RPG Designer’s Reference Library

In an earlier post, An Inventory and Inspirations, I talked about some of the RPG’s I recently picked up for review. I also talked about how my design & writing process involves enmeshing myself in source material. Well, that brings up one of my other major bits of source material, my reference library. A few years ago I began amassing a reference library to inform my game design and science fiction and fantasy writing.  I collected books on several subjects: Medieval History, Ancient History, Weaponry & Warfare, Magic, Mythology, Monsters & The Paranormal, Nanotechnology, Space Travel, and World Building for Science Fiction & Fantasy.

My collection, arranged by subject is listed below.

MEDIEVAL HISTORY

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• The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval England – Nigel Saul
• The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings – Peter Sawyer
• The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe – George Holmes (Editor)
• The Middle Ages – Morris Bishop
• 1066 The Year of Conquest – David Howarth
• Anglo-Saxon England – F.M. Stenton
• *The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology – various

MEDIEVAL PEOPLES

• The English (Peoples of Europe) – Geoffrey Elton
• The Bretons – Patrick Galliou; Michael Jones
• The Norsemen in the Viking Age (Peoples of Europe) – Eric Christiansen
• The Celts – Nora Chadwick
• The Druids – Stuart Piggott
• The Ancient Celts – Barry Cunliffe
• The Anglo-Saxons – James Campbell (Editor)

MEDIEVAL LIFE

• Power And Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe – Peter Spufford
• Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales and Folklore – Carl Lindahl, John Mcnamara, John Lindow
• Tournaments: Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle Ages – Richard Barber; Juliet Barker
• The Medieval Underworld – Andrew McCall
• Medieval Travellers: The Rich and Restless – Margaret Wade Labarge
• Medieval Heraldry (Osprey Men-at-Arms series 99) – Terence Wise; Richard Hook; William Walker
• The Knight in History – Frances Gies
• *Life in a Medieval City – Joseph Gies; Frances Gies
• *Life in a Medieval Castle – Joseph Gies; Francis Gies
• *Life in a Medieval Village – Joseph Gies; Francis Gies
• *Life in Medieval Times – Marjorie Rowling
• Marriage and Family in the Middle Ages – Frances & Joseph Gies
• The Year 1000: What Life Was Like At the Turn of the Century – Robert Lacey; Danny Danziger
• Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne – Pierre Riche
• Women in the Middle Ages – France & Jospeh Gies
• The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages – Sherilyn Kenyon
• Celtic Daily Life – Victor Walkley

ANCIENT HISTORY & PEOPLES

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• The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece – Robert Morkot
• The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome – Chris Scarre
• The Oxford Illustrated History of Greece and the Hellenistic World  -John Boardman; Jasper Griffin; Oswyn Murray
• The Oxford Illustrated History of the Roman World -et al
• The Punic Wars – Adrian Goldsworthy
• The Peloponnesian War – Donald Kagan
• The Spartans – Paul Cartledge
• The Penguin Encylopedia of Ancient Civilizations – Arthur Cotterell (Editor)
• Eyewitness Books: Ancient Rome – Susan Mckever (Editor)
• Eyewitness: Ancient Greece – Anne Pearson
• Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome – Lesley Adkins, Roy A Adkins
• Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece – Lesley Adkins & Roy A Adkins

WEAPONRY & WARFARE

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• FM 5-25: Explosives and Demolitions – Department of the Army
• FM 31-21: Guerilla Warfare and Special Forces Operations – Department of the Army
• FM 5-31: Boobytraps -Department of The Army
• FM 5-15: Field Fortifications – Department of the Army
• TC 23-14: Sniper Training and Deployment – Department of the Army
• ST 31-204: Hand To Hand Fighting (Karate/Tae Kwan Do) – US Army Institute for Military Assistance
• Vietcong Mines & Boobytraps Gained From Operational Experience in viet Nam – Department of the Navy
• TM 31-210: Improvised Munitions Handbook – Department of the Army
• FM 23-9: M16A1 Rifle and Rifle Marksmanship – Department of the Army
• TM 31-201-1: Unconventional Warfare Devices and Techniques: Incendiaries
  Department of the Army
• Sniper Counter Sniper -Mark V. Lonsdale
• The Elite Forces Handbook of Unarmed Combat – Ron Shillingford
• The Poisons and Antidotes Sourcebook: 2nd Edition
  Carol Turkington

ARMS & ARMOR

• Arms & Armor (Eyewitness Books) – Michelle Byam
• Weapons: An international encyclopedia from 5000 B -Randal Gray; Diagram Group
• *The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry – R. Ewart Oakeshott
• Arms and Armour in Antiquity and the Middle Ages – Charles Boutell
• Brassey’s Book of Body Armor – Robert Woosnam-Savage & Anthony Hall
• *European Weapons and Armor: From the Renaissance to The Industrial Revolution -Ewart Oakeshott

BOWS

• *The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible: Volume 1 – Steve Alley; et. al.
• *The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible: Volume 2 – G. Fred Asbell; Tim Baker, et. Al.
• The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible: Volume 3 – Tim Baker, Paul Comstock, et. Al.
• Bows of the World – David Gray

FIREARMS

• Gun Digest 2003 – Ken Ramage; Various
• The Illustrated Book of Guns – David Miller
• Complete Reloading Guide – John E Traister & Robert Traister
• The Vital Guide to Combat Guns and Infantry Weapon – Chris Biship; Various
• Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, 7th Edition – Ian V. Hogg & Sean S. Weeks
• Muzzleloading how to load and shoot flintlocks, caplocks and in-lines – Toby Bridges
• *Complete Reloading Guide – John E Traister & Robert Traister
• *Cartridges of The World – 9th Edition – Frank C. Barnes

MEDIEVAL KNIGHT

• A Knight and His Weapons (2nd Edition) – Ewart Oakeshott
• *Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight – David Edge & John Miles Paddock
• *The Book of the Medieval Knight – Stephen Turnbull

SWORDS

• Swords and Hilt Weapons – Michael D. Coe
• The Book of the Sword – Richard F. Burton

CASTLES & FORTIFICATIONS

• Castles: Their Construction and History – Sidney Toy
• The Medieval Castle: Life in a Fortress in Peace & War (Penguin Classic History) -Philip Warner
• Inside Story: A Medieval Castle – Fiona Macdonald
• Castle -David Macaulay
• Eyewitness Books: Castle – Christopher Gravett
• *The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, and walled – J.E. Kaufmann; H.W. Kaufmann

MAGIC

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• Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (5th Edition) – Arthur C. Lehmann; James E Myers
• Magic in the Middle Ages – Richard Kieckhefer
• The Black Arts – Rich Cavendish
• The Encylopedia of Witches & Witchcraft – Rosemary Ellen Guiley
• The Magicians Companion:  A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism  – Bill Whitcomb
• The Complete Book of Amulets & Talismans -Migene Gonzalez-Wippler
• *The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, & Brews – Scott Cunningham
• *Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, & Metal – Scott Cunningham
• *Cunningham’s Encylopedia of Magical Herbs – Scott Cunningham

MYTHOLOGY

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• Celtic Myths and Legends – T.W. Rolleston
• Celtic Myths & Legends – Charles Squire
• *Celtic Myth and Legends – Peter Berresford Ellis
• *The Kalevala – Elias Lonnrott; Keith Bosley
• The Iliad: By Homer – Robert Fitzgerald (Translator)
• The Odyssey: By Homer – Robert Fitzgerald (Translator)
• The Aeneid: by Virgil – Robert Fitzgerald (translator)
• Mythology – Edith Hamilton
• The Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings – Kevin Crossley-Holland
• The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics) – N.K. Sandars
• The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion – Simon Price; Emily Kearns (Editors)
• Dictionary of Classical Mythology – J.E. Zimmerman
• The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology -Joseph Campbell
• The Golden Bough: The Roots of Religion and Folklore – James G. Frazier

MONSTERS & PARANORMAL

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• Spirits, Faeries, Leprechauns and Goblins: An Encyclopedia – Carol Rose
• The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, 2nd Edition – Rosemary Ellen Guiley
• Vampires & Vampirism: Legends From Around the World – Dudley Wright
• The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead – J. Gordon Melton
• *Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encylopedia – Carol Rose
• *A Field Guide to Demons, Faeries, Fallen Angels, and… -Carol K. Mack; Dinah Mack
• *The World Guide to Gnomes, Faeries, Elves, and Other … Thomas Keightly
• *Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and R – Jamie Hall
• *Encylopedia of Things That Never Were – Michael Page; Robert Ingpen
• Unexplained!: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurences – Jerome Clark
• The Directory of Possibilities – Colin Wilson (editor); John Grant (Editor)
• The Encylopedia of Unsolved Mysteries – Colin Wilson; Damon Wilson

NANOTECH

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• Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology – K. Eric Drexler
• Understanding Nanotechnology – Scientific American
• Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics – Douglas Mulhall

SPACE TRAVEL

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• Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization – Robert Zubrin
• The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space -Gerard K. O’Neill
• Living in Space: A Handbook for Work & Exploration Stations Beyond the Earth’s Atmosphere – G. Harry Stine
• Spacefaring: The Human Dimension – Albert A. Harrison
• New Earths: Restructuring Earth and Other Planets – James Edward Oberg
• Starsailing: Solar Sails and Interstellar Travel – Louis Friedman
• Space Travel: A Writer’s Guide to the Science of Interplanetary and Interstellar travel (Science Fiction Writing Series) – Ben Bova: Anthony R. Lewis
• The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer’s Guide to Interstellar Travel – Eugene Mallove; Gregory Matloff
• Islands in the Sky: Bold New Ideas for Colonizing – Stanley Schmidt & Robert Zubrin (editors)

WORLD BUILDING

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• Writer’s Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe – George Ochoa; Jeffrey Osier
• World Building: A Writer’s Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets (Science Fiction Writing Series) – Stephen L. Gillet
• Aliens and Alien Societies: A Writer’s Guide to Creating Extraterrestial Life-Forms – Stanley Schmidt
• The Science of Science Fiction – James Gunn
• Borderlands of Science: How to Think Like a Scientist (and Write Science Fiction) -Charles Sheffield
• Time Travel: A Writer’s Guide to the Real Science of Plausible Time Travel – Paul J Nahin
• The Fantasy Writer’s Companion -Tee Morris (Editor)
• The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indespensable Compendium of Myth and Magic – Various
• The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy: Volume One – Darin Park (Editor); Tome Dullemond (Editor)