Whats preventing another Rune War?

Summoner Peter·Sep 23, 2014·14 votes·2,208 views

A serious question for the lore team though, with the League gone and no IoW what is preventing the city states from complete open warfare and destroying/massively altering the landscape with the intense magical powers they bring to bear with their champions? Were these events also now non-canon and is this part of why Skarner's lore was altered so that he no longer has any connection to the now nonexistent Rune Wars?

Edit: Does this also mean the entire Kalamanda event is now non-canon?

17 Comments

sp441Sep 23, 20146 votes

I assume the same thing that kept Russia and the USA from beating eachother during the Cold War: Fear of mutually assured destruction.

No point in killing your nemesis if it's also going to kill you or cause so much damage to the world that whoever survives will be the real loser.

Yeah, the Shadow Isles probably want that to happen, but they're not a particularly strategic bunch, they probably have no idea how to actually spark a war between Noxus and Demacia.

Thunder DreamssSep 23, 20147 votes

Well in the real world a large part of how the US and Russia didn't resort to global destruction was by means of an international diplomatic body that helped mediate between them. Mutually assured destruction was a deterrent to war but it wasn't enough on it's own, as evidenced by the times when said threat wasn't enough and we only survived by dumb luck.

With the fantasy UN removed from Runeterra there is no clear diplomatic channel to temper the city-state's bloodlust.

Further, Runeterra has survived rune wars before. Sure, some people claim another rune war will be disastrous just like some people in the real world claim continued CO2 emissions will be disastrous. I think we can all see about how much those in power listen to such worry warts.

sp441Sep 23, 20141 votes

Yeah, but thing is, it's fiction, it can get away with saying "The two nations want to kill eachother, but war at the current moment would be too costly for both of them". It'd be interesting to see how they would develop from such a stand off. Some factions inside each nation searching for a way to greatly overpower the other nation, others looking for a way to make a peace treaty, and others trying to get other nations to join up with them, and a select few who observe this internal conflict and try to speed them up to weaken their enemies enough.

EM DesorientadoSep 23, 20145 votes

I think is fair to assume that Runic wars never happened in the (new) canon. The whole point of the IoW was to prevent usage of mass destruction magic during the wars, and since in the neoRuneterra the institute never existed I guess that this kind of super powerful agressive spells were never developed.

Hoi Im TemmoSep 23, 20142 votes

Basically this^

One complaint by riot about their lore is that you have this new badd-ass champion that you guys are gonna think is so cool, just wait.....oh but hes being man handled by these mages and there is nothing he can do about it, lol

IMTOOJUICYSep 23, 20145 votes

They're still busy grinding IP for their newest set of runes. It'll be a while.

Thanotos OmegaSep 23, 20143 votes

Most likely no one knows how any of that stuff works, Except Maybe Zil,

DecritSep 23, 20142 votes

Most probably with lore retconnection the whole concept of Rune Wars will disappear. or maybe LoL is placed in a Runic War Fallout :D

SharjoSep 23, 20142 votes

Rune Wars will likely be replaced with actual events transpiring about their fall, ala Xerath's betrayal that brought down Shurima, the War of the Three Sisters that divided Freljord, etc, etc.

They'll probably find a way to retcon Kalamanda to happen but remove the League's influence. That's what I think at any rate.

PhoenixSlayer13Sep 23, 20142 votes

Or maybe the city-states actually learned from past rune wars and wisened up a little bit?

Bouffon dAnglaisSep 24, 20142 votes

I think that basically nothing. The IoW was like the UN, it's job never was to prevent wars, but to prevent mass destruction and serve as a place to solve diplomatic problems.

My point is, that the next special event (i.e. Shurima patch, Freljord patch) could very well be Rune Wars themed.

tau43Sep 23, 20141 votes

The last one ruined part of Valoran and forced Skarner's race into essentially stasis bunkers while they wait out the fallout.

Zimb mageSep 24, 20142 votes

Skarner's race? all retgone now if i'm not mistaken. Skarner )':

however the Kalamanda event looks like it is canon as Leblanc has some of j4's blood laying around.

tau43Sep 24, 20142 votes

Sigh

Hendrus01Sep 24, 20141 votes

Im certain that the 2 Big rune-wars as we know them didnt happened in the first Place according to the new Lore. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I imagine the noxian bloodlust and their hate for Demacia, I think the peace will only lasts for a While. I remember the Ionia-Noxus event was the last Event where The city-states where battling each other, and that's been a while. And with the IoW being gone including the League as an organ to prevent more Rune Wars, im pretty sure that Another Rune War will come, but Maybe Riot just closed the Whole "An Island destroyed by war" thing an will pause the Runewar-lore at All and focus more on Reworks or stuff like the Reborn / Shurima Event until they got everything to go along with the new Lore.

KeysheSep 25, 20141 votes

It's possible there never was a 'Rune War' to start with. We will have to wait and see what the new lore is and what is kept/trashed. I guessing it's going to be a year + or so wait :/