Choice of Rebels: Uprising — Lead the revolt against a bloodthirsty empire!

I have never said anything about that being a bad thing. I like it, as a role player is fascinating. If I would worry about numbers I will not create the characters I do lol.
@Havenstone It is impossible for mara doing a peaceful run The plektoy kitty attacks and Mara defend herself. Als My men even when I run they came to my defense Like supermen fanatic and kill all magesin their path in a total weird thing. I don’t know what i suppose to do my 10 people don’t go full suicidal berseker in my defense

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Well, Xthonism is the only major religion in Shayard (and kenon is essentially an attempt to turn a misunderstanding of a philosophical concept into a religion, complete with a rite pulled directly from one’s rear end). I’m honestly surprised that the skeptic community likes kenon - said skeptics are all educated enough to know that you mangled the concept in developing your religion.

The other option is not having much to do with religion at all, which is a completely reasonable option.

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I would think "skeptics" are only skeptical on what others believes , but totally committed to what they (skeptics) personally believes :wink:

Yes. The Abhuman theoi and the Whendish Forgotten Gods will certainly be options. Probably also the Halassurq pantheon of Mother Ummay, Consort Kormuz, and Evren the Firstborn.

Whether you want to go public with your conversion to any of the above is quite another question.

There will be skeptics who don’t–or who, like Horion, will find it increasingly laughable as the trappings of religion multiply around the core concept. But I think there are in any historical period skeptics who are drawn to the partial divinization of their core concepts, applying some of the social and psychological benefits of ritual and sacralization to a set of ideas that they can actually bring themselves to believe.

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So Horion is an actual atheist? And I presume the mc can also be one of those in game? It is certainly the direction in which my mc is leaning.
This again makes me ponder how possible/viable state atheism as opposed to mere secularism might be post-rebellion? :thinking:
Still the winning strategy given the sky high levels of religious indoctrination and superstition would probably be to simply regulate the “religious marketplace” with vigorously enforced anti-trust laws and to stamp out Xthonic orthodoxy along with its caste system, making sure the surviving Diakons irrevocably split and shatter the church. All of this under the auspices of a secular state.

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I am very looking forward to learning more about these, especially the Forgotten Gods. Given the part of Shayard we start our story in is close to the border, it seems likely to me that the old religion had some cross-border appeal, before orthodoxy stomped it out. I am however curious to know whether the stamping out of minority religions is a process that was completed before or after the rise of the Hegemony. Shayard was on an expansionist trajectory before the discovery of theurgy, if Horion is to be believed. As the birthplace of the Xthonic religion, military expansion and religious expansion might go hand-in-hand. Then again, I wonder how many reliable historical sources even remain from that time period.

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Let me try another Mara-style runthrough and see where and why things might not be working. Did you commit self-defense at any point during the winter? :slight_smile:

Any instance of ordering violence, including in self-defense, will keep you from getting the non-violence achievement…and if you’ve previously ordered violence, your followers will of course assume that you’re happy for them to attack the mages in self-defense. The only way you get the choice “Do you really want to order your followers to kill this mage in self-defense?” is if you’ve been consistently and completely non-violent to that point, including refraining from self-defense.

At later stages of the rebellion, committed Gandhian non-violence will be less miserable than it is when you’re a bandit in the woods. There’s more scope for it in an urban rebellion, and once the grip of the Thaumatarchy has started to slip.

Whether or not you choose a wholly non-violent rebellion, a violence-eschewing mass movement will start (headed by a character you meet next game) and play a significant role in Games 3-5. So the game will be exploring this even if you choose self-defense. :slight_smile:

Like I am a role-player My real playthrough is with legitimate defense as It is what Mara will do. The simple idea of being attacked and no defense yourself simply is something I would not do.

I understand why that was a legitimate way of rebellion against oppression though.

But I have curiosity about what you write for that scenario so I tried like 3 times. I swear I don’t kill a fly , nor steal and was very friendly person. I only had 5 on anarchy that comes from let Horion go as a friend. I go a pact with my cousin . Could It be because I have my beautiful Lacoste spears? And because I am hard core pro Shayard. Because the rest i only use charisma , kill games and rabbits and do the smuggling for the merchants that’s it.

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Thanks, Mara–I’ll play through and look through the code to see if I’ve accidentally made it impossible somehow!

Yes. Radmar will rediscover that appeal (if he’s still alive), and you’ll have the chance too.

While as you say this would be hard to ascertain from historical sources, the stomping out of minority religions in Shayardene and Erreziano territory by followers of the Xthonic Canon was nearly complete even before the Hegemony took over. Nyryal and Wiendrj, on the other hand, lost their gods in the Karagond conquest.

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Maybe is not impossible but it need some special background or something if is so tell me.

Also I would like in future could say I go for a legitimate defense and no direct confront via violence. I think that the difference between several pacific no anarchy revolutions are very interesting. Violent are interesting too but are more straightforward, less subtle.

What if you have already created your own religion based around the Angels. Will you still be able to convert, and will that have repercussions if you are already a prophet of the common voice?

On the subject of religion, do the children of clergy have any particular place in the Karagond caste system? It’s mentioned that they inherit nothing but we don’t get any more info.

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Absolutely. Whether your followers will follow you is another question–especially if you’ve taught them to believe in the inner voice.

They tend to become clergy themselves. If they don’t, they can engage in any trade suitable to their station, usually as scribes, merchants, or artisans of some sort. They don’t inherit anything (officially) from their parents to help them get started; but an Ecclesiast will often not lack for friends with money who can help their kids get a start in life.

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Nepotism truly is the greatest gift a parent can give their child.

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Just one more reason for my mc to utterly despise the priesthood at least the nobility don’t preach nonsense just so their own kids can disregard it whenever it suits them.

Nobility is the platonic ideal of nepotism. And the idea of intrinsically noble blood is just as much superstitious nonsense.

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Heresy.

…More to the point, the advantage of birthright nobility is that those who inherit positions of power have been trained from childhood to be able to fulfill the duties of their class, which is quite an advantage in a society where the resources and knowledge aren’t available for mass education.

@poison_mara Do you set up any traps during the winter? That also increases your violence rating.

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Since in the Hegemony those “duties” seem to mostly revolve around decadence and torture that’s not much of a recommendation since the true rulers are the Karagond theurges. The provincial, especially the Shayardene nobility seem to be mostly a bunch of Quislings with some Laconnier stooges of Hallassur thrown into the mix. .

Except in the Hegemony those resources are available as the systematic effort spent indoctrinating the helots (and yeoman) with Xthonic nonsense could also have been spent on a public education system.

I like it!! Hope @Havenstone will allow some of our mc’s to actually use that line next time we meet or Horion, or on his cousin in game 2.

In fact I like it to the point my mc would make it the new city motto of Aekos, assuming it even survives post rebellion.

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Of course I put traps but that doesn’t up violence because I was always zero my only five anarchy comes forHorion.

Due put traps it is not violent. Same hunt rabbits is not violent or building a wall is not violent.

Peaceful doesn’t mean keep sit down and die in famine