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How many of you have ever bought a Champion because of his/her lore?

RaptorKarr··68 votes·4,990 views

I did this with Riven, I joined League when Riven was released so I decided to read about the new girl. It should be stated however I am an absolute SUCKER for the bad guy gone good and the weak rising to dominance in a society where the weak are left alone to wither and die. Even though it's never actually stated in Riven's lore where she comes from (She could be a secret Sister to Katarina and Cassiopeia or Swain's daughter for all we know.) but I think she comes from a low born family or no family at all since her lore states "In Noxus, any citizen may rise to power regardless of race, gender, or social standing - strength is all that matters. It was with committed faith in this ideal that Riven strove to greatness." It makes me feel that Riven was one of those people that was doomed to wither and die but she didn't want to die so she did whatever she could so that didn't happen, and it worked out great for here since she became the poster child for the Noxian spirit. I would continue to explain why I bought Riven mainly because of her lore but this would be a very long post as I continue to dissect Riven's lore and explain how awesome I think it is.

Edit: Damn over 100 comments. Jeez you people are talkative, I LOVE IT! Edit Nearly 200 comments, keep em coming :3 Also why do keep telling me I'm veiwing Riven wrong >.> Why the hell do you care >:c

203 Comments

A Superb Villain31 votes

I can appreciate Riven's lore, but I loathe her as a champion.

That said, my first purchase, with RP no less, should come as no surprise; Veigar, because I adore this megalomaniac so much.

Veigar was once a Yordle of little notoriety, some youth who aspired to see the world, and became a traveling merchant to do so. He could have faded into history as yet another trader, satisfied with a life of exploring the far corners of Runeterra and meeting the many people who call it home. All that changed by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, for reasons he did not even know, Veigar spent years in a prison, specifically denied contact with anyone outside of staff keeping him alive. Helpless and alone, he broke, and from the jagged pieces a monster was formed.

All the positivity and joy inherent to Yordles was twisted into malicious glee, their natural empathy became a distinct love for the emotional suffering of others. Unbridled passion became a thirst for violence to satisfy boundless sadism. Veigar intends to bend the world's knee, or break it if necessary, with his steel-plated sabaton placed firmly on its back, and will enjoy the process one painful murder at a time.

What makes his lore even better is how well it translates into gameplay; he is weak early, at the mercy of his opponents and his own wits just to survive the lane, but given enough time Veigar will obliterate anyone foolish enough to step inside his perimeter of death. It feels so good deleting someone before they can so much as blink after suffering their relentless bullying.

Hello I am Bird5 votes

First purchase with RP: Annie Not because of her lore, I just shouldn't ever be trusted with money

Virgin Ray1 votes

Did you change your name because you loved veigar? Or was that your name since the beginning lvl1?

A Superb Villain5 votes

I changed my name because I loved Veigar. Initially, I was known as Foolish Lantern.

Malicious Metal7 votes

Thresh main? c:

Malicious Metal isn't my original name either. My old name was "Mordredkaiser" combining Morde and my favorite character from Arthurs' legend.

HeadHonchkrow2 votes

Wait the same one from that guide on Mobafire? Respect

Malicious Metal2 votes

Oh crap, that guide must be outdated as hell D:

Thanks for reminding me cracks knuckles now I know exactly what Needs to be done.

HeadHonchkrow2 votes

I thought that you quit the guide, but when the creator knows exactly what needs to be done, it fills you with determination!

Malicious Metal2 votes

Well I was wayy too busy making Mordekaiser threads pop up here and there to actually update the damn thing XD

A Superb Villain5 votes

In a sense. I wanted to be Will-o'-the-Wisp for my tendency of leading people to their doom, enemies and allies alike, but that was taken, so I went with something that referenced it in a roundabout manner. Then I truly embraced the darkness in my soul, and the rest is history.

Also, I can appreciate a man with good taste in medieval literature.

Melledoneus2 votes

I chose this name for more reasons than "I knew it wasn't taken."

Void Nargacuga5 votes

Veigar was my first champion I ever got as well... I got his Final Boss Skin with RP as soon as I got some RP from one of their pre-paid cards. TOTALLY WORTH IT! He is probably my #1 favorite AP mid for the reasons you stated! Though of course I have other fun champions that intrigued me as well. My first Marksman was Jinx . My friend gave me her song Get Jinxed to have on my PS3... Once I found out where it came from and saw the music video I got hooked on her insanity! Loved it! XD For top lane Gnar so adorable and ti- http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dBCYM4F6_yU/U_Z8svQd0uI/AAAAAAAAY6o/t5qKOuIl5jU/s1600/league_of_legends_gnar.jpg HOLY SHIT! O_O How could I not get this adorable furball of terror after seeing that?! For support I fell in love with how Sona plays. Glad I have her and her DJ skin! So worth. For jungle its hands down: Kindred Though I'm not very good in jungle I'm trying to learn as best as I can.

Gentzer15 votes

Kindred.

Cos being death is awesome

Shac Norris14 votes

Diana all day everyday

And yeah, Riven.

Kaeblen11 votes

I bought Twitch because of his Lore. I never even considered playing an adc/marksman, but I pulled up his lore, and it's just this horrifying incident report:

V.O.: I MEAN IT LOOKED LIKE A GIANT GODSDAMNED RAT! (pause). WITH A CROSSBOW! (pause). P.R.: (to nurse) Can we moderate her painkillers? V.O.: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING! IT'S A HOMICIDAL, PSYCHOPATHIC, GIANT FREAKING RAT! IN A WAISTCOAT! P.R.: Nurse? NURSE: (injecting Olant's arm with sedative) On it.

witness was restrained and sedated. other survivors half liquefied.

#AND THEN I go in game and listen to his quotes: oh goodness... I... oh my... this is the most warped personality I've ever seen. I MUST HAVE IT!!!

Woodsy25759 votes

Yeah Azir, even though I suck at him

Malicious Metal9 votes

Am I weird for picking champions based on their voices? o_O

kaltenashes9 votes

i laugh ever time i hear this

Mordekaiser "You only need to click once, fool"

but i dont even own him, too hard too play

Shield Villain9 votes

Let's get one thing straight, Riven is not a good guy. She is, at heart, a true Noxian, that is all. Her self imposed exile is really only because she was horrified that they would go from using strong soldiers to do battle and win, true strength, to using chemical warfare to dispose of their enemies. That's really all.

Not convinced?

She shattered her sword, severing ties with the past, and wandered in self-imposed exile - on a quest to seek atonement and a way to save the pure Noxian vision in which she believed.

This Pure Noxian vision which she believed in is essentially, the strong survive and the weak are killed. How is that good exactly? She still believes in everything Noxus stands for, she just doesn't want to see it ruined by people like Singed. Not like she regrets killing people or being a soldier, she just regrets that her country would stray from the use the might of soldiers, to one where they're willing to just use weapons of mass destruction.

RaptorKarr3 votes

If that's true why not Ally herself with Darius someone who believes in the same thing why just leave Noxus all together why not just hunt down and destroy those responsible? No I think there is something else going on since Riven is looking for redemption and not vengeance.

Shield Villain8 votes

The easy answer is that Riven is a hypocrite who has no real beliefs. Reading through her lore and in game quotes, she contradicts herself a lot.

Read her lore and her judgment, she seems like she doesn’t believe in the Noxian way, she acts like she has a problem with it. It even looks like she questions it at some moments, but then suddenly she 100% believes in it. All of a sudden, when the Melters attack indiscriminately, she believes 100% that the strong triumph over the weak and that’s the way it should be. And she’s pissed at Noxus because they didn’t follow through with this belief.

Only the strong survive, she repeated… but that was meaningless here. Nobody would survive. By all rights, the Ionians should have won this fight, but they too would die. How did this follow the Noxian way?

That’s her vision of the Noxian way, the strong triumph over the weak, that’s her core character. She even claims to love Noxus, so why leave? Because she wasn’t okay with the strong not winning in that situation, that’s all her self imposed exile boils down to. She throws a hissy fit because it’s not how she wants it to be.

Darius is way different from her, with that in mind. He didn’t like that rich fat nobles and politicians were sapping the strength of his country. He could have self exiled too, but he chose against it. He dealt with his problem. He killed them, and then did what he could to support who he believed would be a great leader to Noxus, Swain. Darius fixed his problem, Riven ran from her problem.

Read over her lore again, I can’t stress this enough. She never once shows remorse for killing anyone. The only thing she has a problem with is the Noxian philosophy, while still claiming to love Noxus and that philosophy. The only portions where it shows she might have regret over killing is in her in game quote “So much death” but then you read her judgment and she doesn’t give a fuck about killing people. The only moment she cares is when her own soldiers are killed, and she’s traumatized by how she’s forced to watch them all die to this weapon in gruesome fashion.

Her “Redemption” doesn’t make sense because he lore needs to be fixed. Her identity is broken, but in essence she’s just a whiny baby. Something happened she didn’t like, so she ran and decided that was the only way.

RaptorKarr1 votes

How does someone having PTSD make them a whiny baby? Besides should you really be using the Judgement when the League no longer exists?

Shield Villain8 votes

The Judgement is essentially just a deeper probe into the character, by using the Summoners to bring it out. Unless Riven's entire lore is changed, it's still 100% legit. It doesn't change her views, or her past, if the summoners are removed. This really only affects people like Lee Sin who was one of the summoners, or Ezreal who had heavy involvement with summoners. Even Fiddle Sticks who was created by them.

Riven isn't whiny because of her PTSD though, she's whiny because she takes no stance anywhere. Her in game quotes are a mix mash of her going from "I'm a broken sword" to "I'm awakened!" "I have so many burdens from my past" to "My spirit is not lost! I'm strong!" She contradicts herself so damn much, that it's hard to see her self pity as anything but whining if she's really as strong and found as she claims to be.

She's playing this part of being this broken warrior seeking her way back to redemption, but she's also claiming to be redeemed and not be lost. Additionally, in her Judgement she doesn't even know what she's doing. Her stance on why to even join the league was "I'm lost" So even if the league doesn't exist, it doesn't change the fact she's "Lost." She apperantly feels the need to redeem herself and complain about how rough her life has been, how heavy her heart is. But what exactly is she redeeming herself from?

The only thing found in her lore is that moment her "philosophy" and "belief" in the Noxian way are contradicted by the slaughter of those Ionians, though they were strong. The weapon being stronger and that winning rubbed her the wrong way, and all of a sudden that was enough to break her from something she claimed to believe so much in.

Still though, even all that aside, she's not a Hero. She's just a soldier, one who ran away from war, but continued to believe and back up their countries brutal ways.

Luxxum8 votes

Ahri If only he VO matched her Lore...

RasCaelestis8 votes

Viktor I find Transhumanism fascinating, and there's a huge connection between Viktor's Glorious Evolution and the technological singularity. There's also a lot of depth to his character and I was hooked on his story/lore immediately. He was the first 6300 IP champion I bought, and I remember how excited I was when I finally had enough. I had a bit of trouble with his kit at first, but now, years later, he's one of my go-to mid-laners and I love how adaptable his kit is.

Nautilus 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of my favorite books, and as soon as I saw Nautilus's name, I wanted him. His lore's amazing, but with the removal of the League it's more open-ended than it ever was. With the recent focus on Bilgewater, I want to see what happens with him. He's really fun to play, and I love his quotes/audio.

Velkoz The Void in general is a really interesting subject, but Vel'Koz is unique from all the Void creatures that we've seen so far. While the others may be more intelligent than they let on, their driving force is seemingly just to eat everything. Vel'Koz is different, in that total knowledge is the end goal. It's an older trope, but Vel'Koz's 'learning through destruction' is an interesting take on it. Vel'Koz is a lot of fun to play, and I can say (with slight bias) Vel'Koz has one of the most balanced kits in the entire game, and I don't think many people will honestly dispute my claim.

TDubH2 votes

In terms of kit, my favorite champion in the league IS vel'koz, i rarely play him, but i find it so BEAUTIFUL and INTERESTING how his kit doesn't build so heavily on itself but his true damage interaction, and boy he teamfights so well he's just a beautiful champion to me.

SylvanasWrunner7 votes

Leblanc her story and her mysteriousness made me really be intrigued of her

L Rayquaza7 votes

Trundle, old Trundle, he was an outcast and a runt, which i honestly was like when I was younger, plus the pestilence theme isn't something common, I was honestly heartbroken at his visual "update" and even using the Traditional skin it Is still odd because of his bulk with it, they could have just updated his graphics and lines with a slight model polish like Sivir and that would have been perfect for him

flibitydoo1 votes

On the other hand, I really liked new Trundle's personality;which is why I bought him.

He's unique in that he's a simple minded troll with a huge club that relies on beating his opponent to death with sheer might.

Nothing tricky or mysterious, just a guy who intends to smash everyone's face in with a sweet club he got from Lissandra.

His quotes in particular sold me on the champion. "tonight I'm feeling greedy" and his ultimate interaction with Tryndamere and Leona being some of my favourite lines. His voice acting fits his lines quite well and I find them funny and appropriate to his character.

L Rayquaza4 votes

{quoted}> He's unique in that he's a simple minded troll with a huge club that relies on beating his opponent to death with sheer might.

Oh wow, a simple minded troll that just beats everything up mindlessly, never seen that one before. Plus in his lore it is shown he is still a logical fighter, he is about to be killed when he BSes a story about the former trolls having huge weapons

Under such a weak leader, Trundle feared he and his kin would fall prey to the other troll hordes scattered across the tundra. When his challenge to the chieftain ended in humiliation, Trundle did something that wasn't very troll-like: instead of his fist, he turned to his wits. Thinking on his hairy feet, he spun a tall tale about the troll leaders of old, claiming they wielded weapons of great power as symbols of their right to rule. Though he'd made up the story on the spot, Trundle wagered that if he could find or steal such a weapon, he would become the rightful leader of the warband.

Not only then, but ALSO when Lissandra catches his ass stealing from her

There, hidden among the many ancient and dangerous secrets, he hoped to find a weapon to prove his elaborate tale. He out-muscled the Ice Witch's guards and outsmarted her dark magic traps, but nothing he scavenged matched the power he'd described to his kin. Finally, he found an unexpected prize: a huge and magical club of never-melting True Ice. Grasping the weapon, he marveled at the cold power that ran through him. But then the wrathful Ice Witch herself appeared. As she summoned her dark magic, Trundle believed he had met his end, but another clever idea struck him. With a knowing grin, he offered the Ice Witch a devious proposition: a troll army, he told her, would be of much more use to her than one troll corpse...

Plus, they took the whole pestilence thing away and made him another generic ice troll

HayRoss7 votes

Gangplank Because he's pirate

DO I NEED ANOTHER REASON?

MohawkBird6 votes

I am not a lore person at all. I buy champions on whether they have cool gameplay/mechanics or not. I honestly don't really core about any lore behind them. Don't get me wrong, lore is a pretty cool addition to the game but it just won't influence my decision to buy a champion or not.

BreadSammich5 votes

I totally did that with Poppy because she was a blacksmith and blacksmithing is the coolest dang thing. I guess she's not anymore but I've got the skin still so...

T RexHasTinyArms5 votes

Want to upvote for appreciating champion lore, but want to downvote for not getting riven lore. The struggle is real. No offense, but you have a pretty big misunderstanding of Riven if you think she was ever one who was "doomed to wither and die." Riven was strong and was able to rise in society and rank bc that strength was rewarded in Noxus. Riven loved the idea that merit would win out and earn greater rewards than nobility or some other nonsense that didn't reward the skills of a person. She turns from Noxus bc she is betrayed in battle and attacked by her allied forces (the whole field was attacked, not just the enemy) and she realizes there is a brutality to the land she believed in which she doesn't align w/.

If you didn't see it there was actually a really cool post about Noxus VS Demacia and the moral ambiguity of their countries as it relates to war a while back that you might really like. I don't remember the name but the argument was essentially this: In the majority of the lore entries regarding Demacia/Noxus, the Noxian military is greatly out numbered (cannot remember what they cited but I know Darius is one example). The actual population of Noxus and Demacia is relatively similar. Therefore, in order for Demacia to consistently have larger numbers in their army than Noxus (albeit not as brutal and efficient or it would not be a back and forth war), Demacia must have a military draft, while Noxus is a volunteer army. This is further supported by lore such as Lux's referencing the tradition of prestigious families being groomed for the military, and the number of skilled heroes that come from Noxus as military members not aligned w/ a particular house or noble (whereas almost all the Demacian military is the personal guard/friends of the royal family, or from high families bc those are the ones who would have training while the common man would likely die in battle before achieving great feats due to less training).

Noxus may overlook some shady shit if you're strong or be brutal toward the weak, they foster the growth of the strong no matter what their social status, and always give people the choice to fight for what they want or run and hide. Demacia on the other hand will ensure justice, but it is a blind justice that will kill you for stealing medicine to save your wife as fast as kill you for stealing someone's diamonds. Demacia gives justice, but they require that you follow the rules, even when the rules aren't fair (ie everyone goes into the military, but people like Lux or J4 have years of personal training and tutoring in martial or magical skill, while a farmer's child is simply required to go fight when they are drafted)

The lore isn't as black and white as "Noxus bad, Demacia good" and Riven believes in many of the ideals of Noxus I would say, but does not believe in how Noxus functions and how the ideals of strength and social mobility have been corrupted by the nobles and bureaucrats who Darius is fighting to remove (people who reward results over strength and would see an underhanded chemical attack on their own soldiers as a win rather than a waste of the chance to let those soldiers prove themselves against the greater odds).

KING OF MASKS5 votes

Swain Bought him for lore, played him for lore, mained him for lore.

The Whamboozler5 votes

Rivens lore is cool... but I hate the champ in play.

Also, she never really becomes "good". She just left Noxus because they gas-bombed her own people and she felt that was A: A dick move to her personally, and B: Not really proving the "might makes right" mentality that she believes in.

She's not a good guy. She's still a Noxian 110%, she just feels Noxus needs to get back to it's roots as "We're stronger than you so we take what we want" instead of "We're underhanded and willing to cheat, kill and deceive so we take what we want". She doesn't want to be a good guy... she wants to be DARIUS.

Jeddy0174 votes

Rammus - I mean,have you seen his well-detailed,magnificent & very entertaining lore?How could I not play him after reading his lore?Best lore in the game,am I right? ......................... ......................... ......................... Now that I said an original answer I know no one else would say,it's time to say my real answer. Diana - Though,her login track did have an affect on this decision.

Sassmast3r4 votes

Diana - When i first started playing the game, I wanted to use an assassin for once, as I was primarily playing Mages mid[lane and I saw tons of other assassins going mid-lane whooping my ass. When I went into the store and checked out the assassins, what drew me in to Diana was her "intense" facial expression on her splash art. I then read her lore and decided I just had to have her. Thus began my fascination with this champion until I could finally purchase her. This same exact thing happened to me with Karma, but I wasn't as fascinated with Karma since she was another Mage. Frankly, I just wanted to see why she had her eyes closed in her splash art :p

Raiku Kawisa4 votes

Mine was Shyvana simply for the fact that she is a dragon. I have not regretted this decision.

Ralanr3 votes

Olaf Pantheon Jax Riven Braum. I had mechanical reasons also, but a lot of my early purchases were lore based.

"I liked to speculate" <---the answer as to why I bought champions that don't have much lore for their lore.

Blitzidious2 votes

"I like to speculate", so do I! Pantheon was one of my first purchases, due to his theme, and how open it is. I love him.

Ralanr2 votes

How do you interpret him?

RaptorKarr2 votes

He seems kinda hard to interpret other then as a skilled warrior that thirsts for battle.

Ralanr2 votes

That's why I go into fanon for interpretation. There's that comic that depicts Pantheon having a silent crush on Leona. Now while I do not ship the two of them, I still believe it gives insight into Pantheon (from a fanon view) that he's much more introspective than he lets on.

This is a man who can see the world from the heavens whenever he wishes. Because he fights to keep his home alive and he is able to view the world from a birds eye view, he can see things that no one else will. He puts on the helmet to hide his expression, to hide who he is so that he may act as not only the paragon of his people, but their needed savior.

In my opinion anyway. I see him as very grounded.

Myles JT3 votes

Khazix - I was new to league and saw him in the store and decided to read his lore when I thought he looks badass. I was hooked instantly.

MrMooMuuCow3 votes

Poppy, Poppy :>, really love her lore, but I'm not really into her playstyle.

Baron of Bread3 votes

Lulu Her lore is some scary stuff: walking into the woods to return many years later thinking you were gone for a short time, turning children into flowers and squirrels. She has such a good fay feel to her and she has some great VO, no real surprise I picked her up as my first champ.

Clockwork Mouse3 votes

I got Rumble for this reason. love the scrappy nature of his character and his underdog status. Also I think he is cute lol.

I GANK LANES3 votes

LeeSin i feel like balance is a key to everything

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