Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

I'm legitimately losing my mind over Karma's design.

Electro522·8/25/2018, 10:37:34 AM·4 votes·4,221 views

More specifically as to what Riot drew inspiration from for her.

I've always thought she was African. She even sounds African for christ's sake.

Compare her voice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpzLcUJl09k

To that of Trevor Noah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GxnhQjBaw&t

But then, a guy by the name of Yago here on the Boards said that she is "clearly Indian".

I thought he was crazy, and was ready to start debunking him.....until I started looking into this a bit more.

I wanted to compare her dress to that of African and Indian dresses, and this is where I ran into my problem.

So, here is Karma https://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Karma_0.jpg

The one we all know and love. Now, compare her dress to that of African dresses: https://image.dhgate.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g2-M00-88-C4-rBVaGlonjxaAURT7AAHCgvAJNu0030.jpg/floor-length-african-dresses-women-summer.jpg https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2648/8500/products/[email protected]?v=1522879248 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bUKHK5ipzoI/maxresdefault.jpg

NOTHING alike. But then you compare her dress to that of Indian dresses: https://4.imimg.com/data4/RC/TK/MY-8263424/designer-indian-dresses-500x500.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XCsJDm8T8Fc/maxresdefault.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61pGWduJjmL._SX385_.jpg

And you actually start seeing similarities.

So, I'm so confused now. Her voice and personality is African, right? No one denies that? So, why is her dress more similar to that of Indian design? And, to make things worse, one of my fellow mods stated that shes neither, but purely Ionian (her reasoning was that trying to compare our world to Runeterra can't be done)

So, while I track down a Rioter that can answer this for me, I'm going to leave it up to you guys.

14 Comments

Terozu8/25/2018, 11:23:33 AM8 votes

How did you not know Karma was Indian based?

Her skin tone while tan is clearly not black, she is from the game's asian based region, and she has a focus on spiritualism and spiritual balance, which are very much Indian, more particularly their main religion, Hinduism. Even her quote "If you desire peace, you must prepare for war!" Is a reference to Ghandi.

Pale Mask8/25/2018, 11:13:55 AM5 votes

It's pretty obvious just from the name "Karma" that the champion is primarily Asian themed (Indian, Buddhist etc.).

Riot either gave her a black voice actress simply to avoid making her sound too stereotypical, or because they wanted her to be a more fantastic melding of real world cultures and races.

BoringLittleF8/25/2018, 10:41:36 AM4 votes

Good gosh, stop pulling real life into a fictional universe. It's like having a party with that one person being all sour because of someone wearing sombrero and faking Mexican accent.

ModKnightsKemplar8/25/2018, 2:39:53 PM4 votes

Why is "both" not an option? :P

I think Riot is trying to have cool cultures in League without having as many cultures as we have on Earth. Not to devalue any of them, but because it would be too much to keep track of in the lore.

Ionian culture draws inspiration from East Asian, Indian, and African cultures. You can even make a good argument that Latin and South American cultures influenced Ionian culture in some ways. It's a mish-mash of Earth cultures. Trying to compare 1 to 1 is always going to lead to a headache, imo.

mrmeddyman8/25/2018, 10:15:52 PM3 votes

This is honestly confusing.Karma's overall influence is Asian as is all of Ionia

Her being black in RUNETERRA doesn't preclude her from being Asian/Ionian because they aren't the same thing. It's a fantasy universe that takes inspiration from real cultures but doesn't try to simulate tham.

Riot is putting black people in every region to show that in Runeterra it's not really a culture but just a skin color people can have

Ionia - Karma Zaun - Ekko Demacia - Lucian Kumungu - Nidalee Bilgewater - Pyke Shurima - Taliyah

Maybe a reflection of actual black history. Generations of slavery have spread the race across the world and assimilating them into other cultures has destroyed their original identity. Something to think about.

Inspiration /= 100% accuracy. It's just an inspiration dont think too much about it.

OurLestrade8/25/2018, 11:25:52 AM3 votes

Why not both? LOL is a mixture of a bunch of fantasy tropes into a hot pot. Shen is essentially Geralt but a ninja at this point.

RyzeTheSmurfMage8/25/2018, 11:50:53 AM2 votes

Wait there's a guy named Yago on boards? I thought Ryze killed him wtf?

HalfTangible8/25/2018, 4:00:11 PM2 votes

It's not even about her dress or skin tone; Karma's primary influence is the Dalai Llama. She's a spiritual leader said to be the reincarnation of a spirit primarily defined by compassion and her name is a philosophical concept associated with Buddhism (which the Dalai Llama leads a sect of). It's about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Obviously it's not a 1-to-1 translation, but that's the thing about inspiration; it doesn't have to be 1-to-1, you can mix and match.

TheHobbits8/25/2018, 10:51:22 PM2 votes

When it comes to designing fictional characters for a fictional game you want to have a number of influences.

In your votes you have said Africa, India and Ionia, but no 'All of the Above' option. Karma is from Ionia which is not real, but it feels familiar with its ties to Asian/Indian spiritual designs.

Riot haven't just said "lets make a one-for-one copy of a woman in a saree but give her an African accent".

They have said "Let's create a spiritual leader who lives in our fictional nation of Ionia which draws from many real-world influences."

The Soulforged8/27/2018, 1:59:42 AM1 votes

Her old VO was a bit more neutral.

Time Boomer8/25/2018, 10:41:21 AM1 votes

LMAO i actually found someone who thinks the same