SLO General History Lore Candidates

[Whatasnipe]

SLO General History Lore Poll

Hello everyone! It's your fourth favorite green name Whatasnipe, bringing you something exciting while you countdown the hours to the next update. Malix and I (Mostly Malix to be fair) have been coming up with some different general lore ideas over the last little while. The team has decided to get an opinion from the community as to which idea we should stick with. So take a little looksie through what we've got and cast 2 votes to directly influence which idea's we'll be going off of. Some of them will have a more detailed description to tie things together like a story, and some others won't. It's heavily encouraged you read all of them before casting your vote. Cheers!



General History Lore Candidate #1 - Breaking Bonds

Main Points

• Land was once contained in a shogunate type empire that was centered in what would eventually be the Hidden Hill.
• First shinobi would be those who had high, and uncontrollable amounts of chakra, forced into servitude for the Shogun.
• These slave shinobi were forced to train themselves purely for combat for the remainder of their lives.
• As they advanced in their training they discovered ninjutsu/genjutsu, chakra affinities and eventually kekkai genkai. The Shogun used them to dominate their enemies and eventually rule the continent.
• Shinobi were now allowed to have families in order to keep their kekkai genkai from dying out. Clans were formed.
• Clans eventually revolt and overthrow the Shogun eliminating all remaining authority figures.
• Each clan goes their separate way and eventually form the different hidden villages. Those without clans remain behind and create the Hidden Hill.

Detailed Breakdown:

Spoiler: show

The shinobi world was once controlled by numerous different factions and neutral inhabitants. This early in time chakra was known and used by those who trained as samurai however the shinobi profession did not exist. These samurai used chakra strictly as a body strengthening tool and nothing more. No modern forms of ninjutsu or genjutsu were known as the samurai devoted their training to swordplay and not to advancing chakra abilities.

The most dominant force in the land was an empire governed by a single shogun. This empire was centered in the area that now contains the Hidden Hill. This empire sought to expand their control to the entire continent using their armies of samurai.

Inhabitants of the region lived normal lives for the most part however every now and then some would be born with very high innate levels of chakra. These usually manifested themselves in uncontrollable ways which led to wide scale destruction in the areas they were in. Fear and panic would follow as little was known about chakra at the time and these people posed threats to all. So the Shogun ordered that all who showed signs of high levels of chakra be detained and imprisoned. Some were captured early, others ran and had to be hunted down, and some even turned themselves in but all were caught and imprisoned in the center of the empire.

Rather than leaving them to rot or simply executing them the Shogun envisioned a use for these people. They were isolated in a large complex in the countryside and told to train themselves to control their abilities. No samurai would train outcast souls like this so instead they were forced to learn subterfuge and guerrilla warfare tactics. Thus the first shinobi were born.

Years past like this and the shinobi progressed. They were not allowed to leave the complex. Not allowed families, ambitions, goals, or anything resembling a normal life. They lived and died as prisoners from the day they were caught to the day they died. However this forced method of training produced great results. Unlike the samurai they were told to completely master and control their chakra. Those who progressed well would teach those after them and thus the lessons were past on.

Soon the first forms of ninjutsu and genjutsu were discovered as well as chakra affinities and eventually second affinities. These discoveries they melded into their combat tactics making them their own. Samurai would continue to dismiss these new ways as inefficient in regular front line combat, leaving the shinobi with a very unique role in the shogunate. The first squad was sent out to deal with a group of rogue samurai who had deserted the empire and were attacking caravans in the hills. The regular army was having difficulty tracking them down. The group of four senior shinobi were dispatched with low expectations. Many felt that their abilities were more suited as parlor tricks than actual combat maneuvers. Still these shinobi were expendable and so they could send endless waves of them at the enemy if the need arised. When the shinobi returned much earlier than expected, having wiped out the enemy forces with little difficulty, it changed the way the empire would do combat forever.

Shinobi battle squads were formed and sent out for a variety of missions after that. With each mission the samurai of the empire would lose more and more of their value. Shinobi were proving unstoppable in small scale battles. They also took no income and were completely expendable so the Shogun saw less and less use for regular samurai. The empire’s borders expanded greatly, its enemies having no way to compete with the shinobi forces.

When the first among the shinobi unlocked kenkai genkais things changed again for the empire. The Shogun recognized the uniqueness and strength of these powers and he did not want to lose them when the shinobi died. So after much deliberation it was decided that these shinobi would be elevated above the rest. Allowed to move out of the shinobi complex and have families. As expected the children of these shinobi would prove to also have the same abilities of the parent. The first shinobi clans were formed.

The Shogun pit these clans against eachother. Giving praise, honor and rewards to those who completely their missions the most efficiently. The clans struggled desperately to gain whatever rewards they could. Despite the elevation shinobi were still considered lower than common citizens. Their children were born and raised as shinobi and would live and die in service to the empire in the same fashion as their parents. This would prove to be a sore spot for the shinobi. Where once they were all individuals that struggled together with others who were captured, now their own children were born into this way of life. Children who would never experience freedom or own their own lives. It was a fact that did not sit well in their minds.

In regards to the expansion, the clans made short work of whatever remaining opposition the empire had. The Shogun now controlled the entire continent, all bowed to his will. However instead of bringing peace to the land this only sparked infighting between the high nobles of the empire. They demanded access to the shinobi clans and pitted them against eachother in their own personal vendettas. The Shogun allowed the practice as it not only pleased his supporters but kept the shinobi active and sharp while the rivalries between the clans would prevent any from joining together in revolt.

This was the theory at least. It did not stop the clan leaders from one day meeting in secret. They discussed their future as shinobi, and that of their children. They agreed that they could just sit by and let their children live their entire lives never knowing freedom. The Shogun relied too heavily on his free source of military strength to ever allow things to change. The only option remaining to them was a planned coup. Thus the shinobi set to work making arrangements. Eventually the day came, and over the course of one night every shinobi in the empire rose in unison as they overthrew the Shogunate. There was little resistance, shinobi were too deeply entrenched into the empire’s defenses. Many noble families employed only shinobi to defend them. These were all wiped out without mercy. The Shogun and his family itself were assassinated in the same night. By morning not a single remaining official of the Shogunate was left alive. The work was bloody and the shinobi took no chances. Never again would they succumb to a life of slavery.

The days following the mission were full of confusion and panic. The common people did not know what to make of the sudden change in power. Some feared the shinobi and ran away with their families while others stayed and submitted themselves to shinobi rule. The clans however had a hard time adjusting. Many still felt resentment not only to the common people but to the other shinobi clans. Old rivalries would not be so easily dismissed. Instead the clans split and went separate. Each making a home in what would eventually become the different Hidden Villages. Those shinobi who had no clans remained in the area where the Shogun was and eventually formed the Hidden Hill. Each village has their own unique story to the trials they faced as they formed their village.

General History Lore Candidate #2 - Sacred Grounds

Main Points

• No regional borders or governing force exist. Land is made up of independent shinobi clans and neutral villages.
• A single day of continuous earthquakes changed life for everyone. The landscape was vastly changed overnight, new rivers, valleys, lakes, and mountain ranges forced people to start brand new settlements.
• With the change in the land came the discovery of new high density chakra areas, the existence of which caused a continent-wide effect as shinobi discovered that they could absorb the chakra to boost their abilities.
• These areas also enjoyed an abundance of resources, water, vegetation, fertile soil, nearby ore and wood. Combined with the chakra source they made ideal candidates for settlements.
• Clans began fighting over the areas. Some look to destroy their rivals while others formed alliances. Some had to fight off rogue bandits, samurai, chakra beasts, or other obstacles.
• The result of this would be established settlements in the form of the hidden villages.
• Each village has a unique story as to how they secured the land to form their village.
• What truly formed these chakra lands and how they were were connected becomes a subject of research for people throughout the land

Detailed Breakdown:

Spoiler: show

The history of the land goes back to a time where no major regions or countries existed and instead the land was filled with independent villages and shinobi clans. The shinobi were hired to protect the villages from bandit groups and other rogue shinobi but for the most part there was peace across the land.

This changed when the continent was hit with a series of earthquakes. They went on continuously for days having devastating effects. Rivers dried up, hills were ripped apart and whole valleys sunk into themselves. Many of the settlements were left in tatters, their source of water or resources taken from them. These people were forced to set out in search of new areas in which to start over. This invited a lot of turmoil as clans and villages fought amongst eachother for suitable locations to inhabit.

One day a piece of land was discovered that seemed to flourish much more than those around it. The grass was greener, the soil fertile, plenty of wood and water was nearby, the location seemed ideal for a community. This wasn’t what excited people though. The land itself exuded a pure form of chakra. It seeped from every living plant and animal, filling the air. When breathed in it seemed the chakra had a natural regenerative effect on people. They felt less tired and wounds and broken bones healed faster. Perfect as a defensive location. Rumours of this area would spread and soon more clans would spread out searching for similar “chakra lands”.

They were found all over the continent, some in obscure places that would normally not be suitable for life (land of inferno). However they would not prove easy to secure. Numerous clans would fight over the rights to these lands, sparking long, bloody feuds between them. Eventually one by one these lands would be claimed though and thus the Hidden Villages were formed.

Studies were done into the cause of the chakra emission. Clans hoped to reproduce the effect and use it to their benefit but few no concrete results were found. None of the Hidden Villages would be willing to share the knowledge they gained and thus it made progress move at a crawl. There are those who have grown worried over the presence of the lands. Living creatures can only hold so much chakra before having to rest and recover but these lands never stop releasing their healing chakra. The question is raised as to what is powering it and at what cost?

General History Lore Candidate #3 - Gifted Abilities

Main Points

• Land is filled with numerous shinobi clans each vying for dominance in their respective regions.
• No Kekkai Genkai existed at first, until one day different clans around the continent were met by the same man.
• A cloaked figure, visited each clan leader and offered to unleash their hidden power at no immediate cost.
• Most clans took the offer and immediately began carving out a region for themselves, eventually forming the Hidden Villages.
• Wars broke out between the Villages, forming rivalries that have lasted to present day.
• The Hidden Hill is the only exception to the other clans. Unlike the others their clan leader refused to take the help of some stranger, fearing future repercussions, and sent him away. Instead they went into seclusion, training themselves until the inevitable day that the other Villages would come to their land to claim it.
• When the time came that the first approached them, they met them not with kekkai genkais but a third chakra affinity. Something never seen before.
• The Hidden Hill clan took this opportunity to secure themselves in the region, and soon other clans joined them, many of which fleeing from clans with kekkai genkai. Hidden Hill would prove to be a haven for these shinobi refugees.
• Meanwhile generations later rumours of the cloaked figure have return, he had not been seen since the first day he met the clans. Demands were being made by him in return for the power he’s granted the clans and the villages must now choose how to deal with them.

Detailed Breakdown:

Spoiler: show

Shinobi clans have been fighting eachother for dominance for generations. As one clan is eliminated, other new ones sprout up to replace them. It seemed unlikely that there would ever be an end to the bloodshed. That is until one day when various clans around the continent were each met by a mysterious cloaked figure. The man met with each clan leader, sometimes welcomed other times forcefully, and offered the leaders an opportunity to reach new unheard of heights of power. In return he only asked that they grant him a simple favour some time in the future once they’ve established themselves as a dominant force in the land.

Most clans were weary of the man but eventually came to accept his offer. The power he bestoyed on them would be that of the Genkai Kekkai. These new found abilities helped the clans wipe out their opposition and claim whole regions for themselves. The Hidden Villages would form from these. One village in every section of the world, having complete dominance over the lesser clans in the area. As the clans expanded out further, wars broke out and each Hidden Village refused to give way to another. Each claimed a right to dominate and so these wars would go on for generations, rivalries forming that would last even to present day.

The single exception to this would be the Hidden Hill area. The clan there rejected the cloaked figure of his offer and sent him away. Upon hearing the news that other clans had received the gift of Kekkai Genkais, the clan chose to go into seclusion to devote themselves to training. There they stayed for years until the day arrived when the shinobi from a neighbouring Hidden Village arrived to claim their land. It was then they Hidden Hill shinobi emerged to meet their would-be conquerors. To the surprise of their attackers they met them not with Kekkai Genkais but with a third unleashed chakra affinity. The shock of it was enough to give them the advantage and force the attackers back into retreat. News of this revoked attack spread across the land and soon other clanless shinobi flocked to the area to join this clan. The Hidden Hill Village was formed in earnest from then on.

Years past and the villages secured their boundaries. It was around this time that rumours emerged that the clans were being visited by a familiar cloaked figure. One who had not been seen in years, not since the first day Kekkai Genkai were introduced. The rumours say that he was asking for his payment now. A payment that would change the course of the land.

General History Lore Candidate #4 - Uprising

Main Points

• Chakra users live in secrecy among the common folk, who see shinobi as inhuman and a threat to their way of life
• As kekkei genkai appear in certain shinobi, it becomes harder to hide
• Shinobi band together in what would become the hidden hill village and strike back against their oppressors, sparking a revolution all across the nation.
• Shinobi take the large settlements with powerful chakra based techniques and guerilla warfare tactics passed around through their hidden communities
• The 11 main settlements are renamed as 'hidden villages' to commemorate the shinobi's victory
• In different areas, some shinobi allied with the pre-existing samurai forces, swapping techniques and merging armies, while some of the new shinobi leaders disagree with these alliances, as these disagreements get more and more aggressive war breaks out
• Generations pass and although the bloodshed has died down the conflict is still present as villages fight over resources and territory. Ambushing other villages, hijacking trade routes and taking territory by force are common place for this age of Shinobi.

[Whatasnipe]

General History Lore Candidate #5 - Religious Temples

Main Points

• People lived in remote villages across the continent with wider affiliations.
• During times of need, each regions’ people establish their own religious beliefs and gods to represent them.
• Temples were created for these gods and orders of monks to protect and serve them.
• Monks were protectors both spiritually and physically as they learnt to defend themselves against a growing number of thieves and bandits.
• Monks were the first to adapt chakra to combat uses, giving thanks to their gods for proving them a way to protect themselves. In time these monks would also unlock Kekkai Genkai unique to each temple.
• It was around these temples and monks that Hidden Villages were formed. - Eventually a need for warriors who were not tied to the temple arose and hence shinobi were introduced.
• Hidden Villages soon became centers for their respective countries as borders began being drawn out.
• Skirmishes were common as different shinobi clashed with eachother, creating rivalries continuing on to this day.
• In current times each Hidden Village has their own temple devoted to their god. - Prospective shinobi always perform rites at their temples before being allowed to join the ranks.
• Each temple has their own teachings on life that have created vastly different cultures in the different countries but each has a heavy influence in the governing of their own village and its people.

General History Lore Candidate #6 - Experimentation

Main Points

• Shinobi clans are numerous and routinely compete with eachother for dominance across the land. Wars are common as none are able to secure a strong hold over any one region.
• In what would become the Hidden Hill a clan of shinobi have their researchers look to science for a way to rise up.
• These researchers would use captive shinobi in experiments in an attempt to extract the cells in their body that contain certain affinities to chakra and implant them in others. In order to create a super shinobi with multiple affinities.
• After years of work, they failed to implant chakra into their own shinobi. The bodies have grown too accustomed to their own affinities and simply reject foreign entities.
• The theory to test on children who had yet to fully form their affinities then arose. The results were more promising as they were able to implant two different affinities into one child. As a shocking bonus those children were able to merge the two affinities into a third new one, creating Kekkai Genkai for the first time.
• The researches continued with the experiments until they had multiple children for each pair of known affinities. Each with their own Kekkai Genkai. - - The next step would be to add third and then fourth affinities. They would continue until one was created with all the affinities.
• This would not come to fruition however as the children banded together and risked all to flee the labs. Some escaped, others were caught, and a few others were even killed but it forever changed the shinobi world.
• These children banded together and grew up. Honing their skills while moving from place to place so as not to get caught. In time they would grow powerful, with abilities none had even seen before.
• Years later they returned to the lab in order to break out their friends. The children who had beeen caught that night years ago did not survive further experiments. They discovered they were the only ones left. In a rage the children laid waste to the lab, killing those responsible.
• As they fled the city yet again the kids decided to split up. They could not risk being caught together by other clans. Their powers were too important to fall into the hands of any one clan. So they departed on good terms, those with similar affinities sticking together. These children would have their own adventures but eventually each would one day begin their own clan and create the Hidden Villages that stand to this day./

General History Lore Candidate #7 - Gracious Deity

Main Points

• Long ago, the lands were peacefully united under the rule of a kind hearted emperor
• Emperor is visited by a spectral being claiming to be a god, and is shown how to master the secrets of chakra, a force unknowingly present in all humans.
• He keeps his abilities as a secret for a long time, studying and perfecting them in all of their uses with the aid of the spirits teachings
• After years he presents his abilities to the world, teaching his people the basics of how to use and manipulate chakra in different forms
• Most of his people worship and praise him more as their Leader for granting them this gift, while others become jealous and impatient, seeking out more power, knowing he still has many secrets that he keeps to himself
• His oldest son, knowing now that his father had been hiding this from his people for ages, started a rebellion. After finding a scroll his father had tried to destroy that could steal the power of another person, he set his sights directly on the emperor himself.
• Realizing that his power might fall into the wrong hands, the Emperor sealed all of it into 11 different weapons, granting them each incredible power. He created one for each daimyo of the 11 capital cities including his own, granting them the new title of "Kage" or "Shadow" to wield and protect their people using his power.
• The Emperor took his own life after leaving the throne and his weapon to his only other son. The people didn't trust him with the throne and the capital cities split off into what would be called "Hidden Villages", leaving the Emperors youngest son to rule over the "Hidden Hill" village.
• The hidden villages would have frequent territorial disputes, and as alliances were made and broken time and time again, the world would be thrust into war as the different factions would try to seize control of eachother's land and sacred weapon.

Thank you for taking the time to read through them and cast your vote, the community is really what fuels this project! Mwah <3

[Kotatsu]

I don't know if I'm allowed to post this here. But, you sure do make it hard.  Voting will be hard, because I like aspects of each one. Anyway, now I'll go cast my vote, shaking my head because this all can't be apart of the history. (Congratulations, you've thought of a lot of great ones.)

[Toratsume Nyshn]

I loved #1 breaking Bonds and #6 Experimentation. Although I voted for #1, I'd like to say if #6 was to take place, It should have been in 1950s or in the modern period, which will make it more practical to have existed. +rep to you and @Malix
Hope Vreg implements one of these.
P.S yeah I was imagining some epic cinematic narration when a newb would first play this game, as I read across these stories. You guys deserve a lot of reps

[Manuster]

2 and 3 have an insane amount of potential. You could milk out soooooo much of an epic story from them

and is it only possible to vote for one? suuuurely people should be able to vote for 2...pleeeeeeeeeeeeaseeeeee <3

[Saitou]

I'm going to increase the allowed number of votes to 2.
@Manuster @Gustavolegend @Toratsume Nyshn @Kotatsu .

Feel free to leave your remarks after you vote.

[Malix]

I'm glad you guys are liking them! Also feel free to post any feedback/comments/suggestions you may have about the candidates. This could help us forge out the path we take afterwards.

[sirpaul]

I like 7 the most. the idea that all of this came from a deity and every village gets a sacred weapon etc.

3 wasnt all to bad either, it would form a good story. gz these are my votes

[Konohuro]

I hope individual villages lore will be coming.

I am also hoping that the history of SLO world will continue to be written as the players and events occur after the game comes out. With this in mind, I think that not an exact story about how shinobis and chakra came into world is what we need. This allows for future interesting and genial ideas for major events including Vreg and the story of chakra.
What I am saying is that Naruto wouldn't have been that good if we knew right away who Sage of the Six Paths was, who mother Kaguya was and how everything appeared; this is kept for the end.

Therefore, I voted #1 and #4. #6 was also a very good idea, every time there should be a drama, this is what catches the eye, but unfortunately, in this scenario, everything is known about how chakra appeared...

[Malix]

I hope individual villages lore will be coming.

I am also hoping that the history of SLO world will continue to be written as the players and events occur after the game comes out. With this in mind, I think that not an exact story about how shinobis and chakra came into world is what we need. This allows for future interesting and genial ideas for major events including Vreg and the story of chakra.
What I am saying is that Naruto wouldn't have been that good if we knew right away who Sage of the Six Paths was, who mother Kaguya was and how everything appeared; this is kept for the end.

Therefore, I voted #1 and #4. #6 was also a very good idea, every time there should be a drama, this is what catches the eye, but unfortunately, in this scenario, everything is known about how chakra appeared...

You're definitely right about needing to keep some things hidden and let the players explore the world and find them out. In light of that there definitely needs to be quest lines that will let the players unlock lore and find out more about the world (think hidden quests that unlock if a player does a particular thing or goes somewhere specific). Still what we're voting on here is just general back lore of the overall state of the world. Even in Naruto you knew this early on (i.e. Warring States period).

We need this to basically have a foundation on how to do the rest of the world's lore (villages, jutsus, themes, everything). All of which will be unique and engaging to the player. Also keep in mind that unlike in a manga where everything can be a mystery and the reader has no real decision power. Here we're asking you to be immersed in our world, pick a starting village, fight for a cause! Well we can't ask you to do that if you dont have any history to go off of.

[StriderOtaku]

I'm going to increase the allowed number of votes to 2.
@Manuster @Gustavolegend @Toratsume Nyshn @Kotatsu .

Feel free to leave your remarks after you vote.

I can't seem to vote a second time. Have you enabled it or should I wait?
#1-Breaking bonds seemed to make the most sense to me in terms of being an all round solid lore content-wise and still leaving room for mystery and further development as well as player adventures/discoveries. That's just my opinion, #4-Uprising would also be a solid pick imo.

[America]

@people who didn't vote for #3

Hold this

[adithya]

I feel like scared grounds and the religious temples could be combined into one idea. (I'm only interested in scared grounds because that might play into some of the player written stories which would be something amazing because the shit players hope to do in-game will be plausible and we're not left to think that our shit is separate.

[Yamasukage]

My head is literally on fiya 1, 4 or 7; baaaaaaaahhhhh 

[Dragon6624]

I'd prefer to see an option with something along the lines of this topic, actually: http://www.shinobilifeonline.com/index.php?topic=2647.msg42394#msg42394

If not, however, then a fusion of Sacred Grounds and Religious Temples seems plausible in my mind, and opens up the options of possible "Ideologies" within each of the villages. Basically, the 'Gods' are the mindsets that existed within --and thereby dictate the actions without-- the monks, or "Protectors", in the native tongues (Perhaps not Shinobi, but who knows -- it's Fantasy), and the grounds are what each village happened to be built around, with a principle of worship growing up over these warriors. The influence of these "Protectors" created semi-religious Caste systems, eventually leading to the Kage(Future name pending?) being set as the elected figureheads of the upper-most Caste, that of the Warrior-Protectors. As in most organized religions, however, the extreme warriors amongst this class sought to squash the ideologies of those that opposed them, even going so far as to steal other techniques from the other villages in order to maintain an edge over the competition. Centuries pass...and we have SLO?

Those are just two ideas to think on, however. I'm anxious to see the winning pick O_O).