D&D General What is your personal Appendix N?

[RhaezDaevan]

Some people have an appendix n so large it needs to be removed, or else it will burst!

 

[Mournblade94]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE posts like this: I'm not including any TSR Publications on the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance and even some of the 3.5 Realms material. I run Forgotten Realms and that would be cheating. But my Forgotten Realms is flavored by:

1. Tolkien Legendarium including ALL The visual media from Bachshi (sp?) to Jackson. Rankin Bass Hobbit was my first introduction. This is the basic structure of my Forgotten Realms Campaign. I'm less Tolkien influenced in my Elderscrolls Campaign.
2. Michael Moorcock Multiverse (Specifically Elric but many of the others) I am an Alignment person because if this.
3. Conan the Barbarian Primarily the Oliver Stone Movie but all the comics and then the books.
4. Star Wars Original Trilogy (Just so many areas it influenced because I was literally formed by this since I saw the movie in 1977 as a 5 year old.
5. Deeds of Paksinarion. Elizabeth Moon (Required Reading for anyone serious about playing a paladin)
6. The Bard's Tale crpg C64
7. Beowulf by some monk
8. ORIGINAL Clash of the Titans and All other Harryhausen films.
9. Labyrinth and Never Ending Story
10. D'aulaire's Norse Mythology and Then the Greek Mythology book.

All of these were truly formative. For the Modern Day I'd Include
1. Elderscrolls Arena to Skyrim (I run a campaign in the Unofficial Elderscrolls RPG, Perfect emulation)
2. Braveheart
3. Kingdom of Heaven

 

[Tonguez]

My introduction to fantasy was Colliers Junior Classics: Legends of Long Ago, a great introduction to classic myth

then
Chronicles of Prydain
Chronicles of Narnia
Chronicles of Hyboria
Chronicles of Discworld
Chronicles of Dragonlance (especially its Ages)

Movies - The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Captain Kidd, Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans,
TV - The Smurfs, Mighty Mightor, Land of the Lost

 

[DragonLancer]

I'm a more visual person, so films and shows tend to influence me more than anything else. This would be my list.

1. The Lord of the Rings (Films and books). To me this is the epitome of what D&D is. LotR is the adventuring party, dungeons, and the basis for the long time quest/campaign for D&D.

2. The Dragonlance Chronicles. Romanticised D&D fantasy. Less dungeons and more knights, dragons, heroic rescues and legendary quests.

3. Any fantasy film of Ray Harryhousen. From the Sinbad movies to Clash of the Titans. These films were a huge influence on me as a child and into my teens.

4. Arcane (LoL animated show). I've never been one for magic and technology combined but this show (and the games cinematics) has really taken a hold of me, to the point it has heavily influenced elements of my new D&D 2024 homebrew world.

5. HP Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. Existential horror and unknowable entities trapped beyond the known multiverse. What's not to love?

6. Soloman Kane (the film). Grim gritty dark fantasy. The visuals really spoke to me.

7. Arthurian Legend. Although not a major influence, the Arthurian myths have certainly coloured my perceptions of Paladins and romantic fantasy.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean (original trilogy) / Cutthroat Island. Pirates and all that goes with them in a fantasy game like D&D.

I think that is about it. I am a fan of Trek, Star Wars, Star Gate, Jurassic Park, Doctor Who ...etc and they may share ideas but I can't say that they have directly influenced my D&D games.

 

[Charlaquin]

Arbitrarily choosing a few sources each for worldbuilding and aesthetics, sorted in a very rough descending order…

Worldbuilding Inspirations:

• Dragon Age
• Delicious in Dungeon
• It feels like cheating to say it, but D&D, particularly the 4e implied setting
• “New” WorldChronicles of Darkness, particularly Mage: the Awakening and Werewolf: the Forsaken, especially in the Neolithic setting from Dark Eras, as well as a dash of Olivia Hill’s tragically canceled draft of Changeling: the Lost
• Lord of the Rings (including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion)

Aesthetic Inspirations:

• Delicious in Dungeon (again, but specifically the art this time)
• Topcraft Animation, particularly The Hobbit, Return of the King, and The Last Unicorn
• The art of Brian Froud, especially as brought to life by Jim Henson in Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal
• Wayne Renolds’ art for Pathfinder (both 1e and 2e)

 

[Doc_Klueless]

The one book, well... actually trilogy that had the biggest, most profound affect on my gaming are the Black Company series (Black Company, Shadows Linger, The White Rose). After I read those, my games became much, much more... I guess... gritty, but not really. Hard to explain.

My appendix N must contain but is not limited to:

1. Black Company series by Glen Cook
2. Garret PI series by Glen Cook
3. REH Conan stories by RE Howard
4. World of Tiers series by Phillip Jose Farmer
5. The Windrose Chronicles by Barbara Hambly

 

[Hriston]

I'm not widely read in 20th century or any other era of fantasy, but, when I run D&D, I try to maintain a certain amount of fidelity to what I perceive as the spirit of the original game coupled with some of my own aesthetic preferences. So my personal Appendix N looks like a truncated version of the original Appendix N (basically what I've read of it) plus some additional sources that have influenced my thinking on the subject. In order of importance, roughly:

1. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth. This is why I play a game about men, elves, dwarves, and halflings travelling through a world of ancient subterranean dungeons filled with treasure and fighting it out with orcs/goblins, ogres, dragons, etc. I look to these books to provide default answers to most questions regarding how various peoples, monsters, and other setting elements fit into the setting as a whole.

2. Poul Anderson, Three Hearts and Three Lions and, to a somewhat lesser extent, The Broken Sword. 3H&3L in particular informs my understanding of the Law/Chaos axis of alignment as an element of setting as well as the paladin class and, of course, trolls. Anderson's two works here also provide alternative takes on the typical fantasy races, some of which are foundational to D&D, including elves/fairies, dwarves, goblins, kobolds, trolls, etc. Also, The Broken Sword is very metal.

3. Michael Moorcock, Elric of Melniboné. This brings more insight on the Law vs. Chaos dynamic as well as the full on S&S vibe.

4. Grimm's Fairy Tales. I read most of these a few years ago, and they gave me an alternative take on things like dwarves and the use of firearms and real-world religion in fantasy.

5. Wikipedia. I use this all the time to research information and folklore on monsters and anything else I'm prepping for the game.

 

[Arnie_Wan_Kenobi]

Dragonlance: This is almost unintentional, but when I was a tween and young teen, i devoured everything Dragonlance and internalized much of its themes and imagery...

What is your personal Appendix N?

I like this topic (and I missed it originally)! Some awesome ideas above!

2nd Edition D&D:
I'm in complete agreement on Dragonlance. It's influence on my personal visualization of "High Fantasy" is indelible. Especially the original "Dragonlance Adventures" hardcover, "Time of the Dragon" and "Taladas the Minotaurs," and anything by Knaak.

Which makes this "My" Appendix N, what has shaped my playing/perception (through this week), and not necessarily what I'd suggest to other players (but I'd still suggest all of this; the other list is just LONGER).

Dark Sun and Planescape.
The Pathefinder 1E starter set

And in no particular order (both Fantasy and Sci-Fi):
Books:
Bullfinch's Mythology
The Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology books in my elementary school library (the names all escape me now)
Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials
The Terran Trade Authority series
Leiber's Ffahrd and The Grey Mouser series
Dark Horse's Conan Comic Adaptations
Ben Aaronovich's Rivers of London series (a recent addition)
Shakespeare's The Tempest and Midsummer Night's Dream

And like so many of us: Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and the related films.

Films/TV
Star Wars (IV-VI, Caravan of Courage and Battle for Endor)
WILLOW!!!!!
Krull
Labyrinth
Neverending Story
The Hobbit (Rankin Bass)
Sleeping Beauty (Disney)
Heavy Metal (the cartoon movie)
Masters of the Universe (and probable She-Ra, Thundercats, Herculoids, Thundarr, etc.)
The Princess Bride
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Video Games:
GAUNTLET!
Castlevania I and II
Dragon Warrior I, II, and III
The Legend of Zelda and Link's Adventure
Final Fantasy I and II (NES)

Art
Elmore, Easley, Caldwell, and most of all, Keith Parkinson
Tomy DiTerlizzi
Brian Froud
Wayne Reynolds

LEGO Castle sets!

And, a special note to Magic the Gathering: The Dark, Homelands, and Visions (yes. Those three sets in particular.)

 

[Bohandas]

Well in terms of formative experiences with fantasy, but not necessarily influencing D&D:

*The "Gold Box" D&D computer games
*Discworld
*The Cthulhu Mythos
*Harry Potter
*The Evil Dead
*Monty Python and the Holy Grail
*Diablo
*Spellsinger
*Sabrina the Teenage Witch
*Dave the Barbarian
*Ghostbusters
*Wonderboy the Dragon's Trap
*Star Wars
*old Disney movies
*Escaflowne
*The Hobbit
*the Lord of the Rings movies
*Dracula Dead and Loving It
*the Mummy movoes with Brendan Frasier
*various Christmas Specials
*The Wizard of Oz
*various books on ancient mythology
*The Princess Bride
*Robin Hood Men In Tights

 

[Greg K]

I am keeping this list to fantasy genre and world building

Books

• Conan (REH stories)
• Lord of The Rings
• Mists of Avalon
• The Once and Future King

Books and websites, Scholarly

• Gardner's Art Through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives
• Guns, Germs, & Steel (Jared Diamond)
• Khan Academy website: various articles on art history and world history related to non-western cultures
• various anthropology books (I may list them later)
• a book on ancient civilizations that I can't recall at the moment

Movies

• The Beastmaster
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
• Clash of the Titans: for deity interaction
• Dragonslayer
• Excalibur
• Labyrinth: for Jareth
• Ladyhawke
• Heavy Metal: the Taarna segment
• Harryhausen Sinbad movies
• Ivanhoe
• Pirates of the Caribbean'
• The Princess Bride
• Robin Hood (Disney)
• Robin Hood (various life action movies)'
• Sleeping Beauty (Disney)
• Snow White (Disney)
• Willow

Television

• Archer: Fugitive From the Empire (a.k.a Archer and The Sorceress)
• The Beastmaster (series)
• Black Sails: this is a recent addition
• The Dungeons & Dragons cartoon: the magic items

RPGs

• Campaign Law (I.C.E)
• GURPS Arabian Nights
• GURPS Aztecs
• GURPS Celtic Myth
• GURPS Imperial Rome
• GURPS Japan
• GURPS Vikings
• Psychic's Handbook (Green Ronin)
• Shaman's Handbook (Green Ronin)
• Witch's Handbook (Green Ronin)
• Witches (Mayfair Games)

Note: Before my vision issues, I intended to read and possibly add: A Distant Mirror (Tuchman), GURPS Camelot, GURPS China, GURPS Middle Ages, GURPS Robin Hood, Life in a Medieval City (Gleis), Life in a Medieval Town (Gleis), Life in a Medieval Village (Gleis)