Anyone have any good inspirational reading for this upcoming seagoing campaign?
Besides getting yourselves a copy of Stormwrack, I recommend the following, at the risk of being obvious:
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
C.S. Forrester's Hornblower series
Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series
Morgan Llewelyn, Grania
Patrick O'Brien's huge series, one of which was inspiration for the recent movie Master and Commander, has a big following, but I haven't read any yet, so I can't give a personal recommendation.
For those of you with more serious literary tastes, you might find the dark, brooding work of Joseph Conrad, especially "the Heart of Darkness" to be inspirational.
Melville's "Moby-Dick" falls into the same category, but if you want lighter Melville reading, try Typee and Omoo, two autobiographical novels inspired by Melville's sojourn as a deserter in Polynesia.
Historical or biographical works on Columbus, Magellan, Drake, and da Gama would of course be worthwhile.
Master & Commander, Patrick O'Brien. (The movie is pretty good as well)
Anyone have any good inspirational reading for this upcoming seagoing campaign?
The Odyssey
The Aeneid1,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Moby Dick
There are a few nautical series I can't think of right now, but part of the allure of Pirates! are the cannons and pistols, which doesn't quite translate into ballistae and crossbows. =)
If I run this AP (who am I kidding? I just need a group...), I plan on having the first session down on the Scioto River. We have a full-scale replica of the Santa Maria there. It makes for some interesting verisimillitude...
A few other titles that might befit the mood of being someplace when you would rather be elsewhere:
The Land that Time Forgot (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
Jurrasic Park (Michael Crichton)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
A few other titles that might befit the mood of being someplace when you would rather be elsewhere:
The Land that Time Forgot (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
Jurrasic Park (Michael Crichton)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
I was going to mention the first two, but completely left them off my list! :)
The Bounty is a good option as well. Heck, the John Carter of Mars series is excellent for giving an alien feel - I can very much see parts of the Abyss (especially Demogorgon's layer) as very Barsoom-like.
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3065749&postcount=32
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3066140&postcount=44
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Anybody read On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers? I haven't, but they're publishing and republishing a lot of his stuff right now; I'm hoping it gets its turn.
I also have an old (1970's--ancient history...) paperback of Zothique stories by Clark Ashton Smith I scored at a used book store. I'm gonna reread that when I find it in my piles of books.
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It's not exactly inprirational reading per se, but I highly recommend you seek out and listen to "Barrett's Privateers," off of the late Stan Roger's album, "Fogarty's Cove."
It's a classic. Years ago, when my friends and I went white-water rafting on the Ottawa River, everyone on our boat would sing out that tune as we pulled up alongside other rafts, boarded them, and stole their bailing buckets.
I can still hear their terrified screams, "Oh my God!! They've got an attack song!!!"
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Master & Commander, Patrick O'Brien. (The movie is pretty good as well)
I second, third, fourth and fifth this. O'Brien is both Master and Commander. His mastery of period english will daunt you at first, then utterly immerse you in his world. I also highly recommend the various companions you can find on the series.
Peruhain, if you liked Hornblower, you will not be able to help falling in love with Aubrey and Maturin.
Yellowbeard . . . and the begining of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life . . . wait, those are movies . . . okay . . . for inspirational reading turn on the subtitles.
A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian
This explains all the seafaring jargon used in the books. Some will be too modern for D&D, but there should be useful terminology in it.
Believe it or not, but the TNT-TV version of "Treasure Island" (1990) starring Charlton Heston and a teen-age Christian Bale is an excellent adaption. The film also features the late Oliver Reed, Julian Glover, Christopher Lee, Clive Wood and Pete Postlethwaite.
The ship used was the Bounty from the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty. The shipboard scenes are fantastic. And for a pirate movie fight, there's nothing like the assault Silver leads on the blockhouse.
Whenever I get ready to DM a swashbuckling themed adventure, I always pull that tape out and watch it for inspiration.
Books: "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk" by Rafael Sabatini. Also the movies.
For a little silliness, check out film versions of "The Pirates of Penzance." Including "The Pirate Movie," a goofy '80s take incorporating the silliest swordfight in history.
I can sing and dance, I can sing and dance, I'm a pirate from Penzance...
*looks around*
What?!?!
I would highly recommend Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for inspiration. I think this book perfectly captures the descent into savagery and madness that I would want to convey as the PCs leave the civilized lands behind and venture into the depths of the jungles. The closer they get to Demogorgon, the further they get from humanity...
"Heart of Darkness" feels indeed right for Savage Tide.
In terms of Movies, one could think of "Aguirre, the wrath of God" (by W. Herzog with Klaus Kinski). A very nice depiction of an expedition in the wilderness gone bad.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068182/
Or, more recently, there would be "28 days later" by Danny Boyle (director of Trainspotting). A creepy movie showing the fight for survival of the last sane people in the UK after some virus has sent the whole country into rampage.
Sounds fitting in view of what James has posted about Demogorgon's pearls exploding in cities and sending waves of feral-ness in the inhabitants.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/
Bocklin
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Nobody mentionned "the lost world" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, about a remote place in southern America where dinosaurs and human-apes have survived...
About movies taking place on sea with pirates, I would recommend "Ann of the indies" (Jacques Tourneur), "Reap the wild wind" (Cecil B. DeMille, event if it's set in 1840 with the beginning of steamboats), "the crimson pirate" (Robert Siodmak), "the spanish main" (Frank Borzage), and the movies already mentionned, "the sea hawk" and "Captain Blood" (both by Michael Curtiz ; I prefer the 1st one).
And since there is a second French speaker on the thread now, I can't help but think of "Voyage au bout de la nuit" (Celine).
There is one lengthy part set in Africa, and it has a strong "Heart of Darkness" feeling and good fevered, wild scenes with a twisted feeling of savagery.
Bocklin
(note: the same savagery can be found again in the French people once the character goes back to Paris, so it's not really a question of racial prejudices, but more of illustrating how some form of universal human savagery pervades various societies)
Speaking of movies, both Pirates of the Caribbean, but especially Dead Man's Chest, should be able to provide some inspiration. Romero's Living Dead series is probably also good to watch.
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And since there is a second French speaker on the thread now, I can't help but think of "Voyage au bout de la nuit" (Celine).
I'm so sorry Bocklin, since I've never read "voyage au bout de la nuit".
My personal favorites are Guy de Maupassant, Roald Dahl and Graham Greene among others, alongside with lots of "european style" comics authors.
However, I have a real HUGE fondness for movies (from silent movies from Murnau, Fritz Lang, Pabst... to Soderbergh, Myazaki, Carpenter or Tim Burton, for exemple, through Michael Powell, Lubitsch, Eastwood, John Ford, Kurosawa...).
Sorry, I won't hijack this thread.
I think that most of the movies on which Ray harrihausen worked could also be an inspiration for "Savage Tide" (Jason & the argonauts, Sinbad trilogy, Clash of the titans..).
I think that most of the movies on which Ray harrihausen worked could also be an inspiration for "Savage Tide" (Jason & the argonauts, Sinbad trilogy, Clash of the titans..).
Agreed! Many happy memories with those films for me and they all have a great flavor for Savage Tide.
Elaine Cunningham's Starlight and Shadows series. If I remember correctly book 2 has a great ship to ship magic battle in it.
Can I recommend something - for people to watch James??
Rich
I can sing and dance, I can sing and dance, I'm a pirate from Penzance...
I am the very model of a modern major general.....
Elaine Cunningham's Starlight and Shadows series. If I remember correctly book 2 has a great ship to ship magic battle in it.
Not to mention that Skullport is definately a pirate haven.
I stumbled upon this site today and thought it fitting for this thread:
http://www.geocities.com/captcutlass/Film.html
Aye, it be a complete list of piratey movies for ye netflix lists, harr.
Another worthwhile find: David Cordingly, "Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates."
Just ran across it in the bookshelves of the friend I'm housesitting for. Along with some discussion on where our images of pirates come from, lots of great stories about pirates, both male and female, culled from the historical record.
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Of course, several of Robert E. Howard's Conan tales involve pirate and bucaneers (not to mention monsters).
There was a movie back in the late 70s or early 80s that had a submarine that discovered a hidden land where dinasours and (I think) primitive ape-men lived. I think it was called "The Land that Time Forgot.
The original King Kong and its (slightly idiotic) sequel Son of Kong might also be considered.
Any X-men story line involving the Savage Land.
'Wyvern' by A. A. Attanasio
It's a novel of piracy in the 17th century. It gives a lot of insight into the native cultures of the south pacific, including headhunters!
Some of the characters would be perfect for a seagoing campaign.
Creative Director
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Excellent thread, everyone! Particularly interesting in that when I created the author notes for the Savage Tide outline, I included several media/book sources for the authors to check out for additional inspiration; it's cool to see most of these mentioned above.
For the curious, the list I provided included the following movies and books.
Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Aliens
Die Hard
Fritz Leiber’s stories
H. P. Lovecraft stories
King Kong (1933 and 2005 versions; avoid the 1976 version At All Costs)
Lost
Pirates of the Caribbean
Predator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Saving Private Ryan
Seven
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Lost Continent (and the novel it’s based on: Uncharted Seas)
Excellent thread, everyone! Particularly interesting in that when I created the author notes for the Savage Tide outline, I included several media/book sources for the authors to check out for additional inspiration; it's cool to see most of these mentioned above.
For the curious, the list I provided included the following movies and books.
Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Aliens
Die Hard
Fritz Leiber’s stories
H. P. Lovecraft stories
King Kong (1933 and 2005 versions; avoid the 1976 version At All Costs)
Lost
Pirates of the Caribbean
Predator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Saving Private Ryan
Seven
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Lost Continent (and the novel it’s based on: Uncharted Seas)
That is sooo cool! I can't wait to land on the Isle of Dread only to be attacked by John McClane in a gorilla suit. Superb!
I am the very model of a modern major general.....I can sing and dance, I can sing and dance, I'm a pirate from Penzance...
Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.
Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well-to-do;
But I'll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King.
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!
ARRR! *raises a mug o' grog*
Of course, I'd rather be a Pirate Queen.
Here are some website links for those that are curious:
Cheng I Sao
A former prostitute who married a sea robber, she and her husband organized a confederation of pirates that eventually numbered over 50,000.
Kaizoku
"(Noshima Murakami Takeyoshi) is called the Noshima Lord and is exceedingly powerful; on these coasts as well as other provinces' coastal regions, all are afraid of him and so every year send him tribute. - Luis Frois"
Discusses a powerful Japanese family that specialized in "maritime wealth redistribution." Good read.
I've got a lot of books on naval history/piracy, just they're at home right now...
A bit off the beaten path, but ... China Mieville's The Scar. Most of the action takes place on the sea (with the occasional jaunt to an exotic locale), though in a bizarre fatalistic floating city. The writing is sensational, and the "weird fiction" blend of fantasy, pseudo-steampunk, and horror could spark a dozen new adventure paths!
I was just about to mention The Scar, actually.
And Seven, James? That bodes ill for the players. The poor, poor players...
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Creative Director
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I was just about to mention The Scar, actually.
And Seven, James? That bodes ill for the players. The poor, poor players...
China's one of my favorite authors who's books I haven't yet read. Actually, I'm about 1/2 way through Perdido Street Station. He's a powerhouse writer, that's for sure.
And I was wondering if Seven was gonna raise any eyebrows. Especially taken in context with the epic scale of movies like King Kong or Saving Private Ryan...
For the curious, the list I provided included the following movies and books.
Aguirre: The Wrath of God
(...)
Yeah! I had one right! What do I win? He? What do I win???
;-)
Bocklin
For the curious, the list I provided included the following movies and books.
(...)
What about Serenity?
A bit off the beaten path, but ... China Mieville's The Scar. Most of the action takes place on the sea (with the occasional jaunt to an exotic locale), though in a bizarre fatalistic floating city. The writing is sensational, and the "weird fiction" blend of fantasy, pseudo-steampunk, and horror could spark a dozen new adventure paths!
Funnily enough I included a quote from The Scar in my segment which I hope makes the final print, Mieville is an outstanding writer. Wouldn't it be fabulous to write an adventure set in New Crobuzon! If you don't mind me suggesting someone else - try Neil Gaiman, another wierdly wonderful (ahem, British) author.
Aliens heavily influenced my bit and I hope that isolation and terror will come across strongly in at least one big part of the adventure, mixed with a bite of Hammer Horror, a tentacle of Lovecraft and the merest suggestion of the Land that Time Forgot. Huzzah and up Doug McClure!
Rich
Rich, at the risk of a mini-hijack, it doesn't surprise me at all that you're a Mieville fan. Certainly, when I was reading through The Styes, I was reminded of New Crobuzon. (Wasn't Dragon advertising a campaign write-up of New Crobuzon several months back? Whatever happened to that?)
I'm a PhD English literature student (as if that makes me some great arbiter of taste, but whatever), and I stand firm in my belief that Mieville is one of our great writers at the turn of the millenium, genre writer or no.
Gaiman (admittedly, of his novels I've only read Neverwhere) seems better suited to the graphic novel form. That said, his Mr. Punch collaboration is probably the single greatest comic book I've ever read.
Cheers, and happy reading all!
Glad to hear that the English Ph.D. students agree with the History Ph.D. students that great literature doesn't have to be "non-genre."
In the vane of film stuff to watch, it's been a long time, but I think I'm going to want to re-watch Jason and the Argonauts and whatever of the Sindbad series I can get my hands on. Not all of it is great stuff, as I recall, but might have some good tidbits in it. (If I can't find it on DVD, I'll just have to go back to the libe and get the infamous English translation of Arabian Nights that has more footnotes than text, just to indulge my scholarly whims).
And perhaps add China Mieville to my list of authors to explore.
In the vane of film stuff to watch, it's been a long time, but I think I'm going to want to re-watch Jason and the Argonauts and whatever of the Sinbad series I can get my hands on.
I charge thee, Peruhain of Brithondy, to go forth and find that collection of wondrous works that has been wrought by Harryhausen so that you may learn from its heady images and texts so that you may survive the coming Tide.
(Sorry, been in a bit of a creative swing as of late...Harryhausen's work has had much unconscious impact on a lot of the stuff I do.)
Thanks Lilith for the link to Harryhausen films package.
The original reference on Cheng I-sao is Dian Murray, Pirates of the China Coast, 1790-1810. An academic book, but lots of good info on piracy and pirate culture in the China Seas.
Another interesting Chinese pirate, and a much more historically important figure, is Zheng Chenggong (Cheng Ch'eng-kung), a.k.a. Coxinga. He was from a Fujian trading/pirate family, born to his father's Japanese concubine on the island of Hirado off the coast of Kyushu (a woman in every port and all that). After the Manchus conquered China in the 1640s, Zheng allied with elements loyal to the old Ming ruling family, and more or less spearheaded the resistance to the Manchus for two decades. When things got too hot for him on the mainland, he abandoned his offshore island bases and moved his navy to Taiwan--where he kicked out the Dutch colonists and set up his own kingdom. It took the Manchus another two decades to dislodge his heirs from Taiwan, and they did so only by capturing the father of one of the pirate leaders (IIRC) and forcing him to turn on the Zhengs. Zheng Chenggong probably had the largest pirate fleet in history (much bigger than Cheng I-sao's), and is really responsible for the Chinese colonizing Taiwan. The Manchus had so much trouble with him that they evacuated everyone within 50 miles of the coast in the areas where he operated, to cut him off from his source of supplies. There is a newly published book out about him by Jonathan Clements, "Coxinga: The Pirate King of the Ming Dynasty." (I haven't read it yet).
Another very important figure in Chinese maritime history that people might find inspiring for a fantasy campaign is Zheng He (Cheng Ho, pronounced "Jung Huh"). He was a Muslim eunuch in the service of the third Ming emperor, Yongle, who led a huge "treasure fleet" on seven voyages, exploring, attacking pirates, intervening in local politics, and collecting tribute from various states along the coasts of the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca and brought giraffes back from Africa (passing them off as <i>qilin</i>, a celestial unicorn-like creature whose appearance was supposed to be a very auspicious omen. (This creature was in the 1E Monster Manual under "Kirin" and appears on Japanese beer-bottles of the eponymous brand.)) He made it at least as far as Sofala in present-day Mozambique, but many of the records of the voyages were later destroyed by Confucian officials who wanted to keep future emperors from wasting money on such an expensive project of world naval domination. Chinese historians sometimes speculate on the big "what if" question--if the Confucians hadn't taken over Ming foreign policy, the Portuguese, who made it to these waters only seventy years after Zheng He's last voyage, might have been sent home with their tails between their legs, and world history might have been rather different. Read Louise Leviathes "When China Ruled the Seas" (which makes a few exaggerated claims about earlier Chinese seafaring exploits, but is on the whole fairly well-researched and accurate). If you read Gavin Menzies' "1421, the Year China Discovered America" do so with salt-shaker handy--most of his claims about Zheng He's exploits (beyond what I summarized above) are what my high school English teacher would have called "Blatant Speculation"--i.e. supported with little reliable evidence and lots of misinterpreted evidence. On the whole I wouldn't recommend the book, because Leviathes provides better background on Zheng He and Chinese seafaring technology, and doesn't stray so far from the evidence on where Zheng He went.
This may seem wierd, but I find a great inspiration in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140258795/qid=1149866106/sr=2-1/ref =pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5284381-4593638?s=books&v=glance&n=283155"> Longitude</a>. It really delves into the hardships of shipborad life, and why it was so dang dangerous.