Time to do it myself--a Harry Potter RPG run by a grownup

[shanti_50130]

Well, I've had to "take the plunge" in regards to my Harry Potter 
role-playing hobby.  For me, role-playing is another way of bringing 
a story 'to life'.  I enjoy it tremendously--sometimes even more 
than I like reading/writing fanfiction.  It's my way of `exercising 
my brain' when I'm feeling sort of brain-mushy from dealing with my 
great-but-tiring kids all day.

The universal flaw I have found in my search for a good Harry Potter 
role-playing game is that they are almost all own/run/administrated 
by college-aged young-adults or younger.  These "kids" (to me as a 
later 30-something) are all very creative and enthusiastic, but also 
very transient.

I don't mean that as an insult!  We all know that the college-years 
are some of the most exciting but transient times in our lives.  
There are frequent major life-changes going on.  Classes and finals 
and graduations and possible marriages or new jobs and moving and 
etc., etc., etc.,  

At any rate, I've decided that rather than sit and complain about 
this (any more) it is time for me to give it a go myself.  
Fortunately, I found two other like-minded friends willing to help 
me.  We have three administrators ranging in age from 27 to 37, and 
we aren't going anywhere!  It is also a paid site, paid yearly, from 
a reliable company, so none of this down-time or information loss 
because of payment issues stuff that has happened on sites I've been 
on before.

So
 if role-playing interests you AT ALL, Please come check out our 
site:

http://www.hauntedchambers.net/

To the best of my knowledge, this one of the few role-playing games 
run by adults with a good focus on the adult and wider-world 
settings in the Harry Potter Universe without being a thinly 
veiled "smut" site. (Not that we have a problem with smut, but there 
are many other ways to stretch the imagination as well!) We do have 
a Hogwarts, of course, and many student characters as well as 
teenaged players.  However, the maturity level of the board and the 
role-playing skill is high without being intimidating.  

We actively welcome and encourage adult characters, canon or 
original, with 'real lives' in the world outside of Hogwarts. It's a 
fun way to explore what "average" people might do in the wizarding 
world. We have a fairly straight-forward screening process that 
ensures we get quality players with a good understanding of canon.

We have lots of open canon characters.  Right now we're especially 
looking to fill:

Hermione Granger  (JKR has just pointed out to us that with her 
birthday in September, she nearly a year older than Harry—she will 
be of `legal' age early into their 6th year—that could be VERY fun 
to play with!  Hermione will be screened very rigorously, though, so 
be aware.)
Narcissa Malfoy
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Bill, Percy, Charlie and Ginny Weasley
Argus Filch
Rubeus Hagrid
Madam Hooch
Cornelius Fudge
Delores Umbridge
Students, canon or Original
Order of the Phoenix members, canon or Original
Death Eaters, canon or Original

We're looking for adult characters to `flesh out' the wizarding 
world.  Hospital employees, Ministry employees, any creative ideas 
of shopkeepers, `every day' sorts of folks.  Whether you decide your 
character supports the Order or Voldemort, we are good about finding 
ways to "work in" your character into existing plots.

I'm allowing people who want to come from the game that just `died' 
to transfer their own character's interactions/history into the new 
game so you will see some `transfer backstory' threads.  But we have 
currently done nothing in the way of plot advancement, and won't be 
until after the Holidays, though the game is "open".  This is a 
great time to `come on board' and just mess about and interact with 
the other characters, develop relationships and things, to `get your 
feet wet' gradually.

I hope you'll come and check us out, and maybe play with us.  

Lisa/aka Shanti