TheAuldGrump said:Hmmm, I am amazed that no one has mentioned Terry Pratchett's Discworld series - the early books in particular were very heavily D&D influenced, right down to the spell mechanics!
The Auld Grump
The Disc World started out as Terry's game setting, and Rincewind began as a D&D magic-user. Later, when he picked up GURPS, Terry converted Rincewind to that system.
And speaking of people nobody's mentioned yet, our own Col. Pladoh has done two RPG 'influenced' series. Most of you have no doubt heard of Gord the Roque and his tales, but I suspect few of you have ever met the Magister Inhotep of Ægypt. Protagonist of a trilogy set in an early version of the Mythus setting, Ærth.
And while we're on the subject, contrary to legend Dragonlance was not gamed out. According to Margaret Weis (panel at the San Diego Comic-Con last year) they tried gaming out a few scenes to see what would happen, but after three different 'playtest' groups got our heroes killed investigating a well, it was decided to quietly drop the idea. (BTW, it was company management who decided the books had to have one representative from all the then available character classes. Margaret let it be known that had it been up to her certain characters would've croaked early on.)