Round Table of Arkain

[VastanX]

Christmas is getting closer, my friends.
If Santa Brian allowed you to join a faction which would it be for each race?

Bloodstones babyyyyy

 

[Shar Dundred]

One for EACH race
(Or at minimum three)

 

[Navy45]

Christmas is getting closer, my friends.
If Santa Brian allowed you to join a faction which would it be for each race?

Gotta go with Ironfist. You either get killed by demons, or most likely in a civil war, or you live long enough to be promoted... and thus get a cool amulet as a bonus. You also get a cool armor !
Hopefully I last long enough to make it to Zyainor

In the dominion, I think I'd go for Dark trolls, gotta love me some democracy (though I might jump ship when all the religious stuff gets involved)

Finally, in the undead, I'm quite torn, my heart wants to go to the Kezzar, but the Rohir and Lenira sound like plenty of fun, but the Daviliad sounds more chill... Does Aridon allow for Nexus hopping ?

 

[VastanX]

Humans: Wolf regiment
Dwarf: Bloodstones babyyyyy
Elf: the Kingdom
Orc: the Skullblade clan
Dominion: Koydos tribes
Undead: Zirr nexus.
Demons: Any one with females.

 

[Jayborino]

Humans: Daric's because at least I'm getting paid well
Orc: Blackrazor Clan in the New Age
Undead: Not sure why, but Scarec really calls to me

 

[Daffa]

Human: I'm torn between Golden Guard and Ironfist. My 'traditionalist' side of me prefers Golden Guard, while the 'progressive' side prefers Ironfist.
Dwarf: I recall the most "less traditional" ones are Bloodstones, right? Though I think I'll skip altogether.
Elves: Umm... I don't think there's much to them. Riana's too dangerous. Teran seems to be the traditionalist. Is there anyone in the elves who are not stuck in the mud regarding the Queen besides Larine's faction?
Orc: Goldaxe. Hey, research needs money, and money rules!
Dominion: (forgot this one) Still Goldaxe. But if Orc clans discounted, I'd stick with Pechan faction.
Undead: I am bad with the nexus names, but either Rahandir's or Ardoz Nexus, but I am reconsidering the latter since I don't wanna become an abomination
Demons: I'm not sure since there are too many intrigues. I'd say Kersidar faction, though I'd be careful with picking sides in here, since Hesrathion and Ebira gonna make life difficult.

Either research or anything that helps research is where I prefer the most, but if I don't feel that faction 'safe', probably switching to the more traditionalist types.

 

[Vindicator777]

Humans: Redfist daughters
Orcs: Cliffhunter clan
Undead: Lenira Nexus
Demons: Ebira & Lisara

 

[Shar Dundred]

Does Aridon allow for Nexus hopping ?

He won't mind, that is nexus politics - they definitely have a say in that though.

Orc: Blackrazor Clan in the New Age

As Amari's bodyguard?

Undead: Not sure why, but Scarec really calls to me

Skeletons, crusades and Jay. Classic.

Either research or anything that helps research

Do Zirr as keepers of knowledge count?

Demons: Ebira & Lisara

Each on their own separately you mean? Since they are not one faction.

 

[Mvicio]

Humans. Probably Redfist, who dont want to serve under BEST father of the century´s army, also i dislike most of first orc era clans. Second choice would be Zyanior
Orcs. Lets divide between orc clans and dominion, the orc clan would be Skullblade since they tent to breed animals and dont attack humans, so they are less likely to die.
Undead. Ejara nexus, they are the most efficient since they can replenish their numbers even during peace years, also they can trade bodies with other nexus to increase their position.
Dominion. Probably centaurs, Bearman or Goblins, any of those would be really cool. I wouldn´t like Dark trolls or gnolls.
Demons. Well... any demon faction is trying to kill each other and we only know about the 3 that are the vanguard of the invasion, i suppose Ornasión factions would be the most straight-forward so you wouldn´t get backstabbed.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Christmas is getting closer, my friends.
If Santa Brian allowed you to join a faction which would it be for each race?

Humans: Dragon Regiment. I like the beasts they had.
Orcs: Ironthunder clan or Zairmak's clan or Koydoss tribe. Either shamanic, druidic or dark magic is my choice.
Undead: Zirr Nexus or Rohir nexus. Being in the shadows collecting knowlegde from the mortals.
Demons: I will side with Maronogin on this.

 

[Championfighter25]

Humans: This is a tough one. Seasonally, it would probably be the Shadows of Zyainor, so I can catch all those who try to give kids coal for the holidays.
For the remainder of the year, probably the Phoenix Regiment.

Orcs: Probably the Goldaxe clan. Gotta play a role in the maximization of those profits, whether it be on Christmas or the remainder of the year.

Undead: Zirr Nexus. Learning all of that hidden lore will be nice.

Demons: Mindslayer Legion. Don't wanna get caught while placing the gifts under the tree. Or ever.

Dominion: Koydoss Tribe. Roll with it.

 

[Kasrkin]

Lor fighting the hopeless fight.

Blackrazor

Muh bears

No elves please

Bloodstones for the guns and flamethrowers

Ardoz because cool factor

Demons?.... Hmm Dreamhunter maybe

 

[Navy45]

Lor fighting the hopeless fight.

"Lord Greymoore... the royals of Lor seem to have repelled the demon invasion on their own... in fact, they completely crushed the invasion forces and are currently pushing into the void."
"What !? How did Selior do this ?! Why would he push into the void on his own ?!"
"No sir, they actually did so before Sir Cleavehand's arrival. They seem to have reorganized into some unit called Kasrkin. The members we've encountered seem to hold rituals to speak to some sort of deity. They call him "Shar Dundred" and are currently complaining that this was too easy and providing suggestions to "buff" the demon legions."

 

[Kasrkin]

"Lord Greymoore... the royals of Lor seem to have repelled the demon invasion on their own... in fact, they completely crushed the invasion forces and are currently pushing into the void."
"What !? How did Selior do this ?! Why would he push into the void on his own ?!"
"No sir, they actually did so before Sir Cleavehand's arrival. They seem to have reorganized into some unit called Kasrkin. The members we've encountered seem to hold rituals to speak to some sort of deity. They call him "Shar Dundred" and are currently complaining that this was too easy and providing suggestions to "buff" the demon legions."

If I had defender plating back it would be even easier!
Demons suck gg no re

 

[Daffa]

Do Zirr as keepers of knowledge count?

Now that you mention it, yes. They count

 

[Plantpaladin]

Humans Ironfist always comes out on top?
Elves Salana was the best leader so her Red Guard, pity the undead have her.
Undead Rohir because I love Banshees
Orc Goblin is always valuable.

 

[Mochi King]

been a while since i've been to this thread. but seeing the santa brian post, here's mine:
Humans: Ironfist (Hail King Gardon!)
Dwarves: Bloodstones (who doesn't wanna kaboom?)
Elves: Ironforged (Rather not serve the incompetent queen)
Orcs: Blackrazor/Bloodhand (New Age!/Brute force is always the answer)
Other Dominion: Ogre/Bearmen (Brute force/I wanna serve Borean)
Undead: Scarec (I wanna serve the merged bonelord. I would've chosen the splecir, but the mad watcher controls it. so hell nah on that one)
Demons: Maronogin (former powerful demon to businessman. who wouldn't want dem gold nuggies?)

 

[Hinata28]

This is my True Story Tier List.

Apologies for going beyond S, and into the Holy Sh!+ tier, because I love torturing my PC processor with clashes.

Humans im general: Ironfist for the win (All Hail King, i mean Cala'er Gardon)
Orcs: Darkmind with Ironthunder merged (that's gonna kick off. Orcish riders plus shamans with Bloodlust)
Dominion: Ogres (brute force)/Goblins (Did somebody say Goblin?)
Undead: Kezzar (with those Deathlords)/Splecir (no ideologies, just fists, and dedication)
Elves: Ironforged of course (rather than dying for a fool)
Imperial Regiment: Taking the Phoenix (with that seemingly unkillable Kenos)/ Wolf (Darkriders plus Stalkers)
Dwarves: All of them (no biases against those brave warriors.)
Moghtar: Gorthog of course.
God: Bhaarizel. Nuff said.
Dragons: I'll take the Black.

 

[Kasrkin]

 

[DD Mikasa]

Since @Shar Dundred told me to come here and give my two cents, i would very much enjoy a project focusing on the bigger picture, after all those drive the engagement and produce more discussion among the fanbase.

 

[Navy45]

Personnally, while I would like the next big piece of lore, I think that's mostly me wanting to know which media it will be on. If I don't factor the question of media, I would be fine with either.

As for the next entry. If we're talking short stories, I would think some story from a demon perspective, because I have the impression that the aftermath of the Void war has been narrated from the perspective of most other factions.
As for the next big piece of lore, well the second Imperial invasion seems like a big piece of it, but I wonder if it'll start before (maybe the Kerrel cold war starting to heat up before being interrupted by the imperials)

 

[Shar Dundred]

Here is a list of chars - wanna guess which ones are going to be there?

Aedale
Blen
Dorten
Grofzag
Gorthog
Krom
Praxeus
Rahandir
Aridon
New character?!
Vanessa
Zairmak

 

[Navy45]

I feel like Praxeus' quest will be on the back burner for now, so not him.
Same with Krom and Gorthog.
Aridon just left the scene so I think there'll be a bit of time before we hear of him.
Grofzag or Zairmak are unlikely unless the story focuses heavily on orcs.
Dorten doesn't have much more to add until either the imperials' return, or Zyainor's attack.
Blen would be either a flashback or the greatest plot twist ever.

So I expect either Aedale and what she's up to after the second void war, Vanessa with maybe another view of the dominion, or the beginning of Brian's interest in her or a new character doing new character things. (though I wonder what faction this new character would be a part of.)

 

[DD Mikasa]

Most likely Prax, he's ending was kinda 'open' while the others endings kinda got clearance and their planes were pretty much laid out, Prax's ending is a wild card. Not to mention is abit weird how a " second hand" character ( i assume most of us would agree on this one) got a whole ass ending dedicated to him and let us not forget that the angelical demon is a mystery figure in itself. I think out off all the characters he has the highest potential to be the one.

Which kinda makes me happy cuz i was always were rooting for him.

 

[Mvicio]

I´m guessing Gorthog, he really have a story going with all the Moghtar + secret alliance with Gorehowl.
Aedale would be cool too.
I doubt is any undead or Blen/Dorten.
And vanessa was in drums of the south short story, so either Gorthog or Grofzag/Zairmak.

 

[Navy45]

Very interested by the latest strawpoll ! (though I'm having trouble coming up with an answer that isn't "all of them")
Just wanted a precision on the distinction between "events before the second voidwar" and "the distant past (before the events of the True Story)" since, with the exception of the first orc mission, most of the True story takes place during the second voidwar.

Does that mean the first option would refer to things roughly taking place around the first voidwar, while the second option goes back further than that ?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Very interested by the latest strawpoll ! (though I'm having trouble coming up with an answer that isn't "all of them")

That's why I gave you no unlimited votes, forces you to prioritize.

Does that mean the first option would refer to things roughly taking place around the first voidwar, while the second option goes back further than that ?

Pretty much that or even slightly before that one but not distant as say "the creation of the Rodan empire" or the days of Zyainor or something along those lines.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Apparently there was an issue that you were forced to vote 3 instead of "up to 3". I fixed that now.

 

[Tryce09]

I voted for future, because the arkain world change a lot.

My second choice would be the event before the second voidwar, like the first voidwar(the fall of Isalmur, the arrival of the empire, how bad was defeat of the empire there, In distant past maybe a story about Rodan? like Van durce crusade vs the demons over there and the rise of the Generals.

The just after the voidwar isn't as much, we only gonna see how many rebels gardon kills and how much kerrel lost its status and influence, and how much shadow religion happens in the ex tribal dominion.
There is only a few events during the second voidwar that isn't show (like the dead of Logan or that dude the sacrificed) but isn't that important.

 

[Mvicio]

We need to know more things about the distant past, about the orcs continent.

Also i voted events during the second void war (i wanna see the kingdoms doing stuff) and the direct events.

There is only a few events during the second voidwar that isn't show (like the dead of Logan

A pity Logan was killed off camera, we needed a heroic moment of him like in the SOB

 

[ShadowGamerXXX]

After many years... I'm back... After a long time, I managed to buy a laptop and finally I was able to install warcraft on it, it took quite a while to fix this (No thanks to Blizzard of course), I'll have to catch up with Arkain... Maybe nobody knows me anymore, but I'm pretty happy to be back in the community guys... I don't know how long I was away, but now I'm going to do the whole campaign from the beginning, and then do an analysis of which would be the best bonuses in each mission (Assuming they still exist).

Shar... I really missed Arkain, your universe is pretty good and cool, maybe my opinion doesn't matter that much in the end, but I'm pretty happy to know that you've expanded Arkain all these years... Usually when I come back to things, they've been dead for a while... Seriously I'm really glad that this wasn't the case.

Happy day

 

[Jorgonson]

For the poll I responded with 2 votes, events directly after the second voidwar and a period a decade or two in the future. I feel like these eras have the most narrative potential (knowing the audience knows at the moment). I think that a focus on either of these would probably necessitate a focus on certain characters over other, however, as people like Aedale and Praxeus have story threads that pick up right after the campaign ends (they were both given "loose thread" epilogue cutscenes) while characters like Gardon and Amari probably need some time to build up their nations and change their cultures before there's a lot of story potential for them.

Personally, I'm really looking forward to the conclusion of the Gorthog-Gran intrigue plot, and I feel like that would make the most sense to happen in the near future after the end of the True Story. After all, it would be pretty hard to imagine someone like Gorthog waiting for like 10-20 years before either causing trouble for and coming to terms with Amari.

On the other hand, I can't wait to see more about how based the Tribal Dominion becomes in 10-20 years. The short story from the perspective of the human in Salria was great, though he of course needed to be more willing to open his heart to the wisdom of the Supreme Shadessia, may she reign forever.

 

[Navy45]

Damn, I knew I was a human fan, but I don't think I realized how much before this pole. I went for Zyainor, the Kingdoms, the Elven Realm (I feel like there could be interesting things with being the direct neighbours of the undead, along with the consequences of the change in leadership and its semi-admitted vassalization to Zyainor).

I also went for the undead (I want to see more of the nexi politics now that they're at the forefront since Aridon is gone) and the demon legions (Partly because seeing the Redfist remnants as an option reminded me Orie existed, but also because we don't know much about demons overall. The only politics we saw were among the ones who took part in the invasion. I wonder if the souleater legion still exists, considering how invested they were in it. Of course, Ebira and her troops survived, but I feel she'd manage to change legions without too much trouble.)

 

[Jayborino]

I only need one

 

[ShadowGamerXXX]

Personally I have been interested in the human kingdoms, I just feel that it is seeing David against Goliath (If David did not carry his sling...), it seems to me that despite everything Arkain will never be centralized, there will always be many small and medium factions, with only a few large factions (Literally I see the Dominion more as a federation than a unified kingdom), on the other hand I would love to see the remnants of the golden guard and the redfist, since deep down I want to know how these small factions will evolve (or disappear)
In terms of specific characters there are Zarin, Dorten and the leaders of the nexus (It is time to bring the politics that the nexus hate so much XD), since in the end I do not like Gardon and Amari, but I do not hate them either, nothing personal, I just like the rest of the characters more (Cry for Blenn, Rath and Van Durce in silence...)

Damn, I knew I was a human fan, but I don't think I realized how much before this pole. I went for Zyainor, the Kingdoms, the Elven Realm (I feel like there could be interesting things with being the direct neighbours of the undead, along with the consequences of the change in leadership and its semi-admitted vassalization to Zyainor).

I also went for the undead (I want to see more of the nexi politics now that they're at the forefront since Aridon is gone) and the demon legions (Partly because seeing the Redfist remnants as an option reminded me Orie existed, but also because we don't know much about demons overall. The only politics we saw were among the ones who took part in the invasion. I wonder if the souleater legion still exists, considering how invested they were in it. Of course, Ebira and her troops survived, but I feel she'd manage to change legions without too much trouble.)

The truth is that Larine seems to me to be a very good queen who cares for her people in a much less cynical way than Gardon, but I'm team Salana... So I feel like her story is already closed in itself, but I feel like the elven kingdom has acquired more interesting things, just saying, before they basically only had a dead forest as a backyard... Now they also have some corpses there, I even think that both the undead elves and the dark elves could interfere a bit, I mean... They are elves too XD... Apart from that, let's not forget the possible problem with demonic slaves, I feel that they are already enough rooted in the elves as to continue being a thorn in Larine's side (and Gardon if he finds out).

 

[Navy45]

The truth is that Larine seems to me to be a very good queen who cares for her people in a much less cynical way than Gardon, but I'm team Salana... So I feel like her story is already closed in itself, but I feel like the elven kingdom has acquired more interesting things, just saying, before they basically only had a dead forest as a backyard... Now they also have some corpses there, I even think that both the undead elves and the dark elves could interfere a bit, I mean... They are elves too XD... Apart from that, let's not forget the possible problem with demonic slaves, I feel that they are already enough rooted in the elves as to continue being a thorn in Larine's side (and Gardon if he finds out).

I think between the two successive purges (by Salana and then the golden guard/the undead) and the fact that most of the elven army was probably "screened" by the ironfist, if only to ensure no dissidents to the new queen remain, most of the demonic slaves are gone (at least in the army). And, since the invasion is no longer among the demons' priorities, I doubt any remaining cultists is gonna try any more big insurrections (though remaining slaves in the populace/nobility might try to recruit/support other groups that don't like Zyainor and Larine).
On the other hand, a much more prevalent problem will probably be undead infiltration. The nexus stationned to help Gardon in the civil war was the Rohir nexus, so I fully expect quite a few elves to have had a "change of mind". Though that's a problem in all Zyainor because of the necromancers they recruited.

One thing I just thought about is that there might be quite some conflict between the Lenira and Davilliad nexus, since Queen Keera is still quite fond of her people, even living (to the point she even felt bad killing demon slaves). Meanwhile, the dark elves seem to consider living elves as a blasphemy and, without Aridon to give orders, they're gonna have a lot of free time to do something about it. So I fully expect Keera to destroy any dark elf that attempts to enter the elven forest, without the living being any wiser. (Ornasion might even help, if only to spite Pentiss.)

 

[ShadowGamerXXX]

I think between the two successive purges (by Salana and then the golden guard/the undead) and the fact that most of the elven army was probably "screened" by the ironfist, if only to ensure no dissidents to the new queen remain, most of the demonic slaves are gone (at least in the army). And, since the invasion is no longer among the demons' priorities, I doubt any remaining cultists is gonna try any more big insurrections (though remaining slaves in the populace/nobility might try to recruit/support other groups that don't like Zyainor and Larine).
On the other hand, a much more prevalent problem will probably be undead infiltration. The nexus stationned to help Gardon in the civil war was the Rohir nexus, so I fully expect quite a few elves to have had a "change of mind". Though that's a problem in all Zyainor because of the necromancers they recruited.

One thing I just thought about is that there might be quite some conflict between the Lenira and Davilliad nexus, since Queen Keera is still quite fond of her people, even living (to the point she even felt bad killing demon slaves). Meanwhile, the dark elves seem to consider living elves as a blasphemy and, without Aridon to give orders, they're gonna have a lot of free time to do something about it. So I fully expect Keera to destroy any dark elf that attempts to enter the elven forest, without the living being any wiser. (Ornasion might even help, if only to spite Pentiss.)

The demonic slaves no longer have the numbers they used to, that's true, but they can still be a nuisance, even sporadically in small "outbreaks." I personally believe that there are still remnants of the defeated demonic legions (A demon here or there), but as long as they don't get too close to places protected by shadows, then they will continue to be around. On the other hand I think Pentiss will be able to move around a lot better thanks to Aridon's disappearance, the climate of the nexus will become political whether they want it or not and Pentiss couldn't feel more comfortable with that, she can basically slip away slightly, so I see direct clashes with Keera over the elves, maybe Pentiss sees them as a target to enslave obviously, it wouldn't be a war per se, but rather that poorly guarded elven villages disappear without a trace from time to time... And Larine won't be sure if they are demon slaves or the undead, while Keera would be in charge of "intercepting" those "hunting" parties, so at the end of it all I do see how the situation could be between the elves who are not in Zyanor.

 

[Mochi King]

Personally, these are my choices:

• The Nation of Zyainor: The main reason for this is because they will be major players in the upcoming war against the Empire. With new upgrades in everything including soldiers, technology, magic, etc., it would be awesome to see them in action against a far greater enemy.
• The Empire of Rodan: This is because not much information is known about the empire besides that it has many soldiers like the regiments, and the Golden Guard, but after Largoth took over, we don't know what happened to those soldiers, or what Largoth did with them. All we know is that some are likely becoming Darkborn. And I also want to see some other powerful figures like the general that will lead the war for Rodan, or maybe some traitors in their ranks.
• Tribal Dominion: One of my thoughts is that the Dominion will assist the Zyaise against the Empire for the reason that if Zyainor is destroyed, the Dominion is next. But not that I'm thinking of it, Gardon would not want to do anything with Amari, since she killed Aveen. I also want to see some changes with them during the upcoming war, like their training, new weapons or magic, some strategies they have for them, and the different bargains they have with the other races to keep them in check.
• Moghtar: With Gorthog leading them, I'm genuinely curious to see how they will fair in the upcoming war. Are they separate from the Dominion? Are they going to attack them? Did they build their own clan? What kind of society do they have? These are some questions I have, and these are powerful warriors btw. So it got me thinking.
• Redfist survivors: Just curious about their next plan of attack against the Dominion, since I doubt they will attack the Empire, and also, I wanna know how Zelech is leading them.

Others:

• Aedale: Like Gorthog, I wonder how Aedale is doing. I feel like she would align with Gardon's interests (and I'm really mad at the fact that the bastard Ornasion took her, leaving Merlon to die against Krom). I feel like she would lead her own faction of demons separate from the other demon legions, which is why I wanna know how she will do in the war.
• Demon Legions: Mainly Ebira. I wanna know what her real plan is. Will there be a civil war against all demons? I wanna see every legion, and their specialties in warfare.

Note:
Normally, I wanna know about the other nexi and their activities, but all would still end up in that annoying wannabe god, Aridon's plan (though he shows signs of improvement, to me, he still makes Sasrogarn look like an A-tier character).

 

[DD Mikasa]

I personally would like to see more backstory on the human kingdoms, demon legions and redfist survivors the reason why are many but mainly boil down to

1. We've gotten plenty of lore both in game wise and story wise on most of the listed factions. There is an interesting subplot to be explored with the whole quarantine that’s happening on the kingdom of Rengar (while the kingdom of Kerrel is pretty much exhausted as plot line the Rengar has a lot of stories to tell in my opinion)
2. Demons because, I feel much of their story is "speed ran" and we still don’t know much about them besides surface level knowledge.
3. Redfist remnants, well because there is subplot to be explored with Orie (technically she is still a redfist despite running of with Ebira) and I am curious if some high-ranking member of redfist managed to survive the whole ordeal, from what I can remember their leadership pretty much got decimated from the war.

As for time periods the idea of a direct aftermath or what happened during the void war seen a bit redundant, Shar has offered plenty of information what happened during the void war and the various stories and the ending cinematic provided by Shar also offered plenty of closure about what was the direction the story was going after the book officially ends.
Also not a huge fan of the distant past (even though id like to see gameplay wise what happened between the gods, their avatars and how Aridon managed to screw over his brothers BUT only gameplay wise, since story wise this part has also been explained).
That leaves just the events before the second void war and the future in my opinion that i would like to be explored more.

 

[Datage]

Hello! I know I am a little late to the party, but I recently finished the True Story and I have to say I had a blast! The characters, the setting, the story, the levels... it was phenomenal!

As for the polls, I voted for events before the Second Voidwar, and the Undead Nexi (Nexuses?):

-In regards to the time period, I agree that the short stories give a lot of insight in regards to the inmediate and close futures. Meanwhile there is a lot of stuff in the events before the Second Voidwar that'd I'd like to see more about: How did van Durce beat the demons off Rodan, and how did he find the chalice? How did the kingdoms operate between the fall of Zyanor and the Voidwars? The Orc (and Moghtar!) exile would be interesting to find out as well (the fall of the Pirate Baronies and so forth). I think that the formation of the Gnoll Kingdom could be interesting as well.

-As for the Nexi, the way they interact with eachother is both entertaining and interesting (from what is shown both in the short story and Blood and Soul), and I'd like to see more of it. Actually, I would like find out what happens to them after the True Story.

 

[ShadowGamerXXX]

The poll is going the way we all thought it would go, but here I am rejecting the majority opinion (Which is the correct one XD), after much thought (30 seconds) I narrowly agree with the gameplay, I loved the story and everything, but in the end I really enjoyed playing each map, especially seeing that they have several things to do, apart from trying out the different factions of Arkain, maybe it's because I rushed the game after several years of not having played it (Because of the computer)

 

[hamster]

The most anticipated of course is the Arkain story together with war3

 

[Karmondia]

For me, the best thing about Arkain was the choices. Getting to decide stuff in critical moments was magical. Doing or not doing certain side quests, seemingly meaningless things having huge repercussions, I loved that about Arkain, and that is why the Second Human Book is my favorite Arkain campaign. Do you want to support Larine or Salana? Do you want to use the fire mages or the flamekeepers? Accept Ebira's offer? etc. The other books had similar interesting choices too, I loved how the FHB choices for example, affected the story and gameplay in SHB. These choices changed the story and gameplay, it gave the old books a huge amount of replay value. I understand doing these is very time consuming, it's much easier to make a "normal" story, like the True Story, but what got me into Arkain were these choices and their interesting consequences. It also made every playthrough feel unique. In my last playthrough, Larine became queen, but that meant I had to kill Lera in Long Live the Queen, despite saving her in the First Human Book. Blen supported Genethas, so Gardon and Harmos were on bad terms, but Aedale was saved. I gave Scarlett a chance, and Cora went back to the empire with Orie and papa Redfist. In another playthrough, I might choose Salana (even though Larine is best girl, I will die on this hill), or not destroy the base of the Golden Guard in the First Human Book, so that I'll have some backup in the Golden Crusade. The single most important aspect of Arkain for me were the choices.

 

[Datage]

While I agreed with the majority of the voters in the story being the best component... I think that it needs a little more nuance.

(Don't get me wrong. The story was great: There were several levels I was tempted to rush just to see where the plot would go.)

For me, far more interesting that the story itself... were the characters. I think they were wonderfully written: They come off as full people, with complex motivations, that clash with their wants and needs (and what with it's better for themselves).

One of the best examples of this, I think, is Ebira. She's clearly a manipulator that is taking advantage of pretty much every single demon, gladly sacrifing the entirety of Blooddrinker to avoid doing the heavy lifting. She ridicules Ornasion for his brutishness and lack of subtlety... but at the same time she is remorseful for what she has done. Is she being honest? Is she being a hypocrite? Does she actually want a better future for the demons... or just wants the power that comes with it? Who knows! And I think that, a character that you cannot tell at a first glance if it's lying to your face or is genuinely conflicted about her decisions, it's peak writing.

(There are a lot of other examples: Rath slowly adopting the worst traits of the humans, Aridon slowly coming to the realization that he is a megalomaniac; to the point that he starts to doubt his own memories, Gardon being an emotionally repressed mess... I just picked Ebira because it's the most obvious one)

There are a lot of other things I like about these characters. None of them come off as walking clichés, a trap that I feel a lot of settings fall into. When you think you have figured out one of them, something happens that makes you see that the character in question has a lot more depth than it seems (ie: Largoth taking pity (to his own surprise) on Selior, Lady Meya being a lot more observant and cunning than her dialogue may imply). Another shoutout to the characters arcs. Some, like Gardon's, Aridon's and The Destroyer's are amongst the best I have seen in a long time. (And don't even get me started on Brian and Van Durce).

So yeah. While the story is peak, I really think that the characters are the strongest point of the Legends of Arkain.

 

[Navy45]

While I agreed with the majority of the voters in the story being the best component... I think that it needs a little more nuance.

(Don't get me wrong. The story was great: There were several levels I was tempted to rush just to see where the plot would go.)

For me, far more interesting that the story itself... were the characters. I think they were wonderfully written: They come off as full people, with complex motivations, that clash with their wants and needs (and what with it's better for themselves).

One of the best examples of this, I think, is Ebira. She's clearly a manipulator that is taking advantage of pretty much every single demon, gladly sacrifing the entirety of Blooddrinker to avoid doing the heavy lifting. She ridicules Ornasion for his brutishness and lack of subtlety... but at the same time she is remorseful for what she has done. Is she being honest? Is she being a hypocrite? Does she actually want a better future for the demons... or just wants the power that comes with it? Who knows! And I think that, a character that you cannot tell at a first glance if it's lying to your face or is genuinely conflicted about her decisions, it's peak writing.

(There are a lot of other examples: Rath slowly adopting the worst traits of the humans, Aridon slowly coming to the realization that he is a megalomaniac; to the point that he starts to doubt his own memories, Gardon being an emotionally repressed mess... I just picked Ebira because it's the most obvious one)

There are a lot of other things I like about these characters. None of them come off as walking clichés, a trap that I feel a lot of settings fall into. When you think you have figured out one of them, something happens that makes you see that the character in question has a lot more depth than it seems (ie: Largoth taking pity (to his own surprise) on Selior, Lady Meya being a lot more observant and cunning than her dialogue may imply). Another shoutout to the characters arcs. Some, like Gardon's, Aridon's and The Destroyer's are amongst the best I have seen in a long time. (And don't even get me started on Brian and Van Durce).

So yeah. While the story is peak, I really think that the characters are the strongest point of the Legends of Arkain.

I 100% agree ! I love most characters (even Aridon, who I didn't appreciate as a person, I loved as a character, if that makes sense). Personally, one of the characters that I loved instantly was Ornasion (I've already gushed a few times about him). He is a powerful demon lord that was resurrected into an undead abomination, and yet, he's actually very pitiable (in a good way). He always felt bound by politics. He eventually died because of them, and even in death, he realizes there are even more politics. But on the other hand, he actually seems to connect with others, like Haran-tel Kazor helping him get the hang of things and him giving pretty decent advice to Keera who was spiraling into depression (I mean, it boiled down to killing a bunch of people, but in context, that was actually solid advice).

 

[Datage]

So, a new poll. And a cryptic one, too. Let's see if we can figure what's this about...

But first:

I 100% agree ! I love most characters (even Aridon, who I didn't appreciate as a person, I loved as a character, if that makes sense). Personally, one of the characters that I loved instantly was Ornasion (I've already gushed a few times about him). He is a powerful demon lord that was resurrected into an undead abomination, and yet, he's actually very pitiable (in a good way). He always felt bound by politics. He eventually died because of them, and even in death, he realizes there are even more politics. But on the other hand, he actually seems to connect with others, like Haran-tel Kazor helping him get the hang of things and him giving pretty decent advice to Keera who was spiraling into depression (I mean, it boiled down to killing a bunch of people, but in context, that was actually solid advice).

Two things:
1) I'm glad you agree! And yes, Ornasion is one of the best characters in the entirety of Arkain. For me, he went from: "Oh, this guy doesn't like politics, but smells them from a mile away" to "Oh, so it's not much as he doesn't like them, he just can't be bothered. He has more interesting things to do." Which I actually kinda respect. A lot. He also has a lot of great interactions with Keera, Meya, and of course, Haran, even if most of those interactions can be resumed in: "You should consider doing more warcrimes". Top tier character. He's also pitiable and a little pathethic, but that makes him more relatable. I guess most of us get trying to navigate a new environment... and we remember the people who helped us adapt and the people we helped adapt too. I think that's what makes him so sympathethic.
2) I get exactly what you mean about Aridon.

Now, time to get speculating...

Spoiler

1) Rising Sun: Considering that the Sun rises from the east, I have two theories: One, it's about the future of the demons (considering the fact that the whole "Rising Sun" usually means a new age and all that), OR, two, it's about Rodan, and the fleet that is coming (for whom the Sun rises from the East aka Arkain). If I had to bet, I'm going with option two. But then again, the rising Sun usually signifies new beginnings and such, and considering how the True Story ends, that could literally be about anything.

2) Dragon of Kerrel: We know from A Clash in the Forest and The Exiles that the black dragons live somewhere between Kerrel and Rengar. If I had to take a guess, I'd suppose that it means a literal dragon. But I'm not so sure, since it's too literal of an interpretation.

3) Rusted Plate: I have no idea what this one could be about, so I'm about to inhale a bunch of copium and say Kazardius. It'd make sense. His character arc is left open-ended in Hell's Gate (intentionally), and if it's any armor that's rusty, then it's definetly him. But then again, it could also be Brian (I doubt the Master of Shadow's current physical form allows him to exist outside his armor). But it could also be any character with metal armor... which is more than half of the characters in Arkain (Not that I'm complaining. I think heavy metal plate is peak character design).

4) Ruby Wine: Well. If I had to guess... this is about Van Durce. Why? Well, we know of only one character that had a cup with red liquid, and wine and blood are intwertwined in Christianity... which the entirety of Van Durce gives a heavy vibe of (His title being High Inquisitor, carrying a cup of, well, blood, having created angelics...). But Van Durce is dead! Well: Either it's set in the past... or it's about the experiments Marin is doing on poor Valerie. I have a whole theory regarding that, which is a bit long, so I'm not gonna elaborate (unless someone is interested, of course).

5) Hearts of Gold: Either Golden Guard or Boranel Aspurex. If Ruby Wine is not about the Van Durce's, then this one is.

6) Dread Night: I have no idea what this one could be about. Probably undead, if I had to guess, although it could also be demons.

7) Smiling Menace: Who has the biggest, most beautiful smile on Arkain? Well, Lady Meya, of course! I'm pretty sure that the story is about her, since it's the only character that is characterised by her smile, both in lore and in game (although it could also be Jadira...).

(Phew! A Hell of a comment. If anybody's curious, I voted for 3, 5 and 7, because I really like those characters).

 

[Navy45]

Ok, time for theory crafting ! (sorry for posting twice in a row, but since that's about different topics, it feels weird to edit)

Rising Sun : We don't really have a faction associated with the sun or reminiscent of Japan, which would have been my two first suggestions. So I have 2 theories. Either that's about a faction rising after a time of difficulty (my guess would be the dominion, with them growing to be recognized in the diplomatic scene), or, there's a mysterious faction lead by an empress that was only mentionned in one short story (about a spy's report of the situation in Arkain) so it could be about them.

Dragon of Kerrel : 2 possibilities. It can be a litteral dragon. If there's a black dragon nest in Kerrel, that's not good for them, but it could also be remnants of swamp dragons, which could help balance the scales (eh... scales...) in the cold war. The other possibility is that it's someone being called a dragon. The only prominent character that we know of in Kerrel is Dorten's daughter, so maybe she did something to be given this surname (though, considering the cold war with Zyainor, that would be an odd nickname) or it could be a surviving member of the dragon regiment (though that wouldn't explain why he would be called the dragon "of Kerrel" unless Dorten softened up and allowed imperial survivors to assist him.

Rusted Plate : My guess would be this one is about Praxeus, since he's one of the rare characters to have lore about his armour, and I can imagine it rusting, since it would be quite recognizable, so he probably cannot wear it anymore.

Ruby Wine : I would think this one is about Guardon, first known alcooholic of Arkain, but it could be about any aristocratic society (I don't really know why, but the adjective "ruby" makes me think about the Rohir Nexus).

Hearts of gold : Of course the golden guard remnants come to mind (especially since describing them as having "hearts of gold" would be quite ironic in the current situation) but it feels maybe a bit too obvious. I think maybe it could refer to the goldaxe clan and their place in the new dominion, since we've got hints about them, but it hasn't really been expanded upon.

Dread Night : It seems to indicate some sort of night attack. Since Zyainor and Kerrel's conflict is pretty stale and the dominion doesn't move, my guess would be this is about the undead. Maybe how Edoarus took control of Rengar.

Smiling Menace : The first image that comes to mind when I hear "smiling" is Lady Meya's face (which is obviously the fairest of them all and you haven't heard me say otherwise). So maybe we'll know more about the activities of the Rohir now that Aridon is gone (since, besides having a bunch of slaves pretty much everywhere, we don't really know what they want... I mean, we know what Meya wants, but I doubt organizing an Arkain sized orgy is the end goal)

Personnaly I voted for Dragon of Kerrel, Dread Night and Smiling Menace, because I'm a sucker for lore about the cold war and I want to know what the undead get up to without daddy Aridon looking over their shoulder.

 

[Mochi King]

Voted for Dragon of Kerrel, Rusted Plate, and Hearts of Gold. I think Ruby Wine would've involved Gardon, which I would've loved, but I chose not too since it may also imply the undead. I feel like dragon of kerrel will probably be a swamp dragon survivor, becoming a prominent figure, wanting revenge against the black dragons. Rusted plate gives me either praxeus or another golden guard member, like hearts of gold. Dread Night and Smiling Menace is too obviously undead, so no for them. As much as the stories of the characters are good, they all plan for the sake of the watcher, and it irks me that everything human-related is under aridon's dead palms. Would've preferred if he had a major loss of forces to legitimately even the scales against the empire. that would've been cool. Some other short stories im hoping to see is the aedale's journey, the redfist hunting her down, and the rest of the redfist sisters. I wanna see a reunion for all of them. I also want to see how each of the factions train their armies, specifically Zyainor and the Dominion. Does Zyainor create more elite soldiers than the other kingdoms and empire due to thanok's training? how does one become stronger in the dominion similar to the clan brutes? do ogres train them? does shadow magic destructive and be used similarly to chaos magic or demonic magic? Will it train assassins similar to queen renova's assassins? did they create a new order under larine's rule? stuff like that. I also want to see more imperial activity. We only got few of that since the imperial grand general's letter or whatever, but I wanna see what largoth did to the empire, and the excuse he made to invade arkain n stuff. I also wanna see other regiments besides that ones seen in the game.

tl'dr: i wanna see moar, but i gotta be patient since masterpieces aren't done overnight

 

[Mvicio]

Lets see:

-Rising sun. That could be a story about the misterious new faction from the cold north, i have the impression it could be them.
-Dragon of Kerrel. Either a story about the inquisition or perhaps some other dragons allied with Kerrel, they were blue so perhaps the blue dragons?
-Rusted Plate. No idea, perhaps a Zyainor faction like the ironfist, Herdon or Tormin?
-Ruby wine. That´s definetely Gardon, maybe he is tasting wines with our good old friend Marogonin.
-Hearts of gold. This one could be the golden guard or the goldaxe clan, probably some story about Marin´s experiments and how changed the Van Durce family?
-Dread Night. I gotta say this one is the continuation of The heirs of Zyainor, Warlords, so Garan is trying to kill Dorten.
-Smilling menace. Lady Meya for sure, the most beautiful smile on Arkain, at least that´s what she says.

Rising Sun : We don't really have a faction associated with the sun or reminiscent of Japan, which would have been my two first suggestions. So I have 2 theories. Either that's about a faction rising after a time of difficulty (my guess would be the dominion, with them growing to be recognized in the diplomatic scene), or, there's a mysterious faction lead by an empress that was only mentionned in one short story (about a spy's report of the situation in Arkain) so it could be about them.

Maybe is the faction in the southern desert next to the demon lands.

Dread Night : It seems to indicate some sort of night attack. Since Zyainor and Kerrel's conflict is pretty stale and the dominion doesn't move, my guess would be this is about the undead. Maybe how Edoarus took control of Rengar.

I didn´t thought about Edoarus, but that could be him trying to "persuade" more people to join his forces.

 

[hamster]

oh! Shar Dundred, I registered a Hive account for you and your ArKain, used Patreon for the first time and became your member, but unfortunately English is not my native language, I can only communicate through web translation, I just want to express how much I like your ArKain and think it is the best campaign. Finally, I wish you all the best.