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One thing that stood out in the way Sun-Tzu handled capellan inner politics was his constistency in seeking to divide his "inner circle". This COULD be linked to a certain paranoia, but it could also point out to how the different branches of the capellan system used to be constantly vying for greater influence whithin the confederation before the 4th SW, and this was still fresh on the celestial wisdom's mind.

It could be argued that the fact citizenship is actually something you ACQUIRE and hence has a lot of symbolic importance attached to it, coupled with the korvin doctrine (which in its contemporary form feels much like "everything within the state, nothing outside the state") and the state of constant desperation for survival in the face of bigger opposition then themselves makes the CC less subjected to armed conflict beyond coups. But political intrigues with aims other then simply toppling the top dog
can still be a thing.

Now as a few have pointed out, the 4th SW was rife with treachery and power grabs. St-Ives, the Tikovox Free Republic...but also the Northwind Highlanders, now that was one huge chunk. The gutting the CC suffered would, it is rather safe to assume, leave all powers save that of dear pugnacious Romano in a state of shock. Hence, after the 4th SW, CC inner politics are rather...tame.

But before Romano's time, things were far more interesting. Maximilian's rise to power of course, around which much "higher up" blood was shed and many of the higher offices changed hands. But in a broader sense, it is quite clear the few main branches of the state (Chancellor, CCAF, Warrior House, Death Commandos, Maskirovka, Prefecture and House of Scions) all had a knife at each others throats. Check and balance the Capellan way, if you will.

Of course, the CCAF stands out with Pavel Ridzik (whom WOULD make a power grab as it turned out), but there must hjave been much friction elsewhere. The maskirovka was lead by an ambitious woman who longed for the bygone days where her family held much sway over the fortunes of the capellan state and she had one of her agents posted as the "closest thing to a friend" to Maximilian.

Said "closest thing to a friend" (also known as Dolman Kavajk) was portrayed as constantly seeking to weaken House Master Karl Yadi, whom obviously believes he should be ready to militarly oppose Maximilian if such an opportunity arises.

Then there is the prefecture. While the chancellor sits at that office, he is more or less openly opposed (if we look at 3025) by at least 2 of the other members of this small body. We know how Candace was at odds with her father, at the very least in the economical sphere, and then there is Lord Hargreaves who even dared to oppose Maximilian taking the chancellorship from his father. Some of those meetings must've been explosive.

And of course the house of scions. While their temopral power is limited, being there (aside for budgetary concerns) mainly to point out things for the prefectorate and the chancellor to take notice, around 3025 there was at least Lord Hargreaves creating some turmoil, and we know that in the past the house of scions has had a lot of weight in policy making...weren't they responsible for the appointment of Kalvin Liao or another of those less palatable chancellor's?
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One of the reasons I started this thread is because I just read Blood Will Tell last week and it left me thinking about the fact that Daoshen has an honest to goodness god complex and yet somehow everything seemed to run remarkably smoothly anyway.

Hardly an outlier. We've had Mad Max, Kalvin, Romano... the Capellan state has survived a LOT worse than Daoshen, who despite his god complex is actually competent at his job (as he was competent as a military leader before his ascension). It's almost as if they have centuries of experience in functioning despite the mental faculties of the Celestial Wisdom. Plus I'm sure Daoshen delegates as much as the next House Lord, as it wouldn't do for a god to get his hands too dirty with the tedium of running the state too directly.

I'm also surprised that no one's mentioned the Maskirovka's pervasive presence and lethal effectiveness when asking the question "why haven't the Capellans suffered more internal strife?" I mean, it seems pretty logical to me that, besides all of the other supported-by-canon reasons why the Capellans are as united as they are, a leader who decides he or she might know better than the Celestial Wisdom would find themselves disappeared... or even made a public example.

Most of the questions in this thread are answered pretty thoroughly in Handbook: House Liao, just FYI.
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I fear the addition will make finding her more difficult for some. I know it can go both ways, so it is a judgement call. I should have just placed her first to avoid that issue.

I was just pointing out that this is her actual name and what she goes by in every bit of publication. It's technically true of Daoshen, but he intentionally drops the Centrella.
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my fave race is still suicidal rackoons
and i still giggle at syreen penertator,,,if you are still not giggling at it you lie!


Those two ships sucked the most, so, I think I either destroyed, or almost got an Ur-Quan, with a Scout, without blowing up.

I couldn't take the Syreen's seriously, but I probably could get good at stealing crew.

Star-Control 1, for Sega Genesis, when I first got it, was the only game I stayed up all night, to play it! 
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I remember listening to it in the fourth grade, in 1982.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQNI1KfGXBA
theyre coming to take me away

well it sort of fits my mood...

When I was in high-school, I found that in my parent's CD-collection.

It really came out in 1966?
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General BattleTech Discussion / Re: Project Aphrodite
« Last post by Prospernia on Today at 19:33:45 »
Paul answered a rules question in that vein around 10 years ago here: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=40686.msg1310315#msg1310315

That's the closest to an official citation I've been able to find so far.

Exo-humanism is a bit advanced for Battltech.  That's more of a Millennium-concept; the people in Battletech are from the '80's; the have a natural-aptitude for glam-rock and heavy-metal, the get an extra-die to resist drugs and alcohol and they can smoke, a lot.
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MechWarrior Hall / Re: Word Association 36: SAY WHAT AGAIN!!!
« Last post by rebs on Today at 19:26:31 »
secure
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Danai Liao-Centrella (let’s not forget that she’s Canopian-raised and her Centrella half is just as important to who she is as a character)

I fear the addition will make finding her more difficult for some. I know it can go both ways, so it is a judgement call. I should have just placed her first to avoid that issue.
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