A preview for Aslan has now been posted - you can grab it from;
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1665
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1665
Aslan Preview
- Thread starter MongooseMatt
- Start date
dmccoy1693
Cosmic Mongoose
Spiffy. Can't wait to get it and glad I preordered it.
Nice looking.
But I am a bit disapointed, I was hoping that there would have been an effort to make Aslan more Alien than that. They are still too close to Lions for me, still very cheesy, allthough one must check with the full book.
And the small details are disapointing: They count to base 8 because of their fingers, so what? What is alien or noteworthy about that? Does not really affect much appart from banknotes, and some south american civilisation even used a base 60 I seem to remember! For example they could use a logarithmic scale counting based on the square operation, for the simple reason that like that they can measure land easily. Ok they did not want to scare people with too technical stuff, but they could have just ommited the base 8 stuff for what it is worth.
Now the question is: is Rite another Attribute? I can't remember from CT if it existed.
That being said, I'll probably buy the book, it's still very cool looking! ;-)
But I am a bit disapointed, I was hoping that there would have been an effort to make Aslan more Alien than that. They are still too close to Lions for me, still very cheesy, allthough one must check with the full book.
And the small details are disapointing: They count to base 8 because of their fingers, so what? What is alien or noteworthy about that? Does not really affect much appart from banknotes, and some south american civilisation even used a base 60 I seem to remember! For example they could use a logarithmic scale counting based on the square operation, for the simple reason that like that they can measure land easily. Ok they did not want to scare people with too technical stuff, but they could have just ommited the base 8 stuff for what it is worth.
Now the question is: is Rite another Attribute? I can't remember from CT if it existed.
That being said, I'll probably buy the book, it's still very cool looking! ;-)
lastbesthope
Mongoose
I like the look of this more than I thought I would.
LBH
LBH
kafka
Mongoose
Spiffy indeed. I also look forward to the treatment of the Trojan Reaches. However, I can see the problems with the presence of the Vargr (leading to all sorts of bad jokes) there. However, one way of viewing the Vargr is that of a parasitic civilization which then it makes perfect sense for the Vargr to be there.
dmccoy1693
Cosmic Mongoose
kafka said:
You mean like something out of Ghostbusters about "Dogs and Cats living together"?
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
I also liked the preview. I was also disappointed that they really do like Lion-like. A bit more physical difference would have been nice.
i think this is going to be a book of damage limitation. It can't please every cos everyone has a different opinion. For me, the whole concept of the Aslan is great, and the details presented in the book actually help me understand their philosophy.
with regards to the whole base 8 statement, this is flavour, and added extra to help get into the mindset of the character, not to point out a totally weired alien way of working, just enough so that the character presented would react differently to a situation.
What do people think of when they think of Aslan, they are supposed to evoke the image of a lion, or else why would the first contactors call them Aslan. I'm glad they don't look like Thundercats myself.
Apart from the one picture of the foot soldier which i feel is a good first line drawing, a sketch, but shouldn't be presented in a book, the other drawing evoke strength, honour, and prowess, exactly what an Aslan is to me.
Chef
with regards to the whole base 8 statement, this is flavour, and added extra to help get into the mindset of the character, not to point out a totally weired alien way of working, just enough so that the character presented would react differently to a situation.
What do people think of when they think of Aslan, they are supposed to evoke the image of a lion, or else why would the first contactors call them Aslan. I'm glad they don't look like Thundercats myself.
Apart from the one picture of the foot soldier which i feel is a good first line drawing, a sketch, but shouldn't be presented in a book, the other drawing evoke strength, honour, and prowess, exactly what an Aslan is to me.
Chef
IMO, the use of a different counting system is an excellent use of flavor to get the point across about them being "alien", yet doing so in a way that's easy to grasp for most people.The Chef said:
FREX, upon reading that section, I had the immediate idea of my PCs dealing with an Aslan trader, who has translated all the documents to "Anglic". The PCs load on the 8 tons of frieght, transport it a few worlds away, and drop it off with it's human receipient. Who immediately takes a look at the 10 tons indicated on the Aslan translated shipping document and demands to know where his missing 2 tons are.
kungfugenius
Mongoose
Wow, it looks very nice. I am thoroughly impressed. I am definetly going to buy this.
I hope its not just a rehash of things that came before... I find them lacking
.... being carnivores will make their agriculture and economy significantly different than human and make their land use different.
..... their 3:1 female/male will make their society and demographics different in ways earlier works never really touched upon.
..... females make up 75% of the population by older sources and control finance/economy and technology/innovation yet are barely described in older works.
..... males want land for 'instinctive' reasons lowering them to a bad stereotype of animal-behavior concerning territory.
..... males' obsession with 'honor' and their willingness to duel reduces them to bad stereotypes on samurai.
those bad stereotypes combined with effectively ignoring the greater part of the population ( who do the real work of maintaining the technological society ) make Aslan less interesting than they could be.
I hope this product will rise above that.
( the art means little to me as I'll imagine the visuals myself anyways )
.... being carnivores will make their agriculture and economy significantly different than human and make their land use different.
..... their 3:1 female/male will make their society and demographics different in ways earlier works never really touched upon.
..... females make up 75% of the population by older sources and control finance/economy and technology/innovation yet are barely described in older works.
..... males want land for 'instinctive' reasons lowering them to a bad stereotype of animal-behavior concerning territory.
..... males' obsession with 'honor' and their willingness to duel reduces them to bad stereotypes on samurai.
those bad stereotypes combined with effectively ignoring the greater part of the population ( who do the real work of maintaining the technological society ) make Aslan less interesting than they could be.
I hope this product will rise above that.
( the art means little to me as I'll imagine the visuals myself anyways )
kungfugenius
Mongoose
Wait, will this be in a hardcover format? Are any of the books coming out in hardcover. The price is a bit much for softcover...
kungfugenius
Mongoose
Thats good news. My soft cover Traveller books are all bent and curled from reading them too many times. I can't wait to get my hands on the central supply catalogue, it looks very well done.
What forum has the nasty people?
What forum has the nasty people?
EDG said:I'm waiting for the pages of arguments that will ensue about Aslan hands.
EDIT: Oh wait, the whining and bitching and nasty comments about it are already starting to fly from the usual suspects on That Other Forum That Everyone Laughs At. That didn't take long... :roll:
Guessing you think the forum that-shall-remain-unnamed should concentrate on one digit in particular
