Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

But the fact remains, that in the U.S. you have to choose to join the military. That doesn't equate to the omnipresent government type of Traveller lacking that initial choice.
If you were drafted then it might equate, unless I'm misunderstanding this debate subsection. A likely possibility I admit.


Edit: Not trying to derail the thread further. I posted before the previous suggestion to start another thread appeared.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

The Imperium is less omnipresent then the US government and relies on volunteers. The only thing omni present about it is geography. It can be light all over and can occasionally concentrate in a given era. But it is surely not omnipresent.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

So far as that exists, it seems to be based on honor, hereditary privileges, control of megacorps (not inferquently owned by noble houses), rank in the noble hierarchy, family connections, and military service. I'm not seeing any 'democracy' there. The Moot is not 'democratic' but aristocratic. It also doesn't govern the Imperium.

Again, YMMV, but I don't see much 'democracy' in the 3I, beyond those planets that happen to have democratic governments.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

Assuredly not, though wiggling a third estate into the system would not be beyond the capabilities of an Emperor inclined that way. However what Flynn said was "Omnipresent" and I don't see that much either. Imperial citizens can actually fight wars with each other.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

I don't believe that 'the feudal system' ever really existed. That's a RW history issue, though.

Let's leave that aside.

It does seem that the Imperium is meant to have what the authors thought of as typically 'feudal' characteristics. There's a lot of talk about feofs, personal loyalty being paramount, hierachies of nobility, knights and dames, etc.

There's a sort of Roman patron client thing in there too,

Some Early Modern Europe, for sure.


Democratic idealism? I don't see it. Maybe the Ine Givar? They want to tearn down the system, though! They are revolutionaries, not conservatives.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

Yeah, it's more like the pre-reform era Ottoman Empire or the later HRE in that regard.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

I shouldn't have to say this, but I'll remind people anyhoo-

I'm not a one size fits all Traveller fan. If your Imperium is very different from mine, that's cool beans, dudes. I'm not telling you your way is wrong.

I happen to think mine is pretty close to canon, but that doesn't make it 'better.'

If I decide to use a state church, that's be a major change. There's nothing wrong with changing stuff.

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

It does make it potentially useful to more people, though. Which IMO is the whole point of having a canon in the first place.

Not in the moral sense, certainly. But it does reduce the usefulness of the stuff to me and (I assume) to quite a few other people as well. I just can't use any adventure that presupposed an Imperial state church (without spending my time on changing it back again, that is).


Hans

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

Right.

I actually think your 'democratic Imperial values' is almost as big a change as my notion of an Imperial Church. I think it's a pretty significant departure from canon.

Or do you just mean that vague ideas about 'democracy' are fashionable in theory ( but never in practice) at the Imperial court> Something like the way some pre-French Revolution courts enterained the philosophes?

Re: Terraforming the Solar System
 

I've moved my end of this over to the new thread.