Plots/ Cool stuff stolen from Fiction for your Campaign

[shilsen]

I don't steal plots so much as have NPCs and names from different sources show up. For example, PCs have met a ranger called Nathaniel and nicknamed Hawkeye (yup, it's Bumppo). In an online game I'm running, they'll soon put up at the Mermaid Tavern and may run into a bard NPC called Will there.

 

[Zelgadas]

In my current Eberron campaign, one of the characters is a warforged akashic (the akashic is a class from Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed for those who don't know; basically, it's a class that can access the communal memories of all living beings). The class/race combo started my mind racing, and I started thinking of reasons for his creation (he remembers very little about himself, even though he remembers other peoples' memories quite often). I've started borrowing a little bit from Hellboy for his background, though more in the sense that he was created for a terrible purpose that he doesn't realize yet. Basically, he was created thousands of years ago by servants of the quori, during the invasion of Xen'drik. He was constructed as a sort of living key, a way for the quori to get back into the world in the event of their banishment (which, of course, happened). He doesn't know any of this yet, but it'll be interesting when he finds out. At any rate, the reason for his akashic abilities is that he's actually accessing memories through a sort of communal dream consciousness, as a side effect of the purpose for his construction.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I also use fiction as a source for NPCs. I had one adventure that was inspired by the Song "Hunter" by Dido. My homebrew campaign world, if I ever get to finish and use it, has a major element stolen from Kate Eliott's "Crown of Stars" series - a cataclysmic spell used during a war ripped an entire part of the world off and sent it into another plane of existence - now, millenia later, the event has been forgotten and the spell is on the brink of failure as the inhabitants of that part of the world work to end the spell and return.

 

[Psion]

I also use fiction as a source for NPCs. I had one adventure that was inspired by the Song "Hunter" by Dido.

Heh. I did that once. More, made an sympathetic NPC based on the song.

 

[Tinner]

The Downward Spiral

Almost forgot. I also once built a dungeon based of the name of a Nine Inch Nails CD - The Downward Spiral, and specifically the song "Closer"
A strange spiralling tunnel had appeared in the dwarven lands full of earth-type critters. The party goes down the spiralling passage to ultimately encounter ... I can't remember what I used ... some powerful earth spirit type thingy that had comitted heinous crimes against his gods, and was now walking "The Downward Spiral" in an effort to get "Closer" to his gods.
Had a lot of fun with a very simple dungeon. Just a spimple spiral tube, but with lots of incongrous monsters. (Other earth type critters sent to keep him from reaching his goal.)

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

I almost forgot that the basis of my campaign setting was the Reymond Feist "Serpentwar" books