Aim high; pursue your dreams; nothing is beyond your grasp.
Even the most impenetrable forest may fall one tree at a time.
Consequences are the price of Ambition; no price is too high to realise your dreams.
It is better, by far, to try and fail, than fail to try.
Despise the weakness that comes from pettiness and lack of vision.
So last, but no means least of the seven virtues is AMBITION. So those of you who follow Ambition as their virtue what 3 things would you tell a new player about being dedicated to it? Where and how do you find your fun with the virtue at Empire?
Also what are some of your favourite symbols for Ambition, what is the fashionable priest or pilgrim of Ambition wearing this season?
As in the other threads try not to get into the meat of the IC arguments around Ambition too much, but an introduction to some of the questions you might start off asking is fine.
I find Ambition hard. It’s also the most selfish (ETA: in my opinion, other opinions are available below!). While it’s entirely possible to be Ambitious without losing friends, it’s probably the most likely Virtue to do it. Know that compromise isn’t going to be one in your favourite words (but sometimes it’s better to take one small step rather than none).
It’s about work. Getting plans together, getting people on your side, making money, not giving up when it seems like it isn’t possible, maybe even going out and dying for it. Virtue isn’t easy, and Ambition is the one I find highlights that the most.
Ambition is never finished. Once you’ve achieved your goal, there’s always what comes next. I’d say the journey is more important than the destination; if it’s easy, is it really Ambition?
1: Empire is not a single game - knowing what you want to get out of it is really important in helping you have fun and/or make your own fun. Ambition helps you with targets. Framing your aims as objectives, giving yourself things to do each game and long term, and getting you and others to go do things, is both IC and OC what Ambition is for. SMART targets are in fact big and clever.
I disagree that Ambition is the most selfish Virtue - any Ambition big enough needs other people. Think of a giant plan that helps your group/Nation/Empire; then get people to buy in. Share the fun; and remember that failing isn’t as bad as never having tried at all…
Come to Assembly meetings or find someone else who’s a Dedicant/Priest. This should be an everyone advice, regardless of Virtue - you’re not alone, and don’t have to be. Priests of Ambition are there to help you with any and all goals. (And with any Clemency pleas afterwards… )
(4. We have flame, yo. I’m pretty sure we’re on team ‘Most Likely To Have Fire In Rituals’. That fundamentally makes us cooler. )
Some of the greatest ambitions come from a starting point of other virtues, just because you have big plans for awesome stuff doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to consider yourself a pilgrim of Ambition. Want to unite humanity? Great, that’s very Loyal of you. Want to kill that undefeated enemy chieftain in single combat? Very Courageous of you. Ambition is one of the spokes on the wheel; you’ll never get anywhere without using it unless blind chance is your method of advancement.
Without any Ambition how will you manage to do your great things? Ambition drives you to learn the extra technique, or devises the plan to get the mats to make it a permanent item. The counterpoint is ‘So you’re Ambitious. Now what?’. Only action is virtuous, so having all the plans in the world and not doing anything about it is not a virtuous path. Nike’s marketing department and Shia Lebeouf were right: Just do it.
Ambition is not just for you, even though sometimes gets a bad rep from those who don’t understand it. Ambition is for yourself, your group, your archetype, your nation, your Empire and everything virtuous in between. Helping others reach their goals helps Ambition along - this is of course most relevant for Priests but by aiding the virtuous goals of others you can also find yours along the way, along with realising that you’ve been working to the virtue of Ambition all along.
Agreement on flames being ace, also. Marking runes on pilgrims with ash from the fire during Dedication ceremonies is my favourite thing, assuming you’ve not burned yourself collecting it (Vigilance!). Also representations of journey, path, climb and struggle. It’s Tian’s fire from the mountain, after all. It never stops, never can be satisfied, and is always hungry for more.
Not dedicated to it myself, no less capable of reading the wiki
The important thing to remember in Ambition is that it’s about YOUR ambition, not what other people might think is Ambitious. It is not about becoming Empress, unless that genuinely is what you want to do with your character. If your ambition is to find the best cake in the Empire, that is entirely legit. My game improved massively when I stopped chasing imperial positions of limited interest to me and starting chasing plot that interested me, which had no official hat attached.
As a long time Ambition priest, i think Penny’s point is a damn fine one.
Finding out what your own ambition in the game is, is as difficult sometimes as finding out what you want in real life. For Serrusto, that meant actually giving up the priest game briefly and throwing himself around the field a bit to see what was actually enjoyable game, and where I felt he could make a difference. So my pieces of advice are:
Get involved in as many bits of the game as you can, if they seem interesting, even at a basic level. You’ll soon find what you, and your character, actually want.
Within that part of the game, figure out how you can play that game bigger and better than anybody else. There might be many different ways of doing this, for example there might be many different ways you can enact Bourse or Synod reform, if that’s your chosen path.
Find your allies within your field. Get them to help you, and help them achieve their goals. Be the giants upon whose shoulders they stand!
As for symbols, FLAMES ON EVERYTHING. Set your kit ON FIRE if you have to.
Regarding anointments and hallowings: If you ever feel your Ambition is lacking, get a suitable priest to give you an aura. I can’t overstate how much additional drive and motivation they afford. The roleplay of the priest, and the effects of the aura both deliver an almost divine mandate for you to go and do the bloody stupid thing at all costs. And that’s what we’re all on the field to do, right?
At E4, I sat down in an Ambition Consecration, and had a chat with its owner.10 minutes later I’d somehow acquired 32 magic resources to make a tasteless reward for someone, 2 terrible drinks, and a plan for the most overblown medal-pinning ceremony you can imagine. I can thoroughly recommend Priests As Enablers.
Consecration:
“You have a profound sense of destiny - of what can ultimately be accomplished by you if you strive for it. You feel nothing is beyond your reach.”
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