Re: Planet conquering

><<The variables in either issue are too numerous to name. Clearly, there are
>some worlds that are easier to conquer than others. If one intends to
>conquer a planet like Toril, Oerth, or Krynn, however, I personally would
>have to say its not possible. If it were possible for one league to gain
>control of any of these worlds, it would have already happened at least once
>in their histories and (according to TSR materials, at least) it hasn't.
>There is simply no way that an outside force, with supply lines that are at
>least several weeks to months long can conquer a native force defending
>native and well-known terrain.>>

"It is not possible because it didn't happen".

No, based on the game mechanics, some level of conquest is inevitable.

Consider how European powers conquered.  They didn't ship large armies and
invade, they secured ports and shipped goods.  They set up a system by
which favorable trade exchange substituted for taxes.  The really tricky
part of any conquest is making the conquered territories pay for themselves,
and therefore supporting more conquest.

So, a power sets up a few trading stations on a planet.  They bribe
or subsidize
the local powers into being friendly with them, which involves not molesting
merchants or their enclaves and not taking what the spacefarers consider to
be an unreasonable cut of the profits.

So powers that are friendly to the spacefaring nation get subsidies from trade,
and can maintain a lower taxation rate.  Nations which are hostile
must maintain
a high tax rate in order to maintain the same level of military and
status projects.
Warfare is just one form of potlatch where the leaders demonstrate their
superiority by destroying or expending things of value.

Over the course of decades, trading partners with the spacefaring
nation become more
and more dependant on revenue from the trade, supplying military
service in exchange
for revenue.  The spacefaring nation does very little conquest with
its own troops,
it provides the economic muscle behind groundling allies' conquests.

This is the sort of conquest that a few bold heroes can do very
little about, and wouldn't
be praised for it if they did.  The 'invaders' offer prosperity,
lower taxes, and a
general level of security.  Why resist?  Some will, of course,
because their rank
and position is tied to the old system of taxes and loyalties, but those aren't
necessarily going to be the good guys.

Michael Sandy