Inspiration for all of the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the
love my father showed when I was a tad, for he spent many hours telling
me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men -- who
could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked
sorcerors and dauntless swordsmen.

Then too, countless hundreds of comic books went down, and the long-gone EC ones certainly had their effect. <EC Archives>
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies were a big influence.
In fact, all of us tend to get ample helpings of fantasy when we are very young,
from fairy tales such as those written by the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Long.
This often leads to reading books of mythology, paging through
bestiaries, and consultation of compilations of the myths of various lands
and peoples. Upon such a base I built my interest in fantasy, being an avid
reader of all science fiction and fantasy literature since 1950. The following
authors were of particular inspiration to me. In some cases I cite
specific works, in others, I simply recommend all their fantasy writing to
you. From such sources, as well as iust about any other imaginative writing
or screenplay you will be able to pluck kernels from which grow the fruits
of exciting campaigns. Good reading!

Inspirational Reading:

Anderson, Poul.	THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
Anthony, Piers	"Split Infinity" series <Grognardia: 2008.11.25>
Bellairs, John.	THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh.	<PF: The Sword of Rhiannon, Skaith series, et al.>
Brown, Fredric.	-
Burroughs, Edgar Rice.	"Pellucidar" Series; Mars Series; Venus Series
Carter, Lin.	"World's End'' Series <6 books>
de Camp, L. Sprague.	LEST DARKNESS FALL; FALLIBLE FIEND; et al.
*de Camp & Pratt.	"Harold Shea" Series; CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August.	-
Dunsany, Lord.	-
Farmer, P. J.	"The World of the Tiers" Series; et al.
Fox, Gardner.	"Kothar" Series; "Kyrik" Series; et al.
*Howard, R. E.	"Conan" Series
Lanier, Sterling.	HIEROS JOURNEY <2nd book - GG> <Grognardia: 2008.11.25>
*Leiber, Fritz.	"Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" Series; et al.
*Lovecraft, H. P.	-
*Merritt, A.	CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL <audiobook, from archive.org>; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al. <PF: The Ship of Ishtar>
Moorcock, Michael.	STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" Series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre.	-
Offutt, Andrew J.	editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III.
Pratchett, Terry	Disc World <Grognardia: 2008.11.25>
Pratt, Fletcher	BLUE STAR; et al.
Saberhagen, Fred.	CHANGELING EARTH; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret.	THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
Tolkien, J. R. R.	THE HOBBIT, "Ring Trilogy"
*Vance, Jack.	THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.	-
Wellman, Manly Wade.	<PF: John the Balladeer series, et al.>
Williamson, Jack.	-
Zelazny, Roger.	JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" Series; et al.

* The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above
authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you.

ANTHONY, PIERS
SOL OF ALL WEAPONS
REFERENCE: Battle Circle (paperback, published by Avon
Books). Battle Circle is a collection of three previously published
novels: Sos the Rope, Var the Stick, and Neq the Sword,
all by Piers Anthony.
 

APPEARANCE
I’ll start off by saying that I borrowed some of
this from the Warlock rules printed in the Spartan,
#9 — the idea of a Size characteristic, at least. But
the concept is here heavily modified and made more
rational. (I hope.)

THE BIBLE
Corinthians 15:33

Besides, many
Biblical stories are more awesome than myth
and fiction and are an excellent source of inspiration.
(d41.cleric)

BOWS
Suggested reading list

FAIRIES
the lovely and powerful “fairies” of Le Cabinet des Fes, (d41)

FOX, GARDNER
The Thing From The Tomb (TD23)
The Eyes of Mavis Deval (TD33)
The Cube from Beyond (TD36)

GATES
1. Michael Moorcock, The Vanishing Tower, p. 152 (DAW paperback).

2. See Schmitz’s The Lion Game— a DAW paperback—for a huge dungeon of
rooms connected by portals, with many traps and ‘lost’ sections.

3. Op. Cit., p. 159.

4. Michael Moorcock, The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate, p. 58 (DAW
paperback).

5. The books, available in Ace paperbacks, are (in chronological order): The
Maker Of Universes; The Gates of Creation; A Private Cosmos; Behind The
Walls Of Terra; and The Lavalite World. Essential references, all.

6. One such ‘killer gate’ was a doorframe revolving rapidly in midair. Identification
of the ‘safe side’ was of course very difficult. Another might be a
doorframe, only the upper half of which is a gate, so that anyone stepping
through the gate in a normal manner (rather than leaping) will be cut in half as
only their upper body gates away.

7. Gate of Ivrel; Well of Shiuan; Fires of Azeroth (DAW paperbacks).

8. In chronological order: The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, The Witch & The
Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver
Chair; The Horse and His Boy; and The Last Battle, available in Puffin
paperbacks in Canada and Macmillan paperbacks in the States. The first five
bristle with material of interest to D&D players. The Wood Between The
Worlds appears in Chapter 3 of The Magician’s Nephew.

GREEK
The Aethiopia (39, women)
The Aeneid (39, women)

HAGGARD, H. RIDER
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Allan Quatemain (paperback published by
Ballantine Books, also many other editioins from many other publishers)
by H. Rider Haggard.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Wisdom’s Daughter, She and Allen, She,
Ayesha: the Return of She (paperbacks, Ballantine Books), all by H.
Rider Haggard.
Ayesha.

HOLLAND
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Kings in Winter (paperback, Pocket
Books) by Cecelia Holland.

HOWARD, ROBERT E. / CONAN

BIBLIOGRAPHY: “Red Nails” in Conan the Warrior (paperback,
Ace Books) or in Red Nails (paperback, Berkeley Books). by Robert E.
Howard.
Valeria.

HAROLD SHEA
This expansion
into sympathetic magic follows the magic portrayed by L. Sprague de
Camp and Fletcher Pratt in their superb “Harold Shea” stories, for
example. (TD, Gygax)

KUTTNER
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Dark World (out of print paperback, published by Ace Books) by Henry Kuttner.

LEE, TANITH
ZORAYAS
REFERENCE: Night’s Master (paperback, published by DAW Books)
by Tanith Lee.

LEWIS, C.S.
An Experiment in Criticism.
Perelandra.

MOORE, C. L.
Jirel of Joiry (paperback, out of print),
“Black God’s Kiss” in The Best of C. L. Moore (paperback, Ballantine
Books) by C. L. Moore

MYTHOLOGY
The Hero With A Thousand Faces,
Campbell, Joseph
(Morality in Fantasy II)
The Hero With A Thousand Faces,
Campbell, Joseph
(Fantasy Needs Reality, Too: d40)

NORSE
SOURCES: Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlusun: Tales from Norse
Mythology, translated by Jean I. Young (paperback, University of
California Press); and Saga of the Volsungs, translated by Margaret
Schlauch (hardback, Scandinavian Classics: volume 35, American
Scandinavian Foundation)
(d41: Sigurd Fafnirsbane)

SOURCES: Though Starkad is the second greatest hero in Norse
legends, his saga has not been passed down intact. Principal sources
for Starkad’s life appear in the out-of-print History of Denmark by <Danmark>
Saxo, and Gautrek’s Saga and Other Medieval Tales, translated by
Hermann Paulsson & Paul Edwards (hardback, NYU Press). He also
appears in the out-of-print Half’s Saga and the Heimskringla, History
of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Strulusun, translated by Lee M.
Hollander (hardback, American Scandinavian Foundation). A good,
short account of Starkad’s life (and Norse legends in general) appears
in Norse Mythology, Legends of Gods and Heroes by Peter Andreas
Munch, revised by Magnus Olsen, translated by Sigurd Bernhard
Hustvedt (hardback, The American Scandinavian Foundation).
Starkad (d41.gite)

PLANETS
The best primary sources, for
those who may wish to consult them, are the three books of Occult
Philosophy or Magic by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (originally pub-
lished in 1533, and available on microfilm in most larger libraries).

SABATINI, RAFAEL
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Captain Blood (hardback, Larlin Corp.), Captain
Blood Returns (paperback, Ballantine Books), The Fortunes of
Captain Blood (paperback, Ballantine Books); all by Rafael Sabatini.
(TD36, Captain Blood)

SABERHAGEN, FRED

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON
MAAL DWEB
REFERENCE: Lost Worlds (Hardcover, published by Arkham House;
paperback edition published in UK) by Clark Ashton Smith.

The Dragon #2, Dungeons:
(For example
see Clark Ashton Smith’s story “The Weird of Avoosl
Wuthoqquan” in his book Hyperborea)

STAR TREK
The Empath (episode, 39.htm)

SWANN, THOMAS BURNETT
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cry Silver Bells (paperback, DAW Books) by
Thomas Burnett Swann.

TESSERACTS
A tesseract, as everyone (or at least readers of Robert A. Heinlein)
knows, is a four dimensional cube or “hypercube”. (TD17)

To all you fellow dungeon masters, have fun! I'm planning to. To
all you intrepid adventurers, beware! Go read Heinlein's "And He
Built A Crooked House" and get a copy of Escher's "Relativity",
because you never know when your DM may have things other than
Carrion Crawlers attacking from the ceiling. (TD38)

TOLKIEN
1“On Fairy-Stories,” The Tolkien Reader, Ballantine Books, New York

TRAPS
The Fantasy Life book contains a fairly extensive list of traps, many of which can be alaborated on. - Gary Gygax, xg.htm

VANCE, JACK
This mnemonic power system was exceedingly well articulated
by Jack Vance in his superb The Eyes of The Overworld and
Dying Earth novels, as well as in various short stories.

IUCOUNU, THE LAUGHING MAGICIAN
Jack Vance's

SHADOWJACK
Shadowjack +
REFERENCE: Jack of Shadows (paperback, published by Signet
Books) by Roger Zelazny.

ZORK
(See “Zork A Computerized Fantasy Simulation Game”
in the April 1979 issue of Computer. Zork is like single-player D&D
without role-playing or campaign background.)

Cugel the Clever (14th level thief)
REFERENCE: The Eyes of the Overworld (paperback, published by Ace Books) by Jack Vance.

Kane (30th level fighter, 20th level Archmage, 14th level Assassin)
REFERENCE: Death Angel’s Shadow, Bloodstone, Dark Crusade, Darkness
Weaves, Night Winds. (paperback, published by Warner Books) All by Karl Edward
Wagner.

Tros of Samothrace (15th level paladin)
REFERENCE: Lud of Lunden, Avenging Liafail, The Praetor’s Dungeon,
Cleopatra. (paperbacks, published by Zebra Books) Lud of Lunden, Avenging
Liafail, and The Pfaetor’s Dungeon are parts one, two, and three of the original
hardback: Tros of Samothrace. All by Talbot Mundy.

DURATHROR (13th level Lord/Dwarvish paladin)
REFERENCE: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (paperback,
published by Ace Books) by Alan Garner

JOHN CARTER OF MARS
30th level Lord
REFERENCE: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The
Warlord of Mars, Thuvia, Maid of Mars, The Chessman of Mars,
The Master Mind of Mars, A Fighting Man of Mars, Swords of
Mars, Synthetic Men of Mars, Llana of Gathol, John Carter of
Mars. (paperbacks, published by Ballantine Books) All by Edgar
Rice Burroughs.

BRACKETT, LEIGH
ERIC JOHN STARK
REFERENCE: People of the Talisman and The Secret of Sinharat
(paperback, published by Ace Books as a double). The Ginger Star,
The Hounds of Skaith, and The Reavers of Skaith (paperbacks, published
by Ballantine Books). All by Leigh Brackett.

WELLERAN
REFERENCE: “The Sword of Welleran” from Gods, Men, and
Ghosts: The Best Supernatural Fiction of Lord Dunsany (paperbound,
Dover Publications, Inc.), or, The Young Magicians (paperback, Ballantine
Books, Inc. edited by Lin Carter), or, The Sword of Welleran
(hardback, copyright 1908, long out of print), by Lord Dunsany (Edward
John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany).

DWARVES
Norse Mythology, Brooks Sword of Shannara, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of
Narnia, and the Tolkien Trilogy.

JUNGLES
H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs achieved literary
fame by writing novels dealing with the jungle. Haggard, in particular,
specialized in fantastic civilizations isolated from time and man’s interference,
located in deep jungles, usually in a hidden valley, or on top of
a jungle-girt mountain. I can only recommend that you peruse their
works for inspiration in establishing your jungle adventures.

J. Eric Holmes wrote an excellent supplement to SOURCE OF
THE NILE dealing with fantasy civilizations that goes into much detail,
and is very useful in setting up jungle adventures. (See TD #24, April
’79, LOST CIVILATIONS, and watch for a reprint of it in TRIBUTARY
2, the SOTN supplemental magazine, to be released soon. —Ed.)

KARL MERRIS
Eager’s Half Magic and Heinlein’s The
Rolling Stones.

BOOKS ARE BOOKS, GAMES ARE GAMES (TD31, by Gary Gygax)
There is certainly much to be learned from scholarly writers, and
they can often point the reader toward the source material they used As
a case in point, L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt cite Faerie
Queen and Orlando Furioso as sources for parts of THE INCOMPLETE
ENCHANTER and THE CASTLE OF IRON. The latter stories are
exceptionally fine examples of heroic fantasy adventure. The former
works are excellent inspirational sources.

The “G Series” modules (STEADING OF THE HILL GIANT
CHIEF, GLACIAL RIFT OF THE FROST GIANT JARL, and HALL
OF THE FIRE GIANT KING) were certainly inspired by the de Camp
and Pratt INCOMPLETE ENCHANTER.

The three “D Series” modules which continue the former series
owe little, if anything, to fiction. Drow are mentioned in Keightley’s
THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY, as I recall (it might have been THE
SECRET COMMONWEALTH—neither book is before me, and it is not
all that important anyway), and as Dark Elves of evil nature, they served
as an ideal basis for the creation of a unique new mythos designed
especially for AD&D. The roles the various drow are designed to play in
the series are commensurate with those of prospective player characters.
In fact, the race could be used for player characters, providing that
appropriate penalties were levied when a drow or half-drow was in the
daylight world.

CHESS (TD 36, )
A less sensational interest in game
morality and its everyday effects was noted
by Emanuel Lasker, a renowned chess
master of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He asks rhetorically in his Manual
of Chess, “How should our poor little
game, even in smallest detail, bear
comparison to infinite Life?”

LEJENDS & DOOMS
Legacy, by David Feldt (d40)

NINJAS (TD 16, TD 30)
    These rules for ninja were based on the book The Art of Invisibility:
Ninjutsu by Donn Draeger. The book was published in 1971 by
Simpson -- Doyle & Company; Shibuya P.O. Box 235; Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo, Japan.

These rule extensions for the ninja are based on the book, NINJA:
The Invisible Assassins, by Andrew Adams, published in 1970 by
O’Hara Publications, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.

SOLOMON
N.B. The Lesser Key of Solomon warns that when conjuring Asmodeus,
the summoner must not be wearing anything on his head, or
else Asmodeus will deceive the summoner.

TOLKIEN
What happens if your Character falls below 1? If you are an elf,
there is a 10% chance per point below 1 of you degenerating into an
orc (The Silmarillion indicates that orcs are twisted and perverted
elves)

BORGES
Another author who can be consulted in
this matter is Jorge L. Borges. In his works
compiled in Labyrinths is the short story
“Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.”

Derleth, August.
 
 
 
 

Dunsany, Lord.
 
 

Farmer, P. J. "The World of the Tiers" Series; etal.
    The Maker of Universes (1965), The Gates of Creation (1966), A Private Cosmos (1968), Behind the Walls of Terra (1970), The Lavalite World (1977) and More Than Fire (1993).

Lanier, Sterling. HIEROS JOURNEY

Leiber, Fritz. "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" Series; et al.

Lovecraft, H. P.
    <H.P. Lovecraft Omnibux, vol. I : At the Mountains of Madness>
    <H.P. Lovecraft Omnibux, vol. II : Dagon and Other Macabre Tales >
    <H.P. Lovecraft Omnibux, vol. III : The Haunter of the Dark>
        <The above 3, published by Grafton, should contain everything that he wrote that was published><check>
    <H.P. Lovecraft : A Biography, by L. Sprague de Camp, Barnes & Noble Books - being written by LSDC, this one may be of interest>

Merritt, A. CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al.
Moorcock, Michael. STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" Series (esp. the first three books)

Norton, Andre.

Offutt, Andrew J., editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS Ill.

* Pratt, Fletcher, BLUE STAR; et al.

Saberhagen, Fred. CHANGELING EARTH; et al.

St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS

Tolkien, J. R. R. THE HOBBIT; "Ring Trilogy"

Vance, Jack. THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al.
    Happy that you have read a couple of the greats of fantasy and enjoyed them. As for style, I find that of Jack Vance more compelling than any other author in the genrs.

    Cheers,
    Gary

    Planet of Adventure is my favorite work of his, if i actually have one.. -- GG

Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade.
Williamson, Jack.

Zelazny, Roger. JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" Series; et of.

The most immediate influences** upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above
authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you.

<*>, added to list?

Howdy Predavolk,

As with many things, naming a favorite isn't my bag. I must say, though, that I enjoyed the full length novel about Conan, and "Red Nails" is an outstanding tale of chilling adventure action that I would love to be able to emulate in an RPG module.

JRRT's "rings Trilogy" was too slow paced for me, although I did enjoy The Hobbit.

High on the list of other influences for my FPR game design are:
Jack Vance, de Camp & Pratt, Fritz Leiber, Saberhagen, Merritt, and Moorcock. So many excellent old fantasy yarns...

Cheers,
Gary
 
 
 

Quote:
Please forgive the long post. I'm really not one of those Tolkien crackpots you adore so much :wink: . I'm mostly just trying to get a handle on these two NPC's, as they figure prominently in my own Greyhawk campaign. If, indeed, the "Creator" modelled them after the Tolkien characters, then I would have a wealth of background flavor for them at my fingertips, and could develop them thusly. As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The NPCs are as they are prensnted in the text, no more, no less. Certainly individual DMs can alter and augment the information as desired, for that was the express purpose for the work as presented.

Gary
 
 
 
 
 

St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS

Tolkien, J. R. R. THE HOBBIT; "Ring Trilogy"
 

Williamson, Jack.
 
 

The most immediate influences* upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above
authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you.

<*>, add to list?
 

<NOTE: REMEMBER TO CHECK MYTHUS FOR SPECIFIC EXAMPLES>
<this should be the correct one: just 2b extra thorough, check the xx file ...>

<fini links>
<series: fini listings>
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GAMING FICTION
Adventures in the Improbable (TD #29)