#TravellerRPG #MongooseTraveller
When I first read the Solomani aliens book, as a teen in the mid 80s, I was not sure what I was going to find. I was pretty naive and sheltered, being a white RPG gamer in the US in the pre-web era, so some of the implications did not land. Based on previous experience, I expected the “evil supremacists” Imperium-view to be softened *somehow*.
So. Fast forward 40 years. I am not deeply into the Mongoose Traveller ecosystem, but I’ve read my fair share, and it seems very clearly that Mongoose wants to … I don’t know, rehabilitate the Solomani somewhat? And they seem to be doing it in ways that try to undercut the stark reality of their attitudes.
I picked up Solomani Front with some trepidation. Are they going to talk about racism and bigotry, or try to sweep it under the rug.
Imagine my surprise when they do both, and right away.
In the introduction, page 3:
“Since high office in the Solomani Confederation is exclusive to those of pure Solomani blood, great attention is paid to maintaining the purity of the bloodline.”
This continues onto page 4.
“Solomani society is racist in this regard, with laws and customs geared to favoring pure-blooded Solomani over anyone else and barriers to advancement in the way of non-Solomani.”
And then…
“This does not necessary translate into hate or xenophobia, however. A pure-blood Solomani from most societies will be polite and gracious to non-Solomani and will respect their achievements. However, he knows that he is just a little bit better than a non-Solomani, in the same way an Imperial noble knows they are better than the commoners who can aspire only to be important among their servants.”
It continues in this vein…
“Imperial propaganda has for many years painted the Solomani as haters of anything that is not pure Solomani, but this is a gross distortion of the facts. Most Solomani will happily share a meal with mixed-blood humans or aliens and would be proud to call them friends. However, there is a streak of superiority that runs through Solomani psyche that can turn to contempt or hate under the right circumstances.”
And then the KICKER…
“On the whole, however, Solomani are snobs rather than haters.”
I nearly threw my phone into the wall.
We have an interstellar civilization consisting of trillions of people, where obvious bigotry is government policy, but really they’re just snobs. And really, they’re polite about it, so we can overlook the bigotry.
Fuck all the way off with that noise.
This is AT BEST a tone-deaf attempt to make Solomani sympathetic without engaging with their bigotry, and is at worst a bald statement that bigotry is just a difference of opinion and “both sides” have valid points, or some such bullshit.
The Solomani are bigots. Bigotry is unequivocally embedded in their governmental policy.
The Imperium is a monarchy. Might makes right, and undemocratic inherited wealth and power — and all the injustice that brings — are the norm.
Anyway, to me, this introduction of the Solomani as a people is absolutely dereliction of editorial vision and authorial clarity, and Mongoose should not be rewarded for this. You can be a non-bigot living in an overtly bigoted society, but this is not how you present that in a responsible, gameable way.
This writing is indicative of the “both sides” framing of negative/evil viewpoints which always benefits the oppressive bad actors.
It needs to be called out when we see it.
UnlikelyLass
TwentySidedCat
Joshua A.C. Newman
John M