Returning To My Gaming Roots

ray-of-light-526506_1280Those of you have been reading this blog for any length of time know of my desire to return to active gaming. I will admit it, the challenge is not an easy one as having the desire is just the start, you have to then act on that desire.

For me, that’s starting with a return to my gaming roots. I’m not talking about going back to playing the Basic Rules or even going back to 1st Edition (and yes, I do have all my books still). I’m talking about going back to what I enjoyed in my youth and where I found my inspiration for my games, I’m talking about returning to those items that just 10 years ago (give or take) helped drive the Realms of Rylon campaign (and likely contributed to its downfall).

In my younger days I spent a lot of time reading and devoured more books than I care to admit to. Below are the ones that jump to mind first and are far from my complete collection (I have a hard time letting go of books). These are the ones I’m going to dust off and enjoy again and which I hope will help to get the juices flowing again.

  • The Hobbit & Lord of The Rings – I don’t think I need to say anything about these books, they set the standard.
  • Chronicles of Amber – I own the entire set, picked up the original series when I was the member of the Sci-Fi Bookclub (anyone remember those?) and then collected the last five books as they came out. I remember the series and borrowed heavily from the main character, Corwin, on more than one occasion.
  • Incarnations of Immortality – I’ve only read the first seven (haven’t picked up #8, not sure if I will) and while the memory of them is still a bit sketchy I fondly remember the first one, On A Pale Horse. The main character is Death and while the description doesn’t match I always seem to tie this book to the movie Pale Rider.
  • Dragonriders of Pern – Only read the first series and looking forward to returning to them.
  • The Adept Series – this is an series that’s set in modern day Scotland and does a nice job of adding fantasy and magic to the setting.
  • The Riftwar Cycle – I read a lot of the books in this series but for some reason The Empire Trilogy sticks out in my mind – probably due to the Far East flavor it has.
  • The Coldfire Trilogy – An interesting series where the environment and inhabitants impact each other. It’s set on a far off world and does a really good job of sucking you in.
  • The Belgariad – The first series I read by David Eddings. I remember enjoying the series and reading through them at a fairly rapid pace.

I know that there are those out there who prefer movies for inspiration and Johnn Four put together this list RPG Movies for Game Masters over at RoleplayingTips if you lean that way.

For me though, reading is by far the better option as it forces you to draw the scene yourself. You get to fill in the details that, when watching a movie, are filled in for you by the camera. I wrote about the need to read a few years back in my open a book post, which on reading again includes a number of the series I mention here (looks like I need to rotate the books on the shelf).

So that’s my starting point and I welcome suggestions of other books/series to pick up as well. Do you have a favorite I should add to the list?

May your dice roll well!