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Fixing Singed: A Possible Solution To League's Most Broken Lore.

TerraRising·12/21/2014, 1:40:17 AM·6 votes·1,514 views

Since September 2012, Singed has been out of canon with his story... Once Singed's chemistry / alchemy master, Warwick became a bounty hunter in the revised lore, thus leaving Singed as an out-of-place champion, lore wise.

So, while Narrative is still dawdling about fixing Singed's story (even after more than two years), I thought I'd take a crack at fixing the champion's backstory to keep it in tune with the rest of the lore.

Concept and Reasoning:

Every story needs a cartoonish villain, someone with as few redeeming qualities as possible. While this is normally the realm of demons and the supernatural, this could also come in the form of someone like a mad dictator or a maker of chemical weapons.

In my experience, prodigies and scientists with doctorates also tend to be very arrogant and self centered. There are some exceptions, of course, but these sorts of people believe that they are above normal, mundane people because they devoted themselves to a topic or are just gifted in that subject.

Take this to the extremes needed to become a champion in League of Legends, and you have someone who can truly be that “evil bastard” or “Kefka (FF6)” sort of character. As a maker of chemical weapons, Singed could also treat other humans like test subjects or like insects to be exterminated at the right price.

Possible Lore:

The Ionian waited in the brush beside the road. He had been on an oath-quest to find the person responsible for the destruction of his village. A balding man with a mostly mechanical body that carried around a shield.

The mad chemist had been the one most responsible for the elimination village during the Noxian-Ionian war. It was during one of the early conflicts and the swordsman had been on a scouting mission. He not only saw how casual the Noxians were about the upcoming war, but how callously they brought forward their chemist from Zaun.

Singed simply nodded when the general gave the order, then fired his cannons towards his village. The cannons fired three times, each one a direct hit towards important parts of the village. Screams could be heard at the Noxian base camp which fell silent after five minutes. After an hour of waiting for the poison to dissipate, the invaders sent their masked scouts towards the village. When they signaled that the village was empty, the Noxian army quickly moved on.

Since then, the warrior trained and waited for this day, where he would get vengeance for his village, his family, and himself. When Singed was close enough, the Ionian leapt from the bush, his sword in a high attack position. Singed barely reacted to the blow by raising his shield, but if the mad chemist was surprised by the ambush, he didn't show it. Singed simply flung the charging warrior into a freshly dispensed pool of “mega adhesive” behind him.

Singed had all the casualness of a rich merchant on a seasonal vacation as he regarded the now immobile warrior. “Now that you're secured, why would yet another sword playing Ionian attack me?” While his mouth was covered in a cloth mask, a smile could surely be sensed from the Zaunian scientist.

“Your chemicals killed my village!” The Ionian screamed. “You and the Noxians will pay for your crimes!”

“Perhaps we will, but not today.” The chemist spoke with a sense of superiority, not only in the current situation but in life in general. “Tell me, boy. If you are a survivor of one of my chemical compositions, what did it smell like?”

“What?”

“Do not dawdle, boy. I will not hesitate to kill a liar.” With that, Singed raised his shield and prepared to strike. With his mechanical arms, the blow from Singed would have likely been fatal.

“Alright...” The Ionian would never forget that smell for as long as he lived. “It smelled of rotten fish and... pineapples.”

Singed smiled at this. “Ah. Yes, formula 13-0-72.” The chemist then pulled a vial out of his shield that likely carried that same lethal concoction. “Particularly nasty formula, this one was. Wiped out most of your village in less than 5 minutes. Very potent, but not efficient. Had to scrap most of that formula. Noxians are so demanding when it comes to efficiency in their war efforts.”

Singed then regarded the young warrior. “Now, what are we to do with you? Do I kill you now and be done with it? Do I let you live and suffer in your shame, knowing that you will have failed in getting revenge for your village? Do I keep you around as a reminder of how dangerous I can be?”

“I would rather die,” the Ionian said. The stoic stance of most Ionian warriors was to accept death at any time.

“That's too bad,” said the chemist. “I kill en masse, with efficiency, not one-at-a-time. Therefore, I'm going to let you live. Wallow in misery at your complete failure, boy, and be a witness to the power of the Mad Chemist!” With that, the Zaunian left at full speed in his original direction.

After a few seconds, however, the Ionian could smell something familiar. He looked down at a vial containing the same chemical that destroyed his village. Not knowing what to do, he leapt away from the vial and flung himself towards the nearby treeline. The warrior, no longer stuck to the adhesive, reached a safe distance before the container popped. The contents quickly disappeared from the air, as if they were never around.

The Ionian could then hear Singed laughing in the distance. Singed was too far away to chase, not that anyone ever should.

If anyone has advice on how to improve the story, please let me know.

6 Comments

Maple Crusader12/27/2014, 2:11:44 PM4 votes

Regarding Singed's future lore rework, he has to be an unscrupulous cool-headed sociopath. He doesn't give a damn about anyone else (except Warwick maybe) and just finds pride in his work.

You did a good job portraying Singed's personality in your lore rewrite, however, I would think Singed would give even less of a damn about this Ionian survivor trying to off him. I found that Singed needed to be more smug and arrogant towards his would-be assassin.

Grand Viper12/27/2014, 3:54:51 PM4 votes

I think that Singed truly, honestly and really can't give a damn about other people, even if they try to kill him. They'll fail because he's a genius, in terms of cartoonish villain I think he can borrow a bit of their ego but he is a war criminal. He's not exactly hilarious like Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius. The humor from Singed would be a bit darker, the apathy he carries for other people and other beings that go outside of his drive for success and the like. I mean the man experimented on himself in order to achieve perfection for his own chemicals, the man is a loon and a half and not in the good way.

I think the most cartoony villain we do have and should be is Veigar, as ridiculously powerful as he is (Which actually contributes to the overall humor).

Can't really make light of a war criminal who's responsible for thousands of deaths and should be viewing it as just another step for his career. He's a bit over the top here, I'mma grab some of my old writing because I do like the take I did for Singed, a conversation between Riven and him.

((This was written a good...3+ years ago, so forgive me for outdated things like the IoW, Ram Steed and the like. Oh God my prose makes me cringe from back then. I have to do some minor edits...))

"Yes. It is," Riven replied. She clenched her fist tighter, "But I cannot change what she has done. No one can change their past actions. I need her help, and I don't want to bring unwilling participants. I need to do what is necessary, even if it means to bend my morals ever so slightly. I am not hurting anyone by doing so, therefore it is an acceptable bend. I am not fueling her in harming others, I am not condoning hired killing by asking for her advice, I am only consulting her. The events that made her the Battle Mistress was not done nor paid by me, nor do I condone them, but it is done. It cannot be changed."

The chemist sighed and rolled his eyes, "A bend becomes a break, Riven. You are just like the rest."

"No, I'm-"

Singed cut her off with a wave of his hand, "That's what they all say. They all promise crap they can't deliver, and they say doing this won't hurt, doing that won't. But it will, and does. Don't put yourself on such a high horse."

Riven gritted her teeth. She wanted to lash out, but just barely managed to rein herself in. This is what he wants, to make her react. She needed to turn this around on him, had to collect her thoughts and form a response that wasn't a flurry of insults.

"Do you care?"

"Hm?" The Chemist had been fiddling with his vial, flicking it up and catching it on the way down. He looked over at Riven and motioned her to continue speaking.

"Do you care, about what you've done. Do you care that there are thousands of people clamoring for you and Warwick's blood for all that you've done. Do you care that you were paid to kill Ionians and Noxians alike?" Riven thumped her fist on the table and demanded in a low growl, "Do you actually give even the faintest damn that you are here talking to me about a subject that clearly bores you?"

Singed drummed his fingers on the table for a few moments in response, his eyes rolling back into his head as he thought of how best to respond to this. His eyes snapped open, his voice steady and even as he said,

"Let me phrase it in a way that even your muscled brain can understand: I don't care. I don't care about you, about Ionia, or about Noxus outside of a paycheck and recognition for my art. I am a busy man. I am not in the mood for such ridiculous notions as revenge. I don't think of Ionians like how some Noxians do. I frankly cannot care about who you are or where you come from. You were and are all witnesses to my genius, and I was given a chance to broadcast it. That is it. That is all. Both Noxus and Zaun recognize this. No hatred, no malicious intent, I was paid to do a job, I took full advantage of its benefits, and I am now one of the most acclaimed chemical geniuses in all of Runeterra. Hurray for me. But to answer your question, I do not care in the slightest."

Ram stopped writing halfway through what the chemist babbled about and simply stared at him, mortified. Riven took the chance to press for more information, "So with that in mind, if you had a choice, would you have commenced the barrage on my accord on your own accord?"

"At that time? To be perfectly honest, no. I would have no reason to. I already did thorough testing of my product," Singed rested his elbow on the table, followed by placing his head on his palm, his deadpan gaze staring Riven dead in her eyes. "I did exactly as I was paid and ordered to. The fact that it was my battalion, compared to the several others battalions at Noxian command, were even in the area was mere coincidence."

"And why should I believe that?" Riven demanded, her lips pulling back into a barely controlled snarl.

"Because I really can't care to lie," Singed flatly stated. "And honestly, do you think you're the only squad that this happened to? The Ionian war was going bad, this was a practiced move. I didn't necessarily do it to other squads, but this was done more than once for doomed Noxians. Make use of dead weight, that was what I was told at the time for you, and it was not the last time we heard such a saying."

"All of this, all of this pain, all of this death you caused…You would never had a chance to, if you weren't hired, right? To be given a chance to perfect your 'craft'."

"Correct," Singed affirmed, tossing his vial up into the air with his free hand, his bandaged hand opened and waiting for its return. The moment it landed on his palm he continued, "They were guinea pigs that were paid for. Which is why when I ran out of them to test upon, I turned to myself. Perfection cannot be barred by such petty limitations."

"So you can argue that if you were never commanded, never paid to do so, you would have done what you did. But..." Riven glared at him, barely able to hold back her anger as it punctuated every word she spoke now, "You enjoyed it, didn't you? You enjoyed doing what you did."

"Of course I enjoyed it. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be the innovative genius that I am." Singed broke eye contact, and for once, his voice changed to a more wistful tone, as though he were reminiscing on a childhood memory. "It'd be unfortunate to not enjoy one's own profession, wouldn't you say?"

Singed does have an ego, he is cocky, of course he is, but he's not about speech. He's more focused, if he has to talk, it's a chore to him because talking wastes time he could be using to do more important things. He isn't cackling, he's methodic. He is cool headed, level, calm, he does what he does because he sees everything from a vastly different perspective than you or I, and that's part of his enjoyment. His voice is the kind that should make your skin crawl when he does talk and when he does address you, he shouldn't care about whether or not you are offended or if he's rude or anything of the sort, that's Singed.

What I like most about your interpretation of Singed is him asking the Ionian what did it smell like, that would be something he's genuinely curious about, because he has a desired effect down to the smell, to make sure it is working at peak efficiency that there are no particular hiccups (Something that smells like pineapple shouldn't smell like sulfur, a different chemical reaction may have taken place that altered the effects for better or for worse, and he'd want to know if such an obvious change was made). That is a complete and utter Singed moment.