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From the boss designs that we’ve revealed so far, the one that I feel is a good match for how we take a heroic concept and twist and misshape it due to the power of the Elden Ring shards is Godrick the Grafted. He is an excellent example of this because he encompasses that feeling of sadness and frustration when a Lord comes to the end of his reign, trying to cling desperately to the power he still has left. In this way, Godrick is a great embodiment of that new design approach. |
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The Heroic Concept is a design philosophy followed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and the development team at FromSoftware that shapes the characteristics and themes of certain characters found within Elden Ring's story, primarily the Shardbearers in particular.
Overview[]
The philosophy places focus on characters carrying noble or heroic aspects that become warped and twisted into something malign due the circumstances they've been placed in. Whether it be an inability to handle the power received from their respective great rune, coping with the trauma of a unfortunate event or their fundamental noble principles getting pushed to such an extreme that it transforms into a vice. Either way the source of their personal downfall usually does not stem far away from their once respectable traits.
List of Heroic Concepts[]
Godrick the Golden[]
Born a small, frail child amongst his far stronger kin. From his very birth, Godrick was destined for an endless uphill battle for relevancy. From a young age Godrick has beem yearning to prove his worth as a true heir to the Golden Lineage and so he would pursue great varieties of ways to improve himself and his lordsworn army.
However his primary manner of bolstering himself would quickly devolve into piteous scavenging for old relics and stealing and grafting body parts of less fortunate people and creatures alike on to himself and his closest assets.
Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon[]
Once a great Carian queen who led a military that could resist the (at the time) unstoppable armies of the Golden Order. Queen Rennala was intelligent, strong, beautiful and certainly not least, loving.
Her unmatched love would be her downfall though, as Radagon's departure would leave her broken from grief, her unconditional love and dedication to the frail, transient Juvenile Scholars entrapping her within the Grand Library.
General Radahn[]
In his prime, General Radahn was one of the most powerful demigods in the Lands Between, being equally matched in combat against his half-sister Malenia. Most importantly, Radahn was known for his charisma, skill and intelligence in military leadership and battle. Being a noble commander of honor, he inspired confidence in and valued his Redmane soldiers and Knights, which is what earned him their respect in the first place.
However, during the Shattering, the great power of his Great Rune alongside the other Great Runes of the other Shardbearers, drove him to go to war against his fellow kin. This would eventually lead to a battle against Malenia, which ultimately ended in a stalemate when Malenia unleashed her Scarlet Rot, which drove Radahn to madness, turning into a mindless and feral beast who would feast on the corpses of both friends and foes alike.
Praetor Rykard[]
Once a ruthless justiciar who led an army of inquisitors to ruthlessly hunt and torture heretics, Praetor Rykard descended into blasphemy following the discovery of ancient spells of a long-forgotten snake-worshipping religion on Mt. Gelmir. His increasingly heretic tendencies led him to assist his sister Ranni in the Night of Black Knives, in which Godwyn the Golden was assassinated.
During the Shattering, he became strongly disillusioned with the Erdtree and the Golden Order, finding that the Gods demanding the demigods to fight over the Great Runes (whom he refers to as "miserly scraps of power") as nothing but debasing. Thus, he launched a blasphemous campaign against the Golden Order, establishing the rule of taking by force and the belief that the Gods are no different.
Despite his heresy, many followers were drawn by his ambition, as they also became disillusioned with the Golden Order, and they came to see Rykard's intentions as noble. They then waged war against the armies of Leyndell in Rykard's name, though the results were costly and appalling.
Praetor Rykard eventually lost his sanity and fed himself to the Blasphemous/God-devouring serpent, merging himself with the creature. With his ambition descending into gluttonous depravity, the now-monstrous Rykard began engaging in cannibalism, where he would devour his greatest champions, thus making them a part of his "family".
Morgott, the Omen King[]
Born an Omen, Morgott came to renounce his accursed blood and would seal it away within a blade, which was then concealed within his wooden staff. Following Queen Marika's shattering of the Elden Ring, Morgott secured power over Leyndell, Royal Capital and devoted himself to protecting the capital and the Erdtree from his other siblings, as he considers them traitors to the Golden Order for going against it in favor of their own ambitions.
Despite his deeds, unfortunately, they weren't recognized by many even the Golden Order, who reviled as an accursed fiend. Despite this, Morgott remained steadfastly loyal, as he considers loyalty to be a reward in its own right, and despite knowing that the Erdtree wouldn't admit anyone, not even himself, to claim the title of Elden Lord. However, his devotion and loyalty towards the Golden Order proved to be his downfall as he met defeat at the hands of a Tarnished of no renown.
Mohg, Lord of Blood[]
Like his brother Morgott, Mohg was accursed at birth. Unlike the former, who renounced his Omen blood, Mohg came to embrace it. After an encounter with an Outer God known as the Formless Mother, he established a cult, where he and his followers would perform blood-associated rituals as her servants. Seeking to become Elden Lord, and while recruiting and kidnapping many followers to his cause, Mohg plots to overthrow the Golden Order in favor of his own dynasty, which he calls the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
As he has a strong obsession of his half-brother Miquella, Mohg believes the young Empyrean has the potential of ascending to Godhood, he plans to make him his puppet and rule alongside him as his consort. And so he abducts Miquella from the Haligtree to have him facilitated with blood for his awakening. However, no matter how hard Mohg tried to interact with him, the slumbering Miquella never responded.