[PnP] A Question For Anyone Who Might Know (Richard Snider, perhaps???)

[Phineas Cromwell]

Scott, thanks for the response. Like I mentioned in an earlier e-mail, I
ALWAYS make it a point to respond to people who e-mail me, at least as soon
as is reasonably possible (and for me that is practically always within a
number of hours); I feel not doing so is, well, to be a jerk-ass. But that's
just me. If someone indicates that they are busy, I hang back for a while.

Like I said earlier, I've sent Mr. Snider about 4 or so e-mails over the
past year (i.e., roughly a year, almost). He has not bothered to show me the
respect of responding in any way, shape, or form.

Why? Does he HAVE TO? Absolutely not. Of course not. However, what is the
point on including yourself on a special-interest mailing list of fellow
enthusiasts and displaying some kind of apparent quasi-elitist aloofness? I
have priorities in my life as well, and one of them is showing common
courtesy.

I feel my question to Mr. Snider is a legitimate one. Maybe he feels it is
not. For the past 20+ years I have practically revered the guy for doing
what he did: creating a fantasy roleplaying game that, to this day,
represents a level of aesthetics that is possessed by a handful of RPGs.
Now, the more he apparently chooses to disregard my respect for him and my
great interest in the work he created, the more I am losing that long-time
respect.

Now, is all this THAT SERIOUS. No, and yes. Why do we play FRPGs? Why do we
bother to want to have our names on the mailing list. Because its important
to us, in its own way. I feel that a year is more than enough time for at
least one, simple little response. I mean, hell, if he e-mails me and says
"F*** Off!!!", at least that would be something of an acknowledgment. But,
apparently, I am a meaningless peon. (Actually, I am a peon, just not a
MEANINGLESS one).

For the era that Powers And Perils belongs to, it bears some rich conceptual
depth. It stands alongside Tekumel, Jorune, Talislanta (at least, according
to me, for various idiosyncratic reasons). Now, Richard included some
relatively rare features in his game, including some names of creatures that
were technically 'deep' for the time. The only popular FRPG book that comes
close, to my knowledge, was the 1st Edition AD&D Fiend Folio (with, for
example, the Pennanngalan). Mr. Snider includes strains from Celtic/Gaelic
mythology, as well as 'Semitic'/Mesopotamian. This kind of material
interests me. And all I want to know from him is from what SOURCE text did
he derive the term 'AKHKHARU'. Thats all. No muss, no fuss;just a simple
question. I would just like to know the source of his research so that I can
delve into that direction myself. Thats all.

The term AKHKHARU is exceedingly rare in the ETYMOLOGY sense. Sure, there
are a zillion hits on Google, but that almost entirely amounts to two
categories of usage: first, many people are using it as a nickname, or as a
name of a title of their work. Second, it occurs as a vague definition as
'Sumerian vampire' cut-and-pasted about a million times, everyone just
re-re-quoting each other. The scant third category of occurence is people on
blogs trying to ACTUALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DAMN WORD ACTUALLY MEANS IN A
TRUE ETYMOLOGY SENSE. Its not enough to read that it supposedly means
'vampire'. I need a SOURCE TEXT to confirm this. And given the fact that Mr.
Snider included this term in his game about 30 (THIRTY!) YEARS AGO leads me
to think that he derived it from a knowledgeable source. All I want to know
is what that source was. Thats it.

I like being on the Powers And Perils Mailing List. I respect everyone on it
for wanting to be associated with a classic fantasy roleplaying game that
transcends the woefully pathetic D20 malaise (dont get me started). Now,
with that, I respect privacy and the priorities and busy-ness of everyone.
But, about a year has passed, and I have received no response from Mr.
Snider. I'm not trying to sound like I'm whining about this, but I'm just a
little perplexed and a little disappointed. Like I said, I've respected Mr.
Snider for decades, and I've admired his work. Maybe he doesnt have the
time, I dont know. The thing is, its been quite a few months. And I would
never just blow off a fellow enthusiast, especially one who has iterated
respect and admiration for me.

So, my question still stands: what is the point of being on a list,
displaying your name and e-mail and impressive credentials, but behaving
like you only respond to some implied quasi-elitist, exclusive inner circle
of members on that list who meet certain unspecified merit criteria? Thats
kind of melodramatic, I know. But it almost seems like thats the case. I
mean, do I have to post a thousand times before I'm worthy of a simple
response? Do I have to contribute House Rules that appear on the site, just
to become 'a member' of the club that gets a simple e-mail?

Anyway, thanks again Scott Adams for the reply. You always reply and I give
you credit for that.
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