(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe Happy Harpy I’ve spent the past week or so looking for ways to introduce the player characters (PCs) to the homebrew Dungeons & Dragons campaign I’m creating. I have a place to start them out—the Happy Harpy Inn—and a destination if they play it out to reach the Great Evil. As … Continue reading Building Adara
Fantasy
Building Adara
(C) 2000, JJ ShaunThe Adaran continent. I spent this week combing the Internet looking for information on how to build a better fantasy world. I created an account with the Dungeon Master’s Guild and went trolling for information. The DM’s Guild is a site on which a bunch of DM-created guides and play modules are … Continue reading Building Adara
Filling in a Fictional Community
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe lands surrounding the Happy Harpy. I’ve spent the week working on my fantasy tavern and inn called the Happy Harpy. In fleshing out the characters that make up the residents of this remote outpost, a couple of stories have been rolling around my head. One is set in the time of … Continue reading Filling in a Fictional Community
The Happy Harpy
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe eastern trade road. I want to share a little about my fantasy outpost—the Happy Harpy. I’m working on a map of the region (it’s still a work in progress). I know it’s hard to see, but the outpost is in the middle. The Happy Harpy was established some three hundred years … Continue reading The Happy Harpy
Creating a Fictional Community
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe Happy Harpy I’ve spent the past working on the characters that comprise the citizenry of a make-believe outpost in the middle of nowhere—a tavern and inn called the Happy Harpy. To get an idea of what makes the place tick, I’ve fleshed out the characters that live there. I’ve created only … Continue reading Creating a Fictional Community
Staffing a Fantasy Outpost
(C) 2020 JJ ShaunThe gate to the Happy Harpy I’ve spent the last week creating characters to fill my fantasy outpost, the Happy Harpy. Making up the characters has been an exciting exercise. I have a good idea of how a small group can interact over time. (I spent four years on two different Navy … Continue reading Staffing a Fantasy Outpost
Worldbuilding V
(C) 2000, JJ Shaun I have spent the last week creating characters and building a fantasy outpost called The Happy Harpy. This enclave sits along a major trade road on the eastern side of the Dragonspine Mountains, on the Adaran continent. Located in the southern hemisphere of its world, this continent has had virtually no … Continue reading Worldbuilding V
Building a New World
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun For the past week, I’ve been busily building my D&D campaign on my imaginary fantasy continent, Adaran. I’ve decided the size of the staff of the Happy Harpy, my imaginary outpost between two major trade cities. So far, I’ve fleshed out about seven of the more prominent non-player characters (NPCs), and … Continue reading Building a New World
Story Creation, Part I
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe Happy Harpy Where do you start when a story comes to mind? For me, it almost always begins with a character or two, sometimes with a place. My latest endeavor starts with a little of both. So, where did this idea come from, and how has it been germinating in my … Continue reading Story Creation, Part I
Friday Night Gamers
For the last handful of years, I've spent most of my Friday evenings in the virtual company of a group of like-minded gamers. Now, none of us is too serious about the game that we play, and we tend to argue like siblings, but we (mostly) get the job done. I've mentioned this group before, … Continue reading Friday Night Gamers