Does Ionia have anything relating to Shinto priests or Mikos?

darkdill·Sep 1, 2015·4 votes·6,726 views

Yes, it's the obligatory "Can we have Reimu?" question, but it goes beyond that. Seeing as Ionia's all spiritual and such, it'd make sense to have shrines where they pray, or certain shrines that seal up various "evils in a can" (like with Varus). And of course, those shrines need caretakers, right?

Will any such caretakers be given a spotlight in the future? I can't be the only one who wants to see someone beating up the enemy team with magical ofuda talismans. XD

49 Comments

RiotBioluminescenceSep 2, 20159 votes

Hello! While I grant you that many champions are... um... strongly inspired by real world things a lot of the time, I would ask if maybe you'd want to think about this character archetype in terms suited to Runeterra (or Ionia specifically) instead of real world things like the Shinto religion.

For example - you mentioned that Ionia probably has temples - and it absolutely does! But I'd caution against assuming that those temples are carbon copies of Japanese places of worship - instead, what would the guardian of an Ionian temple be like? What would their ceremonial clothing signify based on Ionian ideals, rather than anything specifically real-world (or real world myths and stories). What forces and challenges have helped form their priorities.

Usual disclaimer that I am not a Rioter who works on League directly - so I can't help much - but I can recommend taking a closer look at what you find appealing about the archetype and looking at it through a League lens. Is it the dedication to quiet service that appeals? Magic use through the written word? The costume? (Problematic).

I'm no expert on Japanese culture, so I can't go into more detail on the pertinent details of what makes a Miko and what elements of the archetype would inspire a League character, and what other inspiration points it might work well with.

For examples -

Does it have to be female?
Would the guardians in Ionian temples be as likely to be male as female (or neither).
Does it have to be young?
Could it be something that very old Ionians dedicate their final years to guarding - because the evils held captive within corrupt those nearby, shortening their remaining days.
Does it even have to be Ionian?
What would the guardian of a Demacian official temple look like? How about the guardian of a run-down and near-forgotten Zaun temple? Do they even have temples?

I know it may seem unfair for me to ask you these questions, but these are the sorts of questions I'd be asking myself if I were trying to come up with a champ concept.

HellioningSep 2, 20153 votes

Of course it has to be a young female. They also have to be very attractive and dress in a way that shows off their legs. That's Ionian fashion, after all.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20152 votes

i see what you did there.

Ebonmaw DragonSep 2, 20152 votes

{quoted}

How about the guardian of a run-down and near-forgotten Zaun temple? Do they even have temples?

We need a guardian of the Ebonmaw's Temple

http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1430691731966/twisted_treeline_by_Eperia.jpg

Pray for the forgotten boss of Zaun!!

Chromatic EagleSep 2, 20152 votes

I can't see Demacia having temples. Churches maybe, but I never saw them as religious. Freljord could be interesting. Possibly Shurima or the Shadow Isles.

RiotBioluminescenceSep 2, 20154 votes

[{quoted}](name=Chromatic Eagle,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=4LONkXoh,comment-id=00020002,timestamp=2015-09-02T01:58:19.752+0000)

I can't see Demacia having temples. Churches maybe, but I never saw them as religious. Freljord could be interesting. Possibly Shurima or the Shadow Isles.

I suppose in my head I imagined they might have official state 'religion' of worshiping dead royalty - less about going there on a regular holy day schedule, and more a well maintained monument or even mausoleum to a past ruler. I should see if I can find out if that's way out of line or not.

Chromatic EagleSep 2, 20151 votes

Well it could be a thing. I'm not entirely knocking the idea. I like the idea of having monuments though.

Terra BoomaSep 2, 20152 votes

Why do I have a bad feeling you really really want to keep that thing maintained.

What would happen if a noble saw it wasn't being kept 'proper.'

....Welp I'm somewhat scared now.

Actually, that'd be a kind of neat story. Say some remote demacian village normally has to give X amount of food in offering to dead Royalty, but there's a crappy harvest and pretty much no food, what would that do?

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

Demacia would say "they are evil" probably.

Terra BoomaSep 2, 20151 votes

And I'm pretty sure being "evil" in Demacia is not going to give your town a long life span

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

yep... "Good" old demacia.

Chromatic EagleSep 2, 20151 votes

Don't take this the wrong way, but pre and post-retcon, I don't think religion has been a huge thing in the story, outside of a few areas. Normally, religion and military go hand in hand, but I can't see Demacians being religious. Their patriotism is their religion, in a sense. That's not to say they can't have modern churches, or ancient temples, but unless they're helping the military it might be considered a distraction.

I have this idea of Aatrox, possibly in his Justicar skin, "aiding" Demacia one time, and they have a reverence for him, but that's probably fan fiction that Riot can't use.

I believe that they have a reverence for royalty and military leaders. Statues, holidays, etc., but I can't see them worshiping anything as a nation.

Noxians might be more flexible, but I see them as independent of religion.

DreamspitterSep 3, 20152 votes

http://riot-web-static.s3.amazonaws.com/images/news/April_2013/post/ez-desk.jpg

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3422263&page=1#post37517935

They seem to have churches.

KadavikSep 4, 20151 votes

I believe Garen and JarvanIV have references in their kit about calling a divine power for aid. Especially Garen's ult and Jarvan's shield.

Laughing FishSep 2, 20151 votes

I always thought of Demacia having Churches dedicated to the worship of light magic. Maybe that is just my headcanon, but Demacia's dedication to justice and light always appeared to cross into worship territory to me.

Chromatic EagleSep 2, 20151 votes

Not sure how canon Garen's judgements are, and I assumed Lux learned her magic like shooting lightning as opposed to anything religious. But with Lucian's guns and Fiora's heals, I suppose anything's possible.

Laughing FishSep 2, 20151 votes

It is just that everything comes back to light with Demacia. They use light magic, weaponize light, talk about light... Combine that with the fact they are obviously based (albeit loosely) on the Catholic Church during the middle ages. Also, I read that as Fiora's heels at first.

DreamspitterSep 3, 20151 votes

They bothered to have Stained Glass windows in their churches.

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3422263

GenoXxSep 2, 20155 votes

You come here and discuss with threads like theses for a reason...... Especially when it's world building related......What are you guys plotting? I'm on to you Bio;

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/fe/fe7f325a48e14f5e20ad9a72edf7970970b333be3c1aef565c1b705ff29d6823.jpg

RiotBioluminescenceSep 2, 20159 votes

{quoted}

You come here and discuss with threads like theses for a reason...... Especially when it's world building related......What are you guys plotting? I'm on to you Bio;

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/fe/fe7f325a48e14f5e20ad9a72edf7970970b333be3c1aef565c1b705ff29d6823.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WIMX07I.gif Nothing to see here. Move along.

DwarvenGiantSep 2, 20151 votes

What if... What if Bio is working on a new game by Riot (What does "Senior Level Designer" even mean if it has to do anything with League?), but this new game will still happen in League's universe. This may be the reason for the whole "I'm not working directly on League" thing.

GenoXxSep 2, 20152 votes

Quiet. She will hear you!

Tesla EffectSep 2, 20154 votes

{quoted}

What if... What if Bio is working on a new game by Riot (What does "Senior Level Designer" even mean if it has to do anything with League?), but this new game will still happen in League's universe. This may be the reason for the whole "I'm not working directly on League" thing.

I wish they made a story driven game in the League of Legends universe.....I can only wish.

GenoXxSep 2, 20152 votes

One can only wish.....But many can have Ambition. If only Riot had this kind of Ambition

Tesla EffectSep 3, 20152 votes

{quoted}

One can only wish.....But many can have Ambition. If only Riot had this kind of Ambition

They only need a business incentive to trek into different game development waters. Despite LoL being this super massive and successful game, its probably the main reason why we wont see any new games from Riot (large games, not counting the mobile ones cause those dont take much development time and are simple in design). I mean I have to mention Blizzard, cause duh, they are company that is successful with multiple games for many years and are sticking with those games and those game genres they are currently in. Why arent we seeing another Warcraft Strategy game, well its because WoW is so successful and takes the main stage in development for the Warcraft series. Plus they already have a successful strategy game, Starcraft 2. That game doesnt need another game to compete with it in the same market.

Now League of Legends and Riot games have another key aspect about their game, and that is obtaining the game and playing it is for free (with the added ) and is because it is free it grew into this monster with a massive player base to boast around. But the company in general isnt that large, or organized. So the option of them creating another game that has the same development requierments as say Mass Effect to ive an example is not something Riot is prepared to do. They dont have the budget, the manpower, or the necessary skill leaders to undertake a new genre of the AAA nature. And as somebody probably pointed out, they dont have to, they are content with the current state because they are getting a stable income from the popularity of their game and the constant patching and updates are basically what keeps any Multiplayer Online game upfloat and thriving.

DreamspitterSep 3, 20152 votes

It's Reverse smash bros.

darkdillSep 2, 20152 votes

Well, truth be told, I was simply going with Reimu because I'm a Touhou fan, and I think Mari- err, Lux, might be lonely. ;)

Linna ExcelSep 2, 20153 votes

I would ask if maybe you'd want to think about this character archetype in terms suited to Runeterra

Well, as shinto priests are said to pacify spirits in order to prevent natural disasters and ensure prosperity, a runeterra one would probably calm the hunger of void creatures, ward off undead and those from the shadow isles, deal with creatures like nocturn and fiddlesticks, and stuff like that. Maybe this person could stabilize magic.

Does it have to be female?

Yes.

Does it have to be young?

20 years old would be ideal. I think people want someone who is an attractive female miku and not an old man or old lady.

Does it even have to be Ionian?

That's debatable actually. Ionian would work best. Soraka's race would work if you want to do another divine creature. I'm against it being freljord because I'm still mad Sejuani's rework gave her too much clothes and they aren't the right culture visually, it needs to be a more refined, civilized group. Noxius, Zaun, and Piltover are right out. Mt Targon is too western although the sun/moon themes could be tweaked into something more japanese.

So yes, it'll have to be either an ionian or a divine female.

I can't go into more detail on the pertinent details of what makes a Miko

I'm pretty sure what the fans want is an anime miko which is more like a priest/shaman class but is japanese themed and may use a sword, a bow, or a naginata as a weapon. Miko Ashe would probably work well as a character skin.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Linna Excel,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=4LONkXoh,comment-id=00020005,timestamp=2015-09-02T02:53:27.522+0000)

20 years old would be ideal. I think people want someone who is an attractive female miku and not an old man or old lady.

Now i kind of thant an old lady, like REALLY old, not just leblanc old.

5000000000000000Sep 2, 20151 votes

Like, older than Swain but not as old as Lissandra.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

yeah, well, lisandra kind of cheats XD

Garlyle WildsSep 2, 20152 votes

How about the guardian of a run-down and near-forgotten Zaun temple? Do they even have temples?

This is such a fascinating question. I mean Zaun is all about science and progress, and seems to at least on the surface hate things like 'morality' (which spiritual considerations are usually tied to moral guidance). That said, that's the Zaun we know now. Yet what came before it? I feel like there's huge potential ties for an exploration of Zaun's history, and a figure who tends, protects, or even just tries to keep alive through common tongue the original beliefs of the land itself could be fascinating.

ExecutorDillSep 2, 20151 votes

Make Dha'Ma the Guardian of the Kinkou Order! It'd give a solid explanation for Shen's powers.

BroLaneSep 1, 20156 votes

Caretaker you say? Bard

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

i would not say the bard is a caretaker, more like a transporter.

A Superb VillainSep 2, 20153 votes

http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/the-transporter-2002/large_aejSCaRVTd50nxZTHvgdxY69KVp.jpg

Secret Agent Bard confirmed!

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

RalanrSep 1, 20152 votes

Karma

darkdillSep 1, 20152 votes

I suppose, but she's the "close, not close enough" sort of thing, IMO.

RalanrSep 1, 20152 votes

To be fair, being too close to a particular concept isn't always a good thing since it weakens the champions core identity.

Just ask ~~spartan soldier #248~~ I mean Pantheon.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

oh yeah, pantheon, the guy who the only thing he is basically is "wants to be a baker" and "friend with Leona or someting, dunno"

RalanrSep 2, 20151 votes

He's so long due for an update.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

yep.

GreenLoreSep 1, 20151 votes

Honestly she doesn't look like a miko at all. Being an asian woman with magical powers doesn't turn you into a miko.

RalanrSep 1, 20151 votes

Well of course not, if that was the case then I would have said Ahri . But she's the closest I've seen to a priestly spell caster which is what I think a Miko is in anime.

I also know nothing about mikos.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

i was thinking of Varus

Tesla EffectSep 2, 20152 votes

So Udyr would fit perfectly with the Shinto priest thing.

Celio Hogane HDSep 2, 20151 votes

Well, tecnically Varus is a male ionian "priest".

Crowe StalkerSep 2, 20151 votes

Please no more Ionian Champions... they have 16 in total... 16! The next contender for most champions is Demacia with 14 and their last release was in 2013. Bilgewater and Void have 6, Targon doesn't even have a full roster yet! Hell, Zaun lacks one single female champion that still lives there! ( and Janna defected and Jinx is rampaging in Piltover) It should be a long time (at least a year or two) before we revisit them.