The Excellent Travelling Volume #5

My cover for the Excellent Travelling Volume #5 - based on the Tomb of Mnekshétra adventure seed in M.A.R. Barkers The Empire of the Petal Throne RPG (1975, TSR inc), where Mnekshétra the fabled Lesbian Mistress of  the matriarch of the First Empire - Queen Nayari of the Silken Thighs  is entombed in an ancient crystal sarcophagus..

Cover mockup for #5 with awesome typography and layout by Matt Hildebrand.

This is a photo of the original drawing, black pigment ink on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3). The observant viewer may note some light differences between the drawing and the published image - these adjustments were made digitally after the original drawing was scanned in.

Written and published by James Maliszewski, The Excellent Travelling Volume is a limited edition print-only fanzine for The Empire of the Petal Throne RPG . Issue #5 contains artwork by myself, Luigi Castellani, Claytonian JP,  Stefan Poag and Jason Sholtis, and is available to order now from the Grognardia website. 

I thought it may be interesting to collate more of my published Empire of the Petal Throne drawings. Apologies now for the poor quality photographs of the artwork, but I hope they are enough to give the general idea.

The Garden of Weeping Snows

Black pigment ink on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3)

The condemned Wizard Nyélmu is imprisoned deep beneath the city of Jakálla, and the Singer of Doom lures the unwary through the poisoned gardens to meet their fates...

The River of Silence

Black pigment ink and permanent marker on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3)

The River of Silence appeared as the front cover of the Excellent Travelling Volume #3. The Mrúr greet the unwary traveller as Srykárum, the Lord of Sárkus undead Cohorts looks on, and a priest of Durritlámish perform their rituals in the underground, or perhaps it is Death himself that awaits with the ziggurat island in the dark waters that flow beneath the city of Jakálla.

The House of Worms

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3) (drawing approx. 250mm x 240mm).

The House of Worms is slated for a future cover of The Excellent Travelling Volume. It was commissioned by James Maliszewski to illustrate the party of characters in one of his current Empire of the Petal Throne campaigns. Each player had input and suggestion to the design and nature of each of their characters. Largely Tsolyáni followers of Sárku. the Five-Headed Lord of Worms with varying degrees of fanaticism and one follower of the cohort of Sárku, Durritlámish - the Black Angel of the Putrescent Hand, Opener of Catacombs.

The Livyánu

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 210mm x 420mm (ISO A4).

The Livyánu are a mysterious, aloof and greatly tattooed people, followers of the  Shadow Gods. The male warrior (top) wears the distinctive braided top-knot and is wielding a curved Chlén hide sword (indeed most of the weapons in the drawings are made of this material). The female noble may be a priestess of one of the Shadow Gods, wears nothing but the mask of Kírrineb - according to some -  the chief female deity of the Livyánu and is accompanied by a child slave to carry the train of her head-dress, which is largely constructed of the ubiquitous Kheshchal feathers.

The Salarvyáni

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3)

The Salarvyáni are bearded wine merchants whose cities suffer from poor sanitation. The male warrior (top left) is wielding a chlen-hide pole-arm and wearing long kilt.  The female Lay Priestess is wearing an over-dress of transparent Güdru cloth in the process of casting the Energy Bolt spell.

The Salarvyáni characters appeared on the back cover of The Excellent Travelling Volume #3 and the mask in the interior.

The Yán Koryáni and The Mu'uglavyani

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 210mm x 420mm (ISO216 A4) (drawings approx. 190mm x 110 mm).

The Yán Koryáni are a matriarchal Empire to the north of Tsolyánu - and the main military threat to Tsolyánu. The female warrior (top left) sports a Khil - the traditional tall, plated helmet of the Yán Koryáni warrior, topped with a kheshchal plume, and is firing her crossbow from a low position for stability and accuracy. The male Priest of Dhárm (lower left) - who some equate with the Tsolyani Thúmis but such speculation is largely moot, is in the process of casting Shield of Defence.

The Yán Koryáni were first published on the back cover of The Excellent Travelling Volume #4

The Mu'uglavyáni are a proud and officious people, even by Tsolyani standards. The Mu'uglavyáni  Warrior (top right) sports the 'mohawk' hairstyle of his caste, the height of the crest suggesting he is a mid-rank nobleman. Whilst the priestess of Hŕsh (bottom right) is attired in traditional garb of her temple and is activating an Eye of Hastening Destiny.

The Mu'uglavyáni were first published on the back cover of The Excellent Travelling Volume #5

A Meeting in No-Space

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3) (drawing approx. 260mm x 270mm).

The image depicts a scene from M.A.R. Barkers first novel The Man of Gold the meeting between Baron Ald, leader of the Yán Koryáni, the inscrutable Lord Fu Shi'i and Prince Dhich’uné (a devotee of Sarku, and would-be Emperor) whilst the alien Mihalli creates the space between worlds using an extraplanar orb. Commissioned by Howard Fielding of The Tekumel Project, was published, in colour, as a limited edition art card.

The Southern Divers

Black pigment ink  on 250gsm Bristol Board, 297mm x 420mm (ISO A3) (drawing approx. 260mm x 270mm).

The Southern Divers was also commissioned by Howard at the Tekumel Project . The Divers are Tsolyáni followers of Avanthe and her symbol (a golden globe with 5 azure blue tails) can be seen on the figurehead of the boat and can also be seen in the ribbon device that frame the picture. The divers are threatened by the terrible form of an Akho - Embracer of Ships - a mighty toothed and tentacled sea-beast.

My sketchbooks (ISO A5) contain several more unpublished works of Tekumelania in various stages of preparation, including the Gloves of Chiriné, as worn by a Nluss warrior, the Clockwork Automaton of Qiyor the Many Tongued, The Box of Nekkutháne and a Ngóro,  Sakbe road tower greeting the passing of a High Clan Noble Lady and her entourage, Lay Priests duelling in a Hirilákte arena, Pé Chói tattooing, The Hlüss-mother and several others which will remain hidden until such time as the stars align aright.

The Excellent Travelling Volume #3

James Maliszewski's Excellent Travelling Volume  - A Fanzine of M.A.R. Barkers Tekumel Issue #3 is available now. This issue features a cover The River of Silence, inspired by one of M.A.R. Barkers  scenario seeds published in The Empire of the Petal Throne, drawn by myself.

The Excellent Travelling Volume is a 28 page, print only fanzine, limited to 200 copies (IIRC), priced at $9.95 US and $11.95 ROW (including postage).  Issue #1 and #2 sold out swiftly, and it appears #3 will do likewise. http://grognardia.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

Amazonian Regiments of Ever Glorious Renown

Presenting a Tékumel / Warhammer crossover- mashup, wherein in I refactor some of the forces of the Empire of the Petal Throne into Warhammer-speak. Many of the Tékumel character designs seem to fit a Lustrian setting not least because of the influence of mesomerican design.

The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa

The Lady Mrissa is a young Noblewoman from the City of Geniana, The Aridáni Legion form her personal honour guard as well as fulfilling various stately duties throughout the city. Called to arms by Lady Mrissa for special missions, famed for their heroic and profitable raids on the corrupt Sea Elf temple of Wohn-gar, and as a welcoming committee for the Norse raiding party led by Sonny Ericssonson.

The armour of the Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa is made of especially cured and treated Cold One skin, decorated with gold.

Aridáni Karéng of Lady Merissa | John Winter | Tekumel Project

Name	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	Wp	Weapon 1	Weapon 2	Armour	PV
Lady Mrissa (Kérdu)	4	6	6	4	4	3	6	3	9	9	9	9	Sword	None	Chestplate & Shield	52.5
Karéng	4	5	5	4	4	2	5	3	8	8	8	8	Sword	None	Chestplate & Shield	36.5
Semétl	4	4	4	4	3	1	4	1	7	7	7	7	Sword	None	Chestplate & Shield	10.5
Káing (standard)	4	3	3	3	3	1	4	1	8	7	7	7	Sword	None	Chestplate & Shield	7
Musician	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7	7	7	7	Sword	None	Chestplate & Shield	6.5
Troop	4	4	3	4	3	1	4	1	7	7	7	7	Pike	Sword	Chestplate & Shield	9.25

Kérdu - Lady Merissa | John Winter | Tekumel Project

Legion Trooper  | John Winter | Tekumel Project

The Legion of the Sapphire Kirtle 

 

Priestess Dijáya |
Kérdu of the Sapphire Kirtle | John Winter | Tekumel Project

Lady Dijáya head Priestess of the Sacred Mysteries of Dilinála. The Legion of the Sapphire Kirtle a loose knit group of skirmishers. Keep predatory birds, jaguars, Slann, Lizardmen, Pygmies, Norse raiders, patriachal capitalists, and other nuisances away from the sacred forest shrines where the secret rituals of Amazonian progenation take place.

Name	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	Wp	Weapon 1	Weapon 2	Armour	PV
Lady Dijáya (Kérdu)	4	6	6	4	4	3	6	3	9	9	9	9	Axe	None	None	51
Karéng	4	5	5	4	4	2	5	3	8	8	8	8	Axe	None	None	35
Semétl	4	4	4	4	3	1	4	1	7	7	7	7	Axe	None	None	9
Káing (standard)	4	3	3	3	3	1	4	1	8	7	7	7	Axe	None	None	5.5
Musician	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7	7	7	7	Axe	None	None	5
Javelin	4	3	4	3	3	1	3	1	7	7	7	7	Javelin	Axe	None	5.75
Slinger	4	3	4	3	3	1	3	1	7	7	7	7	Sling	Axe	None	5.75

Legion of the Sapphire Kirtle | John Winter | Tekumel Project

The legion of the Sapphire Kirtle are fielded as Skirmishers, and hate men.


Note the Legion of the Saphire Kirtle is on pre-order sale

Princess Vrísa Vishétru

HA-1 Princess Vrísa Vishétru of Saá Allaqi | John Winter | Tekumel Project

Name	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	Wp	Weapon 1	Weapon 2	Armour	PV
Princess Vrísa Vishétru	4	6	6	4	4	3	6	3	9	9	9	9	2 Handed Sword	None	Full Plate	53.5

Princess from far Saá Allaqi - to the North of the Amazonian heartlands. A foreigner, with unusual ways, it is rumoured that she has taken a male Sea Elf as a lover, tolerated by the majority of Amazonian high society as something of a novelty.  Typically the Sisterhood suspects her of harbouring treacherous intentions against the ruling Koka-Kalim cult, and her as potentially blasphemous in some undefinable way.

The large flame-like sword is symbolic of her devotion to the god of fire and war Vimúlha - rumoured to be a more ancient aspect of the chaos entity Khörne, worshipped by the Legion of the Red Devestation.

Ru'ún:  Bronze Demoness

Queen Mechanika | John Winter | Hydra Miniatures

The Ru'ún were constructed by arcane methods in the ancient days of Slann and Amazon partnership to guard Warp Gates between Terraforming Ziggurat stations. When the Warp-gate system collapsed, these technological idols were left mute, standing guard over the ancient cyclopean ruins dotted all over the Known World. Whilst remaining dormant for millennia they may be awoken at any time by the presence foolhardy or greedy explorers seeking riches in these forbidden places. The Ru'ún are powered by pure warpstone hearts.

Name	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	Wp	Weapon 1	Weapon 2	Armour	PV
Ru'ún: Bronze Demonesses	4	8	8	5	4	3	9	4	12	12	12	12	Hand Blaster	Powersceptre	Bronze	72

During close combat the Ru'ún  makes 2 attacks with its Sceptre, and 2 energy blasts from it's warpstone powered hand-blaster.  Attacks from both weapons cause Instability.

Item	Strength	Initiative	Damage	Save Mod.	Short	Max	To Hit Short	To Hit Long	Area
Hand Blaster	4	0	1	-1	8	16	+2	0	0

Item	Strength	Initiative	Damage	Save Mod.
Powersceptre	5	0	1	-1

While it will obey the posessor of an Incomparable Eye of Command or an Amulet of Ruling the Ru'ún will otherwise ignore all attempts to negotiate, and having not received other instructions proceed , note that the Ru'ún is completely immune to Change Allegiance or other "charm" type spells and all Illusions.

Some Notes on The Aridáni of the Empire of the Petal Throne

Tsolyanu aka "The Empire of the Petal Throne" is one of 5 human empires on the planet Tekumel. It is a deeply "Lawful" society, hugely conservative and deeply structured, it loves ritual, regulation and stability above all else. Most marriages are arranged, and the role of women is largely domestic, or priestly, wheras a mens role can be mercantile, military, or academic - but this is usually bound by Clan obligations. Personal freedom and social mobility are seemingly alien concepts, the Empire of the Petal Throne is a slave-owning culture and whilst the middle-classes may move up or down the ranks of their Clan, the Military or their Temple, due to social schmoosing and valour, nothing opens doors like noble birth.

Any Tsolyani middle-class woman may go before a magistrate and declare herself Aridáni - which is a social status which puts her on completely equal standing with men. In choosing to become Aridáni there is absolutely no loss of face, virtue or womanhood, it is a choice every middle-class Tsolayni female as and is up to the individual and their choice is widely accepted. Clan Elders might be a bit disappointed that some strategic marriage might not have transpired, but ah well...

Aridáni | Jeff Dee

Homosexuality and bisexuality are not uncommon, several of the Empresses and Emprors have been non-hetrosexual,  and is an entirely acceptable and normal part of human sexual nature, there is nothing transgressive about it at all. As long as it exists in a well defined category, then the Tsolyani are happy with it. Subsequently transgender, androgyny and hermaphroditism would seem to confuse and be frowned upon by the Tsolyani,  not that the text goes into much detail - but there are certain alien races on Tekumel which have more or less than 2 genders, which seems to be met with revusion by the Tsolyani. The Tsolyani are not a scientifically curious people, science would be progress, which would be change, which is undesirable. If they managed (or bothered) to codify the various sexual preferences of the non-human races, there's little doubt these things would just be accepted as facts of life.

Sapphire Kirtle

It's this love of categorisation and societal structure that creates social institutions such as the all-lesbian Legion of the Sapphire Kirtle. Similarly there are legions of homosexuals (of both genders) and similarly legions of devotes of the same deities of any gender. Notably one of the main enemies of the Petal Throne - the Yan Koryani is entirely Matriarchal and sees homosexuality as counter-productive to society.

Dejah Thoris & Calot (?) | Frank Frazetta
 Witch Elf on Cold One
Adriani on small Chlén beast

Nudity is common in private and among friends. Tekumel is a hot planet, and human are not native to it nor used to the heat. Clothing tends to be highly codified - items having more symbolic meaning than function. Many of the the EPT illustration I've seen do not shy away from portraying the 'shunned-bodies' of the old and portly, the exotic setting isn't purely an excuse to show Dejah Thoris style nubiles, although no doubt there is some of that to it too - there are certainly subject positions within Tekumel which conform to standards set by a patriarchal hegemony, but many many which don't and are treated as normal by the Tsolyani. Any proponents of Queer Theory (which should really grow up and call itself post-structuralist identity formation theory) looking at gaming artefacts out there should take a look.

---

Works cited:

Empire of the Petal Throne:

Deeds of the Ever Glorious  M. A. R. Barker
Empire of the Petal Throne   M. A. R. Barker
2nd Citadel Compendium  Richard Halliwell
Warhamer Fantasy Battle 2nd Edition.

Any mistakes in Tekumel scholarship are purely my own, and apologies in advance for any idiosyncratic reading of the material.

On the Tsolyánu origins of the Druchii

Tsolyáni Crossbowmen - MAR Barker | Legions of the Petal Throne 1977 | via The Tekumel Project

Dark Elf | Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition circa 1987 | via CCM Wiki

Of course, there may be a historical precedent that both these designs are drawing from and the designs are not 100% matches, but the similarities are striking. Were GW producing Tekumel proxies, is there a historical precedent for both these designs, or just coincidence?

Amazonia: The Mysterious Cities of Gold

It is the 16th century. From all over Europe, great ships sail west to conquer the New World, the Americas. The men eager to seek their fortune, to find new adventures in new lands. They long to cross uncharted seas and discover unknown countries, to find secret gold on a mountain trail high in the Andes. They dream of following the path of the setting sun that leads to El Dorado and the Mysterious Cities of Gold. 

If you watch the intro (do it, do it now!), You'll notice that the title sequence starts in space. Theres a reason for that - the Olmecs (the bad-guys) are in fact a race of alien beings, who use solar energy to power super high-tech equipment, made out of gold, such as the eagle aircraft, to rule over South America, except they've forgotten it. or something, I can't quite remember.

Olmec:  Alien Mekon Types : Stat as Drow / Dark Elves

South American Alien pyramids sound vaguely familiar? Well it could be you remember the writings of Ancient Alien funky mojo proponent, Erich Von Daniken. Unable to believe that anyone who isn't a modern white European was able to do anything remotely significant in terms of culture or structural engineering, Von D jets around the world claiming every ancient structure bigger than a mud-hut was built by aliens.

Mexican Zigurats? aliens
Nasca lines? aliens
Egyptian pyramids? aliens
Stonehenge? aliens

Not only that, but all these ignorant people worshiped the aliens as gods....

No, Erich, God was not an astronaut.

Chariots of the Gods was first published in 1968. A film was made, with awesome music (tho' not up to Cities of Gold sing-a-long in a broom-cupboard level) and by the power of youtube you can watch it, it's fun romp with some killer imagery, as long as you remember it's as silly an idea as Uri Geller's spoonbending. I loved reading this stuff as a kid, aliens, exotic landscapes, unearthing ancient mysteries, the adventure and the hodgepodge of ancient art, so when the Mysterious Cities of Gold aired, I felt right at home.

And of course, this makes for cool D&D campaign background stuff. Hmm, prehistoric aliens with advanced technologies, leaving remnants of their ancient super-civilisation behind. Kinda reminds one of M A R Barkers Tekumel, where of course, the humans are the aliens. And I'm sure there is something Warhammerish about the idea...

John Blanche illustration | Slann | AD&D stat as Bullywugs

Oh yeah! A quick recap of the Warhammer 2nd Edition timeline, ice-planet, ruled by dinosaurs / dragons /lizardmen and a small population of human-like Amazons (see the Hammer fur bikini trilogy: One Million Years B.C. (1966) Prehostoric Women (1967) and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth (1970)) Warhammer worlds secret pulp-adventure origins... Then the alien Slann arrive, with names like Gotta-lotta-botl and Koppa-Ketl who proceeded to put warp-gates at the north and south pole for easy interstellar access, and begin terraforming the planet, and building pyramid-engines to stabalise the atmosphere and stuff.

Chariots of the Frogs | John Blanche Concept Art | Bullywugs

The Slann then genetically engineered various slave-races for different jobs,  " Eldest of all, the elf-children, Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses; Ent the earthborn, old as mountains; Man the mortal, master of horses" Oh no that's something else. Elves to psychically control things, Dwarves to build, Orcs to Waaaagh... Anyway, the frogmen created a world-spanning empire of genetic mutants, controlled the climate and battled with the Evil Forces of Skeletor Chaos spewing forth from their increasingly malfunctioning dimensional portals.

Alien Bullywug Overlords, 2nd compendium 1984 | Dave Andrews

Although, of course, by the time the adventurous westerners of the Old World in a fantasy version of the 16th Century, discovered the Slann on their steamy tropical continent of Lustria, their warp-gates had long-since collapsed, sending raw-chaos material into the world, their empire had crumbled, and they had decayed into barbaric tribal ways, haunting the jungles that had overgrown their once mighty city-states. The Slann had long lost all grasp of their ancient technology, although others, of course, had not entirely forgotten...

Top 10 Citadel List

Following the lists of Orlygg, Thantsants, Gaj, here I put down my current out-of-production obsessions list whilst ignoring the ranges I tell myself I'm trying to complete (80's Lord of the Rings and Talisman). Hope this doesn't inspire a collectors feeding frenzy and push up the price before I get my mitts on them. These are my top 10 OOP RARE "my wife is gonna kill me" Citadel wants list.

10. SS3. Night Elf Patrol

Night Elves. Yeah, not the World of Warcraft pin-ups, but these dimunitive predecessors of the Dark Elves hit all the right notes, they speak of an earlier age, stranger, more folksy and weirder fantasy. Although they are earlier, they remind me of Frouds Gelflings from the Dark Crystal and conjour a lot of the early era TSR vibe for me, whilst also being the poster children for  Warhammer 1st edition.

The box would make a nice warband but Citadel did not make enough of them for an army. These really are short - more halfling sized than typical Citadel Elves. I think the original Dark Elf Cold One Riders should match up size-wise (they're certainly too small for normal Dark Elves). Also might consider having a go at shortening some of the 3rd Ed plastic regiments Dark Elves to expand the force.

9. DL2 - Ally Morrison's Hobgoblin Warriors

I love me a bit of eastern exoticism in my minis. These are hugely characterful sculpts by Aly Morrison.

8. LW1 - Giak Attack Adventure Set

The combination of Gary Chalks design and the Perrys sculpting is absolutely superb. Unfortunately my painting skills probably won't do them justice.  Mint condition please. Then another junk set for conversion so I can make a semi-decent sized Giak warband. Hmm... wonder if they mix well size-wise with Otherworld goblins.

 7. LWx - All the other Lone Wolf Figures

I'm drooling now. Every single one of those minis is awesome.

6. Pan Tang Infantry

I got this idea to use Pan Tang as Hadirim and Easterlings for my retro Lord of the Rings project (building the armies for LoTR using 80's and comparibly styled modern miniatures). Their vaguely middle-eastern design is fantastic - although to be honest that static waving sword and shield in the air pose is a bit shit, so I thought  have a go at converting them, cutting their arms of and reposing them. Then I saw what they can fetch on eBay...

  5. C30 Amazons

Tekumel flavoured sci-fantasy warrioresses. Along with the Night Elves, these represent the essense of Warhammer to me. Never seen any for sale on eBay that look as crisp as the ones in this photo (3rd Compendium), so have always been a bit put off actually buying them. So as this is my wish list, I'll have the master castings please.

 4. White Dwarf Personalities

Who can resist a half naked Ian Livingstone waving his truncheon? But no, there are 4 miniatures that hit the sweet spot. Zlargh and Azaroth, based on Trev Hammonds characters, suitably derranged additions to any chaos warband. And  Gobbeldigook and Nibble based on BiL Sedgwicks comic strip. Thing is someone, somewhere, needs to be sculpting the rest of the 'gook crew. The wizard, the gobbo with the top-knot, a hapless hobbit and a dwarf or two.

3. BC4 Mighty Ugezod's Death Commandos

 

The design of Nick Lunds orcs are phenomenal, but it's not often the sculpting lives up to the concept. These do, pure orcy goodness. 

2. DG6 Tom Meier's Zombie Dragon

4 words. Tom. Meier. Zombie. Dragon. Oh Actually,  can I have a poster of the John Blanche box cover, and a black t-shirt with the logo on it too? Thank you!

1. The Citadel Giant

 

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