Aslan Clans and Tech Levels

“The Aslan view technology as a means to an end, and nothing more.… They have successfully managed to blend technology and art into one strand, which touches all levels of their stratified, artistically inclined society.… Whatever the individual's feelings about technology as a whole, it should be noted that the Aslan are reluctant to turn all aspects of their lives over to impersonal machines. Even in mass manufacturing, the use of automated factories is uncommon in the Hierate. The Aslan tend to value items made by a master craftsman” (Solomani and Aslan 84).

A 10,000 ton, TL13 Weakhto-class Aslan cruiser.

We’ve previously looked at ways to determine the size of an Aslan clan’s Holdings and Population. A third important component to consider would be the clan’s Technology Level. Just like the TL attribute in the Universal World Profile, a clan TL attribute helps establish what types of items are available to the clan and what items the clan can produce.

CT Aslan (1984) provides some important guidance as to technology in Aslan society. We learn that “Tech level codes correspond to the equivalent human codes, but Aslan technology is somewhat more uniform through the Hierate than equivalent human-settled worlds would enjoy” (34). Also, “Technological level [of Kusyu] is E, and is about the maximum to be encountered in the Hierate” (35).

Although tech might be more uniform in the Aslan Hierate, it is not necessarily evenly distributed among clans. Tlaukhu members appear to possess better tech than other clans, and have some measure of control over when those clans gain access to new tech. For example, “Tlaukhu Space Forces are more proficient, better equipped, and more technologically advanced” than Clan Space forces (6). And the Tlaukhu’s “decisions affect the other clans of the Hierate as well. A decision to cooperate in the development of a new technology affects other clans when the technology becomes available” (5).

As GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2 (1999) observes, “Technology in the Hierate is more uniform, but on average slightly lower, than in Human space. This is primarily due to Aslan conservatism… While this attitude limits their research efforts in some areas, it has not prevented them from copying Human technology where this is of benefit.” (45).

Aslan clans have a history of jealously guarding technology to maintain an advantage over rivals. Solomani and Aslan (1991) explains how the Khaukheairl and Yerlyaruiwo clans colluded to keep the secret of the jump drive away from other Aslan clans for centuries, until the other members of the Tlaukhu forced them to share the technology. 

Using CT Aslan worldgen, the TL of an Aslan world can vary from as low as 4 for a world with a low population, Class X starport to a high of E (14), the Hierate maximum. The following table shows the breakdown of TLs for worlds created using Aslan worldgen. The average TL is a little over 10 and just a bit higher than what is presented in the table, as Aslan worldgen sets a minimum TL based on mainworld atmosphere, which slightly inflates the averages.

Aslan World TLs

TL	Percentage
4	2%
5	3%
6	5%
7	8%
8	9%
9	13%
10	13%
11	12%
12	11%
13	9%
14	15%

Let’s consider for a moment just what a clan’s Tech Level means. Over the years different Traveller writers and editors have tried to pin down a definition for world TL—does it tell us what goods are available, or what goods can be produced? According to Traveller⁵, Marc Miller’s “latest word” on the game, it’s a bit of both. In any given subsector, the Highest TL Industrial World determines the overall TL, which establishes “the construction of the military and naval forces” in the subsector. And in any given subsector, the Highest TL Important World determines the “highest generally available TL within a society.… Such technology is generally imported or produced locally under license and extrality agreements” (Book 2, 228).

To apply these ideas to an Aslan clan, instead on focusing on a single geographic region, we could reframe the scope like this: for any clan, the Highest TL Industrial World controlled by the clan determines the overall TL the clan can produce, while the Highest TL Important World determines the highest generally available tech within that clan. However, not all clans control either an industrial or important world—in fact, most probably don’t. Fortunately, such clans can and do import higher tech items, just like lower tech worlds.

So how do we determine a clan’s TL? For clans with holdings on only one world, the answer is easy enough: that world’s TL determines the clan’s TL. So for a world with Government code J, or Allegiance code AsWc (“Single on-world clan dominates”), or for clan with a Holdings code of 5 or less, we just use the world’s TL.

But for all other types of clans, the answer is quite a bit trickier. If we had a comprehensive list of all worlds controlled by a clan, we could use the Traveller⁵ guidelines and look for any Industrial or Important worlds to assess the clan’s TL. But in general, the allegiance codes are far too broad and too much of the Hierate is still undeveloped to allow us to identify a single clan’s holdings in all the sector data. (And I’m not sure having that information would be desirable anyway, as referees should be given plenty of open space to come up with their own answers.)

So, lacking a comprehensive inventory of Aslan worlds, we can develop random tables to determine the TL for other clans. And here GT:AR2 gives us some guidance:

The majority of clans have access to [TL 9–11] items, and often buy some [TL 12–13] items from members of the Tlaukhu, especially military equipment and starships. Members of the Tlaukhu manufacture [TL 12–13] technology for their own use and for export. [TL 14–15] equipment is not normally available, as only a very few worlds (including Kuzu itself) can produce it; where found, it is normally an expensive import from the Imperium or the Solomani Confederation (45).

All TL references in the above passage have been translated from GURPS to native Traveller scale. When I first read this section, I thought these numbers were too low, but it’s fairly consistent with CT Aslan worldgen which, as we noted, results in an average TL of 10. And I initially thought TL14 was too rare: after all, shouldn’t all Tlaukhu members be able to produce TL14 goods?

But within the Aslan Hierate, there are relatively few TL14 industrial worlds. I only count 31 such worlds currently in Traveller Map. Although not every Hierate sector has been updated and reviewed by the T5SS Project, I would be surprised if the missing sectors added more than 50% additional worlds, as they tend to be frontier sectors. So let’s say there are three to four dozen TL14, Industrial worlds in the entire Hierate. If the Hierate roughly consists of 17 sectors, which contains a total of 272 subsectors. That suggests something like only 15% of the Hierate is at TL14, which is perfectly consistent with CT Aslan worldgen.

Aslan worldgen does not associate government type/allegiance with tech level: the two variables are completely independent, and so no relationship is seen in the sector data. But following the GT:AR2 passage, I think it makes a lot of sense to associate TL with clan type. Maybe not all Tlaukhu members are at TL14, but probably all bloc leaders are. I also think it makes sense to have multiworld clans have a minimum TL of 9, to allow them to move between those different worlds.

The following table can determine TL based on a clan’s status:

Clan Tech Level

2D	Vassal Clan	Multiworld Clan	Tlaukhu Vassal	Tlaukhu Clan
2	5	9	10	12
3	6	9	10	12
4	7	9	10	12
5	8	10	11	12
6	9	10	11	13
7	10	10	12	13
8	10	11	12	13
9	11	11	12	14
10	12	12	13	14
11	13	13	14	14
12	14	14	14	14

This table reflects an uneven distribution of tech within Aslan society, with more powerful clans controlling (and limiting) access to better tech. Tlaukhu clans and their vassals generally have higher tech levels than independent clans, and larger clans generally have higher tech levels than smaller clans.

I imagine that the most powerful Tlaukhu clans in the Hierate actively lobby the Third Imperium for access to TL15 military tech. And the Imperium probably has serious internal policy debates about this question.

On one hand, the two most powerful clans in the Hierate, the Yerlyaruiwo and Khaukheairl, are conservative signatories to the Peace of Ftahalr. These clans have honored and enforced the treaty for centuries, provide stability to Aslan space, and probably represent lucrative trading partners. (I assume Imperial megacorporations offer non-military TL15 tech to these clans for exorbitant prices.) The Yerlyaruiwo and Khaukheairl have suppressed incursions from ambitious clans and ihatei fleets into Imperial space. Further, these clans are increasingly in conflict with the expansionist Solomani Confederation.

Providing TL15 military aid to the Yerlyaruiwo and Khaukheairl rewards allies, promotes order and stability within the Hierate, and deters aggression from a hostile power. But the Imperium is encircled by foreign interstellar states, and its technological edge represents a critical advantage. Plus, the Aslan are a highly aggressive species and Hierate internal politics are volatile. “Black Globe Proliferation” and similar concerns are probably very real considerations for Imperial policymakers.

One could run a whole campaign around this idea. While Tlaukhu clans apply diplomatic pressure on Imperial representatives for TL15 aid, smaller clans employ intelligence agents and smugglers to obtain the tech by clandestine means, while Imperial counterintelligence and SolSec agents scramble to thwart these efforts. And all the while, Imperial megacorps watch and wait for any opportunity…

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The illustration at the top of this blog entry is from GDW’s Rebellion Sourcebook (1988).

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