Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Gronan's 'Calcutta' comment is entirely accurate, in Phil's case; Phil used his time in the similar very slums of South Asia for the basis of his version of the FQ. And, in my opinion, while it's 'historically accurate' and 'canon' to run it that way - and I kinda puke whenever I hear the word 'canon' - it's also not very 'playable' or 'gameable' unless you happen to be Phil with his rich lifetime of experiences with the seamier sides of life in the Third World. Which may be why he didn't use it again as a setting, after the first couple of years of gaming; I dunno.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Do what you need to do for your game - in the end, that's what really matters.

I guess this is the thing that gets to me. It is first and foremost a Game Setting and yet people treat it as an Actual Real Place.
So much angst and vitriol over the "Real Tekumel" and against not sticking to the "facts" of the setting.

It is good to hear that someone who played in the original games doesn't feel that, not slavishly following what has been documented, is some kind of horrific slander.

I feel there is so much potential to go off on a unique "branch of the tree" and have fun.
It is a pity that there is such trepidation of scorn, if that is done.
That somehow, it is a desecration.
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Well, for 99% of the gaming world, what "gaming in Tekumel" means comes from the published works. EPT postulates new characters gaming as FQ residents for three levels. Ergo, this scenario must be 'playable' for the majority of folks. How the author gamed at his table, what anyone experienced at that table, and how everyone who plays actually chooses to play, is all entirely variable. I won't be playing an unplayable starving disease-ridden Untouchable lying in a cesspool of feces and urine for even one session, let alone three levels. Also I find it hard to believe that Low, Medium and High social status foreigners will be staying in resthouses in such a FQ. Sounds more like an international incident waiting to happen, to me. See Barry Blatt's 'These Mean Streets' if it's difficult to imagine playing in a playable poor, lower class slum of foreigners. But in any case, please note that I'm repeating the same phrase everyone else is, that we play games however we choose to. Again Gronan, sorry that you didn't enjoy your experience.

Barry Blatt's 'These Mean Streets' is a wonderful example of why the setting is not popular. IMHO
"This correctness includes talking to lower caste people as if they were shit, and grovelling outrageously to anyone upper caste." would grate on just about anyone that you would actually want to play a game with.

Even my toned down version of just being rude and inconsiderate rankles players.

Thieves' World would be far more acceptable to players.
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You're entitled to your opinion, but your anecdotal experience is of no more validity than anyone else's.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Barry Blatt's 'These Mean Streets' is a wonderful example of why the setting is not popular. IMHO
"This correctness includes talking to lower caste people as if they were shit, and grovelling outrageously to anyone upper caste." would grate on just about anyone that you would actually want to play a game with.

Even my toned down version of just being rude and inconsiderate rankles players.

Thieves' World would be far more acceptable to players.
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I see an interesting discrepancy between players of games in Tekumel in the US and the UK (and maybe Europe). In the Uk we still have a very much class based society and our media is full of examples of the rich posh boys doing unspeakable things to poor people. The society is the US is very different and has none of the class based issues. The US issues normally revolve around not being white more than being poor with non-whites generally being at the poor end of the scale as well. In my view this makes it a lot harder for US players to accept the FQ than UK (and European) players who generally have more cultural exposure to status as class.

Phil's exposure to Eastern cultures make him exceptional as an US RPG author and indeed as a US citizen most of whom rarely travel beyond their own borders. His use of this exposure to make him game far more out there than anything else has tended to push Tekumel to the fringes of gaming as most of his potential audience cannot identify with the situations he places them in and don't enjoy it even if they try.

Originally Posted by Hermes Serpent

I see an interesting discrepancy between players of games in Tekumel in the US and the UK (and maybe Europe). In the Uk we still have a very much class based society and our media is full of examples of the rich posh boys doing unspeakable things to poor people. The society is the US is very different and has none of the class based issues. The US issues normally revolve around not being white more than being poor with non-whites generally being at the poor end of the scale as well. In my view this makes it a lot harder for US players to accept the FQ than UK (and European) players who generally have more cultural exposure to status as class.

Phil's exposure to Eastern cultures make him exceptional as an US RPG author and indeed as a US citizen most of whom rarely travel beyond their own borders. His use of this exposure to make him game far more out there than anything else has tended to push Tekumel to the fringes of gaming as most of his potential audience cannot identify with the situations he places them in and don't enjoy it even if they try.

Exceptional...!!!

H;0)

Originally Posted by Hermes Serpent

Phil's exposure to Eastern cultures make him exceptional as an US RPG author and indeed as a US citizen most of whom rarely travel beyond their own borders. His use of this exposure to make him game far more out there than anything else has tended to push Tekumel to the fringes of gaming as most of his potential audience cannot identify with the situations he places them in and don't enjoy it even if they try.

Thank you.
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