Character And Warframe Idea: The Hermit And Her Disciples (Working Name: The Kannagi) (With Concept Art)

[Artemicia]

While I was listening to some music from Himekami and the Yoshida Brothers, an idea suddenly popped out of my mind. For some reason, their music reminded me of Shinto monks - and I thought, "Oh wait, these monks are assets in Japanese and Chinese culture, and there are yet no depictions of them in Warframe." We already have a necromancer, a pirate, a harlequin and a dragon in our Warframe roster, so I thought it may be high time to introduce a monk-like character who specializes in utilizing the power of the spirits.

 

Thus I will try to introduce of my idea for a character referred to as "The Hermit" and her newfound disciples, with the working name "Kannagi" (Nihongo for "shaman"). Brace yourselves, by the way, because the entries are long... :P

 

 

Voice-over Story Idea:

So our enemies the Sentients have finally returned. The Orokin’s great sacrifice has been in vain.

 

Not that I did not warn them in advance about its futility. Their bribe of gilded armor did nothing to make me agree on their plans. And what did they do as gratitude in exchange for my warning? They banished me into the forests.

 

In the end their “solution” has divided the Origin System.

 

All the chaos that is happening in the present, the Orokin is to blame. Yes, they possessed exquisite equipment. Yes, they had the finest understanding of science and technology. Yes, they had a proud martial culture.

 

The biggest problem, however, is that the Orokin forgot the old ways. In their pursuit of the best equipment, they forgot about how to make the most out of their weapons. In attaining rapid advancement of knowledge, they threw away the wisdom of their ancestors. In their goal to become warriors, they forgot their purpose for being warriors in the first place. All these culminate in one thing: hubris.

 

Hubris that will make them under-estimate the might of the Sentients…

 

And what happened to the ones the great Orokin swore to protect after their “great sacrifice”?

 

Those that are left behind in the home world had to resort to martyrdom to regain numbers rapidly and keep the fight going, forever scarring future generations with the curse of rapid aging and unstable bodies – all in the name of two rulers who share the same beautiful face. If there is something beneficial in their form of martyrdom, though, it is that these disfigured sons and daughters are able to recall past sins against their people in one form or another.

 

Those who fled to the stars, on the other hand, resorted to artificial means of self-extension. Most of them are now half-mannequins who command a vast army of metal figures to do their bidding. And instead of trying to recover what was lost, they took what was left of the Orokin as if they were their own property. And in the end this rabid race for relics turned them into a greed-ridden, power-hungry culture too busy with infighting to make meaningful strides in the Origin System.

 

And then there are those trapped in between, these misled figures used by the Sentient enemies to bring down the Orokin. They were made to believe that what they did was for the benefit of all in the Origin System, and they blindly stabbed their supposed protectors at the back. Once their usefulness was expended, however, they were abandoned like wolf puppies left behind by the pack, forcing them to learn how to lick their own wounds. And in a seeming act of mercy from a Sentient enemy, instead of being slaughtered like lambs they were placed in a deep death-like sleep.

 

I have watched these people closely for all these years with the help of my two most trusted attendants serving as my eyes and ears. And it is to the beings placed to sleep – and reawakened – that my interest has grown.

 

And I care not if he, the darkened one, sees them as sins that must be cleansed, because I see them very differently.

 

I see them as redemption, even if but a flicker of it.

 

Now the reawakened are being led by their adopted Sentient mother to rediscover the ways of their Orokin origins. This so-called Lotus has been especially mindful of establishing the independence of her children from the disfigured ones and the half-mannequins with both coercion and force. But her efforts are not enough. In fact, her efforts may harm all in the face of the returning enemy.

 

The sleepless Teshin, on the other hand, has been very helpful in challenging the reawakened to bring themselves beyond personal limitations. His methods have been generally fruitful, with the reawakened are gaining more confidence in their own abilities as they battle each other in honor, in the process learning valuable knowledge on anticipation and martial prowess. But even his efforts are insufficient – we would not expect the enemy to engage in a battle with honor in mind.

 

This is where I must come in. I shall share to these reawakened the wisdom of old. I shall teach them how to tap on their unrealized potential. I shall show them how to unleash their deeply hidden power and unleash them to the enemy’s ruin like a sweeping flood. I shall demonstrate to them that they have to remember the old ways and harmonize it with newfound knowledge into a spear that will ultimately end the threat of the Sentients... once and for all.

 

Now, come with me, my Celestial allies. We have disciples to gather and teach!

 

 

Character Idea - The Hermit:

The Hermit is a character who, like the Stalker and Teshin, remained awake after the wake of the Orokin era. Like the latter two, she is a long-standing witness to events that forever changed the Origin System. In her process of observation, however, her insights about the Tenno deviated from the two – especially from that of the Stalker.

 

During those so many years of the Tenno’s deep sleep, the Hermit had stayed within the thick forests of Earth. She had managed to remain unknown to the Grineer Empire thanks to her mastery of arcane energies, maintaining an illusory shield that keeps her shrine hidden away from the naked eye. And in order to keep an eye on events and at the same time gain sustenance, she commands a group of attendant Celestials – beings of energy summoned from the rift plane (they appear as semi-transparent beings riddled with twinkling stars, with traditional masks they are wearing being the only opaque objects) – to do her bidding.

 

When Captain Vor used the Janus Key in reawakening the Tenno, the integrity of the Hermit’s illusory shield was compromised – and keen Grineer scouts reported the presence of a “strange figure” in their own homeland. Now that her alleged existence is of interest to Grineer high command (and to the Corpus board, who maintain an intricate spy network within Grineer society), she started moving from one hidden shrine to another to maintain secrecy as much as possible. But she knew she has to reveal herself to the Tenno someday, especially since she predicted the return of the Sentients on their reawakening. She will therefore send a mysterious riddle to Teshin, who will in turn pass the message to the Tenno and a new quest will be triggered (to access the quest, the Tenno should have been initiated by Teshin in the Conclave “syndicate”).

 

For a Tenno to achieve the “minimum required expectations” for the Hermit to teach him or her, he or she will be tasked to search for jade orbs imbued with the power of the Celestials. These orbs are placed within shrines hidden around the Origin System (those at Earth are placed by the Hermit herself, those in other planets by her attendants). Once the quest taker has completed these jobs and handed the orbs to the Hermit, a high-ranking Grineer, Corpus or Sentient boss will suddenly appear with an elite squad to ambush. In this situation the Hermit will demonstrate the might of the “old ways” by summoning Celestials using the imbued jade orbs and effortlessly crushing the ambush squad to force the boss to flee – much to the dismay of Teshin arriving late in the scene. But since the orbs are not installed in an Orokin stabilizing battle armor (in short, a Warframe), they will crack and turn into dust.

 

Once the situation stabilizes the Hermit will hand over a special item that will summon a spectre of herself for the questing Tenno to use. She will also hand over two blueprints. The first blueprint is that of her favourite spear (working name: Maharajah’s Spear, an arcane-enhanced weapon) that she claims will strengthen the bond between Tenno and Celestial. And the second blueprint is that of a “disciple’s armor”, of which the materials needed will be the aforementioned shrine jade orbs and frame components stashed in abandoned Orokin treasure rooms. Afterwards, she will come to the Tenno Relay to evade her pursuers for the time being.

 

Upon coming to the Relay, the Hermit will choose to stay at the entrance of the Conclave Room, occasionally engaging Teshin into bouts of philosophical dilemmas. As a proud glorifier of the old ways (to the point of overconfidence on her part), she will engage most Tenno into chats on ancient wisdom and the niceties of bushido. She will treat with respect Warframes she deems honourable (Ash, Excalibur, Trinity) or of great potential in the arcane (Chroma, Limbo, Mag), and will dislike those she considers disreputable (Loki, Saryn).

 

"Words are like a finger pointing at a kubrow. Where will you look, at the finger or at the kubrow? Now, you already know it's a kubrow and yet you still tell me, 'That is a bird, you idiot'. Now tell me, who is the bigger fool?"

 

Warframe Idea - The Kannagi:

A disciple of the Hermit, the Kannagi is adept at summoning and utilizing the might of the Celestials in battle. As a combanant she is a master of traditional warfare, and thus fighting with such equipment gives her an advantage. As a summoning caster-type Warframe she possesses immense power potential, but at the cost of fragility in the form of very low health values even at maximum rank. To offset this fragile state, a Kannagi enjoys higher than average shield values (which the Hermit attributes to the Celestial “spirits” protecting their keen allies) and thus will benefit from builds that maximize shield potential for survivability.

 

The Celestials, on the other hand, are essentially beings of energy from the rift plane (it took the Hermit centuries - possibly even millennia - to learn and unlock the rift's true potential and summon the "spirits" residing within; in comparison, Limbo took a few years worth of chalk writings on a blackboard to get at the tip of the iceberg). The lesser Celestials have enough sentience to do one purpose - protect their mistress at all costs. With a Kannagi's understanding of channeling arts, these lesser Celestials can be directed to perform whatever their summoner tells them to do. The Great Celestials, though, are a bit more... stubborn is too dainty a word to use (except for the oversized Shih Tzu), but their awareness of the potential danger that awaits the Origin System makes them (again, for the lack of a better term) "cooperative" to what the Kannagi requests them to do. The most powerful of these Celestials - the Maharajah - is especially prideful and will answer only to the Hermit's cause... unless he deems his "subjects" are truly in peril.

 

• Stats (Unranked/Maxed)
  • Health: 50/150
  • Shields: 250/500
  • Power: 100/200
  • Armor: 100/100
• Passives
  • Traditionalist Warfare: A Kannagi benefits from slightly improved critical hit chances when using weapons deemed by the Hermit as traditional in nature, namely bows, throwing weapons (such as hikous, kunais and glaives), staves (such as bos, tonbos and tipedos), tonfas and nikanas.
  • Elemental Celestials: Unlike Chroma who becomes the elements himself, a Kannagi merely taps on imbued elements in her weapons to strengthen her summons. Depending on the first elemental module encountered in her weapons, Celestials gain a bonus elemental damage to their normal attacks (in case no elemental mods can be found in a weapon, the Celestial concerned will simply deal basic elemental damage).

• Abilities (working names)
  • Fist of the Arcane (benefits primarily from Power Range and Power Strength): The Kannagi calls for help from a Great Celestial to sweep enemies off their feet with his massive arms. The ability can be cast thrice before recharging, with each successive cast performing different attack patterns but all dealing impact damage: a steamrolling punch, a massive sweep and finally an AoE slam with a clenched fist. The Kannagi can move around while casting this ability. Note that full damage is dealt on enemies both in the material and rift planes.
  • Summon Attendant Celestial (benefits primarily from Power Efficiency): The Kannagi summons an Attendant Celestial to do her bidding. This Celestial is armed with a Daikyu that deals puncture damage plus a percentage of elemental damage depending on the first elemental mod encountered in the Warframe’s primary weapon, in addition to a sure knockback on enemies struck. The Attendant’s attacks will also heal nearby allies for a percentage of damage dealt, and his presence will provide a bonus to his allies’ elemental damage. While active, the Attendant will continuously drain power from the Kannagi until recalled (via a long press of the ability button) or power runs out. Quickly pressing the ability button will redirect the Attendant’s attention to an enemy or an ally. Note that the Attendant’s arrows will deal full damage on enemies both in the material and rift planes.
  • Summon Scout Celestial (benefits primarily from Power Efficiency): The Kannagi summons a Scout Celestial to do her bidding. This Celestial is a master of sneak attacks, damaging and stunning enemies using a pair of Ether Daggers that deals slash damage plus a percentage of elemental damage depending on the first elemental mod encountered in the Warframe’s secondary weapon. The Scout’s presence will also boost the critical damage rating of nearby allies’ attacks. While active, the Scout will continuously drain power from the Kannagi until recalled (via a long press of the ability button) or power runs out. Quickly pressing the ability button will redirect the Scout’s attention to an enemy or an ally. Note that the Scout’s stabs will deal full damage on enemies both in the material and rift planes.
  • Summon Great Celestial (benefits primarily from Power Strength and Power Duration): The ultimate manifestation of a Kannagi’s power lies with the summoning of a Great Celestial, who will continuously dish out burst damage for the duration of the ability, and respecting no one – not even those who are in the rift plane. While the Great Celestial is active, the Kannagi will set aside her equipped weapon in exchange for glowing fiery orbs in both her hands that she can throw towards enemies like bombs. Also, taking damage while the ability is active will automatically activate shield regeneration (depending still on her Warframe mod build), giving her the chance to actually take some damage while raining hell on her adversaries. The nature of the summoned Great Celestial depends on the first elemental mod encountered in her melee weapon:
    • Non-Elemental or Heat: A hulking ogre, possibly engulfed in flames depending on the melee weapon’s build
    • Cold: A snow maiden who makes hailstones rain onto enemy heads
    • Toxin: A woodland spirit who summons envenomed roots to impale enemies
    • Electricity: An oversized Shih Tzu, running around and zapping enemies
    • Very rare instances: The mighty Maharajah, Great Celestial of all the elements
• Synergies and Conflicts
  • + Mag: Mag’s Shield Polarize will greatly improve the Kannagi’s survivability as her already impressive shields get quickly replenished. She can then use a Fist to maul incoming enemies pulled by Mag’s first ability.
  • + Chroma: Chroma’s elemental buffs will further improve the damage dealt by elemental Celestials. In return, the Kannagi can order her Attendant to stick with Chroma to heal him and boost his already impressive elemental prowess.
  • + Limbo: Since Celestials exist both in the material and rift plane, they will deal full damage to enemies no matter where they are located – a powerful advantage that Limbo can maximize. And this is true even if the Kannagi is in the material or the rift plane.
  • - Mag: The ability that improves a Kannagi’s survivability when with a friendly Mag is also the ability that will wreck her when against a hostile Mag. Bottom line: never make Mag angry.
  • - Loki: Loki’s Disarm will greatly hamper the offensive potential of both the Kannagi and her Celestials.
  • - Saryn: The Hermit dislikes fighting dirty. Poisons in combat are considered a dirty tactic. Saryn maximizes poison use and thus fight dirty – and she doesn’t care. Saryn’s toxin procs will bypass a Kannagi’s massive shields and directly attack the fragile Warframe’s health.

 

Other Information:

• The Hermit’s Celestials can be differentiated from those summoned by her disciples via the masks the Celestials wear – with the former’s having intricate patterns. In addition, the Hermit has easy access to summoning the Maharajah to do her bidding.
• The Kannagi’s starting colors reflect the different colors and shades of jade – a gemstone highly regarded by both the Chinese and the Japanese.
• To allow the Attendant and Scout Celestials to become useful for long missions such as survival and defense, their level per summon should scale depending on the average level of incoming enemies for that wave in a similar fashion to Vapor Specters.
• When the Stalker appears to attack a Kannagi, he will give a unique set of messages other than those he normally uses on other Warframes, hinting that he personally knows and somehow pays due respect to the Hermit – but that he still weighs a Tenno’s sin over his respect for her. Possible messages may include:
  • “(Player name), you may be a disciple of the Hermit, but that doesn’t mean your sins can be forgiven.”
  • “Wearing that jade Warframe will not cover the scent of blood in your hands.”
  • “I don’t understand why she chose sinners like you as disciples – but we never agreed on many principles in the first place. So you will still perish for your trespasses.”
  • “I fear not your Celestial allies. You do not – and will never – know how to unleash their full potential.”
• As the Hermit holds vast knowledge of Earth before the Great War, her stories and natural concern for the welfare of the home world are esteemed by the followers of New Loka. Also, since she has accumulated a treasure trove of wisdom from her centuries of isolation and observation, the Arbiters of Hexis is fond of new things she might share to unleash a Tenno’s potential and break through his or her limits.

 

Potential Issues:

• I would have to admit that this idea will require a lot of development time since both the Warframe and her Celestials have to be modeled.
• The lore is largely based of my understanding of events from the Mutalist Incursions up until Clem's appearance :) so it is more than welcome to comment and revise the lore if necessary (especially on how I understand Corpus physiology since the Hermit would call them "half-mannequins").
• I did not think about what a Kannagi's head would look like without her mask, so ideas on an unmasked Kannagi are welcome.
• I would still draw the concept of the Maharajah Celestial.
• Also, sorry for the not-so-good artwork. So if anyone wants to take over the visual aspect of the ideas, they are most appreciated.
• I have been thinking if arcane-enhanced weaponry will be added in the future, and if that is so then enhancing these weapons is going to be one of the Hermit's "specialties".

Edited November 13, 2015 by Artemicia

[Artemicia]

Got asked to add some concept ideas for the Kannagi, so here it is:

 

 

Will be adding a new centerpiece artwork soon...

Edited November 4, 2015 by Artemicia

[HADES.JS]

THIS THIS THIS IS A GREAT THING MAN!!!!!!!!!

[Artemicia]

Alright, finished doing the centerpiece art for the Hermit:

 

 

(Insert Himekami music while viewing XD: https://youtu.be/dDphw4krDyY)

Edited November 5, 2015 by Artemicia

[HADES.JS]

i love that look the animation drags me to imagine this in the game with the abilities nice work man