Hey Reader!
Welcome back to the Zurn Blog! Today we're highlighting a series of posts on our Pinterest Page, highlighting what you as players and game masters can gain from using this often overlooked part of social media. Today we'll begin our study of Pinterest with a board that is useful for those attempting to place a character in the world of Zurn: our Landscape board.
Pinterest is an amazing resource for roleplay ideas: not only can you get evocative imagery for a character, item, suit of armor, or pet, but you can also get vivid ideas for the setting and place where your adventures take place. To give you an idea of what you have to look forward to, we'll reproduce a few of them here.
This photo originally appeared in Odd Stuff Magazine, and has been reproduced on Pinterest. Is it from the medieval era? Probably not (my guess: built in the 1800s). But could you see your character there? I can - it has almost an Amon Hen feel to it, and something about how the image is situated makes you want to climb it.
As you see an image in your head, it makes it easier to describe that place to someone else - and that is essential in the business of roleplay. Another example:
Beautiful, isn't it? A city tucked away near a gorge, with beautiful waterfalls coming down all over the cliff face. Is this the destination that the adventurers are heading to? Is it the home they leave behind? Based on how we describe a scene or location it will trigger certain emotions and thoughts in our players, and it will make them want to go there.
More than that, by giving them something that is complex (more than just the, "you're going to the city of Such-and-Such" description), they feel more invested in the city because they picture more of it in their mind. This makes them more willing to complete the quest, travel the long distance, and suffer what they must on the journey because of the end destination. One final picture:
Seems peaceful, right? Purple flowers along a nicely hewn path weaving through the forest. Most players will look at this and think, "Oh, it's a pretty road."
And that will prompt the next question: "What's hiding in the trees?" Or perhaps, "Why is the road so quiet? What happened here?" The fact that it looks so idyllic and peaceful will have their defensive instincts going crazy all along this road.
Is it dangerous? Maybe - that's up to what kind of story you want to tell. The critical thing is this: once players start asking questions about what they can't see in a scene, you know that they have bought into the world. They are living in it, and that's what we want.
So check out the Pinterest page, create an account, and start collecting ideas for your adventures. And who knows: you might just find your imagination going wild as you take stock of ideas. I like to think of Pinterest as the virtual store room for imagination: put your ideas somewhere easy to access for when you need them. We hope you find our page useful!
Until next time, may your cup always overflow, and may the Light shine around every corner,
Aaron K