2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Religion

2019-12-10T15:16:22Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:9:F17E:E6EB:167B: /* Definition of Religion */

Because it's important to several settings and RPG systems, we have a religion article. Let's try and keep it focused on the directly-related-to-/tg/ stuff and not descend into the pure [[skub]] that can arise in discussions of real-life religions, okay?

==Definition of Religion==
Almost since the inception of the term, scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. While there are some belief systems that always count as religions, some have applied the term to various things such as political ideologies, or groups when they reach a certain point. There are however two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical.

The two most widely accepted are:
* "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them."
* "a comprehensive worldview or 'metaphysical moral vision' that is accepted as binding because it is held to be in itself basically true and just even if all dimensions of it cannot be either fully confirmed or refuted".

As stated before, one common element that every religion which fits the criteria has is humanity's relation to supernatural forces, as all of them have at least one [[God|god]] and/or an afterlife even where there are exceptions; Buddhism doesn't have any gods but has afterlives, and Taoism doesn't have an afterlife but does have a pantheistic concept of a god as a supernatural force.

Like other terms for heavily [[SJW|debated]] [[communism|subjects]], religion and religious have also been used as insults or Snarl Words in social and political discussions (especially from the 20th century and onwards) to ridicule groups openly promoting something the user disagrees with. This snarl creates a caricature of the group to smear them by association with the worst excesses of real-world religious people or the most common criticisms/negative stereotypes of organized religion (like being too preachy, judgmental, hypocritical, or pressuring everyone to convert).

==Religion vs. Mythology==
While [[Mythology|mythologies]] aren't religions in and of themselves, every religion has a mythology. These involve several criteria such as how life should be lived, what happens to a person after death and relation to the supernatural. [[Skub|Whatever the source]], the mythology almost always predates the religion. As a result, especially since the Fantasy genre deals in supernatural beings and forces, most if not all fantasy settings have religions. Science fiction does to a lesser degree, mostly because during the Golden Age of sci-fi empiricists and secular humanists were attracted to the genre and their views often seeped into their stories. Despite this, given that most real-life societies have had religions playing a role in or since their founding, religions are still found in sci-fi.

Religions involves belief systems and practices, where an adherent can call upon the power/being the religion is focused on to give them aid in [[cleric|various]] [[Paladin|ways]], depending at the very least on the religion and the task in question. Given that religions are about people's place in the world, how it was made, ideas on how life should be lived and what happens after death, they have major implications for societies. Given that people can become [[Exarch|dangerously single-minded]] about a cause, people can be become extremists about their religion, regardless of the fact that [[Heironeous|some]] are more benevolent than [[Asmodeus|others]] and in numerous cases even [[Heresy|if it involves going against the religion's teachings]]; in conjunction with the above this means religious conflicts can become widespread, long-lasting, cause carnage and also involve other elements such as politics.

==How this impacts /tg/==
A few major ways:

* A lot of Fantasy settings are ordinary politheistic, usually close to some admixture of Norse and Greek mythologies. Some of them also have a Top God - one more powerful than all the others and maybe the in-universe creator of everything - who is mostly hands-off in cosmic affairs. The gods of these religions tend to focus on specific areas (gods of [[Paladin|Justice]] and [[Druid|Nature]] are common, for subtly obvious reasons) and frequently want their followers to propagate or promote these things.
* There are quite a few writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy that are of the opinion "Religion Is Bad", albeit this is more common in Sci-Fi than fantasy. As a result those writers model their fictional religions on the - occasionally exaggerated - worst excesses of real world religious people and lift imagery from those religions; popular targets are Christianity, Islam, Scientology or the Aztec. This also comes in flavors of either "The Gods Don't Exist" or "The Gods are all Evil".
* There are also quite a few sincerely religious Science Fiction and Fantasy writers (usually Christian, but not always). These authors usually put more thought into their fictional religion plus its central figure (although they have a tendency to go all "Crystal Dragon Jesus"), and try and have it be at least a somewhat good influence, although religious institutions and leaders are usually hit-and-miss affairs.
** If a work has multiple writers, (as frequently happens with RPG and Wargame settings, and quite a few popular SciFi/Fantasy ones as well) there's a tendency for the writer to try and pull the setting into one of the other two depending on their views. This leads to the theme changing from one side to the other as the story progresses (such as [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft's Light vs Void conflict]]), or swinging back and forth between them.
** Doing the "The Gods are Incompetent" thing (the similar but different "The Gods are Insane" route also falls under this umbrella) can go into any of the three; in a sincere Christian's work, it can be a "Take That" to polytheistic religions; in a "Religion is Bad" athiest's, it can be one to religion in general; in a Buddhist-influenced work, it can be a part of the whole "even the Gods are tied up in the Wheel of Karma" concept; and, even if the author is not pushing any religious message in any way, there's a neutral, plot-structural reason to go "Incompetent Gods": it can make the adventurers the Most Competent People Available.
* [[Urban Fantasy]] writers are a special case, since almost all Urban Fantasy is set in something that might be called "the real world with a twist", with all the usual political trouble that implies. Usually, they either go for "there are many possible explanations" and vague things up as much as possible (Faith being the power that repels [[Vampire]]s rather than than a cross having any actual connection to a deity is a popular one), or (more rarely outside straight up Cosmic Horror) are atheistic and/or [[Imperial Truth|"Religion is Bad" propaganda]]. Some Urban Fantasy works with a clear correct religion exist thanks to the above mentioned sincerely religious authors exist. Typically these are [[Chick Tracts|barely veiled proselytizing]] or [[Twilight|just straight up terrible]], though [[Monster Hunter International|there are some good ones]].

Further, note the "Religion is Bad" and "Religion is Good" brigades will be involved in arguments over the relative morality or "goodness" of various factions and the accuracy of any messages a writer presents.

==Examples of /tg/ connected fictional religions==
* The [[Imperial Truth]]/[[Imperial Cult|Cult]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]] manages to mix features of atheism, Catholicism, and generic fanaticism and xenophobia.
** What's notable is that religion is mostly explored with humans; all Greenskins worship Gork and Mork but are too disorganized to have anything like a formal religion, the T'au creed "The Greater Good" is more a philosophy that allows religiosity as long as it doesn't clash with the Greater Good, the Eldar Pantheon's religious practices aren't fleshed out save for those of Cegorach and Khaine (with most of their gods out of commission, most Eldar religious worship is of a deistic bent and the Ynnari have yet to establish teachings or rituals), the majority of Dark Eldar are selfishly irreligious and its heavily implied the C'tan co-opted the Necrontyr religion before turning them into Necrons so Necrons with any comprehension of faith and religiosity either worship the C'tan or have become irreligious.
* Among Dungeons and Dragons settings, [[Planescape]], [[Eberron]], and [[Pathfinder]] are notable for having some coherent things that could be called "Religions", rather then the usual generic Pantheism.
** Most of Planescape's Factions effectively count as religions, to the point they can produce [[Cleric]]s ([[Planescape: Torment#Fall-From-Grace|Atheist ones at that]]). Yes, even the Athar. (Perhaps ''especially'' the Athar.)
* [[D20 Modern]]'s [[Urban Arcana]], unusually for urban fantasy, has D&D deities bleed into reality alongside the monsters. You are still able to play a <s>cleric</s> "acolyte" of any real world deity despite this.
* [[Star Wars]] is inconsistent on if the [[The Force]] is a religion. The Jedi and the Sith are both considered religions as in they are considered monastic, but mix in several other traits such as being meritocratic (Jedi) and kraterocratic (Sith). It's also notable that the Sith were former Jedi who left the Jedi path for several reasons including [[Heresy|disagreements over the teachings of that creed]]. Aside from that, religion is nearly always a non-human tradition, something noted in a culture's historical background and never seen implying its extinction, or a scam. The religiously linked "damn" and "hell" are the two real world swear words that exist in-universe, purely because Han Solo used them in the films, as does some concept of an "angel" since a young Anakin told Padme about them in the prequel trilogy films.
** There are rare exceptions where a religion is fleshed out and explored, and the writing goes various directions for better or worse. A notable example is the aggressive polytheistic religion of the antagonistic Yuuzhan Vong from the EU; while they start off as the cliche [[Covenant|religiously motivated sci-fi villain faction]] (or [[TVTropes|"Scary Dogmatic Aliens", as Tropers say]]), as the story goes on its revealed their gods are either non-existent or real but very misrepresented.

==See also==
* [[Mythology]]

[[Category:Not related]]
[[Category:History]]

Religion

2019-12-10T15:15:41Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:9:F17E:E6EB:167B: /* How this impacts /tg/ */

Because it's important to several settings and RPG systems, we have a religion article. Let's try and keep it focused on the directly-related-to-/tg/ stuff and not descend into the pure [[skub]] that can arise in discussions of real-life religions, okay?

==Definition of Religion==
Almost since the inception of the term, scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. While there are some belief systems that always count as religions, some have applied the term to various things such as political ideologies, or groups when they reach a certain point. There are however two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical.

The two most widely accepted are:
* "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them."
* "a comprehensive worldview or 'metaphysical moral vision' that is accepted as binding because it is held to be in itself basically true and just even if all dimensions of it cannot be either fully confirmed or refuted".

As stated before, one common element that every religion which fits the criteria has is humanity's relation to supernatural forces, as all of them have at least one [[God|god]] and/or an afterlife even where there are exceptions; Buddhism doesn't have any gods but has afterlives, and Taoism doesn't have an afterlife but does have a pantheistic concept of a god as a supernatural force.

Like other terms for heavily [[SJW|debated]] [[communism|subjects]], religion and religious have also been used as insults or Snarl Words in social and political discussions (especially from the 20th century and onwards) to ridicule groups openly promoting something the user disagrees with. This snarl creates a caricature of the group to smear them by association with the worst access of real-world religious people or the most common criticisms/negative stereotypes of organized religion (like being too preachy, judgmental, hypocritical, or pressuring everyone to convert).

==Religion vs. Mythology==
While [[Mythology|mythologies]] aren't religions in and of themselves, every religion has a mythology. These involve several criteria such as how life should be lived, what happens to a person after death and relation to the supernatural. [[Skub|Whatever the source]], the mythology almost always predates the religion. As a result, especially since the Fantasy genre deals in supernatural beings and forces, most if not all fantasy settings have religions. Science fiction does to a lesser degree, mostly because during the Golden Age of sci-fi empiricists and secular humanists were attracted to the genre and their views often seeped into their stories. Despite this, given that most real-life societies have had religions playing a role in or since their founding, religions are still found in sci-fi.

Religions involves belief systems and practices, where an adherent can call upon the power/being the religion is focused on to give them aid in [[cleric|various]] [[Paladin|ways]], depending at the very least on the religion and the task in question. Given that religions are about people's place in the world, how it was made, ideas on how life should be lived and what happens after death, they have major implications for societies. Given that people can become [[Exarch|dangerously single-minded]] about a cause, people can be become extremists about their religion, regardless of the fact that [[Heironeous|some]] are more benevolent than [[Asmodeus|others]] and in numerous cases even [[Heresy|if it involves going against the religion's teachings]]; in conjunction with the above this means religious conflicts can become widespread, long-lasting, cause carnage and also involve other elements such as politics.

==How this impacts /tg/==
A few major ways:

* A lot of Fantasy settings are ordinary politheistic, usually close to some admixture of Norse and Greek mythologies. Some of them also have a Top God - one more powerful than all the others and maybe the in-universe creator of everything - who is mostly hands-off in cosmic affairs. The gods of these religions tend to focus on specific areas (gods of [[Paladin|Justice]] and [[Druid|Nature]] are common, for subtly obvious reasons) and frequently want their followers to propagate or promote these things.
* There are quite a few writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy that are of the opinion "Religion Is Bad", albeit this is more common in Sci-Fi than fantasy. As a result those writers model their fictional religions on the - occasionally exaggerated - worst excesses of real world religious people and lift imagery from those religions; popular targets are Christianity, Islam, Scientology or the Aztec. This also comes in flavors of either "The Gods Don't Exist" or "The Gods are all Evil".
* There are also quite a few sincerely religious Science Fiction and Fantasy writers (usually Christian, but not always). These authors usually put more thought into their fictional religion plus its central figure (although they have a tendency to go all "Crystal Dragon Jesus"), and try and have it be at least a somewhat good influence, although religious institutions and leaders are usually hit-and-miss affairs.
** If a work has multiple writers, (as frequently happens with RPG and Wargame settings, and quite a few popular SciFi/Fantasy ones as well) there's a tendency for the writer to try and pull the setting into one of the other two depending on their views. This leads to the theme changing from one side to the other as the story progresses (such as [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft's Light vs Void conflict]]), or swinging back and forth between them.
** Doing the "The Gods are Incompetent" thing (the similar but different "The Gods are Insane" route also falls under this umbrella) can go into any of the three; in a sincere Christian's work, it can be a "Take That" to polytheistic religions; in a "Religion is Bad" athiest's, it can be one to religion in general; in a Buddhist-influenced work, it can be a part of the whole "even the Gods are tied up in the Wheel of Karma" concept; and, even if the author is not pushing any religious message in any way, there's a neutral, plot-structural reason to go "Incompetent Gods": it can make the adventurers the Most Competent People Available.
* [[Urban Fantasy]] writers are a special case, since almost all Urban Fantasy is set in something that might be called "the real world with a twist", with all the usual political trouble that implies. Usually, they either go for "there are many possible explanations" and vague things up as much as possible (Faith being the power that repels [[Vampire]]s rather than than a cross having any actual connection to a deity is a popular one), or (more rarely outside straight up Cosmic Horror) are atheistic and/or [[Imperial Truth|"Religion is Bad" propaganda]]. Some Urban Fantasy works with a clear correct religion exist thanks to the above mentioned sincerely religious authors exist. Typically these are [[Chick Tracts|barely veiled proselytizing]] or [[Twilight|just straight up terrible]], though [[Monster Hunter International|there are some good ones]].

Further, note the "Religion is Bad" and "Religion is Good" brigades will be involved in arguments over the relative morality or "goodness" of various factions and the accuracy of any messages a writer presents.

==Examples of /tg/ connected fictional religions==
* The [[Imperial Truth]]/[[Imperial Cult|Cult]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]] manages to mix features of atheism, Catholicism, and generic fanaticism and xenophobia.
** What's notable is that religion is mostly explored with humans; all Greenskins worship Gork and Mork but are too disorganized to have anything like a formal religion, the T'au creed "The Greater Good" is more a philosophy that allows religiosity as long as it doesn't clash with the Greater Good, the Eldar Pantheon's religious practices aren't fleshed out save for those of Cegorach and Khaine (with most of their gods out of commission, most Eldar religious worship is of a deistic bent and the Ynnari have yet to establish teachings or rituals), the majority of Dark Eldar are selfishly irreligious and its heavily implied the C'tan co-opted the Necrontyr religion before turning them into Necrons so Necrons with any comprehension of faith and religiosity either worship the C'tan or have become irreligious.
* Among Dungeons and Dragons settings, [[Planescape]], [[Eberron]], and [[Pathfinder]] are notable for having some coherent things that could be called "Religions", rather then the usual generic Pantheism.
** Most of Planescape's Factions effectively count as religions, to the point they can produce [[Cleric]]s ([[Planescape: Torment#Fall-From-Grace|Atheist ones at that]]). Yes, even the Athar. (Perhaps ''especially'' the Athar.)
* [[D20 Modern]]'s [[Urban Arcana]], unusually for urban fantasy, has D&D deities bleed into reality alongside the monsters. You are still able to play a <s>cleric</s> "acolyte" of any real world deity despite this.
* [[Star Wars]] is inconsistent on if the [[The Force]] is a religion. The Jedi and the Sith are both considered religions as in they are considered monastic, but mix in several other traits such as being meritocratic (Jedi) and kraterocratic (Sith). It's also notable that the Sith were former Jedi who left the Jedi path for several reasons including [[Heresy|disagreements over the teachings of that creed]]. Aside from that, religion is nearly always a non-human tradition, something noted in a culture's historical background and never seen implying its extinction, or a scam. The religiously linked "damn" and "hell" are the two real world swear words that exist in-universe, purely because Han Solo used them in the films, as does some concept of an "angel" since a young Anakin told Padme about them in the prequel trilogy films.
** There are rare exceptions where a religion is fleshed out and explored, and the writing goes various directions for better or worse. A notable example is the aggressive polytheistic religion of the antagonistic Yuuzhan Vong from the EU; while they start off as the cliche [[Covenant|religiously motivated sci-fi villain faction]] (or [[TVTropes|"Scary Dogmatic Aliens", as Tropers say]]), as the story goes on its revealed their gods are either non-existent or real but very misrepresented.

==See also==
* [[Mythology]]

[[Category:Not related]]
[[Category:History]]

Religion

2019-12-10T15:13:59Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:9:F17E:E6EB:167B:

Because it's important to several settings and RPG systems, we have a religion article. Let's try and keep it focused on the directly-related-to-/tg/ stuff and not descend into the pure [[skub]] that can arise in discussions of real-life religions, okay?

==Definition of Religion==
Almost since the inception of the term, scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. While there are some belief systems that always count as religions, some have applied the term to various things such as political ideologies, or groups when they reach a certain point. There are however two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical.

The two most widely accepted are:
* "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them."
* "a comprehensive worldview or 'metaphysical moral vision' that is accepted as binding because it is held to be in itself basically true and just even if all dimensions of it cannot be either fully confirmed or refuted".

As stated before, one common element that every religion which fits the criteria has is humanity's relation to supernatural forces, as all of them have at least one [[God|god]] and/or an afterlife even where there are exceptions; Buddhism doesn't have any gods but has afterlives, and Taoism doesn't have an afterlife but does have a pantheistic concept of a god as a supernatural force.

Like other terms for heavily [[SJW|debated]] [[communism|subjects]], religion and religious have also been used as insults or Snarl Words in social and political discussions (especially from the 20th century and onwards) to ridicule groups openly promoting something the user disagrees with. This snarl creates a caricature of the group to smear them by association with the worst access of real-world religious people or the most common criticisms/negative stereotypes of organized religion (like being too preachy, judgmental, hypocritical, or pressuring everyone to convert).

==Religion vs. Mythology==
While [[Mythology|mythologies]] aren't religions in and of themselves, every religion has a mythology. These involve several criteria such as how life should be lived, what happens to a person after death and relation to the supernatural. [[Skub|Whatever the source]], the mythology almost always predates the religion. As a result, especially since the Fantasy genre deals in supernatural beings and forces, most if not all fantasy settings have religions. Science fiction does to a lesser degree, mostly because during the Golden Age of sci-fi empiricists and secular humanists were attracted to the genre and their views often seeped into their stories. Despite this, given that most real-life societies have had religions playing a role in or since their founding, religions are still found in sci-fi.

Religions involves belief systems and practices, where an adherent can call upon the power/being the religion is focused on to give them aid in [[cleric|various]] [[Paladin|ways]], depending at the very least on the religion and the task in question. Given that religions are about people's place in the world, how it was made, ideas on how life should be lived and what happens after death, they have major implications for societies. Given that people can become [[Exarch|dangerously single-minded]] about a cause, people can be become extremists about their religion, regardless of the fact that [[Heironeous|some]] are more benevolent than [[Asmodeus|others]] and in numerous cases even [[Heresy|if it involves going against the religion's teachings]]; in conjunction with the above this means religious conflicts can become widespread, long-lasting, cause carnage and also involve other elements such as politics.

==How this impacts /tg/==
A few major ways:

* A lot of Fantasy settings are ordinary politheistic, usually close to some admixture of Norse and Greek mythologies. Some of them also have a Top God - one more powerful than all the others and maybe the in-universe creator of everything - who is mostly hands-off in cosmic affairs. The gods of these religions tend to focus on specific areas (gods of [[Paladin|Justice]] and [[Druid|Nature]] are common, for subtly obvious reasons) and frequently want their followers to propagate or promote these things.
* There are quite a few writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy that are of the opinion "Religion Is Bad", albeit this is more common in Sci-Fi than fantasy. As a result those writers model their fictional religions on the - occasionally exaggerated - worst excesses of real world religious people and lift imagery from those religions; popular targets are Christianity, Islam, Scientology or the Aztec. This also comes in flavors of either "The Gods Don't Exist" or "The Gods are all Evil".
* There are also quite a few sincerely religious Science Fiction and Fantasy writers (usually Christian, but not always). These authors usually put more thought into their fictional religion plus its central figure (although they have a tendency to go all "Crystal Dragon Jesus"), and try and have it be at least a somewhat good influence, although religious institutions and leaders are usually hit-and-miss affairs.
** If a work has multiple writers, (as frequently happens with RPG and Wargame settings, and quite a few popular SciFi/Fantasy ones as well) there's a tendency for the writer to try and pull the setting into one of the other two depending on their views. This leads to the theme changing from one side to the other as the story progresses (such as [[World of Warcraft|Warcraft's Light vs Void conflict]]), or swinging back and forth between them.
** Doing the "The Gods are Incompetent" thing can go into any of the three; in a sincere Christian's work, it can be a "Take That" to polytheistic religions; in a "Religion is Bad" athiest's, it can be one to religion in general; in a Buddhist-influenced work, it can be a part of the whole "even the Gods are tied up in the Wheel of Karma" concept; and, even if the author is not pushing any religious message in any way, there's a neutral, plot-structural reason to go "Incompetent Gods": it can make the adventurers the Most Competent People Available.
* [[Urban Fantasy]] writers are a special case, since almost all Urban Fantasy is set in something that might be called "the real world with a twist", with all the usual political trouble that implies. Usually, they either go for "there are many possible explanations" and vague things up as much as possible (Faith being the power that repels [[Vampire]]s rather than than a cross having any actual connection to a deity is a popular one), or (more rarely outside straight up Cosmic Horror) are atheistic and/or [[Imperial Truth|"Religion is Bad" propaganda]]. Some Urban Fantasy works with a clear correct religion exist thanks to the above mentioned sincerely religious authors exist. Typically these are [[Chick Tracts|barely veiled proselytizing]] or [[Twilight|just straight up terrible]], though [[Monster Hunter International|there are some good ones]].

Further, note the "Religion is Bad" and "Religion is Good" brigades will be involved in arguments over the relative morality or "goodness" of various factions and the accuracy of any messages a writer presents.

==Examples of /tg/ connected fictional religions==
* The [[Imperial Truth]]/[[Imperial Cult|Cult]] in [[Warhammer 40,000]] manages to mix features of atheism, Catholicism, and generic fanaticism and xenophobia.
** What's notable is that religion is mostly explored with humans; all Greenskins worship Gork and Mork but are too disorganized to have anything like a formal religion, the T'au creed "The Greater Good" is more a philosophy that allows religiosity as long as it doesn't clash with the Greater Good, the Eldar Pantheon's religious practices aren't fleshed out save for those of Cegorach and Khaine (with most of their gods out of commission, most Eldar religious worship is of a deistic bent and the Ynnari have yet to establish teachings or rituals), the majority of Dark Eldar are selfishly irreligious and its heavily implied the C'tan co-opted the Necrontyr religion before turning them into Necrons so Necrons with any comprehension of faith and religiosity either worship the C'tan or have become irreligious.
* Among Dungeons and Dragons settings, [[Planescape]], [[Eberron]], and [[Pathfinder]] are notable for having some coherent things that could be called "Religions", rather then the usual generic Pantheism.
** Most of Planescape's Factions effectively count as religions, to the point they can produce [[Cleric]]s ([[Planescape: Torment#Fall-From-Grace|Atheist ones at that]]). Yes, even the Athar. (Perhaps ''especially'' the Athar.)
* [[D20 Modern]]'s [[Urban Arcana]], unusually for urban fantasy, has D&D deities bleed into reality alongside the monsters. You are still able to play a <s>cleric</s> "acolyte" of any real world deity despite this.
* [[Star Wars]] is inconsistent on if the [[The Force]] is a religion. The Jedi and the Sith are both considered religions as in they are considered monastic, but mix in several other traits such as being meritocratic (Jedi) and kraterocratic (Sith). It's also notable that the Sith were former Jedi who left the Jedi path for several reasons including [[Heresy|disagreements over the teachings of that creed]]. Aside from that, religion is nearly always a non-human tradition, something noted in a culture's historical background and never seen implying its extinction, or a scam. The religiously linked "damn" and "hell" are the two real world swear words that exist in-universe, purely because Han Solo used them in the films, as does some concept of an "angel" since a young Anakin told Padme about them in the prequel trilogy films.
** There are rare exceptions where a religion is fleshed out and explored, and the writing goes various directions for better or worse. A notable example is the aggressive polytheistic religion of the antagonistic Yuuzhan Vong from the EU; while they start off as the cliche [[Covenant|religiously motivated sci-fi villain faction]] (or [[TVTropes|"Scary Dogmatic Aliens", as Tropers say]]), as the story goes on its revealed their gods are either non-existent or real but very misrepresented.

==See also==
* [[Mythology]]

[[Category:Not related]]
[[Category:History]]

Harlequin

2019-12-10T14:45:31Z

2406:3400:20F:FFC0:9:F17E:E6EB:167B:

[[File:Eldar Harlequin.jpg|thumb|Break a leg? Why limit myself?]]

{{Topquote|I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize, it’s a comedy.|Arthur Fleck/The Joker}}

The '''Harlequins''' are the [[Eldar]] followers of [[Cegorach]], the Laughing God. They are the performers and entertainers of the Eldar, the self-appointed protectors of the Eldar's pre-[[Fall of the Eldar|Fall]] history, which they perform in extremely elaborate plays involving not only elaborate costumes, scenery, acrobatics, and a troupe of dedicated actors, but further elaboration of the drama through [[Psyker|psykana]] and [[Drugs|psychedelic drugs]] which are disseminated throughout the audience, resulting in something like a deranged mixture of a bardic recitation of oral history, a circus, grimdark edgy performance art, elaborate spiritual exercise, and a Grateful Dead concert, dedicated to reenacting and expressing the story of the fall of the Eldar, as both elegy and warning.

Far from being merely performers, though, and despite their rather ludicrous appearance, they are in fact some of the most dangerous shock-troopers among the Eldar, taking the concept of "break a leg" as far as you would expect in [[Warhammer 40,000]]. As self-appointed keepers of history, in addition to reciting and propagating it through performance art, they also maintain and guard the collection of esoteric knowledge deep in the Webway in the hidden [[Black Library]], protecting it from [[Ahzek Ahriman|those who would attempt]] to enter and learn of forbidden lore which they might use for evil and the furtherance of goals of [[Chaos]]. The Harlequin's protection of the Library is almost impenetrable; but they will from time to time allow those who have conquered the [[Chaos]] within them to enter. They have allowed Eldar, other xenos, and even humans into the Library at times when their agenda is to fight against Chaos, but they will fight to the death to prevent the Chaotically aligned, or those vulnerable to corruption by Chaos, to enter.

In times of war, the Harlequins fight the foes they see as posing a threat to the very existence of the Eldar, first and foremost [[Chaos Space Marines|Chaos]], the [[Necron|Necrons]], and the [[Tyranids]]. The [[Imperium|Imperials]] and [[Tau]] can be worked with and the [[Orks]] are easily manipulated; unlike most Eldar, the Harlequins are free of racial prejudice, so as long as you battle the threats to all things and aren't attacking them/getting in their way, they're perfectly happy to work with you even if you are a Mon'Keigh or [[Tau|Blueberry]]. Which makes them one of the most [[Reasonable Marines|levelminded]] factions in the setting and helps make them a very likeable faction.

== The glue that keeps the Eldar together ==
They owe no allegiance to any [[Craftworld]], Corsair Fleet, [[Exodite World]], or [[Dark Eldar]] [[Kabal]], but rather recruit members from all factions, and will fight in their armies on all sides. Their only loyalty is to [[Cegorach]], whom they believe has charged them with the "Great Work" of reunifying the Craftworld Eldar, Corsairs, Dark Eldar, and [[Exodite]] Eldar into a single race to fight off [[Slaanesh]], the Necrons, and whoever else has a bone to pick with the chosen people of the [[Old Ones]]. It is notable that they do not use the methods to keep their souls safe that other Eldar do—their faith in Cegorach, complete after going through the Trial to become a Harlequin, is enough to keep them safe. Despite this, they are allowed free passage through the Craftworlds and [[Commorragh]], because the Craftworld and Exodite Eldar respect the Harlequins for preserving their history, and the Dark Eldar and Corsairs <s>are ''too afraid'' to try and stop them</s> find Death Jesters' humor hilarious; they also couldn't keep the Harlequins out if they tried due to the Harlequins' superior knowledge of, and ability to use, the [[Webway]].

This also makes the Harlequins the closest thing to a central authority the Eldar species has. While the various Eldar factions may not necessarily answer to the clowns, when they speak, everyone from Commorragh pimps and Craftworld wizards to Exodite farmers and Corsair pirates stops what they're doing and '''listens'''. Even [[Asdrubael Vect]] has to make sure and pin it on someone else whenever he gets up to skullduggery that might piss them off. Welcome to clown world.

== Eldar Ambassadors? ==
[[Image:Harlequin.jpg|They actually are this hot in the series, but most people are too busy screaming in pain to comment on it.|thumb|right]]
Harlequins are notable as [[xenos]] to the [[Imperium]] since the Harlequins do not restrict their visits to the Eldar. In the Harlequins' view, they must perform their work for anyone and everyone who may benefit and learn the lessons from The Fall, and along the way inspire a little more hope for the galaxy. Thus, Harlequin troupes are a frequent sight on Imperial worlds, and exceptionally among xenos, the Imperium allows the Harlequin traveling bands full access to their worlds, as even the [[High Lords of Terra]] feel that one can only benefit from their beautiful plays.<sup>''Citation Needed''</sup> Although beauty is a subjective matter; most accounts of Harlequin performances amount to something like splatterhouse Shakespear, with chainsword wielding cenobite clowns flinging psychedelic rainbow viscera while the audience trips out on peyote.

The High Lords of Terra know it'd be impossible to take direct action against Eldar Harlequins as a whole, and maybe [[Rip and Tear|bad for their health too]]. The Star Leopards [[Space Marines]] chapter slapped around a few for [[troll|desecrating a Land Raider]], once, but that was a personal matter. Elaborate in form, but simple in message, the plays allow humans to understand the [[Chaos|Great Enemy]] and what can be done.

One possible explanation of why these guys get away with it is that, given the isolated nature of many imperial worlds and imperial policy in keeping their own mostly in ignorance, most common inhabitants find the harlequins as just another passing trope of incredibly skilled artists, unaware for the most part of their xenos nature, and since harlequins only need a webway portal instead of say, a massive starship to get into a world, no one really discovers they have been in a close encounter of the third kind, at least until some Ordo Xenos operative take notice.

Another explanation is that while the Ordo Xenos may not be fans, the Ordo Malleus is fully aware that the Eldar know more about Chaos than they do, and their desire to obtain that knowledge is enough to make them pressure everyone else into not doing anything rash as long as the Eldar don't provoke a response.

Judging from their allies matrix, it's fortunate at least that humans listen to them (so far as humans listen to any Eldar, anyway), since on the Tau worlds they visit they are inevitably met with an endless earful about the fucking [[Greater Good]]. They don't play on Necron [[Tomb World|Tomb Worlds]] (no shit?) given that the Necrons are the oldest foes of the Eldar and the two have brought each other nothing but grief over the last few billion years, and Harlequins work to fight against them just as hard as they do against Chaos. Don't even fucking ask if they play on Ork worlds (you know, they probably do, but have to reduce the dialogue to indecipherable grunting, swearing and cockney slang). It's presumed that they did try to play for the [[Tyranid]]s only once, but found out the space bug-lizards have no appreciation for art; hence the decision to put the Tyranids right next to Chaos and the Necrons on the mandate to kill-on-sight-and-annoy-the-hell-out-of.

During [[The War of The Beast]], [[Eldrad|Eldrad Ulthran]] sent a troupe of Harlequins to convey a message to the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], letting Him know that Chaos had to be treated as the primary threat and that the [[Imperial Fists]] successor chapters were on their way. Quite why he thought that anyone would care about the first half of the message whilst the Imperium was literally facing total annihilation at the hands of The Beast no one but Eldrad knows. In another fantastic demonstration of Eldar logic, the Harlequins he sent thought that the best way to pass the message along was to butcher 99% of the Humans they came across whilst shouting "Friendship! Friendship!" Understandably they didn't find willing ears whilst they were eviscerating [[Imperial Guard|Guardsmen]] and [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodians]]. In fairness the Human's likely wouldn't have listened anyway but their plan was definitely the worst one they could have possibly went with considering all that it got them was meeting their end before the Eternity gate. Props for getting that far though. All of them wound up getting [[RIP AND TEAR|massacred]] eventually by the Custodes (not without getting some for themselves), save for [[Lhaeriel Ray]], who was about to be slain by the Captain General save for the intervention of Grandmaster of Assassins [[Drakan Vangorich]] and Inquisitor [[Veritus]]. She was then brought to the ultra-secure Inquisition stronghold under the South Pole, to be interrogated and incarcerated for life. There she displayed a token from [[Vulkan]], who had apparently given it to [[Eldrad]] to indicate "friendship" in some future crisis, and continued to reiterate that she came in peace and to send a message to the Emperor, who she said once counted [[Eldrad|the dick]] as a friend. Eventually, though, Inquisitor [[Marguerethe Wienand|Weinand]] helped her escape to a shuttle where she went off to parts unknown, presumably carrying news of the whole affair and the situation on Terra back to [[Ulthwe]].

==The Final Act, A.K.A. The Last Troll==
In recent years, the Harlequins' war against Chaos has been characterised by a newfound urgency. Full masques have become an ever more common sight among the stars. Appearing from the Webway, they can be found performing within the realms of their kin or battling the galaxy's disparate races in vicious campaigns of apparently random violence. As the 41st Millennium comes to a close, more and more Eldar vanish into the Webway, forsaking their former lives to take up the Harlequin's mask. The Harlequins' numbers are growing, and many among the Eldar wonder why (Cue Clown World memes). The truth is inspirational and terrifying in equal measure. At the very heart of the Black Library there lies a silver-lit vault. Therein stands a plinth made of finely graven obstinite, upon which rests a crystalline book said to contain the words of Cegorach himself. Since the Fall, the tome’s covers have remained closed, sealed shut with flickering chains of light. Yet now, long-awaited portents have come to pass. A [[Ahriman|fallen sorcerer]] seeks the lore of the library. A [[Silent King|king]] stirs in his court of death and silence, preparing to rise once more. Within [[Eye of Terror|madness' eye]], the [[Abbadon the Despoiler|champion]] of the [[Ruinous Powers]] prepares to seize a realm long denied. As the signs have come to pass, so the bands of light about the tome have flickered and died.

Now, at last, the tome has fallen open. Within its pages the Shadowseers have found a script, a secret final act that changes utterly the tale of the Fall. Penned in inks of light and shadow, these words present a slender hope, detailing an intricate, galaxy-spanning performance with the potential to change the fate of the Eldar race. Always, the strands of fate have pointed toward the victory of Chaos during the last, mythic battle known to the Eldar as the Rhana Dandra. Yet within the pages of the crystal tome is recorded Cegorach's ultimate and final [[Troll|jest,]] a way to trick Slaanesh into [[Lulz|expending all her power not to destroy the Eldar, but to save them.]] How such an impossibility could come to pass is unclear, for on this matter the final act is infuriatingly vague. Yet the Harlequins take their god's words on faith alone, for their devotion to Cegorach is total and his methods beyond question or reproach. Thus they have begun the steps of this final dance, and will see it completed, or else face absolute destruction in the attempt.

This is now also likely the Eldar species’ final and only hope for survival, period, since Eldrad upgraded from dick to dumb dick and went and boned everything for them, failing in an attempt to awaken [[Ynnead]] early and ended up killing him, all the progress that had gone into him, and the infinity circuits of every craftworld, instead. ''Whoops''. Course, this is probably precisely why the crystalline book opened in the first place, with Cegorach basically going <span style='color:turquoise;font-size:100%'> “Oh dear, who could’ve seen that coming? Oh wait, I did, that’s why I have a plan B ready to go for you dumb shmucks. Let’s open it up shall we? And we’re keeping the [[Eldrad|Dick]] out of this one. That fuckup with Ynnead…that wasn’t funny.” </span>

Until Eldrad didn't, of course. Ynnead seems to be doing just fine, if forming the Yncarne is any indication. Though the Harlequins are still working with them so maybe the plan to trick Slaanesh is still on.

== Masques ==
7th Edition introduced numerous subfactions of the Harlequins known as Masques. Masques are pretty small compared to most Warhammer subfactions, only consisting of about three squads or Troupes, each lead by a Troupe Master, plus support in the form of vehicles and specialist performers like Death Jesters and Shadowseers. To get an idea for the scale, the novella "The Masque of Vyle" stated that a Masque consisting of two dozen Harlequins was unusually large. The 8th Edition codex retconned this a little by saying that the named Masques were actually "Grand Masques" that contained multiple Masques within them, with each Masque acting as its own autonomous unit and the Midnight Sorrow being said to consist of "many dozens of Masques". Below is a list of the most well-known Masques.

*The Midnight Sorrow: The blue and red ones you see on the box covers. Are the most dedicated to fighting Chaos, and embrace their roles to the point where they lose all trace of their original identities. All their performances are about the dangers of Chaos to the point where the only acts they put on anymore are depictions of the Fall. Helped Eldrad with his ritual to summon Ynnead, and thus became the first Harlequins to support the Ynnari.
*The Veiled Path: Manipulative bastards, with a history of betrayal so great even other Harlequins don't trust them. Their most famous member is Sylandri Veilwalker, AKA clown Eldrad, whose schemes has manipulated figures ranging from [[Fabius Bile]] to [[Belisarius Cawl]]. Helped the Ynnari, but also helped Vect who views them as his greatest enemy so who the fuck knows what they're planning.
*The Frozen Stars: [[Noblebright|Strongly believes that the Eldar race can be saved and their empire rebuilt]]. [[Grimdark|Also believes all non-Eldar races are vermin who should be killed for the Laughing God's amusement]].
*The Dreaming Shadow: Dedicated not to fighting Chaos but the [[Necrons]]. They are known to resent other Harlequins over their disagreement on who the true enemy is, but this sentiment is deliberately exaggerated. Most Harlequins see through this act and hold the Dreaming Shadow in high esteem regardless.
*The Soaring Spite: Dedicated to telling the tales of Cegorach's close ally known as the Cosmic Serpent. As such, are known for using a wide array of jetbikes and skimmers, Harlequin vehicles being named after the Cosmic Serpent's spawn. Are very close to the Craftworld [[Saim-Hann]], supposedly because Saim-Hann's symbol is the Cosmic Serpent but really because both like to go fast.
*The Silent Shroud: A incredibly secretive masque that performs in complete silence. Not only do they not say a word, their weapons are muffled by technology and illusion, making battle against them disorientating and unnerving. As such, they specialize in stealth and terror tactics, like the Night Lords except specializing in the "bad LSD trip" form of horror instead of jumpscares and torture porn.
*The Dance Without End: This Masque specializes in performances that recount the deeds of Cegorach himself, and as such are believed to be the closest to the Laughing God of all his disciples. They were the first Masque to perform the dance representing the Fall of the Eldar. After all of this, they are also ''the'' Masque defending the webway and the Black Library more than any other, and if they dont know a path in the webway, no one does. Despite how this lore makes them sound really fucking important, don't have rules in 8th edition.
*The Shattered Mirage: Compared to The Frozen Stars, The Shattered Mirage believe the Eldar are totally fucked, performing dances that are extremely dark and fatalistic. Thanks to their outlook on life, their preferred tactics are to do as much damage as possible, with little regard for their own lives.
*The Twisted Path: These guys are known for letting their audience members into their plays, only to be spirited away by the Harlequins and never seen again. In battle, they often kidnap both enemies and allies as well as strike in the middle of warzones, sometimes leaving right before victory. They explain their actions with complex riddles and illogical analogies.
*The Reaper's Mirth: The most bloodthirsty of Masques, the Harlequins of The Reaper's Mirth see the battlefield as a canvas for their gory arts. Because of this, they have a larger proportion of Death Jester's among their ranks. They are known for committing atrocities like the [[Grimdark|Fountain of Crimson Tears, which was so horrible that an entire world had to be exterminatused.]] We can only guess what it was.

== We're Our Own Army Now ==

7th edition saw Harlequins get to be their own Faction, with new models for all members of the troupe, plus new models and rules for the Solitaire and a new Eldar jetbike, the Skyweaver. There are also two new vehicles, the Starweaver (a transport) and the Voidweaver. In addition, Shadowseers got their own Psychic Discipline, Phantasmancy. Harlequins survived into 8th and became all sorts of more killy and speedy, and get to freely mingle with their Dark and Craftworld cousins thanks to sharing the Aeldari keyword. Let the show go on!

Now with our own [[Harlequin Masque Creation Tables|faction creation tables.]]

See also: [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Eldar Harlequins(8E)]]

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