These messages are the accumulation of the messages that were sent out on the Blue Room email list between May 1995 and June 2000. A large portion of the information is directly from Professor M.A.R Barker. When the list members joined during the time the list was active, they agreed to refrain from sharing this data with non list members. When the list ended, it was urged that the data be made available to non-list Tekumel fans, and it seemed like a good idea all around. I only ask that if you download these digests, or have received them in some other way, please respect the agreements the list members made, and refrain from passing them around and instead point people to the Tekumel web site, www.tekumel.com so that they can download them for themselves, and see all the other material available on the Tekumel.com web site. Many Thanks. Chris Davis Moderator: Blue Room mailing list Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND BLUE ROOM ARCHIVE -- VOLUME 37 [30 October 1999 - 25 June 2000] 1081:Livyanu Reply 1082:Ancient Secrets Reply 1083:Ancient Secrets Response 1084:Livyanu Response 1085:Time Travel Response 1086:Administrative Note - Oct 30, 1999 1087:Administrative Note - Jan 09, 2000 1088:Livyanu and the Stones 1089:UCon Reports 1090:Medical Arts on Tekumel 1091:The Atl 1092:EveCon Report 1093:Questions About Magic 1094:Miscellaneous Questions 1095:Battle Magic Questions 1096:Administrative Note - May 27, 2000 1097:Battle Magic 1098:Questions about Magic Answered 1099:Character DB and Legion Questions Answered 1100:Professor on Battle Magic 1101:More Professor on Battle Magic 1102:Tale from the Cinnabar Porch 1103:More on Battle Magic 1104:More on Miscellaneous Questions 1105:Questions about Undead 1106:Administrative Note - June 23, 2000 1107:More Professor on Battle Magic 1108:Professor Discusses the Undead ******************************* //1081 [Moderator's Note: Professor Barker replies to George's question about the] [ goings on in Livyanu. ] >[Moderator's Note: George Hammond asks about the events in Livyanu. I ] >[ would like to know how things are going there, too. ] >Could anyone give a summary of what is known about the plague in Livyanu, >and of the Mu'ugalavyani invasion? Is the plague one of the known types >of disease (e.g. influenza, or the Mottled Plague, or (shudder) the Plague >of the White Hand), or is it something new? Is its origin known? I have >heard rumors that Livyani soldiers brought it back from Tsolei, but this >is mere hearsay. Has the epidemic spread throughout Livyanu? What about >Mu'ugalavya or the other Empires? The Red Hats are said to have reached >at least as far as Tsamra, and if so, they must surely have been much >exposed to contagion. What has been the result? The Plague was first brought by sailors and army personnel to the western shores of Livyanu. It swept over Sraon, Nufersh, etc. and then went inland, reaching Tsamra in a month or so. It was something new -- perhaps artificial. It only occasionally affected the Shen, did not bother the Tinaliya, and killed most humans dead. It is gone now, but for a time the Tsolyani were blockading Livyani shipping, and Mu'ugalavya fortified their borders with orders to kill Livyani travellers on sight. This is all relaxed now. >Regarding those of the Carmine Chapeaux, when did they first cross into >Livyanu, and how has their invasion proceeded since? They waited three months, then swept down the eastern coast to Tsamra, bringing in naval support to assist them. By this time the Plague was gone, except in a few places. The Mu'ugalavyani deposed the Livyani government, slaughtered soldiers and priests, and enslaved all the maidens they could capture -- just like many an earthly army. The Red Hats were never known for their kindness. They now occupy much -- not all -- of northern and western Livyanu. The south, including Dlash and the Shen-human cities in Mmatugual, are still free of invasion, although they are being swallowed up piecemeal as time goes on. The Red Hats countered Livyani magical skills with their infamous "Black Stones." These slabs (2-3 feet square or rectangular) were brought by unknown persons from beyond the Planes. They disrupt magical energy and render spells inoperatve -- provided they are laid in certain precise patterns to form circles around the to-be-affected area. The largest pattern is that around Tsamra, but there are others as well. No one knows for sure who has committed this act, but it almost completely derailed the Livyani war effort, and the Mu'ugalavyani swept right in. The current leader of the Resistance is a young woman nicknamed "Fireface," who is a younger sister of the wizard Eyloa's wife. Her skin was terribly marred by the Plague, but it did not kill her. A few did survive. Fireface operates in Tsamra and is at the top of the Red Hats' "most wanted" list. Some brave lads, together with Fireface's people, worked to physically remove some of the stones from their patterns and thus break the circle. They found most of the stones very well guarded by Mu'ugalavyani troops, but out in the middle of Kaprakoi Bay there was one stone deep beneath the water. Fireface's troops then disrupted the pattern on shore, and this party used sorcery to go down to the bottom of the water and bring up the stone by hand. This worked -- but the next day the Red Hats brought out another stone and dropped it into place. THe venture thus went for nothing. >I've seen brief >mention of their deployment of a network of stones that creates areas of >low/no magical power. How is the effort proceeding? Are there any >regions or cities that remain independent of Mu'ugalavyani control? I >would think that large-scale use of anti-magic would be cause for wariness >and observation by many powers in the other Empires. Try the far south for plague-free and stone-free cities. The Red Hats have offered freedoms and treaties to some of them, and some local potentates have also received huge sums of money and goodies. Only a few places continue to resist. Dlash, of course, remains sealed and silent, taking no part in these activities. >I know that these events have been going on for some time, but I haven't >been able to find much information in the Blue Room archive--just a few >oblique references. Have I missed a source? No, just me being lazy! >A good friend, one Chamangesh hiTirrune, sorceror and lay-priest of Hru'u, >is currently stuck on a Qel, cruising south towards Yro with an expedition >headed by the noble Kasi Charash Tlakotani, the most bloodthirsty >Thumis-worshipper it has been Chamangesh's misfortune to know. Chamangesh >is still in awe of the astoundingly improbable mix of savants, sorceror, >and savages aboard the ship. The steersman is a Haida Pakalani pirate, >armed to the teeth, Kasi Charash has a mute warrior-priest of Gruganu as a >body guard, along with priests of Ketengku, Karakan, Thumis, and a pungent >mix of Ahoggya and Shen (yes, together) mercenaries. Not to mention a >Jakallani fop, and a mix of Livyani, Tinaliya and Shen refugees we >pickedu up along the way. >We lost one set of rigging taking on a Red Hat galley four times our size, >and with the winds against us, Yro seems very far. It would be helpful to >have any news of Livyanu. We picked up a noble Livyani refugee, one Arkuo >Minaz, and Chamangesh is hoping that he can give us news. We might try to >make for Foshoa, but not if it's in Red Hat hands. Sounds like a very good adventure. Arkuo can't give much more than is provided above, of course, since he and a few relatives and friends grabbed a boat and fled at the first news the plague was coming. Enjoy! Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1082 [Moderator's Note: Professor Barker replies to Peter Timko's question about] [ Ancient secrets. ] >I am not an historian of Tekumel, and neither is anyone I know in Tekumel >(they're a pretty pragmatic lot). But looking through what histories are >available has prompted the following line of queries: >The early spread of the worship of Lord Ksarul reached as far as the >backwater of Haida Pakalla, but there is no particular mention of the >worship of those gods that revealed themselves to Pavar. So, first, >would it be the case that the Lord of the Blue Room is more prominent in >Haida Pakalla than elsewhere. (See Neitzsche's "The Advantages and >Disadvantages of History for Life for a Terran argument supporting this >tentative thesis). A Ksarul-like deity was worshipped in what is now Tsolyanu all during the earlier dynasties from the Three States of the Triangle on. He is variously named, but the common title for him is "Jraka." He seems to have been relatively alone in his power; there is little mention of the Lords of Stability until much later. A few of the other Lords of Change -- Sarku, Hru'u, and Dlamelish particularly -- were indeed worshipped in various places. Lord Ksarul's priests became zealous missionaries at one point during the Bednalljan Age, which gave rise to enclaves of converts in many distant places. One of these settlements was Haida Pakala, where his worship so suited the inhabitants that it expanded out across the northern shores of the Southern Continent. >Secondly, and this is a longshot, does anyone know (I know, how would >anyone know such a thing as this) whether the Refulgent Blue Curtain >Society has adherents there. After all, of what kind of weird "material" >is the Blue Room composed? Certainly not something that even the Lord of >Secrets would know how to escape. Not the typical (even for a god) stuff >of the planes beyond. If you found a key, wouldn't a good place to hide >it be where no sorcerer could find it? No idea about this. Some say the Blue Room is only a legend; devout Ksarul worshippers claim the place is a"bubble-plane" -- a tiny world unto itself, with its own miniature sun. Some of these plane-lets were created long ago by the Great Ancients, and they still exist, lost in the darkness of the void somewhere. >Really, this is just a way of asking about Haida Pakalla. The Tsolyani I >know best (I couldn't, in good conscience say "love") is originally from >that area, and a servant of Ksarul. It makes me wonder. > >questing in query, >Peter Hope this helps. Haida Pakala is a whole book -- that one day ought to be written! Regards, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1083 [Moderators' Note: David Bailey also responds to Peter's question. ] >If you found a key, wouldn't a good place to hide >it be where no sorcerer could find it? A few hints and tips on *KEYS* translated into the vernacular from the sacred texts of the Masters of the Eighth Indigo Eye (a small and self selecting clique of the temple of Wuru in Pala Jakalla): 1 - who said they were actually hidden at all? Did you really fall for all that Ndalu society propaganda? 2 - it's not sorcerors they should be hidden from, it's emperors and do-gooders 3 - how do you know that you don't already have one (or more?) 4 - it's not the finding them, it's the keeping them that is so difficult 5 - why not just say you have one and see what happens? 6 - always, but *always* ensure that you stand with your back to a wall when talking to a priest of Ksarul about this subject 7 - can I swap my blue sparkly one for you purplish one? -=Midori Ito=- Priest of Wuru - "just stir up that ole pot of confusion an' pour me a large foaming mug" (known on other less interesting planes as David Bailey) ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1084 [Moderator's Note: Joe Zottola has a suggestions for George to learn more ] [ about Livyanu. ] George should show up at U-con then he can get his answers in person. [I know I am going to be there. I may try to record the Barker Q&A and put a transcript up here, if it is ok with Joe S. and the UCon crowd.] ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1085 [Moderator's Note: Joe Zottola elaborates on the dimensional quality of ] [ time within the Tekumel Universe. ] Hypothetically speaking time travel is possible..The ramifications of interfering in a specific major event are to say the least trivial...Say you go back in time assuming you know what you are doing & get to the right time & plane..You plan on eliminating one of the Prince's to give your Prince a better shot at the throne....You successfully find your target & eliminate him...... You then return to your plane only to find out that what you just did had no effect on your timeline.....In effect what you have done is created a small branch of reality off the main Tekumel trunk...So to answer the question no you cannot effect the time-line by going into the past.You only create more branches... Your efforts to influence the timeline can only be done in the present..I.E. If your character or characters are at a pivotal point on the time line you can do something to influence it..You still have a small chance of success, more than likely one of two things will happen you create a another branch or worse you create a temporal loop...of these two results the temporal loop is the most dangerous.Because if you do this you will not know it has happened unless you are a truly mighty magic user(defined by having a fly spell)... [Could you elaborate on how having a fly spell allows you to detect a time loop? Or is it just show a general level of capability?] Generally "time travel" is frowned upon when it is used to change/influence the targeted time-line...Also the concept of a time-line is not really a good way to describe the way things work in the Tekumel universe..You really need to look at it as a large tree like structure with a main trunk with many branches & depending were on the trunk or branch you start that is the time frame you are in...What you do above or below your location on your home branch will only create more branches unless you are very lucky....... ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1086 [Moderator's Note: Three messages today. The first is important for any of] [ you UCon attendees. Remember, your pre-reg must be ] [ postmarked by 11/3/99. The other messages deal with a ] [ sighting of Tekumel material in the UK, and a request for] [ discussion on how to archive Internet Tekumel material. ] From Joe Saul. There's a mistake in the PreReg book: The Saturday night LARP is supposed to start (and will start) at 7pm, so it does not overlap the Saturday afternoon events which end at 7pm. Apologies for any inconvenience. -- Joe -- From Mike Cule. There's a copy of the first TSR edition for sale by a gent in the UK. His web page advertising this, complete with scans of the cover and some of the maps is at: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ept.htm Have look and see if you're interested. -- Michael Cule -- From David Bailey Now that there are over 1,000 messages in the Blue Room list (and about 500 useful ones in alt\...\tekumel) is there anyone in this plane with sufficient skill to make them into a searchable hypertext library? I find myself searching for place names and obscure, half remembered references - just like real tekumel - but have so little time. What do other list members think? -=Midori Ito=- (known on other less interesting planes as David Bailey) [I just grep the text in the messages or digests. It works quite well. But I think it might be time to do something. I'll look around a bit and if anyone else has any ideas, send them to me at cld@prin.edu instead of the blueroom address. Chris] ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1087 [Moderator's Note: I have pretty much added all the new folks, sent out ] [ message digests, etc. We have messages about creating ] [ a hypertext library, Holiday greetings from Carl Brodt ] [ (oh, and a new catalog), Holiday greetings from Peter ] [ Gifford, and notification about an addition to the ] [ Tekumel Web site. ] From Andreas Baede... Concerning David's question about a hypertext library, I think it's a good idea. I myself am still busy, whenever I have time, to read the various messages and turning them into decent Word documents. However, I have a friend who composed - for his own use - a 'Cthulhu's Cyclopedia', containing pretty much everything about the Cthulhu Mythos he could find, plus other weird stuff from his campaign. Although this may be somewhat overly ambitious, might it not be a good idea, considering the fact that we all have to do with a somewhat chaotic mass of mostly old publications and various bits and pieces taken from the Internet, to unite as much Tekumel information as possible in some sort of online encyclopedia ? It would be a massive undertaking (that friend of mine's been busy for four years, and he is 'almost finished'), but at the end you would have a tremendously valuable gaming resource. It could be combined with a chronology that is kept up to date. I don't think this should be undertaken lightly, but I am curious what the Professor and my 'lan' fellow Mailing List members think. Andreas Baede, The Netherlands ----- From Kevin Fisher by way of George Hammond. This is pretty dated. The opening may no longer be available. Kevin Fisher Characters wanted!!! At this moment there is a party about to leave on an incredible adventure. It is a free form Tekumel game called "The Emerald Sphere of Sighs". It will be played on an RGPHost site [he hopes] and three of the five slots are filled. Two of the players are veterans, the other one will be experiencing his first on-line game. All three have extensive experience with EPT. We are looking for two more beings to join us in our journey. If you are interested in receiving more information about the game and what is expected of its players, please contact me, Kevin Fisher at kerf@earthlink.net All are welcome to join, but this will be a first-come, first-served situation. Thank you for your understanding. ----- Carl Brodt writes... You can reach Carl via email to get a catalog via email at CarlBrodt@aol.com Thank you for the attention and enthusiasm which you have shown for gaming in Prof. Barker's world of Tekumel in 1999. Whether you are alive or undead, human or demi-human, I hope you all have a happy new year. May the smell of cinnamon never cross your nostrils! And, oh, yes, here's a link to my most current product listing. You could make the new year REALLY happy for me by ordering alot of stuff. http://www.tekumel.com/archivepricelist.html ====================================== Tita's House of Games, c/o Carl Brodt, 1608 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA. 94703, ph. (510)848-3260, has the following Tekumel-related items for sale: N.B. The aforementioned telephone number is to my home, not to my business, so please be conscious of the time when you call. If you do not reach me or Tita, tell the person answering the telephone that you will immediately call back and leave a message on the answering machine. Thanks. ----- Peter Gifford writes... To all visitors to The World of the Petal Throne at www.tekumel.com ... May the Weaver of Skeins have some truly beautiful threads prepared for next year ... may your Eyes never run out of charges at crucial and embarrassing times ... may you never be propositioned by an Ahoggya, chimed at by a Ssu, or wake to find your partner has turned into an evil smelling substance resembling spoilt cheese ... and may 2000 be the year that Tekumel finally gets the world wide recognition it deserves!! And a special best wishes and thankyou to Professor Barker, without whom etc! Hey ... I finally got a pristine copy of the 1975 boxed edition. At last ... Very best regards, Peter Gifford PS I planned to finish the rest of the maps before Xmas but was struck down by the flu ... but look forward to them in January, they're half finished. ----- Peter Gifford writes again... Happy New Year! I'm pleased to announce a major update to The World of the Petal Throne. The Eastern Tekumel maps are finally finished (whew!), so the Lands of Tekumel section is now complete. Also the Eye of Incomparable Understanding has been revamped, with a new Welcome page (with a How to Use This Site section) and a New to Tekumel? page for the newbies. But wait, there's more! An addition to the Excellent Travelling Volume (Space Gamer Issue #71), and some Tekumel banners to download, put on your site and link to www.tekumel.com (in the Eye of Retaining All things download section). Enjoy ... Best regards, Peter Gifford ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1088 [Moderator's Note: Peter Huston has more to say on the topic of the Livyani ] [ invasion. When we disrupted the stone in Kapranoi bay, ] [ we moved it quite some distance, and the local effect was] [ terrible. I thought someone had described it in a ] [ recent submission (from Phil's group), but I can't find ] [ it. What I remember was that the skin of reality got ] [ pulled pretty much like an elastic band, almost to the ] [ snapping point, and when it did, nexus points started ] [ popping open all around us. In other words, you may not ] [ be able to nudge the stones, or swoop in and pick them ] [ up without dire consequences. ] >The Red Hats countered Livyani magical skills with their infamous "Black >Stones." These slabs (2-3 feet square or rectangular) were brought by >unknown persons from beyond the Planes. They disrupt magical energy and >render spells inoperatve -- provided they are laid in certain precise >patterns to form circles around the to-be-affected area. The largest >pattern is that around Tsamra, but there are others as well. No one knows >for sure who has committed this act, but it almost completely derailed the >Livyani war effort, and the Mu'ugalavyani swept right in. The thought just crossed my mind that if this is known by the Livyanu then perhaps a suitable tactic would be to gain control of the stones, the smallest amount that would work, and move them around, thus disrupting the pattern, until they don't work properly. Has this been tried? Surely if it has the Muugs must be guarding them carefully. This could make an interesting battle/skirmish/adventure possibility. And come to think of it, the Livyanu have all those air cars so they could swoop in and disrupt and perhaps swoop out, taking the stones with them. Hmmmmm...............? ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1089 [Moderator's Note: This is late in coming. It is feedback and summary ] [ messages from those of us who went to UCon. It was ] [ a WONDERFUL event. I had a great time. ] Keith Dalluhn writes... Hey Chris, It was a pleasure to see you again! Just wanted to post a note to the blue room thanking all the Tekumel fans that showed up! It was a really fun time. Was very surprised at the response and hope to see even more people next year! Thanks again! -Keith ---------- Michael Schwartz writes... Hey folks, I spoke with a handful of people at U-CON regarding the formation of a monthly Tekumel campaign in the Ann Arbor area (that's southeastern Michigan, about 40 minutes west of Detroit, for those of you unfamiliar with The Mitten). I failed to collect the names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of those interested given the late hour at which the Saturday LARP ended and my Sunday duties as an exhibitor in the Dealers' Room. Would Greg (Cook?) of Troy, plus Jonathan and his ladyfriend (whose name I fail to recall at the moment) of Ann Arbor (with whom I played with in the Pendragon LARP at Origins) please contact me off-list at the email address below if still interested. Sessions would likely be held on either Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons. ==================================================================== Michael Schwartz mschwartz@mindspring.com Ann Arbor, MI USA ----- Your fearless moderator writes... (This was originally penned the week after UCon.) Well, its been a whirlwind week, and I wanted to get a UCon summary up before now. In case you didn't know, UCon is a convention that was held up in Ann Arbor, Michigan Nov 12-14. Joe Saul has organized a Tekumel Track during the last 2 UCons, and this years was great! I have heard the same mentioned about last year. It all started Friday with a pleasant (for a change) plane flight in. Even though I couldn't upgrade to 1st Class (free Frequent Flyer ticket) the coach section was half full, so everyone had plenty of room. That has to be a good omen! :) I then took care of transportation, and ended up with a brand spanking new car with about 200 miles. I was living right. Hotel was fine, and then after a quick conversation with Lisa Leutheuser, I was off to Lisa and Joe's place. Met up with the Minneapolis crowd there. We chatted for a few minutes, and then were off to the con site. Man, what can you say about the con site. It was beautiful. Lots of real wood tables, walls and doors. Glass or wood table tops, and overall it was just beautiful, nothing like a typical convention hall. Many of the Tekumel gaming rooms were carpeted, had board-room like tables, and very comfortable seats. It was a terrific setting for Tekumel gaming. Friday's first event was a "Getting to Know You" seminar, and many Tekumel folks attended. There were folks from the DC area, the Northeast, middle America (me) :), the Minneapolis group, and Germany!!! Forgive me if I missed anyone else. We shared names and info about ourselves, and just generally shot the breeze. After that, there was an role playing event centering around the Northeast of Tsolyanu. We were a hastily thrown together group of mixed Cohorts of differing Legions. The time was during Emperor Gyesmu and we were located at Hekellu. We marched to the ultimate target, were harrassed all the way by Tribesman, and generally had a pretty miserable time on the road. We had a group of Ahoggya and Hlaka who were well played by Bob Dushay and Keith Dalluhn (see Keith's report below). They split off the main attack group and actually managed to rejoin the group just after the main action started. Once at the final target, we formed up, parlayed with the defenders and battle began. Their magic contingent got off the first blow, and I had a tad of trouble forming up our contingent. Troops were beginning to skirmish when I got the magic contingent arrayed, and the first round of both sides lobbing magic were stalemated (ie. Nice fireworks, but no effect) The opposing magic contingent were arrayed somewhat behind us in the hills, staying hidden until we got trapped in between them and the forces from the city. What they didn't reckon with was that was the direction from where the Ahoggya came hooting and hollering from. They were not protected very well, and the Ahoggya made a grease stain out of them (Thanks Bob.) With that group gone, it allowed me to re-array and wipe out the column of Heavy Infantry that made up the core of the opposing army. After that, there was too much mixing for me to be effective. The armies were very effective after that, and when the Ahoggya made it to the city gates, the enemy surrendered. We sacked the city and took off. A good time was had by all. End of Friday. Saturday started early with breakfast with Bob Alberti and Keith Dalluhn. I had a great time chatting with them. All the folks from Minneapolis are terrific people. Saturday started with a couple of seminars. An intro to Tekumel gaming by Joe Saul and what's going on in Tekumel prime with the Minneapolis group. I opted for the second, and we just chatted about what had been going on in the Thursday night group's gaming sessions, and just the latest events on Tekumel in general. That was followed by Bob Dushay's A Fiery Omen and Bob Alberti's Kashkomai Express adventures. I opted for Kashkomai and enjoyed playing, er, being abused in a totally Phil-like manner. :) When not dodging pebbles being lobbed at me by a stealth Sro, I was investigating a huge magic phenomena that hadn't been at the lake when last I was there. No answers, but there was something strange going on there. The Lady in charge apparently did know that it was there, but didn't share any information on it. We had a few brand spanking new players in that game, and it was fun! One guy went and bought a whole stack of Tekumel gaming material (Carl was there and he came loaded). I even spent a hundred bucks at his table - I ended up replacing my Zocchi sourcebook -with original map- that committed seppuku for the sourcebook scanning project (which I think I will revive and complete soon). After that, I went right to the next event, David Aitken's Hall of Honored Glories. David and Joe Herrick co-gm'd the event. It deals with a group of stability folks interring (sp) a great general in an old tomb, and a group of Ksarul folks end up popping up (I won't say without reason). They help one another through a few events, but during the final ritual to lay the general to rest, stuff happens. I won't divulge the details, since David may want to run it again, but much fun was had by all. Needless to say the stability/change rift opened at the end, and yours truly was wiped out. I almost stopped that, but I had an 20 percent chance of failing to cast a spell that would have 1.)Probably wiped out the Ksarul guys 2.)Wiped out what they were after. I rolled a 19 and the spell didn't get off. I was wiped out the next round, along with most of the other Stability worshippers. Even though most of us died, we all had a good time. After that, I wasn't feeling well, and decided to beg out of the LARP. It really isn't my kind of thing anyway. I sat and watched, and chatted with Bob and Joe Saul again for a bit. I sat by the window and coooled off a bit and started feeling better. It was then the guy dressed up in the Ksarul gear's turn to start feeling bad. I sat in for him (not in the costume, but in the role) and managed to make a couple of the objectives. It was a truly twisted plot and kudos to Bob, Joe S. and whoever else worked on it. Talk about twists within twists. I admit I did enjoy it, but I don't know if I would have if it hadn't been Tekumel. End of Saturday. Sunday started out with Seminars mostly (I overslept and missed most of the first one). If Joe S. wants to sum up some of that seminar he can send me the info. Then we had a 2 hour Q&A with Professor Barker. I think we have the notes somewhere from the prior year's event, and Bob Dushay said he'd have notes for this year's as well. Next I played in Bob Dushay's followup to his Saturday event. We had quite a good time investigating a meteor strike that was attributed to Vimuhla. The strike was in Yan Kor, and when we got to the site, there were more folks there. I won't give things away, but lets just say this kid made out like a bandit. Emperor Mirusiya was mighty happy when this kid returned. That ended the con, and after that we all ended up at Joe S. and Lisa's for Chinese and general mayhem. There must have been 20+ people in the room, talking and carrying on. Much fun was had by all. ----- Keith Dalluhn reports from the Friday night event at UCon... To:the ever-glorious emperor of Tsolyanu From:ekk-saa, hlaka commander re:battle of Sokatis scribed by Mragen hiTlalen [Moderator's Note: Wasn't it Sirsum? I thought we were enclosed by ] [ mountains and near the Hlaka ruins. I could be wrong.] Most glorious emperor, what follows is a verbatim account of the taking of Sokatis in the year 2040. The molkar of the Hlaka legion approached me to tell his story. Very glorious, most noble emperor, I write you. I make story straight. Hlaka very hurt. This happen. Kerdu send for me. Kerdu tell me 'look', we look. Find many bad man. I go. Tell Kerdu. I say many many bad men. He say thank you. I ask 'more food Hlaka?' He say 'Yes'. Hlaka go to baggage. Hlaka take food. Kerdu come. Kerdu mad. Kerdu tell hlaka 'go home'. Hlaka very sad. Hlaka take food. Hlaka go. Hlaka no go home. Hlaka wait. Hlaka watch as Ahoggya told 'go, look'. Hlaka follow ahoggya. Ahoggya go through mountains. Hlaka follow. Ahoggya come to village. Ahoggya burn village. Hlaka wait. Ahoggya leave. Hlaka go village. Hlaka find many many shiny. Hlaka take. Ahoggya find more village. More burn. More shiny. Happen many many times. Ahoggya come to big cliff. Many men on top. Ahoggya try climb. Hlaka help! Hlaka bring rocks. Hlaka drop rocks on men. Many many times we drop rock. Ahoggya make top of hill. Ahoggya kill all people. Ahoggya leave. Many more shiny!!! Ahoggya get to sokatis. Hlaka get to sokatis. We wait. Hlaka look city during day. Hlaka look city during night. Hlaka find many secrets! Hlaka wait. Army comes. Army ready. City comes. City ready. Many fight! Hlaka fly over battle. Fly to wall. Drop many rock and spear. Man on wall scream. Many fall. Hlaka fly to city. Hlaka fly windows, balconies. Hlaka kill many people. Hlaka start city burn. Hlaka first in city. Hlaka take city. Not Kerdu. Hlaka give city to emperor. Many glories to emperor!!! There you have it, word for word, from the hlaka commander. Most abjectly I submit this report. ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1090 [Moderator's Note: Gustavo Iglesias would like to know more about the ] [ medical arts and their practice and practitioners on ] [ Tekumel. ] First of all, my name is Gustavo Iglesias, and I'm a newcomer to the world of Tekumel. I'd like to thank the Professor for creating the most exciting, exquisite and believable fantasy world I've ever seen in my life. I also ask you all to have some patience with this newbie ;) Second, I've just got into a PBEM, and I had an interesting idea for a character; a priest of Sarku dedicated to Naupal of the Black Lips (the aspect which presides over rotting diseases and stinking tumors), and skilled physician. I want to know more about medicine in the Five Empires. As a medical student IRL, I take a keen interest in the anthropology, epistemology and history of medicine, and I'd like to know the theories and practices of Tekumeli physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, midwives, lithotomists, et al. And the medical professionals themselves? How do they fit in society? Are they associated with institutions such as temples? Are there clans traditionally dedicated to the medical arts? Are there hospitals and asylums? What about famous medical schools (like Europe's famous schools, Prague and Salerno)? And so on. If someone could answer me, I'd be grateful. Gustavo Iglesias ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1091 [Moderator's Note: Stephen Tihor asks about the Atl. I don't think I ] [ have heard the Professor refer to it either. ] The spear thrower is a fairly primitive but effective weapon system but I have not encountered references to it in the most recent rules systems. Is this another of those ideas not rediscovered in the Five empires or culturally suppressed? ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1092 [Moderator's Note: Andy Lorince passes on this note about Eve Con. ] thought i'd pass on a bit of a report fro eve con 2000. new location, new date, washington redskins playoff football, nice weather. that about sums it up. although attendence was up it wasn't up as much as expected. more of a suprise was the meal prices. $14 after tip for a hot and cold breakfast buffet with maybe ten choices. game wise i posted tekumel events upon arrival for friday and saturday nights. located about halh dozen persons intrested but as so often happens couldn't get two of them to sit down with me atthe same time. despite this we did make some additions to last years game. some of the players from last year who were present thought that our kasi needed a special reward. since he wasn't present or didn't make himselfknown if he was, i did my gm thing and devised one for him. When the cohort last set up camp, near an unnamed village, some of the locals were heard to say that they hoped the latines were extra deep. no one payed much attention to this until a couple days later when intestinal problems developed. a thorough study by various priests,mages, physicians and healers could find no reason for this. when some one finally decided to ask the locals, who seemed to have no difficulties, about this they were told that it would pass in a couple weeks or at most a month. thrak hi'anokiam our kasi was one of those hit the hardest by this. when these dificulties were begining to eb a messenger arrived from fenul with personal messages for thrak and a tirikamu named horu hi'arusa of the amber cloak clan. a third document were orders for thrak and horu, with a detachment from the cohort, to return to fenul a quickly where they would begin leave to attend to clan matters. one of those selected to return was achan hi tuplawgte of dark water, horu's herekesa. things did not proceed much beyond this. thrak hi'anoaikm of dark moon clan kasi 4th cohort legion of shattering of ssuyal. this man was inlisted and imediatly given command of the 4th cohort consisting of ill equipped troops just out of basic. achan hi'tuplawgte of dark water clan herekesa first karang 4th cohort. horu hi'arusa of amber cloak clan ( a newbie who decided to generate a character friday night against the possibility of gettig into a game on saturday. if he had waited a half hour longer before getting into that rpga game then we might of had a game.) achan would learn the contents of the personal messages. thrak's was that his clan had advised him that the most auspicious time for his wedding was determined to be between 18 and 20 dohala. the kasi on the other hand was not aware that he was bethrothed. horu was told that his aged father had recently passed away and as eledest surviving son it was necessary for him to assume his duties which included seeing to the wedding of an older sister. horu not being advised of location of fenul had decided that he want'ed to build skills suitable to a sea captain. now as most subscribers to this news group know the nearest ocean to fenul the dry bay of ssuyam which is an ocean of sand. the nearest wet ocean is many hundreds of tsan away. after a little investigation i learned that one of horu's father's duties was "overseer of imperial fleets in fenul" the governor was not even aware that there were any imperial ships in fenul, let alone fleets. la looks like another extensive visit to the archives, but then thats what scribes are for. by the way thrak's wife to be is described as well formed with unusual hair and eyes. she is also of the amber cloak clan and almost twice his age. read this her eyes are blue-green and her hair tends to red with both of them having charismas in the single digets this would be an intresting marriage. yuninash hi'ancholbel governor of fenul andy lorince ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1093 [Moderator's Note: Don't faint now. I am still running into problems with ] [ the list software I chose. Bob Alberti offered me an ] [ account on his tekumel.com machine, so we may set up ] [ new list software there and move the archives there as ] [ well, freeing me of the burden of maintaining the list ] [ and archives by hand. Woohoo! Bob Dushay offers up ] [ some good questions about how magic works. ] I have been thinking a lot about how magic "works" on Tekumel, trying to adapt it to other rules systems. I know you don't want to answer any rules questions, but these are "real" Tekumel questions, to try to figure out how to better model the world. 1. I know your "game" Tekumel differs from the "real" Tekumel. How do the novels fit? I'm guessing they are also different from the "real" Tekumel, but they're closer to it than the games are. 2. What is the difference between ritual and psychic magic? The game systems describe ritual and psychic magic as the same thing, with the only difference being the gestures and substances needed to cast. But if there are people who can master one and not the other, that implies the difference is more than just the surrounding mumbo-jumbo. Are ritual and psychic magic different expressions of the same underlying principles (that is, with a proper mindset and in some circumstances, chanted syllables and substances, power can be drawn from the Planes Beyond to achieve a specific effect) or are they completely different types of sorcery, that the mindsets for psychic magic are different from the mindsets for ritual magic? [Moderator: I think that the energy is somehow affected by the items, or ] [ caught and shaped by the gestures, who can say why. Items such ] [ as those sacrificed in a summoning are prices paid to the being ] [ that is summoned. Hopefully, Phil will elaborate. Also, some ] [ folks may be extremely intelligent and totally clutzy, so they ] [ can't perform the gesticulations with any accuracy... :) ] 3. How difficult is it to come up with variant effects of the same spell? For instance, if a sorcerer wanted their Ascertainment spell to have a slightly longer range, or a slightly larger area of effect, is that the sort of thing they could do without extensive research, say by altering their mindset just a little, or using a slightly different set of words? Or are spells largely fixed, and only the most senior sorcerers know how to customize them by fiddling with a word here or a concept there? [Moderator: I don't know what Phil does, but I am probably more loose on this] [ topic than most people. If someone wants to extend the duration ] [ of a spell, I usually allow them to expend the points without ] [ re-rolling any dice. It just seems logical to me. Where you run] [ into trouble with me is when you try to expand the Area of effect] [ or the amount of damage, since you are "overloading the pipe" as ] [ it were. This can expose you to danger since you are effectviely] [ over-powering the spell, and it might get away from you and you ] [ could end up frying yourself, both inside and out.... ] 4. Although this last one is more of a rules question, I'm not looking for a rules answer: I'm trying to figure out how your game rules model the Tekumel "reality." I am assuming that the Swords and Glory spell list is close to the types of spells actually taught and used by the temples in Tsolyanu. Are the different "levels" of a spell, such as Elicitation U1, U2, and U4, just minor variations of the same basic spell, or are they different spells that happen to have similar effects? Is it easier to learn higher levels of the same spell once you know the basics, or is it just as difficult as learning a completely different spell? Let me ask this again by analogy. You learn how to fix a Ford Escort engine (Engine Repair U1). If different levels of the same spell are just variants, then U2 might be the equivalent of fixing a Ford Taurus engine, and a U5 might be the equivalent of learning to fix a Ford pickup truck. But, learning how to fix a helicopter engine is a different skill (and a different spell), so spells could be understood as: Engine Repair U1 (Ford Escort) Engine Repair U2 (Ford Taurus) Engine Repair U5 (Ford pickups) Helicopter Engine Repair U6 (a completely different spell) Or, are different levels of the spell are as difficult as learning different spells, so that Engine Repair U1 (Ford Escort) Engine Repair U2 (Diesel truck engines) Engine Repair U5 (Helicopter engines) Pilot Jet Airplane U6 (a completely different spell) Thanks. ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1094 [Moderator's Note: George Hammond asks about a number of topics. ] Some questions, from the general to the specific: --Here and there I have seen reference to databases of individuals (e.g., at the end of Deeds), that are more inclusive than just the Emperors and White Stone (?) clan dbs available at the ftp site. Do these databases exist? Is there any possibility that they could be made available for download? If it would help, I have some experience with FileMaker Pro on the Mac (which I think is Prof. Barker's preferred milieu?) and would be more than willing to assist. [Moderator: I could have sworn we had put that up on the list. I'll check ] [ into why that didn't happen. I should get a new one from Phil. ] --Regarding the Tlakotani, do any of them occupy high office besides the Emperor's immediate family? Not a single legion commander or high general mentioned in Deeds of the Ever-Glorious is Tlakotani (except the princes, of course). And I don't recall seeing any Tlakotani mentioned among the high priests named in Mitlanyal. One would think that such a prestigious lineage would have many members in high office. Is there some limitation or social pattern that I am unaware of? --And some specific legion questions: What was the fate of the Legion of the Translucent Emerald? In the back of Deeds of the Ever-Glorious, the story of the legion's return from long obscurity, and subsequent odyssey (served against Yan Kor, then to Tumissa to serve Princess Ma'in Kruthai, then to Bey Su to join Prince Taksuru) is recounted. Has the legion been given a number? What is its current situation? Did it ever see combat? It would have been entertaining to see: a travel-toughened legion of mountain farmers, their military training and gear some 500 years old, tramping out of the east and out of the past to show up at the gates of Ma'in Kruthai's palace... --Also, I am a seeking information about two other Imperial legions: the 24th and 26th Heavy Infantry. Both are listed in Part 2, Volume 1 of the Adventures on Tekumel series (this is the first of the Solitaire Adventure series, with the blue cover), but I was unable to find mention of them in Deeds of the Ever-Glorious or Gardasiyal. Could anyone provide information on the history or disposition of these legions? Here is the information given in AoT: 24th HI: Legion of the All-Consuming Flame. General Chidoru hiSraisha of Hekellu; devoted to Vimuhla, now at Sunraya. (remarkable that such a small provincial place apparently supports 4 legions: 2 heavy infantry (the 24th, and the recently resurrected Legion of the Translucent Emerald), one of medium infantry, and one of Hlaka scouts. I don't believe any other city of it's size supports that many legions of humans, except Vra. Also, the Legions each appear to have relatively strong temple affiliations: to Vimuhla, Dlamelish, and Wuru. Hekellu must be a strange place.) 26th HI: Legion of the Blue Peak. General Arunomu hiSsanmirin of the Clan of Sea Blue; based at Jakalla; the General is the brother of the General of the Legion of the Ruby Hand; mostly followers of Avanthe and Dlamelish. Many thanks and regards to the Groupmind, George H. ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1095 [Moderator's Note: George Hammond also asks about Magic but wrt Battle. ] Hello all, I've been wondering about the effect of battlefield magic. For an online game I'm playing in, I've been speculating on the unsuccessful Engsvanyali invasion of Livyanu that Bareka hiShanyal notes as occuring in the reign of the Priest-King Ssesmuga IV, c. 3420 in the Ever-Reliable Calendar of Jnathar Vera (Bareka's work appears as "enghist.pdf" at the Blue Room ftp archive). The invasion is described as having failed "due to powerful sorcery". I would be grateful for any information that could be provided about this particular event, but would also appreciate a more general discussion of the actual effect of battlefield magic. The Sourcebook notes that in the Five Empires, legions and/or armies have contingents of sorcerors who work as special teams, combining their powers to defend their troops from opposing magic and cast powerful (if somewhat crude) offensive spells. These spell-casters are specialists, trained to work together, and are different from the more conventional sorceror-priests that we are familiar with. So what actually happens on the battlefield? Do the forces cancel each other out? If they are relatively well-matched, do any offensive spells get through to their targets? It would seem that if one side or the other was not well protected, the effect of magical attacks could be devastating. Large battles often hinge on the clash of heavy infantry in close-order, and area-effecting magical attacks could easily cause crucial disruptions in the ranks. So how does this actually play out? Does anyone have some battlefield experience they could share? Do attacks often get through? What does battlefield magical combat look like? Does it often (ever?) occur that one side is significantly less protected magically? If so, I imagine the outcome is quickly and brutally resolved. Or perhaps there are rules of honor that discourage this sort of thing? I suspect that at least some of my questions would be answered by "The Art of Tactical Sorcery," but this essay is long out-of-print, and I have been unable to find a copy. Carl Brodt says that the author has not been willing to give him permission to reproduce it either. I did review the battles described in "Coming of Age in Tsolyanu" (Adventures on Tekumel Part 2, Vol. 1): --At the attack on the Atkolel Heights, Yan Koryani sorcerors cast Doomkill spells, but then are apparently suppressed by a Tsolyani casters. --At the capture of Sunraya, no spells are used on the surface (an explosion is triggered in the Underworld). --At the siege of Tleku Miriya, we learn that city walls and major buildings are protected by special spells developed during the Latter Times (it would be nice to more of this!), and that the opposing sorcerous contingents block each other's efforts. --At the battle of Anohl, "magic bolts" explode above the heads of the soldiers, but we don't learn if they have any effect. None of the other descriptions mention battlefield magic. [Moderator: I have never participated in a large scale battle with Phil, but ] [ I am sure that others who have will respond. As I understand, ] [ Battle Magic is different even though it may look like larger and] [ bigger versions of known spells. I would call the Magic Unit of ] [ an army a Battery. The mages are linked, power pooled, magic is ] [ shaped and cast. Some of the battery is geared to defense, some] [ to attack. It seems that in most cases, the magic unit is there ] [ to stalemate another magic unit. If you fight someone and they ] [ don't have a magic unit when you do, they are going to be in big ] [ trouble. My limited experience. ] Well, I've rambled on more than intended. Any thoughts on battlefield magic? Perhaps this would be a suitable article for the next issue of "Seal of the Imperium"? regards, George Hammond ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1096 [Moderator's Note: I have pretty much added everyone to the list, and removed] [ the folks who have been bouncing. Updates are done, and ] [ after I send out this Admin note, I will be sending out ] [ back message digests to all the new subscribers. This is ] [ all I currently have to send, so hopefully George and ] [ Bob's questions will garner some responses. In this admin] [ note there are 2 updates from the tekumel.com website, and] [ Peter Gifford knows someone with miniatures and other ] [ Tekumel stuff to sell. ] All messages are from Peter Gifford. Greetings Tekumel fans! The Excellent Travelling Volume has been updated with a whole lot of new scans and information on Tekumel publications throughout the years. I've also made the layout clearer and added a publishing history where I have the information. This should please all you obsessive Tekumel collectors out there (hopefully I'm not the only one!) If you have any more information on any of these publications or wish to add one that is not yet listed, let me know. Sorry I haven't had the time to add another major section to the site - life is hectic and tekumel.com is a very time-consuming job ... Remember I'm also still canvassing support for the creation of a new full colour printed map of Tekumel. You can get an idea of what this would look like by downloading the colour wallpaper map in the new Downloads section. Please email me if you think you would be a buyer of such a product. As ever, comments, articles, adventures, suggestions and contributions are very welcome. Any feedback from the Tekumel 'community' is encouraged - www.tekumel.com needs your support. Any web site programmers who want to help with back end functionality (search functions, registration system, shopping facilities) for the greater glory of Tekumel are encouraged to contact me. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future tekumel.com will have a chatroom. For those of you who haven't discovered it yet, Brett Slocum has an excellent new mailing list running at http://www.egroups.com/group/tekumel Enjoy! Best regards, Peter Gifford -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ peter gifford ceo | designer universal head graphics pty ltd 42 glenmore road, paddington nsw 2021 australia call (+612) 9358 4777 fax (+612) 9358 4788 email website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi I've also posted Roger McCarthy's excellent Excel spreadsheet of spells, legions and personalities. And added Mitlanyal to the Excellent Travelling Volume. Go to www.tekumel.com/gameframeset.html click on the 'Gaming Tools & Play Aids' link there's a link to the page under the 'Playing Aids' heading. Cheers Peter Gifford -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ peter gifford ceo | designer universal head graphics pty ltd 42 glenmore road, paddington nsw 2021 australia call (+612) 9358 4777 fax (+612) 9358 4788 email website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope no one minds if I use the list to advertise some Tekumel items, but I thought those on the Blue Room would be interested in these offers, especially those into collecting Tekumel figures! Some rare items, including a 1975 boxed EPT, are also for sale. A new friend of mine in Canada, Ken Ward, has asked me to post this list. I've bought several items from him myself and he has been an absolute pleasure to deal with; I'm happy to personally vouch for him. If anyone is interested in purchasing any or all of these items you can contact Ken directly at : thewards@telus.net Tekumel Figure List Ken would prefer to sell the lot in one go (see total price at end of list). Painted Tekumel Figures: Cost in US Dollars per total 2 Ahoggya 3.00 6.00 1 Ahoggya Armored 3.00 3.00 1 Ahoggya Small 3.00 3.00 1 Hlaka Flying 1.50 1.50 1 Hlaka On ground 1.50 1.50 2 Hlyss Warriors 3.00 6.00 1 Mihalli Sorcerer 1.50 1.50 1 Mihalli Warrior 1.50 1.50 1 Mu'ugalavya Drum 1.00 1.00 1 Mu'ugalavya Drummer 1.50 1.50 1 Mu'ugalavya General 1.50 1.50 1 Mu'ugalavya Infantry w/ Pike & shield 1.50 1.50 1 Mu'ugalavya Standard Bearer 1.50 1.50 1 Pachi Lei Armored 3.00 3.00 1 Pe Choi Female 3.00 3.00 1 Pe Choi Male 3.00 3.00 1 Pe Choi Male - Armored 3.00 3.00 2 Priest of Hry'y 1.50 3.00 1 Priest of Vimuhla 1.50 1.50 2 Priestess of Avanthe 1.50 3.00 2 Priestess of Dlamelish 1.50 3.00 1 Shen Heavy Armor 3.00 3.00 1 Shen Light Armor 2.25 2.25 1 Sro Winged (11" wing-span!) 50.00 50.00 3 Ssu Black 1.50 4.50 2 Ssu Grey 1.50 3.00 1 Tinaliya 1.00 1.00 1 Tsolyani General 1.50 1.50 2 Tsolyani Heavy Infantry w/ Bow 1.50 3.00 2 Tsolyani Heavy Infantry w/ Pike 1.50 3.00 1 Tsolyani Legion of Red Devastation w/2-handed sword 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Omnipotent Azure Legion Hvy Inf. w/Halberd 1.50 1.50 2 Tsolyani Omnipotent Azure Legion Hvy Inf. w/Spear 1.50 3.00 1 Tsolyani Omnipotent Azure Legion Officer 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Standard Bearer 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Trumpeter 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani (Aradani?) Naked female w/ shield and spear 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani (Hluss?) w/2-handed sword 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Light Infantry w/ Sling 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Medium Infantry w/ Crossbow 1.50 1.50 1 Tsolyani Medium Infantry w/ Halberd 1.50 1.50 1 Urunen Warrior 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor General 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Gong 1.00 1.00 1 Yan Kor Gong Beater 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Heavy Infantry w/ Pike 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Infantry w/ axe 1.50 1.50 2 Yan Kor Infantry w/ bow 1.50 3.00 1 Yan Kor Infantry w/ crossbow 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Infantry w/ halberd 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Infantry w/ sword & shield 1.50 1.50 1 Yan Kor Standard Bearer 1.50 1.50 _____________________________________________________________________ total 64 160.25 Painted EPT Constructions from Other Figures 1 Chlen 3.00 3.00 1 Chnelh 3.00 3.00 1 Dlaqo 3.00 3.00 1 Dnelu 3.00 3.00 1 Dzor 3.00 3.00 1 Feshenga 3.00 3.00 1 Gerednya 3.00 3.00 1 Giriku 3.00 3.00 1 Hyahyu'u 3.00 3.00 1 Kayi 3.00 3.00 total 10 30.00 _____________________________________________________________________ running total 74 190.25 Unpainted EPT figures 1 Hlyss Large (?) 2.00 2.00 5 Mihalli Sorcerer 1.00 5.00 1 Mu'ugalavya Heavy Infantry w/sword & shield (?) 1.00 1.00 3 Mu'ugalavya Infantry w/Pike & (2 pikes missing) 0.50 1.50 1 Pe Choi Armored 2.00 2.00 1 Priestess of Avanthe 0.85 0.85 1 Priestess of Dlamelish 0.85 0.85 2 Tsolyani Aridani w/ javelin 0.85 1.70 1 Tsolyani General 0.85 0.85 1 Tsolyani Heavy Infantry w/ pike & shield (?) 1.00 1.00 3 Tsolyani Hnalla, Master of Light w/ Halberd 0.85 2.55 3 Tsolyani Joyful Vrayani 0.85 2.55 3 Tsolyani Medium Infantry w/ Halberds 0.85 2.55 3 Tsolyani Mighty Prince w/ Pike 0.85 2.55 2 Tsolyani Omnipotent Azure Legion Officers 0.85 1.70 2 Tsolyani Road/City Guard 0.85 1.70 2 Tsolyani Serqu Sword of the Emperor w/composite bow 0.85 1.70 3 Tsolyani Serqu Sword of the Emperor w/ Pike 0.85 2.55 1 Tsolyani Standard Bearer 0.85 0.85 1 Urunen Crossbowman 0.85 0.85 1 Urunen Drummer 0.85 0.85 1 Urunen Halberdier 0.85 0.85 1 Urunen Sorcerer 0.85 0.85 1 Urunen Standard Bearer 0.85 0.85 4 Yan Kor Archers 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor Axemen 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor Dharw & Vanu w/ halberd 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor Dharw & Vanu w/ sword 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor Makhis Light Longbows 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor Tleku Miriya w/ crossbow 0.85 3.40 4 Yan Kor w/ pike 0.85 3.40 total 72 63.50 ____________________________________________________________________ Overall Total = 146 253.75 US Other Tekumel Items Ken is open to offers on these items: EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE: The World of Tekumel - boxed - TSR -1975 EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE: The World of Tekumel - Different Worlds Productions -1987 SWORDS & GLORY, VOL. 1: Tekumel Source Book 1 - Different Worlds Productions - 1987 SWORDS & GLORY, VOL. 1: Tekumel Source Book 2 - Different Worlds Productions - 1988 SWORDS & GLORY, VOL. 1: Tekumel Source Book -boxed - Game Science - 1983 TOMB COMPLEX OF NERESHANBO, THE - An adventure - Tekumel Games - 1984 Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ peter gifford ceo | designer universal head graphics pty ltd 42 glenmore road, paddington nsw 2021 australia call (+612) 9358 4777 fax (+612) 9358 4788 email website ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1097 [Moderator's Note: Chuck Monson shares information about Battle Magic. ] My tales of battle magic are based on battles with Barker present in days when I still had hair. Indeed, lacking strong battle magic resources is a near thing, but never insurmountable in my experience. In a balanced game, where generals are supposed to have a working knowledge of the opponent on the field, both sides often make sure of magic resources before engaging. In each of three battles I was the Yan Koryani commander where I had lesser resources in the magic field than my opponents. In fact, I generally discounted any effect of magics short of tactical advantage (dropping a tree on an insidious archer with a magic bow, blowing up a bridge while an enemy unit crossed it, and on one dire emergency, firing spells into the ranks of oncoming armor plated Shen at short range). The operations for most battle magics is to keep the opponent priests from fragging your command staff and your magic users. In one battle, my rolls of dice were phenomenal (three d100 1's in a row) to have normal archers penetrate the comfort zone of the Tsolyani command platform and succeed in nailing the General himself inspite of magical shields, magic armor, and a couple of offensive spells. (I believe that the officer of that group was the only one to stagger back to my lines.) Battle magics are powerful. They are just not the only lethal effect in battle. Luring the enemy into his doom is always a nice touch, but don't rely on your magics to go unheeded by the enemy priests. Or unavenged by nasty Mad Ones who could care less about such things. Field tactics are almost magical in themselves. I learned about toe-clips for sandals allowing a dust cloud to be raised. At a distance safe to maneuver at speed, my army reassembled for an assault by hiding behind the obscuring dust wall and marching to the right flank. The Tsolyani had to pick up their entire seige train to chase me. Disrupting the enemy position on a battlefield is more successful than simply knocking about a few hundred troops with spells. Magics with sound military plans and good opportunities work well, but do not rely on the magics to stop enemy legions. It might make your troops lack confidence in your military skills or question your worthiness to lead the boyos into death's maw. Honor is ever at the fore and success depends on who is left standing beside you. ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1098 [Professor Barker responds to Bob Dushay's questions about magic and the ] [various "realities" of Tekumel. ] >I have been thinking a lot about how magic "works" on Tekumel, trying to >adapt it to other rules systems. I know you don't want to answer any rules >questions, but these are "real" Tekumel questions, to try to figure out how >to better model the world. >1. I know your "game" Tekumel differs from the "real" Tekumel. How do the >novels fit? I'm guessing they are also different from the "real" Tekumel, >but they're closer to it than the games are. The various Tekumel game systems *and* the novels *and* our role-playing games are all abstractions from reality, of course. They are not identical to reality but only approximations of it, for various purposes. Naturally, there are inconsistencies and omissions. The games are abstractions constructed so as to provide a "rules" context. The novels are similarly abstractions designed to simplify and explicate "Tekumel reality" for fictional purposes. Both are meant for those who cannot "visit" Tekumel for themselves. To take an Earth example: Monopoly is a greatly abstracted vision of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Its rules are not meant to represent anywhere near the complexity of "real life" there: no bureaucracy, no tax problems, no federal versus state intricacies, no zoning laws, -- and a myriad other factors. It is a simplified game-view, and an enjoyable one (at least for me). If I were to write a roleplaying game based on Atlantic City, I would include many more factors, but I would still not get them all -- or get them as others might see them. If, again, I wrote a novel about Atlantic City, I would again pick and choose my details and descriptions -- different, perhaps, than my "game" systems. I could not get the entire picture into any sort of novel, game, or whatever, even so. This would be true even for a lengthy encyclopaeida article or book about my subject! Reality is always more than whatever pieces an author chooses to stuff into his/her work. To reply directly to your question: yes, the novels are different in some ways from the games, and, yes, they are closer to "Tekumel reality" but still not all of it. >2. What is the difference between ritual and psychic magic? The game >systems describe ritual and psychic magic as the same thing, with the only >difference being the gestures and substances needed to cast. But if there >are people who can master one and not the other, that implies the >difference is more than just the surrounding mumbo-jumbo. Are ritual and >psychic magic different expressions of the same underlying principles (that >is, with a proper mindset and in some circumstances, chanted syllables and >substances, power can be drawn from the Planes Beyond to achieve a specific >effect) or are they completely different types of sorcery, that the >mindsets for psychic magic are different from the mindsets for ritual >magic? Good question. Psychic magic is dependent largely upon the caster's mental powers; ritual magic has some of this but adds in physical aids, such as chanted ritual, substances, gestures, etc. With physical aids, the sorcerer has a somewhat easier time linking his/her powers to the flow of energy in the Planes Beyond. Psychic magic requires more mental training and discipline: both draw upon the eddies and currents of the Planes Beyond, but navigation is made easier by physical charts, instruments, buoys, and the like, to employ a metaphor. Ritual magic is more physical in some ways, harsher, cruder, and less subtle. Can one achieve the same results with either ritual or psychic magic, given training and experience? I would say probably, but getting there with psychic magic is always more complex and more dependent upon mental discipline and mind-set. At least, this is how I see it, although many Tekumelani sorcerers would doubtless have a great deal more to say on it. >[I think that the energy is somehow affected by the items, or > ] >[caught and shaped by the gestures, who can say why. Items such ] >[as those sacrificed in a summoning are prices paid to the being ] >[that is summoned. Hopefully, Phil will elaborate. Also, some ] >[folks may be extremely intelligent and totally clutzy, so they ] >[can't perform the gesticulations with any accuracy... :) ] This is another way to understand it. The items -- diagrammes, sacrifices, chanting, etc. do indeed have properties and powers of their own. These are accessed by the ritual sorcerer, wheras the psychic mage has nothing but his/her own mind to utilise. >3. How difficult is it to come up with variant effects of the same spell? >For instance, if a sorcerer wanted their Ascertainment spell to have a >slightly longer range, or a slightly larger area of effect, is that the >sort of thing they could do without extensive research, say by altering >their mindset just a little, or using a slightly different set of words? >Or are spells largely fixed, and only the most senior sorcerers know how to >customize them by fiddling with a word here or a concept there? Spells, as taught in the tmeple schools, are largely fixed by custom and the ease of teaching just so many traditional details. To teach other features tends to muddy the waters, or -- to use a Tekumelani image -- to "put the oar in at a different angle" that may or may not bring about the desired effects. This can be done, but only by a real expert with years of experience. This is why I left this feature out of the games (and, largely, the novels): it just requires too much work, experimentaton, and knowledge to accomplish easily. Almost every gamer, if given the chance, wants to change something about some spell or other. He/she wants to do this easily and simply by saying, "Okay, I'm going to spend the next few years learning a new spell and experimenting on it to produce different effects." This is just too easy. It does not represent the sweat, blood, and tears needed to master this procedure, nor does it represent the chances of failure -- and blowing oneself to kingdom come while doing it. I have even had players say, "Oh, I'm practicing my spells while we are marching along the road, and I'm going to experiment on modifying a certain spell to produce X." One requires concentration and hard work for this, which cannot be had very well while pushing through crowds on the Sakbe Roads, or struggling through a bazaar. There is also a gaming factor that should make sense: if every player-mage can develop new versions of spells, then what can other players do to maintain cohesion and gameability? For example, Mage A says, "Oh, I have researched my lightning bolt spell to allow for greater range, going around corners, greater boom-boom effect, etc." The next player counters with, "Yes, but I have resarched my shield spell to make me invulnerable to all lightning bolts!" Anarchy! For game purposes, as well as for the sake of "reality," thus, I set up the system to make it *very* difficult to master new spells and/or variants. >[I don't know what Phil does, but I am probably more loose on this] >[topic than most people. If someone wants to extend the duration ] >[of a spell, I usually allow them to expend the points without ] >[re-rolling any dice. It just seems logical to me. Where you run] >[into trouble with me is when you try to expand the Area of effect] >[or the amount of damage, since you are "overloading the pipe" as ] >[it were. This can expose you to danger since you are effectviely] >[over-powering the spell, and it might get away from you and you ] >[could end up frying yourself, both inside and out.... ] I tend to agree, Chris, but even extending the ranges might be "overloading the pipe." The opponents walk blithely into range of this long-range variant and are toast before they know what hit them! In "real" Tekumel, this is very rare but possible -- but the opponents may also have heard of the researches of this super-mage and have got ready for him/her with extensions of their own. In any case, this, in my view, is what rules are best designed for: keeping the lid on supermen! [Actually, I think we are in agreement on this. I feel range falls] [into the same category as area of effect. What I was referring to] [above was duration. For example. Say I cast a light spell that ] [lasts for 10 turns. At the end of the 10th turn, if I decide to ] [continue the spell, I allow the points to be invested to keep it ] [running for 10 more turns. All without rolls to keep it going. I] [would not treat a doomkill or congelation the same way. They are ] [discreet non-continuous spells. ] >4. Although this last one is more of a rules question, I'm not looking for >a rules answer: I'm trying to figure out how your game rules model the >Tekumel "reality." > >I am assuming that the Swords and Glory spell list is close to the types of >spells actually taught and used by the temples in Tsolyanu. Are the >different "levels" of a spell, such as Elicitation U1, U2, and U4, just >minor variations of the same basic spell, or are they different spells that >happen to have similar effects? Is it easier to learn higher levels of the >same spell once you know the basics, or is it just as difficult as learning >a completely different spell? THe "levels" of a spell are abstractions of the amount of power that must be obtained to use them. A short-range, low-effect lightning bolt is easier to learn and cast than a bigger, more long-range one. It is easier to learn higher variants of a spell than to learn new spells; this is represented in the game system. It is also close to Tekumel reality. >Let me ask this again by analogy. You learn how to fix a Ford Escort >engine (Engine Repair U1). If different levels of the same spell are just >variants, then U2 might be the equivalent of fixing a Ford Taurus engine, >and a U5 might be the equivalent of learning to fix a Ford pickup truck. >But, learning how to fix a helicopter engine is a different skill (and a >different spell), so spells could be understood as: >Engine Repair U1 (Ford Escort) > Engine Repair U2 (Ford Taurus) > Engine Repair U5 (Ford pickups) > >Helicopter Engine Repair U6 (a completely different spell) Sounds good to me. Helicopter repair might depend upon roughly the same basics as Ford car/truck repairs, but it is more complex, and new factors have to be learned, I think. My feeling is that motor repairs are similar enough to all fit somewhere on the same ladder, but they would be divided (into sub-skills) according to the levels of sophistication involved. Perhaps they could be set up as different "skill-ladders," too, if they are really intrinsically different enough. This would depend upon the person devising the relevant game. My father could repair any breed of early car ever made -- they were all basically similar. He could not have repaired any of the newer models with their computer components and elaborate construction. New skill/spell? I think so. >Or, are different levels of the spell are as difficult as learning >different spells, so that >Engine Repair U1 (Ford Escort) > Engine Repair U2 (Diesel truck engines) > Engine Repair U5 (Helicopter engines) > >Pilot Jet Airplane U6 (a completely different spell) Yes. But is Helicopter repair a separate skill from jet airplane repair? I leave it to those who know... Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1099 [Professor Barker responds to George's questions on the character database] [and Legions. ] >Some questions, from the general to the specific: >--Here and there I have seen reference to databases of individuals (e.g., >at the end of Deeds), that are more inclusive than just the Emperors and >White Stone (?) clan dbs available at the ftp site. Do these databases >exist? Is there any possibility that they could be made available for >download? If it would help, I have some experience with FileMaker Pro on >the Mac (which I think is Prof. Barker's preferred milieu?) and would be >more than willing to assist. > >[Moderator: I could have sworn we had put that up on the list. I'll check ] >[ into why that didn't happen. I should get a new one from Phil. ] I have a Fillemaker Pro 4.0 datebase for about 2,000 characters who have appeared now and again in our games. Many are player characters and thus have more spells and skills than they deserve (some jolly fellows-- alas -- have downright cheated on this!). But there they are. Chris was going to put this database up on the FTP site, but I don't think he ever got to it. [Will do so very soon. I have a copy of it. I actually began the ] [process of converting it to access, but got sidetracked. I should] [probably get a new copy from Phil first. ] >--Regarding the Tlakotani, do any of them occupy high office besides the >Emperor's immediate family? Not a single legion commander or high general >mentioned in Deeds of the Ever-Glorious is Tlakotani (except the princes, >of course). And I don't recall seeing any Tlakotani mentioned among the >high priests named in Mitlanyal. One would think that such a prestigious >lineage would have many members in high office. Is there some limitation >or social pattern that I am unaware of? The Tlakotani clan does have members in high positions, but the Omnipotent Azure Legion has been pretty careful about letting them attain undue power. High generals and potentates might tend to want to maintain their personal or lineage power by dubious means. Not that this doesn't occur... The Empire is just too big and complex for me to see everything. The chances of meeting a Tlakotani in a high position in some government bureau are actually quite good. >--And some specific legion questions: > >What was the fate of the Legion of the Translucent Emerald? In the back >of Deeds of the Ever-Glorious, the story of the legion's return from long >obscurity, and subsequent odyssey (served against Yan Kor, then to Tumissa >to serve Princess Ma'in Kruthai, then to Bey Su to join Prince Taksuru) is >recounted. Has the legion been given a number? What is its current >situation? Did it ever see combat? This legion saw combat in the last days of the Civil War: It helped Taksuru assault the defenders of Avanthar. Many of its members perished, but they're still around. Princess Ma'in wants it back now, and Taksuru has agreed -- grudgingly -- to send it back to Tumissa (which he has not yet done). >It would have been entertaining to see: a travel-toughened legion of >mountain farmers, their military training and gear some 500 years old, >tramping out of the east and out of the past to show up at the gates of >Ma'in Kruthai's palace... This did occur. You should have seen the look on her face! >--Also, I am a seeking information about two other Imperial legions: the >24th and 26th Heavy Infantry. Both are listed in Part 2, Volume 1 of the >Adventures on Tekumel series (this is the first of the Solitaire Adventure >series, with the blue cover), but I was unable to find mention of them in >Deeds of the Ever-Glorious or Gardasiyal. >Could anyone provide information on the history or disposition of these >legions? >Here is the information given in AoT: >24th HI: Legion of the All-Consuming Flame. General Chidoru hiSraisha of >Hekellu; devoted to Vimuhla, now at Sunraya. >(remarkable that such a small provincial place apparently supports 4 >legions: 2 heavy infantry (the 24th, and the recently resurrected Legion >of the Translucent Emerald), one of medium infantry, and one of Hlaka >scouts. I don't believe any other city of it's size supports that many >legions of humans, except Vra. Also, the Legions each appear to have >relatively strong temple affiliations: to Vimuhla, Dlamelish, and Wuru. >Hekellu must be a strange place.) Quite right. This represents the constant conflict over the recent centuries in the far northeast. Hekellu has always been a bubbling pot of hostilities, and many of its inhabitants seem predisposed to violence for reasons unknown to me. Ever been there? >26th HI: Legion of the Blue Peak. General Arunomu hiSsanmirin of the Clan >of Sea Blue; based at Jakalla; the General is the brother of the General >of the Legion of the Ruby Hand; mostly followers of Avanthe and Dlamelish. Nothing much I can say to this, except that debts had to be paid off during and after the recent Civl War. This has resulted in political call-ups of various old and defunct legions by people with political aspirations. >Many thanks and regards to the Groupmind, Regards, Phil ----- >Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu >The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu >Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1100 [Professor Barker responds to George's question about Battle Magic. ] >I've been wondering about the effect of battlefield magic. For an online >game I'm playing in, I've been speculating on the unsuccessful Engsvanyali >invasion of Livyanu that Bareka hiShanyal notes as occuring in the reign >of the Priest-King Ssesmuga IV, c. 3420 in the Ever-Reliable Calendar of >Jnathar Vera (Bareka's work appears as "enghist.pdf" at the Blue Room ftp >archive). The invasion is described as having failed "due to powerful >sorcery". I would be grateful for any information that could be provided >about this particular event, but would also appreciate a more general >discussion of the actual effect of battlefield magic. There isn't much else known about this remote period. The Livyani have always been renowned for their sorcery: they have depended on it as their main line of defense for centuries, right up until the recent invasion by Mu'ugalavya and the deployment of the anti-magical "black stones" brought over from the Planes Beyond. Ssesmuga's mages are recorded as "having access to the Spectral Essences of the Palace of the Blue Lord of Tlashte," whatever they were, and Livyanu's foes were sent reeling back by forces so powerful that "even the Armies of Splendid Ch'ochi itself could not withstand them." After the victory the Livyani wisely "returned their allies to non-being, in order not to allow them to spread danger and chaos across the face of Tekumel." There are indeed higher powers of sorcery than those now taught in the Tsolyani temples (the spell corpus given in the current Tekumel games). The players in the Thursday night roleplaying group have encountered a few of these unusual spells, almost always in the possession of undying wizards, beings from the distant past, and the like. A very, very few of these spells have been learned by one or another player character wizard. In time, these may appear in the teachings of the Tsolyani temples (which ones depend upon circumstances too complex to describe here). For example, the "Moonbeams" spell employed by Lady A'is, the lovely wife of Sanjesh hiKirisaya. She claims to be the reanimated daughter of one of the monarchs of the Dynasty of the Fisherman Kings, and her magic is slightly different from that practiced in modern Tekumel. Such spells are rare, of course, and are not available to modern wizards, largely because they do not know the lady and have not had an opportunity to learn her sorcery. Lord Sanjesh himself is careful not to publicise his wife's abilities, for fear some temple or government -- or the Imperium itself -- might kidnap her and wring her secrets out of her. A'is herself is well aware of this and never uses her special spells unwisely. Were such potent enchantments to become widely known, the whole system of spells and temple organisation would be shaken. >The Sourcebook notes that in the Five Empires, legions and/or armies have >contingents of sorcerors who work as special teams, combining their powers >to defend their troops from opposing magic and cast powerful (if somewhat >crude) offensive spells. These spell-casters are specialists, trained to >work together, and are different from the more conventional >sorceror-priests that we are familiar with. So what actually happens on >the battlefield? Do the forces cancel each other out? If they are >relatively well-matched, do any offensive spells get through to their >targets? Battlefield magic is described briefly in "Flamesong," as well in an article on the Battle of the Temple of Chanis, published some years ago in a wargaming magazine and then later again in one of the "Best of..." booklets. To answer specifically, both aggressive and defensive magical contingents have special repertories of spells that are amenable to "group use" -- most spells are not. A light spell, for example, is an individual production; putting two wizards -- or twenty -- together to produce a single giant light spell is just not possible, for unknown reasons. Mages have spent their lives in dedicated research, but no method of grouping such "individual" spells together has ever been found. Those spells which can be combined and used on a battlefield are all known, and are detailed in a number of treatises, the oldest of which goes back to the Latter Times. There are indeed a few minor variants, practised by this nation or that, but the basic structures do not seem to vary much. >It would seem that if one side or the other was not well protected, the >effect of magical attacks could be devastating. Large battles often hinge >on the clash of heavy infantry in close-order, and area-effecting magical >attacks could easily cause crucial disruptions in the ranks. This is absolutely true. The military forces of the Five Empires coddle their magic-user contingents diligently. Once skirmishers or special attack units (particularly of species less susceptible to sorcery) have penetrated an opponent's position and disrupted his magical contingent's spell concentration, that opponent's army is doomed to almost certain defeat. The Ahoggya have perhaps the best chance of getting through an enemy's magical defenses, but Shen and some other species also can sometimes repel magic and get into close combat with troops defending a magic contingent's position. >So how does this actually play out? Does anyone have some battlefield >experience they could share? Do attacks often get through? What does >battlefield magical combat look like? Does it often (ever?) occur that >one side is significantly less protected magically? If so, I imagine the >outcome is quickly and brutally resolved. Or perhaps there are rules of >honor that discourage this sort of thing? > >I suspect that at least some of my questions would be answered by "The Art >of Tactical Sorcery," but this essay is long out-of-print, and I have been >unable to find a copy. Carl Brodt says that the author has not been >willing to give him permission to reproduce it either. It wasn't entirely accurate in any case, having been written without consulting me for authenticity. >I did review the battles described in "Coming of Age in Tsolyanu" >(Adventures on Tekumel Part 2, Vol. 1): > >--At the attack on the Atkolel Heights, Yan Koryani sorcerors cast >Doomkill spells, but then are apparently suppressed by a Tsolyani casters. >--At the capture of Sunraya, no spells are used on the surface (an >explosion is triggered in the Underworld). >--At the siege of Tleku Miriya, we learn that city walls and major >buildings are protected by special spells developed during the Latter >Times (it would be nice to more of this!), and that the opposing sorcerous >contingents block each other's efforts. >--At the battle of Anohl, "magic bolts" explode above the heads of the >soldiers, but we don't learn if they have any effect. They didn't. Both sides had small magical contingents, and they cancelled each other out. >None of the other descriptions mention battlefield magic. >[I have never participated in a large scale battle with Phil, but ] >[I am sure that others who have will respond. As I understand, ] >[Battle Magic is different even though it may look like larger and] >[bigger versions of known spells. I would call the Magic Unit of ] >[an army a Battery. The mages are linked, power pooled, magic is ] >[shaped and cast. Some of the battery is geared to defense, some] >[to attack. It seems that in most cases, the magic unit is there ] >[to stalemate another magic unit. If you fight someone and they ] >[don't have a magic unit when you do, they are going to be in big ] >[trouble. My limited experience. ] All true. This is essentially how it is. >Well, I've rambled on more than intended. Any thoughts on battlefield >magic? Perhaps this would be a suitable article for the next issue of >"Seal of the Imperium"? Good idea. Regards, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1101 [Professor Barker responds to Chuck's contribution on Battle Magic. ] Good to hear from you,Chuck! We did indeed have a good time. >My tales of battle magic are based on battles with Barker present in days >when I still had hair. Indeed, lacking strong battle magic resources is a >near thing, but never insurmountable in my experience. In a balanced game, >where generals are supposed to have a working knowledge of the opponent on >the field, both sides often make sure of magic resources before engaging. >In each of three battles I was the Yan Koryani commander where I had lesser >resources in the magic field than my opponents. In fact, I generally >discounted any effect of magics short of tactical advantage (dropping a tree >on an insidious archer with a magic bow, blowing up a bridge while an enemy >unit crossed it, and on one dire emergency, firing spells into the ranks of >oncoming armor plated Shen at short range). The operations for most battle >magics is to keep the opponent priests from fragging your command staff and >your magic users. Tabletop miniatures battles are game abstractions, of course. Things happen that cannot occur in real battles: e.g. the godlike viewpoint of the opponents, who can see all of the battlefield and marshal their forces accordingly. Battlefield magic is like troop movement and fighting capabilities: it is subject to "rules" that both facilitate it and also limit it. This is naturally different from "reality." >In one battle, my rolls of dice were phenomenal (three d100 1's in a row) to >have normal archers penetrate the comfort zone of the Tsolyani command >platform and succeed in nailing the General himself inspite of magical >shields, magic armor, and a couple of offensive spells. (I believe that the >officer of that group was the only one to stagger back to my lines.) Battle >magics are powerful. They are just not the only lethal effect in battle. >Luring the enemy into his doom is always a nice touch, but don't rely on your >magics to go unheeded by the enemy priests. Or unavenged by nasty Mad Ones >who could care less about such things. Good advice. >Field tactics are almost magical in themselves. I learned about toe-clips >for sandals allowing a dust cloud to be raised. At a distance safe to >maneuver at speed, my army reassembled for an assault by hiding behind the >obscuring dust wall and marching to the right flank. The Tsolyani had to pick >up their entire seige train to chase me. Disrupting the enemy position on a >battlefield is more successful than simply knocking about a few hundred >troops with spells. >Magics with sound military plans and good opportunities work well, but do not >rely on the magics to stop enemy legions. It might make your troops lack >confidence in your military skills or question your worthiness to lead the >boyos into death's maw. Honor is ever at the fore and success depends on who >is left standing beside you. You always were a good general, Chuck. Wish you had been at the *real* battle of the Hill of the Stone Serudla in Milumanaya to aid Prince Mirusiya! The Tsolyani lost a lot of good men there, partially due to battlefield magic. Regards, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1102 [James Snead provides this account from his Tekumel. ] *The Cinnabar Porch, an architectural fragment of a once- substantial palace dating to Engsvanyali times, is a prominent monument of Sokatis. In essence a high, covered balcony overlooking an expanse of smoke-wreathed domes and temple towers, the porch provides a shady meeting place for the savants of the city. On lazy summer evenings they sit beneath the graceful arabesques of a distant era, drink dark ngalu wine, and dispute amongst each other over the lore of the ancients and tidings of arcane events. Towards the end of the recent civil disturbances the following document, pertaining to an incident which occurred in northeastern Tsolyanu, was revealed during such an informal gatherings at the Cinnabar Porch by Kokun Durumai, Scholar Priest of Gruganu and denizen of the Archive of the Bark-Eater in that city. He provided no explanation as to the origins of the manuscript, nor how it came into his hands. That it pertains to certain practices of desert clans is evident, as is its relatively recent date. Beyond this who can vouch for the truth of the matter? Or of the nature of the macabre sorcery to which it refers?* TO THE WEARER OF THE GARLAND OF FLAMES, salutations. *Editor: the unnamed author, apparently an officer in one of the Vimuhla-worshipping legions, had been dispatched on an intelligence-gathering mission to northeast Tsolyanu. The bulk of the report concerns the movement of tribes, which are of little interest here and have been omitted*. I desire to relate to you a curious incident, the import of which is hidden to me. It concerns one Ahwazh, a resident of the town of ____, a foreigner from lands further to the east who through advantageous marriage and involvement in commerce had greatly advanced his station. His prosperity, in fact, was a source of some comment among the townsfolk, since Ahwazh had once been among the poorest of the community. No hint of impropriety, however, had come to the ear of the authorities. Indeed, due to his fidelity to the Flame Lord he was held in great esteem by the Mriyan of the temple here. It is due to the influence of this priest, indeed, that I came to enter this tale. Ahwazh had a likely-looking son, who having reached the age of maturity was in preparation to undergo certain rites of manhood peculiar to this remote place. The priest, anxious to curry favor with the lad's father, came to me in supplication, requesting that I honor them by playing some small role in the ceremony. To this I assented, and in the company of two of my trusted men arrived at the temple on the appointed day and hour. A small procession had there assembled, and after casting an offering into the flames that symbolized the passing of youth we set out through the gates of the town. The son of Ahwazh, possessed of a fine voice, chanted liturgical passages as we marched, showing no fear for the trials ahead. In that desert the heat was significant even at such an early hour, and the fine armor we wore in keeping with the sacredness of the task would have soon dragged down lesser men. Our trail led beyond the places usually frequented by the townsfolk and into the wild, where soon the pools of Vaksoth the Bemuser of Men could be seen shimmering on the stony plain *Editor: the author refers to a local aspect of Lord Ksarul*. After perhaps two hours a rocky eminence came into view, crowned by some indistinct structure; to this we climbed, up a stair half-masked in windblown sand. At this moment an argument broke out between Ahwaz and the priest. The shrine ahead, it transpired, was not the usual setting for the rite, and indeed was unknown to almost all present. The priest was insistent, however, that conduct of the ritual was guided by certain omens, and that their course was directed by auguries which had taken place the previous evening. With evident reluctance the foreigner became silent, although his face remained pale with anger and what seemed to be dread, altogether unseemly for the event. It was no great distance to the summit, on which stood the shrine. It was of an antique style unknown to me, a low, square platform of yellow stone, open to the air, in the center of which the sacred fire burned in a stone-lined pit. Columns at each corner were built of circular drums which grew larger with height, forming inverted, pyramidal structures half again as tall as a man. At the far side of the platform stood a plain altar. All was unadorned and strangely plain. At the gesture of the priest we fanned out behind the boy, who stepped up on the platform with firm intent. Most strange of all was the figure which stood behind the fire. It was a man full-armed, garbed in military harness of archaic style, face hidden behind visor. His gauntleted hands clasped the pommel of a great steel sword, point down. Seen through the waves of heat and thin smoke generated by the fire The figure seemed an apparition of the past, one of Lord Vimuhla's holy warriors come to earth to defend the righteous. The chants had ceased, and while not a word was spoken, I gathered that the rite was to be a token clash of arms between the boy and this guardian, to my thinking a priest disguised in heirloom armor dispatched from the town this morning to be ready upon our arrival. Such ceremonies I have heard described for other remote corners of our empire. Ahwazh, it seemed, had given up his protest but still seemed uncertain, even stumbling slightly as he came up onto the platform to stand beside his son. The boy, however, in credit to his clan, stood firm, and at the prompting of the priest cried out a challenge and lifted his own sword in a martial pose. Murmurs of approval came from the witnesses, to which I added my own. At first nothing came from the masked figure, but then, as if lifting a great weight, it wordlessly raised the steel sword high in response to the challenge. The boy turned his head slightly, as if expecting more prompting from the priest, but none was forthcoming. Then the armored guardian took a long step sideways and suddenly had come around the flaming pit, weapon still raised to strike. At this the boy leapt forward, and announced his readiness to die if anything in his conduct should be judged unworthy, there before the altar of his god. There was only a little crack in his voice, which seemed more a product of youth, rather than fear. The sword of the guardian came down in a gleaming swing which caught the young man between neck and shoulder, the weight of the weapon and the strength of the blow nearly cleaving him in two. The utter shock of this struck those of us witnessing with the force of a fist. Bereft of words, I found myself groping in futility for my own weapon, while face of the priest went grey with amazement and horror. Then there came a roar of the hot desert wind, and we were for a moment blind and deafened. Spitting sand, I leapt onto the platform and called for my men to unsheathe their arms. The boy's eyes already stared sightless into the sky, but as the dust cleared it seemed that the murderous guardian, too, had taken some blow, for he lay fallen by the side of the pit of flame. Wary of treachery I continued ahead and reached to prod the armored body with my sword. At the touch of the weapon the helmet rolled free, empty. Indeed there was no body within the armor at all, although there had been no time for it to be discarded. I stepped back, the hairs rising on my neck, and my men, who had joined me there, exchanged apprehensive glances. There was nothing further that could be done for the boy, who at his end had acted with nobility. All noted, however, the strange behavior of the father. Ahwazh, as if stricken of sense, crouched motionless at the base of one of the strange pillars even while the temple functionaries bound up his son's body to be returned to honorable disposition in the town. His eyes looked not on the dead youth but on the altar at the far end of the platform. No one spoke to him, and indeed among the dispirited gathering there grew a sense that the harrowing events witnessed were the outcome of some secret shame. Unprepared, however, to entirely credit the day's events to spirits and demons, I sent my men to scout the hillock. They returned soon enough, bringing with them a report strange even in the context of a grim day, prompting me to bring the priest and return with them down a narrow trail they had discovered which led from the rear of the platform towards the plain below. The path ended at a small cave that had been cut into the hillside, perhaps once serving as a place for robing and the storage of items associated with worship at that place. The entry was half blocked by drifts of sand and rubble, implying that it had been many years since such it had seen regular use. Lying athwart the entrance was the body of a man whose naked form showed no obvious wound but whose face had been frozen by death into a rictus of terror. It had clearly been hours since he had been stripped of life. "This is our man," said the shocked priest, "the one who was to be the guardian. He was sent this morning, to light the flame, to don the armor, and to play the role ordained by the Lord of Flame." We stepped over the dead priest and struggled to enter the rubble-choked chamber, there finding yet another body, one shriveled and desiccated in the heat, a condition which had however preserved both his visage and the sword wound across the throat that had ended his life. The priest, whose haggard face told the story of the day's events, recognized this one, as well. "Yes, I knew him. His name was...Sukoi, as well as I can remember. Another foreigner, who lived in the town when I first came here. He disappeared 18, 20 years ago, and was thought to have returned to his own people. And..." the priest paused, taking a breath, "he was a close associate of Ahwazh. They were both poor men in those days." We returned, in silence, to the shrine. The temple servitors had rigged a sort of stretcher, on which the boy's body had been placed, ready to return to the city for a very different celebration than had been expected. Ahwazh remained crouched beneath the pillar, but as we approached he took his eyes away from the altar and searched our own, as if reading the news of our discoveries and the questions they raised. Then, while we waited there, he stood, stepped up to the bier, and stroked the boy's forehead with a gesture which testified both to affection and to grief. It was my thought that he would cast himself into the flame, and for a moment he seemed to consider this, too, but instead, reached around his neck and took out what at first looked like some small charm. Ahwazh pulled sharply, broke the thin chain, and held it up to the sun, where the object gleamed strangely. The priest tensed, as if in preparation to ward off a sorcerous attack, but Ahwazh lowered his arm and moved silently to the altar, where he placed the item on the flat surface and turned again to face us. "It is the Hand of Woe," he said, in a voice that seemed scarcely human. "I have risen high because of it; but its price was always four." With that he turned to one side, stepped off the edge of the platform, and vanished into a whirl of sand that appeared out of nothing to swallow him up. When we looked again he man was gone, as if consumed by the desert, and no footprints made a trail down the slope. We stood for a moment in the heat of early afternoon, conscious of a change as if from the passing of a shadow. There was, however, one thing remaining for me, and I walked across the pavement to the altar. There, on its surface, lay the item Ahwazh had placed there. It appeared to be a stone, flat and four cornered, bound with gold and with a loop at one angle which had been attached to the chain. Its gray surface seemed at first to be unadorned, but as I looked, it suddenly took on a glittering sheen, seething with whorls and inner movement. Then I noticed next to it, on the surface of the altar, a faint impression, which had exactly the same shape as the charm, as if at some earlier time the same malevolent talisman had sat on the altar for ages long enough to have left its imprint graven in the stone. At that moment the priests and his acolytes took up the drone of the chant for the honorable dead. I was suddenly aware again of the desert heat, and turned with heavy heart to join them, leaving behind on the altar the Hand of Woe and its secrets. Together, we began the long walk back. ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1103 [David Bailey comments on Battle Magic. ] >The operations for most battle >magics is to keep the opponent priests from fragging your command staff >and your magic users. This is a very interesting example of the very fine balance of power that pervades the whole of Tekumel. Over the millenia every fine advantage that can be found has been countered, counter-countered and so forth. Battle magic becomes, in some ways, a burden: commanders need to take a cohort of coddled, whining, pampered priests out to the field and all they actually acheive is a stalemate! A good modern analogy is chemical warfare - although the potential consequences are truely ghastly, the real effect on combat troops is to force them to slow down and carry protective suits and detection equipment. Also like chemical warfare, in the few campaigns where we have had the misfortune to come across it, battle magic is far more dangerous to bystanders than the enemy. On one occasion we were sneaking back to the Empire with the body of a Prince of the Latter Times in some sort of crystaline coffin when "leakage" from a cohort of Sarku mages who were fighting on the other side of a hill caused us some serious difficulty with an ambulant corpse. -- Midiro Ito (known on other less interesting planes as David J Bailey) ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1104 [David Bailey comments on the equipment of legions (esp. those that ] [sometimes appear out of history) in Tsolyanu. ] >It would have been entertaining to see: a travel-toughened legion of >mountain farmers, their military training and gear some 500 years old, >tramping out of the east and out of the past to show up at the gates of >Ma'in Kruthai's palace... To which Phil replied: >This did occur. You should have seen the look on her face! Indeed, such tales would become a great legend! There are several excellent adventures that cover the ways in which old legions can be revitalised, and each has given our little group hours of entertainment: * recovery of the standards (usually wrapped in lead foil and magically protected from decay) * finding a patron * appealing to the Emperor ISTR that there is at least one legion (or the greater part of it) lost in the Unending Grey. But perhaps that is not official Tekumel. When or where they pop out they will cause a stir, I am sure. There is good archeological evidence that stone, bronze and iron weapons stayed in use for many many generations or until destroyed or buried as grave goods. Perhaps, on Tekumel, military gear a *mere* 500 years or so old is unlikely to earn more than a second glance and perhaps a few low whistles for failing to keep such minor family heirlooms in the usual excellent state of repair... -- Midiro Ito (known on other less interesting planes as David J Bailey) ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1105 [Bob Dushay asks some good questions about various undead. ] Some thoughts about the Undead. In the old EPT rules, Mrur had to be burned so that they wouldn't rise again. This was clarified in both the Blueroom (I think) and the Tekumel Bestiary, where it says they should be destroyed so an adept can't reanimate them. My questions are about what other details about the undead are "game effects" and what is the "reality" behind them? How close are my guesses below? Hra are said to keep rising unless they are burned, and to pursue enemies relentlessly. What's the "reality" behind this information? I am figuring the enchantment that reanimates them is powerful enough to let their parts scuttle together, and the magic that reanimated them in the first place is powerful enough to hold whatever scraps of their body together. Fire either destroys the body so much that there's nothing to hold together (in which case, blasting the Hra into particles, or dissolving it in acid would also do the trick) or disrupts the enchantment (in which case only fire will do). As for the relentless pursuit, I'm guessing Hra have enough intelligence to recognize foes. Stability forces will be attacked on sight, while worshippers of Ksarul and Sarku would not. However, other followers of Change cannot be sure what a Hra will do. If they encounter a party of Karakan-worshippers, and the party's slaves run away, the Hra will first deal with the warriors who stay and fight, and any survivors will track the slaves, unless these were identifiable as followers of Ksarul or Sarku. But I can't see them pursuing those slaves into the sunlight, nor would they wait until night to leave the Underworld to hunt them in their beds. Or would they? Finally, what about the draining of fluids from the victims? Hra are probably like vampires, with fangs and they draw the fluids from their defeated victims to help sustain their bodies. I'm seeing them as large, vaguely human appearing, with skins of a dingy grey or black. Older specimens who haven't fed recently may be shrivelled, looking like mummies, while fresher specimens may be fuller-fleshed, but still undeniably dead. I'm having a lot more trouble with Shedra. From the spell listed in the Gardasiyal rules, I see them as looking similar to Mrur. I'm guessing their consumption of other corpses helps fuel them, ennabling them to heal wounds and keep their undead flesh cohesive. But how do they cause the bodies of those they kill to rise as Shedra? Since they fight with swords, they need never actually touch an opponent. I was thinking the spell that animates them has an area effect, but if this were so, the entire catacombs would be awash in Shedra. Plus, what's the spell that must be cast immediately on a victim to prevent their rising? Some form of Alleviation? Finally, do Shedra reanimate as the Hra do when they are defeated, or must an adept cast a spell on their remains again, as for the Mrur? --Bob Dushay rdushay@mindspring.com ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1106 [Administrative Note - June 24, 2000 ] There are 2 items this week. The first is an observation by David Bailey about one of Phil's answers to a previous question. The second is an announcement of a campaign opening by Michael Schwartz. >Monopoly is a greatly abstracted vision of >Atlantic City, New Jersey funny - looks like it was based on London to those who live in the Old World. I suspect Tekumeliani feel the same about the inhabitants of other planes: "well, they look a bit like us, but they have history all wrong, dear..." -- Midiro Ito (known on other less interesting planes as David J Bailey) --- (A copy of this message has also been posted to the following newsgroups: alt.games.frp.tekumel) Hey folks, The PENDRAGON campaign in which I have played for the past six years has wound to a close and I have decided to begin a fresh campaign of my own. Thus far no specifics have been settled upon, other than choosing a rules set (HERO WARS, the new roleplaying game by Robin Laws and Greg Stafford) and narrowing down the setting to either Glorantha (Ralios, Sartar, the East Isles or Prax) or Tekumel (Chaigari, Tsolyanu, Pechano or Livyanu). HERO WARS is built around a fairly simple mechanic, is easy to learn, and allows for the dramatic resolution of activities as varied as personal combat, magical duels, influence peddling or sexual seduction... just a few things for which the average player-character (Gloranthan or Tekumelani) is famous. And all using the same mechanics! I have never in all my twenty-plus years in roleplaying found a system which performed as admirably without the need to fudge significantly. Of the people I have thus far contacted, most are fans of both settings... so it could go either way. Interested parties in the southeastern Michigan area should contact me at the address below. I would like to see this campaign get off to a start before August, so get in touch ASAP if you wish to play and can commit to a monthly or bi-weekly play schedule. ==================================================================== Michael Schwartz mschwartz@mindspring.com Ann Arbor, MI USA ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1107 [Professor Barker replies to David's messages. ] Battle magic is indeed a way of slowing down and harassing an enemy army. It also slows down your own forces. But it keeps every little would-be hero from running out and zapping enemy leaders with his own little Eye of Raging Power (or what have you). Can you imagine warfare in which magic is used and in which there is *no* counter? What a mess that would be! With no way to defend your generals and organised forces, warfare would quickly become an incredible chaos of warring magicians. >[David Bailey comments on the equipment of legions (esp. those that ] >[sometimes appear out of history) in Tsolyanu. ] > >>It would have been entertaining to see: a travel-toughened legion of >>mountain farmers, their military training and gear some 500 years old, >>tramping out of the east and out of the past to show up at the gates of >>Ma'in Kruthai's palace... > >To which Phil replied: > >>This did occur. You should have seen the look on her face! >Indeed, such tales would become a great legend! There are several >excellent adventures that cover the ways in which old legions can be >revitalised, and each has given our little group hours of entertainment: Several legends tells of similar events. They are indeed interesting. >* recovery of the standards (usually wrapped in lead foil and magically >protected from decay) >* finding a patron >* appealing to the Emperor You have found some of the ways in which adventures can revolve around legion histories. There are more, and they are just as much fun, though some are complicated by politics, religion, etc. >ISTR that there is at least one legion (or the greater part of it) lost in >the Unending Grey. But perhaps that is not official Tekumel. When or >where they pop out they will cause a stir, I am sure. Yes, in "official" Tekumelani history there is a legion lost in the Unending Grey. Arrogance on the part of its general led to a confrontation with Other-Planar creatures, which in turn caused said general to use a very potent Nexus Point spell, which led directly into the Unending Grey. They're still in there... >There is good archeological evidence that stone, bronze and iron weapons >stayed in use for many many generations or until destroyed or buried as >grave goods. Perhaps, on Tekumel, military gear a *mere* 500 years or so >old is unlikely to earn more than a second glance and perhaps a few low >whistles for failing to keep such minor family heirlooms in the usual >excellent state of repair... Exactly. Regards, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable. //1108 [Professor Barker replies to Bob Dushay's questions about undead. Your ideas are essentially correct. The Undead function much as described in the source materials. There are not many "game devices" that are there just to make them interesting -- or to make them more like ancient Earth ideas of the "Undead." No mirrors or appearing as bats, of course, and jabbing a Mrur or a Hra with a wooden stake would probably kill it if you hit the right spot -- but would otherwise wound it or just discommode it. The Hra might not follow foes out of the Underworld, but they certainly do chase them relentlessly within it -- until enough time and distance have passed to make the creatures give up and go elsewhere. In D-n-D and in the Empire of the Petal Throne rules, these creatures inhabited specific rooms in the Underworlds (remember? "You open the door to the room and see ten vampires, one mummy, three trolls, and whatever else.") In "real" Tekumel, such creatures are often posted as guardians of tombs or treasures. They are also set to patrol a labyrinth to keep hostiles from passing through it. This is all done with magic and is not all that different from the "game." >Finally, what about the draining of fluids from the victims? Hra are >probably like vampires, with fangs and they draw the fluids from their >defeated victims to help sustain their bodies. Fluids (blood, mostly, though some need other liquids to survive) are indeed needed to sustain life and energy. There is no real crucial property in blood that distinguishes it from a milkshake for a Hra. It is just convenient for keeping the creature from dessicating. It's also nutritious! >I'm seeing them as large, vaguely human appearing, with skins of a dingy >grey or black. Older specimens who haven't fed recently may be shrivelled, >looking like mummies, while fresher specimens may be fuller-fleshed, but >still undeniably dead. You're omitting the stench. >I'm having a lot more trouble with Shedra. From the spell listed in the >Gardasiyal rules, I see them as looking similar to Mrur. I'm guessing their >consumption of other corpses helps fuel them, ennabling them to heal wounds >and keep their undead flesh cohesive. But how do they cause the bodies of >those they kill to rise as Shedra? Since they fight with swords, they need >never actually touch an opponent. I was thinking the spell that animates >them has an area effect, but if this were so, the entire catacombs would be >awash in Shedra. Plus, what's the spell that must be cast immediately on a >victim to prevent their rising? Some form of Alleviation? The Shedra are fuled by the nutrients in their victims' flesh, just as some other inhabitants of the Underworlds. Their bodies are imbued with a magical poison (the creation of the Latter Times and those that created them). This poison is concentrated in the teeth and fingernails of the shedra. When a foeman contacts enough of it, he may die and return as a Shedra. This poison, in reality, is not very deadly, and a lot of it has to be sent coursing through an enemy's veins in order to bring about the transformation into a new Shedra. It also takes a little time, depending upon the foeman's natural resistance. The Shedra themselves are neither intelligent nor conscious enough to gather this poison into flasks or shoot it with a hypodermin needle or some other clever way of getting it into an enemy's body in large qunatity. This is all briefly symbolised in the rules. >Finally, do >Shedra reanimate as the Hra do when they are defeated, or must an adept >cast a spell on their remains again, as for the Mrur? It is safest to destroy the bodies of both of these creatures. They may not actually be "dead" and thus may resurrect again, A thoroughly destructive spell, fire, etc. are best to get rid of them. Otherwise they may indeed "regrow." There's a lot more to be said about the Undead, their powers, and their means of existence. Perhaps I may write a treatise on it someday. Regards, Phil ----- Chris Davis Moderator, The Blue Room blueroom@prin.edu The Blue Room's FTP site: http://nexus.prin.edu or ftp://nexus.prin.edu Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.