Modern Appendix N
- Thread starter Alaxk Knight of Galt
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Alaxk Knight of Galt
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I'll toss out some ideas that might get taken from Wheel of Time (which is rich with great mechanics for an RPG). WoT features a bunch of country folk becoming the movers and shakers in the world. It's a perfect fit for DnD.
- Channeling - You've got your five thread types (Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Spirit). Keeping with the books, men are stronger with Earth and Fire, women with Water and Air. Your power channeling is represented by your training (shown as important to all channeling traditions), your raw strength, and how rested you are (channeling wears you out, so the more you do it, the harder it is to drawn your maximum strength).
- Talents Drive Channeling Classes - In the books, characters are stronger with certain talents; healing, dreaming (though in the books it has nothing to do with the one power), weather control, illusions, traveling, etc. These could easily form magical classes, allowing the channeler to specialize but leaving them with less (or no) access to other abilities.
- Non-Divine Healing - Just one of the channeling classes now.
- Animal Affinity - Wolfbrothers, but applied to other animals as well(horses, dogs, birds, whatever)
- Mass Combat Rules - Something that has been missing from DnD. The Heroes need to be able to lead, influence, and clash with other armies. Mat, Perrin, Rand and many others all lead armies in the series.
- Culture not Fantasy Races - In WoT, you've got one non-human race, Ogier. To make up for this, provide mechanics that focus on broad culture arch-types: Nomadic, Rural, Warrior, etc. You can mix and match these cultural arch-types to form new cultures for any game world. The Aiel would be Nomadic and Warrior. The Two-Rivers Folk might be rural and independent. The Borderland nations might be Warrior and Ordered.
On Puget Sound
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There is one source that is drawn on at least once in every single session, at every table, in every universe. There has never been a documented game of D&D without a Monty Python reference. The Holy Grail has to be included!
Mark CMG
Creative Mountain Games
Here's an Amazon list someone (pawsplay?) put together of the original Appendix N -
Amazon.com: Gygax's AD&D Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading
Amazon.com: Gygax's AD&D Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
If I could pick a movie, I'd say Tarsem Singh's The Fall. I love the oddball and very different characters coming together to fight Governer Odious.
Oh, and the scenery should give DMs some ideas. It is a very visual movie filmed over dozens of exotic locations and ancient ruins.
Oh, and the scenery should give DMs some ideas. It is a very visual movie filmed over dozens of exotic locations and ancient ruins.
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Let's not forget movies, TV, animangos, games, etc, etc.
Just to focus on the more fantasy-esque animangos...
There is basically no - and I mean no - better source of horrible dark fantasy then Berserk. It is horrible, dark, crude, disgusting, violent, and utterly depressing. It is low magic dark fantasy at it's darkest.
Everything done by Miyazaki. Everything. Everything. Everything.
Claymore is another delightfully dark series that can fit in well with any fantasy game that's less LotR and more teeny tiny points of light
For a less...dark, example, there's Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. A somewhat Korean inspired bit, the story involves a bodyguard who's sworn off killing and must save a life for every life she's taken. It's also nice to see a main protagonist who is 1) female and 2) doesn't use a sword. Seriously screw swords.
Record of Lodoss War is literally "Dungeons and Dragons: the anime."
Just a quick reminder: Slayers would like to note that fantasy doesn't need to be grim and serious, it can be lighthearted and goofy, too!
I'm sure I've missed a few
Just to focus on the more fantasy-esque animangos...
There is basically no - and I mean no - better source of horrible dark fantasy then Berserk. It is horrible, dark, crude, disgusting, violent, and utterly depressing. It is low magic dark fantasy at it's darkest.
Everything done by Miyazaki. Everything. Everything. Everything.
Claymore is another delightfully dark series that can fit in well with any fantasy game that's less LotR and more teeny tiny points of light
For a less...dark, example, there's Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. A somewhat Korean inspired bit, the story involves a bodyguard who's sworn off killing and must save a life for every life she's taken. It's also nice to see a main protagonist who is 1) female and 2) doesn't use a sword. Seriously screw swords.
Record of Lodoss War is literally "Dungeons and Dragons: the anime."
Just a quick reminder: Slayers would like to note that fantasy doesn't need to be grim and serious, it can be lighthearted and goofy, too!
I'm sure I've missed a few
Restricting it to fantasy, my Appendix N would include Tolkien (Hobbit, Lord of the Rings) & Howard (Conan); plus the movie versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (bonus viewing for the animated versions) and Conan the Barbarian. Also, The 13 Warrior movie and novel Eaters of the Dead on which it is based.
These influences make the game low to no magic (for the PCs) and pit good vs. evil--or at least principled vs. unprincipled.
Opening the appendix to different genres would find me including Burroughs (John Carter of Mars series) for sci-fi/fantasy or sword & blaster; the Ciaphas Cain series from Warhammer 40,000 for the unlikely hero archetype; Firefly TV for the seemingly mercenary group with hearts of gold and witty banter; Clash of the Titans 80s movie for heroism against classic monsters with timeless themes; Star Wars movies for good, evil & redemption on a larger-than-life stage; Star Trek (almost any series or movie) for an intrepid band exploring drama disguised with action (and plenty of red shirts); and Big Trouble in Little China for exotic mysticism taken on by great one-liners.
For outside RPGs, a nod would have to go to Rifts and Savage Worlds to show how the game can be taken in very different directions for genre and rules.
I don't think my Appendix N should include inside sources, but I would definitely list them first if I were a multi-media publisher. As such, I would list numerous D&D novels, especially all the Salvatore Drizzt books (although not in my current faves, they were definitely at one time and really influence or at least reflect the game). I would also refer to Gamma World and Omega World d20 for genre shifting and recommended reading. It almost seems odd to have the game influencing or even driving the literature and other media, but there it is.
These influences make the game low to no magic (for the PCs) and pit good vs. evil--or at least principled vs. unprincipled.
Opening the appendix to different genres would find me including Burroughs (John Carter of Mars series) for sci-fi/fantasy or sword & blaster; the Ciaphas Cain series from Warhammer 40,000 for the unlikely hero archetype; Firefly TV for the seemingly mercenary group with hearts of gold and witty banter; Clash of the Titans 80s movie for heroism against classic monsters with timeless themes; Star Wars movies for good, evil & redemption on a larger-than-life stage; Star Trek (almost any series or movie) for an intrepid band exploring drama disguised with action (and plenty of red shirts); and Big Trouble in Little China for exotic mysticism taken on by great one-liners.
For outside RPGs, a nod would have to go to Rifts and Savage Worlds to show how the game can be taken in very different directions for genre and rules.
I don't think my Appendix N should include inside sources, but I would definitely list them first if I were a multi-media publisher. As such, I would list numerous D&D novels, especially all the Salvatore Drizzt books (although not in my current faves, they were definitely at one time and really influence or at least reflect the game). I would also refer to Gamma World and Omega World d20 for genre shifting and recommended reading. It almost seems odd to have the game influencing or even driving the literature and other media, but there it is.
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