It's so tragic, yet also sounds like a village or townsfolk fable. I think this new bio fits much better with the new atmosphere of the lore, with our champions not just being people or beings, but also larger than life characters and legends. I'm so excited to see Riot's plans for involving Fiddlesticks in the growing story, I wonder which other champions he is going to come into conflict with.
Rebonack11 votesMy one gripe with Fiddle's color story is the word 'wychfire'.
Few things raise my ire more in fantasy writing than misspelling stuff to make it seem more exotic or mystical. The usual culprit is 'magick' or even worse 'majick'.
GrReaper964 votesTo our End
Niram and his fellow brigands readied their horses beneath the noonday sun. He fastened the buckle of the last satchel on his horse. Each was filled with an assortment of ornately carved daggers, snowfox furs, and cured meat. The stolen wares weighed his horse's saddle down so significantly he decided to walk her back to their camp.
Minesh slowed his horse to walk by Niram's side.
"Why aren't you riding?" he asked.
"A man who is kind to his horse receives kindness in return" answered Niram.
"Maybe she'll reward you with a fine trade at market" said Minesh. "She's too swaybacked to ride anyway."
"Not at all. This old girl's got many a mile left in her" said Niram. Minesh rode past, shaking his head.
By the time the men reached the barren field before their cave hideout, the setting sun was casting its rosy glow over the horizon. A hollow, whistling wind blew through rotted stalks and choking weeds. Moldy bales of hay were strewn about like corpses on a battlefield. Watching over this abandoned land was a crude scarecrow of cloth and straw balanced on two legs of thin willow. Its tattered rags fluttered in the wind, and a rusted scythe hung limp from one arm.
The brigands passed through the field and into the ragged thicket at its edge, where they approached the mouth of a cavern with stalactites protruding like bared teeth.
After hobbling his mare with the other horses near the entrance, Niram joined the bandits who were kindling a fire beneath its lofty stone ceiling. Rimeal, a man with a scar bisecting his face, nodded to him. Niram reached into his pocket to examine his most prized treasure: a shining red amulet hanging from a delicate chain.
Niram recalled the moment he saw the necklace around the noblewoman's neck, framed by lavishly embroidered curtains in the window of her carriage. He and Rimeal had halted the travelers under pretense of warning them about an approaching pack of raiders, when in fact their men were already lying in wait.
It had only taken the guards a moment to spot the trap, but it was enough. Niram had silenced the first with a slash to the throat, while Rimeal gutted the second. Their compatriots slew the others in a hail of arrows. Niram entered the carriage, demanding the necklace, but the woman held it tight to her breast. The stubborn wretch had slashed at him with a concealed knife before he plunged his own dagger into her neck and ripped the necklace from her grasp.
Niram held it now as tightly as he had then, wiping away a spot of blood from the amulet until it reflected the rising moonlight. He replaced it in his pocket as a whinnying cry drew his attention to the horses near the entrance.
"Rat in their meal again?" Niram asked.
"They're jumping at shadows! Some brave horses, eh?" said Rimeal.
"Not shadows" said Minesh. "It was a ferocious bird, the great and fearsome... crow!"
The men guffawed.
Sure enough, a black winged bird flew over the brigands in the cave, but as its cries echoed, a slow dread crept into Niram's stomach. He watched the bird as it circled overhead - it wasn't searching for a place to roost. Silence fell upon the cave.
Earsplitting shrieks broke the quiet as hundreds of crows erupted into the cave in a cawing hurricane of snapping beaks and tearing claws. The men screamed as the birds pecked and clawed at open skin. Ebon talons tore into Niram's shoulder, drawing blood before he smashed the bird away.
Niram dropped to the ground, crawling on all fours to the mouth of the cavern. Outside, the crows shrouded the cloudless sky and smothered the hunter's moon. The cave amplified each sound tenfold, creating a cacophony of shrill shrieks and inhuman screams.
He looked up to see Rimeal staggering forward with blood pouring from the ruined craters of his eyes. Niram scrambled through the rough brush outside the cave. He would not die to a flock of birds!
Just beyond the thicket, a maelstrom of crows flew around a figure at the edge of the field. The crude scarecrow stood with its arms spread wide, embracing the violent chaos of the storm. Its mouth was a ripped and jagged smile. All around it was mayhem: faces were torn open to reveal webs of tendons and teeth, as crows ravaged throats.
The scarecrow turned abruptly and stared straight at Niram. Its eyes burned with wild green wychfire. Terrified, Niram clambered to his feet, running through the thicket and into the bare field in a mad sprint. The creature followed, loping after him on its tall wooden legs with unnatural speed. The stench of rotted hay caught in Niram's throat as he fled.
Niram glanced back and was horrified to see the scarecrow catching up. It sliced Niram's legs out from under him before he reached the first hay bale. Blind with fear, Niram screamed as he fell in a tangle of limbs. Heart pounding in his throat, he tried to stand up, but his ruined legs collapsed beneath him. He scrambled away on his hands and knees, desperate to escape the nightmarish creature behind him. But the scarecrow stepped on his back, pinning him to the ground.
The monster reached down and pulled Niram's head back to slice his neck, as if butchering a hog for a feast. Cold terror overwhelmed Niram as the scarecrow loomed over him, bending so their faces were inches apart. Bile filled his mouth, and he gagged on the rank stench of a corrupt soul.
"You crossed my field" said the scarecrow, its voice muffled as if it spoke through a mouthful of damp grave soil. "And all that grows here is mine."
The murder of crows engulfed Niram, talons bared and beaks wide.
Baron of Bread5 votesTo anyone wondering, that right there is Fiddle's color story.
SpecterVonBaren1 votesI call bull crap. Fiddle outrunning someone? Not in LoL 2017!
Murl0ugh1 votesBut he got that dank passive that......requires him to hold still for a......few seconds.....yeah...
MetaVolca3 votesEh... I mean it’s good but I still prefer his old lore more
Battalion3 votesI do like the thematics of the lore, however lore in general is a shadow of it's former glory. I really hope Riot can find it in their budget to hire a dedicated lore team if they haven't already. If they have a dedicated lore team, I really hope they are given less stringent deadlines because they definitely can do better. Not that this is bad, but it's just too short.
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO3 votesIt’s a short bio, fiddle already has a color story that seems to be consistent with this.
Former glory? The old lore was a mess with so many different tones and ideas floating around all bound to the Institute of war because summoners were god-level beings that could do anything.
Battalion1 votesThat's because the League of Legends was a conglomeration of Legends /Powerful beings, it wasn't just some random yordle get together with some furries cosplaying as gods. They had a purpose and a story as to why they got there. Also the Summoners had to ASK Nasus to join the League of Legends and a whole lot of them were needed just to contain Nocturne into a physical form. That doesn't sound OP in comparison to Aurellion Sol who literally makes Stars that are several times larger than the Earth as a past time.
RiotRiot Scathlocke4 votesOh, Riot has a lore team... that would be the entire Narrative discipline of writers and editors, plus lots of very knowledgeable Rioters who've been steeped in the lore for years, and answer questions whenever we need them to. :-)
I arrived at Riot in January, and we've been working hard to figure out just what is going on with a whole bunch of champions (Fiddlesticks included) since about March. I'm urging the need for even more Narrative Rioters though, including archivists to check and maintain what we already have. We should always be trying to improve, and getting every champion an ~80-word bio was 6-7 weeks of work for the League team. Srsly.
But yes, the client bios are only short snippets - either new ideas or summaries of the old. We will get to expanding on them (for quality and consistency) as soon as we can, across Universe and other story platforms.
Battalion1 votesI meant no offense, I do enjoy that Lore is being put back towards the forefront. I have loads of respect for both the writers and the artists, even though I am not always pleased or impressed, my respect never wavers. I believe you all can do better, but like I said that isn't to say that what you have done so far is anything less than great. Keep putting out what you can, I eagerly await more!
Rand0mH3r0X1 votesWouldn't that mean that Riot doesn't have a Lore Team? Riot has a Narrative team.
I thought your colleagues hated being referred to as the Lore Team.
Terozu1 votesAnyway we can find out why Zoe took his key, and what it opened?
KestrelGirl1 votesOh, Riot has a lore team... that would be the entire Narrative discipline of writers and editors, plus lots of very knowledgeable Rioters who've been steeped in the lore for years, and answer questions whenever we need them to. :-)
I arrived at Riot in January, and we've been working hard to figure out just what is going on with a whole bunch of champions (Fiddlesticks included) since about March. I'm urging the need for even more Narrative Rioters though, including archivists to check and maintain what we already have. We should always be trying to improve, and getting every champion an ~80-word bio was 6-7 weeks of work for the League team. Srsly.
But yes, the client bios are only short snippets - either new ideas or summaries of the old. We will get to expanding on them (for quality and consistency) as soon as we can, across Universe and other story platforms.
You guys want archivists?! Now I have TWO departments at Riot in which I could easily intern. [sg-lux]
Star Guardían1 votesCheck out Universe on the website.
ChompyWulf2 votesI really liked the mystique of his old bio, a horrifyingly powerful specter summoned by an over-ambitious young summoner at the Institute of War and their best solution was keeping everyone out from where Fiddlesticks chose to remain.
New isn't bad, though again, Riot trying hard to make something that was just simply evil into a figure who could be sympathized with.
HudnofskiBleh1 votesNot so sure about that. 
ChompyWulf3 votesYou could argue they added a sympathy hook to Urgot even. Before he was some kinda crazy battle nut turned headsman ago was make into a hextech/necromantic undead creature.
Now he's a hextech powered tyrant who was betrayed by the country he loved and was mentally warped to some pain is gain extreme philosophy.
HudnofskiBleh1 votesI guess you could argue that. But that seems to be more so to make the characters feel more realistic. "Evil because evil" villains aren't usually as interesting.
ChompyWulf1 votesI'm not saying "Evil cuz evil" should be a common thing. My point is with a lot of the evil champs recently, they have been softened. Darius used to be the Noxian equivalent to Garen implacable and unyielding. The comic changed that. Kayn was an enslaved child soldier who was more or less rescued by a clan of assassins. Urgots story as mentioned. Varus no longer about willfully corrupting himself for revenge, but two gay dudes fighting corruption. Veigar being hinted at as perhaps not as evil as he tries to act. Fiddlesticks was a mysterious specter from some unknown plane of existence who simply would kill and no motive was evident. Now he's the cursed remnants of a scapegoat farmer.
There is a place for unexplained evil, and instead that is now being shouldered by Nautilus and his lore change, though many suspect his lore update is more like a continuation of history story.
I'm not saying evil shouldn't have a motive, but when every story is having that motive be some kind of wrong done to them and therefore be a victim first, it is just making more and more black characters more grey. There is a huge cast of champs, for so many once evil beings to because more humanistic and "grey" is just lazy and bad writing.
HudnofskiBleh1 votesOk, I see what you mean. The unknown evil sounds like a good idea. I think the Void creatures fill that somewhat, but I hope they do something like what you're describing with Nocturne or Shaco. Those two need some love imo.
M00ndanc31 votesi dont know much about nocturne but he did make a brief appearence in garen and lux's story. But as for shaco he did get a pretty cool bio now. If i remember accurately he was made to entertain and protect a young prince but once the prince died the doll that is shaco was left with no purpose and gradually went insane and descided to head out to try and find meaning. But the madness twisted him into a malevolent and saddistic being that tortures people with lethal childrens games because he thinks its funny.
Meep Man2 votesNew Fiddlesticks is a pretty standard horror legend kind of character and I kind of enjoy it. I'm glad Riot didn't do their typical thing and put some strange twist on the matter to make it UNIQUE when people really just want a standard horror legend.
Game girl 11 votesHow would a conflict between Fiddlesticks even look with other champions? Would you find him on opposite ends of, say, both Garen AND Darius at the same time?
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO1 votesI’m expecting Garen or some sort of Demacian force to be dispatched to take care of him, or maybe even Vayne?
iamthegoatofwar6 votesGiven how it's likely "black"/"dark" magic types that brought fiddle's back from the sounds of things vayne would likely be one of the 1st one called.
Battalion3 votesFiddle Sticks & Nocturne would be tearing it up in a hillside village. Vayne would come to the town after picking up a request and then try to set shit straight. Only to find Lamb dancing around shooting arrows at Fiddlesticks' Crowstorm, and Wolf swirling around with Nocturne. Fiddlesticks is definitely cheating death and death doesn't like to be cheated.
vs
iamthegoatofwar1 votesI'm not sure if vayne would work with kindred at that point. If nothing else she might attack kindred viewing her the same as the other monsters.
69469238DEL11 votesCan you post a link to the new bio?
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO14 votesTaken from the wiki
Fiddlesticks is a ghastly, living scarecrow who stalks the darkness, wielding a cruel scythe and preying upon the unwary. Once a lonely man accused of bringing famine to his village, he was tied up and left to starve in his own barren field. Resurrected by the savage murder of crows that fed on his remains, Fiddlesticks now relishes terrorizing his victims before claiming their lives amid a flurry of feathers and blood-splattered beaks.
KuroCaliber9 votesholy hell that was dark as fuck, and I LOVE IT.
THE RlVER KlNG20 votesgive me fiddle vgu or give me death
Pierce The Veal1 votesWow they managed to make it almost as deep as his previous lore.
(Funny thing being his old lore had 0 depth).
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO1 votesThis is a short bio, meant to briefly describe a champion.
Pierce The Veal1 votesThis is a short bio, meant to briefly describe a champion.
Yeah I know. I'm just saying it sure didn't improve anything, and is somehow more simple than before.
Sorry to the people who downvoted my post if you legitimately think this is an improvement. I'll leave you to your circlejerk.
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO2 votesAh yes, as opposed to the great depth and mystery of a summoned demon who haunted a single room all day, no explanation as to why or how beyond “summoning gone wrong”.
What excellent narrative depth that this new lore could never hope to touch.
Pierce The Veal1 votesAh yes, as opposed to the great depth and mystery of a summoned demon who haunted a single room all day, no explanation as to why or how beyond “summoning gone wrong”.
What excellent narrative depth that this new lore could never hope to touch.
I literally did say the previous lore had 0 depth, but so does this one, but this one's also generic which makes it even worse.
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO1 votesWhat about this lore is generic?
Also, why the fuck does Fiddlesticks’ lore need depth at all?
How can you say this lore is worse (your own opinion) when we don’t have it all? Oh right you’re being edgy.
Pierce The Veal1 votesWhat about this lore is generic?
Also, why the fuck does Fiddlesticks’ lore need depth at all?
How can you say this lore is worse (your own opinion) when we don’t have it all? Oh right you’re being edgy.
It's just highly generic. Some dude died and became a demon woopdy fucking doo heard that story every fucking where.
But hey at least you like it. I hated the old lore but at least it had its own mysteriousness. This one isn't really an improvement.
Wert the Wacky1 votesI'm predicting vs. 
tbh. Why else would they give her his key?
CrazyBigfoot282 votesI'm predicting
I think she just found it on the ground or possibly the village fiddle prob destroyed to get his revenge for killing him
Limid1 votes[deleted]
CrazyBigfoot281 votesa Rioter confirmed it isnt fiddle's key, but instead someone's who is soon getting an updated splash art. pretty sure its swain's
The key Zoe carries around was actually “borrowed” from another champion; you’ll notice it’s missing from his updated splash art. The rioter in the post made it sound like it was removed from a champ not going to be added which u are implying