Quote from: Greentongue;953035From what I can tell, above ground, the "messes" are sorted out with tact and civility.
Below ground, and in our "Real World" far less civility is used.

I guess that is part of the "problem" we need to do social interactions via rules in Tekumel as maybe we have mostly forgotten/discarded now in "Real Life".
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Good point. I can think of a number of instances where simple civility and politeness would have avoided a nasty situation - both in-game and in real life.

(It's like the kinda surprised and shocked reaction I got when I asked the proprietors of this forum if I could add a link to my 'Chirine' cards. Okay. I guess I'm just too old-fashioned or something.)

Quote from: Greentongue;953035From what I can tell, above ground, the "messes" are sorted out with tact and civility.
Below ground, and in our "Real World" far less civility is used.

I guess that is part of the "problem" we need to do social interactions via rules in Tekumel as maybe we have mostly forgotten/discarded now in "Real Life".
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Exactly what makes Tékumel so awesome! Also it is much more fun to skillfully disgrace or discredit your Tsolyánu foe/clan than actually harm him/her/them. If we abided by the social tenets used in Tékumel this would be a much more civilized country than it presently is.

Quote from: GameDaddy;953165Exactly what makes Tékumel so awesome! Also it is much more fun to skillfully disgrace or discredit your Tsolyánu foe/clan than actually harm him/her/them. If we abided by the social tenets used in Tékumel this would be a much more civilized country than it presently is.

This is where I circle back to my previous point. While this is said to to important, the rules don't give a framework or structure for doing it.
I understand that like in OD&D, the GM provided this and not the written rules. For it to work, everyone has to have a common assumed context.
There is no requirement for it based on the original published rules.
It could just as easily be a planet in the "Flash Gordon" universe.
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Quote from: Greentongue;953216This is where I circle back to my previous point. While this is said to to important, the rules don't give a framework or structure for doing it.
I understand that like in OD&D, the GM provided this and not the written rules. For it to work, everyone has to have a common assumed context.
There is no requirement for it based on the original published rules.
It could just as easily be a planet in the "Flash Gordon" universe.
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Point understood. I think what we're looking at is the way some people back in the very early days of RPGs assumed how the games would be played. Arneson's Blackmoor games had this same issue; I don't know if Gary's Greyhawk games did at that time, so this may be an artifact of what's been called 'the Twin Cities' play style. Given that the original D&D has some of the same issues with not codifying social interactions, it could be said that both games assumed that the GM and players would have this shared assumptions; as you mention, and has been documented in "Playing at the World" (amongst others), that what we're looking at is a larger group of people here in the upper Midwest in the mid-1970s who all had many of the same contextual assumptions stemming from their board gaming, miniatures gaming, and PbM gaming.

And yes, Tekumel could very well be a planet in the 'Flash Gordon' universe, just as Barsoom and Arisia are worlds in the Tekumel universe that Phil took us to.

Which have you found to be the better choice?
Leaving an ancient item alone or trying to use it where you are?
What about if you have nothing with you that you know can overcome an opponent you are confronted by?
Is it worth taking a risk on the unknown powers of a found item?
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Quote from: Greentongue;953408Which have you found to be the better choice?
Leaving an ancient item alone or trying to use it where you are?
What about if you have nothing with you that you know can overcome an opponent you are confronted by?
Is it worth taking a risk on the unknown powers of a found item?
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Well, normally we'd take the item with us, and test it out in the open where it would - hopefully! - do as little harm as possible to the surroundings. If, on the other hand, we were faced with a nasty situation like what you describe, we'd try the thing - nothing ventured, nothing gained, as Gronan would say - especially as we had nothing to lose. So, in that kind of situation, yes; sometimes taking a risk meant we'd survive the latest Dire Peril.

And then you get maniac button-pushers like Harchar and Origo (Turshanmu's nephew, for goodness' sake - you'd have thought he'd known better!), who'd just have to try the thing out right now. Which Phil was always hoping for, as mayhem would ensue.

So you never felt that things were "rigged to go wrong"?
In your experience, did found items generally do things that were harmful to the person activating them or just things that were unexpected?
Any good examples?
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Chirine,

Some questions on geography.
What is the name of the river that Thraya and Sokatis are located on?
Is the Forest of Gilraya, specifically Kerunan (near Sokatis) a wild and "unknown area," or have people settled in there, in large numbers, and started to log, build, etc?  

Shemek.

Quote from: Greentongue;953453So you never felt that things were "rigged to go wrong"?
In your experience, did found items generally do things that were harmful to the person activating them or just things that were unexpected?
Any good examples?
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No. The devices did what the devices did; Phil was, as Gronan has remarked about our play style, quite honest about things like this. He had a clear idea of what the thing was supposed to do, and it was up to us to figure out how it worked. Things were rarely harmful, unless one was stupid, but the vast majority of ancient devices did very unexpected things - to us, anyway, as we usually had no idea what they were supposed to be in the first place. Phil got a lot of laughs out of watching us try to figure out what an ordinary household device from the 1930s 'Art Deco Streamline Moderne' era did. (The Minneapolis Art Institute has a lot of these things on display, by the way, and photos are on-line.)

Two come instantly to mind; the clothing steamer and the set of grease cups that you separate by pulling a ring on the spherical package. Hilarity ensued, but the Ssu Gronan used these on were simply annoyed.

Quote from: Shemek hiTankolel;953486Chirine,

Some questions on geography.
What is the name of the river that Thraya and Sokatis are located on?
Is the Forest of Gilraya, specifically Kerunan (near Sokatis) a wild and "unknown area," or have people settled in there, in large numbers, and started to log, build, etc?  

Shemek.

If the name is not on the map, I think it's in the taped interview Phil did on the city. I'll have a listen - it's about three hours long - and get back to you.

Yes, but not on a permanent basis. This is a very hotly disputed frontier zone, and both the Tsolyani and Salarvyani want to control the area. The locals, on both sides of the border, tend to have their own opinions about the benefits of central government and tend to do what they please - but in such a way so they don't get caught.

For an example of how this works, may I suggest George MacDonald Frasier's "The Steel Bonnets"?

Mustn't steam the wrinkles out of a ssu, no... ;-)

Quote from: Baron;953526Mustn't steam the wrinkles out of a ssu, no... ;-)

Precisely. The net result was a very well-pressed, very damp, and very annoyed Grey Ssu. Phil was laughing about it for years.

Greetings Uncle,

Two quick questions, how xenophobic are the Tsolyani? I inderstand foreigners are able to make their way into Tsolyani society(The Glorious General being a good example). How do the natives feel about this? Do they have a Roman like view about becoming a citizen?

Also how much of a direct interest would the Emperor take in the goings on in the far away places of the Empire(let's say as long as the revenue always coming in)?

Thank you,

H:0)

Quote from: chirine ba kal;953525If the name is not on the map, I think it's in the taped interview Phil did on the city. I'll have a listen - it's about three hours long - and get back to you.

Yes, but not on a permanent basis. This is a very hotly disputed frontier zone, and both the Tsolyani and Salarvyani want to control the area. The locals, on both sides of the border, tend to have their own opinions about the benefits of central government and tend to do what they please - but in such a way so they don't get caught.

For an example of how this works, may I suggest George MacDonald Frasier's "The Steel Bonnets"?

Great stuff Chirine. For some reason only the Missuma is labeled on the maps. I know that the river where Hekelu is located is the Kanayugara (Phil talks about it in the Blue Room), but all of the rest are absent on my maps.

This sounds like a traditional "d&d type setting," and probably a good alternative to the off the boat approach to gaming on Tekumel. These types of areas tend to be less concerned with societal niceties and formalities, and such. A good place to learn the ropes before going into wider "civilized" society.

I'll have to look this book up. Thanks for the recommendation.

Shemek.

Quote from: Hrugga;953544Greetings Uncle,

Two quick questions, how xenophobic are the Tsolyani? I inderstand foreigners are able to make their way into Tsolyani society(The Glorious General being a good example). How do the natives feel about this? Do they have a Roman like view about becoming a citizen?

Also how much of a direct interest would the Emperor take in the goings on in the far away places of the Empire(let's say as long as the revenue always coming in)?

Thank you,

H:0)

They don't exactly love anybody from 'anywhere else', and tend to shun them socially, but once you have an 'in' with somebody local you are a lot more acceptable. I found the same attitude in the UK, where my friends in Wiltshire were viewed with deep misgivings by the people just up the road in Gloucestershire. And both viewed the strangers in Yorkshire with the same deep misgivings - in fairness, the residents of the four 'ridings' of Yorkshire regard each other the same way. I'd always introduce myself to anyone I met with a casual reference to my local friends or to steam railways, thus making myself a part of the local culture, and things would be fine.

Tsolyanu is the same way; 'not from here' is the way people get looked at, unless and until one develops local connections and puts down some roots. In short, it's a lot like gaming groups on a forum, in a shop, or at a convention.

Not a lot, unless somebody was complaining. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the Imperium tends to keep a hands off policy unless there's trouble afoot. At which point, they send in the player-characters, and mayhem ensues.