catch. They are large, slow, powerful, unintelligent creatures with pale skin, furry legs, fanged mouths, and arms as long as a man is tall. Oasts: Oasts are creatures which appear to be very tall humans with blonde hair and blue eyes, but are actually no more intelligent than livestock, and are kept as such. Some tribes to the north of Ascolais use them as food, mounts, and beasts of burden. Twk-Men: The Twk-Men are tiny greenish men who ride on dragonflies. They are useful sources of information, and are willing to sell their knowledge. By the same token, they can be bribed to lie to others. The usual form of payment is salt, which they crave for unexplained reasons. Sandestins: Creatures comparable to jinn who, despite being extremely powerful, are easily compelled against their will to serve magicians. Sandestins allow mages to perform certain powerful spells without having to memorize syllables. They are fully aware they are superior to their masters in magic ability, which only adds to the resentment they feel. Influence on Dungeons and Dragons The Dying Earth was featured in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide under Appendix N: Literature as one of the works that were read during the development of the game system. The designer, Gary Gygax, also credited the novel with being the inspiration for the magic system, which he called "Vancian". See also The Dying Earth Roleplaying Game, Pelgrane Press (2001). A tabletop roleplaying game based on the novel series. References External links Dying Earth Short story collections by Jack Vance Fantasy short story collections Picaresque novels 1950 short story collections 1950 science fiction novels