James at Grognardia wrote a good post about the problems of D&D’s Appendix N, namely that it’s just an un-annotated list of works that doesn’t really give any indication as to how they influenced the development of the game. It makes for a good reading list, especially if you’re interested in looking at some works that are largely forgotten in the present day (I’m particularly fond of Margaret St. Clair’s Sign Of The Labrys), but that’s about the extent of it. James has gone on to begin posting a much more focused Appendix N for his own game that talks about why the works he’s picked are included.

I’ve been meaning to put together a list of influences and inspirations for A Dungeon Game for a while and haven’t got round to it. These posts on Grognardia have inspired me to finally get around to doing it, and to do it in a similar manner. I think this will be four posts: fiction books (or authors more broadly), other roleplaying games, films, and non-fiction books.

Today I’m talking about fiction

.Keep reading.