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Flexo said:
Where is the focus of the art? Nowadays it's usually the audience. So is it any wonder it appeals to narcissists?
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but how else could I tell what's happening and what I should feel if I can't see the reaction on the face!?!
 
Last couple of days, legendary (and dead) grognard M.A.R. Barker, creator of Tekumel and author of Empire of the Petal Throne (the third RPG ever commercially published), was outed as the author of "Serpent's Walk", a neo-nazi novel published by National Vanguard, of The Turner Diaries Infamy. Further breadcrumb following showed that Barker (whose real name was Phillip, but who went by Muhammad Abd-al Rahman after converting to Islam in the 50s or 60s) also sat on the editorial board of Holocaust-denying periodical, The Journal for Historical Review. At first, his loyal fanbase was in a state of disbelief, but as evidence began to trickle out, their disbelief turmed to outrage. Especially since it was revealed that The Tekumel Foundation, bearers of the torch for Barker's legacy, had apparently known about this for decades. Here are a few highlights. First, the post by a former Foundation archivist on a Tekumel-themed forum that put the lie to its being a case of mistaken identity:

Chirine.png


Chirine Ka Bal (real name Jeff Berry) is apparently planning to write a book about Barker, and has, bizarrely for a biographer, stated his intent NOT to mention Barker's anti-Semitic views.

It didn't help matters that Barker's attitudes seemed to be an open secret at the Tekumel Foundation.

Barker.png

Barker2.png


This is from the Petalheads Discord, by the current President of The Tekumel Foundation.
Barker3.png


At this point, maybe 48 hours ago, some fans were still clinging to Chirine's grasping-at-straws suggestion that the whole thing was an elaborate practical joke by the Professor. In part because of "Easter eggs" buried in the novel, like his own family crest, and the nom de plume (Randolph D. Calverhall) that was actually the name of one of Barker's ancestors. And in part because Barker was a Muslim, married to a Pakistani woman, who had created a fantasy world that was pointedly NOT derived from European myths and tropes. Instead, Tekumel had elements of Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern and Indian culture, and featured no white people.

joke.gif


The next shoe to drop was the revelation about Barker's decade-plus long involvement with the "Institute for Historical Review", which was basically a pseudo-scientific periodical that advanced Holocaust denial theories, and the like. The idea that there would be TWO Ph.D.s named Phillip Barker, in Minneapolis, who were Holocaust deniers, was a leap even the most diehard Barker apologists weren't willing to make.

Barker 5.png


Today, The Foundation released a statement acknowledging Barker's views, disavowing them, and apologizing for keeping this a secret. They have also pledged to work with Jewish groups to address these issues, and to put Barker's work into context.

For those unfamiliar with Barker, his Empire of the Petal Throne was the first published RPG setting, and the third published RPG. It was massive in scope, and sprang from a personal worldbuiding project he had begun as a child. He won praise for his setting from both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, co-creators of D&D. As of now, it has spawned at least 5 tabletop RPGs, 5 novels set in Tekumel written by Barker, miniatures wargame rules, two languages created by him... you get the picture. He was an academic, and a scholar of languages, history and Islamic culture. He was also married to a Pakistani woman, and had been a Muslim for decades, which might explain the pen name he used when dealing with nazi publishers. Tekumel has become one of those cult settings that people play, write games for, discuss and study.

That these people never imagined any of this coming back to bite them in the ass is mind-boggling. Hell, it was mentioned on Something Awful while Barker was still alive IIRC, in a post I saw sometime in the last two days, but am too lazy to look up now. And in the comments of an acerbic, satirical RPG blog called Your Dungeon Is Suck.

BarkerYDIS.png


It's been a trip. Tekumel is not, nor has it ever been a huge commercial success, in no small part due to the high investment of time and energy needed to get a grasp on such a massive and highly detailed fantasy world. It survives largely by fan curation, and word of mouth. This may well have a devastating effect on Barker's legacy, and the future of Tekumel as a viable commercial property. Sure, many are willing to separate the art from the artist, but many are not.
 
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NavyGuzzler said:
Last couple of days, legendary (and dead) grognard M.A.R. Barker, creator of Tekumel and author of Empire of the Petal Throne (the third RPG ever commercially published), was outed as the author of "Serpent's Walk", a neo-nazi novel published by National Vanguard, of The Turner Diaries Infamy. Further breadcrumb following showed that Barker (whose real name was Phillip, but who went by Muhammad Abd-al Rahman after converting to Islam in the 50s or 60s) also sat on the editorial board of Holocaust-denying periodical, The Journal for Historical Review. At first, his loyal fanbase was in a state of disbelief, but as evidence began to trickle out, their disbelief turmed to outrage. Especially since it was revealed that The Tekumel Foundation, bearers of the torch for Barker's legacy, had apparently known about this for decades. Here are a few highlights. First, the post by a former Foundation archivist on a Tekumel-themed forum that put the lie to its being a case of mistaken identity:

View attachment 3088439

Chirine Ka Bal (real name Jeff Berry) is apparently planning to write a book about Barker, and has, bizarrely for a biographer, stated his intent NOT to mention Barker's anti-Semitic views.

It didn't help matters that Barker's attitudes seemed to be an open secret at the Tekumel Foundation.

View attachment 3088447
View attachment 3088449

This is from the Petalheads Discord, by the current President of The Tekumel Foundation.
View attachment 3088474

At this point, maybe 48 hours ago, some fans were still clinging to Chirine's grasping-at-straws suggestion that the whole thing was an elaborate practical joke by the Professor. In part because of "Easter eggs" buried in the novel, like his ownl family crest, and the nom de plume (Randolph D. Calverhall) that was actually the name of one of Barker's ancestors. And in part because Barker was a Muslim, married to a Pakistani woman, who had created a fantasy world that was pointedly NOT derived from European myths and tropes. Instead, Tekumel had elements of Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern and Indian culture, and featured no white people.

View attachment 3088552

The next shoe to drop was the revelation about Barker's decade-plus long involvement with the "Institute for Historical Review", which was basically a pseudo-scientific periodical that advanced Holocaust denial theories, and the like. The idea that there would be TWO Ph.D.s named Phillip Barker, in Minneapolis, who were Holocaust deniers, was a leap even the most diehard Barker apologists weren't willing to make.

View attachment 3088437

Today, The Foundation released a statement acknowledging Barker's views, disavowing them, and apologizing for keeping this a secret. They have also pledged to work with Jewish groups to address these issues, and to put Barker's work into context.

For those unfamiliar with Barker, his Empire of the Petal Throne was the first published RPG setting, and the third published RPG. It was massive in scope, and sprang from a personal worldbuiding project he had begun as a child. He won praise for his setting from both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, co-creators of D&D. As of now, it has spawned at least 5 tabletop RPGs, 5 novels set in Tekumel written by Barker, miniatures wargame rules, two languages created by him... you get the picture. He was an academic, and a scholar of languages, history and Islamic culture. He was also married to a Pakistani woman, and had been a Muslim for decades, which might explain the pen name he used when dealing with nazi publishers. Tekumel has become one of those cult settings that people play, write games for, discuss and study.

That these people never imagined any of this coming back to bite them in the ass is mind-boggling. Hell, it was mentioned on Something Awful while Barker was still alive IIRC, in a post I saw sometime in the last two days, but am too lazy to look up now. And in the comments of an acerbic, satirical RPG blog called Your Dungeon Is Suck.

View attachment 3088603

It's been a trip. Tekumel is not, nor has it ever been a huge commercial success, in no small part due to the high investment of time and energy needed to get a grasp on such a massive and highly detailed fantasy world. It survives largely by fan curation, and word of mouth. This may well have a devastating effect on Barker's legacy, and the future of Tekumel as a viable commercial property. Sure, many are willing to separate the art from the artist, but many are not.
Click to expand...
One of the most shocking revelation in RPG history that I could possibly think of.
 
NavyGuzzler said:
Last couple of days, legendary (and dead) grognard M.A.R. Barker, creator of Tekumel and author of Empire of the Petal Throne (the third RPG ever commercially published), was outed as the author of "Serpent's Walk", a neo-nazi novel published by National Vanguard, of The Turner Diaries Infamy. Further breadcrumb following showed that Barker (whose real name was Phillip, but who went by Muhammad Abd-al Rahman after converting to Islam in the 50s or 60s) also sat on the editorial board of Holocaust-denying periodical, The Journal for Historical Review. At first, his loyal fanbase was in a state of disbelief, but as evidence began to trickle out, their disbelief turmed to outrage. Especially since it was revealed that The Tekumel Foundation, bearers of the torch for Barker's legacy, had apparently known about this for decades. Here are a few highlights. First, the post by a former Foundation archivist on a Tekumel-themed forum that put the lie to its being a case of mistaken identity:

View attachment 3088439

Chirine Ka Bal (real name Jeff Berry) is apparently planning to write a book about Barker, and has, bizarrely for a biographer, stated his intent NOT to mention Barker's anti-Semitic views.

It didn't help matters that Barker's attitudes seemed to be an open secret at the Tekumel Foundation.

View attachment 3088447
View attachment 3088449

This is from the Petalheads Discord, by the current President of The Tekumel Foundation.
View attachment 3088474

At this point, maybe 48 hours ago, some fans were still clinging to Chirine's grasping-at-straws suggestion that the whole thing was an elaborate practical joke by the Professor. In part because of "Easter eggs" buried in the novel, like his own family crest, and the nom de plume (Randolph D. Calverhall) that was actually the name of one of Barker's ancestors. And in part because Barker was a Muslim, married to a Pakistani woman, who had created a fantasy world that was pointedly NOT derived from European myths and tropes. Instead, Tekumel had elements of Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern and Indian culture, and featured no white people.

View attachment 3088552

The next shoe to drop was the revelation about Barker's decade-plus long involvement with the "Institute for Historical Review", which was basically a pseudo-scientific periodical that advanced Holocaust denial theories, and the like. The idea that there would be TWO Ph.D.s named Phillip Barker, in Minneapolis, who were Holocaust deniers, was a leap even the most diehard Barker apologists weren't willing to make.

View attachment 3088437

Today, The Foundation released a statement acknowledging Barker's views, disavowing them, and apologizing for keeping this a secret. They have also pledged to work with Jewish groups to address these issues, and to put Barker's work into context.

For those unfamiliar with Barker, his Empire of the Petal Throne was the first published RPG setting, and the third published RPG. It was massive in scope, and sprang from a personal worldbuiding project he had begun as a child. He won praise for his setting from both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, co-creators of D&D. As of now, it has spawned at least 5 tabletop RPGs, 5 novels set in Tekumel written by Barker, miniatures wargame rules, two languages created by him... you get the picture. He was an academic, and a scholar of languages, history and Islamic culture. He was also married to a Pakistani woman, and had been a Muslim for decades, which might explain the pen name he used when dealing with nazi publishers. Tekumel has become one of those cult settings that people play, write games for, discuss and study.

That these people never imagined any of this coming back to bite them in the ass is mind-boggling. Hell, it was mentioned on Something Awful while Barker was still alive IIRC, in a post I saw sometime in the last two days, but am too lazy to look up now. And in the comments of an acerbic, satirical RPG blog called Your Dungeon Is Suck.

View attachment 3088603

It's been a trip. Tekumel is not, nor has it ever been a huge commercial success, in no small part due to the high investment of time and energy needed to get a grasp on such a massive and highly detailed fantasy world. It survives largely by fan curation, and word of mouth. This may well have a devastating effect on Barker's legacy, and the future of Tekumel as a viable commercial property. Sure, many are willing to separate the art from the artist, but many are not.
Click to expand...
So is the game good?
 
NavyGuzzler said:
Last couple of days, legendary (and dead) grognard M.A.R. Barker, creator of Tekumel and author of Empire of the Petal Throne (the third RPG ever commercially published), was outed as the author of "Serpent's Walk", a neo-nazi novel published by National Vanguard, of The Turner Diaries Infamy. Further breadcrumb following showed that Barker (whose real name was Phillip, but who went by Muhammad Abd-al Rahman after converting to Islam in the 50s or 60s) also sat on the editorial board of Holocaust-denying periodical, The Journal for Historical Review. At first, his loyal fanbase was in a state of disbelief, but as evidence began to trickle out, their disbelief turmed to outrage. Especially since it was revealed that The Tekumel Foundation, bearers of the torch for Barker's legacy, had apparently known about this for decades. Here are a few highlights. First, the post by a former Foundation archivist on a Tekumel-themed forum that put the lie to its being a case of mistaken identity:

View attachment 3088439

Chirine Ka Bal (real name Jeff Berry) is apparently planning to write a book about Barker, and has, bizarrely for a biographer, stated his intent NOT to mention Barker's anti-Semitic views.

It didn't help matters that Barker's attitudes seemed to be an open secret at the Tekumel Foundation.

View attachment 3088447
View attachment 3088449

This is from the Petalheads Discord, by the current President of The Tekumel Foundation.
View attachment 3088474

At this point, maybe 48 hours ago, some fans were still clinging to Chirine's grasping-at-straws suggestion that the whole thing was an elaborate practical joke by the Professor. In part because of "Easter eggs" buried in the novel, like his own family crest, and the nom de plume (Randolph D. Calverhall) that was actually the name of one of Barker's ancestors. And in part because Barker was a Muslim, married to a Pakistani woman, who had created a fantasy world that was pointedly NOT derived from European myths and tropes. Instead, Tekumel had elements of Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern and Indian culture, and featured no white people.

View attachment 3088552

The next shoe to drop was the revelation about Barker's decade-plus long involvement with the "Institute for Historical Review", which was basically a pseudo-scientific periodical that advanced Holocaust denial theories, and the like. The idea that there would be TWO Ph.D.s named Phillip Barker, in Minneapolis, who were Holocaust deniers, was a leap even the most diehard Barker apologists weren't willing to make.

View attachment 3088437

Today, The Foundation released a statement acknowledging Barker's views, disavowing them, and apologizing for keeping this a secret. They have also pledged to work with Jewish groups to address these issues, and to put Barker's work into context.

For those unfamiliar with Barker, his Empire of the Petal Throne was the first published RPG setting, and the third published RPG. It was massive in scope, and sprang from a personal worldbuiding project he had begun as a child. He won praise for his setting from both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, co-creators of D&D. As of now, it has spawned at least 5 tabletop RPGs, 5 novels set in Tekumel written by Barker, miniatures wargame rules, two languages created by him... you get the picture. He was an academic, and a scholar of languages, history and Islamic culture. He was also married to a Pakistani woman, and had been a Muslim for decades, which might explain the pen name he used when dealing with nazi publishers. Tekumel has become one of those cult settings that people play, write games for, discuss and study.

That these people never imagined any of this coming back to bite them in the ass is mind-boggling. Hell, it was mentioned on Something Awful while Barker was still alive IIRC, in a post I saw sometime in the last two days, but am too lazy to look up now. And in the comments of an acerbic, satirical RPG blog called Your Dungeon Is Suck.

View attachment 3088603

It's been a trip. Tekumel is not, nor has it ever been a huge commercial success, in no small part due to the high investment of time and energy needed to get a grasp on such a massive and highly detailed fantasy world. It survives largely by fan curation, and word of mouth. This may well have a devastating effect on Barker's legacy, and the future of Tekumel as a viable commercial property. Sure, many are willing to separate the art from the artist, but many are not.
Click to expand...
Oh lord, please don't let Greg Costikyan or Erol Otus be next...
 
I'mma real anime gurl said:
So is the game good?
Click to expand...
There are several, official as well as unlicensed, professional and amateur, games based on Barker's world of Tekumel. (Sperg incoming) The first, Empire of the Petal Throne, was released in 1975 by TSR. It used a modified version of the D&D rules. In fact, the idea of a natural 20 resulting in a "critical hit" originated with EotPT. A few years later, Barker wrote another game, Swords & Glory. It was to have consisted of three books. It was never completed, I think because a flood destroyed all copies of the third book (a GM's guide) or something like that. I can't exactly remember. But the first book, Swords & Glory, Vol. 1, which is available in PDF & Print, is widely considered to be the definitive setting guide to Tekumel, regardless of what ruleset you use. There was a third game written by Barker in the early 90s, Gardasiyal: Deeds of Glory, that wasn't well-received. The box set didn't have character generation rules, and you had to buy additional supplements unless you wanted to use pre-gens. Then there was a game by Guardians of Order, just called Tekumel, and currently legendary TSR artist Jeff Dee is publishing a game called Bethorm.

There is a free game called Trikelu, by well-known game designer Dave Morris. And I've seen fan-made implementations of everything from Fate to The Fantasy Trip for it.

Aside from that, Barker wrote many supplements, essays, etc., expanding on the setting. The sheer volume of material is as astounding as it is confusing. Both EotPT and Swords & Glory are available from drivethrurpg.

Edit: speaking of Jeff Dee, he's basically calling the archivist a liar, saying the Foundation only found out 2-1/2 years ago, not ten, a claim which I find, frankly, unbelievable.
Dee.png
 
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HTTP Error 404 said:
NEW FIRMWARE UPDATE: Current Attack Vector: Point out that TSR reformed after getting corpo-raped back in the 90s

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web.archive.org

TSR™ on Twitter

“We've always been coming back. https://t.co/Hiq7QYZkng”
web.archive.org web.archive.org

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YOU'RE NOT REALLY DND, OUR BELOVED CORPORATE OVERLORDS THAT OCCASIONALLY WAVE A RAINBOW AND SHIT COVERED FLAG ARE OUR REAL DADS
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Is this really happening? No wonder I keep getting targetted by weirdos.
 
Shaka Brah said:
I have a simple rule that I rarely break: If sex comes to the table, I leave it. That shit is ALWAYS cringe.

If it's something tangential like a roll to seduce that's blackscreened, or two characters having a romantic relationship in their downtime, that's whatever. But every time something sexual has been open it's been for the fetish fuel of the dungeon master or a party member.

I play with some fairly veteran TTRPGers and they've all seen at least one person try to spring a tentacle rape hentai monster on the party. I've also personally seen people bring characters to open tables and online RP circles (living world campaign type stuff) who have flist profiles and furaffinity RP accounts tied to them. The coomer menace is real.
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I try to run a relatively clean game.
 
Jet Fuel Johnny said:
I'd pay more attention to ENPublishing and ENWorld if they hadn't employed Hellhound knowing he was a child molestor and if they had paid their early creators instead of hiding how much money was being made from sales.

That, and if it hadn't been one of several Ground Zeroes for the current shitstorm we find ourselves in.
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Got proof? ...or are you just making shit up?

Hellhound is M. Jason Parent. He's a decent game designer. It would be tragic if what you're saying is true. The world should be made aware of the truth whatever it may be.
 
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