I agree with You that the situation would be less problematic to explain if the Avalars were or have been more neutral, but on the other hand, there might be other reasons why the Avalars haven't been much involved in the frontier wars. (Think
Spain in WWII.)
BeRKA,
Spain hasn't been neutral for
500 years though. She was an integral part of the European alliance system before the first half of the 20th Century and a member of NATO for much of the second half of the 20th Cnetury.
As I pointed out when this topic was discussed during the
T5 playtest, the Imperiallines apologists and other "overwriters" are forgetting about the
time involved. Everyone always forgets about the time involved. (Then again, you have a horse in the race because some of the Foreven information used will have been developed by you so your opinion in the matter isn't exactly unbiased.)
We're talking about 500 years at the very least. The Zhodani evicted and/or Imperial colonies from the Ziafrplians
and Foreven sectors prior to and during the first two Frontier Wars. The Consulate has been removing Imperial influence in the sector for at least five centuries, has set up a pro-Zhodani polity over four subsectors in size, and yet the Imperium seemingly hasn't countered all that activity off it's spinward flank.
One member of the playtest suggested a treaty akin to the Platt Amendment between the two powers. That idea immediately fails under even partial scrutiny primarily for two reasons. Fist, such a treaty would have had to last for over 500 years and in the aftermath of five Frontier Wars, it's impossible for example to believe that the Consulate would have not scrapped a Platt-like agreement after their large victory in the Third Frontier War, and, second, such a treaty would have prevented the formation of a large, pro-Consulate polity like the Avalar in the first place.
While everyone always forgets about the time, everyone usually forgets about the
Darrians too. People can quibble about how much influence a large, pro-Consulate polity may have on the huge Imperium, but they can't explain away the lack of influence such a polity should have had on the Darrian Confederation.
You can frisk about offering up all sorts of lame excuses for the lack of influence; the Avalar polity is new, the Avalar are neutral towards the Darrians, the Avalar are weak, they don't have too many hi-pop worlds, or whatever other utter nonsense you hope might explain away the unexplainable. The truth of the matter, however, is that a polity
over four times the size of the Darrian Confederation and only
one subsector away from the Darrian Confederation should have some impact on Darrian history and policies.
Thanks to
AM8 we know the deployment deployment orientation of the Darrian Confederation's Star Trigger carrying Special Branch squadrons as well as we know the targets of the USAF SAC bombers they resemble. The Branch has squadrons aimed at the Zhodani, Sword Worlds, and even the Imperium, but there's not one mention of a squadron oriented towards this alleged polity in Foreven.
I am not saying that a book covering Foreven cannot or should not be written and published. What I am saying is such a book shouldn't use the slapdash, wholly implausible, and canonically illiterate materials produced for one issue of a late-
MT fanzine and repeated by well meaning hobbyists ever since. A Foreven that extends either minimal or no influence can be easily crafted
IF you toss the Imperiallines material and the material it spawned onto the ash heap where they belong. What's more, this "Imperiallines-free" Foreven will be far better suited for all types of RPG play than the Imperiallines version.
You made a very poor historical analogy involving Spain during WW2. Let me suggest another, more plausible one for the Foreven Sector:
The Balkans. That area that existed for centuries sandwiched between two cultures, two empires, two world views. That area whose name has become synonymous with petty squabbling states caught up in convoluted great power machinations.
Foreven as the Balkans isn't some unregarded neutral zone laying off the flank of each empire. Instead it is a swirling cockpit of diplomacy, assassinations, intelligence operations, "dirty little wars", and "politics by other means" undertaken by both empires, the smaller powers, and proxies for all in a seemingly endless effort to prevent the other side from establishing anything even remotely resembling a hegemony. There are no large or powerful polities in Foreven because neither side will allow the development of even neutral one lest they tilt towards the other camp later. Foreven can be the Great Game of Central Asia, Foreven can be the Balkans, Foreven can be
interesting, Foreven can be
plausible, Foreven can be
better.
We can do better, much better, than the Imperiallines version and the Mongoose license has opened the door to that possibility. The Hobby should grasp the opportunity being presented to create something truly new and truly worthwhile instead of simply regurgitating the bland, ill thought out pap produced before for a quick way to reach a page count.
YM obviously and sadly Vs.
Regards,
Bill
