Survivor Appendix N Authors- LEIBER WINS!

[CleverNickName]

You could argue that C.S. Lewis also had a huge impact on the game, despite his conspicuous absence from the list, since he influenced his mate Tolkien.

And Verne, who was a big influence on Burroughs.

I know right? Verne was probably one of the most influential science fiction writers of all time (I mean, he only put the "science" in Sci-Fi, for crying out loud). And I don't know how Mary Shelly didn't make this list; she pretty much invented an entire genre of fiction.

*sigh* But I'm sure Gygax had his own reasons for writing this list the way he did. A fun side-thread would be for everyone to list their Top 10 Influences in their own D&D games...

...here's mine.[SBLOCK]CleverNickName's List of Most Influential Fiction

This was harder than I thought it would be. But here it is, the ten most influential authors (and their specific works) that have had the biggest impact on my particuar style of D&D. From least to most:

10. Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, "Dragonlance" series
9. Michael Moorcock, "The Knight of the Swords"
8. Lloyd Alexander, "The Chronicles of Prydain" series
7. Neil Gaiman, "Neverwhere" and "Norse Mythology"
6. Jules Verne, "Journey to the Center of the Earth"
5. Bram Stoker, "Dracula"
4. Mary Shelly, "Frankenstein"
3. Edgar Rice Burroughs, "Caspak" trilogy
2. Terry Brooks, "Heritage of Shannara" series
1. JRR Tolkien, "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" trilogy

Why, yes, I do play a gothic-horror, steampunk campaign setting. Why do you ask?

Don't even get me started on the "Honorable Mentions" list. This was hard enough![/SBLOCK]

 

[Bradley Hindman]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 14
Leiber, Fritz 22
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 8
Norton, Andre 3 + 1 = 4
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 25 - 2 = 23
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 22

I agree that Norton is better known for her science fiction than fantasy (I am most familiar with her pulp sci-fi from the 40s and 50s), but Nyah . . . I don't need to be logical.

 

[Imaro]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 14
Leiber, Fritz 22
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 9 Alignment and cosmologically aligned forces... the multiverse... weird monsters & races... sorry this is my D&D not Howard and not Tolkien.
Norton, Andre 3 + 1 = 4
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 21
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 22

He probably won't win but I honestly don't understand how anyone could feel Howard, Tolkien or most of the other authors on this list were a bigger influence than Moorcock on D&D. Some of the D&D stuff is lifted directly from his stories and his pantheon was featured in the original Deities and Demigods.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

He probably won't win but I honestly don't understand how anyone could feel Howard, Tolkien or most of the other authors on this list were a bigger influence than Moorcock on D&D. Some of the D&D stuff is lifted directly from his stories and his pantheon was featured in the original Deities and Demigods.

I think it's clear more people are voting on the basis of what they like and dislike rather than level of influence. And, whilst I like Moorcock and Tolkien, they are very different, so I can understand why someone might like one and not the other. (Moorcock himself claims to have been influenced by Howard, but not Tolkien.)

And it is worth noting that Lovecraft also featured in the original Deities and Demigods, and he was voted off first.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Planar matters and the eternal struggle between Law and Chaos is pure Moorcock. However the tone and focus of Howard and LIeber's self interested heroes looking for riches and sometimes ending up doing some good as a by product of that was always more in line with how I view D&D. No doubt Moorcock's work is highly influential and I haven't voted for it either way. Since pretty much all of modern D&D campaigns I've read center around saving the world I find my type of D&D is not very popular. Alas!

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 14
Leiber, Fritz 20
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 9
Norton, Andre 4
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 22
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 22

 

[Invisible Stalker]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 14
Leiber, Fritz 20
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 9
Norton, Andre 4
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 23
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 20

 

[Harzel]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 12
Leiber, Fritz 20
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 10
Norton, Andre 4
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 23
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 20

 

[CleverNickName]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 12
Leiber, Fritz 20
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 10
Norton, Andre 4-2=2
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 23+1=24
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 20

 

[Ed Laprade]

Bellairs, John 19
Burroughs, Edgar Rice 22
Carter, Lin 16
de Camp & Pratt 19
Dunsany, Lord 21
Fox, Gardner 19
Lanier, Sterling 12
Leiber, Fritz 20
Merritt, A. 18
Moorcock, Michael 10
Norton, Andre 4 +1 = 5
Offutt, Andrew J. 16
Pratt, Fletcher 16
St. Clair, Margaret 20
Tolkien, J.R.R. 23 -2 = 21
Weinbaum, Stanley 14
Wellman, Manley Wade 16
Williamson, Jack 18
Zelazny, Roger 20