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Illuminati as....good guys?

I'm having a bad error and can't play right now, and decided to read some of the game lore. I know the three factions are designed so you can really see them as good or evil or somewhere in between. The Illuminati always struck me as the most sinister faction, and I'm having trouble picturing them as good guys. Does anyone view them as such, and for what reason? I'd like to see them from that perspective since I like their style.

Comments

  • xDayxxDayx Member Posts: 712

    As a Dragon I would rather 'deal with' a Templer than an Illuminati if I had to as it seems they would rather shoot it straight to you whereas as illuminati would try to manipulate you with lies.

  • SwobyJSwobyJ Member Posts: 80

    Don't be mistaken. The TSW Illuminati still want to dominate everywhere in the world. They'll just, you know, be fine with most people sitting on a couch and uninterested in what is happening around them.

     

    And those who are more interested and curious, they'll either:

    a)put them in a maze of disinfo

    b)recruit them

    c)if all else fails, waste em

     

    The Illuminati are NOT good guys, but they represent an order that is a better alternative to complete chaos killing everyone on Earth. Lol?

  • KingJigglyKingJiggly Member Posts: 777

    I have yet to play the game or even watch any real vids of it, but I did look up the different factions (may or may not be right term), and found the Illuminati to be most interesting to me. You see, the Illuminati has an agenda... and will do anything to get it done, very similair to my Personality according to the random test I have taken (I am a INTJ btw), so it fit me the best. Another is how they are the corporate masters, the top politicians, they are the rulers of the world... both economically and politically. And what is even more interesting is that their base is in the USA... the most powerful country in the world. And me being an American, can't help but be proud of Illuminati, and I haven't even played the game or looked into getting it. The Illuminati will do anything to get the job done, some will get burnt and some will be raised to glory. The basic question behind all these factions is whether do the ends justify the means, or do the means justify the ends.

  • BigRock411BigRock411 Member Posts: 299
    Originally posted by KingJiggly

    I have yet to play the game or even watch any real vids of it, but I did look up the different factions (may or may not be right term), and found the Illuminati to be most interesting to me. You see, the Illuminati has an agenda... and will do anything to get it done, very similair to my Personality according to the random test I have taken (I am a INTJ btw), so it fit me the best. Another is how they are the corporate masters, the top politicians, they are the rulers of the world... both economically and politically. And what is even more interesting is that their base is in the USA... the most powerful country in the world. And me being an American, can't help but be proud of Illuminati, and I haven't even played the game or looked into getting it. The Illuminati will do anything to get the job done, some will get burnt and some will be raised to glory. The basic question behind all these factions is whether do the ends justify the means, or do the means justify the ends.

     

    They all have agendas, just a different way of approaching problems i guess. Illuminati is very faceless.  Yeah theres like one NPC i have to deal with and thats on a very rare occasion.  Usually i have to deal with the guy watching me on the CCTV who talks to me on a loud speaker or on my cell phone.  That guy...im not so sure.  He speaks like an internet troll which can be pretty funny...like with a very sarcastic tone..hes always trolling me i guess.

    Templars seem very proper and noble on the outside.

    Dragons mouthrape you so i stay away from them (no joke)

     

    I like the iluminati so far, its just a bit dissapointing from what they could have been.  Id have preferd a crude ruthless and cold set of buisiness men in a high rise in manhatten...turns out they are a bunch of hipster trolls who operate out o f a warehouse in brooklyn..and play techno music...  

     

  • NsaigoNsaigo Member Posts: 18

    Actually, the assumption that Illuminati is in essence associated with negative meanings means that you are already brainwashed.

     

    However, I am not talking about intentional brainwashing, it is more of a natural kind.  The human mind is actually rather primitive as it forces us to categorize events, people, places, objects, and in this case organizations.  The brain does that for memory and threat recognition, but the problem is that it is wrong just as often it can be right.

     

    It happens to everyone, and most people wouldn't give it a second thought.  I am sure there are plenty of words I can speak of that most people will have immediate negative reactions.  For example: Nazi, communist, and terrorist.

     

    By the definition of those words they have no positive nor negative meaning, it is the associate or more often the ASSUMED association that create positive or negative meaning.  The real problem with this pattern of instinctive organization is it often end up being too generalized.  For example, knives are meant to be sharp, which means all knives must be sharp is the common logical fallacy.

     

    Historically the Illuminati was an organization of free thinkers that tried to fight the dogma of its time.  The current Illuminati people are reffering to are more along the lines of paranoia.  Sorry for going off the topic a little.

  • KingJigglyKingJiggly Member Posts: 777
    Originally posted by BigRock411
    Originally posted by KingJiggly

    I have yet to play the game or even watch any real vids of it, but I did look up the different factions (may or may not be right term), and found the Illuminati to be most interesting to me. You see, the Illuminati has an agenda... and will do anything to get it done, very similair to my Personality according to the random test I have taken (I am a INTJ btw), so it fit me the best. Another is how they are the corporate masters, the top politicians, they are the rulers of the world... both economically and politically. And what is even more interesting is that their base is in the USA... the most powerful country in the world. And me being an American, can't help but be proud of Illuminati, and I haven't even played the game or looked into getting it. The Illuminati will do anything to get the job done, some will get burnt and some will be raised to glory. The basic question behind all these factions is whether do the ends justify the means, or do the means justify the ends.

     

    They all have agendas, just a different way of approaching problems i guess. Illuminati is very faceless.  Yeah theres like one NPC i have to deal with and thats on a very rare occasion.  Usually i have to deal with the guy watching me on the CCTV who talks to me on a loud speaker or on my cell phone.  That guy...im not so sure.  He speaks like an internet troll which can be pretty funny...like with a very sarcastic tone..hes always trolling me i guess.

    Templars seem very proper and noble on the outside.

    Dragons mouthrape you so i stay away from them (no joke)

     

    I like the iluminati so far, its just a bit dissapointing from what they could have been.  Id have preferd a crude ruthless and cold set of buisiness men in a high rise in manhatten...turns out they are a bunch of hipster trolls who operate out o f a warehouse in brooklyn..and play techno music...  

     

    Oh really? That sucks.

    They described the Illuminati like they were powerful, advanced, ingenious, controlling, manipulative business men and politicians... oh well. I wasn't planning on getting this game anyway, it just interested me a little. And yeah, I wish their main base was ina skyscraper... where they should be really. They sound more like a gang than a faction right now lol.

  • ArkainArkain Member UncommonPosts: 491
    Originally posted by xDayx

    As a Dragon I would rather 'deal with' a Templer than an Illuminati if I had to as it seems they would rather shoot it straight to you whereas as illuminati would try to manipulate you with lies.

    It's not a lie, if you beleve it.  image

    image
  • aesperusaesperus Member UncommonPosts: 5,135
    Originally posted by Sawtooth

    I'm having a bad error and can't play right now, and decided to read some of the game lore. I know the three factions are designed so you can really see them as good or evil or somewhere in between. The Illuminati always struck me as the most sinister faction, and I'm having trouble picturing them as good guys. Does anyone view them as such, and for what reason? I'd like to see them from that perspective since I like their style.

    As you said, there's really no inherently good or evil amongst the factions. The basic breakdown is this:

    Illuminati: Think they are smarter than the others, and as such take it upon themselves to manipulate & control every situation.

    Templars: Think they are morally justified over the others, and as such it is their duty to be in control

    Dragons: Honestly not really sure what their motives are, other than they just like to screw things up.

    Personally I found the Illuminati to be a lot more fun than the others. While they can be real bastards, they also don't seem to take themselves as seriously as the other two. Which is a shame, because the templars have some really badass looking outfits.

  • miguksarammiguksaram Member UncommonPosts: 835
    Originally posted by aesperus
    Originally posted by Sawtooth

    I'm having a bad error and can't play right now, and decided to read some of the game lore. I know the three factions are designed so you can really see them as good or evil or somewhere in between. The Illuminati always struck me as the most sinister faction, and I'm having trouble picturing them as good guys. Does anyone view them as such, and for what reason? I'd like to see them from that perspective since I like their style.

    As you said, there's really no inherently good or evil amongst the factions. The basic breakdown is this:

    Illuminati: Think they are smarter than the others, and as such take it upon themselves to manipulate & control every situation.

    Templars: Think they are morally justified over the others, and as such it is their duty to be in control

    Dragons: Honestly not really sure what their motives are, other than they just like to screw things up.

    Personally I found the Illuminati to be a lot more fun than the others. While they can be real bastards, they also don't seem to take themselves as seriously as the other two. Which is a shame, because the templars have some really badass looking outfits.

    Your last paragraph is THE reason I decided to swap from the Dragons (honestly more my personality but this is a video game, I get to play myself in RL) to the Templar.  IMHO they have the best outfits overall for the available decks.

  • RockhideRockhide Member Posts: 155
    Originally posted by BigRock411
     I like the iluminati so far, its just a bit dissapointing from what they could have been.  Id have preferd a crude ruthless and cold set of buisiness men in a high rise in manhatten...turns out they are a bunch of hipster trolls who operate out o f a warehouse in brooklyn..and play techno music...  

     

     

    This was disappointing to me too.

     

    The faction seems to consist of Facebook Generation ravers stuck in the transition to corporate adult life.  Even the faction base is an odd mix of rave warehouse and Men In Black headquarters.

     

    Anyway, I was hoping for a more cold, corporate, and even more impersonal feel to the lluminati ... faceless shadows in a corporate board room that can trace their power and influence through the Founding Fathers as well as the Vanderbilts and Carnegies, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan.    Would have been way cooler to be called to headquarters and stand in a spotlight before a panel of people whose visages are hidden in the shadows than to deal with Kristen Geary.

     

    I have my fingers crossed that as more content gets added to the game that it will turn out the New York warehouse is really just a facility for manufacturing disposable footsoldiers types, with the added benefit of culling unpredictable, self-destructive folk from society ... perhaps even that these people "playing Illuminati" are being used by another tier of folks who make up the real heart of the Illuminati.

  • ThanesThanes Member Posts: 182

          The illuminati are a parody of US greed, shallowness, and practicality.  Its pretty fun to play one, but from the text messages on quest completion you know they aren't the good guys.  Your contact kind of makes fun of you all the time, especially when you do some selfless act.  You get the feeling you're important only so much as you're expendable.  (granted, I've just started Egypt)

     

         The in between quest from Maine to Egypt describes the new recruits as slack-jawed vacant stare strangers who are the future of the organization. hehe

  • SwobyJSwobyJ Member Posts: 80
    Originally posted by Rockhide
    Originally posted by BigRock411
     I like the iluminati so far, its just a bit dissapointing from what they could have been.  Id have preferd a crude ruthless and cold set of buisiness men in a high rise in manhatten...turns out they are a bunch of hipster trolls who operate out o f a warehouse in brooklyn..and play techno music...  

     

     

    This was disappointing to me too.

     

    The faction seems to consist of Facebook Generation ravers stuck in the transition to corporate adult life.  Even the faction base is an odd mix of rave warehouse and Men In Black headquarters.

     

    Anyway, I was hoping for a more cold, corporate, and even more impersonal feel to the lluminati ... faceless shadows in a corporate board room that can trace their power and influence through the Founding Fathers as well as the Vanderbilts and Carnegies, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan.    Would have been way cooler to be called to headquarters and stand in a spotlight before a panel of people whose visages are hidden in the shadows than to deal with Kristen Geary.

     

    I have my fingers crossed that as more content gets added to the game that it will turn out the New York warehouse is really just a facility for manufacturing disposable footsoldiers types, with the added benefit of culling unpredictable, self-destructive folk from society ... perhaps even that these people "playing Illuminati" are being used by another tier of folks who make up the real heart of the Illuminati.

    That's the impression I got as well. That Kirsten Geary is a middle-manager, and that the Labyrinth is just the headquarters of the SURFACE of the Illuminati.

     

    Did you do Questions and Answers mission yet? While it doesn't tell much in itself, it does seem to hint that whatever you're exposed to as an Illuminati, you're MEANT and ALLOWED to be exposed to. You're still not a true initiate to the secrets of whatever faction you're in - all you did was go up the ranks in 'grunt-dom'. Maybe there is a reason that the base is called the Labyrinth ;)

  • SwobyJSwobyJ Member Posts: 80
    Originally posted by Thanes

          The illuminati are a parody of US greed, shallowness, and practicality.  Its pretty fun to play one, but from the text messages on quest completion you know they aren't the good guys.  Your contact kind of makes fun of you all the time, especially when you do some selfless act.  You get the feeling you're important only so much as you're expendable.  (granted, I've just started Egypt)

     

         The in between quest from Maine to Egypt describes the new recruits as slack-jawed vacant stare strangers who are the future of the organization. hehe

    Templars value individuals and moral authority.

    Illuminati value society staying intact and prosperous. (eff the individuals and their 'rights')

    Dragon value the balance of the world continuing and also have another hidden agenda. (eff moral authority or human society).

     

    They're each extremes of the basic idea of 'keep the world going/save the world'. In  a way,  we're not SUPPOSED to 100% agree with any particular faction, but simply determine that they are, over time and the plot progressing, better than the more chaotic/dangerous factions getting their way (Morninglight, Orachi, Phonecians?, and more).

  • RandaynRandayn Member UncommonPosts: 904

    Illuminati....Templars....they both gain power through manipulation....no difference...

    image
  • SwobyJSwobyJ Member Posts: 80
    Originally posted by Randayn

    Illuminati....Templars....they both gain power through manipulation....no difference...

    All of the factions. They're not good guys.

     

    The closest to good guys would be people like Boon in Solomon Island, and mayyybe Gaia herself. The factions are quite corrupt though.

     

    They just have vested interest in the world staying intact, as well as they may contain good PEOPLE within the faction. But the structure? All too extreme and dangerous.

  • Originally posted by miguksaram

    Your last paragraph is THE reason I decided to swap from the Dragons (honestly more my personality but this is a video game, I get to play myself in RL) to the Templar.  IMHO they have the best outfits overall for the available decks.

    Kind of funny, I switched from Templars to Illuminati because I like *their* outfits better. I was hoping for a group of cold, brutal, whatever it takes to complete the mission types but I haven't really seen any yet. It's why I created the thread, since I wanted some insight on how people look at the Illuminati.

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