Gary Gygax included Appendix N in the Advance Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) Dungeon Master (DM) guide as further reading for DMs wanting to get inspiration for running their own campaigns. I've only...
Gary Gygax included Appendix N in the Advance Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) Dungeon Master (DM) guide as further reading for DMs wanting to get inspiration for running their own campaigns.
I've only read a handful of the books included in here, but this has been a list of books I've been meaning to visit for some time, and actually plan to pick up one of them (Jack Vance's Dying Earth books) after I finish the current Malazan book I'm reading.
Being reminded of this list this morning I was curious if any other Tilders have explored it or these authors and I wanted to share it for those who haven't heard of it before. With how big of an influx DND has gone on to have it feels like diving back in to the works that inspired Gary Gygax would be a fun exercise.
If you haven't yet, you should check out some of the entries from this year's Appendix N Game Jam. Some of them are really good and really well done. Others are more amateur, but there are some...
If you haven't yet, you should check out some of the entries from this year's Appendix N Game Jam.
Some of them are really good and really well done. Others are more amateur, but there are some nuggets of interesting game play ideas hidden in almost all of them (at least the ones I've read).
Thanks for sharing that! Itch.io always has a lot of interesting things, and it is fun to browser through them. I'd love to get back in to TTRPGs eventually, and I'm hoping to move my future group...
Thanks for sharing that! Itch.io always has a lot of interesting things, and it is fun to browser through them.
I'd love to get back in to TTRPGs eventually, and I'm hoping to move my future group away from DnD into other systems, so this is a great excuse to get some ideas.
I've read a decent number of these over the years just by virtue of being into SFF, although there are plenty on the list that I haven't tried. Zelazny is a standout for me - I loved the Amber...
I've read a decent number of these over the years just by virtue of being into SFF, although there are plenty on the list that I haven't tried.
Zelazny is a standout for me - I loved the Amber books (enough that I moderated the fan subreddit for years) and his other works are generally very well regarded. There are elements that haven't aged great, but I find that to be true for a lot of older SFF.
Moorcock is a tough read - there's some cool stuff there but the prose is generally pretty tiresome for me.
Tolkien is an obvious elephant in the room here as well, I think Sir Terry Pratchett summed up Tolkien's influence in the genre best:
"J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji."
I've also read a decent amount of Vance's Dying Earth stories which are definitely of their time, but still interesting enough to pick up and reach imo. You can absolutely see their influence on early D&D in a big way.
I've read a bit of Burroughs and Howard, which IMO haven't aged great but have good bones. I've heard that Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stuff has aged better, but I've never gotten around to reading any of them.
I guess to sum up - there's a lot of classic SFF stuff in Appendix N. Some of it has stood the test of time, some of it has aged poorly but is still worth reading, some of it has aged very poorly, and honestly some of it wasn't that good when it was written, lol.
I've enjoyed my dives into classic SFF as it gives a window into the past and how people in fiction viewed things. It also makes me wonder how people will view fiction created now 100+ years later.
I've enjoyed my dives into classic SFF as it gives a window into the past and how people in fiction viewed things. It also makes me wonder how people will view fiction created now 100+ years later.
...i've really gotten into appendix N (and genre-adjacent) material over the past couple of years; currently working my way through clark ashton smith's oeuvre at eldritchdark.com, one story cycle...
...i've really gotten into appendix N (and genre-adjacent) material over the past couple of years; currently working my way through clark ashton smith's oeuvre at eldritchdark.com, one story cycle at a time...
Thanks for sharing that link! I've bookmarked that and will probably start cracking away at some of the short stories. It's always nice having something quick and easy to read between other works.
Thanks for sharing that link! I've bookmarked that and will probably start cracking away at some of the short stories. It's always nice having something quick and easy to read between other works.
...this is a good guide to navigating his major fantasy cycles, which generally share a common continuity but are separated by vast sweeps of geological time: hyperborea, poseidonis, averoigne,...
...this is a good guide to navigating his major fantasy cycles, which generally share a common continuity but are separated by vast sweeps of geological time: hyperborea, poseidonis, averoigne, mars, xiccarph, and zothique, in roughly that sequence...
Thank you for sharing that. I've added that to my bookmarks so I can reference it when I start in on his works. I usually post about what I read in the fortnightly "What are you reading thread" so...
Thank you for sharing that. I've added that to my bookmarks so I can reference it when I start in on his works.
I usually post about what I read in the fortnightly "What are you reading thread" so you'll see me post about those once I get started there.
Gary Gygax included Appendix N in the Advance Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) Dungeon Master (DM) guide as further reading for DMs wanting to get inspiration for running their own campaigns.
I've only read a handful of the books included in here, but this has been a list of books I've been meaning to visit for some time, and actually plan to pick up one of them (Jack Vance's Dying Earth books) after I finish the current Malazan book I'm reading.
Being reminded of this list this morning I was curious if any other Tilders have explored it or these authors and I wanted to share it for those who haven't heard of it before. With how big of an influx DND has gone on to have it feels like diving back in to the works that inspired Gary Gygax would be a fun exercise.
If you haven't yet, you should check out some of the entries from this year's Appendix N Game Jam.
Some of them are really good and really well done. Others are more amateur, but there are some nuggets of interesting game play ideas hidden in almost all of them (at least the ones I've read).
That's a really cool idea, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to getting loads of inspiration from that.
Thanks for sharing that! Itch.io always has a lot of interesting things, and it is fun to browser through them.
I'd love to get back in to TTRPGs eventually, and I'm hoping to move my future group away from DnD into other systems, so this is a great excuse to get some ideas.
I've read a decent number of these over the years just by virtue of being into SFF, although there are plenty on the list that I haven't tried.
Zelazny is a standout for me - I loved the Amber books (enough that I moderated the fan subreddit for years) and his other works are generally very well regarded. There are elements that haven't aged great, but I find that to be true for a lot of older SFF.
Moorcock is a tough read - there's some cool stuff there but the prose is generally pretty tiresome for me.
Tolkien is an obvious elephant in the room here as well, I think Sir Terry Pratchett summed up Tolkien's influence in the genre best:
I've also read a decent amount of Vance's Dying Earth stories which are definitely of their time, but still interesting enough to pick up and reach imo. You can absolutely see their influence on early D&D in a big way.
I've read a bit of Burroughs and Howard, which IMO haven't aged great but have good bones. I've heard that Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stuff has aged better, but I've never gotten around to reading any of them.
I guess to sum up - there's a lot of classic SFF stuff in Appendix N. Some of it has stood the test of time, some of it has aged poorly but is still worth reading, some of it has aged very poorly, and honestly some of it wasn't that good when it was written, lol.
I've enjoyed my dives into classic SFF as it gives a window into the past and how people in fiction viewed things. It also makes me wonder how people will view fiction created now 100+ years later.
...i've really gotten into appendix N (and genre-adjacent) material over the past couple of years; currently working my way through clark ashton smith's oeuvre at eldritchdark.com, one story cycle at a time...
Thanks for sharing that link! I've bookmarked that and will probably start cracking away at some of the short stories. It's always nice having something quick and easy to read between other works.
...this is a good guide to navigating his major fantasy cycles, which generally share a common continuity but are separated by vast sweeps of geological time: hyperborea, poseidonis, averoigne, mars, xiccarph, and zothique, in roughly that sequence...
http://www.eldritchdark.com/articles/criticism/67/cycles-of-clark-ashton-smith
Thank you for sharing that. I've added that to my bookmarks so I can reference it when I start in on his works.
I usually post about what I read in the fortnightly "What are you reading thread" so you'll see me post about those once I get started there.
...you're in for a rare treat: he's an exceptionally gifted poet, and i don't use the term metaphorically...