Alignment and Religion in Empire of the Petal Throne

Two Skull-Priests of Sárku, the Five-Headed Lord of Worms, are seen

calling forth the Fire Demon, Jnékshaa. (Art by Karen J. Englesen)

The first step in creating a character for Empire of the Petal Throne is to “choose between two 'alignments':  Good or Evil.”  (In fact, it is in the section on Alignment that Barker explains how to use dice.)  Barker explains that

For convenience's sake (and not to reflect reality necessarily), all characters are divided into two basic types:  those serving the Good Gods and their Cohorts, and those serving their Evil counterparts.  There are no “neutrals” on Tékumel...

Barker provides details about the Gods much later in the rules, but in the five paragraph section on Alignment he describes the behaviors to which good and evil characters are expected to conform.  Good characters do “not consort with” evil characters.  Good characters do not attack non-humans that are not hostile and they do not attack one another except in a mutually acceptable duel after an “honourable challenge.”  Barker states that “evil characters never attack each other within their own party.”  [Original emphasis]  “A party,” Barker explains, “is...a body of two or more players sharing an adventure together.”  (One assumes they are “sharing an adventure” via their characters.)  “Once a group has disbanded,” Barker continues, “evil characters may indeed state their intentions to begin hostilities with one or more ex-members of the group at the start of the following adventure.”

How do people of disparate alignments peacefully co-exist in society?  Barker explains that...

Most worshippers live out their lives without ever experiencing a God directly:  they go to the temples, celebrate the rituals, pay the tithes, and give lip-service – yet never face any real demands upon the depth and strength of their faiths.

Additionally, there is the notion of “noble” versus “ignoble” action – a concept of social etiquette that transcends alignment.

The last paragraph of the Alignment section says that a character can change his or her alignment by going to a temple of one of the Gods of the desired 'side' and rolling 60 or greater on percentile dice.  Later in the book, a more detailed procedure is provided.  Each character can be devoted to a single God or Cohort.  If a character wants to start worshiping a different God – even one of the same alignment – that character, “at the beginning of the adventure,” must make an offering to the appropriate temple and secure an “Agreeable” (or better) reaction from the priests by rolling on the NPC reaction table.  (Technically, this is a roll of 61 or better, not '60' as indicated in the Alignment section.)  The offering must consist of a number of Káitars equal to 1d100 × 1d10 × 1,000 (i.e., from one thousand to one million Káitars – good luck with that).

There are five “good” Gods (the Tlomítlanyal) and five “evil” Gods (the Tlokiriqáluyal).  For each God, there is a Cohort; collectively the Cohorts are the Hlimékluyal.  Thus, there are twenty 'deities':  5 “good” Gods along with 5 Cohorts and 5 “evil” Gods along with their 5 Cohorts.  However, deities tend to have Aspects, “particular facets of...identity...not separate deities but only specific manifestations...”  As an example, “Avánthe [Mistress of Heaven] has 93 Aspects, one of which is the personification of maiden beauty, another a fierce Aridáni warrioress, another a mother with a child in her arms, another an old woman wise in her years, etc.”

In a later supplement, Barker refines the Good/Evil dichotomy of the Gods – “the deities of Tékumel are only peripherally involved with 'ethics' or 'morality.'”  The “good” Gods  are actually the 'Lords of Stability' while the “evil” Gods are actually the 'Lords of Change.'  According to Barker:

These deities are really vastly powerful inter-dimensional beings, but for all practical purposes they are “gods” to such a limited and tiny being as man.  The Gods express not so much human objectives as their own viewpoints of existence and the eventual destiny of the cosmos.  The Lords of Stability urge a slow and gentle progress towards a final glorious stasis which will endure for all time to come.  The Lords of Change preach violent and constant mutability, unceasing, always ephemeral, and resulting only in ever more change.  The Gods are immanent and omnipresent.  There are innumerable documented instances of “miracles” and “manifestations,” and only a fool is an atheist in Tékumel.

Speaking of miracles, player characters can seek divine intervention.  If successful, “the player has obtained the ear of his or her deity, and then the referee then considers the request and responds accordingly (but not to such an extent that the game becomes unbalanced).”  Seeking divine intervention is not without risks.  Percentile dice are rolled with three possible outcomes:  successful intervention, “no effect,” and retribution.  Retribution means that the character sustains 1d6 of damage for each of his or her experience levels.  However, characters with higher levels of experience have a greater chance of success.  A second or third level character (first level characters cannot seek divine intervention at all) has a 70% chance of retribution and only a 5% chance of successful intervention; a fourth or fifth level character has only a 50% chance of retribution but a 20% chance of successful intervention.  It is easier to obtain intervention (as well as avoid retribution) from Cohorts than with A-list Gods.  Magic-users get a +3 modifier and priests get a +5.  Offerings of money (in 5,000 Káitar increments) and magic items also provide a bonus.  Sacrifices can also improve the odds.  The good Gods and Cohorts accept sacrifices of an undead being, Underworld creature, “or other large, dangerous, and inimical being” but “the evil Gods and Cohorts accept only human sacrifices.”  Finally, divine intervention is successful no more frequently than once per week; further attempts within a week result in automatic retribution.

Intelligent Races of Tékumel

Long ago,“Man and his nonhuman interstellar colleagues” attempted to terraform the world of Tékumel.  “The blood-purplish jungles were poisoned with chemicals and replaced with the familiar plants of the hundred worlds of Humanspace.”  Intelligent species indigenous to Tékumel “were allowed to survive only upon remote 'reservations.'”  Thus, Tékumel was colonized.  Then something happened.

It is clear now that through some freak of space, some fault in the fabric of time itself, the solar system of Tékumel was cast into some great other-dimensional “hole in the sky.”

In the ages that have passed since that event (tens of thousands of years), technology has declined to medieval levels, magic has manifested, and the indigenous races are no longer confined.  There are various intelligent species on Tékumel, most of whom – including humanity – came from elsewhere.  In Empire of the Petal Throne, Barker describes twelve intelligent nonhuman races, some friendly to man, some hostile, and others neutral.  “There are still other species,” Barker writes, “but players are not likely to encounter them in the areas of Tékumel in which they will operate.”

Barker does not populate Tékumel with elf-analogs and dwarf-analogs, nor does he have 'aliens' that are essentially humans with pointed ears or blue skin.  Barker has crafted beings that are decidedly unhuman, both in form and in sentiment.  For practical reasons, there is only so much information the rule books can convey about each of the races.  This is just as well since – with few exceptions – the nonhuman races tend to stay apart from mankind.  Without further ado, here are the intelligent (nonhuman) species of Tékumel.

Pé Chói (by Karen J. Englesen)

Pé Chói (“the Listeners”) – Among the various races, the Pé Chói are perhaps the friendliest to Man.  The have six limbs and adults are approximately seven feet tall.  Their hightened senses of sight and hearing allow them to easily perceive secret doors and invisible/inaudible entities.  “On a roll of 6 on a 6-sided die they can ESP a neighbouring room or chamber” in a manner, I assume, similar to the Priest spell.  When one of their number is slain, the Pé Chói will exact revenge on the perpetrator unless (a.) the slain Pé Chói attacked first or (b.) the death occurred during a battle in which Pé Chói are serving on both sides.  They are able to do this because the Pé Chói have “racial telepathy.”  This would seem to be quite useful.  The most obvious use would be to establish a long distance communications network; however, Barker makes no mention of any use other than revenge.

Swamp Folk (by Dave Sutherland)

Nininyal (“the Pygmy Folk”) –   These rodent-like beings stand about one meter in height.  They have exceptional hearing and can “see easily in pitch blackness.”   They are known for travelling and trading.  “Although they are capricious, they must be counted friends of man.”  They are ferocious in battle as well as bargaining.  (There is a Tsolyáni proverb:  'To bargain with a Pygmy is to throw away one's purse.')

Heglethyál (“the Swamp Folk”) – The Swamp Folk are four to six feet tall and have six limbs.  “They are squat, rotund, rubbery white creatures...with long slanted foreheads, [and] a bony central crest rising from the forehead and slanting backwards to a point...”  Although they do not employ magic, they are capable sailors and can “detect sloping passages, traps, and dimensional nexus points.”

Tinalíya (by Katherine J. Grantham)

Tinalíya (“the Gnome-like Ones”) – Although referred to by the rules as “humanoid,” these two-foot tall beings have two arms, four legs, and are “covered with horny integument.”  Although scholarly, they are viscous fighters when attacked and need not check for morale.  Each of “their lairs will contain at least one book of magical nature,” at least one scroll, and a few of those ancient technological devices known as “Eyes.”

Ahoggyá (by Sutherland)

Ahoggyá (“the Knobbed Ones”) –

They are knobbly, brownish, bristly creatures 4-5 feet in height, though tremendously broad and strong.  Their upper “chest” is surmounted by four powerful arms, and their eyes and eating apparatus lie beneath these under a horny protective ring.

Hláka (by Sutherland)

Hláka (“the Furred Flyers”) – As their wings and name suggest, the Hláka are capable of flying.  They have three eyes and greyish fur.  “Two arms and two legs are supplemented by a powerful tail fitted with a poisoned rapier-like blade.”  Barker does not inform us of the effects of the poison, but he notes that “Hláka make poor slaves and are always clamouring to return to their homeland.”
Also on Tékumel are the Shánu'u, “larger and heavier cousins” to the Hláka.  Presumably, they come from the same world.  Parties of Hláka are often found accompanied by one or more Shánu'u.  I suspect the relation of Shánu'u and Hláka is analogous to greater primates and humans.

Páchi Léi (by Englesen)

 Páchi Léi (“the Forest Dwellers”) –

They are doughy in appearance and have eight articulated limbs, using the first four to eat, fight, etc. and the remainder to move and balance in the trees of their jungle homes...They have a good chance at detecting secret doors and passages as they pass by them...Their huge, platter-shaped eyes give them nocturnal vision.

Although listed among the neutral species, Páchi Léi have a modifier towards friendliness on the Nonplayer Character Reaction Table and “have often become citizens of the human nations, and one or two examples of generals over human troops are recorded in history.”

Shén (by James Garrison)

Shén (“the Demon Warriors”) –

Their gleaming black scales and dragon-like appearance make them appear to be tall, demonic human warriors in fantastic plate armour.  They have long beak-like snouts and a glittering crest of slender spines, which they can extend or keep flat along their skulls...They walk on two legs and have two arms, as men do, but they also have a muscular tail with a mace-like horny appendage at the end.

Hlutrgú (by Sutherland)

Hlutrgú (“the Swamp Frogs”) – The illustration to the right shows the Hlutrgú as having four limbs; however, Barker states that they are four-legged creatures and that they “carry darts for spearing or throwing, using their four long arms.”  To me this suggests eight limbs, but perhaps there are only four limbs that can be used either as arms or legs.  (The illustrated Hlutrgú is shown grasping a spear with his 'foot'.)  Regardless, they “hate humans and nonhumans indiscriminately” and “have a particularly ugly reputation for torture and atrocities upon humans who fall into their clutches.”
I have not been able to discern if the Hlutrgú are native to Tékumel or if, in ancient times, they were interstellar partners of mankind.

Hlýss (by Englesen)

Hlýss (“the Spawn of the Old Ones”) – The Hlýss are an insectoid race who pre-date humanity's appearance on Tékumel.  They are described as “aquatic cousins” of the Ssú (see below).  They live on the Isle of the Hlýss with the great Hlýss mother and sometimes travel the seas “upon their hive-like ships, made from a stony bodily secretion.”  They possess “six legs and light chitinous armour, with a row of razor-sharp mandibles beneath their probosces” in addition to a tail with a sting capable of paralyzing opponents.  When encountered, Hlýss are likely to have magical weapons and ancient items of technology.  “The Hlýss collect all sorts of weapons, gems, and jewellery and have the latter set into their body-armour permanently.”



Vleshgayal (“the Shunned Ones”) – The Shunned Ones also pre-date the presence of humanity on Tékumel (and may even pre-date the Ssú).  They tend to remain ensconced in their sealed cities but “emerge from their isolation to seek magical items in the labyrinths beneath ruined cities.”

They are tall, ragged-looking spectral beings, with two extremely long arms and legs...They have a terrible and repellent stench that drives off humans and nonhumans alike.

Ssú (by Jeff Dee)

Ssú (“the Enemies of Man”) –

They are tall, slender, six-limbed beings wrapped in what looks like greyish shrouds (actually a loose integument which keeps shredding and pulling off).  They smell like musty cinnamon and make a high, sweet chiming sound.

Aside from their competency with magic, each Ssú of at least level IV can hypnotize 1-3 persons once per day.  If a saving throw is failed, the victim will be under the control of the Ssú “and he can be freed only by the death of the Ssú commanding him.”