We are not space ninjas... (Lore)

[Cibi_Lumine]

It clearly says under the Tenno on the sight "Warriors, masters of the warframe and the art of the gun and blade!" And that "Chivalry and Honor" were practiced by us. Those are not ninja like traits. Nor is shooting up whole platoons of trained albiet primitively cloned marines and high tech Tenno wannabes. Samuri is an semi-accurate statement but I don't think chivalry was a thing to them. Knights are not correct either as we don't protect shires and ride space horses. On another note it also said we could be moraless mercs useing the power of our frames to gain wealth. This somewhat fits the "ninja" way but we still as a general rule end up shooting the ship into little peices no matter how stealthy you are.

So what are we?

I think we are something different. Warrior is a good general all around term to describe us but there is obviously more to it. First of I don't even believe we are human anymore. Take a look at the captive Tenno we have all at one time saved. That is us without our warframes. Naked for all to see. It has no emotion on its face nor does it have the means to. It is eyeless and cannot open its mouth or probably breath for that matter. I think in this great age before the fall of the Tenno either humanity went through a great change into the Tenno or the Tenno are not human in the least. Maybe we were created?

Now for another tangent

Lets take a look at the frames themselves. We command sort of biomechanical suits of powered armor with various abilities, all differing in some way. I command the Loki so lets take this one into concideration. The Loki at its core is a trickster, a jester, the Harlequin. Those who control the Loki take on this form, Tricking the enemy into attacking an hallucination, messing with the minds of enemies by teleporting their leaders into the closet you were hiding in, replacing him with you. With a wave of your hand their weapons turn to dust. They cower before you just before you vanish in front of their eyes, letting out a dreadful laugh. Then one by one you gut them in front of their squadmates. All the while laughing to the sounds of the screams. This is not chivalrous at all now is it. But lets take a look at the Excaliber. This frame is meant for a duelist. Placing a high regard for the skill of the swordsman with the ability to land a single devistating blow, rushing past the enemy only to leave him bisected. Or jumping high in the air performing great acts of finese and agility. Although some of its abilities are meant to gain an edge like the blind but this is only because whomever commands it is sensible enough to know its dueling days are over and hordes of enemies are not going to look for a decent fight. Overall it is a frame built for those who prefer balance and I get a general feeling that this is the "chivalrous" or 'honorable" frame.

At this point here I would like to put forward something based on my observation. Seeing as the captive is bland and emotionless and not very human but the warframes themselves carry emotion with them when worn. I would like to say that: We Tenno are artificial beings (possibly created by humans) and we without frames are much like clay. When we have a frame we mold to its personallity and gain its abillities and knowledge through experience. This would explain why we gender swap and why we so seamlessly transition from frame to frame. The better queston is now that we know this. Who were the original frames? Not the armor but the people that the frame represents?

At this point your probably like "Oh my that wall of text" Yea I know. But this is to get my ideas out there and discussion brewing. I love lore and consider myself a buff of sorts. I come from games like Dark and Demon souls where the lore is hidden and it is almost a game mechanic. I also come from the 40k universe where everthing is handed to you on a silver plater. An oh so beautiful plater. But any way. Discuss

Edited January 10, 2013 by Scienta

[Alacratha]

Heretic!

Actually, I love your view on the WARFRAME universe, however I think that the Tenno Captive is merely a place holder for a texture that has yet to be put in the game.

But your view on it is quite.. interesting.

I personally saw it as more of a Eastern Battle Tech Universe. or in the same respect as 40k, where they are people in suits.

Serving the glorious Emperor, seeking guidance from the Codex.

So I feel they blended Western Combat with Eastern combat of mauling and slashing, breaking through bone while having quick and precise slashes.

Another thing is, you're right, there is no stealth element.. YET!

So stay tuned, and I think your view will end up changing quite a bit!

I look forward to seeing you in battle.

[Mak_Gohae]

The Shinobi use ANY weapon at their disposal and the Shinobi do have sets rules and regulations.

[Ced23Ric]

Ninjas are, first and foremost, spies. The black-clothed assassin with a Katana/Wakizashi is ancient Japanese pop culture. Those did not exit. Ninjas would disguise as beggars, workers, concubines, servants, musicians - whatever it took to get to the the target, acquire the knowledge or dispose of the enemy. Silent, unseen - because they blended in, not because they went invisible with smoke bombs. Those Ninjas weren't a thing until artists invented them. The true Ninjas were subversive infiltrators and eaves droppers.

[Cibi_Lumine]

Ninjas are, first and foremost, spies. The black-clothed assassin with a Katana/Wakizashi is ancient Japanese pop culture. Those did not exit. Ninjas would disguise as beggars, workers, concubines, servants, musicians - whatever it took to get to the the target, acquire the knowledge or dispose of the enemy. Silent, unseen - because they blended in, not because they went invisible with smoke bombs. Those Ninjas weren't a thing until artists invented them. The true Ninjas were subversive infiltrators and eaves droppers.

Which further proves we are not that as a Tenno would have a hard time blending in to be honest.

[Cibi_Lumine]

Heretic!

Actually, I love your view on the WARFRAME universe, however I think that the Tenno Captive is merely a place holder for a texture that has yet to be put in the game.

But your view on it is quite.. interesting.

I personally saw it as more of a Eastern Battle Tech Universe. or in the same respect as 40k, where they are people in suits.

Serving the glorious Emperor, seeking guidance from the Codex.

So I feel they blended Western Combat with Eastern combat of mauling and slashing, breaking through bone while having quick and precise slashes.

Another thing is, you're right, there is no stealth element.. YET!

So stay tuned, and I think your view will end up changing quite a bit!

I look forward to seeing you in battle.

Thanks. Just observations made while playing. Hopefully we can get some cold hard lore soon. Of course when all the bug fixing and balancing are done.

[Aste]

hmmm.. my personal view on this matter very much disagrees with yours, i cannot see any Warframe being psycho similar to your Loki description at all, they are left mark of silent and calm warriors in my image. they are meditating after all in lobby screen and i cant say person who meditates can be crazy or whatever(meditates, not trying to)

speaking of originis of "user" i belive its humans, normal ones like us Grineers is just overcloned humans wich lead to degrading of their bodies and all that when Tenno can just be normal non cloned one, also quite intresting is that Grineers trying to exterminate every Tenno i dont know reasons but that might be cuz Tenno normal and Grineers cripled versions that just set a grudge inside them or whatever(they humans after all such situation pretty common in movies\games\animes etc)

about what type Excalibur is.. every frame represents something as far i gather and bases his abilities on that Loki got tricks, Rhino strenght, Ember fire and Excalibur is light just look at think about that he got "1" supposed to be very fast forward slash(light is fast), "2" is blinding with light, "3" well cant say bout this maybe has something with light maybe not, "4" blinds with light and impales on Skana's(i belive its Skana even thought description says spears might be a place holder thought), also Excalibur often portraied in myth as Sword of Goodies\Sword of Light and in games has Holy element wich is light again

as to gender switch and body size well.. we can pretty much say you change person together with Warframe no? lame excuse but works

and dont forget there always chance for lore to be inspired\changed by players itself if Devs find topic intresting enough then why cant they make it real? considering how much lore we have.. i think we got pretty neat chance on that so guys keep thinking, imagining, dreaming and sharing your thoughts it is intresting to read throught it!

PS: cant seem to grasp what is Trinity maybe life? can be.. have no clue what trinity means either and had no interest for some reason but looking at skill set life can be a option..

[Cibi_Lumine]

~snip~

Interesting.

The reason I say that Loki is more or less the "Mad Jester" is not only its abillities reflect that, but in Norse mythology Loki is exactly that. Also just look at the rest of the frames. They are almost all symetrical (excluding Ash) yet Loki is twisted and malformed in areas. He has no symetry save for the helm which leads me to believe his frame symbolizes disorder and chaos which is indeed what his powers cause. Yes they enter a meditative state but that doesn't mean Loki is calm nor that it is not meditating on the wonderfully hilarious slaughter he just had.

And by molding I meant in a natural state without a frame we asume a form like the captive but when we enter a frame we litteral mold to the frame. We shape our minds and our bodies to reflect the form of whomever the frame is to represent. Who are they though. I have thought about it and the idea that I have is that in this great era from which the Tenno are from there were great heroes and possibly even villians (Loki, Ember, Possible even Trinity) That were major figures during that time and wtih their mystical technology embeded their abillities and personallities into their armor, The warframes.

As for classifing them like that I don't think that is the correct way. It is way to simple. And sorry to say this, but quite boring.

Also I have an Idea about Trinity. It has control over life very clearly. Draining it from foes and gifting it onto allies. Trinity breaths in death and then breaths out life into whomever she pleases. It is one to take away and then to give back. Trinity very much a leech, feeding off the life force of others but is selfless as well, giving to those who are hurt. But this is as far as I can get into that one. It is quite the puzzle.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Scienta

[Cibi_Lumine]

Well actually now that I have been looking into Dark Sector my assumptions are incorrect by a long shot, although I still like the ideas. But never the less I wish to know more about the Tenno and this mystical age that they come from. Maybe I will read into more about what Dark Sector was going to be.

[Aste]

haha i do know Norse mythology quite a bit i even like it. the thing is you should judge book by its cover if you look at Cutlass(sword type) its not symetrical but that doesnt mean he was wielded by maniacs heck even katana not symetrical. my point is that if you wear Loki doesnt mean you escaped mental ward neither you need that to be able using tricks and such, its as they say "you got power, how you use it up to you"

its all in how we see Tenno really.. personaly i see them as calm, patient over trained warriors with no face or name i doubt if you snap easely ther chance to become one it is elite warriors after all "pass only"

about Warframe it self considering you can have 4 Excaliburs at once more likely their name is just type or mark. also would like to know what Warfrae IS i think its exo-skelet(i doubt it can be called bio-armor cuz.. well i dont find anything organic in it besides user)wich also cannot(hightly doubt it can, to be sure)posses you or something. bio-armor? it might.. sure it can have some will if its bio but for exo-skelet i doubt there can be more then if you refuse order you get shocked or killed that kind of stuff not mind control

about user being human mm i just might be biased here cuz i prefer to play only humans if there choice in race so gonna go agaisnt lore that Tenno arent humans and be imagining my self as the only human Tenno hahaha

i like your idea about Trinity but cant properly say what she is unless i play it

it might be boring but i like it and arent important part is that you like it? we imagine this lore from what we see and how we want to see its, fine to shift it to your personal preferense right?

for a note i think Warframes made of fiber+plastic combination(i know its from Orokin but what exaltly it is?)

PS:if we go about Warframe personality then i can imagine Volt as creepy scienties who likes to fiddle with electronics and get shocked occasionaly, Excalibut do gooder in short and Ember as arrogant B**** just a thought hahaha still prefre imagining my self in Warframe rather then some guy with personality disorder

PSS:about rockman guy!(rescue one) i did that mission and pretty sure i heard Lotus call him captain when i found him... now question is: captaion of what?

Edited January 10, 2013 by Aste

[StarHunter234]

I think that we as Tenno are mostly human (probably ancient supersoldiers) . I don't think we can judge much by the look of the captive for several reasons:

-First this is beta and we havonly so much textures and models.

-second that doesnt look to me like the actual body of the Tenno more like something like an inner layer of the armor.Mediaval plate armor was basecally made of several layers the outer layer made of solid metal plate and several inner layers made of lether and a chainmail somthing similar is probably going here.(plus "the mission hendeler" seems to have normal skin under the helmet and is still part of the order even if in non combat role)

-Third I think that when you change warframe you change Teno becouse like ancient swordmasters they probably dedicate themselves to just one warframe and master it to perfection.

On the matter of the Tenno mind I have to agree with Aste the image of a meditathing Tanno invokes thoughts of an enlightent warrior.My personal theory is that the order was founded shortly after some grat social collapse in a period of chaos and lawlessnes.The firs Tenno war a grop of warriors trying to establish some manner of peace loaw and order in the solar system and due to the state of matters at the time were far more similar to monastic orders rather than a police or military force.This is why they are similar to knights and samurai but not quite either new warrior for a new age after all.There end gole is probably still the same ,thats why we are fighting all the other fractions the are all symbols of corroption, Grineer of the body and Corpus of the soul( at least they invoke in me "typical corrupt megacorp"). The Tennos code probably have some sort of code of conduct and it is probably whats compeling them to fight in some attempt to fix the current mess and establish something same reasonable. This is all speculatiation thou until we get some more concreate lore.

PS Sorry if my grammer or spelling is inccorect English is not my first language.

[Cibi_Lumine]

You seem to not be getting my point. I was saying simply that maybe the Warframes carry over the personalities of those who weilded them in the past. Progenitors of sorts. And that "Rockman" Is a Tenno without a warframe. Us without a warframe. It has bland features and expresses zero emotion and seems as if It doesn't have any abilities either. The Warframes though when you take a look at them give off senses of emotions.

Loki = Madness/Trickery/Chaos, Excaliber = skilled swordsman/knight/Honor, Rhino = Soldier/Strength/Respect, and Ember = Destruction/Decay.

Combining those two things, the captive Tenno being bland and the Frames being conduits of emotion, brought me to believe that the Tenno mold to their Frames. It is an interestic concept isn't it? That the Tenno itself is nothing without a frame. It is grey, bland and unemotional, but with a frame comes that missing emotion. distinction, and best of all power.

And on Loki not abiding by symetry. Symetry provides order to things right? The left is same as the right. But when symetry is broken Disorder happens. It seems irregular and foreign. Loki being asymetrical gives off a sense that whoever is inside is not right. Not abiding by order. Loki to me is an agent of chaos. A random force in the universe. I think that is what the artist was trying to portrey when drawing him up

[Cibi_Lumine]

Oh it is fine hehe. I can understand perfectly.

Yea my theories are probably far fetched and you are most likely right hehe. I just like a little crazy in my lore. Always found psychosis to be an interesting subject.

On another note. Seeing as Lotus is in a non-combat role. What if there are Tenno who do not fight? Maybe citizens of the era being stasised? Always wondered who build the Items. The frames are such a work of art I doubt they can be crafted by bots.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Scienta

[Aste]

and just finished rescue mission. nevermind that captain thing i just misheard "captive" hahaha yet i looked closer at him in prison(thanks to Grineer locking me there) and i kinda tend more now not towards "rockman" but that he actually wearing a suit.. prison robe to be exalt he got his eyes and mouth shut kinda fits with Grineers being tyrans and all that

about suit personality. we got our preferences how we like to see it without proper explanation from its creators(aka Devs) we just gonna guess that or that, i like them like this you like it so.. no problem at all. and to be clear Warframe for me like avatar or role even maybe tool(cool one nonseless)

with symetry i really dont care about it it rather personal style for me then order\disorder like if i wear yellow jeans its cuz i like it not cuz i am in disorder(or rainbow jeans haha)

and about Warframe looks i will say if its inspired by japanese culture(samrai\ninja stuff) should remember "demon" masks of samurai's, they were normal people wearing scary mask to intimidaet opponents etc so why cant suit be intimidating, creepy, weird etc?

now Lotus.. pretty sure said it somewhere before but she is Tenno yea, probably in control center or even piloting your ship(we need to name it somehow hehe.. Manta or Leech maybe?) Tenno its self is rather cargo on it then passanger. ship should be piloted by someone else cuz dont forget we start from vent and end with extraction point why not start and finish at extraction? cuz ship fies off to hide after dropping you off and must be piloted then comes back to pick you up. due to way maps made technically you dont know if ship at extraction whole time or just there when you near(thought it always there haha)

what do your thought\feel on Tenno as organization? i am intrested in your opinion.