Building Character in 2026

 

This year, it looks like RPGaDay has become a character creation challenge and I am on board with that. The early years of the challenge were easy for me, since they encouraged me to share my collection of games, which I was quite proud of. Then it moved more towards gaming stories and anecdotes, which I do have a collection of, but it's a limited number and it has not been growing significantly in recent years.

The idea of a character creation challenge appeals to me. It lets me leverage the books that are on my shelf. It pushes me to create rather than reflect. The thing I'm not sure about would be exactly what sort of focus I want to have.

I could readily go back to "shelfie" mode, creating a character for a selection of RPGs that I own. Or I could create characters as possible NPCs and PCs for a campaign. I've been working on an Ashes Without Number setting for some time, and it could be an opportunity to flesh that out.

Or maybe I could think about a campaign I've wanted to do that has lain fallow for some time.

I've wanted to do Stars Without Number for some time and have the basics of a sector rolled up, but turning that into something that I can zoom in on enough to imagine what a campaign in that sector might look like. Probably a case where I need a Session 0 before I'm really able to run a campaign. But a batch of NPCs might also do the trick.

I always tell myself that if I had to run a campaign in the next week, it would be OSR. Just because of the wealth of material and the straightforward nature of the core activity. So NPCs to flesh out a homebrew fantasy setting might be good too.

Another possibility would be to build another campaign from scratch. I tell myself from time to time that I should make the effort to get familiar with D&D 5e, Pathfinder or Starfinder so I could be more comfortable running or playing in one of the more popular settings/systems out there. So a batch of NPCs in support of one of those concepts might be a good kick in the pants as well.

 It's been a couple of weeks. My goal has been to post here weekly, but at least I'm posting more frequently than I have been for a while.

I got exposed to job resources at college, and have been trying to take advantage of those. But like most things to do with college, it's only going to really kick into gear once classes begin. I might have made an effort to join the summer session, but I worried about being in a rush for deadlines and missing something important, as well as a concern that most of the financial aid cycles were geared towards the fall semester. So now I have a couple of months until classes begin and I have lots of time to prepare and aim at the milestones, but a lot of the process is waiting for those deadlines and milestones to come.

In the short term, the monthly meetup for the local gaming club is this Saturday and as usual, I am debating what to run. I've got my pickup gaming kit, with all the materials I need to run Fiasco Classic, Microscope, Fate Accelerated (with the It's Not My Fault! scenario creation cards) and InSpectres. Those are easy choices.

My other thoughts are turning towards more trad-style games that require a bit more prep. A portion of my interest in Ashes Without Number was that the setting and adventure creation tools seemed very clear and usable. Because my previous standard time for building trad adventures has been far too long. Often weeks, if not months. So now I'm wondering if I've laid enough foundation for a new adventure that I can bring to the table for Saturday.

Still no luck getting jobs, though I am still trying.

Since my college preparation is for the fall semester, my eagerness puts me ahead of the curve. At least one of the classes that I want/need to take hasn't been scheduled. Which is a problem because it's a co-requisite with another class, so I can't sign up for either class until it gets scheduled.

On the gaming front, one thing that surprised me is that I have a surprising recall of the plot I had done for my old Transformers adventure Attack of the Retcons. Though I admit that a chunk of that was how depressingly linear it was. Go to place from Transformers canon, fight Retcons who are at that location, talk to NPC who tells you the next location in the plot, repeat as needed.

Scene 1

Location: Autobot base on one of Saturn's moon.

Retcons attack

Analysis of Retcon wreckage reveals that they were manufactured on Planet Junk, home of Wreck-Gar and the Junkions.

Scene 2

Location: Planet Junk, where a factory has been built to produce Retcons.

Fight Retcons as they come off the assembly line

Wreck-Gar reveals that the Quintessons forced him to build the factory.

Scene 3

Location: Quintessa, home planet of the Quintessons.

Fight Retcons protecting the Quintessons.

The Quintessons reveal that they got the Retcon time weapon technology from the wreckage of Unicron

Scene 4

Location: Unicron's head

Fight Retcons and destroy the Time Core that Unicron is going to use to retcon his body back into existence.

Very linear and damned little variety of encounter. The retcon mechanics were the only really fun thing. At certain points in the very boring, theater of the mind, run them out of hit points fights, a character would get an index card revealing a new ability or stat boost. If the character took enough damage, they got replaced with another character and the process starts over.

If I wanted to keep as much of that structure in place, I could replace the simple fights with different tactical objectives. Instead of destroying the Retcons that just jumped off the assembly line, the scene instead becomes about the process of shutting the factory down. Dealing with the Quintessons can involve a rescue mission (they were holding certain Junkions hostage to get Wrecck-Gar's compliance) or breaking into their audience chamber (which can include the famous "letting themselves get captured so they can listen to the villain monologue").

I don't know that they opening and closing scenes should change much. A simple fight at the beginning lets the players get comfortable with their characters and the mechanics of the game, as well as introducing the threat of the adventure. The final scene revolves around the Time Core, so it's not just squads of Retcons again.

 Just a lovely brainstorm

The Combat Hack

 I've been doing some thinking about player choice/agency. Part of that is this Twitter post that I found as a meme that really encapsulates what a lot of people (myself included) would likely take thousands of words to express.

Another thought, somewhat related to the meme, is that combat is really all of this writ small. Especially in a system where there are a lot of rules and options centered on combat. In a combat scene, or even a combat round, these three criteria constantly come up. So combat is an area where players (seemingly) have constant agency.

But I think that stands in contrast to a lot of RPG plots/modules, which are typically very linear, if not railroads.

One thing that I'm surprised I haven't discussed here is the difference between "if" and "how" in RPG plot construction. When preparing a one-shot, as I have often been doing, you do wind up doing more railroading to make sure that the session reaches a satisfying conclusion in the time allotted. A lot of RPG mechanics are designed around the question of "if." For example, we often roll dice to determine "if" the character succeeds at an action.

But if you're writing a linear scenario, whether for a one-shot or for your corporate overlords, "ifs" create roadblocks, branching paths, and other extra work, which should be avoided whenever possible. The better option is "how." Rather than asking "if" something happens that the adventure needs in order to proceed, ask your players "how" they make it through the challenge.

This can be very freeform. I remember the Cthulhu-Trek scenarios that I played at DunDraCon all those years back were very linearly structured, but exactly how the group addressed the challenges was very much decided by the group. I remember looking back on those sessions and thinking that I had been tricked, because "if" was never the actual question. It was always "how."

Looking at RPG combat, I see a lot of the same thing. No matter how much it's framed as an "if" situation (Can Our Heroes win this battle?), all of the balancing mechanics and "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards and GMs just pulling their punches, the overriding question of a combat scene is actually "how" (What combination of powers, spells and dice results are going to let Our Heroes win?).

Circling back to what I hope was my original point, combat offers players agency within the confines of its mechanical structure. In a railroady adventure, this limited agency acts to paper over the lack of agency regarding the overarching plot. Especially now that it's part of my adventure writing toolkit, it becomes something that I can't unsee when I read a published adventure.

While my job did prevent me from attending the monthly gaming meetup for April, it was over by the time they got another large group event that I was able to attend.

This was pitched as a double version of our typical meetup. Instead of one "Pitch & Play," there would be two rounds. So prospective GMs would pitch their one-shot, play for 3-4 hours and then another round of GMs would pitch for the next round. And this was held at a condo development's rec center rather than a cafe, so food was pot luck.

I came prepared with 2 pitches (my pre-written adventures for Ashes Without Number and D20 Modern) and a pot of my Four Food Group Mac & Cheese.

First round game was Ashes Without Number. I hadn't taken the time since my last running to do much in the way of updates, so the rough patches were still there. Also, the room was louder, so I don't think I explained as much. Not as successful a run as previously, but we did get to try out the combat mechanics. And it pointed out some of the areas that needed more filling in should it ever result in a campaign. 

I pitched D20 Modern for the second round, but didn't get any players. I looked at the other games that were being pitched that round in case I might want to play, but nothing really appealed to me. I talked it over with my wife, who had attended with me, and we decided to call it a day.

Now that I'm not working anymore, I should be clear to attend the next regular meetup. Since it will be May, I'm thinking of running the old Star Wars d6 RPG (in honor of May The Fourth Be With You). 

Proof of Life

 I had intended to get back to taking care of this blog, even if it was fairly simple "Here I am" posts. But it looks like I've fallen off that particular wagon for the last month or so.

The job was part time and shouldn't have been such a big part of my life, but they stretched the 30 hours they could give me each week over 6 days, included a mix of morning and evening shifts which sometimes resulted in the dreaded "clopen" (closing in the evening, only to return the next morning to open).

But now the job is over. Tax day has come and gone and I am no longer needed. And I need to find something else. The unemployment claim that I opened after losing my last job is still open, so I do have some income for at least a little bit longer.

What comes next is still fairly open. I had a job interview this week, though it was the first in months. It might become something, or it might not.

I have gone ahead and applied for college in the fall and applied for financial aid. But because I'm waiting until the fall, that means that I have to wait for a while to get a proper picture of what that's going to look like. And my current estimate shows that my unemployment is likely to dry up before that.

 Scary times. 

A bit of good news this time.

My schedule at work finally allowed me to attend the monthly gaming meetups that I have been missing the last few months. As usual, I debated what I was going to run before settling on Fiasco. Though I did mix it up a bit and used the card-based version.

I typically use "Fiasco Classic" with notecards and dice for a couple of reasons.

1) Familiarity. I had been playing Fiasco Classic before it was classic and that's what got me excited about the new Fiasco when it came up on Kickstarter.

2) Convenience. I have a "portable gaming kit" in a small backpack. Fiasco, Fate Accelerated, Microscope and InSpectres all ready to go at a moment's notice. The notecards and dice that I have included in the kit can be used for the other games as well as Fiasco.

3) Saltiness. Here's the deal. During the Kickstarter, I was enthusiastic. A new version of something I already liked! The pre-printed cards would save on index cards (I hadn't upgraded to the reusable ones I have now). I quickly signed up for the maximum reward tier to get all of the stuff!

Then the stretch goal hit. One of the stretch goals was a new collection of playset decks beyond what had been planned for the initial set.Yay stretch goal, right? But that meant that the "maximum reward tier" I had signed up for suddenly wasn't the maximum anymore and I had to decide if I wanted to cough up extra in order to make sure I did in fact, get the maximum reward.

In practice, it was something like a $15 dollar difference, and it did get me more physical product. But having to re-assess my pledge in the middle of the campaign was something that I didn't enjoy. It's something that I look out for in all the Kickstarters I've backed since.

Someone in the meetup group suggested that since the new version only really needs the Engine Deck and whatever playset deck you're using, and not the whole box, it could fit easily into my portable gaming kit, either replacing or supplementing Fiasco Classic. Not a bad thought, necessarily, but it did mean confronting my feelings about that Kickstarter.

Though I'm now realizing that another part of my reticence is that I strongly dislike breaking up a set. I have all my Fiasco card decks in that box and taking them out for play is fine, but leaving the box at home and only taking a couple of deck with me makes me anxious. Might be a neurodivergence thing. Not diagnosed, but I feel like it fits a pattern.

Now that I've psychoanalyzed myself for all this time, the point of the story is that I decided to bring the card-based version of Fiasco (the whole box) to try to dilute some of that saltiness. We used the Poppleton Mall playset and had a wild ride of drug deals and potential extramarital affairs. All in all, a good time.

We'll see if I'm able to attend next month and if I'm able to prepare an actual one-shot.

For all that my goal for the year has been to game more, I'm actually gaming less. I've missed 2 monthly meetups of my local gaming club, which had been a ritual since they restarted after COVID. It's fair to say that I haven't been gaming at all this year.

It's easy to blame the job for scheduling me on those Saturdays. I could request the day off, but that's something that I'm terrible at. I still remember my first job and my boss, Shawn, telling me "The more time off you request, the more time off you're going to get." It typically takes me a while at a particular job before I'm comfortable requesting time off for gaming, and I've only been at this for 2 months now. Worse, I only have 2 months left. I'm working at a tax office that is only open for the tax season, so once April 15th rolls around, I'll be cut loose.

Which means that I'm still looking for other jobs. And I haven't gotten any significant nibbles. No emails, no phone calls, no interviews all year. I'm learning to spot the devilcorps: the unscrupulous people who send out armies of poor schlubs to knock on your door and plead for donations or sell you AT&T services. I worked at one of those for a week when I first arrived in San Diego 7 years ago. It's one of two experiences that tell me that I'm not a salesman.

If things don't start looking up, I'm planning to go back to school in the fall. I graduated high school and never moved on to college, even to drop out of it. But I have gotten suggestions for careers that would suit me well, but would require the education. Typically teacher, but I've also gotten theologian. I'm not particularly religious, so I don't know how that last one would work.

It would mean getting financial aid of varying types and navigating that whole process. Not student loans, of course. Just seeing everyone else having to deal with those is enough to put me off. As many grants and scholarships as can be managed, though. Starting at the local communnity college to keep my costs low, then transferring to a 4-year school. I hope there's a gaming club. That would be fun.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 28-Is there anything else we should know before we head home?

This month has been a great opportunity to flesh out pieces of my setting that I hadn't really thought about.

One thing that I thought was clever was my reference to "podcasts" as a sort of live public discussion back on Day 12.

This was inspired by a couple of social media posts.

So the idea of "podcasts" continuing older social and storytelling traditions seemed like a fun thing to bring to a post-apocalyptic society.

But as I was thinking about it, I remembered that there were local television and radio stations. And with radio and music turning up in Fallout 3 (which I recently completed), I think I want to take some time to develop and explore that.

One of the fun things about basing your setting on a real place is that you can do research and look things up. Which just puts the parts that are completely made up into perspective. Specifically, the Bigfoot rulers of Squatch-ville.

On top of the challenge of making up Sasquatch society from whole cloth, I know there are certain threads I clearly want to avoid. Mostly trying to avoid the sort of "Native American fetishism" that is easy to fall into when you're trying to build an "ancient culture that lives in balance with nature."

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 27-Do you have any amusing anecdotes from the campaign?

Forget dramatic, tell us about a moment that made everyone laugh out loud.

I'm thinking about running that one-shot again, using it as a "pilot episode" of a campaign. And while I've talked previously on my blog about putting more effort into pushing the final encounter into violence to put the combat system through its paces, the other thing that happened that I feel like I should be more prepared for is when the party decides to take a slamon from the river.

I designed the encounter as a mini-game rather than a combat for a couple of reasons.

1) The slamon were not directly attacking the party. They were jumping out of the water and over the bridge, making making contact with the bridge before flopping off of it.
2) There was not a limited number of slamon to defeat. The objective was getting across the bridge.

On the fly, I ran it more or less as a simple combat encounter. There are B/X stats for giant fish, so that wasn't hard. But thinking about it, I think there should have been a process of grappling the fish to make sure that it stayed in one place in order to deplete its hit points.

Thankfully, the AWN grapple rules are not as onerous as the D&D 3e grapple rules, which are what ruined grappling for everyone.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 26-Are there any dramatic events from the campaign you can share?

Tell us about a moment of exciting action or tense thrills that has happened during your game. When and where did it take place?

These are the hardest entries because I haven't run this campaign yet. I did run a one-shot using this setting, but part of my hopes for this month was to generate more material to present to the players of an eventual campaign.

As much as I hadn't planned on the "talking solution" to that one-shot, it was a little less "easy mode" than I complained about. Because I had planted some information on a local rumor table that I had cooked up that the mayor had possibly been bribed to take the doctor prisoner. So the PCs were able to locate that rumor and apply it as leverage in the confrontation. I was actually a bit glad to see that come up.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 25-Where can I do some shopping?

 I want to buy some souvenirs from this trip and maybe snacks for the voyage home.

Thinking about my idealized shopping experiences from when I lived in the area, I can't help but think of Globe Imports and Picky Picky Picky. Both places prepared me to take my girlfriend (now wife!) to her Senior Prom.

Globe Imports was the retail version of those catalogs where you can buy cheap knickknacks and kitsch in bulk (It's giving more Oriental Trading Company catalog than necessarily Wish.com or Temu in my mind). I bought a black silk rose and incense-infused matches there. I might have also bought scented tea candles there, as well. (They're out of business, but strong enough in my mind that I might bring them back in the setting.)

Picky Picky Picky sells outdoor equipment as well as military surplus. We had decided to go with a camouflage theme for our prom outfits, so I was able to buy off the rack for my outfit. Getting a camouflage dress for her took a little more effort and creativity, but the result was worth it.

This does make me wonder what the currency of the area is going to be like. I could follow the Fallout tradition of bottle caps. Though a funny idea does occur to me that the main currency could be marijuana. The standard unit would be a dime bag or "dime" though small silver coins might sometimes substitute for product.

Different strains could affect valuation, creating "denominations" of currency, but even a baggie of "ditch weed" will get you somewhere.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 24-What are the major imports to the area?

What is it your campaign region needs but doesn't have and how do they get it? Maybe it's not a need but a want? Some other place has the very best something and the people of your campaign desire some of that action.

Historically, the main things that have been imported into the region are manufactured goods, tools and machines.

While self-sufficiency and local production would be the name of the game for a while after an apocalypse, I'm sure they would still be importing any machines or technologies that can't be produced or maintained locally.

I'm not entirely clear on what kinds of technologies those might be, because I'm leaving things deliberately open in terms of exactly what sort of technology does or did exist before the War That Ended Everything. Especially with the Fallout franchise hanging over the genre right now, the ability to include some of the more gonzo elements and technologies, which are supported by Ashes Without Number.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 23-What are the major exports of the region?

A campaign can be big and different places within it will be known for different products. Pick a few of the best sellers or most interesting things and tell us about them.

Logging has been the economic engine of the area almost from its initial settlement. I expect some version of that to continue, though nowhere near the scale it achieved in the 20th century.

Cow Town was able to export farm products to the local settlements of Sohum and even as far south as Willits before their current famine.

Squatch-ville actually has easier access to points east along Highway 96, so would likely have trading partners in Yreka (a real place, believe it or not!). My current thinking is that Squatch-ville is actually the most successful of the region's Enclaves, so there would likely be a good bit of surplus for them to export, typically in the form of hides and meat from deer, bear and other forest creatures, as well as acorns and other nuts. Woodcrafts are also popular exports.

Marijuana is an actively cultivated crop throughout the region, with growing operations large and small all over the place. Enclaves have large grows, but even homesteaders might grow some to trade for other things that they can't produce. Mutated and weaponized forms of the plant are probably lurking in the Ruin of Calpoly.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 22-Tell use about notable Flora and Fauna!

 Take us on safari around your campaign and its setting. What are some of the unique and/or unusual creatures and plants in your game?

One of the fun things about Ashes Without Number is that it is intended to be compatible with B/X D&D, so there are a number of OSR monster manuals that I can draw from for mutated versions of local wildlife. Though my wife just gave me the best version of this: A carrion crawler descended from the common banana slug.

While the banana slug is not strongly associated with the area (It's currently a mascot at UC Santa Cruz, a good distance south), it does live here, and my wife and I both have formative memories of encountering them in their small version. A huge mutated banana slug feels very right.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 21-What are the major organizations of the campaign? How do they deal with visitors?

Corporations, guilds, secret societies; what groups with influence exist in the campaign and how do they interact with the setting and its denizens?

I haven't laid down any major factions beyond the Enclaves themselves. The big challenge is that there's not a lot of development in the area and I wound up expecting less and building less to make this area work. There are fewer Enclaves and Ruins here than is expected for a "typical" Ashes Without Number setting

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 20-Are there any mysteries as yet unsolved?

 Legendary tales, lost civilizations, or cryptid creatures; does the setting have anything for the amateur detective?

The main mystery I have currently set up is "What's going on with Hupa?" There are certainly details to be established in a lot of places that could qualify as mysteries, but a lot of this is still in development until it's needed for a scenario.

Even though I have established that Sasquatch are real, I have not touched on other potential cryptids that might or might not be real in the setting.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 19-Any 'Must See' sites?

Are there any places or things a visitor to the setting just has to check out?

One of the main draws of the area in the present day is its natural beauty. The other is the number of homes with elaborate Victorian architecture. The Carson Mansion (which I have placed as the seat of Ureka government) is one of the most photographed homes in the world.

Even in the post-apocalyptic future, I think most of that would still be intact. Nothing in this area would be a major conventional military target. (Though the Hupa backstory might reveal some twists. We'll see what happens as things develop.)

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 18-Forgot to ask; How do we get around?

 What modes of transportation are available to people in the setting.

There aren't a lot of cars or other vehicles, mostly due to the terrain. There are only a handful of major roads and they have not been maintained properly since the collapse. Off the roads, the area is pretty heavily forested.

Boat travel is pretty significant. My current placement of Squatch-ville is primarily accessible by water. Also, the ferry service enables travel and communication with smaller communities surrounding the bay. water travel is also useful when leaving the region. In order to avoid the psychic overlords of Crescent City, those wishing to travel to Brookings, Oregon and other points north will typically do so by boat.

The most unique thing would have to be the Kinetic Sculptures. In the present day, the Kinetic Sculpture Race is a fun and wacky thing. After the collapse, it's become inspiration. Because of the engineering requirements to participate (the vehicle must be people-powered and capable of travel on water as well as varied terrain), the Kinetic Museum in Ureka and the oddball vehicles on display have been vital examples to building vehicles that can be used in a variety of environments without needing power beyond what the user can provide.

Suddenly I'm imaging a version of Mad Max: Fury Road with Kinetic Sculptures instead of motorized vehicles.

RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026 Day 17-Can you tell us about any famous battles or wars?

Tales of conflicts and combats abound across the multiverse! Any interesting ones in your setting we should know about?

The main war of note is the War That Ended Everything. Details on that war are sparse, both because the War ended everything, and also because I haven't decided on them yet.

A few generations back, a group of humans left Squatch-ville and decided to re-occupy Ureka. This did result in armed conflict as the humans pushed the ratfolk who had lived there at least since they first gained sentience out of the northwest section of the city.