User:D. Cello/sandbox
- "The only difference between your master and I is that he did not want to share "
- ―Robert de Sable to Altair
Rashid ad-Din Sinan, known as Al Mualim, is Altaïr's mentor and master of the Assassin's Order.
Biography
Characteristics
Al Mualim is a extremely wise and just leader, however rather unpredictable and mysterious at times. In Masyaf, a discreet city in the mountains, is located the fortress and headquarters of the Syrian sect of Assassins, where Al Mualin spends most of his time studying.
By his efforts, the Order have become a well-known and feared but rather obscure faction, inspiring fear and uncertainty throughout the land and spreading rumors that increased the already legendary reputation of the brotherhood. That've been accomplished by the murdering of important and sometimes "unreachable" persons, on both public and silent assassinations, which made people of power aware of the constant danger they may be running and regular folks somewhat conforted by the fact that there's someone always watching.
Al Mualim does not just stressed political assassination but education as well, as he had thourough understanding and knowledge pertaining from philosophy to science. These wisdown was employed constantly on the people and assassins who seeked his advice, Al Mualim also followed and preached the creed as the main and only way to achieve the brotherhood's goal of peace in all things, and enphasized that this refers to peace within as well. He constantly reminded the assassins, "Never harbor hate for your victims, for such things are poison.", which aided emotional detachment and ensured the dispatching of a target.
The leader of the assassins often employed his "children" as political warriors, directed to fight as the voice of the people throughout the Holy Land, suppressing those who use their power and influence to commit impious acts against society. He rewards success richly, but despises failure and don't abide traitors.
As he reveals little about himself, almost nothing is known about his early life.
Assassin's Creed
- "I hold here a list. Nine men adorn it, nine men who need to die. They are plague-bringers, war-makers... Their power and influence corrupt the lands, ensuring that the Crusades continue."
- ―Al Mualim to Altair
After Altaïr's failure at Solomon's Temple that caused the incapacitation and death of two fellow assassins and caused and attacked by the Templars to Masyaf, Al Mualim demotes him from Master Assassin to Novice, removing much of his equipment and his authority at the order. Altair then goes to earn his status back by killing nine men who support the Crusade from both Catolic and Muslim sides.
After killing the ninenth man, Robert de Sable, the dying target states that Al Mualim was, in fact, a Templar. Altaïr then returns to Masyaf and finds out that people in the city has been put in a hypnotic trance, but he along with some fellow assassins are unaffected by the mind control and make way to the fortress. Reaching the castle, he discovers that Al Mualim was responsible for this by use of the Piece of Eden recovered at Solomon's Temple, and confronts his master. After fighting illusions, Altaïr manages to crave his hidden blade onto Al Mualim, ending the cause of the hypnotic trance. As he dies, the leader of the Assassins says that he did it all to ensure absolute peace in the world, and claims that Altaïr, as him, will not be able to destroy the Piece of Eden.
Final Words
(Al Mualim collapses, dying. The Piece of Eden falls from his hand and rolls away).
Al Mualim: Impossible! The student does not defeat the teacher!
Altaïr: La shaiq' waqee mutlak bl kollin mumkin! (arabic: Nothing is true, everything is permitted).
Al Mualim: So it seems. You have won, then. Go and claim your prize.
Altaïr: You held fire in your hand, old man. It should have been destroyed!
Al Mualim: Destroy the only thing capable of ending the Crusades and bringing true peace!? Never!
Altaïr: Then I will!
Al Mualim: We'll see about that...
Trivia
- He is based on a real person, Rashid ad-Din Sinan, a.k.a. The Old Man of the Mountain.
- "Al Mualim" means "The Teacher" or "The Master" in Arabic.
- It is speculated that Warren Vidic and Al Mualim have similar facial features and may be related, giving that they both act somewhat as "mentor" characters. But this is nothing but supositions and nothing has been stated so far.
- He is voiced by Peter Renaday.
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Social Stealth, or how uncounspicous one can remain in public enviroments, is a main ability to a succesful assassin.
Philosophy
A true master assassin knows that people cannot approprietaly prepare themselves to a invisible strike. For the true assassin, remaining unexposed is the safest way to move about without catching the city guards' attention, arousing the crowd or alerting the target. Therefore, avoiding attention at all times is key to a Hashashin's survival during an assassination mission.
As the second tenet of the "The Creed", remaining anonymous is a top priority at all times and it is required within the Assassins Order, since investigations and assassinations have a way larger chance of success when no one knows from where comes the blunt. To understand the people and know extensively how use that element to your advantage during your endeavours is the key. Let them mask your approach during assassinations and reveal yourself only when absolutely certain, using the crowd to creat distractions and moving for the kill when everyone's attention are in something else that not you.
Either performing silently executions or public assassinations, one must strike at the most appropriate moment, time and place where he can not only hit, but also run or hold his ground if necessary be. Normally approaching someone from behind and putting a hidden blade between their ribs or gently pushing past a crownd and bursting through the guards on a rampage charge at the target's head, social stealth mastery is indispensable. Mastering the kill is your priority, mastering the approach should be too.
In-Game
Assassin's Creed
A major theme in this game is social stealth. Other games have worked with the idea of stealth play while out in the open, notably the disguises in the Hitman series, but few if any have included the crowd dynamics found in Assassin's Creed.
The social stealth system keeps track of how much attention is being paid to Altaïr and his actions. Citizens and guards will react anyway you treat and interact with them. While walking around the city and kingdom, you can either force people out of the way and to the ground or you can gently push past them. The first will attract a lot of attention in your direction but get you through the crowd more quickly, and the person you knocked to the ground may get up and push you back risking exposure if close to a assassination target. Gently pushing past or moving past people will attract no attention but will take more time. Any socially unacceptable behavior will also increase the attention that people pay you. If you quickly climb the front of a building then you will attract a lot of attention, as will jumping from a rooftop and landing in a crowd. Slowly climbing a ladder or dropping quietly into the street will attract much less attention when moving about. Remaining anonymous, completely avoiding all arousing suspicion and publicly expressing only socially acceptable behavior will allow for safe travel through city streets.
With the social stealth system you won't find any shadows to hide in if you are being chased by guards. Instead you have to escape their sight and then blend in with the surrounding crowd, like joining a group of scholars or ducking into a rooftop garden. The scholars have the added benefit of being a mobile source of social camouflage. Other places to hide include bales of hay and even benches (while sitting between two people). The public is your greatest ally when used properly.
Remaining anonymous will also refill your sync bar. If you attract too much attention, the omnipresent guards will recognize you as an assassin and try to kill you, ruining your anonymity, and forcing you to hide. The guards are implacable and to a large degree always scanning the crowd for your presence another reason to remain one with the crowd, if easily dispatched, foes who will follow you over rooftops and chase you through streets, often while gathering reinforcements. A very important (slow paced) but guaranteed way to assure anonymity is to Blend. Dressed as a religious scholar Altaïr's mannerisms mimic theirs, an example folding the hands and being in the prayer stance ensures very slow yet extremely safe passage.
Assassin's Creed 2
"Assassin's 2"'s social stealth engine seems to be unchanged, but still largely improved. Crowds are more intelligent, you can coache people to distract targets and other places like carts of fishs and jumping on water can be used to lose the guards, altough some smarter soldier may poke the hay carts to check if the player are hidden there.
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View points are any structure high enough from where it's possible to observe the surrounding terrain. They range from church towers and mansions' roof beams in the cities to watchtowers and guardposts on the roads.
Assassin's Creed
In the first game, view points were found in all the cities (Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre) and in the Kingdom, excluding Masyaf. Each map contained 10 to 12 view points located on the highest buildings; such as a cross on top of a Catholic Cathedral and the top of a lighthouse on the port-city of Acre, or a Mosque's roof and a palace guardtower on the city of Damascus. Aside from the height of those constructions, they could be located by watching the birds that there set nest. Climbing atop one of those provided the means to activate the view point via Altair's Eagle Vision.
Those view points allowed Altaïr to view the layout of the terrain around him and watch the movement of it's people. After the first view point in a map was "activated", it revealed the location of the remaining points and the missions within a certain radius.
Some viewpoints had archers defending the position, or guards set around and below it. Those could fire either arrows or rocks to prevent a climber from reaching the top. All the view points had carts of hay on the ground at the very bottom, providing perfect and spetacular locations for the performance of a incredible-but-potentially-fatal Leap of Faith.
In the Xbox 360 version, synchronizing with all View Points earns you the achievement of "Fearless".
Assassins Creed 2
Little is know about "Assassin's 2"'s view points, but they appears to be located in higher places than in the first game, and it's proven that the player can dive not only in pieces of hay, but also in carts of fish, wool and to rivers and lakes. Ezio will be able to grab guards standing on towers and throw them to their doom and find some of Leonardo's inventions on top of some buildings.