One important thing to note about Tekumel: it popularised the idea of the Critical Hit doing increased damage.

There were at least four playable alien races in this exotic game. The alignment system was between stability and change. Iron is rare and horses do not exist. The novels are quite good.

I worked at a hobby store in the mid-late 70's, I remember this, also it had a fine line of figurines. I remember the Aztec theme.

On M.A.R. Barker's wikipage, it actually says that this game was self-published in '74 based upon the D&D ruleset. So, this would, in fact, make it the second RPG published. "Having watched the Dungeons & Dragons games started by Mike Mornard, one of the original testers for D&D, when he moved to Minneapolis from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Barker resolved to create his own ruleset based on his own created world and the game mechanics from D&D. After six weeks, this was self-published in August 1974 as Empire of the Petal Throne and play commenced forthwith, including such occasional members as Dave Arneson - who singled out Barker and Tékumel as being his favorite Dungeon Master and roleplaying game, respectively - from early days.[23][24]" Self-published is published, so....

The rules also had the first "Task Difficulty" system. The Likelihood of Spell Success Table was expressly used also with skills. This is the soul of the entire system and sets it apart from D&D. It's buried on pages 18/19 I believe. I've written a 2nd Edition of the game which brings the LoSS Table to the forefront, if you're interested.

The earliest newspaper reference I could find to Empire of the Petal Throne, was from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 31 Aug 1975, in an article on Gen Con VIII entitled "From Hussars to Hippogriffs," with the following excerpt: "Tactical Studies Rules has just published one of the most ambitious war games ever. It's called Empire of the Petal Throne, costs $25 and is the brainchild of M. A. R. Barker, an anthropologist and linguist who heads the department of South Asian studies at the University of Minnesota. Barker's game involves a mythical medieval kingdom, somewhat Persian in character, that he has created complete with a history, finely detailed maps and even its own language and alphabet, just as Tolkien did for the "Lord of the Rings" cycle. And Barker has 20,000 to 30,000 words in manuscript form, Gygax said, of what long may eventually be a three-volume fantasy on the Petal Throne story."

Pauli Kidd’s video on the revelations about Barker’s beliefs is just plain crushing. Her grief is so deep.

The Tekumel books, especially flamesong, are some of my favourite books ever written and I read them every few years

You're such a cool guy, omg. Just getting into the novel like that to give a full review, that's just great. Thank you for being so upfront

There are definitely laser guns, robots, and spaceships in Tekumel. They just aren't called out as such.

I own a copy of this game. I remember the hours I spent reading through all the rules. I was lucky and had a relative that worked at the print shop where these were printed. Got my copies of many early TSR things that way. At the time I also had the D&D basic box set, and so we mostly played that. I think I just might go break the EPT box and read through the material again.

I only just discovered this channel, and here's a new video. Yay!

I never heard of this and it looks great. Thanks for the look, friend!

There is a lot that Jeff Berry could easily add to what you described but I think you did a very good job on describing the game. A little history is MAR Barker as a professor at the University Minnesota had been working on his little story since his childhood. He bumped into a group playing dungeons and dragons that Dave Arneson had been doing at the University of Minnesota at Coughman hall. he ran into one player that had the prototype rules and was running with them. Asked where they got the rules and what the whole thing was about after watching it for a little bit. He was directed to Dave Arneson who happened to be there. Dave handed him the manuscript he had at the time, he is working title was here there be dragons. He had different titles that they were all debating for the game. At one point they simply called it the fantasy game. MAR Barker had apparently within 24 hours gone through the rules and started writing his own set of rules based upon those rules with some major changes. and yes, his world was more science-fiction. It just had the feel of fantasy. Just as I would say Star Wars is a fantasy world and not a science-fiction world. Mostly because they don’t go over the science and yeah… but there was also star probe and star empires which came out shortly during the time Blackmoor was still being played he produced the game with his own production company and printing company. There’s a lot more I can say about what he did. both Dave and Gary thought this was the game they wish they had come up with at various points. they really loved the world building. One aspect of the game as they played it especially as Jeff Berry explained it to me was the mentorship that was done with new players at the beginning of the game. You basically weren’t allowed to run around until you got to a certain level of ability. It was also a metal short world. there is a famous game where Dave Arneson was playing in the game run by MAR Barker there was of course the game star empires and star probe, plus there was a third installment planned that was the classical science-fiction game that was to be the first labeled science-fiction that got published. That started being played before Dungeons & Dragons got published. And TSR did eventually publish those rules as well Anyway I have walked far afield from your topic.

It seems like a very unique and interesting fantasy world to explore...I'm in to it!

My grandfather was a nazi, which was lame, but it does not mean I cannot appreciate the excellent carpentry work he did. Great video, I am very much enjoying this history series!

This was the first RPG I ever played. Thanks!

When it came to thieves he said that the punishments for thievery were so harsh that no one tried it unless they were very, very good at it.

An amazing game, genuinely different, distinct, and alien, as opposed to all the other RPGs.

I remember this game, and all the ones mentioned in the other comments. And so many more over the years.

I was really curious about the maps. Would have been nice if you'd have zoomed out or taken photos of the full maps and edited them in!

Very informative video. It's clear M.A.R. Barker was an extremely creative man, which made it that much sadder that he held such repugnant views. I commend you for addressing that issue with such tact.

Fascinating. I never heard about this game back in the day. I started playing the Moldvay set in 1981, and I remember the little catalog many of their product came with, which advertised Top Secret, Chainmail, Flying Aces, and so on. I don't recall this at all.

Tried this game. There was a way to create names based on the language. The problem is that it sounded so funny. Hard to play when you are consta,y laughing. Gave up after two outings. Then we moved on to Chivalry and Sorcery.

Mildly surprised an angry Ken St. Andre hasn't popped up with his usual argument about how Tunnels & Trolls was actually the second RPG. He can be pretty strident about it sometimes. Perhaps he's mellowed in his old age. :)

Another great video, thank you. 🔥

I bought the hard cover book at GaryCon this year. I am excited to learn about D&D heritage. I didn't know about his Nazi connections until this video. Very disappointing.

If the box was shrink wrapped, the sheet with the description of the game could have been on the back for the buyer to read. Saves money on printing the box. I’ve had a couple older games that did that.

I have never heard of this game. It looks really interesting, particularly the world building. As for the author, it seems like he was really into the Middle East and converted to Islam, so his views are "in character" at least. It doesn't sound like his world Tékumel is racist, possibly the opposite in fact.

Please tell me you are going to cover Arduin

What a beauty of a boxed set! I've been avoiding this video due to knowing about the author and I really appreciate it that you clearly point out his nazi ideology. I can now even more feel the pain of those invested in this setting for decades.

Rules to the Game of Dungeon (1974) was the 2nd RPG

interesting i thought Traveller was number two.

Neat. Feels very Robert E Howard-y Using remixed extinct cultures as models for alien cultures, intersection of sci-fi and fantasy , swords and sorcery, bare titties, written by a racist (though Howard became less racist as he got older)

I have a more modern printing of this... without the box. I always sought a copy of the box, but they are very hard to find... at least for a good price. Yeah, it is a shame that M.A.R. Barker ended up basically being a Nazi. Oof!

I will admit I was not expecting the revelation of his ideals and associations. Yet I can't help but point out wotc being a hypocrite with a lot of its far left leaning ideals, especially towards straight white males. You can deny it, but there is a reason their numbers and sales have been dwindling, and the proof is there for anyone to see. Same with Evil Hat productions who don't hesitate to bash Lovecraft for having xenophobic ideas, when it was clear he was mentally disturbed to begin with, just to turn around and make profit off his universe. I dont condone hatred or the beliefs, I am just here for the games and history, and I would like it if both the haters and woke crowds keep the politics out of my entertainment.

I had heard of this game, but never seen it showcased like you do in this video. It looks quite interesting, even if I'm sure it will feel a bit outdated playing it now

Love it, the first Nazi with a much more lame version of D&D, it's like all our modern D&D tropes were created as soon as the game was.

I had never heard of this. Was thinking it was pretty cool until... NAZIS!!! I'm always surprised by learning new stuff though! Really enjoying your relaxing delivery. Thanks!

Funny enough the backstory is about the extinction of the White Race (nobody bating an eye on that blatant display of racism, and forget not Prof Barker was a mixed offspring from a middle easterner father and white mother) allowing the non-whites to finally evolve XD Anyways, his approach to the problems with alien proteins and careless gardening and "zooing" is very interesting. By the way, some words on the revised reedition of the game? It's very different from the 1975 edition.

EPT was not regarded as an RPG. Everyone, at least everyone who played RPGs in New Haven in the 70s, thought that it was a setting for D & D. That was true of Arduin also.

People change over time. The Professor might have developed his leanings after he wrote this. I like to think so. But, it is just a thought. I like to see the positive, when I can. I just remember the tag line for this product. "No Elves." They were kinda ubiquetous back in the day. So maybe he was anti-Arvendor as well? Sorry. Bad joke. Good video!

Yeah Shock Horror! A Muslim doesn't like Jews. He was just like 95%+ of the islamic world so his beliefs are not "out there" when you think what his core belief system is. There is a reason Mein Kampf is still published and is a good seller in the Islamic world. That being said, I love Tekumel. Been playing there since the 70s. I can sepeaate the art and the artist.

Nazi connection? Boohoo, who cares. Just play the game & leave out politricks.

Way to gloss over the Holocaust denial