Snake2512

I got asked to fire off some hot opinions so here it goes. I will start off by saying the more I have been exposed to Security mains the more I fundamentally do not like to interact with them (with some exceptions of course), not because of lack of roleplay ability (they are technically roleplaying) but because the dominant culture is one in which promotes the exact same archetype in each character. I can't say why this is the case because I've never made a Security character on this server but it becomes increasingly apparent that only a certain kind of Character appears to be rewarded or at least encouraged, that being the tough security officer who takes no shit, has anger issues and of course willingly ignores the corruption of his buddies because they're his buddies. Now is this a legitimate character? Yeah sure but its sort of tiring to see the same man copy and pasted, especially when these issues are most apparent during non-canonical antag or event rounds when it becomes incredibly difficult to file an actual IR against these characters because their 'attitudes rely on external non-canon factors' regardless if the interaction was as an antag or not. Obviously an OOC complaint doesn't work either because its not actually against the rules to rp a Security officer who was clearly bullied in school. My greatest insight into this was when I was lucky enough to be awarded Security channel access as a 'Brig Chaplain' to which I will give the necessary credit to that Head of Security who went out of their way to involve me in the otherwise shut off catacombs that is the brig. As I said, there are exceptions to this but there is a very serious and pretty terrible Security culture of circle jerking. Now, does this exist for other departments? Oh sweet Jesus yes but none are ever so horrifically interfering in event/antag rounds when its from Security. All I am asking is for some more Security players to use their heads a tad bit more. Nothing was funnier to me when an Officer threatened to arrest my character because he was trying to teach an off duty cadet how to box because we weren't in the holodeck, despite the fact that the holodeck had been hacked and was not at all safe. In truth, I do rarely try and get the attention of Security but the more I am forced into situations where I have to deal with them, the more and more I am not liking anyone in the department, either due to laziness, unneeded malevolence or just bland characters in general. Whats the solution to all of this? Couldn't tell you, maybe a different kind of HoS needs to step up to the plate or an old one needs to play more often and really crack hard on the culture of it. Maybe new players need to play Security in general. I will confess as a new player I don't have all the answers to an issue of culture but i definitely have been exposed to some annoying elements and can share them. Now, secondly I got asked to talk about what my experience has been like as a new guy thats stuck around for a bit. I can say pretty confidently its been good, initially it was hard to find my place but how much that is due to my own character design choices and how much that is 'the culture of aurora' is really hard to say. I play a character that is naturally antagonistic in his nature not because he breaks into places and breaks corporate law but because he has a lot of opinions and likes to force them on unwilling people. This is naturally a character that will initially be written off OOCly or disliked ICly and sometimes with good reason. I can say however that once continually persisting into shifts on Aurora he found his corner of the server not because one clique opened up to him but because many people from many groups responded pretty well. In particular the staff were the first to really receive me into the server then many other notable people came forward and its been good times. As for my interaction with events since then? I play a Chaplain so I tend to do really well at being involved in the long story driven lore events but terribly at the on station action events for the very simple reason is the only people who would need a Chaplain during such events are characters who hold key positions and therefore really can't take the time away from their positions to come and speak to me. Does character design have a significant impact on this? Absolutely, however I like to think I am pretty good at entertaining myself but the simple reality is when shit hits the fan the civilian sector is just a burden that needs to be kept safe, there is no incentive for them to interact beyond fear rp which is rarely engaging. tl;dr character design is a pretty important thing to consider here and hard to regulate, I found Aurora welcoming for the simple reason I had obvious goals to achieve and once people realized that my character was a vehicle for change, they gladly interacted with him and welcomed him to the community.

Reporting Personnel: Jack McJacko Rank of Reporting Personnel: Chaplain Game ID: bVo-aQHl Personnel Involved: (Name, Rank: Offender/Witness/Other (Ckey)) - Daniel Carmichael, Security Officer - Offender - (AmoryBlaine) - Cassian Graves, Security Officer - Offender - (Unknown) - Frank Chaplin, Chief Medical Officer - Witness/Offender ( Unknown) - Naomi Ray, Medical Doctor - Witness (Zaeperry99) - Grace Fitzgerald, Security Officer - Witness (Unknown) Time of Incident: Around 07:40 or a bit later Real time: 15:50 GMT +9:30 Location of Incident: Medbay Lobby Nature of Incident: []Workplace Hazard []Accident/Injury []Destruction of Property []Neglect of Duty [x]Harassment []Assault [X]Misconduct []Other _____ Overview of the Incident: The shift started rather simply, I met up with Naomi Ray in the medbay lobby to discuss urgent pastoral matters concerning both her and a close friend of hers (details of which I will obviously withhold) and while our brief discussion persisted we overheard the Chief Medical Officer failing to inform a patient had to be cloned and willfully kept them ignorant. Naomi immediately rebuked him on this matter and when he persisted to defend his illegal actions, I informed him he was, 'a silly cunt' indeed I admit I could of worded it better but as Chaplain I was naturally outraged by these grave legal and spiritual violations of the human dignity. To which the CMO demanded I leave the medbay if I wasn't a 'patient', both exclaiming that I had no respect for his authority given the obvious illegal activity and the fact that I had actually developed a sort of flu I refused to depart from the medbay. As such he called Security and I informed him I will be filing a report against him for this breach of patient trust. As three Security officers arrived however I was given no opportunity to speak as Daniel immediately lay hands on me and tried to throw me out while Graves shouted at me to depart. Naturally, since I was sick with the flu and didn't wish to spread the illness, I shoved the struggling Carmichael back and asked them to let me explain the situation. They refused to listen and Carmichael tried for a second round against me (he failed) and only stopped once they too had caught the illness I suffered from my constant sneezing and when Naomi shouted them down for attempting to remove a contagious man from the medbay. At this point the CMO offered to have me quarantined to which I accepted his offer, however before any such could happen Daniel threatened me with, and I quote 'I'm very liable to smash something before I'm fired at the end of this shift. I suggest you keep yourself in fucking check, friend.' To which I said I would report him to his superiors for this veiled threat and attempting to forcefully remove a contagious man from the Medbay. To this he lost his temper and attempted to grab and tackle me to the ground (he failed). What stunned me the most was not Daniel however but his fellow officers, they simply stood there, Graves with a baton drawn but they made no move against me or the raging Carmichael, very content to see who would come out on top. The fight was only broken up once the CMO flashed me (and I didn't see who) someone had forcefully separated us. Once separated and calm, we were all given our injections by Doctor Ray and Daniel was escorted off the scene, I and others remained in the medbay as I still felt the symptoms to which Graves turned to me and said not to be too hard on Daniel as he suffered something traumatic, to which I said there was no excuse for his behavior, if he was suffering mentally why did his fellow officers let him work? To which Graves replied and I quote, "It's actually an excuse for me to look the other way if he wants to club you in. If we come back, it won't be a gentle urging to get you out." To which I informed him he would be reported to his superiors for such a blatant admittance to corruption. I will clarify that the two quotes of Daniel and Cassian are from my memory as I wrote them down not long after the incident, they may not be precise words but they more or less demonstrate their intent. I am positive the other witnesses can testify as to the accuracy however. To recap my main complaint is with Daniel's overaggressiveness, his refusal to listen compromised not only his health but his fellow officers and could of compromised the entire stations had I not been wise enough to reassert myself, he is clearly not mentally up to the task of being an officer for once informed I would report this failure, he became violent once more. Another major failure was Cassian's refusal to defuse the situation in favor of his friend, this misconduct was to the point he put others at risk as well and then threatened me once I had pointed it out. It is clear that not even Grace Fitzgerald actually knew what to do in this situation though I am willing to overlook her failure to act as honest confusion rather than corruption or malevolence. Did you report it to a Head of Department or IAA? If so, who?: None were available. Actions taken: I attempted to contact the Head of Personnel, Faysal Al-Shennwai but he was already in the cryo tubes by the time I got to him. For obvious reasons I kept my distance from Security once leaving the medbay. Additional notes: for more details concerning the CMO, consult Naomi Ray's IR of the same day.

+1 All my interactions with Zae's characters have been positive and their character Naomi Ray is not only very good at their job but they achieve this success without a single hint of sexuality or other sexual promiscuity as a crutch for an otherwise bland character. Zae's ability to present a genuinely interesting and believable medical character without relying on such crutch not only demonstrates their skill as a roleplayer but also their competence with the game mechanics. The greatest example of their high roleplay capabilities though is their characters dedication to actually reflecting the cultural background they grew up in. Upon interacting with Naomi especially one can easily see she is significantly impacted by both her planet of origin (Mars) and the religion she follows (Judaism) going so far as to entirely disappear from the Relay during the Sabbath as per Jewish Law. It is probably the only character I've seen who has clearly demonstrated dedication to a religious obligation that inconveniences the character (and player).

The Religious Orders: Order of Preachers (Dominicans, OP) The oldest of the inter-galactic preaching orders, the Order of Preachers is best known for the establishment of elite Universities in Sol Space both within the richer inner colonies and amongst the poorer planets. Experts in Canon Law and Theology means their approach to their faith is cold, decisive and without comparison amongst the Intelligentsia of society, none perform a more robust defense of the faith than the Dominicans. Their presence at the Council of Luna was significant as they carved the way on moral issues regarding synthetics, xeno ecclesiastical privileges and the formation of new rites for humanity's new neighbors. However, their domination of more conservative side of issues found them at rivalry with their brother Order, the Society of Jesus who adopted incredibly Liberal stances throughout the council, some renegades even promoting Eucharist for Synthetics though the mutated Liberation Theology that has now encompassed Synthetic social justice issues was struck down during the Council. They played no small part in the incredibly traditional style of the Papacy over the past few hundred years, their reputation as fierce defenders of the Pope and his authority stood the test of time. Dominican Chaplains or those raised in a Dominican tradition are expected to be incredibly intelligent, possessing at least a Masters in Theology and another PhD in a hard science or Canon Law if they are a Chaplain. Their grasp on the faith is cold, calculated and extensive, though their Liturgies can be some of the most inspiring their stance on many moral issues, especially regarding heretics, wastes no time with ecumenical language and gets straight to the point. They are assigned the Ecclesiastical province of Sol and specifically the Republic of Elyra, marked as mission territory. They would have impressive respect for the Skrell and possibly vice versa. Skrell Dominican Chaplains would be the biggest brained theologians the galaxy would ever see but a natural rarity given their atheist nature. Their HQ is on Earth. Society of Jesus (Jesuits, SJ) An incredibly successful and vastly wealthy preaching order, the Society of Jesus' has held onto and gained much of its inter-galatic real estate through impressive negotiation. Though they would be without a doubt the most popular of the preaching orders, they are the most reviled by their fellow Catholic as their continued involvement within the wars that plague the Tajaran people have caused fresh heresy and their cause to be too closely tied to political elements. Incredibly Liberal in their outlook they argued in favor of synthetic involvement in the liturgy, extensive cloning rights, strong support for the liturgy to be normalized in the vernacular and the sacrament of marriage to be available for inter-species couples. However, amongst the corrupt though good intentioned Jesuits there still exist a small resemblance of their traditional selves. Jesuits dominate much of Luna and the poorer Sol colonies. Playing a Liberal Jesuit Chaplain means to be a borderline heretic on many matters, their personalities entirely reversed when compared to their Dominican counterparts, their approach to the faith is one of joy and a lot of mercy. Those raised within a Jesuit tradition can expect their understanding of the faith be far less scholarly and far more social justice orientated, more concern for politics than Church matters and can be expected to be from both the poorest of society and the most rich. Jesuit Chaplains can expect to be far more concerned with alien and synthetic rights than preaching the Gospel. However traditionalist Jesuits will be some of the most fierce and possibly bigoted Chaplains the Church could produce, harsh in attitude but divinely inspiring in preaching technique, it would be hard for the masses to not feel the impressive passion they put into their work. They are assigned the Ecclesiastical province of Sol, the Frontier and Adhomai, all marked for mission territory except certain areas of Sol. Tajaran communists may get along with the Jesuits the most as they are far more in tune with the needs of the people - until they of course look at their vast real estate value. Their HQ is on Luna. Order of St. Boniface (Bonifacians, OB) The youngest of the preaching Orders and by far the most reflective of the current state the Church is in, the Bonifacians are the smallest of the preaching orders yet definitely the most daring. Named not after their founding Saint but after the Early Church preacher, Bonifacians seek to replicate his miracle of converting vast swarms of pagans to the Catholic faith, as such Bonifacians have an incredibly high rate of Martyrdom compared to their brother Orders. Their manpower is mostly made of Frontier converts and without the long history of the Jesuits and Dominicans, the Bonifacians find themselves as neither the most skilled orators nor the most knowledgeable theologians. They however make up for it with passion alone, fiery speakers and fearless confessors dot their ranks as they throw themselves into the uncertainty of the Frontier, the Hegemony and against the Tribunal's lackeys. However outside of Frontier space they are positively odd, stranger than the others at least as they are riddled with conspiracy theories about Sol and hold incredibly conservative opinions on the subjects of Hell and the Devil, their preaching style far more akin to that of the Early Church who constantly threatened the dangers of hellfire and everlasting pain. Playing a Bonifacian Chaplain means playing someone from the Frontier, usually a convert who hates Corporations, hates Sol and hates pompous rich kids so chances are he is not so very popular with the crew, either due to a foul mood or constant paranoia of Nanotrasen secretly being controlled by the Anti-Christ. In line with their Frontier background they are however tough and reliable people, none more trustworthy nor more willing to forgive previous crimes. They are very traditional like their Dominican counterparts but more out of fear of hell than genuine knowledge on theology. Bonifacian laity would also be men from the Frontier or at least volunteers to work on Frontier charities and should be a bit odd yet trustworthy individuals as well. A particular focus on the Church Militant should be kept in mind when playing one. They are assigned the Ecclesiastical province of the Frontier, Izwehski Hegemony and the Empire of Dominia, all marked as mission territory. The extensive territory they cover, their high rate of martyrdom and low numbers mean as a order they struggle far more than the others. Edict breakers would find themselves most at home with the Bonifacian style of preaching and resistance. Their HQ is attempting to establish itself in the Moghes Wastes. - Knightly Orders: Knights of St. John A volunteer organisation open to both Laity and Religious, it holds significant real estate on Earth still yet it mainly operates out of Luna. It is the most consistent Catholic religious order that has collaborated with the IAC as many of its hospices are established during its operations. They operate just about everywhere they can. Those who studied under them or worked closely with them would best fit as an EMT, Medical Doctor or Surgeon. Their duties involve assisting and healing the sick. Knights of St. Boniface A volunteer organisation restricted to the Laity, it holds mild financial status as its members sell off much of their assets to be able to assist the Order of St. Boniface with their goal to establish a HQ on Moghes Wastes. Due to the dangerous territory they face, although their members are sometimes Doctors the bulk of them either provide personal security for the Bonifacians land holdings and clergy or use their practical skills to make life a bit easier for the Bonifacians. Corporate Security, Engineers, Botanists and Medical Doctor characters are most likely to have Knight status in this Order. Their duties involve asset protection, construction and healing the sick. Order of Christ A volunteer organisation open to both Laity and the religious. The revived Knights Templar (now known as the Order of Christ) were brought to the foreground during the Year of the Three Popes. Tasked specifically with the protection of its faithful and landholdings they appear wherever the Catholic Church needs them to provide security detail, whether this is on the harshness of the Frontier, assisting their fellow Knights of St. John with IAC ventures or even the rebellious Mars. Corporate Security and Engineers are most likely to have Knight status within this order. They may also be popular with Martian characters. Their duties involve asset protection and healing the sick.

After reviewing a lot of the lore for Sol and the Frontier I've decided the Church would get much of its money from tourism, especially with the aesthetic Luna guns for. After losing their full rights to the Vatican, I imagine a chunk of the original landholdings on Earth would of been sold off in order to re-locate the Curia to a place like Luna, vast architecture projects underway no doubt also fueled by charity runs. However, like with all charity runs it gives these organisations the edge of going largely undetected through customs as their reasons for constantly coming and going is easily explained. What precisely would be smuggled through in order to fuel the Curia's lavish lifestyles I would leave entirely up to the imagination. If we wanted to go for the full imitation of history then a situation the Knights of St. John suffered in 1775 could be replicated as they try and get their asses into gear on the Frontier (old Grand Master spends all his money having hella sick parties on the moon, new Grand Master tries to fund actual expeditions - no money means austerity measures and that makes the clergy under them very unhappy). The freedom of the Frontier would make their shady dealings much easier (cough cough Sicily) and also resonate with the Church much more with the common 'bugger Sol' sentiment. With the Pontiffs full intention to continue the architecture last seen produced 500 years ago, the tourist money would certainly be up there. Now, as for a direct throw into the Corporate world as we see even now the Roman Curia could attempt to wield its authority in an attempt to convince ''''Catholic'''' business owners to boycott say, the Idris Incorporated for although they would be justified in and of itself in demanding it, I am sure some money under the table by other Corporate powers could help motivate the Catholic leadership. Although their influence is not dramatic, I imagine the powers that be would still like to utilize any and all influential groups to slow down their enemies. (I also imagine they'd hate the Eridani with a flaming passion) If you wanted to get very dark however we could return to the old, 'Hey you, powerful businessman, in your will, put you will leave this land to the Church." and as soon as they mysteriously commit suicide, what a shame. The Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota will now divide up your previous assets and oh would you look at that, in honour of your memory we have turned your former home into a Faculty of ours, thank you. As for the finer logistics of Luna I propose the following: Pontifical Harmony City University, Faculty in Theology and Canon Law - Specifically for training Laity and those with Religious Vows - 12,000 Students - Under the Roman Curia's direct administration St. Francis Xavier Harmony City University, Faculty in Canon Law, Theology and Natural Sciences - Open to the public - 16,000 Students - Under Jesuit Administration St. John's Luna University, Faculty of Law, Medicine, Canon Law and Administration - Open to the public - 19,000 Students - Under the Knight's of St. John Administration Pontifical Luna University, Faculty of Theology, Administration and Canon Law - Specifically for the training of those with Religious Vows - 3,800 students - Under the Roman Curia's direct administration And as for Biesel: St. Thomas Aquinas Mendell City University, Faculty of Computer Science and Canon Law - Open to the public - 9,800 Students - Under the Order of Preacher's administration. This is predominately to show the difference in influence between the Republic of Biesel, an area thats probably still listed as Mission Territory and Luna which would of been the 'New Rome' for the Holy See. With the Catholic Church returning to Cult status, they would be incredibly picky in who gets to enter their higher places of learning, though certain universities would be open to all. How specifically NT or anyone else offers scholarships through them I would leave up to the lore devs. More to come.

False, it is neither in doctrine or Edicts that Dominian laity must preach their faith and convert others, I challenged Dominian chaplains to convert me and they refer to their Edicts that one day all the galaxy will be under the faith so they don't need to. The pre-destination aspect of these Edicts entirely undermines this point and I've even seen it in play with Chaplains such as Cael Volvalaad so not only is this a case of lazy writing but it has directly impacted the game. I wish I saved the logs but it was entirely along the lines of 'I know why I follow my religion, I tell you that but faith is faith and I cant convince you otherwise' which is the saddest excuse for any faith that claims a monopoly on truth. At least 100 Edicts? What are they? Do not confuse Doctrine for Edicts, how it is written says they are entirely different. As you said in your post later, clarification is needed and the last thing you can be vague about is Dogma that could end up getting you killed. Correct, so if this is true and it got manipulated why do the peasants put up with it when it actively kills them. In the lore it directly says Edict breakers either commit ritual suicide or are executed by firing squad. The Dominians know for a fact that death is a possibility, if not, why do they bother to follow it? The religion once more offers no solution to any problem of any metaphysical quality, we are talking about impacts to the game here and it is so surreal and jarring when you run into it. I am saying that that is not at all what all religions do, not even the major ones. Correct, but those Christian characters find themselves excommunicated and are spiritually lazy, now imagine this in a character where if they are spiritually lazy they could be arrested and killed. See why simply having dominia as a faux pseudo faith doesn't really work out? I wish i saved the logs of all my interactions but I have had on one end people bragging about the stoning of Edict Breakers and on the other have Chaplains talk about how the faith is entirely personal and it can't be forced. There is a distinct difference between disobeying a doctrine and teaching something that appears to be entirely contrary to the nature of it. One begets the other. When a religion claims that all the galaxy must follow it, it is divinely inspired and it kills people who break its rules, it claims to have a monopoly on truth. The Roman Catholic Church also has this claim as does Islam.

Crikey Jackboot, this just proves my point that this is written by people who have no grip on religion. Jackboot, you prove my point perfectly. Your answer to 'message of the meaning of life' is to quote what happens to them AFTER their life has ended. If the only reason to exist on this Earth is to die then how do they gain heaven? By not breaking Edicts? Well theres only a handful of them so thats not too hard, we once again play into the realms of utterly lazy writing and unsatisfying religion for a group of people whos central theme is religion. You once again quote death as a reason for life, if heaven is literally the only reason to exist then why haven't all the faithful edict followers not killed themselves? Why does Boleslaw sit on his throne? What meaning does the material have if the only thing to do is die and go to heaven? This is, I say again, written by people who have no concept of God. It really stands out. And it has done its job, why is it the ruling class now? Seriously mate? If you don't understand basic premises of different faiths then why do you write for or defend a theocratic faction. Thats all lore hogwash mate, Unathi are not morally obligated to go around and convince their fellow man of suicide because they don't follow the rules, in fact its so mandatory for Dominians to do this if they don't do it they won't go to heaven, which is apparently all they exist for. We're talking about direct impacts on the station and characters. Very religious Unathi exist yes but they get around it by claiming to not have a monopoly on truth. I think you confuse silly Chaplains for lazy Chaplains.

But we're not asking for it to survive against real religions, we're asking for there to be some sort of effort put into a major theme of the faction. It doesn't need to have vast tomes of theological explorations but its really apparent this lore was written by people who have never been seriously religious in their life. The Moroz Tribunal claims a monopoly on truth as a new religion and so there needs to be certain things it fulfills for it to actually exist in any real setting. 1. An all encompassing explanation for the meaning of life that serves as an apparatus to bring heathens into the fold and give hope to the faithful. 2. Metaphysical objectives for both its followers and those it considers heathen. 3. A message the other faiths could not or do not preach. Right now, the only new thing the Tribunal has introduced into civil life is violence, its message and objectives entirely reliant on the political establishment. So when this all gets put into practice, where it matters (the game) the characters come off as non-denominational Christians with the edginess dial cranked up. Any and all attempts to explore this central theme of the people just shows us a slightly different variation of 40k LARPers (who for all the LARP about God-Emperors are just angry atheists) and I don't need to tell you how they bring down the game. (I go into more detail about this on Schevs thread) So all in all, we dont want the Tribunal gone because it doesn't stand against the true faith, we want it gone because its out of place and poorly done. The other fictional religions do not garner this condemnation because they are very rarely ever central themes of the characters unless there is a tragedy or they're a Chaplain. While with Dominians their political and religious views intertwine so often its impossible to explore these characters and actually be satisfied with either their logic or the detail of their explanations. When this happens the characters come off as completely unbelievable and its hard to muster up the effort to engage with those who exist in competition to the rest of the setting. Edit: My favourite example actually of Dominian characters mostly being so utterly surreal in their execution was the time I constantly made fun of the Chaplains dominian faith and then the HoP told me I shouldn't discriminate. Like imagine sitting there trying to convince edict breakers to kill themselves but yet also being so soft skinned you think being bullied over the Dominian faith is too much so you report them to NT.

But the Soviet union had a reason to exist and believable circumstances, also believable ways it maintained its existence. Dominia's Tribunal has none of these things, the constant thing I see claimed by its lore devs (I think Zundy was the last man to mention this to me) is that its Tribunal isn't an Inquisition because it simply publishes Edicts and its citizens follow. The question that erupts is why? There is no reason for their citizens to kill their fellow man for the Tribunal offers quite literally nothing in their doctrines or prayers other than a love that isn't really defined and a hope that apparently never comes. The religion which is a central theme of the Dominian people is horrifically shallow and it creates an immense amount of problems in game, specifically their Chaplains. I've sat down with just about every single Chaplain and their spiritual beliefs range from angry atheist to non-denominational motivational speaker, not a single one agreeing with each other on doctrines (except matters concerning IPCs). One player even told me that the Dominian religion comes from Catholicism so we should be friends. I've met one Dominian player that didn't stick out like a sore thumb, for all their reverence to the Emperor and their God they don't actually take a hard stance on any moral issues of substance other than things concerning Synthetics and Edict breakers, their edicts funnily enough not having any firm beliefs either other than 'die synthetics, dont disagree with us'. Anytime you try and explore these aspects of the character it all falls up short with, "well, I'm not a priest I can't tell you why we think that." and "Pfft, im a nobleman, I dont have to explain anything to you." Or if they are the local Chaplain, "Well I doubt your religion could explain it better." I agree, Dominians are cool and I'd like to see them around but the Loredevs have propped up a major theme yet done nothing more to make it deeper than a pond, you can't expect players to make up Dogmas for a centralized Church as well because we run into the issue of them all disagreeing with each other as I have seen. The religious element of them just sticks out like a sore thumb and other religious lore escapes this critique because usually the religion is not a central theme or the religion itself does not claim a Monopoly on truth. All in all, the Dominians would be 20x better if they were less edgy theocracy and more edgy techno-fascists. At least then they can maintain the same condescending/antagonist attitudes with much less contradictions.

Yeah and the Sk'ah Doctrines mirror Christianity's pace by pace except for the concept of >soul could have been given a body of the different sex > A same-sex couple is just as sinful as a heterosexual couple who don't intend to have children, because their love or lust has become more important than their duty. This view varies within the church, but most priests are frustrated with homosexual relationships on equal terms as child-less marriage Like come on someone has been reading Pope St. John Paul II Where Moroz and Sk'ah deviate however is when it jumps back into the field Monotheism and so the Moroz Tribunal is a painful rip of Christianity whether you intended it or not.

Its theocratic government is unrealistic given its not really explained why it needs to exist or how it sustains itself with such a massive population that would easily be prone to uprising when their philosophy doesn't actually answer any of their lifes problems, just demands they venerate those above them or die. The ease in which information flows in and out of Dominia would surely cause unrest as it is quite impossible to defend it on any intellectual level so surely some of the more powerful men, possibly blocked by the Tribunal in some way would greatly benefit from tearing down that element of the system and have no trouble convincing others of it. I amend instead that the Italian Futurist ideology of the early twentieth century be adapted to replace its theocratic monarchy with a techno-fascist state that emphasizes youth, violence and technology as the ultimate pursuits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism

Fiscal corruption is a long standing tradition of the Church and I have a lot of ideas for specific activies on the Frontiers, one of the old tactics of even recent times is their status as a charity lets them transport money into all sorts of accounts, smuggle things through all sorts of borders and with a gradual de-centralisation of the Roman Curia its much harder for the Papacy to not only keep track of its watchdogs but also for its watchdogs to keep track of it. Naturally a lot can be done here but there is a lot of elaboration on the Ecclesiastical province of Biesel that probably needs to be handled first.

All in all, the only reason for this 'necessary change' seems to be the urge to protect the RCC from misunderstanding which is what I, as a Catholic player want precisely and get already. I don't need an Inquisition for people to tell me the Church is a big bad mean place full of bigots, it happens anyway. If people want to interpret the Church as somehow bloodthirsty then A) they will do it anyway, Inquisition or not and B) Its good for the Catholic players because nothing validates the concept of 'true faith' more than being surrounded by liars.

For the last time, it got its name changed because the Institution fundamentally changed into a single office in the Roman Curia, this is no longer the case and can't be in a wider galaxy

The reason I drag my heels because the reasons given are simply not substantial enough to warrant the Roman Curia changing their name yet again, it makes no IC sense especially when as I have stated over and over, it is a key thing about the Church in this setting to go full bunker mode. You seem to denote this as a necessary change because you are entirely unable to write something that will discern the actual Inquisition and its fantasy counterparts? Or that you simply don't trust the players to read more than a few sentences? If either is true then quite frankly the Catholic Church is going to be seen as an oppressive force either way, Inquisitors or not. The concept that they will be perceived as an 'antagonistic force' is what will precisely make things interesting for Catholic characters though, so to soften up their name so as to protect them from 'misunderstanding' would take away from the actual experience, the Church should and would never be changed to accommodate the view of the outside world. The impact and 'baggage' the Inquisition has can't even be compared to the Tribunal or the Hegemony because no one can actually play Inquisitor characters, nor ever claim to be victims of them. As anyone who claims to have 'survived the horrid grip of the Inquisition' would still make that a thing of their characters with or without the lore as it represents an OOC distaste for the Catholic Church so they'd make up whatever abuse story anyway. Even if I renamed the Inquisition to something like the CDF, as soon as players read their purpose they are just going to make the connection and make the same mistakes. Not to mention if we so much as look as the exchanges between people on station many perceive the RCC as an oppressive antagonistic force just by its very existence. Not to mention its actually quite a perfect bit of poetry from the perception of the RCC, the aliens attempt to imitate its Church structure has simply created a horrid and abusive mimic that it would exploit to the fullest extent for propaganda purposes. A sort of juxtaposition of 'true faith' and 'heathen impersonators'. Since the comparison would end in the Catholic Churches favour it would force the 'human church' into a sort of absolute moral high ground and further justify xeno contempt of it as it appears to be a far more refined model of what they try. Yes, the lore I do paint is one of upheaval but its an upheaval back to the traditions of old, they don't touch on new architecture ideas, they don't pursue new languages to speak in but march directly backwards to Latin, Gothic Revival and of course the re-birth of the Sanctum Officium (Inquisition). The only thing I can think of is to throw them back to sacred congregation of the holy office but the moment you google that you get them defined as the Inquisition anyway so there goes that. Even googling CDF brings us to their wiki page that just explains its the Inquisition renamed. We also run into the issue as stated before, the entire reason their name got changed is because they are no longer a single office but many offices. All in all the Catholic lore would lose a fair bit of flavour if we tried to go the route of pretending it isn't an Inquisition by renaming it.

Yeah thats what I am confused about, it can't be to protect Catholic players because thats dumb, the entire point of playing a Catholic in this setting is to be bullied by other men and still hold true (Or dont) If people are uncomfortable OOCly with the Inquisition existing as an office then thats also a tad silly considering we already have actual religious extremists.

Honestly, the reason is now becoming it is to OOCly protect the Catholic Church in this setting? But thats precisely what Catholic characters need, nothing improves the Churches position more than when people persecute it with falsehoods. I have had so many people not even understand basic Catholic dogma when playing Catholic characters and trying to attack the Church, the adding of an Inquisition will not create any new problems, I assure you. The waning of the Church as it becomes more and more isolated from the modern world is precisely what an Inquisition achieves though, it sets the tone of a bunkered in Church trying to fix and reform itself so as to survive.

We quote the Dominians as stoning people because one of the Dominian Chaplains said they stoned people to death. This has nothing to do with the quality of the lore or how it fits in the setting this is simply a human factor where people get things wrong, trying to pull a name because of this factor is completely silly.

But theres no reason for the Church to try and hide from 'real life stigma'. Your argument hinges on the fact that it wouldn't look good to the outside world but why would the Catholic Church care what outsiders thought of them considering those outsiders would never have to deal with the Inquisition? Not to mention it makes even less sense in our Canon considering the whole 'blackout of information' and so the main source of slander against the Inquisition has been wiped except for Protestants in the 18th and 19th Century harping on about them, even so a Church in the 25th Century wouldn't care for them and the people in it would probably never even come into contact with this information as any modern historian would dispel it as mostly myth as we see today. An especially conservative church in a time of persecution has always had a bunker mindset to them. Unless you are saying that it would offend people OOCly? Edit: The comparison is especially dumb because nothing about the name 'Inquisition' is inherently violent or brutal, it is quite literally a system of courts for Canon Law. We can't call it a Congregation because that isn't what it is. This point is made even more glaringly obvious when the entire feel of the Church in this setting is one thats trying to get rid of their bloated numbers, there is a serious crisis it faces in the rapidly liberal world and it would be a direct policy of the Vatican to try and return to its older self, if you just inflate and get too many numbers that your clergy can't handle then you will be so horribly inefficient as a Church (See: 1 million priests to 9 billion Catholics) all in all the Church really wouldn't care about the stigma (i'd even argue the stigma doesnt even exist among secular people, maybe amongst protestants who know Church history due to the information wipe as the bulk of the negative stigma the Inquisition has is due to pop culture really.) because the Church is in the process of bunkering itself down to re-establish itself.

Well, thats just it Schev has it completely right. The Inquisition is just a name and in this canon they aren't going to be going around killing people, they are quite literally just the CDF but de-centralised so it doesn't make sense to call them a 'Congregation' as this isn't a centralised office of the Roman Curia anymore but now a vast and complex tool of it. It makes absolutely no sense for the Inquisition to keep their former name and quite frankly I don't know what else to call them, they are Inquisitors tasked to preserve Orthodoxy and adapt the Doctrines when necessary, they won't be going around killing people for it they just have authority to dismiss Lay and Priests from the Church and rebuke Bishops who step out of line.

I would also like to request the following news headline as well. Papal Legate arrives in Emperor Boleslaw's court; Tribunal stunned as Dominia collapses overnight In an unprecedented move, the Vatican has dispatched a team of ten theologians and Canon Law experts to Dominian space, as expected they were immediately captured and dragged before the Tribunal. However it is reported that it was not the Catholics who were toppled that evening, in a move that tore through the Tribunals very foundations, Cardinal Nowicki stood up and said, "You know you guys are quite literally ripping off of Aristotle's Metaphysics and not even doing it properly, right?" To which the Cardinal had tossed a package towards the Priests of the Tribunal, inside a copy of 'Summa Theologica'. As the Priests of the Tribunal began reading the Catholic Saints work it is reported they all began nodding slowly, glancing nervously at each other. According to sources one Priest even exclaimed, "Huh, yeah, despite us coming 1200 years later after this guy, we've come up with nothing he hasn't already said or refuted.' Another priest apparently claimed 'This St. Tommy Aqua guy is alright.' However not all were happy with the systematic rebuke of the Dominian faith by a man who lived 1200 years ago, many demanded more evidence of Emperor Boleslaw's deceit, to which one priest, Fr. Gregory responded, "Yeah, okay so you claim God has appointed Boleslaw alone to lead the stars to greatness yeah? And your God is the true God? Right, if this was true how come, with the aid of God Himself, Boleslaw is utterly unable to outmaneuver a race of people that is still recovering from declaring war on itself?' At this point the Tribunal broke into hysterics and the Papal Legates barely made it out alive in the ensuring chaos. At the time reporters pressed Pope John Paul V, who was found in his holiday home on Luna, for his thoughts on the work of his Legates to which he responded, refusing to get up out of his sun chair that 'The Dominians made the classic theological mistake of not doing a single intelligent thing' and that 'Dominians arent even worth fighting anymore' and instead claimed that 'those IPC sexbots are the biggest threat to our youth since small pox and I won't rest til the matter is resolved' to which he immediately closed his eyes and napped in his sun chair. Officials from the Roman Curia denied the Pope owning a holiday home on Luna.

We have Inquisitors today in the real church but because its entirely centralised they are referred to as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. However, in Auorora's lore its logistically impossible for a centralised congregation to keep track of the universes orthodoxy to Church Dogma, the CDF would become de-centralised and they would change their name back to the Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition. This is why the Pope Benedict in the lore is such a significant man because he brought in the bulk of the reforms to the Roman Curia that would allow them to manage themselves, this of course means however the Holy See does not have as authoritarian as a grip as it once had in our current time. Its now far more likely for them to become corrupt when outside the eyes of the Holy See.

Due to the spread of the Catholic population amongst the stars and as Biesel has little significance in the Catholic world, it would be home to only three Archbishops who's ecclesiastical province encompasses the entire planet and their Seats would be divided between Scottsdan, Phoenixport and Mendell City. Suffragan Dioceses would encompass the rest of the Cities divided between 7 Auxillary Bishops. Given it is however a strategic area a total office of 7 Inquisitors, including one Inquisitor Superior and each Bishop would have a personal Exorcist on hand, totaling 10 as well as being apart of the Sol Exorcist Corps, would bring their number up to 53 dedicated Exorcists for the planet. One Cardinal will however be assigned to the Republic ltself for the sake of formal diplomatic matters between Church and State. Archdiocese of Mendell City - Faction: Republic of Biesel Rite: Latin Cathedral: Our Lady Queen of Victory, Gothic Revival Patron Saint: St. Mary, Mother of God. Pope: John Paul V Archbishop: Raymond Ratzinger - Archdiocese of Pheonixport - Faction: Republic of Biesel Rite: Latin Cathedral: St. Dominic, Romanesque Patron Saint: St. Dominic Pope: John Paul V Archbishop: Tomas de Sonseca, O.P - Archdiocese of Scottsdam - Faction: Republic of Biesel Rite: Latin Cathedral: St. Benedict of Nursia, Gothic Revival Patron Saint: St. Joseph Pope: John Paul V Archbishop: Busara Yahya - Holy Office of the Roman and Universal Inquisition For the Ecclesiastical Province of Biesel Inquisitor Superior: Msgr. Seamus Murphy Inquisitors: Fr. Maximilian Walsh Fr. Aleksandar Panjić Fr. Breno Fernandes Damasceno Fr. Francesco Rosellini Fr. Ashton O'Brien Fr. Benjamin Mueller

I can only imagine a occupation would be necessary as Vatican itself would refuse to lose its independence as a major point of its existence is to be free from any and all political powers as it is itself a rightful temporal power. The Lateran Treaty of the 1920s meant that if Vatican renounced its formal claims on Rome it would be left alone to act independently of Italy. Given the biblical reasons for refusing an NWO, corruption reasons of refusing to have their archives examined by a third party and practical reasons of losing absolute control of important buildings and relics there is simply no way I can fathom the Holy See willingly complying with the Alliance. They would need to of been occupied or granted absolute autonomy.

To further play upon the realism of the situation, compare the amount of priests to the amount of faithful. There is absolutely no way in hell 1 million priests can properly serve 9 billion 'faithful'. The Roman Catholic Church in history has risen in times of persecution and fallen in times of comfort. I wanted it like this to sort of represent a bloated Church with too many cradle Catholics who don't particularly care for the faith but still care to be associated with it, since the Church has gone through its 'fall' and is suffering persecution at the hands of just about every formal faction ever in one way shape or form, the Church is actively trying to purge its excessive members. Compare this to the actions of Jack McJacko actually on station, the first thing he did was systematically accuse almost every Christian of Heresy who refused to acknowledge his authority. Such a move would seem odd for a Church that wants to grow but makes perfect sense if the Church in question is trying to cleanse itself for the next rise and domination of the Culture. Hypocrites don't inspire converts so when the Church is at its smallest yet most fanatical, it will come back decisively in this new space age.