This is the first in a series of short posts discussing what influences my work. Each post will detail either an inspiration or a specific author.
First and foremost, at least when we’re talking about my fantasy stuff, is D&D. I played AD&D for the first time in the eighties and tried a lot of other RPG systems, from modern day things (d20 Modern, Twilight 2000, GURPS), White Wolf stuff, science fiction (various incarnations of Star Wars rpg’s) and some other oddballs. I always deeply enjoyed good RPG sessions and the concept for many of my characters finds its origin in characters I’ve played or wanted to play. Mostly wanted to play, which offers an insight into why I started writing.
The Alagariel series started off as a D&D style adventure story. I wanted to tell a tale that was like my ideal D&D game. It grew into a little more than that, but the first Alagariel like character I devised was somewhere in the early 2000’s. Many of the other important characters are my own PC’s or are inspired by those other people played.
I still wish I had the time for RPG’s and a group of people to play with, but it doesn’t fit into my life right now. Who knows, maybe one day.