Tavern Time Book Club

Tavern Time is a semi-regular hangout at the Start Line Brewing Company, in Hopkinton, where we play games, run one-shot adventures, or just talk about fantasy and science fiction topics. This time, we will be discussing the classic Dying Earth short story, "Turjan of Miir", by Jack Vance. The influences of the Dying Earth on early Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), include the weird blending of science and fantasy, the emphasis on morally ambiguous protagonists, and most famously the peculiar magic system used in the game -- i.e., spells are memorized by magic users and then forgotten when cast, a system that has come to be referred to has "Vancian" spell casting. The story appears in many collections of early fantasy fiction, and is fairly easy to find text or audio online. Stop by to hoist a tankard of ale (or non-alcoholic alternative) and share your thoughts on the story!