For a long time I have been developing a fantasy world for the fun of it. A large inspiration to me has been Clark Ashton Smith. Now that I feel my world is developed enough, I've been planning a gamebook taking place in this world. One thing I have considered is attempting to emulate Smith's style. I'm not a very good writer, so I doubt it will be very good, but do you think this kind of style could work in a gamebook?

I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but it is often difficult to capture the kind of decadent fantasy of Clark Ashton Smith in a roleplaying game. A few games have used material from Smith - the Mystara setting for AD&D, and the retroclone Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea come to mind - but I don't know of any that have quite captured his style. Maybe the Elric RPG comes closest, or Amber Diceless.

Ancient History Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but it is often
> difficult to capture the kind of decadent fantasy
> of Clark Ashton Smith in a roleplaying game. A few
> games have used material from Smith - the Mystara
> setting for AD&D, and the retroclone Swordsmen and
> Sorcerers of Hyperborea come to mind - but I don't
> know of any that have quite captured his style.
> Maybe the Elric RPG comes closest, or Amber
> Diceless.

You might also want to check out the Dying Earth RPG from Pelgrane Press, based on the fantasy stories of Jack Vance. CAS was one (of several, including Wodehouse and Burroughs) influence on Vance's work, and he employed similarly florid language, albeit less in his descriptions than in dialogue. The Dying Earth RPG also incorporates some mechanics for reproducing the mood and tone of its milieu, which could be inspirational in lending your world the right "feel".

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers Of Hyperborea and Crypts & Things (the sword and sorcery variant of Swords & Wizardry) are the two best examples of CAS inspired games that come to mind.

For a CAS inspired magic-user class see The Baleful Sorcerer of Tsathag'kha free download from RPGNow.