Inspiration for all of the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the love my father showed when I was a lad, for he spent many hours telling me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men who could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked sorcerers and dauntless swordsmen....All of us tend to get ample helpings of fantasy when we are very young, from fairy tales such as those written by the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Lang. This often leads to reading books of muthology, paging through bestiaries, and consultation of compilations of the myths of various lands and peoples. Upon such a base I built my interest in fantasy being an avid reader of all science fiction and fantasy literature since 1950. The following authors were of particular inspiration to me.
–E. Gary Gygax, Dungeon Master's Guide (1979)
A great deal of fantasy literature has been published since the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons wrote those words, including breakthrough works set in the shared worlds of D&D. The following list includes Gary's original list and some additional works that have inspired the game's designers in the years since.
List Order
List Order
Last Modified
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First published in 1968 — 39 editions
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First published in 1953 — 21 editions
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First published in 1982 — 9 editions
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First published in 2011 — 3 editions -
First published in 1914 — 223 editions
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First published in 1959 — 10 editions
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First published in 1937 — 56 editions -
First published in 2014 — 33 editions -
First published in 1946 — 61 editions
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First published in 1964 — 12 editions
History
- Created July 21, 2025
- 75 revisions
| July 21, 2025 | Edited by thatrobotdev | Updated list. |
| July 21, 2025 | Edited by thatrobotdev | Updated list. |
| July 21, 2025 | Edited by thatrobotdev | Updated list. |
| July 21, 2025 | Edited by thatrobotdev | Updated list. |
| July 21, 2025 | Created by thatrobotdev | Created new list. |