Looking for monster and terrain inspiration

[perseus99]

My favorite place to look for monster inspiration has been conceptart.org . Specifically, this part of their forums. . It's basically a contest they run each week where all the artists submit monsters for a specific theme. It's fun to look at, and some of the art/themes should help spark some ideas for you.

 

[Gilladian]

Actually, try your public library. Find books in the children's section that talk about the type of region you're interested in. For example, if you want to know what to inhabit your swamp with, go find books on the everglades...

They'll list major predator and prey species, plus anything really dramatic or colorful, plus they'll give descriptions of major types of flora. And they'll have good, evocative pictures to base descriptions of terrain for encounter areas.

Depending on where you live, you may even find they have "virtual reference books" that you can use online at 2 in the morning. I know my library does!

 

[megamania]

Look at the many templates that are out there and apply to normal or dire animals. Even plants and the land can be changed as such. Survival and savagry are the two facets I believe I would concentrate on.

Look at other worlds that have used these themes successfully. Darksun with its carnivorious plants and Eberron with it's Mournland mutations.

 

[Hand of Evil]

How long ago was this war?

I think I would do a mix of bad lands and swamp/bog/marsh lands. Reason for this, magic in warfare, you would have the trenches of WW1 but seige equipment falling apart here and there. The land would be slowing going back to wilderness, bushes and small stands of trees. Water would be settle in low areas, making the bogs. High ground would be blasted and harden, protected by age old magic, very little will grow on them.

Monsters, your undead, ghouls and such but also constructions could be still roaming, obeying their last orders. Then you have your aggressive plants, just looking for fresh blood and iron rich soils. Also, insects and spiders, one brings the other and with loose magic; they get big!

 

[Mark CMG]

Dead Marshes - Lord of the Rings Wiki

 

[MINI]

Given your demonic history of the area you could have a higher level demon infecting animals with a demon template (3.5 jargon). The 1e monster manual also features half animals of just about everything you would ever want or be afraid of. They tried inventing just about everything. I would definitely take any opportunity to toss an Osquip at someone just because its called an Osquip!

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Re. People of the Pines. Yes, they're from Michael Moorcock, the second Corum series.

Re. something useful.
Terrain: a variety of terrain types. Some rugged hills, some swamps, some forests. And make it large.

How inbred hillbilly types, the descendants of those who were trapped in the DMZ back when the barriers went up. Give them an emphasis on Druid magic. And the obligatory banjo pluckin.

An ongoing seige where both the besieged and the besiegers are automata (golems, constructs, mindless undead, animated siege machines and re-arming traps, bound elementals.) The siege is left over from the war, neither side got their orders to desist and continue to fight the same fight over a blasted, trench filled bog something like a WW1 battlefield. Not a small siege either, more like a salient that got cut off.

Maybe some more later...

cheers.