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Appendix N redux
- Thread starter MacMathan
- Start date
It is a list of inspirational references from the 1e DMG. See here for actual list http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/186802-appendix-n-inspirational-educational-reading.html
In addition to the original Appendix N:
"A Song of Ice and Fire" is an obvious choice, and probably "The Wheel of Time," though I feel any recommendation for that series should come with a caveat: "Read the first 3-6 books, depending on taste. Then switch to reading online synopses and stick to that through at least book 9. You may possibly wish to begin reading the books again at some point after that. I wouldn't know."
Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series. While not quite usual D&D fare, it's a very well-done quest in a fascinating points-of-light setting, and rich with material that could inspire adventures.
Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman books, "Neverwhere," and "Stardust."
Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain."
Homer's "Odyssey." Not the "Iliad," you can skip that, it's mostly just a catalog of who won what at whose funeral games. But the "Odyssey" is much better reading, and does a great job putting some of the game's mythological critters into context.
Sun Tzu's "Art of War."
Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic, "Tigana," "The Lions of Al-Rassan," and "A Song for Arbonne."
Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy (and "The Wicked Day," the sequel from Mordred's point of view).
Bernard Cornwall's "Warlord Chronicles," for a different take on the Arthurian legend.
I would mostly avoid listing books based on D&D, for two reasons. First, D&D is plenty insular and self-referential as it is, we don't need to encourage more of that. Second, most books based on D&D suck horribly. However, I'd make an exception for the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends; they're far and away the best I've seen of the D&D-book genre, and they hold an important place in the history of the game.
"A Song of Ice and Fire" is an obvious choice, and probably "The Wheel of Time," though I feel any recommendation for that series should come with a caveat: "Read the first 3-6 books, depending on taste. Then switch to reading online synopses and stick to that through at least book 9. You may possibly wish to begin reading the books again at some point after that. I wouldn't know."
Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series. While not quite usual D&D fare, it's a very well-done quest in a fascinating points-of-light setting, and rich with material that could inspire adventures.
Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman books, "Neverwhere," and "Stardust."
Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain."
Homer's "Odyssey." Not the "Iliad," you can skip that, it's mostly just a catalog of who won what at whose funeral games. But the "Odyssey" is much better reading, and does a great job putting some of the game's mythological critters into context.
Sun Tzu's "Art of War."
Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic, "Tigana," "The Lions of Al-Rassan," and "A Song for Arbonne."
Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy (and "The Wicked Day," the sequel from Mordred's point of view).
Bernard Cornwall's "Warlord Chronicles," for a different take on the Arthurian legend.
I would mostly avoid listing books based on D&D, for two reasons. First, D&D is plenty insular and self-referential as it is, we don't need to encourage more of that. Second, most books based on D&D suck horribly. However, I'd make an exception for the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends; they're far and away the best I've seen of the D&D-book genre, and they hold an important place in the history of the game.
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GnomeWorks
Adventurer
Include films and TV series.
Say... Seven Samurai, maybe Yojimbo. The Dollars trilogy.
Throwing Harry Potter into the mix probably wouldn't hurt.
The thing with this kind of list is that you want the stuff to be accessible and/or have things on the list the reader is already familiar with. You want obvious high-profile fantasy works to be on the list, so that readers who are new to the game and the genre in general will be able to look at it and say, "Oh, okay, <popular thing I know about> is on here... maybe some of this other stuff will be cool, too."
Also - just drop the original list. I couldn't tell you who at least half of those people are or why they're on the list, and the ones I do recognize I only recognize because they get thrown around all the time. If you want to try to attract new players, stop referencing things that, at this point, are ridiculously old.
Say... Seven Samurai, maybe Yojimbo. The Dollars trilogy.
Throwing Harry Potter into the mix probably wouldn't hurt.
The thing with this kind of list is that you want the stuff to be accessible and/or have things on the list the reader is already familiar with. You want obvious high-profile fantasy works to be on the list, so that readers who are new to the game and the genre in general will be able to look at it and say, "Oh, okay, <popular thing I know about> is on here... maybe some of this other stuff will be cool, too."
Also - just drop the original list. I couldn't tell you who at least half of those people are or why they're on the list, and the ones I do recognize I only recognize because they get thrown around all the time. If you want to try to attract new players, stop referencing things that, at this point, are ridiculously old.
Libramarian
Adventurer
You asked exactly this in an appendix N thread on here last month.
Anyway I would sooner put videogames than films/TV shows on the list.
I think PnP RPGs as a medium are a sort of cross between videogames and literature. Videogames can instruct a DM about gamism and literature about how influencing the imagination with words works.
Films/TV I don't think have much of a connection to PnP RPGing.
From the original Appendix N you at least need:
Jack Vance: The Dying Earth
Robert E. Howard: Conan
Fritz Leiber: Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser
J.R.R. Tolkien: Lord of the Rings
Poul Anderson: Three Hearts and Three Lions
Phillip Jose Farmer: The World of Tiers
as well as Clark Ashton Smith: Hyberborea and Zothique stories -- CAS is huge in the OSR scene and he really seems to have been omitted from the list by mistake
For videogames:
Diablo
Resident Evil
Baldur's Gate
Elder Scrolls
Dark Souls
Final Fantasy
I'm not really into modern fantasy novels, but I heard Michael Chabon wrote a novel in a Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser vein that's supposed to be good...
Yora
Legend
I know, but I couldn't remember what it was, only that it was from a book over three decades ago when a substential number of people here weren't even born yet, so I thought I ask it again for everyones benefit instead of going on a search for the last thread.
Fanaelialae
Legend
I think I'd add Joe Dever's Lone Wolf series of game books.
As for video games, I don't see how you could leave off Dragon Age.
As for video games, I don't see how you could leave off Dragon Age.
Oni
First Post
the Jester
Legend
I would add Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series; it does a fantastic job of world building, has a truly epic scope, does a good job of showing how different the agendas and motives of entities that live for thousands of years (or far more!) are from normal peoples', etc.
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
Reaper's Gale
The Bonehunters
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
The Crippled God
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
Reaper's Gale
The Bonehunters
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
The Crippled God
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