How EPT is actually a unique type of RPG

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I did a blog post about EPT. It is my long time favorite go to setting having played it extensively with home rules back in the day.

But I really want to point out how it is uniquely different from Grey Hawk and Blackmoor, as the main focus is exploring the setting, thus making it a scholars game.


www.secretsofblackmoor.com/blog/the-scholars-game-empire-of-the-petal-throne

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I always felt that EPT's rule where new characters are considered to be barbarians from the south (or something like that) was made that way in order to acclimate the players to the gameworld. Barker, from his comments on Charisma, seems to have preferred first person roleplaying (where the players view the character as an extension of themselves) over third person roleplay (where the player views his character as a separate and distinct personality). So, he's treating the players as newcomers to the game world through their character's identical status.

But it also why there's only a handful of people alive today that could actually run a Tekumel game.

[Finarvyn]

One thing really resonated to me when I read this blog entry.

I'm not sure that I would classify EPT as a "science fiction" game any more than ERB's Barsoom is science fiction. In both cases the emphasis is on the fantasy element and the science is in the background. Probably splitting hairs, though, and possibly biased by the fact that I played in an EPT campaign in the 1970's and had no thought that it was SciFi. Star Wars was SciFi, Tolkien was Fantasy, EPT seemed a lot more like Tolkien than Star Wars to me.

Just my two coppers.

It's an excellent blog entry overall, however, and demonstrates to me that you understand Tekumel a lot more than I do. The unusual cultures (for me, that is, since I tend to think Western culture naturally) and the linguistics always throw me. The names that Barker uses tend to make my brain hurt. For all that, I still have my copy of the EPT boxed set in my den.

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More importantly -- speaking as one of Phil's original EPT group -- it didn't PLAY like science fiction.

[Finarvyn]

Nov 27, 2018 12:34:40 GMT -6 @gronanofsimmerya said:

More importantly -- speaking as one of Phil's original EPT group -- it didn't PLAY like science fiction.

This says a lot to me. I've seen the debates about METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA versus TRAVELLER as being the "first" scifi game and it's clear that Traveller plays like scifi, but MA is harder to quantify. MA is in a starship (scifi) and has a lot of robots (scifi) and futuristic weapons (scifi) but often mutants with swords or spears (fantasy). MA feels like scifi to me, but I can see where others might have a different experience. I count MA as scifi, so it's first in my mind even though Traveller might be "more scifi" than MA. EPT feels like fantasy, in my experience, so I have a hard time thinking of it as scifi. The Shannara books feel like fantasy as well, even though there is an underlying post-apocalyptic vibe to it. D&D mentions androids, too, and I don't think of it as a scifi RPG.

Beyond a certain point this discussion becomes one of nit-picking and doesn't actually settle anything, but it is entertaining to think about.

[Deleted]

It's always amusing to watch gamers talk about this or that game being X genre, or Y genre. When I was a kid I would go to big sci fi cons. Late at night they would show movies. One of the Sci Fi films was Lords of The Flies. Well, I asked about that, and was told it is Sci Fi because of the one reference to a future date.

In the case of EPT, the future is laid out as the past in the entire background section. Then you look at the eyes and all the other "Ancient devices." Oh, and subway trains between the cities underworlds. But yeah, Fantasy-- not SCI FI!

he he he I think we're all using different rulers to measure this with.

Me, I call it: future post apocalyptic planet bound techno destructo anthropomorphic woodligarblschnank, or FPAPBTDAW! And that my friends, falls fully within Sci Fi, but it is hard to say.

[Malcadon]

One of the biggest draws for me is the way the setting subverts many of the western culture ideals that casually forms other fantasies that happens in an unintentional way. Even with something like Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age that strides for that exotic "Orientalism" flavor, it was strongly tied to Howard's own contemporary understanding and modern sensibilities. As a product of his anthropological shortcomings, his setting suffers from a lots of crude ethnic stereotypes (his own personal views did not help much ether). Don't get me wrong, his stories are amazing, but his world was made to be exotic and easy for the readers to jump into, but when you actually role-play in it long enough, you quickly discover how shallow the pool is.

I like to call Tekemul "Anthropologist Porn" for how rich the setting is, and I like to call such a rich type of fantasy as "The Deep End (of the Pool)." It is a world rich in with its own history, its own culture, its own ideals, its own spiritual outlook, and so on and so forth. Its people go about things in their own way that are far removed from what we are used to, and in ways most of us seldom consider. Due to this, it is hard for most people to get into. People treat fantasy as a snack and often do not consider you can also enjoy being a fantasy epicure. I find it comforting to to find an escape form bland escapist fantasy. I bath in its waters and absorb it like a sponge.

It goes without saying that Baker did have a strong cosmopolitan outlook on life, being quite fluid when dealing with new people. As much as he loved the ancient Egyptian culture, he was never an annoying weeaboo about it, recognize all its strengths and shortcomings. Same with the places he explored, and the religion he embraced. Unfortunately, it feels like a rare characteristic in our world (even in this modern age, made smaller by the advent of the internet). Few people could pull off such a setting. He had that magic. For it, Tekemul is truly a beautiful and underrated gem.

*pours one out*