Topic Research: Dungeons and Dragons: Jumanji Edition

For my more in depth research I am looking more into the myths I would use in my D&D/Jumanji style story. In my last post about it, I specifically mentioned Sedna from Inuit mythology, and after looking deeper into Inuit mythology in general, I think I want that to be a theme throughout my story. In this post I will explore potential story points I might use.

Another thing I am thinking on is how I want to tell this story. I'm thinking more of a narrative style, full of details and such, because that's how describing things in D&D usually goes. For combat, though, I want to include something about the unpredictability of D&D because of rolling dice. I want to include some part of that mechanic in the storytelling, but I'm not sure what yet. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

Now, on to the (potential) story.

Introduction

Our heroes will start off around a table at their regularly scheduled D&D game. Their goal that day is to find Sedna, the sea goddess, and appease her. They begin either a new campaign or part of their current campaign, when something odd happens and they are brought inside of the world they have created and now embody their characters.

Story #1

The first story would be about our party encountering Amarok from Inuit mythology. Amarok is a giant wolf trickster who with go after people who hunt alone at night. In my story I would have one character who is furious a their situation, storm off into the woods one night and, of course, encounter Amarok.

Story #2

After the night where one party member turns into a ghost, the party sets off to the nearest sea shore, since they know Sedna lives at the bottom of the ocean. Once they get there, they are at a loss as how to get to her. This is where Qalupalik comes and takes a member of the party.

There was actually a stop-motion film about Qalupalik made to tell the myth that I found really interesting.

Story #3

Finally on a ship, the remaining party members have issues with an Ahkiyyini, a skeleton spirit who can wreck ships by playing their music. Also in this story, the members meet Anguta, the father of Sedna and the one who ferries souls into the underworld. Towards the end of this story, leading into the next one, they also meet Qailertetang who will play an important role.

Story #4

In this story, our members finally make their way to Sedna and attempt to resolve what they traveled there to do. Once everything is done, for better or for worse, the session ends.

Ending

After the campaign is finally over, the players seem to black out and just be back at the table. I intend to write a short sort of...afterword to wrap everything up.


Now that that's done! This post was actually hard to write because I wanted to lay our all of my ideas, and I actually went back and deleted a lot because I don't want to give too much away (or commit to anything haha). I hope it all made sense and I am really looking forward to writing this!!!

(Blue D20s by Me)

Topic Brainstorm: A Witch, A Trickster, And A Banshee All Walk Into A Dungeon...

Topic #1

My first idea for my project comes from the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons combined with the story of Jumanji. In my story I would have the players participating in their regular D&D game suddenly be transported into the actual game. This would give me opportunities to explore multiple different mythologies and legends as creatures or tasks they must overcome. One creature I would have them fight, for example, in traditional D&D style is a dragon. I particularly like the legend revolving around the Bisterne Dragon, and I would incorporate that into my story. Other beings they might encounter would include one of my favorite Inuit goddesses, Sedna; where they might have to find some way to appease her to move forward.

(Gaming by James Bowe)

Topic #2

My second idea would be a storybook following a modern witch who is trying to find what she believes in. For this story, the different sections would be her researching and attempting to communicate with deities from different religions. Using the Wikipedia List of Deities I would choose gods and goddesses of multiple different cultures to include and explore many different options. I think this would be an interesting story to write because many people who identify as witches in today's time do a lot of searching about what sort of path they want religiously, if any at all. 

(Crow Vector Silhouette by Colleen O'Dell) 

Topic #3

My third story idea revolves around different mythologies involving tricksters. Tricksters are some of my favorite mythological characters because they always make things more interesting. For my story, I would have a trickster, perhaps Loki or someone else, create a place where they trap people and those trapped have to figure out how to get out. The trickster would very much just be doing this to cause mischief. The setting of the trap would be based around an artist I enjoy who creates 3-d renderings of, sometimes impossible, rooms. The artist, Abby Dougherty, creates these spaces in neon colors and impossible physics and calls the collection the Neon Saltwater Hotel. With proper credit, I'd love to write a story where the Neon Saltwater Hotel is what our "heroes" must escape. It would be a more modern telling because of the setting. For pictures for my story, I would reach out to the artist to ask permission to use images of their work with proper credit, or I would find visually similar images and still credit the idea of the setting to Neon Saltwater. 

(Beverages by Mediengestalter)

Topic #4

My last story idea comes from reading over Chapter 7 of True Irish Ghost Stories  by St. John D. Seymour and Harry L. Neligan, (1914). Chapter 7, entitled "Banshees, and Other Death-Warnings," talks about, well, banshees and other kinds of Irish death-warning legends. I would write a story about a family who has a sick relative living with them who start seeing things like banshees and headless coaches. To protect their loved one, they attempt to fight off these warnings in hopes that it will prolong the sick family member's life. The setting would be in Ireland, modern day, and mostly taking place at the house because that is where these sort of apparitions appear, normally. 

(Banshee on wikimedia commons)