Curiosity Wins the Day
Been on a bit of an Empire of the Petal Throne buying binge lately. The first of three purchases arrived today. 3-volume *Adventures on Tèkumel* and World of Tekumel Source Book 1 & 2 are the coming attractions.
I had the winning bid for the original game somewhere around 6 months to a year ago, but a few other things were going on and I had just begun *Helveczia* and AD&D campaigns. I just perused it enough to know a deeper dive would be worthwhile. Last month quite a bit of EotPT stuff became available.
I don’t have any guide or history of playing the game. I *think* I may have stuff from 3 different decades. I *hope* there’s backward compatibility. The rest has to arrive to find out for sure. I’ve only just scanned the pictured book but certainly the Eyes, spells and (obviously) milieu are described in like terms. I’ll make a PC with the ‘75, 0e engine ruleset and see if I can play *Coming of Age*, there.
Which I should mention, is a solo adventure book, which may be very helpful in understanding the world I suppose I’ll be describing to those who would navigate it. A few quick takeaways:
It really leans more towards a Choose Your Own Adventure book than the Solo series TSR put out. 3 main paths (the 3 OG classes that track with the lbbs) and then branches for each. The difference is, it’s not kid lit. You’re very matter-of-fact placed in a pretty raw world, where your in-game naïveté is the excuse for explaining real-world ignorance of the setting. Well, it’s PG-13 Swords & Sorcery, as was Conan or Carter, to my eyes. Brisk, busy, bloody. The ruleset was a bit turgid in comparison, so I’m kind of relieved that it’s more than just a scholarly thought experiment. The man could write.
If any here have thoughts on the compatibility issue, the game in general, playing experience, I’d love to hear it. Perhaps a word on the offerings of the Tèkumel Foundation offerings?
I estimate my tables‘ Erillion campaign about half done, and reckon Tèkumel will be put forward as an option for the next one.
Arduin, Bloody Arduin, Barrows & Borderlands, Seven Voyages of Zylarthen or a Greyhawk campaign centered in Blackmoor are the current alternates. Several of these could be combined, of course…not really something one can say of EotPT. Even on its 0e chassis, it be a decidedly singular entity. I’m looking forward to its exploration.