I just picked up a copy of my favorite author's collected short stories (Zelazny, Collected Stories, Volume 6) and it got me thinking about what literature inspired and informed my preferences in RPGs.  So I thought I'd put the question to the rest of you as well.  What books are your inspiration?  I'm not necessarily asking for your favorite books, but the ones you read and think "I want my RPG to run like this..." 

Here's mine, to kick things off

-   Glen Cook - The Black Company books – I could probably just stop here, but I won't

-   Tolkein – The Hobbit

-   Andre Norton – Witch World, Moon of Three Rings, Uncharted Stars – for worldbuilding and ancient mysteries

-   CJ Cherryh – Chanur books – for the well done aliens, and The Paladin – for the awesome

-   Zelazny – Amber, Dilvish

I'm primarily into hard science fiction, so my games are heavily influenced by CJ Cherryh, Arthur C. Clarke, George Alec Effinger,  Robert A. Heinlein, Larry Niven, H. Beam Piper, Jerry Pournelle, Aleister Reynolds, John Scalzi (only his Old Man's War stuff), and Allen Steele.

For science fantasy games there are a plethora of Star Wars authors but especially Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole, Alan D. Foster, Karen Traviss, Alexander Freed, and Kevin Anderson.

For fantasy, there is Robert E. Howard, Lloyd Alexander, and of course Tolkein.

(During my recent spate of research on Project Gutenburg, I found a lot of Robert E. Howard and H. Beam Piper stories up for free.)

EDIT: I should also add that the writings of Harlan Ellison are a huge influence on everything I create.

Mishihari, have you seen the 6 volume set of Zelazny's collected works? It's got everything but the novels.

Love Zelazny, especially "A Night in the Lonesome October" and "Lord of Light".  Don't think any of his works directly inform by gaming, because I really don't have much interest in running games set around the premise of his books, but there is a ton of indirect influence in how I portray NPCs. He has that elusive writer quality of making highly flawed characters sympathetic.

Very much enjoy Terry Pratchett for the same reason, in writing that is otherwise a completely different style.  Doesn't hurt that both of them obviously have a sense of humor. 

For pulp, I enjoy Leiber and Vance the most, with Vance's "Lyonesse" at the top of the list.  I'd run a game set there.  I'm relatively late to the Conan party, but have enjoyed those stories more than I thought I would.

E. R. R. Eddison's Zimiamvian stories are a huge influence on my gaming.  Along with some of Poul Anderson's fantasy, they've given me an appreciation of dark age and early medieval slants.  I'm far more likely to ban plate armor than include gunpowder in my fantasy games.  I'm not really a huge sci/fi fan, even having read widely if not deeply, but some of Anderson's sci/fi is strange in that it manages to be semi-hard tech mixed with early medieval sensibilities, which is strange enough to be enjoyable for a style not widely copied.  When I do introduce tech into a fantasy game, I'm more likely to go with that angle than the "magic as science" or "weird science" angles.

I highly recommend the historical novelist Bernard Cornwell for fantasy lovers.  His characters are complete badasses that would comfortably sit aside Conan.  The Last Kingdom and Grail Quest series are the ones that translate well to frpg's.  And I really loved the Agincourt and 1356 novels. 

Quote from: jeff37923 on April 07, 2022, 05:40:57 AM
John Scalzi (only his Old Man's War stuff).

Really? I think Red Shirts lends itself quite well to most RPGs, and his Collapsing Empire trilogy isn't too bad either.

Quote from: Mishihari on April 07, 2022, 05:15:40 AM
-   Glen Cook - The Black Company books – I could probably just stop here, but I won't

I have to say that I thought the first Black Company book sucked. The way it was written just wasn't at all enjoyable. However, I read it as the first part of a compiled "Chronicles" book, and the second and third stories get better.

For playing Shadowrun or some Cyberpunk games, I often suggest Ocean's 11, or Black Lagoon.

Just off the top of my head:

#1 for me is Fafhrd & Gray Mouser (and it's not even close!) There's so much D&D there it oozes out of the book binding.

After that:
Robert E. Howard's Conan
Thieve's World
Lyonesse
Dying Earth
Stainless Steel Rat

If my Appendix N can include films, I'd add:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars

Quote from: HappyDaze on April 07, 2022, 09:29:53 AM

Quote from: Mishihari on April 07, 2022, 05:15:40 AM
-   Glen Cook - The Black Company books – I could probably just stop here, but I won't

I have to say that I thought the first Black Company book sucked. The way it was written just wasn't at all enjoyable. However, I read it as the first part of a compiled "Chronicles" book, and the second and third stories get better.

The writing of the Black Company books improve as the series continues.

Quote from: Pat on April 07, 2022, 10:14:17 AM

Quote from: HappyDaze on April 07, 2022, 09:29:53 AM

Quote from: Mishihari on April 07, 2022, 05:15:40 AM
-   Glen Cook - The Black Company books – I could probably just stop here, but I won't

I have to say that I thought the first Black Company book sucked. The way it was written just wasn't at all enjoyable. However, I read it as the first part of a compiled "Chronicles" book, and the second and third stories get better.

The writing of the Black Company books improve as the series continues.

Pat and I agree on something...?

As far as D & D goes, the biggest influence by far was Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser, followed by the Thieves' World books.  Certain other books -- Brian Froud's "Faeries" and Alan Lee's "Castles" -- provided a certain amount of inspiration.  European folklore and fairy tales also.

Robert E. Howard is a big influence, though with the exception of "Red Nails" not so much on D & D.  The Conan and Kull stories were an influence on my Atlantean game (i.e., the Arcanum, the Lexicon, etc.).  The old "Savage Sword of Conan" magazine has a wealth of stories and illustrations that provide game ideas for any fantasy game, though.  Solomon Kane has a certain influence on Warhammer Fantasy RPG.

Quote from: I on April 07, 2022, 11:05:58 AM
The old "Savage Sword of Conan" magazine has a wealth of stories and illustrations that provide game ideas for any fantasy game.

Great mention. Savage Sword (and John Buscema) are a huge influence on my games.

   The Sanctuary anthologies
    REH Conan
    The hobbit
    The chapter from The Fellowship of the Ring "The Bridge of Khazad Dum"
    Eisenhorn series
    Ravenor   series

The last two are not pure medieval fantasy in the classic sense, but the "party" consisting of specific specialists, the feudal background, the literal adventures they go on massing loot and knowledge (and not sure if it was intentional or not, but the literal growth in actual power of both title characters, as if they "leveled up"). 

Quote from: Zalman on April 07, 2022, 11:21:06 AM

Quote from: I on April 07, 2022, 11:05:58 AM
The old "Savage Sword of Conan" magazine has a wealth of stories and illustrations that provide game ideas for any fantasy game.

Great mention. Savage Sword (and John Buscema) are a huge influence on my games.

  I agree, and they read like the Howard version of Conan very strongly (I think most of the ideas from the comic were either direct adaptions, or adventures that fill in space between those adventures).

Quote from: HappyDaze on April 07, 2022, 09:27:41 AM

Quote from: jeff37923 on April 07, 2022, 05:40:57 AM
John Scalzi (only his Old Man's War stuff).

Really? I think Red Shirts lends itself quite well to most RPGs, and his Collapsing Empire trilogy isn't too bad either.

Red Shirts made me ill because it seemed like a metaplot caricature. I couldn't even get through the first Collapsing Empire book because it seemed like he wasn't even trying to write, just going through the motions. The less said about his remake of Little Fuzzy, the better because he strained all of the charm and pathos out of H. Beam Piper's work and shat upon it.