Slave emancipation a major change in EVE Online's lore
by James Egan 
Dec 28th 2008 at 10:00AM
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Lore, Roleplaying
A significant twist in EVE Online's lore was announced on Christmas day: emancipation for much of the subjugated Minmatar race. EVE's far-future galactic setting of New Eden is characterized by struggles between the four (playable) races. Of those races, the dynamic between the theocratic but cruel Amarr and the tribal Minmatar is often one of master and servant. The Amarr enslaved the Minmatar race centuries ago; this is a prevalent aspect of the backstory (lore), the game's missions (quests) and factional warfare, as well as a focal point of the roleplaying that some players opt to engage in. Even some player alliances have taken a stance for or against slavery in the game. (Those who don't play EVE might be surprised to learn that slaves can be bought and sold on the open market as a low-cost commodity. Note, however, that the players themselves cannot be forced into slavery. It's just an aspect of the setting... one which is intended to evoke response from the players.)
CCP Games has decided this change in the Amarr-Minmatar dynamic was warranted in terms of New Eden's backstory, with the freed slaves numbering in the hundreds of millions, although the existence of slavery in EVE is still far from being abolished.
The announcement of this shift in the lore was written as one of the in-world 'news reports' that sheds light on events taking place within EVE's setting. The emancipation proclamation was made by Empress Jamyl Sarum I, ruler of the Amarr Empire, and one of the most powerful individuals in New Eden.
She decreed: "Out there on the event horizon, a new age races toward us, and it is approaching fast. The Lord in his infinite grace has instructed me that the chains that fetter us will no longer be necessary in this new age of light and reason, neither the chains of hatred that restrain our minds nor the chains of indenture that restrain those less fortunate than ourselves."
It's unclear at this point whether this will have an impact on the game itself and its factional warfare sparked in the Empyrean Age, or if it's just a change in the direction of EVE Online's lore that roleplayers will be able to use as the storyline advances.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Havohej said on 10:34AM 12-28-2008
Very, very interesting. Dare I hope that this has anything to do with Jovians showing up in an expansion some time this year?
Dare I hope Jovians might be a playable race?
Dare I??? :D
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Zex Maxwell said on 1:36PM 12-29-2008
"Dare I hope Jovians might be a playable race?
Dare I??? :D"
CCP said that Jovians will not be a playable race. they dont want players to play them since it will draw too many people from the other 4 races. (LORE: Jovians where the makers of star gates and the method of ships being controlled by pod pilots.)
Jovians will be Overpowered, compared to the other races. If anything, they might give the players missions, when they do come out.
Brendan Drain said on 7:58PM 12-28-2008
The big problem with stuff like this is that since the closure of the events department, all of it has been fiction. There are some EVE fiction junies out there that love all this stuff but the majority of players don't care unless it affects the game. We see videos of these epic skirmishes between factions and news of slave emancipation but it doesn't actually happen anywhere in the game and we can't get involved.
That said, this was an unexpected twist to the storyline and I am holding out hope (because I'm a masochist) that they're going to actually tie this one into in-game events somehow leading up to the march expansion.
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redavni said on 8:50PM 12-28-2008
Wow. I wonder how CVA is going to react to this. If anyone wants to get involved with the Minmatar/Amarr battles, all you have to do is head down to the southeast to CVA country or up north to Morsus Mihi. I haven't heard anything about them fighting recently, but they are both very powerful and heavily into RP.
Factional warfare will not be affected by this news though, it's a pointless mini-game within Eve.
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Brendan Drain said on 12:08AM 12-29-2008
Faction warfare isn't just a pointles mini-game. Don't get me wrong, it seems CCP is trying REALLY HARD to make it a pointless minigame but the people actually in it are just there for the PvP. The system-capturing part is pointless but like most things CCP create, the players don't quite use it as intended. It's really just a way to get some PvP against willing opponents. Capturing a system is at best an occasion to expect an enemy fleet to intercede.
They're apparantly reworking faction warfare so we're all fighting over the same area but it won't make much of a difference, really. The PvP is fun but I do wish there were more incentives to do it and more varied environments to do it in. That's what we were originally promised, pretty much.
W. Graves said on 8:45AM 12-29-2008
Faction warfare is like RP, it is what you make it.
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