Kiero
2009-02-20, 10:38 AM
I think for Taris Resists! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105043) it's important to establish just what the Mandalorian (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mandalorian)occupation of Taris (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Taris)(approximately 3963-3961BBY) is like. Because their tyranny is going to be a major backdrop and theme for the game. They are, after all, invaders and occupiers who seized the world, crushed all resistance mercilessly, and then drained it of people to feed their war machine.
But here's the thing; the Mandalorians aren't ideological conquerors, they don't have a political system of their own they seek to impose on the conquered. They're a nomadic horde who sweep aside everything in their path, absorbing species, technologies and ideas they encounter to add to their strength. Taris was something of a test-bed for how Mandalorians might not just take, but hold as well. It was part of Cassus Fett (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cassus_Fett)'s grand plan to turn the Mandalorians into something resembling an army, rather than a mob. Before that, they weren't really familiar with things like logistics, areas of operation, procedures and so on.
From the scenes in the KotOR comics, one thing is fairly obvious: at least initially there's martial law. That means armoured Mandalorians patrolling the streets in large numbers, ready to respond to any sign of resistance. I'm not sure if that would ever end - their activities are hardly conducive to arriving at a harmonius equilibrium with the local population.
Because one of the major activities on a captured world is rounding up segments of the population to become new Neo-Crusaders. The Mandalorian war effort depends on new bodies to continue it's momentum. Even after the initial organised resistance has been crushed (which is what happened once the Siege of Taris (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Siege_of_Taris) was over), I'd imagine there would be flare-ups of trouble as people are shipped out.
But given their lack of experience in governing an occupied world, would they leave the existing power structures in place, and hope to keep things running through them? Because if people aren't to starve to death, they need to keep that world viable, producing food, keeping the populace occupied in jobs and such. Would that mean some kind of accomodation with the old order? Or establishing a puppet ruler who only rules at Mandalorian forebearance? Perhaps with some form of proxy government with limited rights, who's primary concern is producing the things the Mandalorians need?
What proportion of the population could be safely shipped off before things would start to fall apart?
Taris wasn't an equitable or ideal society to begin with. Before Revan eventually arrived to liberate it, they were not only a socially stratified society, where the aristocracy lived (literally) above everyone else and concentrated power in their hands, but they were a slave-owning society too.
Slavery doesn't conflict with Mandalorian ethics; I don't think they care, ultimately about the plight of non-Mandalorians, and probably co-opted whatever local practices were in place. There are also Exchange slavers active, perhaps encouraged to take away malcontents and dissidents. They'll work with anyone if there's profit in it.
Thing is, I want to get the tenor of the occupation right. I don't think the Mandos are unnecessarily cruel in the way they do things - just utterly and ruthlessly pragmatic. They don't have qualms about freedom or humanity or any of those things the Republic stands for, all that matters is serving Mandalore and furthering the Mandalorian people.
We've already seen that unlike the Galactic and Sith Empires, they're not racist. Anyone who follows the Resol'Nare is a Mandalorian, regardless of their species. And that brings rights as well as responsibilities; they're not monsters the way the Sith and Galactic Empire were. I think portraying them as such is overly simplistic, and loses something.
Would we have informers and such? Would that be the sort of thing ordinary people do in an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the occupiers, and assert some measure of control over their lives? Would such behaviour be tolerated by the occupiers (given ?
Specific to Taris, how would they approach the Undercity, where the vestiges of the Resistance is driven? It's full of rakghouls as well as the Outcasts, and doesn't really have any resources worth exploiting. Would they just ignore the survivors and focus on keeping the rest of the plant in check? Perhaps posting checkpoints at all the entrances?
I also need some thoughts about who might be left in charge. Fett himself has more important things to do than governing a nominally pacified world. So some other warrior would be left in charge. As before, possibly with some native-Tarisian ruler or body underneath them to enact things.
But here's the thing; the Mandalorians aren't ideological conquerors, they don't have a political system of their own they seek to impose on the conquered. They're a nomadic horde who sweep aside everything in their path, absorbing species, technologies and ideas they encounter to add to their strength. Taris was something of a test-bed for how Mandalorians might not just take, but hold as well. It was part of Cassus Fett (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cassus_Fett)'s grand plan to turn the Mandalorians into something resembling an army, rather than a mob. Before that, they weren't really familiar with things like logistics, areas of operation, procedures and so on.
From the scenes in the KotOR comics, one thing is fairly obvious: at least initially there's martial law. That means armoured Mandalorians patrolling the streets in large numbers, ready to respond to any sign of resistance. I'm not sure if that would ever end - their activities are hardly conducive to arriving at a harmonius equilibrium with the local population.
Because one of the major activities on a captured world is rounding up segments of the population to become new Neo-Crusaders. The Mandalorian war effort depends on new bodies to continue it's momentum. Even after the initial organised resistance has been crushed (which is what happened once the Siege of Taris (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Siege_of_Taris) was over), I'd imagine there would be flare-ups of trouble as people are shipped out.
But given their lack of experience in governing an occupied world, would they leave the existing power structures in place, and hope to keep things running through them? Because if people aren't to starve to death, they need to keep that world viable, producing food, keeping the populace occupied in jobs and such. Would that mean some kind of accomodation with the old order? Or establishing a puppet ruler who only rules at Mandalorian forebearance? Perhaps with some form of proxy government with limited rights, who's primary concern is producing the things the Mandalorians need?
What proportion of the population could be safely shipped off before things would start to fall apart?
Taris wasn't an equitable or ideal society to begin with. Before Revan eventually arrived to liberate it, they were not only a socially stratified society, where the aristocracy lived (literally) above everyone else and concentrated power in their hands, but they were a slave-owning society too.
Slavery doesn't conflict with Mandalorian ethics; I don't think they care, ultimately about the plight of non-Mandalorians, and probably co-opted whatever local practices were in place. There are also Exchange slavers active, perhaps encouraged to take away malcontents and dissidents. They'll work with anyone if there's profit in it.
Thing is, I want to get the tenor of the occupation right. I don't think the Mandos are unnecessarily cruel in the way they do things - just utterly and ruthlessly pragmatic. They don't have qualms about freedom or humanity or any of those things the Republic stands for, all that matters is serving Mandalore and furthering the Mandalorian people.
We've already seen that unlike the Galactic and Sith Empires, they're not racist. Anyone who follows the Resol'Nare is a Mandalorian, regardless of their species. And that brings rights as well as responsibilities; they're not monsters the way the Sith and Galactic Empire were. I think portraying them as such is overly simplistic, and loses something.
Would we have informers and such? Would that be the sort of thing ordinary people do in an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the occupiers, and assert some measure of control over their lives? Would such behaviour be tolerated by the occupiers (given ?
Specific to Taris, how would they approach the Undercity, where the vestiges of the Resistance is driven? It's full of rakghouls as well as the Outcasts, and doesn't really have any resources worth exploiting. Would they just ignore the survivors and focus on keeping the rest of the plant in check? Perhaps posting checkpoints at all the entrances?
I also need some thoughts about who might be left in charge. Fett himself has more important things to do than governing a nominally pacified world. So some other warrior would be left in charge. As before, possibly with some native-Tarisian ruler or body underneath them to enact things.