Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Greentongue

What would happen to the survivors if an emergency escape pod ended up on Tekumel?
Starting with the equipment that is included in the pod and the typical skills of a starship crew.
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It sorta depends on where and when they are from, and how they treat the locals where they land. See also the article "The Language Problem" (by one Philip Barker in one of his fanzines), and also the occasional 'drop in' from other planes like the two hobbits in Bey Su and that Flemish man-at-arms in Jakalla from Phil's own campaign. We had people drop in from the various other Bethorms, for example; they usually dropped back out after a while, but a few got stranded and wound up being guests of either the Imperium or one of the temples and living a pretty good life. Once they learn the local language, they are going to be treated like very valuable rare books and guarded like any high-value treasure. What's in their heads is both valuable and dangerous.

I'd love to run this, given the fun we had with Phil running his own version of it.

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

That would be a fun campaign and a great story arc to develop. You could have the characters be from pre Time of Darkness Tekumel.

Shemek

Personally, I'd laugh my fool head off if the new arrivals were a bunch of: a) your typical Traveller players; b) your typical Star Wars players; c) your typical Star Trek players; and for the ultimate delight and laughs, your typical D&D players - Phil did this a couple of times, and the results were simply hilarious as the newbies tried to figure out where they were and what they could do about it. And why screwing with us was unhealthy for them.

My all time favorite was having a bunch of your typical PCs hauled in by the Provost and his troopers for being rude to the market merchants. Much hilarity ensued, as we poor dumb backwards locals educated the smart-ass know-it-alls in how the local justice system worked, and how we poor dumb backwards locals had the sheer firepower and numbers to enforce our actions. Some of the best gaming we ever had, I thought.

They thought Tekumel was your typical fantasy world. They were very startled to discover that it's Sword and Planet, and we poor dumb backwards locals got ray guns too. (Much preferred over the pair of .45 Colt Navy revolvers the elves in Blackmoor sold me, by the way; the latter make too much noise, and the clouds of smoke stain the drapes and Her Ladyship gets really annoyed. Never mind the fit the Chief Housekeeper has... )

[Footnote:Yes, I know that the Colt Navy was normally produced in .36, with rare variations like .40. I think the upgrade in caliber came because Dave loved shooting my .455 Webley Mk VI, what with the three-foot muzzle blast and round slow enough you could correct for fall-of-shot by eye. I also think it was Dave putting one over on Phil - as he was wont to do - as the things were always referred to in Phil's presence as 'magic elvish bang sticks'; Phil was adamantly against black-powder weapons, as he felt that the smoke stained the green carpet on his game table. All of which became a running joke for a good many years; Phil went ballistic (sorry about the pun) when Dave let slip that I had a pair of revolvers and a dozen three-band Enfields for my guards to use in emergencies.]

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Planet of the, Beneath the Planet, Escape from the Planet of the...Chnélh!!!

H:0)

Mighty Hrugga,


I can just hear it now: "Get your cinnamon stinking paws off me you damn dirty Ssu!" I think I'll have to work old Chuck into one of my games as a Pechani veteran of the northern border.

Shemek

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

All too true. Which makes me wonder why getting into my basement is such a big deal with some people; I get the feeling that there are a lot of folks who derive a lot of 'status' and 'prestige' from being on some sort of 'VIP' list that I supposedly keep. Kind of like announcing that one is someone's 'special friend'.

People do the darndest things for the darndest reasons. I keep away from the "special friend" types whenever I can. No thank you sir!

Shemek

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

All too true. Which makes me wonder why getting into my basement is such a big deal with some people; I get the feeling that there are a lot of folks who derive a lot of 'status' and 'prestige' from being on some sort of 'VIP' list that I supposedly keep. Kind of like announcing that one is someone's 'special friend'.

You know, when I say that "one is someone's 'special friend'" I'm thinking something a bit different than that they are a friend for whom you will open up your basement and let them in to play with your toys...open up your basement and let them in...we'll maybe not so different that what you meant after all.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

It sorta depends on where and when they are from, and how they treat the locals where they land. See also the article "The Language Problem" (by one Philip Barker in one of his fanzines), and also the occasional 'drop in' from other planes like the two hobbits in Bey Su and that Flemish man-at-arms in Jakalla from Phil's own campaign. We had people drop in from the various other Bethorms, for example; they usually dropped back out after a while, but a few got stranded and wound up being guests of either the Imperium or one of the temples and living a pretty good life. Once they learn the local language, they are going to be treated like very valuable rare books and guarded like any high-value treasure. What's in their heads is both valuable and dangerous.

I'd love to run this, given the fun we had with Phil running his own version of it.

It is a blast for sure. I'm currently using this motif (other Bethorms) in my game and we are having a great time. The best part is that I managed to fool my players for 5 sessions before they finally realized that they were on Tekumel! Not easily done as I have been gaming with the same guys for decades. Old Shemek has still got a few tricks up his sleeve.

Shemek

Originally Posted by Greentongue

There was mention of the translator balls that fit in your mouth. May be these visitors are another source of those?
(Don't lose it whatever you do.)
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You have the translator's balls in your mouth?

I do have some thoughts on the whole issue of Tekumel in the marketplace, but I'm on the night shift at work and I'm beat.

Essentially, as Rob Kuntz says, RPGs have become a consumption item rather than support for imaginative creativity, at least in terms of where the dollars go. Way more people buy Pathfinder Adventure Paths than make up their own worlds.

So Tekumel is now a niche within a niche.