TIRIKÉLU Role-playing in the Land of the Petal Throne by Dave Morris Tirikélu Acknowledgements I’ve enjoyed thousands of hours with friends in the world of Tékumel. I’d like to thank them all, but especially those who have played and helped to shape these rules, namely: David Bailey, Gail Baker, Dermot Bolton, Patrick Brady, Robert Dale, Tim Harford, Nick Henfrey, Oliver Johnson, Ian Marsh, Roz Morris, Mark Pawelek, Frazer Payne, Gavin Reid, Mark Smith, Duncan Taylor, Mark Wilkinson and particularly, for having to contributed to this volume: Jack Bramah, Mark Wigoder Daniels, Steve Foster, Paul Mason, and Jamie Thomson Special thanks to Michael Watts for permission to use his illustration of the Temple of Hriháyal in Jakalla in the front matter and of the priest of Sárku and the Tinalíya for the cover of the print-on-demand edition. Other material There’s still no better top-level introduction to the world of Tékumel than Empire of the Petal Throne. But having read EPT you’re going to want more. And that’s why your next purchase should be the Tékumel Sourcebook. Try to get the Different Worlds edition if you can, as the original Gamescience printing is a crime against typography, but the main thing is to get hold of it. Every page contains enough ideas to fuel a campaign. My favourite history of Tsólyanu is Deeds of the Ever-Glorious. It’s a great read, packed with incidents and anecdotes that will add flavour to your characters’ conversations. More history books should be written this way. For a wealth of maps, characters, and other material visit www.tekumel.com . You can find back issues of my and Steve Foster’s fanzine The Eye of All-Seeing Wonder here. A smaller PDF of Tirikélu (just the rules, no maps or scenarios) can be found here. Detailed creature stats are to be found here. And you can get the Tirikélu character sheet here. Players are welcome to print these rules for personal use. There are numerous online printers. I recommend Lulu, and there is an explanation of how to set up the book on Lulu here. Please note that if you print a copy of these rules, permission is not granted for resale. If you are offered a resold print copy of Tirikélu, please inform me and the Tékumel Foundation. Contents Tirikélu RPG Character generation page 1 Character sheet page 11 Skills page 13 Wounds and healing page 25 Combat page 27 Map of Tsólyanu page 36 Projectile weapons page 37 Creature stats page 40 Magic page 41 Ritual phyla page 45 Psychic phyla page 60 “Eyes” page 67 The Empire of the Petal Throne page 73 Optional rules page 81 Honour page 83 Non-random character generation page 87 Livyáni sorcery page 95 Scenarios and campaigns page 101 Just off the Boat page 103 Keeping the Peace page 111 Friends in Foreign Parts page 119 In the Wrong Hands page 125 Internecine! page 131 Source material page 139 The city of Pála Jakálla page 141 The clan of the Red Flower page 147 The laws of homicide page 149 The profession of arms page 153 The Palace of the Realm page 155 Appendix Skein of Destiny RPG page 163 Introduction Corresponding with Professor Barker in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, I was treated to tantalizing glimpses of “the new Empire of the Petal Throne” he was writing. The original EPT had served its purpose for a while, but my group were moving beyond those D&D-inspired mechanics. This was the era of RuneQuest and The Fantasy Trip. We were hungry for a more authentic experience of Tékumel, so we would pass around the Professor’s letters (he was always incredibly generous with his time) and pick endlessly over comments like this: “We now have one roll to hit, one to get past the shield, one for damage (minus armour) and if one rolls 0 on a 10-sided die on this last roll, the a critical hit for more damage.” Years passed. It was taking too long. I began constructing my own set of Tékumel rules from the fragmentary description in the Professor’s letters, like reconstructing an unknown animal from just a few bones. Finally “the new EPT” appeared. That was Swords & Glory. My group switched for a while, but it was the S&G Sourcebook that was getting dog-eared from use. The other book, the rules, appealed less. “HBS Factors” and “Healing G9s” gave the game a tabletop miniatures flavour rather too far from the freewheeling shared stories we were looking for. And so I returned to my own rules and began to refine them into the game I had hoped Swords & Glory would be. This was the early 1990s, so it seems a little early to talk of an Old School Revival (not a term I like anyway) but the aim was there. Simplify the system so that the rules didn’t keep tripping up the play. Recapture the evocative magic of those early adventures by cross-pollinating EPT spells with ideas from The Book of Ebon Bindings. Make combat quick to use but more than just the endless dice-rolling of, say, RuneQuest. I had two eureka moments. First, in a treatise by a duellist from the 17th century, I came across the concept of “safe fighting”. His contention was that a moderately skilled fighter could, by concentrating on defence, hold off a more skilled opponent who was dividing his attention between attack and defence. In Tirikélu that became the principle of full- and half-actions. It seemed almost too simple on paper, but in practice we found it allowed for rich tactical choices. Also I wanted to avoid hit location and lots of book-keeping, but not simply to revert to the D&D sense of an amorphous pudding of hit points. So taking damage above a certain percentage of your hits can reduce your skill, and may require a check to stay conscious, but you don’t need to keep a tally of how much damage each wound caused. It’s all handled at the point the wound is taken. Nowadays there are quite a few role-playing games where you make a detailed decision about what you’re trying to do, then wade through pages of rules to find your chance of doing it. (GURPS, I’m looking at you.) Tirikélu works best if you keep it abstract till after you roll the dice. “He’s going for a full attack.” “I’m going for a full parry.” Once you resolve that, you’re free to put any narrative interpretation you like on the result. It flows faster that way and, with imaginative players, fights feel agreeably cinematic. Well, here it is – as complete a version of Tirikélu as you’re ever likely to see. I know, I know; it seems like there’s a new Tékumel RPG every couple of years. Who needs yet another? But many people tell me that Tirikélu is their preferred choice, and you know what? It’s mine too. And it is dedicated, as so much of my work is, to the genius, generosity and humanity of Professor M.A.R. Barker. - Dave Morris In accordance with the policies of The Tékumel Foundation, this work is a fan publication, an unofficial work not approved for Tékumel. Tékumel, the Empire of the Petal Throne, and all related products and materials are protected by national and international intellectual property law. For additional information, please visit www.tekumelfoundation.org. Tirikélu was originally published in The Eye of All-Seeing Wonder from 1992 to 1996. The Tirikélu RPG is copyright © Dave Morris 2017 The world of Tékumel is the intellectual property of Professor M.A.R. Barker and his heirs and executors. Dave Morris has asserted his moral rights in these rules. [100] CHARACTER GENERATION [110] The attributes A character is initially described by his or her scores in nine attributes These character generation rules which define the character’s intrinsic physical and mental prowess. The assume players who are familiar with scores for these attributes are decided by rolling dice. Attribute ranges Tékumel. You’ll be creating for a human character are shown below. These ranges hold good for respectable clan members of middle most races other than N’lüss. (If you want a N’lüss character, consult class status or higher. Section 161.) But my players are newbies. No human character can have an attribute score below 1 or above 25, No problem. Start them using the “Just except as a result of special influences such as illness, poison or magic. Off The Boat” campaign (page 103), An “average human” is defined as having a score of 11 in all nine which is a prequel to Professor attributes. Barker’s opening scene in Empire of the Petal Throne, where players arrive man woman bonus as barbarians in Jakálla harbour. for maximum roll Strength 2D10 2D10-2 1D6-1 My female player-characters want to Stamina 2D10 2D10 none use male stats. Dexterity 2D10 2D10+1 none Fine. PCs are exceptional. Let them roll Psychic Ability 2D10 2D10 1d3-1 (women only) on whichever attribute column they Psychic Reservoir 2D10 2D10 none like. Reasoning 2D10 2D10 none Cleverness 2D10 2D10 none Creating a character takes too long. Comeliness 2D10 2D10 none Playing in a world like Tékumel, you’ll Height 1D10+1D6+2 2D6+2 1D6-1 want to know your character’s personal Build 1D10+1D6+2 2D6+2 1D6-1 history. It’s part of the game — you Size average of height and build could easily get a whole session out of the player-characters’ formative years.