Wretched Space Empires - Dragon Magazine issue #4, Empire of the Petal Throne, & The Wretched Space rpg

 So last night I was sitting with my family & reading through the classic Dragon magazine issue #4 & thinking about tonight Wretchedverse game. Yeah, I know not more of this universe but hear me out here because this is the Empire of the Petal Throne issue. Yeah, yeah, Professor Barker was Nazi scum. And that still hasn't stopped the die gamers & fans of Empire of the Petal Throne from still embracing the game. Neither should I for that matter because I don't share Barker's views in any way,shape, or form. 
Why Dragon issue #4? Well here's a quick break down from Wayne's books here; "Special Empire of the Petal Throne Issue. Reports Submitted to the Petal Throne - News from Tekumel; The Battle for the Temple of Chanis: 2020 A.S.; Jakalla Encounters; Two creatures for Empire of the Petal Throne: The Mihalli and the Vriyagga; Roads From Jakalla (Tekumel fiction); EPT "Eye" Matrix; Notes on the Androids on The Starship Warden (Metamorphosis Alpha); Finieous Fingers." The The Mihalli and the Vriyagga are some of favorite aliens to use in old school games. 

Over the last couple of months I've been thinking about the Tekumalspace thread on the piazza  from 2020 here.  Now it's too bad that there wasn't a game supplement that we could use to translate the Humanspace empires over to Wrectched Space?! Oh yeah Brett Slocum made Warriors of the Lost Planet set in Empire of the Petal Throne's Latter Times for the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg. 

Now it's not that big of a stretch to take the Wretched Space rpg & marry it with Warriors of The Lost Planet. Specifically to the time period when the Human Space Empire was on the ascendant & using the N’lǘss vat grown space marines. There have been several times when the Clone & Vat lords of the Human Space Empires have come up within our games. These guys have been framed as major NPC villains & enemies within our Wretched Space & Postcards from Avalidad campaigns. 

One of the patrons that my player's PC's have been dealing with is a Mihalli shaman named 'Ba'atria. A being  who appears as an old humanoid alien & the players haven't caught on with the red eyes that give the Mihalli away. The actions of the Human Space Empire could in point of fact help to explain what happened to Lazarus three in Bloat Games Scorched. 

Thick of the Trade- - Bloody, Bloody, Arduin & The Empire of the Petal Throne Rpg

If there is any city in fantasy rpging that doesn't get the love that it deserves it's Talismondé the capital of the  Arduin proper campaign setting.The whole city is one big melting pot of the estoeric & erotic in one place. After reading through the classic Retro Rpg blog's entry on Talismondé my own thoughts began to bubble on this exotic port capital. This blog post is going to pick up directly from yesterday's blog here. 

My own thoughts on Talismondé the capital of the  Arduin proper campaign setting is that its someplace between Rift's Atlantis & a Dark Ages 70's New York City. The influences of magick in the city would be incredible because of the Nexus Gate wars. The covers of the Arduin Grimoires bare this conceil out. Deodanths mix with humans & far more alien races in an urban atomosphere of decedence & neo  barbarianism. 

If Arduin's Talismondé is one of the melting pots of the multiverse with interdimensional trade being one of the city's pillars of ecomomic stability then it changes quite a few of the usual Dungeons & Dragons conceils. 
The Nexus Gates of Arduin would be very dangerous for adventurers to mess with. I have a feeling the city guard of Arduin are well versed in many of the multiverse's horrors & dangers. The events of Emperor of the Petal Throne's rpg collapse of their hyperspacial & dimensional gates caused demons, eldtrich horrors, and worse to come through. 

The world of Arduin's Hermetic Order of Wizardry may boast more then a few member mage priests of  Tékumel within its inner circle or at least it does in my campaigns. And does the blowing over of the hyperspacial eddies, & dimensional animolies across Arduin and the mulitverse. Mean that  Arduin's Talismondé is open for business?! 
Because if so then it means that the Clement sector's traders have more then a golden opportunity to open up one of the biggest intergalatic & interdimensional trade missions this side of the wormhole. 

If exploritory space craft are blazing away across the old hyperspacial lanes exploring then there's a good chance that  Arduin's Talismondé might have a space port established upon its planetary shores. This idea goes right along with many of the staples of early Eighties 2d6 Science Fiction role playing. Something also got used right along with the world of Greyhawk box set back then as well. Where is Greyhawk in the Spinward Marches?! Wherever it's sector is?! 

Nexus Portals - Bloody, Bloody, Arduin & The Empire of the Petal Throne Rpg

 Finally we're done with the snowblowing for today. Here in Connecticut we got hit with a bit of last minute snow. And while tooling around on the snow blower the idea of Nexus portals or  gates from the Arduin Grimoire by David E. Hargrave.

If we're going to talk about the nexus portals of Arduin then we're going to delve into the mysteries of the multiverse. The fact is that over the years I've speculated that the failures of Arduin's Nexus portals may have been tied into disappearance of Tékumel, of the Empire of the Petal Throne rpg. The disappearance of Tékumel, may have screwed up the nexus system gates  for thousands of years. According to the Empire of the Petal Throne rpg Tekumel wiki entry; "Suddenly, in the 1120th century (according to Shawn Bond)^[4] and for reasons unknown, Tékumel and its star system (Tékumel's two moons, Gayél and Káshi, its sun, Tuléng, and four other planets, Ülétl, Riruchél, Shíchel, and Zirúna) were cast out of our reality into a "pocket dimension" (known as a béthorm in Tsolyáni), in which there were no other star systems. One hypothesis is that this isolation happened through hostile action on the part of an unknown party or group. Another is that the cosmic cataclysm was due to over-use of a faster than light drive which warped the fabric of space. No one knows, but the inhabitants of Tékumel, both human, native, and representatives of the other star-faring races, were now isolated and alone. The novels contain vague clues as to what might have happened."

"Severed from vital interplanetary trade routes (Tékumel is a world very poor in heavy metals) and in the midst of a massive gravitic upheaval due to the lines of gravitational force between the stars being suddenly cut, civilization was thrown into chaos. The intelligent native species, the Hlǘss and the Ssú, broke free from their reservations and wars as destructive as the massive geographic changes ravaged the planet. Several other significant changes took place due to the crisis: mankind discovered it could now tap into ultraplanar energies that were seen as magical forces, the stars were gone from the sky, dimensional nexuses were uncovered and pacts with "demons" (inhabitants of dimensions near in n-dimensional space to Tékumel's pocket dimension) were made and a complex pantheon of "gods" (powerful extra-dimensional or multi-dimensional alien beings) discovered. Science began to stagnate until ultimately knowledge became grounded in traditions handed down from generations long ago, the belief that the universe was ultimately understandable slowly faded, and a Time of Darkness descended over the planet.

Much of Barker's writing concerns a time approximately 50,000 years after Tékumel has entered its pocket dimension" 

 
So what happens when all of the hyperspacial eddies & waves calm down?! Could we actually see elements of Arduin showing up in other univeses?! Or could the hyper dimensional events of Empire of the Petal Throne actually be responsible for the collapse of the worm hole in the Clement sector rpg as the hyperspacial waves ripped across the planes?! 

 Anything is possible but the fact is the underlying idea of the collapse of such an extensive hyperspacial gateway system is going to echo across time & space. This means that thoericially there could be space craft trapped from EPT's hyperspacial folds or those of other realities. 
Other anomlies could be the displacement of other reality inhabitants as hyperspacial folds or warps pick up random inhabitants from Arduin & deposit them on other worlds. This could easily be done using Sword of Cepheus rpg to bring your favorite Arduin rpg elements or adventure bits into your 2d6 fantasy. 

  These gates & keys could bring traders into from the Clement Sector rpg or other Cepheus Engine rpg campaign worlds. Only these ideas are limited as products of you & your player's imaginations. 

Matters Of The Demonic - OD&D Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry & The Empire of The Petal Throne Rpg

Tonight we've been cracking OD&D Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry's spine tonight where demons were first introduced in original Dungeons & Dragons. Demons are foes are nothing to add into even a high level campaign lightly. 




Demons are the counter point to Law in original Dungeons & Dragons & here's the high point in OD&D Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry; 

" DEMONS: Each type of demon, as well as the Demon Princes such as Orcus and Demogorgon have many extraordinary characteristics, and those which are not common to all the ilk are dealt with in separate paragraphs accordingly. Demons all have the following characteristics in common: Infravision; the ability to teleport (no chance of error); cause darkness (in varying degree of effectiveness); and open a "gate" (varying degree of success according to type). Demons are chaotic and evil; the smarter and stronger rule those of their kind who are weaker and less intelligent. The less intelligent w i l l attack without question and fight until slain. Demons of type V and above are not actually slain when their material form is killed in combat; their material form being removed from their use, the demon in question is thereby forced back to the plane from whence it originally came, there to remain until a century has passed or until another aids it to go forth once again. Demons will never willingly serve anyone or anything. If forced to serve through magic or threat they will continually seek a way to slay their master/captor. Those to whom demons show a liking are typically carried off to the demons' plane to become a slave (although a favored one). Demons frequently roam the astral plane. Their attention is also attracted by persons in an ethereal state. Check normally for wandering monsters, assuming a 10% chance of a demon appearing if a wandering monster is indicated."

"If the name of a particularly powerful demon is spoken there is a chance that he will hear and turn his attention to the speaker. A base 5% chance is recommended to the referee. Unless prepared to avoid such attention—or to control the demon—the demon will thereupon immediately kill by whatever means are most expeditious the one pronouncing his name."

And one of the things that comes through is the fact that demons hunt the Astral quite often. This means that the demons are always on the hunt for humanity through the Astral plane. And this brings up a very important point & that is that the Astral is also available to the Empire of the Petal Throne rpg! How did I come to this conclusion?! Reading through an OSR Grimoire blog post on the Astral 's Baron Greystone's comment from August 23, 2020; "Also please note that one of the Undying Wizards from Barker's Tekumel is also named Fu Shi. He participates in other-planar meetings between important political figures in the novel "The Man of Gold."" What does this mean?! 
Well reading closer into it. It could potentially mean that Abyssal demons haunt the Astral plane of Tekumel! 

This means that the magus priests of Barker's Tekumel are subject to the triple threat of the Abyss's attention, the depredations of Chaos, & the fact that Abyssal demons are tracking them through the Astral. And this isn't the only issue that the magus priests have to face. The planes of Tekumel are very active & many alien as well as god forms inhabit them. See Dr.Barker's Man of Gold for more interaction on Tekumel's planes. 
This also brings up questions about the role of the Abyss in Tekumel's planes? There's plenty of fodder for using the Astral within EPT's Tekumel's adventures & the adventure factor that a demon could be lurking around the corner. 

Illegal Passengers - Combining Troll Lords The Starship Warden & Empire of the Petal Throne With Gary Gygax's S3 Expedition To The Barrier Peaks

 

The alien races aboard the Warden have been there since the mid point from the interstellar journey. If we're crossing Troll Lord Starship Warden rpg  over with  the early past of  The Empire of the Petal Throne' rpg. The Human Space Empire was on a jag of exploration & discovery as well as colonization. This jag of exploration also brings up the Warden's science vessel from S3 Expedition To The Barrier Peak by Gary Gygax. 

This vessel has been collecting alien lifeforms throughout the Warden's mission. And these life form later on cause havoc on Greyhawk or within  your campaign. A great example of this is the Frogmouth who is one of the more infamous lifeform. The jungles of the Warden are infested with mutant life forms & those alien life forms blend right in.  Now an advanced adventure option might be Goodman Games 'The Captain's Table' to bring this to the table. 

The Slann or the 'enemies of mankind' are only one example of aliens aboard the Warden. The life forms are absolutely alien & another possible visitor that the Warden or its vessels may encounter is James Ward's Dark Visitor adventure. This could be a pre crash Warden Science Vessel continuation adventure. Since the Dark Visitor adventure is system agonistic its a simple matter to include it as a part of a Warden campaign loop. 

We know that the 'Slann' had an extensive planar gate & tunnel system. The Human Space Empire may have inherited this system or tapped into it. The collapse of the system when Tekumel disappeared also affected the Warden as well. This could also account for the trapped alien life forms on Dark Outpost & Dark Colony as well.  All of this jumps back to the circumstances aboard the Warden. 

These lifeforms go hostile as soon as they realize on an instinctual level that they are trapped! And trapped well beyond the point of return. This may lead to becoming an invasive species or worse settling in as the boogey men of another world such as the bullette from S3. 

The Darkest Cargo - Combining Troll Lords The Starship Warden & Empire of the Petal Throne With Gary Gygax's S3 Expedition To The Barrier Peaks

 

So last night I was messing around with Grey Elf's Classic Edition website, for our Halloween gam, The  Halloween game has been moved because of work scheduling. So let's talk about planar echoes & times from the Starship Warden which have allowed a number of alien races through the gates before they've collapsed. And its actually S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks by Gary Gygax that may hold some of the keys of this dark end of the Warden.

 The recent Goodman Games Classic Reincarnated #3 S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks had some interesting additions to the original module which gave alternative & addition materials. And there's the fact that we have no idea what may have happened aboard the Warden Science spacecraft. But one theory that  recently floated across the table was the fact perhaps ' the Mihalli' of Empire of the Petal Throne rpg fame from Dragon magazine issue #4 may have something to do with the crash into the Barrier Peaks. The Mihalli are ancient aliens who were some of the Human Empires oldest allies; 
"The Mihalli are an ancient nonhuman race which came with humanity to Tekumel — but not with humanity’s knowledge or blessings! When the planet was cut off from interstellar humanspace, the Mihalli, who had set up a small spy post beneath the planet’s surface, were cut off as well and could not return to their original world." 

 The Mihalli are also absolute enemies of the mind flayers one of the alien races aboard the science & ecological vessel of the Warden. These horrors are thought to be the root cause of the crash as the player's PC's try to stop their machinations. 

Illustration by Jeff Dee and used without permission 

Recently while plying through Tekumel.com's forum I came across this post by Master Fulat's form post  regarding his reading of  Phil's Pe Choi essay, relevant sections of which follow; "  Long before Man had stretched out his hands to the stars the Pé Chói had developed space flight and the torque-stress interdimensional drive.

... It was on the advice of the Pé Chói that Man steered away from the deadly worlds of the Hlutrgú, then a localised but ferocious and powerful spacefaring species. They were again instrumental in keeping human ships away from Pelagus (sigma Sagittarii), which was inhabited by a race so dangerous and inimical that no species could approach them with impunity. [who are these inimicable beings???]

I've also found some intersting snippets in the blue room archive. This section on races for instance.
...Humanspace included other citizens as well: the Pe Choi (whose scientific abilities had made intersteller travel feasible), the Ahoggya, who built great, boxy, bumbling merchant ships that bought stuff that other races treated as vile waste; the Shen, whose own fleets ranged far from their home system; the Pachi Lei, Swamp Folk, and Hlaka, whose cultures were smaller and less technological, but who had the capability to take Pe Choi technology and construct their own merchant fleets' the Tinaliya, who were intensely curious but who were so logical that they never developed an aesthetic or spiritual understanding at all. Etc. Still other races may also have existed within this sphere, including some that were hostile to Humankind." 

There question is are there far more deadly beings in the void between places where the Book of Ebon Bindings talks about?! The answer to this is that I believe so.  So are the froggies that we talked about last blog entry & the mind flayers only the tip of the ice berg?! The answer is yes. 

For Troll Lords Starship Warden this means that there may be far more dangerous horrors lurking in the shadows of the ship then even the mutants & cyro passengers release!  Perhaps the only ones who might be answering are the demons spoken of in the 'Book of Ebon Binding' and they may not be talking to the PC's. 

Vile & Horrid - Empire of the Petal Throne's 'The Book of Ebon Bindings' And Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number rpg

"Preface: The first part of this book consists of an introduction to the religion of Tsolyanu, its deities and cosmology, plus a brief discussion of its magical arts, the planes of being, and the various creatures which inhabit these latter. The second section of this work then presents a translation of The Book of Ebon Bindings, one of the most complete and detailed texts on the subject of Tsolyani demonology now found in the Five Empires. The introduction is itself a translation from the work of one of the writer's oldest friends and mentors, Tse'mel [roughly = "Cardinal"] Qure'n hiKe'dcolel, High Ritual Priest of the temple of Lord Ksarul at Be"y Su. In response to questions put by various foreign students resident in the Tsolyani capital, Tse'mel Qure'n had kindly summarized the series of lectures which he regularly gives to acolytes entering his priesthood. He has modified this summary somewhat so that it will be suitable for those unfamiliar with Tsolyani mores and beliefs. The writer wishes to extend his thanks to Tse'mel Qure'n, as well as to other friends in the Temple of Lord Ksarul for their kindness, patience, and willingness to explain the intricacies of their faith. The writer is neither a philosopher nor a theologian, and the task has not been an easy one for his Tsolyani colleagues. Particular thanks are due to Mr. Trasune' hiTankolei and Miss Kalusu hiViridame, who joined in the work of translation, corrected the author's errors, and proofread this manuscript..."

Its been many years since 'The Book of Ebon Bindings' has graced my hands, but covering so much Tekumel lately and the Star Ship Warden. I cracked the book today after a long day of being on the road. But all day my thoughts have been occupied by 'The Book of Ebon Bindings'. This is one of the hands down best of the best in universe cosmological &  demonology spell book from Tekumel. And it was written with the idea of use as an in game prop (sorta). 
Skimming through 'The Book of Ebon Bindings' it reminded me of the Worlds Without Number rpg. And the idea of using it to generate a Human Space Empire style world dungeon with scattered pockets of cities scattered across the world setting. 

A 'pay what you want 'post Human Space Empires setting book using 'The Warriors of the Red Planet' retro clone rules is out there called 'Warriors of the Lost Planet' by Brent Slocum available here. 


Dark wizards carving out their own little piece of the Human Space Empire colony worlds or the eroding technological occult landscape of Tekumel puts one in the mind of 'The Book of Ebon Bindings'. The infamous book creating dark cults while our heroes struggle to free the world setting from these dark influences. We know that Kevin Crawford did a rules  light play version of Empire of the Petal Throne back in 2015 available from Tankard's Tavern here called Swords of the Petal Throne.  So its easy to see that the PC's might wake up on such a colony world of the Human Empire. 

Because the Human Space Empire is in tatters these dark forces in the form of cults, dark wizards, demons, & worse are taking full advantage to move into inhabited  interstellar space. They are taking full advantage with little resistance in the outer fringes of the empire. Because of the custom PC generation nature of the Worlds Without Number rpg its easy to create the character you want to play. There's also the fact that using the 'Warriors of the Red Planet' rpg the DM could use the 'sorcerers of the black gate' optional PC class as an occult  faction. 

This plays up to the idea of the agents of Law & Chaos going around closing open planar gateways. This plugs right into some of the occult  premises that 'The Book of Ebon Bindings' talks about. The collapse of the hyperspacial planar gateways allow many beings from outside beyond the threshold of reality to cross over into the reality of the Human Space Empire. 'The Book of Ebon Bindings isn't for rank & file dark wizard. This book of horrid occult knowledge is for only the most accomplished vile dark wizards to handle. The demons listed within are beyond the pale of mankind. And in point of fact remind me to a certain extent to the 21 planes of Hell from Dave Hargrave's Arduin Grimoire first three books. 

Keys & Sunset Days - Empire of the Petal Throne And Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number rpg

 There are times when you miss so obvious a connection that its easy to bypass the forest for the trees in this case the rpg trees. This is the case with Empire of the Petal Throne rpg & Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number. 

So the Human Space Empire has constructed any number of planar gates throughout its empire linking various worlds, colonies, etc. So then everything collapses upon itself & now I've been writing about combining EPT & Troll Lord's The Starship Warden. But today I want to do something a bit different & go back to our group's roots here. The Worlds Without Number rpg goes through the idea of adventurers dealing with possibly multiple Earth's & dimensions within & without a future Earth called Latter Earth. And zipping around the Amateur Dungeoneer's blog two different entries caught my attention, The Lost World (Without Numbers) & Non-Oldschool Game Concept: The Monster Earth
And this got me thinking about the pleasure planets, colony worlds, etc. creations of the Human Space Empire. We know that Kevin Crawford did a rules  light play version of Empire of the Petal Throne back in 2015 available from Tankard's Tavern here called Swords of the Petal Throne. My question becomes just how far did the Human Empire get & how many of those worlds are still out there?! 

We know that the Human Empire were using planar technologies & universes to power certain devices & artifacts aka the eyes and other magic items. This is very much in keeping with some of the Jack Kirby like technologies of  Kevin Crawford's WWN rpg. And yes the  Godbound uses some of the same technologies. But the scale of Godbound vs Crawford's WWN rpg are a bit off. So let's concentrate on Worlds Without Number for a moment. Let's say that shattering of the planes by the taking of Tekumel causes some of the background of Stars Without Number in the form of the Scream. This event shatters the planar gates & splits the various Earths in Worlds Without Number as well. This might also explain the stranding of the Starship Warden & the fluttering of the Nexus gates on Arduin. 

So where I'm I going with this?! Where ever the Hell I want with this.  The fact is that there could be world after world stranded from the planar gates. The Human Empire is still in tatters and the Fall of Man has only now starting to be recovered from. The planar pathways are being cleaned up by brave adventurers here & there agents of Chaos & Law are either opening or closing these worlds in a bit for greater power & conquests.  

Classics & Chaos - Combining Troll Lords The Starship Warden & Empire of the Petal Throne With Gary Gygax's S3 Expedition To The Barrier Peaks

 So let's get a bit froggy today & start thinking about 'the enemies of mankind' for a moment again with some inspired Empire of the Petal Throne madness. We did a bit on this back in the middle of September here on the blog. Thanks to Wayne's Books I was doing more of  EPT rpg  back reference. But let's bring this back to the Starship Warden again.

Several alien races may have snuck aboard the Warden including 'the enemies of mankind' from the Human Space Empires universe using the planar warp gates. This stops because of the disappearance of the planet Tekumel. What happens aboard the Warden then?! A number of alien races are stuck and over the eons forget their origins as aliens completely. There may actually be the Slann & the enemies of mankind on different decks or complete unaware of their origins. Now I'm looking at this using Troll Lords Starship Warden which works very well for this. 

An encounter with some throw back Slann is definitely a high end encounter especially aboard the Warden! This style of encounter would possibly be a sacrifice raid & or a slavery run. And this is a very common style of encounter for mutant PC's. Now an advanced adventure option might be Goodman Games 'The Captain's Table'. 

This is especially true of those players who have read every Metamorphosis  Alpha rpg article or 'The Captain's Table' adventure. All that's needed is a swamp like encounter area add in Aztec inspired temples. The if PC's run afoul of these foggy  bastards then they may be in for more of a nightmare inspired by the other demon goes lurking beyond the threshold. And these froggy cultists might be responsible for the Frogmouth in Gary Gygax's S3 'The Expedition to the Barrier Peaks' module. 

Here's where it might get interesting with the PC's having to crash the Warden Ecology & Science vessel away from the main Starship Warden. Think of S3 as a reverse dungeon with the PC's having to go aboard & take on the froggies in an all out bid to take down impeding crash! The Warden Ecology & Science vessel then crashes into your favorite classic AD&D game campaign setting. 

 Now let's imagine that there are several alien species aboard the Warden including the 'enemies of man' & that before the hyperspacial planar gates collapse these alien races came aboard the Warden.  Things get very interesting from here. 

Heroes of Wargaming Games Workshop & Empire of the Petal Throne rpg- More Metamorphosis Alpha rpg - Slow Boat Generational Ships Observations

 
Let's return to Empire of the Petal Throne rpg's enemies of mankind, way back in April of 2021 we covered 'Heroes of Wargaming'. And there's an interesting observation from the Hobglobinry blog from 2018 entitled,' The qhal and the Slann. Or: did CJ Cherryh invent the Old World?' Hmmm. No, I don't think she did because of one of the comments of JC; "Tekumel was probably an influence on Lustria as a whole (what with Tekumel having Meso-American elements). The Amazons do have bolt guns and chainswords, etc., but not the Slann: the ones in Lustria have forgotten their technology (there were the Space Slann for 40K, though, who did have lasers).

But I think the qhal/Slann parallels are stronger than any influence from Barker. There are the numerous warp gates, the mastery of both space and time, and the arrogant interference with other creatures.

And then there are some linguistic clues too: the single-syllable, A-vowelled name and the use of that word "seeding".

As far as I can see, a Tekumel influence on Gate of Ivrel is unlikely. Empire of the Petal Throne was published in 1975; the US first edition of Gate of Ivrel was 1976. Once you factor in writing, submission and publication lead times, as well as the slower rate of cultural transmission in the pre-internet era, it seems improbable that a relatively obscure game could have influenced a book that was most likely well underway or finished by the time it came out." 

But it brings up an interesting question are the Space Slann from actually an interstellar  subrace of Empire of the Petal Throne's Hlutrgú (“the Swamp Frogs”)? We can see a really good & solid blog entry on the alien races of Tekumel from Thoul's Paradise blog right here that covers the Hlutrgu';

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" And no the Hlutrgu were not native to Tekumel but were interstellar enemies of mankind. Early Slann may have been either offshoots, biological workers, or possibly another social cast of the Hlutrgu'. And this is evident from the ancient Slann illustration from John Blanche's take on the Slann from the first  Citadel Compendium. Thanks to Jeff's Game Blog for the heads up from 2013. 

If we are using the the idea that early Slann clans  & interstellar tribes are using bolt pistols & the like. And that they were using Empire of the Petal Throne style gateways. Sure they stated that they created those planar gateways. But this is simply propaganda by the Slann. Then they could theoretically pop up literally anyplace. 

So this literally means that if the Slann are a sub species of  the Hlutrgu then they could quite literally pop up just about anyplace with ray guns & wizards blazing. 

This means that these amphibian wizards & warriors  could in theory at least appear anywhere. And that includes in Greyhawk or Blackmoor or who knows what other campaign world setting. I would bet the Cherryh book borrows from Tekumel also. And it also means that there could in theory be pockets of space going Slann in some mini planar universe just waiting for some trespassers aka adventurers from find them. Now for years we've quietly kept this little gem of information in our collective DM back pockets. 
Collectively speaking in theory at least the Slann or the the Hlutrgu could appear on one of the Empire of the Petal Throne slow boats. We covered that right over here on the blog back on Sept.6th. 

Several of the adventures of the Goodman Games from James Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha: Warden Adventures could be used as stand in adventure  for a Human Empire generation ship. 

Turn the wrong corner of a generation ship & you could come face to face with a group of very angry & nasty Aztec frogmen led by a giant dark wizard of interstellar frog race looking to sacrifice your party to some dark god.