Sped up to an impossible 3.26 light years per year - 3.26 times the speed of light. So someone got lightyears and parsecs/hexes mixed up again? :P I've been waiting for this to come up. We have a problem, in that if the EW is supposed to be on the edge of the Marches in 1201, and the EW moves one l...

Any more discussion about the Zhodani book?

But at least it's a purposeful retcon, not just an author writing something without checking previously published material on his subject. As such, I see it as "the law of the land", and if I don't like it, I can just refrain from using the Zhodani. You can do whatever you want in your games. I wen...

Let me qualify this: Since it was produced by a Traveller licensee for the OTU, why would it NOT be canon? I don't know, I thought the final arbiter on what was canon and what was not was Marc W. Miller and maybe he did not "canonize" it. [Snaps fingers] Now I remember how I might have gotten that ...

The lie is that the ideals to which the Zhodani subscribe are attainable, have ever been attainable, and would actually work as intended once attained. The same is true for each and every historical and present human society, which would make all those societies "lies". I can't agree with GypsyCome...

Now that I can completely agree with. However, in addition to the EW and other elements you don't like, canon also tells me the Consulate will shatter and then rebuild around three separate cores. By the way, is 1248 officially canon? I do have it, and I am quite happy with its treatment of the Zho...

Ultimately, the view of Zhodani society you (and Don, I guess) have seems to rest on a certain concept of "human nature" which I quite evidently don't share. In fact, I consider the notion of "human nature" to be a rather dubious one. But that's just my opinion. I do realize that this particular fi...

Perhaps "close enough" has to be good enough, in the case of the Zhodani. If they had an ideal system, there'd be no need for the Tavrchedle' at all, any more than there'd be a need for doctors if humans could live forever. But humans die, and so also just as they need doctors, so too they need the...

Is it actually possible in MGT to have no psionic talent at all? It wasn't in CT. But, yeah, it's not a psionics-based meritocracy. At least mostly not. But then again, neither is the Imperium. As I've written in previous discussions on CotI: On an interstellar level, there are no democracies in Tr...

I did not like the original TNE plot devices and the assumptions behind them. I do not like the new plot devices spawned by these original ones either. To me, every attempt to flesh out or expand on concepts like Virus or the Empress Wave is a painful reminder of how stupid and ill-fitted to my vis...

At it's very core, Zhodani society is a lie. I would rather see it as a very special kind of meritocracy, one of history's many attempts to ensure that a society is ruled by those best suited for ruling it. Another example of this kind could be Imperial China. The an- cient Chinese were convinced t...

Personally, I'm in agreement with you. My position on TNE events (and any OTU elements developed after Spring of 1990 by DGP/GDW) is well known. But they are canon, and I had to include them, given where the wave should be to hit the edge of the Marches in 1201. I'm not saying it's your fault. (I d...

Mongoose's Zhodani are too close to an "evil empire" for my taste. They make nice enemies for player characters from the Imperium, but are much less interesting as player characters themselves. In my view the author has changed the feeling of the Zhodani society from "different because of psionics"...

Okay, first of all let me repeat that I do regard this product as a good one, to put my later niggles in context. It was just not made with me in mind. Actually, some parts were made with me in mind, so here's some praise first: I really like the Addaxur. Finally , a proper treatment of these guys,...

The light and heavy Zhodani warbots, as well as the trashbot, are originally from DGP's 101 Robots . Does Mongoose have a license/permission/whatever to reuse designs from that publication and does this mean (one can hope) that it will be possible to republish other DGP stuff or adapt it to MGT? In...

After some thought, perhaps the sometime villian of this series is an Imperial cruiser captain who fancies himself quite the womanizer and doesn't like to follow rules.

If there are specific questions about the book, or any confusing points that could use a further explanation, please mention them. I'll see if I can find the answers.

I'm certain I should respond to this in some way, but I have no idea how.

I'm almost that the star of this favorite drama is a very logical person with psionic abilities he or she uses wisely to benefit those under them.

No problem.

In fact, if there are other about the Zhodani book, please send them over. I'm pretty excited about my first book, but I'm also viewing it as a learning process as well.

In the world building section you state that no Zho world should have a population below 4. OK, no problem. BUT, in the Spinward Marches (Tloql Sector), there are several worlds in the Consulate that have populations less than 4. I know the Tloql Sector data was produced long before there were deta...