tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post351908363522237427..comments2024-02-16T22:05:32.773+02:00Comments on LotFP: RPG: Has Your Paladin Gotten Some Sweet, Sweet Chaotic Tail Today?JimLotFPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-18064092923316861062008-07-27T12:59:00.000+03:002008-07-27T12:59:00.000+03:00I managed to get a copy of The Compleat Dying Eart...I managed to get a copy of The Compleat Dying Earth and have been struck by how, well, light and fun the books are for being set on the last days of planet Earth. Cugel's adventures make up a good half of it, and Rhialto's, who's not a huge bit better, another fourth.<BR/><BR/>I'm still working through them, but I do kind of wish some of the fascinating characters from the first book would show up again. It's beginning to look like we'll never find out what Pandalume looks like, or what was the deal with the blue amulet he wanted, or what happened with T'sais and T'sain, or the further adventures of Tarjan.Rodneyliveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476187929555342435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-57181135594419646212008-07-22T23:16:00.000+03:002008-07-22T23:16:00.000+03:00Years ago I set out to read every book on Appendix...Years ago I set out to read every book on Appendix N... got about a third of the way through and gave up. The stuff that was good was really, really good and remain some of my favorite books today. But the clunkers... oh my.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-10859683062814136092008-07-19T05:45:00.000+03:002008-07-19T05:45:00.000+03:00Let me get on my soapbox here for a moment: If you...Let me get on my soapbox here for a moment: If you liked <I>Three Hearts and Three Lions</I> (and I certainly do) then you must find a copy of Anderson's <I>The Broken Sword</I>. The former is good but the latter is a great and truly underappreciated classic of fantasy. And like Lions, Sword is only 200 pages or so. It's terrific, Anderson's best work IMO.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-16029741005515141882008-07-19T03:29:00.000+03:002008-07-19T03:29:00.000+03:00I was lucky enough to sort of stumble upon Three H...I was lucky enough to sort of stumble upon Three Hearts about 10 years ago. I figured a book mentioned in the DMG <I>and</I> the recommended reading of GURPS Time Travel would be worth checking out.<BR/><BR/>And I think you're right about paladins. The way most people think they should be played, now that I'm thinking about it, seems to be this sort of Victorian conception of the ideal Christian knight.<BR/><BR/>Considering that real Christian knights, nevermind a "knight" in a polytheistic society like D&D, lived their lives in a much more, shall we say, "earthy" fashion, I'd say there's plenty of room to add some humanity to your typical paladin and still be faithful to the class and alignment.David Larkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04133630988557116729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-60893020515595379242008-07-19T02:01:00.000+03:002008-07-19T02:01:00.000+03:00Hi, Great topic! I also went on an Appendix N ques...Hi, <BR/><BR/>Great topic! I also went on an Appendix N quest in the wake of Mr. Gygax's passing. Three Hearts and Three Lions, check -- I think you're right on the mark about this one. <BR/>I also found several books by A. Merritt, who is described as among the "most immediate influences" in Appendix N but who seems to be all but forgotten nowadays. His novels The Moon Pool, Dwellers in the Mirage and The Face in the Abyss are all variations of the same "discovering a lost mystical civilization" trope that informs what D&D is about on a really basic level. Merritt has that Burroughs-ish tendency to build his plots around a cloyingly idealized romance, but he also writes some vividly visual descriptions of weird phenomena and wondrous places that are worth reading. <BR/>Another "immediate influence" I read was Pratt and de Camp's "Harold Shea" series (published by Fantasy Masterworks as The Compleat Enchanter), which is fun and light-hearted and seems to have contributed lots of little things from how giants are conceptualized to how Phantasmal Force works (magic spells that kill unless you see through them are a major plot point in the Kalevala-inspired "Wall of Serpents").<BR/>Possibly, I'm telling you what you already know, but I couldn't resist an opportunity to blurt out my enthusiasm.<BR/><BR/>-Rod<BR/><BR/>P.S. On the subject of Vance, I honestly don't think you'll find the "memorizing spells" gimmick anywhere but in the first few pages of "Turjan of Miir". It's a dashed-off literary conceit that took on a life of its own in Dungeons and Dragons. (Incidentally, when did memorizing multiple uses of the same spell start? It's explicitly prohibited in the original "Men & Magic".)<BR/><BR/>P.P.S. To hywaywolf -- Cugel's Saga is a direct sequel to Eyes of the Overworld, and reading it first would completely spoil the ending of Eyes, which deserves a chance to be read on its own terms. With other Dying Earth stories and novels, the sequence of reading is less critical than it is with these two.Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13049576082482175075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-69883801265779338242008-07-18T21:53:00.000+03:002008-07-18T21:53:00.000+03:00My local library has Three Hearts and Three Lions ...My local library has Three Hearts and Three Lions and Lyonnesse, but apparently only has Cugel's saga from the dying earth series. Not sure if they can be read out of order or not. Its hard to tell with collected stories. At any rate the first two will be waiting for me when I drop by later today.HywayWolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14985286661447846340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-48871655780091257462008-07-18T20:41:00.000+03:002008-07-18T20:41:00.000+03:00The Dying Earth is D&D. I recommend reading a...The Dying Earth is D&D. I recommend reading all of it and his later series Lyonnesse (published to late to make it to Appendix N). All excellent. His Science fiction works are worth it as well.ligehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652431558688176341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-89593965831184810692008-07-18T19:39:00.000+03:002008-07-18T19:39:00.000+03:00Okay, that's kind of freaky.I recently picked up t...Okay, that's kind of freaky.<BR/><BR/>I recently picked up the four-in-one-volume Tales of the Dying Earth (which I'm reading).<BR/><BR/>And I'm awaiting Three Hearts and Three Lions, which I ordered last week from Amazon (although, to be fair, I've looked everywhere else and this was a last resort, so I've at least <B>wanted</B> to read it for a long time...)<BR/><BR/>Is this synchronicity? Or is it because Gary died, and in tribute I really want to cozy up to D&D's roots?Will Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com