Once I had worked out my sector data for Dark Nebula, I then turned to the Aslan Hierate itself, which is a rather odd and interesting polity. The Hierate is, in many ways, the inverse of the Third Imperium: if the Imperium is a federation of diverse cultures and worlds unified by a single central government, the Hierate is more like a federation of diverse governments united by a single, unifying monoculture. The Hierate has only one primary language, Trokh, and only a single “religion,” a form of ancestor veneration.
The most important organizing unit of the Hierate is the clan, a group of Aslan connected by bloodlines, marriage, and political alliances. The 29 most powerful clans, the famous Tlaukhu, do not govern so much as advise the others. (Though woe to the upstart clan that does not heed the words of a more senior one!)
With no central government, nearly everything in the Hierate is run by individual clans, though a shared, conservative culture probably creates many common practices. And with all clans jockeying for resources, the resulting alliances, rivalries, and enmities are constantly shifting. This fluidity and decentralization creates extreme complexity—and plenty of opportunity for exploration and adventure.
And probably the best, and maybe the only way to facilitate running a sandbox game in such a complex, shifting environment is through use of random tables. A random clan generator seemed like a natural place to start, but I soon realized that there was much about the Hierate that had never been fleshed out over the editions: how big is a typical clan? What kind of resource might a typical clan command? How many allies, vassals, and enemies might it have?
My goal was to create a working model of Aslan clans and the Hierate that would generate useful details but would be compatible with existing canon. So if a referee wanted to roll up a bunch of new clans, they would get results that reflect the Aslan world generation rules from Classic Traveller. And if a referee had the UWP of an Aslan world they could determine the number and nature of clans that might inhabit that world.
In order to develop a working model of the Hierate, I took a hard look at the previous descriptions of Aslan society. Although many excellent sources cover the Hierate, they all largely follow the lead of CT Alien Module 1 - Aslan (1984). So where the CT module was strong, subsequent sources tend to be strong, and where the CT module was weak, so too are they.
Other CT sources include the Atlas of the Imperium (1984), which has dotmaps of nine sectors that incorporate parts of the Hierate: Trojan Reach, Riftspan Reaches, Hlakhoi, Staihaia'yo, Verge, Ealiyasiyw , Iwahfuah, Reavers Deep, and Dark Nebula. The often-forgotten late CT Module 4, Alien Realms: Eight Excursions Beyond Human Space (1986) has three adventures set in the Hierate.
MegaTraveller information is largely split between the Imperial Encyclopedia (1987), Rebellion Sourcebook (1988), and the Referee's Companion (1988). Although Aslan and the Hierate are discussed in several issues of Digest Group Publications’ Travellers’ Digest, two issues are particularly important: Issue 17 (1989) covers Dark Nebula, Kilrai’ subsector, and contains the adventure “The Blade of Koiyekh,” which is set on the Aslan homeworld of Kusyu. Issue 18 (1989) covers Ealiyasiyw Sector and names all Tlaukhu members and their arrangement into ten power blocs. Only some of this information was included in DGP’s Solomani and Aslan: The Rimward Races (1991) and much of that is currently caught in copyright limbo.
The TNE Regency Sourcebook: Keepers of the Flame (1995) “rescues” some DGP lore and includes some interesting new information applicable to the 1105 setting. GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2 (1999) has a very thoughtful discussion of Aslan roles and Hierate society, and does a nice job of working around the DGP material. The MgT1 Alien Module 1 - Aslan (2009) goes back to the original CT module and largely ignores all subsequent sources in favor of developing new material, resulting in some minor incompatibilities. The MgT2 Pirates of Drinax (2017) and Aliens of Charted Space 1 (2020) update the 2009 supplement and add some additional information.
Finally, a very useful, if unofficial, inspiration for the Hierate is the Chanur Novels by the science fiction writer C. J. Cherryh. Cherryh has a tremendous ability to create alien races that are interesting, identifiable, but clearly distinct from humans in psychology and society. She thoughtfully considers how language, commerce, and politics might complicate the interactions of multiple alien races.
I have read that there is no direct influence between the hani, a race of vaguely lion-like aliens that are the main protagonists of her Chanur series, and the Aslan of Traveller. And while I have no evidence either way, the similarities are remarkable. The hani are a fiercely territorial species organized around clans, with wildly different roles for males and females. Landowning males—violent, emotional, and proud—live lives of privilege, while the landless males are forced to eke out rough existences on the margins, hoping to one day win their own holding. Meanwhile, the practical-minded females organize the households and conduct all interstellar commerce.
Any of this sound familiar? In any case, the Chanur novels are great reads and Cherryh offers some extremely helpful insights into the female perspective within such a society. Her hani have certainly informed Aslan interactions in my own games.
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I for one would be interested in the Alsan clan creation. Interestingly the RPGSuite software's Aslan module does handle clan creation as part of the character background. At a guess, the Mongoose Aslan book may have rules. As I've stopped getting the Mongoose Traveller stuff (it just does not seem to be Traveller but some strange Judge Dread/Traveller thing that ignores the rich history just to be different it seems) I don't have that book. That software uses the Mongoose rules so hence my assumption.
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