Posted in: Character Creation Challenge, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Spy-Fi, Star Trek

RPGaDAY2026 Day 14: Me giving my regards

Day 14 Prompt: Regard

Week 3 Prompt: Associates

Weekday Prompt: Loving & Giving

Regard is the Day 14 prompt for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge…. and I’ve got nothing. I wracked my brain for this topic, and I really don’t know what the organizers are going for. Let’s look at some of the other entries that have been posted for inspiration. (Checks BlueSky social media)

Wait, Fellow RPG blogger Craig Oxbrow asked a question “What is a game held in high regard you have yet to play?” Perfect, I’m going to go with that one. Thank you Craig. (and after I started working on this, it looks like other participants used this same idea)

“Have yet to play?” Hmm… I’m going to break this into two categories since they would both count. “Never played” and “Never played outside of a one-shot.” As I’ve mentioned in my SaltCON reports, when I sign up for RPG sessions at conventions, I try to play at least one game I’ve never played before. I had also had the pleasure of being invited to a few one-shots outside of conventions (thanks guys). And no, I don’t count making characters for the Character Creation Challenge as playing the game.

Amazing Adventures– This is the “D20 Modern” variant of Castles and Crusades by Troll Lord Games. It’s a D20 based system that uses the siege system for resolving skill issues (driving a motorcycle, climbing wall, finding a hidden item, haggling with a merchant for a lower price, etc.) What I like the most about this system is it allows the player to say, “I want my character to do this” instead of “My character sheet says I can only do this.” Kind of like how you can with the 2D20 system Star Trek Adventures by Modiphius.

Planet of the Apes– The D6MV (the “magnetic variant” of the D6 system used for the Star Wars D6 game from West End Games). This game had a very successful KickStarter from Magnetic Press Play. Yes, I ran this at a SaltCON, but it was the intro adventure from the Quickstart. I would really love to play this in a campaign as a player.

Traveller– The latest version from Mongoose Publishing. 1- I’m a fan of science fiction. 2- This is one of the original RPGs that shaped a generation like Dungeons and Dragons did. I’ve seen the 2d6 system spawn off many retro-clones and imaginations. So I’d like to try it in a campaign at least once.

FrontierSpace by DWD Studios. This company is a small one-man operation that has put out a lot of different games . This entry covers science fiction and is his love letter to Star Frontiers (while using an original system). He has also created the espionage game, White Lies, which should also be on this list. While White Lies is based off of the Whitebox Fantasy Adventure retro-clone, the system used for FrontierSpace is very unique. It also has the “do what I want, not what my character sheet says” vibe.

And you know what? I’m going to call it there before this turns into a post 20 miles long. There are quite a few more that I could hold up and state that I hold it in high regard. I own them either in PDF or deadtree version. I’ll probably bring them up in future blog posts.

What are the four games you’d hold up in high regard that you haven’t played yet? 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, Star Trek

RPGaDay2023 Day 18: Favorite game system

OK so Favorite Game System is the subject for Day 18 of the #RPGaDAY2023 challenge. And I have to think about this one. While there are a few systems I’d prefer not to play (such as something really crunchy or overly-complicated) I’m pretty much open to playing just about anything at least once.

There is the old standby of the standard D20 system that has been seen in the various flavors of Dungeons and Dragons or the various retro-clones such as Basic Fantasy, Castles and Crusades, OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord. There are a ton of other options in this category as well that covers other genres.

Lately, I’ve been impressed with the 2d20 system put out by Modiphius such as Star Trek Adventures, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium or John Carter of Mars. I even picked up the Conan books before they lost the license and I look forward to creating a character for the 2024 Character Creation Challenge.

Probably on the not-so-well known stage is the d100Lite system that is seen in such games as Barebones Fantasy, Covert Ops and Frontier Space. While I haven’t had a chance to play these systems yet, they look and read amazing.

There are also several other systems that I haven’t really mentioned here. But I’m sure my readers don’t have time for me to list just about everything. So my answer is kind of like Bubba’s answer to what his favorite beer is. But replace beer with what game system is currently being played at the table.

What is your favorite #TTRPG system (or systems)? 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.

Posted in: Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek

RPGaDay2023 Day 6: Favorite game you never get to play

So I had to think about this topic for Day 6 of the #RPGaDAY2023 Challenge. “Favorite game you never get to play.” Between physical copies and PDFs purchased online through DriveThruRPG or charity bundles I have a lot of games. Some I’ve read and they were OK, while others I’ve read and I’ve really wanted to try them out. So which one do I choose? Some of these covered science fiction, espionage, post-apocalyptic and more. I’ve never played the Star Trek RPG that was released by Last Unicorn Games, but considering how big of a fan I am of FASA Star Trek and Star Trek Adventures, I wouldn’t mind playing LUG Trek once to try it out, but it’s not really at the top of my list. I want to pick a game that not only would I want to play in a campaign, but I’d want to homebrew for like I have with FASA Trek and STA Trek.

So when I narrowed it down, I felt that Frontier Space by DWD Studios is my selection for this topic. It barely beats out Castles and Crusades (I’ve been told that I can hopefully get into a C&C game if I can get on their discord), Apes Victorious (I don’t know anyone who plays this, but it’s a D20 retro so it should be easy to pick up) and White Lies (an espionage game also by DWD Studios).

I’ve created a character for Frontier Space in a past Character Creation Challenge. The system is rolling a percentile to see if you succeed in a task with your Ability and Skill scores combined creating your target number to roll under (kinda similar to the 2d20 system seen in Star Trek Adventures) The character creation process is pretty straight forward and I thought was easy to understand. The universe it is set in sounds intriguing to play, but the system could easily be adapted for other franchises if desired. I love the use of percentile dice and I am a big fan of science fiction. So perhaps, someday I’ll be able to get some friends into a game?

I’ve actually talked with some RPG fans in my local Star Trek club about an idea of them showing up for a game night not knowing which game we will be experimenting with. I’d run a one-shot for them, explaining the rules and gathering their feedback for a future blog post. I need to get this done because I think it would be fun. Now I just need to get the time set aside to put something like this together. I hate the dreaded real-life/schedule curse.

What roleplaying game would you like to play that you haven’t had a chance to yet? 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.

Back to Top