poul anderson three hearts and three lions

The recent 4E cosmology partakes of Fairy-Land in some ways, through the Feywild and Shadowfell, but the atmosphere is still subtly different. They are less sympathetic, for one thing, and have a fascinating Christian gloss, being called Pharisees by mortals. It works well in the context of a game and it works well in the context of how fairy tales work structurally.ĭespite the many tropes of D&D that were drawn from 3H&3L, fairies are notably different than the Tolkienized elves of D&D. This is how characters can game encounters that are above their level. Instead, he tricks them, frightens them, uses kryptonite against them (well, not actual kryptonite, but hopefully my meaning is clear). I don’t want to spoil the details, but the basic idea is that Holger is not trading blows and reducing his enemies to 0 HP (most of the time). One of the things that I find most interesting about the various challenges presented over the course of Holger’s quest for the sword Cortana is the fact that, despite being a fearsome warrior, with a few exceptions Holger overcomes most of his foes by cleverness. Holger is also another example of the visitor from another reality as explorer of fantasy worlds. That being said, the writing is beautiful, unlike some Appendix N works, and it is filled with wonderful gaming inspiration and fairy tale atmosphere. 3H&3L reads in some ways like an introduction to a longer tale. It has more fully realized characters and a more complete story. Within can be found paladins that can fall from grace, trolls that regenerate and must be destroyed with fire, a multi-racial adventuring party, and sorcerers with unseen servants.Īs a novel, I prefer The Broken Sword, the other Anderson book that is often held up as influential on early D&D. In terms of direct influence on D&D, 3H&3L would probably be in any top 10. Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson, is one of the core books of Appendix N.

Poul anderson three hearts and three lions