Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Riot wants to preserve the identity of champions?

Baron Von Bangin·10/18/2014, 8:53:50 AM·41 votes·3,163 views

Riot has said that with the coming (dreaded?) lore reworks that they have to do after deleted the IoW from existence they plan on keeping the likes of Orianna and Lee Sin the same in style and narrative theme. Cool. Awesome. This sounds good. But the recent Xerath lore reveal has be a bit hesitant if that's really what they have in mind...

Just to set the record straight, the new Xerath lore they posted here on the boards was well written and I applaud Riot's efforts to put out more lore for their fans. But Xerath's theme is completely gone. He is much more sympathetic than his reveal in the Shurima event and that's a good thing! But his old theme of being an obsessive mage, fascinated by the arcane and willing to go to any lengths to become one with magic at extreme personal loss is gone. Now, he's frustrated slave that wanted revenge on his master no matter the cost. Both are compelling themes and I don't knock the writing or the strength of it... but it really doesn't preserve the old Xerath.

That being said I'b a tad bit nervous for the likes of Kayle, Lee Sin, Jax, etc. I believe Riot is capable of writing a well constructed story but I'm not so sure they're going to get these themes right based on what they've given us so far.

34 Comments

Cerbearus10/18/2014, 1:09:19 PM16 votes

Giving him character depth and backstory is much more interesting than your cliche "I want more power" theme...

Sneak Dog10/18/2014, 10:58:53 AM10 votes

First Trundle, now Xerath. Preserving identities goes right out of the window if a new character fits their story better it seems.

CupcakeTrap10/18/2014, 11:45:30 PM10 votes

I felt that the "slavery" angle was a rather heavyhanded means of making Xerath more sympathetic. I preferred the version of Xerath that had him obsessed with transcending mortal existence to understand the immensity of the cosmos and wield its power. That's not necessarily inconsistent with the slavery background, but overall the new lore seems to set his sights a bit … lower. It humanizes his story, and that's not always a good thing.

To me, it feels like he's crossing over into Veigar's story-space now: an abused character who then becomes obsessed with power.

GreenLore10/18/2014, 11:42:10 AM6 votes

yeah,the story itself was good,but it kinda missed the old characterization for Xerath.

Thought that doesn't have to be such a bad thing,considering that before it looked a bit shallow how Xerath was basically "I like power,I want much of it".

But well one could make it so that Xerath associates freedom with power,as in "only the powerful are free,thus I want as much power as I want",that way new Xerath would keep his lust for power,just like old Xerath.

DrCyanide10/18/2014, 2:00:25 PM5 votes

The biggest offense at this point is that the story Xerath is not the Xerath in game. Xerath in game makes several references that support his power hungry nature. He doesn't make a single one to freedom.

Will Ezreal be timid in his new lore? Will Amumu be annoyed that everyone left him? We honestly don't know.

TerraRising10/18/2014, 5:50:31 PM4 votes

I'm playing the Devil's Advocate a little bit, so bear with me.

From what we've surmised, Xerath's originally planned retcon had him more of a Jafar-like character, power hungry and not sympathetic at all. We sussed it out at the start and complained that he was turning into a one-dimensional, completely evil character. That, too, was in contrast to some of his lore, particularly his League Judgment.

By some miracle of hubris, Narrative agreed and rewrote him into a more sympathetic character whose motivations were justifiable, if not ill-timed. It's not perfect, but it's better than being an one-dimensional villain.

Now, that's not to say that in the intervening years, Xerath hasn't grown to accept his current state. However, this new bio has him as less of a power hungry vaudevillian villain and more of an impatient schemer with a grand goal. I think that's pretty cool considering the other alternative.

Legacy of Xion10/18/2014, 5:58:22 PM4 votes

Im terrified for Kayle now. Im just glad there are no plans for her as of now...

Solideus10/18/2014, 6:43:37 PM4 votes

The old Xerath's motivation is still there in spirit. I think the new angle better distills his motivations, though; he has ascended all worldly bonds and defied the unfairness of his society. His situation made him more and more bitter and in the end a sympathetic character became a monster. He went through with the plan because he was too far gone and his conviction was irreversible after so many years of convincing himself he was in his right.

The tragedy-because-magic-obsessed angle did overlap with older champions like Ryze and Zilean a lot, so it was a bit redundant for him to have that too. And "because magic" is a motivation that is hard to give nuance and make relateable; the new story uses more universal and contemporary themes. Think of contemporary terror attacks, for example.

basketofseals10/18/2014, 4:32:21 PM3 votes

I'd be willing to wager a decent sum to bet Morgana will just get turned into some stereotypical evil.

John Berserk10/18/2014, 11:31:17 PM2 votes

I personally feel his new lore makes him a much more interesting character than before. Indeed, they did kind of stray away from his original theme, but in return IMO we got something better.

That said, I can see where the worry can come from, if they plan on making diverting from the original themes a regular thing with these lore updates (though I admit, a lot of them will probably be necessary). Since I personally feel like they did a good job with their first go at it with Xerath, I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt until they actually mess one up entirely.

Tsurugikaze10/18/2014, 4:12:28 PM2 votes

Agreed. I will stick around and see if we get a Riot response. Good thing I wasn't the only one who noticed the difference.

Xulsigae10/20/2014, 12:36:59 AM1 votes

If Xerath had only messed with Azir's plans, that would make him far more grey or sympathetic in my eyes. As it is, he killed almost an entire civilization rather than stop his plan from being put into motion. Not someone I have pity for. I get that he's likely not the most balanced person, but still...

HigeR10/18/2014, 2:46:34 PM1 votes

You see I think that Xerath is not really gone... he had a plan in motion that he couldn't stop to kill Azir, but in reality, even if he could have stopped it I don't think he would have, because, after all, he's power hungry, he wanted to ascend, he wanted true freedom... So yeah Azir freed him from his chains of servitude but at that point, even his own regret wasn't enough to stop him from freeing himself from his human flesh form.

Tit Master10/20/2014, 12:13:46 PM1 votes

we need longer lores, maybe even an in-game campaign to flesh out the story, the way Strife has, like a section on the Fight for Freiljord, involving Averosa, Serilda, and Lissandra

TenSlashTen10/18/2014, 6:49:36 PM1 votes

Yeah after they "reworked" (I mean turned into a low skill floor Q bot) karma. All of that bullshit about "identity" means nothing to me LOL.