Tuluk- Where are Egyptian/Mesoamerican Vibes?

[Barsook]

So I was reading an old thread back when it was Tuluk 3.0 just before the closure and I found this reply below intriguing:

So, it's interesting you mention the stuff about Muk Utep and the pyramids. When I started playing Armageddon, being a big Dark Sun fan I interpreted the two city states as mish-mashes of the various Dark Sun city states. You had Tektolnes (Tectuktitlay), who ruled from what was obviously Kalak's golden tower (ok I just knew he had a tower - who reads room descs anyway?).

{snip}

So yes - I look to first and middle kingdom Egypt and scraps of Mesoamerican empires from much later for inspiration along with a big helping heaping of Mesopotamia. Here's an album I put together when we were discussing new gear for the Templarate and Legions: http://imgur.com/a/XdvNC

Again this might be really at odds with your own 'vision' of Armageddon. We're quite punky - desertpunk? We take rather familiar institutions, concepts and themes and change the materials to chitin and obsidian and revel in that look. That's still valid. I think that look can sit alongside other imagery too.

As an aside though - a lot of people when they think Egypt think the late kingdom - or Cleopatra and the like. The Egyptians of the early and middle kingdoms (~4000BC to ~1200BC) were basically Armageddon incarnate. They were a totalitarian regime headed by a king who enforced his divine position ruthlessly. The Pharaohs of Egypt carved out an empire, overcame foreign occupation, pushed back southern aspirations from their long time rivals from Nubia - and all this without horses/mounts or iron of any kind. Tek and Muk could learn a lot from them.

From everywhere I read, Tuluk is always compared to USSR/North Korea but there is a Egyptian/Mesoamerican vibe too, but mostly in the descriptions. I noticed that after this post, the thread went back to chatter on play on Tuluk, which is  a shame. Here's my big question for the thread, aside from the visuals is there any cultural vibes coming from the Egyptian/Mesoamerican eras? Can it be tied to tribals being united (or really conquered?)? Or is it the shadow artists?

[Aruven]

I don't know what kind of clarification is going to come from this post.

This conversation was very much alive during the reworks (notice feathers on templars and stuff) and bled into the cultural rework. There's PYRAMIDS. The people are presumably showing off skin and tell their stories through ink on their skins and their artwork. Their title, language branches connected to meaning, and unification under Muk is all tribal throwback. There's even some mutant tribe throwbacks in there.

I think of their noble class as like the ptolemy dynasty in Egypt.

[Brokkr]

That was the look they went with when they redesigned the Templar and Sun Legion gear.  AFAIK it didn't extend to culture.

[Fredd]

So I was reading an old thread back when it was Tuluk 3.0 just before the closure and I found this reply below intriguing:

So, it's interesting you mention the stuff about Muk Utep and the pyramids. When I started playing Armageddon, being a big Dark Sun fan I interpreted the two city states as mish-mashes of the various Dark Sun city states. You had Tektolnes (Tectuktitlay), who ruled from what was obviously Kalak's golden tower (ok I just knew he had a tower - who reads room descs anyway?).

{snip}

So yes - I look to first and middle kingdom Egypt and scraps of Mesoamerican empires from much later for inspiration along with a big helping heaping of Mesopotamia. Here's an album I put together when we were discussing new gear for the Templarate and Legions: http://imgur.com/a/XdvNC

Again this might be really at odds with your own 'vision' of Armageddon. We're quite punky - desertpunk? We take rather familiar institutions, concepts and themes and change the materials to chitin and obsidian and revel in that look. That's still valid. I think that look can sit alongside other imagery too.

As an aside though - a lot of people when they think Egypt think the late kingdom - or Cleopatra and the like. The Egyptians of the early and middle kingdoms (~4000BC to ~1200BC) were basically Armageddon incarnate. They were a totalitarian regime headed by a king who enforced his divine position ruthlessly. The Pharaohs of Egypt carved out an empire, overcame foreign occupation, pushed back southern aspirations from their long time rivals from Nubia - and all this without horses/mounts or iron of any kind. Tek and Muk could learn a lot from them.

From everywhere I read, Tuluk is always compared to USSR/North Korea but there is a Egyptian/Mesoamerican vibe too, but mostly in the descriptions. I noticed that after this post, the thread went back to chatter on play on Tuluk, which is  a shame. Here's my big question for the thread, aside from the visuals is there any cultural vibes coming from the Egyptian/Mesoamerican eras? Can it be tied to tribals being united (or really conquered?)? Or is it the shadow artists?

OK so, what you need to get, is that it's Egypt. But just like Egypt, Rome (allanak) took over, and completely adjusted the culture. Which is why you see some roman/Nakki influences there. Ie: not bowing to nobles (a direct response to nobles having to hide among commoners in tuluk during the occupation. They were, essentially, like the jewish people during the holocaust. And the citizens hid them even though it would cost them their lives if caught.) And they have been getting more Xenophobic with each passing generation. Older iterations of Tuluk had VERY tight bonds to the different tribes of the world,a nd even had a tribal market where they had them all bound into agreements to them.

So What was Egypt has since, over hundred and hundreds of years IG, adjusted to what we have today.

That being said. i do kinda miss the egyptian naming convention Tuluk used to be heavy on for Surif.

As for other vibes of egypt: Tuluks Priest Class is the highest Caste, handling 90% of the political choices. There is no senate. it's the Sun King, and his faithful, making most of the choices. They may listen to the Noble Houses, but the don't have to.