matrix3 Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 When your PCs happen upon the Mad Doctor's library, are there any real world volumes present? Or, when you are fleshing out the background on your gadgeteer/scientist, do you ever say he was published in real world journals? I've included classics like first editions of H.G. Wells, or a handwritten manuscript of Jabberwocky. I've also included textbooks with interesting titles like Nonlinear Dynamics of Chaotic and Stochastic Systems and Conformal Field Theory, and some collected journals like Biological Cybernetics and Cybernetics and Systems Analysis. What real world books populate your fictional characters' libraries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfergus Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Oh yeah, I've done it. In a mad scientists labs: Methods of Digital Computation. Differential Equations and Boundry Value Problems Physical Chemistry All the above were text books in classes I had in Chemical Engineering. The Silmarillion was in a dark lords tower once. (he considered it a "what not to do" book) There were more, but I can't remember them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries It just so happens that I'm writing about a villainous librarian right now, so i have actually considered this a little bit. Of course, specific subjects will vary by villain and/or villain type, but one book that should be in every mastermind's library is Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Same for Machiavelli's The Prince. The Raffles books would be apropos for any aspiring thief. I can see a Dr. Moreau style mad scientist having an original edition of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. What aspiring crime boss wouldn't have The Godfather on the shelf? That's a start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Of course,someone who was trying to reanimate the dead would have a first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,a vampire lord would have a copy of Dracula,and an alien invader would also pick up H.G.Wells The War Of The Worlds and The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Any submarine captain worth his salt should have 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne in his library. Usually, though, I prefer coming up with fictional books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Critique of Pure Reason. A well-thumbed copy. On the "refreshment station" reading stand. Because, you know, that's the time when you need something light and amusing, that doesn't take much concentration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Critique of Pure Reason. A well-thumbed copy. On the "refreshment station" reading stand. Because' date=' you know, that's the time when you need something light and amusing, that doesn't take much concentration.[/quote'] Ha! A good way to underline you are dealing with a superhuman intellect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries The complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, and Asimov are good for the personal library of any mad scientist or would-be world conqueror, if only for appearance's sake. And of course if you want to really make your PCs (and players) think about what they're seeing, you could throw in Where the Wild Things Are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries One immortal villian had a scroll witten in Hebrew in his trophy case. When the PC's investigated, not only was it the biblical Book of Joshuah, but it appeared to be the rough draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries One immortal villian had a scroll witten in Hebrew in his trophy case. When the PC's investigated' date=' not only was it the biblical Book of [i']Joshuah[/i], but it appeared to be the rough draft. There was a campaign a friend was in where the villain had procured original works by Yehudah ben Bezalel Levai, the rabbi who supposedly created the Prague golem. He intended to use them to create an army, but couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work, so was kidnapping rabbinical scholars, which is how the PC's got involved. Not as old as the book of Joshua (~16th century AD vs. what? 15th century BC?), but still a pretty cool idea, I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries I had an aspiring Dark Lord collecting the works of Freud, Kierkegarde, Fromm, Jung etc and annotating them, mostly with 'LOL' or 'ROFLMAO' comments. While His collection of the Blue, Brown, Green fairy story books were used as training manuals for his officer corps. What not to do and how to get out of trouble if it does happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries I had an aspiring Dark Lord collecting the works of Freud' date=' Kierkegarde, Fromm, Jung etc and annotating them, mostly with 'LOL' or 'ROFLMAO' comments. While His collection of the Blue, Brown, Green fairy story books were used as training manuals for his officer corps. What not to do and how to get out of trouble if it does happen.[/quote'] I'm not familiar with the blue, brown, green fairy story books. links? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries I have a vampire with the entire (so far) Twilight series, then again she is something of a fangirl when it comes to that particular subject (Vampires, not Twilight.) I have an 'eccentric' (your only mad if you fail) scientist with Arthur C. Clarke's 'Profiles of the Future' (both editions). He uses Clarke's second law ("the only way we can know the limit of the possible is to attempt to move beyond it into the impossible") as his personal maxim, and enjoys the list of 'esteemed scientists' who said something was impossible only to have themselves proved wrong by reality (proving Clarke's first law: "If an esteemed scientist says something is possible he is most likely right, if he says it is impossible he is most likely wrong") it gives him a reason to call those who doubt him 'fools', he has historical precedent. I haven't used it yet but I plan on having a master villain who carries a copy of 'Master of the World' by Jules Verne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Just thought of one vital book: The Art of War by Sun Tsu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Just thought of one vital book: The Art of War by Sun Tsu. Recommended above, and I'm going to include that, The Book of the Five Rings and a possibly original manuscript of Il Principe in another library I'm planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtelson Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries The Prince (Il Principe above) annotated by Catherine de' Medici in October of 1563 Bartie Patersoune's Manuscript, recovered after his execution for Witchcraft in 1607 The Voynich manuscript with translation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries The Prince (Il Principe above) annotated by Catherine de' Medici in October of 1563 Bartie Patersoune's Manuscript, recovered after his execution for Witchcraft in 1607 The Voynich manuscript with translation. But the mystery of the Voynich Manuscript has been solved (spoilered for space): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtelson Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries How about Ben Hur 1860 3rd Edition with duplicated line on page 116 or a Chevalier Audubon 1840 - the full set, of course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix3 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries How about Ben Hur 1860 3rd Edition with duplicated line on page 116 or a Chevalier Audubon 1840 - the full set' date=' of course?[/quote'] Nobody would. There isn't such a thing. EDIT: Of course, you could throw those in there as references. Along with original works by S. Morgenstern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtelson Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Nobody would. There isn't such a thing. The girl in Geiger's store didn't know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries The Sporting News Major League Baseball Roster, each annual for the last two decades. Just for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind -- if only because the Beast was reading it on an issue of X-Men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boll Weevil Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries If you had a "world's smartest man" character, he could have a book titled "Ramses II" next to his computer just in case he couldn't think of an adequate log-on password. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries If you had a "world's smartest man" character' date=' he could have a book titled "Ramses II" next to his computer just in case he couldn't think of an adequate log-on password.[/quote'] Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the graphic novel give both Ozymandis and Night Owl a lot more credit than the movie by requiring Night Owl to know that Ozymandis was another name for Ramses on his own, instead of trying to make viewers believe that the "world's smartest man" needed a reminder of his password right next to his computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Re: Real World Books in Fictional Libraries Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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