Category Archives: Jasmine & Role Playing Games

Jasmine Story – Snippet 3

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The Story of  Jasmine notes continue…

Our Story begins with the discovery of an ancient text by a Wyrd woman who consults with her wizard friend concerning it’s meaning.

This postcard art was sent to fans, who signed a petition at Gen Con, thanking them for their support in trying to get “The Story of Jasmine” reinstated.

Wizard: “I’m afraid you’re right, Heta. Aeons ago, the kernel of pure evil was placed within a physical object, a black obsidian egg, which lies hidden within a place known as “the Valley of Fire.”

Heta: The conflicts and confusion the realm now experiences must be connected to this evil.

Book: To restore balance, a physical union between an air spirit and an earthly King must occur. The result will be the birth of an exceptional child, a golden child.

Using an ancient text as a guide, the High Priestess of the Order of the White Flower and the powerful magician pooled their resources and accepted their destined task together.

© 2018 DARLENE

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When looking at this old postcard, I just got an idea. I think it would make a good image for a page in a coloring book. What do you think? 

Jasmine Story – Snippet 2

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Thirty-year old photo of my driveway in the fog at night when I lived on Curtis Street in Lake Geneva.

A silhouette of trees were visible against the night sky. I watched their actively swaying branches from my bedroom window. The house would sigh and creak and the windows rattled unceasingly.

Tonight the spirits were active. I felt energized and ion-charged. I was swept in my imagination to a grassy knoll, feeling the wind untie my hair. Anticipation, mixed with a strange sense of foreboding, excited me and sharpened my senses.

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I don’t know precisely if this belongs in the The Story of Jasmine narrative, but it was among the notes I found. I include it because it sets a tone of where I was in my head space at the time …  imaginative, moody and poetic. As a 20-something wisp of a thing, I was open to the unseen, the strange, and the mystical. In this regard, not much has changed.  😉

Photo available here.

Jasmine Story – Snippet 1

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As Promised,

I share the first of many notes scribbled over 30 years ago for the Story of Jasmine.

The Guardian of Wisdom first appeared in 1980. I just made this fellow into a Greeting Card!

What kind of tale would a curmudgeon who sits upon a mushroom1 tell? My story will only be deeply significant to those educated, 20th-century minds sophisticated enough to interpret symbols. But for those who cannot, I have employed the scholarly device of using footnotes.2

1 As a story-teller, I can take any form. Most will see me as an Ancient Chronicler who somehow knows everything. Perhaps I’d have a string of impressive scholarly abbreviations trailing behind my name — if I had a name…

2 Wonderful invention

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NOTE: I made The Guardian of Wisdom into a Greeting Card. He plans to grant three wishes to the receiver of the card. Hey, it’s only $4!  The card is now available at my Zazzle Store.

© 2018 DARLENE

The Story Of JASMINE

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A Study in Creative Mythological Dreamscapes

by DARLENE ©1995/2018

Original Story of Jasmine title from 1981

I was within a creative whirlwind in the early years of TSR, Inc. (the company of Gary Gygax, one of the creators of the fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons). At the time, I was a young freelance artist living in Lake Geneva, occasionally working on assignments for TSR’s divisions. I was considered a “lesser” artist. But what I possessed the others didn’t was my unique feminine viewpoint.

I well remember the year 1980, because that was the year “The Story of Jasmine” Illustrated Fantasy Adventure was first published in The Dragon magazine. The “Story of Jasmine” would only run for a year. Even though my contract had not been renewed, Jasmine had been born and she refused to leave my mind.

The creative focus on the “Story of Jasmine” as it unfolded took years to unwind itself, resulting in scraps of dialog on hundreds of sheets of paper, numerous paintings and drawings, and a fantasy-role-playing card game. Jasmine was a constant companion who told her story to me for over a four-year period. When I moved out of Lake Geneva and refocused my attention as a MFA candidate in Graphics Design at Indiana University, that connection had gone deep underground.

*    *    *    *   *

I wrote the above in a notebook I just found, dated 1995. At that time, I must have started the process of collecting the isolated bits of Jasmine writing I could never bear to throw out. Now, 23 years later, again I think about the story Jasmine told me — the story that manifested in my mind every night for around 1500 days, somewhere in the vicinity of 38 years ago. For whatever reason there may be, Jasmine came to me. For whatever purpose it may have, I now choose to share her story and that of her companions.

All those years ago, the story unfolded in my mind like a dream. The story was not linear. The narrative began somewhere in the middle. Characters I had no clue about would speak dialog. I did not know who they were or how they connected with each other. After about a year, I began to write things down and put them in order. This resulted in “The Story of Jasmine” mentioned above, published between 1980 and 1981. The copyright is still mine.

Likewise, the writings offered here are not in any particular order. Yet I start with the snippets collected in that 1995 notebook, which was somewhat organized. It is my intent to offer different snippets daily so you can experience the story like I did. Enjoy!

Note: All illustrations and images accompanying this narrative belong to me. Most were created many years ago and have been repurposed for this share.

Of course all writing and art is ©2018 DARLENE.

DARLENE’s “Jasmine” card game–about the Mid-Realm

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On June 2nd and June 5th, within the hallowed halls of the NTRPG Con (North Texas Role-Playing Games Convention), DARLENE will take exceptional individuals (who have signed up) on a journey through the Mid-Realm via her 1980s JASMINE: The Battle for the Mid-Realm card game. There can be only one victor.

For a glimpse into the realm, here is the lay of the land:

Within the Mid-Realm lies four Kingdoms. The rulers of each kingdom have different strengths and weaknesses depending upon their nature. The experience of playing JASMINE: the Battle for the Mid-Realm collector card game differs depending upon the faction played.

BLUE FACTION TARRANT is a very large kingdom on the tundra in the northern most regions of the Mid-Realm. It is ruled by Thorgall, a cold-hearted man who has built a tremendous fortress of ice and snow. Thorgall regards all other factions with cool indifference, secure in knowing the icy reaches would claim any of their armies long before any weapon could. Thorgall lives in a crystalline ice palace, deeply immersed in the secret which keeps his icy kingdom intact.

RED FACTION A very different Kingdom lying in the Mid-Realm’s west is ruled by the ruthless Queen of Fire, Melantha. She is effective because she knows the value of infinite patience. As silently as a spider, Melantha weaved a powerful web so she can study her enemies and identify their weaknesses. Her magic is strong, but her armies are weak. She may have plenty of demon minions, but they are of little use in battlefield fighting. Besides relying on her magical skills, Melantha also schemes, such as making alliances to have someone else eliminate a mutual enemy. Her Castle Ildshoii was built within the side of a volcano.

PURPLE FACTION Like the fire queen, Bardulf, the dark prince, knows how to use cunning and guile to attain land and privilege. He has already stolen Jasmine’s ancestral kingdom of UR and rules it from his Castle Swartzborg which lies to the East. Bardulf has been to known to dabble in the practice of magic, which luckily granted him the protection of a powerful dragon called Gryth. But he much prefers stealth to being on the open battlefield. His armies consist of spys and assassins who work behind the scenes to obtain control for their master.

YELLOW FACTION Jasmine, along with her father the king, have lost the Kingdom of UR. She escaped Bardulf’s abduction attempt and has made her hiding place within the crystal caverns her Castle. To survive, the princess has had to quickly learn the power of diplomacy and rediscover her enormous aptitude for magic. Now she’s at the point where she can boast alliances between the Dwarves, Battle Maidens, Mounted Warriors who, all together, have impressive fighting skills. They perform their best when Jasmine or their own leaders are with them.

Battle Maidens within Jasmine's Faction.

Battle Maidens within Jasmine’s Faction.

GREEN FACTION The King of UR (along with his army of mercenaries) and the Nomadic Barbarians will also add their strength in battle to any faction who successfully negotiates with them.

When the game gets started and the factions mix it up, interesting things happen. Then, for a completely different gaming experience, switch factions!

btw- The original game is still available online