Crossovers and Remixes

When devising new concepts and encounters for a game session, it pays to think outside the box. So the next time you wrack your brain for inspiration, don't be afraid to adapt material from sources in all sorts of genres. Rather than limiting yourself to works that bear immediate similarities to the setting of your game, try thinking ways to remix and cross over people, places, and things into your own campaign setting. 

Maybe an Indiana Jones character could be a fitting NPC in your Star Wars game, or a monstrosity from Buffy the Vampire Slayer appears in a Call of Cthulhu nightmare? Don't be afraid to mix things up and think outside the box.

This doesn't mean you should just add something from your favorite book or TV show as-is. Make the necessary modifications so it will fit within the fiction you are creating. Adapt and alter it to make it into something new. I've done this in my own campaigns, bringing mutants from the Half Life games into a Deadlands RPG, or using Breaking Bad characters as antagonists in a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. As long as you can justify it within the setting, you can use that inspiration to fuel your creativity and your campaign!

To think about what kind of stories to draw these ideas from, you should focus the way you think about your campaign. Instead of thinking about it in terms of the game's genre or setting, reduce your scope to a scene-by-scene consideration. Where is the adventure currently taking place, and what is its tone? If you think about the game in terms of individual scenes instead of an entire genre, you can reference a wide number of concepts from various works of fiction. 

A crime-riddled city could be home to Omar from The Wire, whether it is in outer space or a magical realm. Likewise, a spooky crypt could be inhabited by a shape-shifting monster like The Thing, even if it is buried in the desert sands or a haunted swamp. Think about it in terms of what kind of creature, character, or enviromnent you want to portray and then you can reference all sorts of inspirational material that uses those themes. Whether your players recognize the source of your inspiration or not, it can provide a wealth of ideas and creative material that will bring the entertainment and spice up your tabletop experience.

Happy ventures!