BSF
Explorer
Inspiration? Movies are great for ambiance and atmosphere. Cinematics! Working from inspiration like this, I have come up with cinematic scenes for climax fights. Then I reverse engineer how that would come up and devise story arcs that suggest ways a BBEG would have that environment for the final showdown with PCs.
Other cinematic situations are also inspired by movies. Mostly in terms of evocative terrain descriptions.
Music wise, I listen to a lot of different stuff. Most gaming nights I will play background music. I rarely use something with lyrics though. I am looking for atmosphere. I have been known to burn CDs with a gaming mix for specific sessions. I have also been known to pick out songs for the death of a PC. Their eulogy music, if you will.
I use music with lyrics to sometimes pull inspiration for stories in-game as well. I vaguelly recall a thead some time ago with songs for inspiration for adventures. I might have to do a search to see if I can dig that up again. Dio and Iron Maiden have provide lyrical inspiration for adventures lately.
Oddly enough, one of the most inspiring things for me is a live orchestra. It doesn't matter what they are playing, my mind will dive into the music and it will go places that I didn't expect. I have come out of orchestras with fully recharged creative batteries and weeks worth of inspiration for gaming.
Some museums are also useful in this regard. Botanical gardens and aquariums rate highly as well.
Need a good outdoor scene? Turn to nature calendars. Find a great picture and then populate it with whatever encounter you are looking for. One nice thing about calendars is that you can actually use the picture as a visual prop in the game if your verbal skills needs help that session. (Let's face it, who doesn't sometimes have a session where you feel brain dead?) Postcards are useful as well.
If you can drive, and can afford the gas, take the family on a weekend afternoon drive. Here in New Mexico, I can get out into the national forests in less than an hour. I can head down south to Soccorro and hang out at the Bosque. I can see desert, or mountains pretty easily. I just don't have large lakes, or beaches to enjoy. But it is usually a nice relaxing afternoon and I get to spend it with my family. The fact that I get gaming ideas from it is a bonus.
Other cinematic situations are also inspired by movies. Mostly in terms of evocative terrain descriptions.
Music wise, I listen to a lot of different stuff. Most gaming nights I will play background music. I rarely use something with lyrics though. I am looking for atmosphere. I have been known to burn CDs with a gaming mix for specific sessions. I have also been known to pick out songs for the death of a PC. Their eulogy music, if you will.
I use music with lyrics to sometimes pull inspiration for stories in-game as well. I vaguelly recall a thead some time ago with songs for inspiration for adventures. I might have to do a search to see if I can dig that up again. Dio and Iron Maiden have provide lyrical inspiration for adventures lately.
Oddly enough, one of the most inspiring things for me is a live orchestra. It doesn't matter what they are playing, my mind will dive into the music and it will go places that I didn't expect. I have come out of orchestras with fully recharged creative batteries and weeks worth of inspiration for gaming.
Some museums are also useful in this regard. Botanical gardens and aquariums rate highly as well.
Need a good outdoor scene? Turn to nature calendars. Find a great picture and then populate it with whatever encounter you are looking for. One nice thing about calendars is that you can actually use the picture as a visual prop in the game if your verbal skills needs help that session. (Let's face it, who doesn't sometimes have a session where you feel brain dead?) Postcards are useful as well.
If you can drive, and can afford the gas, take the family on a weekend afternoon drive. Here in New Mexico, I can get out into the national forests in less than an hour. I can head down south to Soccorro and hang out at the Bosque. I can see desert, or mountains pretty easily. I just don't have large lakes, or beaches to enjoy. But it is usually a nice relaxing afternoon and I get to spend it with my family. The fact that I get gaming ideas from it is a bonus.
. Next time try this: "There are things that go *bump* in the night, Agent Myers. We're the ones who *bump* back." Ooh, 2 bumps for the price of one 
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