I am seriously looking to study & use Tekumel & The Empire of the Petal Throne. The difficulty I am having is "Where to start?"

With several editions from different companies, etc...which would be the most informative on Tekumel & its cultures? Is it worthwhile to hunt down older editions? Is the newest version the most 'complete' or 'definitive'? Would I need to gather 'everything'?

I am essentially looking for the best sources on its people & places, armies, histories, languages, etc. If I was looking for the best 'meat' for a Tekumel campaign, where would it come from? If the gaming system involved is well-suited for it, then that would be a bonus.

I appreciate any assistance anyone can provide.

Ciao,
Grendelwulf

Greetings Clan Cousin !

Senior Proctor Mrittan hi Gribbsa here or .... Martin from Perth in Western Australia. You may email Me about Tekumel stuff at <martin20@tpg.com.au>

I have a pretty much complete and extensive collection of Tekumel products from various suppliers. In all honesty - your best bet besides this Forum is to take a good peek into "Titas House of Games" where there's a proverbial Goldmine of Tekumel products available. You should find a link to his site within the Tekumel.com site.

I suggest obtaining the (old) Gamescience texts from Lou Zocci. The Tekumel game system ("engine" was called Swords and Glory, and there were two main volumes produced. The first book is in vert fine print, a blue cover and called 'Swords and Glory, Volume 1'. This comes with a lovely plastic foldout full colour map which is a real treasure too. This first nook is the collection of very extensive detailing on The World of Tekumel and The Fice Empires (and much more !!). It is well worth getting and buying. There was a 're-run' made from Different Worlds Publications, that split this first S & G Sourcebook (the blue book) into THREE separate sub-volumes. The print is larger and easier to read, and there's more (different) artwork inside. You'll need all three volumes yo cover what was reproduced from the original Swords and Glory volume 1 though.

Next ! Came ... Swords and Glory, Volume 2 (the brown book). This details the game mechanics side of things to run (the very complex) and GM the game. The information inside is very complex however. The Skills, Combat and Sorcery Sections are useful as a 'reference text' and I like it vecause from S & G was born the' Gardasiyal' Tekumel game. This latter set is the one that I play and GM with myself (No offence to Huardians of Orders tatest game), Gardasiyal is basically a simplified and much more playable version of Swords and Glory, Volume 2 ...

AND .... if you delve into the game mechanics, you'll find that the two of them "mesh into each other" pefectly. I use a combinations of the two systems together, but primarily I am playing Gardasiyal Rules. If you want the set of rules, they are available at "Titas" as well. There's a whole lotta other stuff too for the miniatures warfare rules (Qadardalikoi), demonology (The Book of Ebon Bindings), The Gods of Tekumel (I recommend the excellent Mitlanayal Volumes 1 and 2), and more .....

Let Me know how you get on then. Best Regards. Let Me know if you need more specific help and I'll do my best to assist. I've been GM'ing Tekumel since 1975 ('Greyhawk' days and E.Gary Gygax ...).

Martin

Flaming Looney