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Post by Finarvyn on Jun 21, 2011 7:43:09 GMT -6
I was looking at Appendix N (okay, for DCC RPG inspiration, but the reason isn't important) and was thinking about which of the authors or books on the list were most influential to me. I tried to recreate Appendix N exactly, although some of the options had to be tweaked to fit in the "poll option" boxes. I thought about adding an "other" to the poll, but decided just to stick to the original Gygax list. Anyone with an "other" can give it a shout-out here or start a new thread on it. I'm curious as to what are your Top Five from the list. Mine would be, in no particular order: * Robert E Howard (Conan, Solomon Kane) * Fritz Leiber (Lankhmar series) * Michael Moorcock (Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum) * Roger Zelazny (Amber, Dilvish, Shadowjack) * JRR Tolkien (Hobbit, Lord of the Rings) EDIT: I nearly forgot Tolkien until I voted, so I had to remove Burroughs (Mars, Venus, Tarzan) from my "top 5."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2011 8:22:50 GMT -6
had to vote for lovecraft (along with leiber, tolkien, howard, moorcock)
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Post by Falconer on Jun 21, 2011 8:57:19 GMT -6
Tolkien, Burroughs, Lovecraft, Vance, and de Camp & Pratt. Runners up, Anderson (especially for The High Crusade) and Howard.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2011 9:53:36 GMT -6
Is anyone aware of any scholarship on Appendix N on the web? Like several others I have been revisiting it due to advocacy from Joseph Goodman and the DCC RPG.
Where Appendix N lists only an author or series, does anyone here recall conversations that might narrow the recommendation to one or a few books?
Thanks!
David
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Post by pessimisthalfling on Jun 21, 2011 10:47:50 GMT -6
I'd say: 1-R.E. Howard 2-H.P. Lovecraft 3-Lord Dunsany 4-JRR Tolkien 5-Michael Moorcock
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Post by coffee on Jun 21, 2011 12:52:19 GMT -6
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Post by tavis on Jun 21, 2011 12:59:54 GMT -6
I asked Gygax about Frederick Brown at EN World, as this is the author whose inclusion I found most mysterious. IIRC he remembered having read Nightmares and Geezenstacks, but not what about it was an inspiration specifically. Here's a post I did about Weinbaum, who I'd also considered a mystery. My own top 5 - one part personal reading tastes, one part what I think is most influential - is Vance, Anderson, Bellairs, St. Clair, and Leiber.
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Post by Falconer on Jun 21, 2011 13:29:05 GMT -6
Back in 2003, I made a webpage to catalogue what Appendix N resources were available in-print and inexpensive at the time. I haven’t updated it recently, but I still think it’s a pretty good starting point. FWIW, at the time, Gary made the following remarks about my page:
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Post by cleverkobold on Nov 27, 2012 6:19:43 GMT -6
My top 5 in order are... 1. Leiber 2. Lovecraft 3. Burroughs 4. Moorcock 5. Howard
Tolkien and Dunsany are close runners up.
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Post by stevemitchell on Nov 27, 2012 9:36:28 GMT -6
Brackett, Burroughs, Howard, Lovecraft, and Moorcock. And Henry Kuttner should be on the list, if only for The Dark World (but also for Elak and Raynor).
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Post by talysman on Nov 27, 2012 13:58:54 GMT -6
Is this overall, or at a specific point in time (influences when starting gaming, or influences right now?)
I went kind of mixed. Burroughs, Leiber, Lovecraft, Moorcock, Tolkien. Tolkien was an enormous influence on getting me into fantasy, but he hasn't been much of an influence on me for the last decade or so; I ought to read him again to see how my reactions have changed. Moorcock and Burroughs had a stronger influence on my actual gaming, when I started; Leiber and Lovecraft have more influence on my style, these days.
It's also interesting to think about the exceptions. For example, I haven't read either of the Poul Anderson stories listed. But I did read his Operation Chaos, right around the time I started playing D&D, and it was an important influence on how I interpret efreeti and salamanders.
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ckenp
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Post by ckenp on Dec 5, 2012 13:29:48 GMT -6
For example, I haven't read either of the Poul Anderson stories listed. It could be argued that "Three Hearts and Three Lions" is the quintessential piece of fiction for inspiring D&D roleplay (from said list). I highly recommend it. The great tragedy of Appendix N is the absence of Clark Ashton Smith, who I will argue is the best of them all.
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Post by kesher on Dec 5, 2012 14:54:57 GMT -6
The Face in the Frost is an awesome, underread book...
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Post by Red Baron on Aug 16, 2013 18:17:25 GMT -6
I asked Gygax about Frederick Brown at EN World, as this is the author whose inclusion I found most mysterious. IIRC he remembered having read Nightmares and Geezenstacks, but not what about it was an inspiration specifically. I thought it was because Brown's stuff was so inventive and weird, even if it's not fantasy. There's talking mice, yetis, and aliens disguised as donkeys. I would even hazard a guess that Yehudi was the inspiration for the unseen servant spell.
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Post by geoffrey on Aug 16, 2013 19:16:58 GMT -6
For pure fun I picked the following five in this order:
1. Clark Ashton Smith (an obvious oversight on Gary's part) 2. Jack Vance (The Dying Earth only) 3. R. E. Howard 4. A. Merritt 5. Fritz Leiber
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Post by jmccann on Aug 16, 2013 19:31:04 GMT -6
For me: REH Leiber Lovecraft Moorcock ERB
I had Tolkien instead of Burroughs at first, but I think in an important sense Burroughs is more influential from the point of view of influence on RPGs. Obviously a lot of Tolkien is taken as normative in terms of setting, races and so on, but I think the action of ERB is closer to RPG play.
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Post by scottenkainen on Aug 16, 2013 19:43:06 GMT -6
Ooo, I wish I'd been around in time to vote on this. Mine are
1. Tolkien 2. Burroughs 3. Dunsany 4. Anderson 5. Merritt
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Post by cleverkobold on Aug 17, 2013 7:36:22 GMT -6
My top five in order are 1. Leiber 2. Lovecraft 3. Howard 4. Burroughs 5. Dunsany
Had Clark Ashton Smith been on the list, my top five would read 1. Leiber 2. Smith 3. Lovecraft 4. Howard 5. Burroughs
Either way, Moorcock and Tolkien are close runners up.
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