Writing Ideas

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Medicine

A Study In Physical Injury

Comas

Medical Facts And Tips For Your Writing Needs

Broken Bones

Burns

Unconsciousness & Head Trauma

Blood Loss

Stab Wounds

Pain & Shock

All About Mechanical Injuries (Injuries Caused By Violence)

Writing Specific Characters

Portraying a kleptomaniac.

Playing a character with cancer.

How to portray a power driven character.

Playing the manipulative character.

Portraying a character with borderline personality disorder.

Playing a character with Orthorexia Nervosa.

Writing a character who lost someone important.

Playing the bullies.

Portraying the drug dealer.

Playing a rebellious character.

How to portray a sociopath.

How to write characters with PTSD.

Playing characters with memory loss.

Playing a pyromaniac.

How to write a mute character.

How to write a character with an OCD.

How to play a stoner.

Playing a character with an eating disorder.

Portraying a character who is anti-social.

Portraying a character who is depressed.

How to portray someone with dyslexia.

How to portray a character with bipolar disorder.

Portraying a character with severe depression.

How to play a serial killer.

Writing insane characters.

Playing a character under the influence of marijuana.

Tips on writing a drug addict.

How to write a character with HPD.

Writing a character with Nymphomania.

Writing a character with schizophrenia.

Writing a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Writing a character with depression.

Writing a character who suffers from night terrors.

Writing a character with paranoid personality disorder.

How to play a victim of rape.

How to play a mentally ill/insane character.

Writing a character who self-harms.

Writing a character who is high on amphetamines.

How to play the stalker.

How to portray a character high on cocaine.

Playing a character with ADHD.

How to play a sexual assault victim.

Writing a compulsive gambler.

Playing a character who is faking a disorder.

Playing a prisoner.

Portraying an emotionally detached character.

How to play a character with social anxiety.

Portraying a character who is high.

Portraying characters who have secrets.

Portraying a recovering alcoholic.

Portraying a sex addict.

How to play someone creepy.

Portraying sexually/emotionally abused characters.

Playing a character under the influence of drugs.

Playing a character who struggles with Bulimia.

Illegal Activity

Examining Mob Mentality

How Street Gangs Work

Domestic Abuse

Torture

Assault

Murder

Terrorism

Internet Fraud

Cyberwarfare

Computer Viruses

Corporate Crime

Political Corruption

Drug Trafficking

Human Trafficking

Sex Trafficking

Illegal Immigration

Contemporary Slavery 

Black Market Prices & Profits

AK-47 prices on the black market

Bribes

Computer Hackers and Online Fraud

Contract Killing

Exotic Animals

Fake Diplomas

Fake ID Cards, Passports and Other Identity Documents

Human Smuggling Fees

Human Traffickers Prices

Kidney and Organ Trafficking Prices

Prostitution Prices

Cocaine Prices

Ecstasy Pills Prices

Heroin Prices

Marijuana Prices

Meth Prices

Earnings From Illegal Jobs

Countries In Order Of Largest To Smallest Risk

Forensics

arson

Asphyxia

Blood Analysis

Book Review

Cause & Manner of Death

Chemistry/Physics

Computers/Cell Phones/Electronics

Cool & Odd-Mostly Odd

Corpse Identification

Corpse Location

Crime and Science Radio

crime lab

Crime Scene

Cults and Religions

DNA

Document Examination

Fingerprints/Patterned Evidence

Firearms Analysis

Forensic Anthropology

Forensic Art

Forensic Dentistry

Forensic History

Forensic Psychiatry

General Forensics

Guest Blogger

High Tech Forensics

Interesting Cases

Interesting Places

Interviews

Medical History

Medical Issues

Misc

Multiple Murderers

On This Day

Poisons & Drugs

Police Procedure

Q&A

serial killers

Space Program

Stupid Criminals

Theft

Time of Death

Toxicology

A dark past can be really intresting in books .here are some ideas:

Mysterious Orphanage Escapee: A character who grew up in a sinister orphanage and narrowly escaped its dark secrets.

Traumatic War Survivor: A soldier who witnessed unspeakable horrors on the battlefield, leaving deep emotional scars.

Secret Criminal Past: A reformed criminal who once led a life of violence, but is now trying to make amends.

Kidnapped as a Child: A character who was abducted at a young age and endured years of captivity before escaping.

Tragic Family Betrayal: A character who was betrayed by a close family member, leading to a life filled with distrust and pain.

Cult Escapee: Someone who managed to break free from a dangerous cult, but is haunted by their past involvement.

Haunted by a Violent Crime: A person who accidentally caused harm to someone in their past and has been tormented by guilt ever since.

Dark Addiction: A character who battled a severe addiction that nearly destroyed their life before seeking recovery.

Betrayed by a Friend: A friend who turned out to be a traitor, leading to significant emotional trauma.

Abandoned in Isolation: Someone who was left alone and abandoned in a desolate place, struggling to survive.

Witness to a Murder: A character who saw a murder as a child and was forever scarred by the experience.

Childhood Experimentation: A person who was subjected to unethical scientific experiments in their youth, leaving lasting physical and emotional scars.

Kidnapped and Forced into Crime: A character who was abducted and forced to commit criminal acts against their will.

Betrayed by a Mentor: Someone who was betrayed by a trusted mentor, leading to a deep sense of betrayal and loss.

Survived Natural Disaster: A survivor of a catastrophic natural disaster who lost everything they held dear.

Abusive Relationship Escapee: A person who managed to escape an abusive relationship, but continues to struggle with the trauma.

Witness to a Dark Ritual: A character who stumbled upon a sinister occult ritual in their past, leaving them haunted by the experience.

Family Curse: A character burdened by a dark family curse that has brought suffering to generations.

Identity Theft and Framing: A person who had their identity stolen and was wrongfully accused of crimes they didn't commit.

I decided to make a blog series talking about different wound types and how to realistically write them. Here's all the blogs in this series thus far:

Everything You Need To Know About Writing Stab Wounds

Everything You Need to Know About Writing Burns

Everything You Need To Know About Writing Gunshot Wounds

In my d&d games, I use a simple, three step system to maintain a cohesive plot structure. If you as a dm have been having problems with keeping your party on task or on track with your story, I would suggest giving it a try. It is most helpful when you are in the planning stages of the campaign, but you can implement it at any time to try to steer your party back on course.

Step One: The Archplot

The Archplot is your overall story. Decide what themes you want the game to explore. For instance, my game includes themes like patriotism v. idealism, war, democracy, and technological advancement. The archplot helps inform your major villains, the beats of the overall story, and what values you would like your players to hold to make a narratively satisfying game. My steps are usually: decide on a few themes that fit together along with related motifs, create major villains that fit with those themes and motifs, and decide the basic shape of the story including how the party will eventually meet each villain.

Step Two: The Arc

The arc is the next step smaller. This is the current problem that the party is attempting to solve over a series of sessions. The component parts of an arc are: a conflict of some kind, a clear goal, and some form of time limit. For example, let's set up an arc where a region is being overtaxed by corrupt government officials. The conflict is between the people and the officials who are robbing them, the goal for the party is to remove the officials in one way or another or to convince them to stop taxing the citizens so highly, and the time limit could be the law-keepers closing in on the small resistance group the party is working with. This creates a story that will capture the attention of the party (if they are open to your efforts) and give them a clear sense of direction. Usually, at the end of an arc you will give clues to the Archplot, usually in the form of hints towards the major villains.

Step Three: The Session

This is the smallest unit of measurement in the story of a d&d campaign. The session refers to each individual meeting of the party, and is set up similarly to an arc. A good session should inform the arc and be moving towards solving the conflict presented in it, while having its own conflict and problem to solve. Let's build a session in the arc we just used as an example! For the first session in the arc about the corrupt officials, let's say the party arrives at a town and witness law-keepers extorting from a man who appears to be sleeping on the street. This can be resolved by combat or by watching it happen. This will intrigue your players and they will most likely investigate further. Upon investigation, they learn about the corrupt nobles and meet an operative of the resistance. The rebel tells them about a plan they have to break into the castle and capture the noble family to give them a trial in the town, but before that can happen they need to create a major distraction for the guards at the castle so they won't be caught. They ask you to go and give out aid to the poorest citizens of the town in the meantime.

The first session should act mainly as exposition (or lore dumping) and introduces you to the arc's important NPCs and the party's goal. This will hopefully hook the party into a sense of obligation to help the people of the town. To make it feel less like lore dumping, throw in some minor combat and some fun minor NPCs to keep the party entertained.

FAQ:

My party just ignored my plot hook!

If the party ignores your plot hook, move to the next arc in the archplot, but there have to be consequences. For my previous example, if they remain unstopped, the noble family could return as a threat with now inflated wealth and influence. Perhaps gaining a coveted seat on a royal council and proposing anti-adventurer measures.

I didn't do this planning before my game, how do I weave it in?

I find the best way to weave this planning into a game is to introduce a villain with goals dependent on the players' failure. This will, in itself, create an arc where the players feel that they need to defeat the villain, and then you can plan the shape of it. Alternatively, I would also recommend using a "Gandalf" archetype NPC who can inform the party of an arc. Just be careful to make the NPC trustworthy if the integrity of your story depends on it.

How do I start off with this early in the game?

A snappy story hook is one thing, but here are a few other things you players might want to know before starting a campaign:

1. Game Length, session length, and time zone: Some players aren’t able to play every Thursday from 7-11 EST for three years straight. Let them know how long this campaign is gonna take, and when you can run.

2. Story style: Open-world and player-guided vs. plot-based and DM-guided; Continuous adventure vs. West-marches adventure. Though the term “railroad” is used pejoratively, a lot of players prefer a game where the overarching story is already prepared for them. Let them know what you expect of them.

I see a lot of people talking about worldbuilding, and how they feel like they need to get into all these fiddly little details of lore and history to make the campaign setting feel real. I’ve even seen people post spreadsheets and checklists about what you need to have in your world to achieve full immersion.

I just wanted to drop in my two cents as a relatively new GM, but experienced player.

First to aspiring DMs, I say this: Don’t let the intricacies of world-building be a barrier to you becoming a DM. I understand the appeal of having a fully-realized world where you have an answer for every question, a God for every aspect of humanity, and a rich history full of war and trade and social hierarchies, etc etc. It is absolutely fine and commendable to have these things…but you don’t need them. You don’t need to read The Silmarillion to enjoy The Hobbit.

It is absolutely fine and sometimes even preferable to leave holes in your setting’s lore and history, for both DM and players, especially before the game has begun. I find that a nice little sketch will do you just fine, as this leaves room for a lot of imaginative on-the-spot world-building that might have otherwise passed you by.  

Secondly is this: Know thy players. Some players like to read, and some players like to write. Having a few details set* while still leaving wiggle room in your world gives your “reader” players enough ground to latch on to, while allowing your “writer” players to dig their toes in and make their own backstory / hometown / cultural eccentricites that can be easily-incorporated into the canon. This isn’t limited to Session 0, either. Leaving “empty space” allows you to do co-operative world-building as the story progresses in a way that makes your players feel important, and like this world belongs to them, too…which really, it should. IMHO, the best way to make your world feel real and varied is to let your players contribute to it in small ways, both in-game and between sessions, as everyone gets a feel for the world.

Personally my favourite manner of world-building is through shitposting improv roleplay, though this works best with a DM and players who are relatively experienced, and who are able to make things up on the spot that aren’t too world-shaking. In one of the campaigns I’m currently a player in, ALL of the characters (save two who are brothers) are from very different walks of life, and so we’re constantly asking each other questions about our pasts and where we’re from, what we eat and what is expected of us, and it has given us so much silly, wonderful lore that, despite being relatively unimportant on a grand scale, makes us feel so much more like a part of the world. As a player, this is infinitely preferable to following the handout to a T…at least for me.

TL;DR: D&D is a co-operative game, not a book. Sometimes the best way to create richness and variety in your campaign setting is to let your players contribute to it through their roleplaying and backstories. 

Well guess who went and made their 9th class! This guy! It's an amalgamation of all sorts of horrific inspiration for this holiday season! Been listening to a lot of the NoSleep Podcast while making it to get in the headspace and more inspiration! Hope you enjoy!

Here's the link to my patreon if you want to see more of my content or want to support me in making it. Also consider joining my discord!

You can purchase the full PDF directly via DMsGuild

That's a great question! And it varies from GM to GM. If you're new to prep, it can be a little overwhelming - start with ONE thing you want to focus on (materials, scenery, voices, combat, lore) and play around with that; figure out your own preferences. I'll try to be comprehensive [aka i tend to ramble - I'll also try to format it so it's not just a wall of text.] If you already are confident about some of this stuff, great! But I hope some of it helps.

In my opinion, prep is as much about feeling prepared and confident as it is about having materials ready. Both are important! TL:DR; it's mostly about PRACTICE and ORGANIZATION.

I'm a person who tends to run a bit of a sandbox world, and trust that I'm prepared to improv a little when the players inevitably go 'off course'. But I have a lot of GM friends who are much further towards the "I like to have everything prepared, with a set map and a set understanding of IF you do this, THEN this will happen."

It can be a good idea to be honest with your players about what to expect - especially if you have new players, making sure they are prepared may be part of the process. Letting them know whether there will be combat, and whether there will be time in-game to prepare for it, can help a game run smoother. (I'll come back to that.)

Know how to use whatever resource you are using. If you are running a game, whether physically or digitally, figure out how you like to set up your area so that you know everything you need is within reach. If it is in person, make sure things like books and maps are all in once place ahead of time. If you are calling with Discord, you could make sure the server has a dice bot, or make sure any music bot you are using works properly. If you use roll20, google drive, or another site, you can upload maps, make sure they are aligned to the grid if they need to be, and play around with any other features it might have! There are some useful tools out there for GMs, and even just finding something to help you organize your notes can be huge. That could be a whole separate post.

If you're running a game from a module/pre-written materials, you want to spend the time reading through those materials. It's honestly a bit like studying in a class! Make sure you know some of the information, and know where to find the rest of it.

For familiarizing - whether I'm using a guide or writing it myself - I try to prioritize visual and narrative descriptions - practice narrating what your players 'see' when they enter an area, for example, so that you are prepared for any potentially unfamiliar or confusing words (I'm a pretty confident reader and I still stumble over things like "minute" [pronounced min-it] as in 60 seconds of time being spelled the same as "minute" [pronounced my-noot] as in tiny.

This goes for NPC voices too. If important plot information is being delivered via dialogue, say your line a couple times! If you are giving your characters specific voices, practice how you want their speech to sound! (I like to take notes for that too - this guy sounds "comfortable and friendly, like a dad at a barbecue". This woman sounds "like a librarian - pursed lips!" It can help to find a key phrase, gesture, or posture that helps you get into character. I really enjoy doing NPCs, so I tend to start with that, but not every campaign has a heavy focus on them.

Keywords can help you give 'character' to your environments, too. This foggy coast might be ominous, so I want to narrate it in an ominous voice. This tavern may be comforting - it's warm, so I'll narrate it in a warmer tone. Listening to your own voice ahead of time can help you set the mood you want a scene to have.

You may also want to try to anticipate player questions. This gets easier with experience. If you have a wizard who likes to look for spell components, expect "could I find a sprig of mistletoe?" when the narrative takes them to the forest. If you have a rogue who really leaned into the thief archetype, expect "is anything on the table small enough to fit in my pocket?" If they encounter a dog, no matter how menacing, expect that someone is probably going to ask if they can try to befriend it. Knowing what your players enjoy, and what their goals are, can give you a better sense of how to anticipate their responses to what you throw at them.

If there is going to be combat, puzzles, or obstacles, have stat blocks you may need available. If they are in a book/ on a web page, BOOKMARK THEM. If not, write them down!

I have found it very useful to get note cards, and write a 'cheat-sheet' with some basic stats down from my players' character sheets. My current version (for D&D - other systems have other stats) includes their max HP, AC, passive Perception, base stats, languages, and their main weapon - anything I might otherwise have to ask them about, I like to have in front of me. It's not uncommon for a GM to say "What's your AC?" when they roll an attack against a PC, but I often have newer players, and I like being able to say "You're using a short sword - that's 1d6 of damage, plus your strength is +2" right away.

Even if your players are experienced, knowing what they are capable of as their GM helps you write challenges that they are appropriately equipped to solve. If your party has a lot of spell casters, maybe give them a puzzle about solving runes to get into a locked chamber. If there are a lot of fighters and barbarians, maybe the barrier is clearing a rock slide, or scaling a wall, or fighting a guard. Give the players chances to show off the things their characters are good at!

I also make note cards for any monsters in combat, and use my note cards to keep track of initiative order in combat, by putting them in an ordered pile - that way I have the stats for whoever's turn it is right in front of me when their turn comes up. But that's just my personal preference, and many GMs I know will use an online initiative tracker (roll20 has one built in!)

Having stats ready and accessible is so helpful. For some GMs, (and some players!) being familiar with the combat they have planned IS what prep is all about! Even if you're a more narrative-focused GM, read through monster stats in advance - I've run some combats that were harder than I realized because I went "ooh, fire mephits sound cool! I could put some fire enemies in an abandoned forge" and didn't consider the fact that they also explode when they die and damage anything within 5ft of them...

and that most of my players were melee fighters.

Oops! Lesson learned. Which brings me back to working with your players and their abilities.

One of the simplest things you can do to prep is to remind your players that the game is coming up, and to make sure they've done anything they need to do. Just a "Hey, we're playing tomorrow. Do you have any questions for me?" Being approachable to your players helps you get to know them, and in turn helps you anticipate what they will respond to. Plus, asking "Would you like any help leveling up your character? If not, may I see what new things you chose when you leveled up?" when relevant gives you an opportunity to get more familiar with their character sheets.

Last edited: 10/02/2021

A wise DM once said, “you’re only as original as the obscurity of the things you steal from.”

So here’s a few ideas I stole from my brother, books, TV, other DMs, and my own campaign notes! These descriptors can be purely atmospheric, or you can use the unique circumstances to complicate things for your players!

I’ve marked the ones I’ve actually played with a ♥, in case you want to hear some specifics of how it went. I’ll be updating this list, so keep your eyes open.

Locations:

♥ A translucent and fragile-looking spire made of ice, amber, glass, or crystal

The hollowed insides of an old, giant tree (dead or alive)

Above the beanstalk, up in the clouds

♥ A forgotten underground tunnel system connecting two cities

A ruined castle half-buried in snow/sand/earth/water

An abandoned mining pit

A Labyrinth, complete with a wandering monster, and a curse which breaks navigational magic

The forgotten corridor between dimensions where outsiders, stragglers, and ideas live

The Moon

The bones of an ancient, colossal creature

♥ A magic library, with living books and other hazards

♥ An abandoned Frankenstein lab, or construct factory

A high-security bank, prison, etc.

Twist:

♥ This dungeon seems to appear and disappear at different intervals and locations, meaning coming in (or leaving) is sometimes impossible

♥ Gravity works strangely here. You may find yourself upside-down to the rest of the world, standing on floating platforms that crumble and break in odd directions

♥ This is a pocket dimension with its own set of rules–perhaps literally using the rules of a different board game, arcade game, or rpg

♥ There is a spirit living here who represents the dungeon itself. It is ancient, enormous, eccentric, and with uncertain morality.

The place was built too small or too large for the party (Kobold made, Giant made, etc.)

♥ Magic is distorted here, and spells sometimes cause wild magic surges, or fail entirely

♥ This place has funhouse elements–slides, platforms, and silly, gamey rituals that must be overcome

These are hallowed/desecrated grounds, and as such the land has some effect on holy/unholy magic

♥ This is a malleable mirror/dream world, built by someone’s psyche

Party members swap bodies when they enter. Enjoy your new character sheet!

Inhabitants:

Local beasties have moved in and built nests

♥ A gang or cult has made this their base

The original host is long dead, but half-broken sentries still patrol…

Mimics everywhere

This place was built and guarded specifically to keep THAT THING contained…i.e. monster types with specific abilities and resistances

♥ There are prisoners who must be evacuated, and monsters which are best left alone…but which are which?

♥ Haunted by ghosts

Mostly/entirely abandoned, but prickling with traps and hazards

Note: There’s no reason you can’t mash a bunch from each list together. Have your ruined castle be on the moon. Have your magical library be a shifting labyrinth. Have your mine be harvesting mana from the bones of a long-dead magical creature. It doesn’t even need to make sense–maybe these catacombs were built like a funhouse by a lich with a strange sense of humour. Get weird with it!

Not the type of thing I normally post, but I like the idea of MonteCooke’s “Consent in gaming” checklist and decided to make a Doc version that you can easily edit yourself. 

(Jan 2021 EDIT: I’ve gotten a couple emails requesting permission to edit the “master copy” of this doc, so I’ve updated the link below so that you should be able to immediately save your own copy with no direct permission required and without messing with the master copy. Please let me know if it works.)

Save a copy to your drive

PDF Download

Google Forms version 

…I also added a few things I thought were missing, and reorganized ones I thought were misplaced. It’s not as pretty as the original, but its the function that matters.

Part 1 of big "how to chibi-fy this flower????" guide is here!!! 🥰

They are not medically accurate, just enough for artists to know the necessary muscles and how they work together

I 100% recommend doing the last exercise I did to be able to actually place the muscles