Empire of the Petal Throne using Mythic to GM

[greentongue]

Anyone here used Mythic? Think it could be used to "moderate" a Play by Post game?

www.mythic.wordpr.com/page14/page9/page9.html

I've used it as an assistant and it works very well. Haven't tried a PbP with it yet.

(Assuming "mature" players that attempt to make a fun game not "game" the system and using
artifex0.50webs.com/GMEmulator.swf.)
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[greentongue]

If you were to start a new game of Original EPT and you had a player that never played it before but was interested after browsing the rule book, what would you start them as?

What would you use to kick off their Adventure?
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[ckutalik]

Given the previous posting would you be using Mythic as a fill in for a GM? (It would make a difference I would think in what one would suggest).

I had thought about taking those solo books from the 90s (the ones that are presumably designed to familiarize newcomers to the setting) and retro-fitting the mechanics back to OEPT. Might make for a good way to get someone into the swing of it.

[greentongue]

Well, using the GME would allow me to play along side or make the game more "Free-form" the biggest problem I have GMing is know what's going to happen. (Which quickly causes the game to lose its sparkle.)

By letting the GME guide the game, it stays fresh.
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So, then the question is, which is easier to start a OEPT game with, characters that are foreign scum or noble dilettantes? or some other?
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[ckutalik]

I've used the GME to guide a couple solo wargaming campaigns about three years ago. The results were kinda mixed, it often worked but I would find myself over-thinking certain results.

I still like the classic foreign scum start, it makes the lapses in knowledge more plausible and better gives a fun incentive to start (getting beyond the hard scrabble).

[xerxez]

I had the good fortune to run an OEPT game for several months.

I love it as a setting and am familiar enough with it to run EPT as a distinct and exotic setting.

I say that to have three players (including the GM) who grasp the difference and are willing to play within the scope of the Tsolyani culture and Tekumelani cosmology is better than more people who do not understand and or are not willing to do so. I had two players who started to get it and gave it a shot but with my other two regulars one began to get frustrated and the other was playing some other strange game in his head the whole time...he stubbornly refused to become Tsolyani--for example he simply couldn't roll with slavery even in a game setting, and slavery is a cornerstone of the world of the Petal Throne and it's social structures. So he set about trying to reform Tsolyanu...okay, whatever.

I wish I would have kept running the game with the two who tried.

Heck, it might almost be smart to grant XP or other point system for players who come to the table each week with a new Tsolyani word or who exhibit some kind of new understanding of the culture. I'm not joking here.

I think more visual aids are needed for Tekumel--even if one has to cut out and paint stock paper figures.

I don't think it works as well to simply use your normal miniatures, something is needed to convey the exotic strangeness of an alien culture and this feel is important.

Beyond this, perhaps the best way is to actually find a total noob and introduce them to roleplaying games with the setting. They don't have to un-learn a bunch of stuff.

And forget Tolkien--forget him completely when you run EPT, def go with the sword and planet feel.

[xerxez]

P.S. The "barbarians off the boat" is the best premise in my opinion.

Or, as has been suggested, transport a party of D&D characters to Tekumel via some sort of miracle or magical happenstance.

Or maybe even have them create themselvesas PC's, have a John Carter experience, and wind up on Tekumel where they find that they are stronger and off course can begin to learn combat or spellcasting....hmmm. When I try Tekumel again, I may do that.

Alternately, I recommend two scenarios offered free at the Tekumel site (though I had to create a map for one myself):

"A Matter of Honor"

Very good introductory adventure I studied but have not run yet. Pre-rolled characters, includinga Pe choi, sheds a lot of light on Tsolyani ways and the clan system, this is good if you want to start off as Clan members. Has lots of role playing, some combat, and some puzzle solving as well as a little setting exposition.

www.tekumel.com/gaming_advAMOH.html

"Welcome to Jakalla"

The off the boat introduction. Ran this adventure and it is a total BLAST! Had to create my own dungeon map but other than that it is an excellent intro. I can download the map and a couple player hand outs I used if anyone wants it. I had a veteran D&D player who has played some 25 years and he said this adventure felt like when he was a kid and played D&D the first few games.

www.tekumel.com/eoasw1_02.html
Beyond that, the Tekumel site has tons of adventures you can use.

[ckutalik]

Dec 10, 2010 3:30:36 GMT -6 xerxez said:

"Welcome to Jakalla"

The off the boat introduction. Ran this adventure and it is a total BLAST! Had to create my own dungeon map but other than that it is an excellent intro. I can download the map and a couple player hand outs I used if anyone wants it. I had a veteran D&D player who has played some 25 years and he said this adventure felt like when he was a kid and played D&D the first few games.

www.tekumel.com/eoasw1_02.html

Just read this, thanks for sharing the link. It feels a little railroady in places, but what a great, evocative introduction to the setting. I like the bit he throws in there about staging an actual dinner for roleplaying the meeting with the patron.

Also very clever to make the barbarian PCs members of a more egalitarian, monotheistic culture, a good way to have them start off in a place more familiar to a modern player and then move into the more alien wonders of the setting.