|
Post by badger2305 on Mar 31, 2024 23:12:17 GMT -6
Sounds good; I love me some Tékumel! Very interested in seeing your creative take on the dispatches. (PS) Has "Egg of the World" gone live yet? I would like to acquire a copy! I'm going to look at almost all of them. They have a lot to reveal about how to run Tékumel. As for Egg of the World, I am back on track, working through edits with my outside editor, and writing a LOT of art direction. (Who knew that a 300+ book would be a slog to get done? )
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Mar 28, 2024 16:53:39 GMT -6
Hey there - I have been getting back into blogging, specifically posts about Tékumel, called Tékumel Thursdays. I will be updating these once a week, and sharing: - Analysis of Imperial Dispatches and how to turn them into adventures
- Setting up your own Tekumel campaign, with examples from my campaign
- Updating Empire of the Petal Throne for contemporary use
Check it out here - www.sandboxofdoom.com/
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Mar 28, 2024 16:42:10 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Dec 10, 2023 15:48:00 GMT -6
I notice that I last posted in June 2023, after my mom died. In July, my step-mother died. So this year has been something of a wash, trying to get things done. However, Allan Grohe and James Maliszewski have been providing rock-solid support for this, and I am now working on art direction. If you know of artists whose work might fit for Tekumel, please post about them here. Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 12, 2023 12:49:45 GMT -6
Update for The Egg of the WorldI have completed revisions based on feedback from playtesting, which has been VERY useful. The Egg of the World is now about 254 pages in manuscript form, and is being moved into proofreading and some editing. At the same time, art direction is starting. I'm looking for artists who are comfortable working in black and white pen and ink work for the interior. I have been working with grodog on editing, and his assistance has been invaluable. I should probably note that The Egg of the World is very much intended for players and referees new to Tekumel; if people already familiar with the setting find it useful, that's GREAT, but they aren't my primary audience. James Maliszewski has described The Egg of the World as a "Dungeon Masters Guide" for Empire of the Petal Throne, and I think that's an apt description. What I hope comes out of this is more people playing Tekumel and appreciating it as a world for adventure. A new update: my mom passed away early this year, and I have to tell you, that encompassed ALL of my time until just recently. While this has been a time of sadness for me, the one bright spot is that my mom's estate has now provided me with the resources to pay for the art for The Egg of the World, which is really cool. As I get back on track, I will be looking for people to help me run events at conventions using material from the book.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 12, 2023 12:33:01 GMT -6
You familiar with this one, Victor? badger2305Allan. I think I saw this a LONG time ago; it seem both imaginative and derivative, which left me with mixed feelings, if I recall correctly. Very glad he found inspiration in Tekumel, if nothing else.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 12, 2023 12:31:16 GMT -6
Hello odd74 I've just requested to join as Cenbe. Some of you may already know me from: I don't generally post on forums. or from gaming at: Gary Con, Con of the North, U-Con, Nexus, Gamehole Con... Some of my pals on odd74 are: Victor Raymond suggested that I register. Mods, please see my membership request. I tried to use the guest name "Cenbe" since I already had a Proboards account,but it wouldn't let me.
What say you badger2305 ? He's good people. Sorry this took so long!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Sept 10, 2022 10:50:41 GMT -6
Update for The Egg of the WorldI have completed revisions based on feedback from playtesting, which has been VERY useful. The Egg of the World is now about 254 pages in manuscript form, and is being moved into proofreading and some editing. At the same time, art direction is starting. I'm looking for artists who are comfortable working in black and white pen and ink work for the interior. I have been working with grodog on editing, and his assistance has been invaluable. I should probably note that The Egg of the World is very much intended for players and referees new to Tekumel; if people already familiar with the setting find it useful, that's GREAT, but they aren't my primary audience. James Maliszewski has described The Egg of the World as a "Dungeon Masters Guide" for Empire of the Petal Throne, and I think that's an apt description. What I hope comes out of this is more people playing Tekumel and appreciating it as a world for adventure.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Apr 18, 2022 22:38:01 GMT -6
A few more titles listed. Any thoughts yet Victor? badger2305 Allan. When we've done all of the legal work on making them available again, the Foundation would be happy to make these available.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Apr 18, 2022 22:35:48 GMT -6
This is such a cool project! Has there been any further progress? I know that Victor has been playtesting the scenarios in Egg of the World, and is looking to wrap up input from that and from my editorial review by June-ish. Allan. Yep; I am in the process of revising the current draft and adding some missing material. I expect to have it done by June; will soon be looking for artwork.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Nov 23, 2021 12:53:24 GMT -6
I see you don't get to lay in your "Sandbox of Doom" much lately (2015). I need to fix that. Thanks for the reminder!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Nov 23, 2021 12:16:32 GMT -6
Dear All - Thank you for being patient with me!
I am days away from finishing “The Egg of the World” - a guide to playing in the world of Tekumel, aimed at GMs and players, based on the work I posted here, oh so long ago. It is a companion to Empire of the Petal Throne, and I am looking for playtesters. If you are a GM, and would like to run adventures in the world of Tekumel, this is for you. I have already recruited a fair number of playtesters, but I am interested in people from this board who have (a) been interested in running a Tekumel campaign, and (b) have not done so, due to the challenge. If you are interested, please let me know - thanks!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Nov 23, 2021 12:11:00 GMT -6
...if you're looking for something more readily available that is similar in flavor to Barker, I recommend Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg. It is set on a world called Majipoor which, while very different from Tekumel because it's not a trapped dimension, has many similarities. It's a backwater planet only vaguely aware it belongs to a galaxy of interstellar travel, with alien races from home-worlds they have largely forgotten, and littered with abandoned and lost technologies and cloning processes which came to carry a somewhat magical aura. It lacks the complex religious elements of Tekumel but in reading it I did feel some kinship between Majipoor and Tekumel. I think this is an excellent recommendation. Add to that some Clark Ashton Smith, and some Jack Vance, and you would have a decent range of Tekumel-adjacent fiction.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Nov 23, 2021 12:09:03 GMT -6
I think the "Daughter" series is very good but there is bad blood involved and it "is a different world". Meh, it seems strange to me that an EPT player in 2021 should have to buy into some ill-conceived 40-year-old grudge. For what it's worth, It's pretty clear that Ray Feist was "inspired" by Tekumel. I do not know if he was familiar with Empire of the Petal Throne or not, but I also know that Prof. Barker didn't appreciate Feist's use of Tekumel without any sort of attribution or acknowledgment. I wasn't there for how it all escalated, and - knowing now what I do about IP law - I can see why it's been left largely unsettled. It's a bad case of something where we'll probably never know the truth - but "Kelewan" and "Tekumel" should probably get separated in people's minds, to the benefit of both. (Just my personal opinion, not the opinion or official stance of the Tekumel Foundation.)
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Aug 29, 2021 17:59:41 GMT -6
The Tekumel Foundation is reprinting all of these novels. I believe Man of God is already out, and badger2305 has shown the cover for Flamesong on FB and indicated the others will eventually follow. Yep; the release date for the new edition is September 1st. New elements in this edition: - Accent marks, so you can much more easily pronounce the Tsolyani words and names
- A new foreword by James Maliszewski
- Maps by Giovanna Fregni
The retail price is $18.95, plus shipping, from Amazon. (We're looking at other printers, as well)
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Aug 19, 2021 17:15:37 GMT -6
My suspicion is that the changes were made by Prof. Barker in consultation with Gary. There may be correspondence between them I could dig up to shed some light on this question. I do have two observations about the edits that might be of interest. First, while there is a reference to "Good" and "Evil" in EPT, Prof. Barker was even then pretty clear that he really preferred the sense of "Stability" and "Change" which came later. Second, it is very clear that the organization of the TSR EPT is largely based on the organization of OD&D, with characters and magic, followed by monsters, followed by treasure and setting material. It's not exact, but it differs from the organization of the two volumes of the "mimeo EPT" which were Prof. Barker's playtest rules.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 15, 2021 16:15:04 GMT -6
I wandered in and kibbitzed while ampleframework was doing his character generation. I’ll try tracking this game to see what happens, but my historical record at pbp games is abysmal, so I’d rather not say I was playing and then not. Please check in as much as you can. You've been quite helpful so far.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 14, 2021 20:25:36 GMT -6
That sounds awesome! Sign me up! Sounds good.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 14, 2021 16:33:38 GMT -6
I'm going to run my Classic Traveller original setting: The Shattered Stars
Campaign Description - Several hundred years ago, the Orion Commonwealth collapsed into civil war, and the Long Night fell. Since then, interstellar civilization has begun to show renewed signs of life, as exploration and trade began once again. The adventurers are from Tariner, a world colonized long ago, but only recently developed FTL flight once again. Trade, intrigue, odd jobs, rivals and mysteries await!
We'll be doing this on the Vulgar Unicorn Discord server. I have some library data and some house rules, which will be available there (and possibly here). Interested in playing? Please let me know - thanks!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 5, 2021 17:11:43 GMT -6
I had considered they may be more fully fleshed out, functional languages like Druidic, but then I imagine a Pegasus or a Unicorn trying to communicate, and the best I could imagine would be them pawing symbols into the dirt with their hoofs, or clomping in a particular pattern, like morse code. Yeah well, they talk you know…just like freaking Blink Dogs. They say…”Niiieee Heee Heeey Hoow Aaare Yooouuuu?” "Matthews! We're getting another one of those strange 'aw blah ess pan yol' sounds!"
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 5, 2021 8:00:45 GMT -6
Why did he seem to disappear from the scene? I don't know for certain, but I suspect that the failure of the Dwimmermount KS (the first big OSR KS failure) may have had something to do with it. I also suspect that Alex Macris's involvement with the political affairs of Milo Yiannopolos may have been a distraction, at the very least. But both of those things are several years ago - don't really know now!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jul 1, 2021 16:57:56 GMT -6
Yeah, just picture "plate" as basically chainmail with a breastplate (rather than a full suit of plate armor fully encasing its wearer), and 50 gp doesn't seem all that unreasonable. That's actually a neat work-around, conceptually speaking. Thank you!
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 30, 2021 18:59:24 GMT -6
I'm not skeptical that it happened - where would the KODT jokes come from if it never happened? What I'm skeptical of is that it's a problem, which is what was implied when you said "arrays and point-buy systems discourage imagination." So I'm going to have to flip this on you - you said "ham and mustard sandwiches are boring and flavorless," so you shouldn't be surprised when other people hit back with "um, actually that's my favorite kind of sandwich." As this point, it appears to me that we are in agreement with one another. There is no "best" way to do something; there are different ways of generating characters, and people can choose which one(s) they like for their own games. There's nothing wrong - in fact, a great deal right - about having a variety of methods. Where we fall into difficulty is treating these subjective preferences as if they can be objectively ranked. Perhaps it would be best if we shook hands and moved on - I would appreciate that.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 30, 2021 0:21:00 GMT -6
As mentioned, I've often played randomly rolled stats - I prefer it, personally - but always assigned as the player wishes. Unless it was an AD&D situation where it was a rare set of rolls that qualified for ranger or paladin or something, it's pretty much standard practice to pick your class before rolling, and then assign the rolls accordingly. So I've already fulfilled the letter of your challenge, though I suspect you're actually advocating for "roll stats in order, no modifications or swaps." In any case, I'm not telling you which way is best, just questioning the objection that non-random methods allow the creation of "clone" characters. I too have played with many different people and never once have I run into that behavior, I had only ever seen it as a joke in Knights of the Dinner Table comics where you'd have PCs like Knuckles VII or El Ravager III. My experience has been the exact opposite, that players will already be thinking about possible future characters, like "If this character dies I want to make a cleric next" or whatever. But honestly, I can't see any reason to begrudge someone wanting to play the same class again and again if that's what they enjoy; it really makes very little difference to me, whether as a fellow player or as the DM. In my experience, it's not just the same class, but I have encountered players (more than once) who have wanted to play essentially the same exact character. Usually, in their group, it's something of an in-joke. Truth be told, I've tended to shake my head a little and just let it go - not my character, usually not my game. But it's left me with a distinct preference for rolling up characters randomly, in order. I get it that that method isn't your preference - and as I said, that's totally cool. But it's not cool to assert - as some people have already - that arrays or point-buy is somehow the "best" method. That falls into the same category as saying "Ham and mustard sandwiches are demonstrably the best kind of sandwich" - don't be surprised if someone says, "um, well, I prefer something else." I can tell that you're skeptical about my experience, but I would hope that you would just credit it, because it is something I have seen, often enough. I can certainly credit that you haven't seen it, which probably has influenced your preferred method. But even if I hadn't seen it, I'd still hope you could acknowledge that people can have different things they like, without having to rank them. I've played several different ways, and I'm happy to go with whatever system a referee wants for their own game. (Dropped out some material that was a repeat of things I've already said.)
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 29, 2021 22:59:05 GMT -6
]Have you actually experienced that, or is that just a hypothetical fear of yours? I've never played with totally random ability scores - it's always been roll and assign as you see fit, point buy, or an array - and not once in all those years have I seen anyone remake the same character over and over again. Not even for characters that died within a couple sessions of being created. Actually, I've seen it happen quite a bit. Having played with a lot of different people and a lot of different groups, there's often that one guy who just has to play the same sort of character over and over again. Sometimes I've been lucky, and someone will have two different characters they alternate between - but those two characters. In several cases, the characters ended up having nicknames, since they were pretty clearly clones. I have to admit that I find it a little weird that some people here are so into exactly how OD&D "ought" to be played in some respects, but then balk at random rolling. But we're back to what you like and how OD&D is set up to accommodate that - I'm actually quite happy that there are so many different ways to generate characters. But which one of these methods is "best"? Answer: the one that works for you. Here's a challenge: pick your character's class before randomly rolling your stats. Might not be your immediate cuppa, but it can provide an interesting challenge. (Don't knock it unless you've given it a fair chance.)
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 29, 2021 21:43:10 GMT -6
It's been coming for awhile; none of this is really a surprise. Mind you, more than two decades past, I took one look at Magic: The Gathering and thought "but I have money-eating addictions already" and never turned a card since. Those that do play, more power to them - if they have fun with it, that is.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 29, 2021 21:40:44 GMT -6
Randomly rolling attribute scores is one of those sacred cows of OD&D that is really hard to let go of, but it is arguable the most imbalanced mechanic in the game. Point buy systems are cumbersome, not overly so, but a bit more than I want in character creation. Ultimately an array is the best system. And so you might think, but here we must part company. I find arrays and point-buy systems discourage imagination, in that they make it possible for the player to play the same character again and again, which is invidious to the creativity required by a random roll. This isn't to say that randomly rolled characters are pure virtue; I have seen the luck of dice turn out uniformly badly. But excusing those wretches and allowing the player another opportunity is better than making a counting-house of character generation. (I've clearly been reading too much Patrick O'Brian earlier this evening.) A wee bit more seriously - what you find to be lamentable is an advantage in my mind; it is perfectly acceptable that we see things differently. I do not hold to my opinion so strongly that I could not bear the thought of an array or point-buy, but I do indeed prefer the challenge of the dice roll (and I've laid my method out earlier, so that's there).
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 29, 2021 10:51:10 GMT -6
MethodsRules As Written: Roll 3d6 for each ability in order, choose class & adjust scores if possible (see below) The Bullpen: Repeat RAW several times, with the extras saved for replacement characters Arnesonian: Roll 2d6+6 for each ability in order, no adjustments Gygaxian: Roll 4d6-drop-lowest six times, assign results as desired, no adjustments Holmesian: Choose class, roll 3d6 for Prime Req. until 15+ is rolled, then 3d6 in order, may adjust Ivesian: Best 4 of 6 rolls (3d6) for Str/Int/Wis/Dex, best of two rolls for each of Con & Chr, no adj. Swansonian: As RAW, but also roll for a Swanson Ability on the table on the next page (humans only) From the Holmes Ref "Rolling Up An Adventurer" sheet. Sources explained in more detail here: zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2020/04/holmes-ref-rolling-up-adventurer.htmlThat was an interesting blog post. I've never heard of Ives or Swanson or seen the A&E zine. I can tell I am going to be spending some time at your blog. More information on Alarums & Excursions here: odd74.proboards.com/thread/11726/alarums-excursions-back-issues-discussion
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 29, 2021 6:33:48 GMT -6
An excellent discourse on the meaning and history of "OSR" as a phenomenon.
|
|
|
Post by badger2305 on Jun 20, 2021 17:46:04 GMT -6
Very rarely is it discussed for its own merits as a thing people might still be actively interested in playing. That sort of conversation might be somewhat limited to people that you would find on this board. Very few other places. The type set alone is a barrier for some. For most these are artefacts. The aesthetic of older products actually appeals to me, but we have to recognize that these older designs aren't going to sell any products in this day and age. I imagine that is some of the appeal of the clones- they can be a bridge between the old and the new without alienating either group. Raisins are a delicious snack and many start every day with a bowl full of raisin bran. Nothing wrong with that. It's their raison d'etre. I'm finding it difficult to remain au currant with this conversation....
|
|