While there are hundreds of stories and myths that inspire the D&D game, everybody remembers the beloved Appendix N that appeared in the 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide: Inspirational and Educational Reading. We all think of fantasy epics such as the Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia as the most direct and important influences on the D&D game, but as it turns out, Appendix N is dominated by stories of a different sort, the fantasy adventure yarns that filled the pages of the pulp magazines of the early 20th century. These are stories of brawling action or cosmic horror, lurid and sensational, and they’re part of the foundation of the tabletop RPG hobby.
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