Edit: A new post with the entire timeline is now complete. Making some of these assumptions (some not all) revisited and changed. I think and hope that all Legacy of Kain fans would enjoy the new post.
As an old-time fan of the Legacy of Kain, I was sure to try the new title named Nosgoth, although not aching to that of the story-driven adventures of old I still wanted to check it out. I have to say I have been enjoying it quite a lot.
Here is my video review on the open beta of it:
Nosgoth Open Beta Review
With all this, I wanted to get some clarification with regards to the events of the story. With Defiance being my last play of the series (aslo being the last made), and with Blood Omen 2 being unplayable by my rig, having me ditch it and never finding out what happened in it, I was under the impression that Blood Omen 2 was before the events of Soul Reaver and that Defiance, stood to be the last chapter thus leaving the story unfinished.
I had to make sure I wasn't missing out something in all this, so I wanted to look into it again. To my surprise, it seems I got it all wrong, and mostly because I didn't get to play Blood Omen 2. The Legacy of Kain, is indeed a done tale. It is complete and as I gathered, Blood Omen 2 is the chapter after it. The fixed timeline put into place once more, and Kain defeating the Hylden Lord.
I stumbled across these two links to help me out through a quick Google search.
The first being a complete explanation of the timeline, or perhaps timelines of Nosgoth.
Timelines of Nosgoth
The second being this diagram (again found through a quick Google search on the same matter):
Now, if we take this timeline to account and if it is right, aside some paradoxes the likes of:
A) Wraith Raziel kills Human Raziel (I'm thinking what actually could have happened is different timelines, that being timeline 1 or 2 were Human Raziel dies of old age, because the first time it all takes place Wraith Raziel simply doesn't exist! It never clearly states that in this diagram, or in the games of how Human Raziel dies when Wraith Raziel doesn't exist).
and B) Kain resurrecting the Sarafan priests as Vampires. That is after everything, even after Blood Omen 2, which is an in-existent event in the first 3 timelines.
Which begs the following question, how are the writers handling the time travelling? As loops that need to keep on happening? Or as events all connected happening just once?
It seems the second option to be the way they are going about it, hence why the timelines have changed into 4 versions all up.
In which case, Kain according to this table would still resurrect the Sarafan as his lieutenants even after cleansing himself and after defeating the Hylden Lord (check link and table so all this can be easier to understand).
But, if the previous timelines are all done and Blood Omen 2 takes place, the circle is complete, and resurrecting the Sarafan Priests at this point, in the 4th timeline, is clearly a choice Kain can take or one he can abandon.
If he does take it, killing Raziel is again not necessary, and none of his Lieutenants have to die.
Such a coarse means for a spin off or a continuation to the Legacy of Kain series, in the fixed timeline. Kain, now cleansed, and his new Vampire Lieutenants, is more than possible as a story and could be quite awesome actually.
A new timeline, new stories from there on, with Kains Empire in-tact. His Lieutenants within the presence of Kain being cleansed and the corruption not being present means that we can get a continuation to that first video in Soul Reaver 1. This time, Kain is pure. This time, Raziel is not killed but rather celebrated, and unknowingly even more powerful as he would be present in two (the soul of the weapon known as the Soul Reaver, and the first Lieutenant) and perhaps they could play off all of this to make Raziel the champion of Nosgoth under the ruler of it, Kain.
At which point new stories with the Hylden can be written. With the Pillars no longer existing, finding ways to keep trying to breach the Demon Realm and keep having wars or events against Kains empire is quite possible from the Hylden, which ultimately now could place the Vampire Empire in a more noble cause, that being, protecting the lands of Nosgoth from the intruders of the Demon Realm.
Now that I would like to see.
All this places this new and current arena game, Nosgoth, in the first three timelines were Kain is not purified and the war after him and Raziel are absent. A timeline which is pretty much fixed after Defiance and Blood Omen 2 hence in-existent in the complete and proper/fixed timeline.
Some would say for this reason that this timeline for Nosgoth (current game) is pointless. I continue to disagree. It still happened for the amount of time that Kain was absent and the time Raziel was reborn, and still exists between the events of the Soul Reaver intro and the Soul Reaver tale itself. Hence still a cool timeline to explore.
I'm going to go a couple steps farther now, and I am thinking or perhaps throwing it out there as a hope:
What if expansions to Nosgoth come out in the future, based on these ideas?
The Humans be still fighting against Vampires, even though they are in the new timeline the protectors of Nosgoth (keeping true to some of the evil Humans did against Vampires and sticking to the nature of it all, along with the "fear what they don't understand notion") and at the same time bring in the 4th timeline to it as well.
To add all this to the current game Nosgoth, it can be done in a form of a new playable faction being available in this new expansion, the Hylden. Which would righteously stand as a great expansion to the game Nosgoth, and will have more events being present as well.
That being, Humans against Hylden, Vampires against Hylden, Humans against Vampires, and some even with Vampires and Humans against Hylden (enemy of my enemy is my friend kind of a thing). This could also bring in the possibility of new skins to the Vampires. The cleansed evolved versions of the Vampires from a cleansed empire, following somewhat the Soul Reaver 1 intro look on the vampires.
Raziel at this point would not evolve into a bat, but rather have angelic features like the ancient vampires, being also, as the Champion of Nosgoth, the first Vampire to attain the ancient form once more and "transcend" into "vampire perfection".
Spawning hence a new skin for all Razielim, and also from a timeline were they are not hunted but praised. All the other vampires could follow a similar path, with looks that mimic the image of the vampire lieutenants in the intro to Soul Reaver 1, yet even more purified the same way Kain is in this new timeline.
All this could end up creating a diverse gaming experience for Nosgoth. That could be divided into the following form of options/game selections in two main timelines:
1) The War for Nosgoth (Humans vs Vampires)
A) Quick Matches (Deathmatch, Flashpoint, etc)
B) Ranked Ladders for different game modes.
C) Domination of Nosgoth (faction vs faction play for total domination of the lands) (Just an extra idea I would love to see in the current game which is not in it obviously, however, I think I saw a mention of it somewhere proving that perhaps this is what they intended from the beginning?)
2) The Demon War (Hylden vs Vampires vs Humans)
A) Quick Matches - Vampire Defense (Hylden vs Vampires)
B) Quick Matches - Human Defense (Hylden vs Humans)
C) Quick Matches - Defense of Nosgoth (Hylden vs Vampires and Humans)
D) Ranked Ladders (for all the above game types and modes)
E) Cleansing of Nosgoth - Faction vs faction vs faction gameplay. All three try to dominate the land, whilst Humans and Vampires team up in certain locations to take on Hylden together, resulting in the following 3 forms of control on the map. The first being Hylden controlled locations. The 2nd being neutral grounds, claimed from both Humans and Vampires together from defeating/pushing out Hylden from a certain location. The 3rd is Human or Vampire controlled locations, depending on who took them from the Hylden, or who had those locations to begin with, which can result in conflict between Humans and Vampires as well for control in those regions. A good idea at this point could be a timer for neutral grounds until Vampires and Humans are then allowed to fight each other for the control of that location. Hylden need and can attack all other locations at will.
Just an idea, but perhaps this could spin off into a new lore for the series and also tie everything in together, with the War of Nosgoth being from the one timeline and the Demon War being the later timeline.
As an arena game, it stands to be the perfect place to be able to toss these in, creating more events and options within the game. To make sure this is not split up into two experiences, they could perhaps overlay something like "The Demon War" over the original. I simply implied to them as being separate choices as they are two different timelines, and hence bringing in the second would pretty much delete the first, making all the current skins not make sense.
It is an arena game however, so perhaps there is no problem with this to be had at all. It could work either way.
Obviously the Hylden will have to be something between a Vampire and Human faction. Which means that the balancing will need some serious tweaking in it to make them effective against Humans and Vampires as one, and at the same time not overpowered when taking on one of the two alone. But, having seen the great work put into the balancing so far, I really doubt that this is something Psyonix would not be able to eventually deliver on.
Wishfull thinking perhaps, never hurt a soul. If anything, I'm hoping they could pick up suggestions of the sorts like this one and perhaps shape them into an even more fun title with larger content additions throughout time. Because lets face it, there is only so much that can be done with the game at the moment, even if they add every kind and form of an arena match in it.
Speaking of ideas, Vampires that mimic some of Kains traits would also be grand. Smoke form, to be able to phase through some map obstacles, or bat form, being able to retreat or change location on the map through a limited flight as bats. Being both an easy way to get around (like the current Sentinels) and a limited defense move as well were little damage is taken. Its duration can obviously balance it out to make it as it should be.
The possibilities with this title, are after all, quite endless. The Legacy of Kain series has so much going for it. I simply hope the creators of Nosgoth are keen enough to explore such paths to this game and allow it to grow in ways bigger than they perhaps thought to be possible.
Ultimately, one day I am in hopes of a story driven adventure to the Legacy of Kain series being made. It should stand for a simply amazing tale to be told, and explore Kain and his Lieutenants in the most awesome of ways. That would be cool to see.
Edit: Just wanted to add that this whole thing for the story (after seeing even more stuff) has opened a couple new questions to me on the matter... I am simply getting my head wrapped around it and I will not rest until I place it all into a convenient and explanatory timeline, even if I have to make up parts of it myself. At which point I'll probably simply call it Jim's Version and Assumption to the Legacy of Kain storyline, since I have seen quite a few different opinions out there on some things.
Mostly, I want to clear it up and present it in a form that works on all levels, and I will do just that.
Hopefully I will be able to have it all down soon.
As an old-time fan of the Legacy of Kain, I was sure to try the new title named Nosgoth, although not aching to that of the story-driven adventures of old I still wanted to check it out. I have to say I have been enjoying it quite a lot.
Here is my video review on the open beta of it:
Nosgoth Open Beta Review
With all this, I wanted to get some clarification with regards to the events of the story. With Defiance being my last play of the series (aslo being the last made), and with Blood Omen 2 being unplayable by my rig, having me ditch it and never finding out what happened in it, I was under the impression that Blood Omen 2 was before the events of Soul Reaver and that Defiance, stood to be the last chapter thus leaving the story unfinished.
I had to make sure I wasn't missing out something in all this, so I wanted to look into it again. To my surprise, it seems I got it all wrong, and mostly because I didn't get to play Blood Omen 2. The Legacy of Kain, is indeed a done tale. It is complete and as I gathered, Blood Omen 2 is the chapter after it. The fixed timeline put into place once more, and Kain defeating the Hylden Lord.
I stumbled across these two links to help me out through a quick Google search.
The first being a complete explanation of the timeline, or perhaps timelines of Nosgoth.
Timelines of Nosgoth
The second being this diagram (again found through a quick Google search on the same matter):
 |
| I want to shout-out to the person that made this but had a hard time finding them on Deviant Art for some odd reason. Anyone with a link would be grateful so I can link them for the work they did. |
Now, if we take this timeline to account and if it is right, aside some paradoxes the likes of:
A) Wraith Raziel kills Human Raziel (I'm thinking what actually could have happened is different timelines, that being timeline 1 or 2 were Human Raziel dies of old age, because the first time it all takes place Wraith Raziel simply doesn't exist! It never clearly states that in this diagram, or in the games of how Human Raziel dies when Wraith Raziel doesn't exist).
and B) Kain resurrecting the Sarafan priests as Vampires. That is after everything, even after Blood Omen 2, which is an in-existent event in the first 3 timelines.
Which begs the following question, how are the writers handling the time travelling? As loops that need to keep on happening? Or as events all connected happening just once?
It seems the second option to be the way they are going about it, hence why the timelines have changed into 4 versions all up.
In which case, Kain according to this table would still resurrect the Sarafan as his lieutenants even after cleansing himself and after defeating the Hylden Lord (check link and table so all this can be easier to understand).
But, if the previous timelines are all done and Blood Omen 2 takes place, the circle is complete, and resurrecting the Sarafan Priests at this point, in the 4th timeline, is clearly a choice Kain can take or one he can abandon.
If he does take it, killing Raziel is again not necessary, and none of his Lieutenants have to die.
Such a coarse means for a spin off or a continuation to the Legacy of Kain series, in the fixed timeline. Kain, now cleansed, and his new Vampire Lieutenants, is more than possible as a story and could be quite awesome actually.
A new timeline, new stories from there on, with Kains Empire in-tact. His Lieutenants within the presence of Kain being cleansed and the corruption not being present means that we can get a continuation to that first video in Soul Reaver 1. This time, Kain is pure. This time, Raziel is not killed but rather celebrated, and unknowingly even more powerful as he would be present in two (the soul of the weapon known as the Soul Reaver, and the first Lieutenant) and perhaps they could play off all of this to make Raziel the champion of Nosgoth under the ruler of it, Kain.
At which point new stories with the Hylden can be written. With the Pillars no longer existing, finding ways to keep trying to breach the Demon Realm and keep having wars or events against Kains empire is quite possible from the Hylden, which ultimately now could place the Vampire Empire in a more noble cause, that being, protecting the lands of Nosgoth from the intruders of the Demon Realm.
Now that I would like to see.
All this places this new and current arena game, Nosgoth, in the first three timelines were Kain is not purified and the war after him and Raziel are absent. A timeline which is pretty much fixed after Defiance and Blood Omen 2 hence in-existent in the complete and proper/fixed timeline.
Some would say for this reason that this timeline for Nosgoth (current game) is pointless. I continue to disagree. It still happened for the amount of time that Kain was absent and the time Raziel was reborn, and still exists between the events of the Soul Reaver intro and the Soul Reaver tale itself. Hence still a cool timeline to explore.
I'm going to go a couple steps farther now, and I am thinking or perhaps throwing it out there as a hope:
What if expansions to Nosgoth come out in the future, based on these ideas?
The Humans be still fighting against Vampires, even though they are in the new timeline the protectors of Nosgoth (keeping true to some of the evil Humans did against Vampires and sticking to the nature of it all, along with the "fear what they don't understand notion") and at the same time bring in the 4th timeline to it as well.
To add all this to the current game Nosgoth, it can be done in a form of a new playable faction being available in this new expansion, the Hylden. Which would righteously stand as a great expansion to the game Nosgoth, and will have more events being present as well.
That being, Humans against Hylden, Vampires against Hylden, Humans against Vampires, and some even with Vampires and Humans against Hylden (enemy of my enemy is my friend kind of a thing). This could also bring in the possibility of new skins to the Vampires. The cleansed evolved versions of the Vampires from a cleansed empire, following somewhat the Soul Reaver 1 intro look on the vampires.
Raziel at this point would not evolve into a bat, but rather have angelic features like the ancient vampires, being also, as the Champion of Nosgoth, the first Vampire to attain the ancient form once more and "transcend" into "vampire perfection".
Spawning hence a new skin for all Razielim, and also from a timeline were they are not hunted but praised. All the other vampires could follow a similar path, with looks that mimic the image of the vampire lieutenants in the intro to Soul Reaver 1, yet even more purified the same way Kain is in this new timeline.
All this could end up creating a diverse gaming experience for Nosgoth. That could be divided into the following form of options/game selections in two main timelines:
1) The War for Nosgoth (Humans vs Vampires)
A) Quick Matches (Deathmatch, Flashpoint, etc)
B) Ranked Ladders for different game modes.
C) Domination of Nosgoth (faction vs faction play for total domination of the lands) (Just an extra idea I would love to see in the current game which is not in it obviously, however, I think I saw a mention of it somewhere proving that perhaps this is what they intended from the beginning?)
2) The Demon War (Hylden vs Vampires vs Humans)
A) Quick Matches - Vampire Defense (Hylden vs Vampires)
B) Quick Matches - Human Defense (Hylden vs Humans)
C) Quick Matches - Defense of Nosgoth (Hylden vs Vampires and Humans)
D) Ranked Ladders (for all the above game types and modes)
E) Cleansing of Nosgoth - Faction vs faction vs faction gameplay. All three try to dominate the land, whilst Humans and Vampires team up in certain locations to take on Hylden together, resulting in the following 3 forms of control on the map. The first being Hylden controlled locations. The 2nd being neutral grounds, claimed from both Humans and Vampires together from defeating/pushing out Hylden from a certain location. The 3rd is Human or Vampire controlled locations, depending on who took them from the Hylden, or who had those locations to begin with, which can result in conflict between Humans and Vampires as well for control in those regions. A good idea at this point could be a timer for neutral grounds until Vampires and Humans are then allowed to fight each other for the control of that location. Hylden need and can attack all other locations at will.
Just an idea, but perhaps this could spin off into a new lore for the series and also tie everything in together, with the War of Nosgoth being from the one timeline and the Demon War being the later timeline.
As an arena game, it stands to be the perfect place to be able to toss these in, creating more events and options within the game. To make sure this is not split up into two experiences, they could perhaps overlay something like "The Demon War" over the original. I simply implied to them as being separate choices as they are two different timelines, and hence bringing in the second would pretty much delete the first, making all the current skins not make sense.
It is an arena game however, so perhaps there is no problem with this to be had at all. It could work either way.
Obviously the Hylden will have to be something between a Vampire and Human faction. Which means that the balancing will need some serious tweaking in it to make them effective against Humans and Vampires as one, and at the same time not overpowered when taking on one of the two alone. But, having seen the great work put into the balancing so far, I really doubt that this is something Psyonix would not be able to eventually deliver on.
Wishfull thinking perhaps, never hurt a soul. If anything, I'm hoping they could pick up suggestions of the sorts like this one and perhaps shape them into an even more fun title with larger content additions throughout time. Because lets face it, there is only so much that can be done with the game at the moment, even if they add every kind and form of an arena match in it.
Speaking of ideas, Vampires that mimic some of Kains traits would also be grand. Smoke form, to be able to phase through some map obstacles, or bat form, being able to retreat or change location on the map through a limited flight as bats. Being both an easy way to get around (like the current Sentinels) and a limited defense move as well were little damage is taken. Its duration can obviously balance it out to make it as it should be.
The possibilities with this title, are after all, quite endless. The Legacy of Kain series has so much going for it. I simply hope the creators of Nosgoth are keen enough to explore such paths to this game and allow it to grow in ways bigger than they perhaps thought to be possible.
Ultimately, one day I am in hopes of a story driven adventure to the Legacy of Kain series being made. It should stand for a simply amazing tale to be told, and explore Kain and his Lieutenants in the most awesome of ways. That would be cool to see.
Edit: Just wanted to add that this whole thing for the story (after seeing even more stuff) has opened a couple new questions to me on the matter... I am simply getting my head wrapped around it and I will not rest until I place it all into a convenient and explanatory timeline, even if I have to make up parts of it myself. At which point I'll probably simply call it Jim's Version and Assumption to the Legacy of Kain storyline, since I have seen quite a few different opinions out there on some things.
Mostly, I want to clear it up and present it in a form that works on all levels, and I will do just that.
Hopefully I will be able to have it all down soon.
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