TTRPGs like Dungeons and Dragons have always been deeply influenced by literature. Gary Gygax, one of D&D's creators, even included a special appendix in early additions of the game that listed the books that had inspired him. Fiction writers began to find their own inspiration from the worlds of D&D, creating a symbiosis that benefited both authors and TTRPG players.
Today this literary relationship has expanded into the genre of juvenile and YA graphic novels, with many writers and illustrators being influenced by the fantasy tropes of D&D and other games. Game masters wanting to run a campaign with younger players can find many great ideas in these books.
10 Goblin Tells A Story From The Monster's Viewpoint
Goblin, by Eric Grissom and Will Perkins, is the tale of the goblin Rikt, whose family is slaughtered by a human adventurer. Driven by grief and vengeance, he sets out to find a mystical power that will give him the strength and skill to defeat his parents' murderer. Along the way, he meets and befriends other beings usually considered "monsters" like him.
Goblin is excellent inspiration for making the monsters in a TTPRG more sympathetic. Players could learn that the goblins and other "cannon-fodder" creatures have homes and families. A Game Master could even run an entire campaign with monster characters who see humans, elves, and other traditional fantasy races as the villains.
9 Amulet Slowly Builds Its Epic Tale
In Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet series the characters Emily, Navin, and their mother move to an old family house in the countryside. They are quickly drawn through a portal into an alternate world of humans, robots, and animal people at war with the conquering empire of the elves.
When Emily acquires a mysterious amulet that gives her incredible powers, she and her family join the fight. Amulet provides a great example of how to build a TTRPG campaign from small adventures into epic sweeping quests that span the entire world and involve dozens of characters.
8 Girl Haven Is About Discovering One's True Self
Girl Haven, written by Lilah Sturges and illustrated by Meaghan Carter, is about shy, awkward Ash bringing some new school friends home to show them the shed where Ash's missing mom spent her childhood building a fantasy world where only girls are allowed. When the group read aloud from a diary, they are drawn into this world and discover that the inhabitants need their help defeating a destructive scourge.
Ash has been called a "boy" all their life, but coming to this world where the magic only allows girls to enter finally allows Ash to discover who they really are. A TTRPG inspired by Girl Haven could be about characters discovering and accepting things about themselves that they have tried to deny or not fully understood.
7 5 Worlds Is An Epic Space Fantasy
5 Worlds is a series of graphic novels written and illustrated by Mark and Alexis Siegel with collaborations from Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rochefeller, and Boya Sun. It is the story of three kids trying to light five sacred beacons to stop the planets of their solar system from overheating.
Oona Lee, a young dancer who can magically control sand, is accompanied in her quest by An Tzu, a homeless boy dealing with a disease that slowly makes him vanish, and Jax Amboy, a celebrity athlete isolated by his fame.The colorful diversity of the five worlds, with their unique environments and sweeping, fluid architecture, provides good visual inspiration for a GM designing a campaign with many cultures and ecosystems interacting together.
6 The Nameless City Is An Urban Adventure
The titular metropolis in this graphic novel written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks and colored by Jordie Bellaire lies along a major trade route and has been reconquered and renamed so many times that its inhabitants simply call it The Nameless City. The story focuses on Rat, a native who hates the endless invaders; and Kaidu, a young soldier-in-training from the latest occupying nation who comes to love the city. Together they must stop a plot to overthrow and destroy their home.
The Nameless City deals with themes of identity and the interactions of peoples from different nations living together. This series provides game masters and players with abundant inspiration for urban storytelling and social interactions between different cultures.
5 The Okay Witch Discovers Her Magical Heritage
In The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, Moth Hush is a 13-year-old girl living in a town steeped in legends of witchcraft and witch hunters. When she accidentally casts a magic spell, she discovers that the stories were real and she herself is the daughter of a witch.
Moth is overjoyed to discover her powers, but her mother warns her that the world of magic is not as great as she thinks, and the legacy of the hunters is still alive. The Okay Witch is great inspiration for an adventure about players discovering magical secrets about their characters' heritage and exploring the history behind those powers, both good and bad.
4 The Protagonist Of Wingbearer Learns To Adapt To A New World
Wingbearer, written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Teny Issakhanian, follows the adventures of Zuli, a human girl living in the Great Tree that holds the souls of birds while they wait to be reincarnated. When the spirits stop coming, Zuli travels to the living world to find out why, accompanied by her grumpy owl companion Frowly. Though she has no experience in this new land, she explores it with an open and curious mind.
Many TTRPG campaigns are about exploring strange worlds and uncovering secrets. Wingbearer provides a good framework to show game masters and players how to embrace this sense of discovery and approach adventures with curiosity and a willingness to change one's perceptions.
3 Dungeon Critters Is About Animal Adventurers
The characters of Dungeon Critters by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter are a group of anthropomorphic animals: Goro the hulking, limbed snake, the fire-slinging feline Rose, the magical botanist dog June; and the and frog royalty Prince Chirp. When their kingdom is invaded by a murderous plant monster, the group sets out to find the source of the beast before it destroys everything.
While Dungeon Critters features abundant comedy and adventure, the real drivers of the story are the relationships between the characters that help them evolve as a team. Players will find plenty of inspiration in this story as they develop the dynamics of their group and learn to navigate conflicts among their characters.
2 Nimona Loves Being A Villain
Originally begun as a web comic, ND Stevenson's Nimona is about the titular shape-shifter teaming up with villainous Lord Ballastar Blackheart in order to discredit the hero Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. Their deeds begin as harmless acts of mischief, but Nimona soon escalates to much more dangerous tactics which make even Blackheart nervous. Despite her boss' hesitation, Nimona revels in the mayhem she causes, though sometimes she just wants to stop feeling so lonely.
The villains of Nimona are not entirely bad, nor are the heroes wholly good. Readers can adapt the graphic novel's meditations on the gray areas of evil and good to the characters of their TTRPG world.
1 Beetle & the Hollowbones Deals With Themes Of Self-Doubt
The titular goblin girl of Aliza Layne's Beetle & the Hollowbones likes to skip her magic schoolwork in order to hang out at the local haunted mall with her friend Blob Ghost. When her other friend, Kat, returns to town for a magic apprenticeship, Beetle feels embarrassed and inadequate next to the other girl who she sees as being much cooler and more skilled than herself. Kat, however, has her own personal issues to deal with.
When the girls uncover a plot to destroy the mall where Blob Ghost is magically trapped, they must learn to overcome their insecurities to save the building. Beetle and Kat's struggles with feelings of inadequacy and fear provide good inspiration for characters trying to find a place for themselves in their world and learning to accept their flaws while embracing the strengths that make them heroes.