the Dark Mysteries Campaign

While the main storyline pressed forward, some of the players took time to write short collaborative stories on the side, expanding on their Heroic Personae and providing additional insight into their motivations. I started rewarding the players (and their Heroic Personae) with Adventure Points to encourage such character development.

Here's a listing of all the Side Stories that were published during the original Dark Mysteries Campaign. These links may leave this site, if I have not collected the side story from its original location. Some of these links may be dead links.

Stories are listed in story chronological order, with original author credits.

The Salty Anchor (Christopher Webb): Why is the bar Bilbus frequents called "The Salty Anchor"? It is located a mile and more from the shore of a fresh-water sea, not on the docks of a salty ocean. Read on for the answer...
e-mail exchanges (Ryan Decker, Jennie Seay): Set during Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 3, this is a collection of the original e-mail exchanges that the two players started firing back and forth that devolved into a duel between their characters as described in the write-up.
Truce (Ryan Decker, Jennie Seay): Set after Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 4, after the duel between Bilbus and Adria, they seem to reach a temporary truce, or perhaps a ceasefire.
Alliances (Ryan Decker, Cindy Fitzsimons, Jennie Seay): Set after Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 9, when Bilbus interfered with Adria's archery practice. Adria tries to co-opt Breanna into helping get back at Bilbus.
A Night with Bree and Eric (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jon Schow): Set during Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 11, while the Sea Ghost sailed towards Noyonne. Bree & Eric start to realize they have a 'thing' for one another.
Guy Talk (Ryan Decker, Jon Schow): Set during Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 11, right after the Bree & Eric story. Bilbus grills Eric, and they discuss their respective relationships with Adria and Breanna.
The Boat Talk (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jennie Seay): Set during Dawn of the Tempest Chapter 11, before the party was captured. Breanna and Adria discuss their respective boy problems.
Turning Point (Dan Brandow): Set at the beginning of Out of the Shadows Chapter 1, when Sturm wakes up the morning after the Sea Ghost was captured.
Late Night Rendezvous (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jon Schow): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 2, the night before the storm set in. Bree and Eric finally admit they love one another.
Lessons and Daggers (Ryan Decker, Cindy Fitzsimons): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 4, the trip back from the Steppes. Bilbus teaches Breanna a little bit about Heka use.
Girls' Night Out (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jennie Seay): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 5, the night before the party sails for Portsdale and Adria's wedding. Breanna and Adria have a night on the town.
Games (Ryan Decker, Jennie Seay): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 5, after the girls' night out, Adria and Bilbus spend some time playing games with one another.
Conversation and Counsel (Dan Brandow, Jennie Seay): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 9, Sturm encounters Adria working at the True Point Tavern as a barmaid. The Sun Knight provides marriage counseling.
The Ties that Bind (Ryan Decker, Jennie Seay): Set during Out of the Shadows Chapter 11, Bilbus and Adria discuss the terms and arrangements of their unplanned wedding.
Dream 14 (Christopher Webb): Set during Amidst the Chaos Chapter 3, Rishala has a dream in which many of the events he has experienced are explained.
Twist of Fate (Jennie Seay, Andrew Wiltzius): Set during Amidst the Chaos Chapter 3, Rishala confronts Adria about her uncivil manners towards her husband.
Family (Ryan Decker, Jennie Seay): Set during Amidst the Chaos Chapter 3, Adria and Bilbus reconcile old hostilities at long last.
Misunderstandings (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jon Schow, with Ryan Decker and Jennie Seay): Set during Amidst the Chaos Chapter 6, Breanna finally reaches a boiling point about comments Eric made to her father about their upcoming marriage.
Waiting (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jennie Seay): Set during Sacrifice the Sun Chapter 1, Breanna and Adria have a talk while waiting for the men to return from their hunt for Franz Stalgraf.
Teaching (Cindy Fitzsimons, Jon Schow): Set during Sacrifice the Sun Chapter 3, Breanna tries unsuccessfully to teach Eric some of the basics of an herbalist's skill.
I went to see a man about a horse (Ryan Decker): Set during Sacrifice the Sun Chapter 11, Bilbus trades in trusty Acquisition 2 for a warhorse, Acquisition 3. There is a slight departure from the official storyline in here that would have made an interesting twist...
A Silver Ring (Jennie Seay): Set between Sacrifice the Sun Chapter 14 and 15, Adria receives an offer she can not refuse.