Getting Closer!
The cover for the soon-to-be-released PDF and print-on-demand edition of Empire of the Petal Throne, from the Tékumel Foundation. This includes errata and maps not included in previous editions. Look for it soon!
The Tékumel Foundation
News about the World of Tékumel® – the creation of Prof. M.A.R. Barker
Archive for the category “Games”
Happy Halloween! The Players Handbook is Available!
Just in time for Halloween, the Swords & Glory Vol. 2 – Tékumel Players Handbook is now available, in PDF, softcover and hardcover versions. The Players Handbook adds a wealth of information about Tékumel beyond what was revealed in Swords & Glory Vol. 1 – Tékumel Source Book. It provides all of the information to generate characters for Swords & Glory, including warriors, priests, lay-priests, spies, officials, and more. A complete listing of spells and spell descriptions for mages of all temples is also provided. This is a reprint of the original Gamescience edition of the Tékumel Player’s Handbook, published in 1984 as a boxed set with additional material as Swords & Glory, Volume 2. The cover is a newly restored reproduction of the original box cover art, and has never been seen before! The new printing includes the character record sheet, errata for early printings, and the combat and sorcery summaries included with the original boxed set.
In addition to the Players Handbook itself, there are a number of associated products:
- The Swords & Glory Combat Summary, as a PDF download
- The Swords & Glory Sorcery Summary, as a PDF download
- The Combat and Sorcery Summary, as a combined product, in both PDF and softcover print versions
- The Swords & Glory Character Record Sheet, available as a free PDF download
Best of all, this release is part of a sale in honor of Prof. Barker’s birthday; print products and connected items and being sold at a discount through the end of November – a great opportunity to buy material to share with other gamers interested in the world of Tékumel.
More Tekumel in 2016
This is the third follow-up to our earlier blog post about plans for 2016 – we want to explain in more detail plans for products from Tékumel licensees for the upcoming year. If you have suggestions or would like to be more involved, please let us know!
There are several licensed producers of material approved for Tékumel, and the board and volunteers of the Foundation are very excited by what they have planned for 2016:
- Jeff Dee and Unigames, who have already produced the Bethorm RPG, including the Kurt Hills Gazetteer and more support material for use in Tekumel campaigns;
- John Till, who is working on his two planned FATE of Tékumel adventures for the upcoming year;
- James Maliszewski and the The Excellent Travelling Volume, which provides fan support for new ideas and variants;
- Choice of Games and possible follow-ups to Choice of the Petal Throne – the Foundation is interested in adapting the Adventures on Tékumel series to the text-based game format;
- the Tékumel Project has new miniatures offerings, as well!
The Foundation is always interested in hearing from potential game producers for the world of Tékumel. It is worth cautioning, however, that not every idea is easily produced as a game, or fits well within the Empire of the Petal Throne. But if you do have something for which you would like to get a “approved for Tékumel” license, please contact us!
New projects in 2016
This is a second follow-up to our earlier blog post about plans for 2016 – we want to expand and explain in more detail plans for new products for the upcoming year. If you have suggestions or would like to be more involved, please let us know!
One of the important aspects of presenting the world of Tékumel is adding to the materials which have already been produced. Quite rightly, fans are interested in creations from Professor Barker which expand their knowledge of this intricate and absorbing setting. Here are some of the projects the Foundation is working to produce in 2016:
- The original “mimeo” Empire of the Petal Throne is available in PDF form, but we want to make it available in a print-on-demand format, as well. There are subtle differences between the playtest rules and the edition published by TSR, Inc.
- The Jakállan Underworld, including maps and a reproduction of the key – this project has been in the works for some time, as we have been deciding what would be the best way to present it. We now have a plan for that – and we think you will like it.
- The Dlash Gazetteer and maps of the city in southern Livyanu, which features so prominently in The Lords of Tsámra.
- Speaking of which, Flamesong and The Lords of Tsámra, in eBook and print forms. Having Professor Barker’s novels available is something many of you have asked for – and we want to fulfill your request.
- If we can fit it in, Armies of the Five Empires. This would include information from the original army lists, as well as the military articles published in various periodicals.
There are other projects waiting in the wings: a Stability companion volume to The Book of Ebon Bindings, the Northeast Frontier maps and gazetteer, and other source material useful for gaming. We will get to these as time and resources allow. Help spread the word – run games, blog about your adventures, and share them with your friends. The more source material people buy, the easier it is for the Foundation to produce new material.
Working with conventions in 2016
This is a follow-up to our earlier blog post about plans for 2016 – we want to expand on that post, and explain in more detail our plans for the upcoming year. If you have suggestions or would like to be more involved, please let us know!
Reaching out to gamers, new and old, and providing them an experience the world of Tékumel is an important part of the work of the Tékumel Foundation. In 2016, that means providing prizes and promotional material to people willing to work with the Foundation for the events they are running at their favorite gaming conventions. We’re especially interested in efforts to develop a continuous track of events for the duration of a convention. We’re planning on helping Tékumel activities and events at:
- Con of the North (Twin Cities, MN), February 12th-14th;
- Gary Con (Lake Geneva, WI), March 3rd-6th;
- Convergence (Twin Cities, MN), June 30th-July 3rd;
- Celesticon (SF, CA), September 2nd-5th;
- Gamehole Con (Madison, WI), November 4th-6th, and
- U-Con Gaming Convention (Ypsilanti, MI), November 11th-13th.
If you are interested in running games or events at these or other conventions, please let us know – we want to help make your event a success. If you want to do something Tékumel related at another convention, please tell us about it! If we get enough lead time, we’d be happy to work with you to provide prizes or other materials to enhance the quality of your event. Just write to the Foundation at: info@tekumelfoundation.org
Help make other projects happen
It is really exciting to see how Choice of the Petal Throne is being received. If you haven’t gotten your copy of the game, now is the time to order it – you will help the Foundation make other projects happen this year, including but not limited to:
– The print-on-demand edition of The Man of Gold
– The ebook and print-on-demand editions of Flamesong
– The reprint of Swords & Glory, Vol. 1. The Tekumel Sourcebook
– The PDF and print-on-demand editions of The Jakallan Underworld
– The release of new material for Tekumel and re-release of out-of-print material for Tekumel.
The Tekumel Foundation is a non-profit organization; all of our proceeds go to helping preserve and promote the creative legacy of Prof. Barker – the amazing world of the Empire of the Petal Throne!
Choice of the Petal Throne
Congratulations to Danielle Goudeau and Choice of Games LLC! The Tékumel Foundation is very pleased to announce the release of Choice of the Petal Throne by Choice of Games LLC. Set during the Tsolyáni civil war following the death of Emperor Hirkáne, this interactive novel by Danielle Goudeau provides a new opportunity to enter into the world of Tékumel. In upcoming weeks, we plan on providing more background information about Choice of the Petal Throne, including a short interview with the author of the game. Until then we encourage you to go try this new game for Tékumel!
The Man of Gold – next steps
The Man of Gold is now available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. The next step is to release it as a print-on-demand book, available for direct order as well as bookstore distribution. The Foundation expects to do this in the very near future. The next novel in preparation is Flamesong, which we hope to release later this year in both ebook and print formats. Other projects underway include:
- We are close to a re-release of the Gamescience edition of Swords & Glory, Volume One: The Tekumel Sourcebook. The new edition will include an index, and will be available through DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.
- We are planning on producing the maps from Empire of the Petal Throne and Swords & Glory, and for the the Jakallan Underworld. We’re exploring the best way to make large-scale maps available for print product purchase; Jeff Dee of UNIgames has begun using Deviantart for maps for Bethorm; go check out the fantastic map of Katalal produced by Alyssa Faden!
- James Maliszewski has begun to produce The Excellent Traveling Volume, an informal and unofficial fanzine for the world of Tekumel. Issue #2 is now available in print format only; go get your copy today!
Now make it YOUR Tekumel
The following excerpt is from The Tékumel Sourcebook; Prof. Barker presents some advice about how to approach playing Tékumel:
This advice is, if anything, more true today than in the past. What Prof. Barker wanted was for people to go out and play in his world, and then share the results with one another and with him. Trying to “get it right” is just falling down a rabbit-hole of needless worry. It’s understandable that players and game-masters would want to capture the essence of Tékumel, but that should include testing out your own Tékumel inventions and imaginings in actual gameplay.
From time to time, the Foundation blog will present various excerpts and notes from Prof. Barker which should be of value to Tékumel fans. This is the first in that series; we hope to provide some insights into what he thought was worthy of consideration as you explore Tékumel, the world of the Empire of the Petal Throne.