I began creating Darkplane about ten years ago when I was a freshman in college. I was playing board games pretty often, and thought I might be able to introduce our group to roleplaying games. Some of my friends and family members had played a bit of Dungeons & Dragons with me as a kid (always reserving the right to mock me), so I set to work creating a fictional world of my own, ironically in the pursuit of friends.
If you know nothing about roleplaying games, here's a primer. A group of players sit around a table and tell a story. Each player has narrative control over one or more characters, deciding what they choose to do based on the events of the game. The Game Master (or Dungeon Master, DM, in D&D) is in charge of the world the story takes place in--its events, locations, and characters. Most D&D games play out like an adventure TV series, with episodic plots and recurring characters. That makes the DM the director or showrunner, and everyone else part of writing team.
In order to play, though, you have to decide what type of story you're telling. It could be set in the modern world, a fantasy world like Middle-Earth or Westeros, or in space. It's common practice for a DM to create a unique world around his or her particular game. For me, that's always been the funnest part.
The world of Vinramar, its regions and chief cities.
Darkplane is a fictional world that draws heavily on weird fiction, horror, and multicultural themes. I use it for all sorts of writing projects--graphic novels, short stories, screenplays--but mostly for playing D&D because it doesn't need a budget. I've run Darkplane games in six states over the last 10 years, and every time it grows and develops.
What's the goal? Well, this year I'm going to be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund a Darkplane guidebook. Darkplane: A Campaign Setting will have everything you need to dive into a Darkplane game, and lots more on the side. And, if the Kickstarter funds, it will have some beautifully terrifying art.
This website's going to have content previews, spotlights on people or places in Darkplane, and hopefully some video blogs too. Thanks for taking a look, and keep an eye out for more.
