This hobby provides an outlet for creative expression unlike any other. We build worlds. We breathe life into characters. And we collaboratively craft endless stories with our players. But creating our worlds and games isn’t easy. Creativity is often elusive and the well of ideas dries up. We need a superpower.
Thinking back over 15 years of game mastering, few tips stand out as powerful as this one: combine two things. When we’re trying to come up with a situation, an NPC, or a location, a blank canvas can be the worst place to start. That’s why we always start with what excites us. But what do we do with it? Stealing ideas wholesale is perfectly fine. Yet we have a better tool at our disposal: combining two things. Taco Bell does is so why can’t we?
At its core, this is much of what creativity is—combining things in a new and unique way. As game masters, we have no shortage of ideas. We’ve been building inspiration our whole lives. The tool is simple: take two ideas and smash them together. Do you like the idea of the Greybeards (Skyrim) and King Arthur? Great, you now have a cult of old men who protect a magical artifact until the born king returns to claim it. In one of my campaigns, I wanted to inject the imagery presented by the Spear of Longinus pinning Lilith to the cross (Neon Genesis Evangelion). Combined with D&D’s lore, that became the Rod of Law pinning the Queen of Chaos at the heart of some evil machination. Talk about awesome.
In our games, it’s as simple as that. Take two ideas, smash them together and put the result into your game world. The result is something that came from your inspiration but is uniquely your own.
Game on.
