Empire of the Petal Throne

Empire of the Petal Throne is a highly nonstandard fantasy game created by M. A. R. Barker. He self-published the first version of the game in 1974. TSR published versions in 1975 and 1987, and Guardians of Order published Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne in 2005.

M. A. R. Barker was a world-builder on the level of J. R. R. Tolkien, and that shows in this game; Tékumel is not a Standard Fantasy Setting. However, thanks to the advertising that promised the game has no elfs or dwarfs, many people were hesitant about giving it a try; the game has never been a commercial success in any version.

Between 1984 and 2003, five tie-in novels set in Tékumel were published: The Man of Gold, Flamesong, Prince of Skulls, Lords of Tsámra, and A Death of Kings.

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Tropes used in Empire of the Petal Throne include:
  • Creepy Blue Eyes / Occult Blue Eyes: Blue eyes are considered creepy by definition, due to being highly uncommon and to being associated (at least in legend) with witchcraft. That said, Tlayesha in The Man of Gold subverts the trope.
  • Fictionary: M. A. R. Barker was also a linguistics professor, and he created Tsolyani and many other languages in great detail for the world of Tékumel. They are notably unlike European languages.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The cruel and unusual version of this is the most ignominious version of the death penalty in Empire of the Petal Throne.
  • Lost Technology. Some examples of the previous human civilization's technology exist, but they're considered magical by the current medieval level society.
  • Planetary Romance: For those who consider the setting to be science fiction of some sort, the fact that the universe has only one inhabitable planet makes the story Planetary Romance by default.
  • The Stars Are Going Out: The origin event of Tékumel. A superweapon split the Tékumel system into a parallel universe where nothing else exists.

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