"Classic : a book which people praise and don't read."
– Mark Twain
The
Appendix N.
I expect
there are few persons of a certain age with a predilection towards tabletop
gaming who are unaware of what that descriptive refers to.
For
those who don’t, the question need be asked: What, exactly, is it? In short, it’s
a list of fiction cited in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters
Guide, books and short stories that “inspired” the creation of Dungeons and
Dragons.
It’s
best described by its creator, E. Gary Gygax:
INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL READING
Inspirational Reading |
* I presume this to be “Entertaining Comics,”
published from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notable for Tales from the
Crypt.
He continues:
The following authors were of particular inspiration
to me. In some cases I cite specific works, in others, I simply recommend all
their fantasy writing to you. From such sources, as well as just about any
other imaginative writing or screenplay you will be able to pluck kernels from
which grow the fruits of exciting campaigns. […]
Appendix N. |
Anderson, Poul. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH
CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
Bellairs, John. THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh.
Brown, Fredric.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. "Pellucidar" Series;
Mars Series; Venus Series
Carter, Lin. "World's End'' Series
de Camp, L. Sprague. LEST DARKNESS FALL; FALLIBLE
FIEND; et al.de Camp & Pratt. "Harold Shea" Series;
CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August.
Dunsany, Lord.
Farmer, P. J. "The World of the Tiers"
Series; et al.
Fox, Gardner. "Kothar" Series;
"Kyrik" Series; et al.
Howard, R. E. "Conan" Series
Lanier, Sterling. HIEROS JOURNEY
Leiber, Fritz. "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser"
Series; et al.
Lovecraft, H. P.Merritt, A. CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS
IN THE MIRAGE; et. al.
Moorcock, Michael. STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS;
"Hawkmoon" Series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre.
Offutt, Andrew J., editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III.
Pratt, Fletcher, BLUE STAR; et al.
Saberhagen, Fred. CHANGELING EARTH; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE
LABRYS
Tolkien, J. R. R. THE HOBBIT; "Ring Trilogy"
Vance, Jack. THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING
EARTH; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade.
Williamson, Jack.
Zelazny, Roger. JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber"
Series; et al.
[DMG 1e – 224]
E. Gary
Gygax’s list has provoked much discussion over the decades – in print, on
YouTube, in person – as it should, insofar as, I believe, no other game book
had ever done such a thing before it. That, itself, was groundbreaking.
Moreover, it inspired others to build upon it, as Tom Moldvay did in 1980 in
the initial B/X Boxed Set, expounded upon again in 5e’s Players Handbook’s
“Appendix E.”
Shall I weigh
in on Gygax’s, or Moldvay’s, or the lengthy 5e list? I shall not – except in
that the 5e list did not edit those original inclusions that are no longer
accessible. I, unlike maybe some of you, have not read the list in its
entirety, nor will I ever, for the reason noted above: A number of its entries
are no longer in print. I have read Robert E Howard’s “Conan” series to
completion, so to Fritz Leiber’s "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser"
series. I’ve read a great deal of Moorcock (Elric and Corum, and a couple
other Eternal Champion stories); Tolkien’s “Hobbit,” Ring trilogy, “The
Silmarillion,” and “Unfinished Tales;” and I believe all H.P. Lovecraft’s
published works. That’s not much, considering the breadth of Gygax’s list, some
of which I have read nothing at all. Thus, I cannot present myself as an
expert. Nor will I ever be. To read his list in total would take more months
than I would care to invest, now. The 5e expanded list could, in fact, take years;
moreover, it is likely that a great deal of it will probably not be to my
present taste. Fantasy literature took a turn in the 1980s towards ever faster,
more explicitly violent fare than I preferred. That’s not necessarily bad, per
say (I was a big fan of the Black Company), but it’s not necessarily good
either, if one is inclined towards the mythic, as I was (I read a great deal of
Celtic fantasy and what might be called eldritch fiction). TSR novels,
interesting at first, being what they were, soon paled in my imagination for just
that reason. I moved on, returning on occasion; but my TBR wish is long, and
time seems rather more finite now than it once was.
Something piqued my interest, recently, though. I saw a
title that drew my eye: Peter Bebergal’s “Appendix N. The Eldritch Roots of
Dungeons and Dragons”. Eldritch? That was right up my alley! Full disclosure, I
agree with Mr. Bebergal assumption. Is he right, though? Gary Gygax never once
actually described the works he cited as eldritch. Not explicitly. To explore Bebergal’s
presumption, we first need to define what “eldritch” is. Something eldritch is
“strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear: weird, eerie.”
[Merriam-Webster]
By that definition, Bebergal got it right, judging from
this paragraph from the eponymous appendix:
The most immediate influences upon AD&D were
probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A.
Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly
helped to shape the form of the game. [DMG 1e – 224]
I was curious to see what Bebergal chose to illustrate
his point.
Published in 2020, Bebergal’s book is a collection of
short stories – 17 in all – that claims to explore that very eldritch nature of
the list. It does, to my mind … to an extent. It is by no means inclusive: Not
all the authors cited above are included, but one might suggest that the most
important are: REH, Leiber, Vance, and HPL. Notable exclusions are Camp &
Pratt, and Merritt. Why were they omitted? Perhaps their estates declined his
request to include them in his collection. But where their works are missing,
others – who many might suggest ought to have been in Gygax’s list – are,
specifically Clark Ashton Smith. As are more contemporary authors like Tanith
Lee. Most are from the 1930s and 1970s, the most recent from 1983 (a poem), the
oldest from 1908 (Lord Dunsany).
Adventuring in a Bygone Age |
Did I like them? I did. I’d read a few before. Most were
first reads. I did not, however, care for Fred Saberhagen’s poem, “The Song of
Swords,” nor Frank Brunner’s graphic comic, “Sword of Dragonus,” which seemed a
pale and paltry version of REH’s Conan, in my opinion. I suspect I liked those
I did because, as noted, I’ve always liked “eldritch” fiction. Leiber,
Moorcock, and Lovecraft were especial favourites of mine in my youth. Not
Conan, you ask? No. I’ve only recently read REH’s Conan stories, and my being
more mature, and more widely read now than I was then, found many of them
“shallow,” and “childish.” (Granted, they are pulp fiction, and one
might call pulp an artform in its own right. Not all are childish, though. I
thought “Beyond the Black River” extraordinary.) Most of these stories are not
shallow or childish; most are exactly what appealed to my younger self, and
thus appeal to my older nostalgic self, although not all are as artful or skillful
as others.
Is this collection worth the money? I believe so. It is a good time capsule, certainly, a nice cross-selection of literary styles across decades.
Younger readers beware, though; I imagine that these stories are not your usual
cup of tea. Maybe that is a good thing.
The Art:
Appendix N. cover: When the Mind is Open the Tower will Appear, by Arik Roper
B3 The Palace of the Silver Princess cover art, by Erol Otus, 1981
Sources:
Appendix
N. The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons and Dragons, Peter Bebergal, editor
2011A
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
I recently picked up the Gardner Fox Kothar and some of the Kyrik e-books because they were on the list. He's known more for his comic book writing, but they are interesting sword and sorcery novels. In particular, he gives a narrative reason for why Kothar is always on the move and seeking new adventures (his sword is cursed, but it's too good of a sword to get rid of). You can also watch the growth of Gardner Fox in the genre because he starts off describing everything in the first story, but he introduces companions in the rest of them to give Kothar someone to talk to. This led to me picking up Howard's Conan stories to give a proper comparison. So much to read, so little time...
ReplyDeleteAlgernon Blackwood was included in the original version of the Appendix N works from TD#4, but was not in the DMG version of the list.
ReplyDeleteSee https://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2014/08/gygaxs-list-1976-version.html for some additional analysis.
Allan.
My list of what Ive read from Appendi N matches yours, except Lovecraft which I could never get into when I was younger. Maybe I should try again, or revisit the list...
ReplyDelete