I’m terrible at these yearly challenges. Never really got started on Dungeon 23, managed 15 days of Hexcrawl 24, so in 2025 I’m going to keep my ambitions realistic, and take part in the 31 day character creation challenge in January – see https://tardiscaptain.com/gaming/character-creation-challenge/ for more information.
My plan is to make characters during the week, then at the weekend give their systems a shakedown, or do a bit of world building.
For character inspiration and to stop me from just making the same four characters over and over again I’ll be using a draw from a pool of tarot cards consisting of the Majour Arcana and the face cards, with the remaining minor arcana being used for extra details if needed. If I draw a duplicate card, the character created will be a version of the character originally inspired by that card.
If a game system is particularly simple to make characters for, I might make an entire party rather than just one or two. If I’m really enthused by a character or system the weekend may be used for a full solo adventure rather than just a system shakedown.
Each system will be judged on the following metrics
How easy was it to make a character?
- Were the book and layout helpful?
- Was I able to make meaningful choices with just a skim read of the system?
Am I enthused to play this character?
- – Exactly that. If someone said, “Let’s play X” would I jump at the chance?
How well does the system work in practice?
- Is it fun?
- Does it achieve and stated design goals?