Summary
I’ve playedDungeons & Dragonssince the 2eAdvanced DnDera, and the game’s depiction of wizards never truly made sense to me until I read Jack Vance’sDying Earthbooks. For years, I’ve been aware of the RPG’s connections to Jack Vance, and that “Vancian spellcasting” is the common nomenclature forDnD’s “fire and forget” system of spell slots. I was more surprised thatDying Earthclarified magic, as a whole, inDnD, and what sets it apart from most fantasy fiction. The later books in the series even made the amoral vibe of earlier edition adventures more digestible.
Most of theDying Earthnovels are collected short stories taking place within a shared setting. The four main books areThe Dying Earth(also calledMazirian The Magician),The Eyes Of The Overworld,Cugel’s Saga, andRhialto The Marvellous.
RecentDnD2024 revision wizard subclass controversiesremind me thatthe many schools of magic inDnDpresent arcane magic as an advanced scholarly pursuit, and wizards as a cross between magicians and mad scientists. This is exactly the depiction of powerful wizards in Vance’s firstDying Earthnovel. In the stories contained inMazirian The Magician, Vance introduces a strange world whose sun could die at any moment, full of wonders of lost empires and a handful of living mages who still hold mastery over the arcane. Omitting the nihilism of the setting, this describes mostDnDcampaign worlds.
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D&D’s Magic Owes Much To Jack Vance
From Specific Spells To Iconic Magic Items, The Dying Earth Inspired D&D
More recent editions ofDnDhave introduced useful cantrip spells, but this term was also used inDying Earthnovels.Specific iconic spells came from the novels, often with minimal changes, as Vance’s spell “The Excellent Prismatic Spray” became simplyprismatic spray. Spells that always felt at odds with conventional ideas of Wizards, likecloneandsimulacrum, feel right at home with Vance’s wizards, who all seem obsessed with growing new life in vats.DnDconcepts that place wizardry at an intersection of philosophy, mathematics, and occultism are torn right out of discussions between Vance’s characters, like Turjan and Pandelume.
Spells likehypnotic patternandresilient sphereare also clearly inspired byDying Earthnovels, and an entire classification ofDnDmagic items, Ioun Stones, is pulled directly from the fourth book in the series,Rhialto The Marvellous.
Considering the variousmagic items inDnD’s newVecnaadventurereminds me that Vance also introduced the conventions of how magic items work inDungeons & Dragons, and thatVecna himself is an homage to Vance, an anagram of the author’s name.In the wizard duel between Turjan and Kandive the Golden, magic items that repel harmful spells feel like the obvious inspiration forDnDstandbys like the Mantle of Spell Resistance. Vance’s chess-like battles between powerful opposing wizards recallsDnDspells likecounterspellandcontingency, enforcing the idea that a wizard can be prepared for anything, with sufficient resources.
If the plunderers happened to put down an evil demi-lich, they might unintentionally do some good, but this sort of heroism seemed coincidental, rather than by design.
The5eDnD Dragonlanceadventure is differentfrom other current edition modules, with its focused narrative and challenging battles, but the originalDragonlanceseries also stood apart from otherDnDmodules of its time. People associateDnDwith long-form epic campaigns, likeLord of the Rings, today, butearlyDnDassumed more episodic, self-contained adventures, often with less heroic stakes. These often operated closer to heists, where if the player characters did some good or defeated a great evil, it was incidental to their pursuit of wealth and personal power. The second twoDying Earthnovels showcase this tone perfectly.
Early D&D’s Amoral Tone Is Vancian
Old D&D Adventures Feel More Like Cugel Stories Than Tolkien’s Novels
Some players enjoy being the oneevil character in theDnDparty, letting them feel like anedgy loner in a room full of traditional heroes, but in the second twoDying Earthnovels that follow Cugel the Clever, all the characters are various shades of evil, all out to cruelly outdo each other. Cugel is written as a rogue with strong social skills who dabbles in swordplay and magic, which might make him seem closer to a modern bard archetype. He is entirely motivated by base drives like greed, lust, and revenge, without any character arc or redeeming qualities.
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Somehow,Cugel is exactly what players were expected to bring to the table with earlyDnD, not a party of well-meaning heroeslike the Fellowship of the Ring. Classic modules likeTomb of Horrorsdo not lure altruists to the dungeon based on legends that Acererak is prophesied to awaken and wreak havoc on the living. Adventurers were expected to enter dungeons based solely on greed, chasing rumors of treasure and magic items. If the plunderers happened to put down an evil demi-lich, they might unintentionally do some good, but this sort of heroism seemed coincidental, rather than by design.
Appendix N from the originalAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guideprovided a list of authors who inspiredDnDas reading suggestions. Tolkien is among them, but Vance is called out by name specifically.
There areDnDschemes beyond murder hobo behavior, ranging from heists to cons to blackmail, and based on Vance’s Cugel stories, these are just as valid as searching for an ancient relic.Older editions ofDnDactually provided experience points based on gold pieces looted from dangerous dungeons, reinforcing the theme of greed as the game’s main motivator. ModernDnDeither awards experience points based on overcoming challenges, or levels gained at story-based milestones. This lets the game reflect more than a relentless search for wealth and plunder, but it is a notable evolution fromDungeons & Dragons’ Vance-inspired origins.
D&D Has A Distinct Approach To Magic, Thanks To Vance
The Dying Earth Is A Bigger D&D Influence Than Lord Of The Rings
Just as theCosmeretabletop RPG based onMistbornadapts Brandon Sanderson’s work to the medium, there is an official, dedicatedDying EarthTTRPG from Pelgrane Press that fully embraces the eccentricities of Vance’s world.Theauthor’s influence onDnDcannot be understated, and it is likely that far more people are aware of Vancian spellcasting throughDnDthan through the author’s published books. Some of theDying Earthnovels are difficult to stomach for a modern audience, in part due to an endless reliance on ostentatious language choices, blatant misogyny, and Cugel in general, but they are nonetheless fascinating.
Pelgrane Press, the company that publishes theDying Earthtabletop RPG, is named after a fictional monster from Vance’s books. The Pelgrane is a vicious birdlike humanoid that preys on human flesh.
Appendix N from the originalAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guideprovided a list of authors who inspiredDnDas reading suggestions. Tolkien is among them, but Vance is called out by name specifically. Superficially,DnDhas the Tolkien aesthetic, but dig a little deeper, andDnD’s heart is closer to Jack Vance.Michael Moorcock gaveDnDalignmentsand the planes, but Vance gave it a truly unique take on magic. For anyone who has ever struggled with whyDungeons & Dragons’ wizards seem so odd, compared to most fantasy, Jack Vance’sDying Earthbooks hold all the answers.
Dungeons & Dragons
TheDungeons & Dragonsfranchise is a fantasy adventure series based on the iconic tabletop role-playing game. The franchise includes both live-action and animated adaptations, with the most notable being the recent filmDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves(2023), which brought the fantasy world of D&D to a broader audience with its blend of humor, action, and classic D&D elements. The franchise explores themes of heroism, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of adventuring in a magical world filled with dragons, wizards, and mythical creatures.
