How to fix the Third Imperium.
Nov. 28th, 2008 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreI'm still suffering from Traveller burnout, but something inside me still wants to fix the setting.
The core problem is that the standard assumptions has the 11,000 worlds of the Imperium united under a consistent government that works. Barons speak for their worlds, trade goes on, and we're all a happy family (the Imperial Navy is standing by to enforce that happiness, by the way.) This is all well and good, but not very realistic.
First of all, I've tried but I can't find any examples in history where a state survived for very long with the travel times of the Imperium. Ignore the X-boat network for a moment, and Capital is years from the farthest border. The worst London ever was from it's far-flung colonies was months, and even there they required a great deal of local autonomy and decision making. India wasn't ruled from London, it was ruled from Calcutta and New Delhi by the Viceroy, even then a large part of the British Raj was actually ruled by local monarchs who paid tribute to the British and received trade and military support in return. Another good place to look for inspiration is the Holy Roman Empire. (Yes, I know the joke.) At best a collection of squabbling semi-independent states, the HRE, lasted for close to 900 years because it was flexible and decentralized.
Forget everything you know about the 3I. I'm changing everything.
The Third Imperium is actually a federation of independent states and worlds, all of whom give varying degrees of support to the Imperial throne at Capital. These states raise their own military and naval forces, enforce their own laws, conduct their own foreign policies, and can and do go to war with each other. The largest of these states are the Archduchy of Ilesh, the Vilani Ziru Sirkaa, and the Sylean Federation of Worlds; each of which controls hundreds of star systems. An up and comer is the Compact of Mora, led by Großherzog Norris of Regina. The majority of the Imperium's worlds are either independent or in small polities of no more than seven or eight worlds. As a general rule, only those worlds powerful enough to defend themselves take the independent route. In many cases, even these small groups and independents are loosely aligned in order to get some weight in the Moot (and to defend against their larger neighbors.)
So, how does the Imperium maintain control? First of all, the Sylean Federation is by far the strongest military force in the Imperium. The Sylean Star Fleet and the Star Marines owe personal allegiance to the Emperor (in his role as Hereditary President of the Senate and Captain-General of the Fleet) so they are in effect an arm of the Imperium. Additionally, since taking power after the Wars of the Flag, the Alkhalikoi family has been making like the Habsburgs, marrying into every ruling family they could find. Most of the current members of the Moot are distant cousins of the Emperor, and know that their fates are tied to him. This tactic hasn't worked on the Vilani or on the notoriously insular Ilethian ducal family of Illesh.
The motto of the Imperium is Nos Servo Flamma, "We Keep The Flame." (feel free to correct my atrocious Latin) The Imperium was born from the ashes of the Long Night, and is determined to see that interstellar trade never again ceases. To this end, just about the only thing that the Imperium cares about is the free movement of mail and trade. There are other concerns, such as a ban on chattel slavery and the restrictions on psionics, but that is the big one. Mess with trade in any way that gets noticed and the hammer is coming down. This doesn't mean that piracy, trade wars, and other bad things don't happen in the Third Imperium, just that those who engage in such things need to be clever, ready to fight, and have a good escape route planned.
What of the exterior threats? I see the Frontier Wars happening pretty much as they did in the canonical time line, but fought pretty much alone by the worlds Behind the Claw. Hell, there might have been a Domain of Deneb after the First Frontier War; but it dissolved in political discord during the Wars of the Flag (my name for the Civil War, if you haven't figured it out.) The Wereldsgraaf of Jewell County is probably an elected position given to the best Admiral they have, given the Zhodani fleets right on their doorstep. The Vargr are still a problem, but face two of the Imperium's Big Three over most of the border. The do cut Corridor on a semi-regular basis. The Solomani did provoke a war, hoping to grab many of the independent worlds that had formally been part of the Solomani Sphere. Alas, a young Admiral from a small world serving in Imperial colors rose to prominence, marshaled his forces, and rode the retreating Solomani all the way to Terra. For this he was named Archduke of Sol, and eventually formed the League of Dingir. Off to trailing, there are low level skirmishes with the K'kree.
What does this mean for the game? A far more dynamic and exciting Imperium. Things happen here, with intrigue, smuggling, noble houses competing in the shadows with the Megacorps to win over entire worlds for their factions. Space is big, so you could easily run a Heart of Darkness scenario without wondering why the Imperium hasn't already cleaned the mess up. Smuggling also comes back as an exciting and profitable pass time. No more Imperial Starport Authority. Yes, I said that the Imperium was all about trade, but reasonable restrictions based on local mores would be allowed, as would tariffs on items. Mercenaries would be in high demand if only for the ability to hide who hired them. Finally, if you want the Big Campaign, have the Houses of Ilethian and Alkhalikoi go to war. This could start small, with spies, sabotage, and the occasional assassination and escalate into battle fleets in house colors raging across the skies, all for possession of the Iridium Throne.
This, to me anyway, is a far more realistic look at the 11,000 worlds of the Third Imperium.
(Was this the kind of thing you were thinking of,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
freetrav?)
The core problem is that the standard assumptions has the 11,000 worlds of the Imperium united under a consistent government that works. Barons speak for their worlds, trade goes on, and we're all a happy family (the Imperial Navy is standing by to enforce that happiness, by the way.) This is all well and good, but not very realistic.
First of all, I've tried but I can't find any examples in history where a state survived for very long with the travel times of the Imperium. Ignore the X-boat network for a moment, and Capital is years from the farthest border. The worst London ever was from it's far-flung colonies was months, and even there they required a great deal of local autonomy and decision making. India wasn't ruled from London, it was ruled from Calcutta and New Delhi by the Viceroy, even then a large part of the British Raj was actually ruled by local monarchs who paid tribute to the British and received trade and military support in return. Another good place to look for inspiration is the Holy Roman Empire. (Yes, I know the joke.) At best a collection of squabbling semi-independent states, the HRE, lasted for close to 900 years because it was flexible and decentralized.
Forget everything you know about the 3I. I'm changing everything.
The Third Imperium is actually a federation of independent states and worlds, all of whom give varying degrees of support to the Imperial throne at Capital. These states raise their own military and naval forces, enforce their own laws, conduct their own foreign policies, and can and do go to war with each other. The largest of these states are the Archduchy of Ilesh, the Vilani Ziru Sirkaa, and the Sylean Federation of Worlds; each of which controls hundreds of star systems. An up and comer is the Compact of Mora, led by Großherzog Norris of Regina. The majority of the Imperium's worlds are either independent or in small polities of no more than seven or eight worlds. As a general rule, only those worlds powerful enough to defend themselves take the independent route. In many cases, even these small groups and independents are loosely aligned in order to get some weight in the Moot (and to defend against their larger neighbors.)
So, how does the Imperium maintain control? First of all, the Sylean Federation is by far the strongest military force in the Imperium. The Sylean Star Fleet and the Star Marines owe personal allegiance to the Emperor (in his role as Hereditary President of the Senate and Captain-General of the Fleet) so they are in effect an arm of the Imperium. Additionally, since taking power after the Wars of the Flag, the Alkhalikoi family has been making like the Habsburgs, marrying into every ruling family they could find. Most of the current members of the Moot are distant cousins of the Emperor, and know that their fates are tied to him. This tactic hasn't worked on the Vilani or on the notoriously insular Ilethian ducal family of Illesh.
The motto of the Imperium is Nos Servo Flamma, "We Keep The Flame." (feel free to correct my atrocious Latin) The Imperium was born from the ashes of the Long Night, and is determined to see that interstellar trade never again ceases. To this end, just about the only thing that the Imperium cares about is the free movement of mail and trade. There are other concerns, such as a ban on chattel slavery and the restrictions on psionics, but that is the big one. Mess with trade in any way that gets noticed and the hammer is coming down. This doesn't mean that piracy, trade wars, and other bad things don't happen in the Third Imperium, just that those who engage in such things need to be clever, ready to fight, and have a good escape route planned.
What of the exterior threats? I see the Frontier Wars happening pretty much as they did in the canonical time line, but fought pretty much alone by the worlds Behind the Claw. Hell, there might have been a Domain of Deneb after the First Frontier War; but it dissolved in political discord during the Wars of the Flag (my name for the Civil War, if you haven't figured it out.) The Wereldsgraaf of Jewell County is probably an elected position given to the best Admiral they have, given the Zhodani fleets right on their doorstep. The Vargr are still a problem, but face two of the Imperium's Big Three over most of the border. The do cut Corridor on a semi-regular basis. The Solomani did provoke a war, hoping to grab many of the independent worlds that had formally been part of the Solomani Sphere. Alas, a young Admiral from a small world serving in Imperial colors rose to prominence, marshaled his forces, and rode the retreating Solomani all the way to Terra. For this he was named Archduke of Sol, and eventually formed the League of Dingir. Off to trailing, there are low level skirmishes with the K'kree.
What does this mean for the game? A far more dynamic and exciting Imperium. Things happen here, with intrigue, smuggling, noble houses competing in the shadows with the Megacorps to win over entire worlds for their factions. Space is big, so you could easily run a Heart of Darkness scenario without wondering why the Imperium hasn't already cleaned the mess up. Smuggling also comes back as an exciting and profitable pass time. No more Imperial Starport Authority. Yes, I said that the Imperium was all about trade, but reasonable restrictions based on local mores would be allowed, as would tariffs on items. Mercenaries would be in high demand if only for the ability to hide who hired them. Finally, if you want the Big Campaign, have the Houses of Ilethian and Alkhalikoi go to war. This could start small, with spies, sabotage, and the occasional assassination and escalate into battle fleets in house colors raging across the skies, all for possession of the Iridium Throne.
This, to me anyway, is a far more realistic look at the 11,000 worlds of the Third Imperium.
(Was this the kind of thing you were thinking of,
freetrav?)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Two Fixes...
Date: 28 Nov 2008 18:40 (UTC)The second fix...is more of a cheat. The Third Imperium has a very slow, very cranky...and very secret FTL comm system. Barely telegraph level in terms of speed. And, they use it very rarely. Of course, this changes a lot of things...but it's interesting how the idea works.
no subject
Date: 28 Nov 2008 22:57 (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 01:38 (UTC)This is in no way official, and most Emperors wouldn't even know it was possible. This is strictly back channel, and the realm of the secret groups that really run the Imperium (and work to keep the Droyne from bringing Yaskodray back.)
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 01:42 (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 03:40 (UTC)The political balance is tricky. The Black Dukes have coveted the Imperial Throne for centuries, and the Vilani are always teetering on the edge of declaring independence. So the Imperial Court is hell-bent on making sure that each heir is well-prepared and more importantly, matched in a way to improve the family fortunes.
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 03:53 (UTC)<p class="freetrav-thought">Hmmm... Doing It My Way? No. Traveller Solution Series? Possibly, but what's the problem statement? Other Roads? That'd be good. </p>
<p class="out-loud-voice"> You wanna make any changes or cleanups before I post it?</p>
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 04:33 (UTC)Thinking on the fly here, I see that my Zhodani have to have a rather Chinese attitude. The Frontier Wars were to expel foreign influences and keep them at bay. To them we're Mongols, barbarians who would destroy civilization.
Tell you what, I'll expand this a bit and mail it to you at the end of the weekend. Preferred address?
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 05:24 (UTC)And I think I did come up with a problem statement, from some of your framing text in the original posting, so it CAN go in as a TSS. OR as an Other Roads. Or maybe even both, with suitable slight mods. After you've sent the revision, I'll look at it and check back with you on any relevant thoughts I have.
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 17:11 (UTC)So in this universe what role to the Aslan and Hivers play? The Aslan would seem more like France the upstart power and the Hivers like the Byzantines always scheming instead of relying on military power.
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 22:29 (UTC)The Aslan would happily play power politics with any faction that would have them. I think there might be more of an understanding between Aslan and Humaniti in this setting. an Aslan would simply see each faction as a clan or family, and mentally translate the conflicts. I've always thought there was something far to Spinward that the Aslan were fighting that kept them from paying full attention to the Imperium.
The Hivers.. well, they're doing what they always do! I think you would find human states closest to the Federation to be quite odd. The closest big name noble is going to be Gran-duchesa Margaret of Delphi (a cousin of the Emperor)
The real upstart power here is the Compact of Mora. Grand Duke Norris has managed to build himself a powerful little state, with battle-hardened fleets. An alliance with the Vilani could result in three sectors breaking away with little the Empire could do about it.
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 17:14 (UTC)A cosmopolitan force loyal to the concept of the Imperium serving as a constabulary?
no subject
Date: 29 Nov 2008 22:35 (UTC)To spread things over to another great empire. I was thinking about the Emperor's bodyguards, and I found the thought of Vargr Janissary formations amusing.
no subject
Date: 30 Nov 2008 07:53 (UTC)