If you’re looking to get totally immersed in a fantasy world, there’s no better medium than a novel. But what if you want tobe the one making narrative choiceswithin that world? Then, you’ll want anRPG—the king for a long, deep dive into magical stories and settings.
Plenty of popular fantasy series are supported by good games (Heck,new games are madeeven for disappointments, likeA Song of Ice and Fire). But there are still more books just waiting for a competent developer to turn them into a masterfully absorbing RPG.
Sure, good video game adaptations ain’t easy. With love and care for the source material, though, any of these books could be the basis for decision-driven gaming.
We’re focusing on books and/or series for which there never was avideo gameRPG adaptation. Tabletop RPGs are awesome! They just don’t count on this list.
10Nine Princes In Amber
Conquer The Multiverse Of Real And Unreal
Roger Zelazny
What’s better than world conquest? Well, how aboutmultiversalconquest?
Zelazny’sChronicles of Ambertell the adventures of Corwin’s quest to overcome his brothers and claim his family’s throne on Amber. Amber and Chaos are the only two “true” worlds in the multiverse. Everything else—including modern Earth—is but a mirage, a stretched-out shadow cast by the two.
The tonal shifts throughNine Princes in Amber(and otherAmbernovels) are why it would make an interesting RPG. From mind-bending concepts to magical and martial conquest, Zelazny’s work includes a great variety of conflicts and intrigues from which a designer can render the player’s own quest for the throne.
9Circle Of Magic Series
Crafting Magic From The Mundane
Tamora Pierce
Nowadays, it seems every RPG has some sort of crafting system. Personally, I blameMinecraftfor popularizing the crafting + survival trends, even if they existed in the genre basically forever. That doesn’t mean craftingmustbe a tedious side-system—there are plenty ofgames with interesting crafting systems.
Tamora Pierce’sCircle of Magicnovels offer a great vehicle for a magic-themed RPG which emphasizes crafting. Unlike most magic-wielders in Pierce’s setting, the main characters (and their mentors) wield magic through everyday crafting implements. The use of weaving, metalworking, and other manual skills makes their magic distinct.
That’s not to say an RPG based onCircle of Magicmust be restricted toonlythe crafts worked by the protagonists. There is space to explore talents such as painting, woodworking, and more within the series concept. Structured as distinct “classes,” including a variety of crafts could also give the game a nice amount of replayability.
8A Wizard Of Earthsea
The Windwaker, But You’re A Wizard
Ursula K. Le Guin
A Wizard of Earthseais indisputably iconic—a landmark coming-of-age story in the fantasy genre. Set in Le Guin’s beautifully imagined world of Earthsea, this setting offers splendid opportunities forsailing adventurein the vein ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Getting an Earthsea gamerightcould be tricky. Le Guin’s fiction is plenty adventurous, but it’s rarely violent. Certainly, a game where the player heavily engages in violence would be a grievous wrong to her artisticethos. Since her stories focus on nonviolent, interpersonal, or even mystical resolutions to conflict, any game based upon her work should do the same.
This isn’t impossible! It would require a careful hand. The success of more peaceful RPGs (likeStardew Valleyand other “life sim” RPGs) demonstrates that there is plenty of space for RPGs which de-emphasize violence in the market.
7Martin The Warrior
One Mouse’s Quest For Revenge
Brian Jacques
Harry Pottermay be the typical Millennial’s “childhood book series,” but for me, it’ll always be Brian Jacques’sRedwallnovels. His heroic stories of mice, moles, otters, and other goodbeasts fighting to restore peace make for classic adventure tales.
Many books in the series could make a solid RPG. To my mind,Martin the Warriorstands out because the central narrative is Martin’s episodic quest. Seeking allies to defeat the tyrant Badrang, Martin embarks upon numerous adventures before finally returning to overthrow the villainous stoat.
In addition to playing through Martin’s various adventures—and perhaps discovering alternate outcomes—Martin the Warriorwould also make an excellent RPG because of its memorable ending. Without spoilers (even if the bookisover 30 years old…), the climax is a thrilling fight sequence. Yet it’s also quite tragic, in ways which make the rest of the story poignant.
6The Illearth War
A Tragic Drama Of Good And Evil
Stephen R. Donaldson
Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant stands among the most controversial (and unlikable) protagonists in fantasy. Atrue anti-hero,Covenant commits awful deeds, consistently refuses the Call to Adventure, and is just a whinging pain. Entering the magical Land, Covenant is cured of his leprosy, yet remains unwilling to embrace this good fortune.
Despite all of Covenant’s grousing, theChronicles of Thomas Covenantare engrossing and beautiful. The first trilogy’s second volume,The Illearth War,is best positioned for an RPG adaptation because it’s a sweeping epic which spans the whole Land. It has less of Covenant’s misery than the first book, but the conflict with Lord Foul isn’t so dire as the third.
This possibility of hope is what makesThe Illearth Warso compelling. To my mind, a book about the terrible decisions people make in war is perfect material for an RPG. A branching story between heartwrenching choices, seeking survival and redemption, seems the perfect narrative material for an epic fantasy game.
5The Dresden Files Series
Investigating Supernatural Mysteries
Jim Butcher
2000–Present
Much more “down to Earth,” we find Jim Butcher’sDresden Files. Focused on the eponymous hero, this urban fantasy series blends noir aesthetic and story structure with the fantastic. No single book stands out as best suited for an RPG—or rather,manybooks in the series would work well. The swift action and engaging mysteries of these detective stories, however, are excellent fodder.
I can see aDresdengame working well in the vein ofDisco Elysium(Though probably less depressing!). A core gameplay loop of investigation, conflict, and discovery would combine well with Dresden’s sarcastic internal commentary. Essentially, just put the books' formula onto the screen!
Such a game would likely be distinctive within the current fantasy genre, too. Urban fantasy still has some popularity, but I don’t consider it a strong “fad” anymore. With the prevalence of medieval fantasy aesthetics in the genre, a fantasy noir RPG could be a breath of fresh air.
4The Gods Of Pegana
Inventive And Imaginative Pantheon
Lord Dunsany
The oldest entry on our list isalmostthe most unusual. Lord Dunsany’s early fantasy workTheGods of Peganais a strange and imaginative book about a pantheon of invented deities. Entities like Yoharneth-Lahai—the God of Little Dreams and Fancies—have names which later echo down fantasy’s corridors through the works of Lovecraft and other 20s and 30s fantasists, into the genre’s modern flourishing.
The Gods of Peganais more akin to an inventive Bible than a “narrative.” It’s splendidly fertile ground for an RPG, though, because of how fluidly the material can be interpreted. Thebackground lore ofThe Elder Scrollsis bewildering and deep, and is one of the most distinct features of the franchise. I suggest that an RPG could draw uponThe Gods of Peganato similar effect.
Building a world around Lord Dunsany’s writing offers designers a robust foundation for an RPG’s world. Yet Dunsany’s works on Pegana are intentionally allusive, not definitive. There’s plenty of space to create something atop those foundations—a wonderful blend of old and new.
3The Name Of The Wind
World Teeming With Magic And Mystery
Patrick Rothfuss
The Winds of Winterlikely tops most fantasy nerds' “Books I hope will get released” list. For me, though, it’s Rothfuss’s next novel,The Doors of Stone.Instead of pondering when we’ll get this overdue volume, let’s speculate how good an RPG set in Temerant could be.
Most books take either “magic is fantasy physics” or “magic is strange and unknowable” as their premise. NotThe Kingkiller Chronicle—Rothfuss' work double-dips. It’s the prior which I suspect would best fit an RPG. But the more mysterious aspects of magic are perhaps the most compelling.
Of all the settings on this list, Temerant might be the most mysterious. Few games successfully evoke a sense of ephemeral wonder—for example,Elden Ring—but the material is certainly available in Rothfuss' work. Exploring Tarbean, getting thrown out of the University, and burning down Trebon again (just for the hell of it this time) offers an immersive, adventurous frame within which to explore the more mysterious elements of Temerant.
2The Alloy Of Law
A Modern Master’s Metals Of Magic
Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson is a giant in fantasy—whether or not you read his work, pretty much everyone knows it. So let’s skip over the summary and move right to the main topic.
WhyAlloy of Lawinstead ofMistborn?
In my opinion, the best RPG adaptations remain true to a book, but also explore material beyond what the book covers. By the end ofHero of Ages,we know the Final Empire very well. In contrast, the Wax & Wayne novels have plenty of “known unknowns” to draw upon.
The most obvious, of course, is the Roughs. A classic “old West” frontier, the Roughs are vital to the narrative—but they’re all backstory, not main events. An RPG set after Wax’s return to Elendel offers a wide expanse for ruffians, villains, and heroes with dirty boots. Basically,Red Dead Redemptionwith a hearty helping of steampunk and Sanderson’s allomancy.
1The Worm Ouroboros
A Strange And Distinct Adventure
E. R. Eddison
I’ve never read a work quite like 1922’sThe Worm Ouroboros. It’s a swashbuckling adventure as the Lords of Demonland attempt to foil the plots of King Gorice XII. of Witchland. From conjuring an eldritch horror, to climbing the towering Koshtra Pivrarcha while being chased by mantichores, to one of the most interesting (and most well-fitting) endings in literature,The Worm Ouroborosis a splendid story.
What makesThe Worm Ouroborosmost distinct, though, is its lush, over-wrought prose. Have a taste.
His eyes were like the violet levin-brand, and all his body hardened like a bowstring drawn as he grasped his sharp sword and pulled it forth grating and singing from its sheath. … “What stirreth?” [Brandoch Daha] cried. “Thou look’st ghastly. That look thou hadst when … the fate of Demonland and all the world beside hung in thine hand for wail or bliss.”
In what game do characters talk like this? Better yet, how many modern RPG protagonists are so boldly active? In a landscape of snarky dialogue and persistently “quirky” characters, Eddison’s archetypal characters would be striking. Quite difficult to adapt, I’ll admit, butThe Worm Ouroboroscould inspire an RPG like nothing else.
Best of all?The Worm Ouroborosis in the public domain. Get on it, indies!
