Has Lovecraft become required reading?

[JoeNotCharles]

Has it come to the point that to truly appreciate D&D and gaming in general, a person has to read Lovecraft?

Tons of people play D&D without ever having read Jack Vance. I'd bet more people know Conan by the adaptations (the movies and comics) than by reading the original stories. There are enough Lovecraft-derived works in gaming and movies now that people can use previous Lovecraft-inspired works as their touchstone. "Oh, this is just like in Hellboy!"

So, I'd say no, you don't actually need to actually read Lovecraft to appreciate the flavour of D&D's Far Realm? If the Lovecraft references work without context, you don't have to actually have read Lovecraft, and if they don't, the material just isn't written well.

 

[Jhaelen]

Lovecraft does not "shock" scare you. Its more about the uneasy feeling you get when you go to sleep after reading his work. I find the things he writes about much more scary then any other author.

I understand that he is not everyone's cup of tea, but I also will defend the point that he is a great author.

Yup, I think everyone should give his novels a try.

This discussion also reminds me of a short essay written by Orson Scott Card about the difference between 'dread', 'horror', and 'terror' and how to evoke each of these feelings in a story. I wish I'd remember more of it to explain the kind that Lovecraft's novels represent.

 

[Chainsaw]

Yup, I think everyone should give his novels a try.

This discussion also reminds me of a short essay written by Orson Scott Card about the difference between 'dread', 'horror', and 'terror' and how to evoke each of these feelings in a story. I wish I'd remember more of it to explain the kind that Lovecraft's novels represent.

Sounds like a great read - let me know if you recover this essay.

 

[Desdichado]

Lovecraft does not "shock" scare you. Its more about the uneasy feeling you get when you go to sleep after reading his work. I find the things he writes about much more scary then any other author.

I didn't say anything about "shock" scariness. He's not scary in any sense. I don't feel uneasy when I go to sleep after reading his work.

I understand that he is not everyone's cup of tea, but I also will defend the point that he is a great author.

I actually think he's a terrible author. Objectively so, even. But he had interesting enough ideas more often than not that he was able to overcome his lack of writing craft and create memorable stories anyway.

 

[Gentlegamer]

This thread reminded me that I always intended to run an adventure inspired by "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" but never got around to it . . .

 

[rogueattorney]

To the extent that there has ever been "required reading" for D&D, Lovecraft has been it from the start...

Lovecraft's basic oeuvre, Howard's Conan stories, The Hobbit, the first two Dying Earth books, the Harold Shea stories, Lankhmar, Elric, ERB's John Carter books, and Poul Anderson's fantasies... Those are from whence D&D came.

I have a much better appreciation for what Gygax and company were trying to do in the 70's and early 80's after reading those works.

 

[fireinthedust]

Then he started noticing the influence of Lovecraft other places. He found out the if you rearrange the letters in the title of any "Murders She Wrote" episode, it spells out "The Old Ones Are". The more he looked for these influences, the more he found.

I just checked so the rest of you don't have to: this is not true. Maybe one or two have enough letters, with remainder, but I haven't spotted one in my quick glance.

Anton85: yes, you just made me say "underwear", and no my shoe lace is not untied.

 

[occam]

I want to say that I've heard mention of Lovecraftian influence from Paizo in regards to some of their modules. I could be misremembering.

You're not:

Carrion Hill is an adventure for 5th-level characters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest RPG. The adventure features a mix of urban and dungeon sites, and draws inspiration from the popular writings of H. P. Lovecraft.

 

[Dragonhelm]

You're not:

Carrion Hill is an adventure for 5th-level characters, written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest RPG. The adventure features a mix of urban and dungeon sites, and draws inspiration from the popular writings of H. P. Lovecraft.

That's the one.

I also heard mention on the Tome Show about an upcoming Goodman Games adventure compilation that has one adventure with Lovecraftian influence.

I've broken down and decided to read the original Call of Cthulhu story. It's mentioned so much in fantasy and scifi circles that I thought I'd at least get an idea of what it's about.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this topic. It has helped tremendously.

 

[Rykion]

I've broken down and decided to read the original Call of Cthulhu story. It's mentioned so much in fantasy and scifi circles that I thought I'd at least get an idea of what it's about.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this topic. It has helped tremendously.

Call of Cthulhu is actually one of the last stories I'd recommend to read if you're only reading a single Lovecraft story. Try The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Lurking Fear, Dagon, or The Dunwich Horror.