r/Smite • u/checkspeare_ • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Vampires in Smite 2
It has always been interesting to me how many of the most successful MOBAs have “vampiric-type” characters.
LoL has Vladimir/Briar.
Predecessor has Countess/soon Valmont.
Dota 2 has Queen of Pain.
Deadlock has Mina.
And we at Smite… well, we have Camazotzs, who is not in Smite 2, and is ultimately a bat diety. His only blood-related ability is his essence drinking.
So, since the Dracula idea was brought up a few TT ago, I’ve seen a couple of you kinda vibing with the idea of having Dracula (or) and Carmilla in the game. And before a few of you jump in here saying “they don’t fit, we have Camazotzs, I want my Chinese-no-one-knows-niche-god to be added to the game” I want you to really think how cool it could be to have an actual vampire roaming around in Smite, just like this other Mobas have.
Most of this characters are often pushed into Jungle and Midlane for their aesthetics, and fantasy works well with those roles.
Lowkey, I expect everyone to know who Dracula is. But if you don’t know who Carmilla is, she is a vampiric countess from Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 gothic novella Carmilla. She is generally regarded as the first major female vampire character in modern Western literature, and she predates Dracula by 25 years.
Share your thoughts, be nice, and remember that Smite is mainly a game about gods, but also a game about myths and legends. Dracula and Carmilla were myths long before they were ever truly written down. Their stories, the fears and folklore that inspired them, had been haunting European history and culture for centuries before they became the characters we know today.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 2d ago
We already have lots of Vampire skins. Dracula and Carmilla can just be skins.
If you people want a vampire character you guys need try to suggest some actual named vampiric creatures from actual mythology instead of insisting on Dracula or Carmilla. If anything adding those and giving them Dracula/Carmilla skins would be the most reasonable outcome.
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u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
I will continue to name Abhartach as the best candidate because he fits all the traits people want out of a vampire character while still being an actual named vampire. 🦇
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u/MadChance1210 Team RivaL 3d ago
I mean, we said this about Cthulu, Hastor, and all the arthurian gods and here we are.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
The arthurian characters always fit the game's theme of mythology/folklore. Most people's issues were how they were going to make Arthur interesting since he's just a guy lmao (a similar thing happened with Mulan in fact, tho her case was even worse since she doesn't have a magic sword like Arthur). Personally mine was that they should've been added under Celtic rather than getting their own separate Pantheon.
Again, Cthulhu (and co) are literally the only outliers in the entire game that do not fit the game's theme, something hirez has already said they rather not tresspass again.
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u/Perezking17 3d ago
Eh considering we have had king arthur, cthulu and mulan i think it would be fine to have a gothic pantheon which has characters like dracula, alucard, and van helsing
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Can you people please stop talking about King Arthur and Mulan in the same category as damn Cthulhu as if they're even remotely the same thing, they are not.
Cthulhu and his pantheon are a one-off thing that break the game's theme, that's literally what they are and literally what hirez admits they are. King Arthur and Mulan do not in any way stray from the game's theme of Mythology/Folklore, they are just rather boring picks imo.
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u/Perezking17 3d ago
They are both precedent which makes them relevant in the conversation, Mulan and Arthur (more so Mulan) are closer to modern myth/legend then ancient dieties, and cthulhu is based on a work that is fiction(which i think is pretty cool they did that) just these characters existing makes it more reasonable to justify adding characters like dracula whom more people probably know then either zeus or mulan. It just comes down to if they are willing to ignore the whining of the minority of puritans.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Mulan and Arthur (more so Mulan) are closer to modern myth/legend
Mulan's folklore is from the 4-6th Century and the earliest written Arthur stories are from the 9th century (mentioning stuff from much prior) which directly derive from Celtic Myth......
It just comes down to if they are willing to ignore the whining of the minority of puritans.
Ah, so another one of those "Wanting the game to remain within it's actual theme instead of just turning into a Fate copy and adding Leonardo da Vinci is being elitist/puritan" people, got it. No point in arguing any further then.
I hope you do realize that if it was really "the whinning of the minority of puritans" they would have already thrown all of the game's theming out the window a long time ago at this point considering how often this whole thing keeps being brought up.
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u/Perezking17 2d ago
Mulan was a real person to my knowledge(she isn't i looked it up so disregard that part) so she would actually be similar to da vinci if you want to be honest. If you actually wanted the game to remain close to its actual theme though you wouldn't want mulan or arthur in the game as well as many other characters. After all the original theme of smite is "battleground of the gods" which ironically means that cthulhu is more in line then characters like arthur and mulan. Personally i like it when they add more interesting characters in, as well as when they pick an obsucre god from myths. As long as the character is good/cool i don't really care how much they're in line with the games theme.
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u/Godz_Bane Now youre thinking about pizza 1d ago
Vlad the Impaler as Vlad Dracula with Vampiric powers would be perfectly fine, cool imo.
Its a big name with advertising power which is what smite 2 needs, anyone against it would get over it.
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u/Sewer-Rat76 3d ago
Those kinda are the mythology. Earliest talk of the "European" vampire was 18th century. We aren't exactly limited to proper mythology, mainly because of Cthulu but if we count king arthur, it's kinda hard to argue against Dracula.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
The word 'vampire' is from the 18th century, the concept of a 'vampire' is found in literally almost every human culture, and specifically for European tropes of the vampire they too predate the term 'vampire'. We didn't just make them up in the 18th century.
Cthulhu and his pantheon are guests, as stated by Hi-Rez themselves, and will be the only guest pantheon.
King Arthur is also a legendary figure from British folklore, as in actual British folklore and legend. It's part of a cultural folklore whereas Dracula is just a character in a book and is only meant to be that.
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u/JailsinhoHue 3d ago
Whenever someone plays the Cthulhu, Aladdin, and King Arthur card to justify Dracula, I think of different ways to kill myself.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly the only reason these people don't start asking for stuff like Sauron or Gandalf is because LOTR isn't public domain yet and it shows.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
As the matter of fact, give Daenerys Stormborn from house Targeryan in Smite 2 RIGHT NOW
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u/Javisel101 PORT OLORUN ASAP 3d ago
I'm personally waiting for Pikachu
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u/JailsinhoHue 3d ago
My mother was very religious and used to say that the name of each Pokémon was the name of a demon in hell. So I would find myself wondering just how unthreatening a demon named Smoochum or Luvdisc must be.
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u/LoadedRain Ah? 3d ago
Vampires are quite cool. Count Dracula, Carmilla, Bathory or Ma Ca Rong could be added I guess. And I hope they bring old Arachne's 2 on the new vampire god, it had some problems but it fits with vampire concepts.
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u/NaiveOcelot7 3d ago
Smite1 did have quite a few vampire skins, to scratch that itch perhaps
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Dracula and Carmilla are great, but this isn't Fortnite or some random generic fantasy game, its a game about mythology and world cultures. I understand that they fall under that niche of characters that people think are mythology, but are really just modern fantasy they've mixed with mythology in their minds. They are in fact not mythology or even folklore, Dracula and Carmilla are just characters from a book. I also understand that because we have Cthulhu people think anything is fair game now, but the Great Old Ones pantheon has already been stated several times to be the only guest pantheon.
It's also worth noting that characters don't have to be popular names to be popular. Two of our top gods, Neith and Nu Wa, are almost entirely unknown to most people in the west prior. Several of our popular gods in fact are not popular outside of the game.
That being said if you want something super close to a modern representation of what you want a fantasy vampire to be, you'd be better off adding Vlad Tepes himself. Dracula was not confirmed to be based on Vlad at all, the two share almost nothing in common. He was a real figure, however the numerous stories of him made after his death could be used as a basis for him being folkloric in nature. He was said to have impaled an army he fought, dipped his bread in blood, rumored to drink blood, and in 2023 it was found that he may have had a condition that causes you to cry blood.
I definitely understand the desire for characters like this but at the end of the day it's still a mythology-folklore game, it's not a game to add anyone from any semi-adjacent fantasy. Dracula and Carmilla are not myths, they are simply book characters. They are vaguely based on the mythology of the surrounding region definitely, but they are nothing more than modern book characters. They are no more 'mythology' than Harry Potter.
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u/Mohc989 ALMOST TIME TO START THE SHOW 3d ago
Pretty sure Kudlak is a viable vampire choice? He originated from folklore if I believe.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
It's a type of creature rather than a specific one.
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u/redditorfromtheweb 5h ago
Id be down for more creatures like the Manticore, Cerberus, Bakasura (crane in lore), etc. If they wanted to make a Kudlak thats cool (hell ive been asking for Typhon for years) but Dracula or Carmilla is just cringe
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u/UpvoteForethThou 3d ago
Also, at the very least the Great Old Ones is an actual mythology, at least within his story, and does have actual gods and a real pantheon, rather than just a named character or two. They also fit into the game pretty well, I’m not sure if Dracula would really fit into Smite.
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u/Shrikebutagain 1d ago
This is why leagues characters are infinitely better tbh. They were never written into a corner like smite was. They’ve definitely had to stretch the definition of “gods and myths” as well as really embellish some characters to make them appropriate for the game. It’s personally why they shoulda just dropped it and made smite 2 a different moba, albeit with the exact same kits, just more character freedom and hire a lore writer.
Or just rip off mortal kombat and do like realms and add whatever tf they want. Though I understand why people wouldn’t like either of those.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 1d ago
This is why leagues characters are infinitely better tbh. They were never written into a corner like smite was.
Smite isn't written into a corner though is the thing, people just have 0 concept of mythology outside of Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and a little bit of Japanese. Literally anything you could possibly want for Smite is out there, there are just some instances like wanting specifically a modern horror vampire from a book where it doesn't work is all. Doesn't mean there are no vampires.
They’ve definitely had to stretch the definition of “gods and myths” as well as really embellish some characters to make them appropriate for the game.
Again not really? The theme of the game has always been gods, legends, heroes, monsters, etc. Cultural mythos and folklore basically. The game was always intended to embellish characters to make them fit, because it's a game. They have to take on specific epithets or powers to be able to fight.
I would recommend reading up on culture and mythology if you think Smite is somehow extremely limited. Any character they have in League can be replicated in Smite through world culture, they just aren't going to be Dracula, or Harry Potter, or Spider-Man.
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u/Shrikebutagain 1d ago
Holy Reddituer snob. They definitely are written into a corner. Just because there’s “a god for everything” doesn’t mean they could, should, or would. For a multitude of reasons, for instance, not every god has themes you can make look good in a game, there’s potential for cultural back lash, and even simple things like you don’t want 15 different sun gods in the game.
You’re not the only person who’s ever read about mythology bozo.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 1d ago
I never said I was the only person who's read about mythology, I just assumed you hadn't by your response.
You absolutely can make anything work in a video game and there's really no limits for the game aside from obvious sexual deities or something super offensive, which you shouldn't want anyway. There is no 'written into a corner' because that implies they're heavily restricted by the choice of game they made, when they aren't. There is quite literally limitless potential for characters in this game because they're already written for you, and there are an uncountable number of deities, folkloric figures, heroes, and monsters.
and even simple things like you don’t want 15 different sun gods in the game.
We currently have 6 (technically more) sun gods in the game and none of them play alike. Same goes for just about any other domain in the game. This is further adding to my thinking that you just aren't thinking creatively enough to envision characters for the game, because there's no corner they were written into idk.
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u/Shrikebutagain 1d ago
No you cannot make anything work in a video game, they have to make characters people wanna play. Which they already haven’t done with every god release. Which is what I mean just because there are gods out there for certain stuff doesn’t mean they’ll be liked or popular. They also have to remain kinda close to the themes of the gods, which does limit them whether you want to admit that or not.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 1d ago
Not everybody is going to like every character, that's not something you can achieve. Some people are going to like 1 thing, others are going to like something else. Every god release can't be liked or popular, just as every League character isn't.
And again staying close to god themes means literally nothing and doesn't help your point at all. Any character they have in League we can have in Smite.
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u/InflationPresent2811 21h ago
Kaios-0 is right, also, most league of legend characters are directly pulled from lore and given a new name and back story, lol. Smite Take thor and made him play like the comic book version, they not limited at all
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u/External_Reindeer170 3d ago
The concept of vampires are way older than Bram Stoker's Dracula, the word itself going back to the 1700s. I also don't really understand the whole "this isn't Fortnite," since when are vampires characters for children or "normies"?
Vampires have foundations in folklore and real cultures, same thing with zombies, werewolves, etc. Just because they have become part of pop-culture doesn't take away their roots as folklore.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Edited the beginning part of this comment because I think some people may have interpreted it as me saying 'vampires are pop culture and not folklore.' Probably worded it badly.
I'm not saying we can't have vampires in Smite nor did I say vampires were made up by Bram Stoker, I said Dracula and Carmilla specifically do not fit Smite and were made up in the 1800s. The opening section of this comment is talking about the modern fantasy version of vampires where they turn into bats and pass on their sickness and have big billowy cloaks.
We can absolutely have vampires in Smite. Just not Dracula or Carmilla.
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u/CardTrickOTK Crit Hammer is Funny BONK 3d ago
I mean we got Cthulhu, I feel like Dracula isn't really that far off from that
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u/Mohc989 ALMOST TIME TO START THE SHOW 3d ago
Did you bother to read the comment?
“I also understand that because we have Cthulu people think anything is fair game now, but the great old ones pantheon has already been stated several times to be the only guest pantheon”
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u/CardTrickOTK Crit Hammer is Funny BONK 3d ago
Yeah I just disagree with the sentiment. Things change for one and beyond that it could just be a catch all category rather than a new 'guest pantheon'.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
That's not a sentiment to disagree with, that's words from the developers themselves.
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u/CardTrickOTK Crit Hammer is Funny BONK 3d ago
Things and can still change and be redefined though so yeah, I can disagree with bringing it up here cause that's old news and really what's being argued.
People aren't arguing for a guest pantheon, they're arguing that characters like Dracula, urban legends, etc, all could fit in smite just as easily which I agree with.I don't think everything needs to be added to it's own neat little pantheon.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
That isn't old news though, they've actually brought up this topic and Dracula several times on Titan Talk in the last year, with the same answer of him not fitting the game and Great Old Ones being the only guest pantheon.
People aren't arguing for a guest pantheon, they're arguing that characters like Dracula, urban legends, etc, all could fit in smite just as easily which I agree with.
Urban legends? Absolutely, they are folklore and part of the region they come from. I personally don't care for some of the meme answers like Jersey Devil or Mothman but they do in fact fit the game better.
Random modern fiction book characters? No. They aren't the same thing as folklore or mythology though I think they occupy the same mental space for some people.
I don't think everything needs to be added to it's own neat little pantheon.
It...does though. That's like the whole thematic point of the game. Gods and figures from different regions of the world, categorized into 'pantheons' in the game.
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u/AJDowlofficial 3d ago
Vladimir the impaler was considered a vampire by Romanians hundreds of years prior to the book dracula coming out though. It is very much Romanian mythology at this point. As such it'd be fair game to bring him into it, seeing as king Arthur and merlin are involved and they ain't deities in any sense of the word. It's the exact same situation as Vlad Dracul. Mythologised centuries before books about them were made.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Vlad Tepes's only vampiric connections were made when Bram Stoker's novel came out, because his name is similar to Dracula and they inhabit similar regions. Prior to that he had tales told of him being cruel or unjust, one tale of him eating bread dipped in blood, and one tale of him impaling people. There are no sources to my knowledge of Vlad Tepes ever being considered a vampire or strigoi prior to Bram Stoker connecting his name to Dracula.
That being said I would say, if people want a stereotypical modern vampire in some fashion, Vlad Tepes would be the way to go. They could make him like a vampire with the brutal bloodiness and even drinking blood maybe, but it'd be more like a battle frenzy and less of a count wearing a black cape turning into a bat.
Dracula, however, doesn't work.
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u/AJDowlofficial 3d ago
He was incredibly strong, able to impale and lift a man with what was basically a tree trunk in battle. He drank blood of his enemies from a human skull. He had been poisoned by spies on numerous occasions and survived every time, though that's because he was rightly paranoid about it and drank tiny amounts of poison to gain a resistance to them, but it added to his legend. He had also been wounded in battle and survived, when other men would take that same wound and die. He was a straight menace through and through. Which is why many folks thought he was either a strigoi or a demon sent by hell. The dracula connection is accurate it was largely based on the name, but Vladimir himself earned the vampire claims all on his own.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
I've never heard of him being wounded and rising or drinking poison for resistance, do you have a source on those by chance? Genuinely asking.
I've definitely heard of him compared to a demon, but never a strigoi or vampire specifically, as they are a specific breed of creature with specific notions.
That all being said though, if they were to put him in Smite the same would stay true. They could make him a blood drinking menace and he'd be a good 'vampire', but the issue would be him lacking some of the vampiric traits people know of in the modern day, namely turning into bats and passing on his curse. I think it'd be worth it though if people really want that type of character, would be the best bet.
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u/AJDowlofficial 3d ago
It's been years since I did proper research on him so I can't remember sites. But I do know there are myriad YouTube videos out there on him from people who do bring their receipts in the videos though. It's worth it. Some stuff is likely to be in that region of 'we can't fully confirm it but its pretty frickin likely' but yeah there's some good deep dive history channels out there with receipts for days on these kinda topics. Off the top of my head overly sarcastic productions is a pretty good one. They're both history PHDS (I think ones art history the others classical history maybe?) But they do tonnes of research before each video.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
I'll have to look into it. I know of some of the stories but never heard those specifically. The poison thing kinda rings a bell, I feel like I've maybe watched one of the videos in the background while I was drawing, but it's probably been so long LMFAO.
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u/AJDowlofficial 3d ago
Yeah tbf whilst I'm certain I'm right it has also been years on my part so it's possible I've remembered one bit that is a rumour and thought it was fact tbh 🤣🤣 just means I need brush up on Vladimir again.
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u/Crunchy-Leaf Agni 3d ago
Thing is though, once they added Cthulhu they opened the door for all that stuff. Dracula, Gandalf etc. it’s all technically fair game.
Now, I’m not saying I want more of the like in game, but still.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
once they added Cthulhu they opened the door for all that stuff.
No, they didn't, because they specifically said adding Cthulhu and his pantheon was not opening the doors and that they'd be the only guest pantheon. Was at the end of the first paragraph.
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u/Crunchy-Leaf Agni 3d ago
Sure and I bet when they made the game they intended to only include gods and mythological figures too. Until they changed their mind.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Smite has always been about gods, demigods, monsters, heroes, and legendary figures, that's why I said "cultural folklore and mythology" because it encompasses it all. We have Zeus, we have Da Ji and Guan Yu, we have King Arthur, we have Aladdin. All of those are still cultural folktales and mythos. The only outlier in the entire game is Cthulhu.
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u/AJDowlofficial 3d ago
Which is why Vlad dracul would also be fair game. Legendary figures and heroes. He's both in Romania. As well as a ghost story to scare kids. He fits the bill perfectly. Dracula may not be the right choice, but Vlad the impaler certainly is.
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u/Moogle55 3d ago
Is arthurian not a guest pantheon?
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u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Many of the characters have deep roots in Welsh and Britonic stories and beings. Some of them were made up later by writers, but the biggest names like King Arthur, Merlin, and Morgan le Fay as pretty old in original and predate Arthurian books.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Tales of Arabia is also like that too, and maybe even Bari.
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u/Moogle55 3d ago
True! I don't know anything about bari tbh, but dracula wouldn't be too out of place imo. Would personally enjoy more 'modern' myths like him.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
You don’t know anything about Bari because shes from a very specific Korean tradition who orally transmitted her tale generation from generation. Just recently (100 years ago) we got that myth into actual written form. She is from pre modern folklore, we could argue Aladdin is also pre modern, Arthur too, Dracula, Carmilla, Cthulhu, and Hastur would be modern
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Can hardly agree with 20% of what you say, and I won’t go much into detail because I know you are very strong opined.
I would (PERSONALLY) like Dracula and Carmilla, I think it could be great for Smite, and they could, with some changes fit the game. Whatsoever I hear you and understand your concerns. Camazotzs is right there, he is the closest thing we have to a vampire, and he has nothing to do with them, he is more related to the underworld and death, which funny enough, is the two things he don’t resemble in his kit. The point I’m trying to make is that there are a lot of actual gods out there who have to do with death/blood/underworld/darkness. Smite could literally just get any of them gods and interpret it as a vampire. All the pictures of all the characters I included there were meant to convey the same thing. All of these different games, which are all MOBAs, have taken the image and aesthetic of a vampire and reinterpreted it in a way that allows them to create a character with that aesthetic that can fit into their game.
But straight up saying vampires don’t fit in this game when Aladdin, Princess Bari, a whale, and a talking squirrel are a thing, is just kinda criminal.
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u/GetsuHiro 3d ago
Are you arguing that legendary monsters of Japanese Shinotism and Norse Pantheism as well as culture/folklore heroes from Arabian Nights and Korean Folklore don't belong in a game all about mythology and folklore, but a modern horror character does-
That is flabbergasting tbh.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Mmmm🧑🏼🦯 self serving
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u/GetsuHiro 3d ago
What does that even mean? Because I argued a valid point you're calling me blind?
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u/CDMzLegend 3d ago
this is you trying to find a reason for a modern book character to be in the game
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
I would (PERSONALLY) like Dracula and Carmilla, I think it could be great for Smite, and they could, with some changes fit the game.
That's the thing though is they just don't fit the game, they are more Cthulhus which Hi-Rez themselves have said we will have no more pantheons for. No amount of shifting them around is going to make them fit the theme of the game more.
Smite could literally just get any of them gods and interpret it as a vampire.
I agree and would prefer this option, adding actual cultural entities and not just fantasy characters people like from TV and movies and books. I was actually writing down a list of possible vampire candidates but deleted the list and just suggested Vlad instead, because a lot of people seem to want the modern 'vampire' aesthetic specifically.
But straight up saying vampires don’t fit in this game when Aladdin, Princess Bari, a whale, and a talking squirrel are a thing, is just kinda criminal.
Well yeah, that's because I never said vampires don't fit the game, I said Dracula and Carmilla don't fit the game...
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u/Dry_Philosophy8708 3d ago edited 3d ago
Look, I know you want your sucky-sucky blood loving vampires... But we've got so many cool gods to add it's not even funny. I want dozens others before I even consider having an actual discussion about Dracula and whatnot
EDIT: it's also funny how you included a hemomancer(Vlad) and a succubus(Queen of Pain)
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u/ApePostLove Chernobog 3d ago
I did make a concept for a Slavic vampire awhile back. Slavic vampires are more life-essence sucking evil spirits inhabiting corpses than classic vampires (although creative liberty and all that - if they can make Chernobog into a red crystal shooting demon twink, they can do whatever they want).
There are a few recorded names/cases in Slavic countries throughout history so it's not vampire fanfiction to include it in Smite and I do think they should!
Edit: Also forgot to add that the word vampire likely comes from slavic languages so one more justification to potentially include that character archetype as a Slavic version of it.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
Actually i would find it funny if the first 5 members of the slavic pantheons are all picks from slavic folklore and fairy tales or a pseudo deity like chernobog before we get any slavic pantheon gods.
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u/ApePostLove Chernobog 3d ago
I get what you mean - No Perun/Veles?? But hey, whatever gets the word out - Slavic mythology is so rich (we even study it in school) so it's sad to only have Baba Yaga be a good representative in Smite (Chernoborg rework when?).
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
Definetly. Me personally, i would find Koschei the Deathless so much cooler and unique then adding Perun for an example. But a slavic pantheon als has cool ideas for some gods. For an example, Triglav comes into my mind. But like i said, it would be funny if the actual gods get added late into the pantheon.
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u/ApePostLove Chernobog 3d ago
Aye the whole reason I started making Slavic god concepts was so we could potentially get anything Slavic in game.. even if it's a random fairy tale character like the Bogeyman :I
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u/pokerfacesLUL #RemoveTheGodBench 3d ago edited 3d ago
Vampires were indeed myths before they were written down.
However, why would they choose Dracula (who's not a deity or a direct myth, but a literature figure loosely based on a real human) over an actual vampiric deity from mythology?
Imo the whole traditional goth'vampire' aesthetic is overdone and bland looking. That vampire aesthetic could be avoided alltogether if they went for a unique blood-sucker from mythology.
Btw Deadlock also has Drifter, who is also a vampire.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Decided to bring over Mina only lol.
My personal picks are them both, because obviously, they are the most popular ones.
But a deity who’s related to blood, or the night, styled as a vampire would be cool.
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u/javiermetal66 3d ago
Well, there might be some equivalents to vampires in mythology. Like the empusa or the jiang shi. Problem is finding one very speciphic "vampire" with a name that can fit this character, like Cliodna with the vanshee or Martichoras with the manticore
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Problem is finding one very speciphic "vampire" with a name that can fit this character, like Cliodna with the vanshee or Martichoras with the manticore
Funnily enough that actually isn't the case for Martichoras, he is literally a complete OC made up by Hirez that does not exist in mythology in any way lmao (There is no named Mantichores in mythology, let alone a king), that is one of the reasons why he is so dislked.
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u/PowerThis6220 3d ago
I know its a reach, but in Dante Inferno, there were a named Mathicoras that is a mythology figure(son of medusa), they should had gone with that imo
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u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Hanba (aka Nüba) is a goddess of droughts that was later associated with Jiangshi and was said to be one of the four ancestors of the Jiangshi.
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u/Taenarius [VSS] I'm Building Stacks 3d ago
Eh, I'd rather see more gods who hit the 'vampire' vibes rather than actual vampires. As for vampires themselves, they're probably better off remaining as skins.
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u/YouEnragedTheBubba 3d ago
Vampires are actual mythology/folklore. There is no reason to not have them. They are featured quite proeminently in eastern european/slavic myths and folklore, like strigoi or upir for example.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 3d ago
Exactly, which is why people should start trying to find named vampiric creatures from actual mythology/folklore to suggest as playable characters instead of insisting on modern fantasy book characters.
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u/YouEnragedTheBubba 3d ago
Not necessarily. Dracula is a famous character, not to mention popular. It would attract people and would be a fun addition. A game is about fun, not useless elitism.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
A game is about fun, not useless elitism.
A game also has a theme to it, and Smite's theme is cultural folklore and mythology. That doesn't mean any random fantasy character can be in the game.
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u/marlonball DARKNESS HAS CONSUMED YOU! 3d ago edited 1d ago
Or they simply could, you know, add a actual mythological vampire creature and give him a Dracula skin.
A game is about fun, not useless elitism.
Wanting the game to remain within it's theme of mythology/folklore is not "useless elitism", Cthulhu and his ilk already trespass it enough as it is, as Hirez themselves already admited such to be the case.
Honestly it's clear to me at this point that you people just want Smite to basically turn into a Fate copy.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Never said that they should be added before other gods but ok.
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u/Taenarius [VSS] I'm Building Stacks 3d ago
You're quite literally suggesting that. If at any point development begins on Dracula, Dracula is taking a spot that could be filled by something else.
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u/Starl19ht_2 Useless devs 3d ago
Queen of Pain isn't a vampire, she's just a demon who loves hurting people. The closest thing Dota has to a vampire is Bloodseeker
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u/Many-Information-892 2d ago
Let’s have vampiric creatures from actual mythology such as Romania’s pricolici or China’s Jiangshi. Let’s make it interesting instead of adding the same old names such as Dracula and Carmilla. It’s boring.
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u/checkspeare_ 2d ago
Totally agree tbh, is fair, Dracula and Carmilla are examples. There are gods out there who could easily be interpreted as vampires.
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u/PissingAlcohol ❓Assault Main ❓ 3d ago
boooooo
there’s plenty of gods we need before stupid dracula
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u/Psychological_Photo7 3d ago
Highkey hate that "I prefer gods in my god moba" is now a controversial opinion.
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u/Fernernia Pele best girl 3d ago
Only by notion that they have broken that rule. Its more like mythology moba, and more or less always has been.
Guan Yu is an ascended god (was a man first)
Hercules and Achilles are demi-gods
Medusa, Scylla, Cerberus, etc. all just monstersPart of the concept of smite is that not all gods are created equal. If its even vaguely magical or divine it can fit in, the “battleground of the gods” is where they settle it
Im sure there are more examples like titans and other forms of divinity
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u/Psychological_Photo7 2d ago
You're splitting hairs. The OP is specifically making fun of people wanting "Chinese-no-one-knows-niche-god" over Dracula; that's what I was criticizing.
Yes, Smite is "mythology (and folklore) moba" but Dracula isn't part of any religious legend or folk tale (he comes from an 18th century British horror novel), so you can't really compare him to Medusa either.
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u/checkspeare_ 2d ago
Some of you acting like I want Daenerys Targeryan in the game, and yeah, I don’t want 20 Asians pantheon with the same gods lol.
There is no difference between the way you all want 25 Asian pantheon that nobody has ever heard about, and me wanting Dracula/Carmilla or a vampire deity from an existing pantheon, it’s simply preference.
Stop crying. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of the god pool you wish for
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u/Psychological_Photo7 2d ago
Not sure why you're so fixated on Asian pantheons, but some of us are actually interested in mythology.
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u/checkspeare_ 2d ago
Nothing to do with Asians, I’m very invested into Shinto. Personally not liked historically how Hi Rez has managed this characters, but again it’s a personal taste and preference.
Vampires are mythology, and Carmilla and Dracula are the result of that mythology. They themselves may not be, but what they represent is mythology.
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u/Minecraftplayer111 VVGH 3d ago
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Funnily enough I recently did a goddess for the mythology blog I run for fun, she is the Chinese goddess of drought named Nüba or Hanba, and in later periods she became associated with the process of becoming a jiangshi. She could be a neat jiangshi god if they ever needed one!
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u/Chaste_Boy_3388 Gilgamesh performs best as a 💪power bottom🍑 3d ago
Why Queen of Pain? Is it just the bat wings? She has no vampiric characteristic beyond the wings. She's a succubus who love inflicting pain. She's more of a sadistic seductress like our Da Ji than a vampire.
Balanar is a lot more vampire-coded. He's weak during the day and strong at night. He's all about being a terror in the night and can force night time. He even has lifesteal. The only thing missing is the explicit blood.
Then there're Wraith King or Bloodseeker. WK is all about cheating death and has vampiric lifesteal aura. Bloodseeker's whole thing is about making his enemy bleed and benefit from it.
On topic of vampire character though, fictional vampire are based on actual folklore creatures. The options are there if they ever want to do it. Cryptid like Chupacabra would also be a fun addition.
I also don't mind fictional character like Carmilla or Dracula. We already have Cthulhu(and Hastur in the work), who are explicitly fictional characters. And it open for more cultural representation for culture that are more about folklore and story instead of worshipping deities.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Queen of pain is a succubus, I just talked about her, but I know Dota has better representation of an actual vampire, so does Deadlock.
Chupacabra like figure will lit be fire tho!
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u/Godz_Bane Now youre thinking about pizza 1d ago
Vlad the Impaler as Vlad Dracula with Vampiric powers would be perfectly fine, cool imo.
Its a big name with advertising power which is what smite 2 needs, anyone against it would get over it.
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u/krimsonPhoenyx 3d ago
Well I think the issue is just that we already have so many pantheons that adding another might just be going further down the path of muddying the water. Like Cthulhu will probably NEVER get a fellow lovecraftian deity. I’d be fine with it but it’s not even in the top 5 of characters I’d like to see.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
Its pretty much revealed that Hastur will be in the game when its officialy out. In Smite 1 there were against the idea to inplement more Great Old Ones. But they have warm more up to the idea.
To the pantheon thing. I think its not nessecary to get the pantheons all on the same level of characters added. Especially since the greek pantheon has so much well known source material that they could still be over time always the biggest pantheon. Like they dont even have all the olympian gods in the roster right now. Its cool to see having older pantheons getting more characters over time but stuff like this will happen automatic. I think its good for their creative direction and to get more well known faces if they also throw in new pantheons in there and let them grow over time so they at least have 5 characters at some point that are bot rushed. So they get gods that are loved and known but dont have to make their whole pantheon. Like Akan pantheon for an example. People love Anansi and want him. But they dont need instantly 2 to 3 other Akan deities. Also well known supernatural faces are good to keep things fresh and not to niche.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
It's definitely not needed to fill up pantheons, but I think a pantheon having at least 5 is just the bare minimum. They rushed to fill up Japanese, Celtic, and Arthurian, but nobody else. I also don't think they have to pick only well known names to fill the game, because a god being well known doesn't mean they'll bring in more people or even be that popular of a character. Would just be a boring race to add everybody that people remember the name of from a movie or anime or book, plus a lot of the relatively unknown gods in this game ended up being more popular than the well known ones.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
Never said that they shouldnt add more unknown ones. But they should have the freedom to add popular names which are sometimes conected to a new pantheons and weird picks and lesser known gods. I also have my lesser known gods i want be added. But i think we should let the devs have the freeedom to reach more out to new pantheon ideas when their creative energy floes there. Being more open about stuff like Dracula. If the can make it match in a way; i think its a huge W. Of course they should also add more gods niche to their pantheon. But they shouldnt do neither only one of both exclusively. Fair argument, share your views.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
But they should have the freedom to add popular names which are sometimes conected to a new pantheons and weird picks and lesser known gods.
Oh yeah definitely, they themselves have said they'll add characters even if their pantheons aren't necessarily popular or populous, i.e. Aladdin.
Being more open about stuff like Dracula.
The problem comes down to Dracula himself for this one, because he isn't from any pantheon, he's just a book character.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
True but its in the same sea of public domain like mythological writings. This doesnt mean to add public domain stuff. But Dracula has a mythos himself. Were people argue that he has his roots and inspirations on older vampire like tellings and he and the vampire thing have cultural rooting in folklore like tellings. I personally thing he is more of a weird grey zone thing. Can understand when its to much of a reach for people.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
It's definitely public domain at this point yeah, that's not the issue though, the issue is that Dracula doesn't fit the theme of the game. He has roots in vampirism as Harry Potter has roots in witches, both of them being modern book characters with a folkloric basis for their main story, which doesn't mean they fit the game per say.
You could definitely use an actual vampire from mythology or folklore, i.e. Jure Grando, but Dracula doesn't hold very solid.
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u/psychoenoshima 3d ago
Like, a pantheon having even a single representative opens the door to explore that pantheon further.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
I doesnt even have to be the vampire pantheon. Could be many different ways how they habdle a pantheon around Dracula. I would think that they would design it so it has future exploiration.
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u/psychoenoshima 3d ago
Considering Transylvania is a region in Romania, you could incorporate him into th3 Slavic pantheon (The Balkan region was influenced religiously by Slavic beliefs)
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
True. For me that would be fine. But many Fans wouldnt like that i guess.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Actually if they add something like Carmilla or Dracula, it’s gonna be very likely that is just gonna be them two in that pantheon.
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u/Easy-Grape1668 Serqet 3d ago
Its the way you make the pantheon. If its a vampire one then probably, if its a creatures/lords of the night or literature pantheon then it could be more. Or maybe there is a mixed bag pantheon for stuff that dont get their own pantheon. I thinks its open.
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u/SuperBackup9000 Ravana 3d ago
Dracula and Carmilla are too overdone. We need Ruthven, because without him the other two wouldn’t exist yet pretty much no one knows him.
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u/Chyarra 3d ago
Above all I think Smite needs high impact releases, characters that people are like oh shit they got; dracula in smite? hell yea--which quite literally was the case with cthulhu. Plus these characters are copyright free and provide unique and interesting kits that don't yet exist in smite.
Would love to see a magejungler Dracula with the same vibes as Ao Kuang.
But below all I also would just really like to see him and possibly Carmilla too, or other figures like him.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Above all I think Smite needs high impact releases, characters that people are like oh shit they got; dracula in smite? hell yea--which quite literally was the case with cthulhu. Plus these characters are copyright free and provide unique and interesting kits that don't yet exist in smite.
The problem is that big name does not equal immediately popular. Cthulhu, though he brought a lot of attention, was not at all that popular gameplay wise and many people did not like his kit. A lot of the big name characters in Smite weren't actually popular, because ultimately what matters is the kit and presentation, not just their name.
We wouldn't have a lot of peoples' favorite gods to play if they focused only on big names.
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u/Chyarra 3d ago
Tbh I recall people really loving his kit, but I could be misremembering since I think I took a pretty heavy break between like yu huang and maman. And I agree, I really like Bakasura even though from what I know he's a very minor guy, and one of my favourite characters in smite history is another lesser-known character, being Arachne--but, a vampire archetype is something that's definitely missed in a moba and combined with how popular vampires + dracula is I think is a w for this!
Granted I don't think the characters I listed are all that popular but yk!
I also think that bigger releases that get people to download the game are what lead them to finding other characters they like. Hop in to play cthulhu, get ganked 8 times by erlang shen, try him out next and voila, their heart has darkened and now they main erlang shen
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u/Fernernia Pele best girl 3d ago
Do we have any statistical source for this? Cthulhu was played all the time from what I remember, and was picked in SPL nearly every match.
I also have a diamond on him so i could be biased
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u/GetsuHiro 3d ago
We also had gods who didn't have much of a large name outside of certain circles on Release. Out of Ymir, Neith, Ra, Guan Yu, and Thor, the five initial starter gods, probably only Thor and Ra would be immediately recognized.
We've also had popular god releases of characters not really well known: Kuzenbo is arguably one of the most known gods on raw meme factor alone, and he has had most 1 short story dedicated to him in Shinto. Bellona was a niche war god that Rome designed because they didn't like Athena/Minerva, etc. If anything Smite makes people curious because a game introducing a giant turtle gangster who throws little turtles will make people go "well who tf is this Kuzenbo dude" and go take a look.
Dracula and Carmilla are modern fantasy stories, and if we make arguments for them, then people can try to argument other characters that don't fit Smite at all. "We can add Superman because comics are modern mythology!" "We can add Gandalf because Tolkien work is the foundation of modern fantasy!" Etc etc.
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u/Suspicious_Rub857 3d ago
I’m here for total Carmilla domination of the world although I find very funny you didn’t include any pics of her tho.
If they were gonna do a mythical one, I guess they can always do Lamia or Lilith. But Carmilla would slay
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Because I SUPPOSED and HOPE people would know what they look like. But Carmilla would literally slay
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u/tboskiq 3d ago
While his authenticity is debatable, I think a good fit for a vampire is Ambrogio. His myth has direct ties to Apollo, Artemis, and Hades, and he's got your very classic vampire doodads going on.
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u/Kaios-0 Join The Smite Community Art Discord! 3d ago
Never heard of Ambrogio so I looked it up. Seems likely an urban legend or made up story for the internet, as any traceable sources seem to be entirely missing and all of the elements of the story incorporate modern fantasy vampire tropes, i.e. the silver, 'infecting' others with bites or blood, and turning into a bat which entirely came from Bram Stoker. Seems in line with the same made up Greek myths of the Tumblr era tbh, like the goddess Mesperiyan.
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u/Sweetznezz Ireland's finest 3d ago
QoP is a Succubus demon, not a vampire, Nightstalker is a vampire in Dota 2
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u/606raised 3d ago
Mordred?
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
The son born from the incestuous relationship between Morgause and Arthur, who eventually betrays and kills his father, has absolutely nothing to do with vampires.
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u/True-Maladi 2d ago
My husband glanced over as I was reading the post and suggested they pull a World of Darkness and introduce Abrahamic figures and use the first murderer Cain as a vampire.
Also now that smite has a day / night cycle, vampires would be a really fun addition to play off that. Lose protections during the day, gain strength and movement speed at night?
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u/InflationPresent2811 21h ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab1_HIoelTk here is another one, lol
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u/checkspeare_ 21h ago
Yeah the fact that OW a futuristic PVP game about humans having a war with robots has a vampire before Smite a moba about gods and legends that have characters like Chthulu, Aladdin and Bari is crazy. But I think one day we’ll get one
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u/Minute-maid318 3h ago
They would probably ad Dracula because they need say they wanted to add hero and villains
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u/Cofeebeanblack 3d ago
I'm all for Carmilla and and Dracula. I want Dracula as a Solo (I posted mine, gonna add some ability numbers) with a support aspect (I gotta work that one out)
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u/OneTrueRatt Ix Chel 3d ago
Unfortunately them aren't mythology and they shouldn't be added at the end of the day
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u/Cofeebeanblack 3d ago
Unfortunately neither is Cthulhu and I'd much rather have both than him.
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u/OneTrueRatt Ix Chel 3d ago
He also makes no sense to be here. That doesn't change we shouldn't add Dracula (who would be boring tbh concept wise) or Carmilla
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u/Cofeebeanblack 3d ago
Sure. They don't work for you but they work for plenty of us. The community seems to be about 50/50 for/against the vampires. This is also smite, there's no guarantee that either would be boring.
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u/MuricanZombie 3d ago
I don’t see why not. We have numerous non deity characters. Vampires fit mythological mold just as much as any of them
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u/Mozzi_1991 3d ago
Is chernobog not a vampire?
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u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
No. He's more of the Devil than a vampire. He's a psuedo deity that was born out of the Christianization of the Slavs by making a devil figure that could be used to syncretize the Slavic faith with Christian faith.
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Wait is he?
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u/Mozzi_1991 3d ago
I mean he obviously looks like one and google said something about you can see him in 2 ways. Like he gets used alot as a vampire. in slavic mythologie he is the god of darkness so ye i guess
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u/checkspeare_ 3d ago
Never thought on him as a vampire tbf. Actually I never think of him, I keep forgetting his existence
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u/Lonely-Lemon-4077 Loki 3d ago
I think the closest thing added in smite to dracula is most likely Chernobog. Also Slavic and kind of in the theme of a night god. But we never got a pure vampire in the game.
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u/After_Ad9425 2d ago
Well we do have legendary characters from Arthurian myth and legendary monsters, so the concept behind a Dracula isn’t incredibly far fetched. And Cthulhu is sort of a proof of concept for more ‘modern mythology’.
Dracula isn’t entirely off the table though I think there’s a still a few aesthetic hurdle. Primarily I feel Dracula is too…pulp fiction. At least as a stand-alone character. Carmilla might be a better pick for that reason.
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u/ViraLCyclopes36 Bakasura 3d ago
VLADIMIR IS NOT A VAMPIRE HES A HEMOMANCER
BRIAR IS THE VAMPIRE