In your letter dated Wed, 14 Oct 92 10:54:52 PDT, you wrote:
>
> >
> >Yes, I think that this would work best, with the exception that I'd like to
> >use TL13 as the Imperial base, with those two TL14 planets then being at the
> >real cutting edge of technology. When would that put it, and what was going
> >on on the Imperial timeline?
>You'd probably be okay in the Seventh Century here, with the Solomani not yet
>quite to the point of being a muscle-flexing major player in the Imperial
>Court and a lot of flak from the Civil War settling out. As for the Verge,
>I'm reluctant to flush the existing Atlas's star locations, but hell, it's
>only one subsector. And if it has its bak to the Rift, then it'd stay backward
>for a long time. I would put TL13 as a limit for other reasons: no Battle
>Dress and no Fusion Guns, with Plasma Guns still bulky, dangerous, and rare.
As to the Atlas's star locations--if we don't want to conflict then we have to
go outside the area that it covers.
I just realized (-: that I'm carrying TD18 with me today, which includes the
concise history of the Imperium. They give the following for tech levels:
Sylean Federation, Year 0, TL12
300, TL13 (allows exploration of Sabmiqys...)
420, (First Survey...)
629, (End of Civil War)
700, TL14
826, (End of Psionic Suppressions...hmmm...)
1000, TL15
1120, TL16
I hadn't thought about it before, but sticking with the Imperial timeline would
have an odd effect if the game was set before the Psionic Suppressions.
Psionics would not only _not_ be illegal, they would be positively encouraged.
Different...
I also hate to mention this, but Battledress is canonically available at TL13.
A general TL13 with occasional TL14 would be consistent with a setting in the
late 600's (7th century.)
Rob Dean