(The Tsolyáni reads “Korúnkoi hiGardásisasayal” = “Book of Heroic and Powerful Deeds”)

Following the 1975 release of Empire of the Petal Throne (EPT), Tékumel rode triumphant.  The sumptuous EPT introduced a few innovations and a depth of background that made D&D look ugly and simplistic. In 1975, EPT won the award at GenCon 9 for best new game. Despite a high price, EPT went into a second printing in 1976 and then a third in 1977.  At roughly the same time, War of Wizards, a board game with Tékumel color, was released in a Ziploc version and then reprinted in a boxed version. In 1977, TSR did a large run of a well-illustrated set of miniature rules for Tékumel to be used with a new line of Tékumel miniatures produced by a leading company (and later acquired and expanded by another leading company).  EPT had a large following. EPT articles were a staple of TSR’s house magazine, The Dragon ,and many players listed in the directories printed in The Dragon listed EPT as a game they wanted to play. Meanwhile, Barker was at work on a Tékumel novel, for which he had a deal with a leading science fiction publisher.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last.

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I am working on a post about the Journals but in the meantime here is a fun photo of my whole collection, which I am inventorying for the first time today.  (I have been a little reluctant to contemplate all that I have acquired over the years.)

I think most Tékumel fans developed their interest via role-playing games,  However, Barker’s most extensive published explication of the world of Tékumel was in his Tékumel novels.  Altogether, he wrote five Tékumel novels, and all can be collected.

The Man of Gold

Barker became acquainted with science fiction publisher Don Wohlheim through miniature sculptor Bill Murray, who produced the first miniatures for Tékumel, as discussed in this post.  Wohlheim was a collector of 54mm and 90mm miniatures, which Murray produced.

The acquaintance led to a deal and Wohlheim’s DAW Books published the first of Barker’s novels, The Man of Gold, in 1984. The book has a short biographical blurb on Barker that says he had worked on developing the world of Tékumel since the age of ten.  The same blurb directs readers to the Adventure Games booklets on the Tsolyáni language and to the imminent publication of the Swords and Glory sourcebook by Gamescience (both of which will be discussed in future posts).

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Many people daydream but few can imagine detailed and extensive worlds that stay internally consistent over long periods of time. M.A.R. Barker had that gift.

I do not want to exaggerate. Barker’s Tékumel did change  over time. And much of Barker’s Tékumel clearly drew from experiences later in life studying Klamath, Indian, Mayan, and other cultures, as well as his advanced study of linguistics. However, Barker’s early writings and other evidence show that lasting elements of Tékumel developed very early, as early as high school.  Barker wrote that his youthful fascination with science fiction, Hollywood adventures of the 40s and 50s, and pulp magazines partly shaped his fantasy world.

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