So my rarely happening but darn it we're trying game had another session!  And it's led to something I want to call on you all here for ideas about.

Short story:  PCs prepped, got into the Underworld (We did have one player ask to change characters.  Mostly because his overly social character wasn't clicking and was a lot more vulnerable in the now much smaller group, so he now plays a Ksarul Priest).  After running into a Nakome Beggar colony that was terrified and huddled in misery for some reason.  they found a nice little passage to crawl into, and I decided to use the random encounter table in Bethorm... and prompty rolled 100.  Something special it is!

They fell through a weak floor into what was seriously the BROOM closet for a janitor of a tubeway station.  Didn't recognize the mysterious "waist high or so device with a rope out of the back and wider tubes on it" (Vacuum cleaner!).  Found a tiny letter opener knife.  Then ran into the caretaker, and android that didn't speak their tongue.

It was super helpful though, I used a horrid mishmash of my language knowledge to have it do something like a language asking where to go.  Listing off locations in old tongues.  they were getting it.  Then one said "Can you make it brighter?"  And I decided to roll with it.  "Braitaar cha bu braitaar?"  they chose Braitaar - I was doing a Mandarin style "This or not this" question.  Tubeway sphere appears.  One of the PCs gets all excited "That's one of those neat things Uncle Khivasha always talks about!  Yay!" and charges on in.  Another is nearly as excited.  The third groans in frustration and follows reluctantly.

This is where my question comes in.  Any good suggestions for where the Tube is gonna take them?  Ideally something (If Gronan or Chirine!  Or anyone else) that would sound like Braitaar in the old tongues.

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;966651But, surely, that's only true in stable periods, no? I'm thinking of the Tsolyani civil war here which unleashed quite a bit of chaos all around the country for a little while. Living dead legionnaires invaded the Golden Tower at one point. At least one heir to the throne was dispatched to the Isles, etc. Those events can't be good for any bureaucracy, even one as large and old and set-in-its-ways as the Tsolyani one, no?

Even in chaotic times I think self serving interests would be paramount. Although I'm sure that a particular candidate might be more appealing, I would think that they would go with the flow, so to speak. Not overtly supporting one candidate or another until they were certain on which side their bread would be buttered. Once a clear victor emerged then they would probably be very enthusiastic indeed! In the meanwhile, they would keep their heads down and do their duty to the Petal Throne itself, and not to any one contender.

Quote from: Dulahan;966704Any good suggestions for where the Tube is gonna take them?

Ssu or Shunned Ones enclaves are always good for a laugh.

I've been thinking of having the PCs go "down" into the core of the planet, where they'll encounter Tinalya "tinkerers" (think Motie watchmakers/engineers) who, in their quest to "keep things working properly", are maintaining the world engines. The Tinalya will probably have some sort of robot to chase off the interlopers. "Pay no attention to that Tinalya behind the curtain..."

Blaise

Quote from: bconsidine;966717I've been thinking of having the PCs go "down" into the core of the planet, where they'll encounter Tinalya "tinkerers" (think Motie watchmakers/engineers) who, in their quest to "keep things working properly", are maintaining the world engines. The Tinalya will probably have some sort of robot to chase off the interlopers. "Pay no attention to that Tinalya behind the curtain..."

Blaise

Are you ready for "What's the worst that could happen?"
=

Quote from: Greentongue;966755Are you ready for "What's the worst that could happen?"
=

Based on how (overly) cautious my (currently one person) group is, I doubt major mischief will occur. But if so, we'll be starting over on a new branch of the Tree of Time.  We'll get there when we get there.

Right now, he and his stack of adventurers (since he runs all surviving PCs from my departed players) are attempting to infiltrate Hmakuyal in an attempt to rescue a child psychic prodigy kidnapped by Ksarul fanatics. Attempts by the clan (Sky Blue Water--yes I was drinking Hamm's back in the day when it first evolved) to get its patron Temple, Thumis, to negotiate with the Temple of Ksarul have stalled out.

Blaise

Quote from: Hrugga;966689Interesting. Any examples of this during your campagins that stand out (between The Glorious General and Lord Chirine)? I think Uncle mentions something similar in TSTPT...

H:0)

General Korunme and Chirine are both Imperialists politically speaking.

Actually, a lot of friction with Mirusiya's "New Men" was that they wanted to play inside the unwritten system, and we didn't.  They joined the army to advance through patronage and sycophancy, and we joined the army to serve the Empire and prosecute the war against the Yan Koryani.

Quote from: Greentongue;966554I was thinking there might be more energetic purges and/or restoring to glory as the politic winds blew in the other direction.

How long had you been playing before this sort of thing even became noticeable?
Would it effect the average player character?
=

Yes. at the top of the heap; lower down, the change in regime is hardly noticed; the signature block at the bottom of the document will be different, but a lot of the people in power will not. Probably the top officials of the Four Palaces in Bey Sy, and some of the important city and provincial governors, but the vast majority of office-holders, place-servers, file clerks, and scribes will not. Too many entrenched interests in the Temples and calns to leave room for really major changes.

About a month, with Phil; we were hip-deep in Imperial politics right from the start.

No, I suspect not.

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;966651But, surely, that's only true in stable periods, no? I'm thinking of the Tsolyani civil war here which unleashed quite a bit of chaos all around the country for a little while. Living dead legionnaires invaded the Golden Tower at one point. At least one heir to the throne was dispatched to the Isles, etc. Those events can't be good for any bureaucracy, even one as large and old and set-in-its-ways as the Tsolyani one, no?

Agreed; the late civil war nearly wrecked the Seal Imperium, and it will take at least a generation to recover from all the damage.

No, it wasn't good at all for the various Imperial Princes and Princesses, or for their loyal supporters. However, as I point out in my book (Six, when we get the official news about Hirkane's death) there is a living entity 'The Imperium' which has been around for the past 2,300 years and is likely to be around for another couple of thousand. The individual scribes, clerks, messengers and other low- to medium-level officials come and go throughout their lives, but they will be replaced as they age and (hopefully!) retire from Imperial Service. Yes, there were a lot of localized disruptions during the late unpleasantness, but the majority of the corporate body of The Imperium survived and is recovering from the injuries to it's components.

Remember this about Tekumel: Take a long term viewpoint.

I am, myself, a very small part of that entity. And I take a very long term point of view, as you commented on when you were reading TSTPT.

"We will break them in this generation; it will take them several more to recover."

Quote from: Hrugga;966689Interesting. Any examples of this during your campagins that stand out (between The Glorious General and Lord Chirine)? I think Uncle mentions something similar in TSTPT...

H:0)

Yes; which was why I was always formal with the General in public, and kept the informal for the private. Better for legion discipline, and better for friendship.

Quote from: Dulahan;966704So my rarely happening but darn it we're trying game had another session!  And it's led to something I want to call on you all here for ideas about.

Short story:  PCs prepped, got into the Underworld (We did have one player ask to change characters.  Mostly because his overly social character wasn't clicking and was a lot more vulnerable in the now much smaller group, so he now plays a Ksarul Priest).  After running into a Nakome Beggar colony that was terrified and huddled in misery for some reason.  they found a nice little passage to crawl into, and I decided to use the random encounter table in Bethorm... and prompty rolled 100.  Something special it is!

They fell through a weak floor into what was seriously the BROOM closet for a janitor of a tubeway station.  Didn't recognize the mysterious "waist high or so device with a rope out of the back and wider tubes on it" (Vacuum cleaner!).  Found a tiny letter opener knife.  Then ran into the caretaker, and android that didn't speak their tongue.

It was super helpful though, I used a horrid mishmash of my language knowledge to have it do something like a language asking where to go.  Listing off locations in old tongues.  they were getting it.  Then one said "Can you make it brighter?"  And I decided to roll with it.  "Braitaar cha bu braitaar?"  they chose Braitaar - I was doing a Mandarin style "This or not this" question.  Tubeway sphere appears.  One of the PCs gets all excited "That's one of those neat things Uncle Khivasha always talks about!  Yay!" and charges on in.  Another is nearly as excited.  The third groans in frustration and follows reluctantly.

This is where my question comes in.  Any good suggestions for where the Tube is gonna take them?  Ideally something (If Gronan or Chirine!  Or anyone else) that would sound like Braitaar in the old tongues.

Wonderful stuff, this!!! Keep it up, and please keep us posted!

Quote from: Shemek hiTankolel;966706Even in chaotic times I think self serving interests would be paramount. Although I'm sure that a particular candidate might be more appealing, I would think that they would go with the flow, so to speak. Not overtly supporting one candidate or another until they were certain on which side their bread would be buttered. Once a clear victor emerged then they would probably be very enthusiastic indeed! In the meanwhile, they would keep their heads down and do their duty to the Petal Throne itself, and not to any one contender.

Oh, agreed! You've sat through a lot of staff meetings, haven't you?

Quote from: bconsidine;966717Ssu or Shunned Ones enclaves are always good for a laugh.

I've been thinking of having the PCs go "down" into the core of the planet, where they'll encounter Tinalya "tinkerers" (think Motie watchmakers/engineers) who, in their quest to "keep things working properly", are maintaining the world engines. The Tinalya will probably have some sort of robot to chase off the interlopers. "Pay no attention to that Tinalya behind the curtain..."

Blaise

They'll get this if they're lucky. (A sadist of a GM would have them dealing with the separate AIs that run the tubeway system and the gravity engines - and all of their Ru'un and Yeleth servitors. And don't forget the tube worms, who dig the tunnels!)

The little folk have always been very secretive about how much they really know about ancient technology. Have the survivors report back, and I'll be interested in hearing what they find out.

Happy to chip in for funerals, too; I can get you a discount at any Temple of Vimuhla...

Quote from: Greentongue;966755Are you ready for "What's the worst that could happen?"
=

See previous reply.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;966974Yes. at the top of the heap; lower down, the change in regime is hardly noticed; the signature block at the bottom of the document will be different, but a lot of the people in power will not. Probably the top officials of the Four Palaces in Bey Sy, and some of the important city and provincial governors, but the vast majority of office-holders, place-servers, file clerks, and scribes will not. Too many entrenched interests in the Temples and calns to leave room for really major changes.

Funny enough, Uncle, we can use a recent example here and say that even if a new Emperor asks the boss of OAL to resign, the field agents and their handlers remain the same. And if he was well-liked, they might not like the change, and he might be well-advised not to try and give them a speech to lift their spirits, at least in the next months:).

Granted, this might not translate to nothing more than them being more willing to take a gift, or simply to take some rest instead of working overtime, but when enough people do that, the consequences might be far-reaching;).

Quote from: bconsidine;966760Based on how (overly) cautious my (currently one person) group is, I doubt major mischief will occur. But if so, we'll be starting over on a new branch of the Tree of Time.  We'll get there when we get there.

Right now, he and his stack of adventurers (since he runs all surviving PCs from my departed players) are attempting to infiltrate Hmakuyal in an attempt to rescue a child psychic prodigy kidnapped by Ksarul fanatics. Attempts by the clan (Sky Blue Water--yes I was drinking Hamm's back in the day when it first evolved) to get its patron Temple, Thumis, to negotiate with the Temple of Ksarul have stalled out.

Blaise

Oh, this will work out well... :rolleyes: