Stratagems in "Kérdu"

I've been tinkering away at "Kérdu" again - that is, the big battle rules for Tékumel wargaming.

One thing I have been thinking about is the various stratagems that are such a big feature of Tékumel themed battles. Or which should be in order for them to be "authentic". An example is the "Bow of Hrúgga  which is described in the "Battle of Ry" account. This stratagem employs two adjacent phalanxes separated by a relatively narrow gap. The concept is that once the phalanxes have struck home the rear ranks wheel and charge up the gap - becoming the "arrow" - to strike home, presumably with some additional effect though, in truth, it is hard for me to see what actual benefit would be achieved by doing this in a Real World battle. So the question is: do we model such fantastical ideas or not? If not, then any ancient rules would be appropriate as long as it can handle the basic elements of melee, missile fire and phalanxes. All one need do is tack on a magic system and perhaps some modifiers to account for the various races and "voila" - it is complete! On the other hand, if we choose to model these various stratagems that are part of the flavour of Tékumel-themed battles then I think we also have to allow for a little suspension of disbelief. Just as when playing Space 1889 we accept that Mars is inhabited, that we can travel across the ether and that "liftwood" exists, so to, to properly wargame on Tékumel, we must accept that certain things "work".

Comments?

B is for Band of Joyous Heroes

A Band of Joyous Heroes is the name of a set of rules for tabletop gaming in the world of Tékumel that I have been working on - on and off - for a year or so now. Most recent progress can be found here. The rules are based upon the Two Hour Wargames family of rules.

Actually that isn't the most recent stuff: I've been thrashing out ideas on how I want combat to work, I just haven't finalized it yet. Yes, I'm waffling! :-(

Where was I?

Well, after over a month's lapse, I'm back at it again: working on A Band of Joyous Heroes! I left off where I was about to substitute Reputation(REP), as used by the THW family of games, with something with a little bit more of a Tékumel flavour. What I decided on was to use the "Five Selves" as the character's basic stats. Some attempts have been done in the past to do this - this is my effort:

The Five Selves

The "five selves" represent the Tsolyáni concept of the Soul. It is divided into five parts:

The Bákte [BAHK-tay] - The Body

The physical body. When the individual dies this is the part that stays behind and eventually decays. In BOJH terms, Bákte (or Body, if you prefer) will be used for anything physical - fighting, climbing, swimming and the like.

The Chusétl [choo-SAYTL] - The Shadow Self

This is the dream-self of the character that inhabits his dreams and can interact with illusions and the astral plane. In BOJH, certain spells allow the character's Chusétl (or Shadow Self) to go forth and interact with the world. No magic can be cast by the Chusétl, and injuries suffered are suffered physically by the Bákte. If the Shadow Self is slain so is the character. Likewise, when an individual dies so does the Chusétl.

The Hlákme [HLAWK-may] - The Intellect

This is the character's conscious mind, intellect and sense of self. It does not include his knowledge and memories which are part of the Balétl (or Spirit Soul, see below.) In BOJH terms, the Hlákme (or Intellect) stat is used for anything requiring the mind - spell casting, language use, social challenges. It might possibly get a bit grey at times, but we'll run with it for the time being. When a person dies the Hlákme becomes dormant adjacent to the body and may be re-inserted by necromancy.

The Pedhétl [pay-THAYTL] - The Psychic Reservoir, or Power

Referred to as "the Enemy", the Pedhétl represent the raw emotions possessed by an individual. Additionally, it represents the amount of other-planar power stored in the individual that may be used for casting magic. In BOJH terms it functions just as that, and is used as the basis for spell casting.

The Balétl [bah-LAYTL] - The Spirit Soul

The Balétl is the part of the individual that travels on to the after-life. It comprises all his knowledge and memories. The Spirit Soul can be communicated with after death through the use of magic. Spells can also be used to restore a Spirit Soul to it's body. Other spells can expel a Spirit Soul from it's body and allow another to inhabit it. If the Balétl is destroyed the individual ceases to exist - there is no after-life for them! Few things can totally destroy the Spirit Soul, fortunately. Only the Temple of Wurú possesses a spell that will destroy the Balétl. Called the Tathyánikh [tath-YAN-eek], or the Grey Hand, the spell makes high ranking sorcerers from the temple justifiably feared.

I'll provide a bit more how this will work in a little bit...

Reputation or 'Rep'

Reputation, or 'Rep', is the main stat for many Two Hour Wargames (2HW) rules. It is basically experience, skill and knowledge all rolled into one - it is as much how the World views a character as it is a rating of how good he is. Which is why it is called "Reputation". Basically if someone is a known hard case then probably he has the skills to back that up.

But under the 2HW rules, even the best can have a bad roll and be taken out by a lowlife. There are no hit points, as such. Only: No Effect, Out of the Fight (OOF) and Obviously Dead (OD). Now characters do get extra benefits, so they are not easy to kill regardless how bad the roll, but they are not as invincible as characters in some games.

In addition, if a hero has a bad adventure his Rep can actually go down for the next one. This basically represents lingering physical injury, or perhaps a certain demoralization - the hero is basically functioning at sub par abilities until he "gets his game back".

In a Band of Joyous Heroes, I want to get a more Tékumel flavour so I am thinking of doing things a little differently than just one stat. Whether this will work within the same basic system remains to be seen. More on this tomorrow...