39 books like Saga of Old City (Greyhawk Adventures)

Often fantasy books are set in “past times”. This is future times after the world is destroyed and only a remnant remains of what was. Shut off from the horror of the outer world, it's a world of elves, humans, wizards, and demons. It's about a boy with who the fate of the world rests. The world and characters created by Terry Brooks are addicting. Read the first book, and soon you’ll be working through the series. It’s about heroes and sacrifices, about honor and treachery. 

There are many reasons why I love the character Conan. He is big, strong, and fearless in the face of danger. He battles monsters of epic proportions and evil beings to satisfy his own bloodthirsty tale of revenge. That plus the action kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Llana of Gathol is book 10 of the John Cater series and in my opinion, the best. Published in 1948, the story is about an earthling named, John Carter. The reason why I liked this book is because John Carter can transform his mind into another body on Mars. That in itself is a pretty cool concept and the reason why I was drawn to it in the first place. The action is fast-paced as Carter gets captured by the inhabitants of Horz, one of the supposedly “dead” cities of Mars. He is sentenced to death along with his captor Pan Dan Chee for bringing Carter into Horz. They are sent down to the pits under the city where they discover the remnants of a maritime race which had existed hundreds of thousands of years ago, suspended in animation unaware of the changes that happened to the world. 

As a reader, I was on the slow side. I tended to analyze the text too much, I think.

By the time I came across the Magic Kingdom of Landover series, I still shied away from the giant fantasy tomes because I was intimidated that they were too long, and it would take me too long to get through them. I looked for smaller fantasy books and I came across Terry Brooks. I was intrigued by his Sword of Shanara series, but I settled on the Magic Kingdom of Landover instead.

These books are about a lawyer who buys a magic kingdom and is ported away to the kingdom to have an adventure. Talk about wishing you could go to another realm! In this series, the protagonist literary travels to another realm. After I completed this series, I was becoming more confident in my reading, and I was just about… show more.

For many Game Masters it can be difficult to understand how the monsters and adversaries in their worlds would act.

In his book, and its sequel, Ammann helps to provide guidance for how different adversaries might act towards the group of heroes. This book helps GMs think critically about the monsters in the world and can help with teaching how to provide a more dynamic and consequential experience for players.

Ammann also helps readers think in terms of a world with magic and how those living in such a world might think and approach problems differently than we do in our magic-free world.

The Unlikely Ones is a favorite fantasy novel from back in my teenage days (it is an adult fantasy, not children’s or YA).

An unsteady heroine, a cursed knight, and talking animals round out this unexpected cast who find themselves on a journey to become heroes none of them expected. The characters are the star of this book, though the story and world are also wonderful, as they grow from self-doubt and convinced of their unworthiness to beautifully realized saviors of the day.

Written over 30 years ago, this is still one of the most original fantasies I’ve read. 

If you want to know about the origins of Dungeons and Dragons but are intimidated by Jon Peterson’s massive tome, this is a good alternative. 

Ewart’s writing is fun and enjoyable to read. This book also came out right before the release of 5th edition D&D. Readers who first learned that edition may be interested in Ewart’s coverage of playtesting and design.

The first in a series of science fantasy novels, the works of Vance are largely unknown to the general public, but this particular set of stories has some very influential fans, like George RR Martin (the author of A Game of Thrones), and Gary Gygax (who invented Dungeons & Dragons).
In The Dying Earth, Vance has created a unique system of magic, in which a wizard must memorize a lengthy spell in his mind that disappears from memory once it is cast. This and other innovations along with unique characters and worldbuilding has created an endearing tale that has thrilled readers since it was first published in 1950.

If you want to know where today’s top sci-fi and fantasy authors got their influence from, look no further than Jack Vance.

A hybrid Dungeons & Dragons fantasy novel and a gruesome supernatural horror story meet head-on in this story of a Stoner whose job it is to save the world with his RPG skills. You guessed it, the world is doomed. As is the case with most of Communale’s novels, the absurd meets the hilarious to produce the terrifying.

This was the first sociological study of fantasy role-playing games. Fine was able to detect and articulate what is sociologically significant about these games. 

The book takes dynamics that role-players just “get” and articulates them as sociological concepts. For example, he uses “frame theory” to explain how players verbally transition from the frame of the game mechanics and the story world of their characters. 

He also explains how games like Dungeons and Dragons are “autotelic.” In other words, you do not “win” at and these games, the purpose is “engrossment” or being absorbed into the fantasy world. 

Fine also did a great deal of participant observation for this book and it provides a great historical insight into the culture surrounding these games in the early 1980s––warts and all.