Strange Real World Locales to Inspire You

Starman

Adventurer

• Apr 28, 2012

• #1

I came across this very cool article today and instantly my head was spinning with adventure/world-building ideas.

Here's one...

Sedlec Ossuary said:

One of the creepiest places on Earth, Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic chapel in the Czech Republic. A popular burial site for nearly 1,000 years, the church eventually found itself with a bone storage problem. In 1870, a man was hired to arrange the bones, and he made the whole thing look like the love child of LEGOs and death metal.

Click to expand...

 

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Mark CMG

Creative Mountain Games

• Apr 28, 2012

• #2

I try to collect links to articles like that and websites about places that can be inspirational to your tabletop game setting creation over on Grymvald.com -

Grymvald Gazetteer: Sedlec Ossuary

Grymvald Gazetteer: Ukrainian Salt Mine - Underground Setting Inspiration

Grymvald Gazetteer: Real World Fantasy

Grymvald Gazetteer: World's Biggest Cave

Grymvald Gazetteer: Grand City

Grymvald Gazetteer: Welcome to the Rat Temple video

 

L

Loonook

First Post

• Apr 28, 2012

• #3

Personally the Ossuary has always been a favorite... but you might want to look into a few locations...


Inspired the Methiran for me. Seeing the Mummies of Guanajuato made me come up with an ancient empire that preserved its dead in small household temples... But this room exists in their Capital, so that spiritualists may speak to dead generals, priests, etc. if they have risen to the level of a Master of the Lost.

I'm also fascinated by various architectural systems. I always picture halfling homes as something akin to the Skinny House on Hull St. in Boston


And of course the Winchester House serves as the ultimate haunted house... Though finding blueprints may be difficult... Never looked them up .

Slainte,

-Loonook.

EDIT: Apparently WIKI just decided to not resize with the board... Links included

 

Quickleaf

Legend

• Apr 28, 2012

• #4

That ossuary church in Czech Republic freaks me out

Here's a picture from Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, CA; they were the brainchild of Sicilian immigrant Baldassare Forestiere who hand dug most of the tunnels guided by overwhelming visions over the course of 40 years. Talk about a labor of love!

What's amazing about them is the micro-climates he created by digging underground, allowing him to grow all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and nuts year-round that neighboring farmers struggled with.

 

Yora

Legend

• Apr 28, 2012

• #5

Cueva de los Cristales in Mexico is a really crazy place.

 

Piratecat

Sesquipedalian

• Apr 28, 2012

• #6

I've been in the underground salt mine cathedral in Zipaquira Colombia. It was amazing.

And then there's the Richat Structure in Mauritania, in the Sahara - or as I like to think of it, Earth's eye:

 

Kzach

Banned

Banned

• Apr 28, 2012

• #7

I wish I could find online versions of the small library of photos I have that have inspired me. I used to collect photos whenever I saw something weird or wonderful and have sort-of scrapbook of them for use in gaming sessions when my creativity juices are running low.

Many were from nature and wilderness conservation magazines because they used to have some of the best photography I've ever seen of some of the most fantastic places on earth. Everything from bizarre plant-life that makes whole landscapes look like they're from another plane of existence to impossible man-made structures of ancient civilisations. In fact, National Geographic was the only source I remember which would probably have many photos online that could be accessed so I recommend searching there.

 

D

Dykstrav

Adventurer

• Apr 28, 2012

• #8

Starman said:

I came across this very cool article today and instantly my head was spinning with adventure/world-building ideas.

Here's one...

Click to expand...

Howdy Starman!

Did you know that the Sedlec Ossuary was used as a location in the abominable Dungeons and Dragons live-action movie circa 2000? It has a bit of D&D history there already!

 

Starman

Adventurer

• Apr 28, 2012

• #9

Dykstrav said:

Howdy Starman!

Did you know that the Sedlec Ossuary was used as a location in the abominable Dungeons and Dragons live-action movie circa 2000? It has a bit of D&D history there already!

Click to expand...

I did not probably because I avoided seeing the film. The reviews were painful enough and I didn't feel a need to subject myself to the torture.

 

Ringlerun

First Post

• Apr 28, 2012

• #10

Buzludzha the abandoned communist concrete flying saucer from Bulgaria

 

Last edited: Apr 28, 2012