Gygax 75# Sources of inspiration for your TTRPG campaign

 

 

I often create a list of inspirations while creating or writing as it helps to keep me grounded and focused on the task at hand should my mind wander. My early childhood was filled with sci fi and fantasy novels and outdoor adventures. 

The elenium, David Eddings, 1989. - A brilliant series of fantasy novels that captures swords, sorcery and adventure. The novels world is a deep multilayered beast and I hope to incorporate the same sense into my campaign world.

The saga of the exiles, Julian May, 1981. - My favourite series of books, following a group of time traveling humans to earths Pliocene era. I wish to capture the sense of an alien yet familiar world that this series conveys so expertly. 

Gotrek and Felix, William King, 1999. - A brilliant collection from the grim dark library, a part of the series that always sticks in my head is when the iconic duo head deep into the forgotten parts of the world. Wretches sewers, defaced dwarven crypts and long lost holds.

The colour out of space, HP Lovecraft, 1927. - Reading Lovecraft should be a must for any DM creating a campaign that uses even a smidge of cosmic or body horror. The colour out of space is brilliant at creating an atmosphere that is dual alien and familiar.

The Thing, John Carpenter, 1982. - An extreme in the genre of body horror, John Carpenter's The Thing is a must watch to help the DM in pushing the boundaries. Not all monsters in the game need be non human, this film is proof that only the human body is needed to create true terror.

The descent, Neil Marshall, 2005. - For a tale of fear, isolation and deep despair I look no further than Neil Marshall's The Descent. I often try to create dungeons and cave system that feel like the ones found in this movie. The parties torches aren't illuminating the surrounding cave walls it's the darkness that is aggressively pushing in at all times. 

Veins of the Earth, Patrick Stuart and Scrap princess, 2017. - A magnificent piece of work within the OSR and TTRPG community. I would love to create an underworld like this within my campaign, this tar black bottomless pit that beckons for the courageous and insane to explore it. If you have ever wanted to play a game set within the the deepest, darkest and heaviest places then pick this up in PDF form. 

These are a small handful of the media that has inspired the campaign, I will continue to update this entry to the blog. I encourage you to read and watch these entries.