Best products from r/WoT

Obviously, reading the entire series several times isn't a practical idea. And, there's far too much breadth and depth to the world to give you a useful crash course in a reddit comment or two. So, here are a few suggestions:

• Ask your friend about the characters they want to play, when relative to the main story, and what part(s) of the world they're most interested in exploring. This will give you some areas to focus on in more detail.
  
• Consider reading a couple of the books if you can make the time. The natural place to start would be The Eye of the World which is full of detail and world-building. However, the plot is very tightly focused and you might not get enough of the big picture to construct a good campaign experience.
  
  • Another option would be to jump ahead to books 3, 4, and 5 (The Dragon Reborn, Shadow Rising, and The Fires of Heaven). The scope is substantially wider and you'll see a lot more of the world, cultures, and different regions. Crucially, you'll get some time in the White Tower, which is the single most important political institution. These earlier books are more accessible, Jordan does more recapping in the narration, and there are fewer minor POV characters than later in the series. Plus, reading some of these will give you a much more nuanced feel for the world than reading synopses and Wiki entries.
    
  • I would also consider reading the New Spring novella. It's considerably shorter than any of the other works and gives you a unique view on the world outside of the context of the main story line. If any of the players is playing an Aes Sedai or a character connected to the White Tower (a warder, expelled novice, etc.) this book is a must read for you.
    
• The audiobooks are truly EXCELLENT. Getting all 15 (induing New Spring) could be somewhat costly, but if you can find some at local libraries and pick up others on audible, it would be a good way to immerse yourself in the world. If I were in your shoes, I would listen to them frequently as you run the campaign, dipping in and out of different books after you finish the series on the first go.
  
  Some other resources for you to consider:
  
  
• The Wiki is OK. It's somewhat mixed in its detail and seems to be more detailed on the individual characters, which is likely less useful for your needs.
  
• Leigh Butler's ReRead of the series on Tor.com is good. She does a brief chapter-by-chapter synopsis of each book, so you'll get all the main plot and character points, although you'll of course miss out on the details of the world building and texture. Plus, it's written for someone who's read the series. Nonetheless, it might be worth checking out for you.
  
• The two published reference books might also be worth getting your hands on.
  
  • I highly recommend reading The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (aka the White Book or the big book of bad art). It's organized thematically and will cover a lot of background detail of the world: Nations, history, some politics, etc. Unfortunately, it's not comprehensive as it was written part way through the series.
    
  • The Wheel of Time Companion was published after the series was finished. It's organized alphabetically and draws from Jordan's notes as well as the published works. You might well find it a good reference for different places, ideas, and items, but for learning about the world overall, I think you'll be better served by starting with the white book.
    
    Hope this helps!
    

Congrats on finishing! WoT really is a wild ride, no other series has left me with a feeling even close to what I felt when I put down AMOL for the last time...

As for your reread, I just want to let you know there are some other books and stories that can help expand your reread. New Spring is an awesome prequel book to the series, I would recommend starting the reread with that first!

Also, if you want to get alllll the info you can on Randland, the WoT Companion book is an awesome encyclopedia of it all while The world of RJ's WoT is almost like a mini textbook describing much of the land and nations. Lastly, there is a very very short story about Bao the Wyld, it's basically a deleted scene. I'm not sure of the ways to access it besides getting the Unfettered anthology though that one is pretty cheap and has a lot of other very good stories from varying authors.

Either way, enjoy the reread! I'm doing my first reread now and I'm having a blast catching all the foreshadowing and hidden gems :)

Faile not only ended up being my favorite The Wheel of Time character, but also my favorite sci-fi/fantasy character too. I absolutely love her and Nynaeve's characterizations in tWoT.


I agree with what u/jbh4y said- Faile/Perrin are one of the most realistic and the strongest couples in the series. And I myself would add, the most developed by far too.

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To me, Faile ends up having the best couple-chapters -scenes and -lines of the whole series; just take a look at the incredible chapter Among the Tuatha'an

> “Sleep, my wolf king. Sleep.”

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She ends up being the best wife/spouse of the series.

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I can see why some series fans don't like her; they were most likely expecting some tame character out of a Harry Potter or Disney type of family fantasy. And to their shock, Jordan brings over one of his Conan characters for his new series—see Jordan's The Red Hawk from his first Conan novel - Conan the Invincible

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Faile is just one example of many in tWoT of what I like to refer as—Jordan's 'Conan meta'—for lack of a better phrase.

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So basically to answer the OP's question, many readers were expecting to a story with characters similar to 'Harry Potter', 'The Hobbit' or 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', and were unable to except Jordan's insertion of a Conan style of character thrown into this fantastic world that he created.

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In the end, BOTH Perrin and Faile are unfortunately the most misunderstood characters of Jordan's tWoT series. I just wish that more readers would have an open mind to just what—Jordan was writing. See my post in the Perrin thread for a Perrin example.

I feel bad for the guy that when he was alive he kept hearing this griping from his fans from their knee-jerk reactions.

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Well, that's my take on it anyway.

I'm surprised no one has brought it up yet, but I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring for Ursula K. Le Guin and the Earthsea Quartet. Le Guin is a master of writing character-driven fantasy with a focused message that extends beyond the worlds she creates, though those worlds are fascinating in their own right.

I think the best way to express how impactful her writing has been in my life is with a part of the introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness, wherein she discusses just why she writes fiction:


> A metaphor for what?

> If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words, this novel; and Genly Ai would never have sat down at my desk and used up my ink and typewriter ribbon in informing me, and you, rather solemnly, that the truth is a matter of the imagination.

I would first echo most people here and say Sanderson's anything- Elantris comes to mind as a good recommendation.

When you say in the same calibre, are you talking in terms of story, in terms of being high fiction, in terms of length or in terms of moments that make you go, "ohhh... well DAMN!"

I would recommend a lot of things I saw below, so I'm going to try to not do that any more than I already have. The Conan Chronicles by Robert Howard are fun and a much unappreciated classic of Low Fantasy. Orcs by Stan Nicholls is a great series, somewhere in the middle ground between high and low fantasy, and does an interesting twist on the classical fantasy story. The Gentleman Bastards series is another interesting take, but it is more of an Ocean's 11 in a fantasy world. I only saw one mention, but anything Tolkien is a must read if for nothing else than to pay respect to the godfather. The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks is another good story, and it uses a lot of the ideas Jordan uses in terms of who knows what, why and when to progress the story. Finally, for a more Eastern themed book, Tales of the Otori by Liam Hearn is a good trilogy with a lot of political twists.

EDIT: added a link for Elantris

The Strike at Shayol Ghul details Lews Therins attempt to shut the bore.

Speaking of the Strike at Shayol Ghul, there is The World of Robert Jordan's a Wheel of Time also known affectionetly as the Big White Book (BWB) or Big Book of Bad Art (BBBA). It delves into a lot about cultures, features write ups of each forsaken, pokes fun at the covers and includes the entire text of Strike.

There was a short story called New Spring included in Robert Silverberg's Legends, this was later expanded into the novella New Spring

The short story about Bao is not considered connanical and is included in the short story collection Unfettered

Eye of the world was re-released for a YA market in two parts with a new prologue Ravens

The Interview Database, just click a topic that looks intresting and prepare to lose a day or two

The Wheel of Time FAQ back in the mists of time (late 90's early aughts) this was the best resource for all things WoT related. It hasn't been significantly updated since about book 10 (i mean, yes there were updates, but nothing on the scale and detail that it used to get). Gives great insight into what the fandom was pulling its hair out about during the two years+ between books. Also, some of the info is evergreen like historical references etc.

There was a terrible video game that has almost zero to do with the series.

There was a d20 based D&D rule set released and a adventure that explained how Taim got to Rand in time to rescue himat Dumai's Wells. RJ later came out and said that this was completely made up by the authors of the module and had nothing to do with the series, which was a BIG clue about Taim's allegiance.

I feel like im missing something, but I can't put my finger on it, so I will leave you with a random fact that you should know

Tar Valon is a vagina

Well "From The Two Rivers" is half of the Young Adult version of "the Eye of the World" that included "Ravens," a short Egwene story. Most printings of this book do not include the original tEotW prologue at all, but instead start with "Ravens" as the only prologue. It also had the font size increased and was split into two volumes.

I'm not certain, but the second half should have similar artwork. Just be aware that those releases were geared at the YA audience. Pretty sure this version came out recently, so it may be that they don't have many of the others yet printed. Although, I really can't see anyone trying to pass off Dumai's Wells as suited for a YA reader, so who knows how far past book three they will even go.

That artwork was also featured on the original release of the Companion.

While reading the books is the most legitimate source; there is the slim possibility that you could find the D20 RPG book in a library. I did say slim? I probably should be honest and say next to extremely unlikely; as it's out of print from 2001- but it depends on your size of library system, etc. Or you might know a RPG friend that has one.

WoT D20 RPG Source book

Covers the system (while doing some D20 conversions) but does give a great overview of what could be possible with the magic system it and summarizes it in one book.

So we agree, it is mentioned once and otherwise the appearance doesn't matter for Emond's fielders then right? As long as Rand is taller and has red hair/gray eyes to stand out who cares? Or maybe for viewers of a TV show making the difference in appearance more noticeable is probably a good idea to show how different he actually is. It's also accepted that his "mother" and Tam's wife was pale, red haired from Caemlyn so I wouldn't say he doesn't stand out when you have book titles that show characters like this here.

Sounds like you might enjoy Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. I think Snow Crash is meant to be in the same universe - it's hilarious but not as dense. You might also like his Cryptonomicon, though it's not technically Sci Fi.

Tad Willams' Otherland Series is Epic Sci Fi with a huge amount of detail. Might be right up your alley.

Dune, Neuromancer and The Enderverse if you haven't already read those.

I haven't had a chance to look at it myself, but The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time was released a number of years ago. It sounds like it might be the sort of thing you are looking for.

I agree though that it would be nice to have more books to build on the lore.

There is an updated companion book coming this year. Personally, I think you should definitely wait until after you read Path of Daggers (for all the reasons given by others in this thread) but also consider waiting until after the new companion book is out. It could contain a lot of the same information, and maybe ^^(gasp) better art!

Oh, while I'm thinking of it: That link is to the Amazon Smile page for The Wheel of Time Companion, and it is currently spoiler-free. That could change at any time, so buyer beware.

there is a soundtrack for the 1999 WOT videogame https://www.amazon.com/Soundtrack-Wheel-Time-Robert-Berry/dp/B000TPYSFE/ref=tmm_msc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Also here's a playlist inspired by the series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpk-267X9bk&list=PLFD79BF2D4A257CB0 jak of the shadows is a great piece.

I absolutely love the Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game based on the D20 system for lore. I used to play a lot of D20 on other systems but never this one. Didn't matter though - it's a fun reference. Find it here!

My suggestion for WoT gifts is to either hand create something, go to Etsy, or go to Ta'veren Tees. http://www.taverentees.com/
I've read the whole series and thoroughly enjoy seeing the merch up on Ta'veren Tees. But if you really wanted to get him something, you could always either get him the book he's on (if he hasn't finished) or possibly the Wheel of Time Companion. https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314614

Book.
https://smile.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314622/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TISOVRPQVWMO&keywords=the+wheel+of+time+companion&qid=1570485976&s=books&sprefix=the+wheel+of+time+companion%2Caps%2C308&sr=1-1
The paperback is the large size, not the small mass market pprbk. And if you're a fan of Daniel Greene's you tube channel, he has it in his Amazon store and will help support his channel.

Congratulations! Check out The Wheel of Time Companion, The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, and the canonical (and non-canonical) short stories! And if you haven't already, peruse http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ - it has good chapter synopses and links between parts of the story.

The Wheel of Time already has a RPG, based on D&D 3.0 rules:

The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game

Additionally, there was one supplement:

Prophecies of the Dragon

It wouldn't take a lot of work to update that to D&D 3.5, or first edition Pathfinder (aka 3.75), and there's guides to update from first edition to the new second edition, so put in a night's work and you'd be able to play that with a current rules set, if you wished.

Hope that helps!

We know very little about the actual appearances of most characters in the books. We know at the very least that the people of Caemlyn and the people of the Two Rivers do, on average, look different. We also know that Two Rivers folk have dark hair. The locals always note that Rand looks different but chalk it up to the fact that this mother Kari was from Caemlyn. This suggests that at least some, if not many, Caemlyners/Andorans have a northern European look, and that this is not typical for Two Rivers folk.

Other than this we know very little about what the Two Rivers "look" is. Some people definitely envision southern European or mediterranean, others envision Hispanic. This cover featuring Egwene on the left supports these interpretations of Two Rivers folk as having darker hair and darker skin, but even the art is just the interpretation of the artist.

I just tried searching amazon for this (never heard of it) and all I found was this: http://www.amazon.com/Unfettered-Terry-Brooks-ebook/dp/B00DJJIR6S/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1409916955&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=river+of+souls+brandon+sanderson


is it the same thing? I'm really interested in finding this!

Yup. Wizards of the Coast had the license to the table top version of the game a while back.

http://amzn.com/0786919965

It's a good starting point if you want to use third edition or even 3.5. Anything else and you might want to write the campaign yourself.

Yeah, it’s a UK cover

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-World-Book-Wheel-Time/dp/0356503828

Here’s a link to the first one :)

To be fair, Twixt is correct on Hawkwing. The information about Hawkwing's history, the Consolidation (capital C because it is an event in WoT history), his treatment of commoners, and his interaction with Aes Sedai exists in The Big White Book.

In this case, the speculation is fueled by facts and it is not that difficult to extrapolate what Hawkwing might have said to Tuon. The Seanchan have run the empire near the direct opposite direction a younger Hawkwing and also the bound Hero did/would. Some if not all of the harshness with which the older Hawkwing ran the empire and thus the empire that would have sent the colonizers who would become Seanchan, like the hatred of Aes Sedai, is attributed too Ishamael/Ba'alzamon's manipulation posing as Jalwin Moerad. An action Ishamael takes credit for the first time Rand is summoned to Tel'aran'rhiod.

Hoi! Ben ook nederlander en op het moment het vijfde deel aan het lezen. Ik adviseer een heron mark sword! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00421A4FO?vs=1 denk echt dat dit het ultieme wot cadeau is!😃 succes!

Very nice don't forget about [this.] (https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965) One of the few items I have never had both the money and availability to buy myself.

Very nice detail! Though I would not have added the text personally.

Hmm found out you can buy replicas on [Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Officially-Licensed-Wheel-Time-Heron/dp/B00421A4FO)

Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy, damn good book.

[The World of Wheel of Time] (https://www.amazon.com/World-Robert-Jordans-Wheel-Time-ebook/dp/B06Y5LK6B7). It's like the companion but written by someone in that world, so it's not always accurate.

EDIT
No wait, there it is. It's in a differen't form than mine. :)

You guys have probably all seen this, but I thought I'd share. It's a bit more Robert Jordan writing in randland but from a different character view. Not much, but something.

http://www.amazon.com/Unfettered-Terry-Brooks-ebook/dp/B00DJJIR6S

If anyone wants to buy this masterpiece... or just read the hilarious comments:

http://www.amazon.com/Soundtrack-For-The-Wheel-Time/product-reviews/B000TPYSFE/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Seems to be the (new?) UK edition. Colors and font looks like a match to me. I just searched "wheel of Time orbit".

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-World-Book-Wheel-Time/dp/0356503828

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314622

​

Something like this?

No Wheel of Time RPG, 8/10. Just kidding nice collection. Mine is mixed between physical and ebooks and still feels a bit incomplete.

You mean like this?

Based on the very real copyright battles going on with WoT, you may want to tread carefully when a product has already been created. Admittedly, the D&D system did not translate well for WoT the official RPG, but you could still get trampled over rights usage.

According to The Wheel of Time Companion she actually survived the Last Battle.

I have the wot d20 sourcebook its out there

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965

Might want to look at it as a reference for classes and stats and stuff the d20 ruleset is public so you wont get sued referencing it.

From what I remember, the World of WoT was not spoiler-full. It's the book that was everything pre-WH or something and contains what you're looking for, imo.

This one

> The continent we refer to as Randland is called "Westland" by RJ

"The Westlands," actually. It says so explicitly in the encyclopedia.

It is part of the book "unfettered" which can be had on Kindle for a few $

https://www.amazon.com.au/Unfettered-Terry-Brooks-ebook/dp/B00DJJIR6S

Have you read the short story about him in the Unfettered short story book? It gives a little bit more insight into what he was doing, or how he came about to achieving what he did, and maybe who that girl was in relation to him.

Paging /u/whydobabiesstareatme about the short story too.

Perhaps the old official roleplaying game can give you pointers?

I did it by reading slowly and multiple times. Nowadays people can cheat.

Yes

Write up a scenario that takes place before the first book perhaps? There was a supplement that included a prewritten campaign.

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Prophecies-Dragon/dp/0786926643

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965

http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Roleplaying-Game-Fantasy/dp/0786919965

> The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

Sorry, should have linked it for you. The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time . Published in 1997, has a lot of nice background material on the age of legends, Seanchan, etc. Also known as The Big White Book of Bad Art.

https://www.amazon.com/World-Robert-Jordans-Wheel-Time/dp/0312869363

Dubbed the "Big White Book of Bad Art" because, well, it's a big white book with a lot of bad art in it.

You definitely should!

Pick up the recently published Wheel of Time Compendium and it will make researching everything you need to know as easy as reading 10 little entries and 10 big entries (which looks like a lot but really isn't, especially since you've already made the time comittment to DMing and Homebrewing all this).

The Trolloc Wars setting gives lots of room for deviation from "official history" because it led to a near-collapse of civilization 2000 years before the books, and there was also the Hawkwing era 1000 years before so history could have been confused in countless ways even after that. Your players might know roughly what happens but throw in a Foretelling NPC to give them confused-prophesies of one-half red herrings (but maybe things they could MAKE happen) and other-half confirmations of what they know and they'll be uncertain all over again.

The Trolloc Wars were the greatest and most widespread use of the Power for martial purposes since the Breaking of the World, and really the biggest until the books themselves. The fact that Ishamael is working for the Dark means they might know any "forgotten" weave or talent you want to include--in a VERY limited elite group--and same for Aes Sedai, who would naturally be secretive as they grow to suspect that there are Darkfriends among them... It was during this "wandering the world" time that Ishamael founded the Black Ajah. Even without millions of Trollocs rampage across the land and the Ways becoming corrupt and whole civilizations which had very nearly regained the heights of the Age of Legends falling into ruin, that would be plenty of campaign material.

I bet there were more than a few False Dragons too.