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What Does Tahm Kench Do Exactly?

TheHobbits·2/5/2018, 6:36:12 AM·15 votes·5,165 views

https://news-a.akamaihd.net/public/images/pages/2015/tk/img/TK_Splash_WP.jpg

In the world of RuneTerra I mean (In the lore, not in-game). Hey is known as a Demon. Has powers to grant wishes, but will eventually return to devour (literally) everything you have come to cherish. But what actually happens?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9RM4HwwoKs

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I can make you a fine bargain… but you gotta be willing to pay the price."

In this particular tale a Gambler had nothing to his name and was in a bind. Tahm Kench lured him in and made him a deal. Accepting the offer the Gambler was whisked away to a faraway land and "A palace of chance he was left".

Now the Gamblers story ends with him getting married years later. He has a manor to his name now which (spoilers) Tahm eats. Like literally eats house house? and the gifts, and the gold.

"A deal with Two-Coats may carry you to wherever you wish, but your journey will most assuredly end in the depths of despair."

**Wherever you wish. **

"Boy, the worlds one big river and I'm its king. Ain't no place I ain't been. Ain't no place I can't go again."

What exactly can Tahm do? He can go anywhere and give anything it seems, for a price. Here are a few interactions I find interesting.

TahmKench

Darius - "Your strength is waning, General. 'Course, I can help you slow time's regress." Gnar - "Time is just a river, boy, let me take you back where you belong." Lissandra - "Could I offer you a bargain to replace your previous engagement?" Nami - "A journey to a moonstone is one I could provide." MonkeyKing - "Do you want to reach your potential? It's a journey I could provide."

Just from these we can see just how powerful Tahm Kench can be. To slow the effects of aging, ferry passengers to any point in time, reverse the power of the Watchers, deliver you to the location of a single item and even become the master of your own potential.

Tahm Kench is just a facinating character. One precent wherever there are those that seek to make a deal. It seems that his own desires are to sate appetites for core emotions and desires.

Sejuani - "Let me make a meal with your ambition." MissFortune - "The road to vengeance requires a journey I would happily provide." Jax - "It is wonderful to be hungry for a challenge." Jayce - "A drive for** innovation**? It's just a hunger for something new." Amumu - "Coveting friendship is barely an appetite - but one I do so sympathize with."

If you are determined to your cause, but begin to doubt whether you can reach your goals Tahm may lure you in with his song and words only to consume all you have worked for in the end. An end that may be years later.

UPDATE:

A lot of people say he feeds on emotion. We can all agree on this, yes? But he must have some supernatural powers to grant his "wishes" to some extent, right?

Take his interaction with Darius. "Your strength is waning, General. 'Course, I can help you slow time's regress."

Could he actually slow the aging process or even give him increased strength before he comes back and takes it away?

And with Nami: "A journey to a moonstone is one I could provide."

Tahm must be able to locate, or even summon, a powerful artifact such as a moonstone?

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/3/3a/Tahm_Kench_Promo_2.png/revision/latest?cb=20170216234039

48 Comments

Tattersall2/5/2018, 3:08:15 PM9 votes

Tahm Kench is a demon of misery. He feeds on the emotional anguish of humans, and while he can't work directly with his prey, he can manipulate them into place.
The thing with demons is that they are not all powerful. In order to work with humans, they must first establish a contract. Evelynn's contract is simply willing physical touch, so she has made an appearance for herself that will make people want to… well, touch her. Kench is a little more complex. He requires a spoken deal, a bargain.

A gambler was down on his luck. He owed a few powerful people a lot of money, and his gambling addiction was going to gat him killed. So he finally decided to "change his path and walk away." But that's when Tahm saw an opportunity. He appeared to the gambler and basically said "I'll carry you from this place so your life won't be in danger." So the contract was "I will take you to another place, and at some point in the future, you have to 'let me in.' " The gambler agreed, and Tahm took him to a place where two things would happen: the gambler would be able to gamble more, and he would also find love. Eventually, Tahm showed up and started making good on the gambler's bargain. He eventually took the man's bride as well. Now, someone once asked me, how could Tahm kill the bride if he hadn't made a contract with her? Here's the answer:

The bride was a part of the Gambler's (for clarity, I'm going to call him "The Man") deal. The Man's contract was basically "Take me away from this place, and in return I'll give you what you want in the future."

The tricky thing is, that video was largely metaphorical. The Man wanted to be taken away from "this place" where he was about to "change his path (give up gambling)." Tahm's deal was that he takes The Man away, but what Tahm really got was the chance to take him to a different place, one that would enable his gambling addiction. So after The Man got married, Tahm arrived and "ate the gifts, and house, and gold," but that wasn't literally Tahm, it was The Man's gambling addiction forcing him to sell off his stuff to pay his debts.

Tahm enabled The Man's addiction knowing that he would lose everything to it, even eventually his wife. Maybe his wife was killed by the people he couldn't pay back, and maybe his wife left him. Either way, Tahm succeeded in causing the most amount of misery possible in a single man, and that was a fine meal.

Whyte Lyon2/5/2018, 7:45:11 AM5 votes

I mean look back at half the new releases from 2015 and late 2014.

Velkoz : what is he? a smart void-spawn is as in-depth as it got. Braum : what is he? Well a tad bit more effort was put on this guy. But we still have no clue if he is a living-breathing person or not. Nah that's just another "story hook" guys. Gnar : what is he? Ah a pre-historic Yordle! Yes, but is there more to that?... nope. Bard : what is he? Probably the most complex champ in-lore. Do we have any lore shedding light on some of those complexities? No, just a 3min animation. Ugh... TahmKench : Stuck in a similar boat at Bard, so far one 3min trailer is still deemed good enough apparently.

Still no biography for any of them either. I know 2015 was a rocky year for the narrative department. There were however some great things back then, like the Shurima update, Targon & Shadow Isles too. Just these guys above seemed to have been a different issue for unknown reasons. And I'm not mad or frustrated so much as deeply confused as to why.

Epicurus2/5/2018, 10:43:28 AM3 votes

Before answering that question, there is another more important question: Does Tahm Kench even exist? Because for all we know he might not. The other demons, Nocturne and Evelynn, are known to exist, because Lux and Vayne have met and interacted with them. But no one claims to have met Tahm Kench, and he has not appeared in any stories save for his trailer narration. TK is a cultural icon of Bilgewater, and I suspect that the in-game TK is based of how the character is seen in universe in Bilgewater folklore rather than being a depiction of an entity that actual exists in Runeterra.

Mandalorian 1172/5/2018, 7:03:20 PM3 votes

Moral of the story - don’t deal with the devil.

Lowvyr2/5/2018, 4:12:22 PM2 votes

So basically he's the devil He'll give you anything you want, but with dire consequences.

Ebonmaw Dragon2/5/2018, 6:45:06 AM2 votes

I dont know about you man, but i wouldnt trust what he says... at least not 100%

Lets take the quote about Gnar for example, sure, it sound like he can travel in time... But, Can he? What if the place where Gnar belongs is his stomach? We know that he doesnt like Yordles, so i higly doubt that he would help Gnar at all, even if he takes advantage of that aferwards.

Tahm lies, cheats and deceives people to get what he wants.

V The Support V2/5/2018, 3:43:35 PM1 votes

https://horrorpediadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/fan_art__robot_devil_by_dover19.jpg

We are our choices. Eventually you have to pay the piper.

TheHobbits8/3/2018, 10:16:10 AM1 votes

UPDATE:

A lot of people say he feeds on emotion. We can all agree on this, yes? But he must have some supernatural powers to grant his "wishes" to some extent, right?

Take his interaction with Darius. "Your strength is waning, General. 'Course, I can help you slow time's regress."

Could he actually slow the aging process or even give him increased strength before he comes back and takes it away?

And with Nami: "A journey to a moonstone is one I could provide."

Tahm must be able to locate, or even summon, a powerful artifact such as a moonstone?

Iceborn Pippin2/5/2018, 8:25:31 AM1 votes

For me, I see him as a: Demon Frog Genie

As he basically grants wishes in his lore. Yet each wish comes with a catch that is long reaching in its consequences.

Jinx Hunter2/5/2018, 10:31:57 AM1 votes

Kench is a lier. I highly doubt he does any of what he says he will do and just straight up eats people when they let their guard down.

E Man forever2/5/2018, 11:44:37 AM1 votes

I feel like ther should be more demon champions to represent the 7 sins like the Homonculi in Full Metal Alchemist. Right now we have Talm who represents gluttony and Evelynn who represents lust.

Blaiz Fenix2/5/2018, 12:25:15 PM1 votes

Tahm revels in the anguish of loss. I don't know if he has the power to do much but he can literally go anywhere. I assume he eats you, jumps into the spirit realm, spirit travel, and then spit you back out at the destination. I assume he may know enough about the world from traveling around that he knows where everything is. Whether that be an object to slow aging or the location of a certain red-haired noxian assassin.

The real trouble is when you get what you want. He doesn't want you or your stuff. He wants you to suffer and feed off it. Much like Evelynn who seduces people first, Tahm gives you your hearts desire to feed off the sadness of losing it. Demons feed on those emotions according to Eve's lore. I assume Nocturne is similar, but fear instead.

Barley2/5/2018, 1:04:16 PM1 votes

Inthought hat Tahm showed up at the wedding and ate the gamblers not wife anymore haha