A preview for Aslan has now been posted - you can grab it from;
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1665
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1665
Aslan Preview
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Madarin Dude
SOC-13
Looks nice the artwork is nice and clean. I look forward to it.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I can't stand the art. Looks like a Japanese comic book, to me.
I guess I'll have to face it: As much as I try to, I just don't like what Mongoose is doing with Traveller.
The Central Supply Catalogue looks promising to me, but the two pages weren't much to go on. I do like the art in that book--those weapons have a very "Traveller" feel.
But, these Aslan, not so much.
I guess I'll have to face it: As much as I try to, I just don't like what Mongoose is doing with Traveller.
The Central Supply Catalogue looks promising to me, but the two pages weren't much to go on. I do like the art in that book--those weapons have a very "Traveller" feel.
But, these Aslan, not so much.
BeRKA,
Let me guess. You've got a MgT writing credit?
From the preview, which is not the whole book:
- The book completely drops the ball on psionics. This alleged Aslan lack has never mentioned before in any previous product. In fact the only Major Race said to be lacking in psionic abilities are the Hivers and canon is quite clear that the Hivers are the only major race with such a lack.
- The hoary "Lions = Aslan" trope gets perpetuated. Despite stating that "... the Aslan bear little resemblance to Terrestrial lions." all the art portrays the Aslan as exactly that.
- The history of the Trojan Reach is completely bolluxed, it bears on a passing resemblance to the actual history. The passages regarding the Second Empire and Second Empire colonies in the region are completely at odds with explicit canonical statements. Also, claiming that the Reach is "... an expanse of uncharted worlds and petty, backward barbarian kingdoms, a chaotic, treacherous zone of space teetering on the maw of the Great Rift." the book chooses to ignore the ~5 subsectors that are part of the Heirate, the 3+ subsector Imperial Duchy of Tobia, the 1+ subsector belonging to the Florian League, and Glorious Empire.
- Reference to the Sindal Empire controlling most of the sector is also at odds with canon.
On the other hand:
- The preview doesn't mention Mongoose's huge prior mistake in stating that the Aslan are an uplifted species.
- The map of the Sindal subsector matches canon and the sole UWP matches too.
- The book seems to address Aslan dietary requirements, something previous canon had sadly ignored. This alone may be worth the price of the book, IMHO.
Going by the preview and Mongoose's track record with Traveller so far - which is a bit like going by a movie preview and the director's track record - I'll go with a provisional rating of Can Be Plundered for MgT: Aslan.
Regards,
Bill
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
In CT Aslan have the same psionic potential as humans, vargr, k'kree and droyne.
Colin,
As you can see by Mike's and Aramis' posts, the details of Aslan psionics isn't something that we need to actually recall. Instead, it's rather easily checked.
Which makes all the more sad why Mongoose couldn't be bothered to check YET AGAIN.
I'm sure we'll be reading the same old excuses soon; We've re-imagined the game and Marc personally checks/approves everything. The former is used all too often and the latter has been proven untrue with, among other things, the "Aslan are an uplifted race" comment and as recently as the Freedonian System Defense Boat thread.
Regards,
Bill
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Funny, I do recall psionics and the Aslan being mentioned in Rats & Cats and in the same way Mongoose uses it. Furthermore, it is how I have used IMTU. Therefore, seeing it in print makes me smile slightly. It could be that it was product of the same diseased imagination or simply a logical outgrowth or there was some small marginal reference which stuck in my head.
But, just as the Hivers were not psionic then TNE made them. If all things have to go back to CT roots then Mongoose does not stand a chance of succeeding with gognards. But, if they make an interesting case then we should accept it just as we would accept DGP or any of the other Traveller publishers that were not GDW.
But, just as the Hivers were not psionic then TNE made them. If all things have to go back to CT roots then Mongoose does not stand a chance of succeeding with gognards. But, if they make an interesting case then we should accept it just as we would accept DGP or any of the other Traveller publishers that were not GDW.
Could you provide a reference, please?
This grognard would be satisfied if they did their homework and didn't change things unless they needed to be changed. Then I'd cheer them on when they changed things. That needed to be changed.
BTW, I don't accept everything DGP did. They made some very good stuff, but they made their share of mistakes too. Like moving Kuzu from a dozen parsecs from the nearest Hierate border to adjacent to the border (Yes, after 3,000 years in space, the acquisitive Aslans still have three neutral worlds neighboring Kuzu -- if you believe DGP).
Hans
Kafka,
Compare and contrast the following:
This from Solomani & Aslan:
Aslan have less psionic potential than humans, and psionic practices are rare in the Hierate, with few psionic research establishments to be found. Psionics remain almost non-existent in the Colonies as well. Because of the lesser psionic potential among the Aslan, the rare psionic study center that does exist often falls short in knowledge and expertise when compared to human psionic institutes.
Still, assassins are those most attracted to the use of psionics. Also, two rival clans in the Colonies do make regular use of psionics: (snip)
Apply a -2 DM per 8 ftahea over an age of 8 ftahea when Aslan take a psionic examination.
As an Aslan ages, psionic strength deteriorates dramatically.
Psionically talented Aslan must pay a higher psionic strength point cost to affect the minds of aliens. See the Aslan Psionics Against Other Races table for the specific costs.
And this from MgT: Aslan:
Psionic ability is virtually unheard-of among the Aslan and there is some doubt as to whether or not the race is naturally psionic. The few known cases of Aslan possessing such abilities are all shrouded in either mysticism or can be attributed to genetic
manipulation or alien technology. Aslan Player Characters may not possess any psionic ability at the start of the game.
In S&A we're told that Aslan use psionics is rare primarily due to a lack of testing and educational institutes of psionics in the Heirate. We're also told that assassins are attracted to psionics use and two named colonial clans regularly use them. We're then told how to model Aslan psionics is game terms with varying DMs for testing and different costs for psionic use listed in an actual table.
In MgT:A, we're told that psionic Aslan are unheard of, that there are doubts as to whether the race is psionic, and that the few known cases have been explained away as the results of geneering or the effects of alien technology. We're also explicitly told that Aslan characters cannot possess any psionic ability at the beginning of a game.
There's a great difference between those two explanations of Aslan psionics.
That's nice. This isn't about your Traveller universe however. This is about the Official Traveller Universe.
It's a product of little or no research or desire to research on Mongoose's part and a dim recollection on your part. You making changes to YTU is both expected and encouraged. A publisher making changes to the OTU another thing entirely.
TNE did no such thing. All it did was introduce one specific psionic attribute for Hiver Dreamers that could only be applied by GM fiat. There were no DMs, no skill tables, no psionic strength point costs, nothing to make the Dreaming ability a part of chargen or a part of the game beyond that of GM fiat.
You've got that backwards. It's Mongoose's disdain for previous material that means MgT is disliked by grognards. It's players new to Traveller who don't care and they don't care because they don't know.
Regards,
Bill
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Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
It feels like to me that they hire a write who scans some Traveller canon. This writer thinks he "gets it" because he read the first sentence from every parapraph (heck, he didn't have time to read all that crap!). And, then he goes off and writes what he wants.
When what he writes breaks 30 years of established canon, Mongoose simply retcons it. "This is the way it is now."
I don't like it. Not one bit.
When the preview includes stuff that is obviously wrong, it makes me wary of the overall product.
Prior Aslan were not so "leonine" and just generally felinoid. The art is all right as artwork, but not commensurate with the fully upright stance and gracile bodies of the AM1 and S&A aslan; these guys are 3/4 upright, looking more robust as well.
Psion,
I've no trouble with the art as art. It's as good, if not better, than that found in other RPGs. I do have trouble with the text stating "the Aslan bear little resemblance to Terrestrial lions" and the following page have several Aslan figures which look exactly like bipedal lions in combat armor.
Mechanically it's clear and flows well. The information within the text is the problem.
I've a wonderfully written book covering 18th Century land battles, simply beautiful prose throughout. It also refers to Pickett's Charge as a cavalry attack. Sort of ruins the book for me.
Minor, unless you as a player want to play psionic Aslan assassins or you as a GM want to use the psionically adept Yeoil Kew clan of the Trojan Reach. Then the problem isn't minor anymore. And if you aren't familiar with real Traveller you won't know enough to ignore the side bar.
You know what's really sad? There's a psionic Aslan clan in the Trojan Reach, the Reach is the astrographic setting provided in the new book, and Mongoose's usual shoddy research has removed any option for MgT players to use that clan when they failed to provide psionic rules for the Aslan. For all their bleating about providing more options for Traveller, they've actually removed an option here.
Regards,
Bill
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beowulf2044
SOC-12
Reading these posts strikes a familier chord with me as to the comment that the canonical information simply exists. It's the same reaction I have whenever I watch some later incarnation of Star Trek (Cripes, I have the -expletive deleted- Technical Manual, why don't these -expletive deleted- TV writers?)
G. Kashkanun Anderson
SOC-13
In their defense, you actually misread what they wrote. The material states that much of the sector was under control of the Sindalian Empire, not most. And that is arguably true.
On the other hand, Mongoose, it's pronounced Sirka ... as in Ziru Sirka. "Ziru Sirku" actually means "rulership over the infallible ants." :rofl:
Thank. You. That is almost word-for-word the first reaction I had when I took a gander at that preview. Then again, since they had already put a curvy lion-chick vogue-ing on the cover of their Spinward Marches book, I had already been braced for that reality anyway.
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