Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Bren

Oh, I'm an ocean of trivia. It does seem odd to think of Barbary Corsairs from sunny Morocco raiding rainy Cork or Kerry though. I don't think I'd have wanted to sail the eastern Atlantic in any type of galley.

I tend to be in the middle on a lot of gaming issues. Things seem most fun when the players and the GM are mostly in synch on what they like. Your Tekumel stories sound like something I would have and still would enjoy. I'm glad you've decided to stay around for at least a little longer. I'll be watching for your adventure corpus. It sounds fun and I shamelessly steal gaming ideas from anywhere.

My guess is that's why the xebec was developed; I don't think they used a 'straight' galley like you'd have found in the Med - on either side, given the way Louis sent people to the galleys.

Yes, I think you would have loved it out at Phil's; during most of the time we were gaming with him, we were also his 'publishing staff', with writers and artists all playing. We, to use your phrase, were very much 'in synch' with him.

I'll keep writing away, then , shall I?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I'll keep writing away, then , shall I?

Please do.

Chirine, please keep writing! Just make sure there would be a PDF option as well or the shipping issues might well kill another portion of my soul as well!

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

It's because he was never self-conscious about his hobbies and thus felt no need to promote the idea that "This is not a game, this is A NARTFORM" by emphasizing the sociological and linguistic elements to the exclusion of running around being chased by monsters.

Phil used the sociological and linguistic elements as spice, not the main ingredients.

I have equal issues with the[ I]gaming can't be any nartform[/I] crowd.
Using sociology and linguistics as the basis of your GMing style is fine with me. Using them to the exclusion of everything else is the problem here.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Agreed; Phil never force-fed any of that to us; we just did it, absorbing it along the way.

Maybe I'm just getting old, but whatever happened to the sheer joy of playing with healthy doses of laughter along the way? Like the time you personally routed Baron Ald's super-elite guards by running into his camp whilst shrieking mad cries and leaping into, over, and through the camp fire in front of his tent - and not once, but twice? (This was after the Storming of Castle Tilketl, for anyone who's taking notes.) The Baron was mightily impressed, his guards all panicked, and Lord Fu Shi (the most powerful of powerful sorcerers!) got really annoyed.

This reminds me of some recent stories from our sessions:-D.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

If only a renaissance of EPT could bring that back...
Maybe an Anime style series of Escapades in The Empire would interest a new generation in the setting?
=

It probably would, but the IP would likely be a problem.

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Another interesting point about the "skullduggery and intrigue/serious nartform" approach. The other group was lying, cheating, murdering, and swindling their way up the Imperial ranks.

My character, at that time a Kasi (commander of a cohort, 400 troops) won a "Kadarli," a "ritual battle," a case of "I challenge the army of Yan Kor to send one cohort of troops to this place at this time."

I was brought before the Petal Throne itself. The great Hirkane hi Tlakotani, "Perfumer of the Nostrils of the Gods," spoke only in the chiming of a tiny bell, which the chamberlain translated. The chamberlain was also whispering constant protocol instructions in my ear so this foreigner, this southern barbarian, this former gladiator, this low-level soldier, did not make any serious protocol errors. (See previous comment about not hanging players out to dry for not knowing what their character knows.)

On the floor were three huge heaps of treasure. The chamberlain indicated that I may choose my reward.

I said, "The only reward I desire is to be allowed to continue to serve the Glory of the Eternal Petal Throne." (I was an Imperialist from the get-go, Chirine!)

The tiny bell chimed, the chamberlain very nearly got an expression on his face, and he said softly "you have chosen well."

Long story short, I got all THREE piles of treasure, a promotion, citizenship, and a clan.

Remind me sometime to tell you about how I got married.

Great story! And please tell us of your marriage!
The one in T`ekumel, I mean.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Just as a quick footnote - this particular game session was the very first one that I ever played in with Phil. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end... :0

Well, it was fun, wasn't it? Not all new players need a simple setting, to some this approach is counterproductive.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

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!

I figure purely unarmed combat would be low class for someone who despatched a practitioner as well...
Why are you thankful kenjutsu is rare?

And that's great, actually. But then, are the schools clan affiliated, acting as a secondary clan, acting as a new clan, or some combination of those?

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Chirine, please keep writing! Just make sure there would be a PDF option as well or the shipping issues might well kill another portion of my soul as well!

I figure purely unarmed combat would be low class for someone who despatched a practitioner as well...
Why are you thankful kenjutsu is rare?

And that's great, actually. But then, are the schools clan affiliated, acting as a secondary clan, acting as a new clan, or some combination of those?

Right; first off, the idea with my book is to offer it in all sorts of media so that people have a choice. I am not in this for the money; I expect to make nothing off the thing. My goal is to tell people about Tekumel, and our adventures; I'm trying to give people a look at what 'our' Tekumel was like, trying to deal with some of the misconceptions about Phil's creation that I've seen come up over the decades. So, we're looking at e-books, PDFs, and hard copies; nothing is off the table, at this point.

Unarmed combat is regarded as 'low status' by some of the practitioners of the 'weaponed' arts; it also has a little bit of an unsavory reputation due to it being used by both intelligence agencies and the assassins' Black Y Society and the Ndalu Clan. Both groups are very expert in all of the unarmed martial arts, as well as in the more unconventional weapons. Each group also serves society as the 'court of last resort'; if you can't get satisfaction any other way, you go to the assassins and apply to them for having somebody soundly thrashed or even killed. Usually, however, the simple serving of notice by the assassins that they'll be by later that week to give one the business causes people to want to 'settle out of court' pretty rapidly.

The schools are all associated with temples and clans of various sorts, usually the ones with warrior traditions. There are exceptions, of course; the Ndalu Clan is associated with the Temple of Ksarul, doomed Prince of the Blue Room, and the Black Y Society with the Temple of Hry'y. They do hire out, though, and all you have to do is apply for an audience at the front gate of their clan house.

Some nations also have traditions of martial arts; the Livyani are famous for their fighting styles, with savate being very popular. The Salarvyani are not known for this kind of thing, as are the Mu'uglavyani. The Tsolyani sort of have schools, and the Yan Koryani - as in so many other things - are just learning.

So, do we got ninjas? Well, yes, actually...

Originally Posted by Bren

I think that is often the case with people who come to RPGs from a war gaming background. We had a number of folks like that back in the day. Over time, the play I do moved to more character simulation and most of the players I have now are more interested in that then in giving free rein to the player's tactical acumen. The guy playing the Corsair is easily the best at tactics of my players (he's one of the original group from 1974), but he reins it in while enjoying hamming it up playing a dumb pirate. Strokes, folks they can be different.

The two are not exclusionary. Dave A. could be as goofy as anybody in his characterization of Harchar, which diminished not a whit from his tactical expertise.

See also how many wargame armies are commanded by Sir Hugh Jarce, the Vicomte d'Escargot, Commodore John Paul Georgeringo, Sir Loin of Beef, et. al.

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

The two are not exclusionary. Dave A. could be as goofy as anybody in his characterization of Harchar, which diminished not a whit from his tactical expertise.

See also how many wargame armies are commanded by Sir Hugh Jarce, the Vicomte d'Escargot, Commodore John Paul Georgeringo, Sir Loin of Beef, et. al.

Yeah - I'd agree with this.

I think we all tended to 'think tactically', out at Phil's; I think it was a survival thing...

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

The two are not exclusionary.

Yes I get the hamming up can be separate.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I think we all tended to 'think tactically', out at Phil's; I think it was a survival thing...

That's the difference I meant. In one style of play (what I consider old style, i.e. the way I played D&D in the 1970s and Runequest in the 1980s). In that style, the player needs to think tactically for the character to survive and profit. The DM/GM/Referee is running cunning NPCs in a dangerous world where survival is tough. In another style of play thinking tactically is optional - allowed and encouraged for characters for whom tactical acumen is justifiable, but not a requirement, especially for dumb as a bag of rocks, untrained folks. I can enjoy either style. But the second works better for the people and games I have now.

Originally Posted by Bren

I can enjoy either style. But the second works better for the people and games I have now.

Okay, but in my book there's a difference between "I don't know a lot about tactics" and "we're player characters! CHARGE!"

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Okay, but in my book there's a difference between "I don't know a lot about tactics" and "we're player characters! CHARGE!"

Yes, and?