Which game books most inspire the "sense of wonder" in you?

[aramis erak]

Which brings me to the focus of this thread. Which RPG products inspire a sense of wonder in you? I don't mean which games, because that implies the playing of it. I am mostly curious about the products themselves - namely, books - that are more likely to generate the sense of wonder through opening them and diving into the world, story, landscape, what-have-you.

What about you?

Products:
Free League's Coriolis - both The Third Horizon and The Great Dark. C:T3H being a very evocative setting description and excellent fluff. TGD is more evocative than descriptive, but is a darker take, too. The beta art is incredible.
Free League's Alien - the mint green on black may be a bit hard to read, but it sets a neat tone. The setting info is top notch, easy for me to read (scotopic sensitivity makes the black on green very easy to read), the adventures by Andrew E C Gaska are a joy to read in prepping, and that includes the one in the core.
Modiphius' DUNE... Gorgeous and easily read. Exquisite fluff (even if there are a couple fairly minor canon gaffs). Gorgeous art, topical to the chapters. And the boxed starter adventure is an awesome read, showing one how to integrate a new house into the place of the Atreides.
Modiphius' Fallout... I liked the show. I got the RPG. The read is so inspiring that I found myself wanting to run it post haste... It keeps the tone, both of the setting and the manuals for the RPGs... it gives me enough to get ideas. And it conveys the setting exquisitely.
Fire Ruby's Warlock... this low budget, skills only, Warhammer inspired game is a joy to read - it evokes the old world setting without actually providing a lot of setting.
WWG's Streetfighter: the Storytelling Game, has been a naughty favorite of mine for years. A great read, fleshing out the setting to support being an RPG rather than just a battle sim. Great art, a wide cast of PC/NPC World Warriors, and a decent battle system... it's awesome.
Palladium Books' Robotech RPG - the whole freaking line. The exquisite line art and the setting description text is excellent. It all triggers memories of the show. (the TV series is on Youtube. The novels are worth reading. But the PB RPG books are what kept Robotech alive in fandom. Even if the rules are meh. The art and worldbuilding are awesome.)

 

[The Soloist]

Top 10: (going back in time)

• Predation, Cypher System setting
• Coriolis
• Symbarum
• Numenera
• Star Frontiers
• Dragonquest 2e (SPI)
• Gammaworld
• AD&D 1e Monster Manual
• Barbarian Prince Adventure Game
• Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Moldvay).

The problem with getting older is that you get jaded. You've read too many books. It's hard to find something that stirs emotion. Which makes it even more precious when it happens.

 

[Aldarc]

• Coriolis

When the setting was described to me as Arabian Nights in Space, that definitely stirred a sense of wonder. However, there were some setting decisions - particularly around religions - that rubbed me the wrong way, turning that initial sense of wonder into disappointment.

The problem with getting older is that you get jaded. You've read too many books. It's hard to find something that stirs emotion. Which makes it even more precious when it happens.

I tend to agree, but I still find myself surprised with wonder by some of the TTRPG books that I encounter.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Barbarian Prince Adventure Game

The Dwarfstar solo microgame? Boy, that's a blast from the past. I should probably print the components out an do a replay of that one and Star Smuggler, it been long enough they should be pretty fresh again.

If I were going to pick just one of those eight games for a "tantalizing sense of something more to this game's setting" it'd probably be Demonlord - or maybe Star Viking. Or even Grav Armor. All of those have same vibe for me as TSR's Divine Right or Revolt On Antares, Chaosium's Dragon Pass, GDW's Bloodtree Rebellion, SPI's Swords & Sorcery or Albion or Omega War or even Timetripper.

 

[The Soloist]

The Dwarfstar solo microgame? Boy, that's a blast from the past. I should probably print the components out an do a replay of that one and Star Smuggler, it been long enough they should be pretty fresh again.

If I were going to pick just one of those eight games for a "tantalizing sense of something more to this game's setting" it'd probably be Demonlord - or maybe Star Viking. Or even Grav Armor. All of those have same vibe for me as TSR's Divine Right or Revolt On Antares, Chaosium's Dragon Pass, GDW's Bloodtree Rebellion, SPI's Swords & Sorcery or Albion or Omega War or even Timetripper.

Yes! Almost all Dwarfstar games are free to download in their website.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Faerun grey box

 

[aramis erak]

Another one that I just got reminded of due to answering a question elsewhere: TSR's Advanced Marvel Super Heroes. I've always found it a motivation to run the game.

 

[MGibster]

Blue Planet (2nd edition): This is a science fiction game set on the planet Poseidon which can be reached through a wormhole just past Pluto. Roughly 98% of the surface is covered by water and choices of species includes genetically modified humans, regular old humans, uplifted dolphins, and uplifted orcas. Oh, yeah, you can play a killer whale. I was absolutely engrossed by the setting which included details about the weather, life on the water, and the politics of Poseidon.

Delta Green (Call of Cthulhu Supplement): What got my attention was the combination of the Cthulhu mythos with well known UFO and other conspiracy theories including the alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, alien lifeforms colloquially known as Greys, MK Ultra, etc., etc. The authors managed to fit mundane law enforcement, intelligence, and even private interest companies into a cohesive setting that's just fantastic. I wouldn't want to visit the world of Delta Green, but it's truly a great way to play CoC.

I6 Ravenloft: The original module released in 1983 starring D&D's best vampire, Strahd von Zarovich. The map of Castle Ravenloft is a true work of art with it's isometric perspective. I've played the module so many times I'm pretty sure I could find my way around with no problem. But where the game truly shines is with Zarovich himself, a villain with a personality with goals that were reasonable in that you could understand them.

 

[Committed Hero]

Delta Green (Call of Cthulhu Supplement): What got my attention was the combination of the Cthulhu mythos with well known UFO and other conspiracy theories including the alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, alien lifeforms colloquially known as Greys, MK Ultra, etc., etc. The authors managed to fit mundane law enforcement, intelligence, and even private interest companies into a cohesive setting that's just fantastic. I wouldn't want to visit the world of Delta Green, but it's truly a great way to play CoC.

Good call. My first reading of the book involved saying "holy *&^%" over and over.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Delta Green also distills the ‘90s zeitgeist into convenient RPG form, for any of you young whipper-snappers who weren’t born yet.