Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

By the time we got to Hekellu, the usual 'load-out' was:

Two knives, in hidden sheath on belt pouch, left side, rear
Short dagger, on belt, left side
Long dagger, on belt, right side
Short sword, on belt, left side
Mace, on belt, right side
Round steel buckler, left arm
Steel two-handed sword, slung over back on baldric

and:

Linen undertunic, padded over tunic, leather jerkin, steel mail hauberk and neck guard, steel breast and back, steel shoulder pauldrons, steel helmet, leather wristlets, greaves over leather boots.

If one is looking at encumbrance, the answer is yes, I can carry all this stuff. The armor weighs 38 pounds all up, and the weapons add another fifteen pounds. (The total weight is less then half the weight I carried in my Army basic training, by the way.) It's all in the time you spend practicing; you do get used to it.

And how do I know how much it all weighs? Because I own it.

First, it's obvious the rule on bladed weapons was relaxed.
Second, no better proof for how things work than being able to show!

Originally Posted by Bren

So Runequest/CoC/BRP with their use of D100 rolls would be a closer comparison to the die rolling used in the Swords and Glory version of EPT that Chirine mentioned than is Pendragon. I like Pendragon, but once you are using a D20 you are more or less back to the original EPT type of die rolling or to any roll under your stat version of D&D.

IIR, the most recent version of Call of Cthulhu actually switched from 3d6 ish stats to percentile based stats, which would be just about the same mechanic as Swords and Glory. Which is similar to the mechanic in FASA Star Trek.

Bren,
That's true, but none of it matters! I'm talking about the principle of "roll under stat, compare to another roll under stat". Whether you're rolling a d20 or a d100 is profoundly unimportant (assuming the stats cover the same range).
Runequest, on the other hand, doesn't use the same principle for combat (just for non-combat skills). So it's further away from the idea than Pendragon!

Why did I use Pendragon as an example? Because I suspected Chirine might be familiar with it (turns out I was wrong, but there you go). And because I know Gronan respects the game (as evidenced by his later post).

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

"Pendragon" is Greg Stafford's love letter to Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur." For those of us who are enthusiastic about the source material it is breathtaking.

As the years passed it started to lose its way, and by 4th Edition it was on the verge of becoming a "generic fantasy role playing game." But Greg decided in 5th edition to refocus on his core concept, eliminating over 100 pages of rules in the process.

His essay on his editing process in Pendragon 5th Edition should be required reading for anybody who wants to design a tightly focused RPG. And it's fascinating in its own right.

+1 to all of that, BTW!

Chirine,

I have recently been rereading the Tekumel novels. I am currently finishing Man of Gold. You said that the Temple of Sarku scene was lifted from a session of the Thursday Night Group's game. Exactly which parts were Chirine and the Glorious General involved in? That part where Hele'a of Ghaton was sacrificed to the One of Mouths was especially evocative. Did you guys witness that in the game, or something similar?
Also, unless I'm mistaken weren't you part of the "Secret Thumis Mission"?

Shemek.

Was that "Gamalu's Secret Mission," Chirine?

Originally Posted by Big Andy

Do you have to pay the owners for access? Like buying a ticket?

I remembered you guys mentioning that but was curious if he had one sword that he carried all over the globe like you did with your mace.

I've seen your armor (really cool, btw) but don't recall seeing the other suit. Is the Ksarul outfit for the Missus?

It's considered polite to give the owners a little present, mostly 'cause you want to be on good terms with them - and also to make sure that they will open the door when you come running back in panic...

You know, you'd have to ask him - I think he talks about this in a reply...

Yes! That's my Missus' suit. She looks sooooo cute in it - like a little tank (or tankette, if you prefer) all armored up in stainless steel. The scales are actually Navy surplus lifeboat mirrors we picked up for cheap at the scrap yard. I made the helmet and mask; she did everything else. You should see her Temple sword!

She had a Horokangai PC, one of the guards at the Temple of Ksarul out past Hekellu. The black-and-silver triangular trim and the orange trim shows that she's a worshipper of Lord Vimuhla. Phil got to see this suit, and was pretty amazed.

The Missus (Queen of the Internet) bought me ten mannequins, so we have a number of costumes on display in the game lounge.

Originally Posted by d(sqrt(-1))

I happened to be reading through the Blue Room Archives tonight, and I came aross a section with a discussion of Pariah Gods, where it is strongly suggested that they are to some extent connected with the 20 deities.

Anyway, there was a passing comment that The One Other's objective is to return Tekumel to Humanspace. Which made me think that the dot and circle is possibly representative of Tekumel in its pocket dimension...

They are; it's a thread that runs all through Phil's texts. I do know that The One Other was part of imprisoning Lord Ksarul, and seems to be very quietly tolerated in official circles. Still tried very hard to stay away from them, though.

Oh! I think you have something, there!

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

I seem to remember that when the hobby was much smaller folks ranged further afield. I remember the Little Tin had at least a couple of British wargame magazines on a regular basis. When Gary knew everybody at Gen Con (for instance), gaming was rather more homogeneous.

Oh, yes, very much so. A lot of the books we had were by British gamers, too.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Why, thank you. That's very kind.

I'd give that about a 85% probability.

"It ain't braggin' if you can really do it."

You're welcome; I'm just reporting what I know.

I'd agree with that estimate. There is literally nothing in the files about the process that led to EPT; the first thing we have is the green-cover playtest edition, although I have heard rumors of a typed manuscript being out there somewhere that was mooted as being part of the box of papers that "Beyond This Point Be Dragons" was found in. The three of them were very close-mouthed about how EPT came to be, but then I was asking after The Great Lawsuit had gotten underway, and they were just not in a talkative mood. Can't blame them, really...

I have a bathroom scale, and I know how to use it...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Nope. I started out as a barbarian with a Chlenhide dagger, then as a legion trooper, then as a Kasi and I finally got a steel weapon.

Much like Fafhrd, I got and lost swords all over the globe. Before the desert campaign we did a lot more oddball missions and I wound up fighting with everything from a mace to a trident to a chidok (similar to the Shen axe-sword) to a log from the fire to a sharp pointy stick.

I think I bashed somebody over the head with a rock once, too.

Don't forget the Pe Choi poop!

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Chirine,

Most Tsolyani lineages begin with the prefix hi. There are exceptions, like your last name. I was wondering if you could tell us of any other lineages that do not use the hi prefix.
Also, does the Ito lineage use the hi?

Shemek.

'hi' is mostly found in the central parts of the Imperium. 'vu' is from the island of Vra, and 'ba' is from the Chakas.

The Itos are a clan, first and foremost, and they don't seem to use lineages much - I'll look in the database for you and see what I can find. I do not recall ever hearing anyone called 'hi Ito' or 'ba Ito', though.

Originally Posted by AsenRG

First, it's obvious the rule on bladed weapons was relaxed.
Second, no better proof for how things work than being able to show!

Well, it was in my case, anyway. I learned the hard way to have spare weapons handy; on more then one occasion I'd toss one of the spares to another member of the party who was in trouble. "All for one, one for all!"

I love 'visual aids'! It makes the game a lot more fun, and the players seem to like being able to hold something like a sword or astrolabe; makes it more 'immediate', somehow...