Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > Traveller

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-16-2007, 07:01 PM   #11
Qoltar
Pike's Pique
 
Qoltar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio U.S.A.
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

There is this strange legend or rumor that Merchants and spacers tell of the Empress Marava class of freighters.

During the production run of the first 20 or so that were made - a few indivuals thought that they had "misplaced" around 5 or 6 of the ships. Which is just ridiculous - how the hell do you misplace a WHOLE starship ?

The rumors also say that these 5 or 6 ships were actually experimental testbeds for unusual devices. Something to do about a secret Solomani society seeking long-term revenge for the last time that Earth /Terra was attacked.

IF these ships did exist ....one might have made its way all the way to the Spinward Marches. Several really old former spy agency operatives may be looking for one of these Marava freighters.

That can't be true tho....
__________________
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me....


A vote for charity: http://s3.silent-tower.org/TheKlingonVotes/index.html
Qoltar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 03:40 AM   #12
CaptainSkip
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Tinman, I've just started a Spinward Marches campaign which is going to feature sneakiness and espionage quite heavily (Although the characters don't know it yet...) I created a campaign glossary of ideas and changes to/interpretations of canon for the layers. One for me and a heavily censored one for the players (My Imperium is heavily feudal Imperialistic and maintains a powerful behind the scenes grip on a sizeable chunk of news media and reportage). Reading the canonical material I also became aware of a gap, or at least a grey area that hadn't been filled.

I came up with my own deep cover Imperial intelligence organisation. They operate 'legitimate businesses' throughout the Imperium. The players present employers, Vapour Trails 'Space Trucking' Division, being onesuch. Here's some of the info/flavour text from the campaign glossary (Uncensored, you being a GM and all). Definitely NOT canon but might give you some ideas...

Blue Eyes – Also ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ or the ‘Eyes’. Slang term used in the world of organised crime referring to powerful, unnamed Imperial agencies. As in ‘Of course me and da boys didn’t knock over that Ling Standards R+D lab. We knowed Ol’ Blue Eyes was watchin’ em. Youz don’t mess with dem kapeesh?’.

The Invisible Sun - 1. Military euphemism for Section 97. 2. Unfinished and unreleased Holo-documentary by ‘Radical’ Radic Vrand.

The Patriarchy – The Patriarchs are an elite group of no more than a few thousand individuals within the Imperial nobility who have lived for centuries and wield enormous commercial and military influence spanning the entire Imperium. They are the ‘no smoke without fire’ foundation of rumours concerning genetic enhancement, powerful anagathics, cybernetics and implanting among the upper nobility which circulate in conspiratorial Guelph circles. The vast majority of Patriarch’s are human.

Section 97 – Lurking within the Imperial Intelligence Service, the I.I.S., and operating in utmost secrecy are Section 97. Their badge is a numbered dark Blue Sunburst insignia, which is, appropriately, rather hard to make out against its black background field. Answerable only to the Emperor and the Patriarchy they are named for Imperial Edict 97, the document from which they derive their, almost total, authority. It is illegal to mention, or even hint at, their existence. Laws against imps, genies and ghosts (Slang for implanted, geneticaly engineered or psionically gifted individuals in my campaign setting) don’t apply to 97. Their agents get things done, often impossible and unspeakable things. Their unwritten motto is ‘whatever it takes...’.

Radic Vrand – Radical holo-vid director born 1078 on Glisten in the Spinward Marches. Famous, or depending on your point of view, infamous for his holo-documenary ‘The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress’. Disappeared, presumed dead, after a misjump incident en route from Equus / Lanth, to Rhylanor during the aborted filming of the incomplete and unreleased ‘Invisible Sun’ in 1120.

The Clarion – The main Imperial news organ. The Clarion is a podcast news and current affairs channel and is directly operated and controlled by Imperial authority. It is a free service and compulsory on all networks within the Imperium. Blocking or censoring its signal is an Imperial offence. The service was a consolidation of the many regional Imperial media organisations at the start of the 5th Frontier War. Under new war broadcasting restrictions, introduced to curb reporting for reasons of ‘Imperial security’, only The Clarion and officially sanctioned elite corporate media organs such as the Traveller’s Aid Society, were allowed to podcast details of the conflict. This legislation remained on statute after the war ended. Ironically the name Clarion is taken from the same speech as Radic Vrand’s controversial holodoc ‘The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress’.

Dotted Lines – Popular euphemism for secret information. Comes from automated Imperial computer censorship programmes which used to replaced censored words, and outline interdicted facilities and cartographic features, with dotted lines.

Ghibbelines - The pro-Imperial counterpart of the Guelphs; derogatory ‘Gibberers’ or ‘Gibons’. Political factions or agitators in support of the Emperor and feudal Imperial power in general. Comparison originated in the standard school textcast ‘The Decline and Rise of The Human Empire’ by Capital historian Rakahsa Diarlukivu (902-1023) after the end of the Solomani Rim war in 1002. This history clearly depicts the Ghibellines as noble inheritors of man’s civilising spirit and remains the basis of the official Imperial school history curriculum.

Guelphs – Guelphs or ‘Welfs’, derogatory ‘Whelps’, are members of factions opposed to Imperial power. Although the term has stuck and is derived from comparable terms of political dispute native to medieval Terra the comparison is inexact. Medieval Guelphs were noted for support of Pope and Church authority over that of the Holy Roman Emperor whereas in the 3rd Imperium the term applies more generally to any opposition to Imperial feudalism. The Ine Givar are portrayed as a violent extension of this movement. Historically there was no single overarching Imperium wide terrorist organisation calling itself ‘Ine Givar’. However many violently anti-Imperial organisations are now happy to use this as an umbrella term.

The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress – Originally a famous quote, paraphrased from the title of an ancient Terran novel, used in a speech announcing the outbreak of the 5th Frontier War by Emperor Strephon. Used in context the speech concentrated on the loneliness of command and the sacrifices made by the Nobility for the well being of its citizenry.
‘It is with heavy heart that I commit myself, and my own flesh and blood, to this conflict. However, I am honour bound to protect our great civilisation from this barbaric assault. The Imperium is a harsh mistress but she is mother to us all. Her call is the clarion call of duty and of honour.’ Emperor Strephon.
The quote was famously subverted by Radic Vrand in his underground holodoc of the same name. Vrand’s, now illegal, vid contained graphic footage of the war and showed the Imperial Navy subjugating and bombarding worlds within its own boundaries under cover of the conflict. Vrand portrayed the practice as a recurring Imperial strategy citing precedents in earlier Imperial wars. The vid is now a cause celebre amongst Guelph factions.
CaptainSkip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 08:21 AM   #13
Easterner9504
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Mesa, AZ
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress

Sounds like the Impies I've always known. Be it imprisoning their own at the Gash or using the adventurers as stalking horses so they can melt their enemies with FGMP's. GDW often seemed to lean in that direction in my opinion.

Great background you did up CaptainSkip.

In the intelligence field I long ago wrote this for JTAS.

http://jtas.sjgames.com/login/article.cgi?749
__________________
Chard: The army doesn't like more than one disaster in a day.

Bromhead: Looks bad in the newspapers and upsets civilians at their breakfast.
Easterner9504 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 10:37 AM   #14
Tipsy
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Toronto, ON
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainSkip
Tinman, I've just started a Spinward Marches campaign which is going to feature sneakiness and espionage quite heavily (Although the characters don't know it yet...) I created a campaign glossary of ideas and changes to/interpretations of canon for the layers. One for me and a heavily censored one for the players (My Imperium is heavily feudal Imperialistic and maintains a powerful behind the scenes grip on a sizeable chunk of news media and reportage). Reading the canonical material I also became aware of a gap, or at least a grey area that hadn't been filled.

I came up with my own deep cover Imperial intelligence organisation. They operate 'legitimate businesses' throughout the Imperium. The players present employers, Vapour Trails 'Space Trucking' Division, being onesuch. Here's some of the info/flavour text from the campaign glossary (Uncensored, you being a GM and all). Definitely NOT canon but might give you some ideas...
Wow...that was pure awesome.

My only question would be: if you were playing in the TU where everything goes to pot, how would you fit these concepts in?

Personally, I can think of two ways off the top of my head. Either:

"In late 1115 a Ministry of Justice study notes that the origin of a disproportionate number of The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress vids can be traced back to Ileish sector. This report was ignored by top court officials."

or

"Shortly after the death of Randic Vrand, Strephon was given an illegal copy of The Imperium is a Harsh Mistress by his daughter. Out of curiosity he watched the banned vid. Strephon was shocked and horrified. The Emperor had, since birth, been spared many of the more gruesome details of his rule. Indeed part of Section 97 and the Patriarch's rationale was that their independent actions would protect the Emperor from staining his hands with too much innocent blood.

For a month, Strephon regularly watched the vid and made discreet inquiries regarding Section 97 and the Patriarchs. Then, without council from his chief advisors (all of whom had ties to various court factions) Strephon acted. Many Section 97 officers were removed from their positions, a few were even charged with crimes, and a handful of senior nobles were asked to abdicate their positions. Strephon was determined to make real reforms starting at the highest level.

Shortly thereafter, a secret conclave of Patriarchs and Section 97 members met in Massilia sector. After 12 days a number of them departed. Most returned to their posts or Core sector. Seven of them headed to Illiesh by fast transport and were recieved by Archduke Dulinor..."

Last edited by Tipsy; 02-19-2007 at 01:48 PM.
Tipsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 02:02 PM   #15
Tipsy
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Toronto, ON
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Continuing to transpose Captain Skip's brilliant work to the Rebellion Era TU (most because no one else seems to want to play at the moment)...

No one knows exactly when the relationship between the top levels of Section 97 and the Patriarchs shifted from 'occasional overlap' to 'necessary qualification.' However, by the late 900s Section 97 had begun to look more and more like the private secret police of this small cabal of influencial nobles and by the turn of the millenium whether their first loyalty was to the Elder Patriarchs or the Emperor was an open question. A question that Strephon's attempts at reform forced Section 97 to answer...

Last edited by Tipsy; 02-19-2007 at 03:14 PM.
Tipsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 08:08 PM   #16
Captain Midnight
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Baltimore, MD
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

So if the members of "The Patriarchy" are also members of the nobility, why don't they show up in peerage lists as "not dead yet"? Do old copies of the Birthday List disappear in a puff of smoke, or just go down the Memory Hole? Does nobody care that old nobles are still around? Do they keep having to re-invent their identities every so often ("Yes, I'm Count Ivor's great-great grandson Leopold. Everyone says I'm the spitting image of the old Count.")?

What about genetic identifiers? Do they edit all possible places that their genetic code could be stored every time they re-invent themselves? I'm now imagining the level of paranoia you'd have to keep up for your entire life to do that, and to keep the number of places manageable. Wow.

How do you pass a law that makes mentioning or hinting at the existence of a group illegal? I'm trying to imagine the text of such a law now and not coming up with anything. ("You're being arrested under Article 14.5.4, Imperial Code. That prohibits mentioning... um, I can't say what it prohibits. Doesn't seem to be any text in the law book, either.") Also, isn't the text of Imperial Edict 97 (or for that matter, all Imperial Edicts) going to be a matter of public record, promulgated widely through the entire Imperium?
Captain Midnight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2007, 11:30 PM   #17
G. Kashkanun Anderson
 
G. Kashkanun Anderson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: +44.95°, -93.094°
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Midnight
How do you pass a law that makes mentioning or hinting at the existence of a group illegal? I'm trying to imagine the text of such a law now and not coming up with anything.
A good place to start might be Great Britain's Official Secrets Act of 1989. Section 5 of the Act deals with penalties for disseminating secret information.

Merely mentioning something in conversation wouldn't be the same thing as publishing information about it, or actively seeking to disseminate information about a top secret Imperial organization.

Quote:
("You're being arrested under Article 14.5.4, Imperial Code. That prohibits mentioning... um, I can't say what it prohibits. Doesn't seem to be any text in the law book, either.") Also, isn't the text of Imperial Edict 97 (or for that matter, all Imperial Edicts) going to be a matter of public record, promulgated widely through the entire Imperium?
If I'm reading CaptainSkip's dissertation on paranoia correctly, Section 97 and Imperial Edict 97 are not the same thing. Section 97 may claim authority based on IE-97; but that doesn't mean that anything in IE-97 specifically authorizes their existence, or was ever even intended to. Unintended ramifications are the rule, rather than the exception, in most laws passed into the books. This should be an easy thing to do with IE-97, which, besides being incredibly broad in its scope, also happens to be a good 34 pages long!

Or, alternatively, there is specific authorization written in to IE-97. It's just that that section of the Edict is highly classified.
__________________
"There is something finer in this Galaxy than Ming's Law!" -- Barin of Mongo
G. Kashkanun Anderson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2007, 12:51 AM   #18
sn0wball
 
sn0wball's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Schleswig, Germany
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Midnight
How do you pass a law that makes mentioning or hinting at the existence of a group illegal?
Well, keep in mind the nature of the Imperium. It is not comparable to todays democracies. Traditionally, most states aren´t too specific about protecting what they think constitutes state security.

An Imperial law such as this can be kept really vague. There is are no legal principles like Seperation of Powers or Rule of Law in the Imperium, at least no in todays sense. Unlike the law of a 21th democracy, this law does not have to stand up to constitutional standards in a court.

Every Citizen of the Imperium knows that in matters of what the Imperium considers to be state security, it is a really harsh mistress.

Also, state security has often been a vehicle to suppress dissenting opinion or oppositional movements.
__________________
No unconsenting english phrases were harmed during the writing of this post.
sn0wball is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2007, 03:20 AM   #19
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Ok - sorta on topic, but also sort of not...

In my campaign that I've got ongoing, I had to accomodate a new player within the group. As a first time beginner, much of the background was left to me to fill in by the player. The "Mystery" behind her origins is that she doesn't remember exactly where she came from, but has vague recollections of her mother and twin sister. Her father disappeared a short time ago and the really hard part (from her perspective) is that the girl is "home tutored" and is zeroed to the extent that she doesn't seem to have any official Imperial records on her existence.

The basic storyline is that her father is a spy, who feeds usually accurate but not important information to the Sword World Military. Her father really is an Imperial Naval Intelligence officer working deep cover as a double agent - and one whose children unexpectedly showed signs of being psionically capable.

The man as part of his cover, married a woman in the Sword Worlds and has two children by that marriage - twins. The Wife of the agent within the Sword Worlds is unaware of his Imperial loyalties, and is also unaware that the accident that claimed her daughter's life was really intended to claim BOTH of her daughters' lives, and that in reality, her "dead" daughter is in fact alive and living within the Imperium as a "zeroed" citizen. This accident was arranged by her husband as soon as he realized that his children were psionically capable (he actually has a latent ability that provides a natural mind shield). He regrets that he's left one of his daughters behind, but can not do anything about it since the Sword Worlds have sent him into Imperial space under deep cover.

The girl is home tutored by her father and knows only life aboard the 100 dton ship that is piloted by her father. She is carried aboard his passenger manifest only as a recent addition, and had spent much of her time in port secreted away in a smuggler's hold within the engine room. She has no records of her existence within the Imperium save for one: Her certifications.

In order for him to pilot his ship, he needed to use his daughter as a rated drive monkey (his ship failed to pass a safety inspection and this was forced upon him). So, he took his 15 year old daughter who already was familiar with the workings of the drives, trained her up to certification standards, and then had her pass the certification examination after paying for her test and sponsoring her. Since the certification exam took place on Adibicci, she has SOME "paper trail" involving her, but very little.

The mystery is:

Why was she separated from her family?
Why did the father disappear suddenly?
What would happen if she were discovered to be a Sword Worlder by birth
What would happen if she were discovered to have psionic potential.

Actual Character age is 17 although everyone in the group is being led to believe she is actually 19. Much of her skill set would be appropriate to a spy - and indeed, her mentor *IS* a spy. She just isn't a spy for anyone as yet. The disadvantage "Evil twin" is such that her twin sister IS known to be a psionically gifted individual and has been trained to use her potential by the Sword Worlders. In fact, her evil twin sister is now being used on her first assignment against the Imperials as her mother has been recruited by the Sword World intelligence agencies. After all, if the husband has proven reliable, might not the mother too become a useful tool?

And that's as much as I've got detailed. I'm leaving the fate of the father open ended on the grounds that it could be any number of reasons why:

1) he had reason to believe his cover had been blown and that his ship was the target of a shoot on sight order.

2) he was pulled by the Imperial Naval Intelligence for a debriefing or perhaps for training. Originally, he thought he'd only be gone a short time only to discover too late, that he was pulled for reassignment without warning and had to leave her beached.

3) An agent of the Sword Worlder's recognized his daughter and he had to go on a head hunting expedition in order to preserve that secret. Unfortunately, he is now dead having managed to preserve his secret at the cost of his life

4) something not as yet thought of that can be useful for bringing the father back at a later point in time.

At present, he has only been gone for about 12 months or so. As for the player character? She is now serving aboard the Empress Nicollete as a drive monkey on an aging ship whose maintenance requirements now depend on three engineers rather than two. Needing to bring in some income, the girl is tired of living as a begger type and probably wouldn't mind having the benefits of a ship's walls around her for security sake.

And that is as far as the story line has been outlined...
__________________
Newest Alaconius Lecture now up:

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/scourge-of-shards-schpdx

Go to bottom of page to see lectures 1-11
hal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2007, 07:22 AM   #20
Tipsy
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Toronto, ON
Default Re: Imperial Intelligence & The Ine Givar

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Midnight
So if the members of "The Patriarchy" are also members of the nobility, why don't they show up in peerage lists as "not dead yet"? Do old copies of the Birthday List disappear in a puff of smoke, or just go down the Memory Hole? Does nobody care that old nobles are still around? Do they keep having to re-invent their identities every so often ("Yes, I'm Count Ivor's great-great grandson Leopold. Everyone says I'm the spitting image of the old Count.")?

What about genetic identifiers? Do they edit all possible places that their genetic code could be stored every time they re-invent themselves? I'm now imagining the level of paranoia you'd have to keep up for your entire life to do that, and to keep the number of places manageable. Wow.
I don't think the idea is that upon initiation that members of the Patriarchy disappear. It is that the Patriarchy itself is a secret society. Perhaps an open secret amongst the top levels of Imperial nobility, but a secret nonetheless. Think Imperial Freemasons and you are pretty much where I am in terms of imagining them.

And while many of the them may be exceptionally long lived, anagathics are already available to the elite in the Imperium...which must actually be the source of a lot of conflict now that I think about it. Who wants to be the first child of a duke born when their father was 40 when his life expectancy may be somewhere around the 200 mark? The Patriarchy may have begun life as a mutual defense compact designed to eliminate or co-opt upity and impaitent young nobles eager to inherit.

Oh...and Lucan totally thought he was in line to become a full initiate of the Patriarchs right up until the assassains were at his door. Unfortunately for the Patriarch faction that authorized the regicide, Lucan was every bit as cunning, vicisous and unstable as the initial Section 97 assessment indicated.

Finally, I do kind of dig the idea of a small cabal of near immortal enhanciles at the core of the Patriarchy. Paranoid puppet-masters hidden away in palaces on isolated, uncharted worlds or in lairs located in the under-catacombs deep beneath the Imperial City on Core.

Last edited by Tipsy; 02-20-2007 at 07:28 AM.
Tipsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:34 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.