I'm interested in the logic of where the faction starting locations came from. Primarily Templars and Illuminati. We all have google so a massive history lesson is not going to ensue (although my first draft of this thread was about 6 pages of it) with each participant attemping to display his far greater knowledge. I guess my query is more superficial than anything else based on the world today.

So after typing a massive essay and then deleting it, my general query is, given the game is based on the real world, why have these locations been chosen for the player factions? They seem to bear no relevance to fact or more importantly imo to the world today especially, Templars in England, where does a religious group based in a completely godless country come from.

This is a light hearted discussion, given the locations and factions based on the world I live in now, I would have gone;

Illuminati - London

Templars - NY

Dragon - Seoul

Better yet I would have chosen either different locations or different factions

I think Templars are the throwback to the "Christrain Crusades" which would put them in Europe for sure..

The Illuminati with the Roman flare anad deep rooted history of conpiracy the U.S is fitting. We are drenched in Illuminati culture..

Look at the dollar bill..

Dragon being in Asia, cool..

There are some interviews out there that explains this, but i cant seem to find them now. First of all remember the Templar in The Secret World is not a religious society.

When they chose the home city for each society it wasnt just from a historical (or rather mythical) perspective, but also from the feel each city can give. The Templars have always been based in Europe and London seemed like a good fit from both a mythical and feel of the city (remember The Templars are not religious).

There are many myths surrounding Illuminati, but if i remember correctly TSW's take on it is that The Illuminati were driven out of Europe (mainly by the Templars i think, which is why the rivalry between them is strong) and settles in the New World at the time, America, and NY.

I think this fits well because The Templars are about tradition and the old world (Europe) while The Illuminati is about power and coorporation etc. (modern world - NY)

I think for the Dragon i think the choice was quite open, but they settled with Seoul because its a city where the old world meets the new world fitting with the Dragon being a timeless organization. Ragnar himself has visited the city several times and really liked the feel of the city.

I think they wanted to cover much ground when they chose the secret societies, from tradition to modern, from western to eastern etc. and thats why they chose these societies. Remember there are many other secret and not so secret societies in the game, just not playable.

They talk abit about it here: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/23/funcom-unveil-the-secret-world-part-one/ half way down the page.

But that's the part I didn't get. Illuminati were pushed out of Europe to US but the US was only founded in mid C18th and it was really religious nutters of 13 british colonies which went there. Surely it would have made more sence to have the Templars moved to US, it would have fit more with history and todays reflection?

Again the societies we are talking about have nothing to do with religion. The Templar and The Illuminati were in conflict in Europe. The Illumiati lost the conflict and had to look for a new place to settle. They decided for America because it was a new world, new possibilities etc. and made NY their home city.

Fair enough. But they should have just made up a different name to Templars faction if they bear no resemblance whatsoever to what I think everyone would associate with it.

Also, I want to play Illuminati but I want to play from London, so not fair! :)

You are not the first one to associate Templar with religion. The devs have tried to specify that there is no religion in The Templar. The Templar name really fits with the society when you look away from the religion aspect of it. Tradition, faith, light, order and the fight against the darkness are important things for The Templar.  They would do anything to kill off the minions of darkness (like bombing a house of civilians just to kill off a monster). They are really zealots, but not in a religious way.

Maybe you can go undercover in London :)

Originally posted by Hycoo

You are not the first one to associate Templar with religion. The devs have tried to specify that there is no religion in The Templar. The Templar name really fits with the society when you look away from the religion aspect of it. Tradition, faith, light, order and the fight against the darkness are important things for The Templar.  They would do anything to kill off the minions of darkness (like bombing a house of civilians just to kill off a monster). They are really zealots, but not in a religious way.

Maybe you can go undercover in London :)

Templars:

Yea that's mainly why I quoted "Christan Crusades" the Templar are not a religious organization in TSW I've also seen the devs explain some plot points for the three factions. I was saying that more for the atmosphere of the Templars and their headquarters being based in Europe (London).

The Templars themselves are not religious in their cause nor wer they when they began, IRL The Knights Templars were the "henchman" or to be more kind soldiers for the religious structure at that time. Although they existed as an entity before Christianity had an influence on their history. They've taken mainy symbols of Christianity and of the The Knights Templar and used them not in a divine manner but more as their brandmark in The Secret World.

When refering to the Templars I don't want to give the feel that I am speaking from a religious view, more of what they symbolize when trying to relate them to some real world meaning. Their ideaology seems to give that feel to me personally and it is obvioulsy reflected in the TSW as such.

If you really want to go hardcore real world history then:

Templars started out in France, Illuminati in Germany.

What we talking about again?

Originally posted by Benjola

If you really want to go hardcore real world history then:

Templars started out in France, Illuminati in Germany.

What we talking about again?

I don't think any of us expect a massive degree of hardcore real world history (even if mythology, which seems to be a big part of the game, is based on history) but I've done a few of their arg's and they were. I just don't don't see how you have a non-religious Templars, so why not pick a different faction. It's not a biggie but you know for certain that 90% of the playerbase, including the Templars will be making that connection.

I am sure through the introduction to The Templar and through playing the game we will all see they dont have much to do with religion.

Originally posted by Hycoo

They talk abit about it here: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/23/funcom-unveil-the-secret-world-part-one/ half way down the page.

I've quoted this article before, I'm not sure if people realise here that Funcom isn't trying to provide a history lesson, they are collecting bits from myths and legends and are trying to fit them in one game without redundant information. Somewhere along the lines they might change things to make it more interesting and appealing, it's to be expected.

I don't know why Funcom choose the names at all.

Dragon is clear I guess nobody would object but Illuminati and Templars? really?

In the end, what matters is that the factions are spread evenly and according to polls they are so Funcom did something right after all.

But yeah, if it wasn't for Dragon faction I wouldn't know what to choose, I don't feel like representing Templars or Illuminatis even in a video game.

I wanted to play Illuminati too, but not if they start in NY.

The Templars doesn't appeal to me, religious or not.

So, Dragon it is...

Originally posted by Benjola

I don't know why Funcom choose the names at all.

Dragon is clear I guess nobody would object but Illuminati and Templars? really?

In the end, what matters is that the factions are spread evenly and according to polls they are so Funcom did something right after all.

But yeah, if it wasn't for Dragon faction I wouldn't know what to choose, I don't feel like representing Templars or Illuminatis even in a video game.

I don't feel that there is anything wrong with them using the three factions they have. The Secret World wants to bring the feeling of the modern world with all of our conspiracies, camp fire stories, and nightmares in a playpen. The three factions help to ground the game a little, bringing known historical organizations.

From there though everything else is left open to interprentation, I don't think Funcom is going into those lores much more than that. That's not to say that you won't see some religious references in some parts of the world both for the Templars or the Illuminati.

Illuminati history is intertwined with many different historical societies beliefes, some of those more religious. It doesn't mean the Illuminati are a divine in their cause. Another piece of their brandmark.

Templars won't be out reciting scriptures on thier free time, but when you are at Templar headquarters will you see "priest" and the like walking abouts.. Very likely..

As for the Dragon (outside of their name of course) a society that is freeform, non-rigid in its practices. Many cultures have a strong practice of achieving self enlightenment and using ones emotions to guide their path. I think the setting of Asia for the Dragon gives a good feel. Nothing says power, peace, and chaos all at the same time better..

EDIT: For anything in the U.S, it would've either had to been The Illuminati or the Freemasons. Illuminati has Freemasonry influence in it's culture already however. So again Illuminati I think fits more than Templar in NA history. (As far as I know)

Actually many will argue that Templars are the Freemasons and all of them have european origin but I guess Freemasons fit the bill the best as an NA faction because more or less they are the founding fathers of USA  :).

Hmm, it's really just a way of dividing up the factions across different locations.

I think it also is a way of giving you a general quick "idea" of a stereotyped mythos behind each faction.

Illuminati=money and power over all else, think Rockefeller and such.

Dragon= sort of a zennish neutral thing which fits an asian mythos.

Templar= really not sure, propriety and appearances seems very english.

Illuminatis in New York make the most sense to me. Since they are power driven by money, it's fair that their HQ should be in New York as it is the main hub for business,stockbroking and finance (Wall Street). Yes, there are other major financial cities in other countries, New York is still the most well known in general.

I get where the OP is coming from.  I'm going to be playing Dragon, but i'm not particularly "into" asian culture and would much rather have preffered to start in a different city.  But I think you get to travel quite a bit in TSW, so i don't expect it to be much of any issue.