History Literature / GuardiansOfTheFlame

* ShoutOut: The game in the books is pretty obviously ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', though the name is never used. In the story it was an invention of Professor Deighton based on the real parallel world they enter.

* SympatheticSlaveOwner: Baren Zhell Furnael, despite slavery's evil being a main theme, is portrayed as a kind, fair man despite being a slave owner. He even has his family live as they do during a brief part of the year, to appreciate their work. Karl tries to have him free all his slaves, but he doesn't get it-slavery is so ingrained it's just taken for granted among most people. He does adjust easily when slavery is abolished though, likely due to his relative benevolence.

** The plot of a number of characters from Earth becoming stranded in another, fantasy-themed world and having to find a gateway home would also appear in TheEighties in the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' TV show, albeit involving children rather than college students and taking up the entire run of the show rather than only the first book of the series.

* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: In a StealthPun of sorts, the two female members of the party have names which when put together match the ill-fated ''S.S. Andrea Doria''; in the latter's case, this should have been a clue she was going to have an unhappy fate, although the shout-out becomes less obvious after Doria leaves the series for a couple of books and everyone calls Andrea either Andy or Andy-Andy (after her repetitive last name, Andropolous). More subtly, main character Karl Cullinane has a name quite reminiscent of [[Myth/CelticMythology Cú Chulainn]] and shares some of his values and even SociopathicHero tendencies via his other self (although it's actually Ahira who is the berserker of the group).

Additionally, five omnibus editions were published collecting books 3-7. First by the Science Fiction Book Club were ''Guardians of the Flame: The Warriors'' (books 1-3, 1985) and ''Guardians of the Flame: the Heroes'' (books 4-5, 1989). Baen Books then released ''The Guardians of the Flame'' (books 1-3, 2003), ''Guardians of the Flame: Legacy'' (books 4-5, 2004) and ''Guardians of the Flame: to Home and Ehvenor'' (books 6-7, 2004).

''Guardians of the Flame'' is a fantasy series by Joel Rosenberg about a group of roleplaying college students who abruptly find themselves inside the world of their game, in the bodies of their characters. The first book, ''The Sleeping Dragon,'' depicts their attempt to return to Earth, and their later commitment to return. Theater student/[[TheBigGuy huge fighter]] Karl Cullinane vows to end slavery in his new home and persuades his friends to join the crusade. The remainder of the series follows his efforts, and later those of his son Jason.

[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guardians_of_the_flame.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:199:The cover of the first three books' omnibus edition by Baen Books]]

'''Guardians of the Flame''' is a fantasy series by Joel Rosenberg about a group of roleplaying college students who abruptly find themselves inside the world of their game, in the bodies of their characters. The first book, ''The Sleeping Dragon,'' depicts their attempt to return to Earth, and their later commitment to return. Theater student/[[TheBigGuy huge fighter]] Karl Cullinane vows to end slavery in his new home and persuades his friends to join the crusade. The remainder of the series follows his efforts, and later those of his son Jason.

** Doria is a unique example in that her character actually seems to resemble her in the real world (probably related to the fact [[AuthorAvatar they share]] [[TheDanza the same name]]), and that after [[spoiler:[[RapeAsDrama being raped]]]] the cleric personality is implied to have taken over until she is able to recover. Still, when Doria is encountered later she seems to be her normal self again in both personality and memories (whether she took over again after recovering, another merge occurred, or the personalities were just that much alike to begin with is never made clear), and after she [[BroughtDownToNormal gives up her power]] to save Jason Cullinane, she fully resumes her original appearance (and age!) and states that "Doria of the Healing Hand is gone," suggesting either that the other personality was tied to her clerical powers or that the Matriarch stripped it from her as punishment along with her powers.

* TheWatcher: The entire Healing Hand Society acts like this, refusing to get involved in the affairs of the rest of the world unless absolutely necessary (and even then there are limits and prices exacted on both sides). On the one hand this TrueNeutral stance is helpful when the wicked slaver Ahrmin comes to them for help against Karl and his friends, but on the other hand it means that not only can the latter not receive any more help from them after [[spoiler:Ahira]] is raised from the dead, any assistance ''at all'' is forbidden. This is strictly enforced by the Matriarch, and when Doria reappears in the narrative there is a great deal of inner struggle and resistance, and plenty of LoopholeAbuse, before she can aid them in any way, even something as simple as disguising herself. Eventually she goes full-on ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight, which has the cost of losing her powers and even her other personality, but she considers it WorthIt in the end since it lets her save Jason Cullinane's life.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Other Side is a Medieval-like world, and thus it has many aspects that are very different from modern (well, 1980s) US culture. Karl finds that his character's personality views Doria badly for her past promiscuity early on for instance. The biggest is likely that slavery doesn't simply exist, but forms the foundation of the regional economy, with no before the protagonists actively opposing it at first. Even a number of former slaves find the idea it's [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil an inherently evil thing]] odd, even if naturally they didn't like experiencing slavery themselves. Later, a man objects to the protagonists stopping him from beating his son, because he was "disciplining" him, as he feels is his right to do.

* DontWakeTheSleeper: Ellgon warns Karl not to wake the dragon that guards the Gate Between Worlds, since it's much too powerful for the party to defeat or even harm. [[spoiler: Sadly, a traumatized Doria screams on seeing it.]]

* 6. ''The Road to Elvenor'' (1991)

* AMythologyIsTrue: Celtic/Arthurian mythology seems to be genuine in this world to some degree, what with Arta Myrdhyn and [[{{Excalibur}} his magical sword]] which he leaves in a cave [[SwordInTheStone to be pulled from the grip of a magical spell]] [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield by a certain special boy]]. Commented on by Karl as this world being the likely source of some of our myths. When in Ehvenor and encountering the faeries, he also meets one who calls herself Titania, although she speaks of this as being a matter of convenience as "[[AFormYouAreComfortableWith something he can comprehend]]."

1. ''The Sleeping Dragon'' (1983)
2. ''The Sword and the Chain'' (1984)
3. ''The Silver Crown'' (1985)
4. ''The Heir Apparent'' (1987)
5. ''The Warrior Lives'' (1988)
6. ''The Road to Elvenor'' (1991)
7. ''The Road Home'' (1995)
8. ''Not Exactly the Three Musketeers'' (1999)
9. ''Not Quite Scaramouche'' (2001)
10. ''Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda (2003)

Additionally, five omnibus editions were published collecting books 3-7. First by the Science Fiction Book Club were ''Guardians of the Flame: The Warriors'' (books 1-3, 1985) and ''Guardians of the Flame: the Heroes'' (books 4-5, 1989). Baen Books then released ''The Guardians of the Flame'' (books 1-3, 2003), Guardians of the Flame: Legacy'' (books 4-5, 2004) and ''Guardians of the Flame: to Home and Ehvenor'' (books 6-7, 2004).

* TheArchmage: The two most powerful wizards in the series are Arta Myrdhyn and his foe Lucius of Pandathaway, who laid waste to an entire region long ago during a magical battle. Among clerics, the Matriarch of the Healing Hand

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Karl's tendency to do this often gets the party in trouble, but it's also one of his most admirable traits. In fact while releasing Ellegon arguably creates problems for them for the rest of the series due to earning them the enmity of Pandathaway's Wizards' Guild, earning the dragon's fast friendship also saves them on countless occasions. And while killing Ohlmin does lead to the [[RecurringCharacter constant thorn in their sides]] that is the slaver's son Ahrmin, it is absolutely understandable (particularly after what he learned about Doria's past) that Karl would want to exact vengeance for [[spoiler:[[RapeAsDrama his rape of Doria and Andrea]]]]. In the end it's this trait which leads to the commitment he makes as payment to the Matriarch of the Healing Hand, to eradicate slavery from the lands, a commitment that lasts the rest of the series (even after [[spoiler:his death]]).

* ShellShockedVeteran: Even after they're freed, many former slaves are portrayed as traumatized. One, a dwarf, is suffering StockholmSyndrome and doesn't get that he's free, thinking Karl now owns him (despite all his attempts at persuading him otherwise) after he'd been tortured for repeated escape attempts in the past. Walter's wife Kirah, meanwhile, is heavily implied to have suffered rape at the hands of her master or someone else. She still can't stand to touch him at times, even years later, as a result when it reminds her of this.i

* ShellShockedVeteran: Even after they're freed, many former slaves are portrayed as traumatized. One, a dwarf, is suffering StockholmSyndrome and doesn't get that he's free, thinking Karl now owns him (despite all his attempts at persuading him otherwise) after he'd been tortured for repeated escape attempts in the past. Walter's wife, meanwhile, is heavily implied to have suffered rape at the hands of her master or someone else. She still can't stand to touch him at times, even years later, as a result when it reminds her of this.i

* ReallyGetsAround: Walter is well-known for this, and continues to have a lot of sex with various women even [[YourCheatingHeart after he gets married]]. Doria is a {{downplayed}} example, as she was apparently a bit promiscuous but this ends after she gets to the parallel world.

* YourCheatingHeart: Walter admits internally to being with a lot of women other than his wife, even before having an affair with Aeia, but says he never really agreed to be faithful.

Karl's colleagues, at least at the start, are history student Jason Parker and football hero Walter Slovotsky (the party thieves), engineering student Lou Riccetti and English major Andrea "Andy-Andy" Andropolous (the party wizards), disabled computer science major James Michael Finnegan (AKA the dwarf warrior Ahira), and Doria Perlstein (the party cleric); the gamemaster is a philosophy professor at the university.

* VancianMagic: All wizards and clerics in Rosenberg's world work by this rule, needing to either memorize spells or pray for them each day. This causes huge problems when the party's most experienced wizard [[spoiler: accidentally destroys his spellbooks]] while the party's sole cleric [[spoiler: is unable to regain her spells through prayer because she no longer believes in a benevolent deity]].

* TheCasanova: Walter Slovotsky. At the beginning of the story, he and Doria have already been "friends with benefits" for some time. His charming personality and status as a football star imply that he's very popular with girls. During the first trip to This Side, he also sleeps with Andy-Andy (angering Karl, who's attracted to her). She ends up with Karl though. Even after he gets married, Walter doesn't stop, and continues having sex with other women.

* LikeADuckTakesToWater: A group of college students is transported into a fantasy world and end up using their modern knowledge to establish a kingdom dedicated to liberty and equality - and defended with gunpowder and machinery.

* NeverLearnedToRead: Though all the main characters are literate in English, everyone except the wizards and cleric finds themselves unable to read or write the language of their new home. As early as book two, this has been corrected [[spoiler: except for Jason, who is killed early in book one]].

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Ellegon, a young dragon who is fiercely devoted to Karl and deathly afraid of bows, despite his near-invulnerability, thanks to [[spoiler: a poisoned bolt he was shot with as a child]].
** More specifically, dragons in this world are the typical extremely powerful western wyrms, save that they cannot afford to harass humanity too directly because of a deathly allergy to a common herb named dragonbane which can be used to poison missile weapons.

* PsychicPowers: Dragons communicate via telepathy, using telekinesis to fly in conjunction with their wings, as they're too weak otherwise.

* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: [[spoiler: Jason Parker]] may be the most capable roleplayer in the group - he pumps the GM for advance information, tactically analyzes what the party's going to need, has one of the highest-level characters in the team (outside of the spellcasters), and even led the party in the previous campaign. He's even a history major, which has a lot of potential uses when caught in a low-tech world. He's killed off within a few hours of the party's arrival.