Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal - part II

Originally Posted by Baron

My number finally came up at my local library, and I got to borrow The Great Wall last night. Thank you for the suggestion! It was beautiful to watch, and that opening battle scene was grand.

Sadly, I thought it went downhill from there. I had hoped to see more spectacle, but it never really delivered again.

But I will adapt these ideas for the Wall to my Tekumel sakbe roads. Now, to drag the party out into the middle of something "interesting..."

It is a fun romp, isn't it? And yes, after the first big battle, there is a loss of narrative momentum. It's like with "Gladiator", where I felt that there was a certain 'where do we go from here?' issue. Me, I watch these for ideas that I can use, and munch on popcorn.

Have you tried 1950's pirate and sword-and-sandal epics yet?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

HBO's "Rome" was pretty good for this - even the right armor for the period, too.

Rome was good.

It's too bad Gronan reads this thread. I'd love to have seen him at a miniatures table when the rolling, flaming what-nots came down the hill at his infantry. I'll take consolation that somewhere there is some miniatures would be general who doesn't read this column as I imagine the expression on that general's face.

Originally Posted by Bren

Rome was good.

It's too bad Gronan reads this thread. I'd love to have seen him at a miniatures table when the rolling, flaming what-nots came down the hill at his infantry. I'll take consolation that somewhere there is some miniatures would be general who doesn't read this column as I imagine the expression on that general's face.

He'd already seen the movie by then, so about all he would have done is laughed himself silly - this sort of thing is common in WRG 6th, which was (in)famous for the rules on Flaming Roman War Pigs. (A company even did miniatures.) My bet is that if confronted by these on the game table, he'd simply order the cohorts to, er, "Present Arms!" and pee on the rollers. I'd allow a dice roll, too, just for the fun of it all.

Oh, agreed! I really must think about doing some LED-equipped Flaming Rollers, just because...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

It looked like our first entry into Khirgar with Kadarsha and his lot, didn't it?

* Bap * Fwee * Tantantaraaa! *

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

He'd already seen the movie by then, so about all he would have done is laughed himself silly - this sort of thing is common in WRG 6th, which was (in)famous for the rules on Flaming Roman War Pigs. (A company even did miniatures.) My bet is that if confronted by these on the game table, he'd simply order the cohorts to, er, "Present Arms!" and pee on the rollers. I'd allow a dice roll, too, just for the fun of it all.

Lord, yes. Flaming War Pigs, jars of wasps, anything anybody ever tried anywhere, you name it they had a rule for it.

I guess WRG = Wargames Research Group with Phil Barker, yes?

Originally Posted by Bren

I guess WRG = Wargames Research Group with Phil Barker, yes?

Zigackly.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

But they do feel Important!

Incompetence. Lack of vision. Lack of ambition. Lack of creative talent and business sense. It all boggles the mind, and, yes, in the end, a lot of it comes down to way too much ego. I came to a similar conclusion yesterday when it suddenly dawned on me that The-Powers-That-Be are actually not interested in supporting the world, or publishing anything of note.

Otherwise they wouldn't be pettily stalling any attempt to spread the word on Tekumel, as has just happened to Dave Morris and his new, completely free "Tirikelu" package of adventures and rules: Morris had made the package available as a print-on-demand file on his own Lulu page (you would only pay for the print), until he was asked to remove it ... because, well, it's quite unclear, as all of the stuff contained in said "Tirikelu" package is already freely available online, and can therefore still be rather easily printed via print-on-demand services, as most RPG-hobbyists know, like Lulu.

(Can you imagine being so incapable of publishing anything of quality or worth that you spend your time stopping actual authors and game/world designers (who also happen to be incredibly generous with their time) from expressing their love of Tekumel, a fantasy world the vast majority of fantasy fans don't even know exist!?)

And let's have a thought for Jeff Dee and his partner, Talzhemir, who have seen their Kurt Hills guide project stall thanks to the Foundation being incapable of sending them feedback since receiving a copy of the guide's content in March-April 2017.

And let's have a second thought for the new edition of "Flamesong" (forget the later books) that should already be out or close to being released. And I'm not even going to mention the "Dlash Gazetteer" or the "Jakallan Underworld" booklets which were announced by the Foundation in early 2016.

(Speaking of the Jakallan underworld, thank the gods for map illustrator Dyson Logos who has already produced thirteen, excellent maps representing the giant dungeon ... and the project's not over yet!)

Meanwhile, the amazing Kevin Crawford, one of the very best and most productive one-man-band rpg publishers working today (not his day-job either), the very same person who briefly toyed with the idea of releasing a free version of a new Tekumel rpg called "Swords of the Petal Throne", in view of releasing a full-blown game later on, is having a huge success with the second edition of his very good "Stars Without Number" Traveller-like rpg.
What a good move it was on the Foundation's part to turn his project down, 'cause, clearly, he doesn't know what he's doing, mad man that he is.

(Can you imagine having so little business acumen and such an inflated sense of self-worth as a game writer/publisher that, when a incredibly creative and savvy rpg author like Crawford comes knocking on your door with a project to revitalize your world, you can't find a way to work with him, for fear of "losing control", for fear of not having your name writ large on the cover of some stale book no one will buy, instead of letting him produce his own line of Tekumel games under, say, a "The Empire of the Petal Throne, Second Edition" flag, which would include a free starter rules and GM-guidelines pack containing a short introductory adventure?)

To paraphrase a Polish saying, the moths have taken over the library ... and they're not letting anyone in. And so, the magnificent remains of Barker's genius creation lie in the vast and ever expanding graveyard of dead fantasy worlds and missed opportunities.

What a grand and beautiful corpse it is though.

Oh well.

I find solace in the thought that, there is a bethorm out there, where the world of Tekumel powers a well-established line of games and supplements.

Originally Posted by Neshm hiKumala

way too much ego

You could have left out everything else.