Sarah Darkmagic's blog

As a new player, one of the hardest things for me to figure out is how much role playing the group is comfortable with. Sure, I'm not going to be great at it at first, but that's an entirely different thing from determining how much the rest of the group is amused by it. If I do too much, I'm worried that some people will get bored or upset that the DM is spending more time on my character. If I do too little, well the truth is I might as well be playing Avernum instead.

In addition to the amount of role playing, it's hard to figure out what I should include and what I should leave out. Even though I was a tomboy growing up and am most comfortable around guys, I still have a few, more stereotypically girly thoughts than most of the group. For instance, my character isn't looking for a shining white knight but she also has some romantic notions of adventuring since her parents met as adventurers. But that leaves me with a ton of questions. Can she have crushes? Should she blush whenever a handsome waiter asks her a question? Should she get her own room at the inn especially since one of her fellow adventurers is a bit of a heel? Can she hide behind the dragon-born whenever she sees a monster that really scares her? To me, these are important matters but I'm not sure how important or amusing they are to the guys.

So far, she hasn't done too much of that sort of thing. Most she's done is write in a letter to her parents that the paladin has good hands (which made him reply "but I'm celibate") and I've written about her henna tattoo. I'm sure I'll figure it out as time goes on and I'm sure Sarah will find a love interest or two (if only in her journal). But I would love to hear your thoughts.

Like many people, my childhood was filled with fanciful stories. One of my favorites has always been The NeverEnding Story. While I don't remember having the book read to me, I remember watching the movie quite clearly, especially jumping when the windows bang open. During my trip home, my mom borrowed the movie through NetFlix and we watched it last night. While I no longer had the fear/tension watching the movie, it was great fun to watch. I still want to ride a luckdragon.

Another nice thing about being home is that I now have access to many of the books that made up my childhood library. A rare treat for me was being able to read from the illustrated children's bible my mom kept in a safe place. We also had at least two big books of nursery rhymes, Hans Christian Andersen's and Grimm's fairy tales, and Aesop's fables. My brother and I would spend hours reading these and other books and playing out many of the stories.

We also made up stories. For a long time, my parents slept on two twin beds pushed together. Whenever we played on their bed, the two beds would start to move apart. We used to pretend that it was a bed monster, trying to swallow us up. The huge yard around our house became the battlefield of many an epic battle, sometimes even involving the Greco-Roman gods. And my brother would spend hours at the library, researching medieval weapons.

I think it's incredibly important that we encourage curiosity and imagination not only in children but in adults as well. It's why even though I didn't play, I loved hosting my husband's D&D games and before that, I would sit and listen to them for hours. When I found myself no longer creating stories in my mind, I started playing. I think my mind needs the escape and the mental exercise it gets from creating these stories. I just need to find the confidence to tell others what my mind creates.

I figured it would probably be a good idea to describe Sarah since I named this blog and everything after her :-)

Sarah Darkmagic is the eldest daughter of Stephen and Enna (Moonbow) Darkmagic. Her parents were great adventurers once, working with others such as Douvan Staul and his wife, Eliza. They gave away all that they could from their earnings to help those around them and, when Sarah was born, were poor in funds but rich in friends. They decided that the adventuring life wasn't the sort of life for a little girl and, so, gave up the adventurer's life and started a traveling magic show. Stephen, coming from the great wizarding family from New Hampshire, seemed like the star of the show but in reality, most of the show depended on the technical expertise of his wife. The skills she practiced and developed as the expert lockpick of the group helped greatly in running the "magical" equipment.

The early years were hard as they didn't have a great amount of savings and such shows require a fair amount of money for equipment and components. Although they felt bad about it, they trained their young daughter Sarah how to pick pockets, making sure to target only those who could withstand having their change purse a few coins lighter. And they always did their best to get their extensive network of friends to help the poor target out, perhaps with a free room or some free refreshments at the bar.

As time went on, the popularity of their show grew and grew. About six months ago, Stephen was offered the opportunity to have a daily show in a big city. After a long discussion, the family decided that this was an excellent step forward, as it would allow Sarah's much younger siblings to have the sort of stability that they had always wanted for her. However, this left Sarah with a terrible decision. She could stay with her family, but she would have to get used to an entirely different sort of life. There would be no more traveling and they obviously wouldn't need her to steal anymore (not that she ever really liked it). Or she could leave, trying to find a her place in the world.

After careful deliberation, Sarah felt that she had to leave. Through her family, she had a wide network of friends. Besides, if she stayed, there might be a lot of pressure on her to settle down in other ways. Her family held a huge going away part for her. Her father gave her a simple locket with pictures of the family inside. But he also enchanted it, so that whenever she held it tight in her hand, she could feel the loving warmth of her family embrace her and make her feel calm. Her mother presented her with a finely made dress so that where ever the road took her, she would always have the appropriate clothes. She packed these items, some clothes and basic adventuring goods, and her never-ending journal and left early the next morning before anyone else awoke.

She was only two weeks into her travels when an urgent letter came from her mother. A good family friend, Douvan Staul, was missing and his wife was terribly worried about him. Sarah remembered the weeks spent at their place when her parents traveled to the less savory areas. She knew that she had to find him even if she had no idea how. According to the letter, the last place he was known to be was Winterhaven and that is where she went.

This is a really cute cartoon involving two high school kids from different cliques getting together. Wil Wheaton does some of the voice work.

Find more videos like this on Channel Frederator RAW