Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Again, for me this is where things like miniatures, graphics, maps, artwork, and other such game aids really come into play. Ask OG just how many times he's let loose with a heartfelt scream of "YOU BASTARD!" over the years, as he and the rest of the players I've worked for suddenly realize what they are up against...

And I agree with the next paragraph... don't punish players for not knowing what their characters would know easily. That was another bad trend of Phil falling into the aforementioned Villainous Company, though he did indeed "get better."

Originally Posted by Greentongue

How can you do so when everything is alien without obvious clues?

Tell the players what their characters would know or can deduce.

At what point in your gaming does "Game" override "Simulation"?

At the point where simulation is way too much work and stops being entertaining. Since I'm running a historical game, I'm probably pretty far down the simulation curve from the average GM.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Do people use index cards, anymore,?

I stopped after I started including pictures on the character sheets and then switched to MS-Word character sheets. The fact that my penmanship and printing skills have deteriorated has absolutely nothing to do with it. Really.

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Re clothing, etc; there have been several societies, including ancient Sumer and ancient Egypt, where a person's clothing identified them quite precisely; "mid level priest," "low status workman," "royal official with access to the monarch," "wife of important military man," etc. Phil, knowing this, used it. There is a difference between "you know this person is a scholar priest of Ksarul of middle status" and "you know this person is a 5th level magic user with 17 hit points blah blah blah."

Tekumel always struck me at that sort of society, probably more status conscious, or at least with more hierarchies and levels in the hierarchies than Sumer or Egypt. It's one of the things I like about Tekumel and found fascinating in Man of Gold.

But my example was a more or less faux medieval setting. Being able to tell status to the exact level was just silly. So we changed it.

Originally Posted by Bren

But my example was a more or less faux medieval setting. Being able to tell status to the exact level was just silly. So we changed it.

Well, sure. I just work off the notion that the PCs aren't the only people who go up levels.

"His attire tells you he is rich. There is a squire bearing a sword on a cushion before him, which tells you he is a knight. Think he's first level?"

Sumptuary laws are very medieval Anglo-French.

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Well, sure. I just work off the notion that the PCs aren't the only people who go up levels.

"His attire tells you he is rich. There is a squire bearing a sword on a cushion before him, which tells you he is a knight. Think he's first level?"

Sumptuary laws are very medieval Anglo-French.

Yes. Yes. Back when I played level based games NPCs had levels too. And I'm familiar with sumptuary laws.

You don't seem to be grasping what I am saying or you are ignoring it. Knowing he is a knight and thus not first level is way different than knowing the exact level and class of both the knight and his squire. It's the difference between this

"You can see that the warrior wears a fine surcoat with a coat of arms over a full mail coat that you can see has been repaired at least once by an expert smith, the pommel of his sword has a gem set in it, but you can tell from the sweat stains on the hilt that he doesn't just wear that sword for show."

And this

"The knight is a Swashbuckler in AC-4, standing next to him he has a Swordsman as his squire."

Which is the equivalent of the knight wearing a big number 5 emblazoned on the knight's surcoat, a 3 painted on the squire's helmet, and to continue the example, and a bunch of 8's woven in among the moons and stars on the court wizard's robe and hat.

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Nobody seems to write Sword & Sorcery any more. Lieber's first Fafhrd & Grey Mouser story was originally titled "Two Sought Adventure." What ever happened to adventurers who adventured for the sake of adventure?

Well, when I get around to writing the game-book for my DCC campaign, I guess you'll like it. It is very much "adventure for its own ridiculous sake".

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Re clothing, etc; there have been several societies, including ancient Sumer and ancient Egypt, where a person's clothing identified them quite precisely; "mid level priest," "low status workman," "royal official with access to the monarch," "wife of important military man," etc. Phil, knowing this, used it. There is a difference between "you know this person is a scholar priest of Ksarul of middle status" and "you know this person is a 5th level magic user with 17 hit points blah blah blah."

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember a single situation in Phil's games where we actually found out how many hit points somebody or something had - either we killed them, or they killed us...

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

And I agree with the next paragraph... don't punish players for not knowing what their characters would know easily. That was another bad trend of Phil falling into the aforementioned Villainous Company, though he did indeed "get better."

Agreed!

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Since you mentioned armour, chirine, are there different fighting schools detailed in the setting lore? Are there known differences in regional (or even caste) styles?
Have such distinctions ever been important in your game?
What real world combat arts do Tekumel arts resemble the most?

I agree with your points, there.

Yes, there are. All sorts of martial arts using weapons, and also a few schools of unarmed ones known to specialists. Unarmed combat is considered a little 'low class', usually by those getting beaten up by the people who know the style being used...

There's everything between the classic 'peasant with a club' - do not annoy the farmers! - to the fancy young nobleman with a rapier. Some cities are known for particular weapons - Tumissa is famous for crossbows, Makhis for archers, Vra for slingers, and so on.

And yes, the distinction has been important, over the years - the non-human Pe Choi and the Ahoggya are famous for their ability to fight with weapons in all for of their hands. Dexterity is very important for this kind of thing. One quite famous human discipline is the 'Arruche' style, with a weapon in each hand - 'Florentine' style, if you would. My alter ego fights this way, with usually a dagger and shortsword combination, or with a mace and buckler. Getting up close and personal is a survival technique, as one can get 'inside' an opponent's reach and score. It helps that Chirine is ambidextrous - I am as well, which is how I 'sold' it to Phil after a demonstration. (I had a nasty habit of flipping my epee or foil between hands in informal bouts; never worked against me dad, who was a champion fencer and used to such things! I still have his foil, too! )

Let's see; 'Florentine', savate, kenjitsu, judo or kenjitsu (rare, thankfully!), any of the missile weapon arts. I think there's a list in EPT; I know there is in S&G I, The Sourcebook. I think that between the Glorious General and I, I think we've seen anything and everything used - which is why we try to duck a lot!