D&D 5e (2014 rules)

Clan Marathonia

Lady IronFist is my first character so let’s hold off on the judging for the edginess, okay. The four of us made these characters as our alter-egos while serving as the long-term (marathon) executives for our university improv club. I had a…particular leadership style, at the time.

Lady IronFist is an iron tiefling abandoned by human parents and raised by the beast mages and wild spirits of Shadowfang forest. She learned to transform into a panther from Shadowfang herself (an Archfey and IronFist’s paternal grandmother). She joined the ruling Clan of Marathonia, one of five major city-states on the continent of Ajahnis, and found a kind of friendship, security, and love that she didn’t know was possible amongst humanoids.

We’re probably going to kill her mom (Iron Angel, current ruler of Dis) and hopefully free her dad (Lord of the Hunt, Archfey being punished for his role in the murder of a great fey tree even though he was mind-controlled at the time).

Candlekeep Mysteries

Shai Meadowlark is a friendly minotaur with a heart of gold and a will so strong that the Weave shapes itself around her (no gods required)! Her family found their way out of the Labyrinth many generations ago and have been cultivating their small farm on the outskirt of Baldur’s Gate ever since. Shai wound up at the Great Library of Candlekeep when she went to demand the return of her granny’s almanac (stolen by a no-good hoity-toity elf) and instead found friendship and a place where she belonged (but she did also get the almanac back). She’s not the bookish sort, but a bunch of librarians definitely need a strong, enthusiastic helping hand sometimes.

Wherever she goes, she is accompanied by Candytuft, a giant bobcat who she raised from a kitten after finding him in the family’s barn. Perhaps more cats lie in Shai’s future 👀

Sentient Ooze Survival Squad

Daardendrien Mirhalla is an awkward, intellectual lizardfolk raised by dragonborn in the noble city of Djerad Thymar. She left home with her adoptive big brother (and best friend), Daardendrien Dorfal and headed for the Sword Coast in search of a place they would both fit in. Along the way, she was called to the service of Selûne, she who calls all who wander to seek new things in their travels. Mirhalla and Dorfal eventually left the S.O.S Squad after hearing of trouble back home, where Mirhalla reconnected with her lizardfolk tribe and Dorfal opened a tavern catering to travellers between the two cultures.

Delta Willowbrush grew up on the coast, raised by her human mother and earth genasi grandmother (appealing to elemental spirits runs in the family). All the women of her family are druids, and her mother is the captain of a merchant ship (The Wayward Daughter) travelling up and down the Sword Coast. Delta had been accompanying her mother on trips for years, learning to read the stars and their meaning. On their last journey, a storm took down the ship and Delta’s mother slipped away into the ocean. But she was a druid too, so surely she she must have survived? Delta left home to find her and headed North with a brave kobold paladin named Sir Tyrragon.

Other systems

Monsterhearts

  • 1 game per year since 2021
  • 3-4 players
  • rules? what rules!
  • All hail George Petrovski

Monsterhearts is a mechanics-light game where the first rule is “keep it feral”. It explores the lives of teenage monsters embroiled in high school social conflicts. The stats for this game are Hot/Cold/Volatile/Dark.

nameskinstatsbest moment
Bethany HowellThe MortalHot/DarkSetting out to play an abusive dynamic with The Werewolf and ending up in the most wholesome little romance because our characters fit together so well.
Melanie ZhaoThe DiscipleDark/ColdNearly causing Y2K.
RiverThe CerberusCold/VolatileBeing empowered to judge literally anyone for any reason and have my judgement stick.
Vera HelvigThe SelkieHot/DarkPerforming a magical girl transformation into a 900 lb bearded seal and crushing people in combat.

Blaze of Glory

  • Oct 2019 - Apr 2024
  • 1 player
  • record of NPCs here
  • family diagram here
  • campaign notes here

Blaze of Glory is an entirely homebrewed 1d6 system created by my dear friend (and long-time duet game master). It is a light-weight, creative system for storytelling amongst trusted collaborators who are comfortable succeeding, failing, and attempting things more rooted in a satisfying narrative than manipulation of the rules.

This campaign followed the story of a farm girl who grew into the Imperator of her realm, confidante and sister to the Empress and apprentice to the Keeper of Lost Magic.

Heiassa Duum’nael (formerly Shae’deneir’lanael) Softwing set out to end a war that was pushing her Empire to the brink. Instead, she healed the wounds of wars and conflict thousands of years in the past, united people across long-established racial divides, and taught some much needed mortal humanity to the undying and immmortals whose ranks she has joined. She also became a fae and a dragon of Darkness’s and Sky’s bloodlines.

The summary is lacklustre because there is no short way to explain what a story we have told.

This game clocked in at:

  • 337 sessions, according to Jae
  • 344 named NPCs that I kept track of (surely more that I didn’t)
  • 2 people brought back from the dead (Thalien, Shadows Dancing)
  • 1 ‘god’ rescued (the Heart of Song)
  • 4 ‘demigods’ rescued (Magdalena, Jaeril, Evismora, Sitka)
  • 2 dragons rescued (Starfield, Black Tourmaline)
  • 2 humanoids transformed into dragons (Trillium, me)
  • 1 dead family member, chosen or otherwise (RIP Rosalia — my first human friend).
  • 1 elf successfully elected into local government in a human city even though the city has become part of my Empire and therefore elf-friendly, it’s still a big accomplishment and Nishvalen should be very proud of himself.

Starfinder

Starfinder was a huge shift in both genre and crunchiness for both players in this campaign and we did our best!

Moot grew up in a normal hobgoblin household on Akiton, a scrappy red planet known for its junkyards. Unfortunately, normal hobgoblins kick their kids out at the age of fourteen and never look back, so Moot actually grew up as part of the Ratpack Crew, a rough-and-tumble junker gang. Moot learned fast and had an aptitude for mechanics, putting together her own drone companion named Zincy (who has his own drone named Binky). The group (including Skulk, a goblin operative) eventually built their own ship and left Akiton in search of something…cooler than being junkers. And what could be cooler than being space pirates?

Zincy also eventually became sentient. And we continued adding to our menagerie with Danger the Ksarik (giant plant dog thing) and Safe the Squox (squirrel-fox). Skulk also got very addicted to drugs but he’s fine now.

GURPS

  • Oct 2018 - Feb 2019
  • 1 player

This campaign explored the power dynamic between a deity and their only worshipper, the last remaining source of their divinity. It was set in a largely monotheistic world where my character developed a connection with a long-lost god with no other believers.

Esmeralda grew up in the slums of Ponsurba and clawed her way out of poverty by secretly teaching herself magic in the library of the wizard whose house she cleans. As she grew in power, she found herself needing to pretend that her luck and good fortune came as gifts from the one true God. She and her personal deity co-operated to gain access to more power by converting churches of God into shrines to her own deity instead.