Posted by The Immortal who Anathed you on March 31, 2000 at 08:22:35:
There has been a lot of heartburn lately on the cracking down by Empire Imms on Citizen behavior. People are getting upset about how things have been changing and are stepping out of character a lot to express their opinion. Therefore, I put together a little primer for all of you in the hopes you might have a better understanding of things.
Empire
The Empire is not a Cabal for evils to have a support group. Empire is an organization of evil people who recognize that together they are stronger than they ever would be alone. The nature of evil makes this alliance very tenuous. In fact people can be Anathematized on a whim. The quickest way to get booted by an Immortal is to play a buddy-buddy Empire who happily gives out information and equipment like we are all members of Dawn.
To better illustrate some of the things we will discuss, let us look at some of the evil organizations we have in modern SF/Fantasy. One that I like is the Empire of Star Wars. Some of my favorite scenes are when Imperial Officers get promoted by DV killing their superiors. The Empire of Thera has a similar ability in that it Anathematizes people. It is basically a death sentence.
What does this mean to you? Basically you can find yourself walking among the Anathema for just about anything you do. Again I say, Empire is evil. It is not a nice safe place for you to hang your hat and feel like you have come home. Choosing to join Empire is like putting all of your chips in the pot and hoping you come out on top. You might end up hunted by everyone you called ‘friend’ just a few moments ago.
Empire Leadership
I have been generally disappointed in most of the mortal leadership in Empire. (There are exceptions of course; Kah, Istendel, Llorenthos, Quinthen.) They need to understand that the slightest screw up or show of disrespect can result in the booting of someone. Now, the leaders of various sects need to keep their numbers up, but they should not hesitate to "cull the weak." Sect leaders also need to keep their Sects powerful so they as individuals are powerful. In an organization like Empire many things mean power. Gold, information, weapons, armor. None of these things should ever leave the Sect without significant reimbursement.
The Emperor on the other hand has only one thing to worry about. Keeping the Empire as a whole strong so he as an individual is strong. Therefore the Emperor does not see individuals. He only sees pawns on a battlefield. When a pawn is not holding his own, you throw them out and replace them with someone who will hold. Also, any single pawn can be sacrificed for the greater personal power of the Emperor. Not to mention, if a pawn pisses you off, you grind them into bloody pulp under your Imperial boot heel.
Induction and the Bloodoath
Empire is unique in that it encourages its leadership to uninduct the weaker members of the Cabal. This means that there is really no need for an interview. If someone ends up being an idiot you just Anath them. An interview is time wasted on someone who you know will lie. If they are worth their salt to the Empire they will tell you exactly what you want to hear and then do what ever they please. Therefore, just induct them and if they don’t work out, boot them.
The Bloodoath is designed to tie someone to the Empire, especially when there is no one on to complete the induction. It should also be used to force everyone to the way of the Empire. Citizens should have a very good reason for grouping with people who are not at least bloodoathed. Let's face it, if you are helping someone out who is not of the Empire, you are strengthening a future enemy of the Empire. Helping the Enemy is bad for your Citizenship.
The Many Laws of Empire
Every Citizen has at least three sets of laws they must always follow; Imperial Law, Sect Law, and Theran Law. These laws are simply stated and the breaking of any laws has only one punishment. For some reason few Citizens are aware of the Sect Laws. They are just as important as Imperial Law and yet every time I Anath someone for breaking it they say, "What law did I break?" Folks, read your Sect Laws.
Imperial Law is easy. Break it and you are done. The only gray area is with the Emperors items and whether you make the attempt in the face of greater odds. Think like a selfish, power hungry individual. You would not attempt to retrieve the codex if you were certain of failure, but if you have been known to be an idiot before you might find yourself Anathed if the odds are even.
The Sects
Let's return to our look at the evil organizations... What is lacking in the Empire of Star Wars is the backbiting that would naturally occur in such an organization. For that example I turn to the Forsaken/Chosen in the Wheel of Time series. Here we have a group of very nasty folks who answer to an even nastier master. Their alliances are grudging at best. They absolutely never trust each other's motives. Even when allied they are constantly looking for the angle to bring that person down.
This is how the Sects should be acting towards each other, if not for your RP, then for the fact that it is Sect Law. Ignore it and you will end up Anathema.
The Illusions of Loyalty, Courage, and Bravery
I think most Citizens get this one, but it figure it is worth reviewing. Anyone who answers their Anathematization with, “But I have given so much to the Empire,” or “I am the most loyal Citizen there is” simply solidifies my reasoning for booting you. Such ideals have no place in the Empire. In fact they should be openly disdained.
Empire Imms
When dealing with the Immortals of Empire your best bet is to RP your hearts out. As soon as someone becomes a cowering groveling sniveling little bootlicker, or a belligerent loudmouthed ass when there entire role has been the opposite you are done for. However, if your Sphere Deceit and you outright lie to me and do not back down, you will most likely come out okay. (Unless of course you have screwed up 5 times before. Then nothing will save you.)
The best way to avoid any trouble is to have a Role. If this explains why you do things you are a lot safer than not having one. Roles allow you to have a complex character that can even appear to work against the Empire at times. Good Role Playing and a well defined Role can shield you from just about anything from an Imm perspective, imho. However, it won’t save you from the mortal leadership.
A number of responses to getting Anathed revolve around players convinced that the Imm is just in a bad mood and decided to take it out on them. Now think about this. Anathematization happens for IC reasons only. If you are dealing with an omniscient, omnipotent being of pure evil and they are having a “bad eternity” you had better believe they just might wipe out the entire Empire without blinking. So what makes you believe they would think twice about booting you for any little reason. Again, let me stress, Empire is evil. Evil does evil things. Evil does men things. Immortal evil does evil and mean things on an immortal level. Therefore, using this excuse justifies what was done to you: “You can’t RP, good thing I booted you.”
Unlike what many think, the Imms generally give you a couple of chances, especially if you have only been around for a bit. So, if you end up Anathed, odds are you have been caught at more than one thing and this was the final straw.
In Summary
1. Empire is evil, if you are not acting that way you are out.
2. Don’t piss off the Leadership, you are only a few keystrokes from Anathemahood.
3. Imperial and Sect Law are your friend. Know and follow it to survive.
4. Nothing should go outside the Sect. The few instances are when required by Imperial Law. Don’t do this.
5. Role play, Role play, Role play.
6. Write a Role.
7. The Imms are watching you. Yes, you!