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Old 12-01-2011, 06:22 AM   #251
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Default Re: 'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

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I found the right url to lead you to the book I was talking about. And here it is.
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Old 12-01-2011, 08:15 AM   #252
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Default Re: 'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

Ghost Pubs:

Found on a number of worlds including Capital, these are restaurants, taverns, coffeehouses, hotels and the like which the high and mighty traditionally visit incognito. Sometimes the incognito is only nominal but it at least allows them to shed their titles and take the privacy of anonymity for awhile. These vary a lot. Some of these are indeed palaces of decadence and these kind of course are the most talked about among the tabloids, while others are, aside for their informality, respectable enough to fit the most exacting Vilani standards(Though during the Zira Sirka the existence of such places was less openly admitted then it is know).

Romantic tales of such places are common throughout the Imperium. According to legend these are havens of organized crime, espionage and political intrigue. They also are well known as places of secret romantic liasons(productions with a Romeo and Juliet style plot for instance, often have members of feuding families visit these places to elope). Other stories abound such as amiable truce zones where cops and mobsters meet to share drinks. While there is much truth to these legends many ghost pubs have their own internal rules for who can use their services and will not hesitate to have security expel those who don't follow them.

A Noble among the adventurers might have familiarity with Ghost Pubs as part of Area Knowledge. Places like this might also of course, serve the traditional roles as places to recruit adventurers or gain information, though naturally CoH(professional) as applied by the employees at such places tends to include Keep Client's Secrets. If a crime takes place at a place like this Law Enforcers might have a difficult time investigating. On the other hand, managers of such places if rich enough, have been known to put bounties on the heads of clients who disturbed the peace of their establishment.
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Old 12-01-2011, 01:12 PM   #253
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Default Re: 'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

The "Dead Spacer" Bar
a chain of bars in the startowns of the marches, often within the extrality zones. Their "logo" is a genuine dead spacer - usually a marine boarder or a scout - with an obvious failure of suit, inside a strong perspex or better tech equivalent case maintained in vacuum or halon. Usually the body was willed to the chain by the deceased.

Inside, from the door to the bar is a minimum 3m wide gold stripe.
To the sides, the floor is maroon and scout-blue, one color per side, and at least 3m wide. THe two sides ALWAYS are mirror layouts.

Furnishings are always rugged and inexpensive.

Generally, scouts stick to the scout side (blue floor), marines to the marine side (maroon), and anyone else sits anywhere open. Usually noted as "No shore patrol enforcement save for AWOL/OSWOP"...

Drink prices are 50% of book for in-uniform personell in correct section. Brawling is Cr500 + damages. In 2 color bars, merchants and naval persons in uniforms get a 10% discount for being in the scout or marine sections, respectively.

Brawling is common, and Shore Patrol normally nods and winks, so long as damages are paid. Barkeeps usually are heavily armed. Often, they have history as scout infiltrators or marine commandos.

Scout-Marine Animosity
For some reason, the scouts and marines both seem to have a serious case of testosterone poisoning where the other is concerned...

Off duty, this results in a propensity to low-level brawling, nasty snark, or just plain simple avoidance.
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Old 12-02-2011, 06:04 AM   #254
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The Marquis de Carabas

I suggested this idea on the playtest board for GURPS: Traveller: Nobles, but they over elaborated it. In essence, if a noble or anyone else who can get into an exclusive venue (nightclub, cassino, bordello, exclusive party, whatever) is asked their name, and they don't want to tell anyone their name, they say The Marquis de Carabas. Mind you, if security is tight, they'll only be allowed to do that if their identity is actually known.

It's a conventional joke in the 3rdI to have the Police Chief ask the Madam of a posh bordello, "Was the Marquis de Carabas in your establishment this week?" And have her answer,"Yes, all two hundred of him."

There is little formality to the use of the Marquis de Carabas title, even a Marquis will use it. It basically means "I won't tell you my name because I'm not supposed to be here."
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Old 12-03-2011, 10:34 AM   #255
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Veteran Retirement Tickets:

Servicemen in the Imperial forces are granted as part of their retirement package a free ticket on a number of passenger lines to the planet where they have enlisted. The expense of this ticket naturally depends on the length of service and rank of the holder.

Naturally some enlistees came to get away from home permanently rather then just retiring with a bit of glory. These types commonly sell their VRTs. According to Imperial regulations it is not permitted to sell one of these tickets without a comfirming signature from an officer of the Imperial Judge Advocate General Corps. This is to ensure that no Imperial servant sells one in a state of inebriation.
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Old 12-04-2011, 11:12 AM   #256
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(This is a summation; there's a JTAS Online article called Starship Passage Vouchers that covers passage vouchers in much greater detail.)

Passage vouchers.

Passage vouchers issued by various Imperial organizations to cover the cost of starship passage. The holder presents the voucher; the details, such as name, date, origin and destination world, and cost of the passage is filled in, and the holder given passage. The voucher is subsequently presented to an agent of the organization or someone authorized to redeem its vouchers, who will reimburse the shipping company.

Passage vouchers come in three standard types: A Standard Passage Voucher, or "Mid Passage" as it's usually known, must be accepted by any ship carrying passengers within the length and breadth of the Imperium as full and fair payment for one standard passage of any lentgh in a single stateroom. Standard vouchers were originally intended for low-ranking Imperial civil servants and military personnel. Originally issued only by Imperial ministries and organizations, the enabling Imperial Edict 318 has been amended on several occasions to allow a few civilian organizations, such as the various megacorporations and the Travellers' Aid Society, to issue their own vouchers.

A Priority Passage Voucher, or "High Passage" as it's usually known, must be accepted by any ship carrying passengers within the length and breadth of the Imperium as full and fair payment for one standard passage of any lentgh in a single stateroom at the highest available standard, including cargo space for up to one dT of baggage. Should the ship be fully booked, a passenger not himself holding a Priority Passage Voucher must be asked to leave the ship in order to provide room for the holder of the voucher. Priority vouchers were originally intended for high Imperial officials traveling on official business. Over time this purpose has become somewhat diluted, and by the Classic Era they are issued to people quite far down the organisatorial 'food chains' and freely traded outside the organizations. People who are planning to use them to pay for a jump-1 or jump-2 ticket will often try to sell them to someone planning to make a jump-3 or higher trip. This is technically illegal, but that rule hasn't been enforced for many centuries. The going rate tends to be around CrImp7200 for a standard voucher, CrImp9000 for a priority voucher, and CrImp900 for a low passage voucher.

A Low Passage Voucher must be accepted by any ship carrying low passengers within the length and breadth of the Imperium as full and fair payment for one standard passage of any lentgh in a low berth. Such vouchers usually add a disclaimer to the effect that the use of this voucher is entirely at the discretion of the holder and that the issuing organization is in no way liable for damages of any kind resulting from such use. Although travel in low berth is nowhere near as dangerous as numerous urban legends would have it, detrimental effects have been known to occur.

Many starships offer passage in shared (double occupancy) staterooms, usually known as "Economy Passage", but no organization issues Economy Passage vouchers.

EDIT: Almost forgot: Retiring members of Imperial services are given enough passage vouchers to get back to their homeworld (or world of enlistment).


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Last edited by Hans Rancke-Madsen; 12-04-2011 at 10:14 PM.
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Old 12-07-2011, 10:18 AM   #257
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I think IMTU I would tone down Faux-flesh machines and the like. Maybe make them only available in port, or make them unreliable. For one thing, I want to make my culture be one that has hunting metaphors and so on and while sport hunting might do for that, survival hunting as a familiar feature of long expeditions would be useful for that.
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Old 12-08-2011, 03:42 AM   #258
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Default Re: 'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

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Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen View Post
EDIT: Almost forgot: Retiring members of Imperial services are given enough passage vouchers to get back to their homeworld (or world of enlistment).


Hans
Now a quick question... did you as a GM ever give that passage out when a PC failed to get a passage in mustering out?
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Old 12-08-2011, 04:23 AM   #259
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Now a quick question... did you as a GM ever give that passage out when a PC failed to get a passage in mustering out?
No, I just ruled that he'd used the ones he'd received to get from where he mustered out to where the campaign started.


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Old 12-09-2011, 02:23 AM   #260
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Default Re: 'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

Thanks Hans, Same ruling here with a game I was running. Those Pc's that did not get a passage were freely entitled to 1 transport home or chosen mustering out planet.
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