Greetings and well met fair adventurers! I'm new to this forum and rather inexperienced in the art (and science) of GMing. I recently purchased a copy of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor and after having read it am very anxious to get a campaign going, though I'm feeling short on inspiration, but very much want to create my own adventure to start with. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me out by telling me how you (personally) come up with ideas for good adventures and stories. How do you guys kindle the red hot flames of inspiration, and once lit how do you keep it burning steady and bright?

So, first I think it helps to have read a number of old-school adventure modules. But, what I do is read the Blackmoor place descriptions carefully. Each town/city/region description is loaded with hints of interesting things. When some little nugget about some place catches my attention I think about what pre made adventures, or parts of pre-made adventures, or adventures of my own will fit.

For example, for a new group of players I started gaming with this year, I got really interested in the town of Erac, as a run down coastal location with a much better past. This reminded me of JEH's sample adventure in the D&D Bluebook, (Dungeon of Zenopus) which itself also ties in pretty well with only a few modifications with the Barrowmaze adventure.

Another example is the Temple of the Frog. You could base the players in frog town, have them go on various adventures in the swamp as they also get to know the town and it's inhabitants and work their way in various ways and stages into the temple itself. You could easily base a whole campaign there.

You could go really old school, and do all your adventuring in and around the town of Blackmoor itself. There are all kinds of hints of things and there is the dungeon.....

First off I want to apologize for how late I'm replying to all of the great suggestions everyones' sent me :oops: , and second I'd like to say that all of the replies have been great.

After having read Lord Havard's reply, I actually took what he said into account about “More gaming leads to more gaming...” while I was playing Terraria with intermittent breaks of Final Fantasy III. It came to my mind to think about gaming as more then just one type of game. I started thinking about how all gaming (traditional: chess, checkers, etc. and non-traditional: Rpgs, Contemporary Tabletop games, video games, etc.) has some sort of connection between them. Something that makes me (and if I'm not being to bold in assuming) and others want to play them. Well what ended up happening is what normally happens when I start thinking like this. My thoughts began to meander out of control, and I really only remember about half of what I thought, and the important one was how Terraria's vague setting could be supplemented with Final Fantasy's explicit use of crystals as a central plot device. So thank you! :D

As to your post Lord Robert (if you don't mind me addressing you as such my liege) it was a little harder for me to fully grasp where exactly your ideas lead, if you catch my meaning. Though I may not have duly grasped what you meant, I would greatly welcome further elaboration of your ideas. For verily I say unto you my lord...what you said sounded most interesting— and cool! Truly its temperature was most low, chill even! :mrgreen:

Would the modules have to be old school Lord Aldarron? Could they perhaps be the Blackmoor MMRPG modules on this forum? Also could this method also apply to things besides modules?

Oh yeah! My Lord Havard, what of your opinion on The Videogames? Could those be good sources of inspiration?

"After that, it's just a matter of coming up with the adversary's plan, how that presents itself as adventure hooks (how the PCs get involved), as the plan unfolds in the background and those adventure seeds get dropped, how the PCs can pick at those threads, and then map out where those go as they unravel."

Well, I was kinda hoping you could rephrase that part. I not sure I understand how all the ideas those words bring to my mind fit toghether. Kinda of like when you look at 3d illusion art the wrong way, but then when you change the angle of the picture it just hits you. "oh hey there it is!"

"From the example above, the PCs didn't just stumble into the Ministry of Defense, or get summoned by the Regent's Council, they simply attended a crystalview broadcast in downtown Blackmoor City, where cultists attacked a performer bearing a remarkable resemblance to the ancient first King's daughter, who'd just made the revelation that she was Uther's daughter reborn...

The PCs embark on adventures to keep her safe and investigate her claim, to determine the truth of her statement, or discover the truth behind her uncanny resemblance...

... which leads to them fending off attacks by government kill squads and defending Castle Blackmoor against a sudden surprise attack by the Egg of Coot...

... getting teleported halfway across the world, to the decadent outpost at the edge of the Empire, where an ancient evil from the beginning of the world slumbers, and awakens..."

I'm not sure how all these fit toghether, especially with what the original example was. I think I'm just looking at it the wrong way again. Oh! And also apoligize that I'm not sure how to make that grey quotation box appear. :oops: