The PS Inspiration Thread

In my timeline, I used the Hindu, Buddhist, and Aztec view of time and the creation cycle as the basis, since as I saw it, this would likely be the route that the 1~3E writers would have taken if it ever came up (as opposed to Christian or Norse mythology, where there is a limited, set number of creation cycles-- whereas in Hindu and Aztec mythology, there is no limit to the number of future OR previous creation cycles-- the universe has always gone through cycles of creation and destruction, much in the same way that Abrahamic religions view God as never having a beginning. Buddhism, however, does possess a final creation cycle, though it still posits a near endless number.)

Ah, my delusion and fetish stuff was in the Pandaemonium renovation thread.

DELUSIONS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capgras_delusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotard_delusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_parasitosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fregoli_delusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermetamorphosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndrome_of_subjective_doubles

Cotard delusion could get VERY interesting if it's just a monothematic delusion *not very likely in most real world cases-- a monothematic delusion is a delusion only involving a single theme or subject, and is generally a result of an organic brain disorder-- such as an injury, tumor, or scarring-- rather than a psychiatric disorder.* and the subject belongs to the Dustmen faction...

(Another interesting scenario would be an asylum patient or otherwise crazy colonist who really DID encounter someone who takes on various forms, is impersonating other members, etc.)
Some of these are a tad more difficult to encorporate into Planescape of course, since most of them involve real phenomena in the D&D world.

This would also be of significance on the Outer Planes and in Sigil:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendhal_syndrome
(a very similar but usually much milder syndrome to Stendhal is seen among some astronauts when they first gaze upon earth from space)

PARAPHILIAS (obviously for mature players, only)
For definitions and names of real-world fetishes, you can easily find glossaries and dictionaries of the stuff online.
Some of these also expand upon the real-life definitions of the term, though many are made-up.

--Algamatophilia: aka Galateism; sexual arousal towards statues. In the D&D world, this includes people (most commonly medusae) with the specific fetish of watching victims turn to stone.
--Angelophilia: Angels in particular
--Animal Play: Sex acts where the submissive partner is (sometimes elaborately) treated like a quadruped animal. (known IRL as ponyplay, puppyplay and dogplay)
--Anthropophilia: Attraction or arousal to humanoid/monstrous humanoid type creatures, despite not being a humanoid/monstrous humanoid oneself. Generally, those capable of having this fetish are quadrapeds and other non-bipedal, non-humanoid-shaped creatures, including sentient objects.
--Automasochism: Someone who becomes aroused from inflicting pain or injury upon themselves.
--Automatophilia: Golems, homunculi.... also living constructs (modrons, innevitables, etc.)
--Avianthrophilia: Attraction to bird-like humanoids, such as aaracokra, kenku, tengu, ravenkin, or raptorians, despite not being an avian oneself.
--Balnophilia: 1. Arousal from seeing someone submerged in water 2. Fetish for having sex while submerged in water 3. Fetish for having sex in a bath
--Carnephilia: In the D&D world, this refers to an attraction to flesh-based beings. Elementals, sentient objects, and Living Constructs are generally the only types who possess this fetish.
--Celestial Humiliation: A fetish among some lower planar races, esp. *and almost exclusively* prison wardens, that follows the same train of thought as animal play. It consists of treating a fiend like a celestial. This is also used as a cruel and humiliating interrogation technique. The fiend is usually treated as its celestial opposite (e.g. Baatezu are treated like Eladrin, while Tanar'ri are treated like Archons). The techniques can get quite elaborate and dangerous, and may include forcing the victim to hold or wear sacred objects for several minutes. This form of torture will invariably drive a fiend insane, as this really is a form of brainwashing of sorts (when I say that fiends are treated like celestials, I mean 100% literally), and the fiend eventually loses its sense of identity and grip on reality.
--Coprophilia: (you don't wanna know) May also involve otyughs and creatures native to the Paraelemental Plane of Ooze.
Deinovetulaphilia: Hags
--Daemonophilia: One with a fetish for Yugoloths, but who themselves is not a yugoloth
--Deinovetulaphilia: Hags
--Demonophilia: One with a fetish for Tanar'ri, but who themselves is not a tanar'ri.
--Diablophilia: One with a fetish for Baatezu, but who themselves is not a baatezu.
--Dracophilia: Dragons, of course. Does NOT include dragons when polymorphed into the same creature type as the partner, and creatures of the dragon subtype are not eligible for this fetish.
--Edgeplay: (knifeplay) Oh, gosh, does this ever have additional uses in the D&D world, from combat to cult sacrifices...
--Elementaphilia: Should be fairly obvious.
--Entymoanthrophilia: Attraction to insectile humanoids, such as Thri-Keen, despite not being insectile oneself.
--Fiendish Humiliation: Same as Celestial Humiliation, except that it involves treating celestials like fiends. It brings about the same end result as its opposite (insanity)
--Formicophilia: Someone who becomes aroused from having hordes of insects crawling over or inside their body. A fairly common fetish among Drow (note: the term literally means "ant-love", though it refers to all insects and also arachnids. It derives from the term "formication" *lit. "anting"*, which is the sensation of insects crawling all over a portion of one's body, and is a common tactile hallucination. It was so named because non-hallucinatory formication almost invariably occurs when one disturbs an ant mound)
--Garnish Pimp or Garnish Whore: Both are unisex terms referring to those (esp. lower planar races) who become aroused by receiving bribes. Which term is used depends on how favorably the speaker views the fetishist. The terms often used as well for a non-fetishist who enjoys or enforces victims to give them bribes.
--Gigantophilia: Attraction towards those one or more size categories larger than the fetishist.
--Heterophagophilia: Arousal from cannibalizing a member of one's own race, or arousal from being cannibalized by a member of one's own race
--Icthyoanthrophilia: Attraction to fish-like humanoids such as sahuagin, anguillians, even merfolk-- despite not being a fish-type oneself.
--Kleptolagnia: Arousal from stealing.
--Magiphallophilia: Fetish for magic rods, wands, or staves (I sense a 1/2E joke coming in!)
--Magiphilia: Fetish for magic or users of magic.
--Magizoophilia: One with a fetish for magical beasts, but who themselves is not a magical beast or animal.
--Mammalophilia: Arousal to mammalian individuals, despite that the subject not being mammalian themselves.
--Masochism: Arousal from having pain or injury inflicted upon oneself.
--Mortaliphilia: Fetish for committing sexual acts with mortals, often in exclusion to one's own species. Typically, only elementals, outsiders, and living constructs can possess this fetish.
--Mucophilia: Someone who um... is attracted to oozes, or uses them in sexual acts (you knew this was coming sooner or later). Mostly limited to societies where worship of Ghaunadaur or Juiblex is commonplace, and among the truly insane. It's not uncommon for mucophiles to be attracted to aboleths and ropers as well.
--Nanophilia: Arousal to subjects one or more size categories smaller than oneself. *note: sex acts between subjects with one or more size category differences may lead to severe injury without magical augmentation*
--Noctodeinovetulaphilia: Nighthags
--Oneirophilia: In the D&D world, this refers to a fetish for performing sex acts with a recipient while in a Dreamscape.
--Polymorphophilia: Arousal from performing sexual acts while under a polymorph effect, or arousal from having sexual relations with a partner under the effects of a polymorph effect.
--Protodemonophilia: One with a fetish for (Pelor forbid) Obyriths, but who themselves is not one.
--Psionicophilia: Fetish for psionic users or psionics.
--Pyrophilia: (fire) IRL, arousal from watching fires burn. In the D&D world, pyrophiliacs also become aroused by casting fire-based spells and may be sexually attracted to fire elementals.
--Sadism: Arousal from inflicting pain or injury on others
--Sauroandrophilia: Fetish for scalykind races, even though one is a mammal, avian, or some other non-reptilian race.
--Spectrophilia: 1. arousal from an image in the mirror 2. arousal from sex acts with incorporeal undead
--Sthenolagnia: 1. Arousal from a demonstration of strength 2. sexual attraction to unusually or abnormally muscular specimens of a race *usually one's own* 3. sexual attraction to highly muscular and bulky humanoid/monstrous humanoid races, such as orcs
--Stigmatophilia: Arousal to a partner whose skin is tattooed, scarified, scarred, pierced, etc.
--Symphorophilia: Arousal from arranging a disaster, explosion, accident, or crash. One of the most common fetishes among Yugoloths.
--Teratophilia: Attraction towards deformed, mutated, or disfigured creatures.
--Theophilia: Subject who fantasizes about performing sexual acts with a deity or watching a deity perform sexual acts. Most churches consider this to be pure blasphemy, though some churches of pleasure deities (e.g. Sune) permit or even encourage it.
--Timophilia: Fetish for money or wealth
--Transpolymorphophilia: Arousal from polymorphing into the opposite sex
--Unnecrophilia: Undead, of course (corporeal, only)
--Unnecrosadism: Arousal from inflicting pain and/or injury/damage to an undead partner
--Vore (Vorephilia): Arousal from watching a creature get eaten, devoured, or engulfed by another creature.
--Xenophilia: One with a fetish for aberrations, but is not themselves an aberration.
--Zoomorphophilia: Someone who prefers to perform sex acts while in wildshape or to perform sex acts on a partner who is in wildshape.
--Zoosadism: Sexual sadism towards animals

There are a few definitions I have not included. They're either too graphic (body modification) or too vile (I think you know exactly which ones I'm referring to), and even the former would only be encountered in a D&D setting if you're using Quintessential Temptress/Encyclopaedia Arcane Blue Magic/Valar Book of Erotic Fantasy.

Clockwork taxidermy: http://www.kontraband.com/pics/10650/Dead-Clockwork-Animals/

I'm not sure if they're necessarily appropriate, but they call out "Mechanus".

What in the world is that? It looks like a cyberized water elemental firing a laser...

This has incredible inspiration material:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/26/underground-river-amazon

Covering more than 7 million square kilometres in South America, the Amazon basin is one of the biggest and most impressive river systems in the world. But it turns out we have only known half the story until now.
Brazilian scientists have found a new river in the Amazon basin – around 4km underneath the Amazon river. The Rio Hamza, named after the head of the team of researchers who found the groundwater flow, appears to be as long as the Amazon river but up to hundreds of times wider.
Both the Amazon and Hamza flow from west to east and are around the same length, at 6,000km. But whereas the Amazon ranges from 1km to 100km in width, the Hamza ranges from 200km to 400km.

I can't wait to find out what manner of amazing things live down there! This is the most exciting news I've heard/read since I watched the Documentary "What Darwin Didn't Know" (it centered around switch/trigger genes and how it related to evolution-- while the documentary didn't bring it up, it was obvious to me that this discovery explained most congenital defects, as the vast majority of trigger genes in our bodies are one-time triggers that activate during the first 5 weeks of gestation. For instance, the lobster claw deformity would be a result of one or more of these genes failing to signal to the cells in the hand to form fingers.)

Here are some tidbits I just wrote up of a scene from the Law-Chaos war. Cryonax, Sunnis, and Yan-C-Bin are waiting outside a meeting room where the Wind Dukes are discussing Brista Pel's murder, the dilemma caused by Imix's rampage, etc. The meeting is currently closed-doors between the wind dukes only, but after it is finished they intend to have a meeting with the archomentals, celestials, and other allies of law. In the meantime, Yan-C-Bin is being antagonistic because he is very, very bored. (I haven't proofread it yet)

"By the way, have any of you heard the juicy rumor about one of our traitorous bretheren, "The Hag"?" Yan-C-Bin asked playfully. There was silence for a moment. "Which one is that? .... ... Olhydra?" Cryonax asked dispassionately. "Bingo! How nice that I am not the only one who thinks she has the face of a fleshling hag!" the Air Prince responded. "Get to the point,", Sunnis demanded sternly. Yan-C-Bin blew in two quick circles before returning his gaze to the other archomentals. "Yes, yes, well, You're familiar with the loathesome Obyrith called "Dagon", correct? Well, it seems that Dagon and The Hag are an item, now," Yan-C-Bin explained. Sunnis's chisled face twisted with revulsion, while Cryonax raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea if they got together before or during The War, but I've heard they have reproduced," Yan-C-Bin continued. Sunnis let out a scream of utter disgust. "I always knew she was demented..." Cryonax muttered. A sharp grin appeared all the way across Yan-C-Bin's body from end to end as he addressed the Earth Princess. "Hee hee, it's a horrible mental image isn't it! Ah ha ha ha!" With that, Yan-C-Bin returned to spinning in circles. "Hee hee, you know you're homely when the Obyrith is the better looking one in the relationship!" Yan-C-Bin chortled. After a long pause in thought, Cryonax mumbled something; "I wonder what the progency might look like..." Yan-C-Bin frowned as he turned to the Bleak Monarch. "Hey, you're supposed to be disgusted, not curious!" the Air Prince whined. "Both of you shut up, you're making me sick!" Sunnis growled.

this takes place a few minutes later.

Cryonax and Sunnis both perked up, obviously sensing something. "We've got company," Yan-C-Bin commented as he continued to fly in a figure-8 pattern. There was a slight ground vibration, and suddenly, lustrous clear crystals began to burst forth from within the ground. Over the course of a minute or so, the crystals began to take the shape of a man, until finally, they formed into a familiar, many faceted humanoid figure clutching a jeweled crystalline scepter.
"Oh, it's only you..." Cryonax muttered stoicly. Sunnis rose to her feet, her chisled hands balled into tightly clenched fists. "Crystalle...!", she hissed, "you egotistical vortex...! I should kick your ass for the cruelty shown to my people...!" Crystalle gazed at the woman haughtily. "Please, Emerald-Eyes... Your dirt clods are well aware of the penalties for trespassing into my domain," the gem-like archomental retorted. " Sunnis scowled with outrage and took a battle-ready pose. "Dirt-clods?! How dare you speak of my bretheren in such a way!!"
"Now, Sunnis, is that any way to speak to your boyfriend?" Yan-C-Bin teased. Crystalle and Sunnis both turned their attention to the gaseous prince. Crystalle simply gave Yan-C-Bin an annoyed and condescending glance. Sunnis, however, was noticably more irate with the prince. "Silence, you pompous windbag! Don't even joke about such a thing!" the princess screamed. Yan-C-Bin, feigning surprise, edged even further away from the chisled colossus. "Oh, my mistake, of course, you wouldn't consort with a guy far more attractive than yourself, how silly of me," Yan-C-Bin taunted.

^^It's meant to be somewhat humorous, but Ogremoch and Cryonax are quite dour and serious (neither one has a sense of humor) I should write out more. I had some on the scene where Ben Hadar accosts Cryonax, but my hard drive died. (prettymuch Cryonax was acting all calm and like "you're acting like an idiot/where's your pride" while Ben Hadar is mega pissed, to the point that he flows right into Cryonax's aura and takes some damage.)

If I were to give advice to someone who wanted to either write fantasy or DM a fantasy campaign, it would be this: Study history. Not industrial-era/modern history (unless it suits your campaign), but ancient and medieval history. You will get SO many ideas from that. Pay particular attention to the very different cultural mindsets of different societies/periods, and the ways that the technology available influenced the culture.

Strikes me as a different and excellent vision of a plane of Law.

This song always makes me think of limbo and the slaadi:

"Floating in this cosmic jacuzzi
We are like frogs oblivious
Soon the water starting to boil
No one flinches, we all float face-down"

- Incubus, Warning

OK, I apologize if this is too much of a tangent and perhaps should be a separate thread; but in the interest of reducing clutter, I'll tag it on here.

Originally, I found most of my inspiration for Planescape through two methods:
1) Thinking of the planes as embodiments of ideas rather than alignments. Telling me Acheron is a place of "Lawful Evil shaded with Neutrality" doesn't inspire ANY ideas for me; but saying it is a place of bitter, soul-crushing conflict where individuality serves the greater mass, that both creates a mood and plants a lot of ideas for me.
I personally have even ignored alignment if I thought a certain being or group fit with the abstract idea of the plane
2) Trying to place members of a known pantheon (Greek, Norse, Babylonian, etc.) into various spots on the planes. Since I don't care about alignments as much, it opens various approaches for me if I want to place the members of (let's say) the Japanese pantheon mostly in one plane or spread across several. There are such rich mythologies to tap into that these provided me a lot of material and ideas.

While I could always read (or re-read) more mythology, I find that I'm running out of ideas. So my general question is that when you want to add lots of detail to an existing plane (or want to create a new [demi]plane), what approach do you use?
Or does everyone just add to the planes in small portions as you find random inspiration in books/songs/art/etc.?

The movie Insidious gave me a pretty good PS vibe. What they referred to as "The Further" made me think a bit of the Far Realm, or maybe just some nightmarish corrupted corner of the Astral/Plane of Dreams. I didn't expect or know anything about this movie going in - figured it was just another "evil child" horror schlock - but it was really quite entertaining.

Meh, not my cup of tea. I prefer the sterile, scientific, dispassionate narratives to ones which contain the speaker's/writer's bias. (and you'll note, that is also how I write out my articles as opposed to the usual Planescape style. I much prefer this since it allows more flexibility for the DM and doesn't clutter his head with biased descriptions. Very important after all, depending on the races of your adventuring party. For instance, a party of humans or elves will have vastly differing views of beauty and weirdness or hideousness compared to an adventuring party of Githyanki. After all, the gith possess features that most humans associate with poor physical health, such as long, spindly bodies, grayish skin, lack of a nose, and little to no bodyfat. To the gith, humans are probably about as ugly as a female giant-- too stout, muscular, and distorted.
In comparison, a Tiefling is probably less likely to find a fiendish creature or fiend to be ugly or hideous, but likely to find something repulsive about celestials and celestial creatures. You also have to bear in mind the mindset of the player, as well. Myself for instance, I find very few natural creatures in our world-- including arthropods, to be ugly, weird, or disgusting. Elephant seals are one of the few examples that come to mind *shudders* it looks like they have fatty tumors growing off their noses, and I like most types of bugs and such *colorless/carrion maggots gross me out though because you can see their undulating muscle movements and such*. Thus, I'll probably roll my eyes if a DM describes a giant spider from the perspective of an arachnephobe. Hell, arachnephobes tend to make me roll my eyes in general.)

But of course Valente is writing novels, not RPG gazetteers. Her style is certainly her own - there were points in Palimpsest where I got genuinely frustrated, wishing that for once she would unwrap the puzzle box of prose and explain what the hell was going on - but that does nothing to diminish my opinion that her imagination is completely stupendous (and in a very PS-inspiring way indeed).

Anything by Plugin <em></em> Not Found. Not necessarily their videos, but definitely their music. It's very... otherwordly...

*Edit*
Okay, after watching a video on the site, I have to say that Plugin <em></em> Not Found is a great example of ideas conquering actions.

Dwarves. Humans might look to githyanki kind of like what a dwarf does to a human. "They're so short... and ugly... with that thick, squat build and coarse bone structure. And bad manners!"