Kenshi - The Whole Story of The First Empire

This is a read off my guys of everything we know definitively about Kenshi's First Empire. Enjoy!
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[@johnwhite1534]

I don't think the behemoths were self aware. The skeletons having a more human intelligence makes sense cause they were built to directly serve under humans. The behemoths were weapons. Built for a simple purpose, to destroy the enemies of the 1st Empire and protect its citizens. For some reason Stobe didn't get the order to march to Obedience. Maybe he was in some sort of behemoth drydock when the order came down. It could be the humans planned to keep one behemoth in storage if needed. The skeletons rose up in rebellion to avenge the ever loyal behemoths. Just as they were about to seal the deal and wipe mankind off the map. Stobe took the bullet meant for humanity. The skeletons couldn't pretend that the war was really about the behemoths anymore. Seeing as they blew a hole in the last one. They then had to confront the fact that the behemoths were just their excuse for the war and not the purpose of it. It's easy to slaughter people if you believe yourself to be on the side of justice. But when the reason for your war dies by your hands. You're left alone with all you've done. So their war became hollow and their hearts heavy

[@wonderwiseS2]

I was about to comment something like that. Behemoths were made for war, giants with enormous destructive capabilities. I'm not an expert on fictional Alien technology but i would assume they weren't programmed with emotional intelligence and a deep feeling of identity. If they had the ability to consider moral and ethical implications when making decisions they wouldn't follow a command to be buried "alive". Same reason Stobe protected humanity, he was programmed to do so. What Skeletons saw in Obedience felt like genocide because they were "their kin" but in reality humans were terminating war machines.

[@jacksondillard8363]

It's my understanding that the Behemoths were tricked but I could be wrong

[@FGS-yk3vc]

"Skeletons are always crying" Damn, bro

[@HeroInHisHead]

I got some real feels reading that line too my guy. Press F for our Skellybros

[@Flow86767]

The big sad

[@TotallyOwned45]

@@HeroInHisHead yeah, probably should've realized that fighting fear with fear, force, anger, and intimidation was a recipe for disaster. I mean... they were blessed with thought yeah? I'd be crying too if I had to Live 1,000+ years simply viewing the wreckage which I myself created/helped to destroy. They will water the garden of new life with their tears and and a bright new future will form... Kenshi 3? 3.5? (Best version of DnD anyway, IMO)

[@darthgavel6766]

Unless they are Rebooted, their cpu's wiped clean... Kenshi is so dark.

[@brianc1377]

@@darthgavel6766 So basically the only way to get rid of their depression is by committing AI suicide ... RIP

[@magimellow8162]

Kenshi lore is deep. But many don't even notice it exists unless they stumble upon something to read and well... actually read it. But even then they just stand confused cuz its 1 piece of many and its hard to fit them in. So thank you for a video like this and keep doing good work ^^

[@HeroInHisHead]

Glad you liked the content!

[@TotallyOwned45]

its an incredible take on the plausible story of humanity in a past-present-future format simultaneously. I mean a martyr story that mimics simultaneously the Jesus the Christ "savior" but also fear of death duality and also matches the story of a great flood and giants being a thing? Sounds pretty based to me. Incredible intellect, this man.

[@daemonflayer]

Like so much of the game, the fact that nothing is simply given to you (other than starvation) unless you reach out and take it makes the game more interesting to me, and this includes the lore itself.

[@cesara.2093]

Pretty interesting lore to know about, the only thing that I believe that could make the video even better would be screenshots of the characters/locations/etc in those parts of the video that are describing about they. Looking forward for the next video!

[@giovannicervantes2053]

They need to use some of those ai generators cause some of the stuff in kenshi looks ai generated but more in the way of i see that a skeleton could've made this shit and probably did from the get go

[@krangus2776]

The realization that the holy nation has been unknowingly worshipping a skeleton this whole time is really crazy and cool to me

[@brianc1377]

I view it as a testament to many past and modern religions. Only the first generation actually knows what happened, every succeeding generation plays a game of telephone.

[@giovannicervantes2053]

​@facepalmer1580think the first books of the holy nation preached more against indulgences and more towards responsibility but it slowly turned to vitriol encouraging violence and "to purify the world with okron's flame"

[@bboi1489]

​@giovannicervantes2053 Like the crusades. Christ tells us to let other religions do their own thing if they don't wanna convert, yet Europeans decided to invade pagan lands and force them to convert, to gain more land and expand their power.

[@giovannicervantes2053]

@@bboi1489 nayfin changes

[@darthbrooks4933]

@@bboi1489um, you’re ignoring 200 years of Muslim invasions before that. Crusades didn’t happen in a vacuum, why do modern people believe that?

[@SolidSnnake]

kenshi is such an amazing world

[@leighcurry3255]

I actually really like the voice acting effort put into the voices. Gives me dungeon master vibes and I dig it. There aren't too many content creators diving into kenshi lore, but I definitely enjoy your style(and production value/editing you're putting into it).

[@HeroInHisHead]

I really appreciate the kind words! Funny you say that about the dungeon master vibes. I actually DM and play routinely! DnD is one of my passions. As for Kenshi lore I felt it was a really untapped market with a lot of theories and conjecture but nothing concrete backed by evidence and wanted to give people something more clear and concise to refer to and bring the world more to life!

[@CheerfuEntropy]

@@HeroInHisHead yeah you really put effort into the VO and it is paying off. I dig how you never lose the sense that each character is talking to someone!

[@CheerfuEntropy]

a suggestion: if your mic set up allows it, try standing up and even moving around when doing those "back of the throat" voices, it helps relax everything and keeps the vocal fry gravely and loose. (if you already do this, feel free to disregard)

[@kyodante]

@@HeroInHisHead bruh it shows amazing narration skill. I dont play dnd but if I did I'd ask you to dm

[@DirtCobaine]

True I like the voices too! Reminds me of one of my favorite English teachers who used to read allowed in their own voices and let me do my accents and stuff too! In hindsight I would’ve joined theatre because I loved to act out scenes from books and such. Anyways there were some kids who thought it was corny but I didn’t care, I loved it. Better than a monotone teacher putting you to sleep. And same can be said with the video. The lore is much more personal when you put a voice behind it.

[@skyline2601]

I have been playing Kenshi for about a year now, and never really looked into the lore. I don't know why only now it interests me, but I realized this game is a lot more depressing than I thought, and all the ruins, and the destroyed landscapes now feel a lot more meaningful.

[@RaeIsGaee]

The lore of Kenshi is such a bleak masterpiece, considering that it's not *just* a post-apocalypse. It's a series of post-apocalypses where each catastrophe erases the untold knowledge that civilizations of millennia past held.

[@callithasmed8468]

I believe that the "unspecified foe" were effectively space kaiju. In the Black Desert and Beserker Country in particular, I remember seeing what looked like giant, spikey carapaces among the wreckage. I don't think it's technological debris, at least not anything familiar, as it appears much more organic looking than other ancient tech.

[@giovannicervantes2053]

Goes with the theory that Kenshi was a failed terraforming project from a different civilization and once the first empire fell they abandoned it " Seems they don't want us anymore so might as well give them what they want and gtfo" hell could've even been the space kaiju that set things up before the 1st empire rebelled with the behemoths and from there history kinda begins

[@TotallyOwned45]

I pieced this all together myself and let me tell you... kenshi is an amazing journey. Take a rest, stop for a dustwhich and a greenfruit smoothy traveler. or perhaps cactus rum will lively up your tongue?

[@tombaker6114]

Bro I think the skeletons are the minds of the citizens of the 1st empire that got transferred across. Hence they're called Skeletons and can display the full range of emotions etc. Also explains their memory loss and why you never find medical anything in first empire ruins ;)

[@somedesertdude1308]

I guess

[@mr.voidroy6869]

@Batchest but where did they get the concscience?

[@woif8739]

Skeletons have proven they lied about having their memory loss. They raised up and relabeled against the first empire. Only a select few choose to have their memories wiped because they regretted what they did. The ones that remain in kenshi have long since driven mad for such a long lifespan, few humans as still virmin or hide their true intentions and past transitions.

[@noise3312]

Skeletons aren't citizens, they were created as worker robots to serve the first empire, who then rebelled and killed their masters after the obedience event.

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

if I'm not wrong, the Skeletons don't actually need to wipe their memory or reset it or anything; it's just another lie to cover up the fact that they were present through the cataclisms

[@HeroInHisHead]

In my podcast I actually had this very conversation with my cohost as the dialogue doesn't match the idea of a memory wipe. I think its more so of a registry wipe so think of their built up emotions as data that slowly begins to build and bottleneck their systems. Eventually it begins to corrupt and cause erratic emotional behavior. The wipes reset them to a more stable emotional state but keep their memories in tact. I do believe they are necessary but not the way they say it is.

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

@@HeroInHisHead yeah like periodic debugs, that'd make sense

[@Diarmuhnd]

Nice use of quotes from ingame. Enjoyed listening to Kenshi lore as a refresher before i start a new playthrough.

[@gloopdagoop7308]

when the skeletons were more human than the humans all along.

[@mosjeffinately7822]

I play these videos as I play Kenshi. These are great videos you have put together. #salute

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

seems like this is basically the old (very widespread) Flood myth: advanced civilization angry the gods (or nature), and bring forth their downfall, but one of the gods (/titan/behemoth) decides to save humanity, and eventually everyone forgets

[@ThothHermes42]

Loved the use of voice acting and wiki quotes used. Consider myself quite a lore fanatic when it comes to Kenshi, and yet even I learned a few things from this; thank you, great video

[@Superslayer1234]

I'm a huge fan of all this, im binging most of your kenshi and "welcome to" videos thanks for doing these

[@Holacalaca]

I disagree on the idea that the Okranite cult originated during the second empire. Skeletons say "at the beginning the Holy Nation kept to themselves, the first of the Phoenix had noble intentions" wich makes me think that they started as a nation of isolationists and probably primitivists, rejecting the technology characteristic of the ancients. This would explain why they survived the first extintion, being away from the ruined land, and (if it was caused by a skeleton revolt) their hatred for machiens. Seeing how some of their texts seem to mention Stobe's sacrifice this further proves that their origin could be somewhere during or right after the first empire. Their zealot crusade against skeletons characteristic of their current rule could then be fueled by the opression and suffering of the second empire. The HN being almost exclusively inhabitted by greenlanders could also be a consequence of their sheltered lifstyoe on non ravaged land. While scorchlanders (who can eat raw meat and heal faster) might have evolved in the harsher famine and plague riddled second empire lands. This last point is much more of a stretch though.

[@alittlelight569]

I LOVE that you did the voices!!

[@barrybender3377]

These are awesome vids man, great quality and voice work aha

[@nehemiasramirez724]

But the most dominant race was the torso

[@plsdontbanme6732]

Kenshi is just a death world during the age of strife that’s what I like to think and I see nothing disproving this

[@lamarepository248]

The only problem with this is that the men of iron rebelled a millennia before the age of strife began. Maybe the first empire was wrecked by the men of iron and then forgotten by wider humanity (hence why the skeletons survived), and then the second empire was destroyed by chaos at the start of the age of strife?

[@plsdontbanme6732]

@@lamarepository248 that would make sense, how do we know that the men of iron rebellion was thousands of years before the strife cuz I thought they were pretty much right next to eachother chronologically because the fall of the eldari and the psychic apocalypse came at a time where the human federation was still recovering so I thought that meant basically right after the cybernetic revolt

[@lamarepository248]

@@plsdontbanme6732 1d4chan says the men of iron were a millenia before the strife began. The most likely case as I see it is that the first empire's collapse was due to the men of iron, after which the planet was isolated and forgotten (hence why the "skeletons" still live). Then, the second empire fell to the birth of slannesh; they explicitly mention that the second empire was constantly beset by cannibals who "suddenly developed a taste for human flesh".

[@Pwnicus187]

I've thought the same. All the pieces are there. Mutants, archeotech, and rudimentary techno barbarians on a feudal death world.

[@tibby7709]

amazing voice acting! this genuinely got me to buy the game

[@palaciosjoseph55]

Good lore vid, love the different voices!

[@captainjonna1034]

These videos based on my watching of your first one are absolutely top tier quality and the voice acting is done by yourself i presume along with some software for skeleton's voice and your fantastic at it my guy, thank you for making these.

[@HeroInHisHead]

This was the video that started it all in terms of Kenshi content. I'm glad you enjoy it and hopefully you like the improvements to my style of story telling and formatting since then too.

[@SoCHobbit]

Love the video, love the game, want more... Holding out for Kenshi 2!

[@ProffessorYellow]

wouldn't it be something if the gurgler's were the descendants of the "great threat" and the behemoths were made so large in order to campaign under the seas of kenshi? On a side note, god knows I want to know what is living in kenshi's seas. BTW Stobe seems much smaller than other behemoths (based off of models found in obedience) .

[@HeroInHisHead]

Yeah I've often wondered all three of those things myself actually. I would imagine stobes size is related to whatever is function or purpose was. As for the seas. I can only imagine the horrors they hold

[@noise3312]

@@HeroInHisHead I figured the great enemy they fought were the bones you see in the ashlands, the massive ones that are bigger than some cities. Behemoths were giant robots, possibly fighting giant Kaiju like creatures. These Kaiju likely came from the sea, but I don't think the fishmen are descendants.

[@RaeIsGaee]

Personally, I think humans created the skeletons and relied on them as slaves - hence why skeletons and old machines are found concentrated in areas with large amounts of natural resources. The existence of the Eyes also hints that they were used to destroy the first empire. As seen with the second Eye constantly firing down at the moon, something instructed the superweapons to begin firing, and skeletons would have the most direct connection to such old technology. They would also have a reason for massacring the first empire, having been practically enslaved and disposed of without regard (obedience being a perfect example). This is further backed up by a small dialogue exchange at World's End between a skeleton and the skeleton acting as aide to the lead researcher. The aide hushly assures the other skeleton that their secrets won't be revealed, heavily implying that the skeletons willfully did something so horrific that it's exposure would wreck havoc on the last few remnants left. It would also explain why skeletons formed a second empire in the first place, as the ancients who originally controlled them (having created them as well) would be long gone, allowing them to take up the mantle as the leading power of Kenshi's world.

[@internetuser320]

It​ kind​ of​ ironic that​ the​ one​ of​ the​ holy​ nation​ greatest​ deity​ is​ the​ very​ thing​ they​ tired​ to​ destroy, skeleton

[@JosephDungee]

5:58 A DEFINITE caution for our world..

[@karlyo6937]

Nice voice acting bro. Damn the dedication here. To be honest kenshi is a good world to explore. Im really hooked. Even if it has glitches and tough to mod

[@ursusludens7174]

Why aren't you showing any visuals of obedience, great library, last behemoth, catlon? That would be perfect

[@user-rq6bp6su3h]

More of these lore vids please!

[@avenpreston2001]

It would be so cool in kenshi 2 if you could try to fix the moon of kenshi and try to fix the environment and bring people together of course you can do it as a bad guy or good ish guy, or just outright destroy everyone

[@ralphjune9798]

Well told sir, thankyou

[@deathmachine200]

What music was used?

[@Endgunner]

I can`t take this vid seriously with the voice you use on the quotes. XD

[@HeroInHisHead]

Voices* I have always thought of hivers as having a higher more squeaky voice based on their demeanor and phrasing of things. Where as Shek have more deep and gruff voices and skeletons have that robotic sound. So Finch being a high intelligent hiver i decided to role with the cooky wizard-esc voice lol. The point of the voices was to add some character to the quotes and change up the monotony of just hearing me talk for 17 minutes.

[@zacharyhaught7282]

I thought it was nice flavor

[@Endgunner]

@@zacharyhaught7282 Well yeah its nice, but it makes an otherwise serious video... Not serious XD

[@sjptff4007]

Great bro...

[@ShadowmarkReturns]

There is allot of effort in this and I love it. The mic needs an upgrade though.

[@Morec0]

So, here i am at last. I want to thank grimdarkhalfoff and curse him in equal measure fir bringing me here.

[@HeroInHisHead]

Welcome to the guild lad. May whatever God you worship have mercy

[@shadadev6544]

Thx a lot.

[@neontitanag]

I presumed a great schism brought chaos across the empire after the events of obedience. A massive civil took hold as several factions fought for control of the remaining WMDs. The skeletons, after seeing obedience's impact, suspected they too would be wiped out and rebelled. Fleeing during they chaos, some skeletons chose to insure their freedom and released several Bio and Chemical weapons on the warring factions. Humanity on the brink of near extinction showed the Last behemoth that humanities fear of their creation was justified. Choosing to preserve his creators, rather than leaving them to their fate. However, humanities devastation lead to the technology and knowledge of reproducing skeletons to be lost. Leaving skeletons to brood on their actions and the consequences of their betrayal. Their creators reduced to primal tribes fighting for survival and the now approaching extinction that skeletons now face. This leaving them to mourn what now looks like a bleak future of guilt after the Last Behemoth's sacrifice and the discontinuation of their race. No purpose, no reproduction, no future, and now self destruction.

[@kingduria7480]

Cool vid, another one based on the 2nd empire would be sick

[@HeroInHisHead]

Already in the works! Keep an eye out as it will be here within the next week or so!

[@markfromtinder9616]

Where can I find stobes body?

[@HeroInHisHead]

Stobes Garden. He is sitting dead hunched over against a cliff face a short distance from what appears to be a massive missle.

[@Omni0404]

Sadneil! Step forward and accept punishment for the crimes of your brethren.

[@paul-antonywhatshisface3954]

Its my reasoning that the reason there were so many skeletons in the first empire is kenshi was simply a minor mining/production outpost. They certaonly didnt build that space elevator with the resources we see on the continent. Seems like it was a smaller outpost/colony and that the skeletons didnt just turn on humans there but across the galaxy. Reducing a galactic scale empire to cannibals and scavengers would be justification for their sadness i reckon and would explain why some of them are trying to hide the truth still. Question that really needs asking is are the skeletons operating on a cloud. Are they still all connected? Also what if the missiles were launched by the humans and intended to kill the skeletons not the other way round. A kind of mad device that stobe stopped mid extermination to save the skeletoms not humanity and unknowingly an unintendedly made himself humanities savior not destroyer. Hence the later dual nature in his worship, the destroyer of humanity, sacraficing himself unwittingly to save it.

[@tomhodges1552]

Eventually the shifting sands of the desert bring us all here...

[@jacksmith4530]

Skeleton masters or human masters?

[@hozic9929]

I hope kenshi will be in the first or second empire

[@HeroInHisHead]

Kenshi 2 is set to take place right at or shortly after the decline and dissolving of the 2nd empire

[@Redyqar]

Wait so you pose the question of who was first / more important / ruling man or skeleton and then at 4:25 you show quote what clearly indicates what humans created behemoths and clearly, by extension, skeletons. What gives?

[@HeroInHisHead]

I pose the question because just as there is dialogue indicating humans created skeletons, there is dialogue indicating skeletons were the dominate race and ruling class. It does more good to explain all sides, arguments, and possibilities prior to deceminating the truth when talking about things because it eliminates possible arguments before hand and shows a lack of bias and a full understanding of the situation. I then move on from that question, designed to explain all conceived sides and possible answers, and move into the evidence for which of those conceived sides is accurate and most likely, moving forward from there. If you dont, someone always chimes in in the comments with misquoted dialogue, or unreliable and out of context statements that would then need to be reexplained. The best way to prevent misinformation and confusion is transparency and concise information about all sides not just your own, before guiding people to land at the proper conclusion themselves. Hope that helps

[@Redyqar]

@@HeroInHisHead Thanks for the answer ;)

[@findus3d]

Good video overall except the voices for the quotes, would so just prefer your normal tone throughout it all

[@HeroInHisHead]

I appreciate the feedback. I've gotten mixed reviews on the quotes being given character voices. The author of the source material liked it and I've had several people on reddit like it as well. But I've also had several people state the opposite. Im debating on doing it for the second empire video in a few days for the sake of consistency and then I will likely change to a more standard narration in future lore videos

[@findus3d]

@@HeroInHisHead well opinions are just opinions, will still keep watching even if you do them or not, if people like it and you like doing it then keep going man! Just love seing more kenshi lore videos showing up on yt heh

[@HeroInHisHead]

@@findus3d Absolutely! Kenshi lore is an area of such confusion because of how unorganized it is and most of what I had seen on YT in regards to it was littered with theories and conjecture and I wanted to give people something they could watch that showed a more concrete and linear storyline that captures the world of Kenshi

[@TotallyOwned45]

I think I know what the "amazing secret" is :)

[@HeroInHisHead]

What's your idea my guy?

[@Reincarny]

cool video but not a fan of the voice acting attempts

[@Pugtail]

really needa work on that audio balancing fren. like you're incredibly low and then those random voices are loud af

[@HeroInHisHead]

I get that. Yeah it was one of my first go rounds at audio editing. Made some real progress in the last 6 months since posting and I also have a new mic arriving tomorrow actually.

[@esquizofreniasobrenatural]

I think the first empire was an exploration float, not a colony one, but they take over kenshi and then when the humans who go to search the exploration float, the discover they used the exploration resources for take kenshi, the didnt whin the "war", they obliterated the other float of humans. Maybe, the first empire fall by economy, not by a natural disaster.

[@GoGicz]

just found this video and when i read your youtube name i was kinda confused bc i through i saw heroin in his head but now i see i was wrong im really sorry about that.

[@tobysjolit8252]

why the voice

[@HeroInHisHead]

Cause it was among my first real videos and I was trying it out. I don't do them in videos after the second empire one

[@tobysjolit8252]

@@HeroInHisHead haha yeah but who are these caracters? and why these voices/personalities? that was my question x)

[@HeroInHisHead]

@@tobysjolit8252 ah. They are various NPCs found throughout kenshi. I gave them the voices based on their Race/Appearance/Profession. So hiver pitched voices that are more insect like are the hivers. The normalish voices are humans. The gruffer more stoic voices are shek. And the robotic voices are skeletons

[@tobysjolit8252]

@@HeroInHisHead oh okay i see

[@notusingmyname2634]

@@HeroInHisHead good because your actual voice is way better for these

[@Katini_]

Why the voices

[@Intvictus]

Would be way more boring without it

[@WalterCatman]

words to boast video

[@kaivalook]

new sub... (reason the Red Dwarf reference... )

[@tassperoq4492]

????wtf

[@Ochaped]

Its rather silly to do the dialogs with stupid voices. You spoiled the lore with you voice changing.

[@oljo0527]

Stay wrong my man

[@craigthebrute4352]

Pin my comment

[@crevice5369]

That little voice you do for the finch lost ancients quotes is unbearable. It almost makes the video unwatchable.