/lit/ crossover post.What's your favorite appendix N core to inspire your adventures? Doesn't have to be fantasy, sci-fi is also fine. I finally got into Jack Vance's stuff and I'm convinced "retards bumbling around at the end of earth on top of the ruins of a technologically advanced civilization" is the best setting.Lord Dunsany's stuff really blew me away, fantastic fantasy and it's clear how to influenced pretty much everything that came after it.
I happen to play horror and often Cthulhu these days, so Lovecraft is cheating.Leiber was a godsent to humankind, and people should read Lankhmar more. Merrit could be a stronger option for horror, now that I mentioned my situation, but I didn't use it as of now.From modern appendix E: Froud can be surprinsgly useful, if you ask me. Wolfe is simply incredible, but I wouldn't suggest to try to copy him. There should be a RPG inspired by Gormenghast but sadly there is no one. They tried to riff on Eartshea but I don't think anyone managed. Also, you're right about Dunsany. It's funny the most decent part of the borefest that is the Silmarillion is a very worse version of Pegana.
>>97631892>Leiber was a godsent to humankind, and people should read Lankhmar more.You are too good for this horrible place.
>>97631790I have no idea what Appendix N is.>DnD on a coverNever played that, eithert. 20th anniversary of being in this hobby in two weeks
>>97635045It's the appendix in which Gary and Dave put their literary inspos. And it's... not bad at all even now?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_NI'd venture to say the newest versions are worth check as well, even if they are putting things which are clearly not dnd-adjacent (not that you could ever really play Tolkien with DND, but they honestly tried. I have my doubts they even considered Gormenghast for anything, contrariwise: cool as it is, it's not really adjacent to the game).
>>97635045A list of recommended reading to get a grasp of what a game is going for, its inspirations, etcIf it interests you at all(it doesn't but I want to talk about it anyways), I think Runequest's Appendix N predated D&D's by around a year, definitely older if you count RQ1's appendix OIt's really fascinating, both the differences in their influences(like Runequest having more history books), and the overlap(like a lot of the same novels). For example, both took inspiration from Elric iirc, but the way they included alignments are completely differentYou also have games like Traveler which I THINK included a list of recommended reading, but no appendix. A lot of classic pulp sci-fi.
Sign of the labrys by Margaret st Clair is a flawed but criminally overlooked book in Appendix N.Leiber, Vance, Howard, Anderson, Lovecraft, Zelazny are all fantastic.Don't sleep on Vances Lyonesse, Planet of adventure and demon princes.
>>97638741Man I tried to get into Lyonesse but it didn't take. It started veeeeeeery slowly. I've read the first two Demon Princes books and the first book in the Leeralu duet, I really enjoy his space stuff.
>>97638750Understandable. Check out Thieves' world by Robert Asprin.
I think both Trail of Cthulhu and Fall of Delta Green have outstanding reading lists, btw. Hite knows his shit and is not afraid to tell you to read, say, Derleth with a pinch of salt, instead of just dropping names. (not just about polypoid horrors but also noir, spy stories and hystorical stuff for the given period)
>>97631892>Leiber was a godsent to humankind, and people should read Lankhmar more.Fpbp, Leiber is the GOAT of fantasy.
>>97631790idgaf about what's in N.The Gord the Rogue series is fucking amazing and I refuse to even entertain any thoughts to the contrary. Lankhmar is fucking tip top as well. >alsoA mix of 1e/2e gygaxian DnD is the best fantasy TTRPG there is. Fight me
>>97647645Why fight you when you've messed yourself up worse than anyone else could.
>>97647691you are an ignorant nigger animal
>>97631790>traditional games?
>>97647695>A mix of 1e/2e gygaxian DnD is the best fantasy TTRPG there is. >lists things in appendix N >idgaf about what's in N You double nigger.
>>97647711AD&D dmg, towards the back.
>>97647711Literally propedeutical reading for good games here, anon.
I'm a simple and in many ways predictable man
>>97648238Hot take: as far as characters go, both Solomon Kane and Kull are better/more interesting than Conan, but Conan stories are better
>>97647711Retard.
>>97631892>>97631967What are some good collections of his stuff?>>97631790 Clark Ashton Smith. The interplay between fantasy and horror is a huge inspiration for my games.
>>97658592>What are some good collections of his stuff?Fantasy Masterworks did a two-book softcover set of all the Lankhmar stories; White Wolf did a four-volume hardcover set which is extremely expensive used. Or rather, the last book or two is absurd, but the first two can be had at okay prices.
>>97631790I can't argue against Robert E. Howard's Conan or Fritz Lieber's Fafrd and the Gray Mouser. They all just feel so much like high level OD&D adventures - there's dungeon crawling, perilous environments, hirelings, freaky monsters, the works. Taking inspiration from those stories helped me run my own games much better.They ain't perfect, sure, and you gotta recognize where the mostly solo/duo nature of those stories is gonna limit applicability to the much more Wargamey-OD&D stuff, but it's still good to know where the presumptions of the game game from. Also good for capturing the tone impromptu if you have to improvise or run a different sort of game.
>>97631790Weird fiction and classic sword & sorcery.I just can’t stand modern ‘safe’ fantasy.
>>97631892> There should be a RPG inspired by Gormenghast but sadly there is no one.Just do a hack of Vornheim
>>97648330His ‘historical’ novels are also pretty entertaining.
>>97631790They're a bit dated in terms of writing style, but the Barsoom series is still a fun read
>>97631967Have you considered not complaining about 4chan on 4chan and going back?
>>97660285What is "safe" modern fantasy?
>>97663989You know damn well. Cope or seethe, it matters not.
>>97638362>You also have games like Traveler which I THINK included a list of recommended reading, but no appendixLots of games have these, even modern ones
>>97662885>Waaaah waaaah don't talk bad about my favowite website!You're a fucking child.
>>97647645Gord is trash. Out of all the possible characters that Gygax could have written about, the best he could do was a pathetic copy of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. No imagination at all.
>>97662885Complaining about 4chan is one of 4chan's oldest traditions. Moreso on /tg/ than most, actually, an old epithet for this board was "the only board you need" because it was perceived that any topic you cared to discuss- anime, travel, firearms - would be more on-topic and more knowledgeable on /tg/ than it was on the appropriate board.
>>97664877Screeching newfag fucks up again
>>97664923So mad you had to reply twiceGo back btw
>>97664987You realize you don't get updoots on 4chan, right? You just look like a retard. You need to murk loar.
>>97664825I didn't read much 21-century fantasy, so the question is genuine.
Does anyone have a link to that essay about how early D&D embodies a sort of fantasy version of American manifest destiny moreso than any kind of resemblance to european medieval culture?
>>97668881Isn't it kinda obvious, really? That DND is somehow western-ish. As in, a bunch of self-professed god-chosen people fighting for FRIDUM (more or less diverse in their origins) are there to exterminate the native inferior evil races, loot their dungeons/resources and all that. Most different shit is that generally in dnd settings you don't really say that there is incremental conquest of the territory by the good colonizers, but yeah. The medieval stuff is really, REALLY window dressing regarding what we can generally infer about dnd settings' society.
>>97664990Concession accepted. Wish I could go back to the old /tg/ that existed before you were born, but time only goes in one direction, so you're stuck with me til you ACK!
>>97631892I tried reading the Lankhmar books and was bored out of my mind. Maybe I should try again but a dofferent book some day.
>>97631892For CoC stuff I really liked the Carnacki the Ghost-Finder stories, since they have that kind of investigative structure.
>>97668881>Does anyone have a link to that essay about how early D&D embodies a sort of fantasy version of American manifest destiny moreso than any kind of resemblance to european medieval culture?To me, a European, all American fantasy is like thisThat's why I like Sapkowski despite him being a hack, his fantasy feels European.
>>97670645Ironically I think Gygax didn't mind much about investigations (which are indeed not something Providence Man even really tries to do). Lovecraft was there for weirdness and horror.He was probably correct, as early DND doesn't go into sherlock territory.
>>97670549I'm curious. Did you enjoy Conan, then? I would expect basically anyone liking both if they like one of the two.
>>97670549Which did you read? I'm pretty sure the modern collections start with Fafhrd's origin story, which is pretty slow and kind of different from the rest of the stories.
>>97671796This too.OOM Ill Met in Lankhmar is a good start.
Jay Allan is one of my go-to authors for Science fiction in general, he has a couple of series that are really good for it.Currently reading through the Blood on the Stars series. I've been looking to lift some of the polities, and areas of space from those books for my Traveller setting, like the Badlands sectors. It's a.space opera, so the focus is mostly on military maneuvers, but the world building is good. His Far Stars series is also really good, especially if you're looking for inspiration for tabletop. The main character and his crew are a group of Mary sues if I've ever seen one, but the main background villain of the book series is great, as are the opposing caste of mercenaries and pirates. There's also Robert cargill's sea of rust, which is great for any post apocalypse games. The robots from the madlands are a riot to read about
>>97672940Yeah, It seems impossible to me that someone could read Ill Met and find it boring, it's pretty gripping from start to finish. I get why those origin stories are first but the Fafhrd one is fuckin' long (I want to say it pushes 40 pages?) and is pretty slow.
>>97671796This. Either start with Ill Met, or start with Jewels in the Forest/Two Sought Adventure in the first collection of short stories, since that was the first story published.
>>97671796>>97673493Most Elric collections do this same shit, they put the stories in chronological order so you start in some slow-paced prequel instead of opening with the original cocaine-frenzy short stories. An understandable editorial decision in a way, but a uniformly deplorable one.
Apart from what's been mentioned...Thomas CovenantJirel of JoiryThe MongoliadThe War of PowersThraxasTolkien's non-Middle Earth workMusashiShikeThe Sunset WarriorThe House on the BorderlandThe Night LandRiverworldMaker of UniversesGiant At World's EndThe Particoloured UnicornThe Reluctant FeindLure of the BasiliskI, ClaudiusShardikMordant's NeedWar for the OaksWeaveworldOlder stuff:Le Morte d'ArthurThe Canterbury talesThe Book of the Thousand Nights and a NightThe DecameronThe AnabasisThe Three MusketeersOutside of genre:The Gap sequenceThe RCN seriesIlluminatus!Northwest SmithDumarest sagaThe Stainless Steel RatDeathworldThe Mote in God's EyeTransmission ErrorAutumn AngelsGreenwich Village TrilogyNeuromancerSnow CrashThe Diamond AgeJohn Dies at the EndA World out of TimeDamnation AlleyGenerally, anything by Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Algernon Blackwood, William Hope Hodgson, Philip K. Dick, EC Tubb, Harlan Ellison, Harry Harrison, or Philip Jose Farmer.
I'm a fan of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
>>97675746You are based anon.
I thought this was the list. I think Conan was my favourite. LoTR is pretty good too but Tolkien needed an editor.
