How Kamino Began

So, this is my first post about my Dungeons and Dragons Campaign called 'Kamino'. But what exactly is 'Kamino' and how did this all begin?

I won't delve too much into personal stuff - that's not what you're here for after all - but I started writing as a hobby when I was about 12 as a coping mechanism for being bullied at school. The original format for 'Kamino' was a story called 'Kamino High' that I was writing around the age of 16-18 and never actually finished.

It was a story about a world called Konsatsu which was divided between 4 regions: Kamino, Kyroko, Rynomo and Tymoko, with a big mountain called The Crown in the middle which stretched all the way up into the plain of the Gods. For 1000 years the 4 regions had been at war, each under the banner, protection and generally devout worship to one of four Divinities: Lady Umina, Lord Akumasku, Lord Sako and Lady Namikari. Each region also had it's own Elemental Affinity which was connected to their Divinity and stood as the basis for each Region's power. Kamino was Light, Kyroko was Darkness, Rynomo was Earth/Nature (could really be called either) and Tymoko was Water.

Now reading just the names, place names and general structure of the world you've probably guessed that I was likely more then just a little inspired and influence by a lot of Japanese Anime, Japanese Language and culture and JRPG's. Well, you'd be right and since the core storyline is centred upon a group of sixteen year olds enrolling in 'Kamino High', a kind of military high school which trained the fighters of the land, and then getting embroiled in an underlying sea of both Divine and inter-region conspiracies and unproven prophesy, well I really see no point in denying or trying to hide my influences. However despite this admission I have worked very hard on my story to make it as different from and as original as possible. Something I think I must have somewhat achieved as if this story was 'the same old same old' then my players would firstly tell me and also I don't think the story would have had the steam to have already run for a full year - and as of Apr 2012 have only just got halfway through.  

So why did I never finish it? I actually tried several times and despite writing many other stories, mostly fan fiction which you can find examples of here: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/943713/Black_Crystal34 

I kept coming back and editing, reading over parts, but unfortunately I'd managed to write myself into a corner, leaving my characters searching for an answer to their problem, which though I knew I couldn't express, every time I tried the ending looked rushed, wrong or worse.

Then I found a group of friends who enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons, I joined in, one thing led to another and when I decided to try my hand at GMing, Kamino was the first story I could think of with the right foundation and building blocks to work as a D&D campaign.

Of course this meant a lot of changes to the original story eventually meaning I had to strip away almost everything I had written apart from the core characters and events and in some ways starting all over again.

Speaking of which... this is probably enough for this post. I'll split everything else up into different Posts which you can click through if you want to know more.

Try

Kamino's Many Changes: for how my story changed from its original form into what it is now and what the changes have done to the story.
The Many Faces of Kamino: to check out the PC and NPC characters of Kamino (a post set that should be very much on-going and ever changing)
Kamino Backstory: this set of posts will be where you can see a lot of Kamino's history prior to the time line my players are creating with each invisible step. As well as explanations concerning some of Kamino's custom mechanics such as 'Aurakin and Aura Keys' the special fighting style of Konsatsu's military fighters, the Akuma.
The Story of Kamino: These posts will be for charting the story of my group, the people they meet, the battles they fight, the diplomatic incidents they face and of course the developing relationships they nurture on their road. Not all of the relationships they get involved with are their own, after all one of my characters can be quite the gossip when she wants to be.

Plus probably some other ones that I probably can't think of right now. Anyway, come along for the ride, enjoy the story, laugh love and cry with us as Kamino rolls along towards an ending I could never write. The true reason it seems, is that I needed all these great imaginative people with me.

Your GM

Yemi