Did you say "Imperial" Navy, sonny?

[Supplement Four]

On my wall-to-wall re-reading venture of all things CT, I note a "tone" in Book 4.

Take a look at pg. 1, and then read the Background paragraph on pg. 3.

I've always considered a character who enlisted in the Army in Book 1 to be enlisting in the Imperial Army--not some army of some world.

Same thing goes for all the services.

What I'm readining in Book 4 lends itself to the idea that characters who go through Army/Navy/Marine carreers can be considered going through chargen as either a soldier in the Imperial services....or a soldier serving a member world.

We're not always talking about the Imperial forces here?

I guess not. I thought we were, but it doesn't look like it from Book 4.

And, if you figure there was no "Imperium" when Book 1 was first printed, that makes sense.

 

[Supplement Four]

On my wall-to-wall re-reading venture of all things CT, I note a "tone" in Book 4.

Take a look at pg. 1, and then read the Background paragraph on pg. 3.

I've always considered a character who enlisted in the Army in Book 1 to be enlisting in the Imperial Army--not some army of some world.

Same thing goes for all the services.

What I'm readining in Book 4 lends itself to the idea that characters who go through Army/Navy/Marine carreers can be considered going through chargen as either a soldier in the Imperial services....or a soldier serving a member world.

We're not always talking about the Imperial forces here?

I guess not. I thought we were, but it doesn't look like it from Book 4.

And, if you figure there was no "Imperium" when Book 1 was first printed, that makes sense.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Well, as far as book 4 went, I thought it was always implicit that some soldier's careers would be in non-Imperial militaries.

I never once created such a character, though.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Well, as far as book 4 went, I thought it was always implicit that some soldier's careers would be in non-Imperial militaries.

I never once created such a character, though.

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
On my wall-to-wall re-reading venture of all things CT, I note a "tone" in Book 4.

Take a look at pg. 1, and then read the Background paragraph on pg. 3.

I've always considered a character who enlisted in the Army in Book 1 to be enlisting in the Imperial Army--not some army of some world.

Same thing goes for all the services.

What I'm readining in Book 4 lends itself to the idea that characters who go through Army/Navy/Marine carreers can be considered going through chargen as either a soldier in the Imperial services....or a soldier serving a member world.

We're not always talking about the Imperial forces here?

Obviously not. The Imperial Navy canonically have rear and vice admirals, yet there is no mention of them in the Character Generation System .

Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...


Hans

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
On my wall-to-wall re-reading venture of all things CT, I note a "tone" in Book 4.

Take a look at pg. 1, and then read the Background paragraph on pg. 3.

I've always considered a character who enlisted in the Army in Book 1 to be enlisting in the Imperial Army--not some army of some world.

Same thing goes for all the services.

What I'm readining in Book 4 lends itself to the idea that characters who go through Army/Navy/Marine carreers can be considered going through chargen as either a soldier in the Imperial services....or a soldier serving a member world.

We're not always talking about the Imperial forces here?

Obviously not. The Imperial Navy canonically have rear and vice admirals, yet there is no mention of them in the Character Generation System .

Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...


Hans

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by rancke:
Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...

That's true. There definitely is a difference in nobles seen as more and more Traveller was published.

I notice a lot of "glossing over" too as the different editions of Traveller stack up.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by rancke:
Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...

That's true. There definitely is a difference in nobles seen as more and more Traveller was published.

I notice a lot of "glossing over" too as the different editions of Traveller stack up.

 

[Psion]

Well, you talk about book 4, but your thread title, implies book 5, which already included planetary, subsector, and Imperial Navy divisions. When rolling extra-imperial characters, I always simply assumed that only the first two were available to small states. The various alien books provided guidance as to the sorts of changes that might be needed for modestly to greatly different cultures.

Originally posted by rancke:

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
[qb]Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...

I've seen various extensions of the social scale. At the time, it always frustrated me that you couldn't roll these levels. Later in life, I twigged to the fact that PC generations systems are for, well, PCs. You don't really WANT your average player to have a chance to randomly roll the Archduke of the domain.

 

[Psion]

Well, you talk about book 4, but your thread title, implies book 5, which already included planetary, subsector, and Imperial Navy divisions. When rolling extra-imperial characters, I always simply assumed that only the first two were available to small states. The various alien books provided guidance as to the sorts of changes that might be needed for modestly to greatly different cultures.

Originally posted by rancke:

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
[qb]Seriously, the original CG system was extremely generic (and quite rightly so, since the original rules were meant to be generic). It's a great pity the writers ignored that when they began to develop the Imperium. Look at how the planetary nobles of the original system turned into Imperial nobles, which made a system that spread the lower and middle classes out over nine levels squeeze the entire upper class, from country squires to emperors, into two levels...

I've seen various extensions of the social scale. At the time, it always frustrated me that you couldn't roll these levels. Later in life, I twigged to the fact that PC generations systems are for, well, PCs. You don't really WANT your average player to have a chance to randomly roll the Archduke of the domain.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Psion:
Well, you talk about book 4, but your thread title, implies book 5, which already included planetary, subsector, and Imperial Navy divisions.

I meant the thread for all military careers. Just went with the Navy as a "catchy" title for the thread.

In mentioning Book 5, though, I remember the different enlisment throws required.

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">From Book 5 pg. 2
------------------
9+ Imperial Navy
8+ Subsector Navy
7+ Planetary Navy</pre>[/QUOTE]Now, compare that with the enlistment throw in Book 1 (8+ to get into the Navy), and it becomes clear that Book 1 is talking about a more generic Navy--not the Imperial Navy.

A GM could easily take this model and apply it to the Marines or the Army.

You want to be an Imperial Marine? No problem. Roll a 10+ to enlist (as opposed to the 9+ roll in Book 1).

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Psion:
Well, you talk about book 4, but your thread title, implies book 5, which already included planetary, subsector, and Imperial Navy divisions.

I meant the thread for all military careers. Just went with the Navy as a "catchy" title for the thread.

In mentioning Book 5, though, I remember the different enlisment throws required.

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">From Book 5 pg. 2
------------------
9+ Imperial Navy
8+ Subsector Navy
7+ Planetary Navy</pre>[/QUOTE]Now, compare that with the enlistment throw in Book 1 (8+ to get into the Navy), and it becomes clear that Book 1 is talking about a more generic Navy--not the Imperial Navy.

A GM could easily take this model and apply it to the Marines or the Army.

You want to be an Imperial Marine? No problem. Roll a 10+ to enlist (as opposed to the 9+ roll in Book 1).

 

[Psion]

Hmmm. Within the Imperium, are there any non-Imperial marines? I mean, I could see them existing, but I don't recall any distinct mention of marines other than Imperial Marines. Where Huscarles and the like were mentioned, they were laid out like army forces.

 

[Psion]

Hmmm. Within the Imperium, are there any non-Imperial marines? I mean, I could see them existing, but I don't recall any distinct mention of marines other than Imperial Marines. Where Huscarles and the like were mentioned, they were laid out like army forces.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Psion:
Hmmm. Within the Imperium, are there any non-Imperial marines? I mean, I could see them existing, but I don't recall any distinct mention of marines other than Imperial Marines. Where Huscarles and the like were mentioned, they were laid out like army forces.

Why not?

Aramanx, in the Spinward Marches, is TL 6 and balkanized. One or several of those countries wouldn't have a Marine force? Certainly they have an army. That's mentioned in the Traveller adventure. Why not marines too?

Or, a political coalition of worlds in the same star cluster? Book 5 says there's subsector and planetary navies. Wouldn't those navies have a marine force associated with them?

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Psion:
Hmmm. Within the Imperium, are there any non-Imperial marines? I mean, I could see them existing, but I don't recall any distinct mention of marines other than Imperial Marines. Where Huscarles and the like were mentioned, they were laid out like army forces.

Why not?

Aramanx, in the Spinward Marches, is TL 6 and balkanized. One or several of those countries wouldn't have a Marine force? Certainly they have an army. That's mentioned in the Traveller adventure. Why not marines too?

Or, a political coalition of worlds in the same star cluster? Book 5 says there's subsector and planetary navies. Wouldn't those navies have a marine force associated with them?

 

[Psion]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
Why not?

Again, I didn't say they couldn't be. I was just saying there is no mention of them.

Aramanx, in the Spinward Marches, is TL 6 and balkanized. One or several of those countries wouldn't have a Marine force?

Now it's been forever since I have looked at Book 4, but I thought that Marines therein referred to spaceship-borne marines, and thought the assignments and skill set reflected that (vacc suit, zero-g combat, etc.)

Of course, it wouldn't be too hard to tweak it otherwise.

 

[Psion]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
Why not?

Again, I didn't say they couldn't be. I was just saying there is no mention of them.

Aramanx, in the Spinward Marches, is TL 6 and balkanized. One or several of those countries wouldn't have a Marine force?

Now it's been forever since I have looked at Book 4, but I thought that Marines therein referred to spaceship-borne marines, and thought the assignments and skill set reflected that (vacc suit, zero-g combat, etc.)

Of course, it wouldn't be too hard to tweak it otherwise.

 

[aramis]

The rules ever got adjusted to match the fill text, even in later editions. (MT, T4)

TNE was different enough, and was explicitly local worlds for Army...

Bk1 and Supp 4 are BOTH generic. Bk4-5 are semi-generic... Bk6-7 are clearly the OTU in action, but still a bit fuzzy.

 

[aramis]

The rules ever got adjusted to match the fill text, even in later editions. (MT, T4)

TNE was different enough, and was explicitly local worlds for Army...

Bk1 and Supp 4 are BOTH generic. Bk4-5 are semi-generic... Bk6-7 are clearly the OTU in action, but still a bit fuzzy.