Troll Lord Games

So I'm starting a brand new campaign since my last one that lasted about 2.5 years. I forgot how tough it can be...

What/where do you guys go for campaign inspirations?
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Existing campaign settings, novels, or just freehand a map.

R-
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Rigon o' the Lakelands, Baron of The Castles & Crusades Society
The Book of the Mind

My inspiration comes from all over the place. My Greenshade campaign came from reading Philip Jose Farmer's "The Stone God Awakens" (that book's an old friend that I enjoy reading from time to time), while my Orphan Soldiers SF game was inspired by the haunting lyrics in "Voices on the Wind" by the Levellers:

There's a man on the mountain, hides himself away.

The voice on the wind there, is telling him to stay.

He knows on the outside the world has looked away

from that night in the valley, when they took them all away

Now the rock of ages lies broken at his feet.

The history of centuries lies scattered down the street.

The houses are all empty now, left broken there to die.

The childrens playground burned and gone, with no-one left to cry.

Actually song lyrics, depending on the artist of course, often give me just enough of an idea that I can then run with it. Other times, just a semi-random concatenation of words that pop into my head seemingly from nowhere will do it, such as an adventure I'm preparing called "The Chrysanthemum Box".
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History teaches us that men behave wisely once they've exhausted all other alternatives.

Power Metal lyrics!

My current campaign:

"Axes of Evil" by Three Inches of Blood

hark!

a scout has reached the gate, bringing new of war

in a fortnight they'll be here, legions of the nameless fear

our king he cannot lead, our king is growing old

with a courageous cry, a young man rises from the fold

the answer we seek lies in the frozen waste

i leave at dawn with haste for...

axes of evil

astonished faces look his way, as the hopeful carry horror in their hearts

uncertain of a power that malice forged in steel

i must face this threat that challenges our lives

ill strike out with vengeance, ill reap from their demise

no! you must not seek the blades, its said that they are cursed

possess you if they're found, to the dreadlord they are bound

cutting flesh for him to eat, bloody raw lucifer meat

peril awaits you in the fjords, we cannot lose you to the...

axes of evil, strong not feeble

axes of evil, come on!

axes of evil, out fates wrapped in steel

axes of evil, come on! Come on!

the future of our land lies in the balance

you must go to save us all

at last they're found floating in a crystal orb

speak the incantation written on the wall

in a blinding flash the axes fly into his hands

too much power for him to bear, he'll wreak havoc on the land

wreaking havoc on the land

axes of evil, our fates wrapped in steel

axes of evil, come on!

axes of evil, will kill all the people

axes of evil, come on! Come on!

here comes our hero, back from his quest

here to save us all, deliver us from death

...axes of evil

on the fourteenth mornings chill, from the rampart he is spotted on the hill

with a look of burning poison that fills his eyes with rage

i have returned to put an end to all your livesd

with no remorse i will reap from your demise

...axes of evil

Inspiration comes from where ever I get it. Usually though, my inspiration comes from reading other game related materials. Eventually I come across something that makes me go, "ooohh!" I usually create from that point.

My latest inspiration hascome from the HBO TV series, Rome and the film The Last Legion. By taking the seriousness of Rome and transplanting into a fantastical Rome setting (The Last Legion), I've got a short campaign on the horizon.

-O
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

My inspiration lately has come from the Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series. Living Fantasy in particular has sparked some ideas for me.
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Rusty

Its simple for me. I just crack open my Wilderlands of High Fantasy, randomly roll one of 18 maps and off I go. I also HEAVILY draw upon old mods for new players. I have ran Temple of elemental evil 4-5 times in the past 15 years. The point is the classic stuff never gets old to me. They turn out different every time.

Shinydemon
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Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy.

So! I was inspired from the CRPG Mass Effect and basically took elements of the story and made it all fantasy like. It's working well so far!
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

Depends on the game.

For AD&D/C&C I like to find a module, then build off of it. Novels might give me good ideas to add to the mix as well.

For Rifts, again modules (for any system) though I tend not to use the actual module, just strip what I want from it.

Shadowrun. Movies. I get some inspirations from movies and now the Sopranos too.

Usually books, the "classics" like Howard, Lieber, Lovecraft. I have recently toyed with the idea of a quite simple campaign which uses the core C&C classes, but should play like Call of Cthulhu, in that clerics would only be NPCs. It would start with the N1 module, Against the Cult of the Reptile god, but instead of Troglodytes I would take the Deep Ones from the old Deities & Demigods, and the Naga would be a cleric of Cthulhu.

I rip-off so much stuff from everywhere and mash it all together I'd be hard pressed the next day to puzzle the pieces back apart. I take inspiration from Apocolypse Now the movie to Tenk no shiro Rapyuta (Castle in the Sky) the anime to Count Zero the cyberpunk novel.
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The Rock says ...

Know your roll!

I don't really know, to be honest. My stuff generally comes out like an odd cross of many different things, but never resembles them. So, I guess, just whatever creeps into my head.

I find some modules I like, find a few common threads to link them, place them on a map (have someone who can draw, redo my map) and kick things off.
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Never throw rocks at a man with a Vorpal Sword!