The Arduin Grimoires...

[seawasp]

... an old but influential RPG supplement series, is the subject of today's Under the Influence post!

Comments

[kengr]

My copies of the original Arduin Trilogy are setting about 10 feet away, on top of my White Box D&D, with Chainmail, and the rest of the "original" books and supplements (all the pamphlets sized ones)

[kpreid.livejournal.com]

I was just reading Forerunner: The Second Venture today, and it occurred to me to wonder: do you count Andre Norton among your influences? Her universe* seems to have some of the flavor you've talked about for Zarathan, with deep history, uncounted wonders, and ancient relics that travelers may encounter. (Also wise and ancient saurians called Zacathans.)

* As far as I've noticed, she mostly wrote one universe, and particular stories may happen to be confined to one planet. I could be wrong.

[seawasp]

Only indirectly. I've read a couple of Norton books and I recall enjoying them, but I don't recall many details and certainly nothing that struck me the way those things I write about in "Under the Influence" posts did; for those, I focus on things whose influence is something I can look at and say "If I'd never encountered X, I'd never have become what I am.

Space Opera incorporated a number of things which I think came from Norton, and there were other secondary Nortonesque things I encountered, but not Ms. Norton directly.