Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Double plus ungood.

+1 to that.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Much as I'd love to, I simply can't afford it. I managed to bring in the last one for just under $500 - gas, food, hotel, convention badge - and that was before my department got reorganized and I had to take a pay cut. It's all of my disposable income for a year, and most of my disposable vacation time as well. The copays for The Missus' health care are what's killing us; while she seems to have beaten the cancer for a year, we have to pay for continued screening and monitoring. What with all of her other health issues, we just don't have the money available to do much of anything over and above the normal course of life.

And I'm not getting any younger. Last time around, I only took a few days off, and worked both weeks as 'bookends' around the convention. Huge mistake - I should have taken a full two weeks off, and given myself time to recover. I got very badly dehydrated on Saturday - which was stupid of me, because I had a case of bottled water out in the van - and it took the better part of a month just to get back on an even keel. The after-effects of the brain bleed and the related surgery also are part of this. I just don't have the stamina and energy that I used to; I get tired pretty quickly these days. I have to really be careful with how I budget my time.

And I can't accept any anything like somebody giving me some help with gas money or hotel rooms, because the Tekumel Foundation regards that as "unauthorized use of the Tekumel IP for compensation"; I am tired of threats. I can't afford to have a lawyer at my elbow all the time, to tell me what I can and can't do.

So, I game here at the house, on my own table, and let the world go by.

Fuck 'em.

I'm sure that this simple fact, i brought up in a bigger forum, would really hurt the public image they're trying to project... The Foundation was definitely trying to project a friendlier attitude in the RPG.net thread.
Either way, sorry to hear about your troubles. I couldn't make it to your cons anyway, and never was able to, but that's because I'm on the other side of the globe. Still, sorry to hear you can't get there, either.

Ah well, forums are the second best replacement...

To bring it back to more cheerful topics, I get the impression that prison and death sentences on Tekumel are generally of the "prison only before process, or after process before execution, exile or slavery are enacted" variety. Longer sentences would exist only if you're important enough we want neither to just brand you as a criminal, nor release you with a whipping, nor execute you. And then how much disposable income you have to bribe guards might lead to the prison conditions varying wildly.
Am I right?

Also, is the Hirilakte Arena used as punishment, or for the settling of court cases in the absence of proof?

Originally Posted by Bren

Bingo.

It does seem we have a winner, doesn't it! Hurrah!!!

Nobody's asking about The Pink Tree Of Death, though; I'm a little disappointed. (sniff.)

Originally Posted by AsenRG

+1 to that.

I'm sure that this simple fact, i brought up in a bigger forum, would really hurt the public image they're trying to project... The Foundation was definitely trying to project a friendlier attitude in the RPG.net thread.
Either way, sorry to hear about your troubles. I couldn't make it to your cons anyway, and never was able to, but that's because I'm on the other side of the globe. Still, sorry to hear you can't get there, either.

Ah well, forums are the second best replacement...

To bring it back to more cheerful topics, I get the impression that prison and death sentences on Tekumel are generally of the "prison only before process, or after process before execution, exile or slavery are enacted" variety. Longer sentences would exist only if you're important enough we want neither to just brand you as a criminal, nor release you with a whipping, nor execute you. And then how much disposable income you have to bribe guards might lead to the prison conditions varying wildly.
Am I right?

Also, is the Hirilakte Arena used as punishment, or for the settling of court cases in the absence of proof?

Well, let me address both points.

First, I happen to strongly support the concept of a foundation to manage Phil's legacy. I am not forever; neither was Phil. I have already made plans for what will happen to my Tekumel collection after I pass away; Phil had not, leaving Ambereen stuck with a horrible mess. Ambereen was actually quite up front about it to me: "The Tekumel Foundation would not have these problems if you were in charge." That's because I'm an 'activist' and 'populist', and not an 'elitist'. What's been the issue, even before the Foundation got it's license from the Barker Estate, was the vast divergence of the private face of the organization from the published stated purpose. They went into the thing with no plan, no funding, no organization, and no revenue stream to pay for what they wanted to do. I paid for most of what the Foundation was doing in their early days, and it got to the point where I was all tapped out.

I have no idea why they took their decades long-feud with me into the public arena. They would have had a wonderful room full of goodies at Gary Con (see also the photos of my game room), and they could have had all of the credit and publicity; I do this for the love of the thing, not to 'assume the mantle of the storyteller' and make myself more important or look better. Quite a few people can't get their heads around that - this has been going on for some thirty-five years, and there are folks who still can't figure me out.

Moving on:

Yes, you have it right. Prisons are for people awaiting processing, or for political prisoners who we might need to have around later. And yes, disposable income from one's own purse or that of the clan does make a difference, especially in the local jails where things are usually a lot looser. "Bribing your way out of the cell' is an ancient and established custom.

You do see executions in the arenas on occasion, when the guilty party can be sent out to fight another condemned prisoner. Usually, executions are done outside of town, for ritual reasons. (Check with the Temple of Chiteng for times, places, and who's for the High Ride.)

'Honor duels' happen all the time in the arena, and are a big draw for the crowds. Judicial matters are not an arena thing; if the disputants can't get a court to adjudicate, then they can go off to the arena to settle the matter. This is always a popular event, as it's normally the high-status folks getting dead - usually a real crowd pleaser, especially when the people involved are not very well thought of by the locals.

Need odds for the betting?

Oh, I fully support the mission of the Tekumel Foundation to bring as much of Tekumel as possible on my hard drive. What leaves me perplexed at times are their methods.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Need odds for the betting?

1:1 for complete newbies who are about the same reputation-wise? I suspect it might get to 1:20 or more for a condemned prisoner against a dedicated Chiteng follower.
So yeah, I suspect I might need some help with the bets. Especially since I'm not into betting IRL, it would be nice.
I can see some PCs manipulating the betting system, especially if the fights aren't always to the death. And even then, what are Revivification spells for?

I wonder also whether there would be precedent for asking your exile to be replaced by a given number of "judicial duels", and whether courts would agree.

Originally Posted by Baron Opal

Arisia? Boskone? That sounds familiar, too, but I can't place them. Do they involve the Lensmen?

"beams, rods, cones, stilettos, icepicks, corkscrews, knives, forks, and spoons of energy raved against the screens of the Dentless."

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Oh, I fully support the mission of the Tekumel Foundation to bring as much of Tekumel as possible on my hard drive. What leaves me perplexed at times are their methods.


1:1 for complete newbies who are about the same reputation-wise? I suspect it might get to 1:20 or more for a condemned prisoner against a dedicated Chiteng follower.
So yeah, I suspect I might need some help with the bets. Especially since I'm not into betting IRL, it would be nice.
I can see some PCs manipulating the betting system, especially if the fights aren't always to the death. And even then, what are Revivification spells for?

I wonder also whether there would be precedent for asking your exile to be replaced by a given number of "judicial duels", and whether courts would agree.

Same here. They have some very odd ways of doing things...

Anyway:

No Revivification in judicial matters. Dead is dead, permanently. Your odds are right on, actually, so I think you're fine. Do feel free to ask, though; Cousin Woofle is always happy to be of service.

The courts will agree to anything, if the right palms are greased.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

"beams, rods, cones, stilettos, icepicks, corkscrews, knives, forks, and spoons of energy raved against the screens of the Dentless."

You do realize you're just making it worse for yourself, here; you know what I could do with this, a bit of Plexiglass, some styrene rod, and some LEDs?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

You do realize you're just making it worse for yourself, here; you know what I could do with this, a bit of Plexiglass, some styrene rod, and some LEDs?

His heart is pure and his quest for parody remains undaunted.

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Oh, since Chirine has been a tad disappointed...What the heck is The Pink Tree of Death????

Indeed oh wise one, tell us of the sartorial, arboreal, funereal Pink Tree of Death.