The Children of the Machine

[Vlaid]

The Children of the Machine

Introduction

Rarely spoken of publicly until now, the Children of the Machine is form given to a belief that has existed within Sanctuary only in hushed whispers since the discovery of the Machine. That is - the belief that the Machine is alive and exists as some form of divinity to be revered and worshiped. The faith first began to coalesce and take form around the election that saw Szul Thrazaluun rise to the Directorate, bringing the faith into greater legitimacy. Comprised mostly of engineers, technocrats, auxiliary and scrappers, the Children of the Machine are a somewhat eclectic faith with dogmatic views of the Machine that run the gambit of deities and abstract philosophies. There are even those who look to the Machine as an alternative to the gods, their faith shaken as the jaws of Dendar continue to bring destruction to the pantheons.

Whatever their individual beliefs, they are bound together by a reverence for the Machine that transcends technical study and engineering.

The Man in the Mask, the Corruption, the Rot

The Man in the Mask is well known to have released some form of "corruption" into the Machine that has begun infecting various systems and animatrons with a black sludge and some say other, more bizarre happenings in the Machine that are not well understood. Here and there the Rot has been seen rusting away at the structures of the Machine, mold, Formian and strange rituals breaking away at that they hold most dear. This has led to a common deep resentment towards the Man in the Mask and the Rot for desecrating the hallowed halls of the Machine complex.

The Crystal and the Machine

With the revelation of the Crystal everything has changed. Both the Crystal and the Machine present a blueprint for survival and future of Dunwarren that directly conflicts due in part to the need for both to consume large quantities of baublium. Combined with the constant barrage of anti-Machine propaganda by the Crystal followers and more recent terrorist attack on the Machine outpost of the Spellguard which regulated water in Sanctuary....the Children of the Machine have little reason to help or trust the Crystal followers. It would seem all but certain now that those who put their faith in the Machine and those who follow the Crystal are on a collision course.

OOC Overview

The Children of the Machine have very loose structure. Followers are spread out across both Sanctuary and Lower. At least superficially the faith is a bit like druids in how they organize themselves, bound together by a few core understandings and a desire to do what is best for the Machine and its ancient march towards some as of yet unknown purpose. While they may all believe in the Machine in some form or another, disagreement often comes in the form of what deities the Machine is implement of, the purpose of the Machine and who should hold sway over it (if anyone at all). This makes them for a more disjointed faith where personal initiative is more important - you should not think of this as a faction as such as something to flesh out a concept that you want to worship the Machine in some form.

It may be tempting to believe that worship of the Machine requires engineering, craft trap and high intelligence but this is not the case at all. The purpose of this faith to bring far greater emphasis to the spiritual worship of the Machine through the abstract. I would almost go so far as to say that it is much easier to play a worshiper of the Machine who does not have great intellectual understanding of it. Try to think of it as if primitive man were introduced to something like a super computer run factory, they would almost certainty regard it it with great reverence, fear and mysticism, not the immediate desire to know how the parts work.

With the Crystal public... Now is the perfect time to make a PC for the Children of the Machine if you'd like to get into the Crystal vs Machine conflict without being forced into the relevant factions. You can be a soft spoken believer of the faith just like any other faith (representing your faith through actions not through dogmatic rhetoric), but becoming a follower is a great way to get involved in the war of ideals without feeling like you must join the Spellguard, Auxiliary or Society.

OOC Information  [TABLE="class: grid, align: left, width: 500"]
           [TR]
          [TD]Alignment:[/TD]
          [TD]Lawful or Chaotic preferred but no restrictions

• Lawful axis tend to follow the abstract concept of "the Mind of the Machine". Orderly, logical study of the Machine to new understandings of systems. Typically rigid, thoughtful and studious. Examples: svirfneblin, Auxilliary, Spellguard
• Chaotic axis tend to follow the abstract concept of "the Heart of the Machine". Chaotic, tend to follow intuition and passion to unorthodox applications of machine systems. Example: scrappers

         [/TD]
       [/TR]
       [TR]
          [TD]Race:[/TD]
          [TD]Any[/TD]
       [/TR]
       [TR]
          [TD]Class:[/TD]
          [TD]Any*

• Nature concepts or those who oppose civilization and/or embrace the wilderness will be a much harder fit
  

[/TD]
       [/TR]
       [TR]
          [TD]Special:[/TD]
          [TD]Must believe that the Machine is alive as some kind of divinity or follow a close theological variation of the belief.[/TD]
       [/TR]
       [TR]
          [TD]Help:[/TD]
          [TD]Swing by #cotm for advice, concepting help or to chat.
         
         A good starting point for potential Children of the Machine concepts here and a book of the faith here. You could find some good ideas on the "Chaos" path in Eileen's journal and sendings you've probabably heard now and then regarding 'Ma'.[/TD]
       [/TR]
     [/TABLE]

[Vlaid]

I just wanted add a few quick notes about this.

• If you want to play a PC for this I would urge some seriousness (or at least dedication to playing the PC as a main) for at least the immediate future as it could have serious consequences for the PCs already involved.
• Due to the relative newness I would prefer if you were converted (guided to the belief by an existing PC rather than make a fresh PC who is already a follower) in some manner. That said, don't let it stop you if you are really set on getting on board with a new PC without waiting around for one of the very few existing PCs to convert you.
• Some things coming up in the next few weeks will influence how this ends up shaping out greatly.
• Lastly, the basis of this 'faction' for lack of a better word has been molded and shaped very organically in an awesome way between Szul and Eileen. It has been awesome to see so I very much hope other people decide to add to the evolving shared concept.

[Cruath Quasith]

I might be a bit biased regarding this, but you should check it out! Even if your PC only has a mild interest in the Machine, there's a swap meet going down in 11 hours or so from this post.

Come even if you're a FILTHY SPELLGUARD DOG in disguise! Or come blow us all up! Either way, it should be an interesting way to kick things off and potentially see some lasting ramifications for the group/server.

[Vlaid]

This might be a good time to bump this.

With the crazyness in the Machine spurred on by the Man in the Mask on accursed Hammer 23rd and Szul securing a seat on the Directorate there is likely to be more developing with this burgeoning faith in the months ahead. Doesn't require a great deal of involvement as a plot or faction but over time that may become more pronounced. A great way to flesh out a character with Machine oriented style that doesn't require being an Auxiliary (but that is possible too!).

[Vlaid]

Updated the post with a bit more relevant information and a better description of how the relatively few members have been conducting themselves.

Feel free to come by #cotm if you are interested in making a concept themed for this.

[Vlaid]

Updated for recent events. Now is the perfect time to make a PC for the Children of the Machine if you'd like to get into the Crystal vs Machine conflict without being forced into the factions. You can be a soft spoken believer of the faith just like any other faith (ie, representing your faith through actions not through dogmatic rhetoric), but becoming a follower is a great way to get involved in the war of ideals without feeling like you must join the Spellguard, Auxiliary or Society.