Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

The very best SNS? For me, hands down, the tubeway car system. Nobody knew it existed until somebody stepped on one of the glowing floor tiles and summoned the car to the station...

Oh, sweet Avanthe's breathtakingly perfect breasts, yes.

The VERY best night of Tekumel EVER EVER EVER was the night we hopped into a tubeway car, spun the destination dial, and hit the "Make it So" button.

Originally Posted by AsenRG

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

So... no shit, there we were.

(By the way, I was wrong about getting clan membership after winning that ritual battle. I was not adopted into a clan, though I DID get my first "Gold of Glory.")

It was the siege of Sunraya, which is an ancient Tsauq word meaning "anus of a Chlen beast."

This was a huge siege, and there were a TON of Tsolyani troops there, as well as administration and hangers on.

I was a Molkhar (commander of half a legion) in the Legion of Serqu, Sword of the Empire. And among the administrative and ritual functionaries was the Lady Nlel, a ritual priestess of the Temple of Karakan, Lord of War of Stability, and my patron diety.

She was also the sister of my General.

SO one hot, sultry night I'm out overseeing some of my lads energetically digging a mine, mostly because it was too damned hot and humid to sleep. So Lady Nlel, not being able to sleep either, comes out to visit me.

She is wearing a light gauze kilt, and sandals. Period.

Phil, having taken Hitchcock's point that the imagination is stronger than reality, says only that she is i) very, very lovely and ii) nearly naked.

I was 21 or 22 at the time.

So she reclines on a rock, artlessly striking an incredibly beautiful pose, and starts talking to me.

My character, envisioning his General looking at "One Thousand and One Agonizing Variations on Impalement," is very cautious.

Now, Lady Nlel was NOT an Aridani, one of the independent women of Tsolyanu. She was what Phil called a "good little clan girl." For what it's worth, by the bye, that was Phil's invariable description of a Tsolyani woman who was not Aridani... "good little clan girl."

I don't create the news, I merely report it.

Anyway, she start chatting with Mighty Molkar Kornume... small talk, really. Being paranoid and acutely aware that there is no privacy, I talk about my duty to the Emperor, my duty to my God the Lord Karakan, loyalty to my most exalted General, the nobility of serving the Petal Throne, etc, etc, etc.

To a young woman who is a ritual priestess of the God of War of Stability. The effect, unknown to me, was like quoting Romeo and Juliet to an overly-romantic seventeen year old girl.

The next morning, my Lord General Serqu returned my salute, but then spoke to me in a much more casual manner than usual, smiling and clapping me on the shoulder.

I was married to his sister shortly thereafter.

It was wonderful because it was so totally unexpected. I was merely trying to avoid taking improper advantage of a young lady (and subsequent messy and painful death,) and the fact that I well and truly seduced her was entirely unmeant.

Also.

I've spoken about the "End Game" of D&D, where you hit Name Level and got a stronghold, and the game was no longer about wandering through dungeons risking awful and messy death for gold.

Tekumel has its "End Game" too, and once I married the mouthwateringly lovely Nlel, I started playing this end game.

Because not only did I marry the sister of my General... I was adopted into his (rather high) Clan, the Golden Sunburst clan.

Being a member of a high ranking clan changes everything. For one thing, money ceased to have any meaning. I would chat with one of my uncles... every male in my clan more than 5 years older than me was my uncle, those about my age were brothers, those more than a few years younger were my nephews...

Anyway, I'd chat with an uncle or two, and they'd either say "That is entirely suitable," or "You have no need of that." And I'd either get what I wanted or not.

I had no desire to play politics, which is why I was strictly an Imperialist. But my clan had uses for a young, heroic, and not too bright young general. My legion would be given orders, and I, as PC, would do the best I could. But behind the scenes, the assignments I was given and the deeds of renown I did worked to the advantage of my clan.

Also, the Tsolyani clan has a very pre-Enlightenment attitude.... I, as an individual, was far less important than my clan. My clan would not waste me needlessly, but if there was advantage that somehow could be had for my clan by sacrificing me, I would be sacrificed.

The clan provided me with everything I needed and almost everything I wanted, but on the other hand, my every action was expected to reflect well on the Clan.

And Chrine, my trusted aide de camp, and I got along famously despite the fact that he followed a god of Change and I followed a god of Stability, because we were, politically speaking, both Imperialists -- "I serve the Petal Throne, no matter who occupies it."

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

SO one hot, sultry night I'm out overseeing some of my lads energetically digging a mine, mostly because it was too damned hot and humid to sleep. So Lady Nlel, not being able to sleep either, comes out to visit me.

What a fun tale.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

With the classic "fresh of the boat" start, what support does a player character have?
Is there assumed to be an "outpost" of their clan in all major cities like Jakalla?
Must they have a patron to have any "standing"?
Can they bluff a status? (in Their land they are ...)

For example, would the Market Police be concerned with their victimization by others?
=

Let me take a run at this, if I may...

Generally, the new 'fresh off the boat' types will arrive at the dock with an introduction to somebody who's already there: "What you want to do is go see Cousin Woofel, who moved to Jakalla about five years ago and has made it big - he'll set you up right, don't you worry!" It may not be a clan, it may be Somebody We Know, but one would usually have an introduction of some sort to Somebody.

Once one arrives, then Cousin Woofel finds out what you are good at, and then provides you with further introductions to people that he knows who might be able to find you a position of some sort. For example, the classic gambit is that Woofel introduces you to Lady Mnella, who regularly hires people like you for little jaunts in the Underworld. This gets you a reputation, and references, and further introductions as Lady Mnella introduces you to her friends as a reliable sort of person who can do those odd jobs that need doing. It's all about favors and connections...

And one can get a patron, but it's not vital; patrons are useful if you are looking to get into the higher reaches of society in a hurry, and are often sources of quick cash, but there is usually a trade-off in that they usually want one to do higher-risk things.

Oh, yes, you can always bluff; I've seen it done. However, I do not advise getting caught; you'll get laughed at, at best, and your reputation ruined. The invitations to all the best parties will dry up, and you'll find yourself living in the gutter in pretty short order.

Yes, the Market Police will be concerned if somebody complains and gets them involved; Cousin Woofel finds out you've been fleeced at dice by one of the locals, and he'll usually complain to a friend, who will have a friend slap the cheater around for you. On the other hand, if the police see you getting attacked or something, they will come to your aid at once. They'll deal with the attacker, and politely mention that they are selling tickets to The Annual Market Police Ball. You would then ask about buying a ticket, and you'd also make sure to tip them for thrashing the lout who attacked you. They will then usually offer to keep an eye on you, to make sure you don't get any more trouble from anyone, as they don't want to have any trouble in the city - and if you are alive and well, then they can get the occasional 'consideration' from you - more tickets to the Ball, Noble Lord?

They will not, however, protect you from your own stupidity - if you do something really dumb, like attack somebody in broad daylight, they'll be on you in a moment...

Originally Posted by Bren

Which figures are the assassins?

I suspect that would depend on how money anyone thinks they are going to lose if foreigners fresh off the boat get swindled, cheated, or stolen from. Such was often the fate on earth of new immigrants and nobody cared all that much except them and their relatives. I recall one story from my grandfather about getting tricked or swindled after he got of the boat. Émigrés frequently have family or friends of family that help them adapt to the new country. I'd imagine something similar often happens in Tekumel.

The ones with the knives - seriously! Look at the 'Serving girls with weapons', as well as the specific assassin figures.

Yes, exactly!!!

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Still, how exactly did it look at the table? Say one of them wants to play a scene where he secretly screws over another's business investment. No guarantee it will succeed, so they must play it out. The other one can easily opt out if he knows.
Do Phil and him leave the table to play it out, or go on the honour system? What does everyone else do during this time?
My own solution is to create a scene with another PC and assign NPC roles to the players, but I kinda doubt it would work with those guys.


Very interesting!
Do you mean Phil would have liked something like Honour and Intrigue's Careers? With or without Traveller-like lifepath character generation? Or am I just projecting what I've been thinking today on MAR Barker?


Right. Glad to see things that actually make sense when examined!
(Seriously, that was becoming a rare occurrence lately. The last time things clicked to this extent for me was when playtesting the Price of Power supplement for the Fates Worse Than Death RPG).


Doesn't that also make your destruction a pretty valuable victory for any opposing general? Like Baron ald?
And have you ever been sent on a diplomatic mission? Possibly as a hint of possible repercussions?


EPT does indeed have a lot of strong points as a ruleset, but the quest for improvement is eternal!


The more we talk, the more tempted I am to buy S&G, too. If only it had legal PDF versions!


Must be nice.
One of my GMs mentioned that the definition for " overpowered opposition " is "the things that an Asen's PC can't destroy in two combat rounds". You seemed to be in a similar position!

Two-parter, here.

It was very, very nasty at the table, and it made for very uncomfortable game sessions. One of the guys would announce that he was going to mess with you that session, and dive right into doing so.

I think he would have; he just winged it on the occupational / career paths, as he'd been around enough to do it.

Great - I hoped I could explain it a little better...

Oh, yes, I was a very high-value target! Which is why I hired Vrisa as a body-guard; I wanted to stay alive as long as I could. Later on, my legion assigned six of the toughest troopers we had as my full-time personal body guard, and in battles I normally had two sections (20 to a section) of picked soldiers as a larger guard unit. Due to my command style, which was getting as up-front and personal as possible, they usually wound up in the thick of things as the legion's crack shock troops; after I went through all the other-planar energy available, I'd be heavy infantry and at the point of attack with the reserves. Used to drive the poor Adjutant crazy, sad to say.

Oddly enough, I know Baron Ald personally; we're actually pretty good friends. Vrisa is his clan cousin, the Vishetru clan of Saa Alliqui - the royal family.

Oh, yes, I'd get sent out on diplomatic missions all the time! I was a big lot of intimidation, especially with either Vrisa or my legion (and sometimes both!) in tow. The message being sent was usually "Mess with the Imperium, and Chirine here burns your country down." It made for a lot of fun adventures!!!

Get "Bethorm". It's S&G, all cleaned up, and plays very well.

Yeah, I'd agree - once I take the field, things get very nasty very quickly...

Originally Posted by AsenRG

As always, yes.


1. As it should be.
2. Sounds like a good long term plan!
3. I wonder how common is this state of affairs in judicial matters across the Five? Going by history, I can see it in any place but YK, possibly with different punishments.
4. Did it gain them respect? A concession from another clan?
5. Indeed. And they can be strikingly competent at times. You just deny having seen the rest of them while they were alive.
6. I still maintain that nothing beats the servant with a dagger for exact representation!

3. Pretty cmmon, you have it down quite well, actually.
4. Yes, to both.
6. Which is why I like the Dark Fable line; it's all the 'civilian' types that you'd find in the palace or clan house. It's Ancient Egyptian, which fits right in with Tekumel. Great figures, and fun to paint!!!

Originally Posted by Bren

Presumably via secret notes, premade plans revealed only to the GM, or taking the GM aside and whispering. So long as that is the SOP for play it isn't especially jarring when stuff like that is initiated by the player instead of the GM. People who did that back in the day usually used pretty hard IC vs. OOC information boundaries.

Most people I know who played that way also played Diplomacy which is all about secret meetings, temporary alliances of convenience, and frequently the well timed backstab. Doing that in D&D or EPT is just carrying the Diplomacy mode of play into an RPG instead of using the more miniatures battles mode of play where everyone in the party is considered to be on the same side in a miniatures battle.

No, they didn't do any of this; it was all right up front, right across the table, and things would get very nasty very quickly during game sessions. One of them would simply tell you that he was out to get you that night, and you'd wind up fighting him and any allies all night. Very nasty, and very little Tekumel got played. Which is why we split...