Monday, 23 March 2026
Starfleet Academy 2
So the forces of evil in charge of Paramount have decided sixty years of Star Trek is too many. I mean I get it, I’d cancel something that tells me I’m an evil shit too.
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet premiered on this day in 1956. So as we mark sixty years of Star Trek consider seventy of one of its parents. And celebrate the naming of the comics shop franchise.
Sunday, 22 March 2026
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Nicholas Brendon
54 is no kind of age for this.
The hosts of Buffy RPG page shared a video from him just five days earlier, talking about art, the weather and coffee. He was in a good place.
Friday, 20 March 2026
V5: Stolen 2.05
Vampire: The Masquerade
Stolen
2.05
Who Can You Trust?
Beck
Robin
Vince
Beverley meets Beck as arranged.
Beck can see Robin hiding, and see him tense, ready to spring, giving him a warning look.
He asks her to steal the Book of Nod fragment from Astor, if he already has it and is looking or more buyers. Noting the urgency, she recalculates her fee for a strike tonight.
Robin forces himself to wait for her to go before joining Beck.
Vince strolls up to join them.
Beck narrows his eyes. “What are you doing here? I don’t want you worming your way into this, unless you can actually help.”
“I can always find a way to help.”
“Sure you can, you slimy bastard.”
“Well, emotions seem high, perhaps a nice meal would help? I saw a couple of gentlemen at the pub shaking hands with their left hands?”
“I do not sully myself with the blood of inebriates.”
“I’m sure they were just having something light.”
“Perhaps you could do something for me instead?”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
“One of my bride is also helping our sire’s fundraiser. I don’t want to sabotage her, but I would like...”
“Revenge?”
“No, just to outshine her... a little.”
“I’ll see what I can do. But I’m just a little fish here, I’d never dream of crossing you.”
“Good.” Beck smiles thinly. “But there’s no need to be afraid of me. Well, besides the obvious.”
The three go their separate ways. Beck making sure the others aren’t following him this time.
Single Girl, nananananana Single Girl
Been a long time since I edited a fan vid, but I have just the song for Ready Or Not:
Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come
Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (trailer) starts immediately after the original, embiggens the setting as lightly hinted at, retcons a minor detail to be a major plot point and - yes! - has Sarah Michelle Gellar getting stabby in horror-comedy action.
Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton bounce off each other nicely. The enemies this time aren’t all as inept as Grace’s inlaws in the first, Gellar’s Ursula and Shawn Hatosy as her brother Titus providing most of the serious threat. The funniest fight with a couple of standout gags (one referencing the Schwarzenegger oeuvre) is intercut with the most serious, which was an interesting choice but does deflate the fun one for me.
Since it can’t match the surprise of the original ending it plays that card a few times unexpectedly.
Lacking that surprise and not being so nicely self-contained means it doesn’t hit as well for me as the original, but it’s still big fun.
The creators compared the setting expansion to John Wick and this is pretty literal, but does mean I got something Wick failed to provide in four and a half movies.
Thursday, 19 March 2026
I have been summoned
Someone just asked for ideas for low-level powers and sources characters could have in a Buffy RPG.
I typed quite quickly for a few minutes there.
Stranger Things on disc
Stranger Things is coming to physical media, in 4K and Blu-Ray box sets. Which is nice.
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom trailer
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom trailer, and talk at Empire, “a race against time to save Halloween” so the September 18th release date for half-term is a bit early.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer
Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer and talk at Empire.
These have been a pretty consistently fun part of the MCU, something the MCU needs.
The Punisher! Bruce Banner! A changing powers storyline! Dealing with his last choice! Ninjas! Dropping off high things and it not being reversed to soar like in Spider-Verse!
And is this really the first time we’ve gotten a live-action version of the Amazing Fantasy 15 cover? Huh. Seems so obvious now it’s there.
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
And for me...
Been a while. Time to run Buffy.
I know the official system well enough to run it in my sleep (just about, GMing while unconscious doesn’t really work) but could look at alternatives that are in print if I’m feeling nice.
Yeah there’s Monster Of The Week but I will never forgive it for stealing that term for its title.
Where next for Buffy?
Assuming Sarah doesn’t burn that man down and overthrow the Hulu gatekeepers (which, fingers crossed) what next?
I would imagine the next attempt would be a full reboot with no-one back in their original roles. It’s been tried before in the 2010 film script by Whit Anderson who went on to work with Buffy writing veterans on Daredevil, and the Boom! comics - and also the show itself, which is why I’m always fine with this when it potentially comes up.
The New Sunnydale screenplay
According to Slayerfest 98 “the script leak floating around is an early draft - not the shooting script” so I’ll work from there.
I’d say it largely works.
And not just because Nova wants to go to Cambridge.
(Early naming, later Rowan.)
One of the possible new Scoobies gets to spotlight the horror of the whole thing well.
“What are you?”
“You know.”
It does feel very much like part one of an intro two-parter. Basically a whole story but ending on an appeal to come back.
And it’s very much a sequel, which is cool for audiences like me but I can see concerns about getting new people. I’m sure they could have gotten the balance in time.
Sarah Michelle Gellar on New Sunnydale
Sarah Michelle Gellar talks to People about being sad for the cast and crew and fans, angry about when the announcement came, and suspicious of one of the execs involved and merciful not to name him.
Monday, 16 March 2026
Chloé Zhao on New Sunnydale
Chloé Zhao talked about Buffy on the red carpet at the Oscars, saying she was not surprised:
“I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah, with all the cast and crew doing this. And we, first and foremost, see ourselves as the guardians of the original show. Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans. So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.”
(She was all in black with a mourning veil, but says this was a themed look for her film Hamnet.)
Oscars 2026
Sinners did great, and I was sad but not really surprised it didn’t get everything
Most years, an action comedy state-of-the-nation piece about inept leftist terrorist heroes would be a very cool Best Picture win.
Best Supporting Actress going to Amy Madigan for a straight-up monster performance in Weapons is delightful.
Frankenstein getting the design awards, fair do’s.
K-Pop Demon Hunters getting Animated Feature and Song, cool too.
Yay for Jessie Buckley although it means for budgetary reasons I should stop fancasting her as the Doctor.
Sunday, 15 March 2026
Winter Paralympics 2026 closing ceremony
Closing ceremony starting rather TRON Legacy. No ninjas yet.
Now wanting a wheelchair using Jedi.
Danger danger snowglobe critical
Well, glad Brazil got a medal for the first time, after doing that at the Olympics too.
Firefly: The Animated Series
Firefly being pitched as an animated series, set between S1 and Serenity. Could work depending on style, if it happens.
That concept art looks realistic video game or Arcane ish. Could do okay.
 |
| If it can move, I guess? |
Though I’m very aware it’s a decidedly grounded series considering the spaceship flying. Animation could tempt them to change it up - hopefully keeping no aliens but they could easily have more space action? Thinking of the Buffy animated presentation ending with fighting a dragon, as well as the canon comics not matching the live action series’s budgetary practicality.
But also Adam Baldwin is there. Can he keep his head down for a job?
Well, one of the showrunning couple worked on Agent Carter.
Saturday, 14 March 2026
I understand that this sort of thing requires ice cream of some kind.
Comfort food, episode, serious thought to running a Buffy game again.
V5: Stolen 2.04
Vampire: The Masquerade
Stolen
2.04
Everything That I Love Will Destroy Me In The End
Beck
Robin
Beck joins Robin at a booth overlooking the dancefloor.
He confirms what he’s learned about Beaufoy having worked for Milliner, which Robin says is useful and asks if there’s more, Beck dangles the information about her hangout but Robin says they know that already.
“Guess I’ll be seeing her tomorrow by myself.”
“You’re meeting her? Where?”
“What would that be worth?”
“I would like a chance to set a trap for her.”
“She’s nobody to me, just a means to an end. But it would be a shame if she found out you’re after her.”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Oh no, that’s such an ugly word. This is extortion.”
“What do you want?”
“One of the Tremere might have something I want.”
Robin agrees to check out Astor’s business.
Friday, 13 March 2026
Happy Friday the 13th! Again!
Second in a row due to last month being a non-leap February. And there’s another in November. Three is the maximum for a year.
Thursday, 12 March 2026
The Bride!
The Bride! written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal reimagines The Bride Of Frankenstein as Mary Shelley returning from Purgatory to run wild, possessing the Bride before and after her revival.
Jessie Buckley snaps between multiple characters and shows the chaos that causes her and the world, with Christian Bale as “Frank” as her straight man as they run amok in 1930s America. He’s an interesting take too, emotionally volatile, superhumanly strong but prone to pain and a sometimes collapsing lung (and I love the line he uses to get Annette Bening’s Dr. Euphronius to help) but most of the big scenes and ideas centre around her, some barely touched on like her ability to see what wrongs men have done to women - or just remember these things and say them out loud - one of the things that starts a revolution in her image.
Sketching a world where the monster alarms some but less so others and Frankenstein’s work is known only in scientific circles, some choppy editing shows through just how many ideas are involved, but it looks great and sounds fun as well.
Sometimes violent including sexual threat but most surprisingly only a 15 considering some of the language.
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Post Streets Of Fire dialogue
Based on how badly McCoy and Fish got along, if he ever had to work with her again:
(false smile) “Oh, hey, great to see you!” (smile drops) “Guard the door.”
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Streets Of Fire
Game was postponed so made pasta and watched Streets Of Fire (free with ads on YouTube) for the first time in about thirty-five years. It really is a glorious mess that could have worked with someone else in the male lead.
I still doubt it would have been big enough to get the trilogy to happen because it’s weird and dumb, but could have been fun.
(The making of seems weird and dumb too. The storming final track was written in two days after the original ending had to be scrapped because Bruce Springsteen decided not to let them use a cover of Streets Of Fire and they’d already filmed that version, Which seems like an oversight. Even before knowing they had to rebuild the set.)
“Another time, another place” is mostly the 50s but partially also very much the 80s specifically in Jim Steinman style, and a mythical city that seems to be enormous judging by how long it takes to get back sneakily from the raid. (The Warriors works to make the geography track, this absolutely doesn’t.) And as the cops try to discourage player character duelling in the streets then shrug it off you can add Wild West town to the mix of eras. RPGnet overthinking thread! It seems like a fun place to hang out.
Buffyversary
Happy 29th anniversary to Welcome To The Hellmouth.
And if you need to look up a line, Buffy transcript search by ao01_design
Monday, 9 March 2026
Saturday, 7 March 2026
Purge them.
Inspired by Marathon and one of my current PCs, thinking again about a villainous space opera game like House Of The Dying Sun. Sinister agents of a fallen empire charged with revenge against traitors and breakaway warlords, where at best the PCs can decide to do some good on their way down, and everybody has dark armour and conflicting agendas and scary-looking fighters.
Friday, 6 March 2026
Winter Paralympics 2026 opening ceremony
Nice for the Russian and Belarus athletes. Less so for others who could have had those wild card spaces.
Start with ninjas.
Theremin made of wood from migrant boats is quite a touch.
The ninjas have laser hands. I REPEAT, THE NINJAS HAVE LASER HANDS.
Thursday, 5 March 2026
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Teviot
Teviot Union, the home of The Watch House officially reopens after two and a half years. I’ll have to go see what they've done.
Update: Wee video. Main thing which meant the delay, great big balconied bar at the back, way in where the front desk used to be. The Mezzanine has stopped being the New Amphion and is now the Gallery, while still being a mezzanine. Otherwise quite a lot of grey walls where the wood panelling was, though not entirely. Hrm.
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
V5: Stolen 2.03
Vampire: The Masquerade
Stolen
2.03
Favours For Favours
Beck
Robin
Vince
Beck arranges a meeting with his sire Alva, a wine bar around the West End. He asks about concerns with the Tremere and the Sheriff, and about finding a rogue Banu Haqim. In exchange she asks for help with a small charitable event, something his position in the Church of England will help more than the Church of Caine.
The next night, she updates him to say that the Banu Haqim has done something for Joseph Milliner, the Hecata investor.
Bruce Campbell
All best wishes to Bruce Campbell. And fuck cancer.
When he came here to promote My Name Is Bruce the first screening with Q&A sold out, so they put on another and he said he’d do an introduction but then he stayed for a Q&A after anyway.
Monday, 2 March 2026
The Thunder Perfect Mind
The Thunder Perfect Mind has arrived.
Coming soon, the first supplement, Terrestrial Court, including LARP rules.
The Nevers
The Nevers is streaming free with ads on ITVx. The last thing Joss Whedon created and left unfinished when he was revealed as a creep, I’ve never had a chance to see it short of buying the discs. So here we go.
Nine minutes thirty and Mrs. True has kicked a guy out of a window.
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Marathon
Marathon is a new multiplayer action game from the studio behind Halo and Destiny. On a failed colony planet, various corporate and other factions send Runners in machine bodies to collect artefacts, bring back data about some mysteries, and fight each other to loot the wreckage.
With no single-player campaign and fairly light narrative development elements it doesn’t feel so heavily suited to story focused versions like tabletop RPGs as Halo and particularly the “why isn’t this an RPG?” of Destiny, though it could be the basis for a West Marches raid game, and looks really Mork Borg and the in-character multiple lives are pretty Paranoia.
It takes its name from a first person adventure with plenty of plot, a precursor to Halo, but while that’s part of the new game’s history it doesn’t play the same way.
Ultimately everybody kinda looks like an Infinity figure or crash test dummy. Not my jam.
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Friday, 27 February 2026
Pokémon at 30
Pokémon started thirty years ago. I was outside the demographic for it but respect the hustle.
Though I still think Pikachu looks more like a cat.
What's your favourite scary movie?
I aim to be positive here. There are a lot of things I like about Scream. Like so.
Thursday, 26 February 2026
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a new SF comedy with a side of horror from Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and Mouse Hunt as well as the US version of The Ring and you can kind of see all of that here, from a script by Matthew Robinson, co-writer of The Invention Of Lying and I can see that too.
It stars Sam Rockwell as a man from the future come to recruit a seemingly random assortment of people to save humanity - or is he? He’s a lot less charming than Reese in The Terminator so has to rely on different ways to motivate his ragtag resistance.
I went in pretty blind thanks to a teaser that really only shows the setup, expecting more of some things than I got and not expecting some other things at all, so had a pretty fun wild ride so I guess I had good luck.
Content warning for flashing lights and Holy WOW jokes about people being blasé about school shooting.
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Return To The Spider-Adjacent-Verse
Having given up on the Spider-Man adjacent live-action movies last year, Sony are rebooting them. This comes a couple days after news of an animated Venom movie from the writers of Final Destination: Bloodlines and the trailer for the live-action Spider-Noir series spinning off from the animated Spider-Verse.
I mean, some of them were fine in places. I liked most of Madame Web apart from the actual Madame Web connections.
Tortilla Chip Day
It is Tortilla Chip Day. And unusually I have some.
And behold, I reached into the bag and withdrew the Triangle of Triangles.
Tortillaception
Monday, 23 February 2026
The X Files (202X)
Ryan Coogler to direct a pilot for a new take on The X Files, Jennifer Yale as showrunner, starring Danielle Deadwyler as one of its leads.
“Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.”
So could be a soft or hard reboot. sequel, requel, etc. etc.
a|state sale
a|state second edition with free PDF for 24.99, 15 off, at Handiwork Games to mark Blades In The Dark sourcebook Blades 68 coming out using the Trouble Engine.
The City loves a bargain.
Sunday, 22 February 2026
Saturday, 21 February 2026
The horror...?
This week’s Radio Times (UK’s big TV listings mag) is a “horror special” due to the BAFTA film awards having some relevant nominations and the cover is a judge from Great British Menu cosplaying as Nosferatu.
Am I awake
Friday, 20 February 2026
Ken and Robin talk introductory adventures
Ken And Robin Talk About Stuff usually has something worth checking, but will add an extra plug for this week for the opening section on introductory adventures. They recommend going for the core activity and pilot episode. But how do you present that for something broad like, looking at a helpful example, Vampire? Examples are meeting to discuss big political change and the Prince giving them an annoying order and how to deal with it. Also blood-drinking as a terror tactic in war, disapproving father stock characters, and chess magic.
Game drought
Going to be zero for four this week. :/
Must not take this as a sign to start an online game. At least until I get the desktop’s fan fixed.
Buffy Vs. Big Foot
Wh*donesque asked what monsters wed like to see Buffy fight and Jane Espenson replied:
We used to joke about leprechauns. And I pitched a Big Foot episode once.
(Tell us more about the Big Foot episode, please)
Well the thing was, that was the pitch, pretty much. What if we did Big Foot?
--
Now given Big Foot is one the most widely seen and dismissed cryptids, I would imagine an episode with annoying cryptid chasers getting in the way of a regular monster hunt.
Alysa Liu is a big damn hero.
Alysa Liu is a big damn hero. As is her father, a political refugee after helping organise the Tiananmen protests.
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Ghost In The Shell RPGs
You wait thirty-one years for a Ghost In The Shell RPG and then two come along at once.
Due to bitty licensing, one is based on the recent-ish TV series Ghost In The Shell: Arise and the other uses art from the original manga but the adjusted title of the next series The Ghost In The Shell.
So neither are directly the one from the 1995 anime which is the version I would be interested in.
The latter is from Mantic, with a miniatures game to follow.
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Monday, 16 February 2026
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is now free on YouTube, a bold TV experiment with serialisation, CG space, riffing on and an early pitch allegedly being riffed on by Star Trek, and dialogue that I always thought nobody talked like until I read the creator’s book on dcreenwriting.
Sunday, 15 February 2026
Yellowjackets
Due to the occasional weird licensing of streaming shows, Yellowjackets is starting on ITV. Heavily Lord Of The Flies it’s also like the evil child of LOST - plane crash, possibly mystery related to flashbacks, possible supernatural stuff, but with a lot more infighting and cannibalism than the network friendly series. I hear S1 is worth watching. Knowing as much as I do by unavoidable cultural osmosis, I appreciate the ominous foreshadowing not waiting around.
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Valentine's Day joke 2026 edition
Roses are red
Other options are also available
Check local stockists
Friday, 13 February 2026
Winter Olympic 2026 update
UK first gold in throwing ourselves down a mountain on a tea tray. Wonder what this says about us as a nation.
V5: Stolen 2.02
Vampire: The Masquerade
Stolen
2.02
No Good Deed
Beck
Robin
Vince
A week passes and no apparent repercussions.
Beck watches the audience at his sermons.
Robin observes his family from a distance - not sure about this girl his son has started seeing.
Vince looks into the antiquarian book trade after Beck mentioned it.
He next sees Beck at Elysium, one of the smaller locations in a private art gallery. Noting Astor is there as well, he keeps his distance as they discuss business.
“Has there been any movement on my order? Time waits for no man.”
“Yes, I did hear you had some urgent business?”
Beck and Astor size each other up.
--
And at the same time, Robin is looking for a deserving victim when approached by Morland.
Icons of the Night
A year-long monhtly pin-up art contest for World Of Darkness. Sexiness not required but encouraged in several prompts.
Erin LeCount, Don't You See Me Trying?
Erin LeCount, Don’t You See Me Trying?
Everything that I love will destroy me in the end
So I break my own heart over and over again
And that’s a WoD playlist add. Even without the video dancing on a grave.
Thursday, 12 February 2026
The Rockford Files with David Boreanaz?
I can kinda see it... though it does make me think of the couple times Angel went undercover as a comically exaggerated doofus.
Also Rockford has a sometime sidekick called Angel.
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Prequels are tricky.
Just read a prequel comic to a film, naming no names, and didn’t like any of the decisions it made. A new Big Bad claiming responsibility for the events of the film, more reasons to target the new main characters than were needed here or in the original, a monster that doesn’t fit aesthetically, a small twist that feels out of place cosmologically, and a zero sum ending above and beyond what was required to set up the start of the story as was.
(There was a bit I liked, the attempt to remove the monster failing and inverting the classic Alien method of getting it out of the airlock.)
How to apply this to RPGs? It’s good to make big swings, but not if you have to wind them back immediately.
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
TRON: Ares
I watched TRON: Ares because its on D+ and because it got the unique boost of two of its stars, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith, having been on The Graham Norton Show the same week as Taylor Swift and therefore appearing in her new video for Opalite with Norton and all the guests because Domhnall Gleeson joked about wanting to be in one.
This is what it took.
(Added fun fact: one of the other guests and thus Opalite guest stars was Cillian Murphy, who cameoed in TRON: Legacy as a Dillinger heir and not in this one where Evan Peters plays a different Dillinger heir as the villain.)
It’s visually and musically interesting but narratively not good.
So, a TRON movie.
This still feels like a backdrop in search of stories. It would work for games if that’s not too meta.
Not helped by Jared Leto as Ares, though it only exists because of him so unavoidable.
(He will next be unrecognisable as Skeletor in Masters Of The Universe, which does feel avoidable.)
It was nice that it did a few things that weren’t revealed in the trailers, and one of those was indulgent but pretty fun.
I would have guessed the unnaturally calm F-35 pilots were a military cooperation directive but they were actually Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross VO cameos.
Some likely product placement but the biggest plug for some reason went to Depeche Mode.
I may have sworn when I saw this ad.
Infamously delayed game referencing being over a decade in development in its ad copy like that’s a good thing in this case.
Monday, 9 February 2026
Super Bowl trailers
Great year for halftime show, bad year for adverts, fine year for trailers with more for The Mandalorian And Grogu (featuring halftime show guest Pedro Pascal) and Disclosure Day.
Sunday, 8 February 2026
A murder of vampires
One of my Sunday afternoon Vampire players is now in a second game, mostly with members of the Murder Mystery Society, which is not a LARP society, really. Will this lead to a new Vampire LARP in the city? Possibly.
Saturday, 7 February 2026
Star Trek: Ariel 1.03
Star Trek: Ariel
1.03
Watching all of Lower Decks in a few months may have made me nicer to the Orion pirates than intended.
Friday, 6 February 2026
Winter Olympics 2026
The Winter Olympics is here, and doing that weird thing where they have some stuff before the Opening Ceremony tonight.
A more low-key opening ceremony than the big but bitty (but masked torchbearer and Gojira) Paris summer 2024, the main tricky bit being the two city location for the athlete parade so there was regular cutting and probably some delays for teams coming in, but not huge ones. The now standard floating Olympic rings. An Italian astronaut. Nessun Dorma. A bit that had a slop sheen followed by Prisencolinensinainciusol making it better.
And many calls for peace and harmony and nice things like that, with the Ukraine team getting a big cheer. Strange to think it’s been four years.
Thursday, 5 February 2026
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Resident Evil Requiem live trailer
Resident Evil Requiem live trailer starring Maika Monroe. If I could get Maika Monroe to star in a three minute live-action film to advertise my horror game I would too.
It's The Muppet Show with our very special guest stars...
I wouldn’t put every PC group in The Muppet Show, but certainly some.
TOON, yes. Puppetland, no.
But as the token live-action people.
Buffy is too obvious. After all, they had episodes where demon hunters get turned into puppets in Buffy’s first season and Angel’s last.
If this game does this it's worth cover price
I know saying “kill the players” when you mean the player characters is an easy slip (that happens to make you sound like a sociopath) but still worth checking. I just saw an ad for a game about playing in the afterlife with the tagline:
A TTRPG (system redacted) to play after all the players have died
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
V5: Stolen 2.01
Vampire: The Masquerade
Stolen
2.01
Signs And Wonders
Beck
Robin
Vince
Beck manages to return safely as the pursuers turn on each other. He recognises Darvell, the Sheriff, at the back of the Camarilla group.
As they drive back to his haven, the girl introduces herself as Alice, and he can hear her heart pounding in fear. She’s alive.
“You’re a Thin-blood?”
“My father was.”
“You mean your sire?”
“No.”
Monday, 2 February 2026
Groundhog Day 2026
Considering the weather the US has had this week you’d think they’d have tried harder to stop the groundhog seeing its shadow.
Sunday, 1 February 2026
The Thunder Perfect Mind
The Thunder Perfect Mind, an occult action thriller RPG from Tanya Floaker, now on Kickstarter and funded.
Return from the dead. Roll lots of d10s. Possible splatbooks.
February
We have a Friday the 13th this month and as it’s not a leap year there’s another one next month.
Saturday, 31 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 Roundup
Character Creation Challenge 2026
Roundup
I came up with the idea to create parties for different systems than I’d default to at about 10:30 pm on New Year’s Day, a bit of a spin on previous years generating groups but different enough to run with, after drawing a blank for quite a while. ICONS and d6 Star Wars are the only games I used that I’ve actually played or run, so I still tried something new.
The characters I chose to build do mean that only the Elegy PCs are actually my creations, being adapted from an RPG rather than outside media. Maybe I should have done more there. Or less! But familiarity meant readers could get an idea of the system from how the characters were interpreted.
As noted when introducing the Fellowship I considered a couple other options, maybe for all nine, before the size of the epilogue in Stranger Things 5 reminded me of the film of The Return Of The King.
I also thought about using something like ALIEN or Mothership for Star Trek because if I ever ran Trek it would probably end up like that if not the zappy action side.
I considered Sinners with either a horror one-shot game or Hunter: The Reckoning.
And I came pretty close to doing the MCU Avengers with Angel to flip the Buffy with supers system but that felt too easy.
It was really good to have something to focus on daily this January.
Thanks to TardisCaptain for the challenge and everybody who took part or cheered us on.
Dedicated to SteveD
Character Creation Challenge 2026 Collection
Character Creation Challenge 2026
TardisCaptain introduction and after action report
Buffy The Vampire Slayer with ICONS Assembled Edition
1a: Buffy Summers
2a: Rupert Giles, Watcher
3a: Willow Rosenberg, witch
4a: Xander Harris, Scooby
5a: Cordelia Chase, Mean Girl
6a: Daniel “Oz” Osbourne, werewolf
7a: Angel, vampire with a soul
8b: Leverage Inc.
16d: Finn
17d: Poe
18d: Rose
19d: BB-8
20d: Chewbacca
John Wick with Hell 4 Leather
21e: John Wick et al.
The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes first edition
22f: Frodo
23f: Sam
24f: Merry
25f: Pippin
26f: Gandalf
Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987
27g: Kirk
28g: Spock
29g: McCoy
30g: Uhura
31g: Scotty
Character Creation Challenge 2026 31g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Scotty
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
31g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Scotty
And ending with a national treasure.
Actually using one of the templates as is. Though I could fiddle with the numbers, as Scotty is more socially adept than the default here.
Montgomery Scott
Tongue-Tied Engineer
Friday, 30 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 30g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Uhura
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
30g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Uhura
The Kelvin timeline version of Uhura emphasises her linguistic expertise and confidence in alien contact, so the closest template is Young Senatorial. And like McCoy giving her more of a boost to her core skill than a starting character should have.
Nyota Uhura
Young Senatorial, switching Strength and Technical
Thursday, 29 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 29g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - McCoy
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
29g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - McCoy
As with science there isn’t a medic type in the d6 Star Wars templates, so based on his being the older grumpier member of the team, as long as he has a good Technical score for the Medicine skill.
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
Retired Republic Captain, switch Mechanical and Technical. And give him slightly more Medicine than he should have
Wonder Man
Wonder Man is quite a trip. Spoiler warning for Midnight Cowboy, which is an odd choice. Some of the actor overthinking and director eccentricity stuff is a bit much, the wince-inducing initial example could have been shorter than about eight minutes for one. And the meta includes a riff on not seeing the costume until right at the end which is funny but also fits the complaint But on the whole a charming piece on trying hard and having to mask who you are in various ways.
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 28g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Spock
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
28g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Spock
D6 Star Wars templates don’t include something like science or medical officers, as the game assumes a handful of PCs in a little ship rather than the more organised fleet types. But give Spock a decent Knowledge score and we’re most of the way there. And as the only (half) alien in the core crew he also gets a few psychic powers.
Mr. Spock
Minor Jedi, with a small boost to Knowledge and Strength in exchange for Perception and Technical and a different power. If this system had disadvantages I’d add occasional berserker rage.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
V5: City Of Angels 37
Vampire: The Masquerade - City Of Angels session 37
Paris reacted to a similar accusation with an angry pout.
And would have liked to react to a flame attack like Erika in Underworld but actually more like Marion in Raiders.
Character Creation Challenge 2026 27g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Kirk
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
27g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987
The 2009 Star Trek is a big fast sci-fi action movie and the director would go on to make Star Wars so, while Star Trek Adventures would do the job just fine...
Star Wars D6 characters distribute 18 dice among 6 statistics, with 3D being average. Then 7 between their skills, maximum +2D at start but I might give someone a +3D for a key specialty. They can split a die into 3 pips as well. We’ll get to Force powers when I make Spock.
27g: Star Trek 2009 with Star Wars 1987 - Kirk
James T. Kirk
Brash Pilot, but switch Perception and Mechanical. Knowledge and Technical. So different enough that Sulu might be a Brash Pilot too.
Monday, 26 January 2026
Television (demonstration) at 100
On January 26 1926, John Logie Baird “demonstrated the transmission of images of real human faces for 40 distinguished scientists of the Royal Institution. This is widely regarded as being the world's first public television demonstration.” Per Wikipedia
Character Creation Challenge 2026 26f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Gandalf
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
26f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Gandalf
Powered characters in Kids On Bikes are based on shared creation and narrative control by the group, reflecting characters like E.T. and Eleven in the first season of Stranger Things. The GM comes up with a starting concept and the d20 and d4 stats, sets Psychic Energy (default 7) for how often they can use their powers, and the players create or choose Aspects (default 2) which they then control when they come up. This means a character can be wildly powerful or weird without overshadowing the normal PCs. Like a wizard with great knowledge and some showy powers but a tendency to disappear for chapters at a time.
Gandalf The Grey
Powered character
Sunday, 25 January 2026
Back at it
Sunday afternoon Vampire: The Masquerade (ST)
Got new players
Sunday evening Vampire: The Masquerade (player)
Told a cultist I was insulted by the suggestion we’d kill one of the cult in a way we could be traced to
Character Creation Challenge 2026 25f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Pippin
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
25f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Pippin
Peregrin Took
Funny Sidekick
Saturday, 24 January 2026
Star Trek: Ariel 1.02
Star Trek: Ariel
1.02
Starship combat is pretty complicated for a fairly light system overall, as of Star Trek Adventures 1e. Which I suppose makes sense as a big starship fight is an important thing in an episode.
It seems my captain is clear and decisive, but also smiles at threats.
Character Creation Challenge 2026 24f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Merry
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
24f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Merry
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Laid-back Slacker
Friday, 23 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 23f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Sam
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
23f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Sam
Samwise Gamgee
Blue-Collar Worker (bending the rules for an adult trope)
Thursday, 22 January 2026
Sinners breaks Oscar nomination record
The Academy Award nominations are out, and Sinners got sixteen.
Character Creation Challenge 2026 22f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Frodo
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
22f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes
F is for Fellowship. And Frodo.
I’d go with The One Ring for a Middle-earth game, but for the purpose of this challenge I considered a few options emphasising different elements of the saga.
Desperate mission story game Our Last Best Hope would work for the Fellowship overall as a one-shot, although only Boromir and temporarily Gandalf get the dramatic deaths the system runs on.
Pastoral travel game Wanderhome, for contrast, for The Hobbit. Possibly swapping out Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger from The Wind In The Willows for Bilbo, Balin, Thorin and Gandalf.
But I finally settled on Kids On Bikes (first edition, as I don’t have second and it’s apparently a small revision) for the four Hobbits, with Gandalf as the powered character. The rest of the Fellowship could be statted as Teens or Adults.
Leaving home on a great adventure cuts out the town focus and collaborative creation, but hey. And I ran through that last time I used this for the Challenge.
Characters start with Tropes (playbooks) that can be adjusted, or made from scratch. This gives them a stat line, suggestions for their two starting strengths (along with the one they get from age range) and flaws, and some personality questions, with a longer list for making connections to a setting.
22f: The Lord Of The Rings with Kids On Bikes - Frodo
Frodo Baggins
Popular Kid
Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 21e: John Wick with Hell 4 Leather
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
21e: John Wick with Hell 4 Leather
Since John Wick (the film, not the game designer) was released its mix of heightened action and semi-secret world setting has had people discussing games to use for it, and games and sourcebooks coming out referencing it explicitly. If I were running a series I have several options, including Vampire, but if I wanted to play something like just the first film I’d be tempted by a one-shot game like Hell 4 Leather, a story game about one PC coming back from the dead for revenge on all the others.
The PCs and the game’s timeline are based on the Major Arcana from the Tarot. The central PC is the Fool, also given the cards Death and the Devil. The others take one of six cards and fit that role and each get a Boon (which can save them... maybe...) from another set of six, and can take Guilt Boons by narrating their part in the betrayal if there are any left.
John is The Fool.
Viggo is the Emperor, with the Boon of Strength and the Guilt Boon of the Lovers because he knows John’s reasons.
Iosef is the Hermit, with the Boon of Temperance because he lacks that and the Guilt Boon of the Chariot because he stole John’s car and this is all his fault.
Avi is the Hierophant, with the Boon of the Wheel of Fortune as he has the worst luck.
Perkins is the Empress, with the Boon of Justice as she breaks the rules of the Continental to seek the bounty on John.
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 20d: Star Wars with Black Star - Chewbacca
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
20d: Star Wars with Black Star
20d: Chewbacca, Wookiee veteran
Chewbacca was first mate of the Millennium Falcon for decades, and a decorated veteran of the Galactic Civil War yes he did get a medal.
Monday, 19 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 19d: Star Wars with Black Star - BB-8
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
19d: Star Wars with Black Star
19d: BB-8, maintenance droid
BB-8 is Poe’s loyal little droid.
I gave him an extra Talent to make up for being unable to use regular hand tools or weapons.
Sunday, 18 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 18d: Star Wars with Black Star - Rose
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
18d: Star Wars with Black Star
18d: Rose Tico, Resistance technician
Rose was a maintenance tech, supporting the Resistance including her pilot sister Paige.
Saturday, 17 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 17d: Star Wars with Black Star - Poe
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
17d: Star Wars with Black Star
17d: Poe Dameron, ace pilot
Poe Dameron, X-Wing pilot, Resistance squadron leader, dashing rogue. Not to be confused with Cameron Poe, hero of Con Air.
Friday, 16 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 16d: Star Wars with Black Star - Finn
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
16d: Star Wars with Black Star
16d: Finn, rogue Stormtrooper
Finn, formerly designated FN-2187, was a First Order Stormtrooper conditioned from childhood and... that didn’t really work. Touched by the Force, he broke free about as soon as possible.
Thursday, 15 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 15d: Star Wars with Black Star - Rey
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
15d: Star Wars with Black Star
Black Star from LakeSide Games is a light 2d6-based system for classic space opera and heroic science fantasy. Quoting the introduction: “If there is any hope for the galaxy, if the dream of peace, justice and equality for all is to become a reality, if the Imperium is ever to be overthrown, the galaxy will need heroes...”
(Not to be confused with Blackstar, the David Bowie video I most want to run as a Doctor Who game.)
Check out a runthrough of a scene here.
--
Heroes have ten Attributes, starting at 1 with 10 points to spend and a starting maximum of 3:
Blasting, Brawling, Diplomacy, Discipline, Instinct, Intellect, Speed, Strength, Tools, Transports
Two Archetypes each, from a list of ten. They also have five Talents, one for each Archetype, one from the list for each, and one other.
They also start with Gear, a Link (comlink), three other pieces of Gear, any archetype Gear and two slots to have useful Gear in an adventure.
And finally 7 Resolve, the system’s bennies.
--
15d: Star Wars with Black Star – Rey
Rey is “no one”, an abandoned child turned scavenger on a desert planet, but the Force is with her.
Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 14c: Vampire with Elegy - Narcissus lineage
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
14c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy - Narcissus lineage
Narcissus
“The Aesthetes embody the myth of the seductive and sensual vampire. Their eerie presence, manipulation skills, and charm make them irresistible to both mortals and vampires. They place high value on sensuality, aesthetic experience, popularity, and status.”
The modern pop culture vampire, the Daeva take this role in Requiem, kind of split between the Brujah and Toreador in Masquerade with their original writeup closer to Toreador but with the Brujah power suite. As those are the two Masquerade clans I’ve played most and the only Requiem clan I’ve ever had a chance to play the one time I got to, and hey, I’m playing one now...
Paris
Occupation in life
Events organiser around a large campus
Tuesday, 13 January 2026
V5: City Of Angels 36
Vampire: The Masquerade - City Of Angels session 36
First RPG session of the year, and the long-suffering vampire events promoter stopped someone else crying instead of being the one crying.
Maybe when she gets home.
Character Creation Challenge 2026 13c: Vampire with Elegy - Kerberos lineage
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
13c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy - Kerberos lineage
Kerberos
“The Savages embody the myth of the primal, animalistic, untamed vampire. Their deep connection to the wild and fierce independence make other vampires fear - or misunderstand - them.”
The Gangrel, the classic wolf-and-bat vampire and ambivalent to the city-based vampire society, are a mainstay in Masquerade and Requiem. I’ve played a couple now and then, and often have one as a dangerous enemy - or possible ally - among my NPCs.
Walker
Occupation in life
Old West outlaw
Monday, 12 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 12c: Vampire with Elegy - Deimos lineage
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
12c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy - Deimos lineage
Deimos
“The Horrors embody the terrifying, monstrous myth of the vampire. They are cruel, secretive, and unafraid to use terror or violence to reach their objectives. Though they often seek just knowledge, their methods are brutal.”
Nosferatu in Requiem are sometimes physically monstrous but can also look normal but be deeply offputting and their signature Discipline is about fear, making them different than their Masquerade namesakes who are all physically monstrous but often humane. Deimos have a different starting power array too, so they cover the archetype but aren’t one-to-one with either Vampire version.
I’ve played some Masquerade Nosferatu, and have one I’ve wanted to play since before first edition came out...
Piotr
Occupation in life
He has no memory of a human life
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 11c: Vampire with Elegy - Cassandra lineage
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
11c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy - Cassandra lineage
Cassandra
“The Umbra represent the myth of the mysterious, shadowy vampire. Enigmatic and secretive, they pull strings from the dark to achieve their goals. They are often scholars, and value knowledge and control over others above anything.”
The Cassandra cover the same niche as the Mekhet in Requiem, who are the core clan most distant from Masquerade - they fit the occult niche of the Tremere but don’t do blood magic as that’s a covenant thing, and in terms of powers are close to the Malkavians. Their weaknesses come from classic vampire banes like sunlight, lack of reflections and in second edition always having a folkloric bane, which might have been the origin of the Malkavian flaw idea that made them problematic representation for mental illness.
I’m currently playing a Tremere and haven’t played a Mekhet or Malkavian, but have a recurring Malkavian but basically Mekhet in my roster of Masquerade NPCs who I could consider playing.
Colette
Occupation in life
Hippy party scenester
Stranger Things
Stranger Things ends with its fifth season, as they put it, one last adventure.
(Not counting the already announced animated series set between 2 and 3.)
A sci-fantasy series set in my childhood (I had that lunchbox! Rather mixed feelings about the treatment of the character who has it...) with RPG playing kids as the heroes was always going to interest me but with some unavoidable distancing. The occasional anachronism would stick out (those guns are late 80s!) and don’t get me started on how they should be playing AD&D and have Sorcerers being a class 13 years early.
(How would you play it? Not with D&D. There are various kids on bikes games including Kids On Bikes. What would I do? Maybe timeslips, as mentioned here.)
Creators Matt and Ross Duffer were born in 1984, so all their early to mid 80s references are second-hand.
Its modernity shows to me most clearly in the reliance on walkie-talkies, a rare novelty here used like mobile phones now. I remember when genre media was set in the 80s so people wouldn’t have mobile phones so the writers wouldn’t have to deal with them – now things like this have to have them despite it being too early!
And season 5 adds some more time-bending, informed by the prequel stage play The First Shadow, which puts all the grown-up characters in high school at the same time - including Henry, which is some serious reverse Dawson casting.
Dawson casting is of course a problem for a series where four years pass in-character but nine out-of-character. Galen Matarazzo and Sadie Sink are the only ones who still read ‘kid’, and Noah Schnapp at twenty-one looks and sounds like he could skip college roles and go straight on to playing grownups.
But in S5 they also age up Holly, Nancy and Mike’s little sister, who was played by twin four-year-olds in season one and is now supposed to be ten or eleven, not seven, and played by a fourteen-year-old. No wonder I had to double check this wasn’t a Dawn Summers situation in character. As well as OOC because she suddenly becomes a major part of the story.
I also went back and rewatched the opening D&D game and Mr. Clarke’s explanation of the Upside Down. The internet is nice like that.
I also also went back to the look at the original series pitch, Montauk. It’s recognisably the same show as the first two years in particular. And that link includes the original “sizzle reel” cut from various inspirational media- hey, I’ve made those!
Season 1 had more of a balance of the Steven Spielberg with the Stephen King, season 2 less so by dint of deepening the threat. Coming a year apart they’re more of a unit.
Season 3 shifted away from the brown leftover-70s early 80s to the central mall setting making it THE 80S! of popular memory, and is an odd standalone in other ways, notably the “wait, Russians? Really?” threat.
Season Eddie, I mean season 4, came late for unavoidable reasons so it was a nice thing to get at all. Introducing Vecna as a monster the characters could talk to shifted the dynamic, in ways that reminded me less of models like Freddie Krueger and more of the Borg Queen. And not just because of the hanging on CGI tentacles entrance. (The play makes him more sympathetic and raises the question of possible redemption, which is raised in 5 but as it isn’t featured as heavily as in the play they don’t go all in with it.
And now 5 pays off a lot of stuff. While also adding some new stuff. Because there really is a lot of 5. Two episodes of the eight are under an hour, and the finale is two. (And I am genuinely baffled by the conspiracy theory that there would be a secret ninth episode, because apart from some things going different ways what more could you want?)
I liked that it doesn’t write out characters who would realistically help for the sake of dramatic stakes, but this does result in battle and briefing scenes with a dozen characters in them. Remember how the Fellowship of the Ring were actually all together for half a book? But it mostly gives enough of them enough to do. And as part of that I liked that some previously out-of-the-loop characters got to join in.
 |
| And this doesn't include all the kids. |
I loved the little touch where, having split the town in half at the end of 4, they cover it with metal plates - and kids use it for sledging. Totally irrelevant, basically establishing that shocking ending was actually totally unimportant, but delightful.
I could have done with a bit less time on the emotional conversations, it would have given the really key ones some more punch. And that goes for the sheer amount of ending too. That’s my main issue with it, it gets maximalist. But it’s a finale, and I’ve done my share of maximalist finale runs for long-running games too.
Redoing and improving on one of the groaner moments in The Rise Of Skywalker was a choice too.
In all I liked it - it’s always been a sow I like, but know its inspirations too much to love - but the bigness of this season got in the way for me. But it’s nice that we got it at all, let alone that we got it so crazy big. I’m curious to see what the creators do next.
And yeah, the finale end credits were cheap heat but that cut always works.
And there’s a bit near the end that Gary Gygax would have hated, so points for that too.
Saturday, 10 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 10c: Vampire with Elegy - Adamas lineage
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
10c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy - Adamas lineage
The worldbuilding options in Elegy include a system for vampire lineages with common features. It presents five archetypal lineages resembling the core Vampire: The Requiem clans, each with specific standard powers and weaknesses, so making one of each, adapted from characters in the nearest equivalent clans I’ve played or featured across both Vampire game families.
Adamas
“The Adamant embody the myth of the noble, aristocratic vampire. They are refined, proud, and commanding; they aspire to rule and expect obedience. Their control over mortal institutions is unmatched.”
Annnnnd I’ve never actually played a Ventrue in either Vampire game family. Mostly because the Masquerade version weaknesses have always put me off.
But I’ve NPCed enough in my time. For example, I never gave any real thought to what this Keeper of Elysium did as a mortal...
Armistead
Occupation in life
Management in a publishing house
Friday, 9 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 9c: Vampire with Elegy
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
9c: Vampire: The Masquerade with Elegy
Elegy by Miracle M. is a rules-light solo RPG with group options based on Ironsworn and featuring its random table oracle system, for modern monsters inspired by Vampire: The Requiem and Masquerade.
It features a worldbuilding section suggesting different vampire origins and societies, an example city with districts and neighbourhoods, and the oracle system provides random tables for plot drivers and complications, clues, mood touches and character traits and more.
It’s available Pay What You Want and worth picking up for anyone running a horror or urban fantasy RPG.
Character creation summary:
Occupation in life
Progenitor, who they were and why they turned you
Apparent and true age
Pick three Gifts
Write two Aspects
Assign Attributes
Body, Mind, Charm, Soul
+1, +0, +0, -1
Looks and Vibe
Possessions
Name
Two Connections
Progenitor
One who performs an opposite role
Set you Max Rush to 10, and your Base Rush to 2.
Set your current Rush to 2.
Set Health, Clarity, Mask, and Blood to 5
Envision a first mission
Starting with a version of my most recent Vampire: The Masquerade character:
Occupation in life
Doctor in Paris’s general hospital during the Revolution
Thursday, 8 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 8b: Leverage with The Score
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
8b: Leverage with The Score
Steve D created The Score as a heist party game RPG that could be played in less than twenty minutes. One of his inspirations was Leverage, for which he also created an unofficial Wheelman character type and other supplements for the RPG as well as including a Leverage variant in the expended rules for The Score.
There are twelve Talents shared by the group in the standard game so every PC generally has about two Talents unless the group is really big or small. These are chosen from a short list represented by cards, which are played later during the game to give each Talent a focus. With the classic crew of five we have three with two and two with three.
Sophie, Grifter
Coercion, Disguise, Drive
Hardison, Hacker
Hacker, Gear
Eliot, Hitter
Close Combat, Stealth
Nate, Mastermind
Contacts, Fast Talk, Signals
Parker, Thief
Break and Enter, Sleight of Hand
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 7a: Buffy with ICONS - Angel
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
Buffy The Vampire Slayer with ICONS Assembled Edition
1a: Buffy Summers
2a: Rupert Giles, Watcher
3a: Willow Rosenberg, witch
4a: Xander Harris, Scooby
5a: Cordelia Chase, Mean Girl
6a: Daniel “Oz” Osbourne, werewolf
7a: Angel
Vampire with a soul
An infamous vampire cursed with a soul, trying to atone
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Character Creation Challenge 2026 6a: Buffy with ICONS - Oz
Character Creation Challenge 2026
PC groups for games I would do with different systems
Buffy The Vampire Slayer with ICONS Assembled Edition
1a: Buffy Summers
2a: Rupert Giles, Watcher
3a: Willow Rosenberg, witch
4a: Xander Harris, Scooby
5a: Cordelia Chase, Mean Girl
6a: Daniel “Oz” Osbourne, werewolf
Otherwise chill guitarist werewolf
Also not a season one version as he appears in season two
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