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I would just like to point out how incredibly well Kindred was designed

ƒoes··59 votes·13,781 views

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/a/a2/Kindred_The_Wolf_1.png/revision/latest?cb=20150915211231 Seriously, I've got to say, Kindred is one of the best designed champion in League of Legends. From the voiceover to the overall gameplay, I always get the chills when anything involving Kindred's story is mentioned.

I was reading through Kindred's voiceover (looking for some stuff on how Kindred could be Jhin - it's a theory, look it up!), and I've got to say, Kindred has some incredibly chilling quotes.

#Upon buying item 3026 Guardian Angel

  • Wolf: "For us, or them?

#During the Death Screen

  • Lamb: "What do all stories have in common, dear Wolf?"
  • Wolf: "They end."
  • Wolf: "Lamb, tell me a story."
  • Lamb: "There was once a pale man with dark hair who was very lonely."
    • Wolf: "Why was it lonely?"
      • Lamb: "All things must meet this man, so they shunned him."
        • Wolf: "Did he chase them all?"
          • Lamb: "He took an axe and split himself in two right down the middle."
            • Wolf: "So he would always have a friend?"
              • Lamb: "So he would always have a friend."

#Movement

  • Lamb: "Those who run from death... stood still in life."
  • Wolf: "And everywhere Lamb went..."
  • Lamb: "... Wolf was sure to follow."
  • Lamb: "And everywhere Lamb went..."
  • Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"

#Taunting an enemy Urgot Urgot

  • Lamb: "Sometimes, death is a blessing."

#Upon marking an enemy

  • Lamb: "Treasure your final moments."

  • Lamb: "Eternal twilight calls for you."

  • Lamb: "A fine life reaches its conclusion."

  • Lamb: "Our mark looms over you."

#Upon killing a hunted enemy

  • Lamb: "All your life has led to this moment."

  • Lamb: "All life is temporary."

  • Lamb: "All things, great and small..." Wolf: "... die."

#Upon casting Lamb's Respite

  • Lamb: "Shine once more, before the end."

  • Lamb: "Savour life's closing act."

  • Lamb: "Not here, not yet."

One of the coolest things about Kindred is the fact that they are so incredibly well-represented as Life & Death, Yin & Yang. Lamb is white, Wolf is black; Lamb is somber, Wolf is playful; Lamb has a soft voice, Wolf has a rugged voice. It's beautiful, really, and unlike Lamb's quote, "Beauty fades. That is why it is beautiful", the incredible design behind Kindred will never fade. http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/a/a2/Kindred_The_Wolf_1.png/revision/latest?cb=20150915211231

114 Comments

Nanuk Pihoqahiak51 votes

I felt the gameplay left a lot to be desired. Wolf feels more like a pet than something comprising a dual entity.

AnonymousPoro5 votes

Wolf's always there, even if it is a smaller role.

Wolf's main ability, W, allows Kindred to Q quicker, which is her main ability. Lamb always sends Wolf to deal the killing blow when they E.

He's always there, working in unison with Lamb.

Narasimha6 votes

By this logic Lulu and Pix are partners.

But... thats definitely not the case.

VentusDragoon2 votes

Pix also doesn't enable 80% of Lulu's overall damage, unless you're leveling her E first.

Narasimha2 votes

Pix helps Lulu's passive, her Q, her W, and her E. Wolf helps Kindred's W and her E.

So... Lulu's pet actually helps out more than Lamb's partner. That's not right at all.

Pikmints11 votes

Let's also not forget what the entirety of that champion is, basically a grim reaper.

How does that translate to gameplay? The ult prevents death. Wait a minute...

Bârd10 votes

When they were developing Kindred, they were thinking of opposites that they felt suited eachother.

Peace and Chaos. Mercy and Cruelty. Malice and Innocence. Coolness and Excitation. Sophistication and Savagery. Light and Dark.

In that brainstorm, they put "Life and Death" in that.

The ultimate temporarily lets all within it live, but as we all know, everything goes to hell once the thing ends.

Thumpin18 votes

You seriously arguing that the ult doesn't fit? They're death. They choose when one lives or dies.

YCitizenSnipsY1 votes

I don't think it works that way. Pretty sure as death they only get to chose when they go.

Helmight1 votes

If you're the ferryman, you get to decide who gets on the boat and who doesn't. They don't HAVE to take someone's life if they don't want to.

YCitizenSnipsY1 votes

So some one's head gets cut off in battle, they can say it isn't their time to go? Because I don't think it works that way. And if you are going to tell me the person was only decapitated becasue Kindred decided it was their time to go. Then you mean to tell me they are ultimately responsible for every decision and every action made.

The argument is that they can choose who lives and who dies. How? Do they secretly control every person? Or do they use some sort of magic to just make a person survive an other wise fatal blow?

Helmight1 votes

Kindred don't decide who lives and who dies. They just show up to claim the souls of anyone who dies and move them into the afterlife. HOWEVER, they don't have to take someone with them. Have you heard of Charon from Greek mythology? The Greeks made sure that they buried their dead with coins so that they could pay him to carry them to the underworld. Being left without coins meant that you couldn't pass on. Same kinda deal with Kindred - though in their case, they basically just take everyone without thinking about it.

Also note that Lamb's Respite only lasts for a few seconds. They might not take you immediately, but that doesn't mean they won't take you eventually.

YCitizenSnipsY1 votes

The guy i replied to literally says "they chose when one lives or dies" Explain to me the "they choose when one lives" part.

How do they actually get a say at all? If one person tries to kill another and they don't want that, what do they do? Reveal themselves to the people and "ult" the person they don't want to die?

Helmight1 votes

The issue with breaking down the abilities of a champion that exists on a more metaphorical level is that not everything works exactly as it does in-game :P

The way I see it, Kindred can choose to NOT take someone when it's their time - in which case, it alters their lifespan. If you've ever seen DeathNote, it's similar to Misa's situation. She was meant to die at the hands of one of her deranged fans, but a shinigami killed the guy before he could kill Misa. So, her life was extended.

Lamb's Respite is something similar, but if we were to translate it out of the game, it'd be more of you getting a lucky break when you should have died. So, if you about to get hit by a bus and Kindred knew it wasn't your time yet, you'd somehow miraculously get out of the way or only get injured by it.

It doesn't entirely explain the Kindred's abilities, but I hope that explanation helps somewhat.

HeresyUntoFedex1 votes

{quoted}

You seriously arguing that the ult doesn't fit? They're death. They choose when one lives or dies.

Yes yes, they have dominion over DEATH. Lamb and Wolf do not have a transformation sequence where they transform into Soraka, they are the Grim Reaper, death incarnate. Preventing death for a short time makes some sense, but healing afterwards? That is the opposite of death, that is giving life, it doesn't fit.

And I said from a gameplay perspective you fool, which it most certainty does not, that's a tank ult they're flinging around.

VendettaX45 votes

Let's just hope they make a reverse kindred skin with wolf being the archer and lamb being the floating head

OurLestrade16 votes

I've always found her really pretentious, sort of thing you'd see on a 16 year old's Tumblr with her faux-philosophical quotes and the whole "They're death itself so they're more powerful than everything else ever blah blah" thing. But then that's just me.

sheldonbunny13 votes

{quoted}

I've always found her really pretentious, sort of thing you'd see on a 16 year old's Tumblr with her faux-philosophical quotes and the whole "They're death itself so they're more powerful than everything else ever blah blah" thing. But then that's just me.

I'm curious at how you expect Death personified to act. As well as this iteration being split personalities, as well as hunters. Thematically, I'd think the lines fit quite well infact.

As for power, what would you consider more powerful or final than death? Life is its equal and opposite, but not much else.

OurLestrade17 votes

There's a trope on TV Tropes called "Holy Sh*t Quotient" or something like that, and I feel that Kindred lore wise goes a bit too far there. Kind of devalues everyone else associated with death like Karthus when we literally have this champion and say "Yeah, she's death itself. Yep". Where can you go with characters from there on? (It's like Arceus in Pokemon. We have all these Pokemon and suddenly we bring in another and say "He made all of them, he's Jesus and he's always been part of the series". You know what I mean? :P) And if you ask me gameplay wise the Kindred Lamb-Wolf split is about as involving as the Quinn-Valor relationship. Beyond your W and being in the E animation he kind of just floats there....

sheldonbunny2 votes

{quoted}

There's a trope on TV Tropes called "Holy Sh*t Quotient" or something like that, and I feel that Kindred lore wise goes a bit too far there. Kind of devalues everyone else associated with death like Karthus when we literally have this champion and say "Yeah, she's death itself. Yep". Where can you go with characters from there on? (It's like Arceus in Pokemon. We have all these Pokemon and suddenly we bring in another and say "He made all of them, he's Jesus and he's always been part of the series". You know what I mean? :P) And if you ask me gameplay wise the Kindred Lamb-Wolf split is about as involving as the Quinn-Valor relationship. Beyond your W and being in the E animation he kind of just floats there....

Looking at it from a gameplay perspective, you have some merits in your viewpoint. However narratively speaking, fiction has been doing this song and dance many, many life times before us. Kindred is just one of the more recent. I personally find them to be a fascinating and beautiful creation. One of my favorites by far of Riot's.

OurLestrade7 votes

Have to remember that Kindred as characters are the polar opposite of the sort of character I personally like xD (I've always been more of a fan of the layman sort of character who isn't all wistful and artsy. Part of the reason I like Yorick for example - he's just a faceless nobody doing his job, yet he has the ability to fight against all these big name ninjas and magicians and stuff :P)

sheldonbunny4 votes

{quoted}

Have to remember that Kindred as characters are the polar opposite of the sort of character I personally like xD (I've always been more of a fan of the layman sort of character who isn't all wistful and artsy. Part of the reason I like Yorick for example - he's just a faceless nobody doing his job, yet he has the ability to fight against all these big name ninjas and magicians and stuff :P)

Fair enough. Room enough in their universe for us all to find those that fit our fancy. Fairly unlikely for all of us to enjoy all their champions equally.

RiotRiotJaredan4 votes

And that's something we never try to do. If everyone likes something, you can be pretty sure no one loves it. Cool discussion, by the way.

YCitizenSnipsY2 votes

Well then please stop making champs like AurelionSol Bard Kindred . Its kinda of lame to keep hearing there gods/death, there more powerful than everyone else just because.

ƒoes3 votes

I quite like champions like Aurelion Sol, Bard, and Kindred. They're not gods/death, they're the balance of nature. It's something that the lore needed, because Runeterra used to be vague in terms of what everybody believed in, and it still is vague. There is no determined religion (partially because I think Riot doesn't want to bring religion into the mix) that characters within the game believe in, other than a few characters like Illaoi.

Champions like Bard and Kindred bring in the balance of how everything works - it makes Runeterra seem a lot more mythical, in a sense, and while some people particularly don't like the mythical element and like to go for a more realistic element, Aurelion Sol, Bard, and Kindred bring in a lot of mythical background that may help avid lore-readers understand Runeterra and it's existence a lot better.

In my eyes, champions that bring a mythical or mystical element into the lore is really healthy for the game. As a bonus, Riot doesn't over-glorify these champions and make them seem as powerful as they are in the lore as they are in the game. Kindred, for example, represents life and death - in the lore, they kill, primarily; there is no escaping Kindred's arrow or teeth. Once you have been marked, "Eternal life calls for you", and that's it. However, in actual gameplay, Kindred's ult, Lamb's Respite, people often refer to it as Lamb is able to decide who lives, and who dies, yet this completely goes against the lore.

You see, Riot doesn't always tie their champions into the lore 100% of the time, which is actually good for champions like Aurelion Sol. While they stay true to the lore, it's not always accurate, and their power is usually limited significantly. That would be rather overpowered if Aurelion Sol could literally make a life-sized star on Summoner's Rift. His Q, however, is similar to that, but it's incredibly scaled down.

YCitizenSnipsY2 votes

They might as well be gods. Aurelion Sol creates stars and universes or some shit. Bard is supposed to be something similar, some sort of all powerful cosmic being. And kindred is supposedly literately death.

Whats the point in lore when you have these champions that basically win anything, and no one stands a chance against them. They feel like Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen, just really lame uncontested characters.

AlwaysByMySide3 votes

{quoted}

They might as well be gods. Aurelion Sol creates stars and universes or some shit. Bard is supposed to be something similar, some sort of all powerful cosmic being. And kindred is supposedly literately death.

Whats the point in lore when you have these champions that basically win anything, and no one stands a chance against them. They feel like Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen, just really lame uncontested characters.

Aurelion Sol is billions of times more powerful than Doctor Manhattan, even compared to their respective settings.

The problem with Sol is that to have him be an active being, essentially a protagonist, rather than just some mythical being from the lore, it forces dumb plot devices and conveniences that cheapen the writing.

Like that stupid crown the Targonians put on him to enslave him, that literally destroys a star somewhere in the universe if he disobeys them. So like, why did ancient Runeterra have stupid ass technology like this? And why haven't the Targonians long colonized all of Runeterra? Sol raises more dumb questions than he answers.

Limrick2 votes

I think it helps create the fantasy that all are equals in the League, even a simple soldier can defeat the embodiment of death. It really makes it kind of funny too, how a guy with a shotgunGraves can beat a star creating Dragon-GodAurelionSol

YCitizenSnipsY1 votes

Lore isn't connected to the game anymore.

ƒoes1 votes

Not entirely, no, but there is still a lot of resemblances. Aurelion Sol is a star-forging dragon, correct? His entire kit is based around stars. Bard is a wandering caretaker, and his kit is based around wandering and taking care of stuff. Kindred resembles life and death, and the story of choosing how you wish to die - by arrow, or teeth - and this entire story is literally embedded into the playstyle of Kindred.

YCitizenSnipsY1 votes

Ok, but the lore is still a thing. And in lore the guy with the shotgun doesn't last a second against the universe creating dragon. And if that's the case then whats the point in lore? Especially for a game where these characters do in fact fight one another.

ƒoes1 votes

A game is boring if there's no backstory.

ƒoes1 votes

I've said somewhere in this thread (I honestly have forgotten, there's a lot of comments) that I treat the Runeterra lore and the League of Legends (the Runeterra game that champions join) separately, like the League of Legends is the Hunger Games of Runeterra.

(accidentally this posted twice, sorry!)

Limrick1 votes

Kayle is one of the first champs, and she's a super-powerful nearly immortal warrior from another universe. But yeah, it's all AurelionSol 's fault.

macromite1 votes

AurelionSol this guy made the thing that made the speck of dirt that they were born on. Illaoi has a god at her beck and call, pretty much.

sure kindred is strong, but kindred is not a god. if you want something to compare kindred to, compare her to bard, except a bit weaker.

VentusDragoon1 votes

It's a bit odd with all of the things lately, but...

AurelionSol Aurelion Sol, Bard Bard, and Kindred Kindred are forces of Nature, and the universe. Even though Aurelion Sol was technically the "first" existence, Kindred has always existed, even before him, because even without physical form, they are a concept. All things must perish eventually. Even the Stars Aurelion Sol creates, even Aurelion Sol himself, eventually.

Aatrox Aatrox, Diana Leona Pantheon Taric The Aspects (The Aspects themselves, not the champions), Nocturne Nocturne (as the incarnation of fear), TahmKench Tahm Kench (as a demon), Illaoi Nagakabouros (not Illaoi herself), and Brand Kayle Morgana SorakaNautilus Any other extraterrestrial beings (and whatever is possessing Nautilus) have been around since nearly the creation of Runeterra or even sooner (in the cases of Soraka, Kayle, Morgana, and Brand).

Then you've got the Void, Ancient Yordles (Lulu, Gnar, and Poppy), the Shadow Isles, Zilean, The Ascended, Lissandra, and everyone else kind of falls in after that. Then wherever the heck Jax fits in.

macromite1 votes

aurelion is actually totally immortal. bard can die, but its not easy, and both of them are leagues above kindreds power level. same with nakabouros. infact, death is really a worldly thing. there are probably multiple interpretations of death throughout the multiverse that bard deals with.

and you people need to stop talking about kayle and morg like you know anything. you don't know anything, for all we know they are normal people that use some sort of spell like ascension, or just a short term wing spell, or something.

lolipopevelynn2 votes

{quoted}

aurelion is actually totally immortal. bard can die, but its not easy, and both of them are leagues above kindreds power level. same with nakabouros. infact, death is really a worldly thing. there are probably multiple interpretations of death throughout the multiverse that bard deals with.

and you people need to stop talking about kayle and morg like you know anything. you don't know anything, for all we know they are normal people that use some sort of spell like ascension, or just a short term wing spell, or something.

bard and kindred are actually equals. being a "cosmic" entity isnt a indication of power levels in this game. and according to kindred EVERYTHING ends, including "immortals", including themselves.

macromite1 votes

I could go into depth why anyone and everyone that thinks that kindred is the strongest is utterly wrong. but I won't, instead I'll leave this concise.

Kindred doesn't kill people, she doesn't fight people. wolf never attacks people. kindred doesn't do anything. she is just kinda there.

VentusDragoon2 votes

By no means is Kindred the strongest, because Kindred most of the time does not actually participate in existence. It's like God or the Grim Reaper showing up after you died to take you away. You're already dead, they're just there to finalize it.

Griftrix3 votes

I don't like to compare these champions by how "powerful" they are. I rather like to think of their level of influence and understanding. How much of what scale of the universe are they interested or have affect on? I love what people are discussing in here. I'll have to give it a thourough read tomorow when I'm not so sleepy.

ƒoes3 votes

I can see where you're coming from. I believe that Riot has stated that Kindred are in fact not the most overpowered entities in Runeterra in terms of lore because they have to use their power sparingly. While they cannot technically die, they will have bouts of dormancy and periodically show up. The Wiki has stated that Kindred do not like Shadow Isles champions because of how they are between life and death, but if Kindred was so powerful, wouldn't they be able to get rid of the Shadow Isles champions?

I'm not trying to prove you wrong, and I understand why you would think Kindred seems pretentious, but these are just some examples of why Kindred are more than likely not the most overpowered entities in Runeterra. Again, they have to use their power sparingly.

OurLestrade2 votes

Eh, it's more of a personal preference thing I suppose in the grand scheme of things. I'm really not a fan of artsy fartsy champions, but that's just my taste :P

Narasimha4 votes

Err.. close, but not quiet. The reason Kindred isn't 'all powerful', is simply because they don't actually do anything. They don't kill people, they're just there to provide closure on the death. They don't really interact with our world much outside of those brief boundary moments between life-and-death.

Mannysmoker10 votes

Sorry but Jhin is better, that guy is pure glee...

ƒoes5 votes

Oh, Jhin has some really creepy lore. In fact, his lore is one of my favorites. Of course, this is all down to personal opinion - in my eyes, Kindred's lore is really interesting and chilling. But hey, Jhin's is pretty cool!

Hella Kaiser2 votes

{quoted}

Sorry but Jhin is better, that guy is pure glee...

there's a theory that says that jhin is kindred...

Thumpin5 votes

The theory is absolute bullshit, but the champs did stem from the same concept so they do have nods to each other.

RiotRiotJaredan9 votes

He isn't.

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