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.