'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Genetically engineered or even uplifted animals for hunting would be a source of plot hooks. The Count loves to hunt, and he loves a challenge, so he's had his biotechs give his favorite preditors human level intellegence. The Count is having a ton of fun, the peasants hate it.

The uplifted preditors are deadlier by far, and the Count's wild and reckless hunts are running people down and destroying property. Especially bad is the fact that the uplifted preditors know that leading the Hunt pack and party through villages and farms both gives the preditors a better chance to escape and weakens the defenses of their prey later.

The Count is a disgrace to the nobility, but local politics, especially the vanity and reactionary fury of several highly placed young nobles who are fanatically anti-Solomani, shield the Count.

Something has to give, but what?

Hunting accident!

It can be arranged.

''Don't weep for dear Count Doofus, he died doing what he loved most."

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Hunting accident!

It can be arranged.

''Don't weep for dear Count Doofus, he died doing what he loved most."

Better and better.

The Devoted Citizens of his fief grieved for several days. Curiously the price of Terran Vodka had a remarkable spike during that time.

[Whitestreak]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Hunting accident!

It can be arranged.

''Don't weep for dear Count Doofus, he died doing what he loved most."

"Do not worry, the up-lifted Koolun Cave-Bear which killed Count Doofus was killed by Scouts from the local Station after a short search."

[jason taylor]

Foreigners Dispensation(FD) : This is an Honorary Knighthood given in several orders to non-Imperial citizens. In the Order of the Arrow it is given to notable scientists, explorers, and others who have made contributions in fields related to the jurisdiction of the IISS. Because of the diplomatic difficulties this can only be given by the Emperor himself. As Scout Patron, Grand Princess Iphigenia has recommended several for this.

Related is Citizens Dispensation(CD). This is an honorary membership in the Order of the Arrow given to Citizens of the Imperium who are not members of the IISS but have made contributions in fields related to the Scouts purpose. In many cases it comes with an automatic offer of temporary or permanent employment in the Scouts; having a CD is usually enough to supersede any disqualifications other then those related to security(I.E. presumed physical or even mental disabilities would be superceded by possessing a CD as would lack of education, but being blackmailable probably wouldn't).

[combatmedic]

Dulinor killing Iphigenia really sucked. I suspect she'd have made a great Empress.

Of course, in the GTU, she still has a chance.

:)

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Dulinor killing Iphigenia really sucked. I suspect she'd have made a great Empress.

Of course, in the GTU, she still has a chance.

:)

Oh she would have been a good empress. She had a streak of gravitas.

[jason taylor]

Law of Hot-trod:

My Heroes Country rather then Imperial. If a crime is committed to far from government reach for an appeal to be made, the chief executive official(starship captain, captain of an on-planet venture, outpost factor, etc) has a standing warrant to act in-lieu of the government until the emergency has passed, subject to board of inquiry. To put it another way, they have a right to activate their naval reserve rank on certain conditions, subject to review. Minor government officials in the same situation have the same warrant. For instance if a member of the crew of a trade-scout or frontier merchant is kidnapped, the captain has a right to form a warband and lead it against the kidnappers until the captive is rescued. What he does not have the right to do is pursue a drawn out private vendatta long after the urgency of the situation is over. This, by the way, is one reason for insisting that master's licences for long-range frontier merchants are only given to Patricians who have thus been schooled in the same background as Patricians who went into government service. It is intended not only that they have a minimum of skills but the ethos to not go to far. The second is more of a problem then the first in fact; many frontier merchants from my heroes country are skilled warriors in their own right, but a few are rather loose with the disciplines of civilization.
Naturally there are Imperial counterparts to this law, Imperials having to live on a frontier too. Many of these are mentioned in canon, though local customs go through rather tangled convolutions.

The term "Hot-Trod" by the way was gotten from Anglo-Scottish border-law. Under this a clan was allowed to form it's own posse for four-days after a cattle-raid with the approval of the law.

[combatmedic]

The Hot-trod law seems like the sort of thing that makes for good adventures.

Given the nature of jump space travel and communications, it also makes quite a lot of sense.

[jason taylor]

Like I said, it has Imperial counterparts. The SPA's "director's discretion" and some of the customs of Imperial Nobility for instance. And of course the "Imperial Rules of War" which are basically, "Be powerful enough not to be thought presumptuous, don't be powerful enough to be thought a bother, and don't make to much of a mess"(OK, that's not the real "Imperial Rules of War" but they were never written down anywhere and anyway that is a reasonable if cynical way to look at it).

I

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

The Hot-trod law seems like the sort of thing that makes for good adventures.

Given the nature of jump space travel and communications, it also makes quite a lot of sense.

I have similar, but only for nobles who have been officers of the imperial services. (Remembering that there is no Imperial Army.)