How do you guys prevent it? I feel cheap to steal ideas from books or movies, also I don't watch that many movies in my free time. I sometimes have good leads but I find it hard to pursue them. Asking questions sometimes helps, but it does not feel optimal all the time.
Well, stealing from movies and asking players for ideas doesn’t hurt, but if all else fails, remember that all you need for a good game is a dungeon with a nasty monster the players want to kill. The best games aren’t usually plot-heavy, the DM’s story isn’t the star: it’s just about the players roleplaying with each other as they hack their way through monsters. So when you’re out of ideas, just make a dungeon full of evil monsters and treasure! It doesn’t need to get any more complex than that.
There are a ton of old modules out there from earlier editions. And materials to convert them. Unless the players are old school they’ve never played or even heard of them. And the way they were written back in the day they were designed for the DM to fill in the gaps. But definitely some great ideas for you to make your own.
How do you guys prevent it? I feel cheap to steal ideas from books or movies, also I don't watch that many movies in my free time. I sometimes have good leads but I find it hard to pursue them. Asking questions sometimes helps, but it does not feel optimal all the time.
It's not cheap. Good writers borrow from other writers all the time... great writers steal from them outright. Can't remember who said that...
Anyway, it is not "cheap" to borrow from adventures other people wrote, or books or short stories or what have you. I suggest if you are out of ideas, buy a published adventure and swipe from it.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
How do you guys prevent it? I feel cheap to steal ideas from books or movies, also I don't watch that many movies in my free time. I sometimes have good leads but I find it hard to pursue them. Asking questions sometimes helps, but it does not feel optimal all the time.
Thank you guys a lot in advance!
I steal ideas from books and movies.
Everything you could possibly ever steal was already stolen from something else originally, which was also stolen from something else, which in turn was also stolen from something else before that.
Ever see the movie Avatar? When James Cameron wrote that movie, he basically stole Dances With Wolves, and just changed Amerindians with blue alien people. Of course, before Cameron stole it, some other folks had already stolen Dances w/ Wolves to make FernGully. I’m honestly not sure what was stolen to make Dances With Wolves, maybe one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales?
Ever seen Toy Story? That was basically a direct rip off of one of my all time favorite Jim Henson movies, The Christmas Toy. (Not sorta kinda the same, Pixar straight stole it, and replaced a tiger plushy with a cowboy, a space queen with a space man, and a cat toy with a pig. Henson should have sued.)
And btw, it's not just the movie writers who do it. Many of the 5e modules are either direct remakes of earlier modules (Yawning Portal, Saltmarsh), or else are derived *strongly* from them (Strahd, Mad Mage, Princes).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I steal from published adventures all the time! Barovia, Phandalin, Orlane, Saltmarsh, Winterhaven, Hommlet, Seastone, The Ruins of Drakkenheim, and Chult are all on the map in my world. Some of the names got changed, some didn't. Find out what your players like and use that, one of my players in my next group thinks Indiana Jones if the greatest thing ever invented. I made a very Indiana Jones like NPC that he will definitely meet and maybe become a patron or sidekick. Another loves Lovecraft, so the adventure is actually going to start with the plot of The Colour Out of Space. I'm super excited and can't wait till we start playing again.
No, no, do not feel cheap doing that. It's a great source of inspiration. Do not feel guilty for building on ideas some other scriptwriter or author has.
It doesn't have to be a movie or book either. You can get ideas from nonfiction media like news stories and documentaries. Also, don't restrict yourself to fantasy stories. For example, I've planning to use part of Star Trek Discovery 2nd season in a D&D game.
Some things that helped me through creative slumps.
• Carry a little notebook and pen. Whenever you get an idea (bus, work, supermarket, bed, wherever and whenever) - scribble it down. (This one really worked for me.)
• Visit Youtube in an Inprivate browser session and click on some of the "recommended" videos at random. Why inprivate? So you are not seeing your usual content.
• Listen to gossip. You will hear people stories, and the heart of a good plot is the people element. By the same idea, pick up a gosisp mag and skim the stories.
• Ask your players. Ask players in other groups.
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How do you guys prevent it? I feel cheap to steal ideas from books or movies, also I don't watch that many movies in my free time. I sometimes have good leads but I find it hard to pursue them. Asking questions sometimes helps, but it does not feel optimal all the time.
Thank you guys a lot in advance!
Well, stealing from movies and asking players for ideas doesn’t hurt, but if all else fails, remember that all you need for a good game is a dungeon with a nasty monster the players want to kill. The best games aren’t usually plot-heavy, the DM’s story isn’t the star: it’s just about the players roleplaying with each other as they hack their way through monsters. So when you’re out of ideas, just make a dungeon full of evil monsters and treasure! It doesn’t need to get any more complex than that.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
There are a ton of old modules out there from earlier editions. And materials to convert them. Unless the players are old school they’ve never played or even heard of them. And the way they were written back in the day they were designed for the DM to fill in the gaps. But definitely some great ideas for you to make your own.
It's not cheap. Good writers borrow from other writers all the time... great writers steal from them outright. Can't remember who said that...
Anyway, it is not "cheap" to borrow from adventures other people wrote, or books or short stories or what have you. I suggest if you are out of ideas, buy a published adventure and swipe from it.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I steal ideas from books and movies.
Everything you could possibly ever steal was already stolen from something else originally, which was also stolen from something else, which in turn was also stolen from something else before that.
Ever see the movie Avatar? When James Cameron wrote that movie, he basically stole Dances With Wolves, and just changed Amerindians with blue alien people. Of course, before Cameron stole it, some other folks had already stolen Dances w/ Wolves to make FernGully. I’m honestly not sure what was stolen to make Dances With Wolves, maybe one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales?
Ever seen Toy Story? That was basically a direct rip off of one of my all time favorite Jim Henson movies, The Christmas Toy. (Not sorta kinda the same, Pixar straight stole it, and replaced a tiger plushy with a cowboy, a space queen with a space man, and a cat toy with a pig. Henson should have sued.)
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Yup.
And btw, it's not just the movie writers who do it. Many of the 5e modules are either direct remakes of earlier modules (Yawning Portal, Saltmarsh), or else are derived *strongly* from them (Strahd, Mad Mage, Princes).
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I steal from published adventures all the time! Barovia, Phandalin, Orlane, Saltmarsh, Winterhaven, Hommlet, Seastone, The Ruins of Drakkenheim, and Chult are all on the map in my world. Some of the names got changed, some didn't. Find out what your players like and use that, one of my players in my next group thinks Indiana Jones if the greatest thing ever invented. I made a very Indiana Jones like NPC that he will definitely meet and maybe become a patron or sidekick. Another loves Lovecraft, so the adventure is actually going to start with the plot of The Colour Out of Space. I'm super excited and can't wait till we start playing again.
Thank you guys a lot for your input. I think I know have some more ideas on how to move forward!
If you think that you are not allowed to steal any ideas from books or movies you are doing it wrong.
So steal ideas from everywhere and do little re-skinning that fits your world. Trust me, there are no "original" ideas left anymore.
No, no, do not feel cheap doing that. It's a great source of inspiration. Do not feel guilty for building on ideas some other scriptwriter or author has.
It doesn't have to be a movie or book either. You can get ideas from nonfiction media like news stories and documentaries. Also, don't restrict yourself to fantasy stories. For example, I've planning to use part of Star Trek Discovery 2nd season in a D&D game.
Some things that helped me through creative slumps.
• Carry a little notebook and pen. Whenever you get an idea (bus, work, supermarket, bed, wherever and whenever) - scribble it down. (This one really worked for me.)
• Visit Youtube in an Inprivate browser session and click on some of the "recommended" videos at random. Why inprivate? So you are not seeing your usual content.
• Listen to gossip. You will hear people stories, and the heart of a good plot is the people element. By the same idea, pick up a gosisp mag and skim the stories.
• Ask your players. Ask players in other groups.