actionman
Cosmic Mongoose
This thread is for discussion of what we'd like to see for Mongoose books detailing the regional human cultures of the Imperium, especially Vilani culture and it's regional variations. This isn't a thread for discussing our various IMTU head canon, although ideas are welcome, it's for discussing what we'd like Mongoose to publish official Traveller books about.
Here's the original post from the Future of Traveller thread.
I'd like to see "alien modules" for the various human cultures of the Imperium to make playing Imperial characters a more compelling option for players and to give more depth to the Imperial part of the setting. The Imperium is the star of the Traveller Charted Space setting, and IMO it needs much more development.
I think the problem is akin to trying to play an rpg in which the main empire of the setting is the British Empire, but then not defining the cultures within that empire, and stating that everyone in the British Empire considers themselves "Imperial", even though the majority of the population of the British Empire is not British. Why would someone play a bland "Imperial" character, when that player could play a rebellious self-reliant American, a militaristic industrious Prussian, an honorable Japanese warrior, a wise traditional Ottoman, or a fierce adventurous Zulu?
Let me rephrase that question in Traveller terms: Why would someone play a bland undefined "Imperial" instead of a rebellious, militaristic, ideological, adventurous Solomani, a wise peaceful yet relentless Zhodani, a fierce confrontational honor-obsessed Sword Worlder, an honorable warlike land-hungry Aslan, an adventurous volatile glory-seeking Vargr, a psychotic Tezcat, or any of more characterized races in Charted Space? These characterizations allow players to choose which character races appeal to them for the particular characters they're thinking about, and the Imperium doesn't have these.
GDW went for a deliberately homogenous Imperium in the Classic Traveller books, and once stated that people in the Imperium think of themselves as "Imperial", but never defined what Imperial culture was or what being "Imperial" meant in people's lives. I find it highly implausible that people would think of themselves as "Imperial", because:
This state of affairs would greatly facilitate cultural and linguistic drift. But what would cultures and languages be drifting from? That was never explained. DGP made an attempt with their Vilani & Vargr book, but IMO that book isn't relevant anymore. I think we need a new Mongoose-specific definition of what it means to be a human of the cultures of the Imperium.
What are the base cultures of the Imperium?
Feel free to discuss what you would like to see for books like this.
Here's the original post from the Future of Traveller thread.
As for Traveller books, I'd like to see a book detailing the cultures of the Imperium, like Alien Modules but for the human regional cultures inside the Imperium. I read the Third Imperium book, but it didn't provide enough information.
I'd like something like this because I have trouble knowing how and why to play an Imperial character (or K'Kree, Hiver, or Zhodani, but I don't bother with them).
Please don't tell me to go the IMTU route because that fragments people's understanding of what is true in the baseline official setting. If I go to play Traveller at my FLGS or if a new player sits down at my table, it's important to have an official baseline as a foundation before making changes.
Anyway, the Solomani have their ideology and their opposition to the Imperium, and they're from Earth so we have a good idea how to play them (any setting appropriate version of an Earth culture). The Vargr have their charisma dynamics and their wolf-related cultural traits, the Aslan have their honor, clan system, gender dynamics, and desire for land, but what do the Vilani and their derivative Imperial cultures have?
The Vilani are the majority population in the Imperium, but we don't know much about them. Do they value honor, truth, and justice, or is corruption a normal part of doing business? Is consideration of others a value in Vilani culture, or is it more about nice guys finish last? In Vilani culture, what is the relationship of the individual to his family, his neighbors, his society, and the state? What can my character expect, and how should he behave, when he arrives at an average culturally-Vilani world? What is interesting about culturally-Vilani people that would motivate me or the players at my table to want to play Vilani characters? What is the Vilani aesthetic? The answers to these questions are what I would like to see in the kind of books I'm suggesting. This is important because what I've noticed in my experience is that people play every type of character besides ordinary "Imperials", and when they do, their characters are "normal contemporary people in space", so to speak. Also, the DGP books are long out of print, and in my opinion no longer relevant. I want books about this written by Mongoose for the Mongoose Traveller setting.
I doubt very much that the influx of Terrans during the Rule of Man or the influx of Sylean "Solomani" during the Consolidation Wars would do much to change the demographics of the 10,000 worlds. Their cultural and technical innovations would most likely have a great impact after the Long Night, but these changes would add to and not eliminate a population's sense of who they are and how they've interacted with each other for at least 1000 years.
I'd like to see books that illuminate the various human cultures of the Imperium so that every one of those cultures provide interesting compelling reasons (this is who I am, this is my way of life, this is how to behave correctly in my society, etc.) to play characters of those cultures. I've noticed that without those reasons, players tend to default to no characterization at all and a lack of interest. It would be great to have interesting plausible conflicts between those regional Imperial cultures, so Imperial characters could have differing viewpoints.
I'd like something like this because I have trouble knowing how and why to play an Imperial character (or K'Kree, Hiver, or Zhodani, but I don't bother with them).
Please don't tell me to go the IMTU route because that fragments people's understanding of what is true in the baseline official setting. If I go to play Traveller at my FLGS or if a new player sits down at my table, it's important to have an official baseline as a foundation before making changes.
Anyway, the Solomani have their ideology and their opposition to the Imperium, and they're from Earth so we have a good idea how to play them (any setting appropriate version of an Earth culture). The Vargr have their charisma dynamics and their wolf-related cultural traits, the Aslan have their honor, clan system, gender dynamics, and desire for land, but what do the Vilani and their derivative Imperial cultures have?
The Vilani are the majority population in the Imperium, but we don't know much about them. Do they value honor, truth, and justice, or is corruption a normal part of doing business? Is consideration of others a value in Vilani culture, or is it more about nice guys finish last? In Vilani culture, what is the relationship of the individual to his family, his neighbors, his society, and the state? What can my character expect, and how should he behave, when he arrives at an average culturally-Vilani world? What is interesting about culturally-Vilani people that would motivate me or the players at my table to want to play Vilani characters? What is the Vilani aesthetic? The answers to these questions are what I would like to see in the kind of books I'm suggesting. This is important because what I've noticed in my experience is that people play every type of character besides ordinary "Imperials", and when they do, their characters are "normal contemporary people in space", so to speak. Also, the DGP books are long out of print, and in my opinion no longer relevant. I want books about this written by Mongoose for the Mongoose Traveller setting.
I doubt very much that the influx of Terrans during the Rule of Man or the influx of Sylean "Solomani" during the Consolidation Wars would do much to change the demographics of the 10,000 worlds. Their cultural and technical innovations would most likely have a great impact after the Long Night, but these changes would add to and not eliminate a population's sense of who they are and how they've interacted with each other for at least 1000 years.
I'd like to see books that illuminate the various human cultures of the Imperium so that every one of those cultures provide interesting compelling reasons (this is who I am, this is my way of life, this is how to behave correctly in my society, etc.) to play characters of those cultures. I've noticed that without those reasons, players tend to default to no characterization at all and a lack of interest. It would be great to have interesting plausible conflicts between those regional Imperial cultures, so Imperial characters could have differing viewpoints.
I'd like to see "alien modules" for the various human cultures of the Imperium to make playing Imperial characters a more compelling option for players and to give more depth to the Imperial part of the setting. The Imperium is the star of the Traveller Charted Space setting, and IMO it needs much more development.
I think the problem is akin to trying to play an rpg in which the main empire of the setting is the British Empire, but then not defining the cultures within that empire, and stating that everyone in the British Empire considers themselves "Imperial", even though the majority of the population of the British Empire is not British. Why would someone play a bland "Imperial" character, when that player could play a rebellious self-reliant American, a militaristic industrious Prussian, an honorable Japanese warrior, a wise traditional Ottoman, or a fierce adventurous Zulu?
Let me rephrase that question in Traveller terms: Why would someone play a bland undefined "Imperial" instead of a rebellious, militaristic, ideological, adventurous Solomani, a wise peaceful yet relentless Zhodani, a fierce confrontational honor-obsessed Sword Worlder, an honorable warlike land-hungry Aslan, an adventurous volatile glory-seeking Vargr, a psychotic Tezcat, or any of more characterized races in Charted Space? These characterizations allow players to choose which character races appeal to them for the particular characters they're thinking about, and the Imperium doesn't have these.
GDW went for a deliberately homogenous Imperium in the Classic Traveller books, and once stated that people in the Imperium think of themselves as "Imperial", but never defined what Imperial culture was or what being "Imperial" meant in people's lives. I find it highly implausible that people would think of themselves as "Imperial", because:
- There would be no mass media norming effect beyond the planetary or star system level (since comms only travel at J6),
- Imperial populations live on isolated worlds that take expensive weeks-long ship journeys to get to instead of being able to drive across the entire Imperium in a few days,
- And most importantly, the Imperium rules the "space between the stars" and doesn't impose any particular way of life on its member worlds.
This state of affairs would greatly facilitate cultural and linguistic drift. But what would cultures and languages be drifting from? That was never explained. DGP made an attempt with their Vilani & Vargr book, but IMO that book isn't relevant anymore. I think we need a new Mongoose-specific definition of what it means to be a human of the cultures of the Imperium.
What are the base cultures of the Imperium?
- Vilani, the majority population of the Imperium by far (unless stated otherwise Mongoose canon sources).
- Imperial Solomani, originating from remnant populations left in the former Ziru Sirka after the collapse of the Rule of Man, who I think after 1000 years of the Long Night, would be culturally and linguistically unrecognizable to the Solomani of the Solomani Sphere.
- The remnant populations of pocket empires, but even they were descended from Vilani, RoM Solomani, minor human races, or any combination thereof.
Feel free to discuss what you would like to see for books like this.
) are basing a lot of hypothesis on very little evidence. Genetic research is producing results, but sadly it is not politically correct for them to have any discussions.
