Appendix N, revised and expanded edition

Weird Tales From the Roots of Dungeons & Dragons

Foreword by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Edited by Peter Bebergal
Afterword by Ann Vandermeer
An anthology of fantastical tales that inspired the creation of the world's greatest roleplaying game.

Edited by Peter Bebergal, this lovingly-assembled revised and expanded edition of Appendix N adds a new foreword by Arthur C. Clarke award-winning novelist Adrian Tchaikovsky, tales by A. Merritt and Andre Norton, a dark fantasy comic by Gardner Fox & John Giunta, and illustrations by revered master of the weird, Virgil Finlay, and Escape The Dark Castle's Alex Crispin.   

Drawing upon the original list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide, published in 1979, as well as hobbyist magazines and related periodicals that helped to define the modern role-playing game, Appendix N offers a collection of short fiction and resonant fragments that reveal the literary influences that shaped Dungeons & Dragons, the world's most popular RPG. The stories in Appendix N contextualize the ambitious lyrical excursions that helped set the adventurous tone and dank, dungeon-crawling atmospheres of fantasy roleplay as we know it today.

This new edition, published on the occasion of D&D’s 50th anniversary, includes fascinating new stories, a comprehensive introduction, and a new foreword.

Includes work by Poul Anderson, Frank Brunner, Ramsey Campbell, Lin Carter, Lord Dunsany, Gardner Fox & John Giunta, Robert E. Howard, Tanith Lee, Fritz Leiber, H. P. Lovecraft, David Madison, A. Merritt, Michael Moorcock, C. L. Moore, Andre Norton, Fred Saberhagen, Clark Ashton Smith, Margaret St. Clair, Jack Vance, Manly Wade Wellman
New Foreword TBC
Introduction by Peter Bebergal
Key To Upper Level
  • How Sargoth Lay Siege To Zaremm by Lin Carter
  • Tale Of Hauk by Poul Anderson
  • Jewels In The Forest by Fritz Leiber
  • Empire Of The Necromancers by Clark Ashton Smith
  • Turjan Of Miir by Jack Vance
  • A Hero At The Gates by Tanith Lee
  • Tower Of The Elephant by Robert E. Howard
Secret Chamber
  • Song Of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
Key To Lower Chamber
  • The Dreaming City by Michael Moorcock (note: we have it as “Dreaming City” in the book)
  • The Doom That Came To Sarnath by H.P. Lovecraft
  • Tower Of Darkness by David Madison
  • Straggler From Atlantis by Manly Wade Wellman
  • The Man Who Sold Rope To The Gnoles by Margaret St. Clair
  • Pit of Wings by Ramsey Campbell
  • Black God’s Kiss by C. L. Moore
  • The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth by Lord Dunsany
Key To Secret Passage
  • Sword Of Dragonus by Frank Brunner
  • Afterword by Ann VanderMeer
  • Notes On The Stories
  • Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading
  • Acknowledgements

About

An anthology of fantastical tales that inspired the creation of the world's greatest roleplaying game.

Edited by Peter Bebergal, this lovingly-assembled revised and expanded edition of Appendix N adds a new foreword by Arthur C. Clarke award-winning novelist Adrian Tchaikovsky, tales by A. Merritt and Andre Norton, a dark fantasy comic by Gardner Fox & John Giunta, and illustrations by revered master of the weird, Virgil Finlay, and Escape The Dark Castle's Alex Crispin.   

Drawing upon the original list of “inspirational reading” provided by Gary Gygax in the first Dungeon Master's Guide, published in 1979, as well as hobbyist magazines and related periodicals that helped to define the modern role-playing game, Appendix N offers a collection of short fiction and resonant fragments that reveal the literary influences that shaped Dungeons & Dragons, the world's most popular RPG. The stories in Appendix N contextualize the ambitious lyrical excursions that helped set the adventurous tone and dank, dungeon-crawling atmospheres of fantasy roleplay as we know it today.

This new edition, published on the occasion of D&D’s 50th anniversary, includes fascinating new stories, a comprehensive introduction, and a new foreword.

Includes work by Poul Anderson, Frank Brunner, Ramsey Campbell, Lin Carter, Lord Dunsany, Gardner Fox & John Giunta, Robert E. Howard, Tanith Lee, Fritz Leiber, H. P. Lovecraft, David Madison, A. Merritt, Michael Moorcock, C. L. Moore, Andre Norton, Fred Saberhagen, Clark Ashton Smith, Margaret St. Clair, Jack Vance, Manly Wade Wellman

Table of Contents

New Foreword TBC
Introduction by Peter Bebergal
Key To Upper Level
  • How Sargoth Lay Siege To Zaremm by Lin Carter
  • Tale Of Hauk by Poul Anderson
  • Jewels In The Forest by Fritz Leiber
  • Empire Of The Necromancers by Clark Ashton Smith
  • Turjan Of Miir by Jack Vance
  • A Hero At The Gates by Tanith Lee
  • Tower Of The Elephant by Robert E. Howard
Secret Chamber
  • Song Of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
Key To Lower Chamber
  • The Dreaming City by Michael Moorcock (note: we have it as “Dreaming City” in the book)
  • The Doom That Came To Sarnath by H.P. Lovecraft
  • Tower Of Darkness by David Madison
  • Straggler From Atlantis by Manly Wade Wellman
  • The Man Who Sold Rope To The Gnoles by Margaret St. Clair
  • Pit of Wings by Ramsey Campbell
  • Black God’s Kiss by C. L. Moore
  • The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth by Lord Dunsany
Key To Secret Passage
  • Sword Of Dragonus by Frank Brunner
  • Afterword by Ann VanderMeer
  • Notes On The Stories
  • Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading
  • Acknowledgements