Do you use song lyrics as inspiration for adventures?

[Torm]

Occasionally I will incorporate ideas from songs, or things they make ME think of, into game materials, but the only song I've ever used as the entire idea for a gaming session was "Ballroom Blitz". The setup and every character in the session was based on the lines of the song.

 

[Jdvn1]

I do get inspirations from songs, but I've also gotten inspiration from a made-up song. We had a Bard, once, improve a song "Dragon on the Balcony"...

 

[Yami no Hon]

In the Eagles song James Dean there is a line that goes "...to fast to live/ to young to die..." Which immediatly led my brother and I to the conclusion that James Dean is somesort of undead bard out to take over the world via the entertainment industry.

I've been meaning to run a game with that setup for a while.

 

[yennico]

"Sacred Heart"--Dio

I also had an idea of an adventure inspired by this song but I never played it because the PCs are not so high in level that they will survive this adventure.

 

[Testament]

I've had heaps ideas from songs, not many have come to fruition though. Fear Factory's Smasher/Devourer gives me some awesome ideas for a religous Warforged enemy though:

Fear me not but fear my hell
Men made me so I could kill
Praise me in the name of war
I destroy both rich and poor

I am the way, prepare for salvation
I am the way, prepare for salvation

Strength in time of suffering
Man alone is a weakling
Ascension is what you ask
I will be the fall of man

Actually, most of Fear Factory's stuff gives me that sort of idea. Look at Self Bias Resistor for some similar themes, and New Breed could be the frickin' anthem for the Lord of Blades!

And nearly every song on Helloween's Keeper of The Seven Keys albums gives me ideas for an absolutely EPIC storyline, starting with the song Halloween, where someone is chosen to start this journey...

Damn that's a cool link DungeonmasterCal!

 

[Steel_Wind]

Generals gathered in their masses,
just like witches at black masses.
Evil minds that plot destruction,
sorcerers of death's construction.
In the fields the bodies burning,
as the war machine keeps turning.
Death and hatred to mankind,
poisoning their brainwashed minds.
Oh lord, yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away.
They only started the war.
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor, yeah.

Time will tell on their power minds,
making war just for fun.
Treating people just like pawns in chess,
wait till their judgement day comes, yeah.

Now in darkness world stops turning,
ashes where the bodies burning.
No more War Pigs have the power,
Hand of God has struck the hour.
Day of judgement, God is calling,
on their knees the war pigs crawling.
Begging mercies for their sins,
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings.
Oh lord, yeah!

23 years ago, back in High School, we were listening to this a lot as we were gaming.

And it snuck in to a strange evil PC campaign we were playing in City State of the World Emperor. It was probably subconscious at the time, but snuck in it did.

After a few months and our realizing what was happening, we started to consicously choose and make decisions in game that would make the campaign more like the song.

It was silly. But my PC bought it on judgment day. Fun times.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I also had an idea of an adventure inspired by this song but I never played it because the PCs are not so high in level that they will survive this adventure.

The very first adventure I ever ran was based on "Sacred Heart". Great song and concept-miserable execution. I've gotten much better since then.

 

[alsih2o]

Yeah, man....Dylan-

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

Brilliant!

Standing on the waters casting your bread
While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing.
Distant ships sailing into the mist,
You were born with a snake in both of your fists while a hurricane was blowing.
Freedom just around the corner for you
But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

So swiftly the sun sets in the sky,
You rise up and say goodbye to no one.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,
Both of their futures, so full of dread, you don't show one.
Shedding off one more layer of skin,
Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within.

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

You're a man of the mountains, you can walk on the clouds,
Manipulator of crowds, you're a dream twister.
You're going to Sodom and Gomorrah
But what do you care? Ain't nobody there would want to marry your sister.
Friend to the martyr, a friend to the woman of shame,
You look into the fiery furnace, see the rich man without any name.

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

Well, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy,
The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers.
In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed,
Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features.
Resting in the fields, far from the turbulent space,
Half asleep near the stars with a small dog licking your face.

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

Well, the rifleman's stalking the sick and the lame,
Preacherman seeks the same, who'll get there first is uncertain.
Nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, padlocks,
Molotov cocktails and rocks behind every curtain,
False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin,
Only a matter of time 'til night comes steppin' in.

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

It's a shadowy world, skies are slippery gray,
A woman just gave birth to a prince today and dressed him in scarlet.
He'll put the priest in his pocket, put the blade to the heat,
Take the motherless children off the street
And place them at the feet of a harlot.
Oh, Jokerman, you know what he wants,
Oh, Jokerman, you don't show any response.

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman.

Dylan!

Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man,
His enemies say he's on their land.
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
He's criticized and condemned for being alive.
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin,
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land,
He's wandered the earth an exiled man.
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,
He's always on trial for just being born.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad.
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him,
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.
He's the neighborhood bully.

He got no allies to really speak of.
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love.
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep.
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,
In bed with nobody, under no one's command.
He's the neighborhood bully.

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.
He's the neighborhood bully.

What's anybody indebted to him for?
Nothin', they say. He just likes to cause war.
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.
He's the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,
Running out the clock, time standing still,
Neighborhood bully

DYLAN!!

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways,
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it,
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',
I saw a white ladder all covered with water,
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin',
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony,
I met a white man who walked a black dog,
I met a young woman whose body was burning,
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,
I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded with hatred,
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Dylan!

 

[der_kluge]

And here I thought Angelsboi was the only person that ever did this.

I've been tempted to created a story around "A horse with no name".


On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
there was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...


I love that song.

 

[Lord Judas]

Absolutely! In fact, much of my inspiration comes from music. Plenty of stuff from Iron Maiden, especially the recent ones like Wickerman, Brave New World etc.

In my last campaign (I lean towards Dark/Gothic campaigns) I got a great villaness from Type O Negative (not that their music is especially good IMO):
(Black no.1)
I went looking for trouble and boy - i found her

She's in love with herself - she likes the dark
on her milk white neck - the Devil's mark

Now it's all Hallows Eve - the moon is full
will she trick or treat - i bet she will
she will - happy halloween - baby

She's got a date at midnight - with Nosferatu
oh baby, Lilly Munster - ain't got nothing on you

Well when i called her evil - she just laughed
well cast that spell on me - boo bitch craft

Yeah you wanna go out 'cause it's raining and blowing
you can't go out 'cause your roots are showing
dye em black - dye em black

Little wolf skin boots - and clove cigarettes
an erotic funeral - for witch she's dressed
her perfume smells like - burning leaves
everyday is halloween

(Love you to Death)
In her place one hundred candles burning - as salty sweat drips
from her breast
her hips move and i can feel what they're saying - swaying
they say the beast inside of me is gonna get ya - get ya get -
yeah

Black lipstick stains - her glass of red wine - i am your servant
may i light your cigarette
those lips smooth yeah i can feel what you're saying - praying
they say the beast inside of me is gonna get ya - get ya get -
yeah...

(Christian Woman)
Forgive her for she knows not what she does

A cross upon her bedroom wall - from grace she will fall
an image burning in her mind - and between her thighs

For her lust - she'll burn in hell - her soul done medium well
all through mass manual stimulation - salvation
******

Currently Ive got something in mind from the latest Motorhead:
(Terminal Show)
The golden eyed creature sits back on his throne
Gazing at us in despair
Six hundred guests, humanity's best
Are wondering why they are there
All roads lead here, all roads are burned
Have we digested the things we have learned
Have we a chance when the dead rise and dance
Have we the time for the final romance

We better find out the name of the game
Chance of a future frozen and grim
Or of a quick death brought here on a whim
Why are we here does anyone know
Why are we here at the terminal show

The blind king has secrets dark and morose
He'd like it if we were like him
All the dark days spent in the maze
Have made a new man of him
All roads lead here, all roads are closed
Are we quite certain of all that we know
Are we miscast or do we hold fast
Have we the time for the final repast

We better find out
The name of the game
Chance of a new world sunny and fine
Or of a burning a branded design
Why are we here, we don't even know
Why are we here at the terminal show

The red queen is sleeping, lost in a dream
She wakes an dshe sleeps all alone
All of her fears are crowded in here
Laughing they pick at her bones
All roads lead here, none lead away
Are we quire certain we're here anyway
Have we been wise or are we despised
Have we the time for our final demise

We better find out
The name of the game
Chance of a lost world, rain and dismay
Pick up your belongings, we all have to pay
Why are the vultures circling above
Why can't we fight for the right to our blood
We are demented, everyone knows
Misrepresented, coming to blows
Why are we here, we don't even know
Why are we here at the terminal show