tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post2015163356855108638..comments2024-03-09T19:23:22.482-03:00Comments on The RPGPundit: Arrows of Indra: Understanding ClanRPGPundithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-46779709082685128362014-10-28T11:28:18.441-03:002014-10-28T11:28:18.441-03:00Well, you're welcome; it's been a nasty tr...Well, you're welcome; it's been a nasty trend over the years, and I felt that I was bashing my head against a brick wall in trying to change it. There's a few - a very few! - of out there; if I had a dime for every person who's discovered Tekumel over the years and contacted me with "I wish I'd met you first - you make Tekumel fun!", I'd be long retired.<br /><br />Sigh. You would not believe the nasty letters and e-mails Phil would get from 'fans' telling him that "he was doing it all wrong". (!)<br /><br />- chirinechirine ba kalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15089801259918671141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-19689609942557589702014-10-26T23:11:33.188-03:002014-10-26T23:11:33.188-03:00Thanks for that. It's a pleasure to meet a Tek...Thanks for that. It's a pleasure to meet a Tekumel fan who acknowledges this, particularly one who has credentials of having played with its creator.RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-7462756187940267562014-10-26T23:10:15.289-03:002014-10-26T23:10:15.289-03:00Awesome!Awesome!RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-66505262517581497332014-10-26T22:35:30.716-03:002014-10-26T22:35:30.716-03:00I got my copy of AoI this morning, and I'm lik...I got my copy of AoI this morning, and I'm liking what I see; I'll have more on this tomorrow, most likely. I am also still slogging through the 240 pages of the new "Bethorm", too.<br /><br />I agree with you on your observations; I ran into this issue as far back as when I was working for Dave Arneson as the 'Vice President for Tekumel Affairs' at his company, Adventure Games. I am in the very small minority of 'populist', 'open-architecture' Tekumel fans; most of 'mainstream' Tekumel fandom is not, and I think that Tekumel as a world-setting has suffered greatly as a result.<br /><br />Phil was certainly amazing, but you have much better taste in tobacco then he did. :)<br /><br />- chirinechirine ba kalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15089801259918671141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-28858839834622033112014-10-26T16:03:24.069-03:002014-10-26T16:03:24.069-03:00Plus it inspired me to read the Mahabharata and Ra...Plus it inspired me to read the Mahabharata and Ramayana. So there are added benefits to making a game accessible to one with very little prior knowledge of the setting.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-25160734103793857562014-10-25T12:38:58.678-03:002014-10-25T12:38:58.678-03:00Thanks!Thanks!RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-25513130439427818452014-10-25T12:32:45.289-03:002014-10-25T12:32:45.289-03:00That's quite the statement. I had heard that ...That's quite the statement. I had heard that someone has recently published yet another Tekumel RPG, and I am assuming that the new edition is not going to be OSR, which one would think of as a colossal mis-step if it wasn't for the fact that it's likely pre-meditated. For all their talk, most Tekumel fans WANT their setting to be obscure and under-appreciated, so that:<br />a) they can complain about that<br />b) they can feel like part of a special exclusive club of the people who 'get it'<br />c) they can feel superior<br /><br />Its fucking sad. But seriously, if the new Tekumel rules aren't OSR, then this pretty much proves that the Tekumal hardcore have no interest in appealing to a wider audience. <br /><br />I certainly appreciate what you say. I'm sure Barker himself was an amazing dude, given the scope of what he created. I'm sure he and I could have had a lot of things to talk about.RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-19604850453543147792014-10-25T11:28:02.300-03:002014-10-25T11:28:02.300-03:00Everytime I see AoI I read it as AOL.
Great post,...Everytime I see AoI I read it as AOL.<br /><br />Great post, excellent game.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-82226434846148291292014-10-25T00:43:07.593-03:002014-10-25T00:43:07.593-03:00"tekumel is presented in its published versio..."tekumel is presented in its published versions is intentionally over-complicated to appeal to anthro- or linguistic- fanboys"<br />I resemble that remark.<br />Also, see Glorantha: The Comparative Mythology Roleplaying Game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-68023272140837479012014-10-24T21:50:22.740-03:002014-10-24T21:50:22.740-03:00Right; understood. Try not to have the vapors over...Right; understood. Try not to have the vapors over this, but speaking as one of the Professor's long-time gamers and Chief Fanboi, I agree with you entirely. The multitude of published Tekumel RPGs, with the probable exception of EPT itself, do not give anybody a good basic introduction to Tekumel - and they certainly do not reflect the Professor's own style of play. Phil was very much a story-teller; we, as players, had very free agency in the games, but we always knew that there was an over-arcing 'meta-game' / 'story arc' going on inside Phil's head. He's started writing his novel's in the 1950s, and I think that's where he always really wanted to be - a writer, not a gamesmaster.<br /><br />And, yes, I do agree with you about quite a few of Tekumel's fans; I am not considered a 'mainstream Tekumel fan' by quite a few of them. Our rules-lite / setting heavy play style back in our day is just too alien for them. We had a lot of fun doing dungeon crawls - Phil was diabolical! - as well as all sorts of ERB-esque adventures.<br /><br />Sit down, fasten your safety belt, be brave, and break out the smelling salts - AoI may be the best set of rules for Tekumel, as I think it may be the best yet reflection of how Phil actually played in his game sessions... :)<br /><br />Seriously. I'm looking forward to getting a copy.<br /><br />- chirinechirine ba kalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15089801259918671141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-13542018688874358002014-10-24T15:23:41.069-03:002014-10-24T15:23:41.069-03:00But thank you for the compliment in complementary ...But thank you for the compliment in complementary comparison; and I trust you will enjoy the game.RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-28544823715710938132014-10-24T15:22:44.453-03:002014-10-24T15:22:44.453-03:00I didn't say I couldn't get my head around...I didn't say I couldn't get my head around tekumel; I said that the way tekumel is presented in its published versions is intentionally over-complicated to appeal to anthro- or linguistic- fanboys and dissuade mere dungeon crawlers. Which to me is a shitty and Swinish attitude. Tekumel fans talk big talk about wanting the setting to appeal to everyone, but instead they go out of their way to make it hard to get into, so that they can feel smarter than the "great unwashed" for liking their "unappreciated" setting.<br /><br />Anyways, of course AoI has a certain resemblance to the Tekumel setting, because Barker borrowed a lot of stuff from Epic India, the same source I used for AoI. However, I tried as much as humanly possible to make AoI totally accessible to a standard D&D-fan who has no prior knowledge of indian myth, culture, anthropology, or linguistics, and who doesn't want to bother with those things and just have a cool place to adventure in. That was the goal.RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-62620538687106498452014-10-24T14:05:38.624-03:002014-10-24T14:05:38.624-03:00Wonderful post! And you say you can't get your...Wonderful post! And you say you can't get your head around Tekumel? You sound just like Phil used to when he described how clans worked in his world-setting. :)<br /><br />Excellent comments - I'll be getting a copy of the game, based on your observations.<br /><br />- chirinechirine ba kalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15089801259918671141noreply@blogger.com