Battle Realms Profile: Serpent Heroes

Serpent Clan Heroes

We've now reached the third profile of our weekly series of clan profiles for Battle Realms. In these updates, we're examining the unique hero class of units that will be available to you in Liquid Entertainment's forthcoming Asian-themed real-time strategy game. To date, we've examined the powerful heroes of the 2806150Dragon Clan and the 2807687Wolf Clan . You'll find that the following heroes aren't quite as noble as those of the previous two clans--more often than not, they'll relish in the suffering of others or, at the very least, come from a background shrouded in mystery. Love them or hate them, they'll be yours to command as part of the Serpent Clan.

Shinja

The leader of the Serpent Clan is by all accounts a coldhearted but efficient warrior. He was the captain of Lord Oja's Serpent Guard at the time of Oja's murder, presumably at the hands of his son, Kenji. While the proof was circumstantial, Kenji instantly fled the Serpent Clan and remained exiled for seven years. It was Shinja and his men who sent search parties into the woods in hopes of capturing Kenji. In the years following Oja's death, Shinja rose to take over control of the Serpent Clan.

But Shinja wasn't known for being cruel--he was merely indifferent. One account of this indifference to life came from one of his ex-bodyguards who, at the time, was part of a group that was sent after a ragtag band of bandits, who became the inadvertent kidnappers of a Serpent daimyo's daughter when one of their heists went wrong. While his group was outnumbered three to one in unfamiliar territory, Shinja never showed any hesitation when confronting the kidnappers, and at the same time, he didn't bask in the confidence of his men's skill. He knew that the bandits were nothing more than a bunch of farmers with no formal weapons training whatsoever, and yet, he knew that an example had to be made out of them. Without even batting an eye, Shinja issued his men a single command, and within minutes, the entire group of bandits had been cut to ribbons. Shinja himself participated in the slaughter--lest his men lose confidence in his leadership--and showed no pleasure in his action. Nor did he feel any guilt.

Shinja will prove a formidable foe and a worthy ally, depending on your clan affiliation, on the battlefield. He carries a pair of katanas that can pass through flesh as if they're traveling through air. His special attack of snake swarm will summon, as you might have guessed, a swarm of snakes that will slither their way toward his enemies, inflicting magic damage, while his innate ability of "ye of little faith" makes Shinja almost completely immune from magic damage.
See a conceptual sketch of Shinja.
See Shinja in action.

Utara

Utara was the only child of a small family from an equally small farming village. Her traumatic upbringing began at the age of four, when a group of ruffians sacked her village, killing nearly everyone and burning the whole thing to the ground. For reasons unknown, Utara's life was spared that day. The bandits eventually dumped her off at the footsteps of a bathhouse, where she was taken in by a group of geishas.

Through the years, Utara eventually forgot the horrifying incident and started to excel in the healing arts of the geishas. At the age of six, she had learned all the traditional dances of the geishas and had developed a stunning soprano voice. At the age of 11, she was assisting the bathhouse healer perform complicated spells, and by the time she was 15, she was easily the most proficient healer among her group of geishas. One night, however, a group of Lord Shinja's hired raiders arrived at the bathhouse and started boasting about their "discipline" of some local peasants. Most of the men had minor wounds, which Utara and a few other geishas attended to. As the night wore on, all the geishas except for Utara had retired to their quarters. It was at this point that something within Utara had resurfaced, something that she had buried deep within her many years ago. Some of the geishas awoke to Utara's high-pitched singing to find that the raiders were convulsing and dying--some simply shriveling away to dust--before their very eyes. When her singing had perished the last of the raiders, Utara thanked the geishas for their years of hospitality and disappeared into the night.

Utara paints her face with a deathly white color and wears long, sharp gloves that give you the illusion that her hands are branches. Attached to one of her forearms is a thin blade that gives poison damage to anyone unfortunate enough to feel its slice. Her special attack is the song of sorrow, which slowly depletes the health of nearby enemies. Additionally, Utara has the innate ability of pleasure and pain, which stuns nearby enemies when she is attacked.
See a conceptual sketch of Utara.
See Utara in action.

Budo

This seven-foot, 400-pound giant of a man is actually a governor of a small province of the Serpent Clan. On paper, Budo's is the most prosperous of such provinces, as his farmers and peasants constantly have the largest harvest, the finest roads, the deepest wells, and the most fortified villages in the region. The reason for this prosperity is that Budo's motivational methods aren't exactly humane. In fact, even by Serpent Clan standards, Budo is a cruel and unforgiving supervisor who believes that loyalty can be had at the tip of a whip. His serfs work hard not because they respect him, but because they fear for their lives.

One account of Budo tells of the lashing of a farmer with a whip for taking a break from harvesting rice long enough to wipe the sweat off his brow. Another man was killed by Budo's whip simply because the quota of rice hadn't been met that day. The Serpent Clan leaders had at one point considered promoting Budo to full lordship status--Budo had often proved his battle worthiness in combat alongside Lord Shinja himself--but upon discovering his inhumane methods, the Serpent Clan reconsidered. Despite his imposing attitude, Budo is a quiet man, and little is known about his past beyond the fact that he left home at the age of 16 for no apparent reason--and no one has had the courage to ask Budo to elaborate on that mystery.

Budo wields a 20-foot leather whip with enough strength to break a normal man's bones. His special attack is called slave driver, and at the crack of his whip, nearby peasants work faster. This includes harvesting rice, fetching water, and erecting structures.
See a conceptual sketch of Budo.

Vetkin

Vetkin is actually in the service of the Dragon Clan's Garrin, who is rumored to be the bastard son of none other than Shinja. A young man himself, Vetkin's tale is one of riches to rags. He was born the youngest son of ah noble, and after all his elder brothers had been married off and been given their share of the estate, Vetkin was left with nothing. So at the age of 14, he left home and traveled north, taking with him only a sword, a blanket, and the clothes on his back.

He spent his first few years on the road stealing horses and sacks of grain and then selling them back at an inflated price during times of shortage. His exploits soon caught the attention of the Night Brothers, a local thieves' guild, which eventually kidnapped Vetkin and forced him to take a six-hour initiation. Naturally, Vetkin passed the test and was soon inducted into their ranks. While the Night Brothers helped forge his skills as a thief, they also reintroduced Vetkin to the ways of nobility so that he may one day live a better life than the one that fate had dealt him. Soon, Vetkin was taken in by Lord Garrin, where he now lives a happy life managing his accounts and settling his disputes, the latter of which he does with his trusty wakizashi. His special attack of bravado drains the stamina of nearby enemies, while his innate ability of sprinting allows him to run without draining any of his stamina.
See a conceptual sketch of Vetkin.

And that brings our profile of the Serpent Clan heroes to a close. To tide you over until next week's profile of the nefarious Lotus heroes, be sure to take a look at the latest batch of screenshots and concept artwork that we've added in the media gallery. And don't forget to mark your calendars in October, because the last time we checked, Battle Realms was still scheduled to come out then.