online via IRC - Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne - Additional players wanted

[Casey777]

For the Love of Golden Sapphire seeks additional players.

Play Location/Method: via IRC chat
Game/System: Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne (see site for house rules)
Player or GM? I'm the GM in this campaign.
Time/Frequency: Alternating to every Saturdays, 8pm Eastern Time to whenever. Pickups are possible.
Genre: Byzantine Buck Rogers Hindi-Mesoamericans. Pulpy fantastic sci-fi. Clan, military, political, religious intrigue. Emphasis is on roleplay and character development.
Current needs: one to four additional players. Knowledge of Tekumel is not required. This is a good game for newbies or beginners to Tekumel.
Accept Drop-In Players? Yes, if I have the meaning right. Campaign has started but players are welcome at any time.
Accept Spectators? Yes, please check the game website and contact me first.
Short description of the setting/campaign:

PCs are members of medium level clan Golden Sapphire in the country of Tsoylanu, the Empire of the Petal Throne, shortly after a devastating civil war. The Regiment of Noble Ssiyor of Mrelu marches soon to the city of Khirgar, bastion and gateway of the north. Bid your farewells as you prepare to leave home and embark on a great adventure for your clan, temple, occupation, and yourself.

For Lan Khomoyi, 'Good Noble Action', member of Golden Sapphire!

note: not every character needs to be a soldier or directly part of the military

[Casey777]

New players still welcome! Experience with Tekumel or the new Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne RPG is not required.

Two regularly updated threads:

Session Summaries
Site Updates

Sessions so far:

Session 001 Messenger & Arena
Session 001B Eyes for Sale
Session 002 Tattoos, Tower, and Combat
Session 003 Vizan and the Gnawing Thing
Session 003A Letter in the Rooms of Healing
Session 004 Remembrance and Rain

Current characters:

Aijom hiUsena - merchant, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Karakán, clan merchant
Areli hiUsena - priest, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Thúmis, lay priestess
Dha'ali Sitra hiUsena - soldier, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Sárku, Regiment of Noble Ssiyór of Mrelú
Urfa hiUsena - guard, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Vimúlha, clan guard
Urutlen hiUsena - priest, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Thúmis, ritual priest

Characters range in age from 16 (Dha’ali) to 29 (Aijom).

[Casey777]

Just to clarify, though the campaign revolves around a military unit's movement characters do not need to be soldiers or otherwise directly part of the military. The legion’s movement orders are the overarching impetus to get the campaign started. The focus is on player actions and character development with some big events happening in the background to serve as a framework and added depth.

So to play in For the Love of Golden Sapphire you don’t have to be interested in playing in a military campaign or as a military type!

Also Guildportal.com added page views per hour limits at peak hours for free sites without informing me. I found this out the hard way and it’s only been added to Guildportal’s FAQ afterwords. So if you’ve tried to view the website recently and haven’t been able to, that’s likely why. If needed I can email you with more information about the campaign, just PM me.

[Jim Bob]

Tekumel is one of those very detailed game worlds people are keen on playing, but scared to start, because of so many details.

Is it possible for someone like me, who knows no more of the game world than they can see on a couple of websites, to play it okay? Or would they be totally lost?

[Casey777]

Originally Posted by Jim Bob

Tekumel is one of those very detailed game worlds people are keen on playing, but scared to start, because of so many details.

I was like that until Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne was released, which really breaks the setting down into digestible chunks. Some of the websites & books are great but it took T:EPT before I “got” Tekumel.

Tekumel.com is very good and I recommend How to Play Tekumel esp. the latter half. Also New to Tekumel?, and You're not in Kansas Anymore, though they're a bit heavy. I’d download (if you haven’t already) the previews of T:EPT at Guardians of Order and DTRPG. The GOO preview’s “What is Tekumel?” and “Basics” and the DTRP preview’s drawing of a city are helpful in particular.

That all being said I feel it’s enough that the GM (me in this case) has T:EPT or another Tekumel book. I do recommend T:EPT above previous versions of Tekumel for those new to the setting.

Is it possible for someone like me, who knows no more of the game world than they can see on a couple of websites, to play it okay? Or would they be totally lost?

Yes I think it’s possible to play for someone in your position. I have four active players and none of them had any knowledge of Tekumel prior to this campaign and only one so far has purchased any Tekumel books. Tekumel is Gonzo Byzantine Hindi Aztecs as written by Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard.

For this campaign I’ve deliberately set it in an average trading city in the interior of the country detailed in T:EPT. The party are all members of an average extended family (clan) who tend to worship gods of fertility, wisdom, and healing. The impetus for the campaign is the moving of a legion (think Roman legion) from that city, their home base, to a fortress city in the north. The legion does not favor any particular faction or religion and is lead by a genuine crackpot who keeps trying to “improve” his legion’s tactics and armory. This takes place only a few years after the end of a divisive civil war, so things are still settling down. I made these choices to make getting into the game as easy as I could while still keeping a good bit of Tekumel’s flavor and intrigue.

The key thing for me is having an enjoyable game and players playing being more important than accurately recreating Tekumel. I focus more on presenting situations for my players to act on than setting minutiae and I prefer to add in new aspects of Tekumel during play. In play I assume Tekumel society continues to function and like any society most daily happenings pass unremarked upon by its members (i.e. the characters). When in doubt just tell me what you want to do. I also tend towards using English wherever possible or in addition to a Tekumel specific word and try to use as many descriptors as possible. So, “The alien triceratops chlen beast trudges by on its six legs, pulling a heavy cart. Its triple eyes glance at you for a moment, birds pecking at its thick blue-grey hide”.

I would suggest looking over the session summaries for my campaign. There are links to session transcripts in that thread. IIRC there are also some actual play threads here on rpg.net from other campaigns. I should set one up from this one. I’ve also asked permission to mirror as much Tekumel art as I can as I find visual representations really help. They can be found on the images links of the campaign’s website. I’ve also set up an information section on the website.

Feel free to ask any more questions. If you're able to sit in on a session or pickup game. If not you're welcome to join the website as a lurker.

[Rhuvein]

Hi Casey777. You might recall me from DF, where I post occasionally - mostly C&C. Anyway, I assume it might be too late to join the game, but if possible I would like to lurk so I can learn a little more about the game & Tekumel. And I've seen the Tekumel site, but want to return there to read up on some of those links you posted.
I've actually been more interested in getting the orginal game, but that might be because I like collecting.

Anyway thanks,

Rhuvein.

[Casey777]

Originally Posted by Rhuvein

Hi Casey777. You might recall me from DF, where I post occasionally - mostly C&C. Anyway, I assume it might be too late to join the game, but if possible I would like to lurk so I can learn a little more about the game & Tekumel. And I've seen the Tekumel site, but want to return there to read up on some of those links you posted.
I've actually been more interested in getting the orginal game, but that might be because I like collecting.

(waves) Allo. Cool, yeah I'm behind on posting on DF between RL and getting this game going. >.< That and my C&C book is loaned out.

I'm still looking for additional players and you're welcome to join the campaign website and lurk. We have enough to play but a few additional players would help. One player is currently down South helping out and schedules are busy for others.

I use a modified form of the new T:EPT rules (streamlined for online play) but ownership isn't required for play. The original Empire of the Petal Throne is still a good resource, well worth getting in either the original TSR boxed set, the reprints, or on PDF from DTRPG.

Thanks for the interest. You can either PM me for more details or go ahead and join the campaign website.

- Casey/ Clan Mum

[Rhuvein]

Thanks Casey. I'll join and check it out! And then, hopefully I can join the group!

[Casey777]

Site updated, files restored.

Session 005 Cloaks among the Refuse transcript and summary added.

Inactive Character:
Urutlen hiUsena - priest, medium clan Golden Sapphire, Thúmis, ritual priest

[Casey777]

Bump for the Actual Play Thread being started.


"For the Love of Golden Sapphire

A Tekumel game using a streamlined version of Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne. The campaign follows the triumphs and tribulations of a Tsoylani clan soon after a devastating civil war.

The players are all promising young members of the medium rank clan Golden Sapphire. Their characters are assigned to accompany a legion on its journey north. For most it will be their first time away from home and clan, for others it will be a familiar journey. Some have ties with the legion or the north, others are there to support their clansibs.

Archaeology, Intrigue, Romance, and Violence among the shadows, under the streets, and on other dimensions awaits!"