The world of Runeterra that the League of Legends franchise takes place in is quite large. Originally, when the MOBA was first released in 2009, there wasn't much lore for anyone or anything, but as hundreds of Champions have been added, Runeterra has vastly expanded. Now, there are fully fleshed-out regions with traditions, cultures, and histories as well as recurring non-Champion characters that show up in multiple stories.
Many of these recurring characters have gone on to become fan favorites, leading to many series fans hoping that they might make an appearance in the League of Legends MMORPG. These non-playable characters are seen regularly throughout League of Legends and would make for fantastic NPCs in Riot Games' passion project MMORPG.
7 Cithria Of Cloudfield
Cithria of Cloudfield has to be one of the first NPCs mentioned, both because she's one of the most well-known side characters in League, but also because her story and gradual ascension up the Demacian Ranks would work so well in an MMO setting. Cithria was introduced in Legends of Runeterra as a small girl who traveled to Demacia from the small town of Cloudfield to become part of the Demacian Military. She has multiple cards dedicated to her such as:
- Cithria of Cloudfield
- Vanguard Squire
- Cithria the Bold
- Cithria, Lady of Clouds
Throughout these cards, players can see Cithria grow and advance in rank alongside the rarity and mana cost of the cards. She starts as a little girl looking lost in the big city and then struggles as a recruit in the Demacian military before finally joining the Dauntless Vanguard elite unit that Garen Crownguard is a part of.
6 Isolde, The Ex-Camavoran Queen
The story of Viego: the Ruined King, the kingdom of Camavor, and the Ruination/Sentinels of Light events are something a lot of people in the League community aren't huge fans of. In particular, the idea that Isolde was a kind and loving girl that Viego fell for at first sight was always cheesy. It's made worse by the fact that she just ignored how Viego was obviously ignoring his entire kingdom for her. Not to say that everything that eventually happened wasn't Viego's fault, but Isolde wasn't dumb. How could she abide by and stay with someone who made such awful decisions for the sake of love?
Therefore, if the MMORPG ever comes out and the Black Mist becomes a part of the story or an event, Isolde's ghost would be a fantastic NPC for players to interact with. She could explain why she allowed Viego to ruin Camavor, why her spirit stabbed him when she was resurrected, or how her spirit broke into multiple fragments directly after. Isolde has ties to multiple champions such as Viego, Gwen, Senna, Lucian, and Yorick, so she absolutely deserves a chance to defend herself.
5 Commander Ledros
Honestly, there's a lot on the Shadow Isles that Riot could explore in an MMORPG setting. It would work as a great location for players to fight constantly respawning mobs and could function as an area of the map where fallen allies or historical characters can come back as ghosts and give the player lore. There's also a lot more to explore about the characters related to this area, such as Commander Ledros and Kallista the Champion.
Like Viego and Isolde, Ledros fell in love with Kallista at first sight. Unlike Isolde, however, Kallista didn't immediately reciprocate his feelings, putting both their positions in Camavor's court first. Then, after the two of them became undead specters thanks to the Shadow Isles' Black Mist, both found new missions in life. Kallista wants to get back at anyone related to her death while Commander Ledros just wants to cleanse the Black Mist entirely so that Kallista might remember him.
4 YouTuber Necrit & His Character Nunyo Necrit
Necrit is a popular YouTuber who has spent the majority of his career covering League of Legends-related content. As a result, he was immortalized as a canon character in Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. Nunyo Necrit is the name of his in-universe character, and this ex-Camvoran advisor now lives on in the Shadow Isles as a lore-dump character for the party to interact with.
In life, Nunyo advised the royalty of this kingdom, including Viego. In fact, he even accompanied Viego in his journey to the Blessed Isles before becoming an undead. Because Necrit is known for explaining so much of the League world, he would be a fantastic NPC in Riot's MMORPG, as he could easily be the NPC players come back to for recaps or deeper character/lore explanations.
3 Tyari The Traveler
For those who don't recognize this name,Tyari is another character who had an entire story told through the Targon-specific cards that featured them in Legends of Runeterra. Essentially, Tyari was part of Targon's Rakkor tribe but felt that this life was not their true calling, so they took on the arduous task of climbing Mt. Targon to become the Vessel for an Aspect.
Tyari has been picked as the Aspect of the Traveler, meaning they'll likely become a playable Champion at some point, but for now, that's all players know about them. Riot could therefore use the LoL MMORPG to have the player climb Mt. Targon alongside Tyari, see the mountain up close, watch Tyari interact with the Celestials of Targon Prime, and elaborate a bit more on what the powers of the Traveler even are.
2 The Poro King
Poros are one of the best things that Riot Games has ever added to Runeterra. They're these little fluffballs with heart-shaped stomachs that are literally too cute to kill. For a long time, Poros were just a bit of adorable decoration for the Howling Abyss map. However, thanks to Legends of Runeterra, Poros have now been canonized as a species that seems to travel all across the world.
Riot still has not created a Poro Champion, but the Poro King is the next closest thing. As the name suggests, he is the ruler of the Poros and has been seen in-game as part of the Snowdown Showdown event and the Nexus Blitz game mode. So, having this bit of fluffy Royalty show up while players are trekking across the frozen wastes of the Freljord would be an amazing idea to add a bit of flair to the icy-wasteland region and integrate Poros into the game overall.
1 Gregor & The Hermit, The Shopkeeps Of The Howling Abyss
Anyone who plays Riot's Wild Rift game or is a fan of the All-Random-All-Mid mode in LoL is likely familiar with Gregor and the Hermit. Gregor is a disembodied spirit and an eternal protector of the Howling Abyss. It's said that he is waiting for the day that the Frozen Watchers climb back out so that he may sound his war horn once again.
That all sounds very serious, but most fans just know him as the shopkeep on the blue-team side of the map, while the Hermit is the shopkeep for the red-team. On that note, the Hermit actually has a lot less known about him than Gregor does. All fans can tell from his voice lines is that he's originally a professor from Piltover, has come to the Howling Abyss to learn about the past, and has an interest in the True Ice that the Iceborn originally used. Still, either of these characters would make for fantastic NPCs to interact with once players venture to the Frostguard Citadel.
League of Legends MMORPG is currently in development.