Things Can Be Weirder in TTRPG: An Appendix N Manifesto
Gonzo and Weird Fiction seem to be synonymous with the classic TSR era D&D games (pre-AD&D 2e) and some OSR games. From my perspective, Gonzo encapsulates the bizarre, off-the-wall strangeness, and sometimes silly. While Weird Fiction encompasses Fantasy (specifically Sword and Sorcery), Horror, and Science Fiction before those genres managed to stand on their own. The books and stories listed in Appendix N of AD&D 1e have the style of story, tone, vibe, and aesthetics that are known to be Gonzo and Weird Fiction.
I do understand that this style of TTRPG may not be that popular. Some people prefer their games and adventures to be a part of a specific genre, without having the need to mix it up with certain things. And that's okay. Taking examples from the OSR, games like Old-School Essentials, Dolmenwood, and Shadowdark hold on to the Fantasy genre. Liminal Horror staying true to the Horror genre. Stars Without Number is a popular Science Fiction OSR game.
On the other hand, I feel games like Dungeon Crawl Classics, Hyperborea, Chris McDowall's Bastionland games, Vaults of Vaarn, Electrum Archive, Hypertellurians, and a few others really embrace Weird Fiction, even when a lot of them are not necessarily paying homage to Appendix N.
Understandably so, Appendix N might feel like it's just a list. Upon reading it, we don't really get why Gygax picked these titles, other than that he really loved them. Only through reading these books, understanding the themes, concepts, vibes, and atmospheres, one eventually understand the ideas that shaped D&D.
But one might argue that it's better to play it straight. Another argument is its silliness. I do see the appeal and concerns. Mashing things up, while it might create a different experience, may decrease the effect of what these genres can offer. While sticking with one genre may give you a lot more depth. As for the silliness, it does need some buy in in order to embrace it for what it is.
Cover for The Knight Errant: Expanded Edition. Mish mashed Clark Ashton Smith, H. P. Lovecraft, Jack Vance, and Michael Moorcock for this one. Art by my wife, Citaaticat.
The Gonzo and The Weird might also be at odds. Some see that Gonzo puts emphasis on the unpredictability and the pulpy. While Weird Fiction may exudes more mystery, strangeness, and horror to it. I argue that there's a room for both. They're synonymous. A great Gonzo/Weird Fiction game/adventure/setting will certainly entertain the players (as many OSR fans believe that players have more importance to the style than the characters themselves, hence why OSR as a player skill game needs Gonzo/Weird Fiction as a form of player entertainment).
There's also the fact that everyone's acceptance for the weird and the absurd is subjective. One group might see a specific game/adventure/setting as too Gonzo/Weird, while others might be able to tolerate it. It honestly depends on the expectations.
Illustration by my wife, Citaaticat
For me? I love Weird! I love Gonzo! I've spent more than half of my TTRPG hobby experience trying to play the world's most popular TTRPG in such a straightforward and "pure" manner, that eventually it feels generic. Yet the more I explore this hobby, the more I am drawn to the weird, the strange, and the different.
The point that I am trying to make is... You know what, let's just turn this into a manifesto. An Appendix N Manifesto. How about that? It's my invitation for people to embrace the weird and the gonzo. Not just for OSR. But for the wider TTRPG industry.
Fantasy in TTRPG should be stranger
Not merely darker. Not grittier. Stranger. Fantasy in TTRPG should surprise people again.
Genres are ingredients, not constraints
Appendix N wasn't a reading list of "fantasy". It included Sword and Sorcery, Weird Fiction, Horror, Planetary Romance, Science Fiction, Cosmic Horror, History, Mythology, and Pulp adventure.
Stop asking whether something belongs in this game/adventure/setting. Ask whether it's exciting to be included.
Weird Fiction is the missing ingredient
Sword & Sorcery already rejects the moral certainty of epic fantasy. Weird Fiction rejects the certainty of reality itself. The world should contain things that have no obvious explanation. Not every monster needs a taxonomy. Not every spell needs a school. Not every god needs a family tree. Wonder comes from mystery.
Fantasy does not need to be Medieval Europe
Appendix N ranges from ancient civilizations to dying Earths, jungles, deserts, forgotten cities, alien worlds, pirate kingdoms, decadent empires, underground civilizations, and impossible landscapes.
It reminds us that fantasy can happen anywhere.
Technology is magical enough
Appendix N never worried about whether ray guns "fit." A laser pistol discovered in a forgotten ruin is simply another artifact of an older age.
To a barbarian, a robot, a demon, and a bronze automaton are all equally terrifying.
Science becomes mythology.
Monsters should be singular again
Modern fantasy often reduces monsters into ecological categories. Appendix N prefers the unforgettable.
There is one worm. One haunted castle. One impossible beast. One city no map remembers. The world becomes legendary rather than systematic.
Read and Steal
Read widely. Read beyond fantasy. Read forgotten paperbacks. Read old magazines. Read mythology from cultures unlike your own. Read ghost stories. Read cosmic horror. Read pulp adventures. Read speculative fiction that refuses easy labels. Fill your imagination with ideas that have never appeared in a bestiary or campaign setting.
Then steal from all of it. Steal shamelessly. Steal with love. Steal until your worlds no longer resemble anyone else's.
Appendix N is not sacred scripture. It is not a reading list. It is a declaration of creative freedom.
Its writers stole from every shelf in the library. They mixed horror with romance, science with sorcery, myth with archaeology, philosophy with pulp adventure. They did not ask permission from genre. They pursued wonder wherever they found it.
We should do the same. Write weird adventures and strange worlds. Put flying saucers in your dungeons. Let vampires pilot spaceships. Let demons bargain with computers. Let ancient gods sleep beneath nuclear reactors. Mix myths that were never meant to meet. Build worlds that feel discovered rather than designed.
