Books to Inspire Dungeon Masters

[@mehazc]

I would recommend the Cosmere to all who love fantasy. The worldbuilding, magic systems, and character studies are an inspiration, and Sanderson continues to produce high class works at a frankly alarming rate.

[@aaronwilliams8887]

Absolutely, both is approach and direct amazing ideas of other worlds have fueled 2 level 1-20 homebrew campaigns for me.

[@life-destiny1196]

In particular the Stormlight Archive is an excellent inspiration for would-be Hexblade players.

[@mickeysmagic89]

Life before Death, Radiant

[@mehazc]

@@mickeysmagic89 Life before death

[@trombonegamer14]

As a player primarily looking for character building inspiration, the Kingkiller chronicles have been huge for me

[@TheCrazyPlayer]

When I was in junior high and high school, I got turned on to the works David Eddings. The Belgariad and Malloreon (separate series starring the same main characters), and the Elenium and Tamuli trilogies (again, starring the same main cast) were hugely influential on me, and I recommend them highly.

[@aaronwilliams8887]

Those books were privotal to me too, each character was so full of life, and a family of friends. Also they showed immortal characters that were still deeply Human better then anything else I have ever seen.

[@KnuthMaestro]

I’m so glad someone mentioned these! David and Leigh did some amazing writing and their world influences my games so much.

[@heretic5579]

Highly underrated series. I loved them.

[@smdursoii]

Sparhawk is one of my most favorite fantasy characters! The whole series is great, irreverent and comical at times, but really deep too. Awesome stories!

[@jonathanhallberg3009]

Same here. The mechanics regarding magic and sorcery in The Belgariad and Malloreon alone makes it worth reading, not to mention the great worldbuilding as well as the fantastic characters. Severly underappreciated books.

[@jeremybosworth2275]

That "one book" for me was The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. It's literally about the creation of the Narnia setting. I'm also surprised no one has mentioned The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. They are one of the quintessential novel series of the d&d multiverse. They also wrote another trilogy called The Darksword Trilogy. If you are leaning more toward some lore of the Dragonlance setting, Bertrem's Guide to the Age of Mortals is a must read.

[@aaronwilliams8887]

Absolutely, the twin trilogy with Cameron and Rastlin were deeply Impactful to me and definitely shape my DM style to me. Their story was the follow-up to the initial dragonlance trilogy.

[@Pacific-NW-Native]

The Dragonlance Chronicles was my go to growing up.

[@adamarcher3089]

the darksword triogy also had an independent TTRPG created for it that was ok to run

[@xarkos]

Absolutely. In fact, there was a large, white soft cover collection of the original Chronicles trilogy which was "that book" for me in high school that lived in my backpack and became overly well-worn. Currently I'm running a 5E homebrew set in the era of the last Kingpriest. My only comment against including them on a list like this is that they don't really bring anything new to the table for those of us already well familiar with D&D and it's standard tropes. But they can be great inspiration for the uninitiated and were highly transformative for me in my teen years.

[@jeremybosworth2275]

@@xarkos That's what the draw was for me when I read them in my teens. They were the fictional world that was most like a d&d setting to me, which is exactly what it was, since the authors were playing their characters in a tabletop campaign.

[@georgebeswick7549]

Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archieve Series, such an interesting settings to take inspiration from, and also how to make the world revere magical items like they do in this book series

[@AC-eb7kt]

You could, make any of the Radiants into Paladin or Warlocks very easily

[@PohatuEudyptulaMinor]

Sanderson is actually credited with the Mistborn series in the 5e PHB under the "Inspirational reading" section. Not too far off to say he's a good place for DM inspo ;)

[@theubiquitouspotato]

The whole cosmere is a must for me especially if your looking for away to bring lots of different threads together.

[@Marpaws]

yesss

[@isaacgraff8288]

The Knights Radiants feel like Paladin/Warlocks done wonderfully well.

[@groovydude4511]

Alot of my inspiration comes from books I read growing up. The Ranger's Apprentice books by John Flanagan. The Redwall books by Brian Jacques. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. And the series that influenced me the most by a country mile are the Pendragon books by DJ MacHale. Man I need to run a Pendragon campaign...

[@ramzcoldlampin5460]

The Redwall Series ❤️ I’ve always wanted to homebrew an adventure based off of Salamandastron or Pearls of Lutra.

[@HolotapeDeepCuts]

Pendragon was hands down my favorite YA series. It's so underrated. You don't hear people talk about it very often, but its so good.

[@Mary_Studios]

Literally made a rangers core in my world based on The Ranger's Apprentice series.

[@antuanlemon484]

@@Mary_Studios it translates to DnD soo well. Their coals are basically coals of elven kind. And I made a fighting style that was similar to their dual dagger fighting

[@taejaskudva2543]

I only found Pendragon as an adult, looking for books for kids, but it blew my mind as a series where the good guys have setbacks and don't always win.

[@nicka3697]

I can't recommend the Kalevala too highly. It is the great Finnish epic. Mythology collected and woven together in the 19th century from the oral tradition. It inspired Tolkien who used Vainamoinen as inspiration for Gandalf. The richness of sword sourcery and sauna, set in a rural backdrop of pagan nature spirits, magic duels, strange artifacts, wedding feasts, love and tragedy... It is so good. The Oxford World Classics edition is a very fine translation.

[@thedementedhouse381]

The series that got me into fantasy was Piers Anthony's Xanth series. Followed by the Dragonlance series.

[@whoismyult]

Happy to hear mention of Appendix N (which was originally in the AD&D DMG) and of the Earthsea series, which is one of the only fantasy series depicting an analog of Pacific Island culture. And also Douglas Adams! Absolutely. I think the Hitchhiker series was the first to really give me a sense of immersion through its descriptions and prose (ironic, being an over the top sci-fi story! But Adams was such a good writer). For me, beyond The Hobbit and LOTR (and the Silmarilion), my biggest fantasy influence was Moorcock's Elric series. I was probably too young to read it at first, but those books stuck with me, introducing the idea of "gray"-ness...an antihero residing somewhere between good and evil. And of course, the epicness (and allegory) of Stormbringer. Like LOTR was with many people, I read the Elric series nearly every year, for many years. I want to give a shout out to any books that provide inspiration for geography and map creation! I also want to encourage everyone in our community to consider sources of inspiration beyond those that are European in origin. There is a wealth of fantasy inspiration in all world cultures. I'm not just talking about folklore and mythos (taking from them, you sometimes run the risk of stereotyping cultures if you don't learn about them thoroughly), but also modern fantasy fiction as well. For example, today there are more and more east Asian fantasy authors, many of whom are women, who are having their works translated and sold in the US (and Canada). Here in the US, there are several African-American sci-fi and fantasy authors (again, many of them women) creating compelling stories. They are all great, new sources to gain inspiration from and to gain understanding of non-White/European perspectives on universal themes.

[@MikeUnderwood]

Big +1. I'd recommend folks look to Tasha Suri's The Burning Kingdom series (starting with The Jasmine Throne) for inspiration for an epic fantasy with politics and magic drawn from South Asian culture, Rebecca Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky series for a setting inspired by pre-Columbian American cultures, and N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy (starting with The Fifth Season - as the Dudes recommend) for a post-post apocalyptic epic fantasy with an astonishing blend of familiar tropes and fresh execution.

[@adamjohnson182]

I’m reading the Earthsea books to my daughter right now, and I absolutely love them. Great world-building.

[@MikeUnderwood]

These were foundational for me as well.

[@mrav8r]

When I was 9 years old, I read The Phantom Tollbooth, a treasure for young readers. A young boy enters a fantasy world filled with symbolic creatures and places, such as Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, the cities of words and numbers, and many more creative elements.

[@ramzcoldlampin5460]

I have thought about that book for almost 20 years, and could not for the life of me remember the title. Thank you for your comment. I’m going to buy a copy of it now. It was one of my favorite books as a kid, and I still remember The Doldrums!

[@mrav8r]

@@ramzcoldlampin5460 I remember the Doldrums too! My book had an actual map of the fantasy world inside the front and rear covers. I remember that there is a man who lives in a house with four doors and he describes himself with different adjectives at each door. he’s the man who lives his life with four “points of view”. Also subtraction soup! 😂 I need to reread the book.

[@green_dragon_knight]

I love the Phantom Tollbooth! Before I got into Terry Pratchett it kindled my love of pun-filled absurd fantasy :)

[@Girlhead]

I love that book

[@pogodonuts]

I just finished reading Dune, and I will definitely be using it for inspiration for politics or desert adventures. I also highly recommend reading Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight if you have not already.

[@LegendJRG]

The quotes from Dune are incredible, especially God Emperor but I hate the way politics plays out in that universe with a passion. It's like if you took the most simplistic views of capitalism and played them out across a billions strong multiplanet stellar empire. Literally spice drives everything and while its obvious importance is well laid out, the treatment and politics of those who control it, up until the Leto II comes around, is pure ridiculousness. I get suspension of disbelief and all that to allow the world building to happen, but there is just nothing logical about the political system as a whole until the tyrant and everything after is a worse mess than before.

[@pogodonuts]

@@LegendJRG I’ve only read the first book so far, I guess I meant more of the plotting and scheming done by the Baron, Leto, and Paul. They each manipulated the people they led to fit their agenda and I want that in my DnD games

[@BWCfordays]

Big inspiration from the Elric of Melnibone and the Shannara series.

[@jamesarnoldi4974]

Was a little sad to see "The Witcher' as one of their recommendation but no mention of the book series that 'The Witcher' was obviously inspired by, the Elric Saga.

[@ethanpethel3261]

My recommendation would be Robert E. Howard's Conan. His stories of the adventures of the titular barbarian as he travels the lands, fighting monsters and killing wizards, laid the foundations for the sword and sorcery genre. Also the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is awesome material to get inspiration from.

[@00blaat00]

My favorite fantasy book series: Raymond Feist's Magician! It basically reads as a transcription of a D&D home game.

[@angrybeef3647]

Thay hole series is awesome. I used to pull heavily from them for some of my old school campaigns

[@nescirian]

That's because it's based on a setting from a d&d game Feist played in. Midkemia was his DM's setting, but Kelewan was basically just the pre-existing setting Tekumel (unbeknownst to Feist when he started writing). The underlying concept of having your own setting get invaded by another one is also a fun one.

[@charlesbryant6889]

Thats an important set of books! Fully agree

[@Mustrum_Ridcully]

Agree, great books

[@TheHornedKing]

I have never DMed, but for my first (and current) character I took inspiration from The Chronicles of Prydain by Alexander Lloyd. A series of 5 fantasy novels that are inspired by Welsh mythology, and was also what the Disney movie The Black Cauldron was based on, all though very loosely (they only used the first 2 books, changed many characters etc.). The books are great, have a rich world, and I could easily see a whole campaign being based on these books. Actually, there is a monster from back in old DnD that is directly inspired by (and name after) the cauldron born, the undead soldiers one could create with the dreaded black cauldron. AJ Picket got a video about them. Now, as you might have guessed from my avatar and name, my character was based on The Horned King, the book version spesifically (who is nothing like the Disney version, he is more of a barbarian warlord). I would also like to recomend this book about vampires I own, called The Vampire Book by Sally Regan. Great book about vampire fiction and legends, including this chapter about different vampiric monsters from all over the world. Could be a great place to pull monsters from for a horror campaign.

[@VaughnRipley]

Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser by Fritz Leiber were also a big inspiration for the development of D&D and other fantasy RPGs. This series tends to be more gritty and low magic, but the story telling and adventures are fantastic! If you like dark rogue-style stories, Lankhmar should be at the top of your list!

[@rememberstayangry2366]

There is already a D&D campaign featuring these characters. It was called Lankhmar City of Adventure. There was also 4 more modules in the setting. Came out in 1985. The D&D books were pretty good if you like the setting.

[@Teschmacher]

Shout out to my original dragon lady, Anne McCaffrey, and her world of Pern. Also to Mercedes Lackey for my favorite magic school, the Heraldic Colleges of Valdemar.

[@daltoncook209]

One that I really fell in love with was the Thousand and One Nights, one of the classics but it is a deep dive into Arabic myth and the forty thieves is the best representation of a thieves guild

[@jeremybosworth2275]

The thing that really grabbed me about 1001 Arabian Nights was that it wasn't just a collection of stories, but also about the storytelling of Scheherazade and how the stories she told saved her life.

[@Halteclere]

Paul Anderson was a formative writer for the fantasy game we all know and love as well. His novel, The Broken Sword, was published the same year as the Lord of the Rings, and was just as groundbreaking for the fantasy setting. In addition, his other book, Three Hearts and Three Lions, is essentially the birth of the idea of a Paladin.

[@brittanyanderson97]

Disney movies were such a big part of my childhood and also got me into fantasy. Specifically dark fantasy, I rewatched movies like the original sleeping beauty, the black cauldron, the dark crystal, and the princesses and the goblin on VHS. I feel like I missed out on a lot a fantasy books as a kid and now as an adult I’m like just now learning about all the great fantasy novels and series.

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

Heck, I’d recommend actually reading the Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. One of the best books I’ve ever read

[@lord6617]

I can't recommend enough Fred Saberhagen's Book of Swords novels. One of the early books is one of the great dungeon heist adventures just DYING to be turned into an actual adventure. Beyond that it is a great take on meddling gods, magical sword mcguffins, and just general great characters to pull inspiration from.

[@lord6617]

@@dufjdh3u87rhhdbhfhd added benefit it is like 30 years old and saberhagen is kind of under the radar compared to other popular fantasy authors, so you can pull a lot of inspiration with less chance your players are in the know.

[@primerjohnpaints]

Greek Myths, by Robert Graves, was foundational in my early love of mythology. It taught me not only about Greek mythology, but how the stories can evolve as they are passed from one people to another..

[@Observer31]

Fantastic subject. I hope we have more of these! His Dark Materials was very neat, but perhaps the most inspirational would be the Malazan Book of the Dead

[@caerdwyn7467]

Highest possible recommendation for Steven Brust’s “Vlad Taltos” novels. Urban fantasy with a bit of steampunk and a bit of science fiction vibe, incredible world depth, great characters and storylines that give you something serious to think about and bring back to your daily life. A capes-and-rapiers vibe, magic systems (there are several) with strong internal consistency, and a roguish focus layered with Machiavelli just aches to be an RPG setting. Oh wait. That’s exactly where the seeds of this world germinated, decades back… Start with “Jhereg”. Fantastic, characterful audiobooks are also available for the whole series. For anyone contemplating urban fantasy, this series is as foundational as Tolkien’s works are to high fantasy. No kidding. And Loiosh is Best Familiar.

[@Aurorus2086]

Criminally underrated (or really just criminally unknown?) series

[@Swizz12]

I forgot Steven Brust in my recommendations (in one of the posts above), but he is very good, especially if you want thief/assassin ideas. Julian May's Saga of the Exiles (first book is The Many Coloured Land) is also good. There is also some nice stuff in the shared wold series about Liavek (stories by different authors about the same world).

[@mikecarson7769]

did not expect to see a new video at this time, and oh i am loving this presentation and discussion with interesting thoughts, fun suggestions, enthusiastic encouragement, and creative ideas

[@mikedawe692]

Beautifully written, wonderful characters, heavily drawn from table top it’s hard to go past Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance as my earliest influence. That and Raymond E Fiest’s Magician series.

[@TheSectorM]

One of the books that really inspired me (and is always close at hand) is "Gods, Demigods & Demons an Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology" by Bernard Evslin. I got it through a Scholastic book fair in middle school. It was instrumental to opening up classical mythology to me.

[@ryanjohnson7245]

This is one of your best videos. Extremely useful. Thanks for all you do!

[@DungeonDudes]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ancientdarkmagic1409]

As a philosophy student I can say that most of the text that I have to read during my college career has helped me bring interesting themes that makes my player like it. So to add to the discussion I think it's good to read Fantasy books, sometime is better to read about other non fiction topics because it will help us flesh out a theme, a place or even NPC's.

[@dutch6857]

Hey, There's my LeGuin! Awesome trilogy! Great suggestions all the way through, nodding my head for the whole vid. My additions would be the pulpier flavours of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser by Fritz Leiber, and the Conan stories (no one can write combat like R.E. Howard) The atmospheric writing of Lloyd Alexander's Taran cycle (Built a whole campaign around 'The Black Cauldron') and Susan Cooper's 'The Dark is Rising' books from my childhood for a sense of wonder and mystique Much inspiration for those two series were drawn from the Welsh collection 'The Mabinogion', which in addition to being some of the earliest Arthur legends is totally worth the price for the lists of names alone On the historical side another childhood favourite was Macauley's 'Castle'. An exhaustively illustrated portrayal of the building and staffing of Harlech Castle

[@wolfd95]

Happy every time I see y'all put up a video! Started running my own campaign with friends and it's going great thanks to you two.

[@jacobyspurnger8488]

The young wizarding series by Diane Duane (out of print) is great for describing how a wizard gets their powers and casts spells

[@ChairmanMaoam]

I would highly recommend listening to these on Audiobook, as a DM listen out for how the reader does the different voices and try to mimic them as you listen. Really helps you build up your repertoire

[@ChairmanMaoam]

In particular Lord of the Rings read by Andy Serkis. A masterclass in both writing and world building from the book itself and also how to do voices

[@xarkos]

Similarly, I suggest taking the time to watch some of the masters run an actual play like Matt Mercer with Critical Role or Chris Perkins with Acquisitions Incorporated. Yes, that level of DM is honestly somewhat unobtainable for most of us and it can be a danger to try and compare yourself to them, these are essentially Olympic level DMs after all. But, because they're masters of the craft you can study them and try to incorporate some of what they do into your own DMing style. Most notable is their skills at describing the surroundings in a way that evokes all five senses and their unflappable nature that's ready to give an answer to anything and sound authoritative (yes, of course, everyone has heard of the healing properties of the grantako leaf) even when they're completely bullshiting up that answer in the moment.

[@annpartridge4821]

So many influences in my current campaign, which has been going on for years! Shakespeare - Hamlet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, Tempest, Romeo and Juliet. Homer - Oddessy. Eschenbach - Parzival. Beowulf. C.S. Forester - all of the Horatio Hornblower books. Lloyd Alexander - Prydain Chronicles. Lots of others, but those are the main ones.

[@peterlivingston9879]

Some great inspirations here. I loved the Norse Mythology by Neil Gaimen. I have gotten inspritation from The Foundation trilogy from Issac Asimov for political motivations for group patrons

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

Above all, borrow from other TTRPGS. Call of Cthulhu, Invisible Sun, Root, Eclipse Phase, everything. Strengths of other games will give you inspiration for how to both shore up weaknesses in DND and inspire you with new adventure directions.

[@johnwarner4178]

Dresden files is a great series! The delay between new books is longer than I’d prefer, it quite GoT long but still tough to deal with

[@smdursoii]

So freaking stoke to see "The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were" on this list. I could not get enough of this growing and I still share it with my son. The novel that drew me in as 10 year old was Dragonlance "The Legend of Huma", a gift from my Aunt who has now passed on that I never forget.

[@matthewparker9276]

I would also recommend these novels for specific inspirations (I'll edit this comment as they come to me.) Ship kings, by Andrew McGahan (first book, the comming of the whirlpool) is a great inspiration for a seafaring adventure, drawing tension from all sorts of situations like sea battles, plotting courses, and being becalmed, while also having a great uprising/war story. Awe inspiring sea monster encounters included. Airman by Eoin Colfer has some great political intrigue and espionage drama. Would also recommend to a player who wishes prison to be an important factor in their character background, or as part of their character development in game. If you're looking for some feywild inspiration, look not only at Alice in wonderland, but some of the analyses and adaptations that apply logic to the dream world of wonderland to test your ability to comprehend something logical but counterintuitive to our own experiences, including reworking some of our base assumptions. I'm particularly fond of splintered, by a.g. Howard, but there are to choose from.

[@pauljaycox1841]

Stephen Fry’s retelling of Greek myth, Mythos, and the follow up books, is a really good version of a myth cycle and worth reading.

[@jamesblount3143]

I have found the Grimm's fairy tales as a great inspiration for monster behaviors and village life in a fantasy setting.

[@vicentebreschigarcia8736]

One really book I read was "Sin and fear" of Jean Delumeau. It's a book about history, but has a take on what kind of fear the day of the final judgment generated on europeans during the XVI century. Its a really great book to draw inspiration from when you are creating some kind of collective hysteria about the coming of a great catastrophe. Cheers guys, keep it up with the videos, I love them!

[@xavierrolland-neviere1410]

Great way to cover this topic, not just listing inspiring fantasy books, but also encyclopedia-like books. Although they are not as popular as novels when talking about D&D, they are more like actual tools for DMs !

[@jurdgrath2069]

Thanks for doing this! Great choices for players. Your love of the books is clear and welcome. And thanks for adding the suggestion to look at the Nebula and Hugo awards list, among others. Excellent books that might be missed: Forge in the Forest - Rohan Omaran Saga - Adrian Cole Anything from L Sprague De Camp Assassin's Apprentice - Hobb Magician: Apprentice - Feist She, King Solomon's Mines - Henry Rider Haggard (Tolkien's only main influence) Master of Five Magics - Hardy Amber Series - Zelazny Mistborn - Sanderson Elric - Moorcock The Disappearing Dwarf (light but fun)

[@rnathwani4673]

Honestly, what an amazing guide of books! Truly fascinating. I have sent this video to other DMs old and new as I think this is a really informative list! I will 100% be purchasing one or two of them books too. Thank you guys ❤

[@fishizer]

So cool that you still have those encyclopedia books from youth that have inspired you guys.

[@TyLarson]

My friend Raymond's Midkemia and Janny's Servant of Empire and her Cycle of Fire series were inspiration for a lot of adventures. Moonheart by Charles de Lint was a big part of my decade long Mage campaign. Soldier Ask Not and the Dorsai! Series my Gordie Dickson are just critical for SF. Ursula le guin and Earthsea were key and you cannot go wrong with Roger Zelazny especially for Amber Diceless. Lord Demon and Donnerjack are two of the best to read. Dresden files are great.

[@mikemckinney7031]

One series of books I have not seen mentioned that I enjoyed reading, The Deed of Paksenarian, by Elisabeth Moon (As you can buy it today). When the books were originally written in the late 1980's they were 1) Sheepfarmer's daughter, 2) Divided Allegiance & 3) Oath of Gold. But I am inspired to get The Storyteller's Thesaurus as mentioned in the video and look at a few others from the comments. Great back to the basics video, keep up the great work.

[@real_echo3477]

I have to throw Wheel of Time in there as well. One of my many stories I go to when I need character ideas, story telling styles, cities and towns, nobility and so many things. Robert Jordan did a absolutely fantastic job and with that so did Sanderson and any of his books will certainly help

[@colinrichards6737]

Thanks for the recommendations guys! In my elementary school library I used to constantly check out this series of myths and legends from around the world. Very inspirational, and it was really cool to read about myths from a ton of varied regions like Africa, Japan, South America, or the Middle East as well as the Greek, Slavic or British mythology.

[@techtonic6892]

Great books here as far as novels go. I also would highly recommend the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Absolutely incredible series with a lot of world building and wonderful magic system. Additionally the James Islington Licanius Trilogy and The Saga of Recluce by LT Modesitt are also excellent reads that have inspired me.

[@gamblorthemonster]

I was about to say The Wheel of Time, the nation building and political intrigue is so good!

[@r3liability]

While I'm a 'show only' so far, it does seem a good read, and it gave inspiration my partner and I to have a mage & warder characters next time I can play and not DM.

[@brendanw1867]

Absolutely, I am such a big fan of the Wheel of Time! Number one inspiration when DMing.

[@KnightoftheRose98]

@Drunken The Daeron read the books...its a 1000 times better than the show.

[@KnightoftheRose98]

As for fantasy books The Malazan Books of the Fallen are great for world building. They also do good job of introduction fallen empires and ancient civilizations. As for non-Fictions the book The Great Castles of the UK describes some great structures in the UK. Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, and Eilenen Donan Castle in Scotland. Warwick Castle in England etc.

[@fredslipknot9]

This is one of the best videos you’ve ever made, thank you for so many great recommendations.

[@pdubb9754]

I guess I am not sure what books inspire my D&D, but I can say that it works the other way, too. When I was 13, D&D help spark my renewed interest in reading, and while it started with fantasy, it has led me many other genres.

[@harrywompa]

Love the Encyclopedia of Mythology! I lost my childhood copy of it, but managed to snag one second hand. Absolutely worth it, it's informative and the art is gorgeous. Brandon Sanderson's novels have been a big inspiration on me, especially the Stormlight Archive. The way he writes arcs and side characters in particular.

[@concrete693]

I am going to drop another option for history inspirations. Dan Carlins Hardcore History! Great long form history podcast. Super In depth, great stories, epic history. Really gives great inspiration. Used the podcast “profits of doom” taking the base almost word for word characters and quotes right from history (tweaking for d&d obviously) as a multi session arch that was directly involved with one of my players characters. Swiftly went off the rails as always but having that solid base made for some great memorable games. Right now I’m thinking about getting a bunkers and badasses game going and rewriting and playing throu what I and my friends wished borderlands 3 would have been. (My boy! What did you do to my boy…) But I wanted to leave with a smile. The part when you were taking about architecture dentals; as a classical ornamental plaster specialist by trade I knew exactly what you were talking about. Lol 😂

[@johnhans2929]

Don't forget Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser novels, which are the source of a lot of the Rogue class. More modern, Glenn Cooke's Garret PI novels, which are fantasy plus noir private investigation.

[@TonyCrenshawsLatte]

"And this book is just filled! With! Words!!!" That reminds me of the joke from 3rd Rock. Paraphrasing, "Every word that hack author has written has been written before! Ever heard of a... dictionary??!!"

[@basementmadetapes]

For me, a couple of novels outside the fantasy / horror / SciFi genres that really inspire my world-building and story writing are books that carry so much rich tone. Moby Dick has some amazing locations, and Cormac McCarthy's Suttree is a surprise encounter w a hell world lurking just beyond the veil of our own. And Blood Meridian presents The Judge, who might just be the most terrifying villain in all of literature. Great inspiration for a bbeg.

[@tc0930]

This was one of my favorite episodes from you guys. I picked up the Storyteller's Thesaurus immediately. Keep up the good work. I enjoy the pleasant atmosphere of your show.

[@corygraves4351]

Barlowe's Guide to Aliens and its companion, Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy. These really opened my young eyes to the vastness of non-human physiology and culture, all the while signifying that they were only scratching the surface.

[@alexanderfeoktistov6826]

My favorite part of the Dresden Files is that of the 16 or so books right now, it feels like each is a class level. Like first Dresden is solving some mystery of a magical murder, but after a few levels (or books) he's smack talking fairy queens and saving the world. There's even a comment he makes about how he wishes he was still fighting low level ghouls or something.

[@jamesg9840]

Edith Hamilton is a great introduction to Classical Mythology. I would also use the DK Eyewitness books if you want good visual to base your description on.

[@evilsquirrel0573]

If we’re dropping good book recommendations, my all time favorite author is Brandon Sanderson, I haven’t gotten around to stormlight archives yet, but the mistborn trilogy and it’s sequel, alloy of law, are my absolute favorites of all time. Warbreaker was also really good as well. I like them so much because I’ve never seen “magic” done the way he does it, but also he’s fantastic at making realistic characters

[@philip8093]

Stormlight is amazing

[@norsewarrior859]

Yea highly recommend the Stormlight Archive. A great series

[@aaronwilliams8887]

Mistborn is an amazing novel is iconic characters, but way of kings and Stormlight resonated with me so deeply it's shaped me dramatically. Esspecally shallan,(as a 30 year old male lol) but also Kaladin. He is my favorite "Paladin" in literature with all his mental health struggles. Life before death friends!

[@life-destiny1196]

@evilsquirrel0573 You do know Alloy of Law has sequels now, right? They're so good

[@OwlCatStudios]

Really stoked to see you mention The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were. The art alone is 100% worth the read.

[@icaruschained]

I think I actually have several of those books! Lady Gregory’s Complete Irish Mythology, the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were! Irish myth is the best, and I think so many kids who grew up to tell stories had some sort of fantasy/science fiction/mythology encyclopedia that they grew up on and lugged around the place. One recommendation I would make is Sherlock Holmes, the original stories, and for a very specific reason: NPCs. Because of the genre and format, the short stories are excellent for giving you an idea of how to introduce, portray and evolve NPCs, particularly quest-giving NPCs. Episodic mystery stories are a great place to learn how to give quick initial impressions of people, and then show how their actions later on can lean into or bely those initial impressions. Sherlock Holmes is great because there’s so many stories, and in almost all of them a client walks through the door and you get Dr. Watson’s impressions of how they look and move and act and what he takes away from those impressions, and later how close or far he was from the truth. There’s a good range of characters, too, from villains to heroes to tragic victims to pathetic fools to stalwart allies. Raymond Chandler and other noir writers are also really good at that quick, punchy original sketch that gives you all you need to know (or all you *think* you need to know) about a character. It’s definitely a strength of the mystery genre.

[@scubaguymi]

Great video. Already ordered one book and will be looking for at least two more.

[@growingsage]

I just started going through my book of Grimm's fairy-tales and I have SO many ideas for modules and campaigns. I would recommend the Rainbow Fairy books from Andrew Lang. Those books have tales from all over the world. I also recommend any of those life magazines that talk about haunted locations. Those give me some good inspirations for some dungeons as well.

[@nicholaspoulter-jones2527]

Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer. Great resources for adding detail and a bit of gritty reality to world building. Also hugely inspirational for characters and situations due the way he sheds light on the past at a grassroots level that most history doesn't reach.

[@EpherosAldor]

Never could get into the Lord of the Rings. Fought to get through book 1, had to come back to it later for a second attempt then failed partway through book 2. Never went back but absolutely loved Peter Jackson's take. I felt he made the story so much more refined and palatable. My inspiration started with reading every Forgotten Realms novel, then getting into Dragonlance and Planescape books as well. Not only did these books tell great stories but they were somewhat built around the rules of D&D so you could see the rough translation of game to story, thereby allowing you to take the story and make sense of how to convert to game. I expanded my reading to more fantasy but also branched out into other areas like mysteries and gothic horror and learned to add those storytelling elements to my adventures. Books of short stories, anthologies, also help to dip your toe into these genres so you aren't stuck with a full novel that you can't deal with. Depending on your games and players you could do more heavy romance, more action adventure, more survival, etc. So, your reading tastes should branch out into areas you normally would not have an interest in just to have a better grasp of what you can add to your stories. These references are great, I'm gonna look into the architecture book and the Storyteller's Encyclopedia. Both of those are fascinating. Thanks!!

[@stephenkrzyzanowski9466]

Also Moon Witch, Spider King is out TODAY! The Dark Star Trilogy began with an excellent blend of action and world-building in Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Can't wait for this installment to flesh out the world further.

[@Jin_1814]

I’ve been listening to the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. The book series covers all sorts of mythology: Irish, Native American, Greek/Roman, Eastern European, Norse. It has great descriptions of magic (especially Druidic magic) and the main character interacts with all sorts of gods from different pantheons as well as vampires, werewolves, witches and other creatures, so you can draw great inspiration for NPCs from it. It’s set in the modern world and told with a lot of humor, but I think that’s a welcome change from classic fantasy novels and great inspiration for a DnD game, which will also often mix humor with epic tales.

[@WolfmanXD]

My husband bought me Neil gaiman's Norse mythology for Christmas a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. I especially love the one where the giant is challenging Thor to feats and where Thor thinks he's failing, the giant is actually terrified of his success.

[@garwynrosser8907]

Best video yet Dudes... Great work!

[@xarkos]

Great recommendations, and some of those are definitely going to have to go on my Amazon wish list. I also agree with having not mentioned the various D&D novels like Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms, since they're both the obvious choice and somewhat limiting to the basic ideas we already associate with D&D, though for beginners they might still give some useful inspiration for what a bog standard D&D game might look like. Not to denigrate them, I'm a long time Dragonlance fan and am running a homebrew Dragonlance game, but for most of us we've seen these stories and tropes plenty of times before. I will however also add to the list to classic hero's journey stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Illiad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, etc. These have stories have endured throughout the ages for a reason and have inspired countless other tales over the centuries. Similarly, new DMs should take the time to really dive into a study of Joseph Campbell's monomyth as well as more modern critiques and takes on it to help really get a good idea of how to structure a story in a manner that feels epic and heroic. While there's many ways to tell a good D&D story, in a longer campaign especially you want to try and allow each character the chance to live out at least some parts of the hero's journey cycle and feel that triumph, rise, and possibly even fall that makes a character into an enduring hero.

[@laylaalder2251]

The Cosmere, Codex Alera, Dresden Files, Spellmonger, and Cycle of Arawn series are all highly recommended. So many cool ideas and concepts to pull from!

[@aaronrosenberg2224]

Great video. I've been using "The secret societies of all ages and countries" by Charles Heckethorn and Charles William Heckethorn I've started lists of secret societies flavored for my setting that I can pick up and drop into my upcoming campaign if (WHEN!) I need them. The book has varying degrees of detail that can be used to help flesh out hierarchies, goals etc. Now it's not just an assassins guild, but a society built around a specific ethos, mysticism and methodology. The Holy Vehm became mendicant judges devoted to the forces of law that come to town to purge it of chaos. Great book for ideas and structures.

[@tool9386]

The Dark Tower series is a rich cosmic horror/post apocalyptic world. It could be a great campaign setting or just ideas for quests.

[@kerwe3447]

Giving a shoutout to Malazan, which is actually based on the roleplaying world that the two authors that wrote books in that universe played and DMed in. There is a lot of depth and complexitiy on other levels to the main series as well, but the world itself has some incredible lore in there as inspiration to bring back into your own games. Without spoiling anything but the story behind and around the sword Dragnipur alone is probably one everyone should "steal" for their games from.

[@brettonalwood4173]

While not fantasy I highly recommend Dmitry Glukhovsky's Metro series. While especially good for anyone looking to run a more post apocalyptic seeing I enjoy the diversity of society's that happen within a area that is cut off from the world. How the creatures adapt to their environment, and how people adapt to a changing landscape, plus I have always enjoyed the world description which is also really good for people who looking at fleshing out those old abandoned dungeons that their PC's are going in.

[@callmesoul1468]

Oddly I recommend “The Three-Body Problem”. The series does a great job with motivation behind villains and provides very interesting techniques in narration of scenes and setting up plot twist for the audience. World building and lore are also given great examples in the books.

[@Skinney135]

After not reading for fun in over 10 years, I started again with the Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore a few months ago. I'm on book 5, and absolutely loving it!

[@bartconnolly6104]

On Tir no nOg which you refer to in shadows of Drakkenheim ( it has a long o in og in toe rainbow or cross bow not like the o in bow down ) is the fairy land from Irish Mythology . In fact your reminded me of the quicken trees with the druidic part of that The main sources for the Irish cycles can be found in three books: the Book of the Dun Cow (1100), the Book of Leinster (1160), and the Yellow Book of Lecan (14th century). They contained a collection of Irish sagas. All three books contained the Táin Bó Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley), the largest tale in Irish myths. The “Colloquy of the Ancients” (Agallamh na Seanórach), that contained some of the stories of Finn and the Fianna, was written in 1200, but preserved in the Book of the Dean of Lismore by Sir James MacGregor, from the 16th century. There was later Ossianic ballads containing more stories of Finn, both in Ireland and Scotland. Michael O’Clery wrote his own version of the Book of Invasions (1631). you can find digital translations of Latin and Older Irish originals in an archive called Celt in Univercity College cork celt.ucc.ie/publishd.html for flavor and encounters from that list I recommend the triads of Ireland research.ucc.ie/celt/document/T103006 for enchanted objects www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/objects.html/ In Shadows of Drakenheim in reference to the Drudic fort and Tir no nOg youled me to recall the quicken trees erenow.net/ww/warsoftheirishkings/5.php Two of the central published works in the Ulster and Munster Cycle are Tain bo Cuaghaine - The cattle raid of Cooley ...dont misjudge this a cattle rustling raid for a brown bull just to satisfy the pride of the queen of Connaught and make her have a bull as good as her lovers white bull leads to all out war with Ulster . the Ulster army then stricken by a fairy curse from decades before ( they forced in a bet the pregnant fairywife ( a godess in human form) who was a fleet runner to race against another chiefs horse . she won but died in the forced onset of childbirth. Only her progeny and the families not at the gathering were cursed to suffer the pain of pregnancy and childbirts in their time of greatest need. in fact navan fort is a heritage centre today. this leads to the ripping yarn of Cu Chullainn the Hound of Ulster (and his charioteer and magic weapons) facing the entire Connaught army and using mainly guile but eventually brute force in an attempt to hold them back. No hollywood ending here. another one (from the Ossianic cycle seriously shortened here) bardmythologies.com/diarmuid-and-grainne/ is the persuit of Diarmuid and Grainne www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/ossian.html/#Pursuit for oral culture try University College Dublins massive Archive www.ucd.ie/folklore/en/# www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/celtworld.html/ lists the cities and artefacts of Tir na Nog. The lia fal is also around today on the hill of Tara. or is it???? mythicalireland.com/ancient-sites/the-lia-fail-mystery-screeching-stone-of-tara-brought-by-the-tuatha-de-danann/

[@AndICanTalk2]

Great stuff. Loved mythology of many kinds as well. I would ad The Riftwar Saga, Narnia, Wheel of Time, Myth Adventures, Elric/The Eternal Champion (the original Hex Blade I believe), and Conan as well as Kull, and that group.

[@Pacific-NW-Native]

Growing up it was the Dragonlance series. I resonated with Tanis Half-Elven but secretly rooted for Raistlin! More recently, C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy is amazeballs!

[@Archerfish1977]

For detailed information about engineering techniques, I recommend The Ancient Engineers: Technology and Invention from the Earliest Times to the Renaissance by L. Sprague De Camp. It has detailed descriptions and diagrams on the construction of everything from a torsion dart thrower to the Roman aqueducts and from bridges to castles.

[@charlesbryant6889]

Thanks Dudes! Now you made me buy more books! I also recommend the Tain and Kinsella’s translation of The Mabinogion. Lloyd Alexanders’ Chronicles of Prydain , Budges’ translation of The Egyptian Book of the Dead and Time Life The Enchanted World book series. Time Life introduced me to Baba Yaga 40 years ago. Also the Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and the Eddas. The Red Fairy and the Prose and Poetic Eddas I think are key. Thanks guys and Good Luck Marty!

[@peppermintfalcon3904]

A series I’ve found quite inspiring is ambergris by Jeff vandermeer. It’s another great example of how much adventure can happen in just one city.

[@starsapart9311]

Hell YEAH, N.K. Jemisin. She blows me away, and it's great to consume more non-Eurocentric fantasy to broaden one's world view. I've also found myself really inspired by Michelle Sagara for her interesting mix of high and urban fantasy, as well as her willingness to stay, as you say, "loosey-goosey" with things that are outside the realm of human experience and comprehension. She's been really inspiring to me when it comes to designing fey things that are not meant to fit into tidy boxes or be fully dissected and understood by the players. I also lean heavy into Russian folklore for excellent creepy witch vibes... There's a reason WotC references Baba Yaga, right? 😉

[@KnicKnac]

Most of my characters draw inspiration from books, folklore, video games. Just a dash from them those mediums, but my own playstyle or attitude. I agree Sword and the Stone was my gateway to fantasy. That is my favorite animated movie along with Secret of NIMH.

[@kylemcallister2234]

Bonus dungeon dudes content??? YES PLEASE!!!!!

[@chrizzlybear5565]

From my experience, it can sometimes be more helpful to look for inspiration in places which don't match a typical DnD setting, because it prevents you from just copying stuff to a degree where you feel limited by your sources. For example in a middle earth campaign you may have a rather strict expectation of what elves or dwarves may behave like, etc. I am currently running a campaign in a setting based on a Pokémon region, where I used legendary Pokémon as the creators of the universe and rulers of certain outer planes, while I threw out all other Pokémon and repurposed institutions like gyms into a system of government. It's all about finding the right amount of constraints for your creativity.

[@ronnoe6708]

For me I started reading mythology with Edith Hamilton's Mythology and then moved on to Bulfinch's Mythology. I also really looove The Dresden files. I've been on an Urban Fantasy kick for a while now so I'm reading several series in the genre. When I feel a need for a somewhat classic fantasy read but not for LOTR I go to Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar series starting with The Iron Tower Trilogy. When I want a less formal style of fantasy I reread Robert Howard's Conan, Kull, Bran Mak Morn and Soloman Kane stories. And to round things off when I want my sci-fi and fantasy combined I read Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars books as well as Andre Norton's Witch World and Forerunner books.

[@GillesJoffroy]

Books of/on Viollet-le-duc, it goes in every directions, armors, weapons, furnitures, a lot of architecture of various type, crazy detailled drawing, and rooted in history

[@kennethmeighen4947]

You guys are amazing. I love your videos you have helped me become a better DM thank you for your videos and your time

[@Chameleonradio]

I'm going to add something out of left field and say Katherine Applegate's (yes, the Animorphs lady) Endling series. They're an excellent model of how a world of different species would be set up and how power is exchanged among them. The second book even reads like a D&D campaign, with them picking up magic items and the thief dodging through lava. The third book switches it up for social intrigue and diplomacy building up to a huge clash--it was surprising how well all these tropes were integrated without feeling artificial.

[@davidjarkeld2333]

You're using my suggestion, Nice!

[@DluxeSparrow]

Kelly and I seem to have similar taste cos I ADORE Dresden and The Witcher and draw from them a lot. Also, ANYTHING by Neil Gaiman who I've been reading for almost 20 years. NOT JUST his Norse Mythology book but his take on all mythology especially showcased in The Sandman series and American Gods those things have molded the way that I DM. I even inserted Morpheus, himself, into my D&D campaign. I'd also like to mention, the Codex Alera books by Jim Butcher are also a good source of inspiration. I LOVED this video so interesting and I'm abt to buy the Storyteller's Thesaurus right now.

[@Revan1939]

A series I’ve always wanted to base a game on is the Summoner series. If you’ve read it, you know that it would take a bit of work to make it fit with certain groups, since your summoned creatures are often stronger than the characters, but it could be fun. And also it gives a lot of Orcish culture. If you haven’t read it, I recommend if for nothing else than a good series.

[@frostburn3266]

The books that got me into fantasy were David Eddings' 'The Belgariad' series and the sequel 'Malloreon' series. Both are five books long, and the worldbuilding and lore is so incredible, as well as his magic system of 'the Will and the Word'. It's a wonderful set of books, and I would highly recommend them.

[@benashton3691]

His Elenium and Tamuli trilogies have been inspirational to me.