Blackmoor reading list

[Rafael]

Confirmed:
Robert Heinlein
Robert Adams (Horseclans Series)
Robert E. Howard (and DeCamp/Carter Conan pastiches)
JRR Tolkien
Poul Anderson (Dave really liked those regenerating Trolls)
John Norman (aka Dr. John Langue)
Star Trek TOS
Homer's Illiad and Odyssey
Godzilla/Monster B-movies
Kung Fu Movies

Okay, if we go through that list, that's authors, not works. :wink:
Which of their works in concrete would be of interest, then?

For example, I've never read anything by Poul Anderson. Where do the trolls come from?

Frank Herbert (Greg also confirms this)
Fritz Leiber (seems even more likely after recent discoveries)
HP Lovecraft (according to Jeff Berry as an inspiration for Frogfolk)
Clark Ashton Smith (Tsaothoggua as inspiration for the deity behind the Frog?)
Michael Moorcok
Edgar Rice Burroughs

Again, which books in concrete, would be my question?

As Greg once pointed out, fantasy and sci fi literature was not very common back in the 70s. Fans of those genres were stuck with ready whatever they could get hold of. This might be one reason why the list seems limited. OTOH, it is certainly possible that there are sources we have overlooked.

Really?! I mean, granted I was still, errh, existing only in concept during those years, but wasn't the late 60s and the 70s the big day of Sci-Fi and fantasy?!

I agree that connecting the authors with specific elements can be useful where possible.

That is exactly what I am after.

I am no expert, but I am wondering how much Moorcock influence there would be at all? The main legacy from Moorcock is the Law/Chaos axis, which IIRC Arneson did not start using untill much later. That and perhaps the idea of dragon riders?

And, obviously Moorcok the Slayer, the idea of magic items with a soul for their own, and so on.

I read the Elric stuff a while back, as well as some later Moorcock, and instinctively, I would say he was a big influence on classic D&D. - Yet, that was so long ago that I can't really recall what exactly. - For example, the pirates Elric sails with against Melnibone, aren't they also some sort of proto-vikings?

Also, in my perception, Sir Fang is pretty much Elric.

I dont know if these need to be one or the other, most likely the idea of frogmen appealed to Arneson and he took ideas from various authors who had used the concept before. Complicating things even more, these authors probably stole from eachother as well.

Yeah, of course.
That there are literary sources for some stuff doesn't mean that there is a concrete source for everything.

I have heard Riverworld mentioned in some internet discussions, but beyond that I am not sure. I have never read any of his works personally so I cannot comment.

He wrote a few other fantasy novels, for example "Dark is the Sun", that kind of cling to the style of fantasy in the Horseclan books, so I wondered if he could be a resource as well.

"As far as books go, fantasy books, science fiction/fantasy books that inspired me, we’re talking about Poul Anderson, Robert Heinlein, and a lot of the other authors, like the author of the Horse Clans series. (Robert Adams) Gary [Gygax] Seems to have listed every book he’s ever read in his bibliography, and I’ll be blunt, I don’t think I’ve read a lot of those books."

That is a great start!