Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Hello All,

I have read about some of the exploits in the North and South of the Tsolyani Empire. Have you ever travelled to the other side of the globe? If not did the Professor ever hint at what might be found there? Hordes of Hokun and Black Suu...or worse?

Thanks in advance,

H :0)

Yes. We live in what I call the 'first quadrant', the 'upper left hand' quadrant of the Tekumel globe. The original two EPT and the later four S&G maps cover this area, but the Tane lands to the east are not in these, and you have to add them in to get our entire continent.

The 'upper right-hand' quadrant was discussed in one of Carl Brodt's "Seal of the Imperium" magazines, where he printed some maps made in the 1990s by the party that went 'up and over' the North Pole. The lower quadrants have not had any real mapping done, although there have been a few trips into them.

The 'upper right' is also home to what we called 'the purple and brown empire', a human state that was pretty much at the same level of development that we were. We did not get a lot of mapping done, as we went there by tubeway car; you don't get a feel for the landscape that way. Lord Fu Hsi, Baron Ald's ally, seems to be from that empire, which seems to want to aid Ald in his efforts.

Benre Sa, the primary island home of the nasty, nasty Hokun, is - we think - located in the 'lower right'; we've only been there by tubeway car. The seafaring Nom people live in the seas to the east of the maps in and around various island chairs. We are not sure where the palace of Bassa, king of the Black Ssu is; we got there and back through the sorcery of Thomar, one of the Undying Wizards, and never got a good feel for where we were 'on the map'.

So, yes, lots of hints and opportunities for adventure! Phil tried to leave a lot of things 'up in the air' so he could use them in future adventures. Sadly, he never did write a lot of it down...

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Are there others from "the far side" besides Lord Fu Hsi and the Pale Bone actively involved in the daily activities of the Empire?

Are things like zuur importation by the Hlyss or other nefarious plots, things that players might encounter?

Hlutrgu population explosions?
=

a. Yes. We've caught a few, over the years, and I'm sure that there are more. One of the PCs in the late 1990s was a secret Pale Bone person.

b. Yes. PCs might be hired to investigate things like this, or 'deal with' these kinds of plots.

c. The nasty little critters are always having a population explosion; they breed like tadpoles, except with pointy sharp objects. They are always a problem, and there are continual 'hunting expeditions' down there to keep them down to a reasonable level. Some of these actually come back, too!

Originally Posted by Greentongue

When you played, how much did you have to worry about all the formal requirements of communication with NPCs?

Was florid speech commonly used in game?
If so, was it from the beginning or over years of play?

Any examples?

How much did you have to deal with labyrinthian bureaucracy in game and how did that work?
Was it also from the beginning?
=

Thank you for more great questions!

a. We didn't. Yes, our PCs had their own voices - they tended to use a little bit more formal English when they were talking, but otherwise it was just normal dialog around the table. One always knew when was taking to Kathy, and when one was talking to Vrisa.

b. No, unless it was needed for comic or sarcastic effect. It was from the beginning, with everybody doing it.

c. No, not really; I can't think of any, off the top of my head. It didn't happen all that much, and really wasn't part of our game play.

d. Not really. The usual thing was to hand off the needed business to a scribe, and let the professional(s) do it. We were adventurers, and had other things to do; so, we just paid a fee, and let the scribe(s) handle things. That got started at the beginning, too.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

I wish there was a way to get this word to a wider audience.
I think that it is one of the most off putting aspects of playing in the setting and is being pushed at just about every site that features Tekumel.
While it may be "fun" for a small group of people, I think it stops a larger group from even trying.
Maybe that is the point?
A way to keep the riff-raff out?
=

Jargon is very useful, but it's also a very good way to erect a barrier to entry. This applies to just about any venue that uses jargon.

In some 10 or so years of weekly playing in Tekumel, NOBODY, including Phil, ever spoke even a single word of Tsolyani.

Once again, the combination of Phil's own background as a linguistic scholar and the Villainous Influences of the "RP is a NARTFORM" crowd ended up in projecting a very untrue image.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

In some 10 or so years of weekly playing in Tekumel, NOBODY, including Phil, ever spoke even a single word of Tsolyani.

Except for proper nouns, I guess? Surely he'd at least say something like "your trip on the sakbe road is uneventful except for getting stuck behind some lumbering chlen..."