For over ten years, I was into motorcycling in a big way. I had an adventure bike and rode solo an average of 10,000 miles per year around the western United States and British Columbia on multi-week trips.
For anyone who lives in that area or has visited it, you’ll know there is a wide range of dramatic and beautiful scenery. The topography is very diverse and looks like something from a movie — and oftentimes actually is!
In fact, on one trip to British Columbia, I made a point of staying in the small town of Hope where one of my favorite movies from the 1980s was filmed, First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone.
To me, travel and the great outdoors was my muse. I’d look up at a hillside covered in sage brush and junipers and instantly imagine an orc scout peaking from behind a rock as I rode past.
Or I’d see a brass dragon perched atop a rock outcropping, watching me as I rode by.
Or I’d envision a company of elven warriors guarding their forest home as I passed through a grove of redwood trees in northern California.
I’d often stay in small towns, each with its own unique character and flavor. I’d imagine these places were the home base towns for a group of adventurers, and the restaurants where I’d eat would be the inns they’d visit to get rumors and find quests.
The people I’d meet on my trips would inspire the characters of my stories. Did I mention I’m an author of fantasy novels? I’d even borrow the names of people and places for use in the D&D adventures I’d write.
What is Creativity?
I believe that everyone has the capacity to be creative, but creativity isn’t the same for everyone. As both an author of fantasy novels and as a dungeon master…
I’ve been asked, “How do you come up with your ideas?” And my response is, “Look around.”
Thinking back, I realize that very little of my ideas as a DM or as an author are truly unique or new creations. They are usually subtle shifts of places I’ve been, things I’ve done, or people I’ve met. My ideas might be loosely based on these experiences or they might be full fidelity rip-offs of the real thing.
The point is, I’m using the things I’ve experienced as the starting point, all I’m doing is putting my own spin on it.
HOW TO
Because it’s usually easier to edit than to create, start with something that already exists and find a way to take it 10 degrees or even 90 degrees in a new, fantastical direction.
Here’s my advice.
Start with something you’re familiar with and then modify it.
If you’re creating an NPC for a role-playing game, base your character on someone you know and then tweak your character’s personality to suit the situation. This is an easy and accessible way to create memorable characters in your game. Sometimes the hardest part of this process is just finding a new name for your character.
Here’s a top tip. If you need to find a unique name for a person or place, use anagrams of real names.
Odds are the players at your table won’t have any idea who the source material is, so the character you create will be rich and full of personality and your players will think you came up with that NPC all on your own. In a way, you did. You just found your inspiration from a real person, that’s all. As the saying goes, all rock and roll is just ripped-off blues chords.
You can use this same method with real-world places. Start with a geographical location you find in a topographical map and view the towns and locations as if they are in a fantasy setting instead of the modern world. Their proximity to each other, their elevation, their topography and even the kind of plant life in the area can all be your starting place — then just tweak or edit it to suit your particular world.
I created a town in one of my fantasy novels that is based on the real-world town of Deadwood, South Dakota. I’m a big fan of the HBO series of the same name and found the rough and tumble nature of Deadwood circa 1876 to be a great source of inspiration.
Location
You can even find your muse in real-world events. Was there a news report about a missing hiker who was saved by local search and rescue teams? That’s a D&D adventure right there! Or a body was found down by the train tracks and local authorities are asking the public’s help in identifying the victim. Replace the train tracks with the King’s road and you have a D&D murder mystery.
Speaking of which, do you remember the hit movie Stand By Me, based on a Stephen King short story? Well, that basic plot is a great start to a mini-quest for your D&D campaign.
One final idea is to use music to spark your muse. I remember back in the 80s listening to the soundtrack to the original Star Trek Motion Picture over and over again. Even though it was a science fiction movie, there was something about that particular film score that really got my creative ideas flowing for D&D adventure ideas.
Final Advice
As you go about your daily life, keep an eye out for what you see and hear and what goes on around you.
Change one or two aspects of those places, people or events into their fantastical equivalent.
If you have convinced yourself that you lack creativity, remember that creativity takes many forms. Most creative people get inspiration from what is around them rather than truly creating it out of thin air. In fact, you could say that an important ingredient in creativity for a Dungeon Master is the skill of observation rather than creation.
Look around you and see what you see through fantasy-colored glasses. You never know what kind of epic adventure or characters will come from that inspiration!
