So part 1 of the Xmas special here, this one is where we talk about Heresy :).
The crime of heresy in the Empire is defined as: The willful rejection, or perversion of, the orthodox Doctrines of the Faith as laid down by the Imperial Synod, or actively teaching and promoting false doctrines.
A common question new players ask is about playing heretics and people who follow false virtue. Now some of this is the kind of thing that should be saved for the field, but I think we can come up with some advice for people who want to make game for all those people playing the Inquisition and Militia games. So what 3 things would you tell someone who wanted to play a heretic or follower of a false virtue at Empire?
If youâre interested in dedication to a False Virtue, start out by trying to emulate it. Be the Heresy you want to see in the world! As a Freedom adherent for instance, try and stand up for your right to do what you want. Shout down oppressors who attempt to control other people. Encourage others to do the same.
This is, I think, fundamentally the best advice I can give. It will give you something to do, it will give you roleplay to work with, and it will build a reputation should other heretics wish to seek allies. You can be subtle, you can be subversive - but have a motive, an agenda and a viewpoint.
Words are not Virtue.
Look over what information is available, scant though it be, and remember that you donât have to actually use words like âHatredâ or âHopeâ. Consider the following publically-known RP effect for a Hatred consecration:
âYou have a profound sense that your will is strong enough to defeat all that you hate. You feel no pity for foes, only righteous contempt.â
It only uses the word âhateâ once - and even that could be substituted if you were giving an Inspiring Speech. You can rouse others into acts that further your heretical ideas without them ever knowing!
Virtue is not fully understood.
The Empire detests heretics. It preaches strong, harsh, unrelenting orthodoxy. However, there are yet unresolved questions within the Way - questions about Eternals, about the soul, about the Labyrinth. Doctrine can change.
Poke holes in logic. Demonstrate evidence that counters mainstream opinion. Practice Socratic Irony. Be interesting and difficult and thought-provoking. Take advantage of ignorance.
1: "Heresy is blurry, push the line"
The Way is meant to be contested and is still a religion in development. So you can walk the fine line between Debate and Heresy and see how much you can push things your way (e.g. Yael). My PC started out printing inflammatory pamphlets and ended up Imperial Inquisitor.
2: "Blasphemy is not. It makes you a Designated Antagonist. Buy into that." False Virtues are Empireâs equivalent to deals with the Devil. PCs grow up with the Way preached at them regularly and bound into the very law. Some unfamiliar âvirtueâ should be at the least, super suspect. Blasphemy is less of a line if you have the actual Auras because you can check them off against the known ones.
The best roleplay I got out of the Hate plot was the PCs who knew Hatred was wrong but thought it might be worth it to inspire people against the Jotun. Thatâs playing to brief as someone whoâs being tempted by sin. If you go towards Blasphemy, youâre now playing Doctor Faustus or Anakin Skywalker. But a cool Anakin, not like the whiny prequels guy. If you start off intent on Blasphemy, youâre playing Palpatine in this. Start seducing people to the Dark Side.
3: Improvise!
False Virtue auras are rare to get hold of, but luckily, a lot of rituals have effects that are a bit in line with them. A few of the Summer and Autumn ones would be very helpful for encouraging Vengance, for example. Eternals can be handy patrons for Blasphemers in that regard too (Hi Hayaak).
Donât attempt Heresy if you feel any doubt about the responsibilty you will have to put in. It can be time consuming unless you have the time resource to seriiously dedicated yourself to it, until it has grown sufficiently in numbers for you to relax the all controlling grip you have on it.
2. Heresy and Children
Support your childrens Heretical leanings. Sit down with them and talk about their feelings and how people might want to be religously intolerent to them and may want to have them executed (you can put into terms they will understand, like the fluffy rabbit who had its throat torn out by the ugly fox). Be proud of who they are, even though you are going to turn them in in secret. Unless you are a Heretic too, remember âHerersy can be equal to Clerisyâ.
3. Heresy and its Outcomes
Remember: âHeretics wonât be put against the wall and executed when the revolution comesâ.
*subject to the form that the revolution takes, the individual belief of the Heretic, whether the Heretic is under 17 (in which case have they have the consent of an adult) .
No responsibily will be taken if the Heretic is exposed by the Synod, or other organisations (or other Heretics who were pretending to be Heretics for the sole purpose of exposing you) (or or other Heretics who were pretending to be Heretics for the sole purpose of exposing you, but are secretly Heretics themselves).
Being locked up and/or executed is the sole responsiblity of the Heritical themselves and they should make sure that their activities are sufficienly hidden for this event not to happen, or to bargain for immediate banishment for life (or to make themselves a martyr).
itâs sometimes better to walk a mile then it is to walk it, when playing around with âpossible heresyâ. people are going to be out to get you, some people play characters who extremely canât stand heresy or are actual inquisitors whose job it is to hunt you down and deal with you in the appropriate manner. Make sure you are 100% sure that you are comfortable saying what you are saying and that you donât throw everything you have at once, tickle it slowly so other players understand what your character is trying to push forward and that you donât say something so extreme that inquisitors canât ignore you (unless that what you want then go right ahead, the executioner doesnât make money on mercy ) .
Seek the right people
choose the broken and lost to be your disciples, you need to find those who would take what you say to heart and not just report you for heresy instantly, preach what they want to hear while also inserting what you want to preach. have subtle nods to your heresy while also having it take root in the minds. If theyâve lost a loved one or a close friend allow them to have a shoulder to weep on while also being the snake you are and whisper false comfort and make clear that they can rise again stronger by following your false doctrine.
BE CHARMASIC
Study historical preachers and priests
Rasputin
St John
St Peter
budda
mahatma Gandhi
Muhammad
The eastern sage
The power of charisma is that you should be able to say anything and your followers take it in hand and believe it as a True doctrine. Charisma is Power over other and that can be used however you want it to be used. a new movement, A religious militia, or just hordes of votes to push whatever you preach.
Give the greatest performance you can and no will be able to question your beliefs.
Pick you Heresy Carefully
There is more than just False Virtue to Heresy. You could worship a God or Gods, even wishing to convert to a foreign nations Gods. You could simply reject/dispute a part of the Ways Doctrines but otherwise be a perfectly Virtuous person. Picking your Heresy frames your game perhaps more than any other. Each brings different flavours of the game unexplored.
Be overt, but not too Overt
It is very easy to deceive Lrpers, the game is shared make-believe so weâre more inclined to trust because of this. This reflects in game. Be Hateful, or Vengeful or Hopeful, have a shrine to your gods in the back of your tent. At the same time running into the Hub and screaming you worship the Gods of the Suranni and must do their bidding will measure the lifespan of your character in seconds. The key is to be overt enough to make others suspicious and let the chase commence but not so overt there is clear evidence. One group had to advertise the Doctrines of their False Virtue on Banners before people seriously took notice, being subversive is easy to get away with.
You will be everyones badguy, but you donât have to be
In the minds of other characters, you will be evil, and if you want an evil Fear cult then thatâs up to you. But just because you are a Heretic doesnât mean you are a bad person, quite the opposite in many cases! Hope and Peace Auras are very nice by modern moral standards and most Virtues in the Empire vary from grey to downright evil in the sense of modern westernised moral ethics. You could simply respectfully disagree with the Synod, and believe that religious Freedom should be a right - congratulations you are a filthy filthy Heretic. You could believe in the Commonwealth ideal of the Greater Good, promoting Philosophy, learning and a common ideal for a better world, with Virtues being regressive, hell they call themselves âPaladinsâ. But hey, Paladin you might be, you are a still a filthy Heretic and deserve to burn. Basically, twisting those characters who believe in Virtue to your ideas and making them agonise over whether or not to put you to the sword should result in great RP.
Not everyone has memorised the wiki. If someone says something which sounds like one of the more subtle heresies, point out that itâs heresy, they might genuinely not realise it. Some of them could look like legit viewpoints for an orthodox Way follower who just isnât as big an Empire nerd as you or me. Getting consequences for being a deliberate antagonist is fun, getting done for heresy when you were genuinely trying to play an orthodox good guy usually isnât.
There is a lovely blurry line between Wisdom and Heresy. Wisdom encourages you to question everything, and sometimes those questions are âis this heresy actually true after all?â. The new page on Axos religious beliefs https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/Axos_religion is full of material for that sort of thing. If done right, you can skirt very close to heresy and come out of it looking virtuous. Go as close to that line as you dare.
Idolatry of humans is perfectly legal and not actually heresy! As long as they donât use the G word, worshipping paragons and exemplars is fine.
If you find heresy, and the people wonât stop, if you are not a Priest of The Synod, find one and tell them - it then becomes their headache, not yours. While us Priests will look at heretics and go âhere we go againâ exasperated sigh we would rather be the ones to deal with deliberate heresy, as there is a legal process which we are involved in.
If you want to play a heretic, chances are your characterâs days will be numbered the moment they are found out, unless you repent etc.
Read the wiki, not just the heresies but religious law as well, know what judgements need to happen, how an Inquisition works from the legal perspective. All you need is for someone to make a mistake in their judgement wording, or in the order they do things and they have to go back a few steps, or even right back to the beginning. It can make the game more interesting. (says the player of a Priest who is going to regret this one later)
Iâm not a Synod priest, and if I found heresy plot Iâd like to stay involved with it rather than have it completely taken off me. It would need Synod involvement to be taken down the legal route, but that can be as well rather than instead, I donât like game being forcefully taken off me for playing the âwrongâ character class.
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