What Authors Have Most Inspired Your Campaign?

What Authors Have Most Inspired Your Campaign?

  • Bulfinch, and other compilers of classical mythology

    Votes: 62 20.3%
  • J.R.R. Tolkien

    Votes: 158 51.8%
  • Michael Moorcock

    Votes: 78 25.6%
  • Robert Howard

    Votes: 77 25.2%
  • Fritz Lieber

    Votes: 68 22.3%
  • H.P. Lovecraft

    Votes: 94 30.8%
  • Terry Brooks

    Votes: 23 7.5%
  • Robert Jordan

    Votes: 36 11.8%
  • E. Gary Gygax

    Votes: 72 23.6%
  • Ed Greenwood

    Votes: 50 16.4%
  • R.A. Salvatore

    Votes: 49 16.1%
  • Margaret Weis

    Votes: 48 15.7%
  • Bram Stoker

    Votes: 29 9.5%
  • Terry Pratchett

    Votes: 35 11.5%
  • Other (please explain below)

    Votes: 132 43.3%


log in or register to remove this ad

My biggest influences - both sadly lacking from the poll - are:

David Eddings - The Belgariad and Elenium stories

Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant


The histories of the worlds in which these stories are set are fantastic.
 


As for what falls under my vote of Other:

  • Robert Asprin, primarily for the Myth Adventures-influenced humor;
  • Lloyd Alexander, for his Chronicles of Llyr;
  • Ursula K. LeGuin & her Earthsea works; and
  • William Shakespeare.

That's pretty much it for written works. Then again, I also get a fair share of my influences from CRPGs of my time (Ultima, Zork, Might & Magic, Bard's Tale, the D&D "Gold Box" series, etc.; to a more recent extent, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, & Neverwinter Nights).
 




Jya.

While there's certainly Moorcock influence in my current campaign, there's even more from other sources ... mostly Bronze Age Egypt and Crete, as far as mythological/historical goes.

For fiction, I'd have to say ... hmm ... Lloyd Alexander, Kunihiko Ikuhara, and Tetsuya Nomura.

A fantasy author, an anime/manga writer, and a video game designer. Oi ... ;)



Tai'Chara
 

I get a lot of influence from random stuff I see around me. I try not to take what's super-hot at the moment (No spiderman, Troy, Harry Potter etc), but there are a lot of interesting ideas I cull from all sorts of sources.

I've created a recurring NPC inspired from one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.

I've created genetically magiked ants (ants crossed with spiders and/or driders) after inspiration from reading a Clive Cussler book.

One of my puzzle adventures came from watching The Cube.

I've also taken small bits and pieces from many many works. Part of my creation myth was inspired by CS Lewis' Ansalon. I loved the Horse and his unique mode of travel from David Eddings and that made it into my campaign (as an artifact of a very high level NPC).

I love the Vesta from Patricia McKillip's books, and hope to incorporate them somehow, as well as other aspects of her books. One of my extended storylines came after watching Star Trek II.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has influenced me in ways I have a hard time explaining, as have several James Clavell Books.

I've drawn inspiration from so many different authors and artists, I couldn't name them all. I think almost every single author I've read, from F Scott Fitzgerald to Piers Anthony (yes, I admit it, I've read several of his books) (introspective -> fluffy), from Neil Stephenson to Amy Tan (technical -> emotional), has influenced my view of the world in some way. And in that my campaign world is a distorted reflection (though not complete, of course) of my world view, these stories help paint my picture, whether it be overreaching story arcs, creating NPC's and their motivations, or helping create the setting in which my campaign is run.

I know that sounds like an exaggeration and kind of lofty, but I'm serious. I think almost any story that is well written enough to be published (hey! I did say almost!) can serve as inspiration if you liked the story and dwell on it long enough.
 

Um...I guess my most direct, obvious, and significant influences are:

* Huge amounts of Dashiell Hammett (all of it, but especially The Maltese Falcon, plus Red Harvest and his other Continental Op stories) for plots, characters, and everything else
* Lots of Raymond Chandler (any of his Marlowe stories) and James Ellroy's novels for the same
* A bit of Roger Zelazny (the first 5 Amber books, Lord of Light, and Jack of Shadows) just because it's fun
* Some imagery from Paul Park (Soldiers of Paradise, Sugar Rain, and The Cult of Loving Kindness)
* Some of the imagery and pathos from C.J. Cherryh's Faded Sun trilogy
* A little of the social and political attitude of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail '72
* Healthy portions of various classic action and caper movies for plots and cool things

And some day, I hope to regularly incorporate the most surreal elements I can from Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, Samuel R. Delany's Dhalgren, various novels by Haruki Murakami, and a little of the odd atmosphere from John Crowley's novels. That's really tough, though, and I'm never quite sure if I'm pulling it off or not. But it's so much fun to try, y'know?

...did I mention that I really don't like fantasy authors (or epic fantasy in general, for that matter) at all? ;)

--
noir detective fiction is where it's at, man
ryan
 
Last edited:

Remove ads

Top