2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 9: Jax Wigglewort, Gnome Entrepreneur-Explorer

It's the ninth day of the challenge and let's circle back to Old School Essentials. This time, I'm filling out details for a NPC in the Nostalgia Tour campaign - Wigglewort. He was randomly encountered while leading an expedition into The Lost City. This gnome entrepreneur-explorer will be playing a role in the next installment of the campaign. Filling out some details are in order.

"We were sent out from our town on a simple mission: explore the underworld. To seek out new markets and trade partners. To boldly go where no gnome has gone before!"
- Wigglewort to anybody standing still long enough to listen.

Jax Wigglewort, not a GMPC, page 1 of 2

Jax Wigglewort is a level 2/2 gnome Illusionist/Thief. He prefers to rob people at the negotiating table or gambling hall. However, he recognizes the value of a long term trading relationship over any single deal. His spell selection makes up for the weaknesses of a thief build by giving him options to get away when he misjudges the strength of his bargaining position or hand of cards. It also comes in handy when he decides to do some old fashioned larceny.

Although Wigglewort is a NPC, I rolled him up as a PC rather than pick out his stats. All OSE characters generated for this challenge use the Advanced Fantasy rules and the Advanced Method of character creation. A list of optional and house rules I use are provided in my day two post.

My dice rolls for Wigglewort's Ability Scores resulted in a flat, but decent set of numbers. As an Illusionist/Thief, his highest scores are Intelligence and Dexterity. This grants him an additional language - I selected deep common - and a bump to Armor Class. The next best score went into Charisma to reflect his skill at negotiation. I put an 11 into Constitution to bump up his Magic Resistance.

As a gnome and a thief, Wigglewort has a long list of things he can do outside of combat. And a few sneaky things he can do in a fight. He has access to all weapons as a thief, but being a gnome places some limitations to what he can wield (no two handed swords). I selected short bow, hand axe, and dagger as his weapon proficiencies to give him a plenty of options. Unfortunately, both illusionists and thieves use d4 when rolling hit points. This makes a stand up fight undesirable even when using the optional "re-roll 1s and 2s for hit points" rule.

Jax Wigglewort, still not a GMPC, page 2 of 2

Using the (optional) Advanced Spell Book rules, Wigglewort started with three spells in his book of illusion magic. I used GM fiat to give him one more to reflect something he found (or acquired) in his travels.

Wigglewort's Spell Book:

• Color Spray
• Glamour
• Read Magic
• Spook

Wigglewort only memorizes glamour if his plans call for it and read magic if he needs it. Otherwise, he typically has color spray and spook memorized as "get away from trouble" spells.

I gave him a set of weapons and armor, but didn't bother with the rest of the equipment. He's a NPC, so I didn't see the need.

Jax Wigglewort is an ambitious young gnome with a keen eye for opportunity. He represents a wave of gnomes sent to explore the underground river network discovered under his home town. Trade has always been the lifeblood of his community. Going underground is simply an expansion of their existing river and coastal mercantile operations on the surface. Wigglewort's recent success in finding trade partners in The Lost City has elevated his status and validated his decision to leave the family farm. He now leads a bigger crew on a proper ship on a new mission. A large island has been discovered in the tropical regions to the south. There is potential for trade, but significant danger as well. Perhaps that adventuring party he met in The Lost City might be persuaded to lend a hand?

The character sheet I used is by William Braidis Lee and is available on itch.io. It's serviceable, but doesn't seem to support ascending Armor Class. There's also no place for spells.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 8: Kara Benoit, Ship's Counselor

It's day eight of the challenge and a return to Star Trek Adventures, 1e. This one proved to be more difficult than I initially thought. Stats-wise, there's only one canonical Main Character sheet that I can use as a guide - Deanna Troi. Migleemo is presented as a Supporting Character and Ezri Dax doesn't seem to have an officially published character sheet.

Even so, certain things stand out. Both Troi and Migleemo have excellent scores in Insight and Presence for their Attributes. In terms of Disciplines, both have a high Medicine. Troi also has a high Command to reflect her better interpersonal skills.

This character, though, has a twist of something sour.

Kara Benoit, Ship's Counselor

Kara Benoit is human and was born and raised on Earth. Her parents operated a small, but prosperous import/export business. It shipped in genuine, non-replicated products from outside the Federation for distribution in the Federation core systems. Allegations that this company was a front for other activities have never been conclusively proven.

Counselor Benoit was temporally displaced from 2354 when her ship - USS Sphinx - encountered an unstable wormhole. The starship emerged, crippled and with the bridge destroyed, in 2377. As the senior surviving officer available, Benoit took command and broadcast a distress call. She was able to keep the situation from destabilizing further until help arrived.

Benoit and the other survivors of USS Sphinx were shocked by the future they found. The golden age of exploration that was once ahead of them - heralded by the end of the border wars and coming launch of the Galaxy-class - had been cut short by the threat of the Borg and the devastation of the Dominion War. After a period of Starfleet counseling, she took a sabbatical for further adjustment. On her return, she accepted a quiet assignment at a Starbase. She now feels ready for starship duty once more and has joined the crew of USS Phoenix.

All of this conceals dark secrets. USS Sphinx was conducting a mission for Section 31. Their cover was an assignment from Starfleet Security. The wormhole was due to modifications made to the warp drive. Benoit was never told the details.

She was contacted by Section 31 during her sabbatical for debriefing. Her Starbase assignment was cover for her real role of surveying the staff for potential recruits. These are the kinds of tasks she had been carrying out for Section 31 since joining early in her Starfleet career.

Counselor Kara Benoit is perfectly placed as a Section 31 recruiter. Her access to psychological profiles allows her to select officers who are suited for covert operations as part of a rogue organization. Therapy sessions allow her to converse with fellow operatives and recruits in privacy.

Section 31 is placing increasing pressure on Benoit to take a more active role. Section 31 did not emerge from the Dominion War unscathed and needs more from its surviving operatives. Benoit has resisted so far. Captain Sulok's experiences during the Dominion War soured him on Section 31. He is likely to treat her as an immediate danger if he ever learns of her true allegiance. And USS Phoenix's First Officer has sensed that something is definitely off with their Ship's Counselor.

Benoit firmly believes in the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet. However, she also believes that extra measures are sometimes needed to survive in an increasingly dangerous galaxy. Joining Section 31 was supposed to square that circle, but has only put herself at greater risk.


Resources used:

The unofficial Star Trek Adventures character creator app

Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Player Characters

Star Trek Adventures Lower Decks Season 1 Crew Pack

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 7: Is a Kaiju a Character?

Sure, let's go with that!

I decided to devote space in this challenge to the lesser known products in my collection. Just to keep things interesting. This time around, I'm making a giant monster using Kaiju Generator by N. Robinson at Bardic Inquiry. It's a pay-what-you-want 14-page zine that I received as part of the TTRPGs for Reproductive Rights bundle on itch.io a couple of years ago.

Cover of Kaiju Generator.

Kaiju Generator mostly uses random results, so I'll mostly be commenting on my reactions. This is the first time I've encountered the 1d66 dice mechanic. A pair of six-sided dice are rolled and read like percentile dice. Thus, a result of 1 and 3 would be read 13.

The form of the kaiju can be determined randomly or chosen. I picked "lizard" due to tradition. Although "platypus" and "hare" were tempting. If "cow" was an option, I would've gone with that.

Next came the kaiju's ability. "Can channel and release electricity through its body" was the result. Now I'm regretting not making this kaiju a hare. Or that "mouse" wasn't an option for form. Perhaps the ability to generate electricity can be harnessed for good?

I got "hatched from an egg" for origin. Which is incredibly mundane for a lizard, even a kaiju lizard. Maybe there are more eggs out there? "Investigating a giant egg" has been used in the plot of plenty of kaiju movies.

At this point, the goal of the kaiju is determined. The addition of a motivation is where the kaiju goes from a threat to a character. "Trying to reach evolutionary perfection." I'll ignore the use of popular misconceptions concerning evolution and move on. Maybe this lizard is actually a pocket monster? What does a giant electric lizard that hatched from an egg evolve into? It this kaiju actually a dinosaur? Does that mean that the next step is becoming a giant electric bird? Will this kaiju then gain the ability to fly or run fast? Why would that be desirable? Maybe what our kaiju really wants is plumage?

Raiju - named for the Shinto "thunder beast" - is a recently hatched kaiju. Initially encountered as an egg, a monitoring station was established to study her. All nearby sources of electrical power were drained shortly after the monitoring station became operational and Raiju emerged from the egg. Raiju's ability to generate and project electricity has been repeatedly demonstrated during clashes with military forces and other kaiju. Observations of Raiju's movements indicate that she is seeking certain materials to consume. It is believed that these materials will have a mutagenic effect, forcing her to develop in certain ways. So far, Raiju has already sprouted feathers after devouring a gemstone of unknown composition. Continued tracking and study is recommended.

Link to Kaiju Generator by N. Robinson on itch.io.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 6: Kristen Shane Vassen, Marine

It's the sixth day of the 2025 Character Creation Challenge. Let's make another Mothership character! I'll be using the basic character sheet again so folks unfamiliar with Mothership can better follow along.

I've selected the Marine class this time around. And now, I move beyond the Alien franchise for inspiration. The idea for this Marine comes from the television series "Space: Above and Beyond" - one of many sci-fi shows canceled by Fox after only one season. Most of the characters on that show were young Marine aviators serving in the 58th "Wildcards" Fighter Squadron off the carrier USS Saratoga. I selected my second favorite character from the show for this post, as I didn't feel I could do Lieutenant Colonel Tyrus Cassius McQueen justice with a starting character. Kristen Vassen often goes by her middle name of Shane.

Kristen Shane Vassen, Marine

My rolls for Stats were alright, but Saves weren't as high as I would've liked. However, the adjustments from the Marine class helped offset my low rolls. The Health roll was also nothing to write home about.

Marines automatically get the skills Military Training and Athletics. Marines get a choice between one Expert Skill or two Trained Skills. The only two options for an Expert Skill are Firearms and Hand-To-Hand Combat. Both have appeal, but I have something else in mind for this character. There's no way to make Vassen a pilot like the Space: Above and Beyond character that inspired her, but I could take the prerequisite for Piloting: Zero-G. My other choice for a Trained Skill came down to Jury-Rigging. This gives Vassen the prerequisites for some interesting Expert Skills, if she survives long enough to get more skills.

The result for her loadout turned out well. Standard Battle Dress is good protection, a Pulse Rifle is one of the better weapons, and Infrared Goggles aren't bad. And, yes, the game uses the term "mags" rather than "clips" or anything else that might make firearms enthusiasts erupt with rage. I used her starting money to buy a combat knife (using the stats and cost for a scalpel) and 50m of paracord. This left her with 10cr for beer money.

Vassen's Trinket is the "PANIC: Harbinger of Catastrophe" manual. I'm sure it's full of useful advice. Her patch reads "Keep Well Lubricated" and I'm not going to leave a comment on it.

Kristen Shane Vassen comes from a family of Marines. She was already knowledgeable about Marine traditions and legends before she entered training. Unfortunately, her rosy view of the organization often clashed with the mundane reality. Her career has also been impacted by the high expectations her superiors have because of standards set by prior generations of Vassens. Kristen has held up well under these pressures. So far.

The TV Tropes entry for Space: Above and Beyond.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 5: Trasadon Faestar, Wood Elf Ranger

Welcome to the fifth day of the 2025 Character Creation Challenge. I'm circling back to Old School Essentials with another convention-defying character - a wood elf ranger. I promise I'll be more original with the next OSE character As before, I focus on the decisions I made rather than presenting a blow by blow of the process.

Trasadon Faestar, Wood Elf Ranger, page one of two

All OSE characters generated for this challenge use the Advanced Fantasy rules and the Advanced Method of character creation. The wood elf can be found in Issue #2 of Carcass Crawler. A list of optional and house rules I use are provided in my day two post.

My dice were pretty hot, except for one roll. Let's say that our wood elf ranger spends much of his time alone for a reason. My lowest roll got consigned to the traditional dump stat of CHA. Everything else was straightforward. The highest score went to STR, the prime requisite for a Ranger. Anticipating the adjustments from being a wood elf, I put a 15 in WIS.

Wood elves have minimum requirements of DEX 9 and INT 9 that this character met comfortably. The ability modifiers for a wood elf are -1 CHA and +1 WIS. This makes this guy slightly more unlikable and increases his WIS enough for a bigger modifier.

Both rangers and wood elves have a bunch of special abilities. This combines into a truckload of stuff this guy can do. The most influential to this build is the bonus that wood elves get to missile attack rolls. To nobody's surprise, he's going to be an archer.

Specializing in the long bow further maximizes his potential as an archer. The remaining weapon proficiencies go to the sword and hand axe.

Most of the results of the Secondary Skills table would be nonsensical for this character. I selected Huntsman. Although animal trainer or bowyer/fletcher might have fit as well.

Trasadon Faestar, Wood Elf Ranger, page two of two

Background:

Trasadon Faestar never set out to be a murderhobo. It was simply the most expedient way to leave his woodland home, see the world(s), and earn a living. He is beginning to regret his decision. The world(s) are more full of people than he imagined. He plans on returning to the woods once he has enough to gold to meet his modest needs for awhile.


The character sheet I used is by William Braidis Lee and is available on itch.io. It has some quirks, but I like it so far.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 4: USS Phoenix, NCC-65420

It's day four of the 2025 Character Creation Challenge and I'm already bending the rules. It's back to Star Trek Adventures (1e) with our crew's starship.

In Star Trek, ships are as much characters as those played by the cast. Season three of Picard shows how this works and how it doesn't. Titan-A got a proper introduction in Spacedock, as befitting the hero ship of the season. Shrike was designed to be a menacing vessel for the bad guys who would become irrelevant by the last couple of episodes. It's also a weird name for a villain ship - shrikes are handsome little birds. There are the various starships that appear at the Starfleet Museum. And, of course, there was the huge hit of nostalgia that came with the reappearance of Enterprise-D as the end of the show approached. Unfortunately, Enterprise-E only got a passing mention after being the hero ship of the TNG movies. We barely got a glimpse of Enterprise-F, a disappointment for Star Trek Online fans. And the hero ship of previous seasons of Picard - SS La Sirena - ignominiously disappears around the middle of the season. This all shows how "ship as a character" is built into Star Trek and how it feels wrong when that concept is ignored.

Rant complete.

USS Phoenix, NCC-65420

This is the same USS Phoenix that appeared in "The Wounded" (TNG 4x12). This was also the first appearance of the Nebula-class. It's one of the rare canonical starships that doesn't have much of a history beyond a single onscreen appearance. Notably, USS Phoenix seems to have survived the Dominion War. This makes it a canon starship that is available to Star Trek Adventures crews. Of course, USS Phoenix does have a checkered past thanks to its association with Benjamin Maxwell.

The dedication plaque seen in "The Wounded" indicates a commissioning date of 2363. I didn't have a firm campaign date in mind when I started, but using "sometime between Lower Decks and Prodigy" suggests 2383. This makes USS Phoenix fresh from it's second refit.

Most of the build was straightforward. USS Phoenix is known to be a Nebula-class with a sensor pod. The pod could've been changed at some point - it is modular by design - but that particular configuration tends to be associated with this particular starship. I considered "Scientific and Survey Operations" for the Mission Profile, but the sensor pod already comes with Advanced Sensor Suites and High-Resolution Sensors. Also, "Multirole Explorer" offers "Improved Hull Integrity" as an option. As USS Phoenix canonically shrugs off a direct hit without shields, toughing up the hull seems appropriate. I added Diplomatic Suites to give the ship more flexibility. Finally, I put the refit points into Structure and Weapons.

The following is headcanon and shouldn't be confused with official information from any Star Trek series:

USS Phoenix was escorted to Starbase 211 by Enterprise-D after Captain Maxwell stood down. The ship's crew was extensively debriefed. USS Phoenix sat docked at Starbase 211 undergoing maintenance while Captain Maxwell was court martialed. In the aftermath, Starfleet Command put a new crew aboard and redeployed the ship as far from the Cardassian border as possible. USS Phoenix served in the Beta Quadrant carrying out survey work and Neutral Zone patrols until the Dominion War. With the front badly in need of every capable starship, USS Phoenix was sent back to the Alpha Quadrant. The starship served honorably and survived the Dominion War. USS Phoenix is newly refitted and configured for scientific survey and diplomatic duties.


Resources used:

Memory Alpha's entry on USS Phoenix, NCC-65420.

The Star Trek Adventures Character Creator app.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 3: Emma Johansen, Teamster

Day three of the 2025 Character Creation Challenge dawns. I've selected Mothership for my third character of the challenge. Mothership is a space horror TTRPG by Tuesday Night Games. It isn't an OSR game per se, but the influence shows through.

Mothership features two character sheets - a basic one for those new to the game and an advanced one. The basic character sheet takes a new player through the generation process step by step. Laying everything out like this help to avoid everybody fighting for the rulebook. I'll be using the basic sheet this time and breaking out the other one in later posts.

Emma Johansen, Teamster

I'll focus on the decisions I made during the process. However, Mothership uses die rolls extensively during character generation. So I'll be commenting on some of the results as well.

Yes, there's a space for pronouns right on the sheet. Don't use it if you don't like it. It won't bite you.

I selected the Teamster class in honor of the reigning queen of space horror - Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. This character's name - Emma Johansen - evokes Ellen and honors a couple of women I worked alongside back in my tech days.

My dice were chilly, but not ice cold. The Stats and Saves are around average. I did bomb the Health roll, so this is not a good character to take into combat against toothy alien critters.

Teamsters automatically get two skills: Industrial Equipment and Zero-G. This reflects their background in blue collar space trucking. Picking a Trained Skill was a toss up between Jury-Rigging, Computers, and Rimwise. I've found that its useful to see what perquisites that the various Expert and Master Skills call for when looking at Trained Skills. Jury-Rigging leads to Explosives and Computers lead to Hacking, which don't fit my idea for this character. Rimwise leads to Hand-To-Hand Combat, which is a bad idea for this character due to her low Health. However, Industrial Equipment leads to Mechanical Repair. So I picked Rimwise as her Trained Skill to reflect her rough and tumble work experiences. Her Expert Skill is Mechanical Repair to represent her ability to fix things properly.

I rolled for a Starting Loadout rather than buy the gear piecemeal. The Flare Gun can be used as a weapon and the Personal Locator could be useful. I couldn't find what a Subsurface Scanner does, but it could be handy as a source of parts for fixing something else along with the Water Filtration Device. I used part of Johansen's starting Credits on Assorted Tools and a Flashlight.

For her Trinket, I rolled "Pamphlet: The Relic of Flesh" for Johansen. Her Patch reads "DO YOUR JOB" and fits seamlessly with what I had in mind for the character.

Emma Johansen has been doing her job as long as anybody here at this mom and pop operation and is not here to take your guff. The smell of cigarette smoke clings to her thanks to a pack a day habit. She wears her greying hair short - sometimes cropped - to keep it out of the way. Her no nonsense attitude doesn't make her many friends, but she knows her stuff.

Oh, and I deliberately didn't include cigarettes on her sheet. She's out and is getting twitchy for a hit of nicotine.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 2: Sara Rosewood, Human Fighter

Day two and the second of my characters for the 2025 Character Creation Challenge. This time, I'm harkening back to a simpler time and a slightly less complicated TTRPG - Old School Essentials by Necrotic Gnome. Specifically, I'm using the Advanced Fantasy version with options inspired by Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Let's begin with that quintessential starting player character - a human fighter. I'll only be covering significant decision points rather than offering a step by step description of the process.

Sara Rosewood, Human Fighter, page one of two

All OSE characters generated for this challenge use the Advanced Fantasy rules and the Advanced Method of character creation. "Expanded Equipment" by Gavin Norman, presented in Carcass Crawler Issue #3 is also used.

Optional rules include:

• Separate races and classes.
• Ascending Armor Class.
• Demihuman class and level restrictions are lifted.
• Humans are granted Racial Abilities.
• Weapon Proficiencies and Specializations.
• Rerolling 1s and 2s while rolling hit points.
• Secondary Skills.
• Individual initiative.

I'll also be using a house rule. OSE uses the "roll 3d6 for each ability score, in order" method. Gary Gygax comments that this method can result in marginal characters on page 11 of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. He describes various alternatives on the same page. I'm using Method I: "All scores are recorded and arranged in the order the player desires. 4d6 are rolled, and the lowest die (or one of the lowest) is discarded." This is purely a matter of personal taste.

Sara Rosewood, Human Fighter, page two of two

My dice rolls were okay. Using one of the 14s for STR was obvious. Putting the other 14 in CON is debatable - there's an argument to be made for sticking it in DEX. All of the other numbers result in no modifiers at this point, so I dumped an 11 into INT, the 12 in WIS, and DEX got a 10.

As humans +1 CHA and +1 CON with their optional Racial Abilities, CHA raises to 13 and CON to 15.

The OSE rules allow for raising a character's prime requisite by 1 point for every 2 points that another ability score is lowered. I lowered INT from 11 to 9 and WIS from 12 to 10. This improved STR from 14 to 16, increasing the modifier from +1 to +2 without lowering other modifiers.

I choose to specialize in the sword and take proficiencies in the short bow and dagger.

The entire 100 gold pieces I rolled up were spent on weapons, armor, and equipment. I wasn't able to afford a shield, so that will have to wait.

And then I came up with a name and backstory...

Sara Rosewood wasn't raised to be a murder hobo, but found herself with little choice after her village was raided by an adventuring party of chaotic NPCs. Filled with resolve to avenge her lost home, she spent years of her life doing anything but that. Instead, she trained in the sword and spent her life savings on a weapon, armor, and equipment. She recently joined a motley party of fresh-faced adventurers and will soon brave her first delve into the underground. If she meets with a grim fate, she will be quickly replaced by her hitherto unmentioned identical twin sister - Lara Rosewood. If she survives, hopefully the gamemaster will remember to include her backstory in an adventure so she can confront the destroyers of her quaint village.

The character sheet I used is by William Braidis Lee and is available on itch.io. It has some quirks, but I like it so far.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 1: Captain Sulok, USS Phoenix

Welcome to the 2025 Character Creation Challenge! I introduced the concept in this post here. 31 days of January, 31 characters. What have I gotten myself into?

Starting off with Star Trek Adventures 1e. Why not 2e? I haven't had the chance to make the change while focusing my TTRPG efforts in other directions. I'll get to it.

I'm slowly assembling a Starfleet crew during this challenge. Among other things. Let's start with the captain.

Captain Sulok was born on Vulcan. He learned Vulcan philosophy from an early age and it guides his actions to this day. Whisked away along his parents' diplomatic travels, he learned to apply what he saw of other cultures to himself. Starfleet Academy instructors saw potential in Sulok's diplomatic background and guided him down the Command track. Those plans were derailed by the outbreak of the Dominion War. Sulok quickly picked up the skills he needed to survive against a ruthless foe. He won a commendation for bravery during the conflict, saving the lives of fellow officers. In the years since the war, he has risen to command USS Phoenix and looks forward to a quiet cruise of science and diplomacy. He won't get his wish.

Sulok is considerably more open minded than many Vulcans and doesn't see logic as the only possible path to a solution. Sulok speaks Federation Standard fluently, but with a slight southern drawl that he picked up from the people who taught it to him. That, his relatively relaxed demeanor, and dry wit often confuse those unfamiliar with him.

Curiously, Sulok doesn't know the Vulcan Nerve Pinch. He just never got the chance to pick it up.

A couple of tools I used here:

The Star Trek Adventures Character Creator app (unofficial).

This "Big List of Focuses" on Reddit.

One down, thirty to go!

My 2025 Tabletop Gaming Plan

My 2024 plan was a measured success. Improving on it seems like a better idea than starting over. Or maybe it's just easier. In either case, it's the way I'm going.

In 2024, I went back to where I started tabletop gaming - role playing games. I intend to maintain my focus on TTRPGs in 2025, but there might be room to squeeze in some miniatures wargaming here and there.

Get more of my collection off the shelves and onto the tabletop.

By collection, I'm referring to my miniature wargames as well as TTRPGs. Solo wargames are simpler to schedule. Another Five Parsecs From Home campaign is the most likely contender.

As for TTRPGs, I should have adventure module X1 The Isle of Dread ready to go when our group gets over our holiday hangovers. I'm planning on posting my notes on converting it to Old School Essentials, but only after we've played it.

The most likely game after that is Tachyon Squadron for FATE Core. Sci-fi in a more narrative system should be a good palette cleanser before diving back into OSE. I'll have whichever classic D&D module I want to run figured out by then. And after that, maybe Lancer?


Do something with the games I've Kickstarted or preordered as they come in.

This was a 2024 goal that no longer applies. I exercised some restraint and don't have any Kickstarted or preordered games on the way. I'll count that as a win here. We'll see if that holds out for another year.


Presenting more of my tabletop gaming thoughts online.

My ideas and opinions aren't special. They do have a way of bouncing around the inside of my head until I find something to do with them. Posting them online qualifies as something. It also spreads the misery by making them other people's problems.

I plan on continuing to make a nuisance of myself on Mastodon and Bluesky.

I've found ways to increase the post count on this blog. The first is getting more organized and posting more regularly. The second is cheating. Publishing the Character Creation and #RPGaDay Challenges as daily updates is a guaranteed sixty-two posts! Seriously, I'll be shooting for weekly or biweekly posts outside of those special challenges.

As for YouTube, I may end up taking the "throw things at the wall and see what sticks" approach. At least I'll be posting something there.


Make a dent in my pile of unread books (and not just TTRPG books).

One thing I might try is to favor fiction for awhile. Non-fiction can be challenging for me to get through. I have the same issue with the mechanically crunchy parts of game rules. Fiction seems to flow better. And it's been a long time since I demolished a novel over a weekend.


Make a dent in my pile of shame (miniatures and terrain).

This demands a direct assault. I need a direction to work towards. A specific goal to focus my efforts. In 2025, I'll be looking at using my long neglected 15mm scale collection for Five Parsecs From Home. That means painting many tiny 15mm dudes and terrain to match. On the bright side, nobody expects better than tabletop standard at that scale.


And that's the plan. I'll circle back and report on my progress around the middle of the year.