All things Zhodani
- Thread starter Murph
- Start date
I see the Zhodani as something like the ST:TOS episode "Dagger of the Mind." A psychiatrist runs an insane asylum where he uses his chair with spinning lights to reprogram everybody's mind. "I love my work." When used by the power-hungry doctor this is clearly evil. When used by the show's characters and the "good" asylum staff the show suggests this is good. I don't recall exactly how the episode ended. The problem with the asylum or with Zhodani society is that making sure this power is only used sparingly and on genuinely insane people depends on the wisdom and benevolence of the people using the power, and human beings are flawed, fallible beings. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. Who watches the watchers?
The episode ends with the evil doctor lying on the floor. Someone remarks how they couldn't imagine having their mind emptied by that thing (the chair), and Kirk replies, "Not when you've sat in it." or words to that effect.
I have a pyschopathic Psionic talent as an adventure drafted up. I may work on it some.
I have another inspired from an old Peter Falk film, but is much different. Again, a sociopathic psionic run amok. I'm not sure where to place it, within the Imperium or Zho space. We'll see.
I have a pyschopathic Psionic talent as an adventure drafted up. I may work on it some.
I have another inspired from an old Peter Falk film, but is much different. Again, a sociopathic psionic run amok. I'm not sure where to place it, within the Imperium or Zho space. We'll see.
LOL, that's an interesting question. I hadn't thought of that.
Seriously, the NPCs. What made you think the PCs would be psychopathic?
There are non-sociopathic PCs?
Heh, well, our guys got wild every now and then. The first two groups I was with it was more or less trying to feel our way around the game, and then discovering the Imperium. After that, come group 3 or 4 is "break all the rules".
Pretty wild stuff. As a Ref I began running out of ideas, and started tapping psionics more and more to mix things up for home brew adventures.
Nightwind1
SOC-12
Because in my experience, playing Traveller since 1978, most PC's ARE psychotic.
:rofl::rofl::rofl:
Oh, wait... you said "psychopathic"...
...Never mind.
I left off the "I'm joking" emoticon. That would make for very different adventure, to be sure. Maybe the PCs keep hearing the core sophonts whispering to them, telling them to do things, telling them to look up an ancient solomani called "Jack the Ripper" and follow his example...
Yes. Few, and far between. And usually not also D&D players....
Sorry Barrel, I've been on "red alert" status for the last 13 years. I should learn not to read into stuff.
Yeah, I jotted down a concept for something I had been thinking about, mapped out the "big boss battle" at the end ... and tweaked it here and there, but I'm not really sure where to place the thing. It's one of those "you and your friends confront an 'all powerful' dude who's drunk with power" kind of thing. At least he thinks he's all powerful.
I'll have to look it up ... looking it up, now. It looks interesting. It might.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
How about Zhodani agents tracking down the psionic psychopath?
The psionic psychopath could be the result of Imperial personality overlay...
The psionic psychopath could be the result of Imperial personality overlay...
That's a pretty interesting concept.
Just a few things regarding some apparent misconceptions, based on information in AM4 and some other canon GDW works:
a.) Proles are not a rightless underclass. The only roles they - and Intendants, too, by the way - are definitely excluded from are participation in the Consular, that is the interstellar, government process and participation in the criminal justice system. [AM, p.13] They can and do, depending on the world, participate in local government structures. [AM4, p. 46]
This is, of course, the exact same situation as in the Imperium or in the medieval to early modern societies that served as models for both entities.
b.) Proles are not mindless, ambitionless drones. They can reach any rank in all careers except the government and can even reach moderate positions in the latter [AM 4, p. 25]; this explicitly includes the military with the exception of the Consular Guards [AM4, p. 37]. This also means that proles can own considerable assets (e.g. starships) and participate in a wide range of economic activities.
On the flipside, the majority of proles only receives an average to below average education (Edu stat being limited by Soc) [AM4, p. 29], and the hurdles for achieving officer rank in the military (which is automatic for nobles and intendants) are quite high. So basically, you are looking at a situation similar to 18th century continental Europe. There were commoners who made it to a high rank in, for example, Frederick the Great's army. But they were a small number, especially compared to their share of the general population, of exceptional individuals.
c.) At no point is it suggested that the Tavrchedl' can psionically "reprogram" a mind. Instead, psionics allows for a deeper understanding of human psychology and thus for very effective "conventional" techniques of therapy. [AM, p. 14 and p. 28]
d.) Zhodani society is not socialist. Socialism means control of the economy (or technically, the means of production) by the state. The Zhodani Consulate clearly allows for private ownership of considerable economic assets, up to and including megacorporations. [B07, p. 13]
One can draw the sensible implication that the large majority of privately owned assets are, like the examples referred to above, in the hands of the nobility, which would make Zhodani society a mix of feudal and capitalist instead of socialist.
a.) Proles are not a rightless underclass. The only roles they - and Intendants, too, by the way - are definitely excluded from are participation in the Consular, that is the interstellar, government process and participation in the criminal justice system. [AM, p.13] They can and do, depending on the world, participate in local government structures. [AM4, p. 46]
This is, of course, the exact same situation as in the Imperium or in the medieval to early modern societies that served as models for both entities.
b.) Proles are not mindless, ambitionless drones. They can reach any rank in all careers except the government and can even reach moderate positions in the latter [AM 4, p. 25]; this explicitly includes the military with the exception of the Consular Guards [AM4, p. 37]. This also means that proles can own considerable assets (e.g. starships) and participate in a wide range of economic activities.
On the flipside, the majority of proles only receives an average to below average education (Edu stat being limited by Soc) [AM4, p. 29], and the hurdles for achieving officer rank in the military (which is automatic for nobles and intendants) are quite high. So basically, you are looking at a situation similar to 18th century continental Europe. There were commoners who made it to a high rank in, for example, Frederick the Great's army. But they were a small number, especially compared to their share of the general population, of exceptional individuals.
c.) At no point is it suggested that the Tavrchedl' can psionically "reprogram" a mind. Instead, psionics allows for a deeper understanding of human psychology and thus for very effective "conventional" techniques of therapy. [AM, p. 14 and p. 28]
d.) Zhodani society is not socialist. Socialism means control of the economy (or technically, the means of production) by the state. The Zhodani Consulate clearly allows for private ownership of considerable economic assets, up to and including megacorporations. [B07, p. 13]
One can draw the sensible implication that the large majority of privately owned assets are, like the examples referred to above, in the hands of the nobility, which would make Zhodani society a mix of feudal and capitalist instead of socialist.
ShawnDriscoll
SOC-14 1K
It's all about optics though. And the anti-Zhodani propaganda drum on the news is beat daily. That's why it's fun to adventure with Zhodani, to maybe find out if there is truth to the stories (pro/con).
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
It's more caste than class.
There is some social mobility, but seems very much dependant on you passing your Zhodani SATs.
There is some social mobility, but seems very much dependant on you passing your Zhodani SATs.
