Two additional Tekumel adventures have been published, specifically for Bethorm: 'High & Dry' (an introductory adventure, with both social/cultural stuff and adventure action) and 'Pillars of Glass' (a more advanced crawl through an ancient site, exploring theological theme relating to one of the major temples). Both are PDF only on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG: www.rpgnow.com/product/149664/High-and-Dry www.rpgnow.com/product/181372/Pillars-of-Glass
Love Tekumel! Thanks for the video, Matt. You have had some great guests and very interesting interviews. This is one of my favorites. Thanks for shining your light on Tekumel.
Thanks for this one. I got the POD of the core book and Bethorm last year. I live in Mpls and I hope to find a group to play with in the next year. It’s nice to hear Prof. Barker wasn’t stuck on newbies getting the pronunciation and lore perfect. The depth of the setting and the strangeness of the language are intimidating, but Victor makes it sound more approachable.
EPT was certainly the first RPG to be published that emphasized its world setting rather than the game mechanisms-indeed, the D&D framework in Empire of the Petal Throne reads as a kind of procrustean afterthought (for example, the Good/Evil 'alignment'). It is, I believe, also the first RPG rulebook with an actual example of play dialogue-something that is a commonplace in almost every rulebook now published. In this sense, it prefigures the greater role-play emphasis we commonly see in game play (not necessarily system design) today; by contrast, the earliest FRP games (including, of course, D&D itself) came from wargame designers and companies, and were much more about the game mechanisms and (dubiously) simulation than about storytelling. Arguably, Greyhawk is the older 'world' in terms of publication date (both in 1975), but Tékumel was the first separate game to be _about_ a world; the Greyhawk supplement was still not _about_ the Greyhawk campaign; it was just more rules, spells, and classes for D&D. Glad you pointed out Brett Slocum's ports to other systems. I have recently become re-interested in the Fantasy Trip system for its mechanical cleanliness, and sure enough, Slocum wrote up an incomplete but promising adaptation for that system in 2012, so thanks for the pointer.
So, since Frog God is bringing back a classic in "Tegel Manor," how about bringing back "Empire of the Petal Throne" as a "Swords & Wizardry" product? The original mechanics shouldn't be too far off. ("Swords of the Petal Throne?") Victor even said the Tekumel Foundation would love to do modern versions with more illustrations. I don't know about anybody else, but I'd back that Kickstarter. You could also include new, introductory adventures to get people going, and a Kickstarter "revival" would also help give the setting some extra visibility, which is what it really needs. (Oh sure, you'd want to include the 5th edition D&D version to get numbers and promote the setting to as many gamers as possible, but for me, I'd stick with S&W.) Just a thought....
Thanks, but I know about (and own) that one, and sure, it's cool. What I was talking about was resurrecting a classic treatment of the setting and basically using S&W to do a sort of retro-clone of EPT itself (and maybe a matching, reworked set of the "Swords & Glory" material, perhaps as a stretch goal for the Kickstarter). A second RPG would just mean more attention for the setting, especially if it tied into D&D, which tends to sell really well.
Most likely not, just due to the issues involved in licensing a complex intellectual property. I wouldn't utterly rule it out, but it's (a) unlikely for those reasons, and (b) the FGG production schedule is full out to 18 months at the moment.
Excellent interview, Matt. You and Victor have a great flow. Love your work, and M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel has been a great inspiration on me.
Two additional Tekumel adventures have been published, specifically for Bethorm: 'High & Dry' (an introductory adventure, with both social/cultural stuff and adventure action) and 'Pillars of Glass' (a more advanced crawl through an ancient site, exploring theological theme relating to one of the major temples). Both are PDF only on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG:
www.rpgnow.com/product/149664/High-and-Dry
www.rpgnow.com/product/181372/Pillars-of-Glass
Love Tekumel! Thanks for the video, Matt. You have had some great guests and very interesting interviews. This is one of my favorites. Thanks for shining your light on Tekumel.
Thanks for this one. I got the POD of the core book and Bethorm last year. I live in Mpls and I hope to find a group to play with in the next year. It’s nice to hear Prof. Barker wasn’t stuck on newbies getting the pronunciation and lore perfect. The depth of the setting and the strangeness of the language are intimidating, but Victor makes it sound more approachable.
EPT was certainly the first RPG to be published that emphasized its world setting rather than the game mechanisms-indeed, the D&D framework in Empire of the Petal Throne reads as a kind of procrustean afterthought (for example, the Good/Evil 'alignment'). It is, I believe, also the first RPG rulebook with an actual example of play dialogue-something that is a commonplace in almost every rulebook now published. In this sense, it prefigures the greater role-play emphasis we commonly see in game play (not necessarily system design) today; by contrast, the earliest FRP games (including, of course, D&D itself) came from wargame designers and companies, and were much more about the game mechanisms and (dubiously) simulation than about storytelling.
Arguably, Greyhawk is the older 'world' in terms of publication date (both in 1975), but Tékumel was the first separate game to be _about_ a world; the Greyhawk supplement was still not _about_ the Greyhawk campaign; it was just more rules, spells, and classes for D&D.
Glad you pointed out Brett Slocum's ports to other systems. I have recently become re-interested in the Fantasy Trip system for its mechanical cleanliness, and sure enough, Slocum wrote up an incomplete but promising adaptation for that system in 2012, so thanks for the pointer.
I think high quality artwork would also help bring in new players. The latest Glorantha books really help draw people into the setting.
Did not know they had POD of Empire of the Petal Throne....may have to pick one up since I have not been able to score an original copy yet.
So, since Frog God is bringing back a classic in "Tegel Manor," how about bringing back "Empire of the Petal Throne" as a "Swords & Wizardry" product? The original mechanics shouldn't be too far off. ("Swords of the Petal Throne?") Victor even said the Tekumel Foundation would love to do modern versions with more illustrations. I don't know about anybody else, but I'd back that Kickstarter. You could also include new, introductory adventures to get people going, and a Kickstarter "revival" would also help give the setting some extra visibility, which is what it really needs. (Oh sure, you'd want to include the 5th edition D&D version to get numbers and promote the setting to as many gamers as possible, but for me, I'd stick with S&W.) Just a thought....
Thanks, but I know about (and own) that one, and sure, it's cool. What I was talking about was resurrecting a classic treatment of the setting and basically using S&W to do a sort of retro-clone of EPT itself (and maybe a matching, reworked set of the "Swords & Glory" material, perhaps as a stretch goal for the Kickstarter). A second RPG would just mean more attention for the setting, especially if it tied into D&D, which tends to sell really well.
Most likely not, just due to the issues involved in licensing a complex intellectual property. I wouldn't utterly rule it out, but it's (a) unlikely for those reasons, and (b) the FGG production schedule is full out to 18 months at the moment.
I would invest in such a kickstarter, like immediately.