#ttrpg

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N. Robin Crossby: Hârnworld: a real fantasy world (1990, Columbia Games) No rating

I love highly detailed #ttrpg settings, so #HarnWorld was definitely a setting of interest to me. Though ultimately, I neither played in it nor ran a game in it - while I've participated in my share of "gritty" games, we like to balance the grittiness with a fair share of humor, as in #WFRP . HarnWorld, on the other hand, is a setting that is both gritty and plays it straight.

Furthermore, the modules were and still are fairly pricey when compared to other products of comparable complexity, which kept me from investing as much money in this game line as I have in some others.

Jeff Grubb: Land of Fate (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, Al-Qadim, Boxed Set) (Hardcover, TSR) No rating

Of all the #DnD expansions to the #ForgottenRealms during TSR's "let's slap real world cultures into this world", al-Qadim was the best by far.

Part of the reason was that the player characters were assumed to be locals by default, instead of portraying the region as something to be "conquered" by player characters from the Heartlands of Faerun. #ttrpg

Wilfried Liessmann: Historischer Bergbau Im Harz (German language, 2010, Springer London, Limited) No rating

Die Geschichte des Bergbaus, das Leben der Bergleute, der Wandel der Harzer Industrielandschaft und die …

Historical mining has a lot of fascinating complexities which are mostly ignored in fantasy #ttrpg (definitely including #dnd ) - which I think is a shame, since there's so much cool stuff out there.

Take water - you need to get it out of the mines, but on the other hand you also need lots of water to power the pumps that accomplish this feat - as I've learned during my recent vacations to the Harz mountains.

Oh, and if you really want to make your players hate you, read up on the invention of the Man Engine... 😁

Heinz Schomann: Kulturhistorischer Wanderführer Bayern - Nördlich der Donau (1971, Pawlak) No rating

I have a tendency to hoard obscure travel guides I find in public bookshelves ("Little Free Libraries" and the like) - not only because I am interested in the regions in question, but also because I want to use them as inspiration for #ttrpg #worldbuilding .

Of course, this would require that I actually read them instead of just hoarding them...

Michael Ende: Die unendliche Geschichte (German language) 5 stars

The Neverending Story (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael …

"The Neverending Story" is one of the best works of children's literature I know - and I do mean literature in the most profound way. I mean, one of its central themes is the Thelema (of Aleister Crowley) fame, and there's a lot more depth than what you'd find in, say, the average Harry Potter book.

It also has plenty of inspiration for fantastic #ttrpg scenery. But do me a favor and read the book - ignore the rather disappointing movies.

Douglas Niles: Ironhelm (Paperback, Wizards of the Coast) No rating

In a corner of the world far removed from the known Forgotten Realms stands the …

The Maztica #dnd setting had so much cringe.

I mean, the concept of a D&D (or fantasy #ttrpg in general) setting based on Mesoamerican cultures is cool as hell. But I suppose TSR ca. 1990s was neither the right time nor the right place nor the right people to write it.