Talk:Assassins

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I have a great quote of Niccolo Polo's from Oliver Bowden's novel, 'Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade.' The quote is from Part One, page 6, paragraph 6, and reads, Assasseen, as you know, represents "guardian" in Arabic - the Assassins are the guardians of the secrets, and the secrets they guard are of knowledge... 77.97.9.135 14:07, July 4, 2013 (UTC)

MentoreOfTheOceanicRite (talk) 05:49, October 31, 2013 (UTC) Can we please fix up grammatical errors?

Partial merge

I propose the merging of the known victims section to be placed on the Assassination targets page.

Yay

1. Yar. --Kainzorus Prime ^{Walkie-talkie} 23:24, November 4, 2013 (UTC)
2. Ditto. nucl3arsnake (talk) 00:24, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
3. As nominator. Slate Vesper (talk) 00:28, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
4. --Fragment ^-Animus- 00:30, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
5. --ACsenior (talk) 05:29, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
6. Assuming the Assassination targets article gets padded out so that it actually contains more detail than this section currently does (as opposed to how it is now), I support the move. --Jasca Ducato _{Council Chamber} ^{Assassination record} 09:23, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
7. ^ O'course! -- AgentG231 (talk) 09:28, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
8. ._. ~ GI Auditore ^{Comms Channel} 12:25, November 5, 2013 (UTC)
9. (Arabian411269 (talk) 13:46, November 5, 2013 (UTC)

Comments

I think it's fair to say that we have reached a consensus. nucl3arsnake (talk) 14:08, November 10, 2013 (UTC)

Usually we leave open a poll for a week to be sure :) In this case, it seems everybody who cares has voted though. Crook ^{The Constantine District} 14:12, November 10, 2013 (UTC)

It has been well over a week now, so can we get on with this merger? nucl3arsnake (talk) 23:25, November 15, 2013 (UTC)

The target article is still woefully under-populated with information, so until that is sorted, I would say no. --Jasca Ducato _{Council Chamber} ^{Assassination record} 17:38, November 18, 2013 (UTC)

Assassin's Religion

I don't think the Assassin's believe in any kind of religion. Almost all of the game's protagonist's ,like Altair and Ezio, present their belief's throughout the game. To the pages of Altair's codex, The Order is meant to open-minds of people. Although they are spiritual.Lucassassin (talk) 05:53, November 23, 2013 (UTC)

Hmm, I couldn't locate anywhere in the article that specifically refers to the Assassins as religious unless you are referring to the infobox where it denotes their "Religion" as various. If that is indeed what you are referring to, then I would explain that whoever added it likely meant that individual Assassins throughout the ages professed to different religions. I agree, however, that in the infobox, it would be more correct to label the Assassins as irreligious because although individual Assassins did from time to time adopt a religion, the Assassin Order itself is inherently a secular entity. As such, I will change it accordingly now. Thanks for pointing it out. Sol Pacificus (talk) 02:12, November 24, 2013 (UTC)

You're welcome, I'm happy to contribute the wiki. 103.14.62.163 11:04, November 24, 2013 (UTC)

Members

The page says that Edward Kenway and Adewale had joined the assassins by 1715 for less than traditional purposes. We now know this isnt true.

PS Shouldnt we add the legendary assassins like Darius to the infobox?--188.180.174.234 19:51, January 20, 2014 (UTC)

No. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 09:37, January 21, 2014 (UTC)

Victims

The list of victims doesnt have Baltasar de Silva in it.--188.180.174.234 14:30, January 22, 2014 (UTC)

There are a lot of victims who are not on the list. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 15:11, January 22, 2014 (UTC)

Edward Kenways list should be longer. Even though he wasnt really an Assassin before 1720, he was an Assassin in the end, and many of his assassinations served the interests of the Brotherhood.--188.180.174.234 19:08, February 3, 2014 (UTC)

No, because he was not an Assassin, just a murderer. Those deaths served his interests, not the Order's. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 09:16, February 4, 2014 (UTC)

Shouldn't it be ONE list of victims? It seems rather odd having seperate lists, especially considering the fact that some of them are very short.--Bovkaffe (talk) 14:43, March 16, 2014 (UTC)

12/13th century 'allies'

"Allies also included various individuals, such as Adha, Qulan Gal, and even former Templars like Maria Thorpe.Others included Dante Alighieri, Maffeo, Marco and Niccolò Polo, and Domenico Auditore, the founder of the Auditore Villa."

Most of these are assassins. Qulan Gal, Dante, Maffeo, Marco, Niccolo, Domenico are all assassins. They should be named as such, not as the Brotherhood's allies. 2.220.253.155 22:18, January 25, 2014 (UTC)

I'm afraid you're reading it incorrectly, though to be fair it's not the clearest bit of grammar. The list of names that includes Dante Alighieri is in a different sentence to those listed as allies, so technically it is correct. That being said, I have tweaked the sentence to make it clearer. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 09:45, January 27, 2014 (UTC)

Known Guilds

I'm thinking we should add a section to this article called known guilds. What do you guys think? --Raghava Shah 16:00, March 26, 2014 (UTC)

Trivia

You do know that the trivia fact isn't accurate I will check my facts and present why they really are called assassin.Hutchy01 (talk) 16:06, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

I think if you had any facts to the contrary, you would already present them, rather than dramatically declare the intent and shake fist at us. --Kainzorus Prime ⚜ ^{Walkie-talkie} 16:29, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

Sorry about that anyway ... The assassin are thought by modern scholars to be named for the Arabic word Asasiyun which meant 'those who are faithful' (to the Shi'ite/Nizari) and that name comes from the figure Rashid ad-Din Sinan (who the series referred to as Al Mualim). I hope this was clear and again sorry about my previous lack of fact. Hutchy01 (talk) 18:46, December 28, 2014 (UTC)

Era icons

I think there are way too many era icons on this article. Given that the Assassins appear in every entry throughout the entire series, is there really any point in having them? --Crimson Knight _Intercom 16:30, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

Whilst you are correct that the Assassins appear in every single entry, the whole point of the eraicons is to show which media the article subject appears in. Removing them from the article defeats the point of having them in the first place. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 16:40, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

I have a brilliant idea that nobody but me could possibly think of - make a single universal icon that corresponds to the entire AC series. Unconceivable alternative to keeping n+1 icons on the page, right? --Kainzorus Prime ⚜ ^{Walkie-talkie} 17:12, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

Considering this is an AC wiki, what would be the point in having a single icon stating that the article subject appears in the AC series? We'd be better off using a method similar to the Fallout Wiki; or even having tiered icons - only the parent icon (e.g. "Colonial era") shows until hovered over, then we see "AC3", "AC4BF", "ACRG". That would take a lot of coding, however. --Jasca Ducato (talk | contributions) 17:17, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

Not for the purpose of "it appears in the AC series". For the purpose of "it appears in every installment and side media iteration of the series". Get the difference? It's neater to just have one icon signify that it appears throughout the series, than code a glorified tabber just for icons themselves. --Kainzorus Prime ⚜ ^{Walkie-talkie} 18:04, December 22, 2014 (UTC)

Sicarii Group older then the Hashashin Possible connection.

I recently came across information that i was studying for a class that Mentioned a group called the Sicarii it is mentioned going back before the formation of Islam. The Sicarii was formed acording to history book in around 30 or 40 CE and lasted well up until 80 or 90 CE. Islam in which the Hashashin is based began in 570 CE. The word Sicarii means "Dagger men" as well them being known as skilled Assassins who would blend in with the crowd and disapear back into them. This got me to thinking if the Assassins in the Assassin's Creed Universe trace there roots back atleast as far as Adam and Eve just like the Templars and they started in through the Romans then could it be possible that before the Assassins were known as the Hashashin they were known as the Sicarii. I would like others opinions on the matter im a huge fan of the franshise and found this highly interesting.

Templar - Romans - Caninites

Assassins - Hashasins - Sicarii

Thoughts?

The Story of Masada which was their main base of operations sounds very much like the Masyaf castle as well as the siege of Masyaf from the Templars.  - AndyC89

Pirates

I was wondering if pirates should be added to the related organizations. Or maybe the crew of the jackdaw and the crew of the Experto Crede.Hugues de Payens (talk) 23:49, December 20, 2015 (UTC)

Pirates were indeed a related organization, in the exact same era-specific sense as the vigilantes of Altair's time (recruitable in the Middle Ages), the thieves of Ezio's time (recruitable in the Renaissance), or the Rooks of the Frye twins' time (recruitable in the Victorian era); i.e. they were a faction whose members could be hired and were recruited by Assassins in a particular era. Seems quite logical to add them as a related organization. klad (talk) 00:18, December 21, 2015 (UTC)

Revision

I am about to substitute a few sections with major revisions I have been working on. These revisions are in response to several issues that I brought up in 2013. Most notable is the misinterpretation by many fans that the Assassins' ultimate goal is freedom, and that its conflict with the Templars is little more than freedom vs. order, or that the Assassin maxim of "nothing is true, everything is permitted" meaning is simply to do whatever you want with no moral restraints or discipline on your behavior whatsoever.

"The Creed of the Assassin Brotherhood teaches us that nothing is forbidden to us. Once, I thought that meant we were free to do as we would. To pursue our ideals, no matter the cost. I understand now. Not a grant of permission, the Creed is a warning. Ideals too easily give way to dogma. Dogma becomes fanaticism. No higher power sits in judgment of us. No supreme being watches to punish us for our sins. In the end, only we ourselves can guard against our obsessions. Only we can decide whether the road we walk carries too high a toll."

―Arno Dorian

"To recognize nothing is true and everything is permitted. That laws arise not from divinity, but reason. I understand now that our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise."

―Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad

• Kidd: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." This is the world's only certainty.
• Edward: "Everything is permitted?" I like the sound of that. Thinking what I like, and acting how I please.
• Kidd: You parrot the words... but you do not understand them.

There are other issues about the article that I mean to address, but for now I will start by making my revision. Initially, I was hesitant to do so, namely because the ideology of the Assassins and Templars are in a way, subject to interpretation. However, I was told previously to feel free to edit it as I wish if I think there are issues to be corrected in the ideology sections. Because of the nature of the ideology sections, there is some risk that I am applying my own personal interpretations. This is by the way, heavily already the case with the "Criticisms" section, which is a major issue I will address later. In any case, I have done my best to shorten my revised description of Assassin philosophy, cutting out any parts I think are "my own" interpretation and only keeping those that were original to characters themselves. Appropriately, I have done my best to be thorough with citations.

I am not entirely finished with the revisions. I took a hiatus from my work, and forgot much of what I wanted to expand upon, especially with the "Liberalism" section, and will likely be adding to it later.

Also: I have no even started Assassin's Creed: Syndicate :( just as a heads-up.

As it is a major revision, I am leaving this message here to introduce it. So anyone that have any questions or wish to discuss it, please ask or do so of course! :) Sol Pacificus (talk) 06:55, January 28, 2016 (UTC)

I think my quote choices perhaps should be shortened, or perhaps better ones could be used. Sol Pacificus (talk) 07:11, January 28, 2016 (UTC)

Hey, Sol
While I think it's great that you want to revise this page (it kinda needs it), Sima had already been working on some kind of revamp for it in one of his sandboxes. Granted, it's been a while I think since he's updated it, but you might want to check in with him anyways. Otherwise, good luck on your revision :) Crook ^{The Constantine District} 07:14, January 28, 2016 (UTC)

Great so far, however shouldn't it also deal with the corruption and extremist views in it? Same for the Templar page. Cover every use of their ideologies while also explains things like, what separate a Moderate Assassin from and Extremist or Corrupt Assassin? What separate a Moderate Templar from and Extremist Templar? And of course how all use the ideology and the ideology by itself. Like the Assassins is a positive view of humanity while the Templars view is negative, that's standard wether corrupt or not. The core of their ideologies. --ACsenior (talk) 16:00, January 28, 2016 (UTC)

Great point, I know I had already intended to fit in François Mackandal's example somewhere. He accused all the other Assassins of being too moderate, pretty much went rogue, and instead interpreted that the creed was a call to unrestrained power. One issue though is that honestly, the Assassins' beliefs beyond Altaïr and Ezio aren't always as fleshed out. Ah Tabai and Mary Reed echoed their philosophies, but Connor seemed to have spent much of his own story so focused on liberty and protecting his people that it was never shown at all how much he understood the deeper aspects of Assassin ideology. Achilles Davenport is a weird territory. On one hand, Shay blaming him for the destruction of Lisbon isn't justified. Letters by Mackandal heavily imply that Achilles had never planned to use the Piece of Eden for power and actually even to hide or destroy it before the Templars reached. It's a complicated scenario, since the disaster occurred from sheer ignorance, and I think that we can't say much about Achilles' ideology because not enough was explained about what he believed. However, some of the Assassins' actions in the Rogue if even just Louis-Joseph Gaultier's attitude probably warrants some mention. But in Unity, again too little is given about the Assassin council's beliefs, only that Arno at the very end echoes the words of Altaïr and Ezio. And then I haven't played Syndicate yet >_<. In summary, much of our information from Assassins beliefs come from Altaïr, Ezio, and scattered pieces in other games that echo them, but for Assassins whose actions that deviate from the standard (esp. those in Rogue), it's difficult to understand what exactly was their thinking. The clearest example of Assassin corruption would be François Mackandal, Pierre Bellec, and Louis-Joseph Gaultier. br />

But more importantly, I'm not sure where best to fit this information. I'm thinking I might have to expand on the ideology section even more. Should we include a whole section on Assassins whose views are unorthodox, or should we just note at each ideological point where a character acted otherwise? Sol Pacificus (talk) 20:58, January 28, 2016 (UTC)

Mackandal is a great example of both a Fanatic Assassin seeing as we have no evidence of an attempted truce and Extremist Assassin because he intended the poison the Colonists like Achilles and is known for having a brutal brotherhood. Not really an issue seeing as both Altaïr explained what makes Assassins corrupt with his struggle against Abbas as he "corrupted everything we stand for". Abbas method was like Jack The Ripper's, a coup and then oppression once in power. And Ezio is a Fanatic Assassin in Revelations seeing as he said no to an offer of truce by Ahmet who's a Moderate Templar, plus Extremist Assassin since he started a riot and smoked a city with a bang. The best way to look for Corrupt and Extremist Assassinsis by looking at how much of their actions that align. Like Achilles who like Jack used gangs to oppress, like Makandal tried to poison Colonists and more. As said look for similarities and then apply the ideology since Altaïr clearly stated harming innocents is curry tigon and Eseosa called Makandal a disgrace. I could try to write it myself but it would end up more like a summary than an analysis.

I'd suggest a corruption and extremist section. What's already there is the ideology used the traditional way. --ACsenior (talk) 11:08, January 29, 2016 (UTC)

I'm working on the "Corruption" section at the moment, and I apologize that it's taking longer than I would wish (especially given that it's a short section) due to outside commitments. One concern I have that is slowing my progress is the effort to maintain neutrality. This was an issue that I had with some previous edits on the Assassin and Templar articles. Neutrality can be a touchy subject when dealing with ideology and corruption. I have striven very hard in describing Assassin philosophy to withhold from adding my own extended interpretations, but it's even harder in this section

I struggle a little in deciding what to mention and what not to mention. For example, I personally would like to make a mention of Vérendrye's bullying attitude towards Shay, not as a point, but as a side remark. To be exact: "His harassment of Shay aside [...]" I think this adds a little more detail, but I'm not sure if it's necessary or entirely relevant. There are jerks in every group in the world regardless of what their ideology is. I'm not sure if I should mention Vérendrye bombarding the Homestead to kill Shay, risking murdering many Assassin allies because I feel that this is a very forced plot point (and possibly even for gameplay purposes), and it wasn't noted by any other characters, but to me personally, I think it's a significant detail. I'm really wary of adding in "fan interpretations" not "character interpretations" because I know Wikipedia itself is strictly opposed to the former. For example, Wikipedians almost certainly not permit adding in any mention of Ezio causing innocent deaths in Cappadocia with his explosions, because though I think it quite obviously violates Assassin policy, this would still be my own interpretation. I will certainly be adding the Sack of Albany because I think this was meant to be a clear, citable example. Sol Pacificus (talk) 05:46, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

I just read, for "misunderstanding" the creed. Well the creed itself says there is no "true" answer and that you should always question. The interpretations of the creed is in line with the creed despite it not being used traditional that's considered the "true" way by the traditional Assassins. Now for this, "In some instances, Assassins even came to align themselves closely with Templar ideology altogether." Correct for people like Al Mualim who's willing to enslave the world but not Achilles Brotherhood as all their plans revolve around destroying any authority and the way his Brotherhood acts even reflect that. Achilles Brotherhood is Nihilist/Anarchist, they create chaos. And I'd take away the arguing that they are corrupt part as they are corrupt. Plus I'd call the section "Corruption and Extremism"

That side remark can work as a point of the lack of respect the corrupt tend shown unlike the traditional Assassins, other than that it's trivial among everything else, his words like following "without question" however are far more important. True there are. Vérendrye bombarding the Homestead to kill Shay is worth mentioning as it shows how far the corrupt Assassins are willing to go and it was mention by Assassins in the mission itself as you run away. Another example is Bellec saying he's willing to burn Paris to find Élise and "save" the brotherhood. So it's an important part, it shows how extreme the corrupt can get. However Vérendrye isn't the only corrupt Colonial Assassin. We'll what gets a pass and what don't, if anything is a problem in can be discussed here. Old Ezio does have a lot of traits related to corrupt Assassins, as an example he refused Ahmet's offer of truce. A Moderate like Connor or Mirabeau would't do that.

Corrupt Assassins tend to have a few things in common, power hunger(rear), against unity, are fanatics, slaughter innocents, oppress innocents, following without question. That should be it, I'll update it if I remember anything else.--ACsenior (talk) 12:08, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

Thank you, your comments are helpful. On the "some would argue corrupt" part, as much as I think we could all agree that they are corrupt, I still worry that at the end of the day, no matter how unanimous the agreement, it is still an opinion, not a fact. Then again, to keep that phrase invites the question "well then who argues that they are corrupt (other than Templars)?" which may pose a problem as well, and to not mention that they are corrupt at all, well that just makes it hard for me to describe them. I suppose I am being unrealistic of the extent of perfect neutrality.

By the way, can you elaborate on Ezio's refusal of Ahmet's offer of truce? I totally have no recollection of that whatsoever or when it occurred. Sol Pacificus (talk) 15:34, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

Your welcome, glad to help. Well I could list everything his Brotherhood did and then compare it smaller corrupt Brotherhood and the facts would be there. Unless of course there are people who argue neither the Borgia or Germain is corrupt, same case, it's just that the Assassins have a far more sympathetic view by the fans since we play them most of the time. As for who that argues, fans with colored glasses as they only argue about the accidental earthquake while ignoring everything else his Brotherhood did. The difference is that none defend the Borgia or Germain because none view them with colored glasses.

Ahmet says they are grown men looking for a library, they they should be friends instead of enemies. Followed by him saying he will find the library. Ezio responds with ignoring Ahmet's offer of truce and gives him a death threat for looking for the library by saying "Not in this life Ahmet". This happened once Ezio and the Ottoman Assassin had an full scale attack on the Arsenal after the death of Yusuf and the kidnapping of Sofia. --ACsenior (talk) 16:40, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

I think some of the best examples of corruption in Achilles' branch lies in the Assassin Interception missions. The reason is because some of the targets seem like ordinary civilians who indirectly assist the Templars and so are quite arguably innocent or not truly accomplices. I am not certain of any of them though. Information is vague.

For example: "Scott Lawson - Contrary to our expectations, this newly-promoted overseer works against the Brotherhood's interests. Take care of him in public. That should shock the population and bring them back in line." In what way was he working against the Broterhood's interests? This could be anything. Overseer means slave owner right? So I suppose he was not freeing the slaves? Of course, I would have to play these missions or watch them to get the most information, and I have not yet. Regardless of whether they're "justified" or not by non-corrupt Assassin standards, such as the target Lewis Johnson who is cited to have killed many Assassins, a few of these sound like mere civilians to me. And the final lines accompanying some of them, like in the example, sounds like blatant terrorism, though the Sack of Albany already was a case. In any case, I will get around to these missions, but if you have the time, feel free to check them out and narrow them down. Sol Pacificus (talk) 17:13, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

I cannot find the dialogue you refer to. I'm assuming it should be found in this mission: "Discovery", set immediately after Ezio discovers Yusuf's corpse.

• Ahmet: Of course. And when things fall apart, and the lights of civilization dim, Ezio Auditore can stand above the darkness and say proudly, "I stayed true to my Creed." I will open that library, and I will find the Grand Temple. And with the power that is hidden there, I will destroy the superstitions that keep men divided.
• Ezio: Not in this life, Ahmet.
• Ahmet: Bring the seals to Galata Tower when you are ready. Do this and Sofia will be spared. My brother's army will be here soon, Ezio. After that, everything changes.

I do not see any instance of a proposed truce at all, only a ransom and an assertion that he will be the one to accomplish his goals. Sol Pacificus (talk) 17:39, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

True but hardly the best, the best would be their gang lead by Hope who oppress the Colonies, simply look up anything her gang does. Or the Colonial Assassins attempt at poising the populace and the Colonial Authority with poisonous gasses. The first claim is confirmed by Le Chassure and he said it was an order by Achilles himself. The second claim is from Monroe after having captured and interrogated a gang member who "spoke of an intimidating woman", seeing as Shay never told him nothing about Hope it has a lot of value. And you have the Native Assassin holding a village hostage, attacking surrendering soldiers and his attack on Albony. And of course Achilles leading everything, giving missions, ordering them around. So yes, the Assassin Interception missions are just as much part of it, despite some being vague.

Ahmet: If you think you are in a position to negotiate, kill me and be done with it! I am sorry it had to come to this. Two men who should be friends, quarreling over the keys to a library. We both strive for the same end, Ezio. Only our methods differ. Do you not see that? Peace. Stability. A world where men live without fear. People desire the truth, yes, but even when they have it, they refuse to look. How do we fight this kind of ignorance?

Ezio: Liberty can be messy, Ahmet. But it is priceless. Ahmet: Of course. And when things fall apart, and the lights of civilization dim, Ezio Auditore can stand above the darkness and say proudly, "I stayed true to my Creed." I will open that library, and I will find the Grand Temple. And with the power that is hidden there, I will destroy the superstitions that keep men divided. Ezio: Not in this life, Ahmet.

Does't change the point, he ignored it. "Two men who should be friends, quarreling over the keys to a library. We both strive for the same end, Ezio." Ezio could easily said yes there, worked with him from that point and gotten Sofia on a golden plate but don't since he's a fanatic. When Haytham said they had similar aims and was chasing the same guy Connor ask what he propose and Haytham responds with a truce. Ezio didn't or even consider it. --ACsenior (talk) 18:05, February 7, 2016 (UTC)