Fight for Your Freedom~A Beginners Friendly Tekumel Adventure

Feb 15 '10, 5:23am

Languid

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Join Date: Apr 2009

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Fight for Your Freedom~A Beginners Friendly Tekumel Adventure

Fight for Your Freedom -- an Adventure on Tekumel - Forum
Tristat
Estimated Members Requested: 8

Game Description:

Game Synopsis”I shall be closer to you for the next few days -- which will be the last of your miserable lives -- than that bitch of a mother that brought you screaming into this world. I did not pay good money for you for your company! I paid it so that I could profit from your death. And as your mother was there at your beginning, so I shall be be there at your end. And when you die -- and die you shall! -- your transition shall be to the sound of applause. Gladiators: I salute you.”
-Antonius Proximo (Oliver Reed) “Gladiator”

Gods only know how you became a slave, but you are. Bought by a gladiator trainer, your soul purpose in life is to fight and eventually die for his benefit. Perhaps you were a captured soldier or a foreigner who fell into debt. Regardless of how you came to lose your freedom you are now the property of another. The gladiators in the arena have been divided into three groups; the warriors, the sorcerers and the cannon fodder. Thankfully you were not placed in the third. Depending on your aptitudes you have been cast into he role of either a showy fighter or a flashy magician.

World Synopsis
“What kind of a world, then is Tékumel? Socially and culturally, Tékumel is as complex—and as alien to modern thinking—as Byzantium, ancient Egypt, Tenochtitlan, or the India of the Mughals.”
M.A.R. Barker, Introduction to Swords & Glory Volume 1, Copyright ©1983 M.A.R. Barker.

The world of Tékumel, Nu Ophiuchi d (a.k.a. Sinistra d), was first settled by humans exploring the galaxy about 60,000 years in the future, along with several other alien species. Their extensive terraforming of the inhospitable environment, including changing the planet's orbit and rotation rate to create a 365.25-day year, disrupted local ecologies and banished most of the local flora and fauna (including some intelligent species) to small reservations in the corners of their own world, resulting in a golden age of technology and prosperity for humankind and its allies. Tékumel became a resort world, where the wealthy from a thousand other stars could while away their time next to its warm seas.

Suddenly, and for reasons unknown, Tékumel and its star system (Tékumel's two moons, Gayél and Káshi, its sun, Tuléng, and four other planets, Ülétl, Riruchél, Shíchel, and Zirúna) was cast out of our reality into a "pocket dimension" (known as a béthorm in Tsolyáni), in which there were no other star systems. One hypothesis is that this isolation happened through hostile action on the part of an unknown party or group. Another is that the cosmic cataclysm was due to over-use of a faster than light drive which warped the fabric of space. No one knows, but the inhabitants of Tékumel, both human, native, and representatives of the other starfaring races, were now isolated and alone.

Severed from vital interplanetary trade routes (Tékumel is a world very poor in heavy metals) and in the midst of a massive gravitic upheaval due to the lines of gravitational force between the stars being suddenly cut, civilization was thrown into chaos. The intelligent native species, the Hlüss and the Ssú, broke free from their reservations and wars as destructive as the massive geographic changes ravaged the planet. Several other significant changes took place due to the crisis: mankind discovered it could now tap into ultraplanar energies that were seen as magical forces, the stars were gone from the sky, dimensional nexi were uncovered and pacts with "demons" (inhabitants of dimensions near in n-dimensional space to Tékumel's pocket dimension) were made and a complex pantheon of "Gods" (powerful extra-dimensional or multi-dimensional alien beings) discovered. Science began to stagnate until ultimately knowledge became grounded in traditions handed down from generations long ago, the belief that the universe was ultimately understandable slowly faded, and a Time of Darkness descended over the planet. Much of Barker's writing concerns a time approximately 50,000 years after Tékumel has entered its pocket dimension. Five vast tradition-oriented civilizations occupy a large portion of the northern continent.

Game Master SynopsisI will be the Head GM for this game, with Li2O as the Co. GM. The type of ga you can expect from us is one that is heavy on the story-telling, and roleplay aspect. While being very light n the actual dice-rolling. This is our first time DMing a play by post game, so we're open to suggestions, critiques, comments, and questions.

Important Stuff SynopsisAs this is a beginner’s friendly campaign, we have taken the time to prepare a complete list of character creation guidelines, and useful world information. Along with your standard applications thread, found here:

History of Tekumel
Gods of Tekumel
Lands of Tekumel
Magic on Tekumel
House Rules for Tekumel
Character Creation for Tekumel
Applications for Tekumel
Maps

Character Applications:
When you post up an application, please include the following.
Name:
Age: 18-25
Class: Magic User, or Fighter
Background: (Opt)
Personality:

Roleplay Example:

Character applications will close in, approximately, 2-3 weeks. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to leave them here. We'll be glad to help out with anything as best we can.

Last edited by Languid; Feb 15 '10 at 7:20am..

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