Centauri Source Book

[Anonymous]

How good is it? I am mainly getting it for source material on the culture, and nobility. I am hoping it is unique in this aspect. Does it elaborate on the Centauran culture, and government fairly well?

 

[Anonymous]

Same person here. Also, whenever I see the Centauri, I think of Versailles and the French during the Sun King. Are they fairly based off of this?

 

[redlaco]

The Centauri Sourcebook's table of content looks like this:

Introduction..........................3
Centauri Biology......................6
Psychology and Sociology.............30
Centauri Organisations...............66
History of Centauri Civilisation.....86
Worlds of the Republic..............109
Centauri Technology.................133
Centauri Characters.................160
Centauri Campaigns..................180
Centauri Non-Player Characters......185

The pages that you're most looking for would be 30-132. The author details all the customs from birth to death, and this from 3 point of view : Noble, Commoner and Slaves. Then he covers Centauri languages, arts (including architecture and litterature), entertainment, food and fashion. Follows a section describing the noble houses and their games of power. The military is also covered in detail, including the rank structure, the composition of the 3 fleets and info on the ground troops. Then a few pages on the Old Guard and the "Pawns of the Shadows". And so on as the major planets of the Empire are described and mapped... So, as you can see, there is plenty of material to sunk your teeth in and the book deserves to win the Ennie in its category.

Praise August Hahn and Mongoose for such a mighty supplement !

Hope it help somehow...

[/dragging my tired body to bed to get some sleep, a rare commodity in these times it seems.]

 

[redlaco]

Same person here. Also, whenever I see the Centauri, I think of Versailles and the French during the Sun King. Are they fairly based off of this?

Yes, in part, but you can also see a lot of "decadent Rome" or even Drow Elves house wars, although the latter would require more of a stretch, I admit. :? :wink:

Most importantly, it mirrors the feel of the television serie perfectly.

 

[Chobbly]

The Centauri Sourcebook's table of content looks like
[/dragging my tired body to bed to get some sleep, a rare commodity in these times it seems.]

Eeek - what is it, four hours behind GMT?!?! And it's early morning here in the UK already!

There's not much I can add (indeed, possible to add!) to Redlaco's posts. The only thing is this link to what JMS considered the Centauri the most similar to, from a long time ago... back in 1993.

http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-9692&query=Centauri Rome

Chobbly

 

[Anonymous]

This is the same guest here..

So I free form roleplay, and forum roleplay rather than D&D. I have less use for rules and more use for content. So there is plenty of source material it sounds like for roleplaying a noble, or government official, or having a game centered around the intrigues of the court? Does it detail government titles, ranks, and positions? Or at least a general framework? Does it detail appropriate etiquette, noble titles, and such? Stuff like that. I am looking for social and such. Sounds like it though.

 

[Anonymous]

One more thing, does the Minbari sourcebook do the same? Talk in depth about their society, fashion, architecture, etiquette, structure and ranking of each caste, spiritual beliefs, etc.?

 

[Eryx]

Yes, each of the major race sourcebooks goes into a lot of detail about such things. Very well done.

 

[Natxomann]

In fact , the Centauri sourcebook is better than the Minbari one is , because it gives the "right" feel on Centauri customs , society and anything directly related to the series , while the Minbari book contradicts at some points the series' canon , although it is also a good book , clearly defining how Minbari characters should really act in a given situation .

 

[Eryx]

while the Minbari book contradicts at some points the series' canon,

It does? Where? I don't recall anything that contradicted the series (though it has been a while since I last read it).

 

[PottsBr]

My own view of the Centauri has always been that they resemble the culture of Renaissance Italy. You see the same politicking, emphasis on decoration, and even a fondness for poison.

For an idea of what the Centauri are like, think about the times of Leonardo De Vinci or Romeo and Juliet (which even had the interhouse rivalries).

As for the specifics of titles and such, the book only briefly touches on title. Specific titles are not discussed, but more how titles are used, such as do you go by Lord Molari, Minister Molari, or Ambassidor Molari, all of which would have been technically correct for Londo at various times during the series. It does give brief descriptions of all the major houses and their areas of influence. It also discusses the different roles in the royal court.

A large section is dedicated to how status is measured by the Centauri and how it can change or be used to gain favors and influence other Centauri.

 

[PottsBr]

while the Minbari book contradicts at some points the series' canon,

It does? Where? I don't recall anything that contradicted the series (though it has been a while since I last read it).

I have not read the entire Minbari book yet. The only thing I specifically remember is that the series and the book disagree on the lifespan of the Minbari, the book making them much older. Appairently, though, JMS states in a website that the longer lifespan is correct and that the produced episodes are wrong.

 

[Waylander.]

Same person here. Also, whenever I see the Centauri, I think of Versailles and the French during the Sun King. Are they fairly based off of this?

the comparison is uncorrect, as a french, i can tell you that that period of french history has nothing to compare with the centauri Republic...Besides we have no 6 dick

 

[Dastari]

while the Minbari book contradicts at some points the series' canon,

It does? Where? I don't recall anything that contradicted the series (though it has been a while since I last read it).

I have not read the entire Minbari book yet. The only thing I specifically remember is that the series and the book disagree on the lifespan of the Minbari, the book making them much older. Appairently, though, JMS states in a website that the longer lifespan is correct and that the produced episodes are wrong.

My favorite is the Narn book that states that Narns are basically reptiles and that the term "pouchling" is just an affectionate term for their young which clearly contradicts the series and some quotes from one of JMS's DVD commentaries about how the Narns are marsupials and literally have a pouch.

If I recall, my biggest problem with the Minbari book was the history section in which it's impossible to find a way of making the years work out correctly. We know from the show that the previous two Shadow Wars were 1,000 and 10,000 years ago. I tried working this out with the years given in the Minbari book and it doesn't work. I tried to reconcile it by figuring that Minbari years are different from human years and that the years used in the show are human years. However, then you have the problem of the years before Valen being a different length than the years after Valen. Did Minbar go through some sort of weird shift in its revolutions around their sun or what?