All: Coyns

Scott Kellogg writes:
>In the modern set we have the six castes.  An ancient set might
>have seven.  The seventh caste being that of the ancients
>themselves:  Grandfather and his children.

Quite possible. It was a judgement call wether the coyns had been modified
during the 2000-year Ancients period. Just as it was a judgement call that
the pre-Ancients didn't have more than one set of coyns. I decided in the
end that though coyns had been important during the Ancient period (as
evidenced by their widespread occurence in Ancient installations) they
had not been of such paramount importance as they became when casting
became dependent on them (In fact, a case could be made for the caste
coyns not being original, but that would leave me with six more to make
up).

>While I think that the races idea being representative of their respective
>personality types, I might also suggest that they represent the competition
>that the Droyne face in the present setting.

That's my own theory.

>But at other times, it was not apparant just who were the races
>that Grandfather might want to show to the Droyne.  Example:  Until
>the Aslan hit space, they were a pretty small deal.  Thus, Coyns
>from before that time wouldn't include them.

Right. In my universe Grandfather (Or rather, those mysterious beings who
gave rise to the Grandfather myth) last revised the coyns around -1000.

I hadn't thought much about the interim sets. My players are on a Grand
Tour to a number of previously undetected Ancient sites in the Spinward
Marches (courtsey of a Hiver archeologist with an Ancient artifact) and
one of the stops will be Vanejen where the coyns failed to help the
Chirpers living there regain their ability to caste. Hence I've concen-
trated on the Ancient sets the PCs will find in the sites and the first
coyn set that the Chirpers have kept for 75,000 years (quite a feat, that,
but all their coyn sets have 38 pieces  -  obviously an early variant).
Thanks for your ideas. They would certainly be relevnt for anyone
excavating old Droyne ruins (as opposed to Ancient ruins). Unless, that
is, Grandpop didn't take care to recall each old set every time he put
out a revised edition... ;-)

>The extinct race on Sabmiqys:  The Gya Ks.  Until -8000 when their
>planet was wiped out, these guys must have looked like a potent
>force to Gramps. (TL 17 but no jump drive.) [Challenge]

I've imagined that the criterion Gramps used to choose was a sizable
number of planetary populations. That's why the Aslans are there in
spite of not having developed the jump drive themselves (Or perhaps
Gramps used the Major Race criterion and simply didn't realize that
the Aslans had 'cheated').

>The extinct race on Spica now known as the Hasst'kor:  The creators
>of the Prt'.  Until -10000 when they were wiped out in a war, they
>were doing quite well.  (TL 16) [Challenge]

Did they get off the planet in a big way?

>The Hhkar:  The stogie smoking lizards have been in space since
>- -50000.  (TL10 but no jump drive.)  [Challenge]

Definitely a contender. But why would they be removed again? They are
still out there, aren't they?

>The unnamed alien race in Traveller's Digest #21.  These guys were
>just sort of thrown in without any explanation.  They were
>obviously some kind of servant race for the Ancients.

And propably died out long before -75,000. Anyway, the Ancients propably
had lots of servant races. That's why I don't think the Vargr would be
on any Ancient coyns. Back then they were just one obscure experiment out
of many.

>The Primordials:  These guys who were so dang powerful, they made
>Grandfather look like a doddering senile old Worker Caste.  Then
>they got bored and died.  I almost did too when I read that one.
>[Knightfall]

Primordials? What Primordials? They've never been heard of in my universe.

>Alternately, an ancient set of coyns might have proto-vargr on
>them.  Vargr looked quite different in -300,000.

And any humans quite different too. In fact, the human on the -75,000 coyn
set is IMO a 'homo antiquitus', humans the way they looked in Ancient times.

>Or How about Dolphins?

My premise is that the last revision took place around -1000.

>How about another dead alien race we've never heard of before in Traveller?
>The Krell from Forbidden Planet?  The things from Aliens (JTAS)?  [etc.]

And the Originals, forerunners of the Primordials? And the Firstborn. And
the Firstcomers. Ant the Very-firsters. And the Really-truly-swear-to-God-
we-were-the-firsters. Etc, etc.

>Who knows, maybe in the future we may be seeing coyns with Ael Yael
>on them or Brinn, or Newts?  [The players find a bag of coyns that
>went through a time warp.  From the past, or the future? :-]

OUCH! Causality violation alert! Aroooga! Arooogah! Aroogah! ;-)


      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     [email removed]
- ------------
        "The referee should determine the nature of subsequent
         events based on the individual situation."
                                _76 Patrons_, p. 8