A possible depiction of The Builder or St. Edgar.
| “ | In the beginning we lived as thieves, Stealing fur and fang of beasts for survival |
” |
| — The Hammer Book of Tenets | ||
The Master Builder, also known as the Builder or just Builder, is the principal deity of the Order of the Hammer and its offshoot, the Mechanists (though they considered their leader Karras equal to, or just below, the Builder). The Hammerites wrote many books about his teachings, doctrines and rules, and Karras wrote a New Scripture of The Master Builder.[1][2]
Symbol[]
A flaming gear projectile used by the Mechanists.
A holy symbol in The Dark Project.
As is obvious by their name, the Hammerites considered the hammer to be the most important tool of the Master Builder as it is a tool both for construction and combat and is possibly the first tool the Builder brought unto man.[3][1][4] They used it as their most Holy Symbols, as well as wielding large sledgehammers as their weapon of choice. The Mechanists favored a gear shaped icon in their iconography and wielded maces with gear heads.[5]
Belief[]
A possible depiction of The Master Builder fighting The Trickster.
The Master Builder is the god of innovation and order and is the primary force opposing The Trickster, the god of nature and chaos. According to the Hammerites, the Builder taught people to use the hammer and other tools so that they could protect themselves from their dangerous natural environment and use technology to develop their civilisation.[6] The Builder also opposed thieves and liars and other unrighteous activities, favored transformative activities above those that directly extracted resources from the land, and even considered man-made things superior to natural occurrences.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
The Builder's doctrine teaches that nature should be used as a resource for creating material benefits, such as the advancement of civilisation, and the construction of factories and other buildings.[13] Blindly following this doctrine to its extreme may be dangerous. Followers may be led to destroy the entirety of nature: mankind itself along with all organic life. This was demonstrated by Karras, who, seeking the Builder's favour, attempted to destroy all biological life in Thief II: The Metal Age.[14]
Differences between Hammerites and Mechanists[]
According to the Hammerites neither metal nor wood was either completely inclusive or exclusive to the Builder but the Mechanists favored metal over wood and the Hammerites considered the Builder's Children "wicked crafts" while the Mechanists saw them as the blessed and immortal heirs of The Builder.[15][5][16]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hammer Book of Lessons
- ↑ The Book of the Master Builder
- ↑ The Hammer Book of Tenets
- ↑ The First Hammer label
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Conversation between two Mechanist in Precious Cargo about construction works
- ↑ Hammerite prayer book in Cragscleft
- ↑ The Book of the Stone
- ↑ Hammerite Compendium of Precepts, Regimens and Rules of Conduct, Vol. 141
- ↑ Hammerite Compendium of Precepts, Regimens and Rules of Conduct, Vol. 77
- ↑ Hammerite Compendium of Precepts, Regimens and Rules of Conduct, Vol. 2
- ↑ Prisoner log book for Cell Block 3
- ↑ Hammerite Compendium of Precepts, Regimens and Rules of Conduct, Vol. 94
- ↑ One of the Collected letters of the smith-in-exile in "The Haunted Cathedral" briefing
- ↑ Storyline
- ↑ Book in St. Edgar's Church
- ↑ Conversation between two Mechanists about the Builder's Children