[Warframe Concept] Nerrivik, the Sea Goddess of the North | QUEST

[Rhekemi]

Good development so far. Looking forward to completion.

[MissMarifire]

Going to bump with a small update. Lore is coming along (I revised it based on the ideas I had before), but I've been stuck at a writer's block recently. Here's what I have at the current moment, though:

Quote

After the rediscovery of the Zariman Ten Zero, the Orokin took interest in the children who survived, testing various experiments on them. With Margulis's introduction of Transference under the Somatic Link, the Orokin made several prototype battle frames, coined Warframes, for the Tenno to utilize. These various prototypes are based on the ancient legends of Earth, long before the founding of the Orokin; from a large multitude of gods and goddesses of many pantheons, to the elements, reactions, and beings that lived on Earth, meticulously incorporated into their creations. One of these prototypes was a Warframe called Nerrivik. Commissioned by Ballas, it was designed and built to aid both Orokin soldiers and Tenno on the field with the use of summons inspired by the creatures that lived in her seas. Like all his creations, he took great pride in Nerrivik, and ensured that they would lead the Orokin to victory.

 

However, many of these very early prototypes were deemed 'defective', because of the lack of response from neither the children or the Warframes while under transference. With these findings, the Orokin assumed that these Tenno had died during transference, and as a countermeasure for disaster, they disassembled the Warframes and hid them in vaults sealed far below the surface nearby planets, certain that nobody would be able to find them for many centuries. The Nerrivik models in particular were taken apart and locked away in various sections of Europa.

 

It did not take long, however, for the indigenous peoples of Europa, the Ice Pirates, to discover the vaults before the fall of the Orokin. Descendants of the humans who left Earth after the rise of the Technocyte, the Ice Pirates prided themselves on their independence and survival skills, especially on a nigh-inhabitable place such as Europa, and their ability to pillage nearby ships for supplies. With the discovery of the vaults, their attempts at scavenging them were in vain, for they had seen ‘ghosts’ that loomed around them, remnants of the Somatic Link held by the early Tenno, which had slain several of the Ice Pirates that attempted to delve into them. This, in turn, caused the Ice Pirates believe that they were signs of an angered goddess, ignored and angered for centuries past, and inducted her into their pantheon.

 

Even with the fall of the Orokin, the Ice Pirates were quietly unscathed, and for many decades afterwards, were quite prosperous, living in their golden ages. Technological advances allowed for more widespread trade, gaining allying traders as far in the system as Phobos. Living conditions became significantly better, and. However, as time passes, a group of people, descendants of the Orokin emerge, a rising empire.

 

The Corpus.

 

When they discovered the Ice Pirates, the Corpus caravans were hostile; because the Corpus were unknown to the Ice Pirates, and vice versa, they assumed that they were enemies. For decades without end, the Ice Pirates and the early Corpus caravans waged war on one another, fallen Corpus ships being pillaged by the Ice Pirates for supplies and weaponry, which was then modded with a tundra camouflage to hide themselves better under the Europa. However, the Corpus were victorious, driving a majority of the Ice Pirates to the very ends of the planet and planting settlements as large across the crust. Within half a century, the Ice Pirates were wiped off the face of Europa.

Might eventually finish it and fluff it up for extra reading, but for now, this was what I could put together.

Edited July 4, 2016 by MissMarifire

[Rhekemi]

Seems fine. Only thing I'd nitpick is that the reasons for the Corpus and Ice Pirate war feels lacking.

[MissMarifire]

Other personal things have been getting in the way, but I've been trying to get some time to work on lore. Mostly just skimping around, figuring ideas out.

Perhaps as opposed to instant hostility, perhaps they're more peaceful until some form of unfortunate happens, angering the Corpus to the point of eradicating them?

[MissMarifire]

While I've been stumped on how to expand the lore, I do have an idea for a quest for Nerrivik. There's a few choices that will cause the Tenno to lead to alternate missions within the quest. Of course, alternatively, I could edit it to simply only go one way. I thought it'd be interesting to throw in some choices in the case it'd be better off going x way or y way. I don't know if I'll go with this, since I'm afraid it's a bit too long, I thought it'd be a neat idea anyway. Throughout the entire quest, you do NOT have to build Nerrivik whatsoever (however I imagine at the end of the quest, you will receive unique dialogue if you're playing using Nerrivik), and you would have access to another way of farming the parts once the quest itself is completed.

Upon completing all the nodes of Europa, the Lotus sends a message to the Tenno about sensing unknown life on the moon, and pressures the Tenno to revisit. During any mission on Europa after receiving and reading the message, there will be specters shaped like Nerrivik; the Tenno are supposed to scan at least one to receive the quest, which will then cause the specter to spawn two SOUL CREATURES before disappearing, which will attack anything nearby, including both enemies and Tenno.

An ominous voice will say the following:

"They took our people... slaughtered them on our very lands. They left unscathed... but it was our blood on the traders' hands."

(Or something of that sorts. Something spooky.)

Once activated, the Lotus identifies the specters as a familiar Warframe, however she is confused about what it could actually be, as it is not a physical Warframe. Here is where the quest begins to go two alternative ways:

If a regular scanner is used, she will request the Tenno to place sensors at five nodes in order for her to detect more of the specters. These missions are very quick, almost akin to that of Deception missions, and once each node is complete, the ominous voice returns, hinting at the demise of the Ice Pirates at the hands of the Corpus. This mission is shorter, however there are no bonuses.

However, if a Simaris scanner is used, Cephalon Simaris will intervene, requesting the Tenno to search for more scans of this "odd creature"; the Tenno must find and scan 10 more of the Nerrivik Specters. There will be at most two in every mission ran on Europa, however it is not going to spawn in EVERY mission, and excludes infinite missions such as Survival, Defense, or Excavation. After scanning every second one, the ominous voice will return the same way the other mission does. This mission is much longer, however it allows the Tenno to potentially gain some hefty points for Simaris as well as completing the codex entry for the Nerrivik Specters, however I'm not sure by how much.

Once this is complete, the Lotus or Simaris (depending on the way taken) will learn that they are broken somatic links, Tenno of old (presumably from when Ballas was testing the Somatic Links from when he was trying to utilize the Tenno's powers) whose Warframes have been torn apart, leaving them confused, still believing they are connected to the Warframe. Nonetheless, the Lotus mentions that the Warframes themselves have to be close by to the broken somatic links, and that the sensors or Simaris with the help of the scans (again, depending upon way taken) have determined three Orokin vaults on Europa that could hold these Warframes within.

The Tenno are then sent to the first node. Unfortunately, the Tenno cross paths with a group of Corpus who have already beaten them to the vault, and the Tenno must descend through the vault, exterminating the Corpus crew along the way. Upon reaching the lowest sectors of the vault, they find a specter, not of Nerrivik, but of one of the Operators who had their somatic link broken. They thank the Tenno for purging the vault of "intruders" and allowing for them to rest, and award them a Nerrivik Neuroptics blueprint, disappearing and providing way to extraction for the Tenno.

The Tenno are then sent to the second node. This vault, however, is covered in Infested tissue, and the Tenno must fight their way to the bottom of the vault. When they arrive, another Operator specter asks the Tenno to defend the vault from the Infested for some time. Once it has been completed, they thank the Tenno and rewards them with a Nerrivik Chassis blueprint, and provide extraction.

The Tenno are then sent to the final node. While this vault seems untouched, the Tenno realize that the entire vault has been pillaged prior to arriving, without a trace of whoever raided the vault. At the bottom of the vault, the Operator specter there explains that a "tall, almost robotic man came in with his crew, taking anything and everything they could find," however keeping one thing, which they give to the Tenno: a Nerrivik Systems blueprint. 

With haste, the Tenno race to the ship, defeat the Corpus, and receive the blueprint.

Once the entire quest has been completed, you can still revisit the Nerrivik Specters later in the case you wish to finish their codex entry if you went the regular scanner route. If you wish to rebuild Nerrivik at any time, you can merely go to the last node of the quest and fight the boss again, however the quest itself must be completed by all participating players in order to receive a part.

--

Of course, to shorten the quest, we could simply have the Tenno receive the parts along the way of scanning specters or placing sensors, and have the Tenno go to only one vault to receive the blueprint. I'm sorry about skimping a bit at the last part, it's late and I'm a bit tired. I'm sure it's very likely that I'll write a lot more about this boss soon. I've also thrown in a spoiler tag in the main post since the quest gets a bit spoiler-y of the Second Dream. Maybe that'd also be a requirement, since it involves lore revealed in it?

Edited July 25, 2016 by MissMarifire

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

..new model/name? 

[arch111]

1 hour ago, (XB1)EternalDrk Mako said:

..new model/name? 

Am I alone in seeing a tribal Stalker to the right?

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

15 minutes ago, arch111 said:

Am I alone in seeing a tribal Stalker to the right?

not necessarily 

[MissMarifire]

1 hour ago, (XB1)EternalDrk Mako said:

..new model/name? 

Nah, it was an alternate design. There's a few others I have lying about that I could use.

23 minutes ago, arch111 said:

Am I alone in seeing a tribal Stalker to the right?

In retrospect, it does look like it.

[arch111]

1 hour ago, MissMarifire said:

 

In retrospect, it does look like it.

Dun dun duuuun.

[MissMarifire]

5 minutes ago, arch111 said:

Dun dun duuuun.

okay but this could actually make a lot of sense (n be soopy spooky) lorewise:

Since all of the operators of Nerrivik had their Warframes dismantled, perhaps at one point Stalker (or an acolyte) could've visited Europa, went into the one of the vaults and persuaded one of the operators to join his side at the promise of having their Warframe rebuilt. Cue spooky music as we get some dumb new acolyte: Dementia! Or something. We have a Mania, might as well finish the other half of the Shivering Isles while we're at it.

[Bibliothekar]

I like the concept, and those drawings look a-mei-zing (eh? eh? :D). Only Freeze Field feels a bit costly, energy-wise. But I'd have to see it in mission, I guess. Or you could turn it into a toggle-ability, similar to Nezha's first.

Also, considering that she can't fight for herself while Wrath is active and AI in this game ... still has room for improvement, maybe she could get some damage reduction? After all, she has just lost half of her health as well, so she's even more vulnerable, and bulletjumping all over the place can only help so much.

[MissMarifire]

15 minutes ago, Bibliothekar said:

I like the concept, and those drawings look a-mei-zing (eh? eh? :D). Only Freeze Field feels a bit costly, energy-wise. But I'd have to see it in mission, I guess. Or you could turn it into a toggle-ability, similar to Nezha's first.

Also, considering that she can't fight for herself while Wrath is active and AI in this game ... still has room for improvement, maybe she could get some damage reduction? After all, she has just lost half of her health as well, so she's even more vulnerable, and bulletjumping all over the place can only help so much.

bibli pls

I've never really been all too fond of Freeze Field, but I do believe with some tweaking (ex. making enemy damage reduction and enemy slowing by percent rather than a flat number) it'll be alright. Would 50 energy seem like a better number for energy cost?

You do raise a good point with her 4, the AI certainly wouldn't be the kindest towards her: Even if she is at her max armor of 600, bombards will go through her like butter. I'm thinking of one of the following:

• What you suggested, Damage Reduction. (Perhaps she'd go invulnerable for a few seconds initially, and then lowers down to a specific %? Or would it just be a flat %?)
• Increased Armor.

I'd like to see either of these would also affect her for a short amount of time (1-5s depending on level, further added on with duration mods) after the ability has been completed.

Edited July 29, 2016 by MissMarifire

[Bibliothekar]

Hm ... in the end, damage reduction and increased armor are the same thing, right? I think increased armor could be more interesting, though, as you could mod Health Conversion and rack up even more armor with orbs.

47 minutes ago, MissMarifire said:

Would 50 energy seem like a better number for energy cost?

I'd say so, yes. After all, it's closer to Ice Wave than Fire Blast. Although, I guess it depends on the strength of the freeze. If it's more like an exploding Ice Barrel than a single Arctic Eximus, 75 might be justified.

[Rhekemi]

On 7/25/2016 at 2:44 AM, MissMarifire said:

Quest

Looks good, and you probably do need spoilers. 

The end boss battle is to defeat the Corpus boss and get the sysetms from him, yes? The way it's worded, it almost sounds like you get the systems from the last specter.

[MissMarifire]

1 hour ago, Rhekemi said:

Looks good, and you probably do need spoilers. 

The end boss battle is to defeat the Corpus boss and get the sysetms from him, yes? The way it's worded, it almost sounds like you get the systems from the last specter.

Thank you.

You are right, though, it doesn't make sense to finish the quest if you've already nabbed the final reward. I think I'll be changing it to be that there is no third specter, or the specter just hints at who sacked the vault, and in order to get the systems you'd have to defeat the Corpus boss. Something along the lines of this:

Quote

The Tenno are then sent to the final node. While this vault seems untouched, the Tenno realize that the entire vault has been pillaged prior to arriving, without a trace of whoever raided the vault. At the bottom of the vault, the Operator specter there explains that a "tall, almost robotic man came in with his crew, taking anything and everything they could find," as well as hearing something about Jupiter while they were there. The Lotus determines that, because of how recent the damages look, it is likely that they are on-course for Jupiter, and that the Tenno must leave immediately.

With haste, the Tenno race to intercept the ship, defeat the Corpus boss, and receive the Systems. The blueprint itself can then be bought from the market and the Warframe can be built entirely.

It's a very minor edit, but it makes more sense. Though, once I'm more awake, I'll might edit it further to incorporate the final boss into the quest more. However, this is given I figure out what sort of boss they should be.

Edited August 3, 2016 by MissMarifire

[Rhekemi]

Yeah, more satisfying to defeat the boss and gain the systems. Looks good.

[Rhekemi]

In light of the themes of counterpart warframes (to existing 'frames), just like to give another nod to this 'frame as Frost's counterpart (mechanically speaking).

[MissMarifire]

On 9/28/2016 at 5:39 PM, Rhekemi said:

In light of the themes of counterpart warframes (to existing 'frames), just like to give another nod to this 'frame as Frost's counterpart (mechanically speaking).

I do see what you mean by how she works mechanically. Since the Virtuous Star, among other things, has preoccupied me, I'm not really too sure as to when I'll be updating this concept, or how I'd need to update it aside from art. I'd certainly love to eventually, though.

[Rhekemi]

Well, even though I'm on record as being against official ships, I'd ship Frost and Nerrivik in fan art if I could draw. Just to make them aesthetically a pair as well as mechanically. King and Queen of Cold. (I hate Oberon x Titania with a passion that defies explanation. Mostly it just felt forced, shoehorned, and borrowing all the baggage of Shakespeare/their inspirations when we could have done something truly different with her name/identity. Oh well.)

[arch111]

7 hours ago, Rhekemi said:

Well, even though I'm on record as being against official ships, I'd ship Frost and Nerrivik in fan art if I could draw. Just to make them aesthetically a pair as well as mechanically. King and Queen of Cold. (I hate Oberon x Titania with a passion that defies explanation. Mostly it just felt forced, shoehorned, and borrowing all the baggage of Shakespeare/their inspirations when we could have done something truly different with her name/identity. Oh well.)

Do you mean reworking Frost so he matches up better with her?

To have them as a duo created by the Orokin at the same time, but separated would be a cool Lore and visual thing I would surely enjoy.

Titania have, nothing in common.with Oberon anyway right? Names aside.

[Rhekemi]

5 hours ago, arch111 said:

Do you mean reworking Frost so he matches up better with her?

To have them as a duo created by the Orokin at the same time, but separated would be a cool Lore and visual thing I would surely enjoy.

Titania have, nothing in common.with Oberon anyway right? Names aside.

No, I did not. I just meant they were already mechanical counterparts due to gameplay/abilities, and fan art pairing them might be cool.

Your suggestion would be up to MissMarifire.

But personally, I think having them be an Orokin duo takes away some room for Nerrivik to form her own identity and lore. It binds her to Frost in a way I worried Oberon x Titania would work. And while I am glad DE gave Titania her own lore, identity and quest, I just still wish the name hadn't won and dislike all Oberon x Titania fan art. It's not really debatable.

[arch111]

I see. In my world two things can be unique on their own merits, yet form a larger whole if together.

I don't suggest Frost and Nerrivik are the same, but they share a common point of origin.

Kind of like if we found an incription on a Treasure linking Ivara and Loki, a small piece of Lore with big implications. It do not have to be big or epic for it to be of value to me.

[Rhekemi]

Okay. 

All in all, it's totally up to MissMarifire.

[MissMarifire]

19 hours ago, arch111 said:

I see. In my world two things can be unique on their own merits, yet form a larger whole if together.

I don't suggest Frost and Nerrivik are the same, but they share a common point of origin.

Kind of like if we found an incription on a Treasure linking Ivara and Loki, a small piece of Lore with big implications. It do not have to be big or epic for it to be of value to me.

 

19 hours ago, Rhekemi said:

Okay. 

All in all, it's totally up to MissMarifire.

Having the two frames paired up in terms of lore in terms of a 'common point of origin' would be interesting, but I'm not sure how it could be incorporated into the current quest. When I can, I should get around to doing a rewrite once I'm done with the current quest that's being written for my other concept.

One idea that could possibly be incorporated could be that the creators of Nerrivik and Frost were lovers who designed the frames based on one another. However, they had different ideas for what they saw out of their Warframes, and in turn, attempted to design their frames in order to rival that of the other lover's Warframe. In time, their efforts had stabbed them in the back, for their fates were sealed as they were both killed by the very creations they made; one being incased in ice, the other being mauled apart by soul creatures.

Or, perhaps their codex entries could mention similar systems for how they work: by manipulating the moisture and vapor in the air to channel their abilities. It would link them in terms of being made at a similar time or by the same person or someone affiliated with them.

It's really simple and primitive, but I could definitely think up something more interesting in due time.

Edited October 3, 2016 by MissMarifire