Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

You guys really went all out on the props and models. That's something that has kind of been lost at least where I live. I know a few people who do that sort of thing but they are all miniatures wargamers. Most of the play 40k because that has been the dominant miniatures game around here since it came out. My usual paper maps and cardboard standup pawns seems kind of (very) lame and janky in comparison.

Do you know of any good resources for someone who isn't very good at that sort of thing?

Happy birthday Chirine!

I hope you enjoy your cake...I mean

"Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war! That cake shall not survive this day!"

Originally Posted by yosemitemike

You guys really went all out on the props and models. That's something that has kind of been lost at least where I live. I know a few people who do that sort of thing but they are all miniatures wargamers. Most of the play 40k because that has been the dominant miniatures game around here since it came out. My usual paper maps and cardboard standup pawns seems kind of (very) lame and janky in comparison.

Do you know of any good resources for someone who isn't very good at that sort of thing?

Well, thank you! We enjoyed doing stuff like this, as we felt that this sort of thing added to our enjoyment of games. (Gronan can tell you more about his adventures at the hands of my little creations, of course!) I think it's because we all pretty much came out of the 'miniatures' / 'wargaming' tradition (this was about 1974 - 1976, remember) where it was considered to be a 'Custom of the House' for the person hosting the game to put on a good show. Because I'm pretty handy with an Exacto knife, I tended to build stuff for games - to the point where an announcement of one of my games was greeted with antcipation, fear, and dread. I just like building stuff.

Props were something I got from Phil, who loved to show off his collections of the odd and wonderful. I've tried to continue that in my own games, which is why I have so much stuff in the game rooms...

Originally Posted by yosemitemike

My usual paper maps and cardboard standup pawns seems kind of (very) lame and janky in comparison.

I'm sorry; please don't take this the wrong way, but I wince a little every time I read something like this. Paper maps and cardboard standups are a vital part of our hobby and it's history - remember that the fearsome Golden Dragon of Blackmoor, the redoubtable Gertie herself, is a lump of grey Plasticine clay. If what you and your game group does is what you like, then your game table is not lame and janky; the important thing is that you are playing. Everything else is set dressing in our little productions. If it works for you, then play!!! I happen to love what I make, and if that is something that amuses and inspires you then I'll be happy to help you out.

Sources? Pet shops, garage sales, rummage sales, little out of the way shops, dealers' tables at conventions, and of course - the Internet. The important thing is what's in your imagination; with a little practice, you'll be just like me - looking at a Mayan temple in the pet store, intended for hermit crabs, and I start to think how I can use this in a game. Or the dragon's head big enough to walk into (if you happen to be 25mm tall) just like in one of the Conan movies.

Think about what you do in your games, and then have a look around you. You'd be amazed at what you can find.

Let me do a list for you, too. Must go and rescue Daughter #2; she's gotten stranded...

The other thing about the Pink Tree of Death is that since it was always easy to spot it became the central "reference point" for everything too. "My Tiger I is hull down behind the hill 10 inches to the East of the Pink Tree of Death." "The artillery barrage will start 15 inches North and 6 inches West of the Pink Tree of Death and walk one inch North per salvo." "The MI retrieval boat will land 34 inches South and 11 inches East of the Pink Tree of Death." "The Mongol horse archers will move straight East until they are directly north of the Pink Tree of Death and then halt to fire."

You get the idea.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Well, thank you!

You have done some really cool stuff.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I'm sorry; please don't take this the wrong way, but I wince a little every time I read something like this. Paper maps and cardboard standups are a vital part of our hobby and it's history - remember that the fearsome Golden Dragon of Blackmoor, the redoubtable Gertie herself, is a lump of grey Plasticine clay. If what you and your game group does is what you like, then your game table is not lame and janky; the important thing is that you are playing. Everything else is set dressing in our little productions. If it works for you, then play!!! I happen to love what I make, and if that is something that amuses and inspires you then I'll be happy to help you out.

It works for us and my players have fun or at least they keep coming back and joining my games. It doesn't help on that front that I am kind of a vagabond DM. My user name isn't just a name. I actually live in Yosemite. One of my games takes place at a player's house, two take place at a store and one pretty much takes place at McDonald's. I have to cart everything with me. A little more visual oomph would be nice though.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Think about what you do in your games, and then have a look around you. You'd be amazed at what you can find.

Let me do a list for you, too. Must go and rescue Daughter #2; she's gotten stranded...

I will have to start consciously doing that. Thanks for the help.

Originally Posted by yosemitemike

Do you know of any good resources for someone who isn't very good at that sort of thing?

Right! Back in after rescue!

First off, your biggest resource is your gamers and your games. What happens in your games is what drives what you need. Your imagination runs a very close second.

Cool scenery: Pet stores, in the aquarium and terrarium sections. The shops go through phases, so you'll see times when there's Mayan, Asian, Tiki, and other stuff cycles through. Vegetation is also in this section - look for stuff on clearance. Crafts stores also sell vegetation, in their 'floral' sections. Most of the stuff I use is from there. Crafts stores will also often have 'seasonal' stuff like 'Christmas villages'; there's a lot of useful stuff, on sale after the holidays.

Cool playing pieces: Miniatures, if you like that kind of thing like I do, but also pre-painted stuff is very useful. Game shops, usually, but keep your eyes open - I've gotten some very handy items at 'dollar stores'. Think outside the box; the lines of specifically Tekumel miniatures are a little sparse in some ways, so look at other lines; this applies to any world setting.

Props: Flea markets, rummage sales, small shops. Here in the Twin Cities, as have a number of communities like the Tibetans, and you can find some of the most amazing stuff. I got my infamous scroll case this way - it's a real Tibetan scroll case, so why not? Or my very best prop: a Chinese combination lock. It's an antique, I think; it looks old. So, the party is trying to loot a temple treasury, and one of the players says "I want to open the chest. What do I roll?". I smiled, handed them the lock, and said "Have at it". Near panic erupted. While the would be lock-picker went to work on the lock, I kept going around the table, having everyone roll to see if the Temple guards showed up. Ten people were sweating buckets in seconds, as everybody kept listening at the door and urging the lock-picker to get a move on in strangled whispers. Eight minutes and thirty seconds of real time later, she had the lock open and the party was grabbing handfuls of loot just so they could get out of there.

The lock cost me $20. Was it worth it? Oh, yes, you bet it was.

Check out surplus places; you can often get things like whiteboards cheap. I got thirty Gelatinous Cubes from one of my favorite surplus places; they were originally sold as 'glass ice cubes', and were priced at a quarter a piece. So...

Imagine, when you see something; "Can I use this in a game?"

EDIT: oh, and IKEA! They have the oddest stuff in the back corners, and I got the LED lights we use in night games there.

Is this helping? Would you like something more specific?

Originally Posted by Bren

Happy birthday Chirine!

I hope you enjoy your cake...I mean

"Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war! That cake shall not survive this day!"

Thank you!!!

Originally Posted by yosemitemike

You have done some really cool stuff.

It works for us and my players have fun or at least they keep coming back and joining my games. It doesn't help on that front that I am kind of a vagabond DM. My user name isn't just a name. I actually live in Yosemite. One of my games takes place at a player's house, two take place at a store and one pretty much takes place at McDonald's. I have to cart everything with me. A little more visual oomph would be nice though.

I will have to start consciously doing that. Thanks for the help.

Thank you again; I am a very visual person, and I just like making things for people's amusement.

Ah! Check out surplus places - I found a lot of very good carrying cases that way, that I used for years to move back and forth from my house to Phil's basement. it's possible to be totally mobile - you just have to think it through.

And happy to help; it's what I'm here for...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Cool scenery: Pet stores, in the aquarium and terrarium sections. The shops go through phases, so you'll see times when there's Mayan, Asian, Tiki, and other stuff cycles through. Vegetation is also in this section - look for stuff on clearance. Crafts stores also sell vegetation, in their 'floral' sections. Most of the stuff I use is from there. Crafts stores will also often have 'seasonal' stuff like 'Christmas villages'; there's a lot of useful stuff, on sale after the holidays.

These are all really good ideas especially the aquarium one. I don't know why I didn't think of that myself.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Props: Flea markets, rummage sales, small shops. Here in the Twin Cities, as have a number of communities like the Tibetans, and you can find some of the most amazing stuff.

Pickings are a little slim in the Central Valley and getting to things on the weekend is difficult because of my schedule but there are thrift shops and such around.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Is this helping? Would you like something more specific?

This is great stuff. I'm sure I'm not the only one reading it and getting ideas.

First, Happy Birthday, Chirine ba Kal!
May your cake never cause you holesterol problems, daughters never cause you undue distress, and may wives be in a gentle mood and not inclined to argue!

(I imagine people on Tekumel would say more or less this, too...)

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

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.

Well, the arena isn't that big on the Tsolei Islands, and we're still there, so that's more a theory.
Revivification wouldn't apply in judicial matters, but I imagine it might well apply in a less formal set-up where debts are cleaned via the arena.

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

Right. How did I forget the Rule Zero of all courts everywhere?

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?

What can you do with it?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

To hear is to obey.

And I think you can still get these trees in the cheaper sorts of toy stores, too, so as to be able to have that 'period' feel to your game table. A real Tekumel gamer would light those horrible Swisher Sweets mini-cigars, so as to get that authentic 'Barker's basement stench'; a really devoted Tekumel gamer would also get an elderly Black Labridor, get him all wet, and then set him down in front of the electric space heater alongside some used socks for that really authentic fug. There were some nights where we could not see the ceiling in the game room, and the single 100 watt bulb was hard put to light the action.

Oxygen? What? You're kidding, right?

And you wonder where Phil got the "Creeping Fog Of Doom" spell? Wait until you find out what the elderly Black Labridor had for his dinner. (Honestly, poor old Anubis ate better then we did. Guess how he got his name?)

I guess I'm not a Real Tekumel Gamer.
If I decide to strive, what colour were Phil's clothes when he was running?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

"Think tactically", we always said, even at parties and in the Garden of the Weeping Snows...

Shhht, you risk being suspected in pro-socialcombat leanings!