Imperial Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Hot damn!

One of the reasons a subject should have a right to attempt to join the Imperial Services (not just the Military...) is that it means also that there is always an escape from a local despot, and always a reason to send scout teams to a world. A world not producing the expected 0.1% of the population in service to the Imperium is a world the local duke has a reason to invade, because "it's de facto obvious that persons are not being permitted to join." - All they need to do is find one willing 17-19 YO, and it's curtains time for the local ruler. Treason. Depravation of Civil Rights. And, as world leaders are axiomatically (per CT) also Imperial Nobles while in office, grounds to forcibly detain them, remove them off world, and see what happens next locally.

Thank you, Your Grace.

Now I have more info to add to my notes for the Permatic Imperium, this is just perfect.

Thank you!

 

[wettrout]

Subjects vs Citizens

Fascinating discussion. About the only thing I can add is that I think there needs to be a defined distinction between "subjects" and "citizens" as well as the already wonderfully defined Planetary Citizenship vs Imperial Citizenship. Aramis' delineated sophant rights are great!

 

[aramis]

Fascinating discussion. About the only thing I can add is that I think there needs to be a defined distinction between "subjects" and "citizens" as well as the already wonderfully defined Planetary Citizenship vs Imperial Citizenship. Aramis' delineated sophant rights are great!

For My PTU, the term subject refers any sophont who is considered a subject (including serfs, criminals, even permanent resident aliens) or citizen, or other higher status, of any imperial member world, and any off-world subject (past 100 diameters) of any government which is housed entirely within systems that have imperial member nations/states.

Yes, a balkanization clause. The price of not joining when the others do? Your people get drafted at 101 diameters....

 

[tjoneslo]

At that point, Thom, one just declares Soc a as Non-gentry, and soc A as gentry...

This is a little confusing. And one of the parts of T5 I dislike. You're saying there is a SOC of 10 and another of 10-? Or a SOC 10 with a Knighthood and a SOC 10, but not knighted ?

It's canonical that to even function as an attorney in Imperial Courts requires Soc A.

My point was that a law clerk and a court reporter, both of whom would important to the functioning of the court, would also need access ("Government Agents") but not necessarily nobility status.

The Warrant of Restoration is cited in GT sources as well, and mirrors the lack of distinction between citizen and subject, but unlike the original T4 version, doesn't make the alien (foreigner) a citizen, too.

The following always uses alien for non-subject, not for non-human.
The current majority of nations have 5 tiers alread, in declining order

• Government Agents
• Full Citizens
• Resident aliens
• Non-resident aliens
• Unauthorized aliens

Cleon's "Every sophont is a Citizen" makes every alien, human or otherwise, subject to the laws... and expected to know them. And any violation of them is equally punishable as a simple criminal case. No separate status for Zhodani spies. No separate status for Ihaiti. No separate status for the Duke. (Marc has said recently that the 3I Nobles hold no separate rights for being Nobles, but those in specific offices {including fiefholders} have additional rights and duties by office. Only the Emperor has by 3I law in the classic era separate rights by heritable title instead of office.)

The warrant of restoration says:

The Imperium reserves to itself the power to create ... governmental entities superior to the member worlds but subordinate to the Imperium. The Imperium reserves to itself to create ... bureaus and agencies to carry out and enforce the Imperial will.

AND

The Imperium considers as citizens any living recognized sentient creature native to or naturalized by a member world of the Imperium, or any living recognized sentient swearing fealty to the Imperium directly.

This explicitly creates at least three levels of your tiers: Government agents, Citizens, and Aliens. Based on this I dispute your interpretation of Zhodani agents being treated the same as Citizens, they're considered aliens.

The most often cited reason for the split between Citizen and Subject was to explain the case of why the Vicount Iinir would be talking to a group of scruffy malcontents (i.e the PCs). The idea was to offer a way to the Referee to create adventures by letting the Vicount be a patron. But how would this work in the game?

Classic Traveller canon has several references to the Age of Sail as their working/worked example of how this might work. In the historical examples, one of the more valuable items a unknown person could carry would be a letter of introduction. A note to say the unknown person is capable of being trusted to handle whatever situation is at hand.

Based upon some population statistics, the number of sophonts who have taken the step of traveling off their homeworld is very small, a few billion out of the 15 trillion. So being able to find a person (or small group) who are known to have the experience with multiple different locations.

So the idea is there are group of "Non-gentry", but still respectable sophonts in the Imperium available to handle the business of the Imperium. Mostly this is the Navy, Army, and the Imperial Bureaucracy.

 

[aramis]

T5 technically doesn't begin UC/lc divisions until c/C (Baronet/Baron)
Soc A is Gentry (T5.09, p 31)- traditionally a term for a subclass of non-nobles who were relatives of the nobles, and eligible for knighthood and marriage into the noble class... And that's exactly what T5 is using them as.

But if one wants to split A into a/A and B into b/B, it's methodically appropriate by T5 to do so, and that gets...
...
a = Wealthy or Influential local
A = Gentry - has Come to the notice of the High Nobility and/or is related to the nobility by 1st or 2nd degree relatives
b = domain level knighthood
B = Imperial level knighthood
...

And, based upon the CGen tables, Marines and Navy are VERY socially upwardly mobile, as are diplomats.
Pirates aren't upwardly so....

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Just to add a little perspective to this discussion, you all may want to look at this Imperial Encyclopedia entry for SOC-A characters from August 27, 2014 ...

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Esquire

... the lowest of the honour ranks is the Squire (SOC-A). While not specifically of a noble rank, standing between the Gentry and the Nobility, the Squire may move more freely among the Knights and Nobles of the Imperium, while insulating them from the needs and greed of the common people. Squires are not members of the peerage, and thus are not subject to their protocols...

It's non-canon, of course.

 

[Lord Iron Wolf]

OP-Feedback

This is the original poster and what I was looking for (as per request.) I have a group of D&D players who I have gotten into playing Mongoose Traveller 2nd edition. I wanted some guidelines of protections that a traveller would have when they landed on a planet with a banana republic/insane bureaucracy in charge of it. I was thinking of not having them thrown in jail at the entrance to the starport. Leaving the local/planetary government to confiscate their property and ship or to tax everything at exorbitant rates. Avoiding conscription into the local military or labor force and other nastiness.

For responsibilities I was thinking of life-long potential to be reactivated by the Imperium at times of need. Charged with protecting Imperial subjects and citizens in times of danger. Plus, putting the interests of the Imperium before their immediate needs.

Overall I thought of being like a roman citizen during the time of the Roman Empire.

Thanks for all the ideas and input.

Lord Iron Wolf