This one is going to be image heavy.

The axiom states that a picture is worth 1000 words. Anyone who has tried to create a specific image using AI, knows just how true that is! Between positive and negative prompts, you can sometimes write a small novella, all in an attempt to get that perfect image in your mind.
Of course, the problem is, you never seem to get exactly what you want. Depending on the models and LoRAs you use, and the thousand other options you can tweak, you can get close. At least, you get all that control when you are running the AI locally, using Automatic1111 or ComfiUI.

But you don’t really need all that, if what you’re looking for is inspiration. You can simply tour one of the many AI Art Discord servers, and you are almost guaranteed to find something that will get your mind running.

Using Other People's Art

The first question to answer is, is it legal? The answer is yes. Courts have already ruled that AI Art cannot be Copyrighted, that means anyone can use it. The next question can be a little tricker: Is it ethical?

To my mind, it is perfectly ethical to use art that someone else wrote a description of, let an AI draw it, and then displayed it on an open server, for anyone to see. If it were a private website, or behind a paywall, I would be less inclined to "steal" it. In this context, I use the word "steal" the same way comedians do. If you've ever heard the same joke told by two different comedians, that was a stolen joke. Chances are, the second one told it better.

Images Of Inspiration

Anyone who is my age (60), will look at this picture above, and instantly start singing in their mind “Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?” All it needs is a little fog, a swamp background, and bats flying around. If I were running a Gothic Horror game, this is the place I would set it.

Because I have the memories of the original Scooby-Doo (1969), I can very easily craft a storyline about a monster that everyone thought was just legend, but now seems to be haunting the area. Tourism has stopped, and the Locals are terrified. The monster could be anything from a 7-foot-tall Frankenstein’s type monster, to a blood-sucking, fur-covered, animal like monster with huge glowing eyes, to a mechanical man, to a glowing ghost, or anything in between.

Each and every one of those was a plot from the original Scooby-Doo and because it’s so old, most people in my game, will never know I stole the entire idea. I mean, when was the last time you saw an episode of Scooby-Doo? Sure, they are doing remakes and updates, but the original cartoon hasn’t been on in decades. Worse case, if someone actually does recognize it for what it is, I’ll simply say, “and I’d have gotten away with it to, if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids!”.

The Old Mausoleum/Temple/Ruin

This image is full of storytelling potential. Any way I look at it, I see the entrance to a Dungeon. Then again, when I started,

everything was the entrance to a Dungeon. Still, it could be the front edifice of a ruin, where a stairway leading down begins the Adventure. An old ruin has often been the start of a really magical adventure.

It could be the entrance to a Mausoleum, where once inside, the Party discovers animated skeletons guarding the entrance to a Lich’s Lair. Of course, they don’t know that. All they know is that they keep running into various undead creatures. Perhaps there are some living minions of the Lich, some Goblins, with a Goblin Boss, so the Party doesn’t figure out that it’s a Lich, too quickly. 

Or it might be the façade of an ancient Temple of some kind. The Temple could be abandoned, or it might still be used. To what God or Goddess does/did the Temple belong, and manor if magical trinket might be found there, for the Party that is willing to risk the dangers, and the person who looks carefully enough to find it?

Encounters

What would your Party do, is they came face to face with this beast? What even is it? It’s wearing armor, could it be intelligent, and therefore reasoned with? Then again, just because it can hold a conversation, in no way implies that it can be reasoned with. Just ask your local Dragon.

It appears to have wings, small as they are, does that mean it can fly? Can you imagine this thing dropping suddenly out of the sky, without sound or warning? What would you call it? It appears to have the head and body of a bull, but those are some nasty fangs! Is the armor natural, or is it wearing armor? If the latter, that means gaps where a sword or arrow might hit. If the former, well, you’ve fought a Dragon before, right? 

Speaking of, I would take stats from a Dragon, and play around with them, for this creature. Certainly, the AC is going to be similar. It may have hooves, instead of claws, but even that isn’t for sure, looking at the picture. Even so, a hoof/hoof/bite attack would be devastating, especially if its armor lets it just shrug off most hits. This assumes of course that the Party has to fight it. Maybe it’s an ally. You never know.

People

You may have noticed that I tend to use photorealistic images whenever possible. I find it helps players, and even me, see the NPC as a person. There are a lot more images I pass up, because they are drawings. It’s the details of a photorealistic image, that pulls me in.

Looking at this woman, what can we see? First off, she is someone of means, or the group she belongs to, has means. That armor can’t be cheap. Is that real gold? The embedded gems, are as well, quite expensive. Then there’s that glowing sword. Obviously enchanted. 

While her metal armor is minimal, it may be that her clothing is leather, which affords some extra protection. Her magical blade testifies to the fact that she really doesn’t need a lot of protective plate. Her bracers will allow her to redirect any sword blow that comes her way. Who is she? Assassin? Acolyte? Wizard? Princess? Nobel? There is plenty here, to work up a compelling story.

A Pirate’s Life For Me!

Perhaps your Party is about to set off across the wide ocean. There are a lot of adventures to be had on the Deep Blue. Just one of those Adventures, might be a run in with pirates. Not just any pirates, but a ship with a known name, and a Captain with a reputation.

Women pirates are nothing new. Anne Bonny, and Mary Read were both pirates in the 18th century. Chances are good that they sailed together, and even better that they knew each other. Neither was Captain of her ship, it was hard enough convincing a crew of that time, that having a woman aboard wouldn’t cause disaster. 

Even so, both earned reputations for being good sailors, and cutthroat pirates. If you’ve never watched the show Black Sails, and you are interested in a Pirate Adventure, I highly suggest watching it. It has an interesting mix of both literary and real pirates. Calico Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny were lovers, and Mary Read may have also shared their bed. If you want a good Pirate story, base it on real life. Be sure to look up Charles Vane.

Now What?

I have entire galleries of images. In fact, I have a directory of nothing but Dragons. I also have a directory of Wizards. I have directories full of Creatures, People, Witches, Architecture, Outdoor scenes, and many more. If a picture talks to me, I save it. I just checked, and I currently have 10GB of just AI art that I have pulled off various Discord Servers.

Now you’re asking, “Where do I get access to this treasure trove of images?” and the answer I have for you is, MidJourney. That is where I get the majority of my images. There are other Discord Servers, Stable Diffusion is a good one, as is Cividai, though it’s more for people who are creating the art. 

I also want to point out that if you ever give pictures to your players, of places, things, or people they encounter, you can’t go wrong with AI Art. Once you go down the AI Art rabbit hole, you may quickly find yourself downloading AI programs so that you can create whatever you like for free. I know I have. I will point out though, that all the Art in this post, except the last two, and the Gothic House, are images I retrieved today. There is that much AI Art that either deals directly with D&D, or is usable in D&D. You just have to look. If you get on the MidJourney Server, I always check the Daily Theme Channel, as well as the Environments and Characters channels. 

Now, one last image to leave you with, that I picked up today.