Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

From Shemek hiTankolel:
1. The beauty of the interweb! See, it does have some uses other than being a repository of porn, and mindless memes. Before discovering this thread I wouldn't have known that a large part of Tekumel's early roots came from the world of 1930's and 1940's sci-fi. Personally, I love the art-deco retro futurism of that period. I'm also always on the look out for suitable images to use. BTW, did you ever see the "Human Space Empires" web page? There is also a really nice set of Beta form rules which can be downloaded. I have been using the weapon stats for energy weapons, and what not, in my Tekumel campaign for some time now. Very easy to integrate into an EPT/1e AD&D based game.

I have a copy - fun game, and I have the miniatures for it... Ahoggya space marines, anyone?

2. Me too. Currently, I am using a Mayan/Aztec fusion to represent the minions of the Pariah God worshipping city state that the party is up against. For the good guys I am using a medieval Burmese/Nepalese fusion. As this chapter of my Tekumel Campaign is set in the period of the Three States of the Triangle I figure that I've pretty well got free rein. Even created some new gods, as I figured the normal ones either wouldn't be present, or be in forms quite different than in a traditional Tekumel game.

Sounds good to me - if it works, it works. Nothing like a practical approach, I say...

I'm not sure what you mean by a " 'Theatre of the Mind' approach". I am familiar with the old radio program, which I used to listen to repeats of on a local radio station in the early 80's, on Sunday evenings.:confused:

It's 'watching the radio'; the words create the pictures in your mind. Phil used to do this a lot, as we just didn't have the resources to do what we can do today. I can do this, and often do, but when I can I like to have stuff on the table or (in the case of props) in hand for people to marvel at. It seems to increase that 'sense of wonder', somehow.

3. I envy you! A second set of eyes is fantastic, especially when it comes to getting some of the "oddball" stuff that can really make a memorable gaming session. Love using props in the game. I really hope the missus is doing well.

She's surviving, and pretty much stable. She's been with me for twenty-five years, so she's got a pretty good idea what I'm looking for; likewise, she knew Phil back in the day, and was the one who cataloged his books after he passed away and also helped sort out his stuff at the time. So, yeah, she's got the eye.

4. " Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside
There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass, move along, move along...
...Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart..."

I tend to get that reaction a lot from modern gamers who have no idea what we used to get up to back in Ye Olden Dayes. The Gary Con EPT game last year was a good example of this; I just did what I would normally do for an RPG, and people seemed to be blown away by the play style.

Speed and Spectacle. That's me!

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Me too... I have only ever been to one con in my life, and the experience so turned me off of them that I never went back. However, I might have to re-evaluate my position and just go on the last day for all of the discounted goodies.

Shemek.

I can really understand this. I generally do not have a good time at conventions, of any sort, and I have to be pretty actively doing something in order to have a decent time. I don't like a lot of noise and pandemonium, and most convention organizers are forced to stuff as many tables into the space as possible in order to make the costs of doing the event. I've gotten choosy about how I spend my time and money, especially as I get older and more cranky...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Last time I went to Dragon Con, in the dealers' room some gaming stuff about two years old was 2 for $15 on Thursday, 3 for $5 on Sunday.

Ha! And how many years have we been seeing this, my General?

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

If I had a dollar for every time Chirine sang that during our years with Akbar and Jeff's Traveling Tekumel Road Show, we'd ALL be rich.

Luckliy for us, I could carry a tune back then. These days, it'd be the little clamshell CD player and the miniature sound system. It's all true, too. I still have nightmares where I'm trapped in some convention center or hotel pushing a cart full of boxes around the corridors for all eternity...

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Really? That's scary. Must be a generational thing, or something. Like the man said: "great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ", I guess.

Shemek

Should I hide the vinyl...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

From AsenRG:
I can only say, the picture looked glorious!

Thank you - the Missus found this in a gift shop and thought of me.

She's certainly thoughtful. I hope she'd be well, and get better!

We can get close, but I do agree - he was in the right places at the right times.

Well, Uncle, maybe you can even reach his levels, but you've been gathering props like this your whole life - it's the rest of us who couldn't compare.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I still have nightmares where I'm trapped in some convention center or hotel pushing a cart full of boxes around the corridors for all eternity...

NAR! Here, shoots a little to the left.

chirine ba kal:

I assume that when playing, a character succeeds at something that is their Original Skills or Professional Skills unless something specifically says a roll is required.
Is this correct? Someone once said that the "likelihood of a spell working" should be used for Skills as well.
This seems not fun to me but, is it the way you use the rules?

The EPT rules say spells, some Eyes, and other magical devices attacks
are "automatic hits" and the only defensive possible against them is a successful saving throw.

I always assumed that if there was a serious question of a Skill being successful then a Saving Throw could be used.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Should I hide the vinyl...

Gadzooks! Vinyl! Love my LP collection, a lot of goodies in there. Hendrix, Jethro Tull, all the Who albums... I'm going to have to go and fire up the Victrola. Ya, you better hide it.

Shemek.

Originally Posted by AsenRG

She's certainly thoughtful. I hope she'd be well, and get better!

Well, Uncle, maybe you can even reach his levels, but you've been gathering props like this your whole life - it's the rest of us who couldn't compare.

She is, which is one of the many, many reasons we've been together for over twenty-five years. She's stable, right now, and we're trying to keep it that way. She had a nice little outing today, going out to play the ponies - it's the Kentucky Derby this weekend, one of the High Holy Days in my horsey wife's calendar - and so far she's done quite well; she placed bets on the pre-Derby races, and made back all of her monty and then some.

Well, collecting props and stuff for gaming comes - I think - from my time in theater and show production. Phil did this, of course, and that was what got me started. Anybody can do it, in my opinion, if it suits their play style. The game's the thing, to mangle a quote, and my 'education' in gaming, gamesmanship, and games presentation came from two master showmen named Dave and Phil. I'm always reminded of that lump of two pounds of grey Plasticine, Gertie...