Of Castles and Keeps…
I began conceiving this post as a means to discuss the different living arrangements that your characters can undertake throughout the course of a campaign. Our campaigns have varied from purely nomadic “going where the action is” style living arrangements all the way to having a “home base” city where our characters would return to in between episodes.
This got me thinking about taverns, castles, keeps, and the like… and unfortunately I couldn’t come up with something interesting to discuss relative to D&D or roleplaying.
So instead, its time for a confession.
I’ve always wanted to live in a castle. Ever since I was adult enough to have to contemplate home-ownership, this desire has existed. I’ve even gone so far as to research floor plans, building techniques, and actual ways to make this dream into a reality.
Interestingly, I’m not the only one that has this desire. In fact, a couple of SCA enthusiasts put up a website detailing the construction of their residential castle, from digging of the foundation all the way to the day they moved in. I have to appreciate their dedication to their dream and actually hatching it into reality, I hope someday that SR and I will be able to follow suit.
Strangely, I can honestly say that all of this doesn’t come from the part of my being that enjoys roleplaying. For a long while, I wanted to be an architect and I have a great appreciation for interesting architecture, and I think that this drives this passion more than wanting to pretend in some recess of my brain that I am some duke or lord ruling over his land.
The couple that I linked above are into the SCA, and for that reason desired some level of historical period accuracy. That doesn’t necessarily trip my trigger, as I have found from a few other hobbies that detail oriented things quickly pass into the “not fun” category. I just want something that looks and feels like a castle, but has as many of the amenities of a finished modern day home.
I suppose I should relate this in some way to roleplaying.
About the only thing that I can do to relate this whole post to any type of roleplaying is this: embrace the things that motivate you creatively. If that’s wanting to live in a modern-day castle, or dressing up and attending a SCA event, or roleplaying or LARPing… go for it. Don’t be ashamed of it, don’t let criticism or naysayers dampen your spirits. From a roleplaying/campaign perspective, try something that falls in line with your creative passion and you may find a fertile ground for new and exciting material.
Just go for it!