Imperial Illuminati

[s0m3w0n]

I was reading fluff on the black library, and was interested about the himan illuminati. And I have a couple questions about them.

1 How do they keep their plan to revive the emporer secret from the emporer himself. He strikes me as all knowing, how can humans keep secrets from him ?

2 It said in an article I was reading they protect the sensi from persecution from the Inquistion. But how is this possible considering the inquisition can basicly destroy anything they want on whim, and a underground cult dosn't have much of a chance I wouldnt think. And Do the illuminati have armies of thier own ?

[The_Giant_Mantis]

Firstly, the Illuminati fluff is old.. True, as far as I'm aware it's never been officially dismissed, but GW or a black library author could very easily choose to write over it on a whim. They did as much with the star child cult in the Inquisitor rulebook (making them a destroyed Tzeenchian cult.) So don't take it too seriously.. The Inquisition fluff, for one, has been updated massively since the days of the Illuminati, a huge ammount of things have changed.

That said, if you're thinking/writing about them..

1 How do they keep their plan to revive the emporer secret from the emporer himself. He strikes me as all knowing, how can humans keep secrets from him ?

The Emperor is basically dead, at least in the physical world.. He doesn't really even think, as such, although his warp presence (soul) might be enduring some kind of horrible half-life trapped in the warp. Basically, he's a psychic power source for the astronomicon, and while the Imperial creed paints him as a God, in actuality he has a very limited, if not non existent capacity to affect the world. His awareness is another matter, of course, but then, even if we assume his warp presence is aware (in whatever vague way a braindead floating soul is aware) of the Illuminati, what's he going to do about it? He can't tell anyone..

2 It said in an article I was reading they protect the sensi from persecution from the Inquistion. But how is this possible considering the inquisition can basicly destroy anything they want on whim, and a underground cult dosn't have much of a chance I wouldnt think. And Do the illuminati have armies of thier own ?

This is a toughie as so much has changed about the Inquisition.. It's virtually unrecognizable from the old fluff. Yes, they are empowered to destroy virtually anything and anyone for the good of the Imperium.. However, they have to find them first, and then carry out the punishment, which is why they don't always win.

Also, the Inquisition is extremely fragmented.. It's a bunch of highly intelligent and motivated guys with radically different beliefs who all go around doing their own thing and battling heresy/demons/aliens/etc in their own particular way. Sometimes they even fight each other, which is basically the structure of the 'Inquisitor' game. There are revivicator factions who make their goal to find a way of resurrecting the Emperor.. Just as there are amalathean factions who who happily kill those revivicators before letting them try anything so incredibly dangerous to the Imperium's survival.. It all depends on the Inquisitor.

[s0m3w0n]

Thanks but now I thought of a couple more things....
1 They are more worryed about the emporer giving up early, assuming he will just get re bourne anyways.
2 Although they wouldnt have any millitary power in comparison to the inquisition, do they have an army ? Or any real form of forces ?
3 How old is the fluff ?

[Da Mighty Camel]

Originally Posted by s0m3w0n

3 How old is the fluff ?

Very! Like, the 80s I think. It came when the Realm of Chaos-books, the Lost and the Damned and Slaves to Darkness, was first published. They were the first real books on Chaos, and they are damn old (and damn rare and cool!).

Wasn't the Sensei the same Tzeentchian cult that was destroyed? Perhaps not...

[Xerxes]

The Sensei were mentioned as the high-up members of the Tzeenchian "Cult of the Star Child" that the Inquisition apparently uncovered and destroyed in the 3rd edition rulebook. Given that all these cults are heavily tied in with the Illuminati, it's safe to say that they're probably not around any more.

Yes, they would be worried about the link between the Emperor's soul and his body. If they've already separated and not a lot's happened, the Illuminati would be somewhat stuck as far as their grand schemes go.

And given that their beliefs were considered heretical by the majority of the Imperium, it's unlikely they'd have much in the way of military power. A few devoted followers maybe, but that won't be much in the grand scheme of things.

[s0m3w0n]

So the sensi and likley the illumminati are dead?

Man taht was the best part of the fluff

[Da Mighty Camel]

IMO it was a bit silly and I don't mourn their passing. It didn't really 'fit' with the current fluff and theme of the game.

[s0m3w0n]

I realy just like the inquisition fluff. And after reading realm of choas, the illuminati and sensi seem an important part of that.

Given that the illuminate are people who have rid themselves of possesion, wouldnt it be impossible to eliminate them ?

[The Fifth Horseman]

2 It said in an article I was reading they protect the sensi from persecution from the Inquistion. But how is this possible considering the inquisition can basicly destroy anything they want on whim, and a underground cult dosn't have much of a chance I wouldnt think. And Do the illuminati have armies of thier own ?

IIRC, some of the Inquisition are members of the Illuminati as well (who, IIRC, are not as much a cult as a secret society - theres is a difference in how both work - think, something like the Ordo Hydra from the Inquisition War books).
It's difficult enough to wipe out a widespread cult of any sort on a single planet. It's impossible to wipe out all of them throughout the Imperium.

They are more worryed about the emporer giving up early, assuming he will just get re bourne anyways.

Who guarantees he will?

Although they wouldnt have any millitary power in comparison to the inquisition, do they have an army ? Or any real form of forces ?

Secret society, remember? Some of them are definitely in positions of authority, but openly opposing the Inquisition is simply suicidal stupidity, regardless of their actual military might.

WThe Sensei were mentioned as the high-up members of the Tzeenchian "Cult of the Star Child" that the Inquisition apparently uncovered and destroyed in the 3rd edition rulebook. Given that all these cults are heavily tied in with the Illuminati, it's safe to say that they're probably not around any more.

Chaos and Genestealer cults have been known to mask as sub-cults of the Imperial religion. It is equally possible that a Tzeentchian cult was pretending to be a Sensei group, for whatever reason (like setting the Inquisition against the actual Sensei, for example).

So the sensi and likley the illumminati are dead?

Even if you presume that the major centers of their organization were wiped out, the galaxy is big and there is certainly a number of either still running around.

The Sensei are said to be blood-descendants of the Emperor, and because of that there's certainly plenty of them (altough not all aware of the fact, nor all actually having the powers associated with Sensei) and plenty more will be born sooner or later.

The Illuminati, on the other hand, might be destroyed if they were small enough in their numbers - and if they could all be found before any survivors could re-build the organization. If there were even a few thousand spread widely enough, there would be no chance to ever expunge the organization completely.

Given that the illuminate are people who have rid themselves of possesion, wouldnt it be impossible to eliminate them ?

Being strong enough to exorcise a daemon out of yourself by sheer force of will doesn't mean you're immortal. Guardsmen, Inquisitors or Illuminati, a boltgun shell to the skull kills every one of them just the same. Also: read above about the possibility of stamping out a secret society in the Imperium.

[s0m3w0n]

I didnt mean that they were immortal, i mean that people will still exorsise them selves, so the illuminate will always gain new members. So unless they could eliminate the entire cult it would just re build.