Armies of the Fifth Frontier War, Impressions Not Errata

[actionman]

No offense to the author, but it’s BS.

Yes. It's so informed by rl present day procurement realities that it doesn't fit the Third Imperium well at all. The Solomani Confederation with its smaller budget and its factionalized "democratic" political system would be more susceptible to these types of problems. But even the SolCon would do its best to field as many units as possible to its maximum TL.

 

[actionman]

But, the frontier units might not get the latest equipment, or the local governors have some hand in ensuring that they that they are adequately equipped, adequate depending on their definition.

This is a more plausible explanation for lower TL Imperial Army units, although I think forward units in the Spinward Marches and Sol would get priority. I think units in Core and other relatively quiet interior sectors would be the lower priority. It would take years for new issue to be planned, funded, manufactured, and then shipped to the receiving units or depots. Still, the Imperium has been at TL14 and 15 for a long time, long enough IMO for units in battleground sectors to be equipped to those standards. I think even planetary armies would be incentivized to arm to that standard with generous manufacturer discounts and industrialization programs.

The Imperial Army is called upon to fight a major war about once every generation. This means that the grandfathers, the fathers, and the sons would've all seen a major war in their lifetimes. Populations in the Spinward Marches would remember these wars for generations. Military preparedness and military service would be normal. The inevitability of another war would be ingrained in the worldview of the planetary populations.

 

[Sigtrygg]

The original LBB:4 mercenary set the scene for the internal conflicts within the Imperium, the squabbles between rival planetary systems, local corporations or even nobility. I would argue that it didn't go into enough detail of Imperial vs peer adversary... and the rules were still a little generic.

"Traveller assumes a remote centralized government (referred to in this volume as the Imperium), possessed of great industrial and technological might, but unable, due to the sheer distances and travel times involved, to exert total control at all levels everywhere within its star-spanning realm. On the frontiers, extensive home rule provisions allow planetary populations to choose their own forms of government, raise and maintain armed forces for local security,* pass and enforce laws governing local conduct, and regulate (within limits) commerce. Defense of the frontier is mostly provided by local indigenous forces, stiffened by scattered lmperial naval bases manned by small but extremely sophisticated forces.** Conflicting local interests often settle their differences by force of arms, with lmperial forces looking quietly the other way, unable to effectively intervene as a police force in any but the most wide-spread of conflicts without jeopardizing their primary mission of the defense of the realm***. Only when local conflicts threaten either the security or the economy of the area do lmperial forces take an active hand, and then it is with speed and overwhelming force.****

The combat environment of the frontier, then is one of small, short, limited wars.***** Both sides must carefully balance the considerations of how much force is required to win a conflict with how much force is likely to trigger lmperial intervention. At the same time, both belligerents will generally be working with relatively small populations, with only a negligible number of combat experienced veterans. In this environment, the professional soldier will find constant employment. Small, poor states faced with invasion or encroachment will hire professional soldiers as cadres to drill and lead their citizen militias.****** Larger states will be able to afford to hire and equip complete mercenary contingents as strikers, or spearhead troops. Small commando units will be in demand as industrial espionage is waged between mega-corporations virtually nations unto themselves.******* In addition, the hired soldier will always be in demand as security or bodyguard troops, as force remains the only true protection against force. The Golden Age of the Mercenary will have arrived."

*Local forces, equipped with whatever can be locally supplied or bought in.

**This is the misleading part, this really refers to internal deefence, ie domestic threats, rather than facing off against a rival empire (the setting was still being detailed at this point)

***there we have it, the primary role of the Imperial armed forces is defence of the realm, again the missing words are from external peer level threats

**** the Imperial Army does not get involved often in local disputes, but when it does it ends it

*****this is the theme that the book is portraying, the conflicts within the Imperium that the PC scale of things may lead to adventure

******this means that despite what you may think, world vs world does happen, it isn't all conflict on balkanised worlds

*******the concept of corporate wars or trade wars...

the only thing that is missing is rival subsector dukes loaning their huscarls to settle disputes... but I don't think the setting had been developed to that extent yet.

 

[collins355]

Three points I'd make on this mess:

1) There is a canon problem for this book. It quite clearly overwrites almost all existing canon descriptions and representations of the Imperial military through multiple editions of Trav. And it isn't at all clear why. What improvements to the game does this bring? I've got no problem changing things if it clearly makes sense and brings something better to the game. This doesn't. And it raises a whole heap of questions and issues for the setting and for adventures MgT has already published.

2) There is a creativity/imagination problem for this book. In parts (such as the procurement bits, to take one example) it is quite clearly set in the current era, and in a particular place and time. It just doesn't feel like the exotic star-spanning empire of the 57th Century we are meant to be set in.

3) There is a practical problem of things absent from the book. Why have all these military units if you don't provide the ratings for them that fit in with your already published mass combat system in the Mercenary Box Set? Or, if that is now abandonware, provide a new mass combat chapter and stat out the units to match.