My Appendix N - Part I: Fantasy Essentials

For those who do not know, Appendix N was a list of inspirations and sources compiled by Gary Gygax in the Dungeon Masters Guide of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1979). If you were curious to read Gygax’s list without purchasing the DMG, you can find a copy here.

When it comes to role-playing, we all have in mind tropes, styles and archetypes that are not always common to our own table. I guess if this is the reason why D&D over time has diverged from its gonzo and sword & sorcery origins to become a dull soup of disparate inspirations, which has now become a full fledged genre in its own right.

As a referee, I often found that I took these inspirations for granted, only to find a table that did not have the references to understand what setting I was proposing to them.

This post will be divided into at least two parts, fantasy and science fiction. But I may expand it into other genres. Here in the meantime is the first part.

Fiction

• Anderson, Poul. The Broken Sword.
• Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Darkover Series. (I read this before abuse allegations were public. I don’t endorse Bradley’s works anymore)
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice. John Carter of Mars.
• China, Miéville. Bas Lag Trilogy.
• Ende, Michael. The Endless Story.
• Hobb, Robin. Liveship Traders Trilogy.
• Howard, Robert E. Conan The Barbarian.
• Howard, Robert E. Kull of Valusia.
• Kerr, Katharine. Deverry Cycle.
• Le Guin, Ursula K. Annals of the Western Shore.
• Le Guin, Ursula K. The Earthsea Cycle.
• Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. The Dream Cycle.
• Moorcock, Michael. Elric di Melniboné.
• Moore, C.L. Jirel of Joiry.
• Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials.
• Smith, Clark Ashton. Zotique.
• Vance, Jack. The Dying Earth.
• Zelazny, Roger. The Chronicles of Amber.

Mythology

• Anonymous. The Mabinogion.
• Anonymous. The Nibelungenlied.
• Anonymous. The Poetic Edda.
• Apollodorus. The Library.
• Hesiod. Theogony.
• Homer. Iliad and Odyssey.
• Snorri, Sturluson. The Prose Edda
• Anonymous. Beowulf.

Legendary Sagas

• Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok.
• Saga of Oddr the Archer.
• Saga of Egill One-Hand.

Arthurian Cycle

• Mallory, Thomas. La Morthe d’Arthur.
• Monmouth, Geoffrey of. Historia Regum Brittaniae.