PoT Errata
Don,
additional Path of Tears errata are:
The entry on Spencer on p15 states "A low-level insurgency is apparently being supported by one or more states on Teldora as a means of keeping the Coalition tied down and distracted"
Pages 140-41 gives the Teldoran as non-balkanised. The text on p141 states "The Teldoran government viewed Oriflamme's invasion of Spencer with considerable alarm, and now sees Oriflamme as the principal threat to its security. It has been smuggling arms and other supplies to guerrillas on Spencer to keep the resistance going and keep Oriflamme tied down there."
Suggest changing the text on p15 to read "A low-level insurgency is apparently being supported by one or more factions of the Teldoran government as a means of keeping Oriflamme tied down and distracted"
Page 141 states "Kal has increased its indigenous sustainable technology to 9"
However its UWP gives its tech level as 7.
Suggest changing text to read "Kal has increased its indigenous sustainable technology to 7"
Page 123 states that "Mueller made an early and rapid recovery to its original tech level of 10"
Its UWP gives its original tech level as 11.
Suggest changing text to read "Mueller made a rapid recovery to its original tech level of 11"
On the subject of the errata, I think the additions made to bring TNE into line with other editions of Traveller should be in a separate section, as they are not TNE Errata, and in some cases make changes necessary to a lot of TNE Books.
One case in point is the changes to TED governments and wilds governments. This is best illustrated by the TED government table.
The table gives a chance of a TED government being one of the traditional Traveller governments as follows:
Feudal Technocracy: 3%
Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy: 6%
Captive Government (Colony): 8%
Non-Charismatic Leader: 25%
Totalitarian Oligarchy: 31%
Religious Autocracy: 11%
Religious Dictatorship: 8%
Charismatic Dictator: 6%
Charismatic Oligarchy: 3%
The problem is this: In the TNE setting TED governments are - by a vast margin - of a Non-Charismatic Leader or Charismatic Dictator type. This is not that much of a surprise as 'TED' stands for 'Technologically Elevated Dictator'.
Looking at Path of Tears, which covers Promise, Khulam, Thoezennt, Shenk, Aubaine and Oriflamme subsectors. Promise does not have much expansion text beyond that detailing the world Promise itself, so I'll ignore it in this analysis.
Khulam has the following TED worlds:
Suudo 2840 D778568-6 Ni Ag B102 Wi F1 V
Kide 3131 D68476A-8 Ri Ag 220 Wi M4 V
Lefiguura 3132 X86856A-3 Ni Ag B110 Wi G2 V M9 D
The text says about these worlds:
Suudo: There are 5 rival TEDs
Kide: The TED Arturo.
Lefiguura: There are 4 TEDs. Gustav, Razamis, Elinore, Kuugishiim.
No indications of anything but dictatorships.
Thoezennt has:
Sibbage 0123 X254669-6 Ag Ni 502 Wi M1 V
Burlta 0125 X79986E-1 B700 Wi M3 V
Hodg 0222 X75886C-A 802 Wi M0 V
Lote 0229 X77A66B-3 Ni Wa B802 Wi M1 V
Coaise 0723 X556867-6 C:3 414 Wi A4 V
Marax 0726 D57366D-6 Ni 903 Wi G1 V M3 D
The text says about these worlds:
Sibbage: "...under a single technologically elevated dictator."
Hodg: "...a single extremly cruel and corrupt TED."
Lote: Of the Lotean Empire, a TED government it says "Cavring is effectively the absolute ruler of Lote".
Marax: "The government of marax is a technologically elevated dictatorship...Ushugaam II is everything the RCES briefing says he is and more."
Burlta: "The world is divided into a number of feudal kingdoms...A parallel struggle, however, is for dominance by the different schools of "wizards" who rely on scattered items of TL-15 equipment or psionic powers
Coaise: No reference beyond the UWP.
So, of the worlds mentioned there are no indications of anything but dictatorships.
Shenk has:
Berkin 0926 X66A76B-5 Wa B904 Wi G2 V M3 D
Welch 0930 X344569-6 Ag 322 Wi M0 V M4 D G6 D
Shenk 1128 X554869-3 D:2 B212 Wi K4 V M4 D
Fisher's World1229 X76986B-3 B404 Wi G8 V M8 D
Marcena 1321 X57576A-7 Ag B514 Wi K1 V
Hindahl 1422 X75486B-4 B600 Wi K0 V
Kmak 1424 C696865-7 801 Wi K2 V
Dothan 1623 X54976A-4 B603 Wi K4 V M9 D
Berkin: "The Margrvate's government is...fairly benign, for a TED, but also widely percieved as inefficient and ineffectual".
Welch: No reference beyond the UWP.
Shenk: "When Balder landed in 1199 near the site of the former scout base, the ship and crew were seized by the troops of the Warlord of Stampach, a powerful local TED".
Fisher's World: "The major agressor on Midshiled is the Emporor of Arcola". The Arcolan Empire is given as a TED government.
Marcena: "This is a balkanised TED world...While a few TEDs support Solee..."
Hindal: "...most of the TEDs are fighting against Solee."
Kmak: A TED goverment. "Romrugo III, the planetary ruler..."
Dothan: "This is a balkanised TED world"
No indications of anything but dictatorships.
Aubaine has:
Nicosia 0138 X56666D-3 Ag Ni B411 Wi K4 V M2 D
"The Australian Empire (Actually a TED in which the dictator had recently assumed the title of Emperor)"
Oriflamme has:
Nex 1431 X55476A-6 Ag 913 Wi M0 V M9 D
Junak 1432 X67176C-3 B803 Wi M3 V M9 D
Nex: "While technically a TED, the planet's ruler imposed order and ended the worst of the violence."
Junak: "This is a fairly typical balkanised TED world".
So, we have 20 TED government worlds in Path of Tears. Two of these, Coaise and Welch, have no reference beyond the UWPs. That leaves us with 18 worlds. Now given the 2D6 distribution in the "TED Government Table" in the TNE Errata Document you would expect to have:
One Feudal Technocracy or a Charismatic Oligarchy.
One Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy and one Charismatic Dictator.
One or two of the following: Captive Government, Religious Dictatorship.
Two Religious Autocracies.
Five or Six Totalitarian Ologarchies.
Four or Five Non-Charismatic Leaders.
But there are only dictators in the text, where it is explicit. There is a reference that Oriflamme wishes Nex's government to be considered a Feudal Technocracy - but the text also says that this is viewed by the Federalists in the RC as solely an attempt to increase the Centrist votes in the RC Assembly.
And talking of being explicit, the text refers to Montezuma, in Khulam, in the following way:
"...whilst looking like a classic TED, it's actually a Charismatic Oligarchy"
i.e. Charismatic Oligarcies are not TED governments.
So, no Charismatic Oligarchies, no Self-Perpetuating Oligarchies, no Captive Governments or Religious Dictatorships, no Religious Autocracies and no Totalitarian Oligarchies. If the TED Government Table is adopted as official errata then you are going to have to cover Path of Tears in red ink.
Talking of red ink, the Wilds Government Table modification table is also going to result in red ink across most, if not all TNE publications.
All this red ink leads me to ask - are these changes someone's IMTU notes? In my opinion they don't reflect the TNE setting as presented by GDW - or the rules. I'm fine with errata - but retconning TNE because of someone's wish to alter the rules and setting is right out.
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