Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal - part II

From Shemek hiTankolel:
Would your games tie into what Phil was doing with his group(s)?
Yes, very much so. I'd give Phil a report, and he'd use the events as needed in his games.

Cool. How far did they get in their explorations?
They spent most of their games in the Missuma on their ship, just exploring the world and meeting people. They had a good time, and enjoyed themselves with occasional excursions into Imperial politics.

This one sounds great, and is the type of games I like best. It's nice to get out of Tsolyanu once in a while. I'm currently running a Vriddi themed campaign set in Hetkolainen's reign (NO SPOILERS ), out on the periphery, near Hekellu. Lots of fun and mayhem there.
Agreed! It was a lot of fun, and we had a grand time looking at the world through Yan Koryani eyes.

I have to try a pure "sandbox" adventure one day. Mine tend to be something of a mish-mash between "railroads" and "sandboxes."
I really enjoy running this kind of game; you do have to be ready for anything, though, so it's a bit of work beforehand.

Nice. These are often the best type of games in my experience. Exploration for the sake of curiosity and not always for some world saving quest is most excellent IMO.
Most of our time with Phil was spent like this, as you read.

Can't wait to see the finished product. Any chance of a status update?
I'm still at 125,000 words, bu I expect to me moving along pretty quickly this winter as I'm moving back to an afternoon / evening work schedule; I was much more productive on that kind of shift, as I'm not really a 'morning person'. I'm also expecting that all the new miniatures that have come in over the past year will really give me a boost - they do inspire me, just as they did for both Phil and I back in the day. Artwork is also coming along very nicely, too.

I don't really care that much about mechanics, for the most part, TBH. Killer Bunny? TPK? Do tell please.
The Lorun lady wanted to have a bunny rabbit as a pet, so she got one from a reputable dealer in such animals. She asked me what it looked like, and I pointed out that like so many of Tekumel's animals, it had six legs. She loved the idea, and went on to make a wonderful plush toy of her pampered pet. It still sits plumply in the game room.

The players in my most recent campaign wanted to try "Tomb Complex of Nereshanbo", so I ran that. the most experienced player totally blew off the most basic of underworld tactics and kicked open a door, causing most of the party to be ensorcelled. They fell to fighting amongst themselves, and things fell right apart when I pointed out that they were all still standing on a stairway and had to make a dexterity roll every time they did anything. Mayhem ensued, what with levitated syringes loaded with paralyzing potions, flaming bolts of energy being cast forward through the party from the rear rank, and the Nyluss warrior loosing his footing and caroming downward through the party trapping the Livyani girl and the Tinaliya beneath him. The net result was that the sole survivor was an NPC, who got the bearers to carry what was left of the party back to Butrus - where they had to bribe their way back in, it being after curfew. People were laughing until they cried, and had their heads down on the table because they were too sore from laughing to sit up. I was my one and only TPK in forty years, and it was worth the wait.

In what I thought was a very sporting gesture, the party had a bronze plaque made to commemorate the event, and installed it on the stairway where it still hangs today.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

In what I thought was a very sporting gesture, the party had a bronze plaque made to commemorate the event, and installed it on the stairway where it still hangs today.

THAT is the kind of players referees live for.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

THAT is the kind of players referees live for.

Agreed! I do miss them; we had people like that at the Free RPG Day event, though so I have hopes...

Originally Posted by Greentongue

I think that the distractions of Real Life and other more familiar games drew one away.
The other I think had not expected things to be so dangerous and also expected more of a "guided" style.
Just a guess as neither complained to me when asked for feedback.

In my opinion a lot of their difficulties were from not talking to each other or really focusing on options.
It may just be me but, I got the feeling that there were a lot of "snap" updates.
I tried to play loosely but, they had to actually try something before I could respond creatively.
=

That sucks.
I also tried to do a "freer style" when I first started the current campaign, but quickly found that my players preferred a more structured game, i.e. "railroady" type of game. I've met them half way and the game has been flourishing for the last year and a half.

Shemek

Originally Posted by kk7

You guys are so weird. Thirty-odd years of Tekumel gaming without a single miniature, let alone plaques and so on. I must be doing it RONG.

Same here, I've never gotten a plaque either
I'll be honest I like the aesthetics of miniatures in play, but the only reason that I use them is because they help mitigate any conflicts over where a PC is during a combat, or in relation to trap, secret door, etc. As I tell my players "Here's the monster (or trap, or...), move your miniature and show me exactly where he is." Too many bitter arguments when I first started DM'ing over whether a PC got hit, or was was in the blast radius, etc. Also, I have found that they really add to the game as visual aids. I love my players reaction when I place a mini on the table and they can physically see the difference in size between their PC's and the critter they're fighting.

Shemek

Another great session yesterday evening. We almost had a TPK. They lost one PC, a warrior, and the rest of the party and NPC's escaped by the skin the of their teeth when the priest of Vimuhla was just able to open a nexus point. As Chirine is want to say, much mayhem ensued!

It's too bad that we can't resurrect the old Imperial Dispatches? Do you think that this would be feasible Chirine?

Shemek