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D&D games can draw inspiration from any number of different places and sources. In a game where anything is possible, it can be tough to know where to start. Luckily, TV shows provide a nearly endless well to draw from.
With multiple seasons each and a wide variety of genres, the world of television is ripe for the picking when it comes to game inspiration. Some shows would provide a better inspiration than others, however, and these ten are among the best of the best for fantasy gaming action.
10 The X-Files Is By The Book Investigating
The episodic monster-hunting structure of The X-Files is an ideal fit for any D&D game. Making the characters members of some kind of official agency or organization gives them a good reason to seek out dangerous creatures and try to put a stop to them.
An X-Files-inspired campaign could offer an interesting opportunity to play with the expectations of a classic fantasy world. Perhaps in this campaign magic and monsters aren’t so ubiquitous, and the player characters are fringe theorists like Fox Mulder.
9 Magic Can Take The Place Of Tech In Altered Carbon
Cyberpunk may not be where everyone’s mind immediately goes with D&D, but the bizarre and miraculous technologies seen in this series could easily be swapped for the magic of a D&D setting.
A campaign looking to use Altered Carbon as inspiration should define exactly how the body-hopping takes place and what its limits are, as that leads to much of the drama and mystery in the show. A crew of adventurers investigating a murder after the victim has been Resurrected or Revivified changes the process significantly.
8 Deadwood Puts The Game Into The Wild West
Set in the American frontier, Deadwood is easy to port to any fantasy setting. Take a couple of enterprising individuals looking to make their fortune, toss them into a town full of competing interests and unscrupulous neighbors, and the campaign is ready to go. Exactly how much aesthetic inspiration to take is up in the air.
It could be a classic fantasy town with the politics of Deadwood, or it could be full-on Weird West with wizards in spurs and rogues fast-drawing their hand-crossbows at high noon.
7 His Dark Materials Has World Spanning Magic
This adaptation of Philip Pullman’s series of the same name offers not one but many worlds to explore. Lyra’s world is interesting enough to be a campaign in and of itself, with daemons, witches, armored bears, and the mighty Magisterium all offering potential allies and adversaries.
A campaign looking to take it a step further could begin to hop worlds, investigating the mysteries of Dust and The Authority as they traverse many different alternate planes with their own rules and dangers.
6 Avatar: The Last Airbender Is A Beloved Favorite
This iconic show, as well as its sequel The Legend of Korra, has a unique setting and “magic” system that is perfect for porting to D&D. A game could be set in any of the various eras of the show and could range in scope from a local dispute between bandits and plucky heroes to global politics between the heads of nations.
Any number of spellcasting classes can be flavored into benders with minimal effort, and the martial classes help make up the ranks of non-benders that are just as important.
5 The Witcher Is A Standard Fantasy
The dark fantasy world of The Witcher is already fairly similar to a traditional D&D world, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t inspiration to be had. The Witcher‘s monsters are specific and deadly, and any number of them could be lifted for a D&D game fairly easily.
Wandering heroes belonging to a recognized order are an easy party composition idea, and the deep lore of the world from books to games to TV show offer endless inspiration for plots and adventures. Just be sure not everyone plays a ranger.
4 Lost in Space Strands The Heroes In A Far Off Place
Intergalactic sci-fi may not be the obvious choice for a D&D game, but Lost in Space’s specific situation could be an excellent setup. DMs looking to set a game in a more familiar setting could use the show to inspire a survival game taking place after a shipwreck, with the players exploring an unknown island full of danger.
But there’s nothing to say the game couldn’t use the full interstellar premise, perhaps with the crash victims being pioneering explorers from the Material Plane testing a prototype planar transport device.
3 Castlevania Is Dark Vampiric Horror
The anime adaptation of the classic game series brought the world of Castlevania to bloody and gruesome life, and it made it even easier to imagine a D&D game set in this world. D&D’s Curse of Strahd is remarkably similar to Castlevania already, as they both use the famous vampire Dracula.
A game looking to hew closer to Castlevania would have different rules around vampires and has plenty of magical inspiration to draw from. Whether the players are simple peasants trying to get by or heroes looking to challenge Dracula himself, anything is possible.
2 Planet Earth Is Full Of Interesting Inspiration
This documentary has some of the most beautiful footage of our planet captured in high definition, and the natural world is a great place to pull inspiration for a game of D&D.
Perhaps the players are apprenticed to a druid or ranger and tasked with exploring the dangerous wilds to identify new species and document their behavior. Or perhaps the characters are warriors ordained by the wilds themselves to defend against encroaching civilization, preserving the natural world for the future.
1 Hilda Is Sweet And Wholesome
This adorable cartoon features young Hilda, her mother, and her pet Twig. They live in a mystical and whimsical world perfect for a low to nonviolence game focussed on exploration and interaction. The creature designs in Hilda are stellar, and the world is rendered in beautiful detail, making it a great one to draw inspiration from.
Characters could be kids like her, finding their way in the world, or even grownups looking to reconnect with a lost sense of childhood wonder.
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