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Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut





Hello all, so. . . I just recently picked up Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and while playing it I came across something that sparked a bit of an epiphany:

Without much in the way of spoilers, your main character infiltrates a cult organization that meets while wearing special robes and full face masks. . . Which got me to thinking, just how fething stupid is that??? I mean, how many times has this things been done in movies, video games, books, etc. In a time period where biometrics and whatnot aren't a thing, having full masks like this is an easy way to get infiltrated by the "bad guy" (from their perspective).


Is it just lazy writing, or is there some "hand-wavium" that I am missing here for why this would actually be a good way to hide/protect identity within your organization?
   
Made in us
Secret Force Behind the Rise of the Tau




USA

It’s a decent short hand for ‘these guys are up to something’ I suppose but I get your point. To be fair it’s something actual secret societies and criminal groups do.

Creepy cults might actually be more menacing if they otherwise looked like normal people

   
Made in us
Ollanius Pius - Savior of the Emperor






Gathering the Informations.

 LordofHats wrote:
It’s a decent short hand for ‘these guys are up to something’ I suppose but I get your point. To be fair it’s something actual secret societies and criminal groups do.

Creepy cults might actually be more menacing if they otherwise looked like normal people

It's also worth noting that a lot of cultures have had things relating to masking the identity not just from individuals but also from the gods or spirits.

There's a lot to go into there, but TLDR version is it's not really silly when you consider that venerating certain deities or spirits could bring wrath from other deities or spirits...or the worshipers of those powers.
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Los Angeles

 LordofHats wrote:
Creepy cults might actually be more menacing if they otherwise looked like normal people


Agreed!

And that idea worked for GI JOE's Cobra in regards to Springfield, Vermont a "Nice Little Town."

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/10/05 23:50:27


 
   
Made in ca
Stormin' Stompa






Ottawa, ON

I think, in real life, infiltrating a group of masked individuals wouldn't be that simple. Most groups like this would be quite intimate, despite the disguises, and would know each other in casual life. Layered on top, no one gets into the super secret cults unless brought in by a previous member. They would notice the weird loner not talking to anyone who doesn't sound like anyone they've seen at the cult before.

Any infiltration would have to rather brief before being sniffed out.

Ask yourself: have you rated a gallery image today? 
   
Made in us
Terrifying Doombull




 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Hello all, so. . . I just recently picked up Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and while playing it I came across something that sparked a bit of an epiphany:

Without much in the way of spoilers, your main character infiltrates a cult organization that meets while wearing special robes and full face masks. . . Which got me to thinking, just how fething stupid is that??? I mean, how many times has this things been done in movies, video games, books, etc. In a time period where biometrics and whatnot aren't a thing, having full masks like this is an easy way to get infiltrated by the "bad guy" (from their perspective).


Is it just lazy writing, or is there some "hand-wavium" that I am missing here for why this would actually be a good way to hide/protect identity within your organization?


It's effective at cutting off betrayal (since the not-quite-faithful-enough can't ID other members)
It's also proven fairly effective at terrorizing populations, when the masked membership puts in an appearance at events- extra numbers that the victims won't merely identify as being from elsewhere.

But in general there are also litanies, codes, handshakes and whatnot to prevent someone from just tossing on a mask and joining in. You generally don't discuss nefarious plans and invite people into the sacred spaces or share your artifacts before you test them.

Apparently Odyssey just decided to handle it in a half-hearted way.

Efficiency is the highest virtue. 
   
Made in us
Norn Queen






It depends on what the mask/costume is.

If the precise nature of the mask/robes and the way they are worn it complex and ritual and hard to aquire then an infiltrator would probably do it wrong and be found out. On the other hand the real world identities of higher ranked memebers are protected from the neophites in the organization.

It allows the group to maintain compartmentalization even when in larger meetings.

If you know face to face the 6 people you recruit and the 5 other people you were recruited with then at most a spy can only rat out their own cell. Each of the 6 you recruit would in tern recruit their own 6. And at wost any spy they recruit could only rat out their own cell in turn.

The organization stays safe because of anonymity.


These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
 
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

NO, it is part of keeping the cells secrecy so if one person is compromised they can not leak the identity of the others. It is a very sensible way to do things in a time when communication was best done in person.

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Made in fr
Trazyn's Museum Curator





on the forum. Obviously

Because they look cool. I mean, do you really need another reason? It also saves on animation / casting.

Don't need to worry about drawing hundreds of different looking faces if you can just give them all a mask, and don't have to worry about hiring a hundred different people if you cover them up. With a bit of clever screenplay and editing you can make 10 masked dudes look like 100.

What I have
~4100
~1660

Westwood lives in death!
Peace through power!

A longbeard when it comes to Necrons and WHFB. Grumble Grumble

 
   
 
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