To me the list of allstar writers that have effected RPG development include: Please note that this is from my very limited reading of anything beyond Tolkien whom of course goes without saying.

R.A Salvatore - Drizzt is perhaps the most famous Dark Elf this side of Dalamar. (11 books strong and a new one on Sept 13th, 2000 to add to it.)

Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman - Creators of the DragonLance Cronicles, and Legends series.

Raymond E. Fiest - The riftwar saga is amazing.

David Eddings - His characters are memorable, despite the story line being quite predictable. Epic journey is not even large enough to describe the trip they embarked on.

How have they influenced games. Lets see:
R.A. Salvatore brought the good Dark Elf into the world. I fear the Dark Elves would be akin to orcs in RPGs had it not been for Drizzt. They would just be something for the slaughter to gain experience. See the goblin genocide thread that still lives on, on these boards.

Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman made dragons what they are today. They are pretty much responsible for the classification of Dragons that remains a staple in many RPGs. Green dragons, red dragons etc etc, didn''t come from Tolkien, they came from DragonLance(and AD&D). Prior to this series and the AD&D world of Dragonlance, I dare say all dragons breathed fire for the most part.

Raymond E. Feist''s books added to the level of mysticism we view magic with in our CRPGs. All his magic users were all powerful. Other series had powerful magic users, some were even in positions of power, but it wasn''t until here that magic became something that would declare you power much in the same way that birthright did.

David Eddings just had cool books. Don''t know how much he influenced anything but his books were cool and showed me that you could add a diferent twist on magic other than the spell casting of tolkien and AD&D.

Just my few cents on the matter.
Kressilac

ps My favorite is by far Salvatore. Excelent character development, Great epic action, and morals anyone can relate to. His work is deeply seated in meaning that only someone like Drizzt could explain.

quote: Original post by kressilac

Raymond E. Fiest - The riftwar saga is amazing.

Raymond E. Feist''s books added to the level of mysticism we view magic with in our CRPGs. All his magic users were all powerful. Other series had powerful magic users, some were even in positions of power, but it wasn''t until here that magic became something that would declare you power much in the same way that birthright did.

You are forgetting about the unforgettable serpentwar series, empire series, krondor series and the adjoining "Prince of the Blood" and "The Kings Buccaneer"... You simply must read the lot... There is a lot more history to read up on, and you get to understand the Panathians and their motives better... You just can''t go without serpentwar

But you are forgetting: There is no magic... Just stuff (Nakor)... But I guess you will have to read up to that


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OH ! OH ! OH ! I forgot a nice one that I read this winter : "The MAgic of Recluce" by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Very nice story about the fight between Chaos and Order, and the respective need for each other. A nicely explained paradigm and the magic system that go with it. Okay it''s a bit predictible, but I just read it so quickly. I have to see the rest of the saga to judge it better, though.

I am increadibly surprised to not see any mention to Robert Jordan, the Wheel of Time ?? Not that I read it, I just begun it this winter and didn''t had the time to buy it, but hey ! I just heard about this one for so long.

Same for Guy Gavriel Kay. He seems to have got quite a nice reputation in the magazines I read (and they never gave me bad tips on authors.)

Generally, my method for discovering new authors was to go to the Library, and take a book with a nice synopsis, or title (NEVER watch the cover, especially in all you english speaking countries, where the cover looks more like a pack of wasing powder than a book ...)

God, I''ll spend SO much money on books when I get a bit more money

youpla :-P

My favorite is definetly Stephen Donaldson.Not only does he have the best characters I''ve seen (although Edding''s are also cool)but he also has the most unique world I''ve seen.I *love* the Land.He is my main source of inspiration.

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What about Sara Douglas? I haven''t seen her mentioned anywhere... She has quite an interesting range of books . I always liked Melanie Rawn and Robert Jordan is just what I am getting into. I love Raymond E. Feist and Katherine Kerr (as stated already). I also like Terry Pratchett, David Eddings (getting into) Brian Jaques and a lot more... Tolkien as well

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

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Eddings... I've read his books about Sparhawk (Spearhawk? don't know, read the Swedish version). The first series was actually quite good (but the third book was kinda boring), but the second series (the Tamuli) just repeated the first series but on a different continent. I never should have bought them (the Tamuli that is).

Has anyone read his latest book (Redemption of Althalus I think)? I think I'll buy that one on my next book shopping spree

My favorite fantasy author is Robin Hobb if anyone wants to know. Her (his?) books are a bit depressing though. The Fitz always seems so sad (but he has his reasons ).

Edited by - Muzzafarath on August 12, 2000 11:45:15 AM