Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Hrugga

This morning around 4:35am before heading out to work, I listened to wind chimes(metal and bamboo) on Youtube. That combined with a nice mixture of 3parts cinnamon/1part nutmeg(used to flavor my coffee made in an Italian Coffee Pot)creeped me out(it was still dark outside)!!!

It's going to be fun one day to use props(wind chimes and my cinnamon mixture) to mess with my kids!!!

H ;0)

Welcome to the universe I've inhabited for forty years.

Out on my front steps, I have a set of metal wind chimes hanging up next to a set of bamboo ones a friend brought back from Bali. When the wind blows, as can hear what it's like in Fasiltum, The City Of The Chiming Skulls...

(Jaisalmer, in the Thar desert. It's been a delight, following Phil's footsteps...)

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Question about Hluss Hive ships...How big are they? Are there different types/classes of ship? How many Hluss can they carry? Are they always armed with lightning bringers? What makes those suckers move? When you hear that low humming sound pay attention...

Thanks,

H :0)

They do come in different sizes, ranging from the 'small' ones with about 75 Hlyss - these are not nest-ships, from what we saw - to the big ones with 200 - 250 Hlyss on board. These are nest ships, with a 'queen' aboard, and are massive confections like sea-going forts. There are usually a high proportion of the 'warrior caste', with smaller numbers of the 'neuter worker caste' as the 'deck crew'.

Only the really big ones have lightning bringers, thankfully. The vast majority of them have torsion artillery, both a few big stone-throwers for dealing with the sea life of Tekumel, and lots of bolt-throwers as lighter weapons for dealing with lesser threats.

Remember, their goal is to board your ship and take you alive, so they can implant the hive queen's eggs in you. The eggs hatch, and you get to be the living lunch while the little dears grow and eat you from the inside out.

As near as anybody can tell, they are moved around by sorcery; it's a form of the 'lifting' spells and the Eyes that do the same thing. You need live Hlyss sorcerers to do it, though; nothing that we can use.

Originally Posted by Big Andy

How did they start the Zu'ur trade to begin with? And how do you know what a Hlyss wants?

The Temple hierarchy you describe really opens my eyes. My mistaken notion of the High Priest acting almost like a Tekumel Pope with leadership reaching across borders I got from the novels, where personages like Misenla seemed to be treated as such. Being more like Patriarchs makes things more complicated, and interesting.

No idea; it was first reported in "The Dragon" in 1975. As for trade, you put a variety of stuff out on the beach, and they select what they want; you put out more, they put out more, and you work out what each wants.

Did this up on Lake Parunal, with the Nyagga; it does work.

You have it; some of the High Priests and Priestesses, like Lady Misenla, have a higher status due to their place / appointment, but none of the Twenty has a 'supreme high pontiff' who commands the entire temple. It's very much more like the Eastern Orthodox system, where each of the associated churches have a Patriarch in charge of that church - some of them have a high status, dating back to both apostolic succession and closeness to the Byzantine Imperium. As an example, the current Patriarch of Constantinople has a very high status, but no real power; the Patriarch of Moscow has a slightly lower status, but much more power.

In practice, the temples of the Twenty are pretty unified in external matters, but very un-unified internally. It does make for a lot more adventures, of course, which is the whole idea...

You always treat people like Misenla with great respect, of course.

Originally Posted by Hrugga

I was just reading a bit of the Blue Room Archives. It was a discussion about Ssu, Hluss, Hokun. All three are able to communicate with ease. Hokun are able to communicate with humans. Hokun seem to be trouble makers and behind many of the woes on Tekumel. I would not be suprised to see the Hokun playing both sides(Ssu/Hluss and Humans)against each other to suit their own needs.

Besides nobody likes those bugs...There are rumors about what they are doing to Humankind on the other side of the world.

Just some food for thought.

H :0)

Yep; they can all talk to each other, but only the Hokun talk to us humans. And you can't trust the glass praying mantis crowd as far as you can throw them. Not surprising; the Hokun paid for the planet to be terra-formed (I have a copy of the receipt for the work) and so they think it's all theirs...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

As the saying goes, Montressor, "I can't make this shit up."

http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=29455

And another place

http://odd74.proboards.com/thread/11...ition-war-game

in which we discover a "war game" is different from a "strategy game." Apparently, war does not have strategy in it.

Hmm, much suddenly becomes clear...

I read through these last night when I got home, and had to lie down. I mean, everybody has a different play style and preferences, but what I saw was a world totally alien to my own, and nothing like the gaming we did, back in the day.

As I've remarked before, there wasn't the huge 'genre chasm' back then. We tended to play everything, and didn't have such marked divisions between 'wargames' and other forms of gaming.

Wow. Amazing.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Reluctantly, I must confess that I was caught totally flat footed.

You see, it was a BIG battle. A HUGE battle. We had moved together either four or six standard schoolroom folding tables, so we had something like a 7 x 12 foot battlefield.

Now, other than the overeager Germans using an 88 from a mile and a half away to shoot at a jeep (the single worst possible choice; even worse the woods were CRAWLING with German infantry, and every damn squad has an MG34! One short burst and the poor lads in the jeep would have been done for.) Anyway, other than that, the Germans were playing compentently... perhaps even well.

But Chirine, honestly, is a fucking brilliant tactician.

He excels at reading the terrain from the ENEMY point of view. As in, "If I were the Germans and wanted to give me a nasty surprise, where would I put my weapons?"

Chirine is also the man who taught me about "bounding overwatch." That is, while Element A moves Element B is watching likely attack zones, and vice versa. So 3rd Platoon of Easy 8s is watching that woods there as one tank... ONLY one tank... from 1st Platoon zips out to those abandoned buildings. If the lead tank makes it, the rest of 1 Platoon follows. Et cetera.

So when 2 platoon moves its lead unit, 1 Platoon is watching the abandoned factory, and when the German tank pegs the lead tank of 2 Platoon, all 5 of 1 Platoon's Easy 8s open fire.

And because Chirine is very good indeed, 2 Platoon's tank moved in a way that made the Panther expose its turret side to 1 Platoon. And at 400 yards an Easy 8s' 76 will punch through the side of a Panther's turret.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

The net effect, to summarize, is that Chirine and his subcommanders were giving the Germans one hell of a shellacking. As in, the Germans were losing a tank for virtually every American tank they knocked out. I've never seen anything like it, and I had simply subconsciously assumed that the Americans were taking the usual 3:1 or so losses.

So when Chirine said "That's why I've kept my reserves over here" and popped the boxes open, my jaw hit the floor. Too bad digital cameras weren't around yet, my expression must have been pretty choice.

On the other hand, I'm happy to know that the memory of the look on my face still keeps you warm at night.

Thank you for the kind words! I just think before I do.

We did the same kind of tactics in Phil's campaign. Look, think, act. It saved out butts on a regular basis.

And yes, I am still very pleased that I could give you a surprise; it made for a truly great game!

Originally Posted by Hermes Serpent

It's been interesting reading the asides about miniatures gaming in the old days from the General and Chirine. As a long time miniatures gamer (as well as RPG'er) I can empathise with their points.

I was once playing in a Vietnam wargame in the early 80's being run by Paddy Griffiths (that Paddy Griffiths) and was accused of being a ringer who had taken the Platoon Commanders course at Sandhurst (British West Point) due to my tactical handling of the US Grunts. I pointed out to Paddy that I'd learned my tactics from the WW2 Infantry manuals available to my Cadet Force at school (sort of OTC for teens) in the later 60's and not from being in the British Army. So even professionals (Paddy was then a lecturer at Sandhurst) can be fooled by applying hard won knowledge learned from books.

Nigel

Agreed. I learned my lessons at Ft. Knox, in the summer of 1976. "Aint't nobody ever snuck up on nobody with a tank platoon..."

Chirine is being modest.

Notice the account; he had to exit with 2/3 of his forces intact. So, he set 2/3 of his force aside as a reserve.

That means he fought the battle with 1/3 of his force.

And had enough of it left that I was wondering if he had 2/3 of it left... 2/3 of the 1/3 he fought the battle with!

He went up against German armor in a prepared defensive position, and inflicted casualties as heavy as he took; in other words, he destroyed a German tank for every American tank lost.

Against a German army in a prepared defensive position.

You simply don't DO that.

Your Uncle Chirine is one of the best, my children.

Originally Posted by Hermes Serpent

It's been interesting reading the asides about miniatures gaming in the old days from the General and Chirine. As a long time miniatures gamer (as well as RPG'er) I can empathise with their points.

I was once playing in a Vietnam wargame in the early 80's being run by Paddy Griffiths (that Paddy Griffiths) and was accused of being a ringer who had taken the Platoon Commanders course at Sandhurst (British West Point) due to my tactical handling of the US Grunts. I pointed out to Paddy that I'd learned my tactics from the WW2 Infantry manuals available to my Cadet Force at school (sort of OTC for teens) in the later 60's and not from being in the British Army. So even professionals (Paddy was then a lecturer at Sandhurst) can be fooled by applying hard won knowledge learned from books.

Nigel

I wanted to revisit this, if that's all right. I think there's a very, very good point made here about learning from books and texts. Back when I first started playing pike-and-shot games, I got a facsimile copy of "Pallas armata, Military essayes of the ancient Grecian, Roman, and modern art of war vvritten in the years 1670 and 1671" by Sir James Turner, Knight. I learned from that volume how to handle troops in period - and it also was my guidebook for being the Glorious General's staff officer. Likewise all of the other periods I've played in - and for Tekumel, too. I built up my library to provide the best possible information I could, and I think paid off over the years.

Great point - thank you!!!

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Chirine is being modest.

Notice the account; he had to exit with 2/3 of his forces intact. So, he set 2/3 of his force aside as a reserve.

That means he fought the battle with 1/3 of his force.

And had enough of it left that I was wondering if he had 2/3 of it left... 2/3 of the 1/3 he fought the battle with!

He went up against German armor in a prepared defensive position, and inflicted casualties as heavy as he took; in other words, he destroyed a German tank for every American tank lost.

Against a German army in a prepared defensive position.

You simply don't DO that.

Your Uncle Chirine is one of the best, my children.

Well, all right, if you say so. It's very kind of you to say all this, Glorious General; I think I just do what needs to be done.

You gave me a pretty clear mission and objective for this game, and I set my forces up to carry out that mission. I fought my battle with what I had; I think that this has always been my gift, whether in a miniatures game or keeping Tekumel afloat for so many years. I take what resources we have available, assemble them into a useable format, and then just get on with it. I don't sit on my hands, moaning about how somebody should do it for me.

I have to say you are probably right; I am pretty good at what I do, I guess.