Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

From Shemek hiTankolel:
I know from my experience, both in gaming and at work, that it's often quite funny how two people involved in the exact same situation, contemporaneously, can have such different recollections of what happened. IMO, it would be great to see something like this from Phil's game.

Agreed. I think people would be fascinated.

I'm not sure what happened at the "official" page, as I don't ever go there. I don't even have a facebook account. No doubt it was something petty and ultimately silly, judging from your experiences. I think what you are doing on this thread is more useful and interesting than some sanctioned body.
BTW, who made the current folks over there the ultimate authority on what Tekumel is, and how much of it can be shared? Was this Phil's wish? It would seem like he made a pact with the Pariah Gods, and didn't fully appreciate what this entailed.:jaw-dropping:

One of the Directors finally read a letter of Phil's from 1976 to a friend where he spelled out what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go with Tekumel in the future. I read this letter in 2012, and pointed it out to them. I was told not to say anything about it, as Phil may have said something which contradicts the Officially Approved and Authorized Interpretation currently being promoted. One of the other Directors told him to shut up about it, as material by Phil has to be "properly interpreted" by the right people.

Same thing with the tapes I have of Phil being interviewed about things like the Temple of Belkhanu or the city of Thraya; I offered copies of these to the same people, but was told that there is no interest in them as they are "not officlal" and "would need to be properly interpreted".

>shrug< Not my issue / problem, any more; the stuff will be preserved in my files like it has been for decades.

I will not comment on the formation of the organization; suffice it to say that they made a mistake when they started in on my family - who were the ones who witnessed their license when it was signed. Bad idea, if you ask me.

Building is always great. I am currently doing the finishing touches on my module for this month's game, which is this week.:cheerleader: It is a long forgotten and buried shrine dedicated to the Pariah Gods, from the Latter Times. It is unique because it is not dedicated to a single deity, but to many. Not only are the three main ones there, but some new ones as well. This should cause some major head scratching amongst the group. :teehee: Like Phil said in one of the Sourcebooks, the three known Pariah Gods are... I anticipate much gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, and rending of garments; not necessarily in that order.

Oh, I agree; building stuff is what keeps me sane. Let's get back to the fun, and leave all the crap behind...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

From Shemek hiTankolel:
I know from my experience, both in gaming and at work, that it's often quite funny how two people involved in the exact same situation, contemporaneously, can have such different recollections of what happened. IMO, it would be great to see something like this from Phil's game.

Agreed. I think people would be fascinated.

I'm not sure what happened at the "official" page, as I don't ever go there. I don't even have a facebook account. No doubt it was something petty and ultimately silly, judging from your experiences. I think what you are doing on this thread is more useful and interesting than some sanctioned body.
BTW, who made the current folks over there the ultimate authority on what Tekumel is, and how much of it can be shared? Was this Phil's wish? It would seem like he made a pact with the Pariah Gods, and didn't fully appreciate what this entailed.:jaw-dropping:

One of the Directors finally read a letter of Phil's from 1976 to a friend where he spelled out what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go with Tekumel in the future. I read this letter in 2012, and pointed it out to them. I was told not to say anything about it, as Phil may have said something which contradicts the Officially Approved and Authorized Interpretation currently being promoted. One of the other Directors told him to shut up about it, as material by Phil has to be "properly interpreted" by the right people.

Same thing with the tapes I have of Phil being interviewed about things like the Temple of Belkhanu or the city of Thraya; I offered copies of these to the same people, but was told that there is no interest in them as they are "not officlal" and "would need to be properly interpreted".

>shrug< Not my issue / problem, any more; the stuff will be preserved in my files like it has been for decades.

I will not comment on the formation of the organization; suffice it to say that they made a mistake when they started in on my family - who were the ones who witnessed their license when it was signed. Bad idea, if you ask me.

Building is always great. I am currently doing the finishing touches on my module for this month's game, which is this week.:cheerleader: It is a long forgotten and buried shrine dedicated to the Pariah Gods, from the Latter Times. It is unique because it is not dedicated to a single deity, but to many. Not only are the three main ones there, but some new ones as well. This should cause some major head scratching amongst the group. :teehee: Like Phil said in one of the Sourcebooks, the three known Pariah Gods are... I anticipate much gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, and rending of garments; not necessarily in that order.

Oh, I agree; building stuff is what keeps me sane. Let's get back to the fun, and leave all the crap behind...

What a waste! It's because of these types of attitudes that Tekumel will continue to languish, and lie in obscurity. They are not doing either Phil or themselves any favours. Bunch of bullshit. You are right let's get back to the fun.
Some questions on traps, as I have a long corridor that is crying out for some attention.
What were the kinds of mechanical traps that Phil would throw at you guys?
What was the worst trap you encountered in the Underworld? Does one stand out?
Did you guys have much dealings with the Pariah Gods or their agents/followers? When I think of those who follow say, the Goddess, I picture some mad Cthulhu cultist type. Was this the case with the Pariah followers you met?

Shemek

From Shemek hiTankolel:What a waste! It's because of these types of attitudes that Tekumel will continue to languish, and lie in obscurity. They are not doing either Phil or themselves any favours. Bunch of bullshit.

Ah, but the important thing is to enhance the prestige and status of these people. Making Tekumel popular isn't their concern - they said so.

It only gets my blood pressure up.

You are right let's get back to the fun.
Some questions on traps, as I have a long corridor that is crying out for some attention.
What were the kinds of mechanical traps that Phil would throw at you guys?

Floors that would pivot down, dropping you onto a bed of spikes; deadfalls where stepping on a tile or something would drop a stone weight onto you and seal the corridor as well; walls on pivots that would swing out and crush you; fake 'secret doors' that dropped you into a sewer; in short, keep it simple but deadly.

And back up the traps with live guardians; Phil always had some Undead or something waiting for us to get distracted saving the casualties.

What was the worst trap you encountered in the Underworld? Does one stand out?

The juggernaut tomb car of Rekmelish III, in the Jakalla Underworld. The thing slides around the outer passage and can either crush you or trap you - or both, depending on when you get caught in the cycle.

Did you guys have much dealings with the Pariah Gods or their agents/followers?

Not really; we tried to avoid them as much as we could.

When I think of those who follow say, the Goddess, I picture some mad Cthulhu cultist type. Was this the case with the Pariah followers you met?

Nope; they were all perfectly reasonable people, aside from being just as fanatical and devoted to their religion as we were. They'd try to kill us, we'd try to kill them, and it was all just the normal 'day at the office' for both; nothing personal about it. Now, fighting the Hlyss or Ssu, on the other hand...

Uncle, I'm not going to ask about past dark ages.
Instead, here's a link for Bethorm, for everyone (else) that prefers those rules, or just wants an atlas of Kurt Hills.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdee/1039135390

The Kickstarter begins on April 13th.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

One of the Directors finally read a letter of Phil's from 1976 to a friend where he spelled out what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go with Tekumel in the future. I read this letter in 2012, and pointed it out to them. I was told not to say anything about it, as Phil may have said something which contradicts the Officially Approved and Authorized Interpretation currently being promoted. One of the other Directors told him to shut up about it, as material by Phil has to be "properly interpreted" by the right people.

Same thing with the tapes I have of Phil being interviewed about things like the Temple of Belkhanu or the city of Thraya; I offered copies of these to the same people, but was told that there is no interest in them as they are "not officlal" and "would need to be properly interpreted".

So these folks are want to turn “Official Tekumel” into the one holy, not so catholic, but apostolic church of Phil? Weird!

Bren, the comparison is closer than it seems at first glance, I suspect.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Well, I do hope people find it useful. I've been around for a while, and I thought that folks might find it useful to learn from my mistakes...

He was indeed. He'd get us out there, to where he thought it might be fun to go, and then we'd spark his imagination with our questions and observations. I think it bears mentioning again that the right side of the table, from Phil's chair, was Artists' Row - Kathy, Chris, and Ken all drawing as we went along; the left side of the table was the very inquisitive players - usually Jean, Mike, Mike, Greg, and Erica; the end of the table was my little corner, where I took notes of the passing scene and painted like a maniac, trying to keep up with the action. Phil would have to literally 'create on the fly', as we went along. It was an astonishing performance.

The next day, Phil would retire to his home office, type up the notes from the previous night's game, and work them into the current novel. One of the joys I had, when I made all the back-up copies of his papers, was finding all these notes and seeing our adventures from his perspective. Fascinating; utterly fascinating!

Excellent organization you had there! And a rather talented team, I might add.

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Uncle, I'm not going to ask about past dark ages.
Instead, here's a link for Bethorm, for everyone (else) that prefers those rules, or just wants an atlas of Kurt Hills.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdee/1039135390

The Kickstarter begins on April 13th.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Bren

So these folks are want to turn “Official Tekumel” into the one holy, not so catholic, but apostolic church of Phil? Weird!

Not really; it's the cult of The Saintly Old Professor, with His True Prophets who - being, quote, "bi-sexual persons of color" - are the only ones intelligent enough and indoctrinated enough to properly interpret the Holy Words for you. Raw data from Phil is not acceptable; it must be reworked to suit the needs of the Holy Ones.

And it's the blood pressure meds for me...

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Bren, the comparison is closer than it seems at first glance, I suspect.

Excellent organization you had there! And a rather talented team, I might add.

That's why they all had to be expelled from the Holy Church by the Holy Ones. A lot of very talented people got driven away from Phil's table; the night that Kathy showed up and handed me a copy of her letter telling them where to stuff it was traumatic. It was also in the middle of the production of the "Adventures on Tekumel" books, which is why her artwork suddenly stops being used.

If I was going to be catty, I'd do a web search and see how much stuff was produced by us in the 1980s, and how much was produced by them in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s...

OOO! Chirine is being rude again! I want my pills, dang it.