M.A.R Barker (November 3, 1929 - March 16, 2012) Rest in Peace

Dave Arneson (left) and Professor Barker

I am saddened to learn that Tékumel and Empire of the Petal Throne creator Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker has passed away as reported on the Comeback Inn by Chirine Ba Kal.

Called the "Forgotten Tolkien" by Gary Gygax, Professor Barker was a close friend to Dave Arneson and the two consulted eachother on various gaming projects. My thoughts go to his family and friends.




-Havard

Empire of the Petal Throne Original Manuscript now available

(A later Tékumel cover)

Since there was alot of contact between Dave Arneson's Blackmoor group and Professor Barker's Tekumel group, I have been following Tekumel activity lately. The following was just posted on the Tekumel mailing list:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The original manuscript for Empire of the Petal Throne is now available
from DriveThru/RPG
Now <http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=99646>
.  Known as the "green cover" or "mimeo" version, it was produced in the
Spring of 1974 in *a limited and confidential run of fifty copies* for the
world of Tékumel, the creation of Professor M.A.R. Barker.*This is the
first time this original manuscript has been published or made available to
the general public.*  The PDF product now available for purchase was
prepared from a copy taken directly from Prof. Barker’s archive, and is
presented with each facing page containing the text of the original
manuscript.

This version is a precursor to the game published shortly later by TSR,
Inc. and contains a number of significant differences.  However, it is in
many ways is substantively similar to the later TSR publication, and is
being produced more as a historical document than as a different product.
Print-on-demand versions are in development and expected to be available by
mid-March. "Tékumel" is a trademark of M.A.R. Barker; for more information
about Tékumel, visit www.Tekumel.com.

Victor Raymond
Tékumel Foundation

-Havard

Tékumel (2005) in the mail and other news

Tékumel - Empire of the Petal Throne just arrived in the mail today. This is the 2005 version published by Guardians of Order for the Tri-Stat system. One of my reasons for wanting to get more into this setting is because of all the connections between Arneson's and Professor Barker's Campaigns that I was discussing last month.

In other news, I have begun doing some research on the Peshwa. I am currently working on a timeline for these Horsemen and reading up on the Riders of Hak supplement. Hope to have more for you on these guys later on.

-Havard

Jeff Berry

Also known as Chirine Ba Kal, Jeff Berry (1956-) was one of the members of MAR Barker's Tékumel group in St. Paul Minnesota around the time when Dave Arneson was running his early Blackmoor games in the same area.

Jeff Berry in Tékumel Outfit

Jeff started gaming in the Twin City area in 1975 and first met Dave Arneson at the University of Minnesota wargame club. When Dave Arneson started his own company, Adventure Games, in the early 1980s, he hired Berry to be his "Tékumel guy." I have previously mentioned how another member of Professor Barker's group, Debora Naffziger also influenced the Blackmoor Setting. 

Yesterday, at the Hill Cantons blog, ckutalik has posted an interesting interview with Jeff, where he among other things talks about his gaming experiences with Dave Arneson:

"Dave was really one of the most creative people I'd ever met, and genuinely the most fun to play with. He was very nice, very genial, and would do his very best to rip your liver out and feed it to you with Tabasco sauce on it. "

Read the entire interview here. Jeff Berry also has his own Q&A thread over at the Comeback Inn Forum where he talks about Tékumel, Dave Arneson, Blackmoor and many other things. He has been a fantastic source of information about the early days of gaming.

Jeff Berry i 2009

Image source: Der Spiegel


-Havard

Afridhi from Tékumel?

Last Monday, I wrote about the origins of the Afridhi of Blackmoor. I mentioned how the player, Deborah Naffziger, who controlled the Afridhi was a young lady who primarily played in Professor Barker's Tékumel Campaign. Comparing this to how another player, Stephen Rocheford was working with Arneson to come up with the background for his character, St. Stephen, it is not unlikely that Arneson and Naffziger worked together on developing the culture of the Afridhi.

Since both Arneson and Naffziger had experience Barker's campaign, it is not unlikely that they would be drawing on that lore when developing the Afridhi Warrior Culture. The name itself suggests Asian inspiration, which is one of the parts of the world which Professor Barker drew his ideas from. Poster Aldarron, over at the Comeback Inn Forum even suggested that the Afridhi actually travelled from Tékumel to the world of Blackmoor. You can read his interesting theories about this here. I think it is worth exploring further the cross polination between Arneson and Barker's games.






Image source





-Havard

St. Paul Memorial Event Poster

As I mentioned earlier this month, there will be a memorial event held in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 10th. Thanks to Jeff Berry, I can present you with the poster for the event:

I like the illustration. I wonder if that is Arneson's character, Captain Harchar right there, swinging from the mast?






-Havard