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What parts don't I use?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DFW
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combatmedic said:
Right. People will tell stories.

On a related note, I want to develop more religious stuff for MTU. Religion gets short shrift in SF , all too often. That's a whole other thread, of course.:)
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It does often do that. Some sci-fi writers give the impression that in the future every sophant will be simply a dispensable component to their computer. That weakness has been mended a bit. Dune did better with that and so did Bab 5.

Some Traveller religions are undeveloped and just don't "sound right". Fteirle sounds believable and so does K'kree religion. Vilani philosophy seems believable and I once compared Shugallii to "Kosher-butchers". At least that's about as close as Terra comes, though Shugalli are quite cool.

There are Christians in TTU though not mentioned much. There are Amish on Prometheus and Mormons on some other planet on the Rim. Presumably there are others.

Other contemporary religions aren't mentioned in TTU.

The Gurps book says pretty blatantly that sort of thing should mostly be decided locally as canon didn't want to annoy anyone.
 
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jatay3 said:
It does often do that. Some sci-fi writers give the impression that in the future every sophant will be simply a dispensable component to their computer.

Some Traveller religions are undeveloped and just don't "sound right". Fteirle sounds believable and so does K'kree religion. Vilani philosophy seems believable and I once compared Shugallii to "Kosher-butchers". At least that's about as close as Terra comes, though Shugalli are quite cool.

There are Christians in TTU though not mentioned much. There are Amish on Prometheus and Mormons on some other planet on the Rim. Presumably there are others.

Other contemporary religions aren't mentioned in TTU.
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If the LDS and the Amish are still kicking about, I'd expect that some other Christians have made the long haul- but probably not without significant changes. It's thousands of years in the future, after all.

Religions , even ones based on written sources, don't remain static on that timescale.

I'd expect coolness like a female pope, Buddh-Islam a la Dune, etc.

As a GT fan, are you familiar with the Otrai? They are most certainly religious.
 
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combatmedic said:
If the LDS and the Amish are still kicking about, I'd expect other Christians to have made the long haul- but probably not without significant changes. It's thousands of years in the future, after all.

Religions , even ones based on written sources, don't remain static on that timescale.

I'd expect coolness like a female pope, Buddh-Islam a la Dune, etc.

As a GT fan, are you familiar with the Otrai? They are most certainly religious.
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Must've missed them.
 
One "quirky superstition"(not so much superstition but quirky) I used is that it is dishonorable to eat meat that hadn't had a fair chance to get away. The effect is that butchers meat sold lower, and when honorable meat was wanted for a feast or what not, the customer went to a game ranch and was allowed to make a try according to appropriate rules.

Folk from Jewish clans do the same, only they use non-lethals and then kill the capture kosherly.
 
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I use religion in a backdrop Shepherd Bookish sort of way rather then as a subject matter Canticle for Liebowitz sort of way.

Most of the people in my characters home port are Christians and Jews who live side by side(don't say it, I can dream and it sort of works in America). Theological debate is common enough but it is never a matter for violence, but is as far as mortal life goes, just another thing for those with a bent that way to debate about-sometimes it is even a sport. Not that violence doesn't take place on my heroes place. Rather it is usually about clan honor when it occurs.

Mythopoeia, likewise, is to a large degree backdrop. It does have another purpose in that it serves as interlude stories. Sort of the same role as the holodeck or like the tales in Watership Down. It also has a potential for giving the potential reader some idea of the vastness of TTU.
 
IMTU Religion is one of the thinks "not liked" by the authorities. Some regions like Illelish accept it (and assign a LOT of agents to observe the "church") but others actively discourage religion. Add in that on the Imperial level there are no special excemptions (legal or financial) for such organisations and religion is a fringe problem well observed by the internal security agencies.
 
You know, the implications for Kosher might be interesting. It'd be nice to hear a rabbi post what he has to say.
 
mbrinkhues said:
IMTU Religion is one of the thinks "not liked" by the authorities. Some regions like Illelish accept it (and assign a LOT of agents to observe the "church") but others actively discourage religion. Add in that on the Imperial level there are no special excemptions (legal or financial) for such organisations and religion is a fringe problem well observed by the internal security agencies.
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Going with the ''dark and oppressive Imperium?''
 
From what I can gather of history, some successful ruling classes seem to adopt a low-intensity religion or philosophy. Stoicism or something similar is not uncommon; it is a reasonably admirable creed, and most appropriate for managing an empire(compare Chinese Confucianism, or English nominal Anglican/stiff-upper-lip-ism and you get something similar).

I picture the Imperial Nobility as doing something similar. Much of their philosophy will have recognizable similarity to Stoicism. It would naturally stress group loyalty and persistence(to build an empire you need brilliance; to keep it, you need persistence), dignity, and respect for hierarchy. Justice would be more important then compassion, and prudence would be often more important then justice; I picture the Imperium as Lawful Neutral. Confucianism might actually be popular in the Imperial nobility for it does seem to fit. And certain Vilani beliefs do seem to fit this paradigm.

Naturally reality will vary from this ideal considerably. It always does. But I would picture that as the Imperial ideal.

There might be in the Imperial Nobility, ideas about Balance and Moderation In All Things and such like. Aesthetic tastes will reflect that; usually. Though there might be an occasional Saturnalia to sort of "balance the balance" so to speak.
 
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On the planet of my Big Darned Heroes there is an uneasy tension between the demands of the religious code, the mores of a liberal state and the code of primeval tribalism.
In the Greenwood Press book Daily Life in Renaissance Italy, I was interested to note that similar tension was there. Of course the mores of a liberal society were in their embryo stage(though more highly developed then some might think) but that is not quite the point, so much as the fact that the conflict governed a persons decisions.

Suppose, on my planet, a woman was raped. Now after she undergoes ritual purification and swears formally it was without her consent, it would be the duty of the clan chief to put a bounty on the perp. Or it would be the duty of the state to do that job. Or they would work together(picture the turf battles Gibbs gets into with other agencies when he consider's a case personal in NCIS, and you kind of get the idea). But there would be tension involved in this that comes from civic morality and tribal morality trying to live together. They somehow manage it on my world(strange things do happen and the idea is in any case, Just That Cool). But the point is the tension.
 
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Just some ideas on types of religion to toss into the discussion...

Ressurrective: The religion is based on the idea that a Person who once lived and died will eventually come back in a glorified form of their original self. Those who believed in the Perfect Person and died (especially as martyrs to the faith) will be ressurrected along with the Person. Examples include Arthurianism (the "Once & Future King"), Christianity, Elvis-worship and the Cult of the Ancients ("Hail to thee, o Grandfather divine!").

Philosophical: A Great Person once lived who figured out all the secrets to living the Perfect Life. Current followers not only try to practice the life-style, but they also try to emulate the Great Person in every way. Belief in an afterlife is not mandatory, and may even be discouraged. Examples include Buddhism, Gandhi-ism, Saganism ("We are Star Stuff!"), and other cults of personality ("Strephon Lives!").

Reincarnative: Only those souls that reach perfection never need to reincarnate. Between lives, souls spend hundreds of 'material' years contemplating their activities. After they've assimilated all their previous experiences, they can come back. Karmic sects believe that one 'good' life deserves another, and that a 'bad' life means coming back as a lower life-form. Deterministic sects believe that the sequence of lives is already laid out from the moment the soul is created. Non-Determinist sects believe that souls can choose some, if not all of their next lives' characteristics.

Animistic: Everything that can be measured embodies a 'spirit'. These spirits sometimes communicate with ordinary people, giving them insight into current situations or probable futures. People can placate or bribe these spirits for favors. ("No, dear ... that oak tree is an incurrable gossip. Go tell your troubles to that elm over there.")

Materialistic: Only that which can be perceived through the seven physical senses exists, or with measuring devices that translate otherwise undetectable events into forms that human senses can perceive. There is no "Afterlife", no god, no eternal reward (or punishment). Also known as the Cult of Skeptics ("Hmph! Evidence, Please?")

Humanistic: Only humans matter. The trouble comes in when humaniti is so narrowly defined that concepts of a "Master Race" become dominant, especially when those definitions are based on purely cosmetic differences. Confusion arises due to the fact that beings of each sentient species may consider only members of that species as "human" and all others as "non-human" ("K'kree first! Kill the meat-eaters! Kill the abominations!").
 
mbrinkhues said:
And some very bad experiences with "Roleplaying and religion". Both from real ones (GURPS:Yearth) and made ups (DSA)
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Too bad. Problems with players? They start arguing about real life religious issues? I've never had any such difficulties.

I always liked that Yrth used 'real' religions (fantasy versions based on historical faiths, as nothing in a game is 'real'). :)

Whatever works for you, though!

....

Keklas- I like that Strephon Lives reference. It might be interesting to see a Strephon-as-martyred-saint faith grow up in 'The New Era.' Dulinor would be the Judas figure, and Virus is the Devil. :)
 
I'm not a shrink, but I wonder if you might try having the PCs spot a dragon, whenever they start quarreling to much?
 
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