#spellmonger

Minalan: “No, Zagor.  I am not well.” It seemed like a dreadful admission.

Zagor: “I thought so.  Minalan, has no one ever taught you that you can only do so much without rest and repose? ... Every wizard learns that he can only bear his burdens, and those of his clients, for so long before his shoulders begin to bow.  Our troubles accumulate, for we adopt those of those around us.  Even magic cannot make us strong enough to endure that without respite.”

Minalan: “I can’t exactly step away...”

"So, keep your personal insecurities to yourself, the rest of us are trying to have a good time here."

This is Shereul (the Dead God) from The Spellmonger Series by Terry Mancour.

I am a Spellmongrel in the worst way. The first time I experienced this amazing, terrifying, WONDERFUL series, I knew I’d be spending the next several months (or years) cranking out fan art! Last year was the first time I didn’t listen to over 100 unique books, because I literally could NOT stop relistening to Spellmonger.

All the time. One of the things I enjoy most about DM'ing is taking things from my favorite media and playing with them the way I used to play with Lego Bionicles. I rip em apart and make my own stories with the pieces. Off the top of my head:

Eonite, the substance that can supercharge magic: Stolen from the Spellmonger series.

The magocracy: Also stolen from the Spellmonger Series

The goddess of death's religion and the depiction of death: SHAMELESSLY ripped from the Abhorsen trilogy, down to the use of bells.

The earth being used as a prison: In retrospect, unconsciously ripped from The Order of the Stick, probably. Also, *spoiler* Darkest Dungeon.

My Blood Hunter subclass that is very popular: Inspired by Illidan Stormrage from the Warcraft series.

The Suprisi Elves and their culture: Ripped in part from the Golgari from MTG.

The Sasinian Empire's ban on commoners carrying gold: The Black Company

The Grimdark Continent that we haven't gone to yet: The Black Company

My willingness to let lore contradict itself: The Riyiria series, as well as my own experience with studying history

"Are these rocks alive?": Dragon Age

Steal as MUCH as you want from media you enjoy. Shit, just as importantly, steal from media your PLAYERS enjoy. I ripped the death stuff from Abhorsen because one of my players really loved that series. I wrote an entire arc based on a more common (but not what the artist intended) reading of "Running Up That Hill," using a cover to get a different vibe.

There's definitely more stuff that I'm forgetting that I stole stuff from. I'm sure my players could name influences that I'm forgetting, too, because they see stuff with a more objective eye. Sometimes I write stuff not knowing where I got something from, and then my players will mention something about me cribbing it from something, and then I say, "FUCK," and move on with my life.