D&D 5E (2024) No Appendix N Equivalent?

[Cadence]

As a complete aside, I had forgotten Star Frontiers had one...

 

[Autumnal]

Cosmic horror which does not emphasize Lovecraft:

Cosmic horror emerged from so-called “weird tales” of the 19th century, stories of encounter with the supernatural and the bizarre by authors like {Poe, Machen, Dunsany, etc etc}. In the early 20th century, pulp magazines like Weird Tales offered a home to authors writing stories that combined the earlier legacies with fresh monsters and mythology, and perspectives shaped by the rapidly advancing sciences of their day. The more ambitious myth-makers aimed to show fictional takes on what most them believed was the true state of things: a cosmos in which human activities and concerns are completely irrelevant to anything beyond us, and which has aspects utterly incomprehensible to us. Many of them, like {alphabetical list including Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, HPL, and a few more}, became regular correspondents and friends, sharing ideas back and forth. The pulp magazines faded in the 1950s-60s and cosmic horror stories appeared for a while mostly in collections from obscure small presses. But authors like Stephen King brought their ideas and some of their recurring gods and monsters back into wider circulation, as did the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. {Then zoom forward to the current century with bits about Kaird Barron, Caitlin Kiernan, Thomas Ligotti, etc.}

That’s completely off the top of my head, but it’s the general sort of thing I do. All the historical stuff - 1970s and earlier - would take up less space then talking about current and recent writers, directors, and artists. Id be much more likely to give a sentence to Beksiński than Lovecraft. ( Zdzisław Beksiński - Wikipedia )

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Considering all the anger and pushback against giving tools and advice for new DMs, do you think that's really why we're wanting it on the book and not to get mad that Poul Anderson wasn't kept in or that literally any anime did?

It is, completely sincerely, why I want it in the book. Which is part of why it's both frustrating and hurtful for people to repeatedly cast aspersions about it.

 

[Older Beholder]

If you're looking for a list of inspirational fantasy, just check the 'What are you reading' yearly threads here on Enworld.
It's put my on to some cool stuff.

 

[guachi]

D&D is so self-referential now that an "Inspiration" section is just other D&D rulebooks at this point.

 

[Distracted DM]

At this point a modern Appendix N would be 384 pages

What would be in it? Why so long? It doesn't have to include literally every piece of media that could be inspirational does it? A curated list could be helpful.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I am saddened to hear you say this. Surely you can see that it could serve other purposes too? Like helping to show how various works could help a new DM express campaign themes that excite them?

You could pick pretty much any work of fiction or non-fiction at random off a bookshelf and do that. The Maltese Falcon, A Brief History of Time, Asterix the Gaul, any of these things could be used as a source of ideas for D&D. My most ripped-off source material is Doctor Who, but that’s because it ripped-off so eclectically itself.

It’s The Love Boat, but fantasy, is a perfectly fine campaign idea for D&D.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What would be in it? Why so long? It doesn't have to include literally every piece of media that could be inspirational does it? A curated list could be helpful.

Curating = gatekeeping.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

You could pick pretty much any work of fiction or non-fiction at random off a bookshelf and do that.

I disagree.

The Maltese Falcon, A Brief History of Time, Asterix the Gaul, any of these things could be used as a source of ideas for D&D.

Could be. Sure. Would actually be? Bit different there. Would be in a way that the reader can clearly see how the works in question lead to the themes and tone in question? I definitely don't think so.

Your position is too dramatic. "All literature is completely equal and there is zero worth in discussing themes and tone because all works equally contribute to every possible interpretation" is simply not true.

My most ripped-off source material is Doctor Who, but that’s because it ripped-off so eclectically itself.

My most ripped-off source material is Babylon 5 and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. But I'm sure someone will find a way to twist this into yet another irrefutable proof that I'm an elitist jerk and exclusionary hypertraditionalist who wants to stomp out all creativity and ensure that only perfect conformity occurs.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Curating = gatekeeping.

That's an interesting thesis. So a DM who chooses to curate their setting is gatekeeping their players, then?