Empire of the Petal Throne

Empire of the Petal Throne
Cover
DesignersM. A. R. Barker
Publication
  • 1974 (self-published)
  • 1975 (TSR boxed set)
  • 1987 (reprint of 1975 edition)
  • 2005 (Guardians of Order edition)
GenresRole-playing game, fantasy, science fantasy, science fiction

Empire of the Petal Throne is a fantasy role-playing game designed by M. A. R. Barker, based on his Tékumel fictional universe. It was self-published in 1974, then published by TSR, Inc. in 1975. It was one of the first tabletop role-playing games, along with Dungeons & Dragons, and was the first published RPG game setting. Over the subsequent thirty years, several new games were published based on the Tékumel setting; however, to date, none have met with commercial success. While published as fantasy, the game is sometimes classified as science fantasy or, debatably, as science fiction.