Quote from: AsenRG;989184Please do, Uncle! Also, I have one taker already. I might need to call some GMs on this forum and others, if there are more takers than I could handle:).

I'm also striving to "listen to those who suffered, not those who are merely old", as the proverb says.

...And don't stay for the counterattack, unless you have obtained superior position. Right, Uncle;)?

Agreed, on all points!

I used to drive people ,ad with my habit of taking up an offensive position in a campaign, and they'd move to the attack only to find that it was a superb defensive position. I fought a lot of battles that way, and had a fair bit of success doing so.

Quote from: Baron Opal;989235I remember this one.

"Dad, I'm confused. Who are the good guys?"
"There aren't any, son. They're just different levels of bad."
"Oh. Okay."

Very true!!!

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;989260How about a brand new Tekumel illustration, from Dan Barker, known for his Glorantha illustrations

A Ssu warrior.
https://arkat-kingtrollkin.deviantart.com/art/Black-Ssu-warrior-682175227

Very, very cool! Thank you!!!

I'm breaking this into two replies, if I may...

Quote from: kk7;989387To start from the top; "use" and "relevance" to whom, for what? I think the sheer length of this thread and its predecessor answer, "varied people" and "serious interest". If you mean, do your games, stories, and miniatures contribute to helping other people start to play the way you do? I really don't think so. Why should that matter to whether it's "worth" the bandwidth?

Take me: I have no more interest in gaming the way you do, or learning "how to", than I would ever expect you to want to learn to do it my my way. That's crazy talk. And a completely separate issue from being interested, curious, and enriched by _hearing_ about it. And your blog and this thread and all the other stuff you take the time to share is interesting, cat-murderous, and fulfilling, IMO.

I'd like to think that what "we" have in common is that, however content we are with our own way of doing things, we can appreciate hearing from each other -- while certainly there _are_ a lot of gamers, and more to the point, game writers and producers and developers, who can't tolerate any such equilibrium. Because they've got things to sell and bases to grow.

Totally laying aside your specific Tekumel history and knowledge base -- abstractly speaking here; not pretending I actually can do that -- I still feel that I've greatly benefited from hearing about your "way" of gaming, and no matter how remote it stays from my own experiences, I'd enjoy keeping hearing more about it. Understanding other ways of life in their own terms? Come on, guys, it's Anthro 101!

I really agree with this! I am not - I hope! - out there claiming that there's One True Way To Play; we all have different gaming interest and play styles, and I think the hobby is a big enough tent to hold all of us. What I'm hoping is that my meanderings and anecdotes provide a window into how some people were playing games back in the dawn of time, and that some of them were The Floundering Fathers of what we call 'gaming' today. If people can take anything away from this thread of my little blog for use in their games, then I'm a happy camper - and I'll continue to make the investments in time, energy, and resources to bring folks what I do and enjoy.

So, everyone, ask away! It's why I'm here...

Quote from: kk7;989387I understand M.A.R. Barker got his undergraduate degree in anthropology and so was (I think?) a +2 generation student of Papa Franz. So let me introduce you to Dr. F. Boas -- father of American ethnology; also grandfather of Tekumel?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1519[/ATTACH]

(FTR, our underwear is better nowadays, but not our coolness )

Phil did indeed get his two-year degree in anthropology (in 18 months), and he told me once that he'd intended to become a specialist in Meso-American anthropology. I am sure he was familiar with Dr. Boas' work.

Love the picture, too - it reeks of Phil's sense of the absurd!

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;989260A Ssu warrior.
https://arkat-kingtrollkin.deviantart.com/art/Black-Ssu-warrior-682175227

Great pic! Too many drawings don't do the Ssu justice, IMHO. Instead of the terrifying image of a multi-limbed alien/cthulhu-esqu being covered in tattered, dead flesh mummy wrappings, too often the look like they are covered in melting wax or butter. And there is  a great deal of nice art floating around for Tekumel, wish it could get rounded up in one place. I know, I know, its not Official Art, engraved on Stone Tablets by Prof Barker's Diadochi.

For that matter, I wish I could put how I see them on paper but I draw fat stickmen.

Did you ever drop any of your m class spells Underground? I figure some of them would turn a hallway filled with foes into lasagna.

Quote from: Big Andy;990184Great pic! Too many drawings don't do the Ssu justice, IMHO. Instead of the terrifying image of a multi-limbed alien/cthulhu-esqu being covered in tattered, dead flesh mummy wrappings, too often the look like they are covered in melting wax or butter. And there is  a great deal of nice art floating around for Tekumel, wish it could get rounded up in one place. I know, I know, its not Official Art, engraved on Stone Tablets by Prof Barker's Diadochi.

Agreed. Although the artist admits himself that he's not quite sure of his handling of the Ssu shape, it's an excellent first take. Wish there was more like it out there.
The Foundation is supposed to be working on art guidelines. We'll see how helpful they are, whenever they appear.

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;990495The Foundation is supposed to be working on art guidelines. We'll see how helpful they are, whenever they appear.

Art guidelines? Are Jeff Dee's Bethorm illustrations not up to snuff? Are the Tekumel Club figures out of spec? Is my old ahoggya figure painted the wrong shade of brown? Oy.

Blaise

Quote from: bconsidine;990532Art guidelines? Are Jeff Dee's Bethorm illustrations not up to snuff? Are the Tekumel Club figures out of spec? Is my old ahoggya figure painted the wrong shade of brown? Oy.

Blaise

This exactly. You beat me to it.
+1

Shemek.

I'm going to break this into two replies as well, if you don;t mind...

Quote from: Big Andy;990184Great pic! Too many drawings don't do the Ssu justice, IMHO. Instead of the terrifying image of a multi-limbed alien/cthulhu-esqu being covered in tattered, dead flesh mummy wrappings, too often the look like they are covered in melting wax or butter. And there is  a great deal of nice art floating around for Tekumel, wish it could get rounded up in one place. I know, I know, its not Official Art, engraved on Stone Tablets by Prof Barker's Diadochi.

For that matter, I wish I could put how I see them on paper but I draw fat stickmen.

Agreed! One of the really cool things about the Tekumel track of programming at our local game con is the literal wall of artwork put up by Steve Vossler; he's done a great job of promoting Tekumel through this and other displays he's done.

If I may toot our own horn, all know Tekumel artwork is indeed gathered in one place - my files. My wonderful Missus routinely scours the Internet to find things, and updates out archives weekly.

Quote from: Big Andy;990184Did you ever drop any of your m class spells Underground? I figure some of them would turn a hallway filled with foes into lasagna.

No, not underground - way too powerful! I did use one of them once inside a building, but the idea was to collapse the place with my foes inside it. Worked like a charm, and I made sure that the last Tsolyani Imperial Governor went off to the Isles of Teretane with a lot of enemies to serve him in the afterlife. Me, I made sure to have an archway over my head, and all I got was some dings on the top of my helmet from falling debris. If I may say, it was one of the most satisfying spells I ever cast.

The 'M' series are major military spells, and very potent; they do drain all of the Other-planar power in an area, too, so when I do my thing it's pretty spectacular. Magic users specialize in retail slaughter; I specialize in wholesale slaughter.

Quote from: Neshm hiKumala;990495Agreed. Although the artist admits himself that he's not quite sure of his handling of the Ssu shape, it's an excellent first take. Wish there was more like it out there.
The Foundation is supposed to be working on art guidelines. We'll see how helpful they are, whenever they appear.

The art is just fine. He used the old Craig Smith drawing as a source, and he did a good job.

They've been talking about it for five years. Don't hold your breath.

Quote from: bconsidine;990532Art guidelines? Are Jeff Dee's Bethorm illustrations not up to snuff? Are the Tekumel Club figures out of spec? Is my old ahoggya figure painted the wrong shade of brown? Oy.

Blaise

No; it is not approved for use with Official and Authorized Tekumel. Only the TF has the right to authorize and approve material for use with Tekumel; artists like Craig Smith, Dave Sutherland, Kathy Marshall, Chris Huddle, Ken Fletcher, Karen Engleson, Jim Garrison and others have not had their work approved by the TF. Information on Tekumel by one M. A. R. Barker is also not approved, unless it has been - and I quote - "properly interpreted" for you by the TF.

They baffle me, they really do. I've had half-a-dozen people and groups who want to do business with them in here at the house asking me where their heads are at, and I have to confess that I really don't know.

Quote from: Shemek hiTankolel;990546This exactly. You beat me to it.
+1

Shemek.

Yeah. I feel really sorry for Phil and his creation.

Chirine,

I'm intrigued, what are these M spells all about? Are they unique to Phil's games, or were they published somewhere? Would it be possible to provide a listing of these spells, perhaps the one's your alter ego knows?

Shemek