Talk:Abbey of the Everyman/@comment-95.169.58.24-20130117215805/@comment-4475897-20130215011917

Yes, the Abbey resembles the Church but on its positive side. It is the ideological organizations that opposes supertition (that is not so fictitious in the game, because magic works there) and supports scholarship and science (yes, in the Middle Ages, it was the Church that recovered and preserved large pat of Greek and Roman legacy).

By the way - Chirch opposed heresy predominantly not because of its religious influence, but because for people in Middle Ages religion was tightly linked to the social order (much like law is now). And many 'heretics' wanted to topple the social structure by revolution what usually called for physical elimination of nobility and church (who shared similar traits then). Note however, that Church often assimilated borderline heretics that were peaceful and harmless (this is more or less the case of Franciscan Order).

But if anything, in my opinion Abbey is the expy of Hammerites from the "Thief" series - militant order of pragmatists who do not believe in any deity but rather in honest work and morality, support technology and fight the nature-worshipping, paganistic 'heretics' who seem to revere a single, elusive spirit-like character (Trickster in 'Thief', Outsider in 'Dishonored'). Hell, "Dishonored" may as well be the world of "Thief" just few centuries later.