Starship encounters and aslan

Mark Power ([email removed]) writes:
>
> I've just started up a new campaign, and it suddenly dawned on me how long
> its been since I'd last run Traveller -- I don't have a good starship
> encounter chart.  While the one in the MT books will do in a pinch, its of
> no help with my immediate problem -- determining how many and what kinds of
> ship are in system.  Does anyone have a good set of tables or other system
> they would like to share?

I did some work on this a couple of years ago, but put it on
the shelf when I realized that even given quite conservative
assumptions the total number of civilian ships in the Glisten
Subsector (a not terribly populous subsector) would work out
in the neighbourhood of 40.000!

I came up with a procedure for working out trade routes (4
different levels of trade volume), but never managed to put
figures on the levels. I could post it if anyone is interested,
but it may be a while before I have the time.



Then Rob Dean writes about the terrible aslans:

>                                           The Aslan 'invasion'
> of the Spinward Marches postulated by the background material
> included with the MegaTraveller rules seems to be getting 'wa-
> tered down' as time passes.  The Aslan aren't really bad guys
> wantonly conquering planets, we're now told--they're just set-
> tlers who don't see any reason why you would want to leave land
> unsettled on your nice planet.

I've always been bothered with the way those aslan got moving
so fast and so far. The map enclosed in Megatraveller is from
ca. 1120, unless I've misunderstood something. There's three
things that I find hard to believe about it:

1) That the aslani clans can cooperate enough to attack the
   Marches in concert. This has been the weakness of the aslan
   from the time of the Aslan Border Wars till now. Why should
   it suddenly change? I just don't buy the explanation about
   this coordinator of _ihatei_ movement. Especially in view of
   the fact that

2) I would personally undertake to defend the three imperial
   subsectors of Trojan Reach with nothing but the subsector
   fleets, never mind what regular fleet units Norris may have
   allowed to remain. Remember that the opponents are ihatei
   fleets. This is the _surplus_ that the clans can afford
   to spend on younger sons. A considerable portion of the
   military might of the 12-16 subsectors that the aslan inhabit
   on this side of the Great Rift must be tied up in guarding
   the clan holdings from rival clans. Any contribution from
   the far side of the rift must be negligble. (Surely the parent
   clans will want the wealth of transriftine sectors to flow
   to them and not the other way). And as any single aslani clan
   would control very much less than the total ressources of
   those 12-16 subsectors, the Duke of Tolia would propably be
   able to fend the aslan off by purely diplomatic means.
   Especially as

3) There is in 1116 a belt of neutral worlds approx. 10 parsec
   wide between the aslani worlds and the Imperium. Surely those
   worlds would be much easier prey than even a weakly defended
   imperial subsector? Furthermore the typical ihatei fleet is
   composed of obsolete jump-3 ships. If you analyze a map of
   Trojan Reach, you will find that there are _very_ few ways
   for jump-3 ships to get into the imperial worlds (double-
   jumping will reduce the capacity of these colonizing ships
   something fierce!). The Imperial High Command would certainly
   realize this and take measures to guard these few routes.

   (As a final aside, can you imagine any sizable ihatei fleet
   being assembled in secrecy? Give me a reasonable imperial
   spy-net and a few hundred courier ships, and I'll guarantee
   to _meet_ any invading fleet with an imperial fleet before
   they get inside the Imperium!)

> Anyway, the real question is this:  We all know that Aslan males
> want to hold land.  I'm guessing that 'real land', the kind that
> you can walk around on without breathing apparatus, and that has
> plants and animals living on it, is the best.  Is anything else a
> sufficient substitute?  Would a farm tunnel out of THE MOON IS A
> HARSH MISTRESS be land enough to satisfy their cravings, even a
> little bit?  How about a condominium in New York City?  If the
> answer to these questions is no, then why would the Aslan take
> over the administration of an airless rockball rather than just
> ignore it?

I guess the answer must be yes, then. ;-)


      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     [email removed]