Here and Now Trivia Quiz

Answer: Assassin's Creed

Altaïr is the protagonist of the first "Assassin's Creed" Game. Although at one stage the youngest ever Master Assassin, a mission goes horribly wrong in 1191 considered to be due to his arrogance, and he is disgraced and demoted back to the rank of a novice.

He must work his way back up the ranks and restore him reputation through a series of assassinations. Further information on Altaïr's story in his later years is also provided in "Assassin's Creed: Revelations" in particular, although he's not the central playable character in that game - and it's very much presented as Ezio re-tracing his steps.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

Although Altaïr is born in 1165, "Assassin's Creed" begins in Altaïr's mid-twenties. In the future, Desmond is being forced to use an Animus machine to view his memories to find out about what has happened to an Apple of Eden, and, as a descendant of Altaïr's line, he can "sync" with and thus mentally relive his memories to track what happened.

The beginning of the situation with the Apple of Eden happens to coincide with Altaïr's demotion. He dies peacefully in 1257, his remains unfound for centuries, until Ezio uncovers him.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

A city in northwestern Syria, Masyaf is depicted as the headquarters of the order of assassins at the time that the game is set. This is based upon the reported historic Nizari assassins, who appear to be a huge influence for the series as a whole. The game, however, does not particularly try to have an accurate depiction of many historical events as suggested by its interest in artefacts such as the Apple of Eden which do not have a real world counterpart but are instead from the time of the Isu (or the Precursors), a fictional humanoid species.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

The incident that led to Altaïr's demotion took place in Jerusalem, more specifically at the remains of Solomon's temple. At this time, they were in search of the Apple of Eden, but a fight ensued with the assassin's deadly enemy the Templars. Of his two companions, one of them loses his life (Kadar) and one injuries his arm (Malik) yet despite this still manages to retrieve the artefact. Altaïr, meanwhile, is punished for thinking he knew better than the creed and actively going against it while demanding his companions follow his orders ("my way is better!"), leading directly to the tragic outcome.

Answer: Assassin's Creed

Al Mualim (literally: "the teacher") is based on Rashid ad-din Sinan, the real world leader of the order of assassins at Masyaf at the time. However, this is very much a fictional construct of him again without bearing on real life events: in the game, he is Altaïr's trusted mentor, but has actually betrayed the brotherhood, so now Altaïr must kill him and later inherit the order of assassin's himself. Despite this, he still seems fond of Altaïr:

Al Mualim: "It seems then we are at an impasse."
Altaïr: "No, we are at an end."
Al Mualim: "I will miss you, Altaïr. You were my very best student."

Answer: Assassin's Creed II/ Brotherhood/Revelations

The main protagonist of three different games, "Assassin's Creed II", "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood", and "Assassin's Creed: Revelations", players get to directly experience a significant amount of Ezio's life, rather than a snapshot. Ezio changes a lot over the course of the games, from his horrific witnessing of the execution of his family at only about 17 years of age (while having no understanding of what was going on or why), his need for revenge and later finding of peace. Ezio also gets used as a conduit to talk to Desmond by one of the Isu, Minerva, which completely baffles Ezio who of course does not know who she is talking to (since Desmond is only observing this memory from centuries later without physical presence). Desmond is a descendant of Ezio.

Answer: Assassin's Creed II/ Brotherhood/Revelations

Desmond first syncs with Ezio at the event of his birth in 1459, although the events that he is seeking to view are of course somewhat later from this. After this short snapshot, we next meet his family and see his warm relationship with them, before seeing it torn apart. Ezio is depicted as meeting many historical figures in his time - his enemies the Borgias, of course, but also others such as being friends with Leonardo da Vinci and his family having close ties with Lorenzo de' Medici.

He turns away from Altaïr's Apple of Eden when he finally tracks it down, making the decision that he needed to walk away rather than forever being stuck in pursuit of knowledge itself.

His death, in 1524, is peaceful.

Answer: Assassin's Creed II/ Brotherhood/Revelations

Monteriggioni is a town within the region of Tuscany, Italy, which is surrounded by walls. In the "Assassin's Creed" series, it is portrayed as containing the Villa Auditore, which is where Ezio ends up with his uncle Mario following the death of his family. Additionally, Ezio finds out about his family's assassin roots, and is where the Italian brotherhood of assassins is based until it is no longer plausible due to the Borgia's attack.

Answer: Assassin's Creed II/ Brotherhood/Revelations

Run by the Medici family, who are depicted as allies to the assassin cause, Florence and its denizens were friendly towards Ezio. Tombs dedicated towards assassins were also present in the city. In 1493, an attempt was made by the Templars to gain back the city, however this was generally unsuccessful. Noteably, in 1497, the Bonfire of the Vanities occurred, a real life event caused by Girolamo Savonarola, a friar who disapproved of certain books and art and had them burned. Unlike the real life version, however, Savonarola in the "Assassin's Creed" series had the assistance of the Apple of Eden to force his will on others.

Answer: Assassin's Creed II/ Brotherhood/Revelations

A real world figure, Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI) is one of the main antagonists of the trio of Ezio games - due to how tied into the plot he is, this means many events are somewhat different from reality. He is depicted as the grandmaster of the Templar order, which at the time is more concerned with power and control than anything else, and admits that he became the Pope due to wanting access to the vault and the Papal Staff, which turns out to be a Piece of Eden. After defeating him, Ezio refuses to kill Rodrigo, believing that the bitter knowledge that he is not the prophet is more noteworthy to leave him with than death, which nontheless would not bring his family back.

In another drastic difference compared to what really happened to him, in "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" Rodrigo dies after a failed attempt on his own part to poison his son Cesare, who he is infuriated with for stirring up the assassins by attacking Monteriggioni and whose sheer ambition he considers may be a threat to all that he has built. When Lucrezia forewarns Cesare, he manages to only ingest a small amount of poison and forces Rodrigo to have the rest, which leads Rodrigo to die.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

Another ancestor of Desmond, Ratonhnhaké:ton (more commonly referred to as Connor) is born to a British father and a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) mother. He is traumatised by a memory of being attacked by the British as a child, as well as his village burning down almost immediately after - he later realises that it is not the same culprit for both events, but in fact the American forces.

He desires revenge on the men who attacked him, and it is eventually explained to him that they were Templars, and thus he becomes an assassin.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

Connor's date of death has not been made clear - given the framing of these initial games being Desmond viewing a fixed past, it's unusual to not have more fixed dates. He was known to be around during the American revolution and supported George Washington for quite some time, although it later turns out that (in universe) Washington is the one responsible for the orders to burn down Connor's village all those years ago.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

The Boston Tea Party even has a depiction in "Assassin's Creed III" - although the message of protest is still there in the same sense that it was in reality, Connor has an ulterior motive for getting involved. It's less of an anti-British sentiment so much as an anti-Templar sentiment for Connor, and it is the Templars that he wants to damage. Connor is visibly depicted as joining in with dumping the tea into the harbour.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

Although it's initially a somewhat lonely place, the Homestead is very dynamic over the course of the game. It's a gameplay system consisting of mostly optional sidequests where the player can work to expand the community via allowing others to come and join them, where they will build houses and offer services to the small village.

Some of these are entirely practical and others unlock minigames that the player can engage with. The homestead missions build a much greater sense of community around Connor, too.

Answer: Assassin's Creed III

"Assassin's Creed III" initially presents Haytham as being the main protagonist: he is the playable character for the first three sequences, and then the game pivots (as does the protagonist) and reveals that actually he is a Templar, not an assassin. His father, Edward, was an assassin (and will in fact star as the protagonist of the sequel, "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag") so Shaun posits that he may have started as one too but got turned at a young age by Reginald Birch, after his own father's death. Haytham would eventually become a Templar grandmaster.

Connor and Haytham mostly fall into being enemies but also have an uneasy alliance for a brief period before this falls through. Ultimately, Connor kills his father in 1781, and their exchange as this happens truly embodies the complicated relationship between them:

Haytham: "Don't think I have any intention of caressing your cheek and saying I was wrong. I will not weep and wonder what might have been. I'm sure you understand. Still, I'm proud of you in a way. You have shown great conviction. Strength. Courage. All noble qualities. I should have killed you long ago."