Vodoni, a different perspective

Hmmm, this email seems to have been devoured by some
internet monster.  Lets try again...

Heyall,

Sometimes, I like to take a different perspective than
commonly accepted ones.  For example, I read FR6:
Dream of the Red Wizards, and I can't help but think
"you know, you can ALMOST spin this product such that
Thay is the 'good guy', a stable, relativley peaceful
nation, surrounded by blood-thirsty, savage
barbarians, pirates, and corrupted ancient powers". 
;)

So that leads me to my favorite "SJ's biggest missed
opportunity", the Vodoni.  The common perspective is
that the Vodoni are blood-thirsty savages who
conquered their all-so-peaceful neighbors (I kinda
want to gag on that).  So let me start spinning things
and see where things end up.

Vodonispace - home sphere of the vodoni, so naturally
they'd colonize it.  There's also no reason that, by
the time Valkaran took the throne, that there wasn't
already a strong Vodoni Empire, just like Ceaser took
control of Rome, which by then was far more than a
single city-state.

Vodonikaspace - we know nothing of the previous
inhabitants.  There's no reason that they should be
peaceful in any way; I could easily see the Vodoni
conquering this sphere in retaliation for pirate
attacks originating from it.

Passarspace & Gorthspace - Pretty much unclaimed prior
to the Vodoni, so really no "conquest" here, just
basic colonization for resouces.

Lostspace - A blasted out ruin of a sphere...can't
blame this one on the Vodoni!

Golothspace & Vergonspace - some pretty rough
neighborhoods.  These guys were already duking it out
prior to conquest.  To peasants, the Vodoni could
easily be liberators...until they got hauled off in
chains ;)

Kofuspace, Zalanispace, Kra'akenspace, & Salzarspace -
not all is as it seems.  Any one of these, or all of
these, could have their darker sides.  The Zalani are
shipbuilders, true.  They can also be cuthroat
merchants & profiteers.  They certain benefited
greatly from the Vodoni conquests.  The Kra'aken could
be masterminds, using psionics to quietly manipulate
things to their advantage.  Etc.

Thasiaspace - Vodoni could just be trying to clonize
here, and really don't view the natives as even
existing.

Under the Dark Fist adventure - you know, I could make
an arguement that the "alliance" spheres are, in fact,
the "bad guys".  What were Vodoni ships doing in the
Known Spheres?  Can think of a couple reasons,
actually.  A few could be renegades, expatriots,
pirates, etc.  An empire that vast, and you don't
think there'd be defectors?  PCs could mistake pirates
for agents of the Empire.  A second reason is that the
ships are merely on "specimen collecting" missions. 
They're gathering up plants & animals for their
homeworld, and maybe a captain got a little
overzealous.

Anyways, part of me ponders what about the capital
city makes it "obvious the Vodoni are preparing for
war".  The word of the peasants, who have a vested
interest in overthrowing the Emperor?  In fact, the
adventure outcome really makes it the opposite; the
Empire is, in fact, completely caught off-guard by the
attack.  Here's an empire with thousands of ships,
millions of troops, supposedly preparing for a major
invasion of three worlds.  Yet the Alliance's dinky
fleet can attack the capital city with impunity, and
manage, DESPITE the neogi turning on them, to achieve
victory on the ground AND in the air.  So much so that
the Emperor must make a desperate gamble to decapitate
the Alliance fleet by destroying the fleet's flagship.
 Were the Vodoni preparing for war, would they not
have huge armies & fleets mustered at the capital, or
elsewhere in the sphere?  Afterall, it IS the closest
sphere to the Allance's homespheres.  Yet the Alliance
can not only take the capital, but every populated
world besides.  For the Alliance, it should have been
walking into a death-trap.  Yet they win, no matter
what casualties they take in the Web.  That speaks to
how NOT ready for war the Vodoni really were!

Anyways, just some random ramblings! ;)

Adam


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