AM5: Solomani, page 5 'passing'

[ShawnDriscoll]

On AM5: Solomani, page 5, it says these two things:

1) Unless 'passing', the character may not qualify for Solomani Party, SolSec, Navy or Marine careers.

2) A character that is passing for racial Solomani may never enter SolSec, the Navy or the Marines.

How do you guys interpret this?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

If you are "pretending" to be pure Solomani, you are NOT going to get past the genetic screening that they use in SolSec, the Navy and Marines.

One option for Character Generation is to have a character be pretending to be a Solomani human (they are passing themselves off as Solomani).

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

If you are "pretending" to be pure Solomani, you are NOT going to get past the genetic screening that they use in SolSec, the Navy and Marines.

So maybe the second sentence should have been written as:
A character that is passing for racial Solomani risks getting caught during advancement/survival in SolSec, the Navy or the Marines.

Or do the rules really mean that characters that choose "passing" can qualify for the career. They just can't enter it? What good is that rule? Or is this pat of the setting fluff and not CharGen rules?

One option for Character Generation is to have a character be pretending to be a Solomani human (they are passing themselves off as Solomani).

I know. That's why I'm asking. David Pulver is a terrible writer. So many errors. And I'm only on page 6.

 

[dlpulver]

If you are "pretending" to be pure Solomani, you are NOT going to get past the genetic screening that they use in SolSec, the Navy and Marines.

So maybe the second sentence should have been written as:
A character that is passing for racial Solomani risks getting caught during advancement/survival in SolSec, the Navy or the Marines.

Or do the rules really mean that characters that choose "passing" can qualify for the career. They just can't enter it? What good is that rule? Or is this pat of the setting fluff and not CharGen rules?

One option for Character Generation is to have a character be pretending to be a Solomani human (they are passing themselves off as Solomani).

I know. That's why I'm asking. David Pulver is a terrible writer. So many errors. And I'm only on page 6.

It is indeed an error - the first rule should have indicated that you can get into the Solomani party by passing, but not the military branches. (Note that some other errata re character creation has already been published, though not for that issue.).

I sincerely apologize for the multiple mistakes in AM 5 Solomani. I spent too much time planning and working out the details and background and designing and mapping the Alpha Crucis sector, and fell behind schedule, and so the final writing was rushed leading to many errors in my first draft.

I pointed out that errors existed and asked to review and correct the manuscript prior to publication, but - probably because the book was already behind schedule - this was not permitted. (Had I been on schedule this wouldn't have been an issue, as it is usually standard for the author to review the manuscript, so this was my fault.) I tried to produce the best work I could in the time that was budgeted, but while I am pleased with the actual content of the material, I was not able to write fast enough, and my self-editing suffered. I let my customers and Mongoose down by not producing a cleaner first draft

 

[Infojunky]

Hey! Dave any chance you could write a Tech book or two or three for Mongoose Traveller?

 

[dlpulver]

Hey! Dave any chance you could write a Tech book or two or three for Mongoose Traveller?

Hmm. Mongoose Traveller already has covered plenty of equipment, robots, vehicles, and so on in various supplements like Central Supply Catalogue or Robots, so I'm not sure if there would be any room to work without stepping on existing material. Of course, there's always the SRD license, but I haven't looked at it closely. What sort of thing were you looking for?

 

[Infojunky]

Hey! Dave any chance you could write a Tech book or two or three for Mongoose Traveller?

Hmm. Mongoose Traveller already has covered plenty of equipment, robots, vehicles, and so on in various supplements like Central Supply Catalogue or Robots, so I'm not sure if there would be any room to work without stepping on existing material. Of course, there's always the SRD license, but I haven't looked at it closely. What sort of thing were you looking for?

To be real honest I keep finding my self looking at GURPS:Ultra-tech and the related 3rd edition books which are clear and concise then comparing them to the mish-mash of Weapons that is the Central Supply Catalog. And since a 2nd edition of MgT is being discussed there are few people who are as qualified/experienced as y'all when it comes to writing gaming technical documents.....

 

[dlpulver]

Hey! Dave any chance you could write a Tech book or two or three for Mongoose Traveller?

Hmm. Mongoose Traveller already has covered plenty of equipment, robots, vehicles, and so on in various supplements like Central Supply Catalogue or Robots, so I'm not sure if there would be any room to work without stepping on existing material. Of course, there's always the SRD license, but I haven't looked at it closely. What sort of thing were you looking for?

To be real honest I keep finding my self looking at GURPS:Ultra-tech and the related 3rd edition books which are clear and concise then comparing them to the mish-mash of Weapons that is the Central Supply Catalog. And since a 2nd edition of MgT is being discussed there are few people who are as qualified/experienced as y'all when it comes to writing gaming technical documents.....

Thanks! Well, if they asked, I'd certainly be interested, completion of pre-existing assignments permitting, but core book revisions are often done in house rather than by freelancers.

 

[JP42]

I'd second a desire to have you do some more writing in terms of the technology end of things. But only if it doesn't get in the way of GURPS Vehicles for 4e. That would be a travesty.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I'm not sure why it is, but each Mongoose Alien Module I read through becomes my favorite one. So right now, Solomani is my favorite. It adds more background story drama for a core character being generated. NPCs having trust issues with PCs kind of thing. And the reverse is true. So many dystopian future settings can use these Solomani-style characters.

 

[dlpulver]

I'm not sure why it is, but each Mongoose Alien Module I read through becomes my favorite one. So right now, Solomani is my favorite. It adds more background story drama for a core character being generated. NPCs having trust issues with PCs kind of thing. And the reverse is true. So many dystopian future settings can use these Solomani-style characters.

Thanks! Very glad you found these elements to your liking (despite the other issues).

Rudyard Kipling's colonial stories and poems were a mild influence on Traveller and perhaps an inspiration for Mongoose's name. I found a quote from Kipling's The Stranger that seemed to sum up the average Solomani citizen's mindset toward aliens, as in the first verse:

The Stranger within my gate,
He may be true or kind,
But he does not talk my talk--
I cannot feel his mind.
I see the face and the eyes and the mouth,
But not the soul behind.

(I guess that explains why the Zhodani, despite being, like the Solomani, somewhat dystopic, , aren't racist... they can feel the stranger's mind...) It's probably a good thing the Zhos and Solomani don't share a border, though that could be a nice alternate history.

 

[Tay]

I was about to add this to my Library but am unable to find the book on the Mongoose site. Amazon do not list it either.

Any ideas?