Source Material: What’s up with all the books?

Reading through Moldvay’s and Davis’ “Inspirational Source Material”

Since I started publishing B/X Bandits at the beginning of this year, I’ve been posting D&D-specific reviews of books listed in the “Inspirational Source Material” section of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook, edited by Tom Moldvay.

In the first four months of 2022, I covered Michael Moorcock’s Swords Trilogy:

• The Knight of the Swords

• The Queen of the Swords

• The King of the Swords

In April, I also discussed David Macaulay’s Castle.

Beginning in May, I switched to the planetary romances of Edgar Rice Burroughs:

• A Princess of Mars

• The Gods of Mars

• The Warlord of Mars (review upcoming)

I’m currently reading Bulfinch’s Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch, and I plan to finish the year reviewing three volumes of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith:

• Xiccarph

• Lost Worlds

• Genius Loci

In 2023, I expect to tackle another dozen works from “Inspirational Source Material”.

What’s the point of all this?

As I’ve written elsewhere, early versions of D&D are very “bookish”. Growing up, my friends who played all seemed to be avid readers of fantasy, science fiction, horror, or some combination. We took up the game to experience something like our favorite literary adventures first-hand, and the more we read, the more it enhanced our gaming experience. It still does!

When I chose to launch B/X Bandits, I also decided to pursue a long-time goal—to read through all the fantasy and non-fiction works from what, in fairness, should be known as Moldvay’s and Davis’ “Inspirational Source Material.” The Basic rules include the following credit (p. B61):

“SPECIAL THANKS TO: Barbara Davis, Children's Librarian at the Lake Geneva Public Library for compiling part of our bibliography.”

I don’t know anything about Barbara Davis, beyond what’s in the sentence above, but if Moldvay considers her contribution worthy of recognition, I want to honor it. Certainly, the “young adult” sections of “Inspirational Source Material” (see below) help make the list a thorough overview of the relevant literature.

Gary Gygax’s “Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading“, from the original Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG, p. 224), receives many well deserved accolades, but Moldvay’s and Davis’ “Inspirational Source Material” surpasses it in nearly every way.

First, with 63 listed authors, it’s more than twice as long as the DMG’s list, which contains 28.

Second, the Moldvay/Davis list incorporates much of “Appendix N”—24 out of Gygax’s 28 authors also appear in Moldvay/Davis.

Finally, Moldvay/Davis is more comprehensive, including specific sections for young adult fantasy and non-fiction, as well as adult fantasy, short story collections, and non-fiction.

The DMG—nearly four times larger than the Basic rules—gives “Appendix N” slightly less than half a page. Moldvay, who had to fit an entire introductory game into only 64 pages, still devotes an entire page to source material. That’s how important it is to him.

I’m not advocating anyone ignore “Appendix N.” I’m suggesting D&D players—especially B/X players—also read the additional, more varied, works in Moldvay’s and Davis’ “Inspirational Source Material”.

Familiarity with the sword & sorcery fiction behind the game, and the real-world historical background which informs many of these stories, can make your characters, your worlds, and your games, deeper, more engaging, more immersive, and more satisfying. The rules are just the beginning. Dive into the realms of imagination that gave us Dungeons & Dragons in the first place! :)