Stories behind the Skills?

[hotdogtesting]

Has anyone wonder what the stories behind the skills are? By now, most of GW players have encountered one skill or another named after an NPC or event. Have you ever wondered what the stories behind them are?

One set of skills that's always intrigued me are the "Verata" skills. I know that Verata created them. Quests in the Northern Shiverpeaks told me that much. But, how did the player get hold of them? Why are they suddenly availble to be learned?

[halfthought]

well, ive noticed that all skills with the word mark in it respond to damage

[Zion Farbow]

skills were created by them gods >>

then it continued to be used and improved and added and "nerfed"

theres ur answer :D

[Cyberman]

Perhaps those who invented the skills did teach them to others - or were imitated.

I´d guess, though, they taught them - I don´t think anyones ego could accept to invent a new skill and not boast about it...

[The Dawn Raven]

I wonder how the bosses learnt Elite Skills....

[Empraim Wainwright]

Verata is the first Profession Trainer for necromancers before the Searing in GW:P

Verata the Necromancer is a promising necromancer in Ascalon's necromantic order. Verata shows exceptional ability in the field of summoned minions. While Verata is undoubtably gifted, his lust for power has been known to lead him to commit attrocities against people in his bid for greater understanding. The necromantic order is most eager to keep any such indiscretions quiet, and as such, exact details would be hard to obtain unless one were to have necromantic inclinations.

And he is the objective of the 'Renegade Necromancer' quest
Dialogue
"As you've no doubt heard, there have been a number of recent disappearances among the townsfolk. Thus far, we've assumed they fell victim to the Stone Summit or other local menaces. The truth, Grenth forgive us, is something much much worse. One of our Order, a promising Necromancer named Verata, has been experimenting with new ways to enhance and maintain summoned minions. Normally this would be a good thing, however, in his lust for power Verata has been kidnapping Ascalon citizens for use in his experiments! He was also spotted waylaying travelers coming up into the mountains from Ascalon. We must stop him, quickly and discreetly, before anyone can link the disappearances with our Order."

So i'm guessing that the necromantic order took his knowledge and put it to use while distancing themselves from Verata's research (it's common practice in the real world...)

[nsxyoungone]

bonnetti who can be found in post searing may also hav had some apprentices

[DeXyre]

Trogdor! Ok, not really npc but still fun :p

[Vunduin]

I love NPC skills, its always nice to have a little backstory to skills and bosses.

Its a pity the wonderful Oberan never released his secret minion army raising skills.

[KCBeserk]

Trogdor! Ok, not really npc but still fun :p


i know im sure teh guys at HSR would allow them to use the name to avoid the copywrite issues.


sum skills like "lyssa's balance" need to have a story behind it

[Leese Blacks]

i know im sure teh guys at HSR would allow them to use the name to avoid the copywrite issues.

Check out "Mark of Rodgort" some time KC. :-) Trogdor backwards, causes burnination.

[MixedVariety]

Moving to Lore Forum per request.

[hotdogtesting]

So i'm guessing that the necromantic order took his knowledge and put it to use while distancing themselves from Verata's research (it's common practice in the real world...)

Yes, but just after you tried to kill someone... I truly doubt they would gladly share their knowledge. In addition to that, the stories gave not indication the "good" necromancers reviewed any of Verata's experiments. So how could they have come up with the exact same spell? Let alone one that is named after Verata? It sounds almost as though Verata gave the Ascalonians the spell.


Check out "Mark of Rodgort" some time KC. :-) Trogdor backwards, causes burnination.

That actually reminds me. In certain cultures, the inversion or reverse of some name has a different connotation, usually evil. Mark of Rodgort obviously depicts a demon of some sort (almost Diablo ;P)...

[Shokk Mjollnir]

actually all skills are held in "rings" i think....im pretty sure...i think it said it somewhere in the manual... so that would explain getting skills or capping skills from bosses, (yes that's right u need to use sig of cap to take the ring off of a bosses finger/claw/talon/stinger/beak/tail.)

[The Dawn Raven]

I believe thats only signets- a signet is a kind of ring i believe.

[Ranger Nietzsche]

hes part right.

long long ago in the lands of early early beta, all skills took the forms of rings. not just signets but all skills. the system did not remain for long tho.

[Zaxares]

I loved the story of Verata! I remember doing that Renegade Necromancer quest and seeing him summon Bone Fiends for the first time. After only ever seeing horrors, I was in awe of somebody summoning new types of minions. And later, when you meet him again in Kessex Peak, I took great pleasure in capturing Verata's Aura from his cold dead corpse. :wink:

I would have sort of preferred it if you had to learn the Verata skills from him that way, rather than from some dwarf at Copperhammer Mines...

Several Factions skills are named after the great heroes of old (Jaizhenju Strike, Karei's Healing Circle, Teinai's Wind etc.) so presumably these heroes created these skills.

I do find it odd that Cantha never developed Jamei's Gaze aka Heal Other until Jamei came about, however. :tongue:

[Scott the Green]

I'm surprised nobody figured out how to make a sword do +30-some damage until Galrath and Talon Silverwing both did it independently of each other.

For the skills named after the gods, do you suppose they originally came from some sort of divine intervention? At a crucial moment, the idea for a new way to do something suddenly arises clear as day in a hero's mind, and they perform this new skill and live to teach others about it?

The gods of Tyria seem hands-on enough to do that, but it raises another question: how many skills were lost to us because the one granted with the knowledge simply didn't survive to teach it? Or refused to teach it, as is probably equally likely.

Also, who names the skill, the god who grants its knowledge or the person who first uses it? If it's a human-named thing, I'd like to discuss the possibility of changing Balthazar's Aura to something more fitting, like Balthazar's Rage or Balthazar's Wrath. "Aura" simply doesn't strike me as a fearsome effect. If Balthazar named it, then there's no point arguing and I defer to his deity status.

[Mularc Templare]

Good points there Scott...I hadn't thought of that.

It also possible that in the case of Galrath & Talon, they achieve the +30 damage in different ways. I don't play a warrior so personally I don't know if the animations are different or not, but I'll use an elementalist example instead. Dragon's Stomp & Earthquake are essentially the same skill, but cast different ways - Dragon's Stomp is letterally forcing shockwaves out through your legs (Magically aided of course), whereas Erthquake is minipulating the earth to quake using magic.

As for the devine intervention, I don't think it really needs to be. Entire fighting styles such as Aiekido or Karate have evolved over many years simply because the work, and theose who "thought up" of those styles long long ago had the inspiration to teach them.

I agree, we have probably lost many many skills to timidness, misunderstanding or simply the user having it fail against a critical oponent and dying.

As with the naming, it is likely, as with the areas of the game, that they have simply either been given names by others (eg, Talon's sword attack could have had a cool, but complicated name, and thus because he invented it other simply refer to it as Silverwing Slash.) Also, the origional creator may never have given the skill a name, and it was simply named after him or her due to consequence.

I personally would love maybe for each PvP season or using some ultra-hard (btgds thats sounds corney :P) PvE challenge, the ability to give our own characters fame by creating spell/skills/abilities, but it would probably be a nightmare to orchestrate on Anet's past (and yes, I degress - Quintus is going to whip several threds to peices when he gets back)

Mularc

[JSSheridan]

I would say skills developed as a combination of inspired by the divine and rational research. However, research can also be interpreted as divine if our own intellect and curious nature are given to us.

While some fighting arts can trace their history back to one who came up with it, others cannot. Legends of Shaolin Kung Fu tell us that the art was inspired by dreams the monks had. These dreams inspired them to learn to fight from animals. Others were inspired by observing nature, such as the man who watched a mantis fight off a much larger bird.

I can think of two ways Verata's skills came into circulation. A hero killed him, captured the skills, and taught them to others. Alternatively, he may have left a copy of his research after he fled. Serious researchers keep a notebook to keep track of their progress on a project. If he left in a hurry, he may not have had time to collect all his research before he took off.

Concerning whom a skill is named after, well, history is fickle. If someone develops a new skill, it may be used and taught for generations with one name, but once used at a significant moment in history and documented in history, the historian or journalist may come up with a label that is popularly accepted.

I am sure there have been many skills that faded out since the dawn of time. I look at it as natural selection, if a skill and its user is weak, the line will die out. As history developed however, more knowledge was preserved as we were able to document what we knew, which is why there are a number of bad skills. It also happens that skills evolved to fill a specific niche.

I'd like to add something to the concept of elite skills. Perhaps they have not been given to men because the gods wanted to ensure that no one unworthy or weak would be given them. Hence, that skill was gifted to a strong opponent that only the worthy would defeat.

[Santax]

Verata the Necromancer used to teach aspiring Necromancer students before the Searing. He travelled with the Ascalonian refugees across the Shiverpeaks, but like other Necromancers twisted by the Searing, such as Oberan and Claude (Claude used to be a MONK!), he began to distance himself from the remaining humans.

He began to take Ascalonian refugees and sacrifice them to practice his Death Magic. In the quest Renegade Necromancer the players need to fight their way through his minions, and see him experimenting with Minions, trying to lengthen their lifespan. He makes a retreat, and isn't encountered again until Kessex Peak, where Liam Shanglui, Samira Dhulnarim and Tachi Forvent help Verata establish his own cult. And thus Verata became a living legend among the enemies of the Ascalonian Necromantic Order.

Unfortunately, Verata really isn't encountered in the storyline as a necessity after the Searing, and so young Necromancers don't learn the tale of Verata.

[Quintus Antonius]

I think there is a bit of confusion as to how the skills work. While we as players must click a button or push a number to activate a skill, in the world within the fourth wall, the avatar has that knowledge ingrained and is calling upon it from his or her own knowledge.

Capture a skill isn't so much a "hunt and capture", like you would with a caged animal, as it is a "watch and learn". Skills are named after certain individuals because those individuals were the first to perfect or widely use it. Thus the skill is attributed to them. This is actually quite common in culture, think of how theories are named after the people who come up with them.

With skills such at Balthazar's Aura, which are named after deities, the name isn't because the deity in question created it, but rather, it calls upon that deities power. Balthazar's Aura grants an aura that uses attributes commonly aligned with Balthazar, and thus, it is named after him.

Think of skills as an ability such as rolling your tounge, or wiggling your ears. While most people think these are genetic traits (as in, some can and some can't do it and that's just way way it is), studies have clearly shown that they are learned from the enviroment. My own personal experience confirms this. If you have learned to do these things, you can think about them, or do certain actions, and they happen. Skills, with the exception of signets, are no different.

[moenbase]

When I'm seeing those Wardens with "None Shall Pass!" I always have think about Lord Of the Rings (the movie). Where Gandalf uses the phrase "You shall not pass!" (or something simulair). Coincedence? You tell me. :]

But uhm, i was a bit off-topic I think, since the last conversation was about something else. :$

[Quintus Antonius]

Actually, it's a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Black Knight blocks Arthur from crossing the bridge by saying "None shall pass!" to which Arthur proceeds to cut his arms and legs off, leading to one of the best known lines, which is referenced in the Paragon shouts, "It's only a fleshwound!"

[hotdogtesting]

Actually, it's a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Black Knight blocks Arthur from crossing the bridge by saying "None shall pass!" to which Arthur proceeds to cut his arms and legs off, leading to one of the best known lines, which is referenced in the Paragon shouts, "It's only a fleshwound!"

Yes, but the Tolkien example should take precedence... since it is older.

[Quintus Antonius]

Yes, but the Tolkien example should take precedence... since it is older.

I don't think so. It's not a direct quote, and considering the cooresponding references to Monty Python, I think that, at least in this instance, it should be considered a reference to where it was quoted from.

But maybe I'm biased, as I seem to be the only person on the planet who doesn't think too highly of LotR.

[Koross]

Well, usually naming conventions comes in two flavours (with real names), its either named by the person who created it or it was named to honour another person.

[lifeinthefridge]

RODGORT which is trogdor from homestarrunner!!!!!

[Ranger Nietzsche]

I definately agree with QA on the "None Shall Pass!" skill. It's a direct quote from Monty Python and since the creators seem to like quoting monty python and not so much LOTR it makes much more sense

[Valdamir]

Teinai! Has a lot of ele skills.

[GADefence]

I'm surprised nobody figured out how to make a sword do +30-some damage until Galrath and Talon Silverwing both did it independently of each other.

It's not to say that this attack isn't really powerful, for one, AND that there were other such attacks in ancient times. Knowledge is lost, and these two refound it.

[VILenin]

As far as that goes, anyone find it ironic that it took a legendary ranger hero in Cantha to develop the same technique as taught by a low-level ranger trainer in Ascalon? Well, I guess he is a master ranger.

I'm still waiting for Nente to come back in Nightfall. Nente's Shot, anyone?

[Quintus Antonius]

What you have to remember in terms of in-game mechanics, is that level reflects combat experience. Thus, the skill in Cantha was probably developed in battle, whereas, the skill in Ascalon was developed for hunting, which probably didn't count towards his combat level, and is why he is a low level.

[Zion Farbow]

mmhmm QA is brilliant =D ^_^o

[dekboi]

Many of the canthan skills are named after the heroes of cantha.

Zojun's Haste
Tenai's Heat
Kitah's Burden

And of course a lot of the skills come from popular culture "Bonetties defence" comes from the film "The Princess Bride" and "Ride the lightning" is a song and album by metallica. I just wish they'd make an assassin skill "Creeping Death" since i love that song :)

Edit: link for those who haven't heard creeping death :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjdsrZ7GEDw

[Barinthus]

You know, way back with my first character Sarak I stumbled across this human warrior boss in Seared Ascalon in that area where Ashford village was. He had Bonetti's Defence and there was some dialogue related to Bonetti. I'm not sure if that was his name.

I never saw that boss again and I can't seem to find it anywhere in Wiki.

EDIT: Nvm - http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Bonetti

[The Stiehl]

I am sure there have been many skills that faded out since the dawn of time. I look at it as natural selection, if a skill and its user is weak, the line will die out. As history developed however, more knowledge was preserved as we were able to document what we knew, which is why there are a number of bad skills. It also happens that skills evolved to fill a specific niche.

So what does the future hold for Otyugh's Cry? Who was Otyugh anyway? :laugh:

[Barinthus]

It's a creature from Dungeons and Dragons...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otyugh

We need something like Lifeleech Otyugh in the game - that'd be so awesome.

[Raven Flameheart]

It's strange also that Jamei gets her own spell, but seems like just a regular monk, rather than the Canthan heroes of legend that are around.

"Destructive was Glaive" uses the ashes of the corsair leader in the second great corsair wars, and a powerful item of hers (the Diadem) is stolen duringthe Pogahn Passage mission, and clearly has some in-battle strength.

"Protective was Kaolai" uses the ashes of the Ritualist in Tahnnakai.
When the gods walked Tyria a thousand years ago, the Ritualist Kaolai, an old man even then, challenged Balthazar to a game of Nui in exchange for sparing a village that had offended the god through some long-forgotten breach of etiquette. Balthazar laughingly accepted and the game began. Seven days later it ended with Kaolai the winner; the villagers were spared. But in a fit of anger, Balthazar slew Kaolai. Afterward, in a rare gesture of sportsmanship, the god ordered Kaolai inducted into Tahnnakai Temple.

Galrath clearly developed his skill early on in his life, because he changed his style from using swords to using axes. I would summise that the used this skill whilst a member of the lionguard (which use swords), then stopped using it when he became part of the White Mantle (which use axes).

[Mekel Galasarn]

If I may... in Pre-Searing, I believe you can take part in a quest wherin you see the creation of a skill. Ward Against Harm, to be specific. It can be found here... http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/The_Elementalist_Experiment

[dekboi]

Wow, thats really cool. I remember doing that quest but never reading the dialog. I havent been in presear in about a year and a half :P

[Barinthus]

Oh yes I remember that quest very well.

Also we "made" the capture signet skill in-game by recovering ancient knowledge behind it.

[dekboi]

yeah i find it interesting that orr was very arcane loreish with signets etc...