power regardless of race, gender, or social standing" Noxus Actions: "As the invasion continued, it became clear that the Ionian society would not be reformed, merely eliminated."

It appears that Riven was under the impression she was saving people from chaos and inequality, but realized that the Noxian army was actually using that pretense to commit atrocities. Being a high-ranking and well-esteemed warrior, she rarely, if ever was free from public scrutiny and pressure to be a hero. After her unit was surrounded, she finally found an opportunity to escape the war she was growing increasingly disillusioned with.

She values the idea that you must earn respect in Noxian society, and that respect is independent of background; anybody can be great. In essence, it is honour and equality that she values. Seeing the harm she caused in the name of these ideals terrified her, so she sought to represent her ideals in a different way; her own.

My Opinion

Her actions with the Noxian army were evil in that they put innocent lives at harm, but her intentions had always been good. If she were a d & d character, she was a lawful good character being manipulated by a neutral evil society. I actually like her lore; there's an ideological conflict, an identifying symbol, and good character development.

Moral Analysis

You can argue the meanings of 'good' and 'evil' for lifetimes, but Riven is a kind soul that did dirty work. Some people haven't learned to make the distinction between one's actions, and one's intentions. As you think deeper on questions such as these, you gain the ability to make deeper judgements of character; behaviours that indirectly cause harm, while not evil/wrong, can be perceived as evil/wrong in the right situations. It's interesting to study other people's perception of morality because you realize that everyone perceives different shades of morality. I personally believe that the more distinctions you can make, the better you can understand moral dilemmas such as Riven's history.

frigginmurlocs12/19/2015, 4:42:36 AM1 votes

I'd say shes chaotic neutral

Niyumi12/19/2015, 4:46:41 AM1 votes

I mean, I can't say she's good, because she values strength, war and all that, but I can't say she's bad, because she isn't willing to do whatever it takes to destroy her enemies (Singed).

She's upholding what she believed to be the Noxian values, which is "pure" strength, honor and all that, but that's not necessarily any better than what Noxus already does.

I donno. She's not "evil", but I can't say someone who lives for war is a good person either.

So, I vote a little of both.