Good RPG gaming fiction, your favorites

Voadam · Feb 26, 2007

Many people feel that RPG gaming fiction is poor in general. Some feel that the majority of gaming fiction is poor but might be interested in some gaming fiction if it was recommended as good fantasy fiction.

So help your fellow RPGers out who are looking for some good reads in the RPG world genre, novels connected either with an RPG game (generic D&D or Shadowrun) or a specific RPG setting (Dark Sun D&D, Forgotten Realms D&D etc.)

Some I have enjoyed a lot:

Weasel's Luck and Galen Benknighted (Dragonlance D&D).

The first Ravenloft novel, that dealt with Strahd and Jander Sunstar (Ravenloft D&D).

The First Half dozen or so of Wheel of Time series books by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time d20)

The Elric stories by Michael Moorecock (Dragonlords of Melnibone/Elric!/Stormbringer).

Robert E. Howard's Conan stories (GURPS Conan/AD&D Conan Novels/Conan OGL)

Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar series (Lankhmar AD&D/Lankhmar Runequest)

Thieve's World (Thieve's World OGL)

The Amber series by Roger Zelazny (Amber Diceless)

A Game of Thrones (I think that's the first one in the series) by R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones OGL)

The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (M.E.R.P./LotR)

Mouseferatu · Feb 26, 2007

A few years back, WotC published a number of novels based on old classic modules. Most of them were "meh," but the three written by Paul Kidd were a lot of fun. Not "high literature," but really quick, amusing, and exciting reads.

(Those were, for the record, White Plume Mountain, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits, in that order.)

I enjoyed the two I, Strahd novels written for Ravenloft by P.N. Elrod.

To a lesser extent, I enjoyed the two RL novels based on Lord Soth as well.

If one wants to stretch the definition a bit to include Raymon Feist's Riftwar series--not truly RPG novels, but inspired in part by his home game--I like those as well.

And I like to think the Gehenna novel for Vampire: The Masquerade is pretty decent, but I might be just a wee bit biased on that one.

Doghead Thirteen · Feb 26, 2007

Voadam said:
The Elric stories by Michael Moorecock (Dragonlords of Melnibone/Elric!/Stormbringer).

Robert E. Howard's Conan stories (GURPS Conan/AD&D Conan Novels/Conan OGL)

The Amber series by Roger Zelazny (Amber Diceless)

The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (M.E.R.P./LotR)

It may interest you to know that in all of the cases I quoted, the game was inspired by the book. Technically speaking, that means the books are not RPG fiction.

Stuff like the AD&D or Vampire books, you've got a point. LotR? Tolkien died prior to the invention of the role-playing game (though I may have got my facts wrong here.)

Ed_Laprade · Feb 26, 2007

Hmm, half of the above are games derived from books, not the other way around. But...

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizibeth Moon. (It's her own take on D&D from a game she played, but doesn't follow the rules of the game. You even get to see Hommlet and the Moat House in the second book. more or less.)

Quag Keep by Andre Norton. (D&D, but it's the only Norton book I don't like, even though it was officially sanctioned!)

kenobi65 · Feb 26, 2007

Doghead Thirteen said:
It may interest you to know that in all of the cases I quoted, the game was inspired by the book. Technically speaking, that means the books are not RPG fiction.

In addition to the ones you name, Wheel of Time, Lankhmar, Thieves' World, and (I believe) A Game of Thrones were all also novels before they were games.

I, too, draw a distinction between RPG-inspired fiction (e.g., the Forgotten Realms novels) and fiction that inspired a game. Otherwise, Star Trek and Star Wars are also RPG fiction.

Voadam · Feb 26, 2007

Doghead Thirteen said:
It may interest you to know that in all of the cases I quoted, the game was inspired by the book. Technically speaking, that means the books are not RPG fiction.

Stuff like the AD&D or Vampire books, you've got a point. LotR? Tolkien died prior to the invention of the role-playing game (though I may have got my facts wrong here.)

If you define it as only books based on rpg games and not books connected to RPG settings.

Actually, in all of the books after the first two entries (dragonlance and ravenloft) the novels preceded game books.

The first dragonlance modules and novels were developed together so I'm not sure if they qualify under your definition.

I'm not trying to make a point. I'm trying to gather recommendations for good fiction set in worlds people play roleplaying games in.

Clueless · Feb 26, 2007

A Game of Thrones was a book before it was a setting. (And it's a darned good series anyways.)

kenobi65 · Feb 26, 2007

Voadam said:
The first dragonlance modules and novels were developed together so I'm not sure if they qualify under your definition.

To the point that certain incidents in the original Dragonlance novels directly came from things that happened during the playtests of the original Dragonlance modules.

kenobi65 · Feb 26, 2007

Voadam said:
I'm not trying to make a point. I'm trying to gather recommendations for good fiction set in worlds people play roleplaying games in.

To that end, I'd add "Three Hearts and Three Lions" by Poul Anderson. A fun, quick read, and it clearly was a direct inspiration for D&D.

Doghead Thirteen · Feb 26, 2007

kenobi65 said:
In addition to the ones you name, Wheel of Time, Lankhmar, Thieves' World, and (I believe) A Game of Thrones were all also novels before they were games.

I only quoted the ones I knew for dead sure. I prefer to be called up for 'I-didn't-know-that' than for saying 'X-is-the-case' when it wasn't.

Good RPG gaming fiction, your favorites

Voadam

Legend

Mouseferatu

Hero

Doghead Thirteen

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Ed_Laprade

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kenobi65

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Voadam

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