Cheap or readily available Tekumel proxies? (Pe Choi raw materials)

[Hobgoblin]

A bizarre thought struck me yesterday just before our daily D&D game. Why not send the players to Tekumel? I've always wanted to have a go at running Empire of the Petal Throne, but rather than start a new campaign at some point in the future, I thought it might be better to have the existing group of D&D PCs turn up there: either through a portal of some sort or - more likely - simply by washing up "off the boat" in Jakkalla after getting lost at sea.

With that in mind, I gave one of yesterday's villains The Eye of Advancing Through Portals and, today, had his captive companion state that it had been found on a far, far continent in a city called Jakkalla. The seed is planted, and the PCs are already thinking about how they might travel to this place.

So, there's a chance that they might end up in a 'pocket Tekumel' on the far side of the campaign world. We're running the game with miniatures (more for my convenience than anything else, as only two of the seven-strong party are in the room with me, but the miniatures, floorplans and scenics show up reasonably well over Zoom).

For that reason, I'd like to have a few Tekumelish types painted up to give them the sense that this is somewhere very different. And that's where I'd like some expert advice. If I'm painting up ten or twenty miniatures to launch a campaign segment in Jakkalla, what can I quickly proxy (preferably with cheap historical plastics!)?

I have quite a few RAFM reptiliads kicking around, and I think they'll do quite nicely as Shen. They have the characteristic digitigrade legs, unlike most lizardmen, and I'm not too fussed about small details like beaks.

But what about the Tsolyani, etc? Any advice gratefully received!

[white knight]

Someone did a Tekumel range a few years ago in collaboration with Eureka Miniatures. You should be able to find more about it through google.

[joroas]

https://thetekumelproject.blogspot.com/

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks! Yes, those official figures are nice.

To be honest, though, I'm more interested in things that might just 'do' - in the way that reptiliads will work as Shen. I'm wondering about whether there are any historicals that might be kitbashed and 'converted' mainly through paint - or odd fantasy or sci-fi creatures that might stand in well enough.

I'm no expert on Tekumel, so I'm wondering if there are any reasonable proxies out there.

[aliensurfer]

Have you looked at roll20 or fantasy grounds for gaming with people too far away? I have used both recently with mates to play DnD 5E and both work well (and they have other systems you can run), roll20 I find cleaner and easier to use.

[Hobgoblin]

Have you looked at roll20 or fantasy grounds for gaming with people too far away? I have used both recently with mates to play DnD 5E and both work well (and they have other systems you can run), roll20 I find cleaner and easier to use.

I haven't at all - I feel that would take some of the fun out of the tabletop game, especially for those of us who are around the actual table. We have the table set up with a phone on a tripod so that those 'dialling in' can see the action (we pin that view when required). And I've found that dungeon tiles and scenics have really come into their own - especially outdoor dungeon tiles, which seem to 'read' particularly well when broadcast.

[Johnno]

PM Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye
He's the LAF member in question.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, Johnno - but I'm really interested in proxies rather than official miniatures.

What I have in mind is the sort of kitbashing and proxying that many people have engaged in for Glorantha (Persians or Romans for Lunars, etc., gnolls for dark trolls, etc.).

[Hobgoblin]

I'm sort of answering my own question here, or at least thinking aloud, but I wonder if GW elves of this sort might make reasonable Tsolyani elite soldiers - perhaps with some Aztec-y accessories from GW lizardmen and a demon-faced shield on the back?



 I have a few of these elves sitting around, and the plumed helmet and two-handed sword seem to fit the bill. The main 'conversion' would take the form of painting the armour as blue Chlen-hide.

I thought this fellow might be a bit tall, as the Tsolyani are supposed to be shortish, but he's actually a head shorter than Perry knights.

[Hobgoblin]

Just found these by Mantic - fairly close for the Hluss, I think (I'd happily overlook the three tails). I can't imagine there's anything closer - but if anyone knows of something, please shout!



I should add that I'm envisaging the Tekumel bit of the game principally as a dose of weirdness/alien culture followed by some terrifying expeditions to the Jakkallan Underworld - so more than anything else, it's weird Underworld monsters that I'm looking for.

[PhilB]

Those GW elves look perfect for Tsolyani noble infantry.

When I first picked up a copy of Empire of the Petal Throne in '75 I was in awe. It was so strange! It was like my new D&D obsession had gotten dipped in science fiction and space opera, with a dose of oriental pagentry thrown in. And such strange races, like the Ssu.

Great to see that 45 years later this unique dream of a strange world is still alive. Good luck on your figure hunt.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, Phil!

Yes, it's certainly an intriguing setting. I came across the rules when I was still at primary school and read them with a mix of awe and confusion. It's been an itch waiting to be scratched ever since. Dropping it into our D&D campaign - or rather, dropping that campaign into Tekumel - seems like a cheap and easy way to do it.

I've been thinking about how to get the Ssu done - and I think the Reaper Mi-Go might be the best place to start. There might even be a neat way to transplant a mummy's torso or something similar onto the four-legged abdomen:

[swiftnick]

Sorry Justin had a nice long answer but due to finger problems have lost it!
Sounds like a cool idea.
In short for humans I would go for anything Greco Egyptian but painted bright colours. Skin colour nice and dark and not much metal.
Have you seen the Dark Fable figures?
I use them a lot as characters, set dressing in my Aegyptus mythos games.

For the other races well who would know?

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, Mike! Yes, the Dark Fable stuff looks great. I may well pick up some of that if the game gets past a crawl of the Jakallan Underworld. Currently, the PCs have discovered a Tsolyani grammar in an ogre's lair and have heard rumours of a distant continent far to the south ...

The other races really are a bit of a head-scratcher. I can see two possible approaches:

1. Convert and scratch-build heavily for all the six-legged beasties.

2. Use lightly converted 'close-enough' proxies (tyranids for Hlyss, for example - or perhaps a tyranid with a lizardy head for a Pe Choi) and get distinctive paintwork to do most of the 'talking'.

There are some things (Hra and the various other forms of undead) that can be achieved easily enough, though.

[Hobgoblin]

These Irregular "scorpion bugs" might make a decent starting point for Hlyss - and they're very cheap.