D&D Recommended Reading -

Looking for D&D recommended reading? You have all the sourcebooks you need to play, but are you looking for inspirational reading to inform your campaigns and game worlds?

Fortunately, the creators of D&D have provided lists of recommended books to inspire players and dungeon masters. These books give us a window into the creation of D&D as well as help us prepare for our games.

Recommended D&D Reading Lists

I’ve gathered the lists of recommended reading from several different D&D Dungeon Master’s Guides and Player’s Handbooks. Then I separated them by their original titles.

Appendix N has become a famous resource for people wanting to explore the original inspirations of Dungeons & Dragons.
Appendix E expanded upon Appendix N by including more recent science fiction and fantasy novels and book series.
Appendix D was included in the Fifth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide to help DMs understand history, culture, and storytelling.

Just remember these books are not recommended not by me or other players of D&D, but by the creators and the writers. Reading them will help you see what was being imagined when the game was created and written.

Also, I’ve provided links so you can learn more about the older authors in Appendix N. Plus I’ve added links so you can buy or research certain books that interest you.

Appendix N from the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide (1979)

Anderson, Poul: Three Hearts And Three Lions; The High Crusade; The Broken Sword – (At the writing of this I have only read The Broken Sword. It is a work of deep, powerful fantasy that left me breathless.)
Bellairs, John: The Face In The Frost
Brackett, Leigh – (Only the author’s name is listed. I have read a number of her short stories and a few of the Eric John Stark series. She was a very fine adventure writer and screenwriter having worked most famously on The Empire Strikes Back.)
Brown, Frederic – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s one collection of his works: From These Ashes: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Fredric Brown. One of his short stories was the basis for the Star Trek: TOS episode “Arena.” One where Captain Kirk makes gunpowder and fights a giant lizard.)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: Pellucidar series; Mars series; Venus series – (I’ve read most of the Pellucidar series and all of the Mars [Barsoom] and the Venus series. They are fantastic and need to be read.)
Carter, Lin: World’s End series
de Camp, L. Sprague: Lest Darkness Fall; The Fallible Fiend
de Camp & Pratt: Harold Shea series; The Carnelian Cube
Derleth, August – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s a link to a list of some of his books.)
Dunsany, Lord – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s a list. I’ve read quite a few of his stories and they are excellent.)
Farmer, P. J.: The World Of The Tiers series
Fox, Gardner: Kothar series; Kyrik series – (Fox was also the co-creator of many of the classic DC comic book characters.)
Howard, R. E.: Conan series – (I have read a ton of these stories and I have never read one that wasn’t outstanding.)
Lanier, Sterling: Hiero’s Journey
Leiber, Fritz: Fafhrd & Gray Mouser series
Lovecraft, H. P. – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s a list of his complete fiction. I am working my through Lovecraft’s works and they are essential reading.)
Merritt, A.: Creep, Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Dwellers In The Mirage –
Moorcock, Michael: Stormbringer; Stealer Of Souls; Hawkmoon series [esp. the first three books]
Norton, Andre – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s a list of books.
Offutt, Andrew J.: editor of Swords Against Darkness III
Pratt, Fletcher: Blue Star
Saberhagen, Fred: Changeling Earth
St. Clair, Margaret: The Shadow People; Sign Of The Labrys
Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings – (Possibly the greatest 20th-century literary works. There I said it.)
Vance, Jack: The Eyes Of The Overworld; The Dying Earth
Weinbaum, Stanley – (Only the author’s name is listed. Here’s a list.)
Wellman, Manly Wade – (Only the author’s name is listed. List of books.)
Williamson, Jack – (Only the author’s name is listed. List of books.)
Zelazny, Roger: Jack Of Shadows; Amber series

Appendix E from the D&D 5E Player’s Handbook (2014)

Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon
Lloyd Alexander, Chronicles of Prydain series – (The most famous book from the series is The Black Cauldron.)
Piers Anthony, Apprentice Adept series
Lady Gregory Augusta, Gods and Fighting Men
Elizabeth Bear, Eternal Sky trilogy
Terry Brooks, Shannara series
Thomas Bullfinch, Bullfinch’s Mythology – (An incredible collection of mythology.)
Glen Cook, Black Company series
Brian Froud and Alan Lee, Faeries
Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, Dragonlance Chronicles series
William Hope Hodgson, The Night Land
N.K. Jemisin, Inheritance series, The Killing Moon, and The Shadowed Sun
Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time series
Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana
Stephen King, The Eyes of the Dragon
Ursula LeGuin, Earthsea series
Scott Lynch, Gentlemen Bastards series
George R.R. Martin, Song of Ice and Fire series – (I read the first two books in series and it wasn’t my style.)
Patricia McKillip, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
China Mieville, Bas-Lag series
Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast series
Terry Pratchett, Discworld series
Patrick Rothfuss, Kingkiller series – (I’ve read both of these books and enjoyed them, but I tend to be a fan of older works.)
R.A. Salvatore, The Legend of Drizzt series – (I have read a few of these and they are enjoyable.)
Brandon Sanderson, Mistborn trilogy
Clark Ashton Smith, The Return of the Sorcerer
Nikolai Tolstoy, The Coming of the King
Gene Wolf, The Book of the New Sun series

Appendix D from the D&D 5E Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

History and Myth

A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, by Joseph Browning and Suzi Yee.
The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were, by Robert Ingpen.
The Medieval Fortress, by J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann.
Castles, by Alan Lee and David Day.
Castle, by David Macaulay.
Le Morte d’Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. – (I’ve only read excerpts, but it is quite good.)
The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer.
Cities of the Renaissance World, by Michael Swift and Angus Konstam.
The Mapmakers, by John Noble Wilford.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, by E.D. Hirsh Jr.
Under the Black Flag, by David Cordingly.

Writing Advice

Writing Fiction, by Janet Burroway.
Immediate Fiction, by Jerry Cleaver.
The Art of Dramatic Writing, by Lajos Egri. – (I’ve read this and it goes deep into crafting characters to make your writing impactful. I’ve come to realize his method is not for me as he suggests writing out every detail of a character’s life.)
Creating Character: Bringing Your Story to Life, by William Bernhardt.
Perfecting Plot: Charting the Hero’s Journey, by William Bernhardt.
Story Structure: The Key to Successful Fiction, by William Bernhardt.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King.
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee. – (I’ve read this. While it contains some good information, it is quite flawed. The examples he sites using scenes from Chinatown and The Empire Strikes Back are factually incorrect and blatantly so.)
The Anatomy of Story, by John Truby. – (I read this years ago. I struggled to see the structure he was explaining.)
Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder.
The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference, by Writers Digest.

Role-Playing Game Design

Variety Puzzles and Games series, by PennyPress.
Things We Think About Games, by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball.
A Theory of Fun for Game Design, by Raph Koster.
Hamlet’s Hit Points, by Robin D. Laws.
Game Design: A Book of Lenses, by Jesse Schell.

The Art of GMing

Master of the Game, by Gary Gygax.
Role-Playing Mastery, by Gary Gygax.
Play Unsafe: How Improvisation Can Change the Way You Roleplay, by Graham Walmsley.

Games and Sourcebooks

Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game, by Atlas Games.
Microscope, by Ben Robbins. – (Simply an outstanding game that must be played by everyone.)
Gary Gygax’s Extraordinary Book of Names, by Malcolm Bowers.
Gary Gygax’s Living Fantasy and the rest of the Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series, by Gary Gygax.
Grimtooth’s Traps, by Paul Ryan O’Connor.
DMGR1 Campaign Sourcebook & Catacomb Guide (1990).
DMGR2 The Castle Guide (1990).
DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide (2e) (1991).

History of Gaming

Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It, by David M. Ewalt.
The Bones: Us and Our Dice, by Will Hindmarch.
Playing at the World, by Jon Peterson.

Let the Adventures Begin…

If you want to play or learn more about Dungeons & Dragons, here are some additional resources. Plus I write resource books for D&D.

D&D SRD – A collection of different role-playing game SRDs. D&D is the first one listed. The D&D SDR contains the basic rules of the game.
D&D Character Sheet – My collection of D&D character sheets.
D&D Player’s Handbook – What you need to create a character and learn the game.
D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide – What you need to learn how to be the dungeon master as well as random tables and magic items.
D&D Monster Manual – All the creatures the heroes must face during the adventures.

If you tackle even a few of the books on this D&D recommended reading list, you will take your first steps into a larger world.

Happy reading and enjoy the imaginary realms that have launched the countless adventures of millions of which I am one.

Recommended D&D Reading Lists

Appendix N from the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide (1979)

Appendix E from the D&D 5E Player’s Handbook (2014)

Appendix D from the D&D 5E Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

Recommended Reading for Dungeons & Dragons

Let the Adventures Begin…