Mishaps in Mechanéno

 

The game has started to take on a life of its own, and has been a pleasure to DM. Given the chaotic situations that the party seem to continually find themselves in I have decided to name the campaign "Mishaps in Mechanéno."  

Some brief accounts of the last few game sessions...

 

August 8, 2020.

 

Events took a turn for the interesting last game. The two leaders(?) of Mechaneno's street urchins were found to be alive and rescued. Some interesting intelligence was revealed

–it  would seem that the Salarvyáni are meddling in the internal affairs of Pechano, again, and, maybe, with the help of locals; Lord Shemek seems to have other "agents," with access to powerful devices of the ancients, working on his behalf pursuing other threads of interest; and now, the party has decided to leave Mechanéno in pursuit of the Salarvyani that have apparently kidnapped a Pecháni princess from the East and are hoofing it to the border. Mayhem must surely ensue.  The game's afoot!

 

August 22, 2020

 

So, last night was a bit of a roller coaster. The party went out of Mechanéno in hot pursuit of some kidnappers, and ran into the more mundane obstacles that one can find on the Sakbé Road. Everything from greedy custom agents, to large bodies of troops on deployment seemed to be impeding them. They did find the kidnapped Princess Ja'alitle, and her loyal Lady in Waiting Nomantla metres away from the Salarvyáni border, and after a brief struggle and some efficiently cast spells the cowardly Salarvyáni fled or were incapacitated. After a hasty retreat, and many coins later/lighter the party find themselves safely back in Mechanéno, or are they? Very interesting session from a DM's perspective, and even in a little nation like Pecháno the intrigue and machinations seem to be at the forefront.

 

Sept 7, 2020

 

Due to some unforeseen developments at work I was forced to delay the game a week, but I think that we made up for it last night. Although not an especially long game, it was a productive one. The Rekhmel compound was assaulted by a mob of Pecháni determined to free the poor Mechanani girl being held by the wretched easterners, and their Rekhmel lords. The party was not willing to relinquish the princess to these folk, and a most successful casting of The Hands of Krá the Mighty by the worthy Kotaru, a priest of Qón, rendered the hapless Pecháni rabble-rouser into a gooey mess (34 points of damage delivered, a failed saving throw, and he only had 3hp to begin with). Not surprisingly the mob's resolve started to waiver, and many slipped away not wanting any part of this any longer. Some clever taunts and misdirection by the party confused the mob even more, and kept them distracted long enough for the Pecháni City Guard, and some soldiers, to arrive and disperse them. Unfortunately, it would appear that more powerful agents may be involved, as in the party's moment of victory a fiery red light appeared, melting the front of the building on whose roof they were perched, incinerating the slave Lobi, and frying poor Kemek and horribly burning him. It was only the quick jump of Beshmu, bum leg and all, that saved his life and spared him from a similar fate. Kotaru came through again, casting  a heal spell and saving Kemek's life.  The party was immediately surrounded by Rekhmel retainers and escorted to safety inside their compound. While walking to compound the party noticed  the Salarvyáni  "giant" encountered a few days earlier in the foreigner's quarter slipping into a back alley. It would seem that he was responsible for the mob's attack. After a good night's sleep the party was rewarded by the grateful Rekhmel representative by each member being given a finely crafted steel dagger and ornate sheath emblazoned with the Rekhmel Clan symbol. Afterwards  they were then escorted back to the Tsolyáni delegation's compound by armed guards, only to face the formidable Lady Jalessa hiViridame –the Major Domo of the Delegation. The party had much explaining to do…. Much mayhem was in abundance last night.

 

Sept 12, 2020

 

Last night's adventure was not as action packed as the previous week's was, but potentially significant things were begun by the group. The mysterious N'ek P'tek, an agent and friend of Lord Shemek, contacted the group and brought some troubling news.

It would seem that the kidnapping of the princess was part of a larger Salarvyani plan to destabilise Pecháno, and undo the alliance with Tsolyanu. N'ek P'tek, at the behest of Shemek, has been searching for some time to uncover the identity and location of  the agents responsible. Both Lord Shemek and N'ek P'tek suspected that the princesses flight to Mechanéno was related to this operation, and had hoped that by thwarting it they would be able to put a face to the name of  Gurrushégmesh, the apparent master mind and leader of the Salarvyáni, and flush him into the open. They did not achieve their goal, but the party has helped to identify some of the other players, a gang of Salarvyáni thugs operating out of the Foreign quarter, seemingly with the inexplicable ability to wander freely around the rest of Mechanéno, even after dark. N'ek P'tek feels that these thugs will be the surest way to Gurrushégmesh.

So, at the behest of the Lord Shemek, and perhaps the Imperium, N'ek P'tek has reminded the party of their duty to the Imperium, and "directed"  our brave heroes, and heroine, back to the Foreigner's Quarter of Mechanéno. He then instructed them to discretely find out what these thugs are up to, and report back to him everything they discover. It would seem that the party has been given a new purpose not related to the Delegation's mission….  

Return to Tekumel.

 

I'm back on Tékumel.  After a couple of years of inactivity I have recently had the opportunity to return and see what's what. I was fortunate enough recently to be able to start a game with a group of veteran Tékumel players and aficionados. I have decided to have the game take place during the reign of Hetkolainnen it is far enough away from the "real Tekumel" to give me the flexibility to do what I want whilst still being close enough to the events from the books to provide a sense of familiarity. The current game year is 2340 AS.

 Set in Pecháno, where else, the party is part of a Tsolyani delegation sent by the Imperium to establish closer relations between the lands. Being from solid middle level clans they are of course 'important,' but minor members of the group. Unfortunately, it would seem that they have been forgotten and have been cooling their heels in the mansion so kindly provided by the Pecháni Crown. Trying to keep themselves amused they have taken advantage of the travel documents so graciously given to them and started to explore Mechaneno, ultimately becoming involved in local politics at the behest of Shemek hiTankolel. Things are moving quickly and many things are being revealed.  

We have had 3 or 4 games already and I probably should start chronicling their adventures on this forum as a type of campaign diary…

 

 

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Although it has been quiet around here lately, I haven't abandoned the blog yet.

Merry Christmas

P.S.

Santa Ssu wishes everyone a Merry Christmas as well.

Remembrance Day, 100 years later.

A Canadian Soldier of the Great War

Today is Remembrance Day, a day that marks the end of  WW1, also known as the Great War, and commemorates the sacrifice of those British and Commonwealth troops that served in this conflict. Coincidently,  today also happens to mark the 100^th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities. The participants are all gone now, consigned to the pages of history texts, and yet it would seem that we are desperately in need of their conviction and courage these days. The familiar evils of tyranny, and suppression, are still very much alive and well these days. In fact some might say that they are thriving! Although we cannot say that the First World War was fought to end these patterns of behaviour, many of the participants surely felt that they were doing just this. After the guns fell silent at 11:00am  on November 11, 1918,  the Western world, so horrified at the slaughter of the previous four years, felt that this was a war so horrible that no other wars could be considered if one remembered the horror of the trenches. Sadly, how wrong they were.

Today I will spend the day with family and then, later, sitting in front of the fire, have a drink to the memory of those that served, and to those that I served with. I may even meet up with some of the lads and talk about the old days, but probably not. Lest We Forget…..

In Flanders Fields

By Lt Col John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Still Here

Well, its been a very long time since my last post, but I'm still here. Stay tuned for more.

Some Miniatures

I recently came across a wonderful miniatures site that sells some truly unique 28mm figures –Hydra Miniatures. Based in the US, their inspiration is derived from the pulp science fiction of the 30', 40's, and 50's, some of the same stuff that MAR Barker was inspired by when creating Tékumel. The miniatures' aesthetics would be  perfect for Tékumel games set in the Latter Times, or during the Human Spaces Empire's epoch. I plan on purchasing some of these soon, and when I do I will be sure to post a review. I have included some images taken from their website below.

They can be found here:

http://www.hydraminiatures.com/

Leader Type/ Potential Player Character

Another Leader/PC

Another Leader/PC

Complete Unit with Leader/Guards

Magic User

Zrné?

Ru'un?

Guardian Ru'un

 

 

 

Service Robot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shunned One?

Is Tékumel too hard to play?

I normally don't  bother such things on this blog, but recently, on a site that I have been known to frequent, the often voiced opinion that Tékumel is not a popular, or well known setting, because it is too complex to run successfully, unless you are MAR Barker, was repeated again

Tékumel as a setting is as playable as any other commercial setting. The failure lay in the foolish notion that somehow arose, and was perpetuated by many gamers, that the only/one way to run a game using this campaign setting was to follow Phil's "Tékumel Prime game" in order for it to work. All of the later affectations regarding pronunciation, immersion, etc stem from this desire to emulate the original campaign game, even though from the get go MAR Barker asserted that this was not possible, and people should make Tékumel their own. I have never understood this attitude. The complexity of the setting is not a prerequisite to playing a Tékumel campaign, but something that needs to be gradually developed over many sessions, if that is what the DM and players want. This is the crux of the matter. Do you want an Anthropological exercise, or do you want to play make-belief, "make some shit up," and push some lead figures around? From my experience, and probably the experience of the vast majority of regular Tékumel players, including  "Chirine baKal", "Gronan of Simmerya" (aka General Korunme), Dave Arneson (aka "Captain Harchar") and MAR Barker himself, the latter is closer to so-called "real Tékumel" than the former.

I am currently running a Tékumel Campaign that is in its second year, with two of the four players in the group not having a clue what the game world was like before they sat down to play. The remaining players in the group had, at best, a passing familiarity with the milieu but certainly were not "experts." They are now, finally, "getting" Tékumel. They have absorbed the background material and, to quote the above mentioned Chirine, have "gone native." The reality is that I could have easily had the same campaign set in Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, or my own campaign world and changed very little of the story. The complexity would have gradually developed except that you would have a faux medieval world to explore instead a fusion of Mughal, Meso-American, Egyptian and Barsoomian cultures. Both have their challenges if an immersive gaming experience is desired, but in both cases you can still enjoy yourself and not give a toss whether a name is pronounced a certain way, or someone should be greeted by a particular honorific. There is no need to understand the cultural nuances of Tsolyáni society prior to playing. I would be curious if anyone knows if such a requirement is even stated anywhere in the official literature.

The fact that many gamers feel that some type of major prep work is mandatory in order to play is too bad. They are missing out on a playing experience that is not a mere re-hash of the same Tolkienesque tripe.