![]() Unlike the Society of Ether and the Mercurial Elite, Navalon hasn't bought into the notion that Science is ultimately just a flavor of Magick but unlike the Union, Navalon doesn't seek to impose its will on others: it prefers to “lead by example”, showing that its approach to Science is superior and letting others convert or not as they will instead of conditioning people to toe the party line. As such, I'd prefer their overall worldview to be more akin to the above description of the Disparate Alliance than to the way the Technocracy or Traditions work. This view of the Disparate Alliance also informs my view of Navalon, which as I see it was conceived in M20 to eventually be the Disparate Alliance's technomantic faction.But in the former case, the Batini are trying for a different kind of Unity this time around, one that respects and preserves the disparate views of their allies and in the latter case, the meaninglessness of Practice is just a part of their larger philosophy that it's all ultimately meaningless, in the end. the Ahl-i-Batin and Hollow Ones, as noted, are exceptions within the Disparate Alliance: the former because Unity is their goal, and they're the driving force behind the “Alliance” part of the Disparate Alliance and the latter because they have accepted the notion that Practice is just window dressing, and ultimately meaningless.In practice, none of them live up to their ideals: the Technocracy isn't as unified as it claims to be the Traditions don't always live up to their vision of transcending their Practices and the Disparates have learned that “never compromise”, followed too rigidly, is a good way to die. And meanwhile, the Traditions see the Union and the Disparates as both attaching too much importance to Practice, with themselves being the only ones who have realized that it's something to be overcome, not relied on.Īnd in all of these cases, I'm describing their various ideals. ![]() The idea that the Traditions and the Disparates are not meaningfully distinguishable is actually a Technocratic perspective - more due to its focus on conformity which contrasts with both factions' comparative diversity. They view the Traditions as a sort of mystical “Technocracy lite”: more benign than the Union, but still dedicated to the goal of assimilation into a unified whole. They're the setting's advocates for “Focus matters” - the ones who say that you shouldn't have to compromise your principles or identity to get along with others, and that Practices are important in and of themselves. Anyway, my own view of the difference between the Traditions and the Disparates is that the former believe that Magick is ultimately just Willworking, and that Practices are window dressing that ultimately are to be discarded as a rule, the Disparates don't.
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