The Illuminati

I've been thinking of doing something a little different with The Illuminati when I get to Volume V. I thought of making them not only a secret society, but almost an entire civilization, sort of like the Twilight's Hammer. Only it's made up of Well Intentioned Extremists and Knights Templar instead of Omnicidal Maniacs. I'm wondering what else I can do. Any tips and feedback are welcome, thank you. :)

Frankly, these days I don't use the Illuminati anymore, I opt for expies or other occultist organizations (such as the Thule Society, which I use very often), the Illyminati carry too much implications on modern society, and ware wayy too overused.

What sort of implications?

Mostly, they're clichéd, and the name itself became a byword for "ridiculous conspiracy theories and theorists". At the moment I hear the name Illuminati, the story can't help but lose a bit of its credibility.

Like I said, more fond of expies or lesser known organizations.

Yeah, in the one work of mine that actually uses a group like that, they use the name ironically. ("I guess after seeing just about everything blamed on 'The Illuminati' by one crackpot or another, we figured we might as well adopt the name for ourselves.")

Whatever you don't take any cues from Billy and Howard.

Who are they?

A novel you should avoid.

There was another idea I had as well. I imagined the Illuminati using slave labor. Their slaves are made up those who refused to bow and submit to their will, or awoke from their brainwashing. One of the slaves is Ashur's wife Leah.

Bump. Where would be a good place for the Illuminati's fortress-city?

What is the world setting like? Is it modern day? Do people know about the Illuminati civilization, or is there a Masquerade in place?

It's a bit like the seventh through 10th Final Fantasy games; a mixture of medieval fantasy and cool futuristic stuff. I admit I haven't thought about their having a Masquerade. ^_^;; Would it be easy to maintain if they have dragons?

Depends on what the Dragons can do. If they have illusion, mind-control or shapeshifting powers, they could easily get mundanes to ignore or forget about them.

In stories involving a globe-spanning conspiracy, I like the idea of them Hiding in Plain Sight. They could operate through many front organizations like the local Electrical Workers' Union or the Cultural Arts Association, but only the people at the top would know what the group's real purpose is.

Or they could operate out of a small town or suburban enclave. The whole town is part of the Conspiracy, but nobody would think that the village of Greensprings is actually the headquarters of the secret rulers of the world.

edited 25th Nov '13 12:40:56 PM by Lawyerdude

I sort of imagined them flying around the fortress like they did at the Twilight Citadel.

edited 25th Nov '13 1:37:11 PM by Demetrios

Bump. Where would be a good place for the Illuminati's fortress-city?

Alamout in Persia was Hassan i Sabah's capital for the Assassin Brotherhood. During the Crusades, Assassins had a branch office on a mountain in Israel.

Ingolstadt in Bavaria is another mountain town.

The glory of mountain town as a HQ for the Illuminati is that when you have enough magic or tech, then slice off the top of the mountain and have a flying city.

I looked it up on Wikipedia. I think I'll go for Alamut. It looks more remote and easier to defend. Thank you. :)

Besides the dragons and sphinxes, which would be a good basis for the combat techniques and culture of the Illuminati's armed forces? The Roman legions or the Grande Armée?

edited 26th Nov '13 10:35:34 AM by Demetrios

I'm partial to the Roman Legions, myself. The Roman army was made up of two components; the Legions, manned by free citizens, and the auxiliary, consisting of non-Romans. But anybody who served twenty years in the auxiliary earned citizenship for himself and his heirs.

That sort of multi-level citizenship was useful for a militaristic, assimilationist sort of Empire, as even outsiders could eventually earn full rights and protection under Roman law.

Sorry about the pause in my reply; I was thinking it over. That is a good idea. Thanks a lot. :)

Bump. I've been going over some ideas recently. This time it's about some of the Illuminati's weapons and armor. Here's what I have so far.

Lucas, the Grandmaster:

• White full plate armor
• I'm debating what kind of weapons and mount he can have. My choices are a sword and shield and his riding a horse, in keeping with his knightly image, or a two-handed sword and riding a dragon, showing how badass he is.

Dorothy:

• What kind of armor did the Valkyries wear?
• Spear
• Sword

Ercole “Caligula” Fontana:

• Armor of a Legatus Augusti pro praetore
  • The steel parts are polished brightly enough to resemble silver
• For his other enemies and the people he doesn't like, a pollaxe
  • It resembles a halberd, only with the spearpoint shortened so as to emphasize its chopping power
• For Demetrios and Lily, however, he has a spatha sword made of lead, the metal of death
  • The crossguard is designed to resemble rotten tree branches (one ash, one oak)
  • A skull with black onyx eyes makes up the pommel
• There's some Truth in Television behind his two weapon choices. Historically, commoners were executed with an axe, while aristocrats were executed with a sword

Clara Lecesse, for her time with the Illuminati:

• The traditional wizard/evil cultist robe (white)
• Hooded cape (white outside, violet inside)
• Artistic dagger (pact blade); I was thinking of making the handle look like a horse's head, like this one◊
• Staff