A DM's inspiration corner

[aromantic-diaries]

Cannibalism as a metaphor for I Was Hungry

[aromantic-diaries]

Cannibalism as a metaphor for. Dinnar.

[aromantic-diaries]

Cannibalism as a metaphor for when you're stuck in a lifeboat and your buddy starts looking a lot like a hamburger

[swordshapedleaves]

This is I think, my best prep tip as a DM:

When the players are about to visit a new town, pre-generate several NPCs who fit the demographics of the town, but don't give them jobs. Your town is Mostly human, with a number of halflings and gnomes? Make a list that's mostly humans with some halflings and gnomes mixed in, with names that match the vibe you're going for and maybe the barest description + a quirk of some sort.

So the list would look something like this:

Ophelia Bracegurdle, older Halfling woman who laughs a lot

Norabecka Johnson, a young human woman who seems tired

Geraldofinio Babblecock Nimsy, gnome gentleman who takes pains to maintain a fabulous mustache

Etc.

Then, when the players are like, "Can I go to the blacksmith?" You look at your list of NPCs and the one at the top is Ophelia Bracegurdle. She's your blacksmith now. Then they want to go to the tavern, where Norabecka is the innkeeper and Geraldofinio is a patron having a drink at the bar. He's using a straw so he doesn't mess up his mustache.

If they had gone to the inn first, Ophelia would have been the innkeeper with Norabecka as the patron, and then Geraldofinio should have been a blacksmith with some sort of mustache guard to keep the sparks off.

Making the list ahead of time doesn't take much time, and you can often re-use the people you never got to at the next town.

Your world will seem vibrant and interesting and like you have everything planned out.

Have fun!

[swordshapedleaves]

Since this post has been getting a lot of notes, I would like to clarify a couple of points. This method has a few different benefits I would like people to note:

This prep is fairly simple and easy. You could use a random name generator and find lists of character quirks online or you could just make your own shit up. Because no one has any jobs or stats, you have very little you have to decide ahead of time.

It removes in-the-moment decision making from your game. Because you assign NPCs to roles as the players meet them, you don't have to pick who is gonna be the blacksmith or make up a blacksmith ahead of time.

This third point is the heart of this method for me: Randomization thwarts stereotyping. Some DMs struggle with this more than others, but I know I have made my fair share of gruff burly man blacksmiths! How many of us would really pick Ophelia Bracegurdle, older halfling woman who likes to laugh, to be the blacksmith? Honestly I probably wouldn't. But since in the example the players wanted to go to the blacksmith first, there she is. And now we have the option but not the requirement to think about why and how old Ophelia got her job. Maybe she's a widow who took over for her dead husband. Maybe she just always wanted to be a blacksmith or this town just has always had halfling ladies be their blacksmiths. Or maybe you don't think about it at all, and she's just the blacksmith because she is.

I've been in games where literally every NPC except the pretty barmaid is a man, and pretty much everyone is a light skinned dwarf, elf, or human. I've also been in games with awesome diverse characters who bring the game to life. I know I want to be a DM who creates the latter, and this system helps push back against our unconscious biases. When you have the list of everyone in the town, you can see ahead of time if you have a good gender ratio, whether your descriptions include any people with disabilities or people from different points of view.

[swordshapedleaves]

Hey! Welcome! Since my silly garbage truck anglerfish post is getting me a bunch of attention right now, check out a post I'm actually proud of while you're here

[kjscottwrites]

I was inspired by @jezifster's recent question about non-gendered royal titles, and I put together this graphic to serve as a jumping off point for people writing monarchies in SFF !

Obviously this non-exhaustive list contains mainly western titles, all in English. Feel free add any on additional gender neutral terminologies that you can think of, including those from different languages and cultures!

A small addition: I'm not a linguist or historian and put this list together based on some quick googling! While you're free to flex the usage and meanings of these words however you choose, researching the real-world context of each term before using them in your own writing is a best practice.

[someemochick]

[fishingscam]

op didn’t add a link so here’s a link to his patreon where all of his minis are free to download please support him if you can

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Charon by Zack Dunn

This artist on Instagram

[useless-catalanfacts]

You know how fantasy worlds are almost always based on (mostly Central and Northern) European Medieval aesthetic and folklore?

For a while I’ve been thinking that if we had a fantasy world made here, it would be interesting to have it be inspired by Modernisme (the Catalan artistic movement from the late 19th century - early 20th century). I mean, look at this and tell me it doesn’t have potential:

Interior of the Sagrada Família basilica, Barcelona. The stained glass in different sides of the temple are different colours, so the light changes colour depending on the hour of the day. (Photo sources x x)

Illa de la Discòrdia, Barcelona. x

Benches in Parc Güell (Barcelona), made with the “trencadís”, the typical mosaic used in many of Antoni Gaudí’s works (he’s one of the most famous Modernist architects, and one of the most famous Catalan architects of all times too). x

A hall in Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona. x

Ceiling of Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall in Barcelona.

Lots of these things. This one is in Argentona (Catalonia, too). x

And fashion would be like this:

Stained glass in Cerdanyola, Catalonia. x

Illustrations by Gaspar Camps.

More stained glass, now in Museu del Modernisme, Barcelona. x

Modernist jewels by Lluís Masriera (I’ve talked about Modernist jewels in this previous post). x

Even the furniture:

x

Interior of Casa Amatller in Barcelona. x.

Even in wood looked pretty.

x

And lots of cool windows inspired by nature!

And from outside

Olot, Catalonia. x.

And of course all kinds of windows. Light is important!

Torre Bellesguard. x.

Barcelona. x.

This ceiling in Palau Güell with holes to let light in. x.

And this lamp?? Also in Palau Güell. x.

Everything would have to be very curvy.

Casa Milà, Barcelona. x.

And shops

This bakery in Palma, Mallorca. x.

And I won’t begin with the tiles to not make the post longer…

What do you think?

And for people from other countries, what element in your culture do you think a fantasy world could be based on, aesthetically?

[enochliew]

Hearst Castle by Julia Morgan

The indoor mosaic-tiled pool is inspired by Roman baths.

[timjanthewitch]

Temple of Samut Prakan, Thailand

[vurtual]

Portal to Ice Age (by Yanbing Shi)

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

[morbidology]

Built in 1923, Hotel del Salto lies beside the Tequendama waterfalls in Colombia. Once a grand hotel, it has been abandoned and left to deteriorate in the hot weather. The hotel was once bustling, most likely to the gorgeous scenery, and was in operation for 60 years. This spectacular building is also the scene of an abundance of reported paranormal occurrences. Tragically, it was the scene of a number of suicides over the years and is allegedly haunted by these lost souls. In 2013, much of the marred hotel was restored and the hotel now serves as a museum in biodiversity and culture.

[caemidraws]

Queen of Pentacles

[thecollectibles]

Beneath Lilies by Vanessa Palmer

[freespirit-tornado]

[foxyfantasygirl]

by  Ástor Alexander

[randomitemdrop]

Item: violin with a sniper scope; allows Bards to double the distance of their spells while limiting them to a single target.

[1000ballbearings]

In dnd, resurrecting PCs becomes so easy at higher levels, and though I think that’s a positive, I really like the idea that dying has lasting consequences or triggers events in a PC. Here’s a simple table of interesting but hopefully not game breaking or character destroying ideas. Thoughts? Improvements?

[gallusrostromegalus]

Oh these are FUN. Thanks for making this table!

[hummingfluff]

Here’s the finished illustration I worked on during stream last week, titled “Well Dweller”. Give it your sandwitch and run, Emil!

And today’s drawing stream will start in an hour, usual place (my Twitch) usual time, see you then. :3

Art is from my webcomic “Stand Still. Stay Silent”, you can read it ->right over here.<-