Hall of Blue Illumination

part 1 - 1 minute to 44 minutes in - a panel of Tekumel experts including Mark Siefert, Rob Smith, Steve Braun, and Mark Eggert recounting their interaction & hopes for miniature use in EPT. part 2  - 45th minute - end - Rob Smith & Scott McKinlay talk about their new miniature project & upcoming KickStarter!

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the fantastic world of Tékumel.  In this judiciously-timed episode, our hosts discuss and compare Tèkumeláni holidays.  Then they take up the “graduate level” Tékumel subject of the Undying Wizards. Show Notes: [00:00:30] Holidays in the Five Empires!  The Intercalary Days are five days at the end of the year and are a major event across all of the Five Empires.  (S&G 1 §1.1050, p. 127) [00:01:20] Holidays have cultural significance.  They’re associated with different temples, and even the same days are celebrated differently depending on the temple and the city. [00:02:22] The Sourcebook provides a list of holidays across the Five Empires.  (S&G 1 §1.1050, p. 125). [00:03:18] The list of holidays in the Sourcebook is one of the few times a Tsolyáni word is given alongside its equivalents in other languages.  You can see the kind of linguistic drift that has taken place. [00:04:29] James notes Ikáner (the 1st Intercalary Day) is celebr

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the fantastic world of Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss “Eyes”, a unique class of magical item commonly encountered by players in Tékumel.  Then James and Victor discuss the peculiar Tsolyáni institution of the clan house, its importance to Tsolyáni society, and how GMs can use a clan house in their games. Show Notes: [00:00:33] Eyes!  [“…they are shaped like small, dull gems, with an eye-like aperture on one side and a protruding stud on the other, which activates the device” — EPT 1300, p. 71]. Of all the magical items on Tékumel, eyes might be the most misunderstood by players.  They’re magical items left over from the time of the ancients.   [00:01:18] For some eyes, it’s difficult to conceive of their original places in the societies that created them. [00:01:47] James has always assumed that there are a group of eyes that were created before the Time of Darkness, and then others that were created later by peoples who stil

This episode explores the relationship between the inimical nonhuman H'lüss and science fiction. There are no show notes for this episode.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss the use of languages in Tékumel games, before answering a question concerning the placement of Prof. Barker’s novels within the “game” and “real” Tékumel distinction. Show Notes: [00:00:37]. Upcoming Events: Victor will be presenting a paper at the annual conference of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, and also at GaryCon, where he’ll run several Tékumel games using EPT. [00:01:41] Victor also reveals that he’s working on a project titled “The Egg of the World: the Guide to Running Games in Tékumel” which is his attempt to unpack the setting.  He hopes to be done with it by June and publish it later this year. [00:02:43] Languages in Tékumel.  Languages are at the forefront of Tékumel, but in many other roleplaying game settings linguistic differences fade into the background. [00:05:40] Victor notices that players over time tend to adopt

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss EPT’s divine intervention mechanics at length.  But first, James and Victor engage in a brief discussion about imperial heirs. Show Notes: [00:00:35] Children of the known Tsolyáni princes?  Victor found a reference in the Sourcebook, in a reference to dueling masters.  (Sourcebook, § 1.960, p. 117).  At the Threshold of Glory in Jakálla, Viumél hiArkódu tutors the children of Prince Rereshqála. [00:02:14] James has wondered about the hidden heirs a lot, since this system seems very unwieldly and difficult to maintain in the long-term. [00:03:13] But the idea of using the trials to make sure that the strongest candidate accedes to the Petal Throne, and that there’s no tradition of primogeniture works just fine. [00:04:00] Victor notes that according to EPT, the “farming out” of the heirs is a “recent custom.” (EPT §200, p. 13). [00:05:13] Every few hundred years, there’s

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  Our hosts begin this episode with a discussion of “demons” as they appear in Empire of the Petal Throne.  How do EPT’s demons differ from Prof. Barker’s later conceptions of them? Then, James and Victor finish their review of the magical tomes section of EPT. Show Notes: [00:00:34]  Following on their discussions of magical items and books in Empire of the Petal Throne, Victor got interested in looking at EPT’s demons.  “Demons” in EPT are basically just big monsters, while demons in later works like the Book of Ebon Bindings are lesser trans-dimensional beings of great power. [00:02:25] The first mention of demons in EPT is in the Group III spell The Demon (EPT §500, p. 25).  This is a precursor to the more elaborate summoning rituals in the BEB. [00:03:23]  The Demonology spell in Swords & Glory provides access to the servitor-races of certain gods. [00:04:11]  All of the demons mentioned in EPT’s T

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss “you.”  That’s “you” the pronoun, and not “you” the listener, although I’m certain you’re very interesting in your own right.  Tsolyáni has around twenty different words for the second person pronoun, and their proper use is determined by the relative social and cultural context of the speaker and addressee. This is followed by Victor’s report of Tékumel activities at the recently-held North Texas RPG Con, which leads into a broader discussion about the differences between Tékumel underworlds and traditional D&D dungeons. Show Notes: [00:00:40]  “It’s all about you.”  Today, we’re talking about Tsolyáni second-person pronouns, i.e., “you.” [00:01:33]  English does native English-speakers no favors here; modern English doesn’t even distinguish between the singular and plural “you.”  This also reflects our culture, and the lack of

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts welcome special guest John Till to talk about his adaptation of the Fate system to Tékumel. But first, Victor gives us an update on the publication of Flamesong, and the hosts discuss their […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  In this episode, our hosts discuss the term “the Five Empires.”  Who coined this label?  Is it a concept used by the Tèkumeláni, or is it merely gaming terminology? Much of this analysis involves how Tsolyáni ideas of […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  Our hosts begin this episode with a discussion of ways a referee can make Tékumel their own, with examples from James and Victor’s campaigns. This is followed by a discussion of the myriad creatures found in Tékumel’s underworlds, […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel.  After a hiatus, we’re back!  But wait, does anyone else smell cinnamon? This episode is devoted to a discussion of the Ssú, one of the aboriginal races of Tékumel.  These strange beings are clever, dangerous foes, who are […]

In this episode, our hosts interview special guest Bill Hoyt. Bill has been involved with roleplaying games since the early 1970s, and was integral in getting TSR to publish Empire of the Petal Throne.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this most-apposite of episodes, our hosts discuss sickness and disease on Tékumel.  Can magic fix everything?  No, it can’t.  But first, Victor discusses his recent experience running games at GaryCon 2020, which had to be moved online […]

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this episode our hosts return to their walking tour of Jakálla, a popular segment with listeners. But first, they discuss whether or not “Prof. Barker is always right” and how they approach what at first might seem as inconsistencies within the Tékumel corpus.

Welcome to The Hall of Blue Illumination, the podcast dedicated to the world of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel. In this episode, our hosts are joined by special guests Bill Acheson and Steve Braun, who talk about Tékumel miniature gaming on the East Coast.