The Literary Metagame: Real-life Books that evoke Zalanthas

[nauta]

I was doing a bit of history diving on Armageddon recently, and came across this old website from the mid-2000s: A recommended reading list for clans and races.

https://web.archive.org/web/20100802141536/http://www.armageddon.org:80/books/clanread.html

In that spirit, what are some books that inspired your character?  What are some books that help you visualize Zalanthas, the world as a whole?  A particular clan or area or race?  (I love the recommended reading for Mantis on that link.)

[MarshallDFX]

When I started playing I read Ursula K Le Guin left hand of darkness and always kind of visualized the differences between allanaki and tuluki societies in the same fashion

[Miradus]

Books, sometimes ... but music a lot more.

With a character from a book, he's already lived his story. A character roughly fleshed out from a song ... well ... I can go anywhere with that.

My current:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tN875A3Bj8

[azuriolinist]

I found the dark themes of the First Law series (all seven books) by Joe Abercrombie show a striking resemblance to Armageddon's own theme. There's plenty of betrayal, manipulation, and blackmailing throughout the series. The bittersweet ending could definitely have taken place in Zalanthas.

Plus, there are such a variety of characters in the series. Each and every one of them would fit so well in Zalanthas. I've probably taken more than a tiny bit of inspiration from some of the characters in the series.

[Delirium]

First Law is great. Also Mark Lawrence- the Thorns trilogy and the Red Queen's War trilogy. Both are solid, brutal. I almost don't want to share them because I absolutely steal stuff from them for Zalanthas.

[WarriorPoet]

Gentlemen Bastards.

Wutup.

[Delirium]

Hell yeah, though I'm STILL WAITING for the next book...

[650Booger]

I get lots of my roleplay personality ideas from books!
ironically, some of my favorite PCs have been derived from characters like Lucky Jack Aubrey from the Aubrey Maturin series of british naval fiction novels (think Master and Commander).  zalanthas could not be more different from the napoleonic era high seas, but I just love the way they talked back then.

[path]

The rinth reminds me of a mix of Neverwhere and Trainspotting.

The Atrium reminds me a little of Kushiel's Dart (the first part).

I second everything by Joe Abercrombie.

China Mieville and Catherynne Valente are two of my biggest inspirations, stylistically. I fall hard for their use of language.

[WarriorPoet]

D elves.

Dan Carlin's Apache Tears introduced me to the wonderfull Eve Ball and her histories. If you want some stories of savagery and opression, read some of her stuff. Brutal and heartbreaking.

[Melkor]

A Canticle for Leibowitz, specifically part 1.

A vast desert wasteland, rubble, survival, bandits, zealots.

Good stuff.

[Miradus]

A Canticle for Leibowitz, specifically part 1.

A vast desert wasteland, rubble, survival, bandits, zealots.

Good stuff.

That's a great one.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I ate a lizard."

[The Great Corn]

I've always pulled a lot of inspiration from the Wheel of Time, sometimes without realizing it. The different cultures and attitudes, the way prejudices are portrayed, I really dig it man.

Edit: Also the combat, Aeilman, Borderlanders and Warders are what half my fighters aspire to be.

[Nao]

I dug out this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20051026023500/http://www.armageddon.org:80/books/staffread.html

The black company books are great and very armageddon-ish.

[Cind]

Thinking about reading some classic Dune. I have several books, and like the first one best.

[Grapes]

Machiavelli's "The Discourses" (not "the prince", the prince is a work of satire)
Miyamoto Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings"
Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"
The Blue Cliff Record

ETA: "The Dosadi Experiment", that's both Zalanthas and Athas in a nutshell, except nicer.

[Bogre]

The Black Company for: Mercs and Mages, assassins and underhanded plots. Where no one is really a good guy, and the one with the most devious plan wins. I personally love the trope of people going by aliases, too. Limper, Bonegnasher, Whisper, Journey, Silent, The Hanged Man, it's just so perfect.

Malazan Book of the Fallen: Really speaks to the soldier mindset. The inspirations from the magick in this book are also varied and very cool. (Also, the names!)

Second Abercrombie/Lawrence/Locke Lamora as well.

[Harmless]

I was going to make sure that Malazan was mentioned.

I like that there are female characters in it who are (without spoilers) defined more by their role (in their culture / group, being vague) than they are by their sex, so that they do not fall into RL sexist tropes. Every dark fantasy element included in it was fun to read. I need to get back to that series and keep reading the rest...

[Sakra]

The trilogy starting with In Legend Born by Laura Resnick. Takes place on a harsh island ruled by the waterlords, who control all the water. The fire mages are hated and killed on sight.

[Brokkr]

I would recommend The Last Stormlord and the following two books in the trilogy by Glenda Larke, for a harsh desert where water actually matters.

[stoicreader]

Wilderness survival for dummies

[Cind]

Any wilderness survival book would probably be game.

I looked in one and it showed four styles of knife tip, and their uses, pros and cons. Was interesting, and shows why an inwards-curving (on both sides) blade tip is not super-common, although it is still usable.

Luxury Knitting by Linda Morse showcases everything there is to know about merino wool, silk and cashmere. Now cashmere we wouldn't and don't have, and its no coincidence that we don't have it in game. A cashmere goat has to withstand some of the coldest survivable conditions on earth to produce its undercoat. But if you wanted to be someone who knows a lot about silk and one of those niche tribals or merchants who knows about wool then its a good read. Its not really about knitting, but more about their history, the animals and herders that produce them, and how they are made into fabrics from the raw materials.

[Cind]

Not a book, but King's Quest VII is a game based around staying the fuck out of a witch's way while you try to thwart her evil plans. Your eye is immediately drawn to her when she appears onscreen or is heard coming back to her house, and if she sees you, she can do things like turn you into toast. There's also enchanted stuff around her house to watch out for. It might inspire a plot or a more believable backstory than you already had in mind. I've been there, having a backstory that's got a 'Just roll with it' feel.

Also not a book, but I watched Mad Mad 2 yesterday, and the philosophy that all the groups in the wasteland share is so evocative of Zalanthas. Everyone is out for themselves, because there's limited water, food and of course gasoline. Thre's one bad raider-style group who lives around an oil rig, a 'nicer' group living on another oil rig with whom Max must bargain pretty hard still, that is less like raiders and more like families trying to scrape by. Also another guy besides Max who's on his own who has trained a trap with poisonous snakes to bite curious people so he can take their stuff, and that is how he survives, although he himself is a good guy. There is a good deal of bargaining for resources and services and everyone is being stingy about it with absolutely no freebies. Because Max helps the good group earlier, though, when he is almost killed in a car crash later they bandage his wounds and let him rest in the safety of their compound, which strikes the viewer as nice of them especially since its a time when the bad raiders are killing anyone who leaves the good guy compound. A little spoilery, but its an old movie.