Legacy of Kain Discussion, Feats, Lore & Analysis Thread

[Papa Nier]

Legacy of Kain is a series comprising five dark fantasy action-adventure video games released between 1996 and 2003, primarily developed by Crystal Dynamics and formerly published by Eidos Interactive. The first title, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, was created by Silicon Knights in association with Crystal Dynamics, but after a legal battle, Crystal Dynamics retained the rights to the game's intellectual property and continued its story with four sequels. To date, five games all initially developed for video game consoles and later ported to Microsoft Windows. Focusing on the eponymous character of Kain, a vampire antihero.

The series takes place in the fictional land of Nosgoth—a gothic fantasy setting—and revolves around Kain's quest to defy his fate and restore balance to the world. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver introduced another antihero protagonist, Raziel. Although technically a pentalogy, the series is effectively made up of two duologies telling the separate stories of Kain (Blood Omen) and Raziel (Soul Reaver), with both culminating in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Chiefly marketed under the genre of dark fantasy or Gothic fiction, their developers have described the games' collective core tenets as their mature, original storyline, complex characters, strong writing and voice acting, and fresh approach to vampire mythology. Themes of destiny, free will, tragedy, morality, propaganda, manipulation, redemption and the hero's journey recur in the storyline, which was inspired by ancient literature, horror fiction, Shakespeare's plays and gnosticism. Each entry incorporates elements of action and puzzle-solving in its gameplay. The Legacy of Kain games has enjoyed critical success, particularly receiving praise for high-quality voice acting, narrative, and visuals, and, as a whole, had sold over 3.5 million copies by 2007. The Legacy of Kain intellectual property was owned by Square Enix Europe after 2009 and mentioned under Square Enix Collective. In 2022, Square Enix sold the rights of the series to the Embracer Group, who have expressed interest in developing sequels, remakes and remasters of Legacy of Kain.

 

[Blade]

Legacy of Kain : A discussion/respect/refresher/analysis thread

Ok, so we already have a LOK profile on the Wiki but tbh, it's kind of outdated and a lot of stuff is missing and so i made this thread with these goals in mind : 1. To bring up some feats and lore aspects to attention that have been ignored by whoever has created the Wiki Profiles. LoK is not...

www.fanverse.org

props to lil rey who had made a lok thread, few years ago, basically, all the main stuff/feats are there

 

[Papa Nier]

Before Nosgoth's history, millennia before Kain was ever born, the ancient progenitors of the vampires had the Reaver forged by Vorador, the first human to turn into a vampire.

Spoiler

After the sword was crafted, Vorador's sire, Janos Audren, a father of vampires, alongside the Circle of Nine, empowered it with their magic.


Reaver can destroy intangible beings made of shadow.


The Reaver eventually becomes the weapon of legend, the Soul Reaver. It feeds on souls anytime it strikes any creature.


Wielded by Kain, each strike empowered by his magic turns foes into bloody pastes.


The Soul Reaver can wound the Elder God, a being that exists outside of time.

 

[Papa Nier]

One more thing .

About the Lightning Demons , this is what the Defiance strategy guide tells us :

"This variant of abyssal demon seemingly has been spawned from lightning pummeled depth of some wind blown and storm enraged dimension. This demon prefers close range usually but can easily supplement itself at long range with its quick and accurate lightning projectiles. Whether at close or medium range, the demon's options of attack are many in number and all brutal.
Special Attacks
•Crack of Lightning: This bread-and-butter attack of the Lightning Demon utilizes its massive pinchers to call out and focus the tremendous electrical forces that writhe within the confines of its infernal body. These blasts are as quick and deadly as a lightning bolt from the sky.

•Electrical Displacement: The secondary ability of the Lightning Demon is the ability to teleport itself between two points. As quick as a bolt of lightning, the Lightning demon is able to dissolve its physical form into pure electricity. Thusly transformed the Lightning Demon can instantaneously travel through the material realm and reform its body at a completely different location. This ability is extremely devious as it provides both a quick escape in times of trouble and as well a devious and offensive strategic move."

So Kain and Raziel have both been fighting these guys since BO1 all the way to Defiance , so this should bump up their speed significantly (well, Kain could already use real lightning to attack but there you go ).

The Lightning Demons can use Crack of Lightning, saying, "These blasts are as quick and deadly as a lightning bolt from the sky". It also has Electrical Displacement, where it turns into pure electricity.

Spoiler

Gameplay of Kain and Raziel evading, avoiding, reflecting and deflecting these Crack of Lightning attacks.

Spoiler

 

[Papa Nier]

During Kain's travels, he acquired several emblems that are powerful artefacts that enhance the Reaver in various ways and imbues it with new powers. Each was related to an element represented by the Pillars of Nosgoth.

Balance Emblem is Kain's first emblem he acquired. It empowers the Reaver with destructive power, allowing it to dispel magical barriers and release magical blasts.


Kain uses the Balance Emblem to send forth an energy blast around himself.


Here the Balance Emblem made Reaver powerful enough to dispel magic barriers when it had no effect previously.


The magic blast can now also dispel magic barriers.

 

[Papa Nier]

The Flame Emblem was connected to the abstract force of Conflict. This emblem further enhances the Reaver's power and Kain's telekinesis, giving him pyrokinesis. The power of Conflict allows Kain to cause all foes in a wide area around him to perceive each other as enemies.


Kain sets aflame a sconce with his pyrokinesis.


Kain uses the power of Conflict to cause foes to turn on each other.


The power of Conflict even works on animated statues.

 

[Papa Nier]

The Dimension Emblem is tied to the abstract force of dimension imbued that is imbued in the Reaver with the power to reflect attacks onto nearby foes and dimensional teleportation.


Here the Reaver is passively reflecting attacks to nearby foes, and then Kain uses the Dimensional Emblem to dimensionally teleport to blitz enemies, wrecking their shit.


Here is Kain dimensionally teleporting again against other groups, the first one being quite large.

 

[Papa Nier]

The Lightning Emblem embodies the abstract of Energy and causes the strikes of the Reaver to emit lightning.


It can actually discharge chain lightning when another foe is nearby.


Here, Kain calls forth lightning to strike enemies in an area around him.

 

[Papa Nier]

The Time Emblem is aligned with the abstract element of Time. The power to control time is now at Kain's disposal with Reaver.


Here is Kain, slowing down time around himself to his enemies.

 

[Type-Rey]

I am pleased that someone is carrying the torch.

 

[Papa Nier]

I'll repost @Type-Rey lore and feats from his old thread. It'll be for the best to preserve his helpful information and feats. I'll relink the YouTube videos with the timestamps.

Allrighty now that the explanations are out of the way let's start with taking a look at perhaps the most impressive collective in the series.

I am talking of course about the "Circle of Nine".

What is the Circle of Nine , you ask ?

Well, the Circle was formed in the war between the Ancient Vampires and the ancient Hilden races , who fought over the dominion of Nosgoth for a millennium .

The ancient Vampires have devised a way to end the stalemate and 9 of the most powerful vampire sorcerers got together and used their powerful magic to banish the entire Hylden race to another dimension , thus erecting the titular Pillars of Nosgoth.

Here is Janos , an ancient vampire offering a brief retelling of that incident .



This is the first major feat in the series . By using powerful magic, the Circle managed to BFR an entire race to another dimension which should give them at least continental range in scope , or perhaps planetary as it is currently unclear if the Nosgoth is only a continent or a Planet.

I'll continue to look more in depth into the Circle in a later post. For now this is a good start.

 

[Papa Nier]

Ok, time to look into the Circle of Nine as a whole and individually.

First , let's look into the mechanics of the banishment of the Hilden race and how it was achieved.

For starters, the ancient Vampires were referred as being godlike by Janos (reffer to the BO2 video in the first post) and we see thought the series that they had the powers to control all the elements in Nosgoth ( Darkness,Light,Fire,Air,Water,Earth and Spirit) as seen in Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance by the way of the Forges , which allowed Raziel to Imbue his Soul Reaver with Elemental Powers .

"The Reaver plunged itself into that mysterious altar – and devouring the energy that emanated from within, drained this place of its power.
Thus sated, the Reaver released me. And I realized, as I recovered control, that these ancient shrines were forges, each purpose-built to enhance the Reaver with elemental power."

Second, they also had dominion over several "concepts which include Balance, Mind , Dimension, Conflict, Nature, Energy,Time,States and Death as seen by each member or the Circle was given the role of " Guardian of each of the Pillars which represented these 9 concepts.

And so, when the Vampire Circle of Nine used their magic to banish the Hylden , they used the "most fundamental elements of the world " in order to banish and bind their adversaries.

In doing that they erected they "Pillars of Nosgoth :

Reaching infinitely into the sky and deep into the earth, the Pillars are a manifestation of the mysterious power that preserves and gives life to the land. The nine ancient Pillars represent the principles of Mind, Dimension, Conflict, Nature, Energy, Time, States, Death, and - at the center, binding them all together - Balance.
The Pillars have stood like silent sentinels over Nosgoth since before the dawn of recorded history, and have perpetually been represented by an oligarchy of sorcerer-guardians known as the Circle of Nine.

Each Guardian is marked from birth, chosen and summoned by the Pillar he is destined to serve for his lifetime. In return, the Guardians are granted longevity and extraordinary powers. The death of a Circle member is inevitably followed by the birth of a successor, whom it is the responsibility of the remaining Guardians to seek out and apprentice into the Circle."

Going by the official descriptions and the role Guardians, we can deduce that they collectively have power over the continent/planet itself , and that the Pillars themselves represent the "world" itself .

This is corroborated by statements made by Anacrothe the Alchemist in BO1 where he says that "their powers can save or damn Nosgoth"



This is further corroborated throught the series where Nosgoth becomes a wasteland over the centuries due to the corruption of the Pillars themselves.

I will start looking into each individual members of the Circle and at their powers in my next post.

 

[Papa Nier]

2. Guardian of the Pillar of Dimension

Azimuth the Planer :
Azimuth is an explorer of alien realms. Her magic opens portals and doorways to other dimensions, allowing the creatures within to escape... After the insanity struck, her magic was left intact, but her mind was blasted into obscurity. She is now a raving lunatic that revels in the pain and misfortune of others. The magic she indiscriminately conjures has left numerous cities at the mercy of inhuman demons and creatures that delight in spreading pain. In many ways, Azimuth is an analogy to Nero, who played a fiddle while Rome burned... She revels in the destruction she has wrought with sadistic glee, a trait that was present even before she was driven insane by Nupraptor's magic.

The Defiance Strategy Guide also shares some info about the Vampire Guardian's powers who should scale to everything Azimuth can do anyhow :

This specter, the original Vampire Guardian of Dimension, long ago served the Pillars by controlling and defining the very boundaries, consistency and form of space itself.

Finally, Daniel Cabuco the Lead Artist who worked on several games gave us an idea of what the Dimension Guardians can do :

"Ability to see/transfer between dimensions like Spectral and Demons Realms"

 

[Papa Nier]

3.Guardian of the Pilar of Conflict

Malek the Paladin :
"Malek, fanatical warrior-priest of the Sarafan, is the defender and paladin of the Circle of Nine, and has vowed allegiance to their protection. Purged of his humanity by the circle's sorcery, Malek is now focused on extracting revenge upon the vampire that caused him to be damned for eternity."

Malek is a little more difficult to gauge in terms of abilities .

-He can launch several orbs of energy , some with homing effects h
-He can launch a "wall of energy" that is the only attack in the game from either normal enemies or bosses who can damage Kain even when using "Repel". An interesting aspect is the fact that this ability was supposed to have the power to destroy his Bastion in a cutscene but said cutscene was pulled out due to time constraints

From the Blood Omen Strategy Guide :

"The vampire tumbles down a long tortuous dust slide carved from rock. This sequence is a series of images from the vampire's point of view to cuts showing the vampire speeding past the camera.
At the end of the sequence, the vampire tumbles out of the dust chute, onto a thin mountain path. The vampire dusts himself off and walks down the path. It is a misty morning, and there is a long walk ahead...
Visual: oh yeah, Malek's keep blows up..."


-Since he is a a soul inhabiting a soul of armor , he can't be killed by conventional attacks, the damage sustained by his armor just regenerates . A fledgling Kain could not kill him and he tanked attacks from Vorador .

Daniel Cabuco gives us more context about the abilities a Conflict Guardian posseses :

ability to inicite or resolve war/battle/arguments.Draws energy from battle".


So i guess Conflict Guardians posses some kind of emotional manipulation which could make people attack and kill each other which is corroborated and shown by Kain's Inspire Hate spells and by his use of the Flame Reaver which is aligned with the Conflict Pillar.

 

[Papa Nier]

3. The Guardian of the Pillar of Mind.

Nuprator the Mentalist :

"A magician of phenomenal mental and psychic ability, Nupraptor is hypersensitive to peoples' emotions and thoughts. This constant exposure has made him extremely unstable - prone to rash action and sometimes unpredictable and illogical decision making. He is a passionate man, however, and very loyal to those who are special to him. And so it was with Ariel, the original Balance wizard. When Nupraptor discovers that Mortanius, under the malevolent control of the Dark Entity, Hash'ak'gik, has murdered Ariel, he goes over the edge. He vows vengeance upon Mortanius and the fates that have caused this event, and turns his powerful magic to bear on the other members of the Circle of Nine. All across Nosgoth, the minds of the sensitive and intellectual are blasted by relentless waves of hatred. There is no stopping the assault. When the enchantment ends, the entire Circle is quite insane, some raving like madmen, others maliciously in control of their actions... And now, Nosgoth is at their mercy."

Quite impressive. He has continental/planetary range with his mindfuck , his Guardian peers had no defense against his mindfuck and he even managed to corupt Kain who was still in the womb at the time.

The Defiance Strategy Guide gives us more context into the Vampire Guardian's abilities who should scale to whatever Nupraptor can do anyways :

"Once reigning over the limitless power of thought, consciousness and emotion, the original Vampire Guardian of Mind now rests as but a mere specter within the Vampire Citadel"

Quite the looker, ain't he ?

 

[Papa Nier]

4. The Guardian of the Pillar of Nature

Bane the Druid:
"Bane is a wizard of Nature. He manipulates the behavior of life and the elements. Through his magic he can change the nature of life itself, animating plants and influencing animals, creating new and weird life forms for his own purposes. The weather itself is at his behest. Bane is dressed in the trappings of a priest of nature - somewhat druidic in essence. Animal skins and hides clothe his body, a deer skull functions as a hat."

The Defiance Guide gives us more context into what the original vampire guardian can do :
"Once governing the plants, animals and all forms of natural life in Nosgoth, this specter served as the original Vampire Guardian of Nature."

Daniel Cabuco summarizes their abilities thusly :
"Ability to commune and influence Nature, summon natural phenomenon for combat. Can warp creatures growth and abilities."

 

[Papa Nier]

5. The Guardian of the Pillar of Energy.

Dejoule the Energist :
"Dejoule is a woman of duplicity. Her field of magical specialty is the harnessing and manipulation of energy. This practice has, over the years, altered her physical makeup somewhat. Her body glows with an intense blue light, constantly caressed by tongues of flickering energy. This magical aura has an insidious effect on anybody standing nearby - sapping their energy and blistering their skin, sterilizing cells, etc. Because of this, Dejoule wears a heavy robe lined with insulating fabric which contains her magic. When forced to fight, she'll rip her robe off and let the energy shine through... In this form, she is nothing more than a glowing humanoid female shape, with sparks and arcs of energy whipping around her."

So basically, just being close to her is enough to fry yourself up to cellular level. I'll have someone trying to calc this in the future.


Daniel Cabuco describes the powers of the Guardian of Energy as: "Ability to draw energy and manipulate it to power objects / devices."

 

[Papa Nier]

6. The Guardian of the Pillar of Time.

Moebius the Timestreamer:

"Moebius is one of the most ancient members of the Circle of Nine, the council of sorcerers sworn to serve and protect the Pillars of Nosgoth. Moebius – also known as the Time Streamer – serves as Guardian of the Pillar of Time, a role which grants him the power to bend time and manipulate history."

Ok so let's go into more depth when it comes to Mobius's abilities.

His time abilities allow him to :
-See the timestream which in his words allow him to have "a certain level of omniscience" though it is no almighty as he can't necessarily predict the actions of people with free will like Raziel
- Travel through time via rooms called Chronoplasts or via time travel devices which he possesses (gave one to Kain to travel back in time)
-Create paradoxes in history , allowing for the development of new timelines ( armed Wiliam the Just with a Soul Reaver before he fought Kain and in doing so Kain clearly states in Soul Reaver 2, when two identical items meet in time and space a paradox occurs. This allowed him to manipulate events to incite a genocide against vampires)
-Slow down time
-Speed up time
-Freeze an enemy in time

If we take into consideration the Eternal Prison and it's mechanics which seemed to be connected to Moebius and his time powers we can also add :
-Time Rewind

-He can also create illusions that are real enough to the extent they can fight and kill Kain
-Fire Energy Blasts
-Has a staff the incapacitates vampire's hearts. This worked even on top tiers like Kain and curiously even on Raziel's Wraith Blade
-Teleportation

 

[Papa Nier]

7. The Guardian of the Pillar of States

Anacrothe the Alchemist :
"Anarcrothe the Alchemist is a tinkerer. He fools around with chemicals, alien substances and strange machinery. He concocts, explores, experiments, and dabbles with forces he only partially understands. Long ago, he became scarred in an accident resulting in one of his more ambitious experiments. The left side of his face was burned away by acidic energies, melding skin and bone in an unsightly writhing tangle. This mutilation he keeps hidden beneath the hood of his robes, so that only the unscarred side of his face is visible. He wears robes of dark, imperial purple, embroidered with the arcane symbology of his craft."

Again, the Defiance Guide helps us with describing the abilities of the original vampire Guardian :

We have the ability called Quiescent Transformation which does this :
"This spell turns the Guardian into mist, making him invulnerable to attack. In this form he has a Dash Attack that if it hits will envelop you and hold you in place. Right before the dash hits, the Guardian will shift back into a solid form for a moment. This gives you the chance to bat the attack away, if you do not have time to dodge it."

Same guide helps us with summarizing their abilities :

"The shapes and forms of all physical matter were once presided over by the original Vampire Guardian of States who now rests within a tomb within the Vampire Citadel"

Ultimately Daniel Cabuco described the powers of the States guardians on his forums as "Ability to transition between states like solid, gaseous and liquid. Can warp the states to make them different "

 

[Papa Nier]

8. Guardian of the Pillar of Death

Mortanius the Necromancer :

"Mortanius is an ancient sorcerer skilled in the arts of manipulating death. His power has accumulated over the centuries, arguably making him the most potent wizard in all of Nosgoth. His power is tempered with mercy and judgment, however, since he is one of the Circle of Nine ("the Protectors of Hope") - the magicians whose magic preserve the order of magical power in the world. The toils of his magical practices with the dead have made Mortanius little more than a skin and bone husk whose fragility belies his ultimate power."

Ok, so let's go into more depth about Mortanius.

-He is considered to be the most powerful member of the Circle
-He can soulfuck ( pull a soul out of someone's body )
-Soul Manipulation (manipulated Malek's soul and fused it with his armor )
-Teleportation
-Telepathy
-Necromancy ( can create vampires, summon ghosts, skeletons,zombies)
-Telekinesis
-Shooting lightning bolts
-Resurection ability (can revive after being struck down by Kain several times)
-Being able to shift between the Material and Spectral Realms
-Invulnerability to state manipulations attacks ( tanked an attack by Anacrothe)