Aliens in the Rim

[Golan2072]

I'm trying to compile a list of sophonts common (or atleast not extremely rare) in the Solomani Rim sector. the list in the extensive Library Data web page is a good start. I'm also trying to find cannon references (and useful fan sites, too!) for each of these races.

So far I have:
- Solomani (DUH!); AM6
- Mixed Humans (Imperials)
- Vilani (or were the Vilani worlds in this sector absorbed into the Solomani Culture during the Rule of Man and the Long Night?)
- Dolphins; JTAS #5 (IIRC)
- Vargr, quite rare traders and soldiers in the Imperial part of the sector;
- Vegans; S10; S11
- Hivers (probably just traders and/or permament delegations; The SolRim is quite close to their space); Reference? One of the JTASes IIRC?
- Aslan; AM1; how common are they in the SolRim sector anyway? Did their MT-era invasion reach this sector?
- Droyne (possibly); A3, A12, AM5; Are there any Droyne worlds within that sector anyway?
- Intelligent "biochips"; A13 (IIRC)
- Ursa (?); T20 (?) - I've only read T20 a few times at a friend's, so I don't recall the details. Uplifted Terran Bears?

 

[jfetters]

Do you have AM5 on hand? I am at work, so don't have access at the moment, but as I recall, the back inside cover has a sector map covering most of known space with stars representing Droyne worlds.

I can't remember if SR was in that chart or not.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Daibei is the closest Droyne world. You might meet a few, but they're rare.

 

[Golan2072]

I looked at the chart; Andrew Boulton is right, no Droyne around, living atleast. And their merchants aren't THAT far-reaching typically.

It seems that the greatest number of alien races are in the Corridor and Spinward Marches sectors, probably due to the fact that the Spinward Marches, for the very least, was the focal point of much of the (CT-era atleast) Traveller material.

 

[Maladominus]

As someone running a 5-month old Solomani Rim campaign, I know I can add a lot more:

Ormine (Dark Nebula) -- minor reptilian race, conservative long-lived, Gerontocracy of Ormine is a vassal of the Solomani Confederation. They are "indebted" to the Terrans/Solomani because the early Terrans gave them Jump Technology. They usually dont travel outside of the Dark Nebula tho.

Chirpers (everywhere) --- yes, there are Chirper sites all over the rimward sectors. Note that this is not the same as Droyne. Chirpers are (as you know) primitive non-cast Droyne.

Tursiops Galactis --- uplifted sentient dolphins. You already know about these.

Sentient Orangs and Sentient Gibbons. Uplifted and bio-engineered by the same Solomani scientists that gave sentience to dolphins. Source, Solomani & Aslan DGP book and also mentioned in GURPS Traveller Rim of Fire.

P.S. --- I am almost finished publishing a PDF article for Sentient Orangs, which I will call logically the (genus species) Pongo Pygmaeus Sapiens. Current 21st century animal orangutans are called Pongo Pygmaeus. My 57th century Solomani-uplifted orangutans will be called the Pongo Pygmaeus Sapiens. My canon source for this species is GURPS Traveller Rim of Fire, which says that after the Gene War, the Solomani finished the project of uplifting the Orangs and Gibbons into full sentience. The stupid gorillas didn't make the cut. LOL


Geonee (originally from Massilia). Umm don't forget the Geonee. Anyone that knows a thing about the Geonee knows that they are a VERY advanced and nomadic people. The dwarf nutcases also claim that they ARE the Ancients. They love to travel, they are like space gypsies, and they are known to have established small settlements all over known human space. Their homeworld of Shiwonee is less than 2 sectors away from the Solomani Rim. Logic says that they will have a few scattered (gypsy-ish) settlements or roving merchant caravans in the Rim. Plus, do remember that during the Interstellar Wars, the Geonee strongly allied themselves with the Terran Confederation.... which helped to bring down the Vilani Imperium.

Orca Orcinus Sapiens (uplifted killer whales). I think this was also a DGP reference. They also got uplifted by the same Solomani scientists from GenAssist, the same ones that bio-engineered the dolphins into full sophonts. There are a few sentient Orcas in the Rim. However, the LARGEST population of them were transferred into the neighboring Diaspora sector planet of Sufren, a huge waterworld with vast oceans. Sufren was briefly the sector capital of the Diaspora sector, also known as "The Jewel of Diaspora Sector" (during the Golden Age of Strephon). MegaTraveller sources mainly.

GURPS Traveller race --- the Gurungans. They are somewhat sinister and nasty looking squid sophonts. They in fact resemble the Githiaskio (another intelligent squid-race) from the JTAS. The Gurungans are enemies of the uplifted Dolphins. They hate each other. GURPS Rim of Fire says that the Gurungans claim 2 planets in the Ultima Subsector. Morgana and Ugarup. The humans of the Rim do trade with them, but for the most part leave their oceans alone... they are really scary-looking giant squid sophonts and GURPS Rim of Fire hints that they communicate via some kind of telepathic-sonar ability. I would leave them alone too.


Hivers in the Rim --- DGP Solomani&Aslan has stated that the Hivers have purchased parcels of land on Terra. To be exact, they bought some land in lovely Australia. LOL. So yes, there ARE permanent Hiver settlements in the Solomani Rim. Dont just think of them as tourists or visiting delegations.


Last but not least, let's talk about the Vilani in the Solomani Rim. Your best source here is Rim of Fire. In Rim of Fire, it clearly spells out a handful of worlds that "retained its Vilani culture and character". In the Ultima subsector, one planet called Darrukesh is a VERY VILANI PLANET. In fact, the planetary government of Darrukesh is modeled after the government of the old Ziru Sirka (the First Imperium). It is ultra conservative. They enforce old conservative Vilani traditions and values. Solomani are not welcome in Darrukesh. In Darrukesh, you are Vilani or you get the hell out. =)

There are several other planets in the Rim that are Vilani legacy planets, having retained Vilani name, Vilani language, Vilani culture, and Vilani nationalism, but Darrukesh is the most extreme example.


I know there are more... but I need to go back to my notes.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
Sentient Orangs and Sentient Gibbons.

Mal,

Solomani & Aslan also mentions that the orangs and gibbons were inovled in some unspecified manner in the equally unspecified Solomani 'Gene Wars'. The sourcebook goe on to say that, while they exist, they and their supporters are in hiding.

So, while they should be on your list, the chances of the players encountering one should be extremely low.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Maladominus]

Yep Bill. They are fully sentient and they do survive into the modern (classic) era. Although as far as in hiding, I would think that they would be fully oppressed only if they remained within the territory of the xenophobic Solomani Confederation.

If these sentient orangs/gibbons had made their way into the more-tolerant Imperium-held territory... granted, the Third Imperium would treat them a little better. Probably not a lot better. But at least the Imperium, in theory and in law, will treat sophonts with equal rights. This is in theory. In practice, bigotry and racism/xenophobia is alive and well within many places in the Imperium too.

And how many Imperial officials (e.g. Imperial governors, nobles) actually know what went on in the murky Gene Wars? Probably less than 5% have even heard of it. The Confederation has done a good job of erasing that part of Solomani History from most of the history books.

Come to think of it.... you just gave me a good idea for a campaign scenario! "Help the Orang escape from SolSec and make his way across into the Imperium!" =)

 

[sid6.7]

hehehehe

make it a space opera like sound of music

the "family" wants to escape....and since
earth has a history of having dancing monkeys
playing for money...make them musical/acrbobats
that put on a show for the h'noids...while
setting up a escape plan...

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
And how many Imperial officials (e.g. Imperial governors, nobles) actually know what went on in the murky Gene Wars? Probably less than 5% have even heard of it. The Confederation has done a good job of erasing that part of Solomani History from most of the history books.make his way across into the Imperium!

Mal,

I'd DGP did a good job of nearly 'erasing' it from S&A! They provided a little sidebar, a single illo, and maybe 5 paragraphs of text?

What were they thinking? So little information about a conflict over geneering that supposedly effected the entire Confederation? It was a post-Rim War event too, IIRC. The first confederation-wide crisis of the 'modern' Confederation and we get a handful of paragraphs? Huh?

Geneering is supposed to be the Sollies' hole card too. The Zhos get psionics, the Vilani get 'governence', and the Sollies get geneering. Yet... the Sollies fight some sort of a war over geneering and DGP tells us nothing about it. Huh?

That's like having an overview of the 20th Century and saying: "Oh, before I forget, near the middle of the century most of the world was engaged in some sort of war. Now, back to shoe styles..."

Huh?


Have fun,
Bill

P.S. You're right, and underground railaroad for uplifted orangs and gibbons would make a nifty campaign!

P.P.S. Orangs and gibbons? Why not chimps and gorillas too? Another DGP "Huh?"

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
Yep Bill. They are fully sentient and they do survive into the modern (classic) era. Although as far as in hiding, I would think that they would be fully oppressed only if they remained within the territory of the xenophobic Solomani Confederation.

Remember that the SolConfed is horribly factionalized - they'll be opressed mostly on worlds/areas where the "Hardliners" dominate, and will be far less opressed on worlds where the dominant solParty faction is the "Pan-Sophonists". It also gives the "Pan-Sophonist" radicals something to campaign about.

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Geneering is supposed to be the Sollies' hole card too. The Zhos get psionics, the Vilani get 'governence', and the Sollies get geneering.

And don't forget cybernetics, either... Even with all their shortcomings (such as being a totalitarian state, atleast where the "Hardliner" faction predominates), the Solomani are far more progressive than the Uber-conservative Imperium.

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
That's like having an overview of the 20th Century and saying: "Oh, before I forget, near the middle of the century most of the world was engaged in some sort of war. Now, back to shoe styles..."

We were ALWAYS at war with Eastasia.

EDIT: Where was the "Gene War" mentioned in Cannon? Was it just a plotline that DGP had second thoughts about and simply cancelled?

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
Chirpers (everywhere) --- yes, there are Chirper sites all over the rimward sectors. Note that this is not the same as Droyne. Chirpers are (as you know) primitive non-cast Droyne.

The Droyne module (CT) shows known Chirper worlds as well - but none of those is in the rim.

And about the Aslan - how far to the Trailing (that is, outside the Hirate and into the Confederacy) do they travel frequently to trade (or serve as mercenaries)? And how far to the Trailing have they invaded in the aftermath of the Rebellion (and the fact that the Solomani fleets were mostly engaged in combat against the Imperium to the Coreward)?

 

[Starviking]

Wasn't there some change to the Droyne world generation rules post CT? I seem to remember a lot of MT and TNE sectors with lots of Droyne populated words...

Starviking

 

[jfetters]

I don't remember any rules as such for worldgen in TNE, but I think TPTB took some liberties and dumped some Droyne on a couple worlds, most notably Daalisa (from "Hit the Silk" in Smash & Grab).

TNE pretty much ignored the Droyne save for that adventure, focusing more on Hivers & Ithklur.

 

[Maladominus]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:

And about the Aslan - how far to the Trailing (that is, outside the Hirate and into the Confederacy) do they travel frequently to trade (or serve as mercenaries)?

It's pretty impossible/unprofitable to do interstellar trade if your traders are not allowed to cross into your neighbor's border.

So I would assume the Aslan traders are allowed to penetrate at least 1 or 2 subsectors into the Confederation borderlines. At least.

Were you aware that at least one Aslan Tlaukhu political bloc (which is 3 clans that belong to The 29) owes its ranking and wealth primarily to trade with the Solomani? Without their lucrative trade with the Solomani (and Imperium), these three powerfully rich mercantile clans would instantly become worthless umentionable nobodies. They are the only Aslan clans that would be dreadfully horrified if a full-scale war were to erupt between their Heirate and the human empires. Their main source of income/wealth/prestige would be wiped out if this were to happen.


Ikhtealyo Clan
Tlaukhu rank 8

The Ikhtealyo clan and its two associates (Tlerlearlyo and Yetahikh) seek peace with other major interstellar governments. Heavily involved in interface trading, the bloc would suffer greatly from the loss of extra-Hierate trade during a war with the Imperials or Solomani.

Soon after the Peace of Ftahalr in 5372 (380 Imperial), the appeal of dust spice from Romar (Spinward Marches 2140) triggered a surge of colonization across the Rift. This brought Ikhtealyo clan into the Tlaukhu, allowing its companies to trade with the maturing Domain of Deneb, and to a lesser degree the Zhodani Consulate and other neighboring human states.

Tlerlearlyo Clan
Tlaukhu rank 20

The Tlerlearlyo clan and its two associates (Ikhtealyo and Yetahikh) seek peace with other major interstellar governments. Heavily involved in interface trading, the bloc would suffer greatly from the loss of extra-Hierate trade during a war with the Imperials or Solomani.

Closer to Kusyu, Tlerlearlyo companies trade vigorously with the Solomani. This bloc also provides Imperial systems with perhaps the best conduit of information about the Hierate.

So there you go. That should be evidence enough that at least one Aslan clan bloc (which is actually an alliance of 3 powerful clans) is privileged enough to do "vigorous trade" with the Solomani Confed. I'm almost sure the Confederation allows their traders to enter deep into Confederation territory. Perhaps allowing them to enter into select trading worlds.

To back this up, I have a copy of Traveller's Digest 19. It says that the 3 clans of this block stand to lose as hostilities increase between the Hierate and the Imperium/Confederation. Should relations (with the human empires) grow worse, the clans of "Ikhtealyo clan bloc face their demise as powerful clans and members of The 29."

Sucks to be them.

 

[Elliot]

Bill - the Gene War was not a significant feature of the original GDW alien module on the Solomani, nor was the cyber tech aspect brought out in the S&A book, so the blame can't fall with DGP.

In fact the DGP book is a brilliant set of hints and whispers, which is probably what such books should be.

In saying that I agree with you that the Solomani's skill in geneering and cybernetics was a missed opportunity in the Megatraveller era - in fact at the time I remember reading Solomani and Aslan and thinking, why don't DGP liberate the Solomani from the nazi ghetto that GDW put them in.

But it didn't happen and that was a missed opportunity.

 

[mike wightman]

I wonder what the adventure book that would have accompanied S&A would have been like?

On the ask Joe thread did anyone ask if the adventure was going to develop any of these themes?

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
P.S. --- I am almost finished publishing a PDF article for Sentient Orangs, which I will call logically the (genus species) Pongo Pygmaeus Sapiens. Current 21st century animal orangutans are called Pongo Pygmaeus. My 57th century Solomani-uplifted orangutans will be called the Pongo Pygmaeus Sapiens.

A taxonomic name consists of two words, the genus and the species. A third word indicates a subspecies. If your intention is that your intelligent orangs are still able to interbreed with ordinary orangutangs, then Pongo Pygmaeus Sapiens is an appropriate name for the subspecies (Note that in that case the ordinary orangutang also gets a subspecies name hung onto its original taxonomic name. Traditionally this is done by adding the species name; thus: Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus.

If, however, you feel that the genetic engineering that was done to create the intelligent version was extensive enough to make mating between original and uplifted orangutangs impossible (which I myself certainly consider the most plausible), then your uplifted orangs would have a new species name -- most likely Pongo sapiens. (In such a case the original orangutangs just keep their original taxonomic appelation).

There's also the possibility that even if the two versions were able to interbreed, people would consider the idea so yucky that they'd ignore it and give them taxonomic names as if they were different species (scientists are people too ).

Orca Orcinus Sapiens (uplifted killer whales). I think this was also a DGP reference.

These too would be Orca Sapiens (Though the original writer may not have known that).

And, yes, I'm making the assumption that taxonomic practices haven't been changed by the time of the Imperium.


Hans

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by rancke:
And, yes, I'm making the assumption that taxonomic practices haven't been changed by the time of the Imperium.

Considering the conseverative 3rd Imperial culture, it is likely that they were preserved more or less intact; in fact, the reason that no Vilani taxonomy system is used instead is probably due to the fact that Vilani sucked in biology so badly that they either had no concept taxonomy or had one so useless that even the conseverative 3rd Imperium had to get rid off.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Elliot:
Bill - the Gene War was not a significant feature of the original GDW alien module on the Solomani...

Elliot,

Not a significant feature? I can't even find a reference to it in AM:6 Solomani. It's not 'significant' because it isn't there.

The Solomani & Aslan sourcebook is the first to mention it, so they should have done a somewhat better job.

... nor was the cyber tech aspect brought out in the S&A book, so the blame can't fall with DGP.

Just reviewing my post here... Where to I mention cybertech? Genneering, yes, but cybertech?

In fact the DGP book is a brilliant set of hints and whispers, which is probably what such books should be.

Hints and whispers? Score a laugh point.

I'm not asking for a detailed history of the Gene War or OOBs for either side. I would like know what the point of contention was all about and S&A doesn't even bother to do that. Hell, S&A doesn't even tell us how it ended or what the results were, aside from the orangs and gibbons going into hiding.

The Gene War is the only confederation-wide event we know of between Wolfe's Post-Rim War Reforms and the Assassination. All we know is that the Confederation fought an internal struggle of unknown size for an unknown period for unknown reasons that produced unknown results. Even hints and whispers would tell us more than that.

In saying that I agree with you that the Solomani's skill in geneering and cybernetics...

Geneering. Period. I never said cybernetics.

...was a missed opportunity in the Megatraveller era...

MT in general and S&A in particular introduced a few geneered human sub-races within the Confederation. There's even illos of a few, remember the fellows with bassoons built into their heads and throats? The sourcebook flat out stated there were more, then left for GMs to devise.

... in fact at the time I remember reading Solomani and Aslan and thinking, why don't DGP liberate the Solomani from the nazi ghetto that GDW put them in.

S&A did liberate them from the Commie-Nazi-Troika idea. We learned about political divisions within the Party, I'd hardly call the Pan-Sophontists 'nazis'. We learned about the reformist vs revanchists struggles. We learned about the 'liberal' Near Bootes Cluster for the first time, a polity that we 21st Centurians wouldn't feel too strange visiting. We learned about other multi-system member states too, some bad, some good, and all more nuanced than the usual Sollies=Nazis schtick.

On the whole, I think S&A was a hit and a miss. We learned a lot. We should have known more. One of the goofy roleplaying examples could have been trimmed or cut to provide the few paragraphs needed to fill out the Gene Wars.

YMMV.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Golan2072]

Even AM6: Solomani didn't portray the Solomany as Nazis or even Fascists; yes, the Solomani had racism, and some of their planetary governments did opress non-Solomani citizens, but I don't recall anything about genocide or even Balkan-style "ethnical cleansing". At their worst, the Solomani (as displayed in CT) are similar to the Apartheid-era South Africa, not the Nazis.

And they weren't displayed as Stalinists too - political officers don't make a polity Stalinist. A bureaucratic elite who manage the entire economy does. The solomani economy was far more akin to State Capitalism, ala Israel or France in the 1950's/1960's, with the state owning part of the companies in the economy but letting the private corporations run the rest.

Generally speaking, the 1950's Israel or France (the solomani are a bit more extreme, not by mouch though) could be a very good model for CT-era (i.e. based on the books I have - no S&A, only AM6 and JTAS) Solomani Confederacy. The "the universe is out to get us" feel pervades. The military has considerablepolitical power. The government is nationalist and somewhat paranoid (partially due to real reasons); the government also has a very "strong hand" approach in various fields, and employes several not-so-democratic methods to reach its ends in some cases, but all in all it barks far more than it bites. There is an atmosphere of nationalism, there is a certain level of racism, there are even racist excesses in some cases, but no one is comitting genocide or anything close to it. Neither paradise nor hell, either, and it is very different from the leisez faire (sp?) Imperium with its detached government (concerned only with maintaining the status-que and protecting megacorp profits) and relatively low popular interest in interstelar politics; The Solomani have a very active government (both for good and for bad) and are, in general, a very politically-opinionated people.

And since I don't have S&A, I'll just get rid of the gene war altogather; Even if I had it, it is too sketchy (or atleast seems so from the posts in this thread) to be useful unless used as a major plotline in a campaign (and thus requiring the Referee to work on it on his own); ignoring it is an option.

And isn't the gene war somehow related to the inter-faction arguments (i.e. who is "Solomani" and who is not, pan-sophonists say that all sophonts are "Solomani" and thus should be liberated from the Imperium; the Hardliners think that only racial Solomani Humans are "Solomani"), or to the SSMM vs. the pro-AI worlds?