This jam is now over. It ran from 2025-07-01 16:00:00 to 2025-08-01 03:59:59. View results

A list of fantasy and science fiction literature that inspired Dungeons & Dragons.

Featuring authors such as Robert E Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Leigh Brackett. These works were primarily written between the 1930s and 1970s, when the genres were still taking shape into what we know today. They’re known for their action, weirdness, and deep vocabulary.

Today, you can find such titles on the shelves of used bookstores. Typically appearing as beat up ‘70s paperbacks with faded text printed on pulpy, yellowed pages.

In the Tabletop Role Playing Game community, this is a vibe modern creators love returning to.

This July, join us for an itch jam that pays homage to the retro pulp fantasy of the Appendix N!

  • Your adventure will be assigned a made up Appendix N book title.
    • Your submission must use and reflect the title assigned to you.
    • We’ll send your randomly determined title within 24-48 hours via our MASTER LIST.
  • Your submission must be a ttrpg module of some kind.
    • Heist, Point Crawl, Puzzle or a good old fashioned Dungeon are all great options! Do whatever!
  • The module must be no more than FOUR A5 Pages.
    • A5 is 5.8 inches by 8.3 inches, so you could think of this as both sides of a letter sized sheet of paper.
    • Cover is not required, but if you chose to include one as part of your PDF it will count toward the page limit.
    • Trifold or 8 A6 page formats are allowed, as long as the physical size does not exceed the requirements.
  • There is no predetermined TTRPG system to incorporate. Make your module system agnostic or for a system of your choosing.
    • If you use a system we would request a D&D edition, derivative, or spiritual successor, but this is totally not mandatory.
  • No bigotry, sexism, or hate of any kind is allowed.
    • While we understand the old pulps can contain inappropriate content, if it wouldn’t fly in a book today it’s not worth referencing.
  • No AI content of any kind is allowed.
    • We want to see what you come up with! Creating it on your own is part of the fun!
  • Feel free to charge for what you make.
    • A free digital copy will need to be provided to our judges.


Making modules isn't easy and we want to make sure the best ones get rewarded.

  • 1st Place: $100
  • 2nd Place: $50
  • Audience Pick: $25

Please note that money will be sent via PayPal.

Our panel of judges are all cool people in the rpg community. They range from writers to commentators in order to give insight into different aspects of the submissions. They will be judging modules based on Writing, Layout, Art, and overall Theme.

Our Panel of Judges Are:

We want to make sure you have everything you need to put together your adventure!

Want more Appendix N specific resources? We've made a Google Drive with some curated free fonts, textures, and images we think work well.