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The new Karma bio

RiotRiot Scathlocke·4/13/2018, 2:27:21 AM·108 votes·45,359 views

So, let's talk about Karma...

(SPOILER ALERT: We're going to make some changes)

We updated the backstories of four Ionian champions to accompany the Irelia VGU earlier this month, including the Enlightened One. As with all of these now-regular faction updates, I hope it's becoming clear that there is no template for the type or amount of content we publish - to be quite honest and open, we Narrative folks are experimenting with ways to get new lore out to you... :-)

I've said this plenty before now, but we genuinely DO welcome feedback, because it helps us to figure out when we're doing something right, and also when you would like us to try harder.

I try to keep up with posts on here, and on Reddit, Twitter etc, and I know there are some of you who don't like the new Karma bio. Full disclosure, we had intended to deliver some more story content for her at the same time, but that didn't happen - we have limits on time, resources and promotional space that we have to bear in mind when working on this sort of thing.

And, in this case, the plan changed mid-flight. We ended up not telling her whole story, and that's not good enough when so many players are so invested in her as a champion, and as a character in the wider Runeterra setting.

So we're going to update Karma's lore again. No, we're not going to retcon it - we're going to improve it.

Will we do this for any/every champion that gets negative feedback? Heck no. Sorry. Sometimes we're doing something for a specific reason, with a specific goal in mind... but in this case, my personal feeling is that we only delivered half the picture in Karma's update. But, luckily, that's something I can make sure gets fixed.

As always, we just need to figure out a patch where we can re-release it - that's the only reason it's not coming out today.

But we hear you. And we're on it.

144 Comments

Xeneth4/13/2018, 3:09:11 AM42 votes

I suspect that fleshing out the "many lives, one body" concept won't exactly appease fans that would rather she remain easier to grok/empathize with, but I for one appreciate the attempt at crafting a backstory for her that's a little more unique than, "An Ionian power, like Irelia, but more centrist".

Regardless, this is... Good news! Something that us Karma Mains aren't that used to getting, heh. Between this and considering what it would take to bring back her Shield Bomb in some form, things might be looking up for Our Lady!

jocomotion4/13/2018, 3:09:30 AM34 votes

1: I’d appreciate some more characterization on Karma (the multiple spirits) and Darha individually. We’re told “Karma is a pasifist” and “Darha is headstrong” but were never really shown it. The best we got is the fact that Karma was so adamant about not harming people and Darha changed her...it’s.... their mind(s) to kill one person. But beyond that there’s nothing but exposition saying ‘trust us they’re peaceful and headstrong’

2: Dont make Karma a pure pacifist. For her I always got the feeling of ‘Pacifism is the end goal, but not always the right choice’. Noxus is killing people left and right, desecrating Ionian temples and Landmarks, nearly destroyed their most sacred place and Karma basically says ‘do nothing’. What made the previous lore appealing was that Karma tried that, peace failed, and she blasted a soldier, that WORKED, and she learned peace is awesome, but it’s not always an answer, it’s a hard but true lesson.

3: Make Karma more empathetic. She’s so static in game, and now (until you touch her up) in lore she’s boring too. Karma’s kit is a subject I’ll stay away from since I know that’s not your department. But lore wise give a joke, some dry wit, some feeling to the character, it’s something she’s been missing for a while.

Thanks for posting*[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]*

Hadriel4/13/2018, 8:15:45 AM24 votes

"We didn't tell the whole story" sounds like "our awful version of Karma has more backstory". The problem isn't a lack of context, the problem is that the key elements of the Karma you wrote are poor and go against who Karma is as a character.

Just listen to her voiceover - a great one - and contrast to what you wrote. You did not capture the essence of Karma, you wrote a supporting character in Irelia's story meant to be little more than a contrast. The problem is that the stories show Irelia as the one who takes action to protect her homeland when that is not in any way incompatible with the fabric of Karma's character.

Karma is about retribution, about reaping what you sow. About peace, enforced. Your version of Karma cannot proactively enforce peace or dole out retribution because "she stops hearing voices". The in-game version of Karma is all about catching up to you to give you what you had coming. You wrote Karma as a pacifist stereotype that makes absolutely no sense, and trying to explain it further is not going to fix the problem, it's simply going to give you a better argument to self-assert on your tonedeaf version of Karma.

Karma's contrast to Irelia should come in the form of sensibility that Irelia lacks entirely. Irelia has grown to be bloodthirsty and dehumanizing, something that Karma isn't and shouldn't ever be. But Karma is very far from a doormat, something that you wrote yourselves in a corner about. Your Karma is toothless because she lives in fear of losing more "voices" than she already has.

Your Karma also reads as not her own person. She's a pair of pants worn by "the spirits". There are no interesting conflicts attached to Karma because she doesn't appear to be truly autonomous. Her power is conditional, she's overly concerned with a counsel whose importance you did not explain, and she does not exhibit any of the strong personality you get from her in-game. She's swallowed alive by the spirits.

If you want to make right by Karma, MEAN IT. Scrap the whole "never kill again" and make Karma more than just this generic chosen one who hears spirits. That's a generic character and a generic trope. Make Darha much, much more prominent.

Sassmast3r4/13/2018, 3:17:30 AM17 votes

Careful what you promise. Myself along with many other Karma mains are going to hold you to your word.

If it's true that you have viewed our feedback, then as a whole I'm sure you know the right way to improve it, and we will continue to wait.

OverpoweredSoap4/13/2018, 3:34:16 AM17 votes

While I am still not a fan of the new lore Karma (the whole ancient spirit that contains multiple people thing), I am pleased that you guys are looking to flesh her out more.

She currently seems stuck on the whole "I want peace but I'm just gonna hope that happens without really doing anything", which is completely the anti-thesis of who Karma has been since her INITIAL inception (aka before the rework and her original release). So I really appreciate that the new lore would touch on that and help push her towards the character that Karma players and lore enthusiasts have come to know and love.

IxtaliKing4/13/2018, 10:42:10 AM13 votes

Hey Scathlocke, thanks for following up on the Karma lore. A few brief points on what I felt didn't come across well in the new bio:

The 'Karma' spirit choosing Darha as a host. This comes across like yet another possession story, it makes me question why she couldn't just be born with these experiences/memories from her passed lives and unlock them as her story progresses? I think a more natural reincarnation theme would have been more appropriate for the 'enlightened one'.
"Killing would always be easy, but came at the cost of true enlightenment." This statement lacks nuance, so it comes across like "killing is always bad". That doesn't sound 'enlightened', and it's unclear to me whether that's meant be illustrative of Darha's current mindset and understanding, or a truth of Karma. If that quote is in fact supposed to be Darha's current understanding, she needs to go see - Illoai would set her straight.
"The voices that had spoken so clearly in her mind now fell silent, and she felt Darha returning to prominence—this brought little comfort, however, as she realized she had made a huge mistake." The mistake isn't clear (at least not to me), was the mistake that there were innocent people on board the invading vessel, or was it simply that she took a life? The previous quote implies killing in any context is wrong, and this quote seems to affirm that with a penalty. This is where the lore really begins to make me question why she's a playable character in this game, and not just an npc from Irelia's lore. We're moving away from the Karma in-game more and more at this point, and that's worrying.
"Karma has pledged to guide as many of them as she can to more peaceful means." This is cool, it leaves the door open for Karma to once again become the diplomat she was in her old lore. Then it continues: "And with every conflict she averts, more of the lost voices return to offer their eternal wisdom." This appears to be setting her up on a journey to regain those voices; which based on the penalty she faced when she defended her homeland, means a purely non-violent journey.

This lore overall doesn't sound like the wise Karma with the profound quotes we have in-game at all. The Karma we know and love understands the wisdom in war and the perils of inaction, she desires peace and harmony but will defend her home and her people with deadly force if necessary.

Ultimately I just hope that Karma's story brings her to place she's at in-game, I think her quotes do a good job of showing her wisdom/enlightenment and should be expanded upon.

Hozenb4/13/2018, 8:46:12 AM11 votes

I wrote an article about Karma's old lore and lore update...

Introduction

I am a player since Season 2 from the Taiwan server. Karma has been one of my most played champions over the past few years. Not only did I love her play style, but most importantly, I was also fascinated by her lore. I loved her stories, I love her vivid characters. To me, she's more than a name and more than a model in the game. She indeed was a person who had been with me for years and had encouraged me in the vicissitudes of life. I would not have managed to get through the mental illness (i.e. depression) from which I have suffered for years without her.

In the first half of the article, I tried to have a more rational and critical view on why I love Karma by analyzing her personality traits and characters. In the second half, I would like to talk about why I think the new lore does not fit her character.

What I love about Karma?

This can be split into several parts - (1) her charisma as a leader (she was discerning, she was a mediator and she earned her respect) and (2) her adamant resistance to Noxian invasion (she loved the Lands and her people, she was strong-willed). I will discuss her personality with references to her 1st and 2nd lore. Her 1st lore was the original released version in 2011, her 2nd lore was released with the 2013 rework of Karma. In my opinion, the 2nd lore retained the personality of Karma with changes to the episodes that she had gone through. So, I will treat them as the same character in this article.

(1) Charisma as a leader

She was discerning. This was manifested through the wise decision that she was intellectually capable to make according to situations. In both the 1st and 2nd lore, she managed to save the villagers from the cruel invaders. In the 1st lore, she observed and discerned how the villagers were captured by the Noxian Commander, In this particular situation, she decided to utilize her ability as a mediator, which she learned from the teaching of the elders in the young age, to resolve the problem diplomatically. She finally persuaded the Commander to release the villagers. In her 2nd lore, she observed how the elders was killed by Noxian in their "peaceful protest" and she understood that was not the best option when you were facing some heartless soldiers who were about to ravage the village and kill all the life. She decided to use her power to stand in front of the people to protect them. She triumphed over the Noxian army.

She was a mediator. That means more than calming people or solving conflicts. She could solve conflicts because she was able to listen to different or even contrasting views and was able to find the middle ground in divergence. The 2nd lore emphasized this point more than the 1st lore, but her similar attitude towards the traditionalists could be observed in both lores. In the 1st lore, when the traditionalists (the elders) decided to surrender, she bolstered them to resist and fight back the enemies. In the 2nd lore, the focus was put explicitly that she was fighting for a middle way between the traditionalists (pacifist) and the revolutionists. She embraced peace, but she believed peace would never come if no one fought for it. This is well known to the majority of the players who may not have the chance to read lores since this is clearly depicted in her current in-game voice line.

"Peace, no matter the cost." "Never again will I sit idle." "I have seen two paths and made another between." "If you desire peace, you must prepare for war!" "An ideal is nothing... until you fight for it."

The most fascinating part of the old lore to me was that she actually earned people's respect to become the leader of Ionia from an ordinary villager (1st lore: the daughter of the owner of a local business who struggled to provide for themselves; 2nd lore: an ordinary person living in a small village). She built her reputation in the Ionian-Noxian war through her strong will to resist enemies and her modesty to always stand alongside the people. In the 1st lore, she "never compromised, and she shared every hardship with her people" to become the "formidable leader of the Ionian resistance". In the 2nd lore, she also became a well-known leader because the opponents surrendered to her strength and spirit.

(2) Adamant resistance to Noxian invasion

As mentioned above, she became the icon of Ionia in the raging war. Most importantly, we should understand the motivation behind her action - what drove her to become such a person. Both of the lores show how she loved her people and the lands. She loved them so much that she could even sacrifice her own life to rescue others. The 1st lore described her as always willing to share hardship with her people. And in the 2nd lore, she refused to accept the death of the innocent villagers, instead, she made a decision of "sacrificing a single life to spare many others". Merely being a sage will not make her the representation of Ionia, but her thorough understanding of the traditional Ionian teaching, her love towards her people and her lands, together with the pragmatic actions of protecting all the things she loved make her the true leader of Ionia.

"Ionia speaks through me." - Karma

All the endeavors she put into the war further illustrate this point. There was a whole paragraph in the 1st lore highlighting how Karma devoted herself to improve her combat skills. She modified her fans into lethal weapons and she even sought Janna's tuition to enhance her skills. In the 2nd lore, she changed her protecting spiritual power into immense harmful power to defeat enemies. She did this always for the same purposes: to push away Noxians and to bring back peace to Ionia.

P.S. Due to the word limit of the comment section, I have to split the second half of the article into another comment.

Mossy Lungs4/13/2018, 4:11:26 AM10 votes

Sounds good. Also, wasn't some of us, was the MAJORITY of us that hated the new lore. Please kill Darha. SHE IS KARMA. Her name should be KARMA. Give her a title that is passed down that isn't the name of the champion we've been playing for all these years. It's really distasteful to do what y'all did, leave a very sour taste in some of our mouths. Next Jinx is gonna be Cathy, but people say she's a bad omen, they call her Jinx. Jinx players would be puking, not just at the name Ccccaaathy.... but SHE IS JINX. We know her as JINX. Vayne and MF are different cases, we've known that they are going by their Surnames. But please. She is KARMA. Not Darha. Say Darha to yourself. Yeah.. tastes like dishsoap.

Forhonor3214/13/2018, 7:33:18 PM7 votes

While this is good to hear, I think I need more clarification on "improving" her lore.

Like, are you still going to keep her whole hear voices thing and being possessed? Or are you going to remove the aspect of her trying to make her a pacifist and disregard violence?

Honestly, if you are going to "improve" her lore, just ditch the pacifist route you were going with her. It feels out of nowhere and doesn't play in to her kit, which does require her to be aggressive somewhat.

On top of that, ditch the whole possession thing. This is, what, the 6th champion you made into being possessed? Were Zoe Taric Pantheon Leona Diana not enough for Targon so you have to shove it in champions from other regions? Why not just make the explanation that Karma is basically an Avatar like Aang? That the voices are just past lives that don't possess her?

I really hope you're listening to this and everyone's feedback because while I don't play Karma, I can see why people are pissed about how you handled her lore.

Vanjie4/13/2018, 3:32:04 AM7 votes

I really appreciate you taking the time to communicate about the new Karma bio. It's horrible that it took so much hate, backlash, threads and passion to get you guys to make change. It's a shame that in 2018 the community that supports your game, has to force Developers to make changes on a champion that had so much taken from her already. The track record with every single Development team that does work on Karma has not been good. The reason be is they take everything that made her unique and interesting and put it on Ivern, Irelia, or a new champion that will have something she had. This is the work ethic you and past Developers created for yourselves and didn't rectify for the past 5 years. I apologize if myself or any other Karma main hurts your feelings or makes you feel a certain way. None of us should be ashamed of what we said or did though. You had 5 years to do work on Karma and you spent it on champions like Ryze, Ahri, and Lux. Every single Developer spent the past 5 years working on popular champions as opposed to working on champions that really need attention.

This lore update for Karma was an opportunity for SOME Developer at Riot Games to show the Karma community that you cared about her. Instead you gave us the same transparent attitude and work ethic that almost every other Developer has been giving us the past 5 years. You took away her fans for a theme that isn't even present and represented well in her art, lore, kit and narrative. You took away her shield bomb and gave it to Ivern because you wanted a champion that sits in the back and builds shield enhancing items to be relevant in the game. You took away any status and grace Karma had and gave it to Irelia because you wanted Karma to be this character that does nothing, is no one, and is forgettable. Every single one of you Developers from different teams, really need to start making progress with Karma's issues. The Karma community has been patient, understanding, and passionate about a champion that was completely butchered for half-worked on content that is almost insulting. I mean Karma doesn't even have a running and shield casting animation and this is just one of her many problems that I know every single Developer is aware but refuses to actually work on or communicate about.

The problem Karma mains have with her goes far beyond just a bad lore change. You don't seem to care and you don't seem to listen. We want a fully conceptualized champion that deserves more than what every single Developer has been doing to her the past 5 years. It's really pathetic that in 2018 Lux gets VO additions to her but Karma cannot get a single thing that matches new art, a theme and narrative created for her. It's really pathetic that a champion like Cho that is slated for a VGU can get all of his abilities updated but Karma cannot get improvements to her abilities that show us some sort of flashy art or thematic that really brings it all together. It's extremely pathetic that Ahri can get massive kit changes done to her for 3 patch cycles but Karma can have her shield bomb removed and put on Ivern, a buff to her Mantra E that is later nerfed, and buffs to a passive on Mantra abilities that are bland and make no sense. So, tell other Development teams to start communicating about Karma, because Katey, Reav3 and Meddler said no one in house is communicating about her. Maybe it is high time that in the past 5 years you stop prioritizing work done for popular champion or champion that are slated for a VGU, and start working on champions that do not necessarily need a VGU to fix mistakes YOU CREATED.

Now to talk about the lore at hand. This transparent lore you seem be going on about better give us more than what we have now. Right now we have a champion that reflects how she is in game: bland and does nothing. I want to see Dharia's story, personality and adventures more. Even though she is Karma, this is Dharia's story and this is the perfect opportunity to show us more of a personality than this bland and boring character you created. Karma needs to do more than just sit in one spot and meditate all day. I want her to actually fight, use her abilities, and do something other than shield people in the back-line. You didn't do any of the above and look where it got you. We got a snippet of Dharia's personality and then it just went all away.

Thank you and good luck.

Miss Vanjie.

J Eevo4/13/2018, 11:39:50 AM7 votes

You know why I personally hated Karma's new lore? Because it didn't seem like a lore update - seemed like you didn't try to understand Karma and expand on that, instead opting to just make new lore irrelevant of who Karma is. That might work when you rework the champion completely as a statement that it is no longer the same champion, just another guy with the same name like Swain but it's clearly not working for champions like Karma and Varus. PLEASE learn from those past mistakes because it seems like you're ruining lore that people liked in favor of something you want.

Oleandervine4/13/2018, 12:41:31 PM7 votes

What I would like to know is WHY you release bio stories that don't tell the whole, or at least short, story that explains the character and their motivations.

The bios are the page players go to to get their lore information on the character. We're not trying to look to read a novel, or an anthology on the champion - we just want everything essential in the bio itself. All the other things, like the flavor story, videos like you did with Varus, splash images, etc, should expand a little and supplement the bios. They should never have information that the bio does not, unless it's something that expands on the narrative, like maybe going into detail on Kataraina's and Cassiopeia's mother or something that's not critical to understanding the core motivations and backstory of a character.

The bios SHOULD NOT be half narratives on a character that only give us a painting on them as they were. Bios should tell us who they were and what started their path, but_ ultimately should tell us who they are now and how what happened to them led them to this point_. Karma is a prime example of this. It started us with who she was, and what began her on her path. But at the climax of her story, it kind of stopped. This is unacceptable for a character bio. They're still stories, and they should still follow the same pattern of storytelling, and the ending of character bios should leave us with the champion we know from the game. Karma's story left us with a conflicted woman trying to coddle the spirits in her head and make them love her again. It didn't leave us with the focused, driven woman who has managed to strike the balance between good and evil deeds, and enact philosophical understanding in order to find the best direction for her people to progress in.

Try to correct this on future bios. Give us an entire vignette, not a half told story that doesn't give us the champion as we know them.

ModCaptainMårvelous4/13/2018, 5:27:06 AM6 votes

Interesting.

Will we get the chance to talk it over and/or hit major story beats we feel is necessary for Karma?

ZapMyHeart4/13/2018, 4:23:22 AM6 votes

Well, I'm hoping Karma stays as Karma, instead of Darha becoming "Karma" or whatever those voices want to title themselves as.

Teridax684/13/2018, 11:30:18 AM6 votes

This is excellent to hear, thank you so much! It takes a lot of bravery for an artist to not only own up to the flaws in their work, but to also publicly tell it to their audience and welcome their feedback. It's also excellent to see Karma getting some love and some more direction based on her community's input, and I look forward to seeing her updated story.

Question: regarding the thematics in Karma's bio, are you planning on developing more on her drive to hurt her opponents? A common criticism of her current bio is how she's painted as an almost pure pacifist, when in-game she's meant to be just as much about dealing damage as she is about supporting her allies.

The Cane Master4/13/2018, 1:35:34 PM5 votes

LoL, until there is a reddit front page post about a certain champion Riot don't give a single fuck about it.

CurseOfLife4/13/2018, 3:58:11 AM4 votes

1y ago or so i had the idea to write a song/poem for every league champ, but i never did it since I had some rl stuff and Im a programming student (12h per day at least spent on that). Ive read all the lore but if you asked me now something specific i couldnt tell you anything. Recently I decided to start reading it again 1 by 1 and hopefully write something. Im never satisfied with my stuff, meaning I write slow compared to others, but at some point i just say this is good enough and leave it as it is, probably change it after. I "finished" the Aatrox and finishing Ahri one, did many variations on that 1 think im happy with the latest.

My feedback would be I want to see more emotion. First of all thanks for updating the lore but for me some of it looks shallow. I wouldnt mind seeing longer stories. I read the new Karma one and the first thing I thought was, "this seems like someone is retelling the story" there is no connection with the character at least for me. I would rather like to see it happen like this - example: The monks searched for the new Karma and they choose her. She was taken away from her home. I want to see how she feels. I want to see her suffer, put myself right next to her and watch her dream nightmares. Being born with special powers is sooo meeeh (my opinion). I would rather picture this Lasting Altar as something that just appears holy, but actually they are trying to preserve Karma and are kinda abusing their powers, feeding the child with thoughts so she carries some wisdom or something till she dies and then it happens again. Probably could talk more about it but its enough for now :D

Btw its 6am this was the 1st thing that hit my brain so i ran with it. Have a good night

murasakiyukari4/13/2018, 12:18:49 PM4 votes

I liked her Rework concept at 2013. http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3197509

I began a game after 2013.I was very glad to read this argument last year.But I think that the new story takes the present which they loaded Karma with then.

・The Enlightened One does not bite. The state that Darha contains an ancient soul is passive.

・A description of twindragon disappeared. It is very important that her appearance includes a symbol of Ionia. I am sad that explanation is reduced.

・The most important charm that I groped for between newness and traditions disappeared. She has become a traditionalist with Shen.

・I feel that I am opposed to Irelia which was a friend before. 「Your 'peace' leads to nothing but extermination」

・She was not a leader of resistance movement.I lost an association between her and LeeSin. Even so, do not take up LeeSin from Karma as having taken Soraka from Irelia.

Our Lady be loved from now on by everybody.

Camille Ferrøs4/13/2018, 12:23:59 PM4 votes

And if you update / improve her lore and people still find things to scream at I'm leaving boards.

Jack0Alpha4/13/2018, 3:15:06 AM3 votes

U said four ionians alongside irelia..the champs that got bio update were karma,lee sin,yasuo,and RIVEN..riven is noxian not ionian..or did i miss read something?