This is
a fairly short list of books about role-playing games in
general.
1. Albrecht, Bob. "The Adventurer's Handbook: A Guide to Role Playing Games" 1984
(ISBN: 083590167X)
This is an introduction to role-playing games in general and to Chaosium's basic
roleplaying system in particular.
2. Brown, Timothy and Lee, Tony. "Official Price Guide to Role-Playing Games".
Ballantine Books, 1998.
This is a handbook for collectors of role-playing game products, suggesting prices
for rare items, limited prints, etc.
3. Butterfield, John; Parker, Philip; and Honigmann, David. "What is Dungeons
and Dragons?". Harmondsworth 1982-1984, Puffin Books (ISBN: 0446322121).
This is one of the earliest book about role-playing games. It is both a description
of D&D for newcomers to the game as well as detailed background notes, hints
on play and dungeon design, strategy and tactics.
4. Desborough, James and Mortimer, Steve. "The Munchkin's Guide to Power
Gaming". Steve Jackson Games, 2000. (ISBN 1556343477)
A humorous look at power-gaming, rules-lawyering, cheating, and other juvenile
RPG tricks. While the main intent is clearly humor, the parody is a reflection
on RPG styles.
5. Fannon, Sean Patrick. "The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible". Prima
Entertainment, 1995. (ISBN: 0761502645)
This is half an in-depth introduction to what tabletop RPG's are like, and half
a history of published tabletop RPG's.
6. Fannon, Sean Patrick. "The Fantasy Role-Playing Gamer's Bible, 2nd Edition".
Obsidian Studios, 2000. (ISBN: 0967442907)
A revised edition of the previous book. It adds additional material covering
new roleplaying games since 1995, and also re-edits many of the original essays.
7. Fine, Gary Alan. "Shared Fantasy: Roleplaying Games as Social Worlds" University
of Chicago Press. 1983. (ISBN: 0226249433)
An academic study of the roleplaying subculture in the late 70's and early 80's.
It is not about the games per se but rather the particular social contexts that
the author studied.
8. Guthrie, Wade. "Game Mastering Secrets". Wade Guthrie Press, 2000.
This is a large (8.5"x11") 136-page book which has an assortment of
tips for game-mastering. It's emphasis is on first-time GMs.
9. Gygax, Gary. "Role-Playing Mastery: Tips, Tactics and Strategies",
Grafton Books, London 1989. (ISBN: 0399512934)
This book explores the nature of roleplaying games, and defines a number of distinctions
about types and styles of games. It's distinctions are different than many later
writers, and often specific to D&D, which Gary Gygax was an author of.
10. Gygax, Gary. "Master of the Game". Perigee Books, 1990. (ISBN:
039951533X)
A continuation of his other book, this focusses on the game-master.
11. Holmes, John Eric. "Fantasy Role Playing Games". Hippocrene Books,
New York 1981. (ISBN: 0882545140)
A semi-official book which describes roleplaying games to non-players, authored
by a TSR writer.
12. Laws, Robin D. "Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering". Steve Jackson
Games, 2002. (ISBN 1556346298)
A comic-book sized 32-page guide on gamemastering techniques for established
gamemasters. It concentrates on categorizing players and tailoring your game
and game preparations to satisfy them.
13. Livingstone, Ian. "Dicing With Dragons: An Introduction to Role-Playing
Games". Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. (ISBN: 0452254477)
An introduction to role-playing games, which includes a complete solitaire adventure
using a system it calls "Fantasy Quest." It was first published in
England in 1982 by Routledge & Kegan Paul. It was reprinted in America by
Plume the next year and again by Signet in September, 1986.
14. Mackay, Daniel. "The Fantasy Role-Playing Game: A New Performing Art" McFarland,
2001. (ISBN: 0786408154)
This is a very academic analysis of role-playing games as a performance art.
The author uses a theoretical framework of theater studies. His data is primarily
from a long-standing AD&D campaign that he played ran for several years.
15. Plamondon, Robert. "Through Dungeons Deep: A Fantasy Gamers' Handbook".
Reston Publishing, 1982. (ISBN: 0835976874)
This was written as a practical guide to running an RPG campaign. It covers creating
and playing characters, creating a game world and game-mastering, hosting a good
game session, common pitfalls and how to avoid them, and even painting miniature
figures.
16. Schick, Lawrence. "Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing
Games", Prometheus Books, Buffalo, N.Y., 1991. (ISBN: 0879756535) Look for
use like only.
This is primarily an enormous catalog of most RPG items to date, including not
only the basic RPG systems but also their supplements. It has occaisional notes
on the history and definition of RPG's from selected authors.
17. Swan, Rick. "The Complete Guide to Roleplaying Games". St. Martin's
Press, 1990. (ISBN: 0312050607)
This is primarily an enormous catalog of short reviews, with some general notes
about what RPG's are.
