Negative Space: fantasy
- Anne McCaffrey, Dragonrider, 1926-2011
- Inspiration author Anne McCaffrey, 1926-2011.
- Appendix N Survey
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Jeffro at Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog read everything on Appendix N, partly to see what influences it might have had on D&D.
- Caster Oriented
- Most game magic occurs because the caster does something to draw forth the magic.
- Celtic Wizards
- Celtic wizards carve runes during specific heavenly events. The more powerful the spell, the rarer the required event.
- Cran Fantasy Shell
- a freeware fantasy game
- Critical (fantasy) race theory
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It isn’t racist to address D&D characters by their race. D&D character races are things the character can do. It is racist to imply that real world races are as inferior and superior as fantasy races. Woke racism is still racism.
- Death or Glory
- A freeware fantasy game.
- Dissecting the Magic System
- When changing the way that magic works in the game, remember that how it works is part of the trade-off of playing a sorceror vs. playing other character classes.
- Do You Believe in the Ways of Magic?
- Varying magic according to the culture that uses it.
- Environment Oriented
- Some magic requires a specific environment to succeed. This is rare in D&D (some Druid spells require specific environments) but common in fantasy literature.
- Esoteric examples of magic
- Examples of odd systems of magic in the World of Highland.
- Excalibur
- Hard to go wrong for the price, and this is the best retelling of the Arthurian saga that I’ve seen on screen. It also includes some early parts by Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, and Gabriel Byrne.
- Fantasy gaming texts
- Free fantasy games, supplements, and other fantasy game info.
- Fevre Dream
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Vampire slavery, fast ships, and broken tropes. And sorrow, and happiness. Fevre Dream is a very good book, well worth reading.
- A Fish Dinner in Memison
- This third and final book in Eddison’s trilogy continues the transition from adventure to philosophy. There is only one act of sword-play in the entire book, and perhaps only two actual fights; one of which is related in retrospect.
- Frank RPG
- a shareware fantasy game
- Gypsy Magic
- Gypsy spells are stored in rings of power. The components and incantations are used when the spells are stored, so the Gypsy wizard can cast spells even when silenced.
- Hazon
- a possibly freeware fantasy game
- Highlander
- A great movie, with a good commentary, and poor video quality. Recent price drop makes it a worthwhile purchase.
- The Hobbit
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This enchanting version of Tolkien’s Hobbit is a fine movie, but a horrible DVD. Sound effects and dialogue have been removed for no apparent reason. I can’t see any reason to buy this unless you’d be just as happy watching it with the sound off.
- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
- The best fantasy books I have ever read. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...” I found the animated movie to be marvelous as well. And the new movies by Peter Jackson are awesome! Great, great stuff.
- Inspirational fantasy fiction
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The Dumasian world of Gods & Monsters is also inspired by Dunsany, King, and many others. These books that should inspire you when you need to create interesting adventures and characters.
- Ladyhawke
- A very good fantasy adventure with a soundtrack that was dated even in 1985 when the movie came out. One of Matthew Broderick’s first roles (after Wargames, before Ferris Bueller), one of Michelle Pfeiffer’s first roles (after Delta House, before The Witches of Eastwick), and one of Rutger Hauer’s last movie roles (after Blade Runner, before Blind Fury).
- Magic from the Astrotech Rim
- In the Astrotech Rim, spells are clunky, steam-driven things.
- Men Not Afraid
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Relive those thrilling days of neveryear with the monthly adventures of Captain Samantha Smith.
- Mistress of Mistresses
- I have just finished reading “Mistress of Mistresses”, technically the second volume in E.R. Eddison’s Ouroboros trilogy. This is an incredible work. The further along I read, the more I needed to finish it. Eddison’s fantasy sweeps from strange to romantic, war to love, in a high-fantasy style that is both wordy and readable.
- Monsters & Mazes
- “The game of dark underground labyrinths and those who abode in them. Where only the brave and the mighty will escape with marvelous gems and everprecious gold… WARNING: THIS GAME CONTAINS MATH!
- Neogi Wizards
- Neogi tattoo magic is deadly and beautiful.
- Object Oriented
- Some magic is invested in an object that makes up part of the spell or even is the spell.
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- Just a quick note about Pan’s Labyrinth: I just saw it today and loved it, really loved it. I strongly recommend this movie.
- A Princess of Mars
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When mysterious adventurer John Carter finds himself transported to the strange and alien tribes of Mars, he changes the history of that wild and decadent land forever.
- A Princess of Mars
- I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men, nor do I remember any childhood. So far as I can recollect I have always been a man, a man of about thirty. I appear today as I did forty years and more ago, and yet I feel that I cannot go on living forever; that some day I shall die the real death from which there is no resurrection. I do not know why I should fear death, I who have died twice and am still alive; but yet I have the same horror of it as you who have never died, and it is because of this terror of death, I believe, that I am so convinced of my mortality.
- Real Life Gaming Resources
- Things on the net that were not designed for gaming, but can be used for gaming, such as museum displays of magic in antiquity, or images of urban ruins.
- Realms of Adventure (153.6 KB)
- “This game is set in the medieval era, with castles, magic, and fantastic creatures. You can play a knight, a wizard, a rogue, a crusading priest, or any other character you chose… Looks like those barbarians kicked ass here.”
- Ringwielder
- A shareware fantasy/science fiction game. “The Orion was built using the principles of Psycho-Manipulative Energy. During its launch a terrible accident occurred. All animal and plant life was mutated, and the inhabitants were turned into characters from literature and imagination. They awaken with their old memories erased and new ones in their place, facing a starship defense system that is definitely not friendly.”
- Role-Playing Meeting Grounds
- Places to go and meet other gamers, on-line and off-line.
- Role-Playing Web Sites
- Web sites for table-top, paper and pencil role-playing games. Includes links for game enhancements, free and shareware games, game companies and retailers, and real-life gaming resources.
- The Shell Roleplaying System
- “This is the skeleton of a FRPG system.”
- The Ship of Ishtar
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“A tendril of the strange fragrance spiralled up from the great stone block. Kenton felt it caress his face like a coaxing hand.
- Skill Oriented Universal Playing System (84.3 KB)
- A freeware fantasy/science fiction game “based totally on skills”.
- Swordhawk Rules (125.9 KB)
- Fantasy gaming in the Dungeons and Dragons tradition.
- The Three Orientations of Magic
- Mixing and matching the categories that magic falls into is one way of coming up with different ways of magic.
- World Fantasy Convention 2011, San Diego
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I’m not sure if I’m at the World Fantasy Convention or the World Yarning Convention. Three of four people around me are doing things with yarn.
- The Worm Ouroboros
- This book does everything wrong; under no circumstances would it be published today, except perhaps as a self-published venture, and then it would be used as an example of why self-publishing is wrong. And yet, it’s a wonderful novel.
More Information
- That Hideous Strength• (paperback)
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The conclusion of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy outdoes them all. (C.S. Lewis)
- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings•
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The best fantasy books I have ever read. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…” I found the animated movie to be marvelous as well. And the new movies by Peter Jackson are awesome! Great, great stuff. A story about temptation, on many levels. Both the powerful and the small, the wise and the foolish, countries, groups, and individuals, are subjected to temptation. How all of these entities deal with temptation is the real story of “The Lord of the Rings”.
