More musings on my RPG setting.
Oct. 16th, 2005 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreThis is really starting to come together nicely.
I gave in and got the PDF version of the Astrogator's Handbook. So now I have information on over 3,500 stars in the local region, out to about 150 light years. This should be more than enough for anyone, and allows me to have a reasonably large empire (say 80-100 fully developed worlds with seats in the Senate plus another 200-300 colonies and outposts) and still have room for aliens, unexplored areas, and Deep Mysteries.
Since "(fill in the blank) Empire" has been done to death. and we don't need to call it an empire even if it is one, I've been toying with new names. One I'm really liking is the Terran Concord or Concordance. I'm rewriting my back story to get rid of the original genocidal aliens (another bit that's way overdone) and making it civil strife between an increasing autocratic and hungry Earth and the colonies that led to war, collapse, and finally a new government that gave a voice to all the settled worlds.
Here are some of the updated details. As always, feedback and suggestions are most welcome.
The Government
At the top of the government is the Emperor (any suggestions for an alternate title?). He holds supreme executive power, and is the direct commander of the Concordance military. As before, the succession is not linear, but rather the Emperor chooses his successor (who is then confirmed by the Senate - usually this means making sure the chosen heir isn't a drooling idiot or psychopath.) In theory, the Emperor also holds legislative power, but under the Concordance Charter, he can only enact laws that have received approval from the Senate.
The Senate is made up of representatives from the major worlds of the Concordance. Having over one hundred million permanent residents or a Gross Planetary Product of 10 billion Marks gets you a seat in the Senate. Such worlds a termed "full members" of the Concordance, and enjoy extensive self-rule rights. Each world chooses its Senator in their own fashion. Some hold elections, some worlds give the position as a favor from the ruler, and a few seats are hereditary. The Senate's main official role is to advise the Emperor and serve as conduits to their home worlds. They also approve his proposed legislation, and submit laws of their own devising for approval. Much of the daily work of the Senate is taken up with processing the massive amount of information generated by the Concordance government. Senators sit on numerous committees, hearing testimony on everything from fleet readiness to the alfalfa crop on a distant colony world.
I'm toying with how the Emperor communicates with the Senate. The idea of a Prime Minister (or another title?) is appealing, but I'm not sure how it would work. Maybe the Senator for Earth speaks for the Emperor (and is appointed by His Majesty.) Perhaps by tradition the Senator of Earth serves as President of the Senate, with the role of Speaker of the Senate being decided by the members in a vote. The Presidency would be largely a ceremonial role, and allow the Emperor to introduce laws through a known voice.
While there are no political parties as such, there a definite factions. A Senator might belong to several of these groups, assuming he agrees with their views. These aren't usually formal groups, but blocks of Senators who feel the same way on an issue. Some of the larger factions:
Expansionists They advocate expanding the Concordance quickly by whatever means necessary. Big supporters of the Ministry of Colonization and the Survey and Exploration Service. Hawkish expansionists advocate fleet actions against the fringe humans states to bring them into the fold. Doves want the same end achieved through diplomacy.
Consolidationists This group believes that the government should concentrate on fully developing the already settled worlds before racing even farther out into unexplored territory. They run from those who advocate slow exploration to a few radicals who demand that all surveys be stopped.
Hawks Strong advocates of a growing Fleet and Legion, along with the establishment of a standing Concordance Army.
Doves Believe in keeping the military small, and using diplomacy.
Imperialists Supporters of the concept of Imperial rule. Very few of these Senators actually want to give the Emperor more power (that would be cutting themselves out, after all) but they believe that have one man at the top with supreme power is a good thing.
Republicans Are those who believe that an Emperor is not needed, and the Concordance could be best served by an elected leadership.
There are many more, of course, but these are the big divisions.
Now, the Ministries.. based on that bastion of red tape, the British government, we have:
Ministry of Defense Pretty obvious. Manages the Fleet, the Legion, and makes sure the local armies and fleets of the member worlds meet the established standards. Also has a hand in intelligence matters.
Ministry of the Interior One of the larger ministries, this office handles things like law and order (through the Concordance Security Service), resource management, disputes between member worlds, and the like.
Foreign Ministry Handles relations with non-Concordance states and alien races. The Foreign Ministry also handles exterior intelligence.
Ministry of Colonization Oversees the establishment of new colonies and administers existing ones. This office is huge, and is often the a target of corruption investigations.
Ministry of Transportation Registers, inspects, and tracks shipping inside Concordance borders. Certifies spaceports, and enforces regulations on travel.
Finance Ministry Regulates the economy of the Concordance. Makes sure that the bills are paid, and that a Mark is still worth something tomorrow. The Concordance Revenue Bureau is one of the most hated things in the universe.
Ministry of Trade and Industry Responsible for promoting trade between worlds and encouraging scientific advancement. They also collect tariffs on goods.
Am I missing anything?
The Military
Only a few major changes here. I'm still calling the space navy The Fleet, because it is cool. Probably going to change it to "Concordance Navy" in the final version. Member worlds still get their "reasonable" local fleets for self-defense.
The big change is in what I was calling the Guard. It's now the Colonial Legion, or, as they prefer it, La Légion Coloniale. Yes, the French Foreign Legion has gone to space! Like the FFL, the CL is small, well-equipped, and hard hitting. Most are light infantry, trained to operate in numerous environments and in space. While powered armor is part of the issue, it is mostly used as support of more convention Legion troops.
The Légion Coloniale holds onto their traditions with a death grip. The white kepi is the only headgear they will think of wearing with a dress uniform, the force's headquarters is in Marseilles, April 30th is the most important day of the calendar, and the legions drill commands are given in French. Many Legionnaires learn French - it makes a decent radio code when none of your opponents understand it. The classic law of the legion applies - they don't care who you were, when you join the Legion, you get a new life.
There is no large standing army. Worlds raise their own defense forces and the Concordance government can call on those troops if they are ever needed. A small core of troops exist, mostly on Earth and other early colony worlds, that are in direct Concordance service.
Comments?
Technology
I'm going to keep things mostly sane here. To keep things playable most technology is going to be recognizable.
Power generation will come from fusion plants on planets, and antimatter power sources for ships. Said antimatter would also be the main source of in-system propulsion. FTL will be hyperspace, with a definite limit on where you can enter and leave hyperspace. Average cruising speeds will be 100-150c. Changing course en route is possible, but difficult. I've gone into detail about the ships before, so I'll let that stand.
Personal weapons will be slug throwers. Laser will be around, but mainly used in vacuum/microgravity situations.
No antigravity! In my opinion, it makes stories too easy.
Now, there is one race in my setting that does have all the neat Clarke's Law-level technologies. But they're complete jerks.
Symbolism
I've decided that the official symbol for the Concordance will be a stylized eagle, wings spread, in gold and black on a blue field. The standard version will have empty talons, but various departments of the government will have the eagle grasping an appropriate objects. The Fleet will have a sword, the Legion will have a current model rifle, the Exploration and Survey Service a telescope, etc. Humorist suggest the the Revenue Board should have an open sack, and most of departments should have the bird holding a roll of red tape.
This is really working out nicely in my head. Additions and suggestions welcome!
I gave in and got the PDF version of the Astrogator's Handbook. So now I have information on over 3,500 stars in the local region, out to about 150 light years. This should be more than enough for anyone, and allows me to have a reasonably large empire (say 80-100 fully developed worlds with seats in the Senate plus another 200-300 colonies and outposts) and still have room for aliens, unexplored areas, and Deep Mysteries.
Since "(fill in the blank) Empire" has been done to death. and we don't need to call it an empire even if it is one, I've been toying with new names. One I'm really liking is the Terran Concord or Concordance. I'm rewriting my back story to get rid of the original genocidal aliens (another bit that's way overdone) and making it civil strife between an increasing autocratic and hungry Earth and the colonies that led to war, collapse, and finally a new government that gave a voice to all the settled worlds.
Here are some of the updated details. As always, feedback and suggestions are most welcome.
The Government
At the top of the government is the Emperor (any suggestions for an alternate title?). He holds supreme executive power, and is the direct commander of the Concordance military. As before, the succession is not linear, but rather the Emperor chooses his successor (who is then confirmed by the Senate - usually this means making sure the chosen heir isn't a drooling idiot or psychopath.) In theory, the Emperor also holds legislative power, but under the Concordance Charter, he can only enact laws that have received approval from the Senate.
The Senate is made up of representatives from the major worlds of the Concordance. Having over one hundred million permanent residents or a Gross Planetary Product of 10 billion Marks gets you a seat in the Senate. Such worlds a termed "full members" of the Concordance, and enjoy extensive self-rule rights. Each world chooses its Senator in their own fashion. Some hold elections, some worlds give the position as a favor from the ruler, and a few seats are hereditary. The Senate's main official role is to advise the Emperor and serve as conduits to their home worlds. They also approve his proposed legislation, and submit laws of their own devising for approval. Much of the daily work of the Senate is taken up with processing the massive amount of information generated by the Concordance government. Senators sit on numerous committees, hearing testimony on everything from fleet readiness to the alfalfa crop on a distant colony world.
I'm toying with how the Emperor communicates with the Senate. The idea of a Prime Minister (or another title?) is appealing, but I'm not sure how it would work. Maybe the Senator for Earth speaks for the Emperor (and is appointed by His Majesty.) Perhaps by tradition the Senator of Earth serves as President of the Senate, with the role of Speaker of the Senate being decided by the members in a vote. The Presidency would be largely a ceremonial role, and allow the Emperor to introduce laws through a known voice.
While there are no political parties as such, there a definite factions. A Senator might belong to several of these groups, assuming he agrees with their views. These aren't usually formal groups, but blocks of Senators who feel the same way on an issue. Some of the larger factions:
Expansionists They advocate expanding the Concordance quickly by whatever means necessary. Big supporters of the Ministry of Colonization and the Survey and Exploration Service. Hawkish expansionists advocate fleet actions against the fringe humans states to bring them into the fold. Doves want the same end achieved through diplomacy.
Consolidationists This group believes that the government should concentrate on fully developing the already settled worlds before racing even farther out into unexplored territory. They run from those who advocate slow exploration to a few radicals who demand that all surveys be stopped.
Hawks Strong advocates of a growing Fleet and Legion, along with the establishment of a standing Concordance Army.
Doves Believe in keeping the military small, and using diplomacy.
Imperialists Supporters of the concept of Imperial rule. Very few of these Senators actually want to give the Emperor more power (that would be cutting themselves out, after all) but they believe that have one man at the top with supreme power is a good thing.
Republicans Are those who believe that an Emperor is not needed, and the Concordance could be best served by an elected leadership.
There are many more, of course, but these are the big divisions.
Now, the Ministries.. based on that bastion of red tape, the British government, we have:
Ministry of Defense Pretty obvious. Manages the Fleet, the Legion, and makes sure the local armies and fleets of the member worlds meet the established standards. Also has a hand in intelligence matters.
Ministry of the Interior One of the larger ministries, this office handles things like law and order (through the Concordance Security Service), resource management, disputes between member worlds, and the like.
Foreign Ministry Handles relations with non-Concordance states and alien races. The Foreign Ministry also handles exterior intelligence.
Ministry of Colonization Oversees the establishment of new colonies and administers existing ones. This office is huge, and is often the a target of corruption investigations.
Ministry of Transportation Registers, inspects, and tracks shipping inside Concordance borders. Certifies spaceports, and enforces regulations on travel.
Finance Ministry Regulates the economy of the Concordance. Makes sure that the bills are paid, and that a Mark is still worth something tomorrow. The Concordance Revenue Bureau is one of the most hated things in the universe.
Ministry of Trade and Industry Responsible for promoting trade between worlds and encouraging scientific advancement. They also collect tariffs on goods.
Am I missing anything?
The Military
Only a few major changes here. I'm still calling the space navy The Fleet, because it is cool. Probably going to change it to "Concordance Navy" in the final version. Member worlds still get their "reasonable" local fleets for self-defense.
The big change is in what I was calling the Guard. It's now the Colonial Legion, or, as they prefer it, La Légion Coloniale. Yes, the French Foreign Legion has gone to space! Like the FFL, the CL is small, well-equipped, and hard hitting. Most are light infantry, trained to operate in numerous environments and in space. While powered armor is part of the issue, it is mostly used as support of more convention Legion troops.
The Légion Coloniale holds onto their traditions with a death grip. The white kepi is the only headgear they will think of wearing with a dress uniform, the force's headquarters is in Marseilles, April 30th is the most important day of the calendar, and the legions drill commands are given in French. Many Legionnaires learn French - it makes a decent radio code when none of your opponents understand it. The classic law of the legion applies - they don't care who you were, when you join the Legion, you get a new life.
There is no large standing army. Worlds raise their own defense forces and the Concordance government can call on those troops if they are ever needed. A small core of troops exist, mostly on Earth and other early colony worlds, that are in direct Concordance service.
Comments?
Technology
I'm going to keep things mostly sane here. To keep things playable most technology is going to be recognizable.
Power generation will come from fusion plants on planets, and antimatter power sources for ships. Said antimatter would also be the main source of in-system propulsion. FTL will be hyperspace, with a definite limit on where you can enter and leave hyperspace. Average cruising speeds will be 100-150c. Changing course en route is possible, but difficult. I've gone into detail about the ships before, so I'll let that stand.
Personal weapons will be slug throwers. Laser will be around, but mainly used in vacuum/microgravity situations.
No antigravity! In my opinion, it makes stories too easy.
Now, there is one race in my setting that does have all the neat Clarke's Law-level technologies. But they're complete jerks.
Symbolism
I've decided that the official symbol for the Concordance will be a stylized eagle, wings spread, in gold and black on a blue field. The standard version will have empty talons, but various departments of the government will have the eagle grasping an appropriate objects. The Fleet will have a sword, the Legion will have a current model rifle, the Exploration and Survey Service a telescope, etc. Humorist suggest the the Revenue Board should have an open sack, and most of departments should have the bird holding a roll of red tape.
This is really working out nicely in my head. Additions and suggestions welcome!
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no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 19:54 (UTC)no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 20:21 (UTC)You want scary? The Ministry of Colonzation's "Conflict Resolution Teams"
no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 23:40 (UTC)This has possibilities.
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:11 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:14 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:21 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 00:29 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:03 (UTC)no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 20:07 (UTC)Not sure if they are actually necessary, but a Ministry of Health might be a thought.
no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 20:22 (UTC)Ministry of Health might be a good idea, or divide the functions among several other ministires for that wonderful "too many cooks" reaction to a crisis.
no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 20:33 (UTC)Between terraforming, and worlds that are (carefully) habitable with the native ecosystems mostly in place, the potential for disasters is high. and since plagues (and deficiency diseases and a host of other things) are possible ways things can go wrong, you could justify Health being under Ecology.
Or both of them being Ministries and having turf fights.
If you go with Ecology, think of the California "border guards" and the fruit/veggie checks. Only with guns and armed ships. :-)
Bribing them to "overlook" things so you can make higher profits would be a way of life. As would be having bribe-givers not survive to give inconvenient answers if something goes wrong. :-)
Ecology and Interior would have turf fights as well.
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:20 (UTC)I can see conflicts with Colonization looming as well.
(Must add "Yes, Minister" to my Netflix queue)
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 02:05 (UTC)Oh yeah.
Ecology and Trade/Industry are going to be at odds a lot too.
Just take the developers vs wilderness fights now and you've got the Ecolgy vs Colonization fights, and some of the Ecology versus Trade/Industry ones.
Add in the arguments about pollution controls and overuse of resources andf you've got the rest of the Trade/Industry vs Ecology/Health fights.
no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 21:59 (UTC)no subject
Date: 16 Oct 2005 23:36 (UTC)One of my more amsuing concepts is Israel moving lock, stock, and Western Wall to a garden world.
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 00:25 (UTC)Well, you're certainly treating Israel better than Joel Rosenberg did (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451158458/qid=1129508629/sr=1-37/ref=sr_1_37/104-0520590-8475940?v=glance&s=books) in his Metzadan Mercenary Corps stories. ;-)
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:06 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 18:26 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 20:25 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 02:10 (UTC)There are several programs available that'll give you the date conversion. One I *don't* recommend is "New Day Calendar" It's very nice, except it becomes a royal pain if you try to get dates very far in the past or future. It resets to the current month if you do almost anything.
no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 01:11 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Oct 2005 18:52 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Oct 2005 00:25 (UTC)Time line
Date: 18 Oct 2005 09:07 (UTC)Re: Time line
Date: 18 Oct 2005 16:06 (UTC)There is a precedent for these. During the French and Indian War, one of the most effective of the colonial units was Rogers Rangers (http://www.acidus.com/rogers.html) with their unconvential tactics and famous Standing Orders (http://www.soc.mil/75thrr/75thrrorders.shtml)
When Roosevelt wanted an American commando unit in the early days of our involvement in WWII, Major William Darby hit on the name "Rangers", and linked the new unit to Rogers group in style and attitude. Today's Rangers still learn the standing orders.
so the Colonial Legion is not the FFL, but rather a force based on the traditions of that unit.
(Amusing side note.. after the war's end, the Ranger battalions were deactivated. Rangers were assigned to individual comapnies attached to larger formations. When the Special Forces were created, they adopted the lineage of the Ranger units of WWII! So when the Rangers were recreated out of the Vietnam-era LRRPs in 1969, an entirely new history had to be created. The long-defunct 75th Infantry Regiment was reactivated and designated the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) with [eventually] three battalions designed as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd with the (Airborne) label.)