I noticed that back in 1e, Les Misérables, Lord of the Flies, the Fall of the House of Usher, and fantasy-adjacent Macbeth were on the inspiring reading list.
While some of them initially seemed like curious choices, I definitely found that they helped me expand my writing style away from more typical fantasy narratives in my 2e campaign.
And considering how 2e has in general arguably an even more eclectic series of influences, I’ve been thinking about what other non fantasy works I should read to get into the headspace for writing in the setting?
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That's a fairly broad question for which there are hundreds and thousands of answers. Golarion is one of those worlds that tends to contain just about any sort of setting that you could want. If it's alright, I'd like to see if we could narrow down the scope of the question.
What sorts of stories do you like to tell as a GM/player? Do you prefer to get really gritty and base a lot of your adventures around events that could plausibly happen in the real world? Do you prefer a more outlandish and fantastical story with its own set of internal rules and laws? Also, what sorts of stories have inspired you in the past or are you drawn to?
As a quick recommend for "general fantasy storytelling" without being in the genre of fantasy, I think "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a fantastic read and is a good well to tell a story of fantastical wonder that is grounded in reality while being wildly untethered from it.
It sounds like you're trying to be inspired for GM purposes, right? I think there are probably different materials you'd want for player characters.
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I think it can also depend on which part of the setting you want to focus on. If you want to do a lot with the Pathfinder Society, lost world stories and adventure novels are the way to go. Weird West for Alkenstar, gothic horror for Ustalav, cosmic horror and sci-fi horror for the Dominion of the Black.
It sounds like you're trying to be inspired for GM purposes, right? I think there are probably different materials you'd want for player characters.
GMing, yes.
I think it can also depend on which part of the setting you want to focus on. If you want to do a lot with the Pathfinder Society, lost world stories and adventure novels are the way to go. Weird West for Alkenstar, gothic horror for Ustalav, cosmic horror and sci-fi horror for the Dominion of the Black.
I’m thinking of using the Society in the immediate term, likely in Avistan or Casmarom; though ever since Guns and Gears I’ve been hoping to eventually run a Weird West style adventure too, yeah.
That's a fairly broad question for which there are hundreds and thousands of answers. Golarion is one of those worlds that tends to contain just about any sort of setting that you could want. If it's alright, I'd like to see if we could narrow down the scope of the question.
What sorts of stories do you like to tell as a GM/player? Do you prefer to get really gritty and base a lot of your adventures around events that could plausibly happen in the real world? Do you prefer a more outlandish and fantastical story with its own set of internal rules and laws? Also, what sorts of stories have inspired you in the past or are you drawn to?
As a quick recommend for "general fantasy storytelling" without being in the genre of fantasy, I think "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a fantastic read and is a good well to tell a story of fantastical wonder that is grounded in reality while being wildly untethered from it.
I’ll look into that, thanks!
Well, I’m honestly comfortable with a bit of anything to tell the truth. I’m currently running a daemon/undead heavy dark fantasy campaign, but I’ve enjoyed previously running a highjinks and whimsy heavy “spies, swashbuckling, and wizards” adventure.
Depends on what me and my players are in the mood for.
As for the past, definitely the ones I mentioned reading from the 1e list, as well as more typical fantasy and science fiction influences (ASOIF, Tolkien, Saga, The Witcher, the Order of the Stick, Dragon Age, Dracula, The Dark Tower, the Stand, Dune, and so on and so on.
It was the unexpected surprise of Lord of Flies, Les Miserables, etc being so detached from fantasy, yet proving to be very inspiring for that medium nonetheless that made me write this post.
So I guess I’m asking from the point of view of a “buyer” who doesn’t know what they’re actually looking for.
All I know is that it’s *very* easy to search for good genre books (fantasy, horror, science fiction), but a whole other to search for “great books that aren’t genre fare, yet almost inexplicably leave you with good ideas for running a fantasy tabletop game”
Sorry, that’s uh, not very helpful.
It's definitely a tough one, but I'm alright with turning this into a "Paizo Boards Book Club" since I have a stack of books waiting for me to devour that I will never find the time for. There is a bit of a "depend how deeply you read into things" when it comes to recommendations, because I have found myself getting inspired from some of the strangest places. Anyway, here are a few more, and I'll try and keep away from super broadly well known books, but not sure how well I can pull that off.
Pretty much anything by Haruki Murakami is going to tickle the part of your brain when it comes to bizarre, surreal worldbuilding. The much beloved 1Q84 (the pun of this title doesn't work so well in English) is a tale of alternate worlds, murder-for-hire, loss, and loneliness. Big recommend, but it's also a massive novel. If you still want some strangeness without the huge commitment of the novel, I like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World which is really just an amazing romp into modern fantasy. Truly, you can't go wrong with Murakami.
At work, but I may have more later! Non-Murakami books. Promise.
EDIT: Before the window closes. In the realm of comics, there's "The Djinn by 深海巨狗" which can be hard to find a translation of. I'd provide that, but not sure what's a-okay to link to from time to time. A comic of a roman soldier meeting a djinn and the nature of desire and love. Perhaps quite fantasy, but still a recommend from me.
It's definitely a tough one, but I'm alright with turning this into a "Paizo Boards Book Club" since I have a stack of books waiting for me to devour that I will never find the time for. There is a bit of a "depend how deeply you read into things" when it comes to recommendations, because I have found myself getting inspired from some of the strangest places. Anyway, here are a few more, and I'll try and keep away from super broadly well known books, but not sure how well I can pull that off.
Pretty much anything by Haruki Murakami is going to tickle the part of your brain when it comes to bizarre, surreal worldbuilding. The much beloved 1Q84 (the pun of this title doesn't work so well in English) is a tale of alternate worlds, murder-for-hire, loss, and loneliness. Big recommend, but it's also a massive novel. If you still want some strangeness without the huge commitment of the novel, I like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World which is really just an amazing romp into modern fantasy. Truly, you can't go wrong with Murakami.
At work, but I may have more later! Non-Murakami books. Promise.
Haha, seems like you’re a pretty big fan!
I haven’t heard of Murakami before, and will be looking into those, thanks!I’ve noticed that the most obvious inspirations are stories that are, essentially, fantasy in tone if not substance.
Spies, detectives, gunslingers, even outside of fantasy tend to evoke worlds and characters alien to our everyday lives, big emotions, and frequently exaggerate the historical settings to make them more romanticized (or horrifying, depending on the work).
But on the other hand (as you said), subtext opens up a whole new world of unexpected inspiration.
That was kind of the exact thought I had regarding Lord of the Flies- at least Les Miserables has that Galt connection, but I didn’t expect the famous book about kids isolated on a beach to make me think about what I did.
Anyways, feel free to include some famous works too.
I’ll admit I wasn’t much of a reader during high school/my freshman year (video games and comics were more my thing at the time), so it’s only now that I’m rediscovering my childhood love of paper and pages.
As an unfortunate consequence, I’m fairly certain that there are some pretty big works that would fail to cross my mind.
IIRC Algernon Blackwood was mentioned by James Jacobs as worthy reading.
Ah yes, two of his works made it onto the 1e inspiring reading that I mentioned. “The Wendigo”, and “The Willows”.