Real Life Places That Inspire You As A DM

[WolfhillRPG]

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Krakow, Poland

I've been to this salt mine and I can tell you photo's do not do it justice. Malbork Castle is also worth seeing with your own eyes.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Sequoia National Park, California.
Those trees are huge.

In my buddy's world, in the far north, there is a mountain range with far more flora and fauna than it should have, because the fey magic that used to infuse the land meant that animals and plants could live there in the cold and high altitude, and thus the soil is less thin and more full of plant food, and more plants means the animals have an easier time, too.

In that same region, there used to be trees with trunks as big as small towns, and their smaller cousins, which are giant redwoods. Now, all the ancient trees are broken (by demons, a thousand years ago), and their offspring aren't old enough to have reached anything like their legendary size. The biggest trees are about as big as the biggest redwoods IRL.

The stumps of the old trees do make good clan holds for the native forest gnomes, though.

 

[Darth Solo]

Big cities.

It's the "anything that can happen" aspect of them. I've gotten story ideas walking downtown SF and overlooking San Diego from Sunset Cliffs. Cities breed wild stories, even from overheard conversations at a cafe.

I'm a hard introvert who loves the peace of Nature. Birdsong, the sound of sunlight and the whisper of the wind. But, that blend of "civilization" carries a strong undercurrent that feeds my adventures.

 

[Fenris-77]

Sequoias aren't the only big trees. I find Japanese Camphor trees quite evocative:

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Another dose:

 

[Retreater]

I agree with @wingsandsword. As a Kentuckian who lives about an hour from Mammoth Cave, I've found the entire cave country to be inspirational.
I've also taken inspiration from Disney World for a Gamma World campaign. You never know where you will find inspiration.

 

[istanbulapartments]

The Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey, is often described as a dark and mysterious place. 10 Famous Landmarks in Istanbul to Visit

 

[Theory of Games]

I know, for me, there have been quite a few.
In my youth, seeing the Nantahala national forest, Blue Ridge mountains and the woodlands of Florida certainly made me appreciate swamp travel and hiking in dense winding trails.
The Tetons sent imagination flying, and after that so did the Grand Canyon.
Yellowstone (my friend uses the map - it is an incredible D&D map - names and all!) for what it's like to be surrounded by wildlife and odd geographic formations.
There are more, but out of them all, Joshua Tree national park is my favorite. Something about hiking and bouldering through that setting just makes me think of adventurers exploring desert tombs.

As always, curious to hear what events or places spark your RP imagination. Thanks.

I've only been there once years ago, but Singapore is stunning. It's as close to Shadowrun's Sixth World as I could imagine or have experienced.

I was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay area so that region will always be magical to me.

When I was in the Corps, San Diego was just down the 5. Just an amazing place that borders the old world with the new in a surreal way.

Driving across country is always wild, but when you hit New Mexico it's like a different world. The hills, plains and mountain ranges are very mystical to me.

Hawaii is nice. It felt small, like I was on the edge of the world or something.

All the places I've been fuel my rpg imagination as a GM

 

[Bohandas]

Wouldn't Floridia be a great source for crazy NPCs???

And for crazy decrees made by mad rulers

 

[prabe]

This spring, we went to Big Bend National Park, and spent a day in the neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park (where this pic was taken). Lots of inspiration around there.