Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal - part II

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Or they have a generous amount of slaves...!!!

H:0)

Both of these fit the source material, don't they?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

If I may offer a side note, I am not a 'Revered High Priest' of the Temple of Vimuhla - that's several pay grades above me. ; I am a military sorcerer, and my Temple title in that role is 'Master of the Energies of the Planes Beyond' - it sounds a lot more impressive, but pays less as I'm in the army...

I don;t know if it was in EPT, and I'm not sure about S & G, as that RPG was never finished. Phil played it that way in his games, and any magical item like a sword or something didn't count. So, I'd say yes, anything done with the 'Enchant' spell would count.

Let's see. Silver for Ksarul, gold for Vimuhla and Karakan; if you look in EPT where the colors are given for the temples you'll find their preferred metal.

It's a pretty hard and fast guideline, for the reasons that you give. On the other hand, Phil did 'port over' spells from EPT to S & G; I know 'The Grey Hand', for example, which is a very secret Gruganu spell, so there's an adventure where I picked up this bit of forbidden knowledge. So, yes, there are exceptional circumstances where this kind of thing can happen, and they form the basis of adventures. Mayhem will ensue, as we like to say hereabouts.

Thank you gracious Master of the Energies of the Planes Beyond.

I would like to ask one slight clarification before a few new questions.

Regarding priests and associated metals - is this for all items made of such metals - such as copper for Sarku's priests - or is it limited to ritual related items - such as sacrificial daggers, masks, or other such regalia?


On to a few more general society related questions. I am becoming much more familiar with the concept that bribes, gifts, and other favors of value are the grease in the machinery of social interaction through out Tekumel. At what level (if any) does one stop 'paying' - how close of a relation ship is required? I assume the Glorious General doesn't tip you for running things smoothly at the end of a good campaign.

If I were to 'hire' someone to act as both a bodyguard and to 'assist' in manners that may or may not resulting in ensuing mayhem (for both fun and profit), would a share of said profit be the primary means of payment? Obviously supplying equipment, healing and shamtla if necessary. Would I be correct in assuming that in most cases I'd be encouraged to hire someone from within my own clan (or a closely allied one) if possible?

Earlier in your career, when more time seems to have been spent exploring the underworld, how did the adventuring parties handle traps? In many games, there are specialist characters designed for such events, but they appear to be absent in EPT?

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Absolutely!!! Lord Asen!!! Both fit like chl�n hide glove...

H:0)

So they fit in a kinda rough, smelly and possibly itchy way?

Originally Posted by Zirunel

Dlamelish/Hrihayal would be all about the silver as well. Can't be a priest or priestess of the Emerald Ladies without a bunch of silver doo-dads dangling from all your limbs and joints.

To be honest, I think that whole metal vs magic thing was a poor fit for Tekumel and had nothing to do with the Professor's vision of "real" Tekumel. It was more a direct port from Gygax/Arneson D&D, in an effort to turn Tekumel into a game. Don't want your sword-swinger and your magic user to be the same person. Just a game mechanic thing, to make Tekumel function a bit more like D&D.

Not unlike his "jack-priest" concept, which to me seems like nothing he ever (originally) imagined for Tekumel, or that makes any sense there. An awkward post-hoc rationalization for making magic users somehow separate from clerics (as per D&D) in a setting where they shouldn't really be any different from one another.

I believe you could dump that whole metal vs magic restriction and still be as true - or more so - to the Professor's original vision of Tekumel as a setting (as opposed to a game)

You know, I think you're onto something, here. Phil was always very upfront that his 'game Tekumel' ran differently then his 'real Tekumel did, especially in the early years of the campaign. After about '81 - '2 - I'd have to go back to my notes - there was a lot less of these in-game distinctions and a lot more of what I'd call the way he envisioned the place to really work. A lot of what was in EPT was the result of Gary and Dave's prodding - they viewed Tekumel as an adjunct to their Greyhawk and Blackmoor settings in what they called The Known World, rather then as a stand-alone setting. Phil, for his part, viewed their settings as other pocket dimensions, like he did with Barsoom and other literary settings. I suspect that the marketing pressures that the early-on Guidon /TSR faced from gamers who wanted a unified world-setting had a lot to do with this, from what I saw in those days. These days, there's a of bandwidth devoted to the idea on the Internet - see also the discussion over where in The Official Timeline Of Blackmoor our trip there fits. (It doesn't.) My position is that the Tekumel we had with Phil was what we had, and the Blackmoor we had with Dave was what we had with him and Phil conniving behind the arras.

Either way, I play the settings, based on what I know, saw, and heard. If that's useful to people, then I'm happy to share!

From Horu hiFa'asu:
Thank you gracious Master of the Energies of the Planes Beyond.

A simple 'Uncle Chirine' will do just fine, thank you; this is sitting around in the clan house over a cool drink and having a fun discussion between friends - nothing formal, if you will...

I would like to ask one slight clarification before a few new questions.

Regarding priests and associated metals - is this for all items made of such metals - such as copper for Sarku's priests - or is it limited to ritual related items - such as sacrificial daggers, masks, or other such regalia?

Phil played it as only ritual items.

On to a few more general society related questions. I am becoming much more familiar with the concept that bribes, gifts, and other favors of value are the grease in the machinery of social interaction through out Tekumel. At what level (if any) does one stop 'paying' - how close of a relation ship is required? I assume the Glorious General doesn't tip you for running things smoothly at the end of a good campaign.

One does not always pay in cash. One provides introductions, connections, mentions in the right places, public commendation and compliments, and favors to someone who has helped them. Cash is rarely handed around, as it's considered a trifle common to do so; the General would never think to have me a cash tip, as it would look tacky and make both of us look silly, but he will mention to his father-in-law what a great guy I am and a credit to his legion and to the army in general. Since his dad is Imperial General Serqu hi Chaishyani, Serqu Sword of the Empire, this is one hell of a good tip...

One can provide cash to casual employees and mercenaries (where it's customary for the latter, by ancient tradition), but 'taking care of your people' is more important and more noble.

If I were to 'hire' someone to act as both a bodyguard and to 'assist' in manners that may or may not resulting in ensuing mayhem (for both fun and profit), would a share of said profit be the primary means of payment? Obviously supplying equipment, healing and shamtla if necessary. Would I be correct in assuming that in most cases I'd be encouraged to hire someone from within my own clan (or a closely allied one) if possible?

Earlier in your career, when more time seems to have been spent exploring the underworld, how did the adventuring parties handle traps? In many games, there are specialist characters designed for such events, but they appear to be absent in EPT?

If you didn't have a Tinaliya handy, the most dexterous and smartest in the party would have a go at the trap. Phil has no specialist PCs like are in later games, and he liked that more and more as time went on as he thought that the plethora of specialist classes was kind of silly and not very realistic. So, we all took a turn at this, and sometimes we got it right and sometimes we got it wrong.

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Ah Good Lord, these chl�n are of the highest breeding. Not to mention the glove maker's technique is just as secret as the armorer's. And an all together different outcome as well. As my Auntie Var� used to say, "smooth as a newborn babe's bottom!!!".

H;0)

Why, Mighty Hrugga, that would actually make an excellent sales pitch to an effete aristocrat, I think I should try it some time and see if I can sell those gloves for 100 times their price!
If I do, you'd get a cut, of course.