The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook presents a list of suggested reading that helped inspire those rules and the fantasy RPGs that preceded the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The following lists include and expand upon those suggestions, drawing also upon a variety of sources inspirational to fantastic adventures and even useful during play.
Alighieri, Dante: The Divine Comedy
Barker, Clive: The Hellbound Heart, Imagica, Weaveworld
Barlowe, Wayne: God’s Demon
Beowulf (anonymous)
Blackwood, Algernon: “The Willows,” “The Wendigo,” et al.
Brackett, Leigh: The Sword of Rhiannon, Skaith series, et al.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: Pellucidar, Mars, and Venus series
Campbell, Ramsey: Ryre the Swordsman series, et al.
Carter, Lin: ed. The Year’s Best Fantasy, Flashing Swords
Clarke, Susanna: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Cook, Glen: Black Company series
Cook, Hugh: Chronicles of an Age of Darkness series
Dunsany, Lord: The King of Elfland’s Daughter, et al.
Epic of Gilgamesh (traditional)
Farmer, Philip José: World of Tiers series, et al.
Feist, Raymond: Riftwar saga, et al.
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm: Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Gygax, Gary: Gord the Rogue series, et al.
Homer: The Odyssey
Howard, Robert E.: Conan series, Almuric, et al.
Hugo, Victor: Les Misérables
King, Stephen: Dark Tower series, et al.
Kuttner, Henry: Elak of Atlantis, The Dark World
James, M. R.: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Le Fanu, Sheridan: In a Glass Darkly
Leiber, Fritz: Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser series, et al.
Lovecraft, H. P.: Cthulhu Mythos tales, et al.
Machen, Arthur: “The White People,” et al.
Malory, Sir Thomas: Le Morte d’Arthur
Martin, George R. R.: Song of Ice and Fire series
Merritt, A.: The Ship of Ishtar, The Moon Pool, et al.
Miéville, China: Bas-Lag series
Moorcock, Michael: Elric and Kane of Old Mars series, et al.
Moore, Alan: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, et al.
Moore, C. L.: Black God’s Kiss
Morgan, Richard: The Steel Remains
Offutt, Andrew J.: ed. Swords Against Darkness
One Thousand and One Nights (traditional)
Ovid: Metamorphoses
Poe, Edgar Allan: “The Fall of the House of Usher,” et al.
Rosenberg, Joel: Guardians of the Flame, et al.
The Ramayana (traditional)
Saberhagen, Fred: Changeling Earth, et al.
Saunders, Charles: Imaro series, et al.
Sapkowski, Andrzej: The Witcher series
Shahnameh (traditional)
Shakespeare, William: Macbeth, et al.
Simmons, Dan: Hyperion series, The Terror, et al.
Smith, Clark Ashton: Averoigne and Zothique tales, et al.
Sturluson, Snorri: Prose Edda
Stephenson, Neal: The Baroque Cycle
Stoker, Bram: Dracula, Lair of the White Worm, et al.
Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Vance, Jack: Dying Earth series, et al.
Verne, Jules: Journey to the Center of the Earth, et al.
Wagner, Karl Edward: Kane series, ed. Echoes of Valor
Wellman, Manly Wade: John the Balladeer series, et al.
Wells, H. G.: The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, et al.
Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Zelazny, Roger: Amber series, et al.
Aliens in Space, by Steven Caldwell
The Atlas of the World’s Worst Natural Disasters: by Lesley Newson
African Mythology, by Jan Knappert
Barlowe’s Guide to Fantasy, by Wayne Barlowe and Wayne Duskis
Battle: A Visual Journey through 5,000 Years of Combat, by R. G. Grant
The Book of Imaginary Beings, by Jorge Luis Borges
Bulfinch’s Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch
The Cassell Dictionary of Folklore, by David Pickering
Cause of Death: A Writer’s Guide to Death, Murder & Forensic Medicine, by Keith D. Wilson
Castle, Cathedral, City, Mosque, Pyramid, by David Macaulay
A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, by John Dowson
A Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography & Concordance, by Chris Jarocha-Ernst
Deadly Doses: A Writer’s Guide to Poisons, by Serita Deborah Stevens with Anne Klarner
A Dictionary of Angels, by Gustav Davidson
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi
Dictionary of Symbolism, by Hans Biedermann
The Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology, by Michael Newton
Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, by Daniel Harms
The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Great Tales of Jewish Occult and Fantasy, by Joachim Neugroschel
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
The Illustrated Directory of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures, ed. Ingrid Cranfield
Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, by Robert Graves
Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of Cartography, by Ralph E. Ehrenberg
Military History series, by Osprey Publishing
Minerals Encyclopedia, by Petr Korbel and Milan Novak
The Mythical Creatures Bible, by Brenda Rosen
National Geographic (periodical)
People’s Names, by Holly Ingraham
A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore, ed. W. B. Yeats
The Voynich Manuscript (anonymous)
Warrior: A Visual History of the Fighting Man, by R. G. Grant
Weapons: A Pictorial History, by Edwin Tunis
Arkenstone, David; Bush, Tracy; Duke, Derek; Hayes, Jason: various Warcraft soundtracks
Beal, Jeff: Carnivale, Rome
Bell, Joshua: The Red Violin
Carpenter, John: Halloween, et al.
D’Ambrosio, Marco: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Dead Can Dance: Dead Can Dance, et al.
Elfman, Danny: Red Dragon, Sleepy Hollow, et al.
Fiedel, Brad: Terminator
Giacchino, Michael: Cloverfield, Lost
Goldsmith, Jerry: The 13th Warrior, The Mummy, et al.
Grieg, Edvard: In the Hall of the Mountain King
Herrmann, Bernard: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, et al.
Holst, Gustav: The Planets
Horner, James: Aliens, Avatar, Braveheart
In the Nursery: Engel
Jablonsky, Steve: Transformers
Jones, Trevor: From Hell, Merlin
Kilar, Wojciech: Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Kronos Quartet: Dracula, Ghost Opera, et al.
Kyd, Jesper: Assassin’s Creed 2
Mansell, Clint: The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream
McCreary, Bear: Battlestar Galactica scores, et al.
McKennitt, Loreena: The Mask and Mirror, et al.
Morricone, Ennio: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, The Thing
Navarrete, Javier: Pan’s Labyrinth
Newman, David: Serenity, The Phantom
Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile, et al.
Orff, Carl: Carmina Burana
Pelican: City of Echoes
Poledouris, Basil: Conan the Barbarian
Saint-Saëns, Camille: Bacchanale, Danse Macabre
Schubert, Franz: Death and the Maiden
Serra, Éric: The Fifth Element
Shore, Howard: Lord of the Rings
Uematsu, Nobuo: Final Fantasy series, et al.
Vangelis: Blade Runner, et al.
Williams, John: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, et al.
Yamane, Michiru: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Zimmer, Hans: Batman Begins, Gladiator, et al.
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, dir. Nathan H. Juran
Aguirre, the Wrath of God, dir. Werner Herzog
Alice in Wonderland, dir. Tim Burton
Army of Darkness, dir. Sam Raimi
Big Trouble in Little China, dir. John Carpenter
Braveheart, dir. Mel Gibson
Brotherhood of the Wolf, dir. Christophe Gans
Clash of the Titans, dir. Desmond Davis
Conan the Barbarian, dir. John Milius
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, dir. Ang Lee
The Dark Crystal, dir. Jim Henson and Frank Oz
The Descent, dir. Neil Marshall
Dragonslayer, dir. Matthew Robbins
Elizabeth, dir. Shekhar Kapur
Excalibur, dir. John Boorman
The Exorcist, dir. William Friedkin
From Hell, dir. Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
Gladiator, dir. Ridley Scott
Interview with the Vampire, dir. Neil Jordan
Jaws, dir. Steven Spielberg
Jason and the Argonauts, dir. Don Chaffey
House of Flying Daggers, dir. Zhang Yimou
Kingdom of Heaven, dir. Ridley Scott
Ladyhawke, dir. Richard Donner
The Last Winter, dir. Larry Fessenden
Lawrence of Arabia, dir. David Lean
The Legend of Boggy Creek, dir. Charles B. Pierce
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, dir. Peter Jackson
Master and Commander, dir. Peter Weir
The Mummy, dir. Stephen Sommers
The Name of the Rose, dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
The Neverending Story, dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Night of the Demon, dir. Jacques Tourneur
Ninja Scroll, dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri
The Omen, dir. Richard Donner
Pan’s Labyrinth, dir. Guillermo del Toro
Pirates of the Caribbean Series, dir. Gore Verbinski
The Princess Bride, dir. Rob Reiner
Princess Mononoke, dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Record of Lodoss War, dir. Akinori Nagaoka
Rogue, dir. Greg McLean
Seven Samurai, dir. Akira Kurosawa
Sleepy Hollow, dir. Tim Burton
Spirited Away, dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Stargate, dir. Roland Emmerich
Suspiria, dir. Dario Argento
The Thing, dir. John Carpenter
The Thirteenth Warrior, dir. John McTiernan
Trilogy of Terror, dir. Dan Curtis
The Wicker Man, dir. Robin Hardy
Yojimbo, dir. Akira Kurosawa
Vampire Hunter D, dir. Toyoo Ashida