Author Topic: Perception of the Word of Blake  (Read 1286 times)

AlphaMirage

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Perception of the Word of Blake
« on: 19 May 2017, 15:39:38 »
I was looking through some material in the sourcebooks but don't recall hearing how the common spheroid perceived the Word of Blake, pre-Jihad of course.  We know tons of high level stuff at the Precenter or Successor Lord level but nothing smaller.

Did they treat them just like old COMSTAR (creepy techno-monks)? or did the Blakists have some kind of new Branding and PR campaign to undermine their rival? 

I mean what convinces a youth to join the Order or its Miltia or a planetary noble to sign over their HPG to them rather than C* given a choice.

worktroll

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Re: Perception of the Word of Blake
« Reply #1 on: 19 May 2017, 19:01:30 »
They had a whole new PR plan, compared to ComStar: they went in & helped people. Particularly in the Chaos March.

They rooted out bandits, castigated mercs for keeping conflicts going in their own interest. They did rescue work, they built schools, they set up hospitals. They backed idealistic local politicians, and never actually themselves had to say "Look at what your Successor Lords haven't been doing for you" - enough locals said it for them.

They backed regimes with funds, equipment, and advisors. The Word gave them all the best help! With WoB acolytes managing the commnet, the hospitals, and working closely with the security forces, the common people were getting peace and services like they'd never gotten before.



And remember - 95%-99% of the WoB people were not the lunatic fringe. Most of them honestly thought they were the organisation they said they were. And most of them didn't understand why all the corrupt Houses declared war on them, but were determined to preserve the good work they'd done.

At first, anyway.
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Archangel

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Re: Perception of the Word of Blake
« Reply #2 on: 19 May 2017, 20:39:30 »
You might as well ask people from around the world today how they feel about the United States.  Different people will have different opinions depending upon their personal experiences and their exposure to the United States (media, propaganda, rumors, gossip, etc).  It also help when the local government is producing favorable vid-bites and propaganda.

As for why people joined the Word of Blake, again there will be many different reasons.  Some wanted a fresh start and the Word of Blake was the only one offering it, some joined for a better life, some joined for religious reasons (such as the Exituri), some joined because the Word was the only one who seemed to care about helping their planet recover from centuries of warfare, etc.

Why join the Word and not ComStar?  Many people were disillusioned with how the Great Houses/nobility in general were treating them/their world/people/citizens ("If they can't do right by us, then it is time we did right for ourselves.") and the Word seemed to echo that sentiment more than ComStar.  The Word of Blake also seemed to be more proactive in not only bringing peace and stability to many Chaos March worlds but also economic growth and prosperity to them as well.

Why did planetary leaders sign on with the Word of Blake?  Some sold their loyalty in exchange for a position of power with the new regime, others saw them as saviors for their people and still others were forced to sign with the Blakists despite reservations either because they were being blackmailed or because nobody else would help.
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