I Tekumeled and So Can You
Since I wrote this, new information has come to light about M.A.R. Barker, he was a Nazi.
I no longer support playing Tekumel. I will keep these posts up,
because I believe in preserving the past, even when it is ugly. There
may be a time when sufficient time has passed that Tekumel has been
examined and can be played in the right context (like Lovecraft), but
that time is probably very far in the future. Due to the intricate
interconnections between the setting, the religious themes in it, and
the non-western derivations of its societies, I believe that a thorough
examination by people far smarter than me will be required before I am
comfortable that I understand which parts of it might be harmful. Like
many, I was drawn to Tekumel because it seemed more open than other
fantasy worlds, with greater representation of the diversity of
humanity. Obviously, it is horrifying to learn this. I encourage others
to seek out other fantasy worlds that have involved people of color in
their creation.
So, how does one even get started in Tekumel? Isn't it impossible to digest the information needed to even run your first session? What's with all those accent marks? This map is huge! Why does everything have so many legs? Where is all the metal?
It is very easy to get discouraged when faced by the overwhelming amount of, very detailed, information and the crushing need to get it right. You go looking for help on-line, and there are people willing to help, but you quickly realize that they basically have PhDs in Tekumel, or gamed at Barker's table! They are light years ahead of you. You are going to get it wrong! So you walk away.
Luckily, you have me. I hardly know anything about Tekumel, and I knew even less when I started. But I Tekumeled, and so can you. Here's how.
Relax. Take a deep breath. These are not unusual reactions from someone considering Tekumel for the first time. Tekumel lore is a double-edged sword in that there is both too much of it, and too little that seems immediately useful in play. Most people I talk to had very similar reactions at first, I know I did.
First, figure out what you are trying to do. Are you trying to simulate what a game at M.A.R. Barker's table in the late '70s was like? I strongly advise against that. It's insane! Or, do you want to just run a fun adventure in Tekumel? I am going to provide you what you need to do the latter.
First, you need to learn a bit about the world of Tekumel. But not too much. You don't need to learn to speak Tsolyani, know all of the clans, or even remember the names of the major countries. You need the broad outlines necessary to get your game off the ground.
Tekumel has a long tradition of what is called a "Fresh Off the Boat" game. While that name could probably have aged better, it is usually literally true. The characters arrive in Jakalla by boat. They are foreigners from the Southern Continent (basically Tekumel for "We all agree not to ask more"), meaning that they, like their players, don't know anything about Jakalla or the Tsolyani Empire. They meet some people in wacky hats who hire them to go on an adventure, probably in the large dungeon under the city. They go into the dungeon, kill some monsters (or cultists), and take their stuff.
Even a cursory glance at that shows that it is pretty friendly to both new players AND new GMs. You already know how to do the dungeon part right? The dressing and monsters is going to be a bit different, but you can handle that. All you have to do is survive the brief time period between when your players get off the boat until they descend into the depths of
I am going to give you some resources to help you with that. I will present them in the order that I think you should start using them. You are only going to need the first one to get started, and may never need the rest.
Introduction to Tekumel by Donald Kaiser (scroll down for link)
This slim book gives you everything you need to set the scene for Tekumel and get a good start on developing an ongoing game. I would equate this book with the old Greyhawk Folio. A whole bunch of people ran Greyhawk without ever knowing which shop was on the corner of EGG Lane and Kuntz Blvd. in the City of Greyhawk. There is just as much information here as there was in that accessory. The only difference is that the information here is directed more at the people and culture of Tekumel and less at the geography of Tekumel, because the people and culture are what make Tekumel interesting. The map is just another lumpy fantasy continent. Google a Tekumel map so you know where Jakalla is for now.
You do not need to read it cover to cover. Read up on the current situation in Tekumel (pages 4-5), you can come back for the history later. The next section deals with the details of the planet, but all you need to know for your first game is that it is hot and metal is rare.
Religion plays a huge role in life on Tekumel, so it is key to getting the feel right. With that in mind, read the the overview of religion on page 9 and the description of the Lords of Stability and Change. You can skip the cohorts and Shadow Gods for now, that concept is a bit confusing at the beginning. You should have enough to throw some details in to make the characters' brief exposure feel authentic.
I suggest that if you have a cleric/priest in your party, you have them be a follower of a foreign god of the Southern Continent. Make up a crazy name and don't spend any more time on it for now. Later, when you know more, you are going to have the Tsolyani decide that the god you made up that first day is just a barbaric misconception of one of their true gods and then adjust appropriately. You can skip the section on the Priesthood and Temple Life for now, because your characters are foreigners.
You can skip most of the Clan and Daily life section too, because your characters are foreigners and are not in a clan. They are nakome (clanless) unfortunates without anyone to fall back on. Just know that Tekumel life centers on clans. Most people live and eat in a clan house. As a result there are not really inns and taverns on Tekumel, so no "Sea Blue Sro Inn" here. You should read the section on Women on 17 and 18, so you understand the concept of Aridani.
Next you should read the sections on Behavior, Dress, and Personal Possessions (pages 20-23), these will help you in describing the walk through the city to the dungeon.
You can skip the sections on Magic and Military, but pick back up again with The Four Palaces of Tsolyanu and read through the end to get some good orienting information on what a city looks like, what the nonhuman races are (don't let anyone play one yet, just pass them on the street), what the roads look like, and what the dungeons look like (pages 30-40).
Now pick your favorite fantasy rule set, get rid of the dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, half orcs etc. and you are ready to go. Draw up a dungeon map (or steal one from Dyson Logos), populate it with some weird monsters (avoid kobolds, goblins etc.) that have radial body symmetry or six limbs, and use the Tsolyani Name Generator to make up the names of the NPCs who hire (and betray?) the characters.
That's it. That really is all you need to do before your first game. I know, because it is all I did before I ran my first Tekumel game, and I ran it at a convention for strangers. As your game starts to expand outward, you can use the Introduction book to start fleshing things out and as a primer for areas that you want to research more. You can then turn to the resources below to learn more, or just make it up.
A couple of final bits of advice:
1) The Tsolyani don't use chairs, everyone just sits on cushions
2) They have a lot of words for "you" and which one is used depends on who is speaking and to whom they are speaking. I use this to add a bit of that "alien language" feel that Tekumel is known for. This is important, I don't know how many words for "you" Tsolyani has and I don't actually know a single one of these words. I just use the fact that there are different words for you to color the adventure. "The guard sneers at you and asks, 'What are you doing here?' using the word for 'you' that one would use to address a confused child." What is that word? No idea. But it gets the point across. In my experience, the players will start doing it too, and just like that you are role playing that you are speaking Tsolyani.
Don't want to make your own adventure, or not interested in a Get-the-Mcguffin-from-the-Really-Big-Basement affair? I suggest using one of these two adventures:
These Mean Streets, by Baz Blatt is slightly more complicated than a dungeon crawl and has a bit more interaction with the locals that does not involve stabbing.
A Dark and Stormy Night, by Krista Donnely is a great mystery adventure set in a villa under siege. I used it to kick off my Tekumel campaign by using the characters in the adventure as NPCs and having my players wind up seeking refuge from the storm in the villa and getting caught up in the mess. This adventure is better than 95% of published adventures. As you learn more, Krista's name is going to be a prime indicator of quality for Tekumel material.
The rest of the resources I suggest are listed below, in order. I will discuss them in detail in future posts.
Empire of the Petal Throne
Man of Gold/Flamesong (Novels by M.A.R. Barker)
The Excellent Traveling Volume
Hall of Blue Illumination
Swords and Glory Volume I: The Tekumel Sourcebook
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