Land's End: Appendix N

Since I have started a "Land's End Season 2" campaign, I thought it would be a fun post to collect some of my favourite inspirations for the campaigns here.

Some of these informed the tone or atmosphere more generally, and others I stole from directly. See if you can guess which is which!

Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique cycle. Desolate wastes, corrupt wizards, a terrified populace, and Mordiggian!

You already knew it.

Dark Souls, the best console game ever.

Robert E. Howard's El Borak stories. Adventuring amongst savage tribes in the desolate regions of the world, discovering lost cities and vast hidden treasures.

Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea cycle.

The old Dark Horse Indiana Jones comics, especially Fate of Atlantis. I was going to mention Raiders, but I already wrote a whole blog post about it a few years ago.

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines. The original 'hidden valley' adventure site!

Myth: The Fallen Lords, by Bungie. Dark fantasy wargame that rips off the Black Company extensively.

Daggerfall, the best Elder Scrolls game. Crude, buggy, dark, mysterious, with a charm all its own.

Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness

Melan's Fomalhaut campaign and materials, like Isles on an Emerald Sea.

Geoffrey McKinney's Carcosa. I wouldn't run it on its own, but picking bits & pieces from it works really well.

Oni Press' Wasteland comics. Post-apocalyptic desert adventures. 

The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall. Dense and difficult, sometimes woefully outdated, but worth a read.

Exile: Escape from the Pit by Spiderweb Software. Taking it back to the '90s!

Planet mother fucking Algol

Jason and the Argonauts film (1963). Man those outfits were boss.

Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Jules Verne.

Also: the Wilderlands, everyone's gaming blogs, the SRD, and a giant stack of reference works!

I can't really believe it myself, but Lovecraft doesn't actually get a mention. Land's End is much more pulpy and action-packed, it doesn't really have any sense of horror. There are some gross Lovecraftian monsters but the Chthulhu mythos doesn't even really make sense in the setting, except for a few veiled references.


[LATE EDIT: I forgot one absolutely VITAL component!!!]