Geoffrey Davis’s first roleplaying game was TSR’s DragonQuest, which his father, unsolicited, brought home on a fateful day in 1992. His subsequent gaming experience includes Rolemaster, Call of Cthulhu, and various iterations of Dungeons & Dragons. He is the author of Babylon, On Which Fame and Jubilation Are Bestowed, a roleplaying game set during the reign of Hammurapi of Babylon. He became interested in Tékumel in the late 2000s, and has since devoured Professor Barker’s novels, rulebooks, and setting information. Mr. Davis provides show notes for each episode of The Hall of Blue Illumination.
Scott Kellogg’s memories of spending fourth grade recess on the pavement with the blue Dungeons & Dragons box blend with fevered, youthful chat of Omni magazine, “Dream Police”, Mork from Ork, and Star Wars. He discovered Tékumel in 1983 when he moved to Indiana and began participating in the Purdue Fantasy Club. He has been a citizen of the Empire ever since, occasionally running (and playing) in Tékumel games.
James Maliszewski discovered roleplaying games in late 1979 through the Basic Dungeons & Dragons rules edited by J. Eric Holmes. It wasn’t long after that he first heard tell of the alien planet of Tékumel and Empire of the Petal Throne. As he became more familiar with both, his passion for them grew, cultivated in part by correspondence with their creator, the late M.A.R. Barker. Since 2015, James has published The Excellent Travelling Volume, a fanzine devoted to Tékumel and referees two campaigns in the setting.
Victor J Raymond began reading science fiction at the age of six or seven. Shortly after that, he was introduced to wargaming by his then-best friend’s father. In 1975, he started playing Dungeons & Dragons with his classmates at school, and soon discovered more roleplaying games, science fiction fandom, and the SCA – and Empire of the Petal Throne. He became a regular member of Prof. Barker’s Thursday Night Group in 1984, and eventually the Chair of the Tekumel Foundation. He currently referees three different groups in his own Tekumel campaign.