Posted in: Role Playing Games, Spy-Fi

RPGaDAY2026 Day 9: Privilege of the Village

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 9 Prompt: Privilege
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Blessed

As you can see from the graphic and above notes, “Privilege” is the prompt for Day 9 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge. And yes, I’ll be twisting this one as well. I didn’t really see an anagram or near-word. But there is a rhyming word, “village”.

So instead of making something up in this blog entry, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite locations that had its own unique characteristics. The Village from the surreal 1967 spy-fi British television series “The Prisoner”.

Short intro: Patrick McGoohan plays a British espionage agent who is kidnapped by persons unknown and sent to a place called “The Village”. The forces who control The Village want to know why McGoohan’s character (only referred to as Number 6) retired from his espionage assignment without giving a reason to his superiors. In The Village, Number 6 discovers that other prisoners in the gilded cage may also be “retired” secret service agents or possibly witnesses to things that should have not been seen.

When I started using this challenge to bring about the wonderful locations that are characters themselves, The Village was one of the best examples of this. When Number 6 is trying to gather information about his captivity, he is only given maps like the one above that are generic enough to prevent escape. There are hidden cameras everywhere keeping an eye on the inhabitants. If they wandered too far, special devices called “Rovers” would appear and incapacitate (or even eliminate) the offending individual. These “Rovers” appeared as a large white balloon that could herd or smother those that they tracked. It is not known if they were autonomous, semi-independent or just remote controlled.

The needs of the inhabitants were well taken care of in this cage with no bars. They were provided with an apartment, food, clothing and various entertainment options. There are stores, a hospital, recreational options, labour exchange, café, a town hall and even a phone box (no it’s not blue).

Some of the inhabitants knew that they were prisoners within this location. Others were participants in trying to obtain information from those who had been brought here. And there were others that no longer possessed all of their mental facilities.

The Village sits on a warm coastal location somewhere in Europe. In the show the exact location is a bit of a mystery. In one episode, it’s easy to get to from London. In another episode it takes a while to get there. This may have been on purpose as the bulk of the stories in this 17-episode season are mind-fucks (for lack of a better word). We are never told who controls The Village, the fate of the inhabitants or if Number 6 ever gets to be a free man. This vagueness has contributed to the appeal of the show. Fans could debate facts, information tidbits and theories about this series for years (and continue to this day).

This location begs to be used in a spy-fi espionage RPG campaign. While some GMs may enjoy watching the entire TV series, there are some other quicker options for additional information on this location. Both Wikipedia and The Prisoner Wiki have entries on The Village. And there was an actual RPG supplement released for it that I talked about in a 2021 RPGaDAY entry. Steve Jackson Games released GURPS The Prisoner when they had a massive expansion of IP related supplements. It was one of the few GURPS products I kept when I had an RPG book purge in the mid to late 90’s (I look back at that with regret). This supplement had suggestions on types of games that could be played, how to introduce the characters to The Village and a guide to the episodes. If you can pick it up, I’d recommend it.

“Be seeing you.”

What other locations have you seen that would provide a number of stories for a roleplaying campaign? Tell me about it. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Westerns

RPGaDAY2026 Day 8: Resolve or Resolute

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 8 Prompt: Resolve
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Works Hard

Thank you again for the encouraging feedback you’ve all been providing for me. It’s making me feel that my efforts are being appreciated. For Day 8 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge we were provided with the prompt of Resolve. I’m worried that this would be too generic (as a lot of these prompts seemed to be). So, I’m returning to my twisted world of morphing the prompt and I’ve come up with Resolute. Close to the original, but it got some creative juices flowing.

Following the recent patterns, I’m keeping this system agnostic, but it could be used for Boot Hill, Amazing Adventures, Tall Tales B/X, Modern Necessities-Single Action and others.

::Standard Telegraph Services Start::
From: T Finch Jr., Field Reporter
To: Editor T Pembroke, Chicago Sentinel
FORT RESOLUTE KAN JUNE 20 PART 1 OF ARTICLE SENT BY POST STOP
FIRST ROUND OF INTERVIEWS COMPLETED STOP
EXPECT PART 2 ARRIVAL IN TWO WEEKS STOP
ADDITIONAL FUNDS REQUESTED TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT STOP
::Standard Telegraph Services End::

The following article appeared in Edition XXI Volume Four of the Chicago Sentinel on June 29, 1875.
THE WILD WEST BECKONS SETTLERS, PART I
Fort Resolute, Kansas
June 20, 1875
By Thomas Finch Jr., Field Reporter for the Chicago Sentinel
Edited by Theodore Pembroke

On the edge of the American frontier stands one of the last bastions of civilization that many travelers will pass through on their way to points west. The trail ends, and begins, at a lone U.S. Army fort in Kansas near the borders with Missouri and Nebraska known eloquently as Fort Resolute. In the two weeks since my arrival, I have encountered dust, winds, rain and the widest variety of humanity that I’ve had the fortune of encountering. Travelers stocking up at this military base before heading west. Their destinations could be the gold hills of California, driving cattle south to Texas and Mexico, or places in-between. Many souls are looking for new lives with religious freedoms, fair pay for an honest day’s work or even a new husband. The expansion of knowledge also brings travelers along this stop, both the highly regarded and the depths of the unknown.

For the price of a drink, an act of kindness, or an exchange of information, I was able to interview a number of individuals who made the temporary stop at Fort Resolute before moving on in their quests. Here is a short snippet of some of those conversations.

While the scar on the side of the face of U.S. Marshal Elija Boone may frighten some of the children he has come across, I found the calm demeanor of this lawman very pleasant. Unlike most of the individuals that I’ve met, Marshal Boone lacks the freedom of choosing his next destination. He had just arrived with a fugitive that will soon be tried in the local courthouse. Having a drink before heading out again, Marshall Boon informed me that “The law ends nowhere. It merely gets harder to carry.”

After assisting with a runaway horse, I was thanked by Sarah Whitaker and her four children. She told me that after her husband had passed away in the Appalachian coal mines back east, she decided to head west to provide a better life for her family. “Back east we rented the ground beneath our feet. Out here we’ll own it.”

Not all travelers were heading west from the rugged fort. I met a group of railway workers from the oriental land of China. Only their foreman, Chen Wei, spoke English. From our broken conversation he said that “A railroad is a promise made of iron. Every mile says the world will be smaller tomorrow.” They had worked on the western half of the new network of railways and were heading east to assist with the further expansion.

There were two sets of educated parties within the fort, but they seemed to come from different worlds all together. First was Professor Bernard Holloway of the Stanton Institute. He was more than happy to explain that “Every region leaves bones behind. Some of these bones are answers to the un-asked questions.” He was more interested in the supernatural legends and following up on leads of the paranormal. While I had my doubts about some of his theories, I gladly accepted his gift of a protection token at the end of our conversation.

The second learned individual came from the shores of England. Dr. Percival Finchhh, F.R.S. is a natural philosopher and explorer. Documenting the plants for possible medicinal use was his goal. It took some time to convince him that I was serious about my interview. “I came seeking fossils and unusual fauna. The Americans insist on showing me gunfights and violence.”

“The frontier does not create sinners. It merely removes the walls that hide them.” Was proclaimed to me by Reverend Josiah Cooper. What I found most interesting was the derringer that the good reverend kept hidden in a secret compartment in his bible.

A scout that went by the name of Runs-Between had told me of many wagon trains that he assisted guiding them to the Rocky Mountains. The proud Indian informed me that “Most people lost on the plains do not know they are lost until they run out of water.”

In Part II of my article has many more freedom seeking individuals ready to tame the rugged lands. Mormon pilgrims from Sweden, cattle drivers from Texas, a gambler looking to press his luck, brides who have only known their engaged partner by letter, a Canadian Fur Trapper looking for his last big score and many more. There are many souls that can be found walking through the gates at Fort Resolute, who will I interview next?

Did this get the dusty trails vibe? There are quite a few western RPG and scenarios out there for players and GMs. What suggestions would you like to see for a future blog entry? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Quotes, Star Trek

Daily Star Trek Quotes: August 3-9

Written by TardisCaptain
When I look at certain people.

Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account and the @STrekQuotes Bluesky account for the week of August 3rd through August 9th. Note: Because Twitter/X will use posts to train AI, we will no longer be posting on that platform. This is out of respect for the owners of Star Trek.

August 3:
(to his Android duplicate) “Eating is a pleasure, sir. Unfortunately, one you will never know.” Kirk- What Are Little Girls Made Of?, Stardate: 2712.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #Quote

August 4:
“I think you’ve got a great deal to learn from Starfleet.” Picard “I always thought Starfleet had a lot to learn from me, Captain.” Ro Laren “That is an attitude I’ve found common among the best officers I’ve ever served with. You’re not one of them yet, but you could be, if you work at it.” Picard- Ensign Ro, Stardate: 45076.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote

August 5:
Happy Birthday to Bruce Horak. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Bruce_Horak #StarTrek #StarTrekSNW #IDIC #Quote

“You create bonds. It’s a gift. Of course the people you care about are going to cause you pain. It will hurt, but the love it yields will far outweigh the sorrow.” Hemmer- All Those Who Wander, Stardate: 2510.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekSNW #IDIC #Quote

August 6:
Happy Birthday to Michelle Yeoh. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Michelle_Yeoh #StarTrek #StarTrekDSC #StarTrekST #StarTrekS31 #IDIC #Quote

“Bureaucracy is where fun goes to die.” Mirror Georgiou- Far From Home, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDSC #IDIC #Quote

Star Trek: Lower Decks premiered on this date in 2020 with the episode Second Contact. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Lower_Decks #StarTrek #StarTrekLDS #IDIC #Quote

“Computer, load Mariner program all-nude Olympic training facility. You might want to back up a bit.” Mariner “Wow, this is a very detailed program.” Tendi- Second Contact, Stardate: 57436.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekLDS #IDIC #Quote

August 7:
Happy Birthday to Cirroc Lofton. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Cirroc_Lofton #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #StarTrekSFA #IDIC #Quote

“I guess I just forgot you’re a Ferengi.” Jake Sisko “You forgot? To most people, the lobes are a dead giveaway.” Nog “What I mean is, we spend so much time together and we seem so much alike I, I sometimes forget we’re different.” Jake- Life Support, Stardate: 48498.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #Quote

Happy Birthday to Brett Gray. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Brett_Gray #StarTrek #StarTrekPRO #IDIC #Quote

“You know, a good first officer is loyal, capable, and they keep their captain honest, which is why… I’ll be right here, as your number one.” Dal- Ouroboros, Part II, Stardate: 62314.8 #StarTrek #StarTrekPRO #IDIC #Quote

August 8:
“So they brought you here to see your first human. Take a good look—you won’t see any hate in my eyes. I’m a gentle man from a gentle people who wish you no harm.” Chakotay- Initiations, Stardate: 49005.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #Quote

August 9:
Happy Birthday to Eric Bana. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Eric_Bana #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote

“Kill him? I’m not gonna kill him. I’m gonna make him watch.” Nero- Star Trek (2009), Stardate: 2233.04 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote

What are your favorite daily Star Trek quotes selected for this week? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games

RPGaDAY2026 Day 7: The Mercy of the Macers

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 7 Prompt: Mercy
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Loving & Giving

I’ve had some very positive feedback on my Day 5 entry of Burden or Burned and my Day 6 entry of Reach. One fellow RPG bloggers commented that these were some of my best entries so far. Then they recommended that I use the same format for a fantasy setting. Well for day 7 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge the prompt is Mercy.

Should I use Mercy or should I twist it? Tick, tick, tick…… processing complete. The following system agnostic entry can be used for Dungeons and Dragons, Basic Fantasy, Castles and Crusades, Fantasy Age or any of the many other fantasy RPG systems out there.

Journal of Prengar Derreth, 14th day of the royal year 1267.

I did it. I can’t believe that I’m on my way to joining the Order of the Macers. I’ve completed my first day of orientation here at St. Carthan’s Fort. I really wish I could tell you where I was, but new initiates are hooded for the last three days of the journey. When they pulled the hood off of me and the other candidates in the courtyard it felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure, we could take the hoods off as we slept in the enclosed tent at night, but not seeing sun or stars for three days was disorienting. Seeing the ramparts and towers covered by the banners of the different house mantles was a sight for sore eyes.

There are five house mantles that make up the order. The Heads, which consist of leaders and future leaders. The Hafts, which consists of the coordinators and logisticians. The Flanges, those who are instructed to strike swiftly or silently when called upon. The scholars and researchers are known as The Crowns and finally The Pommels who are the doers who get things done. All parts of St. Carthan’s Mace that are equal in providing mercy and justice. A single mantle cannot do the job alone; thus, we are all brothers. This was one of the first lessons we learned on day one orientation. To be a member of the Order of Macers is to be trusted or feared in the many kingdoms that we bring justice to.

Soon I’ll go through my first set of trials. How I pass them and work alongside my fellow initiates will determine which mantel I will join. I’m not certain which one I really hope to be admitted to. I have many talents that I feel can contribute to the order. I guess this is why the trials are here, to make that determination.

I was not surprised to see the many races of the land represented in the order. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Orcs, Giantkin, Centaurs, Dragonborn, Touched and Goblinoid. All had passed the trials and deserved my respect. None looked at me with eyes other than, will I uphold the order.

Then over the next two years, I’ll go through several more different trials. Each harder than the last. While different proctors and teachers will guide me during the first year, I’m really looking forward to the time when I’m selected by a Warden of the Order to be their Aspirant. Assisting the Warden will be one of my many duties in the Order’s mission to provide non-partisan justice and guidance across the lands.

I remember telling my mother that this would be a difficult life. I may never see the wheatfields of home again. But if I’m able to protect those fields and the members of my line that work them, then it will be all worth it.

The nightcall is about to go out. This is a time of rest which I will gladly take. Tomorrow, I know that my orientation will continue. Will I be able to keep up with my fellow initiates in the trials? I pray that my body is strong and my mind stay sharp.

-Prengar Derreth, Order of the Macers Initiate (by the gods it felt good to write that)

If you guys are getting Jedi vibes, that was rolling around in my head as the muses spoke to me. An order of knights that carried special maces (like the Jedi carried lightsabers) that distinguished them from other fighting forces. Known for balanced judgement and mercy when called upon by the general population. Some kings have blessed them, while others have cursed them.

I hope the thoughts that got loose out of my head have helped inspire you. What suggestions would you like to see for a future blog entry? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

RPGaDAY2026 Day 6: Reach

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 6 Prompt: Reach
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Far to Go
Another entry in the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge; for Day 6, I’m not changing the prompt. After the creative enjoyment from the Burden or Burned entry on Day 5, I’m writing another entry by just putting my fingers on the keyboard. The prompt is enough without having to twist it around, and I was able to add the Weekday prompt for once.

The following RPG blog post is system agnostic. I hope it inspires GMs for science fiction games like Star Trek Adventures, Traveller, FrontierSpace, Stars Without Number or Star Frontiers.

Dataset Report: Far-Reach Station and Colony
Location: Marcus III, Marcus System, Kestrel Expanse
Number of Planets: Six full sized planets, unknown number of dwarf planets
System Breakdown: Marcus I (Rocky, No atmosphere, No moons); Marcus II (Rocky, Thick atmosphere, No moons), Marcus III (Rocky, Standard atmosphere, Two moons), Asteroid Belt, Marcus IV (Gas giant, 12 moons), Marcus V (Gas giant, 17 moons), Marcus VI (Ice giant, Two moons)

History: Fifty years ago, a one-way transport arrived at Marcus III to start up a colony of human survivalists. They used the hull components of their vessel as the building blocks for the first colony, and were able to eke out a living. The group, known as The Children of Mankind, had been able to grow the colony. Fifteen years after planetfall, a second group of colonists arrived with additional followers. This also included a few non-human residents. Primarily, the group just wanted to be left alone from the core-worlds. When there was vessel from Earth, they greeted them, showed them that they were self-sustaining and in no need of follow up. Secretly the group feared that a life-ending disaster was about to befall the core worlds. By setting up a colony in a remote region of space, they could ensure the survival of the species.

Then, a disaster did strike, but not the one they were expecting. A group of colony prospectors came across an alien ship of unknown origin that had crashed before they had arrived. When they opened it, delta radiation was released and was starting to expand from the still active reactor. The colony lost several educated members who were attempting to seal the vessel off. The colony had no means of leaving Marcus III as they had cannibalized their vessels for planetary use. Merchant vessels were rare to stop by a remote colony and their radio transmitter only covered the area of the solar system.

Colony leaders were attempting to see if they could reassemble the FTL transceiver when a miracle happened. Or was it a curse? Infamous scientist Dr. Antonio Kron arrived in the system with several of his followers. While their vessel was too small to evacuate, he did offer them his services. Dr. Kron and his assistants had the equipment and knowledge needed to re-seal the unknown alien vessel. It would take several years for the delta radiation to dissipate, but with the source cut off, it wouldn’t expand any more, no longer threatening the colony or its agricultural sources.

Had the colony known of Dr. Kron’s crimes in the core worlds, they probably wouldn’t have agreed to reward him. Dr. Kron needed a place to hide from the authorities, and he wanted to continue his banned experiments. He had found that one of the moons around Marcus IV had the materials needed for his research. He wanted to set up Far-Reach Station on the surface of the ninth moon. If needed, the colony could reach the station with their transmitter if another emergency came up. Dr. Kron was able to discreetly use his resources to build Far-Reach Station. And he was willing to purchase fresh foodstuffs from the colony in exchange for their continued silence to the station’s location. If anyone came searching for Dr. Kron, the colony leaders only informed them that he had stopped by then continued on his way after helping them with the radiation issue.

Stephen Milken, one of Dr. Kron’s assistants, discovered that the left-over residue of the softwood tree found on Marcus III contained properties that would imitate one of the illegal narcotics in the core worlds. The fruit of the softwood tree was one of the foodstuffs that helped the colony survive and was held in high regard with the colonists. The residue had no value to them, so when the station requested it “for research purposes”, they gladly sold it to them. The Doctor’s team used the profits from selling the narcotic as a way to fund their research.

At the time this report was compiled, the following questions had not been answered.
1- What was the unknown alien ship found on Marcus III?
2- What medical crimes (besides narcotics) had Dr. Kron and his associates been charged with?
3- How far did the narcotics network reach into the core worlds?
4- Would the disaster that The Children of Mankind feared come to pass?

Answers that a good GM might be able to use for a science-fiction roleplaying campaign. Which one was your favorite? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

RPGaDAY2026 Day 5: Burden or Burned

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 5 Prompt: Burden
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Full of Woe

The anagram of the Day 5 prompt for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge is Burned. We (the voices in my head) didn’t do a location for my Day 4 entry of Charm, so I’m going to return to that train of thought in this entry.

The following blog post is system agnostic. I hope it inspires any GMs running a cyberpunk game like Cyberpunk Red, Modern Necessities-Cutting Edge, Shadowrun or Cyber Generation.

The Burned Archive

:::Recording Start:::

“I’m telling you man, this data is legit. It came from the Burned Archive.”

“Skegger, what are you talking about? The Burned Archive is called that because the CorpForce found the black-web servers in the dregs and torched it. Everything was melted, every sys-op was burned alive. It even made the news-vids despite the corp-lords trying to keep it off the net.”

“Then why are new data dumps being released Rik? I mean look at this on my hand-screen, it’s the latest info on the uprising at the Martian colonies. From it I can pull up all the archived data about the past food riots.”

“Smegging Hell Skeg, are you trying to get greased by the CorpForce, why do you have that on your personal device?

“Relax man, I’m taking the nesc steps to keep my device clean if scanned. I’m not an AI-slop slinger thinking he’s really a cyber-sleuth.”

“Dude, is this real? It even has the same scan-technique and digital fingerprints from the Burned Archives. How is this info-dump still available?”

“That’s what makes my wet-circuits think. Look at the scan-technique. That’s not from a screen. Do you think it came from a hard copy?”

“Paper? Who has paper copies of stuff?”

“Grognards Rik, grognards. The old-time runners and sleuths used to do something called ‘Reading the Manual’. I looked it up; a manual was a paper book. No power use to keep the information on the book means no power use to detect the book”

“Skegger, setting up a new server wouldn’t be that difficult. Thery’re enough back-room dealers who would sell the hardware in a heartbeat for extra creds. It’s the data that the corps are trying to hide. But what if that data is printed on paper that can be quickly scanned by nano-bots which happens at lower power and in milliseconds. Boom. It’s back online like it was never gone and still getting updates.”

“But I still don’t know where the resisters would find a place to store this paper. The deadtree versions of data took up a ton of room.”

“Two words Rik. Micro. Dots.”

“That’s one word you gimboid.”

“Whatevs, my spell checker hates me anyway. But the point is, if the print is microscopic material instead of whatever the trees provide, then you could hide entire libraries in the smallest locations where the nano-bots can constantly scan them on demand.”

“We gotta find out if this idea of yours is legit man. If we can get in on this, we could sell it to other data-junkies.”

“Or put a big bullseye on our backs from the CorpForce.”

:::Recording End:::

Why did I type it up this way? Because that is what my fingers started doing when I the typing started. I wasn’t intending to type up a conversation, but the more I “heard” the more I wanted to put down. Hopefully it will inspire a GM or two. Speaking of inspiration, I’m willing to take suggestions for future RPGaDAY posts.

Have you dipped a chrome-plated toe in the cyberpunk world? Tell me about it. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games

RPGaDAY2026 Day 4: Charm

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 4 Prompt: Charm
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Full of Grace

Eagle eyed readers may notice that I didn’t change the prompt for the Day 4 entry in the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge. The reason for this is that I’m writing these on the fly. When I saw the title “Charm”, the first thing that came into my head was the first-level Charm Person spell that always made me raise an eyebrow. First-level? It seemed like a powerful spell at this level, especially if it isn’t done right.

So I pulled out my books for Basic Fantasy, Castles and Crusades, Labyrinth Lord, Dungeon Crawl Classics and even the new Dungeons and Dragons 5.5 players handbook that I just recently obtained with a gift card. They were all variations on the same thing. The target thinks that the caster is a friend. As long as the caster or his party doesn’t attack them or do anything that wrongs them, then they can continue to be charmed with some options to make a save vs the spell effects. Perhaps the name of the spell is altered to avoid OGL license issues, but the process is similar.

I’ve never really cast this spell in all my years of gaming. I don’t recall ever seeing it cast. I asked one of my Geek Kids who has been in several D&D campaigns, and they hadn’t seen it used either. So it got me thinking, if this comes up in my current Castles and Crusades game, or at a one-shot at a convention, how would I handle this as a GM.

I think this is a perfect opportunity for role-playing instead of roll-playing. I’d rather have the table play more of the first than the later. I’d ask the caster how they are going to handle the charmed person. Take into account the current scenario involved (social, physical combat, bartering for goods and services?) and make adjustments to any saves vs affects from there.

Then there is the after affects. Once the spell has worn off or is resisted, how does the target(s) react? Will they know they’ve been charmed? Will they feel violated? Confused? Resentful? The response could make for an interesting roleplaying experience.

Every time there is a tactic that comes up in a magical universe like this, there is also defenses against them. Could shopkeepers, community leaders and other likely targets invest in rings, amulets or other worn items of defense against such spells? That would make for an interesting roleplaying event when a PC tries to be sneaky and suddenly finds out that the town sheriff doesn’t take too kindly to being targeted like this. And for every genuine magical item, hucksters could sell fake items that are promoted to assist with a charm resistance.

I wonder if that’s why this was a first-level spell. A good GM could see the opportunity to get some roleplaying going at the table?

What are your thoughts? Now that I’ve let my muse type this out, I think I’m glad I didn’t go with my initial idea of making a Wild West bordello with charming ladies. Still might, but not with this prompt.

Have you seen this spell in play at your table? How did it go? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Spy-Fi

RPGaDAY2026 Day 3: Poise or Poison

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 3 Prompt: Poise
Week 2 Prompt: Intellect
Weekday Prompt: Fair of Face

Another day where I take the recommended prompt for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge and I twist it on it’s side. I’m still intending to blog about RPG vehicles or exotic locations that, I hope, inspire others. Today I’m twisting Poise into Poison.

Like the Day 2 entry for Stature/Statue, this submission is system agnostic. But it could be used with any espionage or modern day system such as White Lies, Agents of AGEIS, Modern Necessities, Everyday Heroes, Shadow Ops or Tiny Spies.

Memo for Administrator 7 eyes only. In our effort to track down the rogue agent “Dutch”, we have been following up on possible locations where he might be able to obtain an antidote to the Ticking Poison that was administered to “Dutch” in order to keep him compliant with our orders. As you know, unless “Dutch” receives regular injections once-a-week of the antidote, the Ticking Poison will slowly shut down his digestive system. This will result in his painful death by starvation as the poison prevents his body from absorbing the nutrients in food.

Unfortunately, since the untimely demise of Dr. Meredith during Dutch’s escape, we were unable to locate in his notes where the source of the Ticking Poison originated. Several documents remain encrypted in the late doctor’s personal code. Cryptography is continuing their efforts in decoding these documents.

We did find one possible lead, one that Dutch may also have. Eomma’s Hanseon. The rumored nautical home of the reclusive biochemist only known as “Mother” in the espionage underground. We strongly believe that Dutch is now searching for Mother in the south oriental seas. Attached is the report that we have on Eomma’s Hanseon.

==Start of Report==

Only known photograph of Eomma’s Hanseon.

Subject: Eomma’s Hanseon
Report reliability rating: Medium (57/100)
Last Update: 20260803
Access: All

“Eomma’s Hanseon” is the name of a luxury yacht of unknown origin that is owned by the reclusive biochemist only known as “Mother”. This biochemist has been credited in saving the lives of at least known fifteen individuals worldwide from rare poisonings or unknown illnesses.

There is no known port of registry for this vessel. Agents have spotted this vessel in territorial waters belonging to Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, the Philippines and China. As of this last update, no known reports of governmental boarding or inspections have been discovered.

While the report on Mother states that she (gender unconfirmed), has been operating for over twenty-five years. The vessel believed to be Mother’s home base was first observed in 2012 at a port near Singapore. The last reported sighting was off the coast of Vietnam in 2025. No observations of this vessel have been made outside of the oriental region.

All agents have been alerted to report any sightings or any other gathered information immediately.

==End of Report==

On a personal note, while I can’t confirm it, I have a strong suspicion that the reason that “Mother” can cure these afflictions is that Eomma’s Hanseon is the source for these chemical poisons. I have dispatched an investigation team to the area to see if they can track down the vessel or pick up the trail for “Dutch”. I will keep you appraised.

–Supervisor 47

The royalty free image was found on Pixabay. I tried to find an image of a mutant bear for yesterdays post without any luck and I didn’t want to delay the post. I like having visual references when I can obtain them.

Oh, and I’m still open to suggestions from any readers on future vessels or locations to use in this challenge. They can be from any genre.

Did this inspire anything for a possible espionage or modern day RPG scenario? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

RPGaDAY2026 Day 2: Stature or Statue

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 2 Prompt: Stature
Week 1 Prompt: Drive
Weekday Prompt: Blessed

So I realized something after I had posted my Day 1 entry in the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge. A few weeks ago I had posted a ‘prepping for’ blog entry asking for suggestions to use in the challenge. I did get two really good questions asked of me. However, since I decided that I was going to go with the starships/locations theme, I’ll save those questions for future blog posts. So… stay tuned.

I was talking with the Geek Wife while we were driving around today. I read off the list of daily prompts that were offered for the challenge. Her brilliant mind said “You can probably change some of those prompts into anagrams. So I may do that with a few of the future entries, like the one today. Statue is kinda-sorta an anagram of Stature. And actually I wasn’t the only person to think so as I saw another entry in the challenge to show a statue.

The following entry in the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge is a system agnostic location that can be used in a post-apocalyptic game such as Gamma World, Mutant Crawl Classics, Mutant Future, Barbarians of the Ruined Earth, Other Dust or Apocaly5e.

The Numpa Pack of UNU can be found in the lands east of the toxic salty lake near the mountains. This race of ursanoid mutants were blessed to find a safe haven for their tribe when they stumbled across an artifact from the ancients. A large metal bear statue with a plaque containing the unknown language of the ancients with the name “In honor of the University of Northern Utah Grizzlies, A gift from the graduating class of 2088”.

While they could not read the ancient text, they took the metal likeness of them as a sign that this was their land. It took several years but they were able to clear out the structures around the blessed statue including the evergreen bowl where the bulk of the pack lives. It was easily defendable when feline enemies of WSU pack and the tauran herd from USU came down on raids. There were rumors of other mutant packs to the south, but they seemed to be fighting amongst themselves instead of looking north for resources within the ancient structures around the bowl. Finding ancient technology was easier in these buildings.

When ever a lost ursanoid mutant was found, they were brought to the statue of the ancients. If they were recognized with the same features, they were welcomed into the pack despite of their fur color. Thus the pack consisted of those with the fur of black, brown, white or the rare black and white combination. This has lead to significant growth.

However the pack elders are worried about recent reports of hairless simians that have been spotted. Could these be the same referred to in the oral history passed down from elders to elders? If so, are these the same destroyers who scorched the Earth once before?

As posted yesterday, I’m also looking for suggestions for future entries in the RPGaDAY challenge. If something catches your eye and you would like to get my take on it, let me know about it.

Do you have a favorite mutant world RPG universe to play in? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

Posted in: Character Creation Challenge, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Star Trek

#RPGaDAY2026 Day 1: Welcome to the Madness

Written by TardisCaptain

Day 1 Prompt: Discipline
Week 1 Prompt: Drive
Weekday Prompt: Works Hard

August 1st is here and it’s time for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge. I’ve been participating in this community event for a few years now (click here for my past entries) as I’ve found it challenging and rewarding. As you can see from above, there are some… unique prompts this year with a couple of side-prompts that were recommended by the organizers. I’ll try to see if I can work them into my blog posts, but honestly I’m not really feeling inspired by them. I even waited for a few entries to hit the interwebs to see if I missed anything and… I’m seeing subjects all over the place.

Now one of the suggestions strongly recommended by the organizers is, create 31 characters to use as NPCs in this challenge. That’s a little too close to the annual Character Creation Challenge that I run every January (New Year, New You). I really have to get myself pumped up and prepped for months to get through every January (and keep up with other responsibilities in my life). Especially since I’ve added two new ones recently. I’m also getting ready for SaltCON End-of-Summer coming up on the first weekend in September.

So I’m going to use an idea I keep wanting to use for the #CharacterCreationChallenge, but never get a chance to since I usually end up with some new games I want to create characters for. Gene Roddenberry said that the USS Enterprise was just as much a character in the show as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. As much detail had to go into the ship as it does in the cast of the show. I’ve been wanting to make a Ship Creation Challenge in honor of this. Then as I thought more about it, safe houses (espionage), sailing vessels (pirates), castles and towers (fantasy) and other locations basically fit into this same category. Batman had his Bat Cave with it’s unique features. Sherlock Holmes had 221b Baker Street where he could be found playing his violin. Han Solo had the fastest hunk of junk known as the Millennium Falcon. A Starship is a unique location like these that added to the story. So my entries for 2026 will be unique locations that may or may not be mobile. Some entries may be brand new, others may be recollections of past games. I’ll try to get the prompts listed above in the entry, but that’s not always going to be a guarantee.

My loyal readers will recall my many blog entries about the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 campaign that my friend Jeff ran for several years. What they may not know is that he had ran another campaign before that one (early 2000’s) that I had the pleasure to participate in. I had introduced Tirik the Archer in an entry to the 2024 RPGaDAY challenge. What I didn’t mention then was how Jeff was having us roleplay (and plan) what would eventually be our strongholds in the game. I told him that I wanted to put together an Archery Academy. Jeff said sure, but he wanted plans before letting the construction start. I had an idea in my head and I had to get it down on paper. A paper that I just spent time going through my book of characters to see if I still had readily available. So, here is a quick re-sketch from memory.

When I showed the original to Jeff his response was “Oh Cool!!!!” Later I remembered that I could have had a basement put in for probably more room. But by the time I had remembered this, Jeff stated that the workers had already started on the construction. After it was completed, apparently a dragon flying overhead was intrigued with the landmark and had mentioned it to his fellow dragons (according to the DM, we didn’t get a chance to roleplay that out).

So I guess the students would have to work hard to get into the academy and be diligent to graduate if they had the drive? Yea, I think I forced that one a little too much.

Oh, additionally I’m open to suggestions for future unique locations or vessels that are characters in their own right.

Did you have an RPG campaign that made it to the stronghold level? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.

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