Kindred/Background

"Tell me again, little Lamb, which things are ours to take?

"All things, Dear Wolf."

Separate, but never parted, Kindred represents the twin essences of death. Lamb's arrow offers a swift release for those who accept their fate. Wolf hunts down those who run from their end, delivering violent finality within his crushing jaws. Though interpretations of Kindred's nature vary across Runeterra, every mortal must choose the true face of their death."

Lore
Main=

A Good Death


Magga was about to die for the fourteenth time. She had bitten into a rotten apple-yet again. Its putrid flesh had, as always, infected her with carrionshade. The actress went through the motions of stumbling to her death while shouting her final words for all to hear.

"Oh, but how wondrous a dream is life? Only now-too late!-do I wake to see its myriad of splendors," she bemoaned.

With a puff of smoke and glittering powder, Kindred made a grand entrance upon the stage. As per tradition, they were played by one actor, his head covered by two opposing masks. He approached Magga, the white mask of the Lamb facing her.

"Hark! Do I hear a plea for my keenest arrow? Come, child, let the warmth of your heart fade into the cold embrace of oblivion."

Magga refused, as she had thirteen times before. Any nuances in her performance was buried beneath the ear-splitting delivery of her scream. On cue, Lamb spun around, revealing the second mask-that of the Wolf.

"There is naught ye can do to stave off thine end," growled Wolf.

"I am but a poor young maiden! Please, let my piteous cry fall on all four of thine ears."

The audience seemed enraptured by the unfolding dramatics of the "Orphellum Mechanicals". With the twin threats of plague and war on the tongues of those in neighboring protectorates, death dramas were all the rage.

Denji, the actor portraying both Lamb and Wolf, descended upon the young actress, awkwardly baring wooden fangs. Magga offered her neck. At the threat of Wolf's bite, she triggered the device sewn into her blouse's collar. Ribbons of red fabric unspooled to the delighted pips and yelps of the audience. They'd gotten what they paid for.



By the time the Mechanicals had staggered back to their wagon and set off in the direction of Needlebrook, there were no stars to be seen. Instead, a veil of clouds stretched across the night sky.

Needlebrook always delivered a good audience, Illusian, the company's owner and sole dramaturg, explained once more. He staggered around, drunk on his own accolades-as well as the wine Parr gifted from the locals.

The night wore on, and the troupe had descended into bickering. Tria and Denji lambasted their playwright over the quality of his plots, which fell into a predictable structure: tragedy strikes maiden, death finds maiden, death takes maiden. Illusian argued that complicated plots detracted from a good death scene.

Magga, the youngest of the bunch, agreed with Tria and Denji's diagnosis, but kept her mouth shut. Had she not stowed away in the wandering troupe's wagon, she would certainly be somewhere far more miserable. Luckily for her, the Mechanicals had recently lost several actors due to Illusian's insistence on complete artistic control. Because of his attitude-and obvious mediocrity-they were facing a drought of fresh faces. And so, the "Orphellum Mechanicals" agreed to contract Magga to die in all their dramatics for the foreseeable future. For which she had been grateful.

Illusian was still smarting from Denji and Tria's words when he motioned to Parr, their wagoner, to stop and make camp. The inebriated auteur set out his bedroll in pride of place next to the wagon. He then threw the rest of the bedding into the long grass nearby.

"Ungrateful players can sleep in the wolds," Illusian spat, "where they shall hopefully find their manners."

The rest of the troupe built a fire and swapped stories. Denji and Tria had fallen asleep in each other's arms while whispering potential names for their unborn child into each other's ears. They had nattered on about the day the traveling company would stop in Jandelle, a town so perfect and peaceful they would set aside their vagabond ways to raise their child.

Magga moved closer to the crackling fire so its pops and whistles would drown out the irksome affections of her travelling companions.

But sleep never came. Instead, Magga tossed and turned, thinking about the looks on the audience's faces as the coiled spurts of blood unfurled from her neckline. A pretty maiden struck dead by her own naïveté was all the theatrical pomp Illusian could muster, but the crowd lusted after the gruesome façade.

Eventually, she left her bedroll and set out into the woods to soothe her unsettled mind.



In the dead of night, Magga came upon a low grassy mound with slabs of standing stone at its base. Although she could not read the inscriptions, her fingers traced the familiar etching of twin masks. This was a place of the dead, a burial site built long ago.

She felt a chill on the back of her neck that compelled her to look up. She was not alone. Magga immediately understood what she saw, for she'd encountered a crude impersonation of them night after night. But poor Denji couldn't begin to instill the dread washing over Magga. Before her, perched on a weathered barrow-archway, was Lamb herself, flanked by her ever-faithful counterpart,  Wolf.

"I hear a beating heart!" said Wolf, his black eyes twinkling with delight. "May I have it?"

"Perhaps," replied Lamb. "I sense she is afraid. Speak, beautiful one. Tell us your name."

"I-I would have yours first," stammered Magga, stepping backwards. Her slow escape was halted by the speedy Wolf, who materialized unsettlingly close behind her.

He spoke directly in her ear. "We have many names."

"In the West, I am Ina to his Ani," said Lamb. "In the East, Farya to his Wolyo. But we are Kindred everywhere. I am always Lamb to Wolf, and he is always Wolf to Lamb."

Wolf reared up and sniffed at the air.

"She is playing a boring game," said Wolf. "Let us play a new game, one of chasing and running and biting."

"She is not playing, dear Wolf," said the Lamb. "She is frightened and has lost her own name. It hides behind her lips, afraid to come out. Worry not, dear child, I have found your name. We know it as you know us, Magga."



"P-please," Magga stammered. "Tonight is not a very good night for-"

Wolf's great pink tongue lolled out of the sides of his mouth, and he proceeded to cackle.

"All nights are good nights for pouncing," said Wolf, laughing.

"All days are, too," Lamb said. "With light comes a clear shot."

"There is no moon tonight!" cried Magga. She used what Illusian had taught her-to gesture grand, so those in the back could see her movements. "It is hidden by a blanket of clouds, tucked away from my eyes and yours. Without the moon, what would be the last thing I would see?"

"We see the moon," replied Lamb, as she caressed her fabled bow. "It is always there."

"There are no stars!" said Magga, trying again, this time gesturing smaller and speaking quieter. "No menagerie of twinkling diamonds, glittering in the midnight hue. What more beautiful view could one hope for whence one meets Lamb and Wolf?"

"This Magga-thing is playing a new game," growled Wolf. "It is called 'stalling.'"

Wolf stopped moving and cocked his head to the side. He turned his sideways snout towards Magga before speaking. "Can we play 'Chasing the Magga-Thing and Bite Her to Bits?'?" Wolf clacked his fangs together loudly for effect.

"Let us ask her," said Lamb. "Magga! Do you prefer Wolf's chase, or my arrow?"

Magga was trembling now. Her eyes raced to take in every last detail of her world around her. It wasn't such a bad place to depart. There was grass. There were trees. There was the ancient archway. There was stillness to the air.

"I would prefer Lamb's arrow," she said, looking at the rough crust of bark on the trees. "I'll imagine myself climbing to the highest boughs, like when I was a child. Only this time, I will never stop climbing. Is that what it is like to go with you?"

"No," said Lamb, "though it is a nice thought. Fear not, little maiden, we are just having fun. You have come to us tonight; we have not come for you."

"I cannot chase Magga-thing," said Wolf, with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "But there are other things nearby. Other things ripe for the chasing and the biting. Hurry, Lamb. I am hungry."

"For now, know that your theatrics have pleased us, and we will watch them until the day we meet again."

Wolf passed over Magga and disappeared into the woods. The shadowy beast sneaked away through fields of tall grass. Magga looked back towards the weathered barrow. Lamb was gone.

The actress fled.



When Magga returned to the encampment, she found utter ruin. The wagon she had only just begun to call home had been ransacked and reduced to a smoldering husk. Bits of clothing and ruined props lay strewn across the campsite.

She found Denji's body near where he'd slept. He had died protecting Tria, whose corpse lay behind him. Judging from the trails of blood, their deaths had not been slow. They had dragged themselves towards each other, their fingers entwined in one last caress before death.

Magga noticed that Illusian had managed to kill two of the bandits before being burnt to a crisp along with Parr in the wagon.

The only thing that remained untouched were Denji's Land and Wolf masks. Magga picked them up and held them in her hands. She placed the Lamb mask over her own eyes and heard the voice of Wolf.

"Chase the Magga-thing."

The maiden ran the distance to Needlebrook, never once looking back.



"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."

Wolf: "So he would always have a friend?"

Lamb: "So he would always have a friend.""

Quotes

 * Upon selection
 * Wolf: "Without the other."
 * Wolf: "Without the other."


 * Upon starting a game
 * Lamb: "... without the other."
 * Wolf: "... without the other."
 * Wolf: "... ends with us."
 * Lamb: "All things, dear Wolf."
 * Wolf: "... ends with us."
 * Lamb: "All things, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "All things, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "All things, dear Wolf."


 * Attacking
 * Wolf: "Yes!"
 * Lamb: "Wolf strikes."
 * Wolf: "Then teeth!"
 * Wolf: "... to end!"
 * Wolf: "No! Thrash! Flee!"
 * Wolf: "... end this."
 * Lamb: "Ours."
 * Wolf: "Doesn't matter!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "Yes!"
 * Lamb: "Wolf strikes."
 * Wolf: "Then teeth!"
 * Wolf: "... to end!"
 * Wolf: "No! Thrash! Flee!"
 * Wolf: "... end this."
 * Lamb: "Ours."
 * Wolf: "Doesn't matter!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "Yes!"
 * Lamb: "Wolf strikes."
 * Wolf: "Then teeth!"
 * Wolf: "... to end!"
 * Wolf: "No! Thrash! Flee!"
 * Wolf: "... end this."
 * Lamb: "Ours."
 * Wolf: "Doesn't matter!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "No! Thrash! Flee!"
 * Wolf: "... end this."
 * Lamb: "Ours."
 * Wolf: "Doesn't matter!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "Doesn't matter!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"
 * Wolf: "... food!"


 * Movement
 * Wolf: "Always there."
 * Wolf: "Ashes on wool."
 * Lamb: "Feathers falling on fresh snow."
 * Lamb: "Though many try."
 * Lamb: "Only to find us sooner."
 * Wolf: "Words spoil the chase!"
 * Wolf: "... in our shadow."
 * Lamb: "Yet they are never prepared."
 * Lamb: "Forever more."
 * Wolf: "Hungry, we follow!"
 * Wolf: "And scream!"
 * Lamb: "And dance."
 * Wolf: "And flee!"
 * Lamb: "... Wolf was sure to follow."
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"
 * Wolf: "Always there."
 * Wolf: "Ashes on wool."
 * Lamb: "Feathers falling on fresh snow."
 * Lamb: "Though many try."
 * Lamb: "Only to find us sooner."
 * Wolf: "Words spoil the chase!"
 * Wolf: "... in our shadow."
 * Lamb: "Yet they are never prepared."
 * Lamb: "Forever more."
 * Wolf: "Hungry, we follow!"
 * Wolf: "And scream!"
 * Lamb: "And dance."
 * Wolf: "And flee!"
 * Lamb: "... Wolf was sure to follow."
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"
 * Wolf: "... in our shadow."
 * Lamb: "Yet they are never prepared."
 * Lamb: "Forever more."
 * Wolf: "Hungry, we follow!"
 * Wolf: "And scream!"
 * Lamb: "And dance."
 * Wolf: "And flee!"
 * Lamb: "... Wolf was sure to follow."
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"
 * Wolf: "And scream!"
 * Lamb: "And dance."
 * Wolf: "And flee!"
 * Lamb: "... Wolf was sure to follow."
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"
 * Wolf: "Wolf was sure to follow!"


 * Taunt
 * Lamb: "They're called... tears."
 * Lamb: "Not that it will help."
 * Lamb: "This is called... denial."
 * Wolf: "... or my teeth?!"
 * Lamb: "Not that it will help."
 * Lamb: "This is called... denial."
 * Wolf: "... or my teeth?!"
 * Wolf: "... or my teeth?!"
 * Wolf: "... or my teeth?!"


 * Taunting an enemy
 * Wolf: "Stay away!"
 * Wolf: "Stay away!"


 * Taunting an enemy


 * Taunting an enemy


 * Taunting an enemy
 * Lamb: "The singer mistakes melody for substance."
 * Lamb: "The singer mistakes melody for substance."


 * Taunting an enemy


 * Taunting an enemy
 * Wolf: "Now, he's prey!"
 * Wolf: "Now, he's prey!"
 * Wolf: "Now, he's prey!"


 * Taunting an enemy


 * Taunting an enemy


 * Joke
 * Wolf: "Ahh! Don't shoot me!"
 * Lamb: "I don't know."
 * Lamb: "Are you imitating me?"
 * Wolf: "You get it now!"
 * Lamb: "Are you imitating me?"
 * Wolf: "You get it now!"
 * Wolf: "You get it now!"
 * Wolf: "You get it now!"


 * Laugh


 * Upon an enemy
 * Wolf: "And your scent!"
 * Wolf: "Ready or not!"
 * Lamb: "We have always known it."
 * Wolf: "... it's too late!"
 * Wolf: "Race you there!"
 * Lamb: "And if not?"
 * Wolf: "More fun."
 * Lamb: "It knows."
 * Wolf: "And your scent!"
 * Wolf: "Ready or not!"
 * Lamb: "We have always known it."
 * Wolf: "... it's too late!"
 * Wolf: "Race you there!"
 * Lamb: "And if not?"
 * Wolf: "More fun."
 * Lamb: "It knows."
 * Wolf: "Ready or not!"
 * Lamb: "We have always known it."
 * Wolf: "... it's too late!"
 * Wolf: "Race you there!"
 * Lamb: "And if not?"
 * Wolf: "More fun."
 * Lamb: "It knows."
 * Wolf: "Race you there!"
 * Lamb: "And if not?"
 * Wolf: "More fun."
 * Lamb: "It knows."
 * Lamb: "It knows."
 * Lamb: "It knows."


 * Upon killing a enemy
 * Lamb: "Only to place it elsewhere."
 * Wolf: "Who's next?!"
 * Lamb: "None are, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "Always, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "Everyone."
 * Wolf: "... die."
 * Lamb: "Few are, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "More lie ahead, dear Wolf."
 * Wolf: "... it meets us."
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"
 * Wolf: "Who's next?!"
 * Lamb: "None are, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "Always, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "Everyone."
 * Wolf: "... die."
 * Lamb: "Few are, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "More lie ahead, dear Wolf."
 * Wolf: "... it meets us."
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"
 * Wolf: "... die."
 * Lamb: "Few are, dear Wolf."
 * Lamb: "More lie ahead, dear Wolf."
 * Wolf: "... it meets us."
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"
 * Wolf: "... it meets us."
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"
 * Wolf: "The hunt is back on!"


 * When a monster dies to an enemy champion
 * Wolf: "I will eat it!"
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."
 * Wolf: "I will eat it!"
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."
 * Wolf: "I will eat it!"
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."
 * Wolf: "I will eat it!"
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."
 * Wolf: "I will eat it!"
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."
 * Wolf: "We steal from you."


 * Upon casting
 * Wolf: "Run them down!"
 * Lamb: "Chase to your heart's content."
 * Wolf: "My turn!"
 * Lamb: "Chase to your heart's content."
 * Wolf: "My turn!"
 * Wolf: "My turn!"


 * When triggering


 * Upon casting


 * Upon buying


 * Upon buying


 * Upon buying


 * Upon buying
 * Wolf: "Rip it to shreds!"
 * Wolf: "Rip it to shreds!"


 * Upon buying


 * Upon buying


 * Upon buying


 * During the Death Screen
 * 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."
 * Lamb: "So he would always have a friend."


 * Unknown
 * Wolf: "I am, little Lamb."
 * Lamb: "Are you sad?"
 * Wolf: "I am."
 * Lamb: "What does it feel like?"
 * Wolf: "A long hunt with no kill."
 * Wolf: "A long hunt with no kill."


 * Lamb: "We will soon awaken from this pale slumber."
 * Lamb: "I do not know, for this is not our end."
 * Wolf: "Do others come back?"
 * Lamb: "Those who do, wish they hadn't."
 * Lamb: "Older than those whose footsteps are long vanished."
 * Wolf: "Many years."
 * Lamb: "I remember them all."
 * Lamb: "All still know us, though they try to forget. Soon we will remind them."
 * Wolf: "They end."
 * Lamb: "I remember them all."
 * Lamb: "All still know us, though they try to forget. Soon we will remind them."
 * Wolf: "They end."
 * Wolf: "They end."
 * Wolf: "They end."


 * Unknown champion taunts
 * Wolf: "Turn and face us now!"
 * Wolf: "Turn and face us now!"
 * Wolf: "Turn and face us now!"
 * Wolf: "Turn and face us now!"

Development
 was designed by Jordan Anton.

Champion Reveal: Kindred
BY RIOT

"We’re almost ready to breathe life into League’s next champion, a marksman designed for a life in the jungle. Kindred prowls through camps, marking enemy champions for death and permanently growing in strength if they’re able to carry out the promised sentence. But just as Kindred brings death, so can they delay it. Should their allies meet deadly force, Lamb - one of Kindred’s two spirits - can create a large blessed zone that, for a few valuable seconds, denies the ever-creeping and inevitable clutches of death.



Passive= ''Lamb marks an enemy champion - anywhere on the map - for death. After a delay, the mark activates - if Kindred kills them, or assists in their death, they gains a permanent stackable bonus to their basic attacks. In addition to Lamb choosing an enemy champion for the Mark of the Kindred, Wolf automatically hungers for large enemy jungle monsters from time to time. All champions can see targets that are marked for death.''
 * Mark of the Kindred

Q= Kindred dashes in a target direction before firing at up to three nearby enemies.
 * Dance of Arrows

W= ''Passive: Kindred builds stacks of Hunter’s Vigor as they move around. Once fully stacked, Kindred’s next basic attack steals a flat amount of health.''
 * Wolf's Frenzy

''Active: Wolf temporarily splits from Lamb, creating a large spirit zone around him and attacking whoever Lamb attacks, or his closest enemy. Lamb can cast Dance of Arrows with a greatly reduced cooldown while inside Wolf's Frenzy.''

E= ''Kindred initially slows a targeted enemy. If they’re then able to attack their crippled target three times in quick succession, the target suffers a burst of percent max health damage.''
 * Mounting Dread

R= ''Kindred creates a large but temporary zone beneath itself or a targeted ally. While active, Lamb's Respite prevents ALL units within its boundaries from dropping below critical levels of health. Finally, Lamb's Respite applies a flat heal to all champions still inside as it ends.''
 * Lamb's Respite





''We’ll be back in a few days with some behind the scenes stories of Kindred’s creation. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on League’s next champ!"''

Champion Insight: Kindred
BY FISHNCHIPS

"The guys and gals in champion ideation start off with a simple enough goal: create something that League hasn’t seen before within the parameters of a pre-existing role. In Kindred’s case, they were tasked with making a new marksman-style damage dealer who could go toe-to-toe in the jungle. Here’s how they went from blank page to the twin prowling specters of death about to stalk the Fields of Justice."

Game design notes
By Jordan Anton aka RiotWrekz

"Designing a marksman who could head into the jungle came with a bunch of unique challenges, but not because it was a completely new concept. Truth is, we’d seen players crowbar other ranged champs into the jungle before, and by paying attention to where they struggled, we ended up with a pretty good idea of what Kindred needed in order to succeed.


 * Macgyvering Jungle Marksmen

''The ranged champs we’ve seen appear in the jungle - most recently Twisted Fate and Twitch - have been really gimmicky, and either dominate a game or do absolutely nothing. Their early ganks are often devastating (not many can survive invisible red buff ganks or TF’s guaranteed stun), but they’re pretty much useless if they fall behind, and absolutely need kill or assist money to keep up. What’s more, anyone familiar with either of their super predictable jungle paths will know where they need to be to kill or maim them, and because they were designed for life in lane, there’s very little they can do against strong counter-junglers like Lee Sin or Rek’Sai. These were all issues we had in mind when we started working on Kindred, and issues we hoped to address while creating the champ.''


 * "We’d seen players crowbar other ranged champs into the jungle before, and by paying attention to where they struggled, we ended up with a pretty good idea of what Kindred needed in order to succeed."


 * Enter Kindred

''First off, we knew that we wanted Kindred to offer their team reasonable ganks - attacks that, if timed and coordinated well, could result in a kill, but weren’t guaranteed successes. By reducing the power of their ganks - specifically compared to Twitch or Twisted Fate - we were able to add power to areas where they both struggle. We made Kindred less reliant on money, so while they obviously benefit from items as the game progresses, they aren’t anything like as useless as the Plague Rat when he falls the wrong side of the feast/famine divide. Mark of the Kindred, for example, is a really snazzy ability, not just from the bonuses it gives Kindred, but because it adds a psychological element to a game of League that’s largely indifferent to Kindred’s strength. Whether you’ve been marked by a Kindred that’s racked up a 10/0 or a 0/10 score, you’re going to play differently. Maybe you’re about to get ganked, or maybe Kindred just wanted to apply a smidge of suggested pressure - you don’t know, and, unless you’ve warded supremely well, you won’t know until they appear somewhere on the map.''

''Speaking of ganks, while Kindred’s aren’t as brutal as Twitch’s or TF’s, they’re still plenty powerful, and will often relieve pressure even if they don’t secure a kill. The percent max health burst damage from a fully triggered Mounting Dread means Kindred’s ganks sting even against tanks, and the W/Q combo helps Kindred stick to their target as they make their escape. Kindred definitely lacks the hard crowd control that a lot of junglers bring to a fight, but the extra damage they bring in lieu of the cc means they thrive especially when they gank lanes that do have the means to keep their target from fleeing. So while junglers like Sejuani and Rek’Sai bring the knock-ups and slows the gank needs, but often lack the damage to kill the target, Kindred offers the inverse to that.''

''Kindred’s introduction brings the possibility of fancy new team comps built around a second jungling marksman. With two marksmen, the rest of the team might look for peel-heavy champions who can keep enemy assassins and fighters at bay, or pick up items like Black Cleaver to help both marksmen deal decent damage. Maybe they’ll focus instead on tanky frontline characters who pack a decent amount of magic damage - champs like Malphite or Amumu - to mix up their team’s damage output. The point is that a ranged marksmen jungler hasn’t really been reliably seen before, and we’re super excited to see the kinds of teams you guys build around one.''
 * Mixing the meta

''Finally, I can’t talk about Kindred without mentioning their ultimate. Lamb’s Respite is another ability that is effective regardless of Kindred’s level of success in the game, and again encourages teams to think outside the box in regards to their composition. Its death-defying zone gives sustained damage comps resistance to burst, which reinforces double AD comps and specifically rewards teams which pack in multiple marksmen. But even if Kindred’s taken into a more traditional team comp, they should still be able to offer their team plenty of unique tools along with those coveted ranged attacks."''


 * "Lamb’s Respite is another ability that is effective regardless of Kindred’s level of success in the game, and again encourages teams to think outside the box in regards to their composition."

Narrative notes
By Matt Dunn aka FauxSchizzle

"We had a hook for the kit pretty early in ideation: a jungle marksman with the ability to “mark” enemy players for death and reap rewards for each successful kill or assist on that target. This led the team to explore several ways of expressing the champion’s growing power, and we landed on a relationship between two equals. This is where Kindred took shape.

''It was ultimately one of Chris’ sketches - a glowing ethereal lamb firing a shadowy wolf from its bow - that piqued our interest. In fact, it haunted us. There was something darkly whimsical about this duo, so we decided to dig deeper. This is typically when the Narrative writers dream up a few story sketches to figure out who the champ is within Runeterra, what their powers look like, and how they behave. The first lines I wrote for this concept were a variation on their “choose me” line, with Wolf saying “Tell me again, little Lamb, which things are mine to take?” and Lamb replying bluntly, “All things, dear Wolf.”''

''Based on lots of discussions in the room, we realized that Kindred could be Runeterra’s first mythological representation of life and death. We dreamt up scenarios from ancient barrows featuring rough engravings of the Kindred masks to mark the sites as places of the dead, to a Mardi Gras meets Groundhog Day-style celebration in Bilgewater. Kindred’s stories were designed to build up the mythological foundation of Runeterra; the stuff of fables and nursery rhymes that children sang, blissfully unaware of the works’ dark origins.''

''These two animals: the stalwart Lamb with her ornate bow, and the shadowy Wolf with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, felt both quirky and ominous. I started researching the anthropomorphism of death throughout numerous cultures and found that many of humanity’s first known myths were centered around gravesites. The team agreed that Kindred was a unique grim reaper, spoken about in whispered tones by those who narrowly avoided death, and seen by all in life’s last moments. To help clarify what made the characters distinct, we took a look at what a Lamb’s death looks like in comparison to a Wolf’s. To accept Lamb is to rejoice in life and depart in serenity. To run from Wolf means a violent and terrifying end.''

''The masks proved pivotal to the champ. By having Lamb wear Wolf’s mask - and vice versa - we tapped into a yin-yang dynamic, which helped us crack their personalities. We gave in spades to one what the other lacked. In this case, Lamb knew much about the world, but felt very little, whereas Wolf felt everything, but lacked in the knowledge department. We loved the idea that these two never fought over kills, or were ever at odds, because, in the end, the Lamb and the Wolf are two parts of one whole."''


 * "The first lines I wrote for this concept were a variation on their “choose me” line, with Wolf saying “Tell me again, little Lamb, which things are mine to take?” and Lamb replying bluntly, “All things, dear Wolf.”"

Art notes
By Edmundo Sanchez aka Mundo and Chris Campbell aka Skeeziks

"After identifying the type of champion we wanted to make (in this case, a dual character jungling marksman), we entered open ideation, and started noodling on what these characters would actually look like. But, turns out dual characters are hard. We tried out a couple of ideas, but they trod on existing champions a little too hard and failed to get much support internally. Other ideas came and went until we found ourselves spinning our wheels two weeks into our four week ideation window. Chris, looking for a change of environment, headed out to a coffee shop for a while to continue sketching. A few hours later, he turned back up, and opened up his sketchbook to show us this:



''Something clicked with the concept instantly. These characters - the fierce wolf and the gentle lamb - neatly juxtaposed with each other while still functioning and appearing as a single entity. Meanwhile, Jordan and Matt had made decent headway on a death theme, which was an easy fit with the characters: Wolf represented death, and Lamb, at least initially, represented life. And though it was never defined as the goal of 2015’s champions, Bard and Tahm Kench both had plenty of folkloric qualities about them that complemented Kindred’s burgeoning theme and look. Progress, at least internally! Then we brought the concept to stakeholders, and though they were super supportive, we ran into some tough feedback from other Rioters.''


 * "Bard and Tahm Kench both had plenty of folkloric qualities about them that complemented Kindred’s burgeoning theme and look."


 * “You guys are going to put a fucking lamb in the game?”

''When we challenge ourselves with things that are new, that often unsettles people. And that’s a good thing. We ran into a ton of feedback as we started expanding our feedback sessions. Lamb and Wolf were super polarizing champions, and we had to fight tooth and nail throughout the process to get them pushed through. Though we were comfortable with the champion being contentious, we still wanted to refine and focus on the characters of Lamb and Wolf. We refocused them so both represented death, then gave them masks - masks of each other, actually - to highlight the duality of the two characters. Lamb wasn’t all good and noble, and Wolf wasn’t purely brutal, but they had aspects of each other that turned them from black and white characters to various shades of gray. We started treating them as yin and yang - two halves of a complete whole that couldn’t exist without each other. Next we turned to their animations, and again deliberately countered how people would expect Kindred to move. Lamb, instead of skipping around, became stoic in its movement, while Wolf became the more playful of the two.''



''Ultimately, we wanted Kindred to become a cultural archetype for League - creatures that truly embody the world of Runeterra and highlight how unique the world is. And here’s the kicker: we don’t even see Kindred as physical characters in the world. So far as anyone in Valoran knows, Kindred is just a fairytale, a way for some Runeterran cultures to rationalize or personify the mystery of life and death. As for whether they're actually real? Well, that's for the dead to know.''


 * "We started treating them as yin and yang - two halves of a complete whole that couldn’t exist without each other."




 * We’ll be back in a few days with more Kindred information!"