Hall of Blue Illumination

00:00.50 Victor So today we’re going to talk about war of wizards which interestingly enough was produced I believe before empire the pedal throne now. Ah. 00:09.84 James I Think that’s right came out the same year as ever guy with pelotherome but it was published sooner I believe. 00:21.66 Victor Yes, Professor Barker actually […]

00:04.38 Victor Well it is February Twenty Twenty four and that means well yeah I suppose March February March. It’s the beginning of the year and that means that we are. At the fiftieth anniversary of the release of dungeons and dragons the original dungeons and dragons and not too surprisingly. Lots of people are […]

part 1 – 1 minute to 44 minutes in – a panel of Tekumel experts including Mark Siefert, Rob Smith, Steve Braun, and Mark Eggert recounting their interaction & hopes for miniature use in EPT. part 2  – 45th minute – end – Rob Smith & Scott McKinlay talk about their new miniature project & […]

Episode 55, “Tékumel Versus Earth and Man of Gold Part One”

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the fantastic world of Tékumel.  In this judiciously-timed episode, our hosts discuss and compare Tèkumeláni holidays.  Then they take up the “graduate level” Tékumel subject of the Undying Wizards. Show Notes: [00:00:30] Holidays in the Five Empires!  The Intercalary Days are five days at […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the fantastic world of Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss “Eyes”, a unique class of magical item commonly encountered by players in Tékumel.  Then James and Victor discuss the peculiar Tsolyáni institution of the clan house, its importance to Tsolyáni society, and how […]

Episode 52, “South Seas and Mazes”

This episode explores the relationship between the inimical nonhuman H'lüss and science fiction.

In this episode, our hosts discuss the use of languages in Tékumel games, before answering a question concerning the placement of Prof. Barker’s novels within the “game” and “real” Tékumel distinction.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss EPT’s divine intervention mechanics at length.  But first, James and Victor engage in a brief discussion about imperial heirs. Show Notes: [00:00:35] Children of the known Tsolyáni princes?  Victor found a reference […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  Our hosts begin this episode with a discussion of “demons” as they appear in Empire of the Petal Throne.  How do EPT’s demons differ from Prof. Barker’s later conceptions of them? Then, James and Victor finish their review […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss the enigmatic group of deities known as the Pariah Gods.  But before we get to that, Victor and James review the first twelve books listed in the magical tomes section of Empire […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this episode, our hosts review each entry in the “Miscellaneous Magical Items” section of Empire of the Petal Throne.

In this episode, our hosts discuss “you.”  That’s “you” the pronoun, and not “you” the listener, although I’m certain you’re very interesting in your own right.  Tsolyáni has around twenty different words for the second person pronoun, and their proper use is determined by the relative social and cultural context of the speaker and addressee.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts welcome special guest John Till to talk about his adaptation of the Fate system to Tékumel. But first, Victor gives us an update on the publication of Flamesong, and the hosts discuss their encounters with “Alternate Tékumels.” Show Notes: [00:00:40]  Flamesong update! [00:01:11]  “Alternate Tékumels” – different branches on the Tree of Time. [00:02:03]  James’s group has had several brushes with alternate Tékumels, including one where the party went through a nexus point and one of the PCs was replaced by a counterpart from another timeline. [00:03:15]  Some of the players became a little obsessed with this idea.  In fact, the players are currently on an alternate Tékumel where the Bednálljan Empire never fell, and the Gods of Stability were never contacted.  Only the Gods of Change are known. [00:05:01]  It’s an opportunity for a referee to present a world that is familiar, but a little different.  In James’s alternate Tékumel, the sákbe roads exist, but they only have two levels (not three).  This seems wrong to the world-hopping PCs, who aren’t used to persons of all levels of status mingling together. [00:06:10]  From time to time in Prof. Barker’s campaigns, the players would encounter other Tékumels, as well as other planes.  Victor notes the infamous “Plane of the Buffalo”, which is filled with tall grasses and destructive herds of these herbivores. [00:06:54]  Sometimes they also encountered planes that were so far removed from Tékumel and the Tree of Time that they were actually fragmentary.  The people there were not aware that their world was unusual.  Victor gives an example of a plane where they found the edge of reality.  In another, one of the player character’s counterparts was the Emperor. [00:08:45]  Tékumel is unusual, in that the creator ran a decades-long campaign in the setting, so that people were always concerned about what was happening there.  But because the idea of alternative Tékumels was baked into the setting, it allowed other versions to be legitimate as well. [00:10:15]  Several times, Prof. Barker’s groups ended up at the College at the End of Time, usually battling the Goddess of the Pale Bone. [00:10:25]  The Greater Globe of Distant Discernment could be found in the lower portions of Avanthár, operated by an old Pé Chói that was probably more than he seemed.  Characters could use this globe to focus in on other branches of the Tree of Time, see alternate times and places, and then travel there. [00:11:37]  There was always the suggestion that at some point, the branches came together in the version of Tékumel that had the College at the End of Time.  Some branches that were probabilistically unviable would branch off and never rejoin, others would cluster together to show that they were more likely.  There was a moment where the wizard Eylóa discovered how to return Tékumel to humanspace. [00:13:20]  Sometimes Victor’s group encountered alternative versions of player characters, but this was rare.  They also had numerous encounters with the Undying Wizards.  He’s also sure they encountered a group from the future, or at least a future. [00:15:30]  One of the more disturbing Tékumels was one in which Prince Mirusíya was Emperor, and the Tsolyáni Empire only controlled the land around Béy Sü.  The rest had been conquered by the other empires. [00:16:45]  In Victor’s own campaign, his players went through a nexus point and ended up in an alternate Tékumel where Emperor Mursún Dlekkúminè was still emperor, and the Tsolyáni had lost territory to their surrounding enemies.  The players concluded that they might not get back to their home timeline, and were prepared to set up shop and try to help the alternate Tsolyani.  But they eventually ended up back in their home Tékumel. [00:20:40]  The fact that many players will see the consequences of “messing up” an alternate Tékumel as less significant can give them an opportunity to do or try things they wouldn’t in their home timeline.  This reveals the mindset of some of the Undying Wizards. [00:22:42]  Another example from Prof. Barker’s campaign.  The party was traveling with Keith Dalluhn’s character Sanjésh hiKirisáya (for more on Keith and Sanjésh, see HOBI Ep. 35).  They emerged into a timeline, possibly the future, where the worship of The One Other was predominant. [00:25:40] Victor speculates that there’s a version of Tékumel where the Engsvanyáli Priestkings still reign.  This would mean that the attempt to trap the Hero of the Age did not succeed. [00:27:52]  “It’s always better to see Spock with a beard.”  The appeal of alternate timelines is the “funhouse mirror effect.”  It’s more interesting when it’s similar, but not too different. [00:28:32]  Victor notes that if things were too different, it would often be difficult to determine whether they had ended up in a different place or time, or a different reality altogether. [00:29:04]  We don’t have the time in this podcast to discuss the multi-dimensional nature of nexus points, including the additional directions. [00:29:45]  Sometimes nexus points to other realities are created by sorcerers.  Other times they might manifest based on the prevalence of magic and lines of force that are present on Tékumel. [00:30:39]  Thénu Thendráya Peak is one of the places where it’s possible to cross planes or travel time. [00:31:00]  There’s the haunted sákbe road outside of Haumá that goes to another plane as well. (First mentioned in HOBI ep. 28, but see HOBI ep. 29 at 01:01:10 for more information.) [00:31:20]  The Thursday Night Group speculated that the Three Light Drive that allowed interstellar travel was essentially identical to a nexus point. [00:32:52]  Special Guest: John Till, creator of the Fate of Tékumel.  John has been working on adapting the Fate system to Tékumel. [00:33:53]  Instead of normal Fate’s six Approaches, John’s Fate of Tékumel uses five, after the five parts of the Tèkumeláni self. [00:34:36]  John has loved Tékumel since he read Dragon #4 in 7th Grade. [00:35:03]  Exploring Tékumel through a story-game like Fate is an unusual approach, given that Tékumel is usually experienced through “crunchier” rulesets. [00:37:25]  The five parts of the Tsolyáni self are discussed.  These are the body (bákte), the mind (hlákme), the spirit (balétl), the shadow-self (chusétl) and “the Enemy” (pedhétl). [00:39:34]  John uses these as the character’s main attributes.  Bákte represents the character’s fighting skills and athleticism, chusétl for psychic abilities and stealth, hlákme for intellectual abilities, pedhétl for initiative and powering “blast” spells, then balétl as the social self. [00:41:38]  A couple of competencies supplement this, as well as stunts.  Spellcasting and purchase of spells are treated as stunts as well. [00:42:00]  John has been playtesting this system for four years. He describes his last game as “magical tax farming” where the players shook down various Change-oriented clans for the magical goods they possessed. [00:42:50]  He’s also run adventures in the Underworld and the wilderness. [00:45:45]  Currently, John is trying to work out mechanics for noble and ignoble actions.  John describes how this system works by apportioning points in balétl between noble and ignoble actions.  This score can also change over time based on how a character acts. [00:50:23]  Victor gives an example of a character which generally acts nobly, but has an aspect of his personality where he might be seen as acting as less noble.  General Kutumé of the Legion of the Storm of Fire.  He was known for someone who paid attention to the costs of things, to the extent that he would deduct lost crossbow quarrels from a soldier’s pay.  For a worshiper of Vimúhla, this attention to finances could be seen as ignoble. [00:52:18]  John discusses using his Fate adaption for Underworld adventures.  In Fate, it’s hard for characters to die.  John has written rules to introduce more adversity to underworld and wilderness adventures.  He wants to give a more lethal option for groups. [00:53:45] John is also trying out “Saturday Night Special” creatures, i.e., creatures that are a little different from their standard incarnations, to give players a more interesting challenge. [00:56:39]  Regarding Saturday Night Specials, James cites the “Example of Play” section in EPT (EPT § 2810, pp. 100-102).  James and Victor mention several of the examples given on p. 100, each of them interesting on their own. [01:00:00]  John has a full-time job (Lord Ksárul forfend!) and so development can be slow.  One of the ways he playtests is by running Fate of Tékumel at gaming conventions like Con of the North and GameHole Con. [01:02:05]  Thomas asks a question about the Fate system: some attributes in a normal Fate game have scores that are zero or very low, and those often don’t get used.  What about in Fate of Tékumel?  John tends to see most attributes come up in most games, with pedhétl being used with the least frequency outside of combat.  With Fate, even a low number can give you a chance of success.  One of the issues with Fate Accelerated is that the attributes can become “very same-y” during play, but by focusing on the distinctions of the quinquepartite self, Fate of Tékumel helps to differentiate them. [01:05:00]  John also allows his players to create their own aspects.  He gives a detailed example from his campaign. [01:08:23]  John closes out the episode with a plug for Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun.  Like Tékumel, it’s inspired by the cultures of pre-Columbian America Special Guest: John Till Hosts: James Maliszewski and Victor J. Raymond. Producer: Thomas Tiggleman John Till’s Fate of Tékumel was first mentioned on HOBI ep. 8, and discussed again in ep. 36.  It’s an adaptation of the Fate system to the world of Tékumel.  As discussed in this episode, there’s no official release yet, but John is interested in hearing from enthusiastic playtesters.  His blog associated with Fate of Tékumel is here.  His post describing his experiences at GameHole Con 2019 is here. Tékumel Products Referenced: Flamesong, Professor Barker’s second novel remains out-of-print, but the Tékumel Foundation is incredibly close to making it available again, both in print and electronic versions. Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Tongue of Those Who Journey Beyond: Sunúz was originally published in 1994 by Prof. Barker.  You can purchase the PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Dragon #4 is subtitled “Special Empire of the Petal Throne Issue” and cover-dated December 1976.  The magazine was originally published by TSR, and titled The Dragon until 1980 with issue #39.  The Dragon #4 can be viewed or downloaded free-of-charge here. Swords & Glory Vol. 2 (a.k.a. the “Player’s Handbook”) was first published by Gamescience in 1984.  It provides an intricately-detailed ruleset for creating characters and gaming on Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Tékumel, But Not Appearing in this Episode: James recently appeared on the Wandering DMs’ YouTube channel, and discussed Tékumel and his Excellent Travelling Volume zine. Issue 13 of the Excellent Travelling Volume is also now available. Non-Tékumel Things Referenced: Capt. Kirk met Commander Spock’s Mirror Universe counterpart in Season Two, Episode 10 of TV’s Star Trek.  Frankly, it’s bizarre that this is the third reference our hosts have made to this obscure science fiction franchise.  Good luck finding any information on it online, like anyone remembers it nowadays. Fate is a generic game system based on Fudge.  It has been released in several versions, and 2013’s Fate Core has been released under free content licenses. The venerable science fiction RPG Traveller entered print in 1977 and has seen repeated revisions and overhauls.  Virtually all of the previous editions are available in PDF.  The current rule sets are Traveller5 and Mongoose Publishing’s Traveller 2nd Edition. Metamorphosis Alpha is a sci-fi roleplaying game created by James M. Ward and first published by TSR in 1976.  You can learn more about it here.  It has seen several editions over the years, and can be considered an antecedent to Ward and Jaquet’s Gamma World, which was published by TSR two years later. Heirs to the Lost World is a roleplaying game set in an alternate Seventeenth Century, where the Aztec Empire uses sorcery to fend off the Spanish.  It is designed by Chad Davidson and published by Obsidian Serpent Games. Houses of the Blooded, designed by John Wick, was first published in 2008.  A roleplaying game, it is based on the Fate system and focus on games of romance, intrigue and betrayal. Con of the North is an annual gaming convention based in Plymouth, Minnesota.  This year, it was a virtual con, and took place in February.  They are currently in the planning stages for 2022.  GameHole Con is the largest annual tabletop gaming convention in the upper Midwest.  This year, it’s being held from Oct. 21 through 24 in Madison, WI.  Tékumel-relevant activities during GameHole Con 2019 were discussed on HOBI ep. 36. U-Con is an annual gaming convention held in Southeast Michigan.  Currently it is scheduled for November 19-21, with the location TBD. ConFABulous is an annual LGBTQ+ gaming “relaxacon” held in Bloomington, MN since 2017.  It was last held virtually in October of 2020. Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun is an epic fantasy novel inspired by the cultures of pre-Columbian America.  It has received several nominations for the best novel of 2021, including the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Awards. You can email us at citizen@tekumel podcast.com.  You can also find us at our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss the term “the Five Empires.”  Who coined this label?  Is it a concept used by the Tèkumeláni, or is it merely gaming terminology? Much of this analysis involves how Tsolyáni ideas of empire compare to the history of the government of Yán Kór.  So it’s only natural that our hosts spend the last half of the episode discussing the career of Baron Áld. Show Notes: [00:00:40]  The Flamesong reprint looms!  Even if you’ve already read it, the Foundation is making some additions to this new edition.  James is writing an introduction, and the Tsolyáni script for “Flamesong” will also appear in the book.  It’ll be out in .epub and .mobi formats, and available as print-on-demand on Amazon. [00:03:00]  The Five Empires.  Who came up with that coinage?  Victor and James don’t know.  It seems a stretch to call Yán Kór an “empire”, especially before the arrival of Baron Áld. [00:04:10]  No reference to “Five Empires” appears in §200 of the original EPT, so it appears this terminology may develop later.  It seems from the reference beginning “[t]he fourth great empire…” that really there are only four “empires” referenced in EPT; Yán Kór isn’t counted. [00:06:04]  The Source Book definitely uses the term “The Five Empires.”  This supports the idea that it’s a very modern coinage, after the rise of Baron Áld. [00:08:39]  In The Ever-Glorious Empire: Éngsvan hlá Gánga, Yán Kór is referred to as the “Lost Provinces.” [00:08:57]  James notes that if the Source Book is written from a Tsolyáni perspective, we might conclude that the “Five Empires” label predates Baron Áld.  If that’s the case, “empire” has to mean something more than a unified government.  Perhaps it’s more of a cultural grouping?  Victor notes that if so, it would match the extent of the Khíshan language groups; the languages of the Five Empires all descended from Engsvanyáli, while the other areas with non-Khíshan languages aren’t accorded the “empire” label. [00:11:23] Salarvyá has a culture, history, and traditions that predate all of the other empires.  They see themselves as the inheritors of a much more ancient Bednálljan tradition. [00:12:17]  It’s also interesting that the Tsolyáni, who claim to be the descendants of Engsvanyáli culture, have a calendar that’s based on the reign of the first Tsolyáni Emperor, while the other empires are in some way based on the Engsvanyáli calendar. [00:13:41]  It’s also possible the term is a “gaming artifact,” i.e., that it’s not actually used in the world, but is a short hand the Source Book uses to describe the setting.  Unlike many other Tékumel sources, the Source Book isn’t written from the perspective of a fictional author, and so it can be difficult to tell how much it’s written from an out-of-game perspective. [00:16:00]  Is “The Five Empires” ever used in the novels?  [GPD: ???] [00:17:00]  Do each of the empires strive to expand their dominance?  They all have territorial ambitions.  Livyánu is probably the most static. [00:18:29]  In the not-too-distant past, the Mu’ugalavyáni invaded Tsolyánu and actually made it as far as the capital.  In fact, the Mu’ugalavyáni might be able to make a better claim than Tsolyánu to being an heir of the Engsvanyáli with respect to their military conquests. [00:20:55]  Only Tsolyáni and Mu’ugalavyá have military forces that would be capable of significantly extending their borders.  Victor compares Salarvyá to Imperial Russia – the potential to marshal a large military force is always there, but the problem is that they’re disorganized and actual power is split up between seven feudal families. [00:22:27]  The Salarvyáni are much more interested in the islands and city-states to the south and south east. [00:23:48]  There’s a great deal that’s still unknown about the areas outside of the Five Empires.  We’ve only seen about a quarter of Tékumel.  That said, there’s probably not another large, organized “empire” on the continent, otherwise we’d know about it. [00:25:25]  Baron Áld. The man, the myth, the legend.  A lot of the details are contradictory, or vague.  Part of this is because when these materials were written, Prof. Barker was still working out exactly who he was.  Áld has almost a player character history to him, and he was part of Prof. Barker’s development of Tékumel for a long time. [00:27:45]  Áld shows up in Man of Gold and Flamesong. He’s also an example of a fresh-off-the-boat character.  He shows up in Tsolyánu and achieves great heights in their society. [00:28:47]  Baron Áld is a man in his fifties in 2354 AS, and there’s a reference that he was born in 2319 AS.  He was a general in the armies of Tsolyánu before Emperor Hirkáne, and then went to Yán Kór and had to spend time consolidating it. As a result, Victor thinks that this timeline requires that he was born before 2319 AS. [00:32:08]  Áld begins as a minor tribal chieftain in the Jánnu Range of Saá Allaqí.  He enters the Tsolyáni army as a mercenary and eventually becomes the general of the 19th Imperial Heavy Infantry, the “Legion of the Scarlet Plume.”  You won’t find this legion in Armies of Tékumel or the Deeds of the Ever-Glorious. [00:32:50]  Áld’s brother was also a mercenary, and he wanted to overthrow the Ssáo of Saa Alliqui.  Apparently, he either never attempted this, or failed. [00:34:20]  After becoming a general, he falls prey to imperial politics.  He becomes a pun in the rivalry between the royalists and the pro-military factions.  His unit was betrayed into an indefensible position at Srigásh Field in Yán Kór.  Áld’s men were killed and he was taken captive, but we’re not sure by whom.  They offered to hire him instead of executing him, and he agreed. [00:36:55] He becomes the commander of the forces of Yán Kór city.  Áld convinced the other minor city-states to join in an alliance, and created a nation.  But we’re not precisely sure how this occurs. Another aspect of his rise involves his romantic association with Yilrána, daughter of the high clan of Ke’ér. [00:38:39]  If you look in the Armies of Yán Kór, you’ll find that each of the leaders of the Yán Koryáni cities have a different relationship with Baron Áld. [00:39:12]  The Baron’s title is a bit of a mystery too.  It’s a low-ranking title in Tsolyánu, and there’s some indication he took it to appear to have humble aspirations.  Does this mean anything to the Yán Koryáni?  The Engsvanyáli Grammar doesn’t have an entry for “baron.” [00:44:22]  Áld’s mistress Yilrána was killed by the Tsolyáni Lord Bazhán, after she refused to surrender Ke’ér while Baron Áld was away.  This refusal is depicted on the cover of EPT. [00:44:50]  Áld swore revenge and assumed his position of Baron.  He also later took up with Yilrána’s clan-sister and fathered several children who appear in Flamesong.  James points out an apparent contradiction in the potential future for Áld’s eldest son and daughter. [00:48:32]  Áld also has another mistress, the Princess of the North.  This creates an instability with respect to political succession in Yán Kór.  All of the Baron’s four children as of 2358 AS are under ten or twelve years of age. [00:49:35]  In Prof. Barker’s campaign, Baron Áld had an alliance with the usurper Dhich’uné (sp), but after this fell apart his fate is unclear, save that it involves “help from some unlikely sources.”  But this is a topic for another time. [00:50:41]  Our hosts end by touching on the mysterious Fu Shi’i.  There’s some pretty significant developments in Flamesong that would be interesting to follow up on. Hosts: James Maliszewski and Victor J. Raymond. Producer: Thomas Tiggleman Tékumel Products Referenced: Flamesong, Professor Barker’s second novel remains out-of-print, but is easily acquired through online used booksellers.  The Tékumel Foundation plans to reissue it in print and electronic versions in the near future. Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Swords & Glory Vol. 1 (a.k.a. the “Source Book”) was first published by Gamescience in 1983.  It is a detailed sourcebook for the world of Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Ever-Glorious Empire: Éngsvan hlá Gánga was written by M.A.R. Barker and released as a netbook in 1996.  It is available for purchase as a PDF at DriveThruRPG.  It details the history of the Empire of the Priest-Kings of Gánga. “The Almighty Gods of Yán Kór” is an article written by Prof. Barker.  It discusses the beliefs of the Yán Kòryáni.  It can be purchased as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Man of Gold, the first of M.A.R. Barker’s novels set on Tékumel, is back in print.  You can purchase it through Amazon or CreateSpace.   It’s also available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. The Armies of Tékumel books were published in six volumes by several companies over a twenty year span beginning in 1978.  All are now out-of-print, and some are harder to acquire secondhand than others.  In addition to miniature painting guides for the respective armies, these volumes detail military units, their equipment and commanders. Deeds of the Ever-Glorious: Histories of the Tsolyáni Legions provides comprehensive histories of the legions of Tsolyánu. It was originally published in 1981 by Adventure Games.  It is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Grammar of Engsvanyáli is a companion to The Ever-Glorious Empire.  It serves as an introduction to the language of Pavár and the Priest-Kings.  It is available as a PDF at DriveThruRPG. You can email us at citizen@tekumel podcast.com.  You can also find us at our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  Our hosts begin this episode with a discussion of ways a referee can make Tékumel their own, with examples from James and Victor’s campaigns. This is followed by a discussion of the myriad creatures found in Tékumel’s underworlds, including pronunciation of their names. James and Victor close out the episode with a comment from listener Malcolm Heath, who elaborates on Episode 41’s discussion of Tsolyáni elements in the names of the sentient species of Tékumel. Show Notes: [00:00:41]  Making Tékumel Your Own: how to approach it in your own campaign. [00:01:01]  James’s “House of Worms” campaign has been going on for six years as of this month.  James (following Victor’s advice) started small.  There’s a lot of material for Tékumel, and it’s impossible to make use of all of it.  James dealt with this by focusing on one city (Sokátis) and one clan (the House of Worms). [00:02:17]  Since the players were a mix of people with prior Tékumel knowledge and some who were new to the setting, James knew he couldn’t drown them with information. [00:02:50]  By limiting it to the House of Worms clan, James knew that they worshiped Sárku and Durritlámish. [00:03:02]  James introduced elements bit-by-bit, and then widened the focus as the campaign went on. [00:03:19]  Despite all of the information on Tékumel, there are many gaps where a referee can introduce new details.  James had to invent what Sokátis looked like, and how its culture differed from other cities in Tsolyánu. [00:03:59]  As an example, Sokátis is in eastern Tsolyánu, relatively near Salarvyá.  Thus, James postulated that the Salarvyáni were much more common in the foreigners’ quarter. [00:04:22]  James also remembered a tale about one of the rival priest-kings who had his capital in Sokátis during one of the Engsvanyáli civil wars.  It’s a fun little story that explains the reverence given to cats in Sokátis. [00:05:25]  James also became interested in colonization of the southern continent, taking a cue from his players.  The southern continent is a “big, blank spot” on the map of Tékumel.  James’s players went there about two years into the campaign, after the characters were already well-established, and James knew about what interested his players.  He tailored this southern continent setting to them.  It was an organic process. [00:07:32]  There’s a lot of scope to Tékumel, even in Tsolyánu.  James recognized that he wouldn’t be able to “break” the setting. [00:07:52]  His players also started coming up with their own things.  For instance, one of his players is a sorcerer that likes to cast horoscopes and take omens.  He invented procedures for this, some involving the interpretation of thrown cat bones. [00:08:31]  Over time, players have become involved in the life of the southern continent.  Some of the players have even expressed hesitation at being asked to return to Tsolyánu. [00:09:52]  Victor says that a similar situation would occur in Prof. Barker’s campaigns.  The players would realize their characters wouldn’t want to upend their lives to go on an adventure.  The end result was that the player would have to come up with a new character. [00:10:26]  This has happened in James’s campaign as well.  Most of his players have at least one other character they’ve played in other circumstances, and they’re open to creating more.  What’s important now is the campaign, and not the characters. [00:11:11]  Another part of making Tékumel your own is by creating characters with different attitudes and perspectives from the one you started with.  Subsequent characters have more texture and nuance. [00:12:08]  This gets to an important bit of advice, the best way to inhabit Tékumel is to play it.  At this point in James’ campaign, his players intuitively know most of the NPCs, such as important clan persons.  They’ve spent entire sessions arraigning marriages to be advantageous to the clan.  The players still talk about these sessions, even though this might seem strange to an outsider. [00:13:17]  Tékumel benefits from a longer term approach. If you can build a long-lasting campaign, it lets you explore the setting much more.  There’s always more to do, once you’re familiar with the basics. [00:15:20]  Victor discovered in running his own campaign that he didn’t want to remember every detail.  So he focused on where his players’ characters came from, and what would seems strange to them. [00:15:45] Victor’s campaign is a fresh-off-the-boat campaign (see HOBI e.1), that’s been going on about four-and-a-half years.  So the characters have gone through the process of being foreigners, to becoming established in Tsolyánu, getting married and joining clans.  Suddenly, the characters have become a part of the community (“somebodies” rather than “nobodies”), and can interact with it in bigger ways. [00:17:24]  James feels that the hardest thing for his players to get used to was all the odd foreign words.  So initially he tried to use plain English, and then once they became familiar with the concepts, began introducing the Tsolyáni words. [00:18:00]  Victor thinks that it’s important to let players know that many of the things they assume about the setting of a fantasy game aren’t true in Tékumel.  Victor told his players this upfront, but since their characters were also unfamiliar, he could use their interactions as a tutorial on these aspects of Tékumel. [00:19:29]  As an example, in a recent session, his players were discussing their options for dealing with a problem in the Tsolyáni context of noble and ignoble acts. [00:20:00]  The moment James realized that his players were fully immersed in the Tsolyáni mindset was when their characters entered Yán Kór and reacted with shock to the different local customs. [00:20:50]  Halfway into Victor’s game, his players created other characters who existed in another part of Tékumel.  They changed the relative party dynamics, but their second set of characters almost immediately gelled. [00:21:49]  Victor has also started two other groups, one of them beginning as a fresh-off-the-boat campaign in Yán Kór.  We don’t understand how Tsolyáni-centric our view of Tékumel is until we see it in the context of one of the other empires. [00:23:05]  James also enjoyed playing the Yán Koryáni NPCs, as they reacted to the foreign manners of the Tsolyáni players. [00:23:55]  Both James and Victor started their campaign in 2354 AS.  Why?  James wanted to have a clean slate, because he was aware of how Prof. Barker’s campaign evolved.  The original EPT started in 2354, so that’s when he chose to begin, understanding that events might happen differently on his Tékumel. [00:25:23]  Victor chose 2354 AS because he realized that most of the subsequent “official” chronology was the record of Prof. Barker’s campaign.  Victor didn’t want his players to be following in the footsteps of Prof. Barker’s players.  He decided that he would run his campaign without those assumptions. [00:26:45]  For instance, Princess Ma’ín remains a follower of Avánthe, because the event that changed her alignment hasn’t occurred.  (See HOBI e.28 at 00:17:30) [00:27:43]  In both Victor and James’ campaigns, the war with Yán Kór is coming, but hasn’t happened yet.  James isn’t really sure how he’s going to do it, because he wants it to be different.  He’s always felt that the official version is underwhelming. [00:29:14]  Just because material (like the record of events after 2354 AS) exists, doesn’t mean you have to assimilate all of it. [00:30:46]  The description of the Tree of Time is helpful here.  Groups shouldn’t worry about whether they’re on the “main trunk” of Tékumel. [00:31:07]  From time to time, Prof. Barker would let the players go and do the kind of adventure they wanted to, even if that didn’t at first seem to fit. [00:31:56]  Underworld Creatures.  (See EPT §1221, pp. 63-68).  Discussion and pronunciations follow. [00:32:21]  Aqáà, “the Worm of the Catacombs.”  (EPT p. 63).  This is very similar to the purple worm of original Dungeons & Dragons.  We learn in some of the later source material that there’s more going on with these creatures than would at first be apparent. [00:33:30] Biridlú, “the Mantle.” (EPT, p. 64).  This creature’s D&D analogue is the Lurker Above, but Victor isn’t sure which came first. [00:34:07]  Chnélh, “the Ape-Mutant.” (EPT §1128 (2), p. 52). [00:34:19]  Dlaqó, “the Carrion Beetle”. (EPT, p. 64).  One of James’s favorites, it also shows up in the Man of Gold. [00:34:43]  Hli’ír, “the Beast with the Unendurable Face.” (EPT, p. 64).  Jeff Dee once asked Victor, “what does it look like?”  His response, “I don’t know, I haven’t looked at it.”  James notes that there’s only a 70% chance that someone looking at it will go insane, so presumably, 3-out-of-10 people who see it can describe it. [00:35:30]  Hrá, “the Bloodsucker.” (EPT, p. 64).  Interesting that there’s two kinds.  As James points out in his campaigns, these undead are “Ksárul undead,” not “Sárku undead.” [00:36:36]  Hurú’u “the Howler.” (EPT, p. 64).  The various forms of undead are evocative, in that they all have something that makes them special. [00:36:58]  Káyi, “the Eye.”  (EPT §1126 (5), p. 46).  This should be feared if encountered unexpectedly.  It also has a D&D analogue in the gas spore. [00:37:28]  Kúrga, “Eaters of Carrion.” (EPT, p. 64).  Victor’s players call these “ROUSes” (“rodents of unusual size”).  Even though they don’t much look like rodents.  Victor has a suggestion for those of you who plan to spend some time in the underworld. [00:38:17]  Marashyálu, “the Whimperer.” (EPT, p. 64).  It’s similar to Tsú’uru. [00:38:39]  Mrúr, “the Undead” (EPT, p. 65).  Your garden-variety zombie.  Are they named for the sound they make? [00:39:02]  Mu’ágh, (EPT §1129 (6), p. 58).  A slime creature. [00:39:23]  Ngáyu, “the Eater of Swords.” (EPT, p. 65).”  The /ng/ sound (“the problem phoneme) is identical to the –ng in “along.” Early on, Prof. Barker preferred to reference the –ng- in “finger” when describing this sound. [00:40:58]  Ngóro, “the Whelk.” (EPT, p. 65).  Continuing to discuss /ng/, James notes as of the publication of the Sourcebook, Prof. Barker begins referencing “sing” in place of “finger” for this sound.   [00:41:33]  Nshé, “the Flowing One.” (EPT, p. 65).  Also makes a cameo appearance in Man of Gold. [00:41:52]  Qól, “the Serpent-Headed Ones.” (EPT, p. 65).  Some of these creatures have hands, while others have tentacles. [00:42:31]  Qumqúm, “the Thunderer.” (EPT, p. 66).  These creatures are invisible to humans, but the Pé Chói can see them.  Victor suspects that the name is derived from the “terrible roaring noise” they make as they move.   [00:43:04]  Ru’ún, “the Demon of Bronze.” (EPT, p. 67).  This term covers almost anything mechanical or robotic. [00:43:32]  Sagún, “the Fungus.” (EPT, p. 67).  The alcohol in wine can help to disperse the spores.  If you thought D&D’s yellow mold was bad… [00:44:04]  Shédra, “the Eater of the Dead.” (EPT, p. 67).  One wonders what these undead do with the flesh once it’s eaten.  “It’s best not to dwell on these matters.” [00:44:17]  Sró, “the Dragon.” (EPT §1129 (10), p. 58). [00:44:26]  Thúnru’u, “the Eater of Eyes.” (EPT, p. 67).  They can be repelled by tsúral buds.  Victor only recalls tsúral buds use as an aphrodisiac being mentioned here.  James notes that they are not listed in Swords & Glory vol. 2’s lists of drugs. (S&G vol. 2, §2.350, p. 67-69). [00:45:30]  Tsú’uru, “the Illusion-Master.” (EPT, p. 67).  This is an interesting entry for a number of reasons.  First, it’s interesting how similar these are to the Marashyálu.  Second, does this creature’s name have the same root as the word for the underworld itself, tsu’urúm?  Victor discusses this. [00:47:20]  Yéleth, “the Angel of Doom.” (EPT, p. 67). [00:47:58]  The underworlds are large places and home to all manner of things.  This raises the issue of what language these monsters are named in.  Victor suspects these are all Tsolyáni names. [00:49:02]  Listener Comment: Malcolm Heath commented on episode 41.  He wanted to shed more light on the names of the Pygmy Folk and the Shunned Ones.  He discusses the formation of these names, and their singular versions in great detail. [00:52:30]  Malcolm also posits that several of the species names (including “Ahoggyá” and “Pé Chói”) are transliterations of what those beings call themselves. [00:54:02]  How would you form plurals of the names of the underworld creatures?  Victor takes his best guess. “Ssúyal” just means, “a bunch of Ssú.” Hosts: James Maliszewski and Victor J. Raymond. Producer: Thomas Tiggleman Tékumel Products Referenced: Swords & Glory Vol. 1 (a.k.a. the “Source Book”) was first published by Gamescience in 1983.  It is a detailed sourcebook for the world of Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Ever-Glorious Empire: Éngsvan hlá Gánga was written by M.A.R. Barker and released as a netbook in 1996.  It is available for purchase as a PDF at DriveThruRPG.  It details the history of the Empire of the Priest-Kings of Gánga. “The Almighty Gods of Yán Kór” is an article written by Prof. Barker.  It discusses the beliefs of the Yán Kòryáni.  It can be purchased as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Man of Gold, the first of M.A.R. Barker’s novels set on Tékumel, is back in print.  You can purchase it through Amazon or CreateSpace.   It’s also available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. Swords & Glory Vol. 2 (a.k.a. the “Player’s Handbook”) was first published by Gamescience in 1984.  It provides an intricately-detailed ruleset for creating characters and gaming on Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Tsolyáni Language was originally published in two volumes beginning in 1978.  It is intended to be a complete guide to the language, and includes a pronunciation guide, an extensive grammar, a script, and English-Tsolyáni and Tsolyáni-English vocabularies.  It is available for purchase on DriveThruRPG as a PDF. Non-Tékumel Things: Hari Seldon is a character in Issac Asimov’s Foundation Series. Author P.C. Wren wrote the adventure novel Beau Geste about brothers who enlist in the French Foreign Legion.  It is set immediately prior to World War I and was first published in 1924.  The novel inspired several film adaptations, including 1977’s parody The Last Remake of Beau Geste. For many decades, society was unwilling to acknowledge the existence of ROUSes. This changed in 1987, when a large, brave murine boy personally demonstrated his existence to noted ROUS-skeptic Cary Elwes at the cost of his own life. You can email us at citizen@tekumel podcast.com.  You can also find us at our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  After a hiatus, we’re back!  But wait, does anyone else smell cinnamon? This episode is devoted to a discussion of the Ssú, one of the aboriginal races of Tékumel.  These strange beings are clever, dangerous foes, who are inimical to humans and other human-friendly races. Our hosts close out the episode by pronouncing the names of the major non-human races of Tékumel. Show Notes: [00:00:24]  In a world that’s defined by languages, the Ssú are distinct.  Their language isn’t understood by humans.  Other basic facts about the Ssú. They speak vocally, a “high, sweet chiming sound.” [EPT §1127, p. 51) They also smell like musty cinnamon. [00:01:11]  Other unconfirmed theories about the Ssú-speech: that some of their sounds are beyond the human range of hearing, and that their language may have a scent component related to their distinct odor. [00:01:44]  EPT also notes that Ssú can speak the tongues of men, and learn other non-human languages as well.  This means that we can communicate with them, though it’s not often explored. [00:02:12]  The Ssú (along with the Hlǘss) are two of the intelligent races who were present on Tékumel when humans showed up.  Prof. Barker explicitly stated that they were native to Tékumel.  They eat native vegetation called “the Food of the Ssú,” (Ts. Ssúmani or mánikh hiSsúyal) which is poisonous to all non-aboriginal races. [00:02:53]  They’re some of the last remnants of pre-terraforming Tékumel, and always positioned as enemies of humankind. [00:03:23]  There are two well-known varieties of Ssú, and possibly more.  Most frequently encountered are the Gray Ssú, who reside north of Salarvyá near Pecháno.  The Black Ssú are found far to the west, on an island off the coast of the Tané. [00:04:10]  Green, red, and blue Ssú have been rumored.  But there’s no authoritative source on them.  James brings up the discussion because the Gray and Black varieties are often presented as inscrutable, although the Black Ssú seem to be more sophisticated.  James suggests that these other colors of Ssú might be found on the far east archipelago that the obscure human race the Nóm who use it as a base.  He cites an article in the Imperial Courier on the Nóm by Neil Cauley.  [Vol. 2, No. 1, 1985] [00:07:03]  There might be other locales where trade relations with groups of Ssú have been established.  Victor suggests they might be “over the north pole” (i.e., the other side of the planet).  Victor relates two Thursday Night Group encounters with the Ssú.  The first occurred over the pole, where they came to a large golden city and encountered a friendly Black Ssú. [00:09:05]  The second was in the infamous Valley of Kashkomái.  This is where the “house of the First Founder” is located, which is reputed to be the earliest human habitation on Tékumel.  It’s a place of mystery.  In short, the Salarvyáni were threatening to take over the valley, and the PCs made an appeal for help to the House of the First Founder.  They were greeted by two Ssú.  After sharing the information about the Salarvyáni with them, the two Ssú asked the PCs to stay the night inside the house.  In the morning, all of the Salarvyáni were gone. [00:11:09]  James returns to the surprising information that Ssú can learn human languages.  Has an enterprising Priest of Thúmis ever set out to try to learn more about them? [00:11:59]  We know very little about the social structure of the Ssú, besides the fact that the Black Ssú have a “king.”  But we’re also told this might not truly be a “king” as we understand it. The only account that we have is by someone who claims to have been a slave of the Black Ssú. [00:13:54]  Victor notes that there are rules for generating both Gray and Black Ssú PCs in the Swords & Glory Player’s Handbook.  Notable details are that while they can see relatively well in the dark, the Ssú prefer a dim blue light. The Gray Ssú are also excellent sorcerers and can hypnotize members of other races, with the exception of the Ahoggyá, the Swamp Folk, and the Tinalíya.  Members of the Gray Ssú require a male leader to direct the party. [S&G Vol. 2, §2.223, p. 17] [00:15:07]  Black Ssú wear armor, and aren’t as adept at hypnosis as their Gray cousins.  [S&G Vol. 2, §2.223, p. 18] [00:16:52]  The Ssú and the Hlǘss flourished after the advent of the Time of Darkness. [00:17:25]  Technologically, the Ssú had technology when humans showed up, and they had rudimentary space travel technology and energy weapons.  [S&G Vol. 1, §1.200, p. 3]  There’s a theme that shows up in Tékumel that most of the other races aren’t what they once were, in that they lost something over the centuries.  There’s also the (heretical!) suggestion of certain undying wizards that the gods are deliberately retarding mortals’ progress. [00:20:25]  James revises an earlier statement regarding the pre-human contact Ssú, and discovers a comment about energy weapons.  Victor relates an example of a “Ssú Landmine.” [00:21:30]  The Ssú are adept at using the tubeway car system.  In fact, if you look at the “Memo EPT” (the unpublished, unreleased playtest rules), it’s missing a sentence from the published TSR version.  [Beginning: “Their ability to pass human borders…” EPT §1127, p. 52]  This contains the single reference to the tubeway car system in the published EPT. [00:23:23]  Some of the stereotypes of the Ssú which might warrant more nuance are: that they’re implacably hostile; that they’re unknowable; that they have no interest in contact with humans.  This might be fostered by the Pecháni – part of their national character is that they oppose the Ssú and defend humanity from them. [00:24:47]  The current Ssú capital is Ssúyal.  Their ancient capital is Ssuganár, which is now located in Pecháno.  Several of Prof. Barker’s early campaigns explored Ssuganár, and at least one encountered symbols that might have been Ssú writing. [00:25:38]  Do the Ssú have religious beliefs?  Prof. Barker was asked about this, and indicated that they’re so alien as to be incomprehensible to humans or human-friendly species.  Despite what may be indicated elsewhere, they’re not as a race aligned with the Pariah Gods. [00:27:50]  Tactics and Weaponry of the Ssú.  Victor reads several excerpts from Flamesong, describing the Ssú and the way they fight. [Flamesong, Ch. 8, pp. 123-124 in the DAW Edition]. [00:30:31]  There’s some speculation about where the Ssú get their weapons.  They either make them, steal them, or have some other source.  The Gray Ssú don’t wear armor.  James notes that in illustrations, Ssú appear to be using weapons that aren’t made for humans, so he always assumed they manufactured them. [00:31:42]  The Ssú generally don’t mass large groups of soldiers, and instead fight in small groups at night, or underground.  You can find them everywhere, because of their access to the tubeway car network. [00:34:22]  Pronunciations of the Names of the Non-human Species.  Victor reads them, and suggests paying especial attention to the stress mark.  Also, always pronounce every letter. [00:37:48]  Victor and James pay special attention to the pronunciation of “Hlǘss.”  That / ü / is generally confusing for English-speakers. [GPD: Every time I type the / ǘ / character, I have to precisely perform an evocation of Ey’ún, the Knower of Skills, one of the 62 aspects of The Doomed Prince of the Blue Room.]  Our new producer Thomas gives our hosts an assist.  Victor also makes a passing reference to the / y / that Prof. Barker originally used for transliterations in earlier editions of Tékumel products, before settling on / ü /. [00:38:58]  The Pygmy Folk have both a Tsolyáni name (Ninínyal) and a Yán Koryáni name (Nyénu).  For the most part, Pygmy Folk communities are located in Yán Kór.  But they’re notable for their mercantile proficiency, and can be found in most cities.  Victor demonstrates his knowledge of Tsolyáni grammar. [00:40:26]  These names are just translations of human terms for these races.  In most cases, we don’t know very much about non-human languages.  The only example of a human knowing a non-human language is Harsán in Man of Gold, who speaks Pé Chói.   [00:42:11]  Victor and James continue to speculate on the Tsolyáni components of “Ninínyal”.  [GPD: See the entry for “ninínkoi” in The Tsolyáni Language, p. 104: “probably somehow from /ni-/ little?”] [00:42:14]  The Shunned Ones.  The Tsolyáni is Vléshgayal, and the Yán Koryáni is Bláshagh.  The / bl / in Yán Koryáni is related to the / vl / in Tsolyáni. [00:44:37]  The Swamp Folk.  Here we have a Tsolyáni name (Hegléthyal) and a Mu’ugalavyáni name (A’láthish).  The word for “swamp” in Tsolyáni seems unrelated. [00:46:15]  A few more species are mentioned.  Are the Hokún merely a subdivision of a larger racial group?  They’re also called the Sáàkü, which are both Tsolyáni names as far as we can tell. [00:47:56]  James is interested in discussing the Shunned Ones in depth next time.  They’ve appeared in his House of Worms campaign. [00:48:38]  Thomas asks a question about the Tsolyáni / r /.  Is it rolled, and if so, from where? The Sourcebook indicates that / r / is a “voiced dental single tap vibrant” while / rr / is trilled.  [S&G Vol. 1, §1.100, p. 128] [00:49:40]  Even Victor is doing his best, and admits he’s not a linguist.  Many of these names are frequently mispronounced, but the important thing is that you do your best. Hosts: James Maliszewski and Victor J. Raymond. Producer: Thomas Tiggleman Tékumel Products Referenced: Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Swords & Glory Vol. 1 (a.k.a. the “Source Book”) was first published by Gamescience in 1983.  It is a detailed sourcebook for the world of Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. The Imperial Courier was a Tékumel-focused periodical published by Tékumel Games from 1984 to 1985.  Neil R. Cauley’s article on the Nóm appeared in Vol. 2, issue 1 (1985). All issues are out-of-print. Swords & Glory Vol. 2 (a.k.a. the “Player’s Handbook”) was first published by Gamescience in 1984.  It provides an intricately-detailed ruleset for creating characters and gaming on Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. There were several supplements for the Gardásiyal ruleset in the Adventures on Tékumel line.  They were published between 1992 and 1994 by Theatre of the Mind Enterprises and are now out-of-print. Flamesong, Professor Barker’s second novel remains out-of-print, but is easily acquired through online used booksellers.  The Tékumel Foundation plans to reissue it in print and electronic versions in the near future. Man of Gold, the first of M.A.R. Barker’s novels set on Tékumel, is back in print.  You can purchase it through Amazon or CreateSpace.   It’s also available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. The Tsolyáni Language was originally published in two volumes beginning in 1978.  It is intended to be a complete guide to the language, and includes a pronunciation guide, an extensive grammar, a script, and English-Tsolyáni and Tsolyáni-English vocabularies.  It is available for purchase on DriveThruRPG as a PDF. You can email us at citizen@tekumel podcast.com.  You can also find us at our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this episode, our hosts interview special guest Bill Hoyt.  Bill has been involved with roleplaying games since the early 1970s, and was integral in getting TSR to publish Empire of the Petal Throne.  He played in Prof. Barker’s early campaigns, and among several fascinating anecdotes, finally explains what happened on that mysterious road out of Úrmish.  Show Notes: [00:00:27] Our featured guest is one of Prof. Barker’s first players, a longtime wargamer and avid roleplayer, Bill Hoyt. [00:01:20]  How did Bill meet Prof. Barker.  Bill was in a Twin Cities group with Dave Arneson and Dave Wesley that played wargames.  Bill was already teaching at the time, but several members of the group were going to the University of Minnesota.  These members had started a wargaming group, which Prof. Barker participated in.  When D&D got printed, Dave Arneson went to work in Lake Geneva with TSR, and Bill heard that “this professor” was running his own adventure game, and had even written it up.  Bill went over to meet him, and received a mimeographed copy of Barker’s original EPT rules. [00:03:50]  As a result of his academic background, Prof. Barker knew how to organize and present information.  Just about every RPG that came into existence after EPT followed Barker’s general formatting and presentation of his rules (instead of the way that the original D&D rules were formatted). [00:03:56]  Bill knew Gary Gygax and Arneson, and offered to try to get EPT printed.  Prof. Barker gave him permission, and Bill took the copy to TSR, where they started to work on what became the original published version.  In the meantime, Bill began to game with Prof. Barker, which was the “best part of the whole thing” [00:04:53]  D&D came out in 1974, so this was around 1975. [00:05:11]  Prior to Bill’s involvement, Mike Mornard had played with Gary Gygax in Lake Geneva, but started to play EPT with Prof. Barker when he began to attend the University of Minnesota.  Bill found out that Mike had previously tried to introduce Prof. Barker’s rules to Gygax, but he had ignored them.  Of course, at the time, Mike was only a college freshman, and so he can’t be faulted. [00:06:40]  What was it like playing with Prof. Barker?  Bill and his group would go over to Prof. Barker’s house every other Sunday and started playing at Prof. Barker’s dining room table. [00:07:23]  Bill became so entranced with EPT that he started keeping track of his EPT characters. [00:07:55]  The only thing Bill ever played with Prof. Barker was EPT.  He jumped straight in to it.  Bill considers Prof. Barker the best DM/GM/referee he’s ever played with. [00:08:30]  Bill started off in a fresh-off-the-boat campaign with the player characters being shipwrecked and arriving in Jakálla. The group could sell the possessions they had for equipment, and began at the Palace of Foreign Persons.  They really knew nothing about the setting, and waited for patrons to show up and give them something to do. [00:09:15]  Their first patron was a priest in blue armor, who asked if they would be interested in going to the Underworld.  Later, they realized the significance of this connection: this man was a member of the Emperor’s own Omnipotent Azure Legion. [00:09:50]  At one point, Bill’s group found itself in the Jakállan Underworld near the Temple of Vimúlha – or as one of the other players nicknamed it, “the nice, safe castle.” Keep in mind, it’s surrounded by a moat of molten lava, with a very thin bridge.  They didn’t go in. [00:10:39]  They wandered on through the catacombs, and a strange guy shows up to help them with the battle.  Afterwards, he tells them that they can find treasure in the Temple, so the group goes to rob it.  They get a bunch of loot, and get ready to head across the narrow bridge when they see a mass of people with torches approaching from the other end.  They tried to hide (which didn’t work) but they made it out. [00:12:30]  Prof. Barker was always rolling for wandering monsters.  They finally got over the bridge and into the cavern, then two sró confronted them.  Bill tries to take them on and gets squashed.  So they have to drag him out.  The session lasted until close to 4:00 AM, because the players didn’t want to leave their characters without escaping. [00:14:10]  Bill never played any miniatures games with Prof. Barker.  His group bought figures and painted them up, and ended up playing Tékumel games with others.  He found a group of college students in River Falls, and made a model of a sákbe road for Con of the North, which is now in the Tékumel Foundation. [00:15:38]  The next year at GenCon, Prof. Barker and Gary Rudolph brought a model of the Temple of Vimúlha in Katalál. [00:15:55] This same Temple of Vimúlha was carted around to various cons, and Scott actually played a con game at 14 where it was the centerpiece.   [00:16:24]  Bob Alberti has the Temple now.  It’s a museum piece, and Bill thinks it should be on display somewhere.  Victor is interested in working out the particulars. [00:17:51]  Bill never played a game that used the Temple, but others must have.  It comes apart, and has miniatures in it. [00:18:20]  Bill started his own company called WAW Productions which published rules for wargames.  He used this as a way to get Gygax to pay attention to EPT.  Bill never expected to get anything from it, because it was Prof. Barker’s work, but Gygax gave Bill royalties off of the sales of EPT as well.  This is why EPT says “Presented in Association with William J. Hoyt of WAW Productions.” [00:20:20]  Bill had an opportunity to be with Prof. Barker and Gary Gygax at the same time.  When the first run of EPT was delivered to Gygax’s house, Prof. Barker and Bill, along with the illustrators and Dave Arneson, went over and saw them opened.  Bill got the first copy, and had everyone sign it on the title page.  It was so fresh that the ink was still slightly wet, and Arneson actually smudged it on the back of Bill’s copy. [00:23:02]  The year that EPT came out Bill attended a banquet at the Playboy Club. The guests were Fritz Leiber and Harry Smith, along with Prof. Barker and Gardner Fox.  Bill knew who Gardner Fox was, and was overawed. [00:24:30]  Bill also got to know Fritz Leiber, and had an opportunity to play Lankhmar. [00:25:30]  Bill knew the group of gamers that included Dave Wesley, Ross Maker and Dave Arneson, as well as Dave Megarry.  They played Megarry’s game of Dungeon! over and over, so that when EPT came out, Bill had the idea to do the same thing.  This product became known as Quest, but TSR passed on it.  Bill ended up investing some money in Quest and made copies of it.  He’s shared it with the Tékumel Foundation, who might follow up on it. [00:27:20]  Bill offers an anecdote about going to find a Lightning Bringer for the Omnipotent Azure Legion and running across a “guest” of Nyélmu, who had been frozen by an Excellent Ruby Eye for so long that his armor had rusted. [00:29:30]  Bill played every other Sunday with Prof. Barker for two years, before work and marriage took him away.  He called him from time to time, but never got to play with him. [00:30:00]  A lot of players have the idea that when their characters die, they just roll another.  But for Bill and several of his group, they felt like the characters were “them” and that they couldn’t just reset.  [00:30:38]  Bill’s one character in Prof. Barker’s campaign (a priest of Keténgku) achieved immortality by getting gobbled up by demons and enlisted in an eternal war.  The initial part of this event made it into an Imperial Dispatch (see Dragon #4, p. 7).  Any attempt to summarize the next six minutes would do it an injustice. [00:36:58] During Bill’s time at Prof. Barker’s table, the rules were still nebulous.  At one point, they received an Eye of Advancing Through Portals.  After Prof. Barker described its effect as a “battering ram,” one player started using it to smash opponents, so they rechristened it the “Eye of Advancing People Through Portals.”  Later on, Bill learned that Gary Rudolph ended up in a maze and took out the Eye to blow holes through the walls to bypass the maze.  After that, the Eye didn’t work the same.  You can still find the passage in the Jakállan dungeon where these holes have been punched in the walls to bypass the maze. [00:40:11]  Playing with Prof. Barker was so fantastic, Bill’s groups joked about searching his house for the portal to actual Tékumel that Prof. Barker must be using. [00:40:50]  Bill explains the origins of the War of Wizards.  It started with a short discussion of the climax of the novel Deryni Rising, and how that would be great to play.  About a month later, Prof. Barker handed Bill a copy of War of Wizards. [00:41:49]  War of Wizards was produced to offer to other people, but the original mimeographed EPT was not intended for sale.  Bill owns two copies of the mimeographed EPT. [00:42:24]  Prof. Barker loved movies, and Bill and he watched the Three Musketeers (1973), and its sequel, The Four Musketeers together. [00:43:15]  Prof. Barker loved Vance’s “Dying Earth”, and “Planet of Adventure” series, as well as the works of Abraham Merritt, E.E “Doc” Smith’s Lensman Series, The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison.  He also especially enjoyed The Man Who Would be King (1975), which featured an Indian actor saying his lines in his native Urdu, and Moroccan extras answering in Arabic. Hosts: Scott Kellogg, James Maliszewski, and Victor J. Raymond. Special Guest:  Bill Hoyt Tékumel Products Referenced: Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Quest: The Underworld of Tekumel was a Dungeon!-inspired game designed by Bill Hoyt.  TSR considered publishing it in the mid-1970s, and even publically advertised it for a time.  Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day, but Bill Hoyt has run several games using his prototypes.  Zach Howard at the Zenopus Archives has a detailed blog post on the history of Quest. Non-Tékumel Things: WAW Productions (short for “World At War”) was founded by Bill Hoyt in 1974.  Several of TSR’s early products mention WAW Production in their credits, and, as related in this episode, Bill’s was so instrumental in facilitating the agreement with TSR to publish Empire of the Petal Throne that he received credit and a royalty from its sales. Jon Peterson’s Playing at the World is a thorough discussion of the origins of wargaming and roleplaying games.  It is available from Amazon.  Jon’s blog is here, and his post on WAW Productions is here. Firtz Leiber was an author of speculative fiction, and actually coined the term “Sword and Sorcery.”  He received multiple Hugo Awards during his career.  His most well-known work is the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser cycle of stories, which center around the two eponymous protagonists who live in the city of Lankhmar. In 1976, TSR published a board wargame titled Lankhmar set in the same world, to which Leiber himself contributed.  Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, TSR also published AD&D supplements detailing the world of Lankhmar. Gardner Fox wrote several novels and multiple pieces of short fiction, but he’s best known as a comic book writer.  Writing for DC Comics, he co-created the original Flash, Hawkman, and Sandman, as well as the Justice Society of America.  He also introduced the concept of a multiverse to DC Comics in The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961).  [GPD: Bill makes an error in this episode, the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is credited to Mart Dellon (an early penname of Martin Nodell), while the better-known Silver Age Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) is the creation of Julius Schwartz.] Dungeon! was first released by TSR in 1975, and has seen several rereleases.  It is a board game that shares many qualities with Dungeons & Dragons.  Wizards of the Coast published the most recent edition in 2014, and it remains in print.  The official rulebook for this edition is available here. Flash Gordon & the Warriors of Mongo was a game system and ruleset designed by Lin Carter and Scott Bizar.  It was based on the popular science fiction property, and published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1977. The Dragon #4 is subtitled “Special Empire of the Petal Throne Issue” and cover-dated December 1976.  The magazine was originally published by TSR, and titled The Dragon until 1980 with issue #39.  The Dragon #4 can be viewed or downloaded free-of-charge here. War of Wizards was the first commercially marketed Tékumel product.  It is a standalone board game that involves two wizards engaged in a magical duel. TSR began selling the original self-published version in 1975, but started selling a printed version later that year.  It was released with more components in 1977.  Deryni Rising is a historical fantasy novel by Katherine Kurtz.  It was originally published in 1970 by Ballantine Books. The Three Musketeers and its sequel and The Four Musketeers premiered in 1973 and 1974 respectively.  They were both directed by Richard Lester and featured Oliver Reed, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, and Richard Chamberlain, among others. Jack Vance was a prolific author who won multiple awards for his works of fiction, including sci-fi and fantasy.  His “Dying Earth” and “Planet of Adventure” series will be of especial interest to Tékumel fans. A. Merritt was born in 1884 and was a magazine editor and author of science fiction.  He was a major influence among better known authors of the 20th Century, and popular with roleplaying game forefathers like Prof. Barker and Gary Gygax. E.E “Doc” Smith was an early author of speculative fiction, best known for his Lensman and Skylark series.  Aspects of the Lensman series will be familiar to anyone who’s read Green Lantern, and might have served as an inspiration to the creator of Silver Age Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and subsequent writers who worked on the character. The Worm Ouroboros is a lengthy fantasy novel written by E. R. Eddison and first published in 1922.  A tale of war between two nations populated by various fantasy creatures, it prefigures many aspects of the fantasy settings that would become popular in early roleplaying games. The Man Who Would be King is a 1975 adaption of Rudyard Kipling’s novella.  It details the exploits of two former soldiers in the British Army who decide to leave their posting in India to become adventures in a remote area of modern-day Afghanistan.  Spoiler, things don’t exactly turn out how they expected. You can email us at citizen@tekumel podcast.com.  You can also find us at our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this most-apposite of episodes, our hosts discuss sickness and disease on Tékumel.  Can magic fix everything?  No, it can’t.  But first, Victor discusses his recent experience running games at GaryCon 2020, which had to be moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Show Notes: [00:00:50]  Running a virtual Tékumel game.  Victor recently participated in GaryCon online, an experience he describes as “intense.”  This year, the Con had to be cancelled because of “the recent unpleasantness” but Tabletop.Events helped to move it online using platforms like Discord and Roll20. [00:02:08]  Victor, who is relatively new to online gaming, ran two Tékumel events and two Traveller events via Discord.  He played for a total of 18 hours.  Everyone was able to participate, and Victor ultimately determined that he didn’t need a virtual play-space like Astral or Fantasy Grounds. [00:03:53]  As usual, Victor drew up the character sheets beforehand.  He would have loved to use one of the EPT character sheets designed by Dyson Logos, but instead used his own text format. [00:05:02]  The first event he ran was “The Golden Disk”, an excuse to put the player characters in a tubeway car and visit different parts of the planet.  His players made it to two destinations, then were able to persuade their host to allow them to return to Tsolyánu.  One destination was the City of Red-Tiled Roofs, first mentioned in Dragon #4 (p.19) [00:05:58]  Victor’s hook for the adventure was that the PCs were chased into the car by the Ssú.  More than one player commented that the adventure was evocative of the works of Jack Vance, a comment that would please Prof. Barker. [00:07:09]  Victor’s next event was “Khirgár, the Fortress of the North.”  This was a fresh-off-the-boat premise, where the players were foreigners who had just arrived in Tsolyánu.  They ended up turning down a Tinalíya who wanted them to explore an underworld, and also turned down a priest of Wurú who wanted to go hunting in the desert.  Instead they went with a noblewoman who wanted to travel to the city of Hlíkku (a.k.a. the “City of the Mad Ones”) in Yán Kór.  It turned out she was an agent of Tsolyánu on a secret mission. [00:09:45]  Victor had a great time.  He used a Discord dice roller bot called Dice Maiden. [00:10:42]  One of the things Victor missed in the Discord experience was a simple mapping tool/white board without a steep learning curve.  He considered Roll20, but because of the situation didn’t have very long to prepare to use that. [00:12:15]  James feels that most of the virtual play-spaces are geared towards games with more moving parts than EPT, and that they’re overkill.  Of course, James also benefits from having a professional cartographer in his online group (the aforementioned Dyson Logos). [00:13:45]  Scott uses Discord plus a digital whiteboard like Awwboards. [00:15:00]  Mark Siefert also ran several Tékumel events. [00:16:14]  James has been running an online game for the past five years.  James originally used Google Hangouts, before they moved to Discord.  Discord has video, but James just uses the audio.  He uses the text chat to upload images, and sometimes uses a digital whiteboard. [00:18:27]  James agrees that EPT isn’t really a tactical game, so a virtual play-space isn’t needed. [00:19:14]  The one major thing James points out he’s learned is that online play is a perfectly valid alternative to in-person play.  For niche games like Tékumel, playing virtually can allow you to cast a wide net and find players you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. [00:21:25]  One other thing Victor noticed was that four hours was an intense amount of time over voice chat. [00:22:52]  Has James’s style changed now that he’s refereeing online?  Not really, but it’s easier for him to be a little lazy, and covertly prepare while other people are talking. [00:24:42]  Scott clarifies the difference between a virtual tabletop like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds which includes tactical elements, and Discord which is not a “virtual tabletop” because it doesn’t have those aspects. [00:25:22] So how close are we to a virtual Tékumel event? [00:25:40]  Tabletop.Events had announced that they were going out of business because of COVID-19.  But now that everyone is talking about going online for gaming, there’s a group of fans who is trying to keep them in business by setting up an online convention called “Con of Champions.” [00:27:15] Health and Disease, a.k.a “The Plagues of Tékumel.”  Scott quotes an excerpt from Swords & Glory Vol. 1 (§1.400, p. 21). [00:28:10]  Victor finds it interesting that the inhabitants of Tékumel have encountered plagues from other planets. [00:28:55]  Several plagues are mentioned, but no reference is given to how these arise.  Victor speculates that the Ssú and the Hl?ss would be trying to come up with ways to use them against the other races. [00:29:43]  What are the limits of healing sorcery?  Well, there’s magic specific to diseases, but healing magic doesn’t work on radiation damage (first mentioned in Q. 5 of the “Seal of the Imperium” column in Dragon #9).  The universal spell Alleviation handles disease, poisons and toxins, but doesn’t work on alcohol. [00:31:45]  Access to healing magic is limited by social class and economics.  One thing to consider is that if diseases are easily eradicated by magic, they have to be sufficiently virulent so as to continue to spread. [00:33:00]  Prof. Barker indicates that the Tèkumeláni don’t have germ theory of disease. (S&G v1, p. 22) [00:33:54]  There’s a fascinating discussion in the Sourcebook that microorganisms have mutated since the Time of Darkness so that previously-effective magical treatments might not affect them (S&G vol. 1, p. 22). [00:35:40]  In the list of Tsolyáni Emperors, the 60th, Mursún Dlekkúminè was said to have died of plague, but actually it was the effects of the drug Zu’úr (S&G1, §1.370, p. 15).  Two more Emperors actually died of plague or disease, Héshqu Miúna (6th), and Métlunel III (44th).  The circumstances of Nu’únka’s (29th) death are suspicious, to say the least. [00:39:00]  Some of the Engsvanyáli Priestkings have incredibly long reigns.  With respect to Tsolyáni Emperors, the 56th, Gyésmu Dálisan lived for 125 years by extending his life with magic and drugs. [00:41:12]  This shows that disease and sickness affects both the rich and poor.  It doesn’t get talked about much, but Prince Esélne himself died of dysentery during the civil war that followed the death of Emperor Hirkáne hiTlakotáni. [00:41:58]  In Lords of Tsámra, we see the effects of the (false) Plague of the White Hand. [00:42:30]  Both Scott and James have used plagues in their games.  Scott used the Plague of the White Hand as the reason the foreign PCs left their starting location and entered the Imperium.  In James’s campaign, his players are encountering refugees from Livyánu who are fleeing a plague in their homeland. [00:43:28]  In the penultimate chapter of Man of Gold, several people succumb to a strange disease at the end.  Spoiler: it wasn’t a disease that did it. [00:46:48]  James cites Mitlányal (p. 24), which discusses the Tèkumeláni view of sickness and how that interacts with worship of the gods. [00:49:02]  Diseases have social, medical, historical, and economic effects.  As revealed in the later novels, the Mu’ugalavyáni were able to invade Livyánu because the Livyáni were weakened by the (false) Plague of the White Hand. Hosts:  Scott Kellogg, James Maliszewski, and Victor J. Raymond. Tékumel Products Referenced: Empire of the Petal Throne is the original Tékumel sourcebook and rules set.  It was first published by TSR in 1975.  It can be purchased as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. You can find Dyson Logos at his website.  In addition to publishing several fantastic maps every week, he’s designed several character sheets for EPT available here, and is also the cartographer for James’s long-running Tékumel campaign. The Dragon #4 is subtitled “Special Empire of the Petal Throne Issue” and cover-dated December 1976.  The magazine was originally published by TSR, and titled The Dragon until 1980 with issue #39.  The Dragon #4 can be viewed or downloaded free-of-charge here. Swords & Glory Vol. 1 (a.k.a. the “Source Book”) was first published by Gamescience in 1983.  It is a detailed sourcebook for the world of Tékumel.  You can purchase it as a print-on-demand book, or as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. Lords of Tsámra, Prince of Skulls, and A Death of Kings are the last three of Prof. Barker’s Tékumel novels.  They were originally published by Zottola Publishing between 2002 and 2003.  They are currently out-of-print, and can only be obtained at significant cost from third-party resellers.  The Tékumel Foundation plans to reissue them in print and electronic versions in the future. Man of Gold, the first of M.A.R. Barker’s novels set on Tékumel, is back in print.  You can purchase it through Amazon or CreateSpace.   It’s also available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. Mitlányal is an in-depth exploration of the religious practices of the Tsolyáni in two volumes.  It was written by Bob Alberti and Prof. Barker and published in 2004 by Zottola Publishing.  It is currently out-of-print. Non-Tékumel Things: Gary Con is an annual spring gaming convention held in Lake Geneva, WI to honor the memory of E. Gary Gygax. Tabletop.Events is a company founded in 2015.  Their platform helps customers to organize and find tabletop gaming conventions.  The Con of Champions is a fundraiser and virtual convention created to help support Tabletop.Events whose business has been all but eliminated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Discord is an online service (with related applications) which allows for messaging, chat, and audio and video communication.  It is primarily used by gamers. Roll20 is a popular virtual tabletop service, which allows players to host and play a variety of tabletop games over the Internet.  It was launched in 2012. The venerable science fiction RPG Traveller entered print in 1977 and has seen repeated revisions and overhauls.  Virtually all of the previous editions are available in PDF.  The current rule sets are Traveller5 and Mongoose Publishing’s Traveller 2nd Edition. Astral is another virtual tabletop service, backed by OneBookShelf, the company that owns DriveThruRPG and its sister sites. Fantasy Grounds bills itself as the “most supported virtual tabletop” with more official licenses than any other.  It was founded in 2009. Jack Vance won multiple awards for his works of fiction, including sci-fi and fantasy.  His “Dying Earth” and “Planet of Adventure” series will be of especial interest to Tékumel fans.  He died in 2013 at age 96. Dice Maiden is a dice rolling bot for Discord, designed with tabletop RPGs in mind. AWW App is a collaborative online whiteboard.