A question to the GMs out there

so, nobody? nobody has any advice on this?

...brilliant...

>>49060844
I look to pc's back stories and see what can be used as a plot hook. Also just pulling shit that I enjoy. I also spit ball ideas to online friends and some of my players to have a little back and forth.

>>49060844
calm down, it's hasn't even been an hour since you posted.

I look to music a lot. There's usually songs about crap that inspires me. I also have a folder of non-character art stuff that looks interesting. If I can't think of anything, I'll go through that to see if any of it sparks an idea. Worst case, nothing and I just start making random towns and shit, thinking about what would be near that town, and how it would interact with its neighbors. If they would have some sort of conflict, that could be interesting for PCs. Doing something as simple as making a local bakery can bring other ideas to the surface.

>>49061692
/tg/ is actually a decent place to do that as well. Worldbuilding threads can be pretty fun. Just bring SOMETHING to the table. Don't expect folks to build your world for you, and you should be good.

Yeah, friends and such are great sources. Most people have some kinda idea for something interesting, or at least a core idea that can be made interesting with a little bit of polish.

>>49060844

>what do you, do when you are stuck for ideas

Watch old movies, see if I can steal any plot points from them, get drunk, masturbate to other movies, see if I can steal any plot points from them either.

Fruit-stealing bandits are a surprisingly good substitute for rats for new groups.

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86KB, 564x798px

>>49060844
Personally I listen to a lot of music, watch my favorite movies, or go one walks.
Things that get your mind moving are good as well. Puzzles or reading a good fantasy book, or rereading in some cases.
Music is most certainly where i draw my muse.
I'd recommend even expanding genres, try music you've never heard before.
I listen to quality metal for design enemies, smooth relaxing music for story or world building.
Also look through pictures on pinterest of fantasy worlds.

>>49060844
I like to read/watch shit that's vaguely relevant (emphasis on vaguely) to whatever game I'm running, even if it's stuff I've watched before.
That's pretty basic stuff, I know, but maybe you could have a look at published RPG materials like adventures and settings and steal from those?
Remember, stealing is the heart of creativity. A good creative is someone who has good enough taste to know what to steal, and how to spin it so it seems original

>>49061820
Yes, very well said.

>>49060844
Get drunk,steal shit, cover it up so nobody knows.

>>49060844
I'm gonna let you in on a secret.
As a DM, I get writer's block all the fucking time. And I mean constantly.
What I do to try and fix it is this:
You know what your party's antagonist is, and what they want. What steps are they going to take to do it, and how does that affect the party?
Also, keep in mind that life moves on without the party. Festivals, deaths, and births are going to happen. People do things without concern that the PCs might take interest in it.
Give the players something to chase, something their character or their build could benefit from.
Also, I've lifted the framework for plots wholesale from literature, video games and comics and put a spin on it so that it fits in the setting- causing it to become s completely different conflict.
Two nations are at war- why? Are there personal reasons involved? Perhaps the enemy general is like Carthage's Hannibal and has sworn an oath against his ancestral hated foe. Maybe the war was started on a pretense but has turned into a rush for power, both political and military. What unique weapons does each side bring to bear, and how are they counteracted or dealt with?

>>49060844
If you have writer's block, you need to consume some media. You need to put some good stuff in your head that can lube up the gears and get them going again. We're talking poetry, short stories, art, music, whatever. Put some creative stuff in. Your brain will take some time to digest it all and the juices will start flowing again.

I find when I'm stumped, I try to listen to music, for example. Make sure it's music that might center around the theme of the game. Music will get your brain on a fast-track to creative thinking.

>>49060844
When I'm trying to figure out a new campaign or a new scenario I usually go with something very very basic to start with, something I saw in a game or a movie or lurking through images thread : "I want to see how an orc invasion would play out".

Then I open steam and just talk with my best friend about the story, and I honestly just imagine things up as I'm telling him my ideas about characters and situations. "So there's this king, right ? He's dying and he has two sons who just can't wait for him to kick the bucket, so they use the PC as mercenaries to do their dirty buisness, but then the orcs begin pillaging !"

Then I try to divide this new story / adventure / scenario into smaller part, where I concentrate on zones and what could happen here : "Here's the crypt of the old king of the land, where a witch has taken residence", "Here's the prison, where the warden is actually a very nice guy and very helpful, but show no mercy against traitors and rebels."

Then it's just a case of remembering or noting down those ideas and looking up images.

The best way to shake off writer's block I found was to simply do it. Just begin with a two-word story in your mind, then expand on that. "The king is dying, looking for a cure" "The queen wants a love potion to be able to love the king again" "the fucking orcs are at it again" "the fucking orcs stole the queen love potion again" "the dwarf want the love potion to woo the local dragon and steal the treasure" "fuck, now there's a lich involved."

TL:DR. Begin with a two-phrase story. Begin writting about it. Compartimentalize. Look up nice pictures on the internet. Shamelesly take stuff from video game you like.

>>49060844
I read the Old Testament. So much effed up stuff, freely available online, original author left writing for a career in special effects, what more could you want

>>49062093
>original author left writing for a career in special effects
wait, what?

>>49060844
Read history. So long as you stay away from major wars and events that everyone has heard of there is more shit to draw inspiration from that very few people know of. I ran a whole campaign set around The Great Game, look it up. None of my players are history buffs, none of them knew I was literally copy/pasting names and places with different spellings for the whole two years game.

>>49060844
The news is always good. I have a sci-fi setting so all I have to do is translate ISIS, Putin, Brexit, Hillary, Fukushima Daiichi, or any other current event/prominamt figure into a setting with humanoid plants, animals, and minerals who fly spaceships.

>>49060844
Steal and add a twist.
Creativity is hiding your sources.

It's also a skill that's practiced.

Personally, I rip off a video game's story or something.

>>49062120
Returning from the dead as a zombie, floating to heaven.
>"special effects"

>>49060844

I trust my players. If I can throw just a small thing in front of them they'll give me something I can build on. "A man walks out of a church and offers to bet 500 gold on a single coin flip" and away we go.

I have a dumb trick I use to forcibly generate ideas.
But I'm leaving for about six hours.
So bump, I guess.

>>49060844
>>49061820
>Remember, stealing is the heart of creativity.
Completely agree, I take a single element/character/object/encounter that I personally find interesting, create a small situation around it and connect it loosely with the campaign.
the way the player resolve the situation sets the pace/direction of the story.