and by thinking about RPGs, I mean either as a player or a GM.

We all have things that inspire us and get the creative juices flowing, but what has changed the way you approach RPGs?

For me it was the 1958-1961 series Peter Gunn. It has two main aspects that got me thinking:
1) In 28 minutes you had a full plot resolved, no excess baggage needed, most one hour shows fail to do that anymore
2) The cast of characters, Pete has a arsenal of "stool pigeons" he leans on for information, but each one is unique and quirky.

Well, as research for my Wild West campaign I did a shitload of studying of actual history of the period.  But then, I also watched every single damn episode of Gunsmoke. I hadn't necessarily planned to because I wasn't sure how useful it would ultimately be, but in fact I found that it was really damn full of excellent plots for single-session scenarios that would give some stuff to do besides actual historical events. It was a much more sophisticated show than I expected.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1058504Well, as research for my Wild West campaign I did a shitload of studying of actual history of the period.  But then, I also watched every single damn episode of Gunsmoke. I hadn't necessarily planned to because I wasn't sure how useful it would ultimately be, but in fact I found that it was really damn full of excellent plots for single-session scenarios that would give some stuff to do besides actual historical events. It was a much more sophisticated show than I expected.

Having run many a wild west game, Gunsmoke is nearly gospel when it comes to the setting.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1058504Well, as research for my Wild West campaign I did a shitload of studying of actual history of the period.  But then, I also watched every single damn episode of Gunsmoke. I hadn't necessarily planned to because I wasn't sure how useful it would ultimately be, but in fact I found that it was really damn full of excellent plots for single-session scenarios that would give some stuff to do besides actual historical events. It was a much more sophisticated show than I expected.

All 423? o.O

Damn. I'm having a hard time getting through all of Sons of Anarchy for my biker PC...

Quote from: Daztur;1058627All 423? o.O

Damn. I'm having a hard time getting through all of Sons of Anarchy for my biker PC...

Season 2 or 3 (don't remember which) drags a ton when they go to Ireland, but tge rest of it is really good.

Quote from: Daztur;1058627All 423? o.O

Damn. I'm having a hard time getting through all of Sons of Anarchy for my biker PC...

Thats because "Gunsmoke" is probably a better show...

- Ed C,

Quote from: Koltar;1058872Thats because "Gunsmoke" is probably a better show...

- Ed C,

And the Rifleman is better than that...

We talking about TV shows or any influence?

This video from Extra Credits (back when they were good) made a huge impact on how I think about choices in games, and it has influenced how I set up scenarios. (Does this encounter have any interesting choices? If not, how can I jigger it so it does?)

https://youtu.be/lg8fVtKyYxY

Quote from: Daztur;1058627All 423? o.O

Damn. I'm having a hard time getting through all of Sons of Anarchy for my biker PC...

Yup. All of them.  Like I said, that wasn't the initial plan; I was just going to watch a couple, but having never watched Gunsmoke before I discovered that it was really very good.

Never watched Sons of Anarchy.

I like old episodes of Combat! for small unit military RPG stories.

And holy shit if the first season of Westworld isn't resonating deeply with me because of gaming!!!

I can't think of any particular influence that stands out.  I'm sure the various ancient/medieval history I've read, and much of the fantasy literature, has had some influence, but no particular thing is strong.  Probably the combination of Poul Anderson and Jack Vance have had the most effect on how I think about gaming, though those are already somewhat embedded into the games.

Adventure Time and Venture Brothers were both big influences on my Last Sun DCC campaign.

Outside influences...

Robert H. Howard - Conan. HUGE influence on me as a GM. I think the Sword and Sorcery genre which he helped define for me, keeps a certain tension on the character, not necessarily physical, but an emotional one. Conan spends a lot of time interacting with his environment actively and passively, which seeped into my bones as a GM. His style by modern standards is archaic and lyrical but still has power. While I don't do the lyrical stuff overtly, I definitely try to give enough description to make my players feel a place deeply. I want their senses to inform them - to evoke an emotion. I attribute this to Howard.

Michael Moocock - Moorcock's sheer scale of world... no, UNIVERSE-building set the bar for my gaming and really has never left it's lofty perch. This is not to say that all my fantasy campaigns aim for world-destroying cosmic wonder levels of god-slaying epicness. But it's to say that you *can* take a game to these kinds of heights if you're ambitious, your players have the will and desire to do so and you GM fearlessly beyond the scope of the assumptions of your system.

Frank Herbert - Dune. The sublime power of subtlety. Herbert made me love roleplaying. He matured my NPC's to not just being moustache-twirling XP-bonanzas, and Ming the Merciless knock-offs. I discovered Herbert ~1980... and my games took a distinct turn towards more RP than Murder-Hobos On Parade. I learned to slow-cook my campaigns so that the NPC's became as important as any Macguffin in the game.

Raymond Feist - Magician series (first four books). This is D&D fantasy paying deep homage to Tolkien, Leiber, Howard, colliding headlong into Tekumel - ON PURPOSE, done with pure love. It is an epic campaign that is floor-to-ceiling enjoyable, hitting every possible gaming stone and flipping them over gracefully. It is practically a manual on how to do it. I also hugely recommend the Empire Series which takes the story from the other (the Tekumel) side. While it does little for me now - in 1986 when it landed in my hands, it was like the perfect D&D game set to fiction for me. Character development pacing, scaling. Gaming elements that directly puts all the stuff I like into actual play. It's like reading a ridiculously good campaign in-play as an example.

Comics/Religion/Philosophy - Ultimately I guess at one point they're all the same to me. Thanks Jung. Thanks Gebser. Thanks Lee. Take a Michael Moorcock spoon and swirl it all around... and it put my cosmological compass into place where my campaigns generally orbit.

Music - Tons of stuff from tons of genres for tons of overt and subjective reasons. Metal, Prog, Hip-Hop, Alternative, Classical, Goth, Pop, Rock, blah blah blah.

I could go on, but it's already feeling pretentious.

Pretty much everything I have an interest in outside of gaming invariably finds its way *into* my gaming on some obscure level. These are all things that transcend gaming yet impact my gaming.

Working in management and in the mental health field have together made me more mindful when putting groups together. When I ignore sound reasoning re; troublesome players and "just give it a try," it inevitably bites me in the ass so I'm doing it far less than I used to.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1060909Working in management and in the mental health field have together made me more mindful when putting groups together. When I ignore sound reasoning re; troublesome players and "just give it a try," it inevitably bites me in the ass so I'm doing it far less than I used to.

Was this posted in the right thread?