Tag: Lord of the Rings

Character Creation Challenge, Doctor Who, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars

2026 Character Creation Challenge After Action Report

Written by TardisCaptain February 3, 2026February 4, 2026

Note: If you made it through 31 days of the challenge, read to the bottom of the post.

The 2026 #Character Creation Challenge has been completed. What a difference a year makes. 2025 sucked so bad that I didn’t complete my 31 characters until March. For 2026 I tried a different approach that was, somewhat, successful. I posted 31 characters in January and a bonus character on February 1st. Now I will admit, since I knew that I had some real-life responsibilities (a funeral and parental duties) in January, I did generate some characters in December. This gave me a little bit of a buffer at the start of the month. But in the latter half, I was making the character the day before it was scheduled to be posted. I think this helped my sanity (what little left there is) a lot.

Another thing I did differently this year was not scheduling out the whole month and printing up all the character sheets in advance. This gave me a little bit of flexibility, especially when one game I selected turned out to be a supplement and not a game. However by the middle of the month I had scheduled everything out. I’m not certain how I’m going to do this in the future. Another thing I did was combine some reviews with the character creation. This wasn’t too bad, but I think I’d like to keep these separate in the future.

The entries that really stood out for me in the 2026 challenge included White Lies 3rd Edition, Paranoia “Perfect Edition”, Dragonbane, The One Ring and the Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition with the 23rd Century Campaign Guide. When I was re-reading the entries to help me write this report, I remember feeling happy after I had made these characters. Plus a few of them I really want to run at SaltCON as a one-shot or homebrew for.

I really didn’t have any games that disappointed me this year other than Rebel Scum. Sure there were some weird ones like Time Lord or slightly incomplete like the Trader Captain’s and Merchant Princes. But I think Rebel Scum was the disappointment of the 2026 challenge. It needed to really be more a rule book first.

Of the other entries that I read on various message boards, blogs and social media, I noticed a lot of Star Trek characters. One participant was making Star Trek characters with other RPG systems (like the D6 Star Wars game). There was also a participant who created the classic Masters of the Universe characters using the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system. I also loved the Alpha Squad (a 1930’s A-Team) using the Outgunned Adventure system. There were also a lot of other good themes and new system. I wish I had room to mention them all.

Here is my list of 2026 Characters:

Day 1: FASA Star Trek- Trader Captain’s and Merchant Princes Character: Kraxx
Day 2: Rivers of London Character: Oliver Cook
Day 3: Time Lord Character: Carl Stark
Day 4: Twilight: 2000 4th Edition Character: Benton Ward (Stiletto)
Day 5: Dungeons and Dragons Rule Cyclopedia Character: Carthan
Day 6: White Lies 3rd Edition Character: Walter Cunningham
Day 7: Attack From Space Character: Sir Reginald the Fourth
Day 8: Rebel Scum Character: Lifter THX1138
Day 9: Star Trek Adventures-Captain’s Log Character: Valltex of the Kazon-Pikaar
Day 10: Tales from the Loop Character: Kirk Stark
Day 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st edition Character: Teowulf the Hunter
Day 12: Star Wars 2nd Edition Character: Arcus Junn
Day 13: The Well Character: Barton the Bastard
Day 14: Worlds Beyond Character: Yirr’baun
Day 15: Worlds Without Number Character: Jarret
Day 16: Paranoia “Perfect Edition” Character: Todd-R-TOT-1
Day 17: FTL Nomad Character: Marcos Tryladar
Day 18: Dragonbane Character: Drake Grandfeather
Day 19: Rocket Age Character: Arnold “Ace” Rimmer
Day 20: vs Ghosts Character: Professor Proton
Day 21: Underhaven Character: Thorronlir Whitbraid
Day 22: D.A.M.N.I.T. Character: Hezan Copperhood
Day 23: Swords & Wizardry Character: Ivasaar Perleth
Day 24: EverReach Character: Charles Craig
Day 25: The Walking Dead Universe Character: Jay Dunn
Day 26: Modern Necessities Character: Xathel “BL4NK” Dalla
Day 27: The Terminator Character: William Harden
Day 28: The One Ring Character: Reginard Grubb
Day 29: Other Dust Character: Trabb
Day 30: Doctor Who 2nd Edition Character: ALAN 1701D
Day 31: Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition with 23rd Century Campaign Guide Character: Kraxx
Day 32: Jack Photon’s Fan Made Star Trek RPG Character: Jayce Newton

Past Character Creation Challenges After-Action Reports:
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021

And if you completed the 31 characters in 31 days, here is the badge that you can display on your blog posts or social media. I’ve already had this badge show up on Welcome to the Eyrie, Paratime, Three Kobolds with a Trench Gun and on BlueSky. If I missed any, please let me know. This graphic is in a large and small format. I commissioned it from AuroraStark.art if you are ever looking for some production art for a project. Additions: The Other Side, Flubs and Boons and Ravaged Renaissance. Let me know if there are more.

Also, if you purchased anything after clicking on the affiliate links to DriveThruRPG or Amazon, thank you. I’m not doing this blog to make money, but the kickback helps when making game purchases for future challenges.

Get ready for the 2027 #CharacterCreationChallenge coming up next January. And thank you everyone who had fun. Even if you only made a few characters, I still enjoyed reading them.

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.

Character Creation Challenge, Role Playing Games

2026 Character Creation Challenge Day 28: The One Ring

Written by TardisCaptain January 28, 2026January 27, 2026

Day 28 (almost there) and the entry for the 2026 #Character Creation Challenge will be The One Ring by Free League Games. This is the last of the books that I selected from this publisher. This a game officially connected to the Lord of the Rings franchise. I had a chance to play this game at a past SaltCON, and from what I wrote in the blog entry I really liked the system as it worked very well with the Middle Earth universe that we were familiar with. I have a lot of these game books on PDF which makes me think I picked it up on a sale with DriveThruRPG or one of the charity bundles. My apologies if this entry seems rushed, I don’t have a lot of time today.

The character creation steps start on page 28, but they are in categories from the looks of things. So I won’t really be numbering the steps. But first is to pick the Heroic Culture that your character came from. These are the various cultures that are seen in the books and movies. Bardings (Northmen from the Wilderland), Dwarves of Durin’s Folk, Elves of Lindon (aaahhhhwoooo… oh sorry that’s Werewolves of London), Hobbits of the Shire, Men of Bree (from Bree-land) and Rangers of the North. Yes, I’ve made halflings before, but never a Hobbit since that term is copyrighted. So, I’m making a Hobbit. I’m instructed to follow the steps in the write up for this Heroic Culture then return to start the steps of character creation. Interesting, I can pick from a set of attributes, or I can randomly roll for one of the six. guess what I’m doing (dice clatter on table) and wrote down the score for his Strength, Heart and Wits. This also gave me some derived stats (I wrote them down in my notes) and Skill ranks. I was then instructed to pick some combat proficiencies, distinctive features and a name. From the list I picked Reginard Grubb. Boy there was a lot in that first “step”.

I guess there was a reason there was a lot in the Heroic Cultural portion, most of the steps now numbered on page 28 are already filled in. Let’s see, the Target Number mathematical formula is listed for each attribute so I can write that down. Ah, I was also supposed to pick an age. Well, it states that Hobbits come to age at 33 before they leave their comfortable lives. So, 33 he is.

Answer the call to adventure on page 44 is what is says next. Pick a Calling (aka Class), spend some experience points, pick some gear, record a score for Valour and Wisdom (1 each) and choose a Starting Reward and Virtue. The options for Callings are: Captain (leader), Champion (warrior), Messenger, Scholar (I think Gandalf is here), Treasure Hunter (gold, gold, gold, gold…) and Warden (protectors). Originally when I was thinking ahead on a possible character concept, I was thinking that Grubb was going to be an outcast. But that doesn’t seem to be an option, so I’ll go with Treasure Hunter. Perhaps he’s trying to gain a fortune so he can obtain the hand of a rich family daughter. Yea, that’s it. I followed the steps in this section and added the information to my character sheet.

For Previous Experience, I’m given 10 points to spend on skills and combat proficiencies. The higher the skill, the more the cost. So I filled in what I thought my wandering Grubb would need to try to survive while finding his fortune.

As for Gear, I’m instructed to pick a weapon for each combat proficiency (based upon the limitations of a Hobbit), some armor (including helms and shields) and common items (based upon the standard of living). The last item is a starting reward (better armor) and virtue (I picked nimbleness).

The last step is The Company. This is the group that Grubb would be adventuring with and requires some help from the Loremaster (aka GM). I’m instructed to choose a Patron (I wrote one down from the list), a Safe Haven (a village or who knows) and something called a Fellowship Rating. I think this is determined with the group and the voices in my head are mad at me and not talking right now. Plus I’m running out of time so I think I’m done. Here is the sheet.

Afterthoughts:

I thought the way of getting the gear was simple and easy. In fact creating this character was easier than I thought it would be. Again, I’ve played this game in a one-shot and I thought it made sense at the time. but that was back in 2024 so I don’t recall much off the top of my head. But I’d be willing to play again.

Additional Notes:

On the same day that I made my Terminator RPG character, Three Kobolds With A Trench Gun had posted his Terminator character on BlueSky. I had to laugh because we had both picked Historians and we both had about the same views on the game.

Coming Up Next:

Other Dust

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.

Collecting, Conventions, Dungeons and Dragons, Horror, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars

SaltCON-Summer 2024 After Action Report

Written by TardisCaptain June 11, 2024June 19, 2024

Well I thought the picture of the loot at the top was not so fuzzy, but I’m not going to re-take it now. Hey, I survived another SaltCON both as a player and gamemaster. It was fun, lesson learning, idea forming, friend making and just a little stressful. But I wouldn’t know a convention that didn’t have those.

I did get some loot at this con, but for a while I was worried that I wasn’t going to find anything. The game swap only had one person bring in RPG books and I ended up buying three items from him. The hardbound book Codex of Erde (an earlier edition of the Codex of Aihrde from Troll Lord Games) and two boxed sets of Dungeon Crawl Classic modules called “The Heroes Arise” and “The Saga of the Dragon Cult”. The modules in each boxed set would form a campaign that could take characters from first to high levels. The boxed sets were in really good shape considering their age with only one book showing any damage. I also picked up five token trays that I planned to use for my Star Trek Adventures game. These had been created by a local artist. The convention organizers gave me a set of dice as a thank you for running my games (they were purple, they went to my geek wife) and I also picked up a convention t-shirt. I love how they have a different design each convention.

For the gaming sessions I played in, this is how it went.

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition- We had to find a lost puppy owned by the local magistrate. Unfortunately this lost puppy was a three-headed hellhound and was burning up the town. And, as fate would have it, we were not the only party looking for the wayward pet.

The One Ring– Set in the times between the events in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, our party had been hired by a not-so-trustworty dwarf in an attempt to find a treasure left behind by his recently-deceased uncle. I really liked the system as it worked very well with the Middle Earth universe that we were familiar with. I may have to pick up this system.

Star Wars D6- I missed out going to this game due to real-world issues and I tried to track down the GM to explain why (apparently no one else had shown up for the 9am game either). But the good news is that I was able to track down an AC tech to fix the air-conditioning unit at my house.

Stellar Odyssey– A RPG created by a Utah author. I had been in some of his games at past conventions and since I suddenly had an opening in my schedule, I signed up. This was a Star Trek inspired game where you play the crew of an intrepid starship doing missions for a planetary union. The emphasis is on social combat (with initiatives and different methods you could use to convince others to see your way/perform an action/etc.) with actual combat limited to a single die roll. The system made sense and really encouraged roleplaying. The starship stats (and how they could be used to enhance your dice pool) also made sense. I may have to use this game in an upcoming Character Creation Challenge.

Ter’Ra’Mentia- This was only an hour long intro session and I was the only person present in the time-slot. This allowed me to ask a lot of different questions without feeling guilty that I was taking away from the other players. I’m also a ‘hands on’ person when it comes to learning a game, so this helped very much. While I don’t know if I’d be able to pick up this game, I now have a better understanding of it. It’s basically a 2d12 system+skill points to beat a target number.

The Walking Dead- This was a scenario set in Utah. Which meant that the players were (mostly) familiar with the area. While it did end early (four players in a family had to go) I did get a chance to try the system. It felt like a game where dread was always around because even with the dice pools, we hardly got any successes. We didn’t have all bad luck, but it didn’t feel like we were in a cinematic cake-walk either. I don’t know how I’d feel about this. The constant wear-down of not getting successes might get old in a campaign. I’d probably have to actually try a campaign to see how I felt.

This is how the games I ran turned out.

The Star Trek Adventures game that I was going to run only had one person show up. It was probably the time slot that I had selected on a Sunday that did this in. I would have run this on a Saturday, but originally a family commitment would have kept me out for the whole day. When plans changed and I only needed to leave for the evening, it was too late to change the date. With the single player I sat down and explained the game basics to him. It was his first convention and I think he was excited to just try something more than Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder.

Basic Fantasy went better than I expected. I got to use a new GMs tool to help draw out the map of the bandit’s lair that the party was trying to escape from (I’ll have a review blog post very soon on this). Most of the players were use to 5e so I had to explain some OSR styles (running away is an option, your character may die if you are not careful, etc.) Well they took this to heart and actually worked together very well to facilitate their escape. While looking up a rule really quick, I reminded myself of one of the basic guidelines for running a game. Keep the flow going and don’t be afraid to make judgment calls instead of slowing down play by looking up rules. I had one player tell me afterwards that he hadn’t been a fan of the D20 games, but would play more Basic Fantasy if offered because he had fun in my game.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, getting together is one of the highlights of playing RPGs. On the first day I bumped into a GM for Savage Worlds. He asked if I wanted to go through a quick demo, which I jumped at since it gave me the chance to check out a system I had never played. Turns out this guy runs an RPG video blog on YouTube called the Ace Roleplaying Games Club. He even named dropped my blog in his own SaltCON after-action report. Thanks Mason.

Once again I’d like to thank the army of volunteers and coordinators for putting SaltCON-Summer together. While I was disappointed in the swap meet (I really wish more people would bring their RPG books looking for new homes) I could see how people were having fun over the weekend. Even the convention organizers. I got to meet up with some friends that I only seem to see at these conventions as well. That is an added bonus to attending the convention.

Also note to self, don’t forget to pack some antacid tablets in your convention backpack just in case the nacho cheese served at the convention center affects me again.

Have you been to any gaming conventions 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.