Mearls talks about his inspiration for the 4e classes

[JoeGKushner]

I agree to a point.

However, as Sony's eReader and Kindle, etc... become more and more... accessible (Kindle on the iPhone now for free), the whole 'print' issue is going to become moot.

People will read what's new, what's being supported, what's happening now.

However, a movie or tv show could easily bring one of those old bastiches back from the grave.

With modern audience, to discount the internet... well, on an electronic message board, doesn't seem completely feasible.

Check the years on most of those 1999 (re-issues after the other went out of print) and later or 1984 and earlier (initial print runs). Also consider that there was no such thing as Amazon, wikipedia, or, hell, the internet with which to find those books. There were bookstores and word of mouth.

So, sure, I'll eat the "out of print." However I'll replace it with "widely unavailable." Just for comparison of books available now, I just did a search at four local Barnes and Noble (based on my ZIP code of Revere, MA) for both Leiber and Vance. In stock at the stores are Lankhmar Book 1 and Book 2. Literally none of Vance's work, and nothing else by Leiber. I also checked the Boston Public Library for "The Dying Earth." The Boston Public Library has exactly 2 copies, neither of which can be checked out of the library.

You'll note the resurgence of pulp fiction authors in the late 90's and early 00's, authors most people coming of age in the 80s and early 90s hadn't heard of because the books weren't in current printing.

 

[Mercutio01]

With modern audience, to discount the internet... well, on an electronic message board, doesn't seem completely feasible.

Sure. I was talking more about what was available when I was first getting into roleplaying, kind of piggy-backing a bit on the "generation gap" thread, than meaning currently.

I think in 10 years people might look back at Keith Baker's movie inspiration list and go, "Huh?" Especially for things like "Brotherhood of the Wolf" and "The Name of the Rose." Heck, I'd be shocked if more than a few people had ever watched "Casablanca" or "The Maltese Falcon" which exist more as names than actual entities to many people.

 

[Hussar]

To be fair, Jack Vance is currently coming into a bit of a renaissance. He's got a massive retrospective tome out (which I am squirreling pennies away to buy), and there are a number of authors doing "Vancian" fiction in the magazines. For example there is Subterranean Press which is releasing "Songs of the Dying Earth" as I write this which is a big tribute book of Vance style prose set in the Dying Earth.

The online mag's also got one for public consumption: Sylgarmos Proclamation by Lucius Shepard Really fun read.

But, let's be honest here. Jack Vance is a very, very obscure writer that very few outside of D&D gamers have ever heard of. I love his stuff, but, let's not kid ourselves here.

 

[resistor]

Wow, lots of love for Lloyd Alexander. Glad to see that other people liked him too. In YA fantasy, I also really loved Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence.

Of the "classic D&D authors," the only one I've read is Moorcock, and only because I heard of him through D&D.

 

[Voadam]

I've long wanted to read Vance's fantasy stuff but never have. I regularly look at the V section of the Sci-Fi and fantasy and the fiction sections of my libraries but I've only ever found his Demon Princes sci-fi books. Zelazny no longer shows up there either, or just one or two books of his.

Lloyd Alexander I avidly read in grade school and was able to listen to them recently on audio CDs from the library.

 

[AllisterH]

Well, it makes sense that Vance and Leiber would be hard to find at a local bookstore/library.

There's a finite amount of space and with new books constantly being released, older authors unless they are insanely popular or are copied will not be remembered.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Sure. I was talking more about what was available when I was first getting into roleplaying, kind of piggy-backing a bit on the "generation gap" thread, than meaning currently.

I think in 10 years people might look back at Keith Baker's movie inspiration list and go, "Huh?" Especially for things like "Brotherhood of the Wolf" and "The Name of the Rose." Heck, I'd be shocked if more than a few people had ever watched "Casablanca" or "The Maltese Falcon" which exist more as names than actual entities to many people.

The remakes of them by Michael Bay will bring those movies back to the public consciousness.

But in terms of your own 'getitng into RPG's.', hell, how about Clark Ashton Smith eh? Eh? I'm getting my hardcopies as they're being reprinted by the old Night Shade Books.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I know we all think of our campaigns and games as thrilling A+ stuff, but in reality the average DM and Players aren't high talent authors/actors.

I'd say the majority of players out there have on numerous occasions faced evil wizards that are pretty much just like the performance by Irons... Overacted caricatures complete with insane overcomplicated plots.

The movie was bad, I wont argue that, but I kind of feel like it represents the average D&D campaign out there.

My new favourite televisual representation of D&D has to be Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire!

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire | Comedy Central

I've been laughing myself silly at this, and it is partially because it SO reminds me of many D&D games.

Cheers

 

[Mercutio01]

The remakes of them by Michael Bay will bring those movies back to the public consciousness.

But in terms of your own 'getitng into RPG's.', hell, how about Clark Ashton Smith eh? Eh? I'm getting my hardcopies as they're being reprinted by the old Night Shade Books.

I have yet to see one of those in a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and I've been looking. I keep hoping some will pop up on Project Gutenberg sometime in the near future.

 

[Saracenus]

As a 42 year-old who started gaming in 1979 (Basic/AD&D and Traveller) when I was a lad my list of inspirations were only partially covered in Appendix N of the 1e DMG.

It wasn't until a few years ago that Erik Mona inspired me to fill in the gaps of my Appendix N reading queue. I picked up the following from Amazon:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Dying-Earth-Jack-Vance/dp/0312874561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247698929&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Tales of the Dying Earth: Jack Vance: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/First-Lankhmar-Millennium-Fantasy-Masterworks/dp/1857983270/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247699013&sr=1-27]Amazon.com: The First Book of Lankhmar (Millennium Fantasy Masterworks): Fritz Leiber: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Second-Book-Lankhmar-Fantasy-Masterworks/dp/0575073586/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247699013&sr=1-29]Amazon.com: The Second Book of Lankhmar (Fantasy Masterworks): Fritz Leiber: Books[/ame]

My wife has complete collections of HP Lovecraft and Moorcoc's Elric Saga.

I still need to collect the Howard Conan stories.

I am currently in process of collecting all of the Thieves World books (a couple more and I will start reading through in order).

Author's not mentioned:

Anne McCaffrey
Ursala LeGuin (if you haven't read the Earthsea Trilogy, boot to the head).
Emma Bull
Terri Windling (editor on the The Boardertown town series. Essential urban fantasy reading)
Charles DeLint
Frank Herbert (Dune warped my 10 year-old brain)
Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion is the template for my wife's Paladins).
William Morris (The House of the Wolfings was an influence on Tolkien).
Neil Gaiman (anything)
Jim Butcher (Dresden Files should be a primer on what not to do in the Feywild)
Brothers Grimm (the origional stuff, not the Disney crap)
Richard Burton (The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights)