@TheEdVerse, hope you don't mind me pestering you about Realmslore while I oh so patiently await our encounter.
The 1e DMG Appendix N is an incredible resource for seeing what books inspired Gary when making D&D. What would an Appendix N for Ed Greenwood's Realms look like?
— AdamDravian (@AdamDravian) September 20, 2020
1)
The Realms began when I was five, and what was in it was inspired by all of the books I’d read up until then (and my father’s den was crammed with them), and what little living I’d done until then. So, EVERYTHING. What most stirred me were the fantasies (LOTR, … 2)
…Dunsany, all of the romances involving knights errant, and the pulp adventures, plus sword-and-planet Burroughs and others). What inspired the FORM of the early Realms tales was my reading of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Mouser tales in the pages of FANTASTIC; …#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020
3)
…episodes in the adventures of heroes (?) in a fantastic world that featured feuds and politics older and larger than their strivings.
As I told Realms tales, I discovered more writers (E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman space operas, Vance, and Conan), and new authors.. 4)
…appeared (Roger Zelazny, John Bellairs, Terry Pratchett, Robin McKinley, Patricia McKillip) who delighted me–and Lin Carter set about republishing all of the old classics of fantasy, and writing his own pastiches and stories. At the same time, through Carter,..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020
5)
…I rediscovered Cthulhu (initially, I loved Lovecraft’s Dreamlands/Randolph Carter tales, only) and Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy, and some authors returned to writing (Julian May) while other new writers who crafted to my taste appeared (J.V. Jones). … 6)
…And I went on living, following the "try everything" philosophy so I'd know what it was like to swim in a cold wilderness lake at dawn, walk through a graveyard in the moonlight, explore a cave, and so on. Nothing, on pages or in my experiences, was direct…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020
7)
…inspiration for the Realms, but everything was indirect inspiration. Including D&D, which around 1978 became the “skeleton” for how things worked in the Realms (Vance’s magic system, and magic items, spells, and monsters do these exact things, precisely like… 8)
…this). The published Realms differs from my original in that it contains close real-world analogues (pyramids here, Mayans there, Far Eastern cultures yonder) added by various TSR designers, and trying to knit the offerings of diverse Realms creators into one…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020
9)
…tapestry, ever since the published Realms became a shared world, has provided yet more inspiration (WHY are the Red Wizards doing this, and the Zhentarim trying for that? I created those power groups, but others have done much with them, and working out their… 10)
…shifting aims, alliances, and schemes has provided endless fun, and still does.
So being as Gary provided that Appendix not just to mark direct inspirations, but also to provide DM resources, mine would be hundreds of books long, and range from Stasheff's…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020
11)
…The Warlock In Spite of Himself and Offutt’s Messenger of Zhuvastou and Piper’s Lord Kalvan Of Otherwhen, to Norton’s Witch World and The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars, and on to the Face In The Frost from Bellairs and the Hed trilogy (just for starters). 12)
…And I revisit Amber and Discworld often, and really wish we'd all got to see more of Khymyrium.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 20, 2020