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the Ssú, broke free from their reservations and wars as destructive as the massive geographic changes ravaged the planet. Several other significant changes took place due to the crisis: mankind discovered it could now tap into ultraplanar energies that were seen as magical forces, the stars were gone from the sky, and dimensional nexuses were uncovered. Pacts with "demons" (inhabitants of dimensions near in n-dimensional space to Tékumel's pocket dimension) were made and a complex pantheon of "gods" (powerful extra-dimensional or multi-dimensional alien beings) discovered. Science began to stagnate until ultimately knowledge became grounded in traditions handed down from generations long ago. The belief that the universe was ultimately understandable slowly faded and a Time of
Darkness descended over the planet.
382:, a guide to the demonic beings that are known to the Tsolyáni, and a six volume series of booklets that details the armies of each of the Five Empires as well as surrounding states and the vast lands of the reptilian Shén. There have also been various wargames rules as well as small scale metal miniatures to represent the various races and legions. Miniatures for the world were formerly produced in 28mm scale under license by Eureka Miniatures of Australia, but are now being made by a smaller, fan-driven company in Canada called The Tékumel Project.
189:
various non-human allies (Ahoggyá, Chíma, Hegléth, Hláka, Hlutrgú, Ninín, Páchi Léi, Pé Chói, Shén, Tinalíya) who are descended from other star faring races, vie to control resources, including other planar "magical powers" and ancient technology, as they vie for survival and supremacy among themselves as well as hostile and other non-human races (Hlǘss, Ssú, Hokún, Mihálli, Nyaggá, Urunén, Vléshga).
217:
root language for Tsolyáni and many of the other currently spoken languages of the known parts of Tékumel. Sunúz is of interest because, although it is obscure, it is quite useful for sorcerous purposes. For instance, Sunúz contains terms to describe movement in a six-dimensional multi-planar space, something of use to beings who visit the other planar realms where "demons" live.
184:
Severed from vital interplanetary trade routes (Tékumel is a world very poor in heavy metals) and in the midst of a massive gravitic upheaval due to the lines of gravitational force between the stars being suddenly cut, civilization was thrown into chaos. The intelligent native species, the Hlǘss and
216:
Also available are grammar guides for the Yán Koryáni and Livyáni languages which are spoken in two other of the "Five
Empires" of the known parts of Tékumel, as well as grammar books for Engsvanyáli and Sunúz. These two languages are now extinct, dead languages. Engsvanyáli is of use as it is the
188:
Much of Barker's writing concerns a time approximately 50,000 years after Tékumel has entered its pocket dimension. Five vast tradition-oriented civilizations occupy a large portion of the northern continent. These five human empires (Livyánu, Mu′ugalavyá, Salarvyá, Tsolyánu, Yán Kór), along with
157:
of the inhospitable environment, including changing the planet's orbit and rotation rate to create a 365-day year, disrupted local ecologies and banished most of the local flora and fauna (including some intelligent species) to small reservations in the corners of their own world, resulting in a
170:
Suddenly, in the 1120th century (according to Shawn Bond) and for reasons unknown, Tékumel and its star system (Tékumel's two moons, Gayél and Káshi, its sun, Tuléng, and four other planets, Ülétl, Riruchél, Shíchel, and Zirúna) were cast out of our reality into a "pocket dimension" (known as a
117:
has had grammatical guides, dictionaries, pronunciation recordings, and even a complete language course developed for it. In order for his imaginary languages to have this type of depth, Barker developed entire cultures, histories, dress fashions, architectural styles, weapons, armor, tactical
424:
As interest in the game is driven to a large extent by a highly devoted, small number of enthusiasts, there have also been several non-commercially published rules as well as systems to adapt the Tékumel setting to other pre-existing, commercially available role playing rules including
180:
drive which warped the fabric of space. No one knows, but the inhabitants of Tékumel, both human, native, and representatives of the other star-faring races, were now isolated and alone. The novels contain vague clues as to what might have happened.
192:
Much of the gaming materials and other writings focus particularly on these Five
Empires (Tsolyánu in particular) which control much of the world's northern continent (only about an eighth of the planet's surface has published maps).
279:) to further explore and develop Tékumel. His "Thursday Night Groups" were amongst the first roleplaying sessions anywhere and provided what was, at the time, an unusually detailed week-by-week development of the setting. In 1975,
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in Tsolyáni), in which there were no other star systems. One hypothesis is that this isolation happened through hostile action on the part of an unknown party or group. Another is that the cosmic cataclysm was due to over-use of a
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No. 71. Kiesche commented that "In sum, a useful item, especially if the company can overcome production and transition problems and start putting out an item of higher production quality. Well worth looking at."
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is the only
Tekumeláni language that has had a full grammar book, dictionary, pronunciation tapes (on CD) and a primer, publicly released, it is not the only language for this world that Barker developed.
90:, considered not just the creation of a fantasy world but also an in-depth development of the societies and languages of the world. In other words, the setting also provided a context for Barker's
162:
of technology and prosperity for
Mankind and its allies. Tékumel became a resort world, where the wealthy from a thousand other stars could while away their time next to its warm seas.
329:
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There have been a wide variety of materials of all sorts published over the years to further detail this world. As well as the language materials, these include
153:(a.k.a. Sinistra), was first settled by humans exploring the galaxy about 60,000 years in the future, along with several other alien species. Their extensive
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which were developed in parallel from the mid-to-late 1940s, long before the mass-market publication of his works as the roleplaying game and book forms.
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68:, set in the Tékumel universe, initially self publishing it in 1974. Later, Barker wrote a series of five novels set in Tékumel, beginning with
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A Complete and
Efficacious Pamphlet on the Structure and use of the Cursive Script of the Ts Solyani (by Chanyavassa Vimululyanga)
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vie for control using magic, large standing armies, and ancient technological devices. In time, Barker created the
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A Chronological
Presentation of Tekumel, the Sidereal Universe, and the Majesty of The Empire of The Petal Throne
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A Chronological
Presentation of Tekumel, the Sidereal Universe, and the Majesty of The Empire of The Petal Throne
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Barker was a
Professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota during the period when
263:. Barker tapped into this tradition and the setting he had developed from his childhood fantasies (much as
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published as part of a role-playing game. Barker put great effort into the languages of Tékumel. Although
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485:, which deals with the Tsolyáni pantheon and provides much background regarding the Tsolyáni culture.
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Tékumel has spawned five professionally published roleplaying games over the course of the years:
295:(a synonym for the Tsolyáni Empire), rather than as a "supplement" to the original D&D rules.
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The chronological order of the novels (as opposed to their order of publication) is as follows:
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289:, published Barker's roleplaying game and setting as a standalone game under the title of
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and a handful of others were developing the first tabletop role-playing games in the
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Kiesche III, Frederick Paul (Nov–Dec 1984). "Capsule
Reviews: Tékumel Products".
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Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
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is one of several languages spoken on the world of Tékumel, and was the first
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in contrast to the majority of such fantasy settings, which draw primarily on
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Barker also published extensively on scripts for other languages of Tékumel.
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The most significant language created by Barker for his setting is
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styles, legal codes, demographics and more. They were inspired by
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814:"Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Swords & Glory"
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over the course of several decades from around 1940. In this
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481:. In 2004, Zottola Publishing produced the two-volume set
339:, published in 1994 by Theatre of the Mind Enterprises.
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Swords & Glory, Volume 2: Tékumel Player's Handbook
835:"Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Adventures"
793:"Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Boxed set"
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A Useful Grammar of Ts Solyàni (by Messìliu Badàrian)
149:
The world of Tékumel, a fictional planet around star
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Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games As Social Worlds
890:, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 1983.
324:Swords & Glory, Volume 1: Tékumel Source Book
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357:, published in 2014 by UNIgames, was written by
544:that began publication in 1977, devoted to the
443:. Many of these are available on the internet.
704:The 1509th century, according to Shawn Bond's
385:Other materials involving the setting include
39:world created by American linguist and writer
859:
676:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
644:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
317:, published in 1983/84 in two volumes by
273:leading into the better-known follow-up,
776:"Securing Gamer Posterity – Black Gate"
27:Campaign setting and fictional universe
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370:— a History of the Tsolyani Legions
344:Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne
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337:Gardásiyal: Adventures on Tékumel
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594:"Tsolyani Names Without Tears"
561:The Journal of Tékumel Affairs
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292:The Empire of the Petal Throne
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86:Barker, like the better-known
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725:. Scribner. pp. 99–100.
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309:Different Worlds Publications
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547:Empire of the Petal Throne
534:Journal of Tékumel Affairs
368:Deeds of the Ever-Glorious
304:Empire of the Petal Throne
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65:Empire of the Petal Throne
61:tabletop role-playing game
938:Fantasy campaign settings
666:. Seattle. pp. 1–11.
634:. Seattle. pp. 1–13.
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379:The Book of Ebon Bindings
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47:, huge, tradition-bound
461:. This was followed by
347:, published in 2005 by
556:role-playing systems.
440:Dungeons & Dragons
286:Dungeons & Dragons
261:Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
412:The Armies of Tékumel
400:The Tsolyáni Language
321:. These volumes were
92:constructed languages
74:, first published by
751:Wizards of the Coast
747:"The History of TSR"
437:, and third edition
374:The Tékumel Bestiary
283:, the publishers of
139:European mythologies
868:Steve Jackson Games
778:. 19 November 2013.
538:The Tékumel Journal
528:The Tékumel Journal
394:A Jakállan Intrigue
916:2014-08-02 at the
553:Swords & Glory
467:Zottola Publishing
465:in 1985. In 2003,
349:Guardians of Order
315:Swords & Glory
101:, which resembles
732:978-1-4516-4052-6
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602:Strategic Review
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536:(later known as
521:A Death of Kings
515:Prince of Skulls
479:A Death of Kings
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233:Barker designed
88:J. R. R. Tolkien
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863:Space Gamer
566:Space Gamer
319:Gamescience
276:Little Wars
270:Floor Games
265:H. G. Wells
257:Twin Cities
243:Roleplaying
229:Board games
151:Nu Ophiuchi
927:Categories
884:Fine, Gary
841:2012-03-16
820:2012-03-16
799:2012-03-16
761:2005-08-20
613:2009-10-13
574:References
253:Gary Gygax
160:golden age
57:technology
55:levels of
672:cite book
640:cite book
502:Flamesong
483:Mitlanyál
463:Flamesong
453:DAW Books
451:In 1984,
428:RuneQuest
281:TSR, Inc.
197:Languages
135:mythology
78:in 1984.
76:DAW Books
914:Archived
721:(2013).
662:(1950).
630:(1950).
359:Jeff Dee
311:in 1987.
210:Tsolyáni
202:Tsolyáni
128:Egyptian
115:Tsolyáni
99:Tsolyáni
53:medieval
933:Tékumel
708:(1997).
355:Béthorm
206:conlang
173:béthorm
145:Setting
111:Nahuatl
82:Sources
49:empires
37:fantasy
32:Tékumel
18:Tekumel
866:(71).
729:
695:(1997)
523:(2003)
517:(2002)
511:(2003)
505:(1985)
497:(1984)
477:, and
447:Novels
415:, and
376:, and
166:Layout
120:Indian
107:Pashto
870:: 28.
609:: 7–9
605:(4).
597:(PDF)
434:GURPS
51:with
35:is a
727:ISBN
678:link
646:link
550:and
532:The
327:and
259:and
130:and
109:and
103:Urdu
607:TSR
563:in
929::
886:;
850:^
784:^
749:.
674:}}
670:{{
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638:{{
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20:)
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