The DM's Percentage

[Mark]

Don't forget the second part...

(...also, what are the influences and how much do you change them?)

Thanks!

 

[d4]

i said 90% because i prefer to make up my own stuff than use someone else's.

for my last campaign world the main influences that i did use were the Arabian Nights, the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad and Jason & the Argonauts movies, a smattering of Greek mythology, and my own research on medieval Islam.

 

[Southern Oracle]

I always start with the framework of the campaign setting and then find an appropriate module. Currently, we're playing in the Forgotten Realms. I let the players select their characters' regions and write their backgrounds, then saw that most of them chose the southern regions (two characters from Halruaa, one from the Shaar, and one from Tashalar). I started them off with "Dungeon of the Fire Opal" from Dungeon magazine. Since Halruaa is surrounded by mountains and the characters wanted to leave the country, I subjected them to "The Swarm" (again from Dungeon magazine) when they traversed a mountain pass. Stopping in at the first city they reached after leaving the mountains, Lapalgard, I drew them into "The Color of Ambition" from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, then had them embroiled in the affairs of a merchant with "Thirds of Purloined Vellum" (yet again from Dungeon). In the case of that adventure, I changed the city where it was set. I decided to convert Night Below but needed time to do it, so as they traveled east into the Shaar, they met a young girl fleeing outsider assassins and are now at the tail end of "Vessel of the Stars" (a free adventure from the Wizards of the Coast site). When that's concluded, they'll be involved in the opening to Night Below...

 

[randomling]

Please excuse me Mark, but I don't understand the question. Percentage of what? Do you mean percentage of original stuff, or unoriginal stuff, or something completely different?

I'd like to vote but have been struck with idiocy.

 

[Skade]

I'm mostly influenced by the voices in my head.

I'm mostly influenced by the voices in Darkness' head also.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I voted "50%" and here's why:

If I run D&D, it's usually purchased product, right out of the box, very minor tweaking. So, it's only 10%.

But for my online game of "The End" (d20 version), none of it is purchased. It's all out of my head, but since it's based on the real world (post-biblical apocalypse setting, set in 2006), I say it's at 90%. There are some supplements for this game, but right now they're located in parts of the country far from my players' current locations. I purposely tried to stay away areas I knew the publisher would develop, just so I don't "conflict" with their world (in case I want to use their stuff in the future).

Other than that, any little thing can inspire me and make it into the game. That's half the fun of a game in a modern setting. See something weird on the news? Work it in!


[edit - fixin' stupidity since 12:08]

 

[diaglo]

i buy products. i read message boards. i read books. i go to the movies. i read the news. i watch and observe how things interact. and i record my findings. these are all the things that go into my game. but i can't say what or how much it weighs.

 

[Buttercup]

I said 50/50, but I think this is hard to answer. For example, I might have read something 20 years ago that made an impression on me, which then got mixed in with a movie I saw 5 years ago, which gets shaken up with a cool snippet from some D20 book, which then gets attached to something one of the PCs said in the last session. So I can't ever really be sure what's mine and what isn't. I'm glad I don't do this for pay, or I'd be afraid I would get busted for plagarism, without even intending to cheat.

 

[Dave G]

Here's an example based upon the game I'm starting August 11th. It's a Star Wars Old Republic game (d20)

I bought the X Box game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and started playing it, the setting where the game starts off has a really unique feel to it, and I started getting the desire to play an old republic game, sans Jedi.

What I did, was go back and go through some of the stuff again taking notes on names, species and a bit of the geography.

Then I read an article in the local newspaper about a fire at an apartment that was a crime scene in 1954 but it had been completely sealed up from the outside, no one in at all for years! So I thought: Hmmm with a little tweaking this would make a great hook for a campaign. There we go, I have been inspired by the setting, and have a hook, and the setting itself leaves several routes for the story to take depending upon character choices (bounty hunting, Arena duels, ruin exploring, etc.)

So I answered 40% to account for the synergy of bringing these ideas together, and I think I've got a pretty solid start to a campaign.

 

[Talath]

I'm mostly influenced by the voices in my head.

That reminds me of a funny game scenario during 2nd edition.

A friend of mine named Aaron was playing a psionicist and I was playing a monk who was insane. Appearantly, he had voices in his head telling him how to navigate this maze. He says at one time "The voices say this way."

I say to him "Why do we have to listen to the voices in your head, why can't we listen to mine?"

He stands up and with a look of madness yells "BECAUSE MINE ARE RIGHT!"

Mark, I'd say about 60%. Music is my biggest influence in games and characters, and I like to base some characters off songs. I'm right now working on an album for one of my favorite characters