Finding ideas and inspiration for your campaign

Welcome to update #9 of the Ultimate DM Blueprint and a warm welcome to our new subscribers.

This newsletter now has 101 recipients so thanks for being here!

Today we’re going to talk about the first element of creativity. There are 3 core elements to creativity: Ideation, Synthesis, Output.

We’ll cover the first one today: Ideation.

Ideation

Ideation is the formation of ideas or concepts and it’s one of the most important things you can do to create a unique campaign.

Ideas can come from anywhere at any time. So capture them quickly!

How many times have you been on a walk, reading a book, watching a movie, playing a video game, or just showering, and all of a sudden: BAM! An amazing idea pops into your head?

This has happened to me more often than I can count. For this reason alone, I always have something nearby to take notes.

Either a small notebook, or index card, and a pencil or pen. If these aren’t close at hand I pull out my phone and write in my Notes app or record a voice memo.

Inspiration has even happened to me while driving my car. I’m so glad for CarPlay.

“Hey Siri, take a new note for me:

Malek, the evil overlord, is the long-lost cousin of one of the characters in the party. Make sure to reveal some secret about this in the next gaming session.”

When inspiration strikes you, be ready for it. These thoughts are fleeting so don’t lose them to time.

Capture them immediately and always, always, always write your ideas down. You think you’ll remember it, but you won’t.

And, even if you get lucky and do remember it, it’s best to be sure - so just write it down.

Finding Ideas

There are many free ways to find ideas and inspiration as a DM and the Internet makes it quick and easy.

Pinterest

If you don’t have a Pinterest account, get one. It’s free and there are a ton of Pinterest users pinning old school D&D artwork from Jeff Dee, Jim Roslof, Bill Willingham, Erol Otus, Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, Brom, Wayne Reynolds, and many others.

There are also tons of newer artists who can be found if you know where to look.

Here’s my D&D Pinterest board to give you a better idea.

And, if you don’t want your board to be public, you can set it as “private” so only you have access.

Use your new board to capture campaign inspiration.

Things like:

• Maps

• Artwork

• NPC portraits

• Character sheets

• Unique monsters/stats

• Plus tons of other ideas

This will help you keep track of what you find, all in one place. You can even upload your own images and resources to Pinterest for later reference.

There are other places for fantasy art, including Art Station, DeviantArt, and Fantasy Gallery. Links to these and more will be in the Resources section at the end of the book. What’s your favorite?

YouTube is also a great source for ideas. Some of my favorites include: DnD Shorts, Dungeon Craft, Bob World Builder, Roll for Combat, The Dungeon Delver, Nerd Immersion, Questing Beast, The First Arcadian, The DM Lair, Dungeon Masterpiece, Matthew Colville, Tabletop Alchemy, etc.

I won’t list all of my favorites here but check the resources section in the appendix for a full list.

Other places for inspiration include:

• Twitter

• RPG.net

• Podcasts

• Instagram

• Kickstarter

• Old Dragon magazines 😀

No matter where or when inspiration strikes, capture the source.

You’ll use your inspiration boards, ideas, notes, and memos to spark ideas for upcominmg sessions and to help combat procrastination and imposter syndrome.

Well, that’s a wrap. Have a wonderful day and weekend.

Happy gaming!

-Joe

P.S. There’s a new service called My Mind that’s like Pinterest, but on steroids. Check it out!