Re: Allegiance Codes

[email removed] (james vassilakos) writes:
> I was looking through the sunbane data on the spinward marches and
> came upon an unusual allegiance code: "Fa". It applies to about
> three worlds in the old Zhodani-Imperial neutral zone, Arden/Vilis
> being one of them. I'm guessing that "Fa" means Factional, but I'm
> really not sure. Does anybody know if I'm right or wrong? I'm also
> guessing that "Cs" means Client State, "Dr" means Droyne, and "Na" means
> Non-aligned. I think these last three are all fairly obvious, but if
> I'm wrong, please let me know.

Fa should be the Federation of Arden.  You are right on Cs and Na
(client-state and non-aligned, respectively).  I'm not sure, but isn't
Dr for the Darrian Confedration?

> On another topic, the Arrival Vengeance, I'm wondering if this
> Avery character might become important in some of GDW's future
> history.

Possibly.  Or possibly not.

> Wouldn't it be cool if he was the clone of a certain royal
> personage (or even the clone of a clone, if you don't buy GDW's
> assurance about this certain royal personage's authenticity)?
> Hey, game companies can always lie :-)

It would be really cool, but pretty predictable, too.  It would also be
really cool if he were exactly what Strephon said he is, a refugee boy
that Strephon adopted.

If Avery is Strephon's clone, then it should become obvious as he grows
older.  If not, his future is a lot more open --- you can actually do
more things with the character if he's *not* Strephon's clone.

Finally, there is a lot to be said for not deciding which it is until
you actually write the adventure that uses that information.  I have it
on very good authority that "The Real Strephon" was (in the minds of the
people who wrote him into the Rebellion era) "supposed" to "really" be a
robot (designed by a certain well travelled and knighted roboticist,
with similar capabilities to another well travelled and knighted robot).
But it was never *said* what the "Real Strephon" was until it became
important to an adventure plotline.  Arrival Vengeance pretty clearly
establishes that the "Real Strephon" is the real Strephon, but is
compatible with all of the other published information on the "Real
Strephon" to date.  Although it does leave one loose end --- if the
"Real" emporer was out travelling, why were the Emperess and the Grand
Princess left behind?  (And for that matter, what was a clone doing
holding court and conducting diplomacy?).  Oh, well --- you can't have
everything.


[email removed]
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                                                 Science-Fiction Adventure
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