Author Topic: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!  (Read 140921 times)

Niopsian

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #30 on: 25 February 2014, 10:30:38 »
I think Tsen Shang is really the unsung hero of the Capellan people.

He kept Romano Liao mostly placated for nearly 30 years. Without him, there might not even be a CapCon today. >:D


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Rainbow 6

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #31 on: 26 February 2014, 13:58:38 »
Archie McCarron or Marcus Barton - not many out there who can fight a Davion Guards unit to a draw but they did during the 'long march' or 'McCarron's War'.

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #32 on: 26 February 2014, 21:26:45 »
I don't know much about Tsen Shang, much less the McCarrons...
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False Son

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #33 on: 26 February 2014, 22:32:34 »
There's a breif blurb about Tseng Shang in ER 3052 if you don't have access to the old novels.  But, basically, he's the guy rebuilt the Mask after the 4th SW and helped shape Sun-Tzu into a competent leader.  Or, kept him from becoming another Max or Romano.
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Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #34 on: 27 February 2014, 02:41:55 »
Oh, okay, this seems a lot more in keeping with the little hints I've been reading. I'm kinda reading my way backwards in Capellan continuity (i.e., I've read the Capellan Solution but not the Warrior Trilogy). In which book did this take place?

Also, I could *swear* that Sun-Tzu pretty much took credit for the assassination of the Taurian Protector that happened during the Detroit summit where Sun-Tzu never showed. Is this accurate as well?

Late in the second Blood of Kerensky book, Romano sends an assassin after Candace and Justin.  In the third book, we see short bits interspersed with the main storyline of a shadowing figure making his/her way to Sian.  We're led to believe it's Justin.  In the last Chapter, sun Tzu finds his parents dead, and confronts "Justin" in his old palace office, where Candace reveals that her husband was killed in the assassination, but killed the assassin.  She tells him not to fear her or her children, she had plenty of spies in the palace and could've taken the throne from Romano any time she cared to, and that the very reason she'd left him alive now was that she didn't want it.

And yes, it's heavily implied that Jeffery Calderon's "accidental" death when DCs rescued the leaders from the terrorist on Detroit was anything but, though I'm not sure STL ever directly took credit, I think he's a little too savvy to admit it to anyone that didn't already know (and why discuss it with them?  someone might overhear).


This. I believe that Daoshen is absolutely a product of his upbringing just as Sun-Tzu was, and with the kind of man Sun-Tzu was, I could see Daoshen being groomed to be the kind of leader that projects divinity as just one more part of an ongoing strategy. I can just as easily see Daoshen playing this role for so long and for so well that he's started believing his own hype. But what makes him so fascinating is that you never really know, and there's a case to be made for either side of that equation.
As GreekFire notes, it's the OOC section on AToW stats and whatnot for the character that says he "fully believes in his divinity" and that he'd take offense if he knew some of his escorts were undercover DCs.


As is patently obvious to anyone who's been on the boards long, I'm no huge fan of the CC.  But I've got a lot of respect for it, and even admire a few things about it (the Warrior Houses come to mind).  Ma Tsu Kai is a figure I especially respect, and I really like the way he set up his warrior house, educating the warriors in history, philosophy, and political science as well as military matters.  The other Capellan character I really admire is admittedly kind of cheating, but I always liked Cassandra Allard-Liao.  She really grows up over the course of the Capellan Solution books, and her devotion to Tamas Rubinsky even through his injury and for years (decades, considering the continuing references in the Merc Supplements) afterwards is really touching, and something we could stand to see more of in BT.

I also like lots of Capellan worlds, like Valexa, Axton, Goshen, Lee, Redfield, Ziliang, New Hessen, and so on.  They're great places, once you liberate them from the strangling grip of the Liaos.  Hell, the 1st Capellan Dragoons was one of my favorite units, full stop.   :)
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kaliyama

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #35 on: 27 February 2014, 02:53:57 »
[deleted]
« Last Edit: 30 March 2014, 19:39:04 by kaliyama »

Rainbow 6

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #36 on: 27 February 2014, 03:02:51 »
Someone up thread mentioned the woman in the command lance of Barton's Regiment, if my memory is working she was called Elaine 'Blaze' Parks, she went onto command McCarron's 1st Regiment 'The Nightriders'.

Nav_Alpha

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #37 on: 27 February 2014, 03:25:37 »
Archie McCarron or Marcus Barton - not many out there who can fight a Davion Guards unit to a draw but they did during the 'long march' or 'McCarron's War'.

I always really liked Faith and Rhamses. I think it was a real shame Faith bought it fighting the Republic. It would have been great to see a woman leading what was probably the best merc unit (ok, I know they're bascially house units) in th post-Jihad era.

Her brother seems ok - and i dig the name especially - but it always felt like Faith was the brains of the operation and he was more the brawn


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Tai Dai Cultist

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #38 on: 27 February 2014, 10:14:44 »
Someone up thread mentioned the woman in the command lance of Barton's Regiment, if my memory is working she was called Elaine 'Blaze' Parks, she went onto command McCarron's 1st Regiment 'The Nightriders'.

That'd be her, yep.  I forgot to look that up when I got home :)

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #39 on: 27 February 2014, 17:29:56 »
Someone up thread mentioned the woman in the command lance of Barton's Regiment, if my memory is working she was called Elaine 'Blaze' Parks, she went onto command McCarron's 1st Regiment 'The Nightriders'.

I actually heard of this woman via the Dark Age, surprisingly enough! She has a granddaughter who was in "Principles of Desolation" as one of Danai Liao-Centrella's subcommanders/lancemates in the 2nd MAC.
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Lore

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #40 on: 27 February 2014, 22:36:27 »
I think Tsen Shang is really the unsung hero of the Capellan people.

I wouldn't call him the unsung hero, but he definitely deserves far more credit than he usually receives in most of these kinds of discussions.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #41 on: 28 February 2014, 10:04:17 »
I have several, but I'll list them all. :)

1.  Colonel "Sir Samuel" Shimosa, commander, 15th Dracon,  3025- ?.  Commander of the Defense of Gunthar during the Andurien/Canopus invasion in 3030. the Canopians attempted to bribe the 15th to stand down. Mistake.  The campaign continued for two years, the 15th fulfilling their charge.

2. Ma Tsu Kai. My favorite warrior house. As a historian by training, this one is one of my favorite units. Pawns, indeed. :)

3. Sun Tzu Liao. Ruthless, but a genius and an outstanding politician. One has to admire his chutzpah, though. While never a gifted warrior like his cousin Kai or VSD, he was a BattleMech pilot and took his Emperor into combat zones on several occasions.

4.Aleisha Liao. Most beloved of teh Chancellors until Sun Tzu. The driving force behind the the Ares Conventions. While they did not stop warfare, they limited the harshness on civilians.

Tai Dai Cultist

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #42 on: 28 February 2014, 12:16:31 »
4.Aleisha Liao. Most beloved of teh Chancellors until Sun Tzu. The driving force behind the the Ares Conventions. While they did not stop warfare, they limited the harshness on civilians.

She's actually a great pick.  Proof positive that like the Targaryens, House Liao has greatness to go along with the occasional crazy.

Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #43 on: 28 February 2014, 12:26:21 »
You mean "has crazy, to go along with occasional greatness"? :)
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jklantern

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #44 on: 28 February 2014, 21:42:14 »
2. Ma Tsu Kai. My favorite warrior house. As a historian by training, this one is one of my favorite units. Pawns, indeed. :)

3. Sun Tzu Liao. Ruthless, but a genius and an outstanding politician. One has to admire his chutzpah, though. While never a gifted warrior like his cousin Kai or VSD, he was a BattleMech pilot and took his Emperor into combat zones on several occasions.


I don't really have a primary Inner Sphere faction (as there are parts of all of them that I like), but there are definitely a lot of things I love about the Confederation.  These two people here?  Definitely part of the attraction.

Sun Tzu Liao, to me, is one of the more interesting leaders to read about during the 3050-3065ish era.  While from the more VSD oriented books he's widely considered, well, evil, that's not really the vibe I get from him.  While you can certainly question the methods of the CapCon at large and Sun Tzu as well, I get the impression that he genuinely cares about humanity, and believes he is doing the best things possible for his people.  Yes, he's a gifted manipulator, but he's not without humanity:  I think it's the novel "Double Blind" (I can't find my copy, it's whatever the novel is with Avanti's Angels), where he spends time with Naomi Centrella.  While he's plotting the entire time, trying to figure out what the heck is going on, he does seem to genuinely enjoy her company, which is very "pet the dog" to me.
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Lysenko

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #45 on: 28 February 2014, 23:29:29 »


Sun Tzu Liao, to me, is one of the more interesting leaders to read about during the 3050-3065ish era.  While from the more VSD oriented books he's widely considered, well, evil, that's not really the vibe I get from him.  While you can certainly question the methods of the CapCon at large and Sun Tzu as well, I get the impression that he genuinely cares about humanity, and believes he is doing the best things possible for his people.

A quote I frequently use in .sig files is this one:

“Because the Confederation—the Capellan state—is more important than any historical footnote, any ideal and, under the proper circumstances, any number of lives.” Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, The Killing Fields by Loren L. Coleman


Kitsune413

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #46 on: 01 March 2014, 00:01:06 »
Ive forgotten his name. My favorite capellan character was that dude who saved isis marik in that loren coleman novel.

I feel like sun tzu is not really a product of his upbringing but his personality is in spite of it. Or because he's hanse davions son. Free st ives!

I love the warrior houses. I ran this really fun greenback (capellan commisar) for awhile. The cappies get in alot of fun tussles like the dark age. But I like the magistracy more. Really looking forward to playing out the victoria war
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jklantern

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #47 on: 01 March 2014, 00:18:41 »
Ive forgotten his name. My favorite capellan character was that dude who saved isis marik in that loren coleman novel.

I feel like sun tzu is not really a product of his upbringing but his personality is in spite of it. Or because he's hanse davions son. Free st ives!

I love the warrior houses. I ran this really fun greenback (capellan commisar) for awhile. The cappies get in alot of fun tussles like the dark age. But I like the magistracy more. Really looking forward to playing out the victoria war

I've never been able to get into the Magistracy for some reason.  I have the same problem with the Taurians, actually.  They're both factions I want to like, but whenever I try to get into them, I feel kinda "blah" about them.

The main thing that keeps the Cappies from being my favorite Inner Sphere faction (and part of this may just be ignorance on my part) is the lack of subfactional strife within it (St. Ives excepted).  I know it doesn't work well within the general set up of the Confederation, but it definitely adds character to the various other Inner Sphere factions.  (In fact, if it weren't for the Draconis and Capellan Marches frequently running off to do their own thing, I probably wouldn't like the FedSuns at all).

Still, between Sun Tzu Liao, several Mech designs I like (being fond of both the desperation era Mechs such as the Vindicator and the Cataphract as well as some of the more recent designs such as the Yu-Huang), one of my favorite Battle Armors on an aesthetic level (the Fa Shih), and that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you play suicidally fanatical factions (a la the Imperial Guard from Warhammer 40K), the Cappies have a lot going for them in my eyes.
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False Son

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #48 on: 01 March 2014, 00:35:02 »
The main thing that keeps the Cappies from being my favorite Inner Sphere faction (and part of this may just be ignorance on my part) is the lack of subfactional strife within it (St. Ives excepted).  I know it doesn't work well within the general set up of the Confederation, but it definitely adds character to the various other Inner Sphere factions.  (In fact, if it weren't for the Draconis and Capellan Marches frequently running off to do their own thing, I probably wouldn't like the FedSuns at all).

Depends on the era.  The CapCon was torn to pieces by treachery in the 4th Succession War, whether that was St. Ives, Tikanov, Free Capella or the deaths of Romano and Tsen Shang.  One of the hallmarks of the Sun-Tzu era was the cult of personality and ultra nationalism that squashed all desent.  They have been lacking noted division since Xin Sheng, and there hasn't been a major challenge to how they do things in some time.  Even their losses to the Republic seem like it's just another reset button going back to do the same things.
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Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #49 on: 01 March 2014, 01:11:02 »
I've never been able to get into the Magistracy for some reason.  I have the same problem with the Taurians, actually.  They're both factions I want to like, but whenever I try to get into them, I feel kinda "blah" about them.

My problem with the Taurians is that, as a FedSuns fan first, I have a hard time feeling anything but contempt for them.  Not for their "rustic and backward" image (I of all people know about being in a "faction" with that image) but because I see precisely how baseless their paranoia is.  Most recently, a formerly Davion-employed merc unit goes to Taurus seeking a contract, and they burn them down and launch a full-scale invasion of the FS in response.  Really?  It is perhaps unsurprising that I do really like the Calderon Protectorate.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #50 on: 01 March 2014, 02:01:25 »
Depends on the era.  The CapCon was torn to pieces by treachery in the 4th Succession War, whether that was St. Ives, Tikanov, Free Capella or the deaths of Romano and Tsen Shang.  One of the hallmarks of the Sun-Tzu era was the cult of personality and ultra nationalism that squashed all desent.  They have been lacking noted division since Xin Sheng, and there hasn't been a major challenge to how they do things in some time.  Even their losses to the Republic seem like it's just another reset button going back to do the same things.

Sun-Tzu's conflict with his son in the recent Wars of try Republic is pretty interesting. Had Sunny boy not died on Liao, I wouldn't be suprised if Daoshen didn't have him bumped off to cement his hold over the nation


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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #51 on: 01 March 2014, 16:05:21 »
Sun-Tzu's conflict with his son in the recent Wars of try Republic is pretty interesting. Had Sunny boy not died on Liao, I wouldn't be suprised if Daoshen didn't have him bumped off to cement his hold over the nation

The problem is that Daoshen would have to get it in his head that Sun-Tzu needed to "ascend" for him to take that kind of action. The more likely scenario is that Sun-Tzu would probably have killed Daoshen before Daoshen would've killed him. That is because Sun-Tzu feared an out of control mad Chancellor more than anything else, and Wars of the Republic Era does point out that Sun-Tzu really had a distaste for those who worshipped him as a 'god'. As long as it served the state, he was fine with it, but if it became a threat to the state, Sun-Tzu would have exterminated anyone who believed he was a god.

My problem with the Taurians is that, as a FedSuns fan first, I have a hard time feeling anything but contempt for them.  Not for their "rustic and backward" image (I of all people know about being in a "faction" with that image) but because I see precisely how baseless their paranoia is.  Most recently, a formerly Davion-employed merc unit goes to Taurus seeking a contract, and they burn them down and launch a full-scale invasion of the FS in response.  Really?  It is perhaps unsurprising that I do really like the Calderon Protectorate.


That's been my problem with Taurian Concordat forever: the paranoia. Yeah, the Terran Hegemony and Suns as the Star League destroyed the Taurian Concordat of old, but in that time since, the Suns really hasn't done anything close to what the Star League did. However, the paranoia of the Taurians personified into a character named Grover Shraplen. The obsessions of Grover and his successor on the "secret" plots  of Davions know only to him allowed the Taurians to be used and abused by Capellans and Terrans in the form of the Word of Blake.

But like AW, I do have a fondness for the real Taurian Concordat as the Calderon Protectorate.

I've never been able to get into the Magistracy for some reason.  I have the same problem with the Taurians, actually.  They're both factions I want to like, but whenever I try to get into them, I feel kinda "blah" about them.

The main thing that keeps the Cappies from being my favorite Inner Sphere faction (and part of this may just be ignorance on my part) is the lack of subfactional strife within it (St. Ives excepted).  I know it doesn't work well within the general set up of the Confederation, but it definitely adds character to the various other Inner Sphere factions.  (In fact, if it weren't for the Draconis and Capellan Marches frequently running off to do their own thing, I probably wouldn't like the FedSuns at all).

Still, between Sun Tzu Liao, several Mech designs I like (being fond of both the desperation era Mechs such as the Vindicator and the Cataphract as well as some of the more recent designs such as the Yu-Huang), one of my favorite Battle Armors on an aesthetic level (the Fa Shih), and that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you play suicidally fanatical factions (a la the Imperial Guard from Warhammer 40K), the Cappies have a lot going for them in my eyes.

First let me say that the Magistracy is another faction that I cannot fathom ever liking unless the women in charge all suddenly become saintly nuns.

(crickets chirping).

Yeah, I figured that would be the response. Basically, my issue with the Magistracy steams from their form of morality: hedonism. To me, I could even grudgingly live with the female lead society if not for the obsession with cheap thrills for the moment. It's actually close to my vision of hell where everyone is showing off their favorite pleasures right in front of me while all reciting Romeo and Juliet for all of eternity, and there is no way to stop it.

Other people would probably think it is paradise.  Personally, I wish that they'd go back to Canopus and put some clothes on. And I don't mean like dressing up like Rita Repulsa to attract the attention of their brothers.

And if the Fronc Reaches would reject all Canopian influences, it would be a much better faction.

That being said. The thing that has always kept me out of the Capellan Confederation is the fact that I don't like the social contract of the place. The great Celestial Machine concept of the Capellans is just a version of Hobbes' Sovereign which I reject wholeheartedly. Along with the idea that he Chancellor being the head of the machine basically meaing control bugs me. 

However, the Capellans do create some wonderful mech like the Sha Yu. Heaven in the highest, I do love fast mediums. 

jklantern

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #52 on: 01 March 2014, 16:19:38 »
The problem is that Daoshen would have to get it in his head that Sun-Tzu needed to "ascend" for him to take that kind of action. The more likely scenario is that Sun-Tzu would probably have killed Daoshen before Daoshen would've killed him. That is because Sun-Tzu feared an out of control mad Chancellor more than anything else, and Wars of the Republic Era does point out that Sun-Tzu really had a distaste for those who worshipped him as a 'god'. As long as it served the state, he was fine with it, but if it became a threat to the state, Sun-Tzu would have exterminated anyone who believed he was a god.

I think this highlights what I like about Sun Tzu.  At his heart, he is not an egomaniacal mad man.

That may have sounded better in my head, but you know what I mean.
 

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That's been my problem with Taurian Concordat forever: the paranoia. Yeah, the Terran Hegemony and Suns as the Star League destroyed the Taurian Concordat of old, but in that time since, the Suns really hasn't done anything close to what the Star League did. However, the paranoia of the Taurians personified into a character named Grover Shraplen. The obsessions of Grover and his successor on the "secret" plots  of Davions know only to him allowed the Taurians to be used and abused by Capellans and Terrans in the form of the Word of Blake.

But like AW, I do have a fondness for the real Taurian Concordat as the Calderon Protectorate. 

Maybe I'm just interpreting them incorrectly (I figure there's got to be something I'm missing), but to me, the Taurians seem kinda...bland.  "Oh, we're the civilized rational thinkers."  "And?  What else ya got?"  "Um...paranoia?"


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First let me say that the Magistracy is another faction that I cannot fathom ever liking unless the women in charge all suddenly become saintly nuns.

(crickets chirping).

Yeah, I figured that would be the response. Basically, my issue with the Magistracy steams from their form of morality: hedonism. To me, I could even grudgingly live with the female lead society if not for the obsession with cheap thrills for the moment. It's actually close to my vision of hell where everyone is showing off their favorite pleasures right in front of me while all reciting Romeo and Juliet for all of eternity, and there is no way to stop it.

Other people would probably think it is paradise.  Personally, I wish that they'd go back to Canopus and put some clothes on. And I don't mean like dressing up like Rita Repulsa to attract the attention of their brothers.

And if the Fronc Reaches would reject all Canopian influences, it would be a much better faction.

If you take what I said about the Taurians, and replaced "civilized and rational thinkers" with "naked hedonists", you'd probably get my viewpoint on Canopus.  Again, there's GOT to be something I'm missing, here.

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That being said. The thing that has always kept me out of the Capellan Confederation is the fact that I don't like the social contract of the place. The great Celestial Machine concept of the Capellans is just a version of Hobbes' Sovereign which I reject wholeheartedly. Along with the idea that he Chancellor being the head of the machine basically meaing control bugs me. 

However, the Capellans do create some wonderful mech like the Sha Yu. Heaven in the highest, I do love fast mediums.

*Cue Jantern trying to tread lightly on political discussion*

Don't get me wrong, from a real world standpoint I'm probably more FWLer than Cappie, if'n you catch my drift, but from a player's perspective, from an RPing perspective, playing that sort of faction is interesting, and could be kind of fun.  Likewise, I enjoy non-secular ComStar despite not being the most religiously devout of individuals.  I don't generally play factions because I want to live there, eh?  Because let's face it, EVERY faction probably has reasons you DON'T want to be there.   :D

(I will admit to enjoying the Lyrans because I have about a similar grasp of military tactics.   ;D )
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #53 on: 01 March 2014, 16:31:10 »
That being said. The thing that has always kept me out of the Capellan Confederation is the fact that I don't like the social contract of the place. The great Celestial Machine concept of the Capellans is just a version of Hobbes' Sovereign which I reject wholeheartedly. Along with the idea that he Chancellor being the head of the machine basically meaing control bugs me. 

I see it as much more Republic than Leviathan, but I can see where you may see Hobbesian influence in the Sarna Mandate.

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #54 on: 01 March 2014, 16:40:12 »
The hedonism in and of itself doesn't bother me.  Just that it's so often the thing used to define Canopus.  The best metaphor I can think of is "shallow party girl".  Sure, looks fun, but really not that interesting of a conversationalist.  I think the metaphor may have gotten away from me somewhere, but you sorta catch my drift, right?

I get that impression more from the forums than from the setting itself. I think that's more of a contributing factor than anything else.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #55 on: 01 March 2014, 16:44:07 »
I get that impression more from the forums than from the setting itself. I think that's more of a contributing factor than anything else.

You're probably right.  Admittedly, most of the stuff I have on the Periphery is on the East Coast, where I am not, so when I cite ignorance on the subject of Magistracy and the Taurians, that's why.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #56 on: 01 March 2014, 16:47:52 »
Canopus and Capella are far more compatible that I think most people think, or perhaps it'd be more accurate for me to say they are complimentary.

Canopus desires to be left alone to profit peacefully. They excel in specific support fields such as medicine and entertainment but have never been a military or industrial power.

Capella actually has a fair mount of industrial output but few unrestricted trading partners, and tends to focus everything on just guaranteeing its future survival.

Together they quite easily make up for their own individual short-comings, and both have a natural and long-held aversion to armed conquest, or what they percieve as such. While the Canopians may enjoy a freedom of political expression which would be considered treasonous in the Capellan Confederation, in reality the distinction is moot - Canopians are so indifferent regarding their own politics that they've voted for the Centrella dynasty for hundreds of years without the slightest sign of wavering. Both powers have far more to gain by their cooperation than they do from conflict along their border.

I get that impression more from the forums than from the setting itself. I think that's more of a contributing factor than anything else.

The originally Periphery Sourcebook laid it on thick with a trowel. Later sources have dialed it back somewhat.

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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #57 on: 01 March 2014, 17:11:54 »
Canopus and Capella are far more compatible that I think most people think, or perhaps it'd be more accurate for me to say they are complimentary.

Canopus desires to be left alone to profit peacefully. They excel in specific support fields such as medicine and entertainment but have never been a military or industrial power.

Capella actually has a fair mount of industrial output but few unrestricted trading partners, and tends to focus everything on just guaranteeing its future survival.

Together they quite easily make up for their own individual short-comings, and both have a natural and long-held aversion to armed conquest, or what they percieve as such. While the Canopians may enjoy a freedom of political expression which would be considered treasonous in the Capellan Confederation, in reality the distinction is moot - Canopians are so indifferent regarding their own politics that they've voted for the Centrella dynasty for hundreds of years without the slightest sign of wavering. Both powers have far more to gain by their cooperation than they do from conflict along their border.


It feels to me that the Confederation was in a rather unique position.  Most of the other Successor States seemed to view the Periphery powers as too unimportant to bother with.  Sun Tzu seemed to be the one to realize that, when your back is to the wall, ANY ally is better than no ally.  And the Confederation definitely profited from it.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #58 on: 01 March 2014, 17:38:48 »
Davion seems to be realizing that now.  Thankfully, Filtvelt is quite happy to assist the FS, even if they don't want membership anymore.
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Re: The Art of War: Home of the Capellan Confederation!
« Reply #59 on: 01 March 2014, 18:41:40 »
Hm, jumping on late...
Favorite characters...hm. Well most of mine have already been said.
It was the "Capellan Solution" books that firmly got me hooked to the CapCon. And while there are certainly aspects of the social and political side of the realm I vehemently dislike/disagree with, there are still many things I like.

But anyway, back to my picks:

Sun-Tzu - Monster, murderer, mad man. Just a few of the commonly held views on arguably one of the most successful Chancellors the Confederation has ever had (I rate him up ther with Aliesha, Ursula, Barbara & Ilsa. Funny how all my favorite Chancellors are women. Kind of why I'm hoping Danai CL dethrones Daoshen). A man willing to rain fire on innocents to chase his mad dreams of power. And yet, none of these views are quite the truth. Yes, there is a ruthlessness to him, a willingness to do whatever it takes to make the Confederation stronger. Yet, it is not merely for personally power that he directs such actions. It is from a truely deep concern for the well-being of his realm that acts as he does. He would give his last breath, his soul even if it would make his people stronger. What other leader of his generation could say the say? Victor? A man dedicated to peace? If that were true why did he wait to remove his sister from power when he had the chance to, instead of waiting until she forced the issue. 5 years and millions of lost lives could have been prevented. Sun Tzu would never had let such a calamitous outcome befall his people.

Aris Sung - Well, as I said, CS books really got me into the fold, so he's certainly one of my heroes of the CC. One of love the audacious way he joined House Hiritsu. Second I really enjoyed reading about his growth as a character. Could have been just another MechWarrior fighting for king and country...but, he isn't. One of the best things he did was not on the battlefield (well...okay, it sort of is but bear with me), it was changing the focus of the CC-St. Ives war, at least for House Hiritsu. By the time he was in combat, the war had gotten pretty bloody, pretty much a blood-feud. But Aris realized that it couldn't continue that way, things had to change. St. Ives wasn't an enemy to be conquered, they were cousins, long lost, that had to be shown how far they had strayed. (As an aside I believe this is how Sun-Tzu genuinely feels about all of the sundered Capellan worlds. Not as another conquest to add to a list of accomplishments, but as returning lost and fallen children to their rightful place in the universe. Even if it must be done sternly.)

Talon Zhan - I really enjoyed reading the interaction between him and Sun-Tzu. Most certainly, though rarely credited for it, one of the most gifted strategists of his generation. I don't think he would not have risen so high in any of the other Houses: quite simply most of the other leaders were all military men(or women) and wouldn't have given much thought to asking his advice, let alone letting him wage the conflicts of his day as he saw fit.

Ion Rush - Well...we share the same name, so he'll always be a favorite for that simple fact. As a character, well, he could have become just another DC only in charge of the Warrior Houses, and yet he is more than that. To me he embodies all that is worthy in the Capellan Warrior Houses.

And finally: Cassandra Allard-Liao - Have to agree with Arkansas Warrior about her. Along with Aris Sung, she is certainly my favorite character in the CS duology. I tremendously enjoyed reading her story and Tamas Rubinsky (BT hasn't ever really done romance between characters well, I think this is one of the very few that actually works). And Rubinsky's Light Horse became my favorite Merc faction. The fact that they didn't show up on the rolls of active Mercs is about the only thing I have left to hate about the DA now. (I did ask the writers what happened to them in the intervening years between the Jihad and DA; was told "Don't know, hasn't been written".)

How about least favorite character? Mine is Kai. He was cool up until he turned traitor and joined the Republic (Of all the factions he could have joined...). I guess in the end he was more Davion than Liao. I'll just say his ending was...fitting.

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