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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.
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?
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