Beyond This Point Be Dragons

[finarvyn]

Wouldn't it be cool if this archival project could produce some texts for Barker that would rival Tolkien's "History of Middle-earth" series? Imagine seeing in print various versions of drafts and getting a feel for the evolution of Tekumel. hock:

And it's great to see that Dave's name pops up often. I'd love to see some new layers of Blackmoor-style material and maybe hints of it can be found in Phil's files. After all, EPT was written as a RPG based on the OD&D rules but not exactly the same, so if Phil and Dave were discussing ideas who knows how much of the 1975 EPT rules might have been influenced by Dave's thinking.

[chirine ba kal]

Wouldn't it be cool if this archival project could produce some texts for Barker that would rival Tolkien's "History of Middle-earth" series? Imagine seeing in print various versions of drafts and getting a feel for the evolution of Tekumel. hock:

And it's great to see that Dave's name pops up often. I'd love to see some new layers of Blackmoor-style material and maybe hints of it can be found in Phil's files. After all, EPT was written as a RPG based on the OD&D rules but not exactly the same, so if Phil and Dave were discussing ideas who knows how much of the 1975 EPT rules might have been influenced by Dave's thinking.

Yes, it will; Phil left us an incredible amount of information, and he kept all of his draft notes on things. I believe the intention of the Tekumel Foundation is to publish everything that they can, much in the manner of an academic press. You will see how Phil developed his ideas of how his world worked from the early 1940s on through the early 2000s. My job is to get it all organized and into 'readable' format, and it's been mind-boggling to see things like his original 1950s campaign maps.

And yes indeed, Dave and Phil collaborated a lot more then we had known. I'll keep everyone posted on what we're finding!

yours, Chirine

[Rafael]

The problem with Tekumel is, for starters, it would be awesome if the older stuff could get back in print,
even though this would woe all collectors.

I am very much interested in Tekumel, but, sorry, I am simply not willing to pay the amazon or NKG prizes for the books,
which right now range between 100 and 300 dollars. In my typical blunt fashion, let me say this:

You want people to remember your friend? - Then, take care that his setting is available to other than old men in their basements.

I would run a Tekumel game, in all likelihood, if I had the books available.

But really, check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Tekumel-Empire-Th ... im_sbs_b_1


Nobody is going to pay that kind of money.

[rredmond]

Reprinting shouldn't collectors because the reprint would be editionsoexpensive+1. They'd still have their super expensive copy no?

[chirine ba kal]

The problem with Tekumel is, for starters, it would be awesome if the older stuff could get back in print,
even though this would woe all collectors.

I am very much interested in Tekumel, but, sorry, I am simply not willing to pay the amazon or NKG prizes for the books,
which right now range between 100 and 300 dollars. In my typical blunt fashion, let me say this:

You want people to remember your friend? - Then, take care that his setting is available to other than old men in their basements.

I would run a Tekumel game, in all likelihood, if I had the books available.

But really, check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Tekumel-Empire-Th ... im_sbs_b_1


Nobody is going to pay that kind of money.

I agree with you completely! I hope it's all right to post links to other sites, but please have a look at:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?...rers_id=57

The Tekumel Foundation is putting a lot of the old material up here, and sales from DriveThruRPG help fund the preservation and restoration work on the collection. The first item from Phil's files was the side-by-side 'ditto' original pre-TSR manuscript and clear text copy from 1974, and the TSR / Gamescience / Different Worlds edition of EPT is available for a whole $11.00.

If there's anything I can help you with, please feel free to contact me!

yours, Chirine

[Rafael]

Thank you, chirine!

The problem with those files is just - they're just PDFs. While SOME people might actually enjoy PDFs, especially with this new trend of e-readers,
they are, at the end of the day, still a poor substitute for a real book.

I don't know how involved you are with this new "Tekumel Foundation", but why didn't they simply upload the files to LULU,
or a similar print-on-demand server?

That would not hurt the PDF sales, and at the same time open a way to attract customers who prefer printed stuff.

It might not be the best way to max out profit, of course, but it would be a nice to gain a bigger audience for your efforts.

Because, frankly, a total of twenty or thirty short PDFs that I then have to print is not something that I would spent money for.

Why not put them all together into a print-on-demand book, and see how it sells?

You have more fans out there than you might think, but since Tekumel stuff is so notoriously rare,
there is no living community outside of a small circle - sort of like Blackmoor.

[Havard]

I agree with you completely! I hope it's all right to post links to other sites, but please have a look at:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?...rers_id=57

The Tekumel Foundation is putting a lot of the old material up here, and sales from DriveThruRPG help fund the preservation and restoration work on the collection. The first item from Phil's files was the side-by-side 'ditto' original pre-TSR manuscript and clear text copy from 1974, and the TSR / Gamescience / Different Worlds edition of EPT is available for a whole $11.00.

If there's anything I can help you with, please feel free to contact me!

yours, Chirine

Very cool Chirine!

PDFs are infinately better than no information at all. I have the TSR EPT and the Tristat book. I had no idea that the Tristat Book had become so pricey now. Tekumel is really a unique part of gaming history.


It is also really interesting to hear about Dave Arneson's involvement in working with Barker. I am hoping to hear more about that in the future.

-Havard

[chirine ba kal]

Thank you, chirine!

The problem with those files is just - they're just PDFs. While SOME people might actually enjoy PDFs, especially with this new trend of e-readers,
they are, at the end of the day, still a poor substitute for a real book.

I don't know how involved you are with this new "Tekumel Foundation", but why didn't they simply upload the files to LULU,
or a similar print-on-demand server?

That would not hurt the PDF sales, and at the same time open a way to attract customers who prefer printed stuff.

It might not be the best way to max out profit, of course, but it would be a nice to gain a bigger audience for your efforts.

Because, frankly, a total of twenty or thirty short PDFs that I then have to print is not something that I would spent money for.

Why not put them all together into a print-on-demand book, and see how it sells?

You have more fans out there than you might think, but since Tekumel stuff is so notoriously rare,
there is no living community outside of a small circle - sort of like Blackmoor.

Thanks for your post; lots of great points, and I'll try to answer them all!

Agreed about the PDFs; these are the first step in the process, and the plan is to be able to have both PDF and PoD versions of everything. I also really prefer books; I like the feel and 'heft' of them. My missus, on the other hand, has one of those Nook devices, and she prefers PDFs and e-books. So, we're working on all of these, and we're going to try to use as many types of media as possible to share Phil's work.

I also agree about the individual items; a lot of these will be compiled into 'bundles', which in turn will be done as books. Print-on-demand has radically transformed the game industry and hobby, and we're in the process of completely reevaluating how Phil's materials are presented. I've been in my [volunteer] position as [formal] Archivist for the Tekumel Foundation since this past June, and it's become very apparent that we're going to have to pretty much start from the ground up; the Professor gave us so much material, and we now have so much more information, that we're going to be having to rework most of the publications we did 'back in the day'. Since we have to do that anyway, we're going to make the leap into the kind of technologies you're talking about.

The Tekumel Foundation, which the Professor and his wife set up about three years ago, is made up of more volunteers who are dedicated to getting everything we can of the Professor's work out to people who are interested in his world-setting. I report directly to Mrs. Barker on matters concerning preservation and restoration, and to the Foundation on historical and archival matters; I don't have any executive, policy-making, or decision-making powers but my advice on things is both sought and considered by the Foundation's Board of Directors.

So, if I may, I'd like to forward all of your comments to the Board for their information; we want to make sure that everyone gets a voice, as it were.

Does this help answer your questions?

yours, Chirine

[chirine ba kal]

Very cool Chirine!

PDFs are infinately better than no information at all. I have the TSR EPT and the Tristat book. I had no idea that the Tristat Book had become so pricey now. Tekumel is really a unique part of gaming history.


It is also really interesting to hear about Dave Arneson's involvement in working with Barker. I am hoping to hear more about that in the future.

-Havard

Agreed; I was really shocked, myself!

It's been pretty amazing finding out how much Dave and Phil were working on their games and settings in parallel. It's our goal to make as much as we can available, so there will be a whole lot more coming out. There's just so much material to work through, and so little time in the week...

yours, Chirine

[chirine ba kal]

Reprinting shouldn't collectors because the reprint would be editionsoexpensive+1. They'd still have their super expensive copy no?

Agreed! We actually got a comment on facebook telling us that we were 'cheapening the brand' by publishing the 'ditto' green-cover manuscript from a collector who had bought the TSR boxed set; he didn't understand that this was the pre-TSR playtest version, and told us that Prof. Barker would never have approved such a shoddy product. We had to explain to him that this was done by the Professor in 1974, on his IBM Selectric and his personal ditto machine, and so it should not have any bearing on the value of the TSR boxed set. I don't know what the upshot of the discussion was, but I can find out.

yours, Chirine