We were horrified and angered to learn that MAR Barker, the creator of Tekumel, was a closet racist who wrote a pro-Nazi novel under a pseudonym and was on the editorial board of a pseudoscientific neo-Nazi Holocaust-denying publication.

In light of these revelations, we have decided to scrub that man’s name from the credits of our Tekumel products. We will also add a disclaimer to the Bethorm rulebook, confronting and repudiating his unacceptable opinions. Further, we are in contractual negotiations with the Tekumel Foundation to separate his name from the copyright to our works. That last point is complicated by their legal agreements with his spouse, and may take an as-yet unknown amount of time.

We beg our supporters patience while we work through the necessary negotiations and editing. As each of our products is re-released with these changes, we will let you all know.

Update 10/1/2023

Our request not to copyright Barker has unfortunately been denied. Now that we have that final answer, we will move forward asap with the other changes to our products in this line that we previously announced. Thank you for your patience and support.

The Tekumel Foundation Board of Directors wants to acknowledge that our research shows Professor M.A.R. Barker wrote *Serpent’s Walk*, an anti-Semitic novel that was published under a pseudonym in 1991. We have done our due diligence to ascertain the facts regarding *Serpent’s Walk * and Professor Barker’s affiliation with *The Journal of Historical Review* and we believe this needs to be recognized as part of Professor Barker’s past. While nobody today is responsible for the odious views Professor Barker presented in *Serpent’s Walk*, we are responsible for recognizing this book as part of his legacy.

That this acknowledgment was not done earlier was and is a mistake, and we apologize for that. We have been reaching out to several Jewish organizations to express our outrage over our findings and make our priority to work with them through this issue.

What Professor Barker did was wrong and forever tarnished his creative and academic legacy. As stewards of the world of Tekumel, we reject and repudiate *Serpent’s Walk* and everything it stands for and all other anti-Semitic activity Professor Barker was involved with.

The Tekumel Foundation has never been involved with or profited from the publication, distribution, or sale of *Serpent’s Walk* in any way, shape, or form. All of the proceeds from sales of Tekumel-related material have gone and will continue to go to the Foundation and its work, and not to any racist or anti-Semitic organizations or causes, in any way, shape, or form.

You’re invited to UNIgames’ Bethorm RPG Gathering!

Online, in the free web-based Roll20 virtual tabletop, Saturday April 18 2020.

Meet the design team behind UNIgames’ Tekumel role-playing game, Bethorm! We’ll chat about everything from Bethorm’s game mechanics to the Tekumel setting and the history and future of the game. We’ll be here from 4 to 6 pm CDT, stop by and say hello!

https://app.roll20.net/join/6926868/TFgkhA

High & Dry, the introductory adventure for Bethorm: the Plane of Tekumel RPG, is coming soon as a PDF through RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. It’s 15 pages long, containing 9 illustrations (including a color cover) and 3 color maps! Here’s a preview of the cover art:

Here’s a photo of the prototype of our upcoming Sákbe road model. You’ll print out an 8-piece pattern, and use it to cut out the parts from a standard foamcore sheet. The whole process takes about half an hour. In the final version the pattern pieces with have a full-color texture – so you’ll glue them to the foamcore before cutting them out. The result is wonderfully sturdy, and looks great on the tabletop!

And here’s a finished example! The pattern pieces are printed in color on standard 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper, then glued to black foamcore before cutting. We’re very pleased with the results! Next we need to write up the instructions, and submit the final product to the Tekumel Foundation for approval. The kit should be available for download from RPGNow within a month.

UNIgames proudly supports efforts to make 2015 – the 40th anniversary of Empire of the Petal Throne – the Year of Tekumel!

We have a lot of exciting things in the works, from Talzhemir’s ongoing series of Tekumel paper minis to our big Kurt Hill Map Set & Gazetteer, and many more things in between! We’re also scheduled to run games and give talks at several upcoming conventions in the coming year.

Be sure to explore the tabs at the top of this page to find links to tons on Tekumel products, source material, and other resources. Bethorm.com is here to help inspire your Tekumel gaming, whichever system you choose. On to a glorious 2015!

Otulengba!
-Jeff Dee
UNIgames

Ss’kik Ssa – Pe Choi Swordsman of the Black Old One! This character demonstrates nonhuman character construction, and multiple weapon use. Click the “Free Downloads” tab, above.

Now that the game is out, our focus switches to supporting Béthorm with utilities and content. We’ve just added a new “Free Downloads” tab to the web site, where we plan to post at least one new freebie each week – at least until we run out of ideas! First up is a Tsolyani calendar, to help Béthorm GMs keep track of campaign time. It also references the Tsolyani celebrations and festivals from Prof. Barker’s Tekumel Sourcebook. There’s a printable PDF version of the calendar, as well as an Excel version for keeping track on your computer. Otulengba!

UPDATES!

• Blank Tékumel mega-hex grid added to the Free Downloads page.
• Blank Béthorm character sheet PDF added to the Free Downloads page.
• “The Circle of Columns” adventure PDF added to the Free Downloads page.
• Guténu hiKúrodu – Junior Admin Priest of Hriháyal added to Free Downloads page
• Siónu hiTekkól – Minor Spellcaster of Keténgku added to the Free Downloads page

The PDF edition of Bethorm is now available to the general public on RPGNow, and has received its first review. Check it out here!

Béthorm: the Plane of Tékumel RPG has been Approved by the Tékumel Foundation. After one final week of proofreading and editing, the books will go to print!