The Tékumel Project

Things to do in 2012...

2012-01-08T07:46:00.008-05:00

We have a lot of stuff to accomplish this year:

1) Bring over the rest of our molds from Australia;

2) Solve the alloy problem - that monkey that has been on our back since we discovered the difference in alloys and mold-making techniques used by Eureka and RAFM. Hopefully, low-temperature molds is the answer.

3) Assuming we solve this bugbear we have a huge backlog of stuff available for production:

- Several Yan Koryani gureks: Rulla, Makhis, Defense Against Evil, Clan of the Silver Worm, Clan of the Black Bough, and the gureks of the cities of Dharu and Vanu;
- the balance of the Shen;
- the Ahoggya;

4) Finish off some Tsolyani legions: the Aridani Legion of Lady Mrissa; the legion of Mirikitani, Hero of Victories; the Battalions of Chegarra, the Hero-King, to name the foremost on the list.

5) Get the Swamp Folk Molded.

6) Get the Chlen beast, cart and driver set into production. Serudla next, after the Chlen.

7) Find out how the Pachi Lei are progressing, and get the ball rolling on the Ssu.

8) Get that Mu'ug priest and priestess into production.

9) Finish off the Qol, get the Ksarul priests/priestesses into production.

10) Get the ball rolling on some themed figures: "The Party", "On The Road" and "Let the Games Begin".

Lady Mríssa Herself - a WIP sculpt

2012-01-05T09:28:00.010-05:00

Sculpted by John Winter

Lady Mríssa is Kerdu of her own "Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa"

HAPPY NEW YEARS - 2012!!!

2012-01-01T07:37:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a Happy New Years celebration! :-)

Last Post of 2011!

2011-12-31T13:51:00.003-05:00

Sorry I've been absent. No energy to post, or nothing in particular to say more like! :-)

I have been trying to decide on "New Years Resolutions" or whether even to bother, as I never seem to accomplish them.

Hope everybody has had a Merry Christmas! :-)

Howard

Sample "Picture Map" - Penom and Pan Chaka

2011-12-02T08:05:00.002-05:00

Map by Mark Allan.

This was an early attempt to make a series of maps done in the fashion of the original Empire of the Petal Thrones game box. Rather than a "proper" map, the end result would be as much picture as map. I have since decided that this version is not quite what I'm looking for. What I want is even more busy - with more figures and scenes of life, symbols and non-mappy stuff, if you get my drift. It is possible that it will be less "accurate" and more representation, with more geographic distortion as accompanied RW maps from earlier eras. Also, I might "zoom in" a notch and cover smaller areas in greater detail.

The original concept was that this map would be on the left facing page of a book, with the eastern part of the Southern Coast on the right hand facing page. Could still happen, as I am toying with the idea of going with some sort of large landscape style book for the final product.

Just how big is a Chlén Beast?

2011-11-11T22:36:00.006-05:00

Art by Paul Allan Ballard

The two lines in the above picture represent the approximate height of the average Tsolyáni male - who stands about 1.68M tall, IIRC.

Our figures are 28mm to the eye, so about 30mm to top of head (give or take.)

So however tall the average male is - assuming it is one of those lines - then that line will represent 30mm on the Chlén model.

I have a sculptor waiting for instructions so I need to figure this out...

U-Con 2011 - A Joyful Sitting Among Friends!

2011-11-11T18:12:00.002-05:00

The Tékumel track at U-Con should be well under way by now, starting with "A Joyful Sitting Among Friends" - wish I was there!

Blogger really pisses me off sometimes...

2011-10-23T14:09:00.003-04:00

...like when they arbitrarily apply some formatting change.

Most recently I discovered that the photos I insert in my blogs were coming up in some weird sort of display. A "light table overlay" is the new default apparently - something I discovered only by rooting around in the settings and changing it to "off".

It annoys me that I had to go in and change the settings. They are behaving in the same way that makes me hate Microsoft so much. Grrr...

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

2011-10-18T19:16:00.002-04:00

Shén - Late Additions to the Summer Catalogue

2011-10-16T09:37:00.005-04:00

Shén Advance Orders Open

Hi Guys,

After long delay, the Shén are finally going into production. For those of you unfamiliar with Tékumel, the Shén are reptilian aliens that followed humans to Tékumel. They live in the hot South near the equator – and by "Hot" I mean Hotter as Tsolyánu is hot as it is! Many Shén serve as mercenaries in the armies of Tsolyánu, Salarvyá, Mu'ugalavyá, Yán Kór and Livyánu, the five great empires that rule this hemisphere of Tékumel.

Note that this applies to only slightly more than half of our Shén figures. This is because the master figures share a mold with Eureka's figures so I don't have access to the Master mold. I have master figures but they suffer from the same difference in metal type that plagued the Ahoggyá. These will require low temperature molds before we can begin production. This really sucks, but there is little we can do at this point. Little did we know what path things would take when the figures were first made!

Anyway, going into production are:

TEK-20 Shén Officer
TEK-21 Shén Standard Bearer
TEK-22 Shén Drummer
TEK-23 Shén Berserker
TEK-25 Shén Trooper 1 - with 1H Weapon
TEK-27 Shén Trooper 3 - with 2H Weapon
TEK-29 Shén Diplomat
TEK-30 Shén Merchant

NOT YET AVAILABLE - Waiting for low temp molding and/or accessories:

TEK-26 Shén Trooper 2 - with 1H Weapon
TEK-28 Shén Trooper 4 - with 2H Weapon
TEK-24 Shén Firing X-Bow Pistol
TEK-31 Shén Civilian 1 - with Staff
TEK-32 Shén Civilian 2
TEK-33 Shén Civilian 3
TEK-34 Human General in "Shén" Armour

We are offering these figures for the non-member price of:
$6.00 each;
$60.00 for a "Warband" consisting of 10 trooper (5 of each pose) plus the 3 command figures;
$50.00 for a "Horde" consisting of just the 10 troopers.

Tékumel Club members will of course benefit from their usual club discount.

The intent is to finish the remainder of the Shén next and assuming no major hiccups with that, then moving on to the Ahoggyá.

We will be offering additional shield types for the Shén as well, to match other legions in mercenary service throughout the Five Empires.

Email me at the address below, and I will send you the PDF directly.

Thanks you all for your interest and support. I hope you enjoy our figures.

Best Regards,

Howard Fielding
The Tékumel Project
green27@sympatico.ca

Music to my ears....

2011-09-25T14:16:00.003-04:00

Another W.I.P. pic from John Winter!

More Greens...

2011-09-11T09:48:00.007-04:00

John has sent me a few more "in progress" pics...

Wax On, Wax Off...

2011-08-13T17:01:00.006-04:00

Or rather:

"Left Wing, Right Wing, Body, Prince"

Repeat.

Fifty times.

That was the process used for bagging up our new Imperial Messenger Vignette. I should note that this step was preceded by a sorting phase where the left and right wings were put into little piles, and by the "take baggy and open it" part; and it was followed by "zip baggy shut, take another baggy" (and so on.)

I left the labels till the end. I have found they are a handy check that I have all the packs accounted for as I know exactly how many labels are on each sheet and can easily see how many I have used and are left unused.

This was repeated for the Puppet Master Vignette (seven parts) and the Sacrifice Set (4 parts.) For the columns, I put them in baggies, one of each, even though technically they are sold separately. To date, people have been buying one of each anyway. Note that when I say repeated, I mean repeated fifty times for each set.

The Hlaka proper were a little more complicated as I had to first separate piles of left and right flying wings and left and right landed wings. What I did was take a box with ten plastic trays in it. Then I put the correct quantities of each component in the Hlaka troop sets into each tray - each tray representing a set. This allowed me to work in a controlled fashion and have the sets all nicely sorted. After every ten I bagged the lot, one tray at a time. Then I repeated the process. I haven't completed all 100 sets yet, but I'm getting there.

This is the least fun part of our business and I keep forgetting how long it takes to do. :-(

A Lesson in Logisitics

2011-08-08T22:46:00.003-04:00

Fifty sets of hlaka with javelins and hlaka with firepots is equal to 800 figures and 1600 wings - wings that have to be paired up and matched with a figure, either flying or landed. (Oh, yeah forgot about that part...)

And I've run out of zip-locks to put the sets in. Grrr...

Summer Catalogue uploaded...

2011-08-03T18:01:00.002-04:00

Our first Tekumel Project "2011 Summer Catalogue" has been uploaded. The download link is over on the Tekumel Club blog, which is where we sell our stuff anyway...

HERE

It's google docs, and according to the settings it is supposed to be available to everyone "with no login required" but some people have said it ain't working for them.

If it doesn't work for you I can email you a copy - LMK at:

green27 -AT- sympatico -DOT- ca

The Band of Joyous Heroes

2011-08-01T14:56:00.001-04:00

I've started a new series of posts on my "Heroes of the Age" blog, describing A Band of Joyous Heroes - it's mechanisms and it's intent.

Love the New Look!

2011-07-31T15:54:00.002-04:00

Of the Tekumel site forums, that is! Check out the new - Reader Friendly - Forums right HERE!

Summer Catalogue

2011-07-30T15:38:00.002-04:00

Been working on a PDF catalogue. Almost done, only now my mouse is acting up for some reason. Grrr...

Lady Mríssa Officer

2011-07-20T19:35:00.009-04:00

Officer

Work-in-progress sculpt by John Winter. Pretty Cool, huh?!

Shipping?

2011-07-18T21:19:00.005-04:00

Here's the thing. I really feel bad about how long some people have been waiting for their stuff. Now it is all here - resin beasties, Hlaka, character vignettes, the whole lot. I just gotta figure out who ordered what, and who has paid and who needs an invoice and then we're all set.

And the Posties are back at work so it's all good. I just have to figure out the rates.

But I think it's been taking too long to do all that. So here's the thing:

I'm thinking of going with a flat shipping rate regardless of order size. Something like: $5 Canada, $10 US and $15 International.

Of course, if actual is less then one would pay less.

Comments?

Back Again...

2011-07-17T09:13:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the silence since returning from the con, but I am taking this "distant learning" GIS course and I have an online Quiz I have to complete before 11PM today. I'll do a proper post once I've finished my readings and done the Quiz.

Bye, Again...

Historicon 2011

2011-07-05T19:33:00.001-04:00

We are leaving for Historicon at 8AM tomorrow, returning Sunday sometime. I will be off line until that time, rolling dice and having fun! :-)

Resin on their way...

2011-06-30T16:49:00.002-04:00

Our resin beasties were going in the post this week, so I am reliably informed, now that the Posties are back. Unfortunately, it's a holiday tomorrow so that may slow things down. And then I am away at Historicon from Wednesday next week, so it will probably be the week after before everything gets sorted out.

Update...

2011-06-25T11:28:00.003-04:00

The government has tabled legislation to force the Post Office union back to work. It's a bit draconian as the legislation will apparently force them to accept less than Canada Post was offering (their strike was about other issues, including safety.)

OTOH, it will allow us to sell our product, so that is a good thing for us anyway. Especially as I have sculptor's invoices waiting to be paid!

In the meantime I have actually started painting again after a lapse of close to two years. If I can take some decent pictures I intend to chronicle my progress on my Heroes of the Age blog - it's meant to be my "gaming in Tekumel" blog, after all. The finished product will end up on our Tekumel Club pages. Right now I'm researching traditional Indian fabric patterns.

The Feds Step In...

2011-06-21T06:20:00.002-04:00

Looks like the government is going to legislate the postal workers back to work. Ordinarily I wouldn't object to the strike, but now that I have a mail order business it is just a bit "inconvenient."

New Greens...

2011-06-17T20:20:00.002-04:00

Take 2

Lock Out!

2011-06-15T07:56:00.000-04:00

Canada Post has locked out it's striking Union workers, so we are shut down for a bit - unless anyone wants to use a courier service(?)

New Arrivals!

2011-06-14T21:17:00.008-04:00

Our new figures arrived today!

This means our currently available figures comprise:

Currently Available:

Qol Horde -
10 rank-and-file - 2 w. halberd, 2 w. bows and 1 w. sword;

Hlutrgu Foot -
Warband of 4 command figures plus 10 rank-and-file;
Horde of 10 troopers; and
Flotilla of one large coracle, one small coracle plus 9 crew figures.

Hlaka -
Hlaka leader;
Hlaka with firepots (4 flying and 4 on ground);
Hlaka with Javelins (4 flying and 4 on ground);
Imperial Messenger Vignette - includes Prince Eselne and Imperial Messenger (Hlaka.)

The Clan of the Striding Incantation - Puppet Master vignette -
includes Puppet Master, Pygmy Folk assistant, 2 magical puppets and 3 excited children.

The Sacrifice -
High Priest of Durritlamish, female sacrifice chained to pillar, chalice, prone slave girl. Based upon art by MAR Barker from the original Empire of the Petal Throne game.

Prisoner Columns -
2 female and 1 male prisoner each chained to a column. Intended to be part of a larger set.

Princess Vrisa - Daughter of the Sao of Saa Allaqi - a character from Professor Barker's own campaign. Our first "Unlimited Release Figure". Unlimited release in that we won't stop selling her, unlike all those LE figures out there! ;-)

The original ranges from Eureka can still be ordered as Special Orders as I will have to get Eureka to cast them. They can be viewed in PDFs in the right-hand column.

The resin Biridlhu and Thunru'u are in production but not yet received. Should be this month though.

Now where is the damn camera! Last time I remember seeing it was at my Niece's wedding, a week-and-a-half ago...

The Biridlú (aka the Mantle)

2011-06-11T10:58:00.007-04:00

Sculpted by Carolyn Bussey, Resin Casting by JTFM

Jeff Trnka sent me these pictures of the first resin casting of Carolyn's beastie. Turned out rather nice I reckon. Carolyn did a really good job on the teeth and Jeff has managed to cast them nicely. I didn't have any worries really as his stuff is always super-detailed. It's quite amazing the grab handles and rails and other small details he somehow manages to cast on his 1/56th scale WW2 tanks.

What is it, you ask? It's a Biridlú, also called the Mantle. There are similar things in D&D and other games - I think in D&D it is called the Darkmantle. At least I have a D&D plastic miniature by that name. Only the D&D miniature is tiny. These creatures are supposed to fall/float down from above and engulf the party or at least one person. My D&D miniature couldn't engulf a Hobbit! Carolyn's model is larger and looks like it could engulf and smother a full grown man.

My understanding is these were being cast up so it won't be long until we have them available.

I should add...

2011-06-10T19:01:00.001-04:00

I've updated the Tekumel Club Blog (link at right) with the new stuff coming - should be here next week.

And Jeff sent me picks of the Biridlu - more on that tomorrow!

Blogger in it's Death Throes?

2011-06-10T18:26:00.004-04:00

So what the heck is wrong with Blogger, anyway?

I notice that my "friends" listing has disappeared and I read a blog just now where a similar thing was happening there.

I have so much trouble posting comments on some blogs - from Blogger acting up - that sometimes I don't bother. And there seem to be a lot of error messages when I post or navigate between blogs - can't find this or that, and so on.

So, is Blogger just generating too much traffic - or what?

Postal Strike!

2011-06-03T11:02:00.002-04:00

Canada Post has gone on strike - the union started rotating walk-outs last night.

And I've ordered 50 sets each of the Sacrifice set, the Puppet Master vignette and Princess Vrisa, along with 30 of each of the column prisoners. Probably have them, via courier, by the end of the month, if not sooner.

The "Tinys" are Coming...

2011-05-30T17:27:00.007-04:00

Tinalíya Sketch, by Faron Betchly

Faron sent me this preliminary sketch of the Tinalíya figures he has started working on. IIRC, we worked out that they should be 12mm tall to be in scale with our figures.

In the past I have always ignored the Tinalíya. For some reason I just never paid any attention to them. This year, however, I have begun to see their potential and I now rank them among my best liked of Tékumel's alien races. In a way they are like Hobbits - there is more to them than meets the eye...

The "Bloated Servitor"

2011-05-15T19:12:00.007-04:00

Sculpted by Carolyn Bussey

Here is a picture of the Thunru'u casting (aka the Eater of Eyes, or "Bloated Servitor", as I have been calling it) with the base added by Jeff.

The Biridlú (aka the Mantle) is still being cast up.

Is it safe to come out now?

2011-05-14T15:28:00.002-04:00

Well, it looks like Blogger might have stabilized finally and it's safe to post something without fear of it disappearing...

...not that I have much news to post anyhow.

Battle with the Hlutrgu

2011-05-11T22:34:00.001-04:00

Jeff has sent me a work-in-progress picture of a battle between soldiers from the Legion of Lord Lángsha of Jaikalór and the Hlutrgu. It's taken with a camera rather than scanned because the full piece is too large to fit on his scanner.

It's not the finished product but I think it looks cool regardless! Personally I like seeing blog posts and articles where a step-by-step process is shown. There is just such an article about Joe Jusko (sp?) over on one of the comic book sites about how he did a recent painting of Dejah Thoris. If I can find my way back there I'll post a link.

The Legion of Mirkitáni, Hero of Victories

2011-05-09T21:09:00.000-04:00

7th Imperial Heavy Infantry

A pike-armed heavy infantry legion some 18 cohorts strong (400 men per cohort.) Two cohorts are also armed with bows. The legion is based on the Island of Vrá but had been stationed at Tumíssa before the recent Yán Kór war. During the war it was based at Khirgár and fought in the Western Theatre.

Concept Art by Jeff Dee

The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa

2011-05-08T17:37:00.000-04:00

19th Imperial Medium Infantry

The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa is a relatively new legion (at the start of the Yán Kór war) that accepts only Aridáni woman into it's ranks. It is based at Chéne Hó in the North Western corner of the Empire.

In Tsolyánu women are generally kept as wards of their clans - good clan-girls, as they are called - unless they declare themselves Aridáni, which grants them the same rights and responsibilities as a man in Tsolyáni society. As clan-girls they are free from those responsibilities but have less freedom as a result.

More concept art by Jeff Dee.

The Legion of Lord Lángsha of Jaikalór

2011-05-07T12:48:00.000-04:00

8th Imperial Medium Infantry

Jeff Dee just sent me this finished concept drawing of one of Tsolyánu's medium infantry legions: The Legion of Lord Lángsha of Jaikalór. This legion has not previously been illustrated before - at least, not in any Tékumel-related publication that I am aware of. Its arms are listed as two-handed axe and dagger. It is described as having a light visored helm and breastplate only. The brief painting guide at the back of the Tsolyáni army book hints at the helmet being plumed.

Tekumel Club Hacked? According to Google...

2011-05-04T06:39:00.000-04:00

Apparently the Tekumel Club blog is giving a warning about Malware...I installed the ClusterMaps thingie yesterday (maybe that is the problem? I just deleted it as a test.)

Otherwise I can't see anything intrusive in the bits of the blog I have access to. I can ask blogger, I suppose. Do blogs get hacked? Wouldn't that mean that Blogger was hacked?

And Continues...

2011-05-03T21:36:00.000-04:00

More updates at the Tékumel Club page, in the various SHOP sections.

Construction continues...

2011-05-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

Spent some time this evening updating the Tékumel Club blog, which you can access via the Nexus Point in the right hand column.

Busy, Busy...

2011-05-01T10:01:00.000-04:00

Waiting on Resin beasties...
Hlaka received but only partially sorted...
Tekumel Club blog page is part-way through it's redesign...
(Let me know if it's looking any easier to navigate/understand. It's not finished yet, of course!)

I am preparing for some house renovations - new furnace/air conditioner - which means I have to do a major re-organization of my basement area in order to provide access for the workmen.

Apologies for the delays...

The Emperor is Dead! Long Live the Emperor!

2011-04-28T18:29:00.000-04:00

I was happy to pick up 50 sets of our Imperial Messenger Vignette yesterday on the way home from work, along with the balance of our Hlaka order. The pricing on the vignette will be $12US for non-members.

Legion of the Clan of the Sweet Singers of Nakomé

2011-04-24T20:13:00.000-04:00

12th Imperial Heavy Infantry

More concept art from Jeff Dee, this one from the Tsolyáni order of battle. The illustration depicts the Legion of the Clan of the Sweet Singers of Nakomé, 12th Imperial Heavy Infantry. The origin of the name is obscure because "Nakomé" refers to a clan-less person in Tsolyáni.

These guys are in the queue to be sculpted...

Happy Easter!

2011-04-22T06:24:00.000-04:00

I am leaving shortly to head up to North Bay. Returning Sunday.

Have a nice weekend! :-)

Imperial Messenger Vignette

2011-04-21T07:57:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that our Imperial Messenger Vignette has been cast and is on its way. This vignette depicts Prince Eselne reading a message just delivered by a Hlaka messenger in Imperial Service. I have no pricing as of yet. With Easter being - like - tomorrow I don't expect these until next week, expecially as the Post Office will be closed Monday as well as Tomorrow.

"Slurping" with Blurb.com

2011-04-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

My "Yearbook"

Some of you already know I've been looking into using Blurb.com to publish "A Band of Joyous Heroes", "Kerdu" and a background book (or books) for Tékumel. Blurb offers full colour publishing in soft-cover, hard cover with a dust jacket and hard cover with image wrapped cover. I can't speak to whether they are the cheapest but I found them to be very user friendly. For the record, I also looked into Lulu but when I had questions I didn't get answers but requests to "upgrade" my account. So I went with the guys who gave me answers: Blurb.

I wanted to find out how Blurb's quality was so as a test I used a feature that might interest those of you with blogs of your own. I decided to make a "yearbook" for The Tékumel Project. Blurb allows you to "slurp" your blog into one of their layouts automatically. The links are turned into footnotes and the pictures show up as margin thumbnails. The latter you can move around and manipulate afterwards as you like or you can keep them as thumbnails. There is probably going to need to be some adjustment to make sure the picture is aligned properly even so as the process tries to "fit" the photo as best it can and automatic processes only work so well.

As my first two years as a blogger were pretty pathetic, the book covers everything up until the end of December 2010. I reformatted some of the pictures, making them a good size on the page and fixed some of the thumbnails, but I was eager to see the results so I didn't spend as much time doing that as perhaps I could or should have. To me, the content is mediocre but the final physical product was worth the test.

I am very impressed by the result. It cost me about $44CDN give or take and rolls in at 115 pages, hard cover with a dust jacket. Not bad, methinks. Imagine if the content were more worthy or the pictures full colour...

Note that the picture on the cover is blurry b/c of my crappy photography skills, not in actual fact!

My Gaming Blog: Heroes of the Age

2011-04-18T21:27:00.000-04:00

I've started a new blog devoted to gaming on Tékumel, which I'm calling "Heroes of the Age".

Please feel free to drop by for a visit now and then. :-)

This Just In...

2011-04-18T18:35:00.000-04:00

Figures on the Mold...

I have had an email from Brock (RAFM) to the effect that the Hlaka Messenger Vignette has been molded, cast and 50 sets have been mailed out today. :-)

Update: April 21st. I guess these were just being molded and cast, but then the balance of our Hlaka order (from what we picked up at Hot Lead.) was cast so the completed Hlaka release should be on it's way today. Apologies for the mis-information!

The Vignette consists of a Hlaka Messenger in Imperial Service and Prince Eselne, an heir to the Imperial Throne, receiving word that the Emperor has died and one of his brothers has seized the throne.

This Is Not An Update!

2011-04-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

Borrowing from "The Prisoner" just a bit, here is my non-update non-post of the week. Sorry for the lack of news, but there hasn't been any reportable progress to report. And last week was just crazy for me time-wise what with working late most nights, and finally getting a proper family doctor after about ten years without!

Well, OK, I guess there is stuff to report - sort of:

I might be delving into Original EPT - and I might start a blog for that so I can ramble on without interfering with the Tékumel Project stuff. I recently started to take a closer look at the old rules and I am wondering how bad it would be to use them with all the newer ideas just grafted on...

And I may also start a blog for "A Band of Joyous Heroes" which I haven't given up on - no siree.

I've made some progress on the background books which I think some of you know I've been working on. Not so much writing background, as such, just trying to come up with ways to present it differently. As picture books, with some text descriptions, but primarily art depicting various aspects of Tékumel . Initially I was thinking B&W because of expense but now I think they will be primarily colour with some B&W. The intent is that these books would be entirely "rules free". I've made contact with one colour artist I really like, and have feelers out for others...

On the miniatures side there are some resin beasties in the works - did I post a picture yet? Nothing big, just one that I have been calling the "Bloated Servitor" and another that under D&D is called a "Nightmantle", if I'm not mistaken. These are supposed to be in the molding casting - or in the queue to be done (there's always a queue, isn't there?!)

Also in a queue is the Hlaka Messenger vignette which is being molded or may have just been molded this last week. I have requested 50 sets. I haven't tried to work out a price yet.

No word on how the casting troubles we recently had with the Ahoggya masters are working out - replacements are on their way from Australia.

I have also recently commissioned some figures to fill some other gaps in the range, namely the Renyu and Tinaliya.

Lastly, today I found another artist who does "monster" sculpts who I think might be interested in doing work for us...

...so really, as you can see, I have nothing new to report! ;-)

Worm Grubs!

2011-04-10T14:25:00.000-04:00

By Troll Forged Miniatures

Wait until The Drune gets a load of these puppies! Ix will never be the same! :-)

For more typical Tékumel gaming they are perfect denisons for one of Lord Sárku's temples or shrines...

They can be found here: Troll Forged Miniatures

Good News and Bad News...

2011-04-06T19:56:00.001-04:00

The Good News is that I have 16 sets of Hlaka armed with firepots and 16 sets armed with javelins. That is I had them when i returned from Hot Lead but I offered them to our Tekumel Club members first. There are still some left, and more are being cast so not to worry, there should be plenty to go around!

Each set comprises 4 flying Hlaka and 4 grounded Hlaka armed with the appropriate weapons. There is also a grounded leader who is sold separately.

The base price is $30 per set for non-members, or $4.00 each for the leader. Members receive their usual discounts.

We are having casting difficulties with the javelins because they are so fine - so much so that more were being rejected than accepted. When I heard that I told the caster that as long as the body and tail comes out fine it counts as a good figure - the difficulties were adding too much labour to the casting. What this means is that in the future not all the Hlaka will have the fine cast javelins - customers will be asked to supply their own. These few initial packs however, all have the fully cast javelins.

The second item of good news is the the Imperial Messenger vignette is being molded and will be cast very shortly. This is a two-piece set of Prince Eselne receiving word of the Emperor's death via a Hlaka messenger in Imperial service.

The last bit of good news is that our resin caster is making molds of two Tekumel beasties which you can expect to be released very shortly. I post a picture tomorrow perhaps...

The Bad News is that we have encountered some technical difficulties with the Ahoggya and Shen which will delay their release - though how long the delay will be is unknown at this time.

Apologies for this but it can't be helped.

Hot Lead - here we come!

2011-03-25T10:02:00.000-04:00

Heading down to the Hot Lead convention in Stratford Ontario shortly.

There I will be speaking with our caster/mold maker about how to set up the molds for our upcoming releases. I am taking with us the greens for the Sacrifice Set, Princess Vrisa, the Pillars of sacrifice, the Puppeteer Vignette, the Ahoggya Kits and the Shen Masters Nic sent us.

We just have to figure out how to mold all that!

I am hoping to pick up some Hlaka castings (with the balance of the order to be mailed to us) and some helmet and standard plumes for use in conversions.

I am also taking a couple of sirprises - that only a few people know about - to get Jeff Trnka (our resin caster) to take a look at.

I will report back when we return on Sunday.

A Worm for Lord Sárku

2011-03-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

Over on the Frothers forum, Hive Trygon has posted some pics of a sculpt he has been working on. To my mind it would make a perfect servitor for Lord Sárku, whether in the depths of the Underworld or in some Inner Shrine of the Temple of the Worm Lord.

It would not look out of place as an encounter in Ix's Humanspace Empires, either...

Hlaka! Dive!

2011-03-19T17:15:00.000-04:00

With the upcoming release of our Hlaka figures I am getting excited again. I am very hopeful that I will have quantities of these in stock by month end - I am hoping to pick the figures up next weekend, in fact, when we attend Hot Lead!, in Stratford, ON. (Note: we are attending as gamers, not dealers.)

As 1/2 of the figures are airborne poses I have been starting to think about flying stands. One could just mount them on slottas, or similar bases, or on those little plastic ones GW uses. Or you could use a piece of wire going to some other base - this is what I had intended to use myself.

After recently attending Cold Wars, however, I have another idea. While at the convention I picked up some flight stands intended for the "Check Your 6" WW2 Air Combat game by a company called Armaments In Miniature. These are resin stands that use a telescoping car aerial with a powerful magnet at the top. There are several styles , and I picked up some of the largest two styles to try with my Air Cars.

I was just putting one together and it occurred to me that maybe I can use it for my flying Hlaka. Each stand comes with a metal screw intended to go into the model, the flat top of which snaps tight to the magnet at the top of the stand.

What if I wind wire around the screw with a flying Hlaka at each end? I could mount several Hlaka around each stand...

Now I don't have any castings to try this out but I did try a large washer with several 28mm figures on the stand and it balances fairly well. And this was without any extra weights in the base (the largest models allow one to insert pennies to make the bases heavier.) I think that if the figures are spaced fairly evenly around the stand it will be pretty stable. In addition to looking nicer, the telescoping bit has 6 increments, allowing for different heights to be used. Now this may not be relevant to your rule set but it could make the models more esthetically pleasing regardless.

More Qól?

2011-03-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

Now is the time to let me know if you have ideas for poses or character types we have missed for the Qól.

Add a suggestion in the comments or email me at:

green27 -AT- sympatico -DOT- ca

In from the "Cold"...

2011-03-13T21:53:00.000-04:00

"Cold Wars" that is - we arrived back from the HMGS-East "Cold Wars" convention in Lancaster PA this afternoon after a nice seven hour drive. (Unlike the trip down which was taken in rain and, in some places, very thick fog.)

I had a great time: played a few games, caught up with some friends and bought a bunch of stuff. Made some good buys, including some sort of [Battletech] Drop Pod (?) from Iron Wind Metals which I think will make the nice basis for one of the spherical tube car designs. They had a few "seconds" that they were selling for half-price ($15) as there were slight irregularities in the molding. The thing isn't really a sphere, but is shaped more like a 3" round resin teardrop with the "tail" cut off flat just where it starts, forming - for my purposes - a handy base for the car. I think that once the car is placed in the appropriate circular tubeway entrance this will not be visible and it will appear like a perfect sphere. The slots for the leg struts from the original pod just need to be covered with card and a door crafted and it is done. I think the door could be one of those card pieces that will cover the slots or, perhaps better, one of the conveniently placed rectangular panels in the side.

Update: It is a "Union" drop pod per this painted example on CoolMiniorNot. In this example, one of the slots for the legs is front and center in the pic. There are four of theses spaced about the body. The flames are where the truncated part of the "teardrop" is. Front-left is one of the rectangular panels that I am considering converting into a door.

Update 2: Here is the link to the thing on the Iron Wind Metals site.

I also took a gander at the new Qól figures that Rod has done for us - they are Sweet! :-) I have asked him to do a couple of more figures:

(1) a figure standing "at attention" such as a guard - this could then have one of the halberds, standard or lanterns that are borne by the other figures, and

(2) a figure with a large open book. I previously showed a picture of a Qól carrying an ornate box which some took to be a book so I thought I should add a book.

The Undotted "i"!

2011-03-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

This is one of my Pet Peeves about Tekumel. The various Tsolyani pronunciation guides that have been published over the years which though apparently intended for English readers, reference languages other than English when trying to explain how to say all those weird names.

The main one being the "ü", as in: N'lüss. We are told to pronounce this in two ways, depending upon which part of Tsolyanu we are from: "In western Tsolyanu , the "unlaut ü" of German; in the east it is a high, back, un-rounded vowel, like the "undotted i" of Turkish"!!!

Oh-Kayyeeee...and you think this is helpful - how? Did I mention that we're ENGLISH speakers!? That means: no German, no Turkish, and don't even ask me to figure out what a "high, back, un-rounded vowel" is.

Now I think the "ü" might be "Ooo" - at least the German bit, but I don't recall if I looked it up somewhere to figure that out. That means that "N'lüss" might be pronounced NUH-Loooss - or it might not...

Update: This according to Google...

Update 2: "I, ı [undotted i] 'uh' or the vowel sound in 'fuss' and 'plus'"

So we can pronounce "N'lüss" as NUH-loooss or NUH-lus, depending upon which part of Tsolyanu we hail from.

Update 3: my other example of this peeve is the "GH" - which is described as "a soft, frictive "g", the Arabic Ghayn; not in European languages."

I found some pronunciation help via Google again:

"I speak only a few words of Arabic but one self-instruction book I have says that this sound uses muscles that are not used by English speakers, except when they throw up."

Nuff Said!

Another Aridani N'luss Warrioress...

2011-03-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

An Aridani N'luss

This is the last of the present lot of concept sketches Jeff Dee has done for the N'luss. We had considerable back-and-forth debate about the "look" which is based upon a number of things. From the Mu'ugalavyani Army Book we know that not all N'luss warbands are as well equipped with armour as others. And from the Swords & Glory Sourcebook we know that N'luss women tend to cover their legs with leggings. This is confirmed by the descriptions of the N'luss bodyguard in The Man of Gold.

Running somewhat counter to this are the descriptions in the later novels of N'luss wearing "pantaloons" and tunics, bringing to my mind at least images of Vikings, particularly "Jomsvikings", who appear from the illustrations I've seen (and miniature representations) to be the "dandies" of the Viking world.

These descriptions contradict all other descriptions and illustrations previously published. Perhaps they refer to some fashion among the city-dwelling N'luss that distinguishes from their wilder brethren of the hills (though I would never call any N"luss tame!)

Regardless, what I was looking for was an illustration of an Aridani warrioress from one of the poorer warbands. I think this illustration fits the bill nicely.

The Cohorts of Lord Chegarra, the Hero-King

2011-03-03T06:20:00.000-05:00

More concept art by Jeff Dee...

Zaz - Je Veux

2011-03-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

My Current Favourite Song! (And I can barely speak French!)

EDIT: And here are the lyrics translated!

On a more Tekumel related note I took receipt yesterday of my first "book" published using Blurb.com - that is a sort of "yearbook" of the Tekumel Project Blog from 2008 until the end of 2010. Not much content-wise but I am impressed by the quality of the hardcover book that Blurb produced. This is how I intend to produce A Band of Joyous Heroes so this was a bit of a trial run. I think it took about two weeks from the date ordered to get the finished product.

Two by Two, Tentacles of Blue...

2011-02-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

Qól Slavers

Blue??? Err- make that White! As everybody knows, the Qól are white in colour. They are a product of the Temple of Ksarul's gene-vats, after all.

Here are the last two figures from the latest bunch of Qól Rod has sculpted for us. These are meant to be leading a coffle of slaves or prisoners whose Skien of Destiny is about to be cut off rather abruptly.

Slaves/Prisoners not included, though maybe we will do some at a later date.

Three Wise Men, They Ain't!

2011-02-25T13:38:00.000-05:00

More Qól Characters

Rod was kind enough to send pics of some of the other Qól characters. There are actually seven figures in the complete set, not the five or six I was remembering, so by my math there's two more to go...

...not counting the Qól palanquin bearers (another four poses.) I think we will have pretty much cover the Qól by then! :-)

(But if anyone has any suggestions for additional poses I am always willing to listen...)

It Doesn't Rain But It Pours!

2011-02-24T14:10:00.000-05:00

Qól Characters

Rod Campbell of Highlander Studios has sent me some of the Qól character figures he has been working on. IIRC, there are 5 or 6 that will comprise the second Qól release. After that comes a palanquin with 8 Qól bearers - the riders being a choice of priest or priestess of Ksarul. :-)

More Swampy Goodness...

2011-02-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

More Swamp Folk Pics

Ian sent me these and apologized for the poor quality of the pics, saying he'd send better ones tomorrow. But can I wait that long - No Sireee! :-)

These are not quite finished yet, specifically the left hand of the swordsman. I am quite happy with them finished or unfinished. So these along with those shown last post are the first three Swamp Folk ever to be sculpted (AFAIK) - the intent is to have them Mastered and then do a few more variants so that we have a decent assortment to release when the time comes.

Swamp Folk - Getting there...

2011-02-21T17:25:00.001-05:00

Swamp Folk

I was very excited to receive an email from Ian Mountain today with these WIP pictures attached! They are coming along nicely, methinks! :-)

There is a third figure to be sculpted for this initial offering, though I like these so much that I might ask for some additional variants!

Deadlier than the Male?

2011-02-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

An Aridani N'luss Warrior

Here is an Aridani N'luss warrior in medium armour, depicted again by Jeff Dee. We had some debate about her costume as the background is contradictory in places, referring to leggings in some earlier works and pantaloons in the later novels.

Yet another concept drawing...

An Inventory of Sorts...

2011-02-15T17:46:00.001-05:00

A number of people have been asking about the ranges we carry and those that were carried by Eureka. Here is a brief summary of our ranges:

Currently our ranges consist of:

The Armies and Enemies of the Petal Throne
(formerly carried by Eureka. Currently not generally available.)

Tsolyanu
1)The First Legion of Ever-Present Glory, inc General Kettukal;
2)The Legion of Serqu, Sword of the Empire;

Yan Kor
3)The Gurek of Tleku Miriya I;
4)The Gurek of Tleku Miriya II;
5)The Gurek of the Turquoise Eye;
6)The Gurek of the Valiant of Ke'er, inc Lord Fu Shi'i and Mihalli.

The World of Tekumel
(Introduced with The Tekumel Club. Available through the Tekumel Club.)

7)Hlutrgu - on foot and afloat;
8)Qol - first release (more to follow);

Upcoming Releases and Status:

9)Ahoggya - armoured and unarmoured - need to be mastered and production molds made;
10)Shen - soldiers and civilians (15 figures) - need production molds made;
11)Hlaka - on foot and flying (9 figures plus Prince Eselne and Hlaka Messenger vignette) - molds need to be sent to caster to be put in production. Vignette needs to be molded;
12)Swamp Folk - 3 versions currently being sculpted;
13)Pygmy Folk - 1 figure sculpted as part of puppeteer vignette;
14)Puppeteer Vignette - comprised of Puppet Master, 2 x puppets, pygmy folk assistant and three children - needs master and production molds making;
15)Sacrifice Vignette - based on illustration from EPT, comprises Evil High Priest, sacrifice chained to column, and chalice - needs to be mastered and molded;
16)Columns of Sacrifice - three columns with prisoners chained to them - 2 female, 1 male - need to be mastered and molded;
17)Misc. slave girl - need to be mastered and molded;
18)Princess Vrisa of Saa Allaqi - need to be mastered and molded;
19)Aridani Legion of Lady Mrissa - sponsored and commisioned - being sculpted;
20)The Legion of Mirkitani, Hero of Victories - sponsored and commissioned - being sculpted;
21)N'luss - concept sketches being prepared;
22)Pachi Lei - being sponsored and planned;
23)The Legion of Chegarra, the Hero-King - being sponsored - in planning;
24)Qol - balance of range being sculpted;
25)Temple of Ksarul - will follow on from Qol;
26)Temple of Sarku - planned to follow Sacrifice Vignette - in planning stages;

Additional Yan Koryani Gureks:

27)The Clan of the Silver Worm;
28) Rulla Gurek;
29) Makhis Gurek;
30) Defense Against Evil, and
31)Dharu/Vanu
- some ready to be mastered and molded, others need little additions or changes, or command figures (as in the case of Dharu/Vanu.)

Chlen Beast. Serudla - status unknown. Were "being sculpted"...

N'luss Women: legs that go on forever...

2011-02-11T17:49:00.000-05:00

Another Real World example!

The German Connection and Real World Undergrounds...

2011-02-10T17:40:00.000-05:00

Two of the blogs I have been following have interesting posts today.

One is Hill Cantons, which discusses Empire of the Petal Throne's role in German role playing.

The other is From the Sorcerer's Skull, who is highlighting the real Paris Underworld (beyond the Catacombs...)

This blog post refers and links to a recent National Geographic article. Be sure to check out the related story: Rome's Basement Ruins. Ditlana, anybody?

Also pay attention to the interactive map - it's small but one cool part is the reference to collapsed sections. Has anyone done a scenario where part of Jakalla (for example) has collapsed in upon the underworld beneath?

The N'luss - the feared "Dragon-Warriors"

2011-02-09T18:22:00.001-05:00

N'luss Warrior, in "medium" armour

N'luss Warrior, in light armour

The N'luss are barbarians who stand some 2.15m to 2.3m tall, compared to the average Tsolyani Male at 1.68m. That is around 7' to 7'-6" compared to 5'-6".

I knew that they were tall but I never realized just how tall until Jeff drew these pictures with the comparison silhouette.

Jorge Gonzalez

Here is a Real World "N'luss": Jorge Gonzalez, a professional wrestler until he passed away last year.

In battle they would have large oval shields which they bear as protection from enemy missiles. These they discard before combat - a piece of the fluff that has always bothered me because I felt the shields would get underfoot. Now, having seen the size of their two-handed swords in proportion to a regular Tsolyani, I can see that this wouldn't be the case. They would need a substantial interval to either side in order to wield their weapons so there would be ample room to discard their shields and not impede the advance of their fellows following on behind.

Fire Ants Ate Me Alive!

2011-02-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, it was that kind of day today! ;-)

(I wish.)

I stumbled on a whole mess of these vintage Men's [Pulp] magazines from the 50's and 60's via From the Sorcerer's Skull. Overall, pretty lurid stuff - but that caption just cracks me up! :-)

"How about Monkey Maps?"

2011-02-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Cleitus!

Risus Monkey

Not quite Hot Hail, but beggars can't be choosers...

Could be useful for mapping an impromptu underworld. No need to cut out geomorphs, just roll a D100 to see what's next.

"Cleitus, I'm Bored..."

2011-02-06T17:56:00.000-05:00

That pretty much sums up today. I have nothing positive nor over-whelmingly negative to report.

Molds (or is that Moulds?)

2011-01-31T21:36:00.001-05:00

I never know which spelling to use. I assume the one with the "u" must be the proper English spelling - and therefore correct, but I seem to use the other spelling just as often.

Anyway, I digress. The purpose of the post is to announce the arrival of our first box of molds (or moulds) from Eureka. Included are Shen, Hlaka, a great many feathered plumes and a whole slew of weapons.

These will have to be forwarded on to RAFM and then maybe we can get a good number of releases done this year!

Gánga Tourists

2011-01-29T18:27:00.000-05:00

Gánga Tourists

Éngsvan hlá Gánga: “the Kingdom of the Gods.”

Nowadays, when the weather is fine, enterprising guides take wealthy patrons on tours of the underwater ruins of the city of the Priestkings.

Just some more art for A Band of Joyous Heroes.

A Band of Joyous Heroes - Rules Preview 2

2011-01-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Last time I posted a rather long-winded bit that happened to include a combat example from the rules. Here I jump straight in with more parts of the combat system. It is based upon Two Hour Wargames free CR3-Swordplay rules, but I have tweaked it a bit.

I have added a number of "Combat Effects" - the Swordplay rules just have knocked down, but I found that overly simplified. I have added Headlong Attacks and Impaling Weapons; and the Combat Effects: Knock Down, Push Back, Maneuver, Fall Back, Disarm, Counterstrike and Break Weapon or Shield.

Headlong Attack

Certain creatures or individuals are prone to making headlong attacks heedless of possible injury to self. Such creatures gain bonus dice when they melee due to the ferocity of their attack. In addition, if they win the combat they receive a +1 result on the Melee Combat Results table.

Impaling Weapons

Some weapons are capable of impaling, causing severe wounds in the process, particularly when used against a foe making a Headlong Charge. Impaling weapons are indicated on the Weapons Table. If the impaling weapon wins the combat they receive a +1 result on the Melee Combat Results table.

Combat Effects:

Any time the wound level is reduced to Evenly Matched, either by an armor save or through Star Power, a Combat Effect is said to occur as well. A Combat Effect is an additional result such as a knock down, a disarm or push back. Some Combat Effects require a pre-requisite skill or weapon type.

Knock Down – Requires that the attacker have a two-handed weapon or be two Size categories larger than his foe. The foe who saved against the damage is knocked down instead by the force of the blow. It takes an activation to regain ones feet, with no attack that turn.

Push Back – The attacker may force his foe back up to 2”, immediately following up. If the foe cannot move backwards because of an obstacle then the attacker gains the equivalent of a Reach Advantage in the next turn. If the foe is backed into a hazard of some kind, such as the edge of a rooftop, an Agility Challenge must be taken to avoid the hazard (i.e. falling.)

Maneuver – The attacker may maneuver around the foe. The foe spins on the spot and continues to face the attacker.

Fall Back – The attacker may fall back up to 2” while fighting. The foe automatically follows up and remains in contact.

Disarm – If the attacker possesses the appropriate skill and weapon, he may attempt to disarm his foe. This is accomplished through a Challenge Test – but with only one attempt permitted (per attack.)

Counterstrike – The attacker with a buckler or dagger in his off hand, and possessing the skill, may attempt a counterstrike. Both combatants roll 2D6 each, counting successes as a normal attack, but only rolling once. If the attacker rolls more successes than his foe then apply that result – the normal armor save applies.

Break Shield or Weapon – An attacker with a weapon rated Impact 4 or higher, may attempt to shatter his opponent’s shield, or weapon, if the foe has no shield. Roll 1D6 and add the Impact value. If the result is “10” or higher, then the shield is splintered or the weapon broken. Steel weapons and shields need a total of “12” or more to break them; those that are magical cannot be harmed in this manner.

It should be noted that the BoJH Melee Results table differs from Swordplay as well:

Melee Combat Results Table

# SUCCESSES RESULT
3+ Obviously Dead - NS
2 Obviously Dead
1 Out of the Fight
0 Evenly Matched

NS = No Armour Save possible.

The Coolest Thing on the Web!

2011-01-16T19:22:00.001-05:00

The coolest thing I found online today has to be Dave's Mapper!

Ok, maybe I am easily amused, but this would have been so awesome back when I was playing D&D...

Still, maybe it can handle the Jakallan Underworld. I wonder if there are any underground river tiles...

A Band of Joyous Heroes

2011-01-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted anything about A Band of Joyous Heroes, the set of tabletop adventure rules I've been working on. I have been puttering away on the rules, pretty slowly really - and with long gaps of inaction. This is not because I have lost interest or anything like that; it is because I have been focusing on the stuff in the book that comes before the rules.

I want the background material to prepare the player for Tékumel and for playing a Tsolyáni character. I don't want there to be characters named "Bob" or Ono-Mato-Pe'a or any of the other silly names players come up with for their characters in D&D games. Not that this is a role-playing game - it's not really. It's a "Tabletop Adventure Game". That's what I call it - a wargame (a "skirmish" game, if you like) played out with figures on a tabletop. Two Hour Wargames used to call their games "RPG-Lite", but now I see they are referring to them as "Immersion Games". That is, games that allow you to "be" the character. If the game is about WW2 squad level combat the rules allow you to be the squad leader without the "200-foot General" syndrome - and hopefully without the mini-maxing rules-lawyers that spoil so many games for others! Rattrap Production's series of Pulp, Weird World War 2, Retro-Sci/Fi and Swashbuckling games are a similar thing. They are wargames played out on the table.

When I say that they are wargames, I am referring to the fighting and the use of figures. Most of these games emphasize "characters" over "units". That is, the players normally take on the role of the heroes and either the referee or another player runs the villain and his goons.

That is what A Band of Joyous Heroes is intended to be. By default the players will be Tsolyáni and human, but allowances are made for foreigners and non-humans. There is nothing to stop one transplanting the game to some other part of Tékumel but I am having enough trouble doing the background for Tsolyánu as it is - I can't do the same for everywhere else as well. At least, not right away.

So what is the problem? Well for one I don't simply want to re-hash the same old history that is described in every other Tékumel publication. For another, I want the background part of the book to prepare the players to play Tsolyáni and I want them to only know what a Tsolyáni would reasonably know.

I want them to see things from a Tsolyáni point-of-view. And I don't want to do it with pages of text descriptions. I want illustrations - lots of them! I want an illustration on every page, and where there isn't I want two on the next page! :-)

Let's face it, the cultures on Tékumel take a bit of getting used to. What I am trying to produce is something similar to those many books out there from the "Eyewitness" series , or "Everyday Life in ... insert culture here" - and so on. You know the ones I mean. They are often considered children's books I think, but who cares.

Anyway, that is where I am at. Work is progressing slowly on both the background and the main rules. I am hopeful that even those who are sick to death of "another set of damn rules" for Tékumel will still find the background part attractive - maybe even useful.

Enough rambling! I had intended to just post a combat example from the rules, but I seem to have got off on a tangent a bit. Count yourself lucky we're not in conversation - I am assured it's much worse! ;-)

So here it is, my combat example - fresh from the pages of BOJH:

Example – Two Warriors (Rep 4), clad in medium armor and armed with sword and medium shield, attack Kómek (Rep 5) who is in heavy armor and armed with a two-hand sword.

• Kómek will roll 5d6 for his Rep, and 1d6 for the reach advantage, for a total of 6d6.
• Both Warriors roll 4d6 for their Rep, plus 1d6 for each friend attacking the same enemy, for a total of 5d6 each.
• All the dice are rolled, keeping each warriors dice carefully separated.
• Kómek scores 5 successes.
• Warrior A scores 3 successes and will continue to melee. Warrior B scores 2 successes and will continue as well.
• All the failures are discarded and all combatants re-roll their remaining dice for a second round of melee.
• Kómek scores 2 successes.
• Warrior A scores 2 successes and will continue to melee.
• Warrior B scores zero successes. As Kómek has scored 2+ successes against Warrior B, he gets an Obviously Dead result.
• However, as Warrior B is armored and has a shield, the Protection Table must be consulted. Kómek has a two-handed weapon with an Impact value of 4. Warrior B has medium armor but the shield provides a column shift to the right, giving the same protection as heavy armor. This gives a one die saving roll against injury. Warrior B rolls a ‘2’ which is a success and reduces the wound from Obviously Dead to Out of the Fight.
• Though not slain, Warrior B still goes down.
• Warrior A must still take a Man Down test. If he passes, the melee will continue with both combatants rerolling their remaining dice.
• Kómek scores 1 success.
• Warrior A scores zero successes. Kómek has scored 1 success against Warrior A, so he is Out of the Fight, but for his armor.
• Warrior A is also armored and has a shield, so the Protection Table must be consulted again. Kómek has a two-handed weapon with an Impact value of 4. Again this yields a one die saving roll against injury. Warrior A rolls a ‘5’ which is a failure so his protection availed him not.
• Had the roll been successful, his protection would have reduced the result from Out of the Fight to Evenly Matched.
• In that instance, Warrior A would still be subject to the combat effect: knocked down, having being struck a solid blow from a two-handed sword.

The rules are based upon the free "CR3-Swordplay" rules available from the 2HW site. I did have to make a few changes as the original rules don't allow for three levels of armour (L, M & H) that have been standard pretty much since the days of Empire of the Petal Throne, if I am not mistaken. So I added a little table to account for the armour, but as you can see armour - unless it is steel or magical - still won't offer much hope if you roll badly. I also added the "combat effects" such as knocked down. Maybe I'll describe them in another post.

What is also missing from the above example is Star Power, which is basically a way of getting a second chance. It is only available to certain characters - the player characters primarily, but occasionally the NPCs. Kómek in the above example would have Star Power dice which he would roll if he suffered an OD (Obviously Dead) result. These would give him a pretty good chance of avoiding that fate - at least early on in the adventure. They can become depleted though and by the end of a hard-fighting game even the heroes are living on the knifes-edge like the lowly NPCs. They have other advantages over NPCs, of course, but I won't go into those here.

One thing you may notice is that there are no "hit points". Characters are either OK, OOF (Out of the Fight) or OD - Obviously Dead. Basically the assumption is that if someone sticks a sword in your gut and doesn't kill you, you are still somewhat discomfited - hence the OOF result. This takes into account shock, pain, etc.

After the encounter there is a check to see whether you can come back to the fight. That is, it really wasn't so bad after all - the wound was bloody and hurt like hell but with some bandages and maybe some magical healing you are ready to carry on. Or, on a bad roll, maybe not so much...

Ahoggyá Masters...

2011-01-02T14:10:00.001-05:00

Ahoggyá Masters

Height Comparison

Unarmoured Ahoggyá Masters

Here are some pictures of our new Ahoggyá figures going off to be molded this week - well, mailed this week. Molded and cast before Month End - cross your fingers! :-)

In the top picture there are 10 unarmoured masters on the left, 10 armoured masters on the right plus the arm variants. Still trying to decide how to package them...

Once molded and cast they will be added to The Tékumel Club as our Second Release. No idea about pricing as yet, as I don't know how much they will weigh in at. They are going to require several molds, I expect, as well - which will have to be taken into account.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

2011-01-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

Not sure if I should make any resolutions this year as we missed nearly all of last years!

We did manage to get the Tékumel Club up an running, more-or-less, with two well received releases: the Qol and the Hlutrgu. The Qol will be expanded upon and finished this year, that expansion leading into the Temple of Ksarul.

We also managed to get a number of other things started - some of which are almost at the release stage. Chief among these is the Ahoggya which is poised to be molded in the very near future. Then there are the Princess Vrisa figure, the Puppet Master Vignette and the Sacrifice Set which are all in line to be molded as we can afford them.

The Hlaka are molded and will go into general release as soon as the molds arrive from Australia. The Shen will follow shortly after.

Then there is a backlog of Yan Koryani gureks - I've published the list previously - which we will slowly work at bringing to release. Note that some of the units still need additional figures, or detail changes/additions before they can be released.

The Tsolyani are not to be neglected either: the Aridani Legion of Lady Mrissa and Mirkitani, Hero of Victories are number one to be sculpted this spring. Also, look for Tumissa Crossbowmen, Sapphire Kirtle, various Vrayani and the Kurtani (including the Legion of the Inverted Hand.) Concept Art for the N'luss and Lorun is also in the works.

A Band of Joyous Heroes and Kerdu are not forgotten. They are progressing, albeit at a snails pace.

Lastly, in the last few weeks of 2010 the idea of Painted Tékumel Miniatures sprang pretty much out of nowhere. A number of people are interested and I will be investigating this further, sending off a few test pieces to be painted and reporting on the results. If there is an interest and we can come up with a process that works I will go ahead with this.

That's about it really...probably left bits out...but that's enough of my rambling for now!

Happy New Years, Again - to you all!

Best Regards,

Howard Fielding
The Tékumel Project

Happy New Years!

2010-12-31T14:24:00.000-05:00

The Tékumel Project would like to wish all our family, friends and associates: artists, sculptors, mold-makers and casters - and all our Tékumel Club members - and, for that matter, any and all interested in Tékumel - a very Happy New Year!

And that goes double for Professor M.A.R. Barker, Tékumel's creator, and without whom we just wouldn't bother! :-)

"Not the Bore Worms!"

2010-12-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

Not the Bore Worms!

Readers of M.A.R. Barker's The Man of Gold will no doubt recognize this scene. The quote is, of course, from Flash Gordon - appropriate I thought, but otherwise unrelated...

Are the holiday's over yet? I am keen for the New Year to begin! :-)

Best Christmas Present Ever...

2010-12-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

(well, almost) - arrived Christmas Eve, in the form of a parcel from Nic at Eureka Miniatures.

Inside were various unreleased Masters and Greens. :-)

I have slowly been examining the contents:

Ahoggya bodies - armoured and unarmoured variants plus a slew of arms - IIRC, there are 3 different swords, a mace, a ball and chain, a heavy spear, crossbow, pointing hand, clenched fist (designed to be drilled out to hold something), and a shield arm. Also included are the quiver for the crossbow bolts and the same shield only not attached to an arm.

Question: What would an Ahoggya Standard look like for one of their mercenary units? Would they have one? Perhaps something like a Shen standard?

Yan Koryani - Heavy Archers. In scale mail. Intended to be used to make the Rulla Gurek. Includes Persan style bow/arrow cases. Still need to convert some YK Heavy infantry to also have bows with their normal weapons to be the other Rulla troopers - need to add straps to the basic sculpt, Also Standard and shield - possible unique weapons, but I can't recall.

Clan of the Silver Worm - 2 poses of skirmisher girls. These look to be girls in mid-teens I would guess based upon the size. Also Standard, shield and particular weapons for the regular troops.

Defense Against Evil - the YK Gurek. Standard, shield and weapons.

Makhis Gurek - Archers, standard, shields and weapons. I think some more figures are need for this, though we could release the longbowmen before the rest of the Gurek, I suppose.

Dharu and Vanu - the greens Alan did last summer, plus all the shields and weapons. Standard still needs to be done, as do the command figures. Probably get the clan Leaders done as well. Might still get a variant of the Halberdiers and Swordsmen done in armour more like the art - probably get John Winter to do this.

Various other Yan Kor troops that we had done a long time ago (when Alan did the head swaps.) I haven't looked at them all, but they look to be the two handed sword poses, at least: 2 x male, 1 x female times 3 head variants for each. These were, IIRC, for the Clan of the Black Bough. Still need standard design for this unit.

The next stuff I ask Nic to send will be some of the Yan Koryani molds - including a mold of just helmet plumes - and yes, these will be available separately! There are molds for weapons as well so expect to see weapons packs as well. And I expect each shield design will be available for purchase separately as well. Also the Hlaka - which have one mold for bodies and another for wings.

The Shen - I have masters for these, but the master mold will also be sent over as well. Expect these a soon as I can in the New Year. I hope to do more Shen in the Future as well.

All this made for a very enjoyable Christmas - not to mention one of my brothers dropped by with his family - turns out one of my Niece's has a gamer boyfriend. She said he'd get along well with her Dad and Uncles as "He likes computer games like Dad, he paints figures like Uncle How, and is Smart and likes Engineering stuff like Uncle Stuart!!!" :-)

Hope everyone else had a great Holiday Weekend! :-)

Best Regards,

Howard

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T09:24:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

We here at The Tekumel Project would like to thank all our customers, sculptors, artists, Tekumel Club members and Followers for supporting us and helping us to move forward during this last year! Hope you all have a happy and safe holidays!

Best Regards,

Howard Fielding (and the Tekumel Project)

PS. Happy Festivus Everybody! :-)

Pre-painted figures?

2010-12-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

A question was asked on the Tekumel Yahoo group about purchasing our figures painted. I have made enquiries in that direction and have created a poll on the yahoo group to gauge interest.

Here is a link to the group.

Note that I am not talking about cheap plastic D&D pre-paints here. This would be our figures painted to a good or very good quality by an overseas painting company.

I am not sure what the prices would be like, but an effort would be made to keep them as reasonable as possible.

Anyway, vote and/or email me with your comments.

Best Regards,

Howard

New Greens on their way...

2010-12-10T07:53:00.000-05:00

Nic has sent me an email to let me know that the first lot of unreleased Greens and Masters is on it way! Woo Hoo!

With luck it will be here before Christmas... :-)

Important News...

2010-12-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Important News regarding The Tekumel Project

We have decided to take over the manufacturing and selling of our range of 28mm miniatures that have to date been available through Eureka Miniatures, in Australia; through Fighting 15s in Great Britain and Europe; and via Eureka USA in North America.

See also this announcement on the Eureka Website.

The intent is to incorporate these ranges into the Tekumel Club. This will be done in reverse order, working backwards from the latest unreleased sculpts, back to our first releases. That is: the Ahoggya; the Hlaka; the Shen; the Makhis Gurek; the Gurek of the Clan of the Silver Worm; the Rulla Gurek; Defense Against Evil - then back to the Gureks of the Valiant of Ke'er; Turquoise Eye; Tleku Miriya I & II and for Tsolyanu: the Legions of Serqu and the Ever-Present Glory.

I do not as yet have a timetable for these releases, but the original releases - that of Serqu and Ever-Present Glory may be unavailable for some time. Therefore, if interested in these units, one must consider whther to wait of pick them up before the end of this year, when Eureka stops production.

Maintaining the high standards for production and shipping that Eureka has set will be difficult but we will endevour to emulate them as much as possible.

In addition to the above releases, we have a number of other things on the go: the Chamber of Sacrifice set, recently featured on our blog; the Puppet Master vignette; Princess Vrisa of Saa Allaqi; a Priest and Priestess of Hr'rsh; and the Legions of Lady Mrissa and Mirikitani, Hero of Victories. Plus others...

Please feel free to email me with questions or comments.

Best Regards,

Howard Fielding The Tekumel Project green27@sympatico.ca

The Next Sacrifice...

2010-12-06T19:29:00.000-05:00

Another Sacrifice...

This is another one of Federico's sculpts that almost by accident - rather than design - fits perfectly with the Chamber of Sacrifice project.

Per my last post there are planned to be eight(8) columns - three with the captives shown, three with those same figures with minimal clothing (torn, loincloths, or whatever) and a column without a captive. This left one of the eight columns unaccounted for, unless the "empty" column were used twice.

The single "empty" column is obviously the one that previously held the woman in the Sacrifice set. I had toyed with the idea of yet another captive, but then remembered that Federico had offered me this sculpt - perfect! She can be "in the queue" as it were, waiting to become...

...the Next Sacrifice!

Probably need a guard or two to stand over her...

What larger set?

2010-12-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

The Chamber of Sacrifice

I mentioned that the sacrifice vignette is going to be part of a larger set. I am working with Federico on producing a "Chamber of Sacrifice" set which will include resin scenery pieces. The above pictures show the floor templates I had laser cut by Litko Aerosystems.

The two greens of female captives chained to columns shown in the picture above are some sculpts that Federico did earlier and previewed on the Frothers site. I liked them and was inspired with an idea for a themed terrain piece. I emailed Federico and purchased the greens and asked him to do the male captive also shown above.

The screws standing in the pictures show where additional columns will be located. When the three captives have been mastered I will send them back to Federico to get versions with some scraps of clothing. I have also requested a column without any captive chained to it.

Having advanced thus far I began considering what else we could do. Perhaps a well or abyss in the central floor piece? Then I remembered the EPT art and requested Federico to sculpt that as a vignette. The concept being we can offer it separately or as part of the larger "Chamber of Sacrifice" set.

There are plans afoot for a general Temple of Sarku/Durritlamish release of companion figures: guards, priest/priestesses, acolytes, drummers, horn blowers, worshippers, etc. I am gathering ideas - so if you have any let me know.

The Sacrifice...

2010-12-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

The Sacrifice, by Federico Genovese

Based upon art from the original Empire of the Petal Throne rules, and intended as part of a larger set.

How Swamp Folk walk...

2010-12-03T18:24:00.000-05:00

A discussion on the Frothers forum prompted me to go out and find some indication about how Swamp Folk might walk. This is what I found:

Draft Horse

From the works of Eadweard Muybridge. I have two books that collect some of his stop motion photography; one is for his human subjects, the other for animals.

There used to be a question as to whether all a horse's hooves really left the ground when it gallops. Muybridge was able to conclusively prove that they do. Previously it had been in dispute.

Pictures Fixed!

2010-12-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

I don't know why it is, but lately whenever I upload pictures I keep getting issues with them not loading properly. They end up with wierd, pixilated streaks across them as if the data didn't all upload. I don't know if this is some problem related to Blogger or my service provider or what but, in this latest instance, it is now fixed.

Please see my last post for non-streaky, non-pixelated WIP pics of the upcoming Swamp Folk. 26mm to the eyes.

Oh, wait - it doesn't have any eyes...(yet!)

First Look: The Swamp Folk

2010-12-01T06:26:00.000-05:00

Swamp Folk WIP pics

Just a quick post to show off the latest stuff Ian Mountain is working on for us: Swamp Folk!

As the Swamp Folk have never been done in miniatures before, I hope you Tekumel fans will all be as excited as I am! :-)

These will , of course, be available through the Tekumel Club in due course....

We're Ba-aack!

2010-11-01T07:53:00.000-04:00

So our trip down to Fall In was successful. Picked up our first castings - yay! - and delivered some to those that had asked to pick them up at the Con. Crossing the border there was a maze of red tape but not really as much trouble as I had expected. (Yay - Again!)

I've been sorting out the Tekumel Club blog...hope to finish it this evening. You can check it out here:

Visit The Tekumel Club

A tiny update before heading South...

2010-10-27T18:53:00.000-04:00

...to Fall In!

John's blanks have arrived safe and sound at RAFM where they will be molded and cast. I'm hoping we can have some castings to send back to John in a couple of weeks then he can begin the sculpting proper on some figures.

These will be civilians as well as military subjects. One of the first subjects will be the Aridani Legion of Lady Mrissa.

Also, John is just about done the Puppeteer Vignette so perhaps that will be available before Christmas. Based upon the reception it has received, I would like to do more vignettes along a similar line. If you have suggestions please send them on...

The Temple of Sárku, Lord of Worms

2010-10-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Visbaronetess Delour Aulamaxa, by Reaper Miniatures

Chammady Drovenge, by Reaper Miniatures

I have had occasion to think about the temple of Sárku the last few days, and of his cohort, Durritlámish. Coincidentally I came across the Reaper figures shown above in the friendly local brick-and-mortar and, always on the look-out for Proxy figures, I snapped them up.

Both will, IMO, make fine Priestesses for either of the two temples in question. The Visbaronetess is exceptional, not only for stepping out of the norm for female fantasy figures, but for the character the figure exudes. Her hair style looks like it belongs to the Worm Cult!

I see her being pure evil, like Cruella DeVille.

The Chammady figure has some sort of stole with wings wrapped around her shoulders - not sure quite what it is supposed to be as it seems to have a cat-like head. I'll be cutting the wings off - unless somebody can enlighten me as to what they are meant to be.

But never mind that, the main reason she would make such a great Priestess is that the dagger she is holding in her right hand looks to me very much like one of Sárku's ceremonial daggers! (Can't remember the proper name...)

Excellent figures both. The Visbaronetess matches our figures height-wise, if not in girth, and Chammady also matches pretty good - slightly tall, but not overly so, IMO.

The Tékumel Club

2010-10-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Guys,

An Update:

1) I have confirmed the costs with Old Glory and it seems my initial estimates allowed enough of a fudge factor to accommodate the recent metal price increases, though if they continue to rise who can say how long that will last;

2) The prices will be as follows:

Hlutrgu foot figures:
Nakome (non-member) = Single $4.00, Warband $40.00 (10 troopers + 4 command), Horde $30.00 (10 troopers);
Tirikamu ($20 = 10% off) = Single $3.60, Warband $36.00, Horde $27.00;
Hereksa ($30 = 20% off) = Single $3.20, Warband $32.00, Horde $24.00;
Kasi ($40 = 30%) = Single $2.80, Warband $28.00, Horde $21.00;
Molkar ($50 = 40%) = Single $2.40, Warband $24.00, Horde $18.00;
Kerdu (++ = 50%) = Single $2.00, Warband $20.00, Horde $15.00;

Hlutrgu boat figures:
Nakome (non-member) = Single $4.00, Flotilla $30.00 (2 boats + all crew);
Tirikamu ($20 = 10% off) = Single $3.60, Flotilla $27.00;
Hereksa ($30 = 20% off) = Single $3.20,Flotilla $24.00;
Kasi ($40 = 30%) = Single $2.80, Flotilla $21.00;
Molkar ($50 = 40%) = Single $2.40, Flotilla $18.00;
Kerdu (++ = 50%) = Single $2.00, Flotilla $15.00;

Qol rank-and-file figures:
Nakome (non-member) = Single $4.00, Horde $30.00 (10 rank-and-file);
Tirikamu ($20 = 10% off) = Single $3.60, Horde $27.00;
Hereksa ($30 = 20% off) = Single $3.20, Horde $24.00;
Kasi ($40 = 30%) = Single $2.80, Horde $21.00;
Molkar ($50 = 40%) = Single $2.40, Horde $18.00;
Kerdu (++ = 50%) = Single $2.00, Horde $15.00;

3) I have placed an initial order with Old Glory for:
40 Hlutrgu Warbands and 60 Hordes;
50 Flotillas;
50 Qol Hordes.

4) Payments can be by PayPal in the same manner that the Tekumel Club membership was purchased (to green27@sympatico.ca) or by Money Order (or, cheque, if you prefer) made out to "The Tekumel Project". If you are paying via PayPal please mention that it is for an order in the comments and please send a separate email detailing your order.

5) Postage will be at Cost and will be charged when I have the product and am ready to ship. If you wish, you can place your order and then wait for me to confirm that I have the figures and determine postage before making payment.

6) We are intending to pick up the figures at Fall In. We will not be selling the figures there, but if you want to pick up figures that are already paid for you can do that. We will need to establish some form of recognition system or meeting place prior to the Wednesday of that week as after that I will be away from email until the Sunday when I return.

Hope that all makes sense to you. If you have any comments or suggestions - or questions just let me know.

Best Regards,

Howard

The Clan of the Striding Incantation

2010-10-12T19:48:00.000-04:00

Here a Puppet Master from the Clan of the Striding Incantation provides an entertainment for some Tsolyáni children, much to their delight!

A work in progress, sculpted by John Winter of Tinman Miniatures