Marquis of Rech

[Adam Dray]

I received my system assignment from Marc: Rech/Lanth 2112 D9957AA-6. I now have cards for Marquis of Rech, Baron of Rech, and Baroness of Rech.

First of all, why three? I did purchase a Baron moot membership and then upgrade, so I'm not surprised to get both Baron and Marquis. I'm a little surprised at the Baroness. My wife likes it though, but doesn't like having a rank lower than me. :rofl:

How does this work? Do I hold multiple titles now then? Is the Baron Rech title transferable? That is, can I hand someone the card and make them Baron Rech?

What is the intent of "ownership" of this system? Is there a wiki somewhere where I can develop Rech further? (If not, I'll start one of my own.)

(Yes, I realize this is all in fun.)


I scoured the Internet to learn everything about my system. At first, I was a little dispirited, as the TAS description of Rech/Lanth 2112 makes it look like a shithole of the first degree. I kept my chin up, however, and figured I'd make the best of it.

As I dug further, I learned more cool stuff about it. It was covered in GURPS Classic Starports, and apparently Rech has a few things going for it:

• It has a decent highport, and lots of folks think it's worthy of an upgrade from D to C. (And is C in New Era.)
• Though the planet itself is fairly inhospitable, the population lives in buried berths deep underground, accessible via an elevator. That's pretty cool.
• Hey, it's on the Spinward Main near the outer fringes. Lots of traders come through, by necessity.
• There's talk of an x-boat route being added, and some say it might come through Rech.
• Rech borders the Abyss Rift. Spooky!
• Wypoc, the system next door, has a secret psionics academy.
• Hey, I'm a charismatic dictator.

 

[whulorigan]

I received my system assignment from Marc: Rech/Lanth 2112 D9957AA-6. I now have cards for Marquis of Rech, Baron of Rech, and Baroness of Rech.

First of all, why three? I did purchase a Baron moot membership and then upgrade, so I'm not surprised to get both Baron and Marquis. I'm a little surprised at the Baroness. My wife likes it though, but doesn't like having a rank lower than me. :rofl:

How does this work? Do I hold multiple titles now then? Is the Baron Rech title transferable? That is, can I hand someone the card and make them Baron Rech?

What is the intent of "ownership" of this system? Is there a wiki somewhere where I can develop Rech further? (If not, I'll start one of my own.)

All of us are waiting to learn the details of the changes in the Nobility system for T5.

What we can say from the BBB:

The Barony and Marquisate are two separate Noble titles, which could normally be held by two separate individuals (potentially). In your case, you have both patents. That means you have more terrain hexes associated with your Land Grants on Rech:

1) 4 Mainworld-Hexes on Rech for your Barony;
2) 1 Mainworld-Hex on Rech for your Marquisate;
3) 7 Mainworld Hexes scattered across Pre-industrtial worlds throughout the Lanth Subsector (including, but not limited to, Rech).
​

Theoretically, you could pass your Barony on to an heir early (i.e. abdicate the title in favor of your heir) so that s/he can get experience administering a fief while you are still alive and able to guide him/her. Beyond that (unless something has changed we do not know about) the Imperium does not practice subinfeudination.

And as the Imperial Noble, you are the adviser and representative of the Imperium to the world, and of the world before the Imperium/Moot (and responsible for "encouraging" the world to be more economically profitable under the Imperial system). Since the world is governed by a Charismatic Dictator, you and that Dictator may or may not be the same person.

 

[Adam Dray]

Thanks for the quick response!

The mainworld-hex holdings... The Marquisate gets fewer hexes than the Barony? Is that correct? From the Nobility article on the wiki:

Baron
The second level of noble rank is the baron, the lowest level accorded membership in the peerage. Barons are referred to in several different styles including the use of prefixes to the surname (such as von, haut, or hault) and or the title Baron (or Baroness for females). An individual accorded a barony for service may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 100 square kilometers. When a barony includes a fief, then the title is generally followed by the fief's name (such as Baron Solvenos).

Marquis
The third level of noble rank is the marquis. A marquis is associated with a single world (generally a large and important one with a type A or B starport). The title consists of the world name after the title, as in the Marquis of Aramis (or, alternatively, the Marquis Aramis).

That suggests Marquis Rech controls all of Rech (the world). No?

 

[whulorigan]

The mainworld-hex holdings... The Marquisate gets fewer hexes than the Barony? Is that correct?

No. The first hex in any grant is on the Noble's Homeworld (which I am here interpreting as Rech - the Fief-world). The remaining hexes are allocated randomly according to the land-grant chart.

For a Baron (4 hexes), the remaining 3 hexes are all in the same system (as Rech). So all 4 grant hexes are on Rech.

For a Marquis (8 hexes), the remaining 7 hexes are all in the same subsector as Rech, on similar Pre-Industrial Worlds (i.e. some of those 7 hexes could be on Rech, and others on other Pre-Industrial Worlds in the same subsector - they are randomly determined).

That suggests Marquis Rech controls all of Rech (the world). No?

Possibly. If you also happen to be the Charismatic Dictator of the Local Government as well as the Imperial Noble, then yes.

As far as Imperial Titles, the Noble Extension for Rech is BCD, which means it merits a Knight, a Baron, and a Marquis. So you are the ranking Imperial Noble on the planet.

[FONT=arial,helvetica]

Baron
The second level of noble rank is the baron, the lowest level accorded membership in the peerage. Barons are referred to in several different styles including the use of prefixes to the surname (such as von, haut, or hault) and or the title Baron (or Baroness for females). An individual accorded a barony for service may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 100 square kilometers. When a barony includes a fief, then the title is generally followed by the fief's name (such as Baron Solvenos).

Marquis
The third level of noble rank is the marquis. A marquis is associated with a single world (generally a large and important one with a type A or B starport). The title consists of the world name after the title, as in the Marquis of Aramis (or, alternatively, the Marquis Aramis).

The quote above is from the older versions of Traveller. The Noble system has changed somewhat in T5 (and we do not know all of the details yet). Search some the the T5 threads concerning Nobility, and you will see all of the discussion and speculation.

Basically, it seems that ALL Nobles in T5 are now associated with a SINGLE WORLD as follows (based on Trade Classification):

Knights: All Worlds - (1 Grant Hex in Same System as Homeworld)
Baronet: Pr-Agricultural and/or Pre-Rich - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](2 Grant Hexes in Same System [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld[/FONT])
[/FONT]Baron: [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Agricultural and/or Rich - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](4 Grant Hexes in Same System [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld[/FONT])

[/FONT]Marquis: Pre-Industrial [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]- (7 Grant Hexes in Same Subsector [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld[/FONT] Grant Hex)[/FONT][/FONT]
Viscount: Pre-High Population - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](15 Grant Hexes in Same Subsector [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]Grant Hex[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT])

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]Count: [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]High Population and/or [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Industrial - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](31 Grant Hexes in Same Sector [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]Grant Hex[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT])[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
Duke: "Important" Worlds (Ix = 4+) - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](63 Grant Hexes in Same Sector [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]Grant Hex[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT])
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]Subsector Duke: Subsector Capital Worlds - [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica](127 Grant Hexes in Same Sector [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]as Homeworld[/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica][FONT=arial,helvetica]Grant Hex[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT])


EDIT: Note - Though all fiefs/grants are associated with a single world, the Noble may have an appointed position of authority that is separate from the Grant (e.g. The higher (second) level of Duke is associated with the Subsector Capital world in T5, but also has the appointment of Subsector Governor). This may hold true for lesser nobles as well. They may have their fief/grant world(s), but also possibly some specific governmental authority at the interstellar/Imperial level bestowed by the Emperor, such as (for example) a Count acting as local minister of the IMoJ for the Subsector or Sector.

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[Adam Dray]

I think Rech is a prime candidate for an xboat stop and Scout base, if they were to add a route from Rhylanor - Tureded - Rech - Regina (each jump-4).

• jump-4 from Tureded (SPIN 2414 C565540-9) and Extolay (SPIN 1711 B55589A-A). Tureded is jump-4 from Rhylanor (RHYLANOR 2716 A434934-F).
• jump-3 from Regina (REGINA 1910 A788899-C)
• jump-2 from Dinomn (SPIN 1912 B674632-9)

I would think a direct xboat route connecting Regina to Rhylanor would be very desirable. Both are capitals. Rhylanor hosts the headquarters of several major corporations, a scout base, xboat communications depot, and regional scout planning & command center. Regina hosts Archduke Norris and is a diplomatic site for meetings with the Zhodani Consulate and the Federation of Arden.

 

[rancke]

What is the intent of "ownership" of this system? Is there a wiki somewhere where I can develop Rech further? (If not, I'll start one of my own.)

You're welcome to add to the description of Rech in the Traveller Wiki as long as you mark it as non-canon.

[*]Hey, it's on the Spinward Main near the outer fringes. Lots of traders come through, by necessity.

Only if you overlook or ignore the peculiar nature of Traveller ship construction (as, sadly, Traveller writers have done since the beginning, so your misapprension is perfectly understandable). The thing is, that although for distances of one parsec, jump-1 is cheapest, for any distance greater than one parsec, jump-2 and jump-3 is cheaper (per parsec per unit) than jump-1. So the classic picture of multiple jump-1 traders busily working their way up and down the Spinward Main is unrealistic. Most traffic between worlds will be carried on jump-2 a nd jump-3 ships. Jump-2 traffic from Regina will go by Wypoc and Kkirka, bypassing Rech. Traffic between Wypoc and Kkirka will use jump-2 ships. Jump-3 traffic from Yori will bypass Rech.

That said, there will be some traffic passing through. Jump-2 traffic from Yori and Dinomn and Extolay will go through Rech, Jump-3 traffic from Regina and Jenghe and Dinom will go through Rech, eyc., etc..

[*]There's talk of an x-boat route being added, and some say it might come through Rech.

Well, the X-boat Division has to justify its budget somehow.

[*]Hey, I'm a charismatic dictator.

Just like your counterpart in the OTU!


Hans

 

[whulorigan]

I think Rech is a prime candidate for an xboat stop and Scout base, if they were to add a route from Rhylanor - Tureded - Rech - Regina (each jump-4).

• jump-4 from Tureded (SPIN 2414 C565540-9) and Extolay (SPIN 1711 B55589A-A). Tureded is jump-4 from Rhylanor (RHYLANOR 2716 A434934-F).
• jump-3 from Regina (REGINA 1910 A788899-C)
• jump-2 from Dinomn (SPIN 1912 B674632-9)

I would think a direct xboat route connecting Regina to Rhylanor would be very desirable. Both are capitals. Rhylanor hosts the headquarters of several major corporations, a scout base, xboat communications depot, and regional scout planning & command center. Regina hosts Archduke Norris and is a diplomatic site for meetings with the Zhodani Consulate and the Federation of Arden.

I'll bring it up at our next Local Peerage Summit Conference (see my signature below).

 

[rancke]

I would think a direct xboat route connecting Regina to Rhylanor would be very desirable. Both are capitals. Rhylanor hosts the headquarters of several major corporations, a scout base, xboat communications depot, and regional scout planning & command center. Regina hosts Archduke Norris and is a diplomatic site for meetings with the Zhodani Consulate and the Federation of Arden.

A direct communication link between Rhylanor and Regina would indeed be desirable. And never mind a four jump link, a two jump link with jump-5 couriers going through Echiste would be far more desirable than an X-boat route. So how come such a link hasn't been created 400 years after the invention of jump-5 back in 700?

My explanation is that such a link WAS created 400 years ago. When jump-5 was invented, the Imperial Navy declared it a military secret and for several decades it was the only ones around with jump-5 couriers. So the Emperor began sending copies of all official communications by navy couriers and Imperial nobles and officials began sending copies of their reports back by the same means. And these copies arrived weeks and months before the originals arrived by the much-lauded X-boat Servive. When at last the jump-5 drive became declassified, there was no incentive for the X-boats to upgrade and no political pressure to do so. But there remained a huge budget allocated to the X-boat Service, and to protect that, the Service continued its now partially redundant (there was still some shorter routes where the X-boat were useful) activities.

Pretty much the same happened when jump-6 was invented. Initial IN monopoly followed by the X-boats still not upgrading.

(Also, and completely unrelated to IN couriers, there are presumably a few jump-5 passenger liners going between Rhylanor and Regina, catering to the bigwigs who don't mind paying triple fare to complete their travel twice as fast.)

That's my story, anyway.


Hans

 

[Adam Dray]

You're welcome to add to the description of Rech in the Traveller Wiki as long as you mark it as non-canon.

Okay. Awesomesauce.

Only if you overlook or ignore the peculiar nature of Traveller ship construction
. . .
the classic picture of multiple jump-1 traders busily working their way up and down the Spinward Main is unrealistic.

I get what you're saying. I imagined that there are just lots of still-functioning jump-1 ships out there that haven't been upgraded to jump-2 or better for whatever reason, and they still ply their trade up and down the Main. Buying an old, used jump-1 ship might still be more economical than buying a new jump-3 ship.

Most traffic between worlds will be carried on jump-2 a nd jump-3 ships. Jump-2 traffic from Regina will go by Wypoc and Kkirka, bypassing Rech. Traffic between Wypoc and Kkirka will use jump-2 ships. Jump-3 traffic from Yori will bypass Rech.

That said, there will be some traffic passing through. Jump-2 traffic from Yori and Dinomn and Extolay will go through Rech, Jump-3 traffic from Regina and Jenghe and Dinom will go through Rech, eyc., etc..

Got it. Wypoc is Amber, though, so would that stifle traffic through there?

 

[Adam Dray]

I'll bring it up at our next Local Peerage Summit Conference (see my signature below).

Oh!

I assume Rech is part of Regina County, though, correct?

 

[rancke]

I assume Rech is part of Regina County, though, correct?

All we know (and that only if we accept the information in GT:Nobles) is that Lanth does not have a duke of its own (if there was one, the poor fellow would have a tax base about 2% (guesstimate) that of his average fellow duke). Lanth could be a county under one of the neighboring duchies (Regina or Rhylanor or Lunion) or it could be split between the three, the way Aramis subsector is split between Regina, Rhylanor, and Pretoria. That's the version I favor.

In Marc Miller's New OTU, Lanth could be a duchy of its own (with a ****-poor duke). We don't know yet.

In my TU (so not canon at all), I have the coreward string of worlds down to Pirema organized in an oversized (but by no means over-populated) county und a Count of Dinomn.


Hans

 

[whulorigan]

I assume Rech is part of Regina County, though, correct?

Under the earlier Noble system, Rech would likely have been administered as a part of either Regina Duchy or Rhylanor Duchy. But according to the latest T5 World Data (T5SS - T5 Second Survey) spreadsheet, the world of Lanth has been assigned a Subsector Duke (no one is sure whether or not that is going to be an errata item or not for a future T5SS update - DonM is working those through with Marc Miller). If it stands, then Rech will be part of Lanth Duchy.

 

[Dagrill]

I would think a direct xboat route connecting Regina to Rhylanor would be very desirable. Both are capitals. Rhylanor hosts the headquarters of several major corporations, a scout base, xboat communications depot, and regional scout planning & command center. Regina hosts Archduke Norris and is a diplomatic site for meetings with the Zhodani Consulate and the Federation of Arden.

Couldn't agree more, you could also link with the route that ends at Inthe and go on to Regina.

Could also have a route down to Skull and keep me in the loop

Regards

David

 

[rancke]

Couldn't agree more, you could also link with the route that ends at Inthe and go on to Regina.

Could also have a route down to Skull and keep me in the loop

It's not that there isn't going to be trade between worlds far apart. It's that even with a string of worlds lying one parsec apart between them, jump-2 and jump-3 traffic is going to be more competitive than jump-1 traffic.

And before anyone brings up speculative trading, jump-2 and jump-3 traffic has a big advantage over jump-1 traffic there too: lower overhead and faster turnaround.

I'm not saying that there isn't going to be the odd 40+ year old jump-1 free trader here and there (hey, we've got canon examples of such ships ), but for long-distance traffic spanking new, full-unpaid-mortgage, jump-1 traders will be at a crippling disadvantage vis-á-vis jump-2 and jump-3 ships.


Hans

 

[Adam Dray]

Has anyone played with the numbers to lower the efficiency of jump-2 and higher starship trading? That is, figure out the overhead cost at which the bigger j-drives are not more efficient for trading than jump-1?

There'd still be a competitive advantage in being able to reach more worlds faster, but the overall cost of the mortgage and the maintenance would be higher for the more expensive, larger drives.

 

[Adam Dray]

So, found this thread, The Rech System / 2112 Spinward Marches in which user Tanuki mentions Marc sent him the patent of nobility for Marquis Rech already.

Rech has nobility code BCD, meaning just one Marquis, so I assume my patent is a mistake.

 

[whulorigan]

Duplicate Patents

So, found this thread, The Rech System / 2112 Spinward Marches in which user Tanuki mentions Marc sent him the patent of nobility for Marquis Rech already.

Rech has nobility code BCD, meaning just one Marquis, so I assume my patent is a mistake.

Reference Post #589 in the [FONT=arial,helvetica]Patent of Nobility Card (where are you?) Thread[/FONT]

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=474778&postcount=589

 

[Adam Dray]

None of those are satisfying from a "this is my world to develop" point of view, unfortunately. I suppose two different Marquises could post Non-Canon sections on the wiki, but that seems confusing and troublesome, and it sorta spoils the patent for me.

I don't think Tanuki is doing anything with Rech (publicly, anyway), so maybe it's a non-issue here, but it's mildly grumblesome.

 

[Adam Dray]

The Second Survey data for Rech lists it as W=15. Is that 15 total worlds or code for 1 of something and 5 of something else, say 1 gas giant and 5 regular planets?

What is the significance of RU=-378? Resource units, I know, but I don't have rules that tell me what that means.

Is there a place I can look up the extended economic code and cultural codes, or are they just quantitative numbers 6 Acceptance is just more than 5 Acceptance, rather than meaning something particular?


Sector Hex Name UWP TC Remarks Details {Ix} (Ex) [Cx] Nobility Bases Zone PBG Allegiance Stars SS W RU
Spin 2112 Rech D9957AA-6 Ag Pi { -1 } (966-1) [9678] BCD 501 Im M0 V G 15 -378

 

[Reban]

W = 15 is a total of 15 worlds, but worlds includes stars, belts, gas giants, the Main World and 2D other bodies. It would be handier if it was broken down like that rather than given as a single figure.


RUs are a source of great debate right now because their explanation hasn't been very illuminating.

RUs do not translate directly into credits or "stuff". It works more like GDP and GNP in the real world. It shows the comparative strength of the economy. So if Rech has 378RUs and another world has 189RUs we can say Rech's economy is twice as strong as the other world.

There are lots of threads on COTI trying to translate RUs into credits or BattRons or gold plated toilets for the dictators palace, but so far I'm not convinced.