Best Fanatasy Books For Inspiration [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best Fanatasy Books For Inspiration [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
dayrat
12-16-06, 06:16 PM I am looking to read a food fantasy novel that will help inspire my DMing. Any ideas?
Lethanic
12-16-06, 06:19 PM I am looking to read a food fantasy novel that will help inspire my DMing. Any ideas?

"The Joye of Snacks?"

"The Cookbook of the GOds?"

Actually, for a serious answer, I tend to draw my fantasy ideas from Science fiction books. Quite often it results in unusual story elements that, once adapted to fantasy, seem a bit more fresh.
revnk
12-16-06, 08:10 PM I'm reluctant to state the obvious, but Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings is a good fantasy novel that also happens to be a food fantasy novel.:D In particular, The Fellowship Of The Ring has some mouthwatering breakfasts. Besides that, it is the original source of D&D-style elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, treants, wizards, rangers, etc., etc., etc.

If you prefer grittier, low-magic fantasy settings, George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire is quite brilliant. The first novel in the series is A Game Of Thrones. (The book does feature a few feasts... alright, alright, I know it was a typo, I just can't help it!:D )

Michael Moorcock's Elric novels were a major early source for D&D, and were essentially the source of the alignment system. They've been published in several affordable compilations, and can be read in almost any order. (Compilations will feature them in "chronological" order, but the books weren't actually written that way.)

H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard were also old-school influences on D&D. Both authors are now pretty easy to find. Howard's most famous character, Conan of Cimmeria, obviously was an influence on the barbarian class. Lovecraft is better known as a horror writer, but he wrote one outright fantasy novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath and several fantasy stories; additionally, he can be a good source of inspiration for monsters and demons, and his mastery at plotting can provide good insights into how to write an adventure. (Most HPL stories involve an "onion" structure in which the characters peel back layer after layer, revealing more and more about what is happening: that just happens to be a good way to structure an RPG adventure, whether it's swords-and-sorcery or space opera.)

There are more, and these are all classics which you may already be familiar with, but I hope it was helpful. Good gaming!
krichaiushii
12-16-06, 08:28 PM I'm told that the Deed of Paksennarion (sp?) pretty much details an early expedition to the Moathouse of T1: Village of Hommlet fame.

There have been a series of books based on Greyhawk that are fictional accounts of one party or another travelling through classic modules. Keep on the Borderlands, Against the Giants, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Vault of the Drow, etc.

For darker fantasy, look at all the Warhammer Fantasy books from Black Library (http://www.blacklibrary.com/default.asp) - particularly the Felix and Gotrek books, though I enjoyed Hammers of Ulric immensely.

If you can lay hands on a 1st edition DMG, there is a list of books that the founders of this great game used as inspiration. To include Jack Vance's Dying Earth books, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, the earlier mentioned Tolkein, Lovecraft, and Howard, as well as Fritz Leiber (http://www.lankhmar.demon.co.uk/)'s Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser books... among many others.
Milandros
12-16-06, 08:42 PM Gaaaaaaahhhhhh.... there are about fifteen squintillion books we could point you at...

The deed of Paksannarion (paladin inspiration)
Oath of Swords and the War God series (for an interesting slant on both the barbarian/beserker and the paladin)
Lord of the Rings, Tales of the Dying Earth (and other Jack Vance novels), the Elric novels (and other Moorcock books (Dancers at the end of time to see some really extreme Chaotic Neutral action)) to see most of the original inspirations for D&D.
I Claudius for some imperial inspirations
Magician and other Raymond Feist Midkemia novels (that was the author's game world originally)
Any history book from ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, etc etc etc
The Iliad and the Odyssey
Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar novels
Anything from David Gemmel. Start with Legend and keep on going.
David Eddings' Belgariad or Elenium. It starts getting repetetive, but the Elenium has some great characters, before they all blur together into the same character.
The Order of the Stick.
Nodwick.
Anne Macaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern novels
Julian May's Many-Coloured Land
Harry Turtledove's Misplaced Legion series

gods of Greyhawk, I could go on for hours. There's a lot of excellent sci-fi and fantasy books (and a lot of junk too), and all of it can trigger ideas.

Haver fun!
Mitchell
12-17-06, 02:33 AM I'm partial to Zelazny's Amber series. Not for everyone, though, I guess. I recommend the first five books over the last five, but you may be able to find all ten in a single volume, so you could go that way.
Really, though, I don't think it has to be good fantasy. Anything could offer some inspiration.
EyelessBeholder
12-17-06, 02:37 AM My Favorite - Terry Goodkind : Sword of truth series

Also - David Eddings Elenium ( 3 books ) and Talium ( 3 books )
And - "Rhapsody" book title cant think of authors name
Gilean
12-17-06, 03:39 AM Top hundred gaming novels (http://index.rpg.net/display-rankings.phtml?count=0&category=Gaming%20Novel) are probably a good place to start.

For non-gaming ones, Martin' Song of Ice and Fire, Tad Williams' Mero, Sorrow and Thorn and everything by Robin Hobb are good.
Especially Hobb.

Zelazny's Amber is good, but as D&D source material somewhat hard to use (you could play it with Amber diceless (http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=136) or Nobilis (http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=132), though).
albinomonkeyking
12-17-06, 03:59 AM As was posted pretty much any fantasy books offer a lot. If you are looking for NPC ideas Neil Gaiman writes some amazing characters. Neverwhere has some particularly well-fleshed, awesome characters who would fit good into D&D settings. Good Omens too, a work between himself and Terry Pratchet. I have a vote for the Amber series as well, good stuff.

If you like straight fantasy Piers Anthonys Xanth series is pretty much fantasy out the arse.

My brain is kind of puttering right now...but good suggestions.
syrinth
12-17-06, 04:11 AM Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a favorite for me and I also love Terry Brooks Shannara series.

For a DnD campaign I would definitely go for Brooks first since it's more like a campaign.
Tusalu
12-17-06, 08:13 AM DISCWORLD by Terry Pratchett
Eragon
Dragonlance (of course)
DISCWORLD by Terry Pratchett (Particularly Night Watch)
Crust
12-17-06, 09:00 AM The Robert E. Howard Conan short stories are must-reads for any fantasy fan. Even if I sat here and thought about it, I couldn't hope to do the stories justice with my own words. They are INCREDIBLE! Do yourself a huge favor and look into it.

This is the book you want to pick up first:

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/jmichaelames/ConanSC.jpg
pita
12-17-06, 09:29 AM The MTG novels are good. After reading Onslaught, I'm planning on doing an "ultimately cursed" sword subplot for my campaign.
Snake_Oil
12-17-06, 10:44 AM I would suggest any of the following:

Dragon Weather by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Seaward by Susan Cooper

Rogues to Riches by J. Robert King

Magic Kingdom For Sale: Sold by Terry Brooks

The Black Unicorn by Terry Brooks

The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey (includes Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums)
Tolby
12-17-06, 12:21 PM I also like the eye of the world seriesd for inspiration.
Thubby
12-17-06, 12:24 PM eragon and related BOOKS, the movie wasnt even close.
Gilean
12-17-06, 01:45 PM Howard's stuff is in wikisource (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Robert_E._Howard#Short_Stories), readable for free.
rjjr71
12-17-06, 04:10 PM I must echo the post that mentioned George RR Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. For a gritty, medieval, mystical feel that will give you a WHOLE new view on paladins/knights (heh heh) read it.
pierow37
12-17-06, 04:15 PM ANYTHING by JaneYolen

Some Dnd Novels

Some books for DMing are best when they're not fantasy. Look at interesting historical figures, Gangis Kan(WOAH I have no idea how to spell that), Vlad the implaer, even stategic military leaders like Napoleon!
Orbb_was_railed_by_God
12-17-06, 04:26 PM The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

An excellent alternative fantasy setting with gritty and engaging NPC-style characters. He will be remembered as a horror author, and that is a shame, because fantasy is clearly Stephen King's element.

"Gunslingers, to me!"
Leaves
12-17-06, 04:39 PM Nobody has mentioned "Dragonsbane" by Barbara Hambly yet. Good low-magic feel, awesome dragon. Sequels also good.

I like me the "SwordDancer" series, too. (Tiger & Del novels)

Death Gate Cycle (Weis and Hickman)
PwnageLlama
12-17-06, 04:51 PM The Wheel of Time. Great Books. By Robert Jordan, book #1 is "The Eye of the World."
roshi101
12-17-06, 06:30 PM The Belgariad I enjoyed immensely. But Belgarath the sorcerer is hands down my favourite book of all time, and Belgarath is an amazing character.

If you want a great inspiration for a more oriental campaign (and a western one too), just read 'Monkey' novel by Wu Ch'eng-en. Or watch the TV series, I'm a huge fan of both.

A bit off topic here, but there are some great movies and TV series out there that help give inspiration. From Dragonball (the original, not Z), to Inuyasha etc.

Good Luck!
Jenos_Idanian
12-18-06, 04:07 PM Matthew Woodring Stover's Heroes Die, Blade of Tyshalle, Iron Dawn and Jericho Moon. Finest fantasy no one's ever read
Anaxander
12-18-06, 04:25 PM Death Gate Cycle (Weis and Hickman)

Yes! Especially for world-building purposes.

Tanith Lee has also written some good, but more mature fantasy books.
Dirtysleevezen
12-18-06, 05:01 PM "The Redemption of Althalus", by David and Leigh Eddings.

"Perdido Street Station", by China Mieville.

"Neverwhere", by Neil Gaiman.

"Neuromancer", by William Gibson.

Mercedes Lackey's Vanyel trilogy. (Magic's Pawn, et al.)

~

Neverwhere isn't strictly fantasy, and Neuromancer is cyberpunk, but I've delved them all for successful campaign material.

If you dive into the Wheel of Time books, I'd recommend sticking to the start, the end, and the glossary. (Also, the "Dragonmount" prelude from Eye of the World.) Especially in Eye of the World and later on in the series, the middles of Jordan's books seem to be stuck in a feedback loop.
Ocalus
12-18-06, 05:05 PM There is no one "right" answer as it will vary widly based upon the type of setting and game you want to run, from the plane-hopping family-friendly zaniness of Robert Asprin's Myth series to the gritty alternate-history adult fantasy of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series and pretty much every degree and varaition between.

My best advice is simply to read everything and anything you can and keep a notepad nearby. It is amazing what can spark an inspiration. I built an entire adventure around a foul necromancer named Malakhov (named after NHL player Sergei Malkhov) after watching the Leafs play the Rangers one Saturday night. :)
mike_beavers
12-18-06, 05:27 PM fritz lieber -fahard and the grey mouser swords against series.
fun read and a nice basis for a barbarian and a thief-wizard. the thieves world series by lynn abby and robert asperin were good also

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
dayrat 12-16-06, 06:16 PM	I am looking to read a food fantasy novel that will help inspire my DMing. Any ideas?
Lethanic 12-16-06, 06:19 PM	I am looking to read a food fantasy novel that will help inspire my DMing. Any ideas? "The Joye of Snacks?" "The Cookbook of the GOds?" Actually, for a serious answer, I tend to draw my fantasy ideas from Science fiction books. Quite often it results in unusual story elements that, once adapted to fantasy, seem a bit more fresh.
revnk 12-16-06, 08:10 PM	I'm reluctant to state the obvious, but Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings is a good fantasy novel that also happens to be a food fantasy novel.:D In particular, The Fellowship Of The Ring has some mouthwatering breakfasts. Besides that, it is the original source of D&D-style elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, treants, wizards, rangers, etc., etc., etc. If you prefer grittier, low-magic fantasy settings, George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire is quite brilliant. The first novel in the series is A Game Of Thrones. (The book does feature a few feasts... alright, alright, I know it was a typo, I just can't help it!:D ) Michael Moorcock's Elric novels were a major early source for D&D, and were essentially the source of the alignment system. They've been published in several affordable compilations, and can be read in almost any order. (Compilations will feature them in "chronological" order, but the books weren't actually written that way.) H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard were also old-school influences on D&D. Both authors are now pretty easy to find. Howard's most famous character, Conan of Cimmeria, obviously was an influence on the barbarian class. Lovecraft is better known as a horror writer, but he wrote one outright fantasy novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath and several fantasy stories; additionally, he can be a good source of inspiration for monsters and demons, and his mastery at plotting can provide good insights into how to write an adventure. (Most HPL stories involve an "onion" structure in which the characters peel back layer after layer, revealing more and more about what is happening: that just happens to be a good way to structure an RPG adventure, whether it's swords-and-sorcery or space opera.) There are more, and these are all classics which you may already be familiar with, but I hope it was helpful. Good gaming!
krichaiushii 12-16-06, 08:28 PM	I'm told that the Deed of Paksennarion (sp?) pretty much details an early expedition to the Moathouse of T1: Village of Hommlet fame. There have been a series of books based on Greyhawk that are fictional accounts of one party or another travelling through classic modules. Keep on the Borderlands, Against the Giants, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Vault of the Drow, etc. For darker fantasy, look at all the Warhammer Fantasy books from Black Library (http://www.blacklibrary.com/default.asp) - particularly the Felix and Gotrek books, though I enjoyed Hammers of Ulric immensely. If you can lay hands on a 1st edition DMG, there is a list of books that the founders of this great game used as inspiration. To include Jack Vance's Dying Earth books, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, the earlier mentioned Tolkein, Lovecraft, and Howard, as well as Fritz Leiber (http://www.lankhmar.demon.co.uk/)'s Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser books... among many others.
Milandros 12-16-06, 08:42 PM	Gaaaaaaahhhhhh.... there are about fifteen squintillion books we could point you at... The deed of Paksannarion (paladin inspiration) Oath of Swords and the War God series (for an interesting slant on both the barbarian/beserker and the paladin) Lord of the Rings, Tales of the Dying Earth (and other Jack Vance novels), the Elric novels (and other Moorcock books (Dancers at the end of time to see some really extreme Chaotic Neutral action)) to see most of the original inspirations for D&D. I Claudius for some imperial inspirations Magician and other Raymond Feist Midkemia novels (that was the author's game world originally) Any history book from ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, etc etc etc The Iliad and the Odyssey Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar novels Anything from David Gemmel. Start with Legend and keep on going. David Eddings' Belgariad or Elenium. It starts getting repetetive, but the Elenium has some great characters, before they all blur together into the same character. The Order of the Stick. Nodwick. Anne Macaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern novels Julian May's Many-Coloured Land Harry Turtledove's Misplaced Legion series gods of Greyhawk, I could go on for hours. There's a lot of excellent sci-fi and fantasy books (and a lot of junk too), and all of it can trigger ideas. Haver fun!
Mitchell 12-17-06, 02:33 AM	I'm partial to Zelazny's Amber series. Not for everyone, though, I guess. I recommend the first five books over the last five, but you may be able to find all ten in a single volume, so you could go that way. Really, though, I don't think it has to be good fantasy. Anything could offer some inspiration.
EyelessBeholder 12-17-06, 02:37 AM	My Favorite - Terry Goodkind : Sword of truth series Also - David Eddings Elenium ( 3 books ) and Talium ( 3 books ) And - "Rhapsody" book title cant think of authors name
Gilean 12-17-06, 03:39 AM	Top hundred gaming novels (http://index.rpg.net/display-rankings.phtml?count=0&category=Gaming%20Novel) are probably a good place to start. For non-gaming ones, Martin' Song of Ice and Fire, Tad Williams' Mero, Sorrow and Thorn and everything by Robin Hobb are good. Especially Hobb. Zelazny's Amber is good, but as D&D source material somewhat hard to use (you could play it with Amber diceless (http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=136) or Nobilis (http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=132), though).
albinomonkeyking 12-17-06, 03:59 AM	As was posted pretty much any fantasy books offer a lot. If you are looking for NPC ideas Neil Gaiman writes some amazing characters. Neverwhere has some particularly well-fleshed, awesome characters who would fit good into D&D settings. Good Omens too, a work between himself and Terry Pratchet. I have a vote for the Amber series as well, good stuff. If you like straight fantasy Piers Anthonys Xanth series is pretty much fantasy out the arse. My brain is kind of puttering right now...but good suggestions.
syrinth 12-17-06, 04:11 AM	Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a favorite for me and I also love Terry Brooks Shannara series. For a DnD campaign I would definitely go for Brooks first since it's more like a campaign.
Tusalu 12-17-06, 08:13 AM	DISCWORLD by Terry Pratchett Eragon Dragonlance (of course) DISCWORLD by Terry Pratchett (Particularly Night Watch)
Crust 12-17-06, 09:00 AM	The Robert E. Howard Conan short stories are must-reads for any fantasy fan. Even if I sat here and thought about it, I couldn't hope to do the stories justice with my own words. They are INCREDIBLE! Do yourself a huge favor and look into it. This is the book you want to pick up first: http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/jmichaelames/ConanSC.jpg
pita 12-17-06, 09:29 AM	The MTG novels are good. After reading Onslaught, I'm planning on doing an "ultimately cursed" sword subplot for my campaign.
Snake_Oil 12-17-06, 10:44 AM	I would suggest any of the following: Dragon Weather by Lawrence Watt-Evans Seaward by Susan Cooper Rogues to Riches by J. Robert King Magic Kingdom For Sale: Sold by Terry Brooks The Black Unicorn by Terry Brooks The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey (includes Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums)
Tolby 12-17-06, 12:21 PM	I also like the eye of the world seriesd for inspiration.
Thubby 12-17-06, 12:24 PM	eragon and related BOOKS, the movie wasnt even close.
Gilean 12-17-06, 01:45 PM	Howard's stuff is in wikisource (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Robert_E._Howard#Short_Stories), readable for free.
rjjr71 12-17-06, 04:10 PM	I must echo the post that mentioned George RR Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. For a gritty, medieval, mystical feel that will give you a WHOLE new view on paladins/knights (heh heh) read it.
pierow37 12-17-06, 04:15 PM	ANYTHING by JaneYolen Some Dnd Novels Some books for DMing are best when they're not fantasy. Look at interesting historical figures, Gangis Kan(WOAH I have no idea how to spell that), Vlad the implaer, even stategic military leaders like Napoleon!
Orbb_was_railed_by_God 12-17-06, 04:26 PM	The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. An excellent alternative fantasy setting with gritty and engaging NPC-style characters. He will be remembered as a horror author, and that is a shame, because fantasy is clearly Stephen King's element. "Gunslingers, to me!"
Leaves 12-17-06, 04:39 PM	Nobody has mentioned "Dragonsbane" by Barbara Hambly yet. Good low-magic feel, awesome dragon. Sequels also good. I like me the "SwordDancer" series, too. (Tiger & Del novels) Death Gate Cycle (Weis and Hickman)
PwnageLlama 12-17-06, 04:51 PM	The Wheel of Time. Great Books. By Robert Jordan, book #1 is "The Eye of the World."
roshi101 12-17-06, 06:30 PM	The Belgariad I enjoyed immensely. But Belgarath the sorcerer is hands down my favourite book of all time, and Belgarath is an amazing character. If you want a great inspiration for a more oriental campaign (and a western one too), just read 'Monkey' novel by Wu Ch'eng-en. Or watch the TV series, I'm a huge fan of both. A bit off topic here, but there are some great movies and TV series out there that help give inspiration. From Dragonball (the original, not Z), to Inuyasha etc. Good Luck!
Jenos_Idanian 12-18-06, 04:07 PM	Matthew Woodring Stover's Heroes Die, Blade of Tyshalle, Iron Dawn and Jericho Moon. Finest fantasy no one's ever read
Anaxander 12-18-06, 04:25 PM	Death Gate Cycle (Weis and Hickman) Yes! Especially for world-building purposes. Tanith Lee has also written some good, but more mature fantasy books.
Dirtysleevezen 12-18-06, 05:01 PM	"The Redemption of Althalus", by David and Leigh Eddings. "Perdido Street Station", by China Mieville. "Neverwhere", by Neil Gaiman. "Neuromancer", by William Gibson. Mercedes Lackey's Vanyel trilogy. (Magic's Pawn, et al.) ~ Neverwhere isn't strictly fantasy, and Neuromancer is cyberpunk, but I've delved them all for successful campaign material. If you dive into the Wheel of Time books, I'd recommend sticking to the start, the end, and the glossary. (Also, the "Dragonmount" prelude from Eye of the World.) Especially in Eye of the World and later on in the series, the middles of Jordan's books seem to be stuck in a feedback loop.
Ocalus 12-18-06, 05:05 PM	There is no one "right" answer as it will vary widly based upon the type of setting and game you want to run, from the plane-hopping family-friendly zaniness of Robert Asprin's Myth series to the gritty alternate-history adult fantasy of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series and pretty much every degree and varaition between. My best advice is simply to read everything and anything you can and keep a notepad nearby. It is amazing what can spark an inspiration. I built an entire adventure around a foul necromancer named Malakhov (named after NHL player Sergei Malkhov) after watching the Leafs play the Rangers one Saturday night. :)
mike_beavers 12-18-06, 05:27 PM	fritz lieber -fahard and the grey mouser swords against series. fun read and a nice basis for a barbarian and a thief-wizard. the thieves world series by lynn abby and robert asperin were good also