NEW Appendix N Video Review Series

Daniel, over at The Dungeon Dive, is starting up a Youtube review series of various Appendix N authors, I highly recommend you follow along with his investigation and analysis!

Appendix N: May 2016 Edition

I've been looking for some decent bookcases for about four years.  

I finally came across the bookcases, above, which a used bookstore were getting rid of.  Because they were custom-built for that bookstore, they are of quality plywood construction, with moveable shelves, allowing me to efficiently house my Appendix N collection.  

The above photo is my complete Appendix N collection, minus the books below, which I just picked up at another used bookstore yesterday.

John Jakes' Mention My Name In Atlantis and Farmer's The Lavalite World.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and The Mezentian Gate by E.R. Eddison.

Finally, Keith Laumer's A Plague Of Demons and Zazkor, Son Of Vazkor by Tanith Lee.

Appendix N: June 2013

Once again, we attended the CBC and Calgary Herald charity book sales and found several titles to add to my Appendix N collection.

 

 

Those book finds included: Lilith and Phantastes by George MacDonald; the collected short stories of Edgar Allan Poe; The Colour Of Magic by Terry Pratchett: The Lost Valley of Iskander, Conan of Aquilonia, Conan the Warrior and Tigers of the Sea by Robert E Howard; The Ship of Ishtar and Seven Footprints to Satan by A. Merritt; Star of Danger, The Planet Savers, The Sword of Aldones and Sword and Sorceress VII by Marion Bradley; The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny; The Anubis Gates and On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers; The Undying Wizard by Andrew Offutt; Lost On Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs; New Worlds For Old by Lin Carter; Eye In The Sky by Phillip K. Dick; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain; The Face In The Frost by John Bellairs; At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft; The Return of She Ayesha by H. Rider Haggard; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein; Ogre Ogre by Piers Anthony; and The Citadel of the Autarch by Gene Wolfe.

Abbey, Lynn:

Adams, Richard: Watership Down; Shardik

Alexander, Lloyd: The Book of Three 1; The Black Cauldron 2; The Castle of Llyr 3; Taran Wanderer 4; The High King 5

Anderson, Poul: Ensign Flandry; Flandry Of Terra; Agent of the Terran Empire; The Long Night; Three Hearts and Three Lions; The Broken Sword; The High Crusade; A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows; The Last Viking 1

Anthony, Piers: A Spell for Chameleon; Split Infinity; On A Pale Horse; Ogre, Ogre

Ariosto, Ludovico: Orlando Furioso

Asprin, Robert A.: Thieves World I; Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn II; Shadows of Sanctuary III; Storm Season IV; The Face of Chaos V; Another Fine Myth

Barker, M.A.R.: The Man Of Gold; Flamesong

Baum, L. Frank: The Wizard Of Oz, Emerald City Of Oz, Land of Oz

Beagle, Peter S.: The Last Unicorn; A Fine And Private Place

Bellairs, John: The Face In The Frost

Bellamy, Francis R : Atta

Blackwood, Algernon: 

Bloodstone, John: Thundar Man Of Two Worlds

Bloch, Robert: Strange Eons

Bok, Hannes: The Sorcerers Ship

Brackett, Leigh: Eric John Stark, Outlaw Of Mars; The Best Of Leigh Brackett; The Sword Of Rhiannon; The Ginger Star 1; The Hounds Of Skaith 2; Reavers of Skaith 3

Bradley, Marion Z: Warrior Women; Sword and Sorceress Anthology; Sword And Sorceress VII; The Planet Savers 1958; The Sword Of Aldones 1962; The Boody Sun 1964; Star Of Danger 1965; The Winds Of Darkover 1970; The Forbidden Tower 1977; Stormqueen! 1978; Seven From The Stars;

Brooks, Terry: The Sword of Shannara

Brown, Fredric: The Best Of Fredric Brown

Brunner, John: Secret Agent Of Terra;

Burroughs, Edgar R.: Pellucidar; Tanar of Pellucidar; A Princess Of Mars 1; The Gods Of Mars 2; Warlord Of Mars 3; Thuvia, Maid Of Mars 4; Chessmen of Mars 5; The Mastermind of Mars 6; A Fighting Man of Mars 7; The Moon Maid; Out of Time’s Abyss; Jungle Girl, Land of Hidden Men; Pirates Of Venus; Lost On Venus; Carson Of Venus; Escape On Venus;  Tarzan Of The Apes 1; The Return Of Tarzan 2; The Beasts of Tarzan 3; The Son Of Tarzan 4; Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar 5; Tarzan and the Lost Empire 10; At The Earth's Core

Cabell, James Branch: Figures Of Earth; Domnei; Cream Of The Jest; The Silver Stallion; Jurgen, A Comedy Of Justice; Something About Eve;

Campbell, J Ramsey: Demons by Daylight

Carter, Lin: Thongor and the Dragon City; Thongor and the Wizards of Lemuria; Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus; Thongor and the End of Time; Zanathon; Tower at the Edge of Time; The Black Star; Beyond The Gates Of Dream; Down To A Sunless Sea; Journey to the Underground World; Warrior of World’s End; Flashing Swords 1; Flashing Swords 2; Flashing Swords 3; Flashing Swords 4; Flashing Swords 5; Dragons, Elves and Heroes; Golden Cities, Far; The Spawn of Cthuhlu; Discoveries In Fantasy; New Worlds For Old; The Young Magicians; Lost Worlds;

Cervantes, Miguel: Don Quixote

Chalker, Jack L.: Midnight at the Well of Souls 1; Exiles at the Well of Souls 2; Quest For the Well Of Souls 3; The Return of Nathan Brazil 4, Twilight at the Well of Souls 5

Chandler, A. Bertram: The Road To The Rim; The Hard Way; The Wild Ones; The Inheritors; The Gateway To Never; Star Courier; To Keep The Ship; Matilda's Stepchildren; The Rim Of Space;

Chant, Joy: Red Moon And Black Mountain

Cherryh, C.J.:

Cook, Glen: The Black Company

Daley, Brian: Han Solo At Star’s End; Han Solo’s Revenge; Han Solo And The Lost Legacy

Davidson, Avram: The Phoenix And The Mirror; The Island Under the Earth

deCamp, L. Sprague:  The Tritonian Ring; The Complete Compleat Enchanter; The Compleat Enchanter; Lovecraft, A Biography; Swords And Sorcery; Spell of Seven; The Fantastic Swordsmen;  Warlocks and Warriors; The Fallible Fiend; Conan The Barbarian; Conan And The Spider God; Lest Darkness Fall; The Carnelian Cube; The Emperors Fan; The Reluctant King; The Unbeheaded King; The Goblin Tower; The Clocks Of Iraz; The Queen Of Zamba

Derleth, August: The Trail of Cthuhlu

Dick, Phillip K: Eye In The Sky

Dickson, Gordon R.: Dorsai!; The Dragon and the George

Donaldson, Stephen: Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan: The Lost World

Dumas, Alexandre: The Three Musketeers

Dunsany, Lord: The King Of Elfland’s Daughter; Over the Hills and Far Away; The Charwoman's Shadow

Eco, Umberto: The Name Of The Rose

Eddings, David: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen Of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit, Castle of Wizardry, Enchanter’s Endgame

Eddison, E. R.: The Worm Ouroboros; Mistress of Mistresses; A Fish Dinner In Memison

Ende, Michael: The Neverending Story

Farmer, Philip Jose: The Maker Of Universes 1; The Gates Of Creation 2; A Private Cosmos 3; Hadon Of Ancient Opar

Fiest, Raymond: Magician

Finney, Charles: The Unholy City; The Circus of Dr. Lao

Foster, Alan Dean: Nor Crystal Tears, Splinter of the Minds Eye; The End of the Matter; The Tar-Aiym Krang; Bloodhype; Orphan Star; For Love Of Mother-Not; The Time Of The Transference

Fox, Gardner: Kothar Barbarian Swordsman; Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse; Kothar and the Wizard Slayer; Kothar and the Magic Sword; Kothar And The Demon Queen; Kyrik Warlock Warrior; Kyrik Fights The Demon World; Kyrik and the Lost Queen; Kyrik and the Wizards Sword; Warrior Of Llarn

Funke, Cornelia: Inkheart

Gardner, Craig Shaw: A Malady Of Magicks

Garner, Alan: Elidor; The Moon Of Gomrath; The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

Gemmell, David: Legend

Goldman, William: The Princess Bride

Glut, Donald F: The Empire Strikes Back

Gygax, Gary: City Of Hawks; The Samarkand Solution; The Anubis Murders; Infernal Sorceress; Death In Delhi; City Of Hawks

Haggard, H. Rider: King Solomon's Mines; The People Of The Mist; The World's Desire; When The World Shook; She And Allan;  She; The Return Of She Ayesha

Hambly, Barbara: The Time of the Dark; The Walls Of Air, The Armies of Daylight; The Ladies of Mandrigyn, Dragonsbane

Harrison, Harry: The Adventures Of The Stainless Street Rat; The Stainless Steel Rat

Heinlein, Robert: Glory Road; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress

Hickman, Tracy:

Hodgson, W.H.: The House On The Borderland

Holmes, John Eric: Mahars of Pellucidar

Howard, Robert E.: Cthulhu; Sword Woman; Almuric; The People Of The Black Circle; Red Nails; Shadow Kingdoms; People Of The Dark; Beyond The Black River; The Hour Of The Dragon; Black Hounds Of Death; Conan 1; Conan Of Cimmeria 2; Conan the Freebooter 3; Conan the Wanderer 4; Conan the Adventurer 5; Conan the Buccaneer 6; Conan The Warrior 7; Conan The Usurper 8; Conan The Conqueror 9; Conan The Avenger 10; Conan Of Aquilonia 11; Conan of The Isles 12; Solomon Kane, The Hills Of The Dead; Skull-Face; Black Canaan; Swords Of Shahrazar; Marchers Of Valhalla, The Book Of Robert E. Howard; The Second Book Of Robert E. Howard; Tigers Of The Sea; Bran Mak Morn; Son Of The White Wolf; The Last Ride; The Lost Valley Of Iskander; Black Vulmea's Vengeance; The Vultures Of Whapeton

Hyne, C J Cutliffe: The Lost Continent

Jakes, John: The Last Magicians; Brak The Barbarian; Mark of Demons; The Sorceress; The Fortunes Of Brak

Jackson, Steve: Fighting Fantasy; The Warlock of Firetop Mountain 1; The Citadel of Chaos 2; The Forest Of Doom 3; Deathtrap Dungeon 6; Curse Of The Mummy 27; Armies Of Death 36

Kline, Otis Adelbert: Swordsman Of Mars, Outlaw Of Mars, Planet of Peril, Port of Peril, Prince of Peril

Kuttner, Henry: Fury; The Mask Of Circe; Elak Of Atlantis, The Dark World, Robots Have No Tails

Kurtz, Katherine: Deryni Rising; Deryni Checkmate; High Deryni

Lanier, Sterling: Hiero’s Journey; The Unforsaken Hiero

L’Engle, Madeleine: A Wrinkle In Time

Le Guin, Ursula: A Wizard Of Earthsea; The Left Hand Of Darkness; Tehanu; The Farthest Shore

Lee, Tanith: The Book Of The Damned I; The Book Of The Beast II; The Storm Lord, The Birthgrave, The Dragon Hoard, Night’s Master, Death’s Master

Leiber, Fritz: Swords and Deviltry 1; Swords Against Death 2; Swords In The Mist 3; Swords And Wizardry 4; The Swords of Lankhmar 5; Swords and Ice Magic 6; The Knight and Knave of Swords; Heroes And Horrors

Lewis, C.S.: The Voyage Of The Dawntreader; The Silver Chair

Lindsay, David: A Voyage To Arcturus

Livingston, Ian: The Forest Of Doom3, Deathtrap Dungeon 3; Armies Of Death 36; Curse Of The Mummy 27;

Lovecraft, H.P.: The Doom That Came To Sarnath; The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath; The Shadow Over Innsmouth; At The Mountains Of Madness; The Lurker At The Threshold; The Tomb; The Watchers Out Of Time; At the Mountains of Madness Omnibus 1; Waking Up Screaming; The Dunwich Horror

Lumley, Brian: The Burrowers Beneath; The Transition Of Titus Crow; Hero Of Dreams

MacDonald, George:  Lilith; Phantastes

Martin, George R.R.: Dying Of The Light; A Song Of Ice And Fire

Matheson, Richard: I Am Legend

McCaffery, Anne: The Ship Who Sang; Dinosaur Planet; Dragonflight 1

Merritt, A.: The Ship Of Ishtar; The Seven Footprints Of Satan; The Moon Pool; The Face In The Abyss; Dwellers In the Mirage; Creep Shadow Creep

Miller, Walter: A Canticle For Leibowitz

Moorcock, Michael: Legends From The End Of Time; The Jewel In The Skull; The Mad God’s Amulet; The Sleeping Sorceress; The Runestaff; The Lord of the Spiders; The Masters of the Pit; The City of the Beast; The Warlord of the Air; Stealer Of Souls; Stormbringer; Elric of Melnibone; Elric At The End Of Time; The Vanishing Tower; The King Of Swords 3; Sword of the Dawn; The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate; The Sword Of The Dawn

Moore, C.L.: Northwest Smith; Jirel Of Joiry

Morris, Janet: High Couch of Silistra

Morris, William: The Well At Worlds End I; The Well At Worlds End II; The Wood Beyond the World; The Water of the Wondrous Isles

Mundy, Talbot: Tros Of Samothrace; Avenging Liafail 2; Liafail3; The Praetor's Dungeon 3; The Purple Pirate 6

Niven, Larry: The Man-Kzin Wars; A World Out Of Time; A Gift From Earth; Tales of Known Space; Neutron Star; The Magic May Return; The Magic Goes Away; The Flight of the Horse

Norman, John: Tarnsman Of Gor 1; Outlaw Of Gor 2; Priest-Kings Of Gor 3; Nomads Of Gor 4; Assassin Of Gor 5; Raiders Of Gor 6; Captive Of Gor 7; Hunters Of Gor 8; Marauders Of Gor 9, Tribesmen Of Gor 10, Slave Girl of Gor 11; Time Slave

Norton, Andre: Quag Keep; Exiles of the Stars; Warlock of Witch World; High Sorcery; Witch World; Sargasso Of Space; Lord Of Thunder

Nowlan, Philip F.: Armageddon 2419 A.D.

Offutt, Andrew J.: Demon In The Mirror; Eyes Of Sarsis; Web Of The Spider; Conan, The Sword of Skelos; Conan The Mercenary; Swords Against Darkness I; Swords Against Darkness II; Swords Against Darkness III; Swords Against Darkness IV; Swords Against Darkness V; The Iron Lords 1; Shadows Out Of Hell 2; The Lady Of The Snowmist 3; The Undying Wizard; Cormac Mac Art;

Piper, H. Beam: Space Viking

Poe, Edgar Allan:  Collected Stories

Powers, Tim:  On Stranger Tides; The Anubis Gates

Pratchett, Terry: The Colour Of Magic; The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort

Pratt, Fletcher: Land Of Unreason; The Blue Star; The Well of the Unicorn; The Carnelian Cube

Saberhagen, Fred: The First Book Of Swords; Second Book Of Swords; Third Book Of Swords; Empire Of The East

Salmonson, Jessica: Amazons!

Schmitz, James: The Witches of Karres; The Demon Breed

Shackleford, Jack D.: Tanith

Shea, Michael: Color Out Of Time; A Quest For Simbilis; Nifft The Lean; The Incompleat Nifft; The Mines of Behemoth; The A`Rak

Sims, John:

Sirota, Mike: Master Of Boranga

Smith, Clark Ashton: Lost Worlds Volume 1; Lost Worlds Volume 2; Out Of Space And Time 1; Out Of Space And Time 2; The Abominations of Yondo; Genius Loci; Poseidonis; Zothique; Hyperborea; Xiccarph; Tales Of Science And Sorcery; Other Dimensions 1; Other Dimensions 2

Smith, David: Red Sonja 1; Red Sonja 3, When Hell Laughs;

Smith, L. Neil: Lando Calrissian and the Midharp of Sharu; Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka; Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Osean

Smith, E.E. ‘Doc’: Triplanetary

Springer, Nancy: The White Hart; The Silver Sun

St. Clair, Margaret: The Shadow People; Sign of the Labrys

Stasheff, Christopher: The Warlock Wandering; The Warlock Rock; A Warlock's Blade; Warlock And Son; The Warlock Is Missing; Her Majesty's Wizard; King Kobold

Stewart, Mary: The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The Last Enchantment

Swann, Thomas: Green Phoenix; The Goat Without Horns; The Forest Of Forever; Day Of The Minotaur; Cry Silver Bells; Moondust; The Gods Abide

Tierney, Richard: Red Sonja 1; Red Sonja 3, When Hell Laughs;

Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Hobbit; The Lord Of The Rings

Twain, Mark:  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Tubb, E.C.: The Winds Of Gath 1; Derai 2; Toyman 3; Kalin 4; Jester Of Scar 5; Lallia 6; Technos 7; Veruchia 8; Mayenne 9; Jondelle 10; Zenya 11; Eloise 12;

Van Arnam, Dave: Star Barbarian

Van Vogt, A.E.: The Voyage Of The Space Beagle; Quest For The Future

Vance, Jack: The Languages Of The Pao; The Dragon Masters; The Best of Jack Vance; The Dying Earth; The Eyes of the Overworld; Cugel’s Saga; Rhialto The Marvelous; Trullion, Alastor 2262; Wyst, Alastor 1716; Marune, Alastor 933; The Faceless Man 1; The Brave Free Men 2; The Astura 3; Lyonesse 1; The Green Pearl 2; Madouc 3; The Face 4; The Blue World; Galactic Effectuator; Big Planet; City Of The Chasch 1; Servants of the Wanek 2; The Dirdir 3; The Pnume 4; Suldrun's Garden; The Last Castle; The Palace of Love; The Book of Dreams

Verne, Jules: The Mysterious Island; A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth;

Wagner, Karl E: Bloodstone, Death Angel’s Shadow, Dark Crusade

Weinbaum, Stanley; The Black Flame; A Martian Odyssey

Wellman, Manly Wade: The Old Gods Waken; The Hanging Stones; The Lost And The Lurking; After Dark; Silver John; Who Fears The Devil?

White, Theodore: The Once and Future King

Williams, Robert M.: Return of Jongor

Williamson, Jack: The Trial Of Terra; The Legion Of Space

Wolfe, Gene: The Shadow of the Torturer 1; The Citadel Of The Autarch 4

Zelazny, Roger: Nine Princes In Amber; The Guns of Avalon; Sign of the Unicorn; The Hand of Oberon; The Courts of Chaos; Jack Of Shadows; Dilvish, The Damned; The Changing Land; Isle of the Dead; Trumps of Doom; Blood Of Amber; Sign Of Chaos; Knight Of Shadows; Prince of Chaos, The Chronicles Of Amber 1

Combat Fatigue and the Failure of Gygax

Travolta:  That's how Ali took the title from Foreman.  He beat him with a rope-a-dope.  Don't you remember?
Slater:  I don't remember what day of the week it is.
Travolta:  Everybody thought Ali's arms had run out.  That he's running on empty.  But he's just setting Foreman up.  He's letting Foreman burn himself out.  And then, in the eighth round, here comes Ali; and poor George has nothing left.

-- Broken Arrow, 1996

Dungeons and Dragons does a lousy job of emulating combat fatigue.  And i'm not just talking about fourth edition.  We're talking every single edition. 

It would be tempting to blame Dave Arneson for the failure of DnD to emulate the effects of combat fatigue.  After all, he is the author of the hit point concept.

Arneson's hit point concept eventually became DnD's aggregated measure of luck, skill, stamina, concentration, life-blood and endurance.  In fact, after all these years, it is still argued that only the last few character or monster hit points actually represent the life-blood of the combatant.  For the most part, inflicting hit point damage represents the whittling away of your opponent's stamina, the sapping of his will and skill, and the gradual theft of his luck.  In a word: fatigue.

But nowhere in DnD's combat system do the effects of fatigue reveal themselves.  A character's combat abilities do not wane as his hit points decrease.  A figher's speed and combat prowess are undiminished, despite having suffered a 50%, 75%, or even 90% hit point reduction.  And in a perverse twist, 4E actually provides combat bonuses when some players and monsters become "bloodied".  If you can imagine, as one becomes "bloodied" (fatigued), combat ability actually improves.

While it is true that Arneson first implemented the concept of hit points in his pre-DnD games, it took Gary Gygax to unthinkingly promulgate their hybrid use, as a combined luck, skill, stamina and endurance measure, when publishing the earliest versions of DnD.  And to this day, hit points in all versons of DnD, including 4E, continue to function just as they did in 1974, as a rather ghoulish goulash of combat capability measures.

Gygax should have known better.  As an avid reader of pulp fantasy literature, he had myriad sources available to confirm that pulp fantasy role-playing games absolutely require some sort of combat fatigue emulator. 

Even something as simple as the loss of a single hit point during each combat round due to exertion would have provided some reminder to the players that fatigue is a serious matter in battle.

My clucking and finger-wagging at Gygax applies equally to those DnD game designers who came after.

You need look no further to see that continued failure, than to study one of the so-called "marvellous innovations" of 4E, the AEDU system.  The 4E AEDU system gives each character at-will, encounter, daily, and utility powers, and is a rather uninspired effort at combat fatigue emulation. 

It posits that there are certain daily and encounter powers that are so exceptional, and fatiguing, that they can only be attempted once per day or encounter.  That AEDU system has been roundly and justifiably derided, as riven by disassociated mechanics.  Most importantly, it eliminates an important component of player choice, since it prevents players from re-attempting a daily power, accompanied by some equally significant sacrifice elsewhere.

There's really no justification for the absence of combat fatigue emulation as a feature of DnD combat.  That few, if any, have recognized and rued its absence is the real tragedy.

Another Appendix N Score

Every year, our local Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio station sponsors a charity booksale, in support of childrens' literacy projects. This is the second year of my attendance. Again, I came away with a nice collection of Appendix N science fiction and fantasy paperbacks. Here is a list of those paperbacks, for which I paid a buck a book:

• Anderson (Flandry of Terra, Flandry-Agent of the Terran Empire, Flandry-A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, The Man-Kzin Wars, Three Hearts and Three Lions)



• Anthony (A Spell For Chameleon)



• Aspirin (Shadows of Sanctuary, Face of Chaos)



• Burroughs (Tarzan of the Apes, Return of Tarzan, Beasts of Tarzan, Warlord of Mars, Gods of Mars, Thuvia Maid of Mars)



• Carter (Flashing Swords #5)



• deCamp (Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Adventurer, Conan the Buccaneer, Conan the Warrior, Conan the Usurper, Conan the Avenger, Conan of Aquilonia, Conan of the Isles, Conan and the Spider God)



• Doyle (The Lost World)



• Eco (The Name of the Rose)



• Eddison (A Fish Dinner in Memison, Mistress of Mistresses)



• Foster (Splinter of the Mind's Eye, The Time of the Transference)



• Glut (Empire Strikes Back)



• Haggard (The World's Desire, Heart of the World, People of the Mist)



• Howard (People of the Black Circle, Hour of the Dragon, Marchers of Valhalla, Swords of Shahrazar, Skull-Face, Red Nails, Black Canaan)



• Jackson (Fighting Fantasy)



• Harrison (The Stainless Steel Rat)



• Lee (The Book of the Damned, The Book of the Beast)



• McCaffrey (Dinosaur Planet)



• Moorcock (Legends from the end of Time)



• Moore (Jirel of Joiry)



• Norman (Slave Girl of Gor, Tarnsman of Gor, Time Slave)



• Norton (Quag Keep, Lord of Thunder)



• Nowlan (Armageddon 2419 AD)



• Offutt (Sword of the Gael, Demon in the Mirror)



• Perry (A Warlock's Blade)



• Saberhagen (Empire of the East)



• Smith, E.E. (Triplanetary)



• Stasheff (The Warlock Wandering, The Warlock is Missing, Warlock and Son, The Majesty's Wizard)



• Van Vogt (Quest for the Future)



• Vance (City of the Chasch, The Dirdir, Big Planet, Galactic Effectuator, The Blue World, the Anome)



• Zelazny (Hand of Oberon, Dilvish The Damned)

Is Dungeons and Dragons A Swords And Sorcery RPG?

Considering that my introduction to swords and sorcery literature came long after discovering Dungeons and Dragons, I can perhaps be excused for failing to note the overt references to swords and sorcery in the D&D rulebooks of the day.

My earliest experiences with Dungeons and Dragons were in the campaigns run by friends of my older brother. Those campaigns were heavily informed by Mormon mythology: my character's name was Archeantus, and the other players had similar Book of Mormon names. I seem to recall us creeping through a cavern in one session, looking for the lair of the Gadianton Robbers.

Thus, my earliest D&D experiences were quite unlike those of you who were emulating the fantasy fiction of Howard, Lieber, Vance, Burroughs, Lovecraft and their ilk.

The earliest reference to swords and sorcery role-playing that I can find in D&D appears in the 1975 Greyhawk Supplement to the Original Dungeons and Dragons game. In that rulebook, Gary Gygax writes:

"If you enjoy fantasy you will never be sorry you were introduced to the swords and sorcery of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS games." - Greyhawk, pg. 3

And in the preface to the 1979 AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, Gary Gygax makes the following remark:

No two (Advanced D&D) campaigns will ever by the same, but all will have the common ground necessary to maintaining the whole as a viable entity about which you and your players can communicate with the many thousands of others who also find sword and sorcery role playing gaming an amusing and enjoyable pastime." - DMG, pg. 8

It may simply be a function of my ignorance of the meaning of the term swords and sorcery, but I don't consider either Original or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons to be a swords and sorcery roleplaying game. Generic fantasy, perhaps. But not swords and sorcery.

There are many reasons I hold that view. Here are two.

First, the inclusion of Magic Users as a playable class seems antithetical to a swords and sorcery game: few S&S stories feature a spell-caster as protagonist, and where they do, they usually pay a steep price for dabbling in the dark arts. Most spell-casters in S&S literature are at best distrusted, at worst, they are the dread antagonists of the story.

Second, few if any S&S tales include demi-humans such as elves or dwarves as protagonists. Where they do appear, they are malicious spirits or fearsome creatures of the earth.

There are more than a few old-school bloggers playing swords and sorcery campaigns, but most have house-ruled D&D to more fully emulate the genre, or are using a different ruleset to capture the feel of swords and sorcery adventures.

Wanderer RPG: Traveller Fantasy

Of course, Wanderer RPG, is not, as far as I know, in production, although you just know that some DIY publisher would have a runaway OSR hit on their hands (that is, by selling at least 100 copies) if they actually published a playable version of a Traveller-based Fantasy game.

I won't rehash the genesis of this Wanderer RPG mock-up. You can find several threads talking about it on various role playing boards. Over at the OD&D board, they have a thread devoted to the creation of Wanderer RPG. There are several threads speculating on what Wanderer RPG would look like, over at RPG.net here and here. There is even a thread on the travellerrpg boards which you can find at the link here.

In a fit of nostalgia, I just broke out my old Traveller LBB's. Ah, the memories.

The Beginnings Of My Pulp Fantasy Collection

Every year, one of our local radio stations, CBC 1010, co-sponsors a charity book sale, the proceeds of which go to providing children with books and mentors.

I have never attended one of those book sales, until this year. As I arrived, I saw hordes of people, leaving with boxes of books, some of them using handcarts and trolleys to cart away several boxes at a time.

The line-up to enter the booksale was about 300 people long, and there must have been over 800 in the arena where the sale was being held. By the time I moved up to the front of the line, there were another 200 people behind me. My expectations were that by the time I entered the arena, all of the good books would have been already picked over.

But when I finally entered the arena, some 45 minutes after I arrived, I squealed like a girl (like a little girl, I tells you!), to discover a veritable treasure trove of Pulp Fantasy, virtually ignored by the other attendees. I picked up over 60 books (for a $1 each), including:

Brackett, Leigh: "The Sword Of Rhiannon"
Carter, Lin: "Thongor and the Dragon City", "Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus", "Zanthodon", "Tower at the Edge of Time", and "The Black Star"
Moorcock, Michael: "The Warlord of the Air", "The Masters of the Pit", "The City of the Beast"
Vance, Jack: "The Dying Earth", "Best of Jack Vance", "The Dragon Masters"
Norton, Andre: "Witch World", "Sargasso of Space", "High Sorcery", "Warlock of Witch World", "Exiles of the Stars"
DeCamp, L Sprague: "Land of Unreason", "Warlocks and Warriors"
Smith, Clark Ashton: "Genius Loci", "Lost Worlds", "The Abominations of Yondo"
Norman, John: Captive, Tribesmen, Hunters, Marauders and Priest-Kings of Gor
Eddison, E. R.: "The Worm Ourobouros"
Holmes, John Eric: "Mahars of Pellucidar"
Niven, Larry: "The Magic Goes Away"

And a host of others, including the pictured novel, above, called "Demon In The Mirror" by Andrew J. Offutt and Richard K. Lyon.

On the Back Cover of Demon In The Mirror, they have a recommendation from none other than Andre Norton:

"Not since Jirel of Joiry has there been a sword-wielding heroine like Tiana Highrider. For a long time the field of sword and sorcery writing has been waiting for a swordswoman who can stand beside Conan, Brak, the Grey Mouser ... It is good to know that this is only the first of what I hope will be many adventures to come."

Legends of Steel: A Review

I have been planning on purchasing the Legends of Steel sword and sorcery setting for several months, but it took until Christmas to bring those plans to fruition.

Legends of Steel is the brain-child of Jeff “Evil DM” Mejia, whose blog can be found here. The Legends of Steel setting has already been ported over to the Savage Worlds and Barbarians of Lemuria RPG game systems. I am familiar with both of those game systems, having recently purchased and reviewed Barbarians of Lemuria, and having also purchased the Savage Worlds Explorers Edition and Fantasy Companion. In fact, the Legends of Steel setting is what originally twigged my interest in Barbarians of Lemuria.

The Legends of Steel book that I received is the Savage Worlds Edition (LoSSW). Having read both Savage Worlds and Barbarians of Lemuria RPGs, I now wish I had asked Santa for the Barbarians of Lemuria edition of Legends of Steel, if only because I prefer Barbarians of Lemuria to Savage Worlds.

I should explain at this point that my preference for the Barbarians of Lemuria over the Savage Worlds game system has more to do with my dislike for skill-based RPGs than any deficiency in the Savage Worlds game system itself. As far as skill-based RPGs go, Savage Worlds is considered, by many, to the ultimate skill-based system, and that game system has a shelf-full of related settings and expansion materials to its credit.

LoSSW is, of course, a licensed Savage Worlds product. At 70-pages long, and 8.5 x 11 saddle-stitched, LoSSW is both setting and rules-supplement. The interior is black and white, with a smattering of sword and sorcery appropriate artwork within. The characters depicted on the front cover of LoSSW also serve as sample characters in the final appendix of this book.

Roughly 20 pages of this 70-page book consist of the rules supplement. As it is meant for the Savage Worlds setting, eight of those pages consist of new sword-and-sorcery related “Edges.” I presume those would have been relavoured “Boons” had this been the Barbarians of Lemuria edition of Legends of Steel. The remaining 12 pages of the rules supplement portion provide advice on preparing for and participating in a sword-and-sorcery campaign.

The new Edges in LoSSW are fairly well known. Among the most infamous of those 32 new edges: “Sexy Armor” allowing the character to run around in a chainmail bikini or loincloth but be considered to have chainmail armor, for game purposes; “Just the Thing” allowing the character to somehow always have just the thing the party needs to get out of their current predicament; and “Cannon Fodder” allowing the character to recruit extra henchmen when the need arises. Those new edges certainly complement the sword-and-sorcery flavour of this game-setting.

The next 35 pages of LoSSW serve as a high-level overview of the Erisa game-world. That game world is vintage sword-and-sorcery, as if torn from the pages of your favorite pulp novel or magazine. Jeff gives you enough information regarding each land, city and kingdom in Erisa to whet your appetite, without overwhelming or restricting your freedom to make each location your own. He uses the SWOT format (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) for each entry, which is invaluable as a starting point, while still allowing you to customize this setting. Among my favorite locations: the Moor of the Witch Queen, and the Raven Hills, near Broaq-Nohar, and the Dark Lands near Radu. Both would be ripe for throwing at a party of adventurers!

The last 10 pages or so consist of a introductory adventure and sample characters (using the Savage Worlds character creation system, of course).

Oddly, one of the missing elements of this book is a bestiary. While a bestiary is not required, it has become such a staple of game-settings that it was a bit jarring to discover that LoSSW does not contain one. Granted, any sword and sorcery monsters you may need can probably be obtained from a host of Savage Worlds or other products, including the Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion. But I always figure that a few extra snakes could always be thrown in for good measure, don’t you agree?

One minor comment about the choice of binding. Both the Savage Worlds Explorers Edition and Fantasy Companion are 6.5 by 9 perfect-bound. If I had my druthers, I would love to see the same binding format employed for LoSSW, rather than larger saddle-stitched format, if only to fit more elegantly with my other two Savage Worlds books.

If, in addition to the new edges and rules supplement, you are intending to use the Erisa world, or at least mine it for great ideas for your own sword-and-sorcery campaign, LoSSW is well-worth the $23 asking price. The Barbarians of Lemuria edition is also available as a $15 PDF, along with a $35 hardcover from Lulu. At $35, the hard-cover Barbarians of Lemuria version seems relatively pricey, but if it also contains the bestiary, new flaws, and careers promised in the BoL PDF version, perhaps it is worth it.