Aslan ! It's in. YAY!

captainjack23

captainjack23

Cosmic Mongoose
Well, actually I got it one week ago at my FLGS. One can imagine how full of trivial issues my life must have been if its taken me this long to spend enough time on it to have opinions about it...;) Stooopid Job. Stooopid other hobby.

That said, I'm going with a solid A. It's a race book and a sector book, and while Aslan have never been a fascination of mine, the sector in question( Trojan Reaches, aka Outrim void, aka "Ass end of Nowhere") has.

For starters, its a hardback. GREAT. Paperbacks of usefulness and interest do not survive well in my gaming environment. Not mongooses fault, just my Oafish self and Oafish gamers.
Cover art. Well, its nice cover art, sure. Very nice, well composed, expressive, etc. The Aslan do all look like...well....lions though. Really well drawn realistic anthropomorphic lions. Still, it's Art, and thus an artists impression, and its damn good art at that. I just wish that it would have emphasised the observation (in this text too) that Aslan bear only a superficial resemblence to terran Lions. Oh well. I'll call that a foul ball, at worst, not a strike....the text is the key, and it's right where it needs to be; besides, artists interpretation even of humans vary considerable-like (big eyes ? teeeeeny mouth ? Spikey hair and head anyone ?) ......and it really is a nice picture.

Which is another minor quibble really. It did kind of just blend in with all the other high graphic high production slick professional art covers on the game rack: "Oh look, a game with big armored walking lions. A game with big armored Trolls. A game with swanky robots. A game with the governor of California (in Armor) fighting Satan. A game with.....apparently porn stars in armor...?".

The statndard minimalist black cover plus line does really stand out. But, that is a nice picture. Although a black cover would have avoided a few outraged comments about anthropormorphic lion, perhaps. But then, isn't provoking felinization of Aslan arguments a treasured Traveller trope ? Got to stick to tradition.



Oh look. An entire review thus far about the cover, AND my phone is ringing. Real helpful, Cap. Hopefully more later.
 
Well I Pre-Ordered my copy of the book and here in the eastern US I am still awaiting my own copy of this book. BTW my cats can't wait for it either!!! Something new to sleep on.

Penn
 
Sounds like it may be quicker for you to just wait for US distributors to get it in. I picked up my copy today from my LGS in the mountain west; it would have been here yesterday, but UPS took a day longer than usual.

Sevya
 
Grumble, grumble, grumble...still no pre-ordered book yet, but I see there are three more NEW products for Traveller up to also pre-order...

Penn
 
The Clawbike is awesome, and as an aside would not look out nof place in an episode of Thundercats either.

Imagine if Panthro only had enough material when making the Thundertank to build a quad bike version :lol:
(Pity it lacks weapons)

LBH
 
lastbesthope said:
The Clawbike is awesome, and as an aside would not look out nof place in an episode of Thundercats either.

Imagine if Panthro only had enough material when making the Thundertank to build a quad bike version :lol:
(Pity it lacks weapons)

LBH
Click to expand...

LBH,
That just sounds awesome! If I wasn't already going to get the book, you would have talked me into it!
Thanks!
B.B.
 
MumRa is so much cooler<VBG>!!! Now just wait till that Magic system comes out, then see what happens...LMAO!!!

BTW I got my Pre-Ordered book in the Mail today...YEAH!!!

My one cat is sleeping on it now as I type this note to everyone...!

Penn
 
Rex said:
My Players already tried to slip in the Thundercats group on me ......

~Rex :shock:
Click to expand...

They should have tried with Kilrathi first :lol:

True T'cats story here. Was watching the SDeason 1 DVDs after I picked them up, remembering how much I loved the early episodes, when I get to the one where we meat the BErbils. And they tell Snarf about what they grow, and then they mention candyfruit.

I have an internal monologue along the lines of...

"CANDY FRUIT!!! CANDY FRUIT!!! Yeah that's realistic"

Followed closely by the other half of my brain chiming in with:

"Candy fruit is what's breaking your suspension of dibelief here? Cryo suspension of a flaky nature, anthropomorphic felines, robot bears and a magic sword that makes a Swiss Army knife look like a pebble, and candy fruit is what spoils this for you?"

:lol:

LBH
 
Yeah I'm FUBAR'ed already. Since I showed off at Origins and Demonstrated that you could do Magic, EASILY, and exceptionally well off the top of your head within the core rules of the TRAVELLER system.

I'm being haunted now, for a Thundercats Game (*Gives Aslan the Stinkeye*) pickup somewhere in the Gencon Schedule.

My poor lost Serious Sci Fi, forever forsaken where art thou and why hast thee delivered me unto the claws and whiskers of Thundercatfandom?

Maybe Dredd can save me. :D

~Rex, the Black Hand, Demo's and More now with Mumm-Ra Action!
 
Hey for the record I had a chance to actually read through the book for about a hour tonight and it is AWESOME!!!

Let's hope all the others are as good as this one!!!

Penn
 
About the use of cover art:-

I kind of like the way that Mongoose have made it a policy to use cover art for sourcebooks relating directly to the OTU setting, distinguishing it from the generic Traveller material which has only the "minimalist black cover plus line, but which can be used for non-OTU Traveller settings.

Cover art for OTU sourcebooks clearly identifies the book as being firmly set in Our Traveller Universe. It's a chance to show off the signature elements of the OTU, like the Aslan, or the Vargr.

This also serves to remind readers that what is accepted in these books might not be accepted as a given in, say, the Hammer's Slammers, Judge Dredd or Strontium Dog setting sourcebooks.

I find this cool.
 
Other than the artwork wandering around between Kilrathi and Aslan, but never quite reaching either extreme, and the ships looking like something out of Homeworld (ie. not alien enough), its a really good book.

I would also have appreciated a half-page Known Space map with Aslan space highlighted, and a whole sector map for Trojan Reach, but more for the newcomers than my own curiosity.
 
GypsyComet said:
Other than the artwork wandering around between Kilrathi and Aslan, but never quite reaching either extreme, and the ships looking like something out of Homeworld (ie. not alien enough), its a really good book.
Click to expand...


Yes, it is. :)

So, I'll try to continue my review.


The book is two sections -an alien module and a sector module. The alien module is, obviously about the Aslan. The careers seem well thought out, some novel ideas, and enough difference IMHO to seem to be from another culture-which is in many ways the best one can hope for until we actually find aliens (faint praise unintended).

The race description is well done, with enough detail to run them, and a few intentional grey areas to allow custoomization. Psionics is one. The text, contary to some arguments does not say that Aslan are non-psionic. It speculates that they are, and notres the almost total absence of the expression of psionics racially; but doesn't frame it as hard data. Fact is, its not hard to see that in a tradition obsessed culture such as the Aslan, psionics could be so Taboo as to be basically unknown and unheard of, even if the potential is there.* So, really, the GM can set it either way and remain pretty canon-pure.

Now, as to monolithic aslan culture....okay, I've never bought that a cultural ethos can completely dominate a sentient species, but I look at Humans and the Aslan are alien. Perhaps that's one of the alien qualities ? I can live with it as a basic foundation.

Anyway, to continue. The race data has made a pretty reasonable attempt to allow for more variance in the trans aslan culture, by providing examples of where and when it was different, and some areas where it is differnent; and emphasising subtly that much of the real oddness (males can't count money ? Come on.) is very much class based...so, rather than Aslan males being inumerate the situation is more that the elite males are kind of aristocratic spoiled brats - fully adult five year olds when it comes to the nitty gritty of life....or, sort of a really really dangerous Bernie Wooster, if such a concept is possible.

On the other side, they've given some explanation as to how it is as consistent as it is.... by providing a horrific cultural revolution and purge by conservative (reactionary) elements of the Aslan society -and they won. Think of the whole current aslan code and culture as a a huge religion, and throw in a sentient race perhaps more influenced by instinct than most, and it works pretty well.

One wonders, too, that the Aslan may be more vulnerable to Psychohistorical manipulation ? And are the way they are because they have been made that way, by other wiser Aslan who have a proper respect for Aslan tradition ?......after all, is their culture all that less monlithic that the Vilanii ?

The Aslan character generation looks good; although caveat, I haven;t tried it out. It does look like an aslan can get a pretty big estate with a good set of rolls, which to my mind creates the same problems as human nobles with high social standing: why are they adventuring ? It seems even less likely that an Aslan will leave HIS LAND in the hands of even his wives.....after all, isn't he supposed to be striding HIS LAND boldly, and roaring defiance at all who may trespass? But that's a traveller wide issue, and one that is easily dealt with (Yes, your grace, that's how it was.... until the treason trial of your grandfather, anyway....)

One interesting possibility is in playing humans from aslan absorbed societies. I'm not sure if this is specifically dealt with in the chargen, but if not, its a shame, but it should be adaptable given the information on these cultures that the book provides.

The kit and stuff is nice and well thought out. It does include a few Vulcan weapons, but hey...Scouts has tricorders....;). There is a whole range of vehicles, and a nice selection of ships, which, while as pointed out don;t look all that radically Alien, still look destinct; and seem useful for adventures and aslan specifric needs.


Okay. Got to go. Next up Trojan reach.



*It should be noted that one of the key elements of traveller psionics is that it cannot be predicted or identified genetically (which is being eroded somewhat in MGT, I admit); so, if the only way to ID psionics is to express them, and if most Aslan aren't even aware of the possibility (or so prejudiced against them as to render it unthinkable) there may well be no evidence even if the Aslan are as psionic as any other race.
 
In my Third Imperium Game, if the Thunder Cats show up there will be a TPK.

Black Hole or some such.........something gruesome with an event horizon so death is long and slow and they have time to ponder their mistakes. :D

Other then that, I think I like this book. Still, more of a Vargr guy myself.

~Rex
 
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