Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Something I'm not sure if I've asked...
(I've decided it already for my game, and that's not going to change. I just want to know how Professor Barker was envisioning it).

Barsoom has lower gravity than Earth, and a higher proportion of people with thin and elongated bodies. Tekumel has similar artwork. Am I right it's got at least somewhat less than Earth's gravity, maybe something like 90-95% gravity?

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Do ancient tech devices of the ancients do what they were designed to do or has the transition to a bubble universe altered some physical laws?
Does the deterioration over time alter their function or would they more likely just not work.
Obviously they might have broken down over the years and now not work correctly due to that but what of the ones that are in good condition.

On that note, how durable are ancient devices in your experience.
Did most work if they had been left in basic storage?

(I know in My EPT I can do what I want, just looking for a Touchstone.)
=

All of the above. We encountered every possible variation over the years.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Do ancient tech devices of the ancients do what they were designed to do or has the transition to a bubble universe altered some physical laws?
Does the deterioration over time alter their function or would they more likely just not work.
Obviously they might have broken down over the years and now not work correctly due to that but what of the ones that are in good condition.

On that note, how durable are ancient devices in your experience.
Did most work if they had been left in basic storage?

(I know in My EPT I can do what I want, just looking for a Touchstone.)
=

From what we saw, they worked the way that they were supposed to, but what that might be was not always that obvious. We didn't see any changes in the physical laws, but then we didn't realize until we had been gaming for several years what those laws might be. The Ancients had pretty much total control over matter and energy, and nasty senses of humor as well.

Devices might deteriorate, but usually would then simply not work or explode in your hand. Stuff seemed to be very well engineered. So, yes, is left in ordinary storage, they usually worked just fine until their charges ran out. Anything left in a stasis field was as good as new.

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Something I'm not sure if I've asked...
(I've decided it already for my game, and that's not going to change. I just want to know how Professor Barker was envisioning it).

Barsoom has lower gravity than Earth, and a higher proportion of people with thin and elongated bodies. Tekumel has similar artwork. Am I right it's got at least somewhat less than Earth's gravity, maybe something like 90-95% gravity?

As far we we know, since Tekumel has the gravity engines in the core, the mean gravity is the same as ancient Earth's - I think this is mentioned in EPT. It might be lower, along the lines you mention, but we locals wouldn't know the difference.

The thin and elongated artwork is a symptom of when the artwork was done - this was back in the days when Barsoom was all the rage, due to the Ace reprints of the books.

Originally Posted by Hermes Serpent

Tekumel started out as an expensive pleasure world so no unsightly fat people to make the rich folks uneasy, the aliens stand in for those so that's why everyone is tall and good looking.

Things have really gone downhill, then; we ran into a lot of of unsightly fat people, over the years.

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

All of the above. We encountered every possible variation over the years.

Yep. Phil was nothing if not full of variety. Which did keep us on our guard, all the time...

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

As far we we know, since Tekumel has the gravity engines in the core, the mean gravity is the same as ancient Earth's - I think this is mentioned in EPT. It might be lower, along the lines you mention, but we locals wouldn't know the difference.

The thin and elongated artwork is a symptom of when the artwork was done - this was back in the days when Barsoom was all the rage, due to the Ace reprints of the books.

Well, my logic was "on a resort planet, you want the visitors to feel a bit stronger - not by so much as to be disturbing, but enough that they'd remember feeling stronger and full of energy". So it made sense to give you a boost via the gravity, which would also apply across the world, and cost the onwers nothing other than some bit of forethought.

But while that's the canon for My Tekumel, Uncle, thank you for clarifying the canon of MARB's Tekumel, now I can stop wondering and admit that it was my change!

Originally Posted by AsenRG

Well, my logic was "on a resort planet, you want the visitors to feel a bit stronger - not by so much as to be disturbing, but enough that they'd remember feeling stronger and full of energy". So it made sense to give you a boost via the gravity, which would also apply across the world, and cost the onwers nothing other than some bit of forethought.

But while that's the canon for My Tekumel, Uncle, thank you for clarifying the canon of MARB's Tekumel, now I can stop wondering and admit that it was my change!

It all makes sense to me; my point was that as the locals, we'd never know the difference. Now, visitors, on the other hand...

John Carter, anyone?

As a side note, we didn't notice anything different when we went to Blackmoor; sky was a different color, of course, but that was it.

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

It all makes sense to me; my point was that as the locals, we'd never know the difference. Now, visitors, on the other hand...

Indeed.

John Carter, anyone?

He just might have been part of the inspiration for this. Though my numbers wouldn't allow anything so drastic...just enough to make a reasonably fit Earthling on par with a reasonably fit warrior on Tekumel, maybe, assuming the skill difference doesn't destroy you anyway.
Whereas if the gravity was normal, the reasonably fit Earthlings wouldn't be able to compete at all, being easily outclassed in both skill with native weapons and in physical conditioning.

As a side note, we didn't notice anything different when we went to Blackmoor; sky was a different color, of course, but that was it.

That's definitely an argument that "canonical" Tekumel has the same gravity!

But I explained above why I introduced the subtle change, despite being almost sure that it's a change. It works better for my more scientifically-minded players, so it's a better fit for my Tekumel.
Your Tekumel doesn't need to change because of that, of course. I still find the idea of someone demanding of Professor Barker to change his creation rather baffling.