The Campaign Builder's Guild

By Bauhaus I meant the architectural firm which was dissolved by Hitler because it was deemed unpatriotic.

If you're asking for my music list, it's pretty long...

Teh, you had no other musical influences in your list, So based on conextual specificity, I knew what you meant by Bauhaus.  SD was yanking my chain.  
We could talk about the modernist/futurist movements if you'd wish, but I was asking for the list of musical influences.  I don't care if it is long.  All I have to do is read it...you'd be doing the typing.

Cool.

Here goes.

Filipino Music:
Bamboo
Kitchie Nadal
Dicta License
Out of Body Special
Pupil
Urbandub
Woflgang
Can't remember much else yet...

J-rock:
Everything that was on Beck and Eureka 7
Orange Range
Guys that did a Bleach rap ost

Other:
Rage against the Machine
Beatles
ABBA
Frank Sinatra
Elvis
Al Jarreu
Gene Loves Jezebel
The Siouxes, I forgot the real name of the band.
Cure
Depeche Mode
OMD
U2
There was this band that sounded like U@ but only on a different league of awesomeness
Static X
Blind Guardian
Kamelot
Dragon Force
Jason Mraz
Cypress Hill
Immortal Technique (Although not much of a believer. I'm a Capitalist at heart)
and so much more I could not remember cause right now I'm doing a lot more on reading rather than listening.

I do school stuff in the University Radio as a DJ so I dig mostly anything that is not Pop and Love, which means Techno to Jazz, to New Wave, and of course, Alternative.

And oh yeah, I love Genshiken.

For me it depends on what I run.  If it's something "techy" (RIFTs, Star Wars) I tend to go techno.  If it's something Mideval (D&D)  I prefer other types of music, usually based either on animes or games I've played.  Below is a very general list of stuff I tend to run, based on music I can locate:

 Star Wars

Whatever SW music I have (duh), including Knights of the Old Republic I & II, Rogue Squadron,  Shadows of the Empire, & occasionally the Animatrix music & some stuff from Ace Combat.  

 RIFTs
Animatrix
Heavy Metal 2000
Stigmata
Batman Beyond
Mortal Kombat
Robotech
Irresponsible Capt Tylor
Various game music including KoF 95, 98, Castlevania...
.. & whatever else strikes my fancy or I have on hand.  

 Mideval/Fantasy  
The D&D OST  (has a couple of tracks which're good for mood)
Various Castlevania
Mideval Baebes
Icewind Dale
Baulders Gate
Planescape
God of Wars 1 & 2
Stigmata
Various Fighting game music including KoF, Samurai Showdown
Final Fantasy Symphonic
TES Oblivion...
... as above, whatever I have on hand & strikes my fancy.   :band:

Quote from: RandzzMideval/Fantasy  
...
Icewind Dale
...

Jeremy Soule did an amazing job with that score.  I found myself actually playing the game not from plot (which there was little) or gameplay (which was typical DnDnSlash), but the music.

Quote from: Teh_AzThe Siouxes, I forgot the real name of the band.

Siouxy Sioux and the Banshees?

And yeah, I was just joking around with Vreeg. He's our resident goth, and I saw a joke just waiting to be made. Although, I'm not quite convinced that I'd go with the phrase "chain yanking"...

Siouxy Sioux and the Banshees!

That's the one.

I think it would be a good idea, in the interest of strengthening our community, if we all posted in this thread.  Some of us probably never did while others did so very recently.  That doesn't matter now.  I think we should all do it again, for the sake of the community.  Maybe I'm wrong and I will be the only one to do this.  We'll just have to see.

Game Systems / History
When I was very young and in day care, I created kind of role playing games in the sandbox.  People would have a character and they would pick a weapon or something for that character.  They then had to get through a kind of maze, collecting items as they went.  They could lose HP and there were items that restored it.  It is strange but true.

The first pen and paper system I ever played, I think, was the West End Games Star Wars.  That one used the D6 System.  After that I briefly tried AD&D but I never got into it and I remember very little of that.  From there, I pretty much moved into the D20 system.

I was away from games for a long time but was brought back by 4E D&D.  I enjoy that for what it is but I think my old passing interest in GURPS is becoming more serious now.  I'm working on learning the 4E of that system.

I Like
I like creativity in world building above all else.  Even though I haven't always loved the games, I think that Final Fantasy is usually great at creating worlds.  Stephen King's Dark Tower series also created a wonderful multiverse.

I Don't Like
I don't like fantasy settings trying to be Tolkien of Sci-Fi settings trying to be Star Wars or Star Trek.  Think for yourself.

Published Settings
I'm not really one to use published settings much at all.  I am rather fond of Dark Sun and Scarred Lands, though.

Influences
It is hard for me to pinpoint what influences me.  It is kind of everything that I take in over time.

I'm fairly sure I did post here before, but as D suggested we do it again, I shall obey.

 Game Systems/History

I was introduced to the world of fantasy through children's books, and gaming through Fighting Fantasy adventure-gamebooks. While I was aware of D&D, and, by extension, other tabletop roleplaying games, throughout my childhood, I never had an opportunity to play until about age 12, when I got a 3.0 PHB as a present (birthday or christmas, I forget which)

I've also played CoC, GURPS and WoD - enjoyed them all immensely, and for different reasons. Currently the only game book I own is Iron Heroes, which I adore.

 I Like

Fantastical fantasy. As in, something that stretches the imagination a bit more than psuedo-medieval with a few nonhumans and a little magic kicking around. Yet, at the same time, something believably "human" - it's no good having something that's SO strange and alien you can't relate to it (unless of course its purpose is to be unknowably alien IN CONTRAST to the more human elements, a la Cthulhu Mythos creatures contrasting to the everyday world of the 1920s)

Also, badassitude. I am a firm believer in the Rule of Cool, especially when you're trying, as I always do, to create something for the purpose of entertainment and nothing more than that. Sure, an undead Soviet battle-shaman in a long coat toting dual flaming crystal cutlasses might not seem like a good idea in a work of high literature, but it'll do me just fine.

 I Don't Like

Kitchen-sink. It's just not stylish enough for me, if that makes any sense.

Also, the same-old. I'm not saying everyone has to have a purple sky and the only source of food be half-orc half-demons that are bred like cattle for me to be interested in their work, but... at least a touch of yourself in what you create is a must, even if it's just combining standard elements in a new and interesting (read "gimmicky") way - First world war German stormtroopers fighting Arachnids in the Underdark, with improvised stone-age weaponry, or somesuch, sounds fine to me.

 Published Settings

As much as it's a "setting," I have a soft spot for the Cthulhu Mythos. A soft, squishy, betentacled spot, in fact.

I also like Planescape's Sigil a lot, because it seems to me to be the one setting that makes D&D rules, as published, "make sense" for the setting.

As rare as it is that I play nowadays, it's even rarer that I use a non-homebrewed setting, though.

 Influences

What I read, what I watch, what I listen to, what I overhear people talking about on the tube... it all must influence me to some degree, consciously or subconsciously.

As far as intentionally plagiarising/riffing off things, where Knife's Edge is concerned, Mieville's works are definitely in my mind whenever I work on the setting, and he is easily one of my favourite authors, if not THE favourite.

So yeah, that's me, haha.

I never posted here when I first started, I'm not one for introductions, but in the spirit of the community and all I felt I should post.

Gaming systems you use

None, I don't play tabletops.

General gaming history

Well, I had a very old school kind of childhood I guess people would call it nowadays, I played outside pretty much all the time, unless it was bad weather or we were playing Legos. When outside me and my friend (not a lot of kids in my neighborhood) would imagine all kinds of fantastical heroes, using a stick as a sword and such. Also in third or fourth grade I invented some kind of RPG game, it was completely oral and me and some people played it for a while until normal kid drama wrecked it :D

I've also played a lot of video games in the last few years, pretty much only RPGs and RTS games. As well as some Sega games as a kid.


Personal likes

Someone making a good non-human race, now I'm personally extremely fussy in how I handle this, not liking to do it all, (Don't think I could do it properly) but when someone does do it, I really enjoy it.

Dark stuff, the sorta proto-horror (I say proto-horror, because I don't think you can be truly horrified without living something, no matter how good an author its still too abstract for me) feeling, things not being that nice, I'm a huge cynic and occasional misanthropist, so I guess the stuff is comfy to me.

Random stuff, sometimes something will just catch my eye, its nice

And finally the most important thing, in my opinion, Characters, people, NPCs in a RPG way I guess, done well they fascinate me.

Personal dislikes
Seems to be fairly common, but cliches bug me in certain circumstances, but only when their over the top. I tend to use cliches so I'm somewhat hypocritical but what can you do.

Names. Some names just turn me off, I prefer short names, anything longer then 4 syllables usually bugs me.

Strengths and weaknesses in game design

I don't really know, I've never really gotten feedback on my stuff so I couldn't tell (aside from what I've gotten on the site). However I do know I'm bad with names, so I tend to just rip them from mythology or make up something that sounds cool. Another weakness of mind would probably be my writing, tends to be dry and not that interest grabbing.

What published settings have you used/do you like?

Don't use any, I have seen some info on settings (thank you wikipedia). A lot of the super Demons from the "normal" D&D world are cool, Demogorgon was really cool (especially fighting him in Baldur's Gate 2). I know a fair amount about FR because of video games (Icewind Dale 1&2, Baldur's Gate 1&2) and some books, mostly Drizz't books (when I was younger) and one really good trilogy by Ed Greenwood, about some girl who could naturally make this stuff called spellfire that could destroy/heal anything, it was fairly good.

Major influences on your world-building

Everything I've ever seen/read/heard. This includes a lot of books, a lot of video games, very little television and a lot of random info.

The main "influence" as you would call it is that I'm an extremely logical person, so most things in my settings have to make "sense". Not necessarily having to have a full scientific explanation, but it has to make "sense" for the setting. I tend to be all-or-nothing when it comes to Gods. Ether they exist and do stuff, even if they're not really Gods in the traditional sense, just nearly omnipotent beings, or they don't, and its just ignored.

I also have an obsession with winged humanoids, they appear in *every* world I've ever built. Every single one :p

I know I posted here already, but it was a long time ago, and a lot has changed, so I think it's a good idea for me to Reintroduce myself, by D's suggestion or not.

My alias on these boards is Seraphine_Harmonium.  The name is a holdover from a time when I was obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera, and is roughly derivative of the title "Angel of Music."  I am a Drama Major, and like to perform.  I am also a Pagan.  My element is fire.  So, with some of that random information out of the way, lets get on to the gaming/worldbuilding info!

-Gaming systems you use
I have a game ostensibly running using D&D 3.0.  It is set in my homebrewed setting of Avayevnon.  Can't say that I with regularity use any other gaming system at the present, although that may change in the near future.
For my Steampunk setting-in-progress I am looking at systems like White Wolf and One Roll Engine.

-General gaming history
I started officially gaming just before the release of 3.0, when my friends introduced me to 2e Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.  I played a half-elf Druid with a sickle, because I thought the picture of the Druid & his sickle in the PHB looked cool.  I was rather superficial at that time.

Even before that though, I would play "Mind Maze" with friends of mine.  It was a game where we basically made up a story with one person being the character and one being the equivalent of a DM.  No rules, no dice, just our minds and having fun making up a story.

I have also played a few sessions of each Robotech and the Dragonball Z RPG.

-Personal likes and dislikes
Likes:  Theatre, fencing, mythology, literature, RPGs, being naked in my dorm room (the perks of having a single), philosophizing, uncovering the secrets of the universe, taking over the world, what else . . . oh yeah, girls are nice.

Dislikes:  Snobbishness, predictability, repetitive tasks, anything boring, shallowness, proselytizing, inflexibility.

-Strengths and weaknesses in game design
Stregths: I think I'm a pretty decent writer, good at description and forming a satisfying narrative.   Given enough time and thought, I can come up with very detailed societies, interactions, and histories.  I'm also relatively good at taking criticism.

Weaknesses: Tendency to overlook certain details which become a hidrance later.  Considering the theatre background, not as good at improvisation as would be expected.

-What published settings have you used/do you like?
Besides my own, I have used Forgotten Realms. If you count computer games, I have also used Planescape.  I suppose the settings of Robotech and the Dragonball Z RPG do technically imply their own worlds, so I suppose they should be on the list.

At times I do enjoy Faerun, but on the whole, my taste for it has diminished.  I actally don't know that I have that much taste for other specific published settings.

-Major influences on your world-building
My head
History & Mythology
Movies, Music, etc. that I see/hear/etc.
Philosophy
Religion (Avayevnon draws on both Christianity and Paganism)
Theatre

There are probably numerous, if not innumerable other influences, but these are some of the big and obvious ones.

Hi. My name is Nils, and I build worlds.

Found this site via the Cartographer's Guild, and figured, hey, why not sign up to another website that fuels my hobby?

Personal Bio: 35. Male. Germany.

Gaming systems: None. I build worlds for the sake of building worlds. That said, I'm a big fan of TORG and I'd probably use Fudge for any generic gaming in the future.

General gaming history: Started ... 25 years ago with D&D redbox and its German clone system. Moved on and played probably pretty much every system under the sun. Stopped a few years ago when I moved around the country and never found a new gaming group.

Personal likes: Beautiful women, fast cars, fine wines, and sailing cruises in the Caribbean. Wait, what? That wasn't the question? Alright, I don't really drink and I don't have a driver's license anyway. In game worlds, there's a lot I like and dislike.... most things have a place, but I guess I prefer slightly weirder settings.

...and dislikes: I detest steampunk.

Strengths... I have repeated dreams about some of the worlds I create. What came first, the idea or the dream? I have no clue. Is this a strength or a sign of approaching madness? :?:

...and weaknesses in world building: I get distracted very easily. I am not a native English speaker, but write in English due to my international friends and contacts. I am also woefully deficient in linguistics.

What published settings have you used/do you like? Some favorites: Call of Cthulhu, Torg, Planescape, Traveller (Classic), Space:1889, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020.

Major influences on your world-building: The biggest influences by far were Torg, Planescape and Zelazny's Amber chronicles. Thanks to them, all my worlds are connected to each other as part of a greater multiverse.

Hi Nils, welcome to the guild. And we have a couple of linguists here on the site that I'm sure are happy to look over anything on the subject (Wensleydale and limetom are big into languages).

Thanks! I am also a member on the Zompist's bbs, and that's a great place for linguistics - it's just that I find it incredibly hard to learn. But the more people to talk to, the better!

Welcome to the boards, nils![blockquote=nils]I detest steampunk.[/blockquote]

QuoteSome favorites: Call of Cthulhu, Torg, Planescape, Traveller (Classic), Space:1889, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020.

Interesting... do you not consider Space:1889 steampunk, or is it simply an exception to your dislike to steampunk?