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Norn Shapeshifting and Lore after Norn Week
Talon_Actual
Member Posts: 28
So... now that Norn week has wrapped up, I have to say I am chomping at the bit to play Norn. And I also have to say, as someone who reads literature for a living, that the team at ANet knows how to write some lore and goes above and beyond. If the game reflects the depth of lore they have created, it will be the most "alive" MMORPG environment to date.
That last piece of Norn-week lore was great. The author clearly has some experience with the Eddas. I often thought that MMORPG developers need to ground their lore more in the great literatures - not just Epic, but Romance and the great Sagas and Lays of the north as well.
That said - now I'm thinking that Norn must be able to shapeshift into the beast that they choose as a totem (hopefully that choice is made through a nice quest sequence that rewards them with the shifting ability as a coming of age sort of ceremony) and that the totem they choose will lend them different traits or skills. Looks like Snow Leopard will provide stealth skills, Bear strength, etc. What do you think?
If this is the case, and choice of a clan/religion to follow unlocks skills and forms, I will be very very happy. I also hope there is a way to actually make your Norn give thanks after killing beasties (for RP purposes). I used to have a macro to /kneel and emote some thanks after killing a beast in another MMORPG. It would be nice if that was incorporated in norn emotes for the use of the RP.
Anyway - just my rambles on the Lore of Norn.
Comments
To my knowledge... Norn will indeed have elite skills that allow them to shift into their totem. That has been percieved ever since they were announced as a playable race.
People think it's fun to pretend your a monster. Me I spend my life pretending I'm not. - Dexter Morgan
Anet is really good at integrating concepts and values from other sources into their game lore... everything from Beowulf, to Firefly, to Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Invader Zimm and everything in between.
I'd imagine that you'd be able to choose which spirit you are loyal to when you make your character, as I read that humans get the option to choose between Lyssa, Melandru, Balthazar, etc. I'm guessing Norn will have the same option but with their spirits.
I wonder if you can choose to be a Son of Svanir?
Interesting question about the Son of Svanir. I'd also like to be able to choose one of the "lost spirits" (Dolyak for the win!)
My curiosity is more about the impact of choosing your spirit. Obviously it wil affect what you can shapeshift into, but it should also impact your relationship with other clans, and it seems like it will give you different traits (stealth, strength, etc) based on the difference between spirit. I'd imagine in each race a similar dynamic.
I'm curious if it affects your choice of class as well. For that matter - I'm assuming a norn can be a ranger? Seems like an obvious fit but then you have a bear/man with a pet bear.
That is a good question. I believe that ANet said something about each race having access to all professions, so the possibility seems to be there. I doubt that only Warriors would be allowed to use the bear, only Ele's the Raven, Sins the Leapord, etc.
It was the job of the Inuit Shaman to enter the spirit realm (sometimes mortally) to contact the spirits. This performed an interesting function in their culture. The description of the "Haroum" Shaman reminded me of this.
Tying the "spirit realm" of the Norn's peculiar belief system to the in-game concept of the Mists was a neat step for this lore. Connecting the Mists in this way could elaborate a whole load of the in-game stories in some interconnected ways eg a Lore reason for PvP and explaining the incompatibilities between each races' genesis/creation myth stories and "gods" and what sort of crazy gods/monsters/energies players could experience/battle against.
Good stuff.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Yeah, Norn week definitely got me stoked to say the least.
This whole game is getting me stoked. I haven't waited in this much anticipation for a game. Ever.
Yeah, that's how it's apparently supposed to work for all the races. Although I doubt we'll be able to play as Sons of Svanir, as interesting as it would be (expansion material, perhaps).
Posted it in the other Norn thread too:
"Unlike humans, whose priests are revered for their dedication to one god, all norn feel equally guided and befriended by the spirits. Some norn don’t follow a particular path, preferring instead to revere all the Spirits of the Wild, following each whenever its lessons are relevant in their day-to-day lives"
Does that mean any norn can shapeshift into any one of the spirits (once s/he gains the necessary level/skill)? I think I would rather you had to pick which spirit to follow, or at least, only to be able to shapeshift into one at a particular time (e.g. you can only take one into the wild with you/ only changable at a shaman in a town etc.)
I'm guessing that if you choose to follow all 4, then you will have access to a wide range of spells, but other spells/skills will be reserved for followers of only one spirit. So if you follow the bear only, you may have a skill that comes only with the bear.
This sounds like the most reasonable way to handle it.
"Everyone dies. It is how one lives that matters."
Artemis Entreri (R.A. Salvatore)
"P.S. MAKE NO DEALS WITH THE WOLF." -Durzo Blint-
"But, there is one they fear.
In their tongue, he is Dovahkiin -- Dragonborn!" -Game of the Century-
Nice rambles. Keep it up
We won't know for certain until somebody gets a screen capture of norn character creation screen from the PAX East demo, but I think you have to choose one animal as your primary totem animal at least that's what the wiki says. And most people seem to think the choice will determine which shape shift skill you gain first.