I’m re-reading M.A.R. Barker’s novel Man of
Gold and it’s drawing me back into the rich, complex,
distinctly non-western roleplaying game world of Tekumel. I’ve
discussed this setting before (“Tekumel: The Lands of Joyful Addiction”) and how, despite the vast depth of the game world, I
can never quite dive into it at the gaming table, at least for very
long. After some reflection I’ve identified several reasons for
this, not necessarily limited to Tekumel but particularly to games
with esoteric settings. They all feed my growing list of elements I
feel necessary in a good roleplaying game core rules set beyond
basic, intuitive, yet easily adaptable mechanics (no doubt fodder for
future Hobby Games Recce posts). But I want to concentrate on one
aspect often missing from the various incarnations of Tekumel-based
roleplaying games that could help make them and other games more
easily accessible: adventure seeds and outlines.
Before diving into some specific experiences from
my own gaming past, I should define what I mean by an adventure
“seed” and “outline.” An adventure seed offers a brief
premise for a scenario with some ideas on engaging encounters and
obstacles, though the actual resolution remains up to the characters.
(The Wise Man of the Mountains once made a clear distinction between
an adventure “hook” and an adventure “seed,” the former being
more of a lure for characters, a hint of adventure potential with no
actual specifics for a gamemaster to develop as to the actual
adventure, while the latter offers a very brief adventure synopsis
including a specific challenge for characters to confront and solve).
An adventure outline gives more specifics than a seed, including an
encounter structure (for those relying on a relatively linear format)
and more information on foes and other challenges...not quite a full
adventure, but enough a good gamemaster could run something with
minimal preparation. No matter how (or whether) a gamemaster uses
seeds and outlines at the game table, in the rulebook they serve to
illustrate what kinds of escapades characters might experience within
the particular game world, providing examples and inspiration to help
gamemasters run their own scenarios.
I had some idea what Dungeons & Dragons
was all about when I first discovered the Moldvay edition of Basic
D&D. I’d seen friends play it once or twice before. I was
steeped in Western European myth and legend, loved Ray Harryhausen
stop-motion films, and was just discovering fantasy fiction through
Tolkein’s The Hobbit. I probably spent more time trying to
wrap my head around how exactly all these stats and rules worked to
run a roleplaying game. But Moldvay’s “Part 8: Dungeon Master
Information” section certainly helped me transition from the
record-keeping and rules-referencing of the game mechanics to the
important business of creating engaging plots and challenges for my
players to explore...even if much of that turned out to consist of
dungeon delving. Here Moldvay offered ten adventure seeds in his “A.
Choose A Scenario” section, everything from “Exploring the
Unknown” and “Investigating A Chaotic Outpost” (using examples
of existing B-level published modules) to “Escaping from Enemies”
and “Using A Magic Portal.” Each seed offers a basic premise and
some ideas for challenges characters might face. Combined with the
rest of the chapter – choosing a setting and monsters, mapping ans
stocking the dungeon – and the “Haunted Keep” example Moldvay
illustrated exactly what kinds of D&D adventures one might
enjoy. Certainly modules like B2 The Keep on the Borderlands
(included in each copy of the Basic D&D boxed set) helped
reinforce these concepts, but having at least a few seeds in the main
rulebook served as a springboard for scenario inspiration.
Spending my high school years immersing myself in
D&D and similar fare gave me a solid grounding in
roleplaying game mechanics and setting elements. About the only
difficulty I encountered relating to a game’s setting came when a
friend ran Call of Cthulhu, which offered a much different
adventuring paradigm than D&D. In college I picked up West
End Games Paranoia
(second edition) which, while I don’t recall any adventure seeds
making an impression on me, demonstrated the darkly humorous,
dystopian setting through a programmed solitaire tutorial adventure
(another one of my essential rulebook elements).
My next setting challenge – believe it or not –
came from West End’s Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. I’d
been a Star Wars fan since 1977 and a gamer since 1982, but
for the life of me I couldn’t envision what kinds of characters or
adventures I could have beyond the heroes and events from the films
(please bear in mind that when West End published the game in 1987
Star Wars as a fad had all but passed, with few new novels,
comics, or other media to expand the universe or fuel fandom). But I
found plenty of inspiration in the rulebook’s ten “adventure
ideas”...really detailed outlines reinforcing the scenario format
demonstrated in the earlier gamemaster scenario. Running about half a
page (give or take) each adventure idea began with a sample opening
dialog (similar to the “scripts” used to introduce early
published Star Wars scenarios) followed by several “episodes”
detailing encounters and plot progression, along with occasional
“staging hints” to accommodate various character template types,
flesh out the setting, and otherwise run the action in a suitably
cinematic style. Having chapters devoted to running and designing
adventures helped put gamemasters in the right frame of mind with the
rich toolset to blast into Star Wars action. The Origins
Award-winning rules received praise for not only crafting an
accessible, intuitive game system but demonstrating and encouraging a
cinematic play style.
I was well into my gaming and game-publishing
career when Pinnacle Entertainment Group released Shane Lacey
Hensley’s Savage World game line (evolved from his signature
Deadlands game), a core book supported with setting
supplements that used the range of polyhedral dice in a cinematic
system for a variety of genres. Beyond presenting information about
the setting and customizing it to the core rules, each supplement
also offered a detailed “plot point campaign” consisting of
related adventure outlines (similar in substance to those in the Star
Wars rules) forming a campaign storyline the characters could
follow. These ultimately had the same effect as adventure outlines,
building on the setting information presented earlier in each
sourcebook and illustrating the kinds of escapades characters could
experience with enough elements to run a scenario.
Alas, each roleplaying game incarnation of the
Tekumel setting seems to fall short providing gamemasters scenario
inspiration that truly reflects the world’s unique elements. Most
spend entire chapters detailing the complex aspects of Tekumel –
the distinctly non-Western society driven by hierarchical clans,
wholly alien races and monsters, long-lost civilizations and
millennia-long histories, different social norms and numerous
societal rules, factional intrigue, gods of Stability and Change, all
peppered with completely new words crafted with an attention to
detail to rival J.R.R. Tolkein’s work – and often use as much
space for the equally intricate game mechanics in each original
roleplaying game. But how does a gamemaster put that all together to
collect a functional character group and send them on an adventure
that both entertains and highlights the setting’s unique features?
The earliest incarnations of Tekumel relied
heavily on game mechanics with a similar complexity as early Dungeons
& Dragons, a trend regrettably followed by many more recent
versions. I wouldn’t expect games of that period to offer practical
inspiration on creating scenarios (despite the presence of Moldvay’s
excellent pages of advice in Basic D&D). One
would think later efforts, though, might benefit from extensive
gamemaster advice as demonstrated in such fare as the Star
Wars Roleplaying Game. Theatre
of the Mind’s Gardasiyal: Adventures on Tekumel
(1994)
– a huge, boxed affair chock full of rulebooks, dice, and
numerous booklets – walked players through character creation but
failed to provide an easily accessible framework for inspiration
through adventure seeds or outlines. Much of its advice on running
adventures in Tekumel came in the form of a broad essay about the
kinds of action possible in fantasy roleplaying games, but little
demonstrating those in terms of adventure seeds or outlines or even
sample scenarios. Guardians of Order’s Tekumel:
Empire of the Petal Throne (2005) offers a brief chapter on “Game
Mastering Tekumel” at the back of the rulebook, but no adventure
seeds or outline, and actually no sample scenario (another feature I
find lacking in many roleplaying game rulebooks). Jeff Dee’s
Bethorm (2014) from UNIGames also lacks solid gamemastering
advice despite its comprehensive game system, integration of Tekumel
lore, and numerous illustrations. Of course each of these games
stands on its own rather impressive foundation of game mechanics and
near-encyclopaedic coverage of Tekumel’s numerous nuanced elements.
Most include subsequently published adventure that, in their own
right, help illustrate the kinds of action one can experience at the
game table. But I regret I find them lacking in advice for
gamemasters in creating and running adventures in Tekumel’s rich,
unique setting.
Tekumel struggles to connect with new gamers on
two levels that often prove to overwhelming: the game mechanics and
the esoteric setting. Designers often spend a great deal of time
detailing the rich setting and conforming it to a game system, but
rarely examine how to practically impart advice on bringing it to the
table. Tekumel has its small but devoted fellowship of enthusiasts; I
consider myself but a humble dabbler who must reconcile its
exotically unfamiliar nature with his personal urge to make
roleplaying games – especially ones as unique as Tekumel – more
accessible to newcomers.
Challenge
Exercise
As usual I’m all hot air and no action. So
here’s a challenge I’m setting for myself as a game
design/writing exercise...and a challenge to Tekumel fans to help
make the setting more accessible. Take one of S. John Ross’ ideas
from The Big List of RPG Plots and adapt it into an adventure
outline for an introductory level scenario based in Tekumel. Try
integrating at least one notable feature from the setting, if not
more. (I’m already thinking about something at an abandoned sakbe
road guard tower...). And if you’re not a Tekumel fan, pick your
favorite roleplaying game setting – preferably something beyond the
norm – choose a plot from the list, and craft an adventure outline
out of that. Those found in the first edition Star Wars
Roleplaying Game and the Savage Worlds plot point
campaigns mentioned above serve as solid formats from which to work.
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