For Cultured Friends XIII: The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13

For devotees of TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, the various issues of The Excellent Travelling Volume, James Maliszewski’s fanzine dedicated to Professor M.A.R. Barker’s baroque creation continue to provide dedicated support and further exploration. Published in June, 2021, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13—available in print via lulu.com—is the most recent issue. As with previous issues, his exploration of one of oldest of roleplaying settings is heavily influenced by the campaigns he has been running, the primary being his House of Worms campaign, originally based in, around, and under Sokátis, the City of Roofs before travelling across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula, as detailed in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8. However, although he continues to be the primary contributor to the fanzine, this latest issue contains multiple submissions from other authors, which is not only encouraging, but hopefully, a sign of things to come.

As per usual, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13 opens an editorial from James Maliszewski. As you would expect, this does highlight the challenging nature of the last year, but its main focus is the difficulty of its production and in particular, the postal and printing troubles. Fortunately, these have been solved with the move to lulu.com. The editorial also welcomes the multiple submissions from other authors that feature in the issue. The first of the additions in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13 is drawn from the author’s House of Worms campaign, specifically from its current exploration of ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula. ‘Naqsái Sorcery’ presents a new form of sorcery which differs from that known amongst the temples of the Five Empires. Naqsái sorcery involves the study of one hundred and eight ideograms. These appear to be two-dimensional, but closer and continued study reveals that they actually have three or more dimensions and can be used to access the same energies of the Planes Beyond as sorcerers of the Five Empires do. The article suggests a way in which a Player Character sorcerer might come to learn such ideograms—at a new Level switching to the new ideograms and their associated spells rather than the traditional spells he might learn from a temple. At subsequently newly acquired Levels, he might switch back. Several sample ideograms are listed, organised into Groups as per Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. These include Chúr, which completely copies (but does not translate) the contents of a non-magical scroll, book, or codex for the caster, and Ósuni, which fills the lungs of a designated target with saltwater, which can cause drowning if not immediately treated. The ten sample ideograms each come with their own actual ideograms and represent a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar in terms of spell design. For ease of use, it would have been better perhaps if the spells had been listed by Group rather than alphabetically, and potentially, the ideogram Hrún, which transmutes non-living objects into steel may have a game changing effect given how rare that metal is on Tékumel. Otherwise an interesting and different approach to magic that has room expansion and further mysteries.

The subject of magic continues with ‘The Magic-User’. This proposal suggests changes to the Magic-User Class from Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. This is to make the Class more flexible and less Change-oriented, offering a more balanced take so that a player could roleplay a Stability-worshipping sorcerer. It follows on from a similar treatment of the Warrior Class in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 and gives a new list of initial professional skills, as well as an explanation of skills such as Aspects and Mythology and Inner Doctrines. Unfortunately, this is untested and it would need some playtesting, although the possibility of this seems unlikely in the short term.

‘Shiringgáyi: Queen of the Heavens and of Tékumel’ explores the religious history of  Tsolyánu’s eastern neighbour, Salarvyá, and its differences with the other faiths of the Five Empires derived from the priest Pavár’s theological revolution. Whilst scholars of the other Five Empires take an interest in that history, the Salarvyáni simply give Shiringgáyi pride of place among all the gods. Her influence and those of her priestesses is such that they sit on the country’s Council of Nobles which decides its next king, who is then ‘reborn’ as the ‘son of Shiringgáyi’ and rules until such times as he is deemed physically and mentally unfit to rule and as the goddess ‘withdraws her blessings’ from him, only accepting back into her bosom following his ritual impalement. This adds both background and detail to the world of Tékumel, and would not only be useful should the Player Characters visit Salarvyá, but also should a player want to roleplay a priestess of Shiringgáyi.

One of the best ongoing features in The Excellent Travelling Volume is the Patrons section. Each entry includes six ready-to-play NPCs, including stats, skills, and spells, as well as a thumbnail portrait, some background and a reason for their wanting to employ the Player Characters. Not only a reason, but also several different explanations as to what is actually going on. Thus, Di’iqén hiTurshína, a priest of Grugánu who believes that someone is trying to kill him. The explanations include the fact that he is mistaken, a rival attempting to discredit him by making him paranoid, his temple testing his suitability for advancement, and another rival competing for the affection of a pretty ritual priestess of Ksárul. Modelled after the entries in the supplement, 76 Patrons for the Science Fiction roleplaying game, Traveller—of which the author is an avowed fan—these patrons are excellent, each providing an individual NPC and an adventure that the Game Master can develop.

The second addition in the issue is ‘Poisons, Antidotes & Narcotics’, useful for campaigns which involve murder or assassination, or social situations, the latter given the fact that the societies of the Five Empires hold no stigma when it comes to the social use of ‘The Powders’ as they are known.

The first of the submissions to The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13 is ‘Puppetmaster Clans’ by Rob Smith. There are two of these in the Five Empires, the Society of the Hands Which Are Not Seen and the Clan of the Striding Incantation, and both are highly secretive about the arts they practice, the performance of sagas, plays, poems, and even gladiatorial duels using puppets of wood, metal, bone, and other materials, which then animated using spells. It adds the new skill, ‘Performer: Puppeteer’ and covers roles such as Puppet Artist, Set Designer/Craftsman, Musician, and more, as well as Puppetmaster Magic. This adds new spells such as Animate Puppets I, Animate Peerless Puppet, and even  Transfiguration, which turn the victim of the spell into a living puppet! The Puppetmaster clans perform regularly at the homes of the nobility and the roleplaying possibilities that they suggest are numerous, including single clan campaigns travelling the Five Empires getting involved in intrigues and seeing the world, murder mysteries, and more. Perhaps only lacking the lineage names for the respective clans, this is a fine addition to Tékumel campaign.

David A. Lemire provides more fiction in the form of ‘The Epic of Hrúgga. This brings to life one of the heroic figures from the past of the Five Empires, and in addition to being an enjoyable read, might serve as inspiration for a performance by the previously explored  ‘Puppetmaster Clans’.

Lastly, ‘Hanging on the Ropes’ by Mikael Tuominen is a lengthy encounter in the wilderness at  long, rope bridge crossing a ravine, river, or swamp. On its other side waits a lavishly but tastelessly dressed warrior with a gem-encrusted sword ready to strike at the ropes of the bridge. This is Kúrkuru hiSáchi, a soldier of fortune with a grudge to settle against the Temple of Hrü’ü for the death of his sister. The question is, does his vendetta have any basis in fact, is he acting nobly or ignobly? This is a really nicely developed encounter, relatively easy to drop into a campaign, which also forces the Player Characters to question their preconceptions. It also pleasingly addresses the issue for the point of view of both Stability and Change worshippers, and so feels nicely rounded. There should be more like this in the pages of the fanzine.

Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13 is nicely produced, a sturdy little booklet in a thick card cover, pleasingly illustrated and tidily presented throughout. 

The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 13 continues the author’s excellent support for Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. It is a solid issue, packed with content and background, made all the better for the submissions,  that the Referee can readily bring to her campaign.

For Cultured Friends XII: The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12

For devotees of TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, 2020 is notable for the release of not one, but two issues of The Excellent Travelling Volume, James Maliszewski’s fanzine dedicated to Professor M.A.R. Barker’s baroque creation. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 was published in April, 2020—available direct from the author or the Melsonian Arts Council—and continues his exploration of one of oldest of roleplaying settings heavily influenced by the campaigns he has been running, the primary being his House of Worms campaign, originally based in, around, and under Sokátis, the City of Roofs before travelling across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula, as detailed in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8.

As per usual, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 opens an editorial from James Maliszewski. This highlights the gap between this issue and The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11–or rather the lack of a gap, one facilitated by the periods of enforced isolation that beset many of us in 2020, as well as the continuing influence of the author’s ongoing House of Worms campaign. That can be seen in the first entry in the issue, part of the ‘Additions and Changes’ series which examines the various non-human races on Tékumel and makes them playable. ‘Hláka Characters’ adds the three-eyed, bewinged, and sharp-tailed species capable of actual flight. Like many non-human races, they do not acknowledge the Gods of Stability and Change, but when living amongst human civilisations, may adopt one or more faiths to fit in! However, they make for poor worshippers at any temple. Notably, they have a reputation for being skittish and cowardly, but this does not stop the militaries of the Five Empires recruiting them as scouts and even into legions, many of which are listed, solely comprised of Hláka and occasionally as aerial artillery. In terms of Profession, there is no limit in terms of their options, but they make better Warriors than they do Magic-Users or Priests. Alongside notes on Hláka names and homelands, the article includes discussion of Hláka clans—there are none. That is, except for the Blue Clouds of Joy Clan in Béy Sü, an extremely notable exception. Rounding out the article are rules for Hláka flight. This is another fine addition to the series, which with the inclusion of names, makes them both reasonably playable.

The second entry in the ‘Additions and Changes’ series is ‘Psychic Ability and Spells (Additions and Changes) which presents an adjusted table for rolling the Psychic Ability, and discusses the dangers of wearing metal—almost any metal, when casting spells and gives a table of results should a Magic-User attempt to cast a spell whilst wearing metal. Having discussed and presented the dangers of combining metal and magic, the article is rounded off with a discussion of what a sorcerer might actually wear instead of metal, pleasingly adding some colour.

‘The Warrior (Proposal)’ is the author’s suggestion to develop and add context to the Warrior Profession in Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. It does this by dividing the skills in General and Soldier skills, so Spearman and Bowman are General skills and Drills and Logistics are Soldier skills. The aim here is to have General skills that any Warrior can learn, whilst the Soldier skills can only be learned by serving in the legions. Accompanied by the definitions of various skills, it nicely serves to individualise the Warrior Profession and a Player Character’s previous history.

The centre piece in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is ‘Sa’á Allaqiyár, the Many-Towered City’, a detailed description of the capital of the northern empire of Sa’á Allaqi. It is accompanied by an excellent map, and covers the history of the city, an examination of its major clans—several of which have been adopted from the other four members of the Five Empires, and its notable features. These range from a sizeable Foreigners’ Quarter and an extensive number of brothels to the Pyramid of Néngetl, the long looted tomb of the first Engsvanyáli governor and the Ancient Sealed Gate, the former entry to the city on its eastern wall which was bricked up upon the advice of the priests of the One of Light, who stated that it would bring their god’s blessing and ensure that ‘Sa’á Allaqiyár would never fall. Of course, this is not canon, but this is another excellent article, one which is more than serviceable until such times as there is an official version of the city.

‘The Roads of Avanthár (Part 2)’ completes the short story by David A. Lemire begun in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11. The story describes the discovery of a great book and the efforts by members of the military faction to get it to the emperor in Avanthár, and their own rivalries. Ultimately, the concluding part leaves questions unanswered and adds mysteries of its own, but is enjoyable nonetheless.

‘The Hollows of Gyánu’ is the adventure location given in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12, the hideout for a group of Kilalammuyáni bandits in the mountains of Tsolyánu’s Chaigári Protectorate, who have been raiding local caravans. The local governor has posted a reward for their capture or their demise, but unfortunately, something already has happened to them by the time the Player Characters arrive to investigate their cave hideout. There are riches to be found in the caves and the sinkhole they are clustered around, but also terrible secrets of the Five Empires’ religious past. It is a nicely done encounter, a mixture of horror and exploration, which is easily transferred to a location of Referee’s choice.

The third entry in the ‘Additions’ series is ‘Bestiary (Addition)’ and presents two creatures as an accompaniment to ‘The Hollows of Gyánu’. The two creatures are the Achayá, ‘The Blood of Gyánu’ and the Chagrúo, ‘The Frozen Dead’, two nasty monsters emanating from the Expanse of the Cold Dark, also detailed here. Rounding out The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is ‘Initial Encounters (Additions and Changes)’, the third entry in the issue’s ‘Additions and Changes’, which presents a replacement table of visitors who might be encountered in the city of Jakálla and the nature of their task in hand. Again, both tables are easy to adapt to other civilised settings and so have a wider use.

Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 is nicely produced, a sturdy little booklet in a thick card cover, pleasingly illustrated and tidily presented throughout. Both the illustrations and the maps are good too.

The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12 continues the author’s excellent support for Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. It is a solid issue, packed with content and background that the Referee can readily bring to her campaign.

For Cultured Friends XI: The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11

For devotees of TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, 2020 is notable for the release of not one, two issues of The Excellent Travelling Volume, James Maliszewski’s fanzine dedicated to Professor M.A.R. Barker’s baroque creation. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 was published in April, 2020—available direct from the author or the Melsonian Arts Council—and continues his exploration of one of oldest of roleplaying settings heavily influenced by the campaigns he has been running, the primary being his House of Worms campaign, originally based in, around, and under Sokátis, the City of Roofs before travelling across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula, as detailed in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8.

As per usual, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 opens an editorial from James Maliszewski. This highlights the gap between this issue and The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 and the reasons for it, before going onto focus on the importance of fiction when it comes to Tékumel. He notes, that like many a Petalhead, his initial exposure to the setting was to Man of Gold, M.A.R. Barker’s first novel, which really is an effective introduction to Tékumel. This is because the issue includes the first part of a short story by David A. Lemire, the first piece of fiction in the fanzine and a rare inclusion by someone other than James Maliszewski. The latter also explains why he puts out a call for submissions.

The opening gaming content in the issue is another entry in the ‘Additions and Changes’ series which examines the various non-human races on Tékumel and makes them playable. ‘Ahoggyá & Shén’ adds the four-sided and four-legged, barrel-shaped with a pair of eyes on each side Ahoggyá and the more humanoid, if slightly reptilian Shén with their mace-like tail. The former are the subject of some derision for their eight underminable sexes and stubborn refusal to acknowledge the Gods of Stability and Change—or even the concept of religion, let alone Stability and Change, but are renowned as fearless warriors. The latter only have three genders and do understand Stability and Change as ‘the one of Eggs’ and ‘the one who Rends’, and when in human society make actually adopt one of the gods of Stability and Change. In terms of Profession, both make poor magic-users and priests, but excellent warriors, such that outside of their homelands, all of the militaries of the Five Empires recruit Ahoggyá and Shén into legions of their own, but not together and their renowned antipathy means that they never serve alongside each other. This is another fine addition to the series, which with the inclusion of names, makes them both reasonably playable.

The influence of the author’s Achgé Peninsula-set campaign makes its presence known with the inclusion of ‘The Hokún: The Glass Monsters’, a centaur-like sentient species with a translucent exoskeleton and a hive mind thought to be found on the other side of the planet from the Five Empires. Their attitude to mankind varies—some may hunt and eat them, some may enslave them, and some may treat them as equals. This further highlights the weirdness of Tékumel and that there are wide swathes of the planet which remain unknown. The influence continues with a number of creatures in the ‘Bestiary (Addition)’. These include the Léksa or ‘The Glass Beast’—the riding beasts for the Hokún and actually a specially-bred mutation of the Hokún; the Nékka or ‘The Graceful Runner’, a herd beast left to run wild by the Hokún; the Qu’úni or ‘The Crustacean’, a semi-intelligent species found along the Achgé Peninsula, which is highly protective of its coastal lairs and regarded as a pest by sailors for their habit of swarming ships; and the Vriyágga or ‘The Wheeled Horror’, a terrifying combination of a central braincase suspended between two muscular wheels, the face on the braincase surrounded by four tentacles and with a maw of venomous feelers. Thankfully such creatures are rare, but they are horrifyingly weird. There is a nice inclusion of some commentary on the Vriyágga, just as there is on the Hokún, which adds a little context. With any luck, future issues will expand upon the lands of the Hokún, making them somewhere that group other than the author’s can visit them.

There are more monsters in ‘Demons of Sárku & Durritámish (Addition)’ which takes the reader to the Wastelands of the Dead, the plane ruled over by Lord Sárku to describe a trio of nasty demons. Thus sorcerers might entreaty the Blind Ones of Hreshkaggétl, minor six-limbed squid-like demons who reek of rotting flesh and revere Durritámish, cohort of Lord Sárku, for the mysteries and secrets they know of Durritámish, whilst none but the mightiest of warriors, sorcerers, or priests would want to face Srükáum, the Lord of the Legions of the Despairing Dead, the Castellan of the Citadel of Sighs, and the Warder of the Gates of Skulls, a skull-faced warrior in armour of copper and gold, who serves both Sárku and Durritámish as an ardent foe of Stability—especially if it involves combat! Lastly, Ssüssǘ, the Eater of the Dead, is a snake-like demon who oversees Lord Sárku’s hells and who is known to be able to grant great courage in others and great antipathy between two individuals.

Up until this point, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 feels like it is all about the demons, monsters, and creatures, so ‘Amulets (Addition)’ is a welcome change of focus. Amulets are devices of the ancients and provide all manner of ‘magical’ effects. Thus the tiny hand-shaped Amulet of Uttermost Alarm shocks the wearer when it is within thirty feet of a temple, demon, high priest, or artefact of one of the Pariah Deities, whilst the Amulet of the Blessing of the Emerald Lady, a fine necklace of malachite beads, makes the wearer feel and look ten years younger, though wear it for too long and the effects become permanent. The fourteen or so devices are pleasingly inventive, a good mix of powers and abilities that provide flashy, as well as subtle effects.

The location—or dungeon—to be explored in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 is The Tower of Jayúritlal, the ruined structure said to have been built by an Engsvanyáli (or possibly Bednálljan) sorcerer renowned as a traveller of the Planes Beyond. Consequently, Jayúritlal’s tower not only exists partly on Tékumel, but its location varies. Thus, it is easy to place as necessary in a Referee’s campaign, who is also free to develop the legend of Jayúritlal to suit her campaign. The tower itself is a tall narrow structure, amassing some thirty or so locations, and for the most is linear in its play. There is a pleasing feel of both age and the weird to it—whole missing walls for example with just a rope between levels, and it is very nicely mapped out by Dyson Logos. However, it does feel as if one too many rooms are blocked off by doors which require magical means to open, which may impede and even frustrate the players and their characters’ progress. Perhaps also, a discussion of possible suggestions and motivations for the Player Characters to visit the tower might have been a useful addition.

Rounding out the issue is ‘The Roads of Avanthár’, the first part of a short story by David A. Lemire. This describes the discovery of a great book and the efforts by members of the military faction to get it to the emperor in Avanthár, and their own rivalries. There is quite a lot going on in this first half and it will be interesting to find out how the events play on the second part in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 12.

Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 adheres to the same standards as the previous issues. It sees the return of the card cover which The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 seemed to lack, and if the cover is not in full colour, that is not as much as a loss as it might seem. Otherwise, as expected, the writing is engaging, the illustrations excellent, the cartography is good, and it feels professional.

The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 11 feels like a very monster focused issue, with Ahoggyá & Shén as Player Character options, the write-ups of ‘The Hokún: The Glass Monsters’, and both Bestiary and Demons articles—much of it influenced by the author’s Achgé Peninsula-set campaign. The issue thus continues the author’s exploration away from the Five Empires, expanding what we know of Tékumel, but still adding elements a Referee can include in her more traditionally located campaign.

For Cultured Friends X: The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10

With the release of The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10, the fanzine reaches a milestone that showcases the dedication of both publisher and readers in their desire to keep it an ongoing publication—it reaches double figures. Subtitled ‘A fanzine of M.A.R. Barker’s World of Tékumel’ and written for use with TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, the issue heralds two changes. The first is that the fanzine is available internationally, being now on sale via Melsonian Arts Council , the publisher best known for its own fanzine, The Undercroft. The second is that the back issues are now available as PDF titles, which ensures that those devotees of Tékumel who on their immediate release did not purchase them upon can do so now. Hopefully, this will ensure the wider availability of future issues as well as the past issues.

Over those past nine issues, the author has expanded the hobby’s first great roleplaying setting, both in and around the familiarity of the Five Empires on the northern continent as well as regions far away. Much of it based around the campaigns that he has run, most notably his House of Worms campaign, based in, around, and under Sokátis, the City of Roofs. In The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8, he took both campaign and fanzine in a very different direction,  far across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula. This explored—unofficially—a region not visited within Tékumel canon, as well as showcasing the possibilities of opening up regions well away from the familiarity of the Five Empires on the northern continent. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9 returned to the northern continent, but not necessarily the Five Empires, but some elements of the author’s Dust of Gold campaign. The latest issue, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10, combines elements of both—the very far away and the relatively near on the northern continent.

Following an editorial reflecting the author’s time spent on The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue, the issue opens with ‘Finding Tékumel’, really an extension of the issue’s editorial and a reflection upon this and the previous two issues and their content. Here the author examines an aspect of his interaction with Professor M.A.R. Barker, which encouraged him to visit places on Tékumel that the professor had not yet been to. What he meant was that the author—and indeed any Game Master running a Tékumel campaign—should be developing these unvisited areas themselves for their own game and that they need not wait for the professor to present something that was canon. Of course, this runs counter to the gamer’s tendency when playing in a setting—especially a setting that is the creation of one man—to want to not break canon, in this instance to play on Tékumel as Professor M.A.R. Barker envisioned it. The Excellent Travelling Volume is very much a rebuttal to that tendency, especially in recent issues, and this first article in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 is both something of a manifesto and memoir of the author’s interactions with Professor Barker.

The first actual gaming content in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 is another ‘Additions and Changes’ examining the various non-human races on Tékumel. This time it is ‘Tinalíya & Urunén’. The former are the short, four-legged humanoids with three sexes, who are notoriously curious and literal-minded, who make good Warriors and Magicians, but consider being a Priest a poor vocation. They are also adept with the devices of the ancients. Found primarily in and around Livyánu, they are allowed their own legions to fight against the Mu’ugalavyáni, whom they consider to be woefully officious. The latter are not as well known, being from the subpolar regions around the South Pole and contact having only been made with the Five Empires. They are tall humanoids covered in light fur with both a tail and a combination of bovine and serpentine features and much like the Tinalíya, disdain being a Priest instead of a Warrior or Magician. 

The article details the Alignment, Choice of Sex—the have three as opposed to the two of the Urunén, Profession—both prefer to be Warriors or Magicians, Hit Dice, their unique racial abilities, and what gods and their cohorts they worship. There are also notes on possible names, their homelands, and what legions they might serve in. Together this draws a great deal of playable information about both races that can be used to help create player characters or NPCs. Of course, the humanocentric outlook of the Five Empire means that there is some social stigma to playing either, but the Urunén would be very much an oddity, if not an object of curiosity.

The Urunén are further detailed in ‘The Urunén – The Cold Dwellers’. This goes into further depth about their culture and society as well as presenting stats for them as monsters or NPCs rather than as player characters. This nicely expands upon the information presented in the previous article and enables this relatively unknown species to be better portrayed by Game Master and player alike.

‘Ureshyésha, the Tiered City’ continues the fanzine’s recent exploration of the Plain of Towers to the west of Mu’ugalavyá, previously seen in ‘The Ni’ikmá Valley’ and its companion articles in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9. This details the city which occupies a mountain pass through the Qelqái Range. The city is currently ruled by the Shúr Ésh, a tall humanoid species with pale complexions, flat noses, and grey or blue eyes(!), who are said to be the artificial creations of the city’s founders, the Old Ones. The Shúr Ésh are psychically gifted and adept in the operation of the devices of the ancients, and although they allow foreigners to reside in the outer city beyond the city’s wall, they restrict access to many parts of the city and so getting through Ureshyésha requires some negotiation. The description of Ureshyésha is quite detailed, including locations and several NPCs, but it is not quite obvious how to use it and this is not fully explored in the article. There is political tension in the city, the growing size of the general population versus the limited number of Shúr Ésh in Ureshyésha and the demand for devices of the ancients to be found in the ruins of the City of the Old Ones and the extensive Tsuru’úm below the city despite the custom of Ditlána not being practised, and these present potential hooks as well as the negotiations needed to get through the city. Perhaps, a future issue will return with an adventure or two set here?

Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel treats magical armour and shield in a limited fashion, restricting them to simple +1, +2, or +3 bonuses. ‘Magical Shields’ provides the means to create shields with magical powers and abilities beyond those bonuses and gives four unique examples. For example, Dhimitlár’s Bulwark protects against all non-magical ranged weapons when held. All four are nice detailed and come complete with histories as well as their abilities. These are nice additions to Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel and should serve as fine examples for the Game Master’s own game.

Lastly, ‘The Treasure Vaults’ expands upon a volume given in Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. This is Chánisayal hiHayá—‘Powerful Maps of Glory’—a book of between one and six treasure maps. Here just the single location is detailed, a treasure vault of a disgraced sorcerer. Consisting of just sixteen locations, this is actually a nicely detailed mini-dungeon which should provide a session or two’s worth of play. The article shows how much the author is still taking inspiration from the pages of Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. Hopefully there will be more of these in future issues, or perhaps, a whole mini-supplement could be published detailing all six locations to be found in the pages of Chánisayal hiHayá? That would be amazing.

Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 adheres to the same standards as the previous issues. It does lack the card cover of the previous issues and so has a slightly less substantial feel to it, so does not quite feel as good or professional in the hand. Otherwise, as expected, the writing is engaging, the illustrations excellent, the cartography is good, and it feels professional. 

One obvious issue with The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 is that not all of its content supports campaigns set around the Five Empires where most campaigns are set. What it is means is that some of the content, whilst interesting, will not be of immediate interest or use to a Game Master. This is not a complaint and nor should it be, since the author is writing based on his campaigns and is still writing about Tékumel. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 10 further expands what we know of Tékumel, and not only is that to be welcomed, it adheres to the author’s remit right from the very first article.

—oOo—

Melsonian Arts Council will be at UK Games Expo which will take place between June 1st and June 3rd, 2018 at Birmingham NEC. This is the world’s fourth largest gaming convention and the biggest in the United Kingdom.

For Cultured Friends IX: The Excellent Travelling Voume Issue No. 9

Following in the footsteps of took the author and publisher’s House of Worms campaign, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8, ‘A fanzine of M.A.R. Barker’s World of Tékumel’, went in a very different direction to previous issues, far across the southern ocean to ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula. Written for use with TSR Inc.’s Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, it detailed the city itself, its inhabitants and clans, as well as the native peoples, the local flora and fauna, and more. It explored—unofficially—a region not visited within Tékumel canon, as well as showcasing the possibilities of opening up regions well away from the familiarity of the Five Empires on the northern continent. The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9 returns home to the northern continent, but geographically at least, not to the Five Empires.

The issue opens with an editorial as usual. Here James Maliszewski recounts his experiences attending conventions and essentially how the smaller the convention, the more enjoyable they are. There is certainly a truth to this, as the smaller events tend to be less commercial, less frenetic, and friendlier. What is also true is that such event are about as much socialising as they are about play and smaller events tend to be focused on play. They are also a chance for players to try games they might not at home and as James highlights, the chance to meet others you might only know online or through the pages of a fanzine. Anyway, it is nice to that he is enjoying this aspect of the hobby.

The first of the two ‘Additions and Changes’ in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9 is ‘Pygmy Folk and Swamp Folk Characters’, which provides rules for playing either race in Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel. Notably drawn from Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book, this details the Alignment, Choice of Sex—the Pygmy Folk have three as opposed to the two of Swamp Folk, Profession—the Swamp Folk can only Warriors as they cannot cast spells of any kind, Hit Dice, their unique racial abilities, and what gods and their cohorts they worship. There are also notes on possible names, their homelands, and what legions they might serve in. Together this draws a great deal of playable information about both races that can be used to help create player characters or NPCs. Of course, the Five Empires being humanocentric in their outlook to one degree or another does mean that Pygmy Folk and Swamp Folk player characters will some social stigma.

The second is ‘Expanded Original Skills’. This revises the three lists of skills—Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced—to fill in some of the omissions in terms of skills for as society as baroque and as complex as the Tsolyánu Empire and those of the Five Empires. Primarily, it adds Ancient Language and Modern Language, Entertainer, Etiquette and Courtly Manners, Lawyer, and Moneylender.  Of the two new additions, Ancient Language and Modern Language and Entertainer require further definition when selected. So acrobat, juggler, puppeteer, and so on for Entertainer, but languages like Engsvanyáli and Llyáni, Mu’ugalavyáni and Yan Koryáni for Ancient Language and Modern Language. To that end, the article includes a long list of languages. Now none of this has been playtested, but overall this looks like a reasonable revision.

The issue’s main focus is the Ni’ikmá Valley. As detailed in ‘The Ni’ikmá Valley’, this is a small area within the Plain of Towers, lying to the west of Mu’ugalavyá. By the standards of the Five Empires, it is a sparsely settled region, its peoples primitive, and notably, sits on the edge of a ‘barren zone’ as far as the use of magic and technological devices are concerned. It introduces the local inhabitants, the Nixkámi, details their faith and culture, and describes some of the places of note within the valley. One of these is ‘The Sunken Sanctum’, a subterranean ruin in the Qelqái Range of mountains on the southern edge of the valley. Rumoured to be haunted, this complex is actually a very minor facility from the Latter Times. Consisting of just seventeen locations, it is nicely detailed and has a slightly weird feel which echoes that of playing Gamma World or Metamorphosis Alpha. The Game Master though, will need to develop a reason or hook for her player characters to visit the site—and to be fair, the Ni’ikmá Valley.

Two other articles further develop the Ni’ikmá Valley. One is a full hex map of the valley, whilst the other is a ‘Bestiary’, the first of two Additions in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9. The size of Tékumel and the isolated nature of places like the Ni’ikmá Valley mean that all manner of strange and different creatures can be found. So it is with the Ni’ikmá Valley, the article adding just four creatures native to the area, like the Jálu or ‘Prowler’, a large, four-limbed predator which stalks its prey through the Qelqái Range and is capable of bursts of unexpected speed. The other Addition to the issue is ‘New Eyes’. The article adds a further thirteen to the many listed in Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, including ‘The Eye of Ineluctable Verity’, which prevents the subject from telling falsehoods and inflicts agonising pain if they do, and ‘The Eye of Immediate Encapsulation’, which imprisons the target in stasis, in a pocket dimension. Unfortunately, there are only six such pocket dimensions, so when one target is popped into one, another one pops out… That lends itself to some interesting adventure possibilities and showcases the invention displayed in the creation of these Eyes.

Perhaps the oddest article in the issue is ‘The Undying Wizards’. In Professor M.A.R. Barker’s fiction we see characters like Prince Dhích’une visiting other planes to converse and consort with his allies, but in this article we have characters coming from these planes—and elsewhere—to the ‘current’ time period. Primarily based in the far future of Tékumel, these characters make up a cabal of wizards of great knowledge and power who essentially police its timeline. Their methods, ideologies, and personal histories may vary, but they do care. None of the quintet described are given any stats, but they are of such power that in all likelihood they do not need any, although there is nothing to stop the Game Master from providing them.

Most campaigns set on Tékumel take place in its here and now, roughly conversant with the civil war following the usurpation of the Petal Throne by Prince Dhích’une and its aftermath, but with ‘The Undying Wizards’, we step outside of that to look at the planet’s long history and long future, whatever that may be… The article provides a set of NPCs to use as potential patrons, threats, a conspiracy from outside of time, and more. Ultimately, it hints at a bigger picture to the setting and adds yet another layer of mystery to it, whilst also providing a solid set of NPCs for the Game Master to roleplay.

Lastly, ‘The Temple of Lord Aridzó’ adds a location, a ruined structure in the Dry Bay of Ssu’úm previously detailed in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 6. It is a short location one-page piece which really just adds a little more detail to the content in the previous issue.

It almost goes without saying that The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9 is physically up to production standards set by previous issues. The writing is engaging, the illustrations all excellent, the cartography clear and easy to read, and it feels professional despite being put together by fans. Much of the issue’s content is taking the reader and thus the Game Master away from the Five Empires, so it may not be of use for everyone’s campaign, but the content in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 9 is an interesting read and some of it even has the potential to change a campaign.

An Original Sourcebook

Over the years, from the original Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne to the more recent Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, there have numerous attempts to create a roleplaying game set on Professor M.A.R. Barker’s world of Tékumel. One such was Swords & Glory, which had something of a fractured publishing history. First published by Games Science in the early 1980s, it was planned that the roleplaying game would consist of three separate books: Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book, Swords & Glory, Vol. 2: Tékumel Player’s Handbook, and Swords & Glory, Vol. 3: GM’s Guide. Whilst the first two volumes were published, the third was not and even then, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book was subsequently reprinted in three volumes by Different Worlds Publications and Tita’s House of Games. More recently, the Tekumel Foundation has made Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book and Swords & Glory, Vol. 2: Tékumel Player’s Handbook available once again as both PDFs and Print on Demand titles.

Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is a ‘print and scan’ version of the original Games Science edition from 1983. Unfortunately, anyone more used to modern publishing may find this to be a problem. First, the supplement is in an eight-point typeface; second, the use of diacritic marks on its vowels which Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne is so very famous for, are clearly marked up by hand; and third, some words are missing. Further, the writing style is scholarly and dense and the contents are organised by section by section, subject by subject in the style of old wargames rules, rather than chapter by chapter. This has two consequences.

The first is that the supplement is as dauntingly impenetrable, not helping Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne’s reputation as an impenetrable setting. The second is that finding a particular piece of information is not easy and this is not necessarily helped by the way in which the book is organised and written. It is organised subject by subject, essay by essay, with no breaks between the subjects. So one section might detail the Sákbe roads which run across the Five Empires, first in the Tsolyánu Empire, then in the surrounding empires and beyond, including the state of other roads, another looks at the styles of dress, and another the arms and armour wielded across the region, including non-humans. Now each of the essays are fascinating in themselves, but what it means is that finding particular facts is a challenge and getting an overall feel for a country, a people, or a race is also difficult. A more modern sourcebook would probably organise such content nation by nation, culture by culture, and race by race. Fortunately, there is an index and a glossary, both of which are useful. Nevertheless, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is neither an easy nor a casual read. (It should be noted that the Different Worlds Publications and Tita’s House of Games three book reprint is vastly more readable, mostly because being split across three books the font size is much larger!) 

These issues aside, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is not a rulebook, that would come later with Swords & Glory, Vol. 2: Tékumel Player’s Handbook. Instead, it is a systemless sourcebook, a background book, which means that its contents can be with any roleplaying game set on Tékumel. The Game Master would just have to provide the mechanical details as necessary, for otherwise Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is as detailed an introduction to the setting as you would want. It begins with the planet’s physical nature before taking the reader through its history and to a lesser extent, humanity’s history. This starts some 60,000 years into the future and Tékumel’s discovery and establishment as a vacation world before the Time of Darkness and then on through the disasters and rise and fall of empires which would follow, up until the founding of the Second Imperium, which has now lasted just 2,500 years. Then it goes on to describe the peoples of the Five Empires, the many other intelligent species to be found on the world, clans, gods and religions, how everything is organised from birth to death as well as government, religion, trade, the military, daily life, and society in general, how wars are fought and what arms and armour are used, and so on and so on. 

It is full of fascinating and interesting facts. For example, how a wife claims redress from a difficult or wayward partner, from simply approaching their Clan elders to legally employing one of the assassins’ clans; what the buttons do on a Tubeway Station and in a Tuebway Car; and how the mighty three-stepped Sákbe roads are a reflection of the Tsolyánu love of displaying personal status. The book is rich in detail, which when pulled form its pages can be used to colour a Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne campaign and bring it to life as well as provide possible ideas for adventures and scenarios.

Rounding out Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is a guide to the pronunciation. This is useful because Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne is famous for its languages and famously, its creator, Professor M.A.R. Barker, was a linguist. For this setting, he created not just the one language—Tsolyáni—but five! In much of the source material, only Tsolyáni is examined, but here Livyáni, Mu’ugalavyáni, Salarvyyáni, and Yán Kóryáni are also discussed. In all five cases, their scripts are included too. Now this may well be too much information for some people, but then Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne has never been a casual game, but certainly the pronunciation guide will a Game Master get her tongue around the various terms and phrases she will need in play and the scripts can be used to form the basis of suitable handouts and the like. (It should be noted that there are those who can actually write these scripts beyond the late Professor, I have seen it done.)

So the question is, what is missing from Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book? Well, much like the original Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, there is no list of personal names or lineage names, which given the focus of the supplement on the Tsolyánu Empire, is disappointing. This is further exacerbated by the lack of names, lineage names, and clan names for Livyánu, Mu’ugalavyá, Salarvyyá, and Yán Kór, which is odd given how the sourcebook expands upon the Five Empires essay by essay. Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book was originally published as a boxed set and included in that box was a set of maps. Indeed, the supplement makes reference to those maps, but they are not included here. They are available to purchase online.

Physically, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is a clean and tidy, if dense facsimile of the original sourcebook from 1983. The book is only lightly illustrated, and although several of the pieces previously appeared in Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, the artwork is excellent. 

With a fuddy-duddy layout and organisation and a dense content, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book is both a hard read and a challenge to use. Yet given the paucity of information about Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, the information and background to be found in the pages of the Swords & Glory, Vol. 1: Tékumel Source Book, with its rich detail and flavour, means that it is exactly the supplement a Game Master would want when preparing her Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne campaign. 

For Cultured Friends VIII

There has been a disappointing wait of a year between the publication of The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 7 and the arrival of The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8, but not just in terms of the content for the content is not as promised. For on the back cover of The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 7, the author and publisher promised the reader a complete ‘campaign starter’ which of course will be set in Sokátis, the location for the author’s House of Worms campaign. It would have included maps, locations, NPCs, adventures, pre-generated player characters, and more. When the ‘Just Off the Boat’ remains the roleplaying game’s default starting point, there remains the need for a starting point involving the player characters who are already Tsolyáni citizens and clan members rather than clanless, nakome scum. There was every chance that The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 would provide such a starting point.

Unfortunately, this is not something that The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 provides. Now this is disappointing, but the author at least takes the time to explain why. The primary reason being because the author’s campaign has very much moved on from Sokátis, its starting base, and so he is focused on another region of TSR Inc.’s Empire of the PetalThrone: The World of Tékumel. Consequently, his attention has moved on and he is no longer as interested in writing about Sokátis, whereas he is interested in writing about the current state of his campaign. This understandable, but again disappointing. On the other hand, The Excellent Travelling Volume is the author’s fanzine rather than ours and he is well within his rights to write and direct the content as he sees fit. This of course, leaves the reader and the Tékumeli fanbase wanting the perfect campaign starter, the perfect step from rules into the rich setting of Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel, but in the meantime, there is still The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8.

The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 opens with ‘Linyaró, Outpost of the Petal Throne’, a small city located on the Achgé Peninsula. This describes how a few centuries ago an expedition lead by the temples of Ksárul and Vimúhla sailed south for some six months to the southern continent where they founded the city of Linyaró. Over the years, the city prospered and forged strong trade-relationships with the neighbouring Násqui city-states. More recently Prince Mridóbu has taken a strong interest in the colony and appointed a member of the House of Worms clan its governor. The clans important to the city are listed, as are the temples and various NPCs. What is interesting here is that the historical lack of interest in the colony by the high clans means that various medium clans dominate Linyaró and their hold various positions of power and influence. In effect, this gives player characters—certainly those of a medium status clan as found in many a campaign—the room to grow and gain authority and the Game Master to reward them as such. Even if the Game Master does not use Linyaró specifically, then she can at least use it as inspiration or a model for her own campaign on the frontier.

The regular department, the ‘Bestiary’, adds four creatures native and non-native to the region, including the Cheshchá, essentially an ornery version of the Hmá; the vermin the Híkkutu; the Hlingá, a tiny lizard which can get into any box or crevice and is known for the slime it oozes which is painful to the touch; and the Rukétra, the large river beast with a rancid bite. None of these beasts are particularly aggressive and most amount to nuisances more than anything else. This points towards adventures in and around Linyaró rather than necessarily out on the frontier. Presumably, future issues of The Excellent Travelling Volume will describe new creatures and so support adventures beyond the confines of the colony.

The setting is further supported a good map of Linyaró and a separate hex map of on the Achgé Peninsula, as well as by five patrons and a description of the region. The ‘Patrons’ column has been a persistently good feature in the fanzine and its inclusion in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 is no exception. They include a Shén mercenary looking for missing members of his company; a priest of Hnálla wanting aid and protection for a journey to a ruined temple; a local street urchin who fears for his life; the captain of the governor’s palace guard who fears that the palace has beset by a rash of thefts; and a merchant who might have an agenda other than just shipping goods. All are fully stated up and each of set-ups comes with several possible solutions ready for the Game Master to develop further. Perhaps it would have good to have included at least one patron who was native to the region, but otherwise this is a solid quintet. Accompanying this piece is a table of random encounters in the city.

‘The Achgé Peninsula’ explores the region beyond Linyaró in greater detail. It provides a history as known and a description of the region. More interesting though is the write-up of the native peoples and their culture—the Naqsái. There are some lovely details included about them, such as the fact that they wear parasols, loose clothing, and pigmented ointments painted in blocks on the skin to protect against the bright sun and high temperatures on the peninsula. As expected, attention is paid to their social structures, notably the lack of clans and the reliance on lodges, primarily professional bodies. Throughout the issue, there are illustrations of the Naqsái which although a little cartoon-like, have a slight Mesoamerican feel which do a terrific job of capturing the difference between Tsyolanu characters and the local inhabitants. Each is given a short description too, enabling the Game Master to develop them as NPCs. It would be interesting to see some guidelines in futures on creating and playing both Naqsái player characters and NPCs.

Now as interesting as the material in The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 on Linyaró, the Achgé Peninsula, and the Naqsái is, none of it is official. This is no surprise given how little official information there is on the region, but then it leaves it wide open for a Game Master—and in this case—author to develop their own information. This does not mean that the material here is any less interesting or gameable and so can be used by other Game Masters for their campaigns.

Physically, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 is up to the standards set by previous issues. The writing is engaging, the illustrations excellent, and it feels professional. Overall, The Excellent Travelling Volume Issue No. 8 might not be what was promised, but it continues to showcase the love that the author and his artists have for Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel.

An Original RPG II

Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is the latest roleplaying game to explore the world of Tékumel, the linguistic and cultural setting developed by Professor M.A.R. Barker, which was originally published as Empire of the Petal Throne by TSR, Inc. in 1975, itself recently republished by The Tékumel Foundation. Published by Uni Games following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is designed and illustrated by Jeff Dee, best known for his classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons artwork and as the co-designer of the roleplaying game, Villains and Vigilantes, originally published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1979. Presented as ‘Rules for Science-Fantasy Role-Play on an Exotic Planet’, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel includes new of rules for play on Tékumel, a different campaign framework, and a new setting, but, it nevertheless takes its cue and its template from the 1975 Empire of the Petal Throne—and that has implications for how accessible it is as a roleplaying game and how accessible it makes Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne.

Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel starts with a good introduction to the world of Tékumel, explaining what it is and giving it a solid timeline which runs from our near future into the very far future, explaining how Tékumel was originally discovered in 60,000 AD and subsequently terraformed into a tourist world before it was dragged into a pocket universe. Isolated for millennia, both the human and alien inhabitants regressed technologically and lost much knowledge, but adapted to the hot and resource poor world that is Tékumel, such as learning to harvest, cut, and harden cut the hide of the mighty chlén beast to shape into armour, weapons, ploughs, and more. In time, the peoples of Tékumel made contact with intelligences from the Planes beyond the plane—or ‘béthorm’—of Tékumel, some of whom were adopted by the Priest-Kings of Éngsvan Hlá Gánga as the Tlomitlányal, the Gods of Stability, and the Tlokiriqáluyal, the Gods of Change. Éngsvan Hlá Gánga is only one of many great empires that have arisen and fallen since Tékumel was isolated. Today the area once ruled by Éngsvan Hlá Gánga is occupied by five great empires—Tsolyánu, the Empire of the Throne; the Empire of Mu’ugalavyá; the Land of Sorcery, Livyánu; and Sa’á Allaqí and Salarvyyá. It is the first of these empires, Tsolyánu, that is the primary focus of Tékumel and any roleplaying game devoted to the setting concentrates upon this nation above any other. This is not to say campaigns set on Tékumel cannot be set elsewhere, but that takes a bit more effort and a bit more knowledge than is presented in any roleplaying game devoted to Tékumel, and indeed, is presented in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel.

In terms of timeframe, the default setup for Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is 2369 AS, after the civil war that has rent Tsolyánu the last five years. Prince Dhich’uné, who usurped the throne from his late father, Emperor Hirkáne, ‘The Stone Upon Which Rests the Universe’, has been dethroned by his brothers and fled, whereabouts unknown. Prince Mirusyía now rules as ‘The Flame Everlasting’ and despite rumblings from Prince Dhich’uné’s allies in the Temple of Sárku, there is relative peace in the empire as the war with Yan Kór has ended on good terms.

Now in Empire of the Petal Throne, the default setup was that of ‘Fresh Off the Boat’, foreigners or ‘country bumpkins’, distant cousins who sail ashore at the great Tsolyáni port city of Jakálla and set out to find a place in civilised society. Initially confined to the Foreigners Quarter, they seek employers, then patrons, and finally sponsors who will support their becoming members of a clan and so become citizens of Tsolyánu, the Empire of the Throne. Not so in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel. Instead it offers up several campaign ideas, from being members of the same clan, worshippers of the same deity, and members of the same military legion to working as troubleshooters for the Omnipotent Azure Legion—the equivalent of the secret police in Tsolyánu and becoming the Heroes of the Age. It strongly advises against mixing characters of opposing faiths and widely diverging social levels, the latter because every good Tsolyáni clan members knows his or her place. Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel also suggests various adventure concepts, from the Underworld and its archaeology, wilderness exploration, and court intrigue to clan conflicts, administrative assignments, and the mysteries and puzzles of Tékumel. 

The default setup in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel though, is not that of ‘Fresh Off the Boat’, but instead has the player characters as members of a Tsolyáni clan. Which means that Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is much more a culture game than the default setup in Empire of the Petal Throne. Any player characters in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel will likely be human and Tsolyáni—the good citizens of Tsolyánu are conservative by nature and distrust foreigners and nonhumans—though the rules presented in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel do provide the means to create player characters who are not of the Five Empires or nonhuman should a campaign allow for such a possibility. That said, the Tsolyáni are tolerant of gender and sexual preferences, in particular a woman gains the same rights and responsibilities as a man if she officially declares herself to be of Aridáni status. More specifically though, the player characters are members of a clan which is either based in, or has a clan house in the Western city of Katalál. To that end, the character creation process includes a list of the primary clans found in the city, along with a list of personal and lineage names. 

A character in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is designed using Uni Games’ Pocket Universe system first seen in the Pocket Universe Basic Rules Set and Teenage Demon Slayer, both published in 2003. A character is defined by five attributes—Physique, Deftness, Intellect, Willpower, and Psychic Ability, though the latter is really only important for spellcasters; personal traits—advantages and disadvantages; and skills. It is a point buy system, a player being given three pools of points to spend on each. Elements such as date of birth, gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and sexual attraction can all be rolled for or chosen as is a player’s wont. As can name and lineage. The character creation process is straightforward, though it does get slightly more complex when creating a spellcaster. It is also flexible, so that it is possible to create a wide array of character types, though the emphasis is on occupation within a clan, a temple, or military legion—which in Tsolyánu is how it should be.

Our sample character is Fssu’úma hiTurushán of the Clan of Black Monolith, native of the city of Katalál. She has declared herself Aridáni and been sponsored by her clan—to its great cost—to train in the secret city of Hmakuyal. Outwardly, she is learning to become an ecclesiastical lawyer in the temple of Ksárul, but secretly is training to become a ‘Maisur Hu’on Gual’, a practitioner of Hu’on, the unarmed martial arts known only to the Ancient Lord of Secrets. She is thus trained as an unarmed bodyguard to serve the priesthood of Lord Ksárul.

Fssu’úma hiTurushán
Clan: Black Monolith
Occupation: Administrative Priest (Maisur Hu'on Gual)
God: Ksárul
Age: 18 Gender: Female

Personal Wealth: 225 kaitars
Contact Points: 10
Clan Influence: 4
Personal Influence: 1
Prestige: 3

Physique 11 (+1)
Deftness 11 (+1)
Intellect 10 (+0)
Willpower 10 (+0)
Psychic Ability 02

Hit Points: 14
Unarmed Damage: 2/4/6
Initiative: 2/4/6
Melee Defence: 2
Missile Defence: 2
Magic Defence: –
Move: 7

Personal Traits
Advantages: Danger Sense (1), Quick Thinking (1), Strong (1), Training (2)
Disadvantages: Enemy (1), Skill Limitation (Performance) (1), Debt (2), Lower Lineage (1)

Skills
Administration 10 (1), Danger Sense 10 (1), Dodge 12 (3), Etiquette 10 (1), Insight 09 (1), Kick 12 (3), Language: Classical Tsolyáni 10 (1), Literacy (1), Oratory 09 (1), Punch 11 (1), Ritual 10 (1)

In terms of character design and creation, the Pocket Universe system as used in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel feels like a streamlined version of Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS, or rather more like its forebear, The Fantasy Trip, published by Metagaming Concepts in the late 1970s. For example, skills are based directly off a character’s attribute, each initially being purchased at a base value equal to the skill and then improved above the base value in a fashion similar to that of GURPS. The given range of advantages, disadvantages, and skills provides a wide array of options in terms of character design, but any design will be quite tight and probably require a bit of juggling of points if a player is to get what he wants. Overall, once familiar with the rules, a character can be created in about twenty minutes or so.

The action resolution system is simple enough. A player rolls two ten-sided dice and tries to roll equal to, or under the skill or attribute. A result of two is always a success, a result of twenty a failure. Doubles count as a critical result, if under the target number as a critical success, if over the target number, as a critical failure. Difficulty modifiers apply, but the base unmodified target number represents a difficult task, whereas a routine task grants a +2 modifier. Modifiers can come from the situation, from equipment, extra time, and from roleplaying.

Combat adds some complexity, but not a great deal. Both Initiative and damage are handled in a similar fashion. Each is represented by a range of three numbers, every character having a range for their Unarmed Damage and Initiative and then for one each weapon he might wield, for example, 3/5/7, for a sword. They can be modified by Advantages and Disadvantages such as Quick, Slow, Strong, and Weak. A ten-sided die is rolled, a result of one or two indicating that the first number be used, a result of between three and eight indicating that the middle number be used, and a result of nine and ten indicating that the last number in the range be used. A character’s Melee or Missile Defence reduces the likelihood of being struck by an opponent and armour reduces damage inflicted. The combat rules cover most situations, including combat manoeuvres, multiple attacks, called shots, defensive fighting, and desperation.

For example, Fssu’úma hiTurushán is returning from an errand to the Armoury of the Bright Helm in the foreigners’ quarter of Katalál for her clan when she comes upon a fight outside the Residence of Akkéme the Yán Koryáni, Resthouse for Poor and Indigent Foreigners of No Status. A drunken brawl has broken out between two N’lüss warriors inside the building and spilled out onto the street. One of the brawling N’lüss is on the floor, battered and bleeding, having been subdued by the other N’lüss and a detachment of the city guard sent to keep the peace. Unfortunately, so are a number of the city guard, leaving just two to deal with a drunk N’lüss warrior. Worse, the still standing N’lüss warrior is a citizen, a member of the Clan of the Standing Reed.

First initiative must be rolled for both the N’lüss warrior and Fssu’úma hiTurushán. The Game Master decides that the N’lüss warrior is the equivalent of a medium warrior and assigns him an Initiative of 1/2/3. The Game Master rolls a die and with a roll of 5 sets the warrior’s Initiative at 2. Fssu’úma’s player rolls an 8 and gives her an Initiative of 4—she is definitely going first.

Fssu’úma calls out, “Hoi! What good citizen would be disturbing the peace?” The N’lüss looks over his shoulder and dismissively curls his lip at what he sees is just a good Clan girl. She answers this by saying, “Only nakome scum would smash up their home.” She figures that the N’lüss warrior will take this as a deadly insult and she is right, for he turns and lumbers towards her as the standing city guards look on in surprise. She enters a defensive stance, increasing her Melee Defence to 4, her player explaining that she wants to dodge the N’lüss’ attack and so put her in a better position to attack next round. The N’lüss attempts to grapple Fssu’úma. As a medium warrior, the N’lüss warrior has a Deftness of 10, but not the Grapple skill, which unskilled is equal to Deftness -1. So, the Target Number is 9, modified by Fssu’úma’s raised Melee Defence, lowering it to 5. The Game Master rolls 15, meaning that the N’lüss warrior has failed to grab her.

Now it is Fssu’úma’s turn to act. Her player decides that she will make a Hu’on kick attack against the N’lüss’ knee, the aim being to knock the giant warrior to the floor. The Game Master awards her player a +1 bonus for the roleplaying description and another +1 bonus for the N’lüss’ bad roll. Fssu’úma’s Target Number is 12, plus the bonuses awarded by the Game Master, but -2 for the N’lüss’ Melee Defence and -2 for the called shot on the leg. Fssu’úma’s Target Number is 10. Her player not only rolls a 10, but a double 5, meaning that Fssu’úma’s attack not only struck home, it is also a critical strike. Fssu’úma’s player rolls for her Unarmed Damage and with a result of 10, inflicts maximum damage or 6 points.

The N’lüss must make a Physique check to withstand the effects of this kick, equal to his Physique +2, but minus the damage. Armour would protect him,  but who drinks in their armour? The N’lüss has a Physique of 14, so with six damage, the Game Master’s Target Number is 10. A roll of 16 means he fails and he is forced down to one knee as the other leg gives out under him. His Hit Points, already reduced from 14 to 11 in the earlier brawl, are now 5. Then there is the matter of the critical strike. Fssu’úma’s player rolls a ten-sided die and consults the Combat Critical Tables. He rolls 2, which allows Fssu’úma a second attack. Her player says that as the N’lüss goes down, Fssu’úma will punch him in the face, as they are on the same level. The Game Master likes this, and says that whilst the N’lüss does have his helmet on, his Melee Defence will not count because he is on his knees. It is also a called shot with a -3 penalty. Fssu’úma’s Target Number is 8. Her player rolls 8, a hit, and then 9 for damage, for another 6 damage. The N’lüss’ helmet reduces this damage by one and the Game Master would need to roll to see if the remaining damage would be enough to knock him out, but since the N’lüss only has 5 Hit Points left, the point is moot.

At this point, Fssu’úma steps back, straightens the silver mask she wears as a priest of Ksárul, and calms herself a moment before saying to the body of the giant man before her, “I am so sorry for calling you nakome scum. That was rude of me. And sorry about your knee.” Then she pulls out a handful of coins and drops them by the prone figure. “I am sure this will cover the shamtla I owe.” With that, she walks past the two city guards who stand looking on agog.

The bulk of Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is divided between three subjects—spells and spellcasting, monsters and NPCs, and treasure. In fact, almost a third of the book is devoted to spells and sorcery. Like the societies of Five Empires in general, spells and spellcasting are highly organised, highly codified, and highly restricted, students being taught at the temples, so that there is a religious aspect to the practice of sorcery. Inside the Five Empires, it is very rare for anyone to be taught spells who has not been a student at one of the temples and having potential as a sorcerer or sorcerer-priest is one way for someone from a low status to receive a high education and so bring prestige and glory to his clan. Both the rules and the setting divide its many spells into three phyla. Universal spells are known to all temples; Generic spells are advanced spells known to some temples, but not others; and Temple spells are unique to each priesthood—they may be known about by other priesthoods, but not enough to be taught, even if the subject matter and effect of the spells are acceptable to those other priesthoods. Which in the case of the spells known to the priesthoods of Sárku, Lord of Worms or Lady Dlamélish, the Green-Eyed Lady of Fleshly Joys, is unlikely. 

Spells are further divided into Psychic and Ritual spell types, the former cast purely through pure mental visualisation only, the latter requiring a mixture of precise movements and incantations to cast. So Minding Reading and Blessing are examples of Psychic and Ritual Universal spells; Beauty is a Generic Ritual spell known to the priesthoods of Avánthe and Dlamélish; and Frostbite is a Ritual Temple spell Unique to the priesthood of Hrü’ü, the Supreme Principle of Change, whilst Combat Mastery I is a Psychic Temple spell unique to the priesthood of Karakán, the Lord of War. 

To create a sorcerer character in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, a player will need to invest points into his character’s Psychic Ability as well as his other attributes. A good Intellect score is probably a good idea too and points will need to be put into the Sorcery skill. Points put into the latter also grant ‘Spell Purchase Points’, used to buy knowledge of certain spells and determine a sorcerer’s ‘Sorcery Level’. The latter also determines what rank of spells a sorcerer is granted access to. To cast a spell, a player must roll his character’s Sorcery skill and have him expend Psychic Energy or ‘NRG’ points. Although the rules for sorcery are slightly more complex than the rules found elsewhere in the book, they only take up a few pages of Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, the rest of the section devoted to the subject consisting of spell after spell after spell. Each spell is quite detailed, allowing for a fair degree of flavour, in terms of both mechanics and setting.

Our sample Ritual-Sorcerer is Abáshu hiCháika, a member of the Clan of Eye of Flame, a clan of barbers, soldiers, and bodyguards. Crippled since childhood, he never expected to do more than follow in his father’s footsteps and work in the clan barbershop. His life changed when a priest of Vimúhla noticed the boy’s perspicacity and psychic potential. With his father’s blessing, he took him to the temple to be tested as a result of which he was inducted into the temple of the Lord of Fire. Being of a low status meant that Abáshu began his education late, but he has made up for it, having learned the great classical language, Engsvanyáli, and mastered the basics of ritual sorcery. Although he does not match the status of his fellow students, he is an assiduous and a willing study partner. His fellow students have learned that he is a canny kévuk player—he often supplements his limited funds by winning those of his fellow students. He requires a crutch to walk, but is keen to see the world beyond the walls of Katalál.

Abáshu hiCháika
Clan: Eye of Flame
Occupation: Administrative Priest
God: Vimúhla
Age: 21 Gender: Male

Personal Wealth: 150 kaitars
Contact Points: 13
Clan Influence: 3
Personal Influence: 1
Prestige: 3

Physique 08 (-2)
Deftness 08 (-2)
Intellect 12 (+2)
Willpower 10 (+0)
Psychic Ability 11 (+1)

Hit Points: 5
Unarmed Damage: 0/2/2
Initiative: 0/2/2
Melee Defence: –
Missile Defence: –
Magic Defence: 1
Move: 2

Personal Traits
Advantages: Connected (1), Reference Library (1), Talented (Sorcery) (1), Training (2)
Disadvantages: Hesitant (1), Lower Clan (2), Phobia (Snakes) (1), Slow (1)

Skills
Dodge 8 (1), Etiquette 12 (1), Gambling 13 (3), Language & Literacy (Engsvanyáli) 13 (3), Language & Literacy (Tsolyáni) (1), Melee 8 (1), Research 12 (1), Resist Sorcery 11 (3), Rituals 13 (3), Sorcery 14 (3)

Sorcery Level: 12
Spell Purchase Points: 2 (30)
Psychic Points: 55
Spells: Treat Minor Wounds, The Web of Kriyág, Lover of Spiders, The Cutlass of Dejection

The encounters and monsters section covers possible encounters outdoors, in the city, wilderness, on the great Sákbe roads, and in the Underworld. These encounters are supported by a lengthy bestiary of men, creatures, and alien races, each entry accompanied by a decent description as well as the stats. In many cases, several variations are given. So for example, the entry for the Ssú, the ‘Enemies of Man’, includes stats for civilian, light skirmisher, medium soldier, elite/heavy soldier, and Universal, Generic, and Temple spellcaster—for both the Grey and the Black Ssú. The entries are each illustrated nicely by the author. The bestiary is followed by a lengthy section on the treasure to be found on Tékumel. Of course, this focuses on the Eyes, the mechanical devices of ages long past which store the same effects as many of the spells of current day, but lists numerous items that help impart flavour and detail to Tékumel.

Rounding out Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel are maps of Tsolyánu, of the area around the city of Katalál, and of Katalál itself. The latter is particularly good and is accompanied by a list of the places of note in the city, but no more. Physically, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is a black and white hardback, cleanly laid out, and nicely illustrated. The maps are good and the artwork is very nice. Unfortunately, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, by modern standards, physically disappointing. The artwork is good, but there is not enough of it and what there is, is often too small. The organisation is hampered by its adherence to wargames or technical manual layout, with everything numbered in sequence, rather than in chapters. It is not only outdated, it is a hindrance to the easy use of the book, and this is only exacerbated by a lack of index. All right, so the contents listing is decent, but by modern standards, the lack of an index is frustrating and inexcusable, if not downright silly. 

The contents could also have been better organised. In several places, background information is not placed in a background section for easy reference, but as part of character creation. In particular, the listing and explanations of the gods, the Tlomitlányal and the Tlokiriqáluyal, the clans to be found in the city of Katalál, and so on. Certainly, making choices from these is part of the default character generation process in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, but it makes them difficult to reference. It also highlights the fundamental problem with Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel—a lack of support for the Game Master. The map of Katalál is useful, the list of clans to be found in Katalál is useful, but there is no virtually background to the city, no adventure seeds, let alone an adventure. What background there is, is very much buried in the text. So what this means is that the Game Master is given all of the tools to run the Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel in mechanical terms, but not enough in terms of the setting.

The fundamental problem with Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is design wise, is that it uses the original Empire of the Petal Throne from 1975 as a template and does not deviate from it. It has some background, it has rules and mechanics, it has a default setup, just like Empire of the Petal Throne, and just like Empire of the Petal Throne it does not go beyond that. The background is good, the rules are good, and the default setup is rife with potential, but Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel does not take that one good vital step that would aid anyone new to Tékumel into running a game.  

That said, if the Game Master is not new to Tékumel, then there will be a good deal of information in Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel that will be familiar and when coupled with the solid Pocket Universe system, said Game Master will have no issue running a game. For a Game Master new to Tékumel, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel will be much more of challenge to run. Although the background material is decent and the rules light and accessible, the lack of support is likely to be daunting.  As a set of rules for anyone familiar with Tékumel, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is an excellent choice, but as an introduction to Tékumel and certainly gaming on Tékumel, Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel is a misstep.