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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr Simon" data-source="post: 6200295" data-attributes="member: 21938">One of the more evocative and intriguing parts of the 1st Ed Dungeon Masters Guide is in the appendices – Appendix N, Inspirational and Educational Reading, in which Gary Gygax sets outs his sources. I quote:Inspiration for all the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the love my father showed when I was a tad, for he spent many hours telling me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men who could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked sorcerors [sic] and dauntless swordsmen.Then too, countless hundreds of comic books went down, and the long-gone EC ones certainly had their effect. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies were a big influence. In fact, all of us tend to get ample helpings of fantasy when we are very young from fairy tales such as those written by the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Lang. This often leads to reading books of mythology, paging through bestiaries, and consultation of compilations of the myths of various lands and peoples.Upon such a base I built my interest in fantasy, being an avid reader of all science fiction and fantasy literature since 1950.The following authors were of particular inspiration to me. In some cases I cite specific works, in others, I simply recommend all of their fantasy writing to you. From such sources, as well as any other imaginative writing or screenplay, you will be able to pluck kernels from which will grow the fruits of exciting campaigns. Good reading!Anderson, Poul: THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORDBellairs, John: THE FACE IN THE FROSTBrackett, LeighBrown, FredericBurroughs, Edgar Rice: "Pellucidar" series; Mars series; Venus seriesCarter, Lin: "World's End" seriesde Camp, L. Sprague: LEST DARKNESS FALL; THE FALLIBLE FIEND; et alde Camp & Pratt: "Harold Shea" series; THE CARNELIAN CUBEDerleth, AugustDunsany, LordFarmer, P. J.: "The World of the Tiers" series; et alFox, Gardner: "Kothar" series; "Kyrik" series; et alHoward, R. E.: "Conan" seriesLanier, Sterling: HIERO'S JOURNEYLeiber, Fritz: "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" series; et alLovecraft, H. P.Merritt, A.: CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et alMoorcock, Michael: STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" series (esp. the first three books)Norton, AndreOffutt, Andrew J.: editor of SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS IIIPratt, Fletcher: BLUE STAR; et alSaberhagen, Fred: CHANGELING EARTH; et alSt. Clair, Margaret: THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYSTolkien, J. R. R.: THE HOBBIT; "Ring trilogy"Vance, Jack: THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et alWeinbaum, StanleyWellman, Manley WadeWilliamson, JackZelazny, Roger: JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" series; et alThe most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, R. E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, H. P. Lovecraft, and A. Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you.- E. Gary Gygax, 1979, AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, p. 224So I have several questions.Which of those works have you read and what influence(s) on D&D have you spotted?A lot has been written since, and a lot probably missed off that list in the first place. What would you add to it, and why?I’m not so interested in the literary worth or quality of a given work, more as something that can be used as a source of D&D material. And let’s try not to get too circular about this either. You could argue that the Drizz’t books have led to dual-wielding ranger in later editions of the game, or the effect of the Dragonlance books on the modules and vice versa, but maybe keep away from anything that’s obviously based on D&D in the first place - or not, if you have a good argument for its inclusion. It doesn’t have to be SF/fantasy, and it doesn’t need to be explicitly D&D.</blockquote>

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