Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Giants in the Earth
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Glyfair" data-source="post: 3477990" data-attributes="member: 53"><p>As anyone who has read my <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=165042" target="_blank">Dragon Review thread</a> knows, my favorite column from <em>The Dragon</em> was "Giants in the Earth." </p><p></p><p>For those who are unfamiliar with the original incarnation, it was a column that gave D&D statistics for fictional characters, mostly from novels. There was a much more recent run of the series that gave stats for characters from history and legend, but it wasn't the same. In those days either copyright laws were more lax about "fair use", TSR was flying under the radar or fantasy publishers just realized it was good PR. Still, today I doubt you could do the column without a huge amount of red tape.</p><p></p><p>The article series introduced me to many fantasy series I doubt I would have read without the introduction. Indeed the first article was my introduction to Karl Edward Wagner's <em>Kane</em>. Having reread it for my review thread, I've decided I have to track down some books about <em>Tros of Samathrace</em>, who was apparently important enough to make that first issue (along with the iconic D&D thief, <em>Cugel the Clever</em>). </p><p></p><p>Another one that comes to mind was one of the columns they fit in an April Fools' issue. It included stats for such classic "fantasy" characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian and Rocky & Bullwinkle (with his "hat of tricks).</p><p></p><p>Do you remember this series? Did it every influence your game or reading? Which characters were your favorites? Do you think this could ever be done today (I do think an unofficial version of this might fly - as a thread on a forum such as here).</p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>I decided to move the index of characters to the first post for easy reference.</p><p>I've done through issue #50.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ayesha</strong> by <em>H. Rider Haggard</em> (#41): 27th level cleric/9th level fighter</p><p><strong>Bodvar Bjarki</strong> from Norse tradition (#39): 16th level fighter</p><p><strong>Camilla</strong> by <em>P. Vergilius Maro</em> (#47):10th level fighter</p><p><strong>Captain Blood</strong> by <em>Rafael Sabatini</em> (#36): 17th level fighter/10th level thief/8th level cleric</p><p><strong>Cugel the Clever</strong> by <em>Jack Vance</em> (#26): 14th level thief</p><p><strong>Durathror</strong> by <em>Alan Garner</em> (#27): 13th level fighter/dwarvish paladin</p><p><strong>Edward Bond</strong> by <em>Henry Kuttnar</em> (#35): 9th level fighter</p><p><strong>Egil Skallagrimson</strong> from Norse tradition (#39): 14th level fighter</p><p><strong>Ellide</strong> by <em>T. J. Morgan</em> (#49): 6th level fighter</p><p><strong>Eric John Stark</strong> by <em>Leigh Brackett</em> (#28): 15th level fighter</p><p><strong>Fafhrd</strong> by <em>Fritz Leiber</em> (#27): 20th level fighter/8th level thief</p><p><strong>Ganelon</strong> by <em>Henry Kuttnar</em> (#35): 25th level fighter</p><p><strong>Gray Mouser</strong> by <em>Fritz Leiber</em> (#27): 18th level fighter-thief</p><p><strong>Heidrek</strong> from Norse tradition (#42): 15th level fighter</p><p><strong>Holger Carlsen</strong> by <em>Poul Anderson</em> (#49): 14th level paladin</p><p><strong>Hugi</strong> by <em>Poul Anderson</em> (#49): 5th level gnome fighter</p><p><strong>Iucounu, the Laughing Magician</strong> by <em>Jack Vance</em>: 20th level magic-user</p><p><strong>James Eckerd/Gorbash</strong> by <em>Gordon R. Dickson</em> (#42): 0 level human/10 HD dragon</p><p><strong>Jirel of Joiry</strong> by <em>C.L. Moore</em> (#41): 14th level fighter</p><p><strong>John Carter of Mars</strong> by <em>Edgar Rice Burroughs</em> (#27): 30th level fighter</p><p><strong>Kane</strong> by <em>Karl Edward Wagner</em> (#26): 30th level fighter/20th level magic-user/14th level assassin</p><p><strong>Maal Dweb</strong> by <em>Clark Ashton Smith</em> (#30): 20th level magic-user</p><p><strong>Medea</strong> from Greek tradition (#47): 18th level magic-user with sage abilities</p><p><strong>Muirtagh the Bowman</strong> by <em>Cecelia Holland</em> (#35): 16th level bard/7th level fighter/5th level thief</p><p><strong>Orvar-Odd</strong> from Norse Tradition (#42): 21st level fighter</p><p><strong>Professor Challenger</strong> by <em>Arthur Conan Doyle</em>* (#44): 16th level fighter with sage abilities</p><p><strong>Reepicheep</strong> by <em>C. S. Lewis</em> (#44): 7th level fighter</p><p><strong>Richard Upton Pickman</strong> by <em>H. P. Lovecraft</em> (#36): 9th level fighter with special magical ability</p><p><strong>Shadowjack</strong> by <em>Roger Zelazny</em> (#29): 25th level thief/9th (18th) level fighter/9th (18th) level magic-user</p><p><strong>Sigurd Fafnirsbane</strong> from Norse tradition (#41): 20th level fighter/12th level magic-user/8th level cleric</p><p><strong>Sir Geros Lahvohettos</strong> by <em>Robert Adams</em> (#42): 9th level fighter</p><p><strong>Silverbells</strong> by <em>Thomas Burnett Swann</em> (#36): Forest Minotaur; 15th level ranger/13th level paladin</p><p><strong>Sol of All Weapons</strong> by <em>Piers Anthony</em> (#30): 20th level fighter/14th level monk</p><p><strong>Sparrowhawk</strong> by <em>Ursula Le Guin</em> (#48): 21st level illusionist/20th level magic-user/14th level druid</p><p><strong>Starkard</strong> from Norse tradition (#41): 23rd level fighter</p><p><strong>Tauno Kraken's-Bane</strong> by <em>Poul Anderson</em> (#42): 8th level half-elf ranger</p><p><strong>Tiana Highrider</strong> by <em>Andrew Offutt</em> & <em>Richard Lyon</em> (#48): 12th level fighter/12th level thief</p><p><strong>Tros of Samothrace</strong> by <em>Talbot Mundy</em> (#26): 15th level paladin</p><p><strong>Umslopogaas</strong> by <em>H. Rider Haggard</em> (#35): 16th level fighter</p><p><strong>Valeria</strong> by <em>Robert E. Howard</em> (#41): 17th level fighter/7th level thief</p><p><strong>Welleran</strong> by <em>Lord Dunsany</em> (#28): Monster stats</p><p><strong>Zorayas</strong> by <em>Tanith Leel</em>: 23rd level magic-user</p><p></p><p>* Not credited to the author in the magazine.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Glyfair, post: 3477990, member: 53"] As anyone who has read my [url=http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=165042]Dragon Review thread[/Url] knows, my favorite column from [I]The Dragon[/I] was "Giants in the Earth." For those who are unfamiliar with the original incarnation, it was a column that gave D&D statistics for fictional characters, mostly from novels. There was a much more recent run of the series that gave stats for characters from history and legend, but it wasn't the same. In those days either copyright laws were more lax about "fair use", TSR was flying under the radar or fantasy publishers just realized it was good PR. Still, today I doubt you could do the column without a huge amount of red tape. The article series introduced me to many fantasy series I doubt I would have read without the introduction. Indeed the first article was my introduction to Karl Edward Wagner's [i]Kane[/I]. Having reread it for my review thread, I've decided I have to track down some books about [I]Tros of Samathrace[/I], who was apparently important enough to make that first issue (along with the iconic D&D thief, [I]Cugel the Clever[/I]). Another one that comes to mind was one of the columns they fit in an April Fools' issue. It included stats for such classic "fantasy" characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian and Rocky & Bullwinkle (with his "hat of tricks). Do you remember this series? Did it every influence your game or reading? Which characters were your favorites? Do you think this could ever be done today (I do think an unofficial version of this might fly - as a thread on a forum such as here). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I decided to move the index of characters to the first post for easy reference. I've done through issue #50. [B]Ayesha[/B] by [I]H. Rider Haggard[/I] (#41): 27th level cleric/9th level fighter [B]Bodvar Bjarki[/B] from Norse tradition (#39): 16th level fighter [B]Camilla[/B] by [I]P. Vergilius Maro[/I] (#47):10th level fighter [B]Captain Blood[/B] by [I]Rafael Sabatini[/I] (#36): 17th level fighter/10th level thief/8th level cleric [B]Cugel the Clever[/B] by [I]Jack Vance[/I] (#26): 14th level thief [B]Durathror[/B] by [I]Alan Garner[/I] (#27): 13th level fighter/dwarvish paladin [B]Edward Bond[/B] by [I]Henry Kuttnar[/I] (#35): 9th level fighter [B]Egil Skallagrimson[/B] from Norse tradition (#39): 14th level fighter [B]Ellide[/B] by [I]T. J. Morgan[/I] (#49): 6th level fighter [B]Eric John Stark[/B] by [I]Leigh Brackett[/I] (#28): 15th level fighter [B]Fafhrd[/B] by [I]Fritz Leiber[/I] (#27): 20th level fighter/8th level thief [B]Ganelon[/B] by [I]Henry Kuttnar[/I] (#35): 25th level fighter [B]Gray Mouser[/B] by [I]Fritz Leiber[/I] (#27): 18th level fighter-thief [B]Heidrek[/B] from Norse tradition (#42): 15th level fighter [B]Holger Carlsen[/B] by [I]Poul Anderson[/I] (#49): 14th level paladin [B]Hugi[/B] by [I]Poul Anderson[/I] (#49): 5th level gnome fighter [B]Iucounu, the Laughing Magician[/B] by [I]Jack Vance[/I]: 20th level magic-user [B]James Eckerd/Gorbash[/B] by [I]Gordon R. Dickson[/I] (#42): 0 level human/10 HD dragon [B]Jirel of Joiry[/B] by [I]C.L. Moore[/I] (#41): 14th level fighter [B]John Carter of Mars[/B] by [I]Edgar Rice Burroughs[/I] (#27): 30th level fighter [B]Kane[/B] by [I]Karl Edward Wagner[/I] (#26): 30th level fighter/20th level magic-user/14th level assassin [B]Maal Dweb[/B] by [I]Clark Ashton Smith[/I] (#30): 20th level magic-user [B]Medea[/B] from Greek tradition (#47): 18th level magic-user with sage abilities [B]Muirtagh the Bowman[/B] by [I]Cecelia Holland[/I] (#35): 16th level bard/7th level fighter/5th level thief [B]Orvar-Odd[/B] from Norse Tradition (#42): 21st level fighter [B]Professor Challenger[/B] by [I]Arthur Conan Doyle[/I]* (#44): 16th level fighter with sage abilities [B]Reepicheep[/B] by [I]C. S. Lewis[/I] (#44): 7th level fighter [B]Richard Upton Pickman[/B] by [I]H. P. Lovecraft[/I] (#36): 9th level fighter with special magical ability [B]Shadowjack[/B] by [I]Roger Zelazny[/I] (#29): 25th level thief/9th (18th) level fighter/9th (18th) level magic-user [B]Sigurd Fafnirsbane[/B] from Norse tradition (#41): 20th level fighter/12th level magic-user/8th level cleric [B]Sir Geros Lahvohettos[/B] by [I]Robert Adams[/I] (#42): 9th level fighter [B]Silverbells[/B] by [I]Thomas Burnett Swann[/I] (#36): Forest Minotaur; 15th level ranger/13th level paladin [B]Sol of All Weapons[/B] by [I]Piers Anthony[/I] (#30): 20th level fighter/14th level monk [B]Sparrowhawk[/b] by [I]Ursula Le Guin[/I] (#48): 21st level illusionist/20th level magic-user/14th level druid [B]Starkard[/B] from Norse tradition (#41): 23rd level fighter [B]Tauno Kraken's-Bane[/B] by [I]Poul Anderson[/I] (#42): 8th level half-elf ranger [B]Tiana Highrider[/B] by [I]Andrew Offutt[/I] & [I]Richard Lyon[/I] (#48): 12th level fighter/12th level thief [B]Tros of Samothrace[/B] by [I]Talbot Mundy[/I] (#26): 15th level paladin [B]Umslopogaas[/B] by [I]H. Rider Haggard[/I] (#35): 16th level fighter [B]Valeria[/B] by [I]Robert E. Howard[/I] (#41): 17th level fighter/7th level thief [B]Welleran[/B] by [I]Lord Dunsany[/I] (#28): Monster stats [B]Zorayas[/B] by [I]Tanith Leel[/I]: 23rd level magic-user * Not credited to the author in the magazine. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Giants in the Earth
Top
