For this week's community engagement, the splinterlands team want the community to explore the splinterlands lore. I've decided to use this post to explore my favorite splinterlands cards lore -- Lord Arianthus.
Lord Arianthus -- The OG Tank
Lord Arianthus is just any splinterlands card -- it's a legend and many who have played splinterlands over the years have come to know this monster as an enigmatic figure who possesses no attack but is feared across the Land of Praetoria due to its many abilities.
Lacking Lore Content?
As one of the original Beta edition Reward cards, I find it sad that there isn't much lore on Lord Arianthus. No problem -- it just means that the mystery of its origin is shrouded in mystery.
Lore Expansion Methodology
To flesh out Lord Arianthus's lore, we will borrow elements from the Game Unfolding Machine which I have found pivotal in my solo tabletop RPGs. It is a series of tables that aid the solo player in fleshing out your solo RPG experience especially when you are stuck. A fantastic resource and highly recommended if you are into solo tabletop RPGs.
Lord Arianthus Expanded Lore
Long before Lord Arianthus became a legend on the battlefields of splinterlands, he was a conqueror of vast empires in distant galaxies and was an unyielding force. He commanded legions of armies that destroyed many planets. These conquests only had one goal -- to find meaning in wielding such power and find ultimate opponents that would truly challenge him.
His journey would take a fateful turn upon completing one of these planetary conquests, where his starship scanners picked up life on an unchartered planet. Out of curiosity, he decided to investigate. However, a malfunction occurred in his ship's navigation system, causing it to plummet and crash onto the lands of Praetoria. His starship was beyond repair and now stranded on this unfamiliar planet.
Despite his past and self-imposed path of conquest, splinterlands offered something Lord Arianthus hadn't experienced before community and purpose beyond personal glory. The transformation of Lord Arianthus from conqueror to protector became a tale that many a legend would be told.
Lord Arianthus's story serves as a reminder of adaptability and redemption. The once-feared conqueror who journeyed through galaxies, destroying planets, had finally found a reason to fight not for domination, but for the good of others. New players entering splinterlands will often hear how overpowered Lord Arianthus is and naively will respond, but "he has no attack power -- how can he be so powerful?". This naivety is what Lord Arianthus thrives on and his legacy speaks for itself.
The Point of Lore?
In @costanza's post, he touched on a valid point that most people and players don't really care about lore and rather focus on the gameplay elements. I tend to agree as I look at my own process when I am playing other TCGs or roguelike/roguelite deck builders. I don't bother with any of the lore or story and solely focus on gameplay and completing/surviving a run. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and your mileage may vary in terms of whether you appreciate lore, but ultimately for me -- Lore is secondary to the gameplay. If a game doesn't have good gameplay, then it's dead on arrival.
Concluding Thoughts
Gameplay will always be king in my eye but sometimes the lore can be appealing. Given a chance to explore a card's lore, like Lord Arianthus above, was a fun exercise that I thoroughly enjoyed doing. However, it should never be seen as a replacement for having a tight gameplay loop or sustainable tokenomics.
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