Quote from: The Butcher;920720Once again, the Foundation shoots itself in the foot. Unless if course they mean to keep Tékumel obscure.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;920773Honestly, I think it's more that they believe that the intellectual property of Tekumel is worth way more than it actually is.

Depends on whos got the reigns. It seems that again and again in media we end up with someone in control of an IP who is really its worst enemy in disguise, despises the IP and seemingly only got the position so they could bury it.

If they are overvaluing the IP, and that is also fairly common, then dont expect a change until the current loons die and are replaced with someone sane. If ever.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;920947Sure, you could do that.

But what made Tekumel FUN was that it WASN'T about that.  Once Phil dropped the whole "barbarian on a boat" thing and started players as young members of a medium-status clan is when things got fun.  Adventuring in the City of the Dead under Jakalla was just like any other dungeon crawl; fun, sure, but still a dungeon crawl.  We ALL had our own custom monsters.

But once we started actually interacting with the society is when it became fun in a unique way.  It was the exact opposite from the mostly Hollywood-feudal society of D&D; it was more like Hollywood Egypt/Rome/India/Aztecs.  It was a Hollywood EMPIRE and that's what made it different and fun.

I can be All Conqueror of Foes Cheese in almost any fantasy game.  Tekumel's appeal was that it was something different.

Thats the feel I got too from Adventures. With the added options of lots of non-combat things to delve into if you were so inclined. Id have liked to have seen the merchanting and scholarly sides fleshed out more. But whats there gives you some insights into the place.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;921113This reminds me of when you watch those cooking shows and the chef spends 30 minutes doing 50 steps with 12 different pots and pans and 15 obscure ingredients and says, "See? It's really simple!" Yes, for a professional it is.

What it comes down to is that nobody is going to do months of study just to play a game once a week. There are good reasons for Tekumel's obscurity, just as there are good reasons Rolemaster was less popular than D&D, and GURPS4e is less popular than GURPS1e.

Except you dont need months of study to play Tekumel.

It all sounds very stultifying.

Quote from: Omega;921123Except you dont need months of study to play Tekumel.

Then why does nobody play it?

Quote from: Shemek hiTankolel;921118So, is he not allowed to express an opinion in this thread, particularly when asked a direct question oh great arbiter of all things Tekumel?

I don't know, it just seemed overly long and tediously pedantic. Kind of the same reason many people avoid EPT. BTW, is Shemek your Babylonian name?

Quote from: Shemek hiTankolel;921118So, is he not allowed to express an opinion in this thread, particularly when asked a direct question oh great arbiter of all things Tekumel?

Ignore the crybaby  trolls and their tantrums. carry on as if free speech is the norm in this forum. Some tools think they're still posting in TBP.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;921139Then why does nobody play it?

Do you have a point about the subject of the thread, or are you just here to shit on people's fun?

Quote from: yosemitemike;921135It all sounds very stultifying.

What's stultifying about Anthony and Cleopatra by Cecil B. DeMille?

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;921151What's stultifying about Anthony and Cleopatra by Cecil B. DeMille?

What does watching a movie have to do with anything?

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;921139Then why does nobody play it?

Are you trying out for the next village idiot position?

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;921139Then why does nobody play it?

It's a fair question, but the context needs to be considered regarding how much of RPG audience exists outside of D&D / Pathfinder D&D / OSR D&D / White Wolf who are playing all the rest of the stuff on the market. Perhaps EPT is best seen as a D&D setting, and thus compared to the number of people still playing Dark Sun or Planescape.

I do, but even most D&Ders have never played either setting.

The lack of success of other games is not in itself an explanation for ept's lack of success. Nor is "it's not D&D, which is what everyone plays." Why does everyone play D&D? Why did fewer people play D&D4e than 3.5? Why fewer playing 3.5 than once played AD&D1e? Why is GURPS4e played less than GURPS1e? Why did more people play Twilight 2000 than Aftermath? Why was Rolemaster more popular than merp? Why was Mongoose Traveller more successful than Traveller 5e?

There are reasons some games succeed and others fail. There are reasons some games nobody played are forgotten, and some nobody played are much admired anyway, like ept.

Anyone who wishes to make a new edition or clone of these old games, or even wants to get a group together, has to face these questions and answer them without looking at things through the fanboy filter of "they just don't appreciate the genius!"

Apologies for "sounding pedantic". That really wasn't the intent.
I happen to love the world. I happen to be having a very good time with. And the world has rekindled my enjoyment of RPGs. I was merely interested in sharing some of my enthusiasm with the person who asked me for tips. Isn't that the idea behind this thread?

We can all agree that Tekumel is not for everybody. But that's also true of any other game world. If doesn't rock your boat, well, just play something else and have a good time doing it.

Peace.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;921139Then why does nobody play it?

I think the explanation is fairly obvious.  It's over 40 years old and hasn't really been in the public eye for decades.  It's well known here but most gamers are probably only vaguely aware of it as an early RPG if they have heard of it at all.  When was the last time it was on store shelves?  11 years ago?  I don't remember ever even seeing that version in a store.  Many gamers have probably never even seen a copy of any edition.  It's available in PDF format but you have to hunt it down.  People are not going to go out of their way to hunt down something they are only vaguely aware of or have never heard of.  It's much admired in some circles, like this site, but is probably largely forgotten outside of those circles.  People haven't heard of it or are only vaguely aware of it as an early RPG that they probably think is long defunct.  It has been effectively defunct for long stretches including the last decade or so.