I ran for 6 months or so based heavily around the characters from, "the Shapeshifter's Wife."

Quote from: Simlasa;420943I've 'borrowed' from lots of literary fantasy settings [...]Beatrix Potter's English Countryside.

I'd like to hear about this in more detail.

Quote from: Simlasa;420943The most recent fantasy setting that has me wanting to game in it or borrow from it is 'The Golden Compass'... I watched the movie the other day, expecting to hate it, and thought it had some intriguing ideas. Since there probably won't be any more movies I guess I'll have to read the books...

I didn't love the books (they weren't bad, either) but one thing I kept thinking was "this feels more like it was designed by a Dungeon Master than an author."

Quote from: Cranewings;420997I ran for 6 months or so based heavily around the characters from, "the Shapeshifter's Wife."

I'm not familiar with this book. What's it like?

Quote from: Cranewings;420997I ran for 6 months or so based heavily around the characters from, "the Shapeshifter's Wife."

Awesome. I'd love to have seen more books in that reality, more interesting tales of its what you might call fairy tale fantasy feeling.

Back in the day, a short MERP campaign, and a few sessions of Stormbringer (5e? It was 1994 or whereabouts).

Nowadays, I eagerly wait for MRQII Hawkmoon, and I've even considered a MRQII Lyonesse game.

Most of the time, I'm too much of a setting-building junkie to let pass the opportunity (even if the dwindling availability of prep time has forced me to adopt a bottom-up approach).

Cole, it was a short novel about this Mage who was a famous transmuter, and his student. They have conflict because of what an amoral asshole the master is. He makes a fantastic villain.

Quote from: Silverlion;421008Awesome. I'd love to have seen more books in that reality, more interesting tales of its what you might call fairy tale fantasy feeling.

Oh I don't know, it was such self contained perfection. I'd love to read more in that style.

Quote from: Cranewings;421132Cole, it was a short novel about this Mage who was a famous transmuter, and his student. They have conflict because of what an amoral asshole the master is. He makes a fantastic villain.

Who's the author? I did a quick search online but all the results seemed to be not for a novel but for a poem (by "bruce boston.)

Have you read the story Undertow by Karl Edward Wagner? Very interesting, especially if it's your introduction to its main character Kane (who features in many stories & novels by KEW)

A bit of MERP but that's it for fantasy (and even the MERP we ran (using a couple of published adventures) could really have been any Tolkien-derived fantasy setting).

Non-fantasy stuff from other fiction there's been Marvel Super-Heroes using TSR/FASERIP, Judge Dredd (GW edition), Conan (TSR), Star Wars (WEG) and Star Trek (LUG Trek TOS edition).

Hmm. Weirdly it seems like other than that one Trek game, pretty much all of my fiction-based gaming is in the first few years of my playing RPGs.

Discworld is always fun to play on. The jokes are written into the world metaphysics turning that old joke about the axe with 4 new heads and 4 new handles being the same axe into a profoundly philosophical statement.

Also female Dwarfs have beards as it should be.

Quote from: Simlasa;420943Beatrix Potter's English Countryside...

As in... "Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter"?

Quote from: Silverlion;421008

Quote from: Cranewings;420997I ran for 6 months or so based heavily around the characters from, "the Shapeshifter's Wife."

Awesome. I'd love to have seen more books in that reality, more interesting tales of its what you might call fairy tale fantasy feeling.

Great book.

If you like more in that vein, try Patricia McKillipp's Ombria in Shadow, and of course Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn and The Innkeeper's Song*.
And, believe it or not, Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon.

Many many years ago I created a campaign that was not set in any of those worlds, but heavily inspired by them (and similar ones, like Lyonesse, Stardust, and Riddle-master of Hed).

I don't know why but I don't like playing/DMing in pre-defined worlds. I only once played Star Wars, and only once DMed in Middle-earth (Palantir Quest, Fourth Age).
I don't know how much Dragonlance's Krynn would count (there were novels set in Krynn, and the modules were retelling the same story) but I ran the whole DL campaign.

Today I'd be more interested in my own (or the player's own) take on the source material - like, a Star Wars that only takes "A New Hope" as canon, or a LotR that uses the same situation ("you are [insert group size] heroes, go and undo that cursed ring") but in which all plots and NPC roles are open for reinterpretation.

* Wow, I just saw that Beagle penned a Return to that world...

I'm currently reading The Grand Design by John Marco. It is the second book of Tyrants & Kings. I find the setting to be quite interesting. The Empire of Nar is a huge realm of associated Kingdoms and Baronies, held together by iron fisted rulers who are dependent on a mysterious alchemy that gives them long life but at a cost.

In the first book, The Jackal of Nar, the empire was ruled over by Arkus the Great. In the sequel, Arkus has finally succumbed to his ancient years, the alchemical drug no longer having an effect on him. The empire has since plunged into civil war between two major factions.

The setting has a dark and gritty feel, with alchemy and a steampunk style technology base. Areas outside of the empire are more primal and mysterious.

Quote from: Cole;421135Who's the author? I did a quick search online but all the results seemed to be not for a novel but for a poem (by "bruce boston.)

Have you read the story Undertow by Karl Edward Wagner? Very interesting, especially if it's your introduction to its main character Kane (who features in many stories & novels by KEW)

Sorry, I had the name wrong. Hopefully all of these posts of people that amazingly know the same book weren't just confused, thinking I was talking about something else.

I think the next fiction I read is going to be The Dark Tower. Anyone ever run a game in that setting?

Quote from: Cranewings;421352Sorry, I had the name wrong. Hopefully all of these posts of people that amazingly know the same book weren't just confused, thinking I was talking about something else.

Thanks - this does sound interesting. I'll have to see if the library has it.