My Personal Appendix N for my Campaign or: Everybody's Doing it so Why Shouldn't I?

Appendix N of the 1e Dungeon Master’s Guide needs no introduction for longtime gamers. I’ve been working away at my own hobbyist gaming projects and thought at this point it might be nice to list some of my influences in creating my campaign world as well as give the flavor and feel I hope I convey. This list is not in any particular order and is not all inclusive (I know I have skipped some things, this is more or less off the cuff).

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
Beowulf and Grendel: The Tuth Behind England’s Oldest Legend by John Grigsby
Oxford World’s Classics: The Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot English translation by Keith Bosley
Kalevala Mythology Expanded Edition by Juha Y. Pentikainen translated to English and edited by Ritv Poom
The Mabinogion translated to English by Sioned Davies
The Mabionogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton
The Saga of the Volsungs translated to English by Eirikr Magnusson and William Morris
The Nibelungenlied translated by A.T. Hatto
The Poetic Edda translated by Henry Adams Bellows
The Prose Edda by Snori Sturluson and translated by Jesse L. Byock
Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends by Marie Heaney
Teutonic Mythology by Viktor Rydberg
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm translated by Jack Zipes
The Celtic Twilight: Faerie and Folklore by W.B. Yeats
Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Parzival by Wolfram Von Eschenbach
The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Tristian by Gottfried Von Straussburg
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Celtic Gods and Heroes by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt
The Tain translated by Thomas Kinsella
Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions by H.R. Ellis Davidson
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy by Ronald Hutton
Warriors of the Wasteland: A Quest for the Pagan Sacrificial Cult behind the Grail Legend by John Grigsby
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow
Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padric Colum
Northern Tales: Stories from the Native Peoples of the Artic and Subarctic Regions by Howard Norman
The Children of Odin by Padric Colum
Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Here’s a list of more fantasy and horror related authors that flavor my thinking as well:
H.P. Lovecraft
August Derleth
J.R.R. Tolkien
R.E. Howard
Michael Moorcock
Fritz Lieber
George R.R. Martin
Mike Mignola
Lord Dunsany
Percy Shelly
Marry Shelley
Lord Byron
Edgar Allen Poe
Bram Stoker

Again, this list is FAR from inclusive and there are many glaring omissions, but I’m sure the point has been made. My world will have a very grim feel, with fantastical trappings. Life is often brutish and short; however, heroes can rise above the fray and become legend. The strange and supernatural has many intersections into the world and it often goes beyond the understanding of mortal men. The gods, heroes, legend, monsters have their own agendas and are not beholden to the world or its peoples.

Comments

  1. JohnJanuary 8, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    Just discovered your place - I really like this list of heavy myth and folklore - would love to hear about some of the works as you get down the path (for instance, I've never read The Kalevala, for shame).

    ReplyDelete
  2. XyanthonJanuary 8, 2011 at 9:01 AM

    Welcome Beedo! I'll post some more on the influences behind my works as well as info on the works themselves to be sure. The Kalevala is a very interesting set of tales that comprise the national epic poem of Finnland. What's even more interesting is that until the 1800's it wasn't set down in written form or even pieced together as a whole. I'm itching to get the graphic novel. I hear it is pretty good (it is also pretty expensive). But, the original work is of course very good. It's part of what inspired J.R.R. Tolkien in the construction of Middle Earth. If you're interested in myth and folklore, I'd highly suggest giving it a go!

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