Agreed!Originally Posted by Zirunel
Agreed!
Greetings,
Here are some of my notes on the subject. Hope it makes sense...
Shunned One Tracking "Dog" -
The Vleshgayal have some kind of six-legged greyish/white tracking creature
We did see these things once, when Eyloa's infallible navigational skills and in-depth expertise with ancient technology landed us in a Shunned Ones city. The things seem to hunt by a combination of infra-red sensing and being able to sense living beings. Think hunting dogs with really bad attitudes. The only good news is that if they do bite you, human blood gives them very bad indigestion as the chemical basis is too different.
the six legs, Phil once said, mark beings as coming from a specific region of planets in Humanspace, and two- and four-legged from another. So, I'd guess that these hunting animals are beasts that the Shunned Ones found on Tekumel, and adapted to their needs - which is why they don't have to have the different atmosphere.
"The side panel showed five of the hideous Vleshgayal. They loped across the floor with a gait that hinted at more joints than any human possessed. In front, came a greyish-white , six-legged creature that snuffled and wriggled from side to side. The thing had no visible eyes, but its long oval mouth was evident enough. Inside were ragged-edged ridges that would serve nicely as teeth."
PoS pg22
Enjoy,
H:0)
PS Mostly Uncle's words...some of the Professor's.
"whole hogsheads of hog's heads, and bales of stingwort, a powerful and remarkably popular emetic."
I don't care if you respect me, just buy my fucking book.
Formerly known as Old Geezer
I don't need an Ignore List, I need a Tongue My Pee Hole list.
The rules can't cure stupid, and the rules can't cure asshole.
Tell a big lie long enough without being contradicted, yes
The little cart has six bombs on spigots, and four wheels. The back two are for positioning the thing at the right angle, and you spin the front two to compress the air. The neat thing is that as the Shunned Ones roll the cart around, it charges the air cylinder. All right out of the Alexandrian Library and - guess what!!! - Muslim manuscripts from the medieval period. The bombs, just so you know, are pottery and filled with incendiary materials.
Oh, huzza.
You ought to see the little model of the Shunned One air car fitted up as a 'bomber' with these things.
Yeah, and people wonder why we kept Stone's Arms and Armor to hand as well as Payne-Galway. It was so very hard to fox him; he was an expert on obscure ancient and medieval weapons, and could whip this stuff out at the drop of a helmet.Please tell me there's a site with this kind of weird weapons, I'm in the perfect position to showcase them!
After running out of the Red Ssu Fortress*, the party is about to witness a fight between the Red Ssu, backed up by Shunned Ones scientists, and the legion they took as part of their "diversion tactics". They saw already Shunned Ones constructing a weird-looking weapon. However, they didn't look closer, I still haven't decided what kind of ancient weapon it is.
(I mean, my mental notes say "weird weapon". If they look closer, or when it's used, I'd have to decide what it is. Neither of these has happened yet, though!)
*It's actually a former Grey Ssu fortress. In My Tekumel, the Red Ssu are the analogue of Amazon "warrior-slaver ants", which take over another anthill and live on "slave labour".
And yes, the Grey Ssu are well and truly screwed in this, but then nobody cares about them anyway
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward." - Rocky
There probably is, given the big wide nature of the Internet, but I don't know what it might be. My guiding text was one that Phil had, "The Ancient Engineers" by (of all people!) L. Sprague DeCamp - who is better known for his 'hard SF'. I have a copy of it myself, along with other such books, and I think you can get much the same materials on line. (Like Gronan did - Babbage engines in your hover tanks.) The history of warfare is full of goofy ideas that somebody sold to the paymasters, going back to Rome and China and before. Phil was very big on Greek technology from the Alexandrian school, so that might be good starting point. Every army has it's share of crackpot inventors, and in wartime they get the funding to build their inventions. (Like the Blacker Bombard, for example.)Please tell me there's a site with this kind of weird weapons, I'm in the perfect position to showcase them
After running out of the Red Ssu Fortress*, the party is about to witness a fight between the Red Ssu, backed up by Shunned Ones scientists, and the legion they took as part of their "diversion tactics". They saw already Shunned Ones constructing a weird-looking weapon. However, they didn't look closer, I still haven't decided what kind of ancient weapon it is.
(I mean, my mental notes say "weird weapon". If they look closer, or when it's used, I'd have to decide what it is. Neither of these has happened yet, though
What history does usually not record is the reaction of the trooper detailed to operate the new 'wonder weapon'; I would love to have been there to see the reaction of the crew assigned to the fire syphons in the Byzantine navy, for example.
Weapons on carts? Anything, from a small bolt-thrower to a fire syphon. Plenty of historical examples to choose from, as Phil would say - usually right before he told me to have some ready for next Thursday...
Aaieee!
I don't care if you respect me, just buy my fucking book.
Formerly known as Old Geezer
I don't need an Ignore List, I need a Tongue My Pee Hole list.
The rules can't cure stupid, and the rules can't cure asshole.
With such an old and vast underground, how many fungus or plant based "opponents" did you encounter?
Kayi, Tegeqmu, Thunru'u, Sagun and even Ssu seem like just samples, not a complete list.
I assume there were many more that were not "intelligent" that you encountered?
Do you have any suggestions on how to fill in the array with more?
=
A lot; we'd find this stuff all over, usually by stepping in it. Molds, fungi, mildew, nasty insects, 'rats', you name it - Phil had it. (Not personally, of course.) Phil just didn't detail them, as he assumed that people could extrapolate from what was in caves and ruins - or in their basements, for that matter. EPT details the 'major threats', and tends to skimp on the 'minor ones'. I'd suggest reading books on exploration, or TV documentaries for examples. The old Conan movie had some nice bits on this, too. Otherwise, use the 'minor' items in profusion. The worst underworld I ever encountered was in Hekellu, where it's right nest to the lake and mostly below the water table. Take all you usual underworld critters and add in all the aquatic horrors, and you understand why we tried to stay out of it...
What I think that we, as GMs, are up against is that Phil had 'been there and done that', and simply used his personal explorations of ruins and underworlds in India and didn't bother to write any of it down. In some ways, I think he assumed that everyone was able to come up with stuff like this for himself - he was like that on a number of other subjects, like rural life and clan-based family relationships. His stories about going through the ruined casemates of the Red Fort at Delhi was exactly how he ran us through the underworlds. As he remarked, one you get off the beaten path that all the tourists take, it gets messy pretty quickly. I might add that I found the same to be true of castles in Wales - despite their being open for visitors, there was some pretty nasty stuff in the dark corners.
Off to play D&D, this afternoon!
This is great, and something all DM's should take to heart. If one is able to draw from personal experience it always makes the game session that much more memorable. Phil was fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to India and other "exotic" places, and thus be able to use this exposure when developing Tekumel.A lot; we'd find this stuff all over, usually by stepping in it. Molds, fungi, mildew, nasty insects, 'rats', you name it - Phil had it. (Not personally, of course.) Phil just didn't detail them, as he assumed that people could extrapolate from what was in caves and ruins - or in their basements, for that matter. EPT details the 'major threats', and tends to skimp on the 'minor ones'. I'd suggest reading books on exploration, or TV documentaries for examples. The old Conan movie had some nice bits on this, too. Otherwise, use the 'minor' items in profusion. The worst underworld I ever encountered was in Hekellu, where it's right nest to the lake and mostly below the water table. Take all you usual underworld critters and add in all the aquatic horrors, and you understand why we tried to stay out of it...
What I think that we, as GMs, are up against is that Phil had 'been there and done that', and simply used his personal explorations of ruins and underworlds in India and didn't bother to write any of it down. In some ways, I think he assumed that everyone was able to come up with stuff like this for himself - he was like that on a number of other subjects, like rural life and clan-based family relationships. His stories about going through the ruined casemates of the Red Fort at Delhi was exactly how he ran us through the underworlds. As he remarked, one you get off the beaten path that all the tourists take, it gets messy pretty quickly. I might add that I found the same to be true of castles in Wales - despite their being open for visitors, there was some pretty nasty stuff in the dark corners.
Off to play D&D, this afternoon!
Enjoy the game and don't take any leaden gp's
Shemek.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
Uncle,A lot; we'd find this stuff all over, usually by stepping in it. Molds, fungi, mildew, nasty insects, 'rats', you name it - Phil had it. (Not personally, of course.) Phil just didn't detail them, as he assumed that people could extrapolate from what was in caves and ruins - or in their basements, for that matter. EPT details the 'major threats', and tends to skimp on the 'minor ones'. I'd suggest reading books on exploration, or TV documentaries for examples. The old Conan movie had some nice bits on this, too. Otherwise, use the 'minor' items in profusion. The worst underworld I ever encountered was in Hekellu, where it's right nest to the lake and mostly below the water table. Take all you usual underworld critters and add in all the aquatic horrors, and you understand why we tried to stay out of it...
What I think that we, as GMs, are up against is that Phil had 'been there and done that', and simply used his personal explorations of ruins and underworlds in India and didn't bother to write any of it down. In some ways, I think he assumed that everyone was able to come up with stuff like this for himself - he was like that on a number of other subjects, like rural life and clan-based family relationships. His stories about going through the ruined casemates of the Red Fort at Delhi was exactly how he ran us through the underworlds. As he remarked, one you get off the beaten path that all the tourists take, it gets messy pretty quickly. I might add that I found the same to be true of castles in Wales - despite their being open for visitors, there was some pretty nasty stuff in the dark corners.
Off to play D&D, this afternoon!
Could expand a bit on the Professor's "rats" please...Thank you. Enjoy your game!!!
H:0)
PS I liked your Sakbe post and pictures. I also loved your library. When you get the chance could you tell us about your book collection? You have already given us some really great reference books to get...
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