Inspiration

Appendix N
In 1979 TSR published the Dungeon Masters Guide written by E. Gary Gygax which included a list of books for Inspirational and Educational Reading. I assume these were books Mr. Gygax had read and found inspiring with regard to his work on D&D and AD&D. A few of them, such as the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard were already familiar to me (first through comics, later books), but most I had never heard of. Almost as soon as I became aware of this list, I started reading from it.  Finding the harder to get titles has become somewhat of a passion for me as I have searched libraries and used book sellers. Over the years I have located and read many of the titles and authors listed in Appendix N, but not all. Some I found and didn't like well enough to read. I recently acquired and read The Shadow People by Margaret St. Clair. I would say the book is set in the late 1960s by the events depicted and the 1969 copyright. The gaming inspiration comes from the shadow people who live beneath our earth and occasionally come to the surface to steal or even kidnap, returning to their underground world. St. Clair does an excellent job establishing the feeling of being watched by creepy folk sneaking in the dark and of underground tunnels hidden beneath our world. I have read that The Shadow People was one of the inspirations for Mr. Gygax's drow race and having read the book, I can easily believe this to be true. For the referee I believe inspiration is essential. Some referees seem to be able to draw inspiration from everything and anything. Others have to work a little harder. I have run adventures based on inspiring TV or movies, comics, short stories and novels, and pieces of art and illustrations. Often the best game ideas have come from some pretty mediocre film plots. I read gaming publications of all sorts for inspiration, including random tables, often drawing an idea from here and there and combining them into something I can run for my players. One aspect of role-playing is telling a story in a group. The inspiration for creativity and imagination can come from just about anything. One piece of advice I always give to a potential referee who asks is to surround yourself with lots of stories, TV, movies, books, comics, everything you can and draw from them all. If you are reading this and you have not given serious consideration to the works listed in Mr. Gygax's Appendix N, maybe you should. I can't say I have enjoyed every book I have found from Appendix N, but many of those titles are among my very favorite books. Many of them are books I would never have found without Appendix N.