Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal - part II

Originally Posted by Baron

And yes, it's a slum, but there are also areas that are cleared by hired guards so that higher-station foreigners aren't stepping in filth and swarmed by robbers and murderers. Sort of like the Manhattan I remember from back in the 70's... ;-) Or perhaps the transition from Skid Row here in Los Angeles, to the currently gentrified Downtown area.

If these foreigners have sufficient wealth to do this, why don't they have some connections to the city? If I am a Mu'uglavyani temple guard traveling to Tsolyanu with a priest who is going to pray at a certain shrine, and the priest has all papers in order, we will not end up in the foreigners' quarter, we will end up in the guest quarters of the appropriate temple.

What is the source of the wealth, and why aren't they using it to get out of the foreigners' quarter?

Somebody in the foreigners' quarter is literally an "outlaw;" the laws do not apply to them... or protect them. If a couple of young bravos from the Whatever clan were feeling cocky after visiting their sword master, they could stroll into the foreigners' quarter and kill five or six of the residents and stroll back out into the city -- and none of the authorities would care, or do anything about it. But they WOULD keep anyone connected to the dead from leaving the foreigners' quarter.

And to those who think, "well, the assassins in the Foreigners' Quarter would sneak out and kill the bravos," all I have to say is "remember Fasiltum."

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

And actually gamed with them. I've got some figures roughly the same vintage, and I still use them as well.
Why not? What else are they good for if not to use?

Well, I thought so as well; I've been playing this way since 1976, and hadn't gotten anything like the the grief in the four decades' worth of play time that I've gotten since I started in the four-five years since I started posting on the Internet. And started allowing visitors into the house, for that matter; we now screen any potential guests very carefully...

Heck, I was told by one Big Name West Coast Collector that my books and figures were being stored on "inappropriate shelving" and that my fire prevention precautions were "inadequate for a collection of the size and value" as mine supposedly is. (Never mind that 50 pound CO2 bottle in the corner.)I was, I was told, "totally unfit to have custody of such a valuable collection, and a detriment to our business interests". Not bad, for somebody on their first visit to our house...

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Chirine,

Just wondering, do you know anything regarding the status of the Humanspace Empires game? These are a great set of rough rules, and I have lifted the weapons, and their stats, for my game. I'd certainly welcome a finished product.
Did the Foundation kill this as well? I seem to recall you saying that they were responsible for the Shen blog's demise.

Not really, no: just what I see go by on the Internet. I do know that the author had contacted the Tekumel Foundation, and the project died very shortly afterwards. Likewise, Jim got very badly handled by the TF, and more or less closed up shop in disgust; he did give me his artwork originals (dating back to the 1980s) for the archives, so they're not lost. Beyond that, the TF continues to baffle me with their policies and attitudes.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

The phrase "To the giggling hooks with you, Soft One" comes to mind.

Agreed. I've even gotten grief for my idea of hospitality, and told that providing light snacks and refreshments during games is strictly forbidden by Real Collectors.

Stuff 'em. It's my house, and my guests; I like to be hospitable, and anyone who doesn't like that need not drop by for a game.

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Thank you!!! I found a reference to The Ts�ghiyur in the entry about Lord GERESHMA'A, He of the Mound of Skulls. Who rules the Northwest Quadrant and Twelfth Circle of the Demon Plane...among other titles!!! So you can think of these fellows as literally not having a head, and or as minions, nice...Do they have any special powers in your game Uncle?

H:0)

No, I don't think so, but I'd have to go back and look at my notes. I thought I'd seen stats for them someplace, and I'll keep looking.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Agreed. I've even gotten grief for my idea of hospitality, and told that providing light snacks and refreshments during games is strictly forbidden by Real Collectors.

Stuff 'em. It's my house, and my guests; I like to be hospitable, and anyone who doesn't like that need not drop by for a game.

The sad thing is how believable this is.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Well, I thought so as well; I've been playing this way since 1976, and hadn't gotten anything like the the grief in the four decades' worth of play time that I've gotten since I started in the four-five years since I started posting on the Internet. And started allowing visitors into the house, for that matter; we now screen any potential guests very carefully...

Heck, I was told by one Big Name West Coast Collector that my books and figures were being stored on "inappropriate shelving" and that my fire prevention precautions were "inadequate for a collection of the size and value" as mine supposedly is. (Never mind that 50 pound CO2 bottle in the corner.)I was, I was told, "totally unfit to have custody of such a valuable collection, and a detriment to our business interests". Not bad, for somebody on their first visit to our house...

I've been known to asking people that try to tell me how to live in my own house whether they want to leave or would they prefer me to throw them out head first - and we're talking a relative, here.
Other than that, you really have the patience of a saint, Uncle.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

The sad thing is how believable this is.

No, the sad thing is that I used to know such people - but in their defence, they stopped being like that after growing out of high school.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

The sad thing is how believable this is.

Agreed! It's been pretty weird, over the past five years or so, with people who seem to be convinced that all they have to do to ensure their fame and fortune is to get control of what's in my brain and basement - I am one of those icons to be paraded around the square to show the peasants that the great Lord really is a great lord - or lady, for that matter; I've had both.

And yes, I do save all the e-mails and phone call records; it's all part of the archive...