Best Faction for a Knowledge Plunderer?

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Hey guys, 

 

So, quick question. I'm making a character who's a bit of a... seeker of knowledge, so to speak. Almost a pirate, one might say. He's a lorekeeper, very interested in collecting loose bits of information from all over Eora and gluing them together with his own discoveries, not necessarily with the permission of those who originally possessed the knowledge. I was wondering which of the four factions would best serve this sort of philosophy? Here's my thoughts on each...

 

- Principi: Sounds obvious, right? Pirate of knowledge teams up with pirates of... everything else. But I've played a bit of their story, and while I really like the politics involved, I'm not sure it fits. 

 

-RDC: I haven't really done much with their questline and, honestly, they seem kind of... impenetrable, if that makes sense. The RDC comes off as a bit too militant to really care about academic pursuits - well, academic pursuits that don't further the colonial militarist effort, at least, and where's the fun in that? 

 

-VTC: The one I'm leaning toward the most. Apparently, Director Castol is one of the more interesting faction contacts, and considering the Republics' support of animancy, it's a good fit for my high Metaphysics character. 

 

-Huana: Again, another obvious choice. Worm your way in to the indigenous culture and then abscond with their secrets and lore. The issue is, I'm not really sure if there's a way to play the Huana story in that way. Foist out the evil colonial oppressors so that you can essentially appropriate the Huana culture. 

 

Right now, I'm heavily leaning toward VTC, but I'd be interested to hear arguments otherwise. 

[omgFIREBALLS]

None of them. Supplant Nemnok.

[Incendax]

VTC for the pro animancy angle.

RDC for aggressively taking said knowledge.

 

The big distinction here is that VTC have a specific hard-on for animancy, while the RDC are more interested in general improvement and infrastructure, which does include technology, but not to the exclusion of guns and butter.

 

Or put another way, mad science vs practical science. Teleporters vs Submarines.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Incendax

[handsomenat]

RDC are very technologically advanced and they're pioneering in research and application of diving technologies (together with an independent scientist from Vailia). The quests given by hazanui are connected to that. They do care about academic pursuits but mostly if they're going to have tangible results; their whole thing is fighting against (para)natural forces to keep themselves afloat. They keep away from adra mostly but they are interested in the ways adra can affect the weather. More cautious about the research than Vailians.

 

For someone like your character wouldn't it be most fitting to do quests for everyone and then leave them hanging? (If you happen to disagree with some favtions more than others you can "fail" some quests and still return them). Or maybe try to do quests for others and sabotage them and ultimately join VTC? Animancy might sound like the most fitting type of sciences for you Watcher.

[Incendax]

Yeah, I can see this character doing quests for everybody until he runs off with the Hangman, turns down the Final RDC quest, and joins VTC in the end.

[Parasol_Syndicate]

I agree that it seems like the Valians are funding a wider range of projects, some with some very broad applications. What is a soul? How does it move from place to place? 

 Atsura hits the nail on the head when he opines about all the adra they're taking, without trying to understand if they should. That's the Valians to a T. 

 

Meanwhile, Rauatai has the technical edge, and is getting more results. It builds things, for purposes, and then it improves them. These improvements trickle down to it's general knowledge. I like this approach, but done on an imperial scale, progress is going to be glacial. 

The Old Principi are an interesting case in that they have the edge on Lore. They seem better steeped in customs and and events from the previous era. There fondest wish is to recreate Old Valia in their own image. This is old knowledge, rather than new, but it is still insight into stuff most have forgotten. 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Parasol_Syndicate

[house2fly]

I played a similar character and Castol is my boy

[Verde]

Well if you haven't sided with RDC yet, go for it. And come back and tell us what you think *grins*.

[cyberpunker]

The VTC are better for a metaphysics heavy lore seeker.  They sponsor animancy research aggressively, and are the most willing to experiment with new and existing technologies.

 

The RDC are advanced in military science but are reluctant to pursue riskier or unknown research, exemplified by Atsura's stance on luminous adra and animancy.  

 

The Huana have a lot of cultural lore and traditions, especially the Wahaki.  But they do not offer any secrets in and of themselves.  The Watcher actually has to read the Wahaki ranga's souls to find out Wahaki's story.  Also, whatever speculation about Ukaizo and watershaping they have, the other factions either already know (as seen in the RDC and VTC) or could find out relatively easily.  So they aren't the best choice either.

 

The Principi aren't interested in any lore that does not bring them plunder.  And the lore they are interested in can easily be found via the VTC as well.