|
|
Post by tetramorph on May 14, 2019 18:05:57 GMT -6
I've been trying to get my players in my regular campaign to read a bit more so that they can "get" not only what my campaign is about, but also, kind of just D&D in general.
Here is what I posted for them (we use Slack) recently:
I am trying to keep the list short and archetypal. So, first, how did I do?
Second, what short stories from among these would you suggest?
For example, for Tolkien, I am thinking:
The Hobbit (short easy novel)
Farmer Giles of Ham
The Smith of Wooten Major
Can we narrow Lovecraft to three key tales? I would always list the Colour Out of Space. Probably also, Herbert West, Reanimator.
What is that awesome Conan story where he is literally in a dungeon with a giant snake, his torch goes out, he meets a magician, etc.?
What are the essential Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories? Of course, the Bazaar of the Bazaar. I also love Lean Times in Lankhmar. What is the one where the house they are exploring is itself the trap? And the one with the tower and the howling dogs?
Is there any short Anderson that would do the trick? Or do I need to suggest the novels?
I don't really enjoy Vance. Too amoral and sadistic. But what would you suggest?
Third, are any up on the interwebs as PDFs or HTML?
Finally, are there any (cheap / free) audio versions to share?
Thanks for the help.
Fight on!
|
|
kipper
Level 3 Conjurer
Posts: 55
|
Post by kipper on May 14, 2019 18:47:48 GMT -6
What is that awesome Conan story where he is literally in a dungeon with a giant snake, his torch goes out, he meets a magician, etc.? What are the essential Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories?... What is the one where the house they are exploring is itself the trap? And the one with the tower and the howling dogs? and The Howling Tower, respectively. I don't really enjoy Vance. Too amoral and sadistic. But what would you suggest? If all you want to convey is "Vancian magic" (spells and spell memorisation) I'd recommend the short story Mazirian the Magician. |
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on May 14, 2019 18:54:36 GMT -6
Other Howard off the top of my head: Red Nails, Black Colossus, Pool of the Black One, People of the Black Circle, A Witch Shall Be Born, Hour of the Dragon. But for the rite of passage, have 'em read the entire corpus!  |
|
|
|
Post by geoffrey on May 14, 2019 22:23:42 GMT -6
I've been trying to get my players in my regular campaign to read a bit more so that they can "get" not only what my campaign is about, but also, kind of just D&D in general. Here is what I posted for them (we use Slack) recently: I am trying to keep the list short and archetypal. So, first, how did I do? Second, what short stories from among these would you suggest? The story to read for each one: Tolkien: The HobbitLovecraft: "The Call of Cthulhu" Howard: "Beyond the Black River" Leiber: "The Jewels in the Forest" Vance: "Mazirian the Magician" I can't help you with Anderson, but I can give you a Michael Moorcock: "The Dreaming City". |
|
|
|
Post by waysoftheearth on May 15, 2019 1:56:27 GMT -6
The story to read for each one: Tolkien: The HobbitLovecraft: "The Call of Cthulhu" Howard: "Beyond the Black River" Leiber: "The Jewels in the Forest" Vance: "Mazirian the Magician" I can't help you with Anderson, but I can give you a Michael Moorcock: "The Dreaming City". Anderson: Three Hearts and Three Lions edit: Barker: The Man of Gold |
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on May 16, 2019 9:45:01 GMT -6
Here is a cheap and perfectly-curated short collection of Conan stories:  Right? Too bad about the cover!
|
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on May 16, 2019 10:01:25 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on May 16, 2019 10:05:26 GMT -6
Aaaaand my wild card pick:  |
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on May 16, 2019 10:47:37 GMT -6
Sorry! One more!  |
|
|
|
Post by tetramorph on May 16, 2019 20:20:03 GMT -6
Aaaaand my wild card pick: Yes! This is Lewis’ dungeon crawl. And my favorite of the Chronicles. Fight on! |
|
|
|
Post by tetramorph on May 16, 2019 20:26:10 GMT -6
Here is a cheap and perfectly-curated short collection of Conan stories: Right? Too bad about the cover! Yes, but it doesn’t have the Scarlet Citadel. I really like that one. |
|
|
|
Post by tetramorph on May 16, 2019 20:27:31 GMT -6
waysoftheearth, I’ve never heard of Barker: The Man of Gold. Tell me more.
|
|
|
|
Post by tetramorph on May 16, 2019 20:30:15 GMT -6
geoffrey, I’m not familiar with Michael Moorcock: "The Dreaming City". Is it a short story? Is it about Elric?
|
|
|
|
Post by waysoftheearth on May 17, 2019 0:32:21 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on May 17, 2019 7:19:54 GMT -6
[ The Silver Chair is Lewis’ dungeon crawl. And my favorite of the Chronicles. Hard to pick a favorite, but it’s easily the most D&Dish. An overland trip, giants, a castle, a ruined city, a descent into the depths of the earth, svirfneblin, a salamander, a witch, a MacGuffin, Time personified as a huge giant. Love it. Yes, but it doesn’t have the Scarlet Citadel. I really like that one. Well, I didn’t say it was exhaustive. Really you can’t go wrong with The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian. You know your players, but personally I’ve rarely ever dipped my toes into fiction. When I decided to read Appendix N, I read every Lovecraft story in written order, and either written or chronological order for every other author I could find. |
|
|
|
Post by geoffrey on May 17, 2019 8:15:19 GMT -6
geoffrey, I’m not familiar with Michael Moorcock: "The Dreaming City". Is it a short story? Is it about Elric? Yes, it is a short story. It is the first published story about Elric.  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 18, 2019 5:17:29 GMT -6
I absolutely love this idea! Now, I would perhaps limit the texts to one novel, plus a few short stories; basically, an amount of text that an average person can read in a month. As to the selections - perhaps a little bit more King Kull, and less Conan? As to the ONE novel I would recommend to anyone interested in how vanilla D&D works, I'd probably rather suggest "The Children of Hurin" than "The Hobbit", if only because I think "Hurin" is the more rewarding read for a modern-day gamer. But that's just, well, like, my opinion. -_- |
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on May 18, 2019 6:27:39 GMT -6
Rafe is right that the "best" list would be pretty short -- maybe one novel tops, plus some short stories. I know that if I gave my group a reading assignment hardly anyone would get around to it, so the intro list needs to be as short as possible. If they like it, you can always provide a longer list.
For me...
* Conan is a must. Maybe "Red Nails."
* Fafhrd & Mouser is a must. Maybe "The Jewels in the Forest."
* Tolkien is a must, and The Hobbit is basically a dozen or so short stories stitched together. Maybe "Out of the Frying-pan into the fire."
"Red Nails" is basically a dungeon crawl, but with factions and intrigue. "Jewels in the Forest" is a quest with some sinister things happening. "Out of the Frying-pan into the fire" is another wilderlands trek but with some whimsical magic in it. If these seem too similar, substitute Leiber's "Thieves House" to give a feel for an urban adventure, but when I started playing D&D it was pretty much all wilderness and dungeon.
I haven't done a page count, but I'd imagine one could knock off those three in a weekend without much problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by waysoftheearth on May 18, 2019 17:47:40 GMT -6
I know that if I gave my group a reading assignment hardly anyone would get around to it, Maybe begin each game session with a short (one chapter?) read aloud "story time" from the list? Audio books could be great for this---the challenge might be that it's hard to stop listening! |
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on May 18, 2019 20:17:01 GMT -6
Just cut to the chase and have the group read Wagner's Dark Crusade. That will bring the terror back to the game table.  |
|
|
|
Post by retrorob on May 19, 2019 13:49:33 GMT -6
Karl E. Wagner's "Kane" saga is one of the best sword-and-sorcery:
- Reflections for the Winter of My Soul
- Cold light
- Bloodstone
REH:
Conan
- Beyond the Black River
- Red Nails
- Queen of the Black Coast
Non-Conan
- The Valley of the Worm (probably the best fantasy short story ever written)
JRRT
- The Hobbit
Anderson
- Three Hearts and Three Lions
Leiber
- The Jewels in the Forest
- The Howling Tower
Jack Vance
- The Dying Earth
|
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on May 19, 2019 19:08:57 GMT -6
It is interesting the idea of one or more sessions set aside for reading and discussing the DM's short story list. For the right group, this change of pace might wet appetites with everyone on the same core footing for the start of the gaming. In that sense, the time would be well spent.
|
|
