Anime Are there any Actually Good D&D books?

[Fedora Master]

Return of the Archwizards seems alright so far but damn it, why are all these Fearun books so goddamn horny?

She unbuckled her sword belt, then sat down and began to unlace her high boots. Her men reluctantly followed her example, and ten minutes later they were splashing in the water like pup otters. The men all looked like rothé, with thick tangles of dark hair across their massive backs and huge barrel chests. Vala was stout but much smaller, with rounder curves than an elf woman and—thankfully—only small tufts of hair growing in the appropriate places, but her idea of sport was as rough as that of her men. When they began to play keep-away with one of her boots, she did not hesitate to yank things most elves would have considered it impolite for even good friends to touch. The men responded in kind, grabbing whatever they could in order to keep her at bay. They even tried to include Galaeron in their games, tossing her boot—and Vala herself—at him. So surprised was he to see her eyeing him with the same hungry look he had noticed in the men that he forgot to defend himself and let her hand dart past his guard —and he was even more surprised by what she grabbed.

 

[Erebus]

Return of the Archwizards seems alright so far but damn it, why are all these Fearun books so goddamn horny?

Good question. If I remember correctly, the woman who appears in the scene you quote...

Spoiler

...is later forced to become a sex slave, and shown in chains, naked and whipped. It's not Troy Denning's finest moment.

 

[Azalin]

I think that's mostly Troy Denning's fetishes,he is also really into menage a trois style relationships if I remember correctly,both is this trilogy and the Prism Pentad in Dark Sun

 

[lightbane]

I think Terry Pratchett explained it as a joke, but still applies: You're talking about bitter, adult men with little contact with women and too much time on their hands.

 

[Fedora Master]

Seems okay so far.

 

[Rincewind]

I think Terry Pratchett explained it as a joke, but still applies: You're talking about bitter, adult men with little contact with women and too much time on their hands.

Bit like the romantic novel equivalent for sex-starved male nerd fetishists, isn't it. Not my cup of tea, really. I prefer sci-fi / fantasy with next to zero romance & sex. Classic sci-fi levels are okay though (e.g. Asimov, where it's literally far less than 1% of the whole text).

 

[Null Null]

I think Terry Pratchett explained it as a joke, but still applies: You're talking about bitter, adult men with little contact with women and too much time on their hands.

Bit like the romantic novel equivalent for sex-starved male nerd fetishists, isn't it. Not my cup of tea, really. I prefer sci-fi / fantasy with next to zero romance & sex. Classic sci-fi levels are okay though (e.g. Asimov, where it's literally far less than 1% of the whole text).

Hard or military sf is the subgenre you're looking for, probably.

Fantasy-wise, not sure.

 

[lightbane]

Bit like the romantic novel equivalent for sex-starved male nerd fetishists, isn't it. Not my cup of tea, really. I prefer sci-fi / fantasy with next to zero romance & sex. Classic sci-fi levels are okay though (e.g. Asimov, where it's literally far less than 1% of the whole text).

I tend to prefer reading old-school sci-fi and fantasy novels, because I dread what I would find in nowadays' woke-infested industry.

Regarding DnD books, I'm not sure if it's been talked about, but Dragonlance's ones felt a bit strange to me after reading some of them. The writers created a whole race/halfling variant to be the thieves and yet be somehow lovable... But they're invariably disgusting, annoying manchildren at best, sociopath thieves at worst. The worst offender being Tass, who had plot armor the size of a mountain as half of the shit he does would have him killed several times over in harsher worlds. Or how there's an entire subrace of inbreed, weak dwarves around for... Some reason (inbreeding jokes? Dwarf hate?).
Then there's the fact that wizards are color-coded to show their alignment, but that's a deathtrap for the wizard because no-one sane will want to associate with black robes (even though said wizard doesn't necessarily have to be evil), while neutral/red robes are seen with suspicion, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The test to check their future color is also flawed, as the moment Raistlin accidentally broke the script, he was meant to be killed in an ambush and thus fail or be killed for real, only to stumble upon an evil wizard hidden inside said mind-trip that survived by life-stealing unlucky aspirants, a fact no-one seemed to notice in decades.
Then the mages in charge cursed Raist for reasons I no longer remember, which pushed him to become mean and evil, thus starting yet another self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Regarding DnD books, I'm not sure if it's been talked about, but Dragonlance's ones felt a bit strange to me after reading some of them. The writers created a whole race/halfling variant to be the thieves and yet be somehow lovable... But they're invariably disgusting, annoying manchildren at best, sociopath thieves at worst. The worst offender being Tass, who had plot armor the size of a mountain as half of the shit he does would have him killed several times over in harsher worlds. Or how there's an entire subrace of inbreed, weak dwarves around for... Some reason (inbreeding jokes? Dwarf hate?).

Kender were intended to be a charming replacement for hobbits halflings, though they seem to be disliked by many.

Then there's the fact that wizards are color-coded to show their alignment, but that's a deathtrap for the wizard because no-one sane will want to associate with black robes (even though said wizard doesn't necessarily have to be evil), while neutral/red robes are seen with suspicion, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Membership in one of the three orders of wizardry in the Dragonlance setting is determined by alignment at the time of arrival at the Tower of Wayreth for the Test that permits further advancement as a mage. Even though Black Robes are evil, they can still be supported by others of evil alignments, especially their fellow wizards within their Order.

The test to check their future color is also flawed, as the moment Raistlin accidentally broke the script, he was meant to be killed in an ambush and thus fail or be killed for real, only to stumble upon an evil wizard hidden inside said mind-trip that survived by life-stealing unlucky aspirants, a fact no-one seemed to notice in decades.
Then the mages in charge cursed Raist for reasons I no longer remember, which pushed him to become mean and evil, thus starting yet another self-fulfilling prophecy.

The backstory of Raistlin involved Fistandantilus, possibly the most powerful wizard ever to have lived (prior to Raistlin), who appears directly in the first book of the sequel trilogy, thanks to time travel. Only due to his overwhelming power is he able to subvert Raistlin without the knowledge of the wizards conducting the Test. The curse affecting Raistlin's sight and appearance was intended to teach him some measure of humility or wisdom, though it undoubtedly backfired as described in the events in the original trilogy.

 

[Rincewind]

Or how there's an entire subrace of inbreed, weak dwarves around for... Some reason (inbreeding jokes? Dwarf hate?).

Then there's the fact that wizards are color-coded to show their alignment,

Funny how in RPGs I strongly prefer a fantasy setting to sci-fi, while in books it's the exact opposite. Seems like the vast majority of fantasy novels is utter trash, well at least the pure fantasy kind. Barring Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, of course, and I've just bought the full Earthsea series (although Ursula K. Le Guin is probably not straight fantasy, I think). I also enjoyed the Azure Bonds novel quite a bit. Then science-fantasy seems to be of much higher quality in general, e.g. I really liked Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg.

I remember one short novel I read about 30 years ago, Companions on the Road by Tanith Lee. Can't remember much of it (something about someone marching forward in the snow, while having visions... I think), just that it was awesome and didn't seem cliche. Well I should re-read it. Apparently her works are highly regarded by many, and there's a *lot* of them in a variety of genres. Anyone familiar with her books here?

 

[deuxhero]

Or how there's an entire subrace of inbreed, weak dwarves around for... Some reason (inbreeding jokes? Dwarf hate?).

Then there's the fact that wizards are color-coded to show their alignment,

Funny how in RPGs I strongly prefer a fantasy setting to sci-fi, while in books it's the exact opposite. Seems like the vast majority of fantasy novels is utter trash, well at least the pure fantasy kind. Barring Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, of course, and I've just bought the full Earthsea series (although Ursula K. Le Guin is probably not straight fantasy, I think). I also enjoyed the Azure Bonds novel quite a bit. Then science-fantasy seems to be of much higher quality in general, e.g. I really liked Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg.

I remember one short novel I read about 30 years ago, Companions on the Road by Tanith Lee. Can't remember much of it (something about someone marching forward in the snow, while having visions... I think), just that it was awesome and didn't seem cliche. Well I should re-read it. Apparently her works are highly regarded by many, and there's a *lot* of them in a variety of genres. Anyone familiar with her books here?

Try Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. One of the few modern fantasy books that's not trying to be someone's campaign (even though Larry Elmore did the cover). Author's favorite review quote about it was that it's a fantasy epic paced like a thriller.

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[Fedora Master]

By the way, there are half-kender.
Let that sink in for a moment.

 

[lightbane]

Kender were intended to be a charming replacement for hobbits halflings, though they seem to be disliked by many.

I think it's because of the Mormon religion that they had to make up a whole new race to be "lovable thieves".

Membership in one of the three orders of wizardry in the Dragonlance setting is determined by alignment at the time of arrival at the Tower of Wayreth for the Test that permits further advancement as a mage. Even though Black Robes are evil, they can still be supported by others of evil alignments, especially their fellow wizards within their Order.

I can't remember much of that trial, but it's pretty much horrible because it is as if someone took the alignment system of DnD literally, which is a terrible idea. The trial puts you in an unwinnable situation where you're likely to be killed (and you're not going to be able to use your magic powers to save yourself despite being the whole point you worked so hard to be a wizard), all just to force you to show your "true colors", heh. If you panic during the trial and do something evil/seflish to save yourself, you could in theory be still classified as a black robe, even if you're not a chaotic evil psycho. Being forced to socialize with other black robes once again starts a self-fulfilling prophecy to make you evil.

I'm also not sure if the vision can kill you for real or not, as the book couldn't make it up its damn mind, as some of the apparitions that Raist faced turned out to be real people participating in it, except for his brother, that shows up as an enemy just for shock value.

The backstory of Raistlin involved Fistandantilus, possibly the most powerful wizard ever to have lived (prior to Raistlin), who appears directly in the first book of the sequel trilogy, thanks to time travel. Only due to his overwhelming power is he able to subvert Raistlin without the knowledge of the wizards conducting the Test. The curse affecting Raistlin's sight and appearance was intended to teach him some measure of humility or wisdom, though it undoubtedly backfired as described in the events in the original trilogy.

And yet somehow Raist still manages to stop him from taking over his mind somehow. Or the mage was playing along, I forgot.
Raist was also blessed by the gods related to magic but they quickly ditch him once the shitstorm of the trial ends, rather than attempting to help him keep himself straight.

Seems like the vast majority of fantasy novels is utter trash, well at least the pure fantasy kind. Barring Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, of course, and I've just bought the full Earthsea series (although Ursula K. Le Guin is probably not straight fantasy, I think).

First trilogy of Earthsea is good, the latter books destroy the setting from what I read here.

By the way, there are half-kender.

I was about to post that pic.
Also: Disgusting.
There's a reason why anyone that worked later in the series outside of the OG writers shat on the kenders whenever possible.
I'm also not certain what was the point of the Gullies, the weak inbred dwarves, other than to piss off dwarf fans.
On the other hand, making elves psychopathic isolationists is more interesting compared to what they tend to be nowadays, which is straight up orc rape bait.

 

[Rincewind]

First trilogy of Earthsea is good, the latter books destroy the setting from what I read here.

I guess I'll soon find out! I only read The Farthest Shore when I was a kid, don't remember much of it, just that I liked it, plus I have a newfound appreciation for Ursula K. LeGuin.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

By the way, there are half-kender.
Let that sink in for a moment.

We should have nuked each other a long time back.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Happy-go-lucky Halflings with kleptomania. So original... What even is the point of creating a race that is defined by the typical traits of an already existing class? Just play the fucking class! The plucky thief archetype is already one of the most overused things you'll see in a tabletop game.

First trilogy of Earthsea is good, the latter books destroy the setting from what I read here.

Agree. The first book is one of the best fantasy novels I read as a teenager and I still go back to it from time to time. Tombs of Atuan was a bit of a rough sit due to the narrowness of the setting, but it ended well. Never read The Farthest Shore yet. Anyone know if Tehanu is bad?

 

[Rincewind]

Anyone know if Tehanu is bad?

Well, I'll let you know in a few month's time. I'm a slow reader, plus I have other things to do right now.

 

[Melan]

Earthsea starts interesting and becomes utterly boring as it goes on and LeGuin's brain worms take over. Nothing interesting happens in The Farthest Shore, and nothing at all happens in Tehanu. These are just very dull books, while the first is a perfectly serviceable wizard school novel, and the second, if not outstanding, is decent social intrigue. Read the first two, avoid the rest.

 

[KateMicucci]

Earthsea starts interesting and becomes utterly boring as it goes on and LeGuin's brain worms take over. Nothing interesting happens in The Farthest Shore, and nothing at all happens in Tehanu. These are just very dull books, while the first is a perfectly serviceable wizard school novel, and the second, if not outstanding, is decent social intrigue. Read the first two, avoid the rest.

I've liked other stuff by LeGuin, and The Dispossed was once my favorite book, but I didn't like Earthsea at all.

I remember one short novel I read about 30 years ago, Companions on the Road by Tanith Lee. Can't remember much of it (something about someone marching forward in the snow, while having visions... I think), just that it was awesome and didn't seem cliche. Well I should re-read it. Apparently her works are highly regarded by many, and there's a *lot* of them in a variety of genres. Anyone familiar with her books here?

I started reading a Tanith Lee book about a demon who found a beautiful orphaned baby and brought it back to his castle to raise as his child. It was pretty well-written up until they started having gay sex together. So much for Tanith Lee.

 

[Ysaye]

The second book (The Tomb of Atuan) is the best of the Earthsea quartet IMO.

 

[Fedora Master]

I've been going through the Abolethic Sovereignty series and I must say it's probably as good as DnD books can get, despite centering around the Spellplague (= 4e). The characters are all well defined, it's not horny like most of these books and the scope is pretty damn vast. Recommended.

 

[deuxhero]

Got a third of the way through City of Towers. It starts strong, but the prose has taken a noticeable plunge in quality. I'll finish it, but if the quality doesn't pick up I doubt I'll complete the trilogy.

 

[Cael]

Got a third of the way through City of Towers. It starts strong, but the prose has taken a noticeable plunge in quality. I'll finish it, but if the quality doesn't pick up I doubt I'll complete the trilogy.

Check if the books are written by different people. They did that in the War of the Spider Queen series and that was why the writing was all over the place.

 

[deuxhero]

City of Towers is one book officially written by a single person.