Johannes replied to me: > Maybe they have some production lines going, that can rund for tousends of > years, without intervention by anyone, who actually understands the > process. Goa'uld tech would be doomed then on the long run, but not > within the timeframes interesting for adventures.
A production line implies mass production; several items per hour. The Ori might have that much stuff, but I'm doubtful regarding the Goa'uld. Perhaps they have some tried and true design blueprints (staff weapons, death gliders, etc.) and make the parts by hand, in small craft shops. That explains why old gadgets are carefully maintained. They don't have the R&D establishment to deviate from the designs very much, only a few master craftsmen who add miniscule improvements. > Your version with the overlords being expatriate empirebuilders has > multiple options too. How does the home society see them? Does it follow > the archetype of the european explorer, who adopts some native tribe, > tells them how to live better and makes them a more civilized and more > powerfull tribe. Easiest to keep them out of the game entirely. The Evil Overlords can build and maintain their infrastructure, even if they don't innovate. > If they are some sort of Janissaries (children of other classes taken away > to be raised as soldiers) you avoid many problems of a warrior caste (such > as how to control how many warriors you actually have) and it fits to the > Goa'uld IMO. You still will have something of at least 15 years lead time > to increase your army. Are all warrior classes the same? How about this setup? * The Evil Overlords on top. That includes the Trusted Lieutenants who run bases, ships, or projects. * The 'Samurai Warrior' caste. Raised to be loyal to the Overlords, but also almost an Overlord. A young Overlord who doesn't qualify as a leader might honorably become a Samurai, and a good Samurai can be promoted to become a subordinate Overlord. The Samurai are trained to use advanced weaponry, but not to maintain it. * The 'Engineer' caste. Raised to take pride in their workmanship, to teach other Engineers, and to protect the infrastructure of the Overlords. They are trained to maintain advanced technology, but not to use it. * The 'Administrator' caste. Possibly a variant of the engineers. * The 'Janissary Warrior' caste. Disposable troops, trained for obedience rather than loyalty. Only rudimentary understanding of technology. * The 'Craftsman' caste. Trained for patience and attention to detail. Again no understanding of technology, even if they have memorized maintenance procedures. Not that the Engineers truly understand, either ... The heroes could either fight the Evil Overlords and decapitate the power structure -- nobody else is trained to lead -- or ask the craftsmen and janissaries if they want a better lot in life than kowtowing to their 'betters'. (A plug for GURPS Social Engineering.) Regards, Onno _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
