Taking on Glass Candles GLoGtober '23, challenge #1 is from a list by SunderedWorldDM - "Essential, non-RPG reading for any GM."
In case you have not yet seen it Kill 6 Billion Demons is magnificent. The planar wierdness, the cosmic powers, fabulous grist to the mill if you are a DM looking for ideas. Gaze upon some of the giant illustrations of Throne and let the muse whisper in your ear...
As a grand theme anything that asks how did the sinews of medieval times work is great source material. Histories of pretty much anything are always good. Online, the magnificent 'Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry' is a gold mine for world-building and just getting a reasonable understanding of how most of typical fantasy-land might be thought to work. Works over Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Dune and other good sources for great examples.
For strange digital lands to wander through to inspire your own settings:
Fall from Heaven II mod to Civ IV - somewhat dated engine but still awesome content. Multiple mod-mods give high-magic (Wildmana) and detail (Orbis) versions. I found it great to run through both for the emergent narratives of nation-on-nation, individual heroes and kingdom-quests. Originally inspired by a D&D campaign so perhaps breaks our instructions but so good I'm including it anyway.
Endless Legend with its strange terrains - rock peels and other odd terrains are great things to ponder about appearing in your campaign.
Sunless Sea for bizarre narratives. Mostly once you arrive at places - at sea it is simply terror, constant grinding terror of your fuel burning, supplies giving out and the lights dimming while the crew sharpens their knives.
For book series of the way of adventurers to inspire:
Black Company by Glen Cook - how low-magic protagonists deal with high-magic antagonists
A Land Fit For Heroes by Richard K Morgan - for great atmosphere of dealing with elusive, hard to pin down foes
Crimson Empire by Alex Marshall for all sorts of great setting curlicues - the bug-parlors to start with
On Stranger Tides and Anubis Gates by Tim Powers for innovative magic systems
Kids books - especially inspiring for Planescape were Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair series with their bizarre new realm each adventure and Rupert Bear's adventures.
Art books and illustrated fables as discussed before in Conceptual density or why I had favorite RPG books - examples being:
- The Book of Conquests by Jim Fitzpatrick - based on the early mythological cycle of Irish stories.
- Arthur Rackhams illustrations - I came to him via Oscar Wildes fairy tales
- The great Mœbius for the French perspective
Rapidly approaching a canon RPG source but not there yet: Magic: The Gathering cards. The Mirage and Visions cycles I recall as a big improvement in the art and coherent and inspirational in as a first window into a new (at the time) world.
The Status Seekers - what do people who want for nothing want? Good material for ancient high magic empires and why the rulers do what they do.
National Geographic magazines - particularly the illustrations for prehistoric times
Financial Times 'How to Spend It' for ludicrous treasure ideas.
And to close on a practical note Geek Social Fallacies for recognising bad behaviour that happens at your table so that you can squash it. This was a major a-ha! for me when I found it.
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