Old Varus Lore and Kassadin Lore are the Exact Same

DeadUnborn·Dec 4, 2017·8 votes·741 views

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfWUFAZZtuQ

Family gets taken away by something evil Kassadin embraces power of that which he hates to exact revenge.

Notice I am not arguing for or against changing Varus' lore. I wasn't invested in the previous character lore and I think both his previous and current lores can be cool if fleshed out properly. However I wanted to note that Varus' lore "trope" of "embrace the dark side to avenge your loved ones" isn't gone from league.

20 Comments

Weiss GuertenaDec 4, 20173 votes

New Varus lore and Kayn lore are the Exact Same

A person willingly takes on Darkin corruption. Now a person fights with Darkin over control of their body.

If you omit all the details except bare bones, I bet you could find an "exact match" like this for any champion

FasmodeyDec 4, 20174 votes

Varus is the Darkin one, Kayn is the vessel. They are not even same race.

Darkins we know are significantly distinct from each other, but Kassadin and Old Varus weren't.

Both are human. Both had a family and were father. Both lost their family member(s). Both embraced a power that they were against to revenge.

Old Varus and Kassadin are far similar than New Varus and Kayn.

Emperor of FateDec 4, 20172 votes

exactly.... i try to make people understand that but.... noooo old varus ~~was straight so his~~ lore was great and people had a deeper connection with him....despite the tiny lore he had and the fact that we didnt knew anything about him or his family in roder to relate to....''but choaspaladin6...you can not possibly relate to a gay character and we dont want to be acussed as homophobes , so we will make people beleive taht we actualy liked a generic piece of fiction that could have very well be written by a 15 year old!''

Baron Von BanginDec 4, 20173 votes

I think what you're missing is that Varus's old lore could have been updated, rather easily mind you, and Riot could have taken a relatively short story and made it even more powerful. The old lore was great, Tycho Brahe is by no means an amature writer and the judgement could have easily been adapted to fit the current setting. Calling everyone a homophobe is weak and you know it.

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Baron Von Bangin,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=zoT62Fzy,comment-id=0001000000000000,timestamp=2017-12-04T19:03:54.335+0000)

I think what you're missing is that Varus's old lore could have been updated, rather easily mind you, and Riot could have taken a relatively short story and made it even more powerful. The old lore was great, Tycho Brahe is by no means an amature writer and the judgement could have easily been adapted to fit the current setting. Calling everyone a homophobe is weak and you know it.

Hell, they could've made the Pit of Pallas one of those magic nexuses that Rakan and Xayah are trying to seal completely, only to find its magic being completely drained. Drained because Varus took it because of the retribution he wished to enact on Noxus. This would've tied Varus to the new lore without ruining his back story.

Yes, yes, this would've made all those ideas of him being a Darkin or the creature in the pit a Darkin all false, but, still would've probably been better.

Weiss GuertenaDec 5, 20171 votes

Fine, Valmar then. Can't blame me for calling a character under a name they've been having for 5 goddamn years before RIot decided to butcher them. So "both are human" point is kinda ridiculous (even without that, as it encompasses majority of the champions). Now, let's see the differences:

-Kassadin still has hope left while Varus has none One thing that completely differentiates them - while both lost their family members Varus did so to death and Kassadin to abduction. Thus Varus is a fully broken, bitter man out to revenge his dead family. Kassadin's ultimate goal is saving his daughter. Their goals, and this the methods they use to achieve them, are worlds apart.

-They didn't embrace their powers they were against "to revenge" (Kassadin's primary motive isn't revenge as stated above) in nearly the same way Varus fully knew what the corruption will do to him, and came to the terms with that - as he has nothing to live for except revenge anyway. Kassadin, however, took many precautions to not get corrupted while harnessing his powers; it just turned out they weren't enough. He might be doomed, but if his precautions worked he'd still have a life with his daughter to look forward to.

-Aftermath and a character's influence on the world Varus can be compared to a modern day radical terrorist; where he was done a great injustice by a certain nation, and focuses his wrath against the nation and it's people as a whole. He's certainly labeled as a murderer in Noxus and probably isn't welcome in other places either. And that's one of brilliant parts of his old lore - You know he's doing the wrong thing. You know he probably isn't much better than those who killed his family at this point. And yet you symphatize with him. The power Kassadin is fighting is a great threat to the world as a whole. Even though killing as many Void inhabitants as he can isn't his primary concern, any damage he inflicts there is a service to Runeterra. Unlike Varus, the consequences of his efforts are heroic.

I'll say it again: Strip down the lores to their bare bones, and you can find an exact match for any champion. Analyze it a bit and you'll see it's not the case.

Oh, and Kassadin't lore got updated too. As you can see on his Universe page, his daughter is nowhere to be mentioned. He's now fully motivated by guarding the world against the Void. So, the "Varus vs Kassadin" point can't hold it's ground at all, seeing as Kassadin mentioned in that comparison doesn't exist anymore.

Baron Von BanginDec 4, 20173 votes

Kassadin's daughter was always a footnote in his lore. In fact, she wasn't even mentioned until a later JoJ issue. It was an update to the current state of affairs with his fight against Malzahar.

Kassadin's theme is more along the lines of Man vs. Nature or Man vs. God. He's looked into the abyss and saw nothing but the inevitable destruction of Runeterra but chooses to stand and fight. He attempts to (futilely) convince others of this oncoming threat but is forced to go it alone. I think thematically that's pretty different than Varus.

Emperor of FateDec 4, 20171 votes

his lore has been revamped http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Kassadin

Baron Von BanginDec 4, 20173 votes

Yea, but the focus on his daughter wasn't part of the big picture of who he was previously, before the revamp and while he existed at the same time as old Varus. Now, he's focused on saving her, no matter the cost. There's still a big thematic gap between "a father that will do anything, even sacrifice himself to save his child" and "a family man that lost everything and will stop at nothing to destroy those who wronged him."

FasmodeyDec 4, 20172 votes

"a family man that lost everything and will stop at nothing to destroy those who wronged him."

That's kinda Lucian and Azir.

Azir was also a father and husband. And he wants to judge Xerath.

Baron Von BanginDec 4, 20173 votes

I'm not talking about Lucian and Azir. Besides, just because they are men that lost everything doesn't mean they have the same motivation and thematics.

Azir lost everything, yes, but his idea is to rebuild his homeland and become even greater than he was before. Azir's is a story of optimism and hope for his people.

Lucian is a man bittered and beaten by the loss of his wife. He hasn't changed his quest, he's still destroying the undead and doing what he always did if not a little more sombre about the whole thing. He didn't choose duty over love. He didn't make his own mistakes. His story isn't even that of revenge. I imagine once Thresh is dead he'll keep on purifying... if he wins.

Varus was a story of a man who made his own bed. He chose duty over family. He made his own bed. Once he saw the destruction of his city and the result of his choice he was left a broken man. He forsake himself and the duty he chose in a fit of grief and rage, damning himself and vowing to destroy those that took from him. The end of his quest is inevitable. He knows he'll die but he has nothing to lose.

Three different men. Three different objectives for all different reasons.

That, and Varus came first so if there's overlap that's Riots fault not the character's.

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20172 votes

{quoted}

That's kinda Lucian and Azir.

Azir was also a father and husband. And he wants to judge Xerath.

Not really.

Lucian just wants to free Senna from Thresh. Varus can't free anyone. Azir wants to bring back Shurima to its former glory, not so much judge Xerath.

FasmodeyDec 4, 20171 votes

Would you be happy if Varus seeks for vengeance not because only his kind but also his dead darkin wife and son (killed by human mages)? I think it would kinda make his lore closer to old one and his vengeance more relatable (as old lore).

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Would you be happy if Varus seeks for vengeance not because only his kind but also his dead darkin wife and son (killed by human mages)? I think it would kinda make his lore closer to old one and his vengeance more relatable (as old lore).

I actually mentioned this in the Boards' Discord about such a thing. It would bring some angles of his old lore back. It would bring back the "It's personal" aspect of Varus and make the Darkin much more than "I wanna kill shit". The current vengeance the Darkin seeks is that of a soldier's, not really that of a personal one.

But, this is unlikely. As why would an invading force like this bring along their family?

Still loses the "Borrowed time" angle of Varus and the giving into despair angle.

Would it make me less angry about the change? A little, as I'm more fixated on the loss of his son. But, most still like the aspect of him being on borrowed time and giving into despair. In some ways, not only the wife and son being killed made the old lore interesting, but also the fact that he's dying, gave into despair, and the fact that in the old lore, Varus had to make a very hard choice and would pay either way.

FasmodeyDec 4, 20171 votes

Could be their "home" wasn't safe due to human magic.

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Could be their "home" wasn't safe due to human magic.

Maybe, but human magic, according to Xayah and Rakan, doesn't even belong to humans. There's also the issue that we're told the Darkin noticed Runeterra and wanted to conquer it, not because they were forced to conquer.

Though, if they did make it where the Darkin were forced to invade, it could, in some weird ways, make them more "human".

FasmodeyDec 4, 20171 votes

Maybe, but human magic, according to Xayah and Rakan, doesn't even belong to humans.

Yes I know. What I meant was magic used by humans.

I think It is both. They were forced but also wanted it. Kinda like europeans against native americans.

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Yes I know. What I meant was magic used by humans.

I think It is both. They were forced but also wanted it. Kinda like europeans against native americans.

Would still be a desire more than a need if you make that comparison.

Though, it's a possibility of a similar comparison. As, so far, no Darkin has made any intent of returning to their world, much like a majority of Europeans coming to "the new world", and that the Europeans and Darkin came in waves.

AntiSkillshotDec 4, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Baron Von Bangin,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=zoT62Fzy,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2017-12-04T18:31:29.745+0000)

Kassadin's daughter was always a footnote in his lore. In fact, she wasn't even mention until a later JoJ issue. It was an update to the current state of affairs with his fight against Malzahar.

Kassadin's theme is more along the lines of Man vs. Nature or Man vs. God. He's looked into the abyss and saw nothing but the inevitable destruction of Runeterra but chooses to stand and fight. He attempts to (futilely) convince others of this oncoming threat but it forced to go it alone. I think thematically that's pretty different than Varus.

This. He didn't embrace power to enact revenge, he embraced power to divert Runeterra's destruction by the Void.

Edit: Actually, Kass was forced to embrace power. He chose to use to it against the Void to avoid Runeterra's destruction.