Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Arnulf Ogunkoya]

There's a tag on EVElopedia for things that are written from an IC perspective. The article on Sani Sabik does not have it.

Lack of admitted bias =/= lack of bias.

True.

But having read it again I'm not seeing this being writtent from a mainstream imperial view. Would they write "Each of the different sects of the Sani Sabik cult vary in their rituals and doctrine, some are inoffensive and almost inactive...."? By definition any heretical cult is anything but inoffensive to a mainstream Amarrian.

I can see playing a Sani Sabik cultist as some sort of egalitarian mystic with views that are demonised inside the empire. But the Blood Raiders are something else entirely. They are demonised because they behave in a diabolic manner. At least to outsiders. And to insiders that are out of favour with the heirarchy.

[Helen Ohmiras]

Blood Raiders are one sect of the Sani Sabik faith.

I had an old character that was a Sani Sabik of the non-Blood Raider type. I wrote some fiction too. I'm far from an expert on matters of the fictional faiths of EVE Online, so what I have to say is probably best taken with a grain of salt:

Every faith has various interpretations depending on who is interpreting it. No two Blood Raiders will have exactly the same beliefs, just as no two sects of the Sani Sabik will have exactly the same tenets. There are certain commonalities, I'm sure, but it's a big enough Cluster of Stars, with plenty of billions of people to believe what they want. Pick some inspiration and run with it. I still fear the day that a "sparkling" Blood Raider appears. :shiver:

[spoiler]As Silas said, TBL has a good example of such diversity. I wouldn't say that the main character is a nice Blood Raider/Sani Sabik. He sure as hell used whoever he could to achieve his ends. I would even find it hard to classify him as Blood/Sabik other than that is the faith he was raised in. The faith obviously gave him the drive to succeed, to forge his own path. That is always how I have seen the "Nice" side of the Sani Sabik faith.

On the other hand, there was a good deal of explanation of why the Blood Raiders are as they are, and enough fuel for the "they're evil horrible blood-drinking pillagers" perspective... but that's all it is. A single perspective on a unique and vibrant culture full of nuance and shading and colors other than simply "red". 

Aso, don't forget that the main character did all he did not only for his dead brother, but his family, his blood. [/spoiler]

Just my two cents. 

[Silas Vitalia]

Blood Raiders are one sect of the Sani Sabik faith.

I had an old character that was a Sani Sabik of the non-Blood Raider type. I wrote some fiction too. I'm far from an expert on matters of the fictional faiths of EVE Online, so what I have to say is probably best taken with a grain of salt:

Every faith has various interpretations depending on who is interpreting it. No two Blood Raiders will have exactly the same beliefs, just as no two sects of the Sani Sabik will have exactly the same tenets. There are certain commonalities, I'm sure, but it's a big enough Cluster of Stars, with plenty of billions of people to believe what they want. Pick some inspiration and run with it. I still fear the day that a "sparkling" Blood Raider appears. :shiver:

[spoiler]As Silas said, TBL has a good example of such diversity. I wouldn't say that the main character is a nice Blood Raider/Sani Sabik. He sure as hell used whoever he could to achieve his ends. I would even find it hard to classify him as Blood/Sabik other than that is the faith he was raised in. The faith obviously gave him the drive to succeed, to forge his own path. That is always how I have seen the "Nice" side of the Sani Sabik faith.

On the other hand, there was a good deal of explanation of why the Blood Raiders are as they are, and enough fuel for the "they're evil horrible blood-drinking pillagers" perspective... but that's all it is. A single perspective on a unique and vibrant culture full of nuance and shading and colors other than simply "red". 

Aso, don't forget that the main character did all he did not only for his dead brother, but his family, his blood. [/spoiler]

Just my two cents. 

I hope they aren't -too- sparkly, as I don't think that would be very scary to the New Eden population 

[GoGo Yubari]

Sani Sabik in Delve according to TBL do not eschew religious authority they defer to it. Infact their 'priests' are not only religious authority they are also police, gestapo and inquisitors. The Bleeders, as they are called, have pretty huge sway over the populace and have considerable power in the society. They can have your name erased from the Book of Names ( thus declaring you never existed etc...) given enough cause to do so. While I've noticed people make constant efforts to create sort of a gap between Blood Raiders and Sani Sabik, Blood Raiders are the militant wing of the Covenant according to TBL. Their duties ranging from protection of the colonies and worlds to harvest poor schmucks to what ever needs and ends they need them. So, while not all Sani Sabik are Blood Raiders, all Blood Raiders are Sani Sabik. This is all what you can gather from the Blood Raider Covenant faction on the first few chapters of the TBL.

I hadn't read TBL and if that's the case... well, I rescind my earlier interpretation re: Sani Sabik. Case closed, then.

[Morwen Lagann]

Very little of the actual religion itself is discussed in TBL. It's more the day-to-day lives of the Sani Sabik and the Raiders.

[Silas Vitalia]

Very little of the actual religion itself is discussed in TBL. It's more the day-to-day lives of the Sani Sabik and the Raiders.

Additionally that entire novel was about the 'regular' people in New Eden, and only tangentially featured any capsuleers. We haven't really had any PF look at the inner-sanctum sorts of details for many of the factions. More room for us to imagine



 

[Repentence Tyrathlion]

I think it's probably safe to say that there is no 'one true' take on the Sani Sabik.  My instinct, however, based on the various semi-contradictory things mentioned here, is that at least some use blood as a symbol of control and power.  Blood is life, after all - the taking of life from another, and the voluntary giving of your own, are both pretty binding concepts.

'Everyone is equal', 'some are meant to rule and others serve', 'blood is power' - put those together, and you have a system based on merit rather than (as in the core Amarrian faith) ancestry.  At its most primitive level, that's raw Darwin; the strong take the lives of the weak or accept their tribute, taking that lifeforce to purify and raise themselves higher.  In a more 'civilised' setting, that shifts into the idea of political and mental power.  A Sabik might believe that a gifted individual has the right to the blood of others, and base their relationship on that.

Which brings an interesting take to the Blood Raiders, with their obsession with clones; cloning technology (correct me if I'm wrong) is pretty much the domain of the rich and powerful - notably and obviously the capsuleers.  So on that basis, their blood must be full of powerful life, and thus highly desirable to claim for yourself.

[Seriphyn]

I personally think the importance of the Sani Sabik is overemphasized amongst players in ratio to its significance in PF. You had some news stories about them (excl. Blood Raiders) and that's about it.

What I mean is, is that I'm not entirely sure if CCP will expand on it that much...v0v

[Silas Vitalia]

I personally think the importance of the Sani Sabik is overemphasized amongst players in ratio to its significance in PF. You had some news stories about them (excl. Blood Raiders) and that's about it.

What I mean is, is that I'm not entirely sure if CCP will expand on it that much...v0v

At least until Khanid finally shuts down the Theology Council and we all get to read what's reeealy in the secret archives from before the Moral Reforms

..."Heideran's recipe for country fried fedo...Heresy!"

[Akrasjel Lanate]

I personally think the importance of the Sani Sabik is overemphasized amongst players in ratio to its significance in PF. You had some news stories about them (excl. Blood Raiders) and that's about it.

What I mean is, is that I'm not entirely sure if CCP will expand on it that much...v0v

They are like space jews   

[lallara zhuul]

I personally think the importance of the Sani Sabik is overemphasized amongst players in ratio to its significance in PF. You had some news stories about them (excl. Blood Raiders) and that's about it.

What I mean is, is that I'm not entirely sure if CCP will expand on it that much...v0v

It is because of the 'cool rebel' factor.

Just like all the pirate factions.

[Bastian Valoron]

I personally think the importance of the Sani Sabik is overemphasized amongst players in ratio to its significance in PF. You had some news stories about them (excl. Blood Raiders) and that's about it.

What I mean is, is that I'm not entirely sure if CCP will expand on it that much...v0v

Do players generally choose to RP a particular faction because it's significant in PF or because it has elements they personally find interesting? I think many players enjoy the fact that CCP has left us plenty of freedom for character development and world building. Figuring out all the small details that make a character plausible can be part of the fun and I wouldn't really call it as overemphasis or anything.

It is because of the 'cool rebel' factor.

They also have the 'emo goth', 'lolita' and 'teen werewolf' factors.

[Kaleigh Doyle]

I dunno. I play an Imperial for the "i get to be a racist slaver without being guilty" factor.

All kidding aside, I enjoy the background and identity that the Blood Raiders (and Sani Sabik) are in the EVE lore, as it adds a nice counterpoint to the Amarr and their Darwinist barbarism is both inspiring and shocking at the same time. I think there's a tendency to negate their influence as they are just npcs, but I like to think they still inspire some fear in people and capsuleers alike.