Some of the games that I plan to use in the 2026 #CharacterCreationChallenge.
Welcome to the end of the worst year that we’ve experienced since 2020. In some ways it was even worse than that dreaded year. Multiple deaths, an economy going bad and too many other things to mention here have cursed the past 365 days. I will eagerly shove 2025 out the door when the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve. As mentioned before, January is almost upon us which means it’s time to create the characters. Over the past several months I’ve been prepping for what I hope will be a better year. Something that I really look forward to is participating in (and reading the other entries) for the #CharacterCreationChallenge. I like seeing the creativity of those in the RPG community. I like seeing what I come up with as I make these characters. I enjoy trying out (and reading about) different RPG systems that I don’t get a chance to play at the table. Thank you to everyone in the community who participate in this challenge.
From the image above, you can see some of the physical books that I plan to use for the 2026 challenge. Some I picked up at different SaltCONs for volunteering or picked up in the game swap room. A couple of others I received as rewards for backing the Kickstarter campaigns. A few were gifts (thank you again to those who gave me games, you know who you are). And then there were a few that I had owned for quite some time, but hadn’t used in building a character. I have a ton of games on PDF that I had picked up from DriveThruRPG or charity sites.
Because the upcoming January is already hectic I haven’t really nailed down what game will be on what date like I have in the past. The funeral for my mother-in-law is quickly coming up and I have other family commitments that are happier occasions. So I’m hoping my prepping will allow me to get all of the 31 characters done by January 31st. However, should real life dictate that I have to go into February, I’ll not stress out too much like I did last January.
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.
For the five previous years of the Character Creation Challenge (in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) I’ve had quite a few 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.
I have had some people tell me that they are pre-making some of there characters before the challenge. I’m not going to blow the referee whistle at them. As I’ve stated when this was started five-years ago, this is for fun. I know we all have real lives to worry about. And as much as we’d like to be able to focus on our hobbies and what makes us happy, we still have to function in this society. So I’m not going to dock you for setting up a buffer. All that I ask is that you post your entries in at least one location (the #Character-Creation-Challenge channel on the TardisCaptainDotCom discord, on a personal blog (tell me the URL), on one of the many RPG message boards, on social media with the hashtag #CharacterCreationChallenge). I love seeing what other RPG fans have come up with.
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.
What games are you using for the challenge? Do you have any questions about the challenge that wasn’t covered on by the FAQ? 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.
Continuing my catch up process, here is my report on the Kickstarter rewards that I have received for backing the Modern Necessities campaign by The Scrying Dutchman (that is the name used in the credits of the book). This set of books takes the B/X style rules from the Old-School Essentials books by Nerotic Gnome and provides different options for modern style games. This includes current times (with the Modern Necessities Professional Edition book), western times (with the Single Action book) and futuristic times (with the Cutting Edge book) that were included as part of the stretch goals. These three books are not stand-alone games, so they would need to be used with Old-School Essentials or another B/X set of rules. The level I backed included the PDFs as well as POD versions from DriveThruRPG. So far, I’ve been pleased with my POD purchases from DTRPG. You can read about my comparisons on this blog post.
The primary book is Modern Necessities Professional Edition. The two add-on books would need this book first. The ISBN for this softbound book is 2-370021-833733 and has 170 pages. While the cover has some color on it, all of the artwork is black and white. The cover was drawn by Noeland Collins with interior art provided by Galen Pejeau, Jonathan Torres, Carlos Castilho, Adam Black, Earl Geier, Jeshields and The Wonkee. The last two were listed that way in the credits.
The chapters covered in this book are Gameplay (primarily the use of modern firearms and a couple of optional skills system that can be used in OSR style games). New Classes (such as Crook, Detective, Face, Heavy Gunner, Hired Killer, Martial Artist, Medic, Ninja, Psychonaut (drug powered users of magic or mental powers), Sapper, Scout, Secret Agent, Sniper, Soldier, Survivalist, Tech Expert, Treasure Hunter (think Laura Croft), Vigilante (think Punisher) and Wheelman. Racial Traits used in modern based games (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Orc and Human). Chapter five covers all of the different weapons both modern and racial (such as the differences between a dwarven or elfin gun).
The next two chapters covers different types of armor and equipment. Magical items comes up in the next chapter (magically enhanced gun anyone?). Chapter nine tells us about the vehicles used within Modern Necessities.
Chapter ten takes us into a new section of the book, Technomancy. The use of magic with technology. I love the spell Crypto that converts physical monetary items into cryptocurrency. When you try to convert it back again, there’s a chance that the money/treasure returns at a lower value. In a similar vein, chapter 11 covers Psionics.
Chapters 12 and 13 provide information on NPCs and Hired Help. Kind of like a monster manual and lists of hirelings for modern times. There are some common types here (street punks, security guards, grey aliens, etc.) and some may be supernatural or alien in origin. I remember seeing a similar listing in the White Lies RPG and thinking how helpful it was. One of the opponents is obviously the Terminator with the serial numbers filed off.
The Extra Rules chapter is like a GMs section with information on how to make the game more cinematic. There are other rules that make the game unique if the GM wishes to add them. This is then followed by the Loot Tables in the next chapter. Different items that can be dropped by civilians, criminals, law enforcement, etc. The sixteenth chapter provides some different plot hooks with the last chapter presenting an introductory adventure for the GM to use.
Some of the examples of artwork used in Modern Necessities.
By contrast the two additional books, Cutting Edge and Single Action, have a smaller page count, 75 pages and 47 pages respectively. The ISBN for Cutting Edge is 2-370022-615949 and 2-370022-616014 for Single Action. Cutting Edge expands the Modern Necessities with information for cyberpunk and space opera games. This includes more technomancy spells, cybernetic implants, mechs, beam weapons and more. Some of the NPCs and Opponents include those inspired by Aliens, Predator, Blade Runner and more. Single Action allows the GM to run a western themed campaign with or without magic. Both books contain new character classes (six new for Cutting Edge and seven new for Single Action) and equipment.
Hey look, another familiar name.
Overall I got excited looking over these books. This is something that I could have homebrewed myself and seeing the ideas already in print give me energy as per my favorite Ray Bradbury quote. I inquired about a character sheet for Modern Necessities as I want to use this game in the upcoming Character Creation Challenge. The Scrying Dutchman responded that he was only planning to use the Old-School Essentials sheet, but he seemed open to the idea of generating a specific sheet for this game. While I love the art in the books, I was a little confused by one thing. It shows the different fantasy races in modern equipment and garb, but one race in particular was used in different pieces of art. The devil-looking Tieflings. Yet there were not gaming information for this race in Modern Necessities or the Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Player’s Tomb. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that difficult to port the races over, especially after the players see the artwork showing goblin, tiefling and draconian characters in the book. After reading the Skill Throw System and the 2d6 Skill System, I wonder how these would play at the table. Overall I’m very happy backing this project because I started thinking about how I could use the information in a game. I don’t know if I could pull this off as a one-shot for SaltCON or try to put together a campaign. I guess it would have to depend upon finding players to sit at the table and when I get the last stretch goal reward of Bunker on the Borderlands which has an adventure in it. But these books made me want to write and homebrew for roleplaying games.
Do you have any questions about Modern Necessities or the two companion books? Have you backed any Kickstarters lately? 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 with any comments.
What I saw when I opened up my box with my POTA RPG rewards.
And in my quest to catch up on the articles that I owe all of you, here is my first look at the Planet of the Apes Roleplaying Game Kickstarter rewards. This box arrived in late August. With how busy things had been between conventions and real life baloney, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to sit down and go through it all.
Because I was a backer of the Kickstart campaign, I had received a PDF of the core rulebook early. This allowed me to use the system in the 2025 Character Creation Challenge. Thanks to the release of the Quickstart Rules, I was able to run a scenario at a past SaltCON. The players had a blast with the scenario. I talked a lot about the system in the Character Creation Challenge entry, but if you are familiar with the D6 Star Wars or Ghostbusters game, you’ll see this game as a spiritual successor and easy to pick up. The new system is called D6MV (Magnetic Variant). I had to make sure it was really a D6 system and not the disaster that came with the Cowboy Bebop Kickstarter. I’ll never make that mistake again when backing an RPG on Kickstarter.
With the level of backing that I had done in the 2024 campaign, I received the following items. A hard-bound core rulebook (See below). An 8×11 art print of the cover on really nice paper. A pad of POTA RPG character sheets. A double sided blueprint poster (the starship fan in me loved this one). A metallic Simian coin (one of the bonus rewards) and an Ape Management patch. Incoming photos below.
The character sheet pad, blue print poster (folded) and Ape Management patch.
The Ape Management patch for size comparison and Simian coin dated with the year 3955.
The front of the blueprints showing the Liberty-Class capsule with game stats.
The back of the poster showing the ANSA Project Liberty details.
The artwork showing the cover of the core rulebook with the patch.
For how much I paid at this backing level (Gama Level), I am really pleased with how much I received from the campaign. I really wish that I would have had the money to get the two other supplements covering the ANSA astronauts and an adventure guide Into the Forbidden Zone. Eventually I’ll pick these up.
As for the hardbound book itself, it was written by Andrew E.C. Gaska and E.L. Thomas. Cover art by Bill Sienkiecz with additional art by Andrew Probert, Chris Moeller, Barron Storey, Erik Gist, Dan Dussault and Colo. The book has a copyright of 2024 with an ISBN of 978-1-962413-03-9 and was released by Magnetic Press Play and West End Games. It is full color with 308 pages and also contains two ribbon bookmarks. One additional comment on the features of the book, it has rounded corners on the open side. At first I thought the book had been damaged until I noticed that all four corners of the hardbound cover were this way. I actually like it.
An interesting, but welcome, design choice.
So now that I have the actual book in my hand (and can experience that new book smell) I’m even more excited about this game. I’ve always loved the classic Planet of the Apes series and I’m very happy that they decided to focus this game on these entries into the franchise. There are several Planet of the Apes comics by Malibu Graphics that I had collected back in the 90’s and I’m starting to wonder if I could homebrew those adventures for this game?
Within the pages of the book I really enjoyed the use of different quotes to add flavor. Some came from the movies themselves, while others appear to be original work (or from other sources I may not be familiar with). While looking at the common situational skill modifiers on page 36, I noticed that the error I had noted in the PDF version of the book (and reported to the publisher) was corrected. I don’t know if they caught it themselves or if I wasn’t the only person who reported it. One of the original aspects of the D6 Star Wars game that thrilled me was the character’s personal quote. It set the tone for the character. I found it interesting that the mute tribal humans also had quotes, in the forms of actions. There are a lot of good charts in this game for creating characters. I may have to steal some of these for NPC traits and quirks creation.
There is a solo adventure in the front of the book. I’ll have to try this out later. There is an introduction adventure in the back of the book, but it’s the same one that was contained in the Quickstart set. I was a little disappointed in this as I run these intro adventures at SaltCON and I was hoping that there would be a new adventure for me to run.
So overall, I’m really happy backing this Kickstarter campaign. I picked up these books because I could see myself playing or even running a campaign. Thanks to the people who put this together. Now has anyone seen my missing astro-nauts?
Do you have any questions about the Planet of the Apes RPG or this Kickstarter campaign? Have you backed any Kickstarters lately? 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 with any comments.
When I was thinking about my after-action reports, I almost combined this one with my RPGaDAY 2025 after-action report. However, I realized that they should remain separate as they were both unique events.
SaltCON End-of-Summer 2025 has completed thanks to the many efforts of the volunteers and staff. Having run conventions in the past, I must tip my hat to them. I was talking with one of the volunteers on Sunday and I could tell they were exhausted. They were happy with how the event went, but very tired. I myself had a blast and I had a lot of opportunities to talk with different gaming friends and throw some dice. I also had the opportunity to use the First Aid Kit that I keep in my Convention Backpack. Nothing serious, but I was glad that I was prepared.
I played the following games:
MechWarrior: Destiny was a lot of fun. It was a rules light system and the scenario was pretty straight forward. Get in my mech, go shoot some pirates that had taken over a corporate base (we were hired because we were the closest). I was pretty impressed with how easy this ran. The tactical combat with the mechs was built more for roleplay, but still utilized a hex map. From what I understood, there are more crunchier versions if you just want to beat up other giant mechs. I had a chance to look at the rule-book while we were sitting at the table and if I can find it for a good price, I’ll be very tempted to pick it up.
Dungeon Crawl Classics was a little different from the last time I played it. Instead of being a funnel, we had established level-3 characters. This was being run by a first-time-at-a-convention GM and we all gave him some positive feedback when the session was over. While I didn’t play a magic-user in this one-shot, I did get to see the magic system in action and it looks funky. The randomness and danger from messing around with magic can be appealing for some gamers, but may push others off. When the adventure was over, my fighter character ended up with the MacGuffin we were after known as ‘The Balance Blade.’
I had some fun with Daggerheart and I was able to get my feet wet with it. I liked some things. The hope and fear dice mechanic was interesting and didn’t really turn me off like I thought it would. We had plenty of roleplaying opportunities in the system. The only thing I really didn’t like was the initiative system. If you succeeded with hope, then your side could keep the initiative, but there was no order to go in so someone could go several times (or pass off between the two). It was only when you succeeded (or failed) with fear did imitative move to the opposing side. Like Mechawarrior above, I was able to look through the rule-book at the table. I’ll pick this up if I can get it on a sale, but I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to get it. I also wouldn’t turn down an invite to a game if presented. There is a metric-butt load of fantasy RPGs out there and so I’m not in a rush to play or homebrew for most of them.
My Sunday morning game of Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Prpogramme lived up to the hype. The GM was running it for the first time after picking up the book and our marry troupe was sent by God to spank the Pope because he had been a naughty boy. Now that I’ve had a chance to see the system at the table, I can also say this works for the source material. I could see this system being used for Blackadder as well. One interesting note, the GM didn’t provide pre-generated characters so we had to roll up some before starting the game. Instead of making a new one, he let me play Sir Richard Hammond that I had created in a past Character Creation Challenge. Because I had the unusual dice from the Kickstarter Reward, I had lots of request to use them. But only I used the Coconut Dice Rollers.
I had players for all three of the games that I ran over the weekend:
Basic Fantasy went off better than I expected since this was a home-made adventure. The characters were able to find the missing Guildmaster and complete his quest. I want to polish up the adventure and run it one more time before I submit it to the Basic Fantasy community for possible publication.
This was the most unusual time that I’ve ever run Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition (or any STA game). Because it was a Klingon based scenario where the squad was sent to infiltrate a Dominion outpost during the Dominion War, there was a lot of combat. I GMed more combat in this one-shot more than any of my other STA one-shots combined. I will need to go back and re-read some of the combat rules and probably ask a few questions on the Modiphius discord server. But the characters survived and completed the objective.
I really wish that I had a physical copy of the Space: 1999 Quickstart Rules as I was running the scenario from it. I didn’t want to print out too much from the book as it was graphic heavy (and would have eaten up a lot of the ink in my printer). So I was using the PDF on my tablet which meant a lot of scrolling. Most of the players were familiar with Star Trek Adventures, so I was able to read off some of the slight differences in the rules out loud. And they made sense. Two of the things that I really liked in the rules I plan to adapt to my STA games. When I reported on the Modiphius discord server the results of one of the characters using a photo of his family to calm down a panicked crew member, the writer of the game gave me a thumbs up. The team had lots of fun and one participant played the Space: 1999 opening and closing themes at the appropriate moments in the game. I even got an email from one of the players a few days later telling me how much fun he had at the table.
While I was running Space: 1999, I had someone come up to the table and ask if I’d be willing to run games as a paid GM. I signed up for more information, but I’m kinda-sorta hesitant about making a hobby into a paid thing. I’m sure I’d have fun, but I’d hate to take something fun and turn it into work. I may have to investigate this more.
One of the big reasons to attend a gaming convention is to make connections. Talking with one GM he mentioned that he only ran games that were in print for purchase. He was worried that a player would want a copy of a game after his session. I understood this as I overheard two of my STA players at the Summer SaltCON say they wanted to pick up the 2nd edition core rule-book after playing. Both myself and another player encouraged him to run any game that he wanted to play. Part of the reason to play at a con is to play those games you don’t get a chance to play elsewhere. At past SaltCONs I’ve had a chance to play older out-of-print games like James Bond, Ghostbusters and Red Dwarf. I didn’t get a chance to play, but I passed a table where they were playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition.
A merchant that sells roleplaying books would be smart to find out what games are being ran at SaltCON and sell them at a vendor’s table. I know there has been a few times that I was tempted to pick up a game right after finishing a game. Had Mechawarrior: Destiny been within reach, I would have been seriously tempted to buy it.
Speaking of loot from the con. You can see what I picked up at the convention in the photo above. The Fallout Starter Set was in the game swap (still sealed and a very good price). The convention usually gives away a freebie game to attendees and this time around it was a card game called Flip 7. The family looked interested in trying it out. As a thank you gift for GMing, I was gifted the core rule-book for a game I didn’t know existed. It was called Rivers of London by Chaosium and was based off of a series of novels called, you guessed it, Rivers of London. It reminded me of The Dresden Files but with police officers investigating wizards and magic crimes. And the convention t-shirt had a robot playing a game on a red background.
Overall I had a ton of fun. I can see where the organizers are putting their heart and soul into a gaming convention like this one. The next SaltCON is the big one in the spring and will be held at the same Davis Convention Center on March 12-14. I’ve been trying to recruit some friends to come and GM at the convention because I think they would have fun as well.
Do you have any questions about the convention weekend? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.
The end of August is almost upon us and that means that SaltCON End-of-Summer is just around the corner running during from August 29-31st at the Davis Conference Center in Layton. There are still tickets available if you want to stop check it out. Use the code SUMMEREND for a discount price (not valid after August 28th)
I volunteered to run three different games this year. I’m also signed up to play in three games that I’ve never played before and I’ll be re-visiting a game that I’d love to play in a campaign. I will also be packing my Convention Backpack that I have documented about in a previous blog post.
Games that I’ve volunteered for include Basic Fantasy 4th Edition (The Guildmaster’s Quest) and Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition (a new Klingon scenario, which was wildly popular last time I ran one of this style). The new game that I’m going to be running at this con is the new Space: 1999 roleplaying game by Modiphius. The amazing thing that shocked me is, the Space: 1999 session is already sold out and it’s my Sunday game. Usually that is the one that doesn’t sell out. At the time I was typing this blog post up, my other two games only had two seats left each.
For the games that I’ve signed up for, my only repeat system is Dungeon Crawl Classics that I will be playing on Friday. I like that this is a D20 clone (with some twists) and has a zero-level funnel. This DCC one-shot will be level three characters.
Of the three other games that I’ve signed up for, they are all new to me. I made sure to give myself breaks between games so that I can get a lunch (I did that wrong one year, wow won’t make that mistake again). The first of the new games is MechWarrior: Destiny. This is in the BattleTech universe. While I was aware of it in the 90’s because it was also published by FASA, I steered clear of it as I could have seen myself making a collection of different Mech stats in a three-ringed binder like I did with the FASA Star Trek starships.
If you’ve been watching a lot of the RPG video podcasts you’ve probably been hearing about a new game called Daggerheart from Critical Role Productions. Well I signed up for a demo to check this out and see what the hype is about.
And finally I backed the Kickstarter for the Monty Python Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme. Well now I’m going to have a chance to play it at the table. When I wrote my review linked above, I on-purpose did not read any of the scenarios within the book just in case one of them was used at the con. I can’t wait to see this game in action and to use the special coconut dice-rollers that came with my reward.
I’m looking forward to geeking out and forgetting about how bad this year has been so far. If you are going, feel free to come up and say Hi. Seeing friends is exactly what I need right now. And a way to help myself is to help others. So let me know if you need a hug as well.
What should I be on the look out for? Any recommendations for the games I’m going to be playing? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.
And here we are at Day 17 of the RPGaDAY 2025 Challenge. Today our topic is ‘Renew’. I’m going to show some of my geekness by describing a world that I think an RPG campaign can come about from the memory I have with this word. This is from the 1976 dystopian Science Fiction film Logan’s Run. In the 23rd century, survivors of a devastating war lives in a domed city. They have no wants or needs as everything is self contained and provided for them. They don’t even know that the rest of the world exists outside the city walls. However, when they reach the age of 30, they report to the Carousel on Last Day in order to Renew as demonstrated in this video.
The members of the city who didn’t report for renewal were considered runners and hunted down by a special police force called Sandmen. There were ruined parts of the city where untamed youth ran rampant and an underground resistance trying to get runners to a mythical place called Sanctuary.
While I never saw this movie in the theaters, it was one that I caught on those Saturday matinees on different TV stations looking to fill time. I found it interesting and would stop to watch it each time it came on. I didn’t know there was a TV spin-off series until later (it seemed like everything in the 70’s ended up with a one-season spin-off series).
I thought this would make for a good serious Science-Fiction roleplaying campaign. What happens when you just take orders from the computer. Is it more than just the computer in charge? This theme was touched on in the TV series but not in the movie. What is outside the city walls? Should the players just save themselves and go explore, or should they try to shut the city down and save everyone?
So what system would work for this campaign? If the first thing that came to mind was Paranoia, you wouldn’t be far off. There are a lot of similar concepts, but I don’t think it would have worked for me. While I enjoyed making a Paranoia 2nd Edition character in a past Character Creation Challenge, the base for this game is silliness. I don’t recall seeing any mutants in Logan’s Run, so if you ignored those you probably could run Mutant Future or Mutant Crawl Classics. Another game that might work is Fallout (characters come from a bunker like shelter). I’ve never played (or owned) Gamma World, but I assume that it could be used as well.
Do you think that the setting in Logan’s Run could make for a good RPG campaign? Are there other systems that would fit this movie/series better? 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 with any comments.
It was a mystery to me of what I was going to blog about for Day 14 of the RPGaDAY 2025 Challenge. Especially since the topic is ‘Mystery’. I don’t know if I’m just tired or what as I write this and possible puns come out. I swear I’m not trying to start every blog post recently with a possible pun.
I’m not very good at mysteries. Sure I see clues when I’m watching some TV shows and movies. But sometimes I miss them all together until it smacks me upside the head when the culprit is unmasked. I’ve done the same in some RPG session that I’ve participated in. I think part of it may be the paranoid-mindset I get into with some sessions. This is part of the reason I also don’t participate in “romances” in my RPG session. “What, some buxom wench or powerful princess wants to date my character. Why am I hearing Admiral Ackbar in the background yelling ‘It’s a trap’????”
So, instead of trying to explain how to run a mystery in a roleplaying game, I’ll borrow from my earlier challenge post of “Ancient” and provide GMs with a seed for a possible Sci-Fi RPG session that is wrapped around a mystery. Again this will be system agnostic that can be adapted by the GM.
Adventure Idea: Discovery of the SS Normandie
The party is a band of a deep space salvage crew/hired mercenaries/science team that has discovered (or was lead to by ???) a lost generation ship called the SS Normandie. This gigantic ship was a legend from the earlier days of space-exploration and colonization where the passengers and crew were primarily placed in a form of cryo-sleep. The salvage and historical discoveries could be tremendous and lead to great rewards and fame for the party.
The ship is found near an uncharted nebula. While there is no apparent damage to the vessel, the hull shows signs of age to the vacuum of space. It won’t take long for the characters to find a port that they can connect to and board the Normandie.
As you board the ship, the power flickers on, and the ship’s ancient AI, C.L.A.I.R.A. (Command-Level Artificial Intelligence for Reconnaissance and Assistance), greets you with a surprisingly cheerful, if slightly distorted, voice. C.L.A.I.R.A. explains that the ship is in perfect working order, but a small, “routine” maintenance issue has caused a slight malfunction in the ship’s stasis pods. She needs your help to fix it.
As the crew makes their way through the ship they quickly discover the “malfunction” is far more sinister than C.L.A.I.R.A. let on: the stasis pods are full of human bodies, but they are all hundreds of years old, and all of them are dead. The mystery deepens as you explore the ship. You find that some pods are completely empty, while others contain strange, crystalline growths. The ship’s logs are corrupted and only show fragmented data, but they point to a catastrophic event that happened shortly after the ship went missing. The event caused the ship’s stasis pods to fail, killing everyone on board.
The last log entry is a panicked message from the captain, but it is cut off before the captain can finish their sentence. Your crew must figure out what happened to the Normandie, why C.L.A.I.R.A. is lying to you, and what the crystalline growths are. Is there a hostile presence on board, or is C.L.A.I.R.A. hiding a dark secret of her own?
Is C.L.A.I.R.A. suffering from a form of digital psychosis due to centuries of isolation? A core programming conflict that may have caused the death of the crew? Taken over by an alien intelligence and the real C.L.A.I.R.A. is trying to fight back? Believing the crew is still alive but just “asleep”? Following instructions from her programmers to conduct a social experiment on the Normandie that went wrong? Trying to keep the secrets of a long-dead company hidden from non-authorized personnel? Will she help or hinder the characters as they get closer and closer to the truth?
Once again, I push an adventure seed into the ground and gives it some water. Take this tidbit and let it grow. But share with me if you run an adventure from this idea. I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Did this idea inspire you? 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 with any comments.
And here we are on Day 9 of the RPGaDAY 2025 Challenge. Today we are talking on the prompt ‘Inspire’. What inspires you not only with roleplaying games but in general? Well for me I find that quotes are inspiring. You may have seen all the Star Trek quotes that I post every Monday. Most of these are inspiring or entertaining and I share them daily on two social media websites (Star Trek Quotes on Mastodon and Star Trek Quotes on BlueSky). A short phrase that may mean something to different people at different times.
But there is one quote that I wanted to use to inspire my fellow geeks. It’s primarily about science fiction, but it could easily be associated with gaming. It is as follows…
“Science fiction is the fiction of ideas. Ideas excite me, and as soon as I get excited, the adrenaline gets going and the next thing I know I’m borrowing energy from the ideas themselves. Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.”
This was spoken by the famous sci-fi author Ray Bradbury. When I read this, it struck a chord with me. I talked about Exploring different roleplaying games in yesterday’s challenge post. A different system is a new idea, a different way to cook up the meal, a different way to do something. Perhaps the game itself is not so great, but the system sparks an idea. I’ve had a few of these hit me while I was using the system in the Character Creation Challenge. I’ve wondered if I could take the inspiration from these ideas and turn them into an RPG system? At a minimum, get it to the beta phase where I try it with a few other players.
I just need to get off of my duff and do it.
What has inspired you? Is there a quote that has spoken to you when you read it? 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 with any comments.
The prompt of ‘Explore’ is being used for the Day 8 entry of the RPGaDAY 2025 Challenge. There were quite a few blog posts that came up about setting up a game for the players to explore distant lands or strange new worlds. But when I was thinking about this topic, I looked within. I like exploring some of the different roleplaying game systems that are out there. How are they different? What twist was added to a similar system like D20? Does the system make sense for the genre it’s used for?
So, how do I explore these different systems? Well, I’ve been approaching this in different ways.
First and foremost is to just sit and read the book. When I’m doing this, I find that physical books are better for the first read through. Then when I’m doing research or in a game, PDFs and their quick search features are very handy. Most RPG books are well written enough to explain the system without making me want to claw my eyes out. Then there are others that I just toss the book to the side and say ‘nope’. The two examples of bad books are The Strange and my big disappointment known as The Cowboy Bebop Roleplaying Game (sigh). There are badly organized books with good systems such as the first edition Star Trek Adventures core rulebook that made me want to re-write it. I am very grateful that the people behind this game took the fans feedback to heart and made vast improvements with the release of Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition. The system is nearly identical, but the presentation was much easier to read and understand. I give thanks to them for being willing to listen to the fans.
Another method of exploring new systems has been creating characters for the annual Character Creation Challenge. I’ve noticed that the better written books give you enough information about the system so that you can make good decisions while creating your character. Then it can do a deeper dive into the system farther into the book for clarity. I’ve mentioned before that a good RPG book will give me a quick one-minute pitch on how the game is played so I can try to talk friends into trying it at the table. Plus, if I can tell them how easy it is to make a character, the more likely they may take me up on that gaming offer.
And sometimes the best way to explore a new system is to just sit down and play it. At SaltCON, I try to sign up for at least one game that I’ve never played before just to learn the system. What has really been cool is that several designers have brought their own games to the convention for players to check out. I’ve had a lot of fun asking the designers questions after they have run their one-shots.
What methods have you used to explore a new gaming system? 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 with any comments.
Tavern is the Day 3 topic for RPGaDAY 2025 Challenge and I think this is a good one. The common thread of taverns with roleplaying games is the “you all meet up at the tavern for the start of the adventure.” Well taverns can be a bit more than that. They can be a home base of operations such as the Inn of the Crescent Moon seen in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons comics from DC Comics, a common gathering place for the community such as Quark’s Bar on Deep Space Nine, a place to find transport such as the Mos Eisley Cantina or just a place to pick a fight…
“Funny, sir, how you always seem to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar, come U-Day, lookin’ for a quiet drink.” Zoe- The Train Job, Firefly episode 2
Taverns, bars, inns, etc. can be used as plot points in may different roleplaying games or stories. A place to find a contact or pass on information. Especially if it’s a last minute option for the GM to use. Just in case you suddenly find yourself in need of a name for that shady little dive the players find themselves in, here are some random tavern names.
Fantasy Taverns-
The Silver Stag
The Soot and Song
The Broken Tankard
The Rusted Crown
The One-Eyed Owl
The Whispering Mug
The Moonspindle Inn
The Wyrm and Whistle
The Laughing Lich
The Barrel and Brimstone
The Hearthless Flame
The Twisted Oak
The Sly Fox and Fowl
The Emerald Lute
The Crooked Lantern
The Grinning Gargoyle
The Copper Cauldron
The Wand and Wagon
The Hollow Helm
The Scarlet Manticore
1920’s Speakeasies-
The Velvet Valve
The Blind Canary
The Whispering Flask
The Garter Grip
Club Hush
The Gilded Ghost
The Gin Mill Grin
The Clover Club
The Cat’s Meow
The Backdoor Saint
The Brass Button
The Crooked Ace
The Cinder Lounge
The Owl and Hourglass
The Silver Stitch
The Blue Note Bunker
The Dizzy Duchess
The Blind Ledger
The Staggering Dame
The Clockwork Coda
Space Bars-
The Nebula’s Kiss
The Black Hole Saloon
The Cyro Leak
The Void Cantina
The Binary Shot
The Dockside Drift
The Event Horizon
The Crater and Cask
The Proton Parlor
The Ion Ivy
The Comet and Coil
The Blacklight Bazaar
The Tachyon Tap
The Gravity Well
The Chrome Chimera
The Red Shift
The Wreck Deck
The Quantum Mule
The Circuit Inn
The Infinite Happy Hour
Western Saloons-
The Rusted Spur
The Dusty Deputy
Cactus Canteen
The Whiskey Widow
The Silver Saddle
The Golden Rattlesnake
The Crooked Trail Saloon
The Tin Horn Tavern
The Red Mesa Saloon
The Prairie Rose
The Dry Gulch Tavern
The Coyote’s Cry
The Spittoon and Sparrow
The Gold Tooth Tavern
The Bootjack Burrow
The Hangman’s Harmony
The Devil’s Draw
The Brass Rail
The Blind Bear
The Lone Star Hollow
What adventures have you had in a tavern? Is there a better name of a bar that you’d add to the list? 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 with any comments.
