Although it can be a distraction, it can also add atmosphere to an adventure to have music playing in the background. Here are some pieces I'd recommend for different situations.

When wizards go mad, what curious ruins do they leave behind?

Carmo keeps a shop in the backstreets of Erezi. It's not often visited, Carmo makes people feel...uneasy. Even the veterans of the Erezi underworld are uncomfortable being alone with Carmo. But they need to buy their traps from somewhere...

The addition of “irrelevant” details adds local colour to a campaign world, giving the impression that the DM has thought very deeply about the history of even the smallest architectural feature.

The Despotic Queen of Shiant has decreed that a competition will take place in the month of Oconerry. She will have built a labyrinth through which the contenders must pass in order to win the ultimate prize: her hand in marriage.

I'm trying to think of alternatives for game-openings, to replace the standard 'meet up in a tavern' or 'adventuring group applying for a job' techniques. I know these can be easy ways to get people playing, but I'm certain there are more interesting ways...

Unknown to anyone, a glamorous ball for the Duke of Erezi will turn into a confusing and chaotic bloodbath.

An icky sideline plot to a forest adventure.

A disembodied hand enthralled by an evil wizard to fetch books for him.

To give a world a feeling of otherworldliness, it is best to replace some standard, everyday objects by imaginitive replacements. I thought I'd turn to musical instruments as music often defines (or embodies) a culture.

This is just a first idea, feel free to post some more, because I will...

Language is an essential part of any culture. Culture wouldn't exist without some form of communication, and humans communicate by speaking. But the connection is deeper even than that. The language helps to define the culture which uses it, and is in turn affected by that culture. This dynamic process is what keeps a language 'alive': Latin is a dead language because the culture to which it belonged no longer exists.

Archaeologists have long wondered about the origins of 'cup and ring-marked stones', the mysterious rocks found on deserted tracts of moorland bearing markings resembling small shallow pits with concentric rings and dating to the Bronze-age.

The silver necklaces whose inset gems display the status of the wearer.

The Great Gate of Calast is not like other gates. It's got a mind of its own...

A dangerous book of maps...

In the darkness in the south transept of the Cathedral of Isielles stands the resplendent Clock of Shadows. It tells more than just the time of day...

Hathalfar holds the writhing troll down with his gloved fist and sword. The beast squirms at the touch of metal. 'How far is Kolm?' he demands for the third time. 'I said! A long way away,' replies the troll.

The characters are stranded on an island, where a wizard, corrupted by the powers of the first Blue Book, has been killed by his own magical experiments. They will discover the awful truth that lurks in his subterranean workshop, and a seed of evil will be sown...

Two sly-looking men turn up in town accompanied by a third man who says very little and who they don't allow to be seen much.

Following a discussion we had on the site, I thought we could start up a thread to post the pre- and post-apocalyptic effects of a comet/minor planetary impact on a campaign world.