MrChips wrote:
>
>
>
> I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
> read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
> what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
> of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
> the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
> But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
> Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
>
> And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
> wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
> here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
> are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
> the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>
> MrChips - Sonoma [OGD]
> Stanley - LS [SBR]
>
>
>
>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
>of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
>the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
>But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
>Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
Not sure about Naomi, but Drizzt comes from a mediocre series of AD&D
novels set in the Forgotten Realms world, written by R.A. Salvatore.
They're about a dark elf named Drizzt do'Urden who decides being evil
isn't all it's cracked up to be and fights for good instead. Pretty
weak fare.
>
>And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
>wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
>here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
>are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
>the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>
Until recently I'd say that Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is
the best current fantasy, but he's starting to slog a bit....eight
books into the series with no end in sight. It's the source of endless
UO names, though...Rand'al'Thor, Perrin, Mat Cauthon, Lanfear, Mazrim
Taim and many others are all from those books. You could fill an
entire shard with characters named Rand'al'Thor.
Though not exactly along the same fantasy lines as Lord of the
Rings and other such series, I find great enjoyment in the Dragonriders
of Pern series of books authored by Anne McCaffrey. The society in her
books is set in a 'semi-medieval' setting. The UO names this series of
books inspires (all of which I've seen in game) includes Lessa, F'lar,
F'nor, Robinton, Jax, Mnementh, Ramoth, and Canth. The first three are
dragonriders, the middle is a bard, and the last three, dragons.
I also find a lot of references to Terry Pratchett's Discworld
series. Inspirations from these books include characters named Rincewind
and at least two guilds that I know of named The Unseen University. The
Discworld series is a comedic medieval series. I've read one of them and
I absolutely loved it! I'd love to get my hand on more but so far I've
not been able to track any copies down.
> MrChips - Sonoma [OGD]
> Stanley - LS [SBR]
-Magnus (Ocllo,Catskills)
Semi-roleplayin' Grandmaster Tank Mage who is always on the lookout for
Discworld books
-Bloom, Peasant, Atlantic, currently about to go dig his Tolkien books
out of storage to bone up for Middle Earth Online.
On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 00:43:30 GMT, ca...@best.com (MrChips) wrote:
>
>
>
>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
>of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
>the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
>But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
>Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
>
>And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
>wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
>here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
>are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
>the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>
>
>
>MrChips - Sonoma [OGD]
>Stanley - LS [SBR]
--
"Happiness doesn't come from having things, but from being part of things".
- Chris in the Morning - KBHR Radio - Cicely, Alaska
= ps - he's a tough bugger- 6 xp capped warrior archers got routed numerous
times before I got him on a lucky break. His +5 (yes FIVE) scimitar "defender"
also gives you +2 ar and he has a nifty +4 mithral chain set thats a really cool
blue colour.....(Damn - I forgot to loot his house.....=P )
Jaew/Iridium
bizbee wrote:
>
> Drizzt is in Baldur's Gate? Cool... I'm not too far into it yet--is he
> an interactive character or just another hunt-n-fight?
>I haven't read a fantasy book for some time, but when you're talking
>fantasy, you have to talk Tolkien.
I have not read any fantasy at all for a few years, but I would agree
that Tolkien is in another league from most of the pulp fantasy fare
available. I also used to read Ursula Le Guin (Earthsea Trilogy).
My character's name came from fiction, but not fantasy fiction.
Billy Pilgrim
(Europa)
Matt
Don't bother replying by e-mail. No human eyes will see it.
Umm My Europa Character is called Adunaphel ... a name that would strike
fear in all but Gandalf but never mentioned anywhere in LoTR .. youd have to
look further back in middle earth history to find it ..
Its a she, shes Numenorean, a queen and a bard! anyone know who she is??
Zerran
ClanUK
Adunaphel - Europa
Hell, IMHO there isn't much out there as far as worth-while fantasy-wise
besides Tolkien. Perhaps I'm just biased. I remember reading The
Hobbit as a young kid, and practicly grew up with the series.
Everything else I read in the fantasy genre has left me disapointed.
I notice a great deal of people named after a terrible line of books
based of TSRs game, D+D. (I know many people are fond of Dragonlance. I
just really can't stand that fluff. Then again, I really enjoy Tom
Clancy as my "guilty pleasure" so it's a matter of personal taste)
>
> And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
> wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
> here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
> are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
> the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
Well, Tolkien is the best, as I mentioned. Shakespere of course wrote
some really great fantasy. The 1999 Tax Code is either a great work of
fantasy or a terrible horor novel, I'm not sure which. :)
One authour I would recomend (whose works lean more twoard historical
fiction with strong elements of fantasy) would be Morgan Llewelyn (sp?)
who writes works based upon famous Irish mythological cycles.
Then again, I don't care much for the genre so......
Great Bob
SBR
> > I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
> > read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
> > what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
> > of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
> > the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
> > But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
> > Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
> >
> > And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
> > wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
> > here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
> > are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
> > the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
> >
Just got as far as Covenant gets aided by a young girl who he then
proceeds to rape.
I'll ack that it is well written, & people have told me it gets better
if you can get past his early escapades, but I just got the feeling
there was nothing this guy was going to do where I wouldn't be rooting
for the protagonist.
>Just got as far as Covenant gets aided by a young girl who he then
>proceeds to rape.
That was "Lord Foul's Bane". White Gold Wielder is the third book, in
which he finally stops moaning and groaning and starts kicking butt.
>I'll ack that it is well written, & people have told me it gets better
>if you can get past his early escapades, but I just got the feeling
>there was nothing this guy was going to do where I wouldn't be rooting
>for the protagonist.
So root for the protagonist. ;-)
--
Dundee of Lake Superior - SkeptAck AT antisocial DOT com
The Town of Skara Brae: http://members.xoom.com/skara/
UO related stuff: http://dundee.uong.com
>On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 08:16:04 -0800, Richard Cortese
><rico...@netmagic.net> wrote:
>
>>Just got as far as Covenant gets aided by a young girl who he then
>>proceeds to rape.
>
>That was "Lord Foul's Bane". White Gold Wielder is the third book, in
>which he finally stops moaning and groaning and starts kicking butt.
Third book in the second series, actually. I think you mean "The Power
that Preserves", which is when he kicks butt the first time around.
Hmm.... I'm not sure I've seen any names from that yet. *grin*
>
>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>what are some of these masterpieces??
Most of the names are from books that are far from masterpieces:
Dragonlance, David Eddings, Robert Jordan (call me a heretic, but I
find the series overly lengthy, rich in detail but slow in pace, and
faltering from its original thematic underpinnings).
> If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
>the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
Contemporary fantasy? Charles deLint. Neil Gaiman--"Stardust" is just
out, be sure to get the illustrated version (mmm, Charles Vess). John
Crowley's "Little, Big." Robert Holdstock. I like Pamela Dean. In "fat
fantasy" aka epic trilogies stuff, Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and
Thorn" trilogy cited in this thread started exactly the same time as
Jordan's series did, except he actually finished the damn thing. Robin
Hobb aka Megan Lindholm's "Assassin" trilogy has much to recommend it.
J. V. Jones had a fun trilogy starting with "Baker's Apprentice" that
captured much of the feel of fat fantasy while having lots of food,
sadism, and sly humor in it. Her "Barbed Coil" is also quite good.
There's much interesting stuff being done by lesser-known writers.
"Shapechanger's Wife." "Swanwick's one about the Dragon's Daughter...
I'd have to browse thru my (very large) SF&F library...
-Raph Koster
Lead Designer, Ultima Online
>What about the "White Gold Wielder" and continues with "The One Tree" and
>the Thomas Covenant series from Donaldson.
Wasn't the great legendary figure in that one called Kevin.
The transition between worlds thing from that series fits well with
UO.
Billy Pilgrim
[Europa]
Poor old Kevin Landwaster, who destroyed the world in order to save
it. Come to think of it, that would make a decent UO name right there.
Today I saw Jeana Jamison. For those of you who dont know, she is that hot
porn star who makes appearences on Howard Stern from time to time. I just
kinda thought that was funny. Unfortuanatly, she didn't put on a show for
me. *shrugs*
Ive seen Haplo and Paithen from the Death Gate series. (weis and hickman).
One thing that strikes me as kinda odd is the lack of comic book names. I
remember Diablo was full of Wolverines and the like. There is also a lack
of names of actors, musicians, and other celebrities. I know they are out
there (hell, i named one in this post), but there just doesn't seem to be as
many as I'm used to seeing in other online gaming forums.
For what its worth, my name "Chris" is actually adapted from my real name of
Christopher which was given to me by my parents. the name of "Christos" is
greek for "the chosen one" or "messiah", although I didn't know that when i
first used it 6 or 7 years ago.
Chris Shadowborn
Diplomat of DarkStar
*Tim stands up and starts clapping*
> > If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
> >the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>
> Contemporary fantasy? Charles deLint. Neil Gaiman--"Stardust" is just
> out, be sure to get the illustrated version (mmm, Charles Vess). John
> Crowley's "Little, Big." Robert Holdstock. I like Pamela Dean. In "fat
> fantasy" aka epic trilogies stuff, Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and
> Thorn" trilogy cited in this thread started exactly the same time as
> Jordan's series did, except he actually finished the damn thing. Robin
> Hobb aka Megan Lindholm's "Assassin" trilogy has much to recommend it.
> J. V. Jones had a fun trilogy starting with "Baker's Apprentice" that
> captured much of the feel of fat fantasy while having lots of food,
> sadism, and sly humor in it. Her "Barbed Coil" is also quite good.
> There's much interesting stuff being done by lesser-known writers.
> "Shapechanger's Wife." "Swanwick's one about the Dragon's Daughter...
> I'd have to browse thru my (very large) SF&F library...
>
> -Raph Koster
> Lead Designer, Ultima Online
What about Ogden the bar owner? I saw him running a tavern in Diab...
err, Britain just the other day... Any connection? :p
- Tim
>Just got as far as Covenant gets aided by a young girl who he then
>proceeds to rape.
>
>I'll ack that it is well written, & people have told me it gets better
>if you can get past his early escapades, but I just got the feeling
>there was nothing this guy was going to do where I wouldn't be rooting
>for the protagonist.
The first chapter was rough ... you would hardly be the first person
who gave up after getting that far.
There's nothing quite so virulent the rest of the way ... but he's
always the anti-Hero, and everything he does (or refuses to do) comes
consistently from his experiences.
For instance the rape occured, because the man had Parkinson's disease
(leprocy). He had lost all feeling, and sex drive. But the "land"
started to cure him. He concidered his entrance in to the land to be
all some kind of delusion or a dream. And still did through nearly
the whole series ("The Unbeliever"). He survived in the "real world"
by understanding the limitations the disease placed on him. To believe
in the land would had been an act of suicide. And trust me, he never
lives the rape down.
Try a re-read on this series. Most fantasy is pure fluff, compared to
this. i.e. ME HERO ... ME GO KILL BAD THING.
btw, I've seen some characters from the book. Saltheart Foamfollower
for instance. Berek Halfhand. i.e. the heroic characters. Noone, but
noone wants to play TC himself. A Bloodguard guild would be cool,
though.
Corwin
The series deals with irony, hero worship, the consequences of power,
and the nature of evil ... like nothing else in fantasy I have read.
Corwin
<snip>
>btw, I've seen some characters from the book. Saltheart Foamfollower
>for instance. Berek Halfhand. i.e. the heroic characters. Noone, but
>noone wants to play TC himself. A Bloodguard guild would be cool,
>though.
>
>Corwin
I've seen one or two Thomas Covenants on Chesapeake.
BTW, pretty sure that leprosy is not the same thing as Parkinson's
disease.
I've seen both a Richard Rahl and a Darken Rahl (sp) on Lake Superior.
Thales aka Ranger Ifurita of the Skara Rangers
>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
>of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
>the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
>But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
>Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
>
>And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
>wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
>here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
>are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
>the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>
>MrChips - Sonoma [OGD]
>Stanley - LS [SBR]
I've used names from quite a few Fantasy sources, though I try not to
pick names people would recognize easily.
Fyndhal - an elf Lord from "The House Between Worlds" by Marion Zimmer
Bradley.
Resarkan - Named from the character Chak from the "Guardians of the
Flame" series by Joel Rosenberg
Dworkin - one of my more obvious names, from "The Chronicles of Amber"
by Roger Zelazny (one of the BEST SF/Fantasy writers -- the world lost
a great one when he died)
My Partner on Baja is Manwe Elduath, a character from Tolkien's
"Silmarillion"
>On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 00:43:30 GMT, ca...@best.com (MrChips) wrote:
>
>>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>>what are some of these masterpieces?? I recognize names from Lord
>>of the Rings, Dragonlance (even though i could only get 50 pages into
>>the first), the Amber series, Beowulf, Hitchiker's Guide (first book).
>>But from what work did that oh-so-common Drizzzt (or whatever) spawn?
>>Or Naomi d Msomething or other.
>>
>>And yes, I do recognize names based on classic fiction, star wars,
>>wwf, bands, greek mythology, prepubecent idiocy, etc., but my goal
>>here is to get a sense of what kinds of fantasy RPGers have read or
>>are reading. If you care to pass on what you consider the BEST of
>>the genre is (popular or not), I'd appreciate that too.
>>
>>MrChips - Sonoma [OGD]
>>Stanley - LS [SBR]
>
>I've used names from quite a few Fantasy sources, though I try not to
>pick names people would recognize easily.
>
If we expand into science fiction, I've seen the odd Paul Atreides.
Sci Fi is not my forte so I can't speak for other authors, though.
>BTW, pretty sure that leprosy is not the same thing as Parkinson's
>disease.
Hansen's disease.
>There's nothing quite so virulent the rest of the way ... but he's
>always the anti-Hero, and everything he does (or refuses to do) comes
>consistently from his experiences.
You gotta check out http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/sff.shtml if
you haven't. Ultra-condensed SF/F books.
The short version of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant:
Lord Mhoram: Thomas Covenant, you are the savior of The Land.
Thomas Covenant: Bite me.
(Thomas Covenant saves The Land.)
THE END
Hey ... well at least I remembered that it was "someone's" disease and
not some kind of new-fangled, noone wants to stand up and take
responsibilty for it, disease ... like AIDS.
Corwin
>ca...@best.com (MrChips) wrote:
>
>>
>
>
>>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>>what are some of these masterpieces??
>
>Most of the names are from books that are far from masterpieces:
>Dragonlance, David Eddings, Robert Jordan (call me a heretic, but I
>find the series overly lengthy, rich in detail but slow in pace, and
>faltering from its original thematic underpinnings).
I prefer to consider it a soap opera based in a fantasy setting..
long, torturously twisted subplots recycled in an endless loop...
Heh .. very funny this topic comes up, but in the library where I
work, we found a bunch of brochures which indicated that Hansens
Disease is not the same as biblical leprosy. Not that this elucidates
the point much..
On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 00:43:30 GMT, ca...@best.com (MrChips) wrote:
>
>
>
>I'm not a big fan of fantasy fiction, but I thought it might be fun to
>read some of the books that have spawned so many UO namesakes. So
>Heh .. very funny this topic comes up, but in the library where I
>work, we found a bunch of brochures which indicated that Hansens
>Disease is not the same as biblical leprosy. Not that this elucidates
>the point much..
Well, when you get medical info from a fantasy novel, whaddya expect?
;-P
Dundee * Lake Superior * SkeptAck AT antisocial DOT com
uo stuff: http://dundee.uong.com
The Town of Skara Brae on LS: http:/members.xoom.com/skara/
> Hey ... well at least I remembered that it was "someone's" disease and
> not some kind of new-fangled, noone wants to stand up and take
> responsibilty for it, disease ... like AIDS.
Allright, allright. I admit. It's all my fault.
Cancer too.
Now, I know some of you are going to be angry with me, but in my own
defense, I was bored and there was a chemistry set and some african
monkeys.
Now tell me..what would you have done?
People who live in glass houses shouldn't.....uh....
Well, why the hell are they libing in glass houses anyways!
Christ, the nerve of some people.
Anyways, I'm sorry for causing cancer, AIDS, and most CBS sitcoms.
Great Bob
Forgiven
> AIDS,
Oh I suppose...
> and most CBS sitcoms.
>
Now thats just going too damn far mister!
Kill us all you want, but tourture is just plain against the rules!
Davian
On Fri, 12 Feb 1999 07:06:11 GMT, Dun...@LakeSuperior.com (Dundee)
wrote:
I liked Eddings... the plot may have been predictable, the settings
sketchy... but oh god, the dialogue... I was laughing my ass off
several times while reading it. :P
Even if the second series was just the first recycled. ;)
_The Belgariad_ was about how Garion the farm boy grew into Belgarion
the king. _The Mallorean_ was about how Belgarion the king went on a
really really long trip with all of his friends.
Character growth is the secret to quality literature.
-- David
>Reece hardy wrote:
>>
>> I found Robert Jordans 'Wheel of Time' series good just for the detail and
>> magnitude. I thoroughly enjoyed David Eddings (all of them)
>
>I liked Eddings... the plot may have been predictable, the settings
>sketchy... but oh god, the dialogue... I was laughing my ass off
>several times while reading it. :P
>
>Even if the second series was just the first recycled. ;)
We missed one fairly big source of UO names, the Michael Moorcock
"Eternal Champion" books. I see Elrics, Corums and Hawkmoons when I
play, probably others I don't remember (it's been more than ten years
since I read them).
>
>
>Davian wrote:
>>
>> Reece hardy wrote:
>> >
>> > I found Robert Jordans 'Wheel of Time' series good just for the detail and
>> > magnitude. I thoroughly enjoyed David Eddings (all of them)
>>
>> I liked Eddings... the plot may have been predictable, the settings
>> sketchy... but oh god, the dialogue... I was laughing my ass off
>> several times while reading it. :P
>>
>> Even if the second series was just the first recycled. ;)
>
>_The Belgariad_ was about how Garion the farm boy grew into Belgarion
>the king. _The Mallorean_ was about how Belgarion the king went on a
>really really long trip with all of his friends.
>
>Character growth is the secret to quality literature.
>
>-- David
What I hated was how the Mallorean grew into more and more of a comic
story. By the end it felt like I was reading one of Piers Anthony's
Xanth books. It was pure fluff.
The Belgariad was about a quest to see that his prophecy won in the
confrontation of the child of light and child of dark. The Malloreon
was about a quest to see that his prophecy won in the confrontation of
the child of light and child of dark. Several of the encouters were
even recycled, just the names changed.
In the book, he even admits it in the story... with some BS about "time
cannot move forward until one prophecy reigns supreme, so events keep
repeating themselves"
> Character growth is the secret to quality literature.
The character did not really grow, merely the circumstances around him
changed. In the first he was a boy, in the second a king... but he
always acted the same way. The underlying character did not grow or
change, only changed situations.
Davian
> Most of the names are from books that are far from masterpieces:
> Dragonlance, David Eddings, Robert Jordan (call me a heretic, but I
> find the series overly lengthy, rich in detail but slow in pace, and
> faltering from its original thematic underpinnings).
Heretic!!!
Ok, lets get the fire going and burn him at the stake!! ;)
Oh wait... that would raise camping.... nevermind.... damn skill cap
:P~
>Heretic!!!
>
>Ok, lets get the fire going and burn him at the stake!! ;)
>
>Oh wait... that would raise camping.... nevermind.... damn skill cap
>:P~
ROFL!