Epic Traveller Campaigns. Which is Best?

[Vormaerin]

Ah, so a strong caste system are bad guys? Just because it isn't the modern western ideal?

There are possible caste systems that are not oppressive. The Vilani have one. But one of the key elements of the Zhodani was always the question of whether their psionic society was oppressing the proles with mind control and thought policing or if it was actually working to make sure everyone was happy and doing the job that they would be best suited for. They always had a stratified society. That's not intrinsically a problem.

But now they have a system that absolutely relegates non psionics to the lower ranks of society, not just out of the top political jobs. Previously, there were jobs that required one to be psionic, but if you were a talented military officer or engineer or whatever, you could go as far as that talent allowed. Now, nope. You are never going to be able to exercise your talents. So if their society is harmonious, it is not because they are using telepathy to guide people to jobs that make them happy, it is because they are making them happy with the jobs they get stuck with.

And, incidentally, it makes Zhodani society significantly less efficient. Because now your best military officers, managers, and whatever else won't be in those positions, unless they happened to ALSO be a talented psionic.

Though I suppose if you are a telepath, you can just mind control the guy with the talent to do your job for you.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I will stick with the CT/MgT1e version. I have argued against the GT write up for years, and to see it copy/paste with one word replaced...
makes me wonder how much more of that book is a copy/paste of GT material without a credit for the original author.
edit - rather a lot of it appears to be GT material originally written by Dave Pulver.

 

[Geir]

Some of the GT material was copied and pasted too - I could go word for word when comparing the Challenge 52 and GT Alien Races 4 Hhkar articles (Don't know if it was Pulver who plagiarized Mikesh, because I couldn't find a breakdown of which GT:AR4 authors wrote which articles). At least I learned to paraphrase as I plagiarized and then added some new material form my JTAS article.

But that's not the point of this thread.
I voted for Pirates of Drinax because it's a fantastic sandbox, even with some flaws that a Referee can easily paper over. Deepnight Revelation is epic, but essentially linear. Skandersvik and The Order of Prometheus are nowhere near the same scale, and Mysteries I haven't even finished reading, so I can't vote for it, and wouldn't vote for it until I see the last third come out.

I wouldn't mind The Traveller Adventure being updated - even though when I saw the TTA acronym, I thought "Terran Trade Authority".

 

[Condottiere]

There is a theory that de urbanization caused casteification.

The psionicists being the only ones with means of long range communications, organized and recruited.

Presumably.