Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

1. And so it does! This is, ultimately, Phil’s true legacy. He created a world that has, and continues to entertain people even though he longer is here. Not a bad thing to leave behind.

Thank you for the detailed response.

Shemek

You're welcome. Dating is always a problem with Phil's campaign, and I've had to do a big wall chart with blocks of time to show all of his books and articles set against time and what was going on in the campaign(s).

I agree with you about his legacy; I'l like to hope that he's pleased...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Imagine me hopping about clapping my little paws together with glee. My character is half a continent away.

Many of them are quite nice folks, but REALLY not used to old school gaming, and almost none of them are wargamers. That's why they're scared; they think of RPG combat as a series of individual duels, and the idea of an organized body of troops scares the hell out of them.

I'm curious, of course, about what KIND of bandits we are. Are we a gang of desperate wolf's heads, lawless men who band together for mutual protection against the world? Are we a struggling kingdom trying to establish ourselves... one man's "bandits" are another man's "Bold King" (see Beowulf.) Or are we a mercenary company of foot that was on the losing side and got left high and dry, because the line between "out of work mercenary" and "bandit" depends on when the lads last had a good meal...

I though you'd be amused at the thought of all these people running smack dab into Yours Truly. I am looking forward to this, oh, I am...

I don;t know if I'd call the staff an 'organized body of troops', but they do seem to be a cut above your usual street robbers and highwaymen. Highwaypersons, actually, for all I know. Light cavalry, more or less, and organized into small troops with leaders. A very nice little operation, and so far very successful and - I daresay - profitable, to the point where the local caravan guides are paying us for our escort services in advance. The players, who seem to be nice people, are of that goody-twoshoes 'Lawful Good' type that are such pains in the butt to us business types. As I understand it, they've shown up at our steppe fort to wipe us out, not quite understanding that while there is a small garrison at home, the rest of us are out in the steppes. Behind them.

You'll forgive me if I laugh.

Time for another lesson from Uncle Chirine, I suppose...

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Hey Guys,

Has anyone heard of, or have a copy of the Tekumel fanzine called The Excellent Travelling Volume? If so, what's the magazine's format like. Does it consist of articles from various authors? Is it a "gaming" magazine, i.e., rule sets are discussed, modules included, etc., like the old Dragon Magazine was, or is it a series of articles that are more "scholarly" in nature and deal with Tekumel's history, politics, and religions? Apparently it's written/published by James Maliszewski, a long time fan of Tekumel. Any information would be appreciated as I was thinking of ordering a copy, but I'd like to know what's in it before I buy it.

Shemek.

(Waves hands in back of room) I have! I have!

I have all five of these, and they are very much in the vain of what we used to do. The emphasis is on EPT, with all the articles by JM. The downside is that the publications runs are very limited, so you have to jump on them when you hear about them. All in all, I like them, which is why I bought them.

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

I love it when I come across guys who play RPG's but have never wargamed. I remember years ago having a game of Battletech against a couple of guys who fancied themselves "B-Tech Experts", but did not play any other wargames. Their tactics were linear, and completely predictable. The first game we played was a straight out slug fest, and I remember them mocking my buddy and I because we used terrain, and didn't stupidly march out into the open. We won the first game, and the second game was a more traditional attack a fortified position scenario. We rolled to see who attacked and defended and we came out as the attackers. Like I said earlier these two guys had not really wargamed before, and my buddy and I had cut our teeth on ASL, Panzer Blitz/Leader, and a host of other AH games. As the attacker the scenario allowed us off board artillery: you had to target specific hexes and the strike would come in the next round. My buddy wanted to call it in on the objective hexes, feeling that the defenders would try and hold this area and concentrate their forces there. I wanted to target the hexes in front of the objective (6 away from where they had set up). He started laughing at my choice and said "No way! No one would be that stupid". Well I prevailed, and sure enough they were that stupid. Instead of holding their ground they charged out, used their running speed and ended up smack dab in the middle of the barrage. They lost half their force in the first salvo of OBA, and vehicle mounted Long Range Missiles which we had deployed on hills directly in front of the enemy forces, and in forests to either side of their advance, creating excellent defiladed and enfiladed firing zones, respectively. The second round we split our barrage: half of the guns targeting the objective hexes, and the other half six hexes directly in front of the last barrage. They ran back to the objective and got creamed again. In two rounds they lost 85% of their force, and our mechs did not fire a shot. I believe the term you used in an earlier post was "moron"? In this case that fits just right. They weren't mocking us anymore when we handed them their asses after two turns. Hopefully Chirine's opponents will have more sense.

Shemek

You know, it never has ceased to amaze me over all these years, just how many times I've seen people walk right into an artillery barrage, archery beaten zones, and pretty much anything of the like. No matter what period, what set of rules, no nothing, it seems that one can size up "those other people" and make sure to have a little gift waiting for them when they come racing across the table at one. I think i have lost count of the times in RPGs where I've set an ambush, and "those other people" have walked right into the kill zone and gotten pasted.

I should run training courses for people on how to clear an Underworld. Wouldn't be hard; I've got those nice tiles, and this might give me enough of an excuse to build "The Tomb Complex of Nereshanbo" in miniature. The gods know I have enough miniatures to stock the thing.

["Those other people" - Gen. Robert E. Lee]

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I though you'd be amused at the thought of all these people running smack dab into Yours Truly. I am looking forward to this, oh, I am...

I don;t know if I'd call the staff an 'organized body of troops', but they do seem to be a cut above your usual street robbers and highwaymen. Highwaypersons, actually, for all I know. Light cavalry, more or less, and organized into small troops with leaders. A very nice little operation, and so far very successful and - I daresay - profitable, to the point where the local caravan guides are paying us for our escort services in advance. The players, who seem to be nice people, are of that goody-twoshoes 'Lawful Good' type that are such pains in the butt to us business types. As I understand it, they've shown up at our steppe fort to wipe us out, not quite understanding that while there is a small garrison at home, the rest of us are out in the steppes. Behind them.

You'll forgive me if I laugh.

Time for another lesson from Uncle Chirine, I suppose...

* makes popcorn and grills a few gegresha *

If you really want to break their tiny little minds, argue from the point of view that as the authority who holds the castle, we ARE the lawful rulers. We collect tolls just like their lord Baron de Coucy does, we escort caravans and travellers just like their lord Baron de Coucy does, we live in a castle just like their lord Baron de Coucy does...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

* makes popcorn and grills a few gegresha *

If you really want to break their tiny little minds, argue from the point of view that as the authority who holds the castle, we ARE the lawful rulers. We collect tolls just like their lord Baron de Coucy does, we escort caravans and travellers just like their lord Baron de Coucy does, we live in a castle just like their lord Baron de Coucy does...

I have the impression that they aren't that sophisticated. They seem to be a bunch of people who met in a tavern and are having an adventure - I am sure I'm wrong about this, but that's the way I'm looking at this. The GM wanted to have a 'live opponent' for them, and he's certainly gotten that. So, lesson time, I suspect...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

I have the impression that they aren't that sophisticated. They seem to be a bunch of people who met in a tavern and are having an adventure - I am sure I'm wrong about this, but that's the way I'm looking at this. The GM wanted to have a 'live opponent' for them, and he's certainly gotten that. So, lesson time, I suspect...

Dibs on the Pay Per View rights.

"Being neutrals, we have no choice," he said, making a gesture of throwing something of a conciliatory nature to a shark.

To quote John M. Ford in The Final Reflection -- "Tactics are real!"

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Dibs on the Pay Per View rights.

"Being neutrals, we have no choice," he said, making a gesture of throwing something of a conciliatory nature to a shark.

Yep; it ought to be quite a bit of fun, actually...

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

To quote John M. Ford in The Final Reflection -- "Tactics are real!"

Yes, they are, and it's never ceased to startle me just how may people and how many times it's been ignored and / or forgotten...