D&D General Inspiration from Atlas Obscura

[BookTenTiger]

Bone Folly in the Garden

TLDR: A folly is a piece of architecture whose only purpose is to beautiful a garden. While cleaning up an estate, a gardener realized this one was made from animal bones and teeth!

D&D Inspiration: Okay, it's likely that the teeth, bones, shells, and stones were all just convenient nearby construction supplies. But in D&D the bones of the dead tend of have significance. What if a town used the bones of ancient soldiers, demons, or giants in their architecture? How would the spirits of these bones impact the lives of the townsfolk? Of what if a powerful noble, wizard, or celestial were killed, and their bones hidden in the construction of a folly? The garden plants would be warped by the imprisoned spirit.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Italy's Musical Woods are Under Threat

TLDR: The Italian Spruce trees known for their resonating wood, used to make masterful violins and piano soundboards, are under threat from Climate Change and parasites.

D&D Inspiration: We rarely ask ourselves where bards get their instruments. There must be master craftspeople who tend to forests of "resonating" trees just like these. Threats to those trees or the master crafters would be great adventure hooks! And though these spruce trees don't make music on their own, why not in a fantasy world? I love the idea of trees that actually resonate with the sounds of the violins, drums, and pianos they will someday become.