'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

Good one[*]. You ought to put it on the Traveller Wiki. Or permit me to do it, if you don't want to do it yourself.

[*] And completely canon-compatible too! ;-)

Why would it be impossible to maintain an Imperium-wide publication? Or are you saying it's highly impractical to maintain one single publication for the whole Imperium? I agree completely if it's the second, but I don't see why the head office couldn't maintain an Imperium-wide publication and the sector offices sector-wide publications, as well. Probably mostly a "best of" assembly of articles drawn from the 'daughter' and 'granddaughter' publications.

EDIT: No, not 'granddaughter'. The editor of the Capital EE wouldn't have time to read 300-odd subsector publications. And he'd probably consider anything that the sector editors didn't pick up on to be of little interest.

What does 'Forkost Bistand' mean? Is it Icelandic?


Hans

The second

And Forkost Bistand just comes from the Swordie glossary given in SW. It just means Ships of Help or something like that. And Forkost should have been spelled Farkost.

And you can put it in Traveller wiki if you want. It might of course turn out to be different from what I had in mind but I don't mind(as long as nothing below PG-rating creeps in to the article without my permission which is hardly likely) and I only had vague ideas anyway. If you do write such an article please tell me and give me a link.

[jason taylor]

Smuggler's Camps:

Generic term for semi-permanent Class I Starports privately built in obscure areas to serve non-officially approved traffic. These usually have no more then a few pre-fab buildings(the residence and office of the local crime lord, a bar, and other such facilities) and a source for wilderness refueling. Smuggler's camps based in the edge of the system necessarily have life support equipment though this will likely be no more then would be found in a Beltar's camp.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

This is from a fact sheet I gave to my players in my most recent campaign. I tried to make them run a sweepstake on the winner of the next sector championship, but it went over like a lead baloon.

Boloball

Boloball is a very popular (pseudo-) anti-grav ballgame. The field is a wire cage 10 m high, 10 m wide, and 30 m long. Each team has 9 men: two low rovers, two high rovers, two leftsiders, two rightsiders, and a swot. The cage is inside a zero-G field. The players wear grav belts that simulate different gravity fields for each of them. The swot is neutral and can hover anywhere and maintain any orientation. The rest are under 1/3rd G pseudo-gravity. The low rovers are aligned towards the bottom, the high rovers towards the top, and the left- and right-siders towards their respective sides. The players have "jet boots" so they can trigger jumps (The 'jets' are just holographic effects and it's the grav belt that does the jump). The ball is a hollow, 3 kg steel sphere the size of a grapefruit and the players wear magnetic gauntlets to help them catch it. There's a small circular goal in the center of each end wall and the object of the game is to put the ball through the opponents’ goal. At random intervals the G-orientations switch 180 degrees.

The Spinward Marches Interstellar Boloball League has 16 teams:

Name:                Quality:         Name:                Quality:
Edenelt Eagles           3            Pallique Pirates         4
Efate Elementals         5            Porozlo Pumas            3
Equus Mustangs           3            Regina Rockhawks         6
Fornice Freightereers    5            Rhylanor Razorbacks      6
Glisten Gladiators       5            Strouden Salamanders     5
Jewell Juggernauts       4            Trin Tyrranosaurs        6
Lunion Leopards          4            Vilis Vikings            4
Mora Merchanteers        6            Zivije Zebralions        3

Meta-game info: I resolve games thusly: Each team has a ‘quality’ rating that shows how good it is on an arbitrary scale; a rating of zero indicates a fairly decent second-rate team. When two teams play, they each roll one die and subtract 1. This indicates the number of goals the team scores. The dice used depend on how evenly matched the teams are: Evenly: both roll D8s. One step apart: Best team uses a D10, the other a D8. Two steps apart: Best team uses a D10, the other a D6. Three steps: Best team uses a D12, the other a D6. Four steps: Best team uses a D12, the other a D4. Five steps: Best team uses a D20, the other a D4. Six steps: Best team uses a D20, the other a D3.


Hans

[jason taylor]

Trophy etiquette: The manners for dealing with battle trophies. Varies from place to place. In the Spinward Marches it is customary for officers swords and other such memorabilia to be ransomed by the vanquished units mess fund either at the cessation of hostilities or by cartel vessel. If the ransom is not forthcoming a trophy can wait for generations. Trophies are not normally mentioned in a peace treaty; it is up to the individual units to conduct negotiations for this, often by means of a corporation that specializes in such matters(the Ares corporation for instance is well known as a cartel broker and will do work for individuals and for units as well as for states). While it is common for a given state to subsidize the ransom of a trophy, it is often considered a matter of honor for units to handle negotiations themselves.

If a trophy is ransomed, often the victor will have a replica made to send to a military or naval museum in the place of the original. This will be marked with a heraldric stamp to show that the original was ransomed. During the return there is an elaborate system of ceremony to prevent the desecration of the redeemed trophy. If it is stolen or damaged in the process this is considered a disgrace to both parties. It is also considered a mark of philistinism even in the criminal world in some areas, at least according to rumor; while it is known for art thieves to attempt to steal ransomed war trophies, those that do lose respect even among their fellows. Cynics argue that this is just because it is impossible to fence such high-profile items. On the other hand it is not unknown for terrorists to make an attempt to disrupt the transfer for purposes of their own.

Accepted trophies can take a wide variety of forms. Traditional ones like swords and flags are often the most prized, however these are seldom taken into battle except in naval combat as such things are often to cumbersome for ground combat. Artillery pieces are valued as well, but they are also valued even more for their practical usefulness. Holographical representations of captured artillery pieces however are common. Other common items include plundered items from a government building or palace. Artwork is very often treated as a legitimate trophy of war when found in a captured ship, or a public building. Often times though, the conquerors will simply make a representation, especially if the artwork is easily damaged. Many cultures have a tradition of decorated weapons, sometimes including actual combat gear as well as the strictly ceremonial and these also are legitimate trophies of war. However the variety is remarkable, and some accepted forms of trophies are rather strange and even grotesque. Corpse mutilation is considered unchivalrous and unprofessional by most astralcracies in the Spinward Marches, but some places have a tradition of such, and even in civilized places one can find some rather odd trinkets if one looks hard enough. One regiment of Darrian Aslan has the skull of a Sword Worlder colonel as a flowerpot in it's officers mess; the more straitlaced Darrian humans and Aslan from other regiments think that rather distasteful but usually politely ignore it when invited as guests. Mercs, of course are often wilder about that sort of thing then government forces, but many mercs follow the accepted customs just as strictly as any standing military. If a trophy goes unransomed for long enough it might be captured by a third party. The record for this is the ceremonial throne of a Hertug that lived during the squabbling states era that was captured and recaptured eight successive times without once being ransomed. It is unremarkable artistically but according to legend it was made of cannibalized hull material from the Gram herself. Historians dispute that, but there is no doubt that it's history is interesting enough even if the legend is untrue. It is now sitting in the Imperial War Museum of Mora awaiting the conclusion of negotiations for ransom.

In the Imperial War Museum of Mora there is a large space dedicated to war trophies. Some of them are replications, either solid or holographic. Some are unransomed. The trophies are cataloged and sorted with a database telling when they were captured, what the significance of a given trophy is, and when, if ever, they were ransomed.

A war-trophy offers potential as a Macguffin with many possible adventures the most obvious being negotiating a delicate ransom, and carrying it back with due ceremony.

[RainOfSteel]

I wander off for a month or two and suddenly we're at 30 pages!

Off to find out when I last posted...

[jason taylor]

Martial Society of Mora. Founded by Count Roger of Whitepines and still patronized by the Whitepines Dynasty. Count Roger was an Imperial Naval officer with an especial interest in the martial sports and dueling styles of various cultures. The MSOM supports tournaments of all kinds which feature such events as jousting, Aslan duels, rapier fencing, sword and buckler fighting, Kendo, unarmed combat, and even sniper duels with non-lethal rounds, and numerous other ritual fighting styles. The MSOM also has a contract for a line of scoresuits(see post 260) designed to it's specifications, and several books of martial traditions, including the MSOM Book of Ritual Insults, a collection of carefully picked both for their elegance and humor, and most-important, their lack of real reflection on the target's honor. This book is specifically designed for members of the MSOM to be able to give sporting challenges to one another.

One of the most curious events in which the MSOM takes an interest is the Rustler's Olympics. This is a memorial of primeval tribal conflict. Livestock owners from several ranches are permitted a buy-in of a minimal number of livestock to each team. All teams are allowed one sporting rifle and riding animal to each member and a limited amount of non-lethal ammunition. For one week they are permitted to "raid" one another according to a series of rules designed to prevent real danger or conflict. At the end a series of awards are given for Most Numerous Herd, Largest Combined Mass(total weight) and so on as well as awards for individuals. Each team's ending herd belongs to it's sponsor, and some ranch owners and nomad tribes depend on the Rustler's Olympics for their supply of livestock.

The Rustler's Olympics takes place on a different planet each year. Planets are chosen for the existence of challenging terrain and lack of over strict anti-gambling laws among other considerations. Some worlds which do have such laws give a regular dispensation to the Rustlers Olympics.

The MSOM including the Rustler's Olympics is naturally associated with the Authenticist Movement and most members of the MSOM regard themselves as Authenticists.

[Whitestreak]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Martial Society of Mora. Founded by Count Roger of Whitepines and still patronized by the Whitepines Dynasty. Count Roger was an Imperial Naval officer with an especial interest in the martial sports and dueling styles of various cultures. The MSOM supports tournaments of all kinds which feature such events as jousting, Aslan duels, rapier fencing, sword and buckler fighting, Kendo, unarmed combat, and even sniper duels with non-lethal rounds, and numerous other ritual fighting styles. The MSOM also has a contract for a line of scoresuits(see post 260) designed to it's specifications, and several books of martial traditions, including the MSOM Book of Ritual Insults, a collection of carefully picked both for their elegance and humor, and most-important, their lack of real reflection on the target's honor. This book is specifically designed for members of the MSOM to be able to give sporting challenges to one another.

<SNIP>

The MSOM including the Rustler's Olympics is naturally associated with the Authenticist Movement and most members of the MSOM regard themselves as Authenticists.

Man, you've formalized a concept I've had floating around in my head for years - mine was based on the SCA, but this is quite a gem!

I'll be steal.. er, borrowing this for my own use.

[jason taylor]

Thank You...

[jason taylor]

Imperial Naval Guard:

The Naval contingent of the Imperial guard. Often provides crew for Imperial yachts. But this isn't the end of it's duties for an entire Batron of the Imperial Home Fleet is composed of ING crew.

Imperial War College:

Based in Sylea, it is the model for similar institutions in several different Astralcracies. As a secondary part of it's duties it is a historical research center. The Imperial War College dates back to the Sylean Federation and has been instrumental in preserving records left over from the days of the Second Imperium. Many of the battle logs dating from as far back as the ISW were preserved; primarily for the mundane purpose of using these to train cadets but the benefits to historical knowledge has been greatly appreciated. Copies of these logs have been sent to Naval Academies throughout the Imperium, and as well many have been donated to museums, famously with the Imperial Museum of the Interstellar Wars.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

And you can put it in Traveller wiki if you want. It might of course turn out to be different from what I had in mind but I don't mind (as long as nothing below PG-rating creeps in to the article without my permission which is hardly likely) and I only had vague ideas anyway. If you do write such an article please tell me and give me a link.

It is done:

http://traveller.wikia.com/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_Eye

Let me know if it meets with your approval.


Hans