Unlike people, your audience doesn't usually care about whether or not an item is believable. They want something memorable. Like people, however, the qualities that make an item memorable are its non-physical qualities. Whether that is an item's magical powers, the beliefs about that item, or the memories that are associated with an item - these are traits that make an item unique. An item can be rather plain and yet have a non-physical quality that makes it memorable. The One Ring is just a plain gold ring but it is precious because it is what binds Sauron's spirit to the world and grants its bearer power even if at a terrible cost.

How do you create interesting, believable characters to build your story around? How do we as GMs do this when the main characters are ultimately not of our design? Let's take a look at how to use the world around you as inspiration for the denizens of your game worlds, whether they are NPCs, creatures, and yes, even the player characters!