Editing Tékumel (section)

=== Roleplaying ===
Barker was a Professor of Urdu and South Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota during the period when [[David Arneson]], [[Gary Gygax]] and a handful of others were developing the first tabletop role-playing games in the [[Twin Cities]] and [[Lake Geneva, Wisconsin]]. Barker tapped into this tradition and the setting he had developed from his childhood fantasies (much as [[H. G. Wells]] had done for his ''[[Floor Games]]'' leading into the better-known follow-up, ''[[Little Wars]]'') 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, [[TSR, Inc.]], the publishers of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', published Barker's roleplaying game and setting as a standalone game under the title of ''[[Empire of the Petal Throne|The Empire of the Petal Throne]]'' (a synonym for the Tsolyáni Empire), rather than as a "supplement" to the original D&D rules.<ref name="history">{{cite web| url=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_History.asp| title=The History of TSR| publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]| access-date=2005-08-20| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924195557/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_History.asp| url-status=dead| archive-date=2008-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2013/11/19/securing-gamer-posterity/ | title=Securing Gamer Posterity – Black Gate | date=19 November 2013 }}</ref>

Tékumel has spawned five professionally published roleplaying games over the course of the years:
* ''[[Empire of the Petal Throne]]'', published in 1975 as a boxed set by TSR and reprinted later as a single book by [[Different Worlds Publications]] in 1987.<ref name= "TEPT">{{cite web | url=http://www.tekumel.com/gaming_rulesEPT.html |title=Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Boxed set|publisher=Tekumel.com |access-date=2012-03-16}}</ref>
* ''Swords & Glory'', published in 1983/84 in two volumes by [[Gamescience]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tekumel.com/gaming_rulesSAG.html |title=Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Swords & Glory |publisher=Tekumel.com |access-date=2012-03-16}}</ref> These volumes were ''[[Swords & Glory, Volume 1: Tékumel Source Book]]'' and ''[[Swords & Glory, Volume 2: Tékumel Player's Handbook]]''.
* ''Gardásiyal: Adventures on Tékumel'', published in 1994 by Theatre of the Mind Enterprises.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tekumel.com/gaming_rulesG.html |title=Tékumel - The World of the Petal Throne - Adventures| publisher=Tekumel.com |access-date=2012-03-16}}</ref>
* ''[[Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne]]'', published in 2005 by [[Guardians of Order]].<ref name= "TEPT"/>
* ''Béthorm'', published in 2014 by UNIgames, was written by [[Jeff Dee]].

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 ''[[Deeds of the Ever-Glorious]] — a History of the Tsolyani Legions'', ''The Tékumel Bestiary'', and ''[[The Book of Ebon Bindings]]'', 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.

Other materials involving the setting include ''[[The Tomb Complex of Nereshánbo]]'', ''[[A Jakállan Intrigue]]'', ''[[The Tsolyáni Language]]'', ''[[Qadardalikoi]]'', ''[[The Armies of Tékumel]]'', and ''[[EPT Miniatures]]''.

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 ''[[RuneQuest]]'', ''[[GURPS]]'', and third edition ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''. Many of these are available on the internet.