Stack of character sheets printed out for the 2024 #CharacterCreationChallenge
2023 was a weird year to say the least. I was able to see a ton of concerts including several that I wanted to check off of the bucket list. These included Duran Duran, Love and Rockets, The Cure, Garbage, and Depeche Mode. I was able to see a live show that featured some of the comedians from “Who’s Line Is it Anyway” (the show had a different name probably for copyright reasons). I’ll be getting the photos for these up in the photo albums.
For the first time in a long time, I had the opportunity to attend a gaming convention. SaltCON Spring, SaltCON Summer and SaltCON End-of-Summer. I know at the beginning of the year, I stated that I only wanted to participate at this event and not volunteer. Well, after much thought and discussion with others, I’ll be running two games next spring. One will be a one-shot for Basic Fantasy RPG that I already had written up and did some polishing on. The other is a Star Trek Adventures: Lower Decks inspired game where the crew will be meeting the cast of Top Core (a sci-fi parody of the BBC show, Top Gear).
I’m still watching a ton of movies at home thanks to the many streaming services that I have access to. In the theater I did enjoy Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I also saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I also enjoyed this movie and I hope that the ending would lead to another sequel. But I wouldn’t be disappointed if there wasn’t one. My youngest is a Five Nights at Freddy’s fan so we had to go see the movie in the theater. Not knowing much about the video game series, I thought the movie was OK and I wasn’t bored. In 2024 I’m looking forward to seeing Dune: Part Two, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Television wise I’ve been soaking up all of the various Star Trek franchises (Picard knocked it out of the park and I demand more Lower Decks). The Star Wars episodes have been good as well. I’m sad that Archer is ending, but I’d rather have it end on a high note. What We Do In The Shadows has also continued to entertain me. MST3K season 13 was a blast. I watch so much TV that I am unable to list them all here. On the weekends I’ve still been enjoying Svengoolie and Creature Features. I’m really looking forward to the new Doctor Who episodes after the great introduction from the 60th Anniversary specials and Christmas episode. The Fallout TV series has also caught my attention. I did cancel my Peacock account because there was nothing on it to watch (and I’d go months forgetting it was even there).
Reading wise I’m still going strong on the Star Trek and James Bond comics. While I’m also enjoying the Star Wars comics, I had to move from buying the physical books to a subscription to Marvel Unlimited due to the high cost of the individual issues. Too many Star Wars comics to continuing to buy them all.
I may have made a mistake with my video games. I set up both a Steam account and a GOG account. So I’ve been getting deals on lots of classic games that I use to play. I’ve been trying to play a few others as well such as Fallout New Vegas and a couple of other hidden gems that were tossed my way. But when it comes to time crunch issues, the video games get put off to the side pretty fast. I need to make sure that I’m spending some enjoyment time playing these games.
I want to get some writing done in 2024. I’ve talked about it, but I need to sit down and do it. Hopefully the Basic Fantasy scenario will be good enough to submit to the BFRPG community for consideration. While I also have some fan projects in mind, I’d actually like to have a few publications that I could legitimately sell online.
Keep an eye on this blog for what happens in 2024. Now off to the USS Ticonderoga New Years Eve party. Tomorrow I dive into the deep end of the pool with the Character Creation Challenge.
What did you enjoy about 2023? What geeky things do you want to do in 2024? 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.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of December 25th through December 31st. Coming soon to Bluesky once we can find a scheduler option.
December 25 “What’s this, Christmas come early?” Michael Sullivan “It has for you. Open it.” Janeway “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain. I’ve read some of his books, but not this one.” Michael Sullivan- Spirit Folk, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 26 “The time for killing has come to an end.” Riva- Loud as a Whisper, Stardate: 42477.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“I didn’t know you were married.” Dr. Culber “Yup. My wife is Soyousian. She went totally bananas during the planning.” Reno “Believe me, I understand micromanagement.” Dr. Culber- Through The Valley of Shadows, Stardate: 1048.66 #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 28 Remembering Nichelle Nichols who was born on this date in 1932. @NichelleIsUhura https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #StarTrekFilm #StarTrekProdigy #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“You know what they say, Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.” Uhura- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Stardate: 8210.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 29 “It’s important to know how you… candidates deal with other cultures, other species…” Chang “Then it was a test!” Mordock “Yes… not all tests are announced or what they appear to be.” Chang- Coming of Age, Stardate: 41461.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 30 “I used to say I could land a shuttlepod with my eyes closed.” Archer “Well, the proof’s in the pudding, Captain.” Reed- Rogue Planet, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 31 “Oh, you know how I hate to miss a party.” Dax- Rejoined, Stardate: 49195.5 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Some of the games that I plan to use in the 2024 #CharacterCreationChallenge
For the three previous years of the Character Creation Challenge (in 2021, 2022 and 2023), I’ve prepped ahead of time to make the challenge a little bit easier. Especially since I try to use a wide variety of games in January 2024. I’ve already had some people reach out to me using various methods to let me know of their participation. Please let me know, Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com if you plan to post your characters up on a blog. I’ll link to it from the Character Creation Challenge section of my website.
If you are posting on any of the social media websites, please use the hashtag #CharacterCreationChallenge so that other participants can find them. I love seeing what other RPG fans have come up with.
I’m once again using a spreadsheet with the date, day and game type to schedule my games. This way I won’t have two fantasy games next to each other. I can also plan a game that may take more time and energy on a day off. This is also a good idea for those dates I know are going to be busy, I can schedule the systems I’m more familiar with for these days.
As in the past, I’ll try to walk through the character creation process as I understand them in the rules-as-written (RAW). This also gives me a chance to do a review of the process. I will then scan the character sheet for all to see. And I will have all of the character sheets printed out before the challenge starts. I’ve found that this helps me get everything ready.
My entries will be blog posts on this website. Then I will post links on my various social media sites along with the three main roleplaing message forums at RPG.net, RPGpub and RPGgeek.
If you are reading this after January 1st and you still want to jump into the challenge, please do. A few participants last year either did a quick catch up or just made sure they ran a full 31 days. The choice is yours. This challenge is just for fun with our gaming systems.
Remember to have fun with this. That was one of the primary goals of the challenge.
You can also use this graphic to help promote the #CharacterCreationChallenge.
Feel free to share this image on social media to spread the word.
You can also post your characters on my discord server in the #Character-Creation-Challenge channel. 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.
Teenagers from Outerspace by AnimechaniX/R Talsorian Games
So in 2020 and 2021 I talked about the power of gaming. Several participants on the RPG.net forums would get involved with a Secret Satan (a play on words of Secret Santa) where we would all send gifts to each other. In 2020 I was thrilled to receive Mutant Crawl Classics and in 2021 I received two 5e books for Ravenloft and The Curse of Strahd campaign. In 2022, I messed up and didn’t get in the system in time. I reached out to the coordinator and was able to help out someone who needed a pick-me up, of which I was glad to help out with.
So when it came time for the 2023 Secret Satan, I made sure to sign up the moment it was posted. I know that the gifts I sent off were received (and loved according to the post my victim made). I even let one of the makers of one of the gifts know that it was well received. She blushed.
Today, my gift from Secret Satan arrived. It was a print-on-demand of the anime comedy roleplaying game, Teenagers from Outerspace. I also received an email that there was a PDF copy waiting for me at DrivethruRPG. My RPG playing daughter and I have already flipped through the rulebook. It reminds me a lot of some of the comedic anime series that I had seen in the past such as Louie the Rune Soldier, Ranma 1/2 or Project A-Ko. This game is published by AnimechaniX, which is a sub-division of R. Talsorian Games. This is the same company that released the Bubblegum Crisis RPG that I had used in past Character Creation Challenges.
I am planning to use this game in the 2024 Character Creation Challenge. I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to play it. But I wonder if I’ll be inspired to try to run a one-shot for SaltCON.
Have you played Teenagers from Outerspace? Is there a comedy anime that would be perfect for this RPG? 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.
Wondering if we can survive one more week of constant Christmas music.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of December 18th through December 24th. Coming soon to Bluesky once we can find a scheduler option.
“Jankom’s not just an engineer. He’s a miracle worker.” Jankom Pog- Supernova, Part 2, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekProdigy #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 19 “Your Surak is a brave man.” Kirk “Men of peace usually are, Captain.” Spock- The Savage Curtain, Stardate: 5906.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Are you always this emotional?” Ezri Dax “I refuse to engage in this human game of taunting.” Solok “Human? Did I forget to wear my spots today?” Ezri Dax- Take Me Out to the Holosuite, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Also, you look conspicuous in that hood.” Worf “Says the Klingon in warrior gear.” Raffi Musiker “It is not warrior gear, it is casual.” Worf “Seriously, where do you wear that… to a Tuesday beheading?” Raffi Musiker- Seventeen Seconds, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPicard #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 22 “The captain and Doctor Crusher are saying that the very thing which has given us this wonderful world is what has caused this tragedy.” Rashella “That’s it. Exactly. Your Custodian has controlled you so completely you’ve lost even the desire to even question it.” Picard- When the Bough Breaks, Stardate: 41509.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“You guys don’t know anything about my family!” Mariner “WE ARE YOUR FAMILY! We will always be there for you and right now, we’re heading right into a pile of crazy dangerous space debris!” Tendi- First First Contact, Stardate: 58130.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 24 “This is Lieutenant Tuvok to all decks. We are preparing to land the ship. Go to Blue Alert and report to Code Blue stations.” Tuvok- The 37’s, Stardate: 48975.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of December 11th through December 17th. Coming soon to Bluesky once we can find a scheduler option.
“But some of the darkest chapters in the history of my world involve the forced relocation of a small group of people to satisfy the demands of a large one. I’d hoped we had learned from our mistakes, but it seems that some of us haven’t.” Picard- Star Trek: Insurrection #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 12 “The universe is balanced on the back of a giant koala! Why is he smiling? What does he know?” O’Connor- Moist Vessel, Stardate: 57538.9 #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“But I take it there will be no speeches during the ceremony on Betazed?” Picard “No. No speeches and… no clothes.” Riker- Star Trek Nemesis, Stardate: 56844.9 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 14 “Sir, may I suggest we set up our defense perimeter?” Nog “Good idea. How much is this going to cost me?” Quark “Don’t worry, no charge.” Nog “Starfleet has really corrupted you, hasn’t it?” Quark- The Magnificent Ferengi, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Seven of Nine told me love’s like a disease! Well, maybe it is pheromones, endorphins, chemicals in our blood, changing our responses, physical discomfort but any way you look at it, it’s still love.” Kim- The Disease, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 16 “All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer by.” Kirk- The Ultimate Computer, Stardate: 4729.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 17 “Do Vulcan captains have their portraits hanging at the High Command?” Archer “Vulcans are revered for their accomplishments, not for the way they look.” T’Pol- Rogue Planet, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Here is another obscure character sheet that I had found in my book of character sheets. Fantasy Hero (and from the copyright, it appears to be the 3rd edition). Like Star Ace, I don’t recall playing this game, so it may have been a one-shot or another victim of the dreaded gaming scheduling curse.
I have a vague memory of seeing the book while at a friends house. That may have been the time we had created the character. I had named him Sleetos (with Red Storm in parentheses). Why? I don’t recall. But I do see under my disadvantages that he had belonged to a clan that he now hated. Was Red Storm a clan name, or a name that the clan wouldn’t know? He has an accent, but he also had powers such as flight, a force field and energy blasts. As I was reading this, I wondered if it was a super hero game or a fantasy game? But on the back (not scanned) I wrote down the character’s equipment. They were all standard fantasy rpg items such as weapons, rope (Why if he can fly), a lantern with flint & steel and… 15 Caramel Nut Clusters with Peanuts. OK that last item was very strange. I really wonder what past me was thinking or experiencing at the time.
Another thing that had me scratching my head is that I had “(R.L.)” written down next to my player name on the character sheet. Real Life? Rusty Lance? Robot Liposuction? Why R.L.?
I don’t recall anything about the system. I could see that Fantasy Hero 6th Edition was available on DriveThruRPG or Amazon, but I couldn’t find the 3rd edition to see if I could recall anything. I do have a physical copy of the 6th edition that I’ll be using in the upcoming Character Creation Challenge. So I’ll have to see how that character sheet compares to this one.
Did you ever play any of the versions of Fantasy Hero? 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.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of December 4th through December 10th. Coming soon to Bluesky once we can find a scheduler option.
“You do understand that we cook most of our foods…” La Forge “Ah yes, I was told to prepare for that. I shall try some of your burned replicated bird meat.” Kurn- Sins of the Father, Stardate: 43685.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 5 “I swear this oath by Apollo Physician, by Asclepius, by Health and by all the gods and goddesses: In whatsoever place that I enter I will enter to help the sick and heal the injured, and I will do no harm.” The Doctor- Darkling, Stardate: 50693.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“I am constant as the Northern Star.” Chang “I’d give real money if he’d shut up.” Dr. McCoy- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Stardate: 9521.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“I weep for V’ger as I would for a brother. As I was when I came aboard, so is V’ger now. Empty. Incomplete. Searching. Logic and knowledge are not enough.” Spock- Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Stardate: 7412.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 8 “Perhaps we are letting our imaginations run away with us. I should never have let Mister Tucker talk me into watching The Exorcist last week.” Dr. Phlox- Doctor’s Orders, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Very good, Ensign. You have passed the challenge.” Worf “What? By taking off the blindfold?” Sito “It takes courage to say the test is unfair.” Worf- Lower Decks, Stardate: 47566.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of November 27th through December 3rd. Coming soon to Bluesky once we can find a scheduler option.
“Are you sure about that?” Dr. Jurati “What did you do? Where is it? You…” Borg Queen “Stole it. Computer, dictate the file logged, ‘Shit I stole from the Borg Queen.'” Dr. Jurati- Assimilation, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPicard #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“And once, there was a transporter accident. Neelix and Commander Tuvok got combined… to make a completely different person!” Naomi Wildman “Really?” Brax “You don’t think I could make up a story like that, do you?” Naomi Wildman- Homestead, Stardate: 54868.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
November 29 “We faced a similar crisis in our early nuclear age. We found the wisdom not to destroy ourselves.” Kirk- Return to Tomorrow, Stardate: 4768.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
November 30 “To many humans a mystery is irresistible. It must be solved.” Picard- Clues, Stardate: 44502.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 1 “The ball’s in your court now.” Archer “It’s a Human expression – it means the next move is yours.” T’Pol- Cease Fire, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 2 “Herbert! Herbert! Herbert!” Adam “Herbert! Herbert! Herbert! Herbert! Herbert! Herbert!” Hippies- The Way to Eden, Stardate: 5832.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
December 3 “Our ancestors learned the hard way that what you don’t know might kill you. They wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t jumped back when they encountered a snake coiled in the muck. And now millions of years later, that instinct is still there.” Quark- Chimera, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
I came across a good video from the two guys (Matt and Eric) at The Goblin’s Corner. They talked about what they had in their convention survival backpacks. I had made a comment on their Discord server about the video, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to actually share what was usually in my convention backpack. If you haven’t seen the video, the link is posted above.
Now I’m not certain I’d call it a survival backpack, it’s just a backpack that I’ve used to make my life easier. Not just at conventions but for quick trips as well. Over the summer I had a chance for a quick day-trip on the train to see some family and this was the first thing I grabbed since I wanted to travel light. I also use this backpack to transport my laptop to and from USS Ticonderoga Star Trek Club meetings since I conduct the video conferencing for the remote attendees.
Matt and Eric had their listing broken down into several categories. I’ll be following it roughly (I don’t have some of the items that they included on their list). This includes the bag itself and several categories of what it contains.
The Backpack:
So after looking over several different options for a laptop backpack, I selected the Matein Travel Laptop Backpack. I’ve had this for a year now and I’ve found it very durable. Besides protecting the laptop with padding, it also protected me by having some good pads on the lower back and shoulders. The top handle and shoulder straps are also very well padded. At one SaltCON I had several hours between games so I put on the backpack and hiked a mile to a nearby mall to meet the family and friends for lunch. Even with all of the items in the backpack it was comfortable to walk in. This backpack also had lots of internal and external pockets. One of these internal pockets was for a cell phone charger that you could connect to an external port on the backpack itself. Allowing me to run a charging cord to this port to power up my phone or tablet.
Out of all of the colors that was available, I selected the grey covering. This gave me an opportunity to allow my geek flag to fly. On the backpack I was able to add several geek pins. These included a Star Trek: The Next Generation combadge that I had retired from cosplay use, a D-20 pin to show off my RPG side, a TARDIS pin for my Doctor Who fandom, a Red Dwarf pin (those were hard to find) and a stylized Boba Fett pin that I had purchased from an artist at a convention. I still have room for another pin or two if I happen to come across any good ones.
Now one point from The Goblin’s Corner video that I’d like to re-state here. You don’t need to fill your bag up all the way. It would be best to limit this to 1/3 full so you have a place to put in your purchases and SWAG. Even when I stuffed in my light jacket into my bag, I could tell the difference.
First Aid and Health Items:
The health items that I pack plus my water bottle
Some of these items I picked up online, other items just came from a local store. Hand sanitizer is a must, and in the small bottles, can be easily stored. When I’ve finished using a bottle filed with prescription medication, I’ve saved the bottle to use for travel/convention purposes. The bottle in the image contains the standard ibuprofen, but I’ve had others that contained my daily allotment of pills and vitamins. A pack of travel tissues has come in handy on several occasions. While I haven’t needed to use it yet, I’m very grateful that the emergency rain poncho is very compact to keep in the backpack. Another compact item is several KN-95 masks. You can use them yourself if you find out that someone is sick at a convention (convention crud is something I’ve had to deal with in the past) plus you can offer one if you have several available.
One of the items that I did add after watching Matt and Eric’s video was a small First Aid kit. I didn’t really have one before but thought it would be a good idea. I selected a small one that was compact enough to slip into the health portion of my backpack.
Snacks and Water:
Snacks, some electronics, dice and other items
The water bottle that I use is in the previous picture because I wanted to show it next to the side mesh pouch on the backpack. I didn’t want one that was bigger than the pouch, but sturdy enough to be knocked about on the outside of my backpack. Most convention centers now have water refilling stations. With the smaller bottle, it also wouldn’t add too much weight when it was full.
I only show some of the granola bars that I had readily available. But I would also include items like nuts and other high protein snacks. These would usually be something that would tide me over until I was able to get to a proper meal. Plus with them being factory sealed, I could offer it to someone without them worrying about what was in it.
Entertainment, Electronics and other items:
Tools and electronics that I can use
I love living in a modern world with some of the technological advances available right now. When I’m going to a convention I leave my laptop at home, but I bring my Kindle tablet (with the special carrying case that has a Bluetooth keyboard). On this tablet I have loaded the rule-books for the games that I have signed up for and several other reading items that I can use.
I do carry a wall charger for my electronic devices and a Bluetooth headset for phone calls or music. One of the pet peeves that I’ve developed is when people walk around holding their phone in front of them like they are going to take a bite. Talking with the person by speaker phone out in public just bugs me. I really don’t want to hear your conversation.
I mentioned above that the backpack has an internal pocket for a rechargeable battery that can be hooked to an external port. The battery I selected was the RETSMR power bank. It was a little more expensive than the smaller rechargeable batteries that you can find, but it recharged my phone just as fast as it was plugged into a wall outlet. I found that the smaller rechargeable batteries would just barely charge my devices keeping them alive until I could get to a wall outlet.
The grey item next to the power bank is the special cover to my Rocketbook Core Reusable Notebook. I could use a special pen to write down my ideas or notes, and then using the app, scan these notes into a PDF format to send to my cloud storage. With just a spray of water and a cloth, the pages could then be wiped clean. It gave me the benefit of writing things down (and allowing me to remember it better) and having it at my fingertips online. I’ve had this for a year and will probably dedicate an entire blog post to it’s uses. For writing on the character sheets that are given to me at a game, I do carry several mechanical pencils.
Other items in the photo include my big dice bag (not always carried) and the small North-to-South Gaming set that I reviewed in 2022. The 20-in-One Card Deck has also come in handy for a variety of reasons (dice, card games, etc.) Most conventions will sell badge holders that you can re-use at other events. These are handy to also hold business cards you pick up before you can scan them. And the last item you see is a glasses emergency repair kit that I got with my last pair of glasses. You never know when you might need them.
Differences in my bag compared to Matt and Eric’s:
So Matt and Eric mentioned several different items that I don’t find necessary, or perhaps I need to consider. At gaming conventions I’m not really cosplaying so I don’t carry a cosplay repair kit. At the conventions I am cosplaying at, I usually have a special bag with those items in it.
While I have partaken of alcohol at past conventions, it is not the primary reason I attend a con. However I will say that I really appreciated some of the safety points that they brought up in the discussion of alcohol and other chemical items.
This last item I’m still thinking about. Spare clothing. The gaming convention I primarily attend is nearby and I could easily run back home if needed. But that may not always be the case. Even just a spare shirt, socks and underwear take up a little bit of room (if my jacket experience has taught me anything). Especially if I have a backpack full of purchased books. The backpack should contain items I may immediately need (like the headache medicine or snacks). Clothing could easily be stored in my car or hotel room. Perhaps an experiment at an upcoming convention is in order.
So there is a look into my convention backpack. Part of my convention ritual is making sure that I have everything packed up (and electronic devices properly charged) before the convention. I write a to-do list in my Rocketbook. Did I miss something that should be in my backpack? Is there something I should take out? 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.
