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Welcome to Day 29 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Labor (Prompt) + Emotion (Weekly Modifier) + Works Hard (Modifier) + Sci-Fi (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Liyam Sulvan (Fantasy Name Generator used: Futuristic name generator)

Liyam Sulvan is a field agent for the Planetary Labor Department’s Emotional Services Division. He manages a team of approved Emotional Services Overseers who regularly inspect citizens, ensuring their feelings conform to state-mandated expressions and that any emotional variances are strictly regulated.

Off-worlders have long opposed this draconian emotional-spectrum control and the forced compliance decreed by the planetary authorities. However, because the local government controls a devastating artifact weapon—discovered by the original colonists in the depths of the planet’s main ocean—outside factions have little choice but to covertly fund the local resistance rather than intervening directly.

Liyam’s father created the personality suppression and reassignment process that catapulted the Emotional Services Division to its preeminent status within the bureaucracy. Yet, despite his family’s prestige and his own notoriously hard work, Agent Sulvan has continually refused promotion to the administrative echelons. Instead, he remains a field agent, widely admired and actively sought after as a mentor by his younger peers.

What no one in the department suspects is that Liyam harbors a deep hatred for the government’s oppressive regime and absolutely abhors his father’s legacy. By maintaining his position of high trust, relative obscurity, and direct access to deployment plans and specific overseers, Liyam surreptitiously acts as a highly effective mole, funneling vital information to the underground resistance fighting to liberate his homeworld.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – Big Finish: False Friends, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

 Port Skagg: The Sunken Docks & Upper MooringsPerched on the jagged rim of a dead rift valley, Port Skagg serves as a haven for air-freighters, corsairs, and illicit radium-smugglers. On red-sand worlds like those in Warriors of the Red Planet or low-magic, domain-driven OSR settings like Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II), this lawless outpost provides a vital hub for Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Dark Tides has a haunted ship, a missing crew, and infinite terrors, but also this season’s biggest thrill ride

 

The Ninth Doctor Adventures from Big Finish have broken free of the Powell Estate at long last. And Dark Tides take full advantage of the widened scope by immediately launching the Doctor and Rose into one of the wildest, darkest, corners of the Doctor Who universe. That’s dark as in creepy, as in morbid, and, for a substantial portion of the drama, as in ‘with the lights off.’ Though not, despite what the Doctor says, as in ‘the dark ages.’ It’s one of Blogtor Who’s pet peeves that we can’t but point out, but only a couple of episodes after getting it right in Cloud Eight (a dark age being a period from which little documentary evidence survives, leaving a gap in the recorded history), the Time Lord’s now using the cliched old error (a dark age being a barbaric, blood drenched period when civilization went backwards.)

Still, leaving such naming conventions aside, it’s a compelling setting. In the distant future, humankind still travels between the stars with the remnants of its old technology. But few now know the science, and even then their comprehension doesn’t extend much further than Jackie Tyler’s mastery of the VCR. Enter the Knights of Atlas, combining feudal manners with space-walks. They’ve entered a volatile region at the edge of space to salvage the Vesterbold. Trapped in the dark tides for centuries, it’s a veritable time capsule of lost knowledge – especially its star maps, which could revitalize space exploration. However, those aren’t the only secret the Vesterbold holds…

 

Doon Mackichan’s Vivian Rest is a fantastically fun creation

The Knights are an entertaining bunch, with their own motivations and priorities. There’s the arrogant and haughty Sir Carl (Ben Arogundade) determined to reclaim his family legacy. Meanwhile, Mervyn (Sam Stafford) is trying to live down the shame of having more brains that Sir Carl thinks decent for a son of his. And finally David Shaw-Parker as resident ‘scholar’ Holbrook perfectly embodies the energy of that one flatmate who “works with computers” so expected to fix the wifi by poking it with a stick.

But Dark Tides truly belongs to Doon Mackichan as Dr. Vivian Rest, sole survivor of the Vesterbold. She’s plainly having a whale of a time, and her recording booth comes away gloriously chewed. Like John Waters’ Serial Mom in space, Rest’s a perky, chatty, wryly funny lady… who just happens to like winding down at the end of the day with a nice murder or two. She adds a darkly funny edge to a plot that otherwise follows the shame grim outline of Event Horizon, as those here to salvage the derelict behemoth slowly uncover the terrible, grotesque fate of its crew. Though the real terror may be what people will do, then and now, to survive.

 

Doon Mackichan recording Dark Tides (c) Big Finish Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper bring all their sparky energy to the Doctor Who’s patented ‘screwball horror’ sub-genre

Amid this horror movie vibes, it’s obvious who our Final Girl (and Boy) are. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper embrace the atmosphere and pace of Dark Tides to give some of their most wonderful banter-filled performances yet. Dark Tides gives us the pair in Empty Child mode, zipping witticism back and forth even in the darkness, as they ask all the right questions and run down every wrong corridor. Though the ump scares and creepy atmosphere in Tim Foley’s script are very effective, there’s a real sense of joy too. After some of the recent, comparatively heavy, psychological dramas, this screamfest is basically the Doctor and Rose having fun.

Listeners will have just as much fun aboard the Vesterbold as they do. Dark Tides’ mix of terror, action, and wit, provides another entry in one of Doctor Who’s most successful formulas.

 

Doctor Who: Dark Tides. Cover by Soundsmyth Creative (c) Big Finish Doctor Who: Dark Tides

A long-lost ship, the Vesterbold, has returned to normal space. And the Knights of Atlas seek her treasure. But two strangers have joined their expedition – the Doctor and Rose, who warn of danger.

For the Vesterbold has drifted free of the Dark Tides at the edge of the universe. And she may have brought something back with her.

Not even the bravest knights are ready for the evil which lies inside…

 

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides is now available to purchase for just £9.99 (download to own) or £11.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

The post REVIEW: Doctor Who: Dark Tides appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Occupying a narrow, rocky peninsula, Onnwal has ever relied on the sea and the hills for its livelihood. When it was an obedient part of the South Province of the Great Kingdom, it served as a convenient place for agents of the crown to oversee (and tax) trade looking to enter the Azure Sea from Gearnat Strait. 

It's capital, Scant, was not the largest port, but it was an important one. It was fortified town with a castle serving as a customs house on a rocky islet just offshore. After the Iron League rebelled against the crown, the castle periodically changed hands between the Onnwalers and the Overking's forces, causing its upkeep to be neglected, even as Scant itself stayed well-defended.  At the best of times, command of the isolated castle was a post few sought, though it did provide an opportunity for its occupants to collect bribes provided they weren't just killed by pirates.

Onwal's proximity to Pomarj and its raiders are part of why the coast is only sparsely developed, the other reason being its occasionally marshy terrain. The relationship Onnwal and Pomarj is not completely adversarial, however. Coastal villages have profited from wrecking and aiding smugglers. The Iron League as a whole takes a dim view of latter, and those that are caught are punished, but few are caught.

The hills of the Headlands were mined first for copper and tin and later platinum. Much of this was done by dwarf clans, though for the most part humans and dwarves have shared the region peacefully. The strong dwarven presence has led to human miners of the region adopting dwarven customs and superstitions to a degree.

I've conceived of Onnwal a lot like Cornwall, a bit like Romney Marsh, and with its Mediterranean climate, a little like Koroni, Greece during the Middle Ages, too.

 C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller) fits into sci-fi RPGs like the Cepheus Engine as a bio-hazard hazard or mutated feral encountered in subterranean ruins, abandoned starship maintenance tunnels, or un-terraformed hive city underbellies.Below is a complete, ready-to-run stat block, creature description, and encounterNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Welcome to Day 28 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Devotion (Prompt) + Emotion (Weekly Modifier) + Loving and Giving (Modifier) + Cyberpunk (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Aura (Fantasy Name Generator used: Cyberpunk (nick)name generator)

Aura gives herself, body and soul, to her patrons. She is completely devoted to their emotional well-being, ensuring their every need is satiated. Highly selective about whom she takes on as a client, Aura is renowned for her ability to fulfill desires to levels few could ever conceive.

In truth, Aura is a virtual-reality construct (VRC) accessible only via a highly sought-after cyber-implant known on the streets as the “loving & giving” mod. This neural weave grants the recipient direct access through the cyber-grid, allowing the user to experience a profound, intoxicating love unlike anything they have ever felt.

Users quickly become devoted to their virtual lover, utterly ensnared by the emotions she manufactures. Once hooked, they become easily manipulated by the shadow agents who control Aura from behind the scenes.

These handlers dictate who gains access to the implants. Through careful manipulation and planning, they are building a devoted network of users willing to do anything to maintain their connection to Aura—even acting against their own best interests. The true identity of the agents controlling her is unknown. Are they corporate spies, underground activists, or just cruel hackers? Who they are, and what their ultimate endgame is, remains one of the grid’s darkest secrets.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: Terminus, 1983 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

The Tie One On Crochet Pattern Tutorial will show you how to crochet this simple crochet accessory! Wrap it around your head as a stylish head tie, knot it at your neck as a skinny scarf, or wear it around your waist as a belt. Just choose the right or left-handed video tutorial below and […]

The post Tie One On Crochet Pattern Tutorial appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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Less than one skein, just four rounds, and so many ways to wear it! The Tie One On crochet pattern is a long, lightweight accessory that can be wrapped and tied as a head tie, worn as a skinny scarf, or styled as a belt. It’s a quick crochet project with plenty of possibilities, and […]

The post Tie One On: Crochet Head Tie, Skinny Scarf, and Belt appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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 Here is a D100 Encounter Table tailored for a Sword & Sorcery / Lovecraftian campaign using Castles & Crusades. This table picks right up from OSR Adventure Fodder - A D100 Random Sword & Sorcery Lovecraftian Encounter Table for Castles & Crusades rpgIn Castles & Crusades, tone down standard high-fantasy heroics for these encounters: emphasize sanity strain, Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Welcome to Day 27 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below.  Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Hunger (Prompt) + Emotion (Weekly Modifier) + Far to Go (Modifier) + Horror (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Dr. Hala Nandi, Chosen of Ucnaaxitl (Fantasy Name Generators used: Hindi name generator, Lovecraftian name generator, and Asylum name generator)

Dr. Hala Nandi, Director of the Misty Vale Asylum, is usually found visiting town for a conference or symposium, though attempting to track down details of the actual event invariably proves fruitless. Dr. Nandi appears to be of South Asian descent and speaks with an elusive accent that some claim is French, while others swear it is Basque. He is impeccably yet unobtrusively dressed, maintaining an unemotional demeanor when speaking, though he constantly fidgets with his glasses, cleaning them incessantly.

While in town, he is open to consultations for cases where traditional treatments have failed, particularly when subjects suffer from extreme emotional distress. Rumor has it that he can calm those who have peered into the unnamable and lost control of their emotions because of their horrifying discoveries.

As a young child, Hala was anointed as the Chosen of Ucnaaxitl—an ancient entity beyond the physical realm that hungers for the emotions of the living. Hala’s designated purpose was to harvest the world’s feelings for Ucnaaxitl, but he has fundamentally refused his destiny.

Instead, the good doctor channels the overwhelming emotions of those broken by unmentionable secrets into the well of nothingness swelling deep inside himself. His touch leaves his patients emotionally blank and in a state of stupor for a few days but completely freed from the crushing psychological burden of their forbidden knowledge. This small sacrifice temporarily appeases Ucnaaxitl, allowing Dr. Nandi to pack his bags and travel on to the next destination, for he has far to go before his task is complete.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – A Timey Wimey Podcast, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

The original Doctor Who Weekly comic strips get another outing, now in hardback

 

The early Doctor Who Weekly strips are receiving the deluxe hardcover treatment in a new collection from Panini. Though these comic strip adventures for Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor have been printed multiple times before, The Dogs of Doom is their first time in the hardback format. These stories feature work by some of the UK’s greatest comic creators of the period, including Pat Mills and John Wagner, fresh from the creation of Judge Dredd, and Dave Gibbons who would go on to co-create Watchmen with Alan Moore.

Based on the official description and page count it seems the volume will include the following stories:

• Doctor Who and the Iron Legion by Pat Mills, John Wagner, and Dave Gibbons (DWW 1-8)
• City of the Damned by John Wagner, Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons (DWW 9-16)
• Doctor Who and the Star Beast by Pat Mills, John Wagner and Dave Gibbons (DWW 19-26)
• Doctor Who and the Dogs of Doom by John Wagner, Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons (DWW 27-34)
• Doctor Who and the Time Witch by Steve Moore and Dave Gibbons (DWW 35-38)

The Dogs of Doom will be out on the 2nd of February, 2027 and you can pre-order now.

 

Doctor Who: The Dogs of Doom. Cover by Dave Gibbons (c) Panini Doctor Who: The Dogs of Doom

THE DOCTOR’S CLASSIC COMIC-STRIP ADVENTURES, COLLECTED IN DELUXE HARDCOVER EDITIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME. This opening volume begins with a collection of era-defining tales as the iconic Fourth Doctor encounters the likes of an eternal Roman Empire, the unpredictable anarchy of the notorious Meep, Daleks in deep space, a psychic witch capable of rewriting reality, and much more! Created by some of Britain’s greatest comicbook talent – including Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons and Judge Dredd creators Pat Mills and John Wagner – these timeless adventures are essential reading for Doctor Who fans and lovers of classic comics alike.

The post Doctor Who: The Dogs of Doom Hardcover appeared first on Blogtor Who.

By Eric Jones
Ludibrium Games
OSR
Level 1

Tragedy has befallen the Kingdom of Ambarge—the king is dead; long live the king! Yet strife in the realm has only just begun, for the sole heir is nowhere to be found. The fate of the entire kingdom now rests with the grit and guile of a few humble caravan guards in a far-off land.

This 32 page adventure presents a ten events caravan journey It feels more generic than perhaps it should, given the subject and the NPC’s. Almost as if it’s one step away from the specificity that would bring the entire thing home.

This is a reissue of the 2011 adventure Kingmaker, “significantly expanded and revised from the original version.” It looks like I reviewed Kingmaker ages ago. I’m going to review this and then go back and read my other review. Let’s see how a new reissue compares to an old review?

After the death of the king the royal consort/mom smuggles her son, the heir, out of the kingdom to get him out of the way is assisination attempts. Mom and son are in disguise as a wealthy merchant/son and taking a caravan to Another Kingdom. They’ve got a few hired guards, none of who know who they are. Oh, hey, Mr Party, how about we hire you also? A few more never hurt. The caravan is almost immediately discovered by a witches familiar, part of a band of mercs to hunt the boy down, and then nine more scenes play out until the next town is reached. It’s the party and their merc caravan against the witch and her mercs, as she tries to get at the boy and/or whittle down the caravans guards. 

The NPC’s, the good guys and the bad guys, are all covered up front. There’s a little description and a stat block. Something like “Mundencain’s partner, Oading Whitebones, would be tall but for a terrible hunch. The road-weary but loyal soldier has accompanied Mundencain on various adventures since they were small boys dueling with wooden swords.” I’m just having a hard time getting behind them. Road-weary, loyal, hunchback. That I can do. As a quick reference its lacking.

The encounters are decently open ended, in general. The DM is given a situation, maybe half a page or so, and then  you run it. Importantly, the evil party and the NPC’s in the caravan are not really covered. Well, they are, here and there, but it’s minor issues or just leading to something else. For the most part , if the room description was something like “orc main room with cooking fire and six orcs” and nothing more, then I’ll let you, the DM, determine how the previous information about the NPCs, good and evil, fit in to that. The entries are not that short, but, the point I’m making is that they generally do not deal much with the NPC’s.

You must cross a raging river. You meet merchants. There is a cart full of bodies on the road. How the party wishes to overcome these things is up to them. How they wish to use it against the party following them. How it gets used against them by the evil party to harass the good party. The adventure is not going to give you much to work with here except some personalities and general goals, spiced up by some specific remarks here and there,

As event based adventures go it’s not the worst. There’s no real railroad here, except for maybe the first encounter where a bird flies by, discovering the party for the witch. You can kill off good caravan members, or do pretty much anything. If the kid dies, or you turn him over early or something, well, I hope you got paid well for it by the witch? Just beyond the ten static events is a little section on other events that the DM can toss in. Less events, i think, and more how to handle party actions, like, we want to talk to the baddies, or other actions to toss in to spice things up. This is all then further augmented by a terrain and weather table to add additional spice. So, a lot of tools, from good guy npcs, rto baddies, to terrain, to weather, to static encounters to tossed in encounters, all to mix in together for an adventure.

The only thing that REALLY doesn’t work for me is one of the early encounters, a gnome, polymorphed, controlling animals via a potion/fungus, attacking the party. Meh. It’s a little prescriptive and renfaire fantasy for my tastes. 

I think, though, this comes off a little bland. The evil mercs are mostly just dudes. Fire arrows. Hit and run. The personalities are not there to sell a desperate chase. Nd I’m not sure tha the personalities for the good guys are there, cemented enough, either. Yeah yeah, dour, tacitern, boisterous, the obligatory traitor. I think, though, in the years since this was first published, other adventures have come along and done the evil party chasing us thing better. 

This isn’t a bad adventure. It’s certainly easy to read and follow. I just can’t get in to it at all. There’s a little too much work on the DM, I think, and/or that lack of specificity that I enjoy. I’m not mad at this, I just don’t see a reason to run it.

This is $8 at DriveThru. There’s no preview. Boo! Boo! Stick in a preview Eric! (Also, I seem to recall loving Ironwood Gorge?)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/555687/queen-s-gambit-osr-version?1892600

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of August 29, 1985. 

DC Challenge #1: Though most comics this week are cover dated December 1985, this one carries a November date. This was one I bought off the stands, but well, despite the heavy advertising this series got, I didn't find it particularly interesting at the time. This is a high concept sort of endeavor: a "round robin" story with a number of ground rules each creative team has to follow. They are outlined here. The tagline "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" makes it sound like there's a mystery, but so far as I am aware, they were making it up as they went along, so what's to solve?
Anyway, Evanier and Colan/Smith introduce the strange happenings where demonic entities seem to be possessing people and there are unexplained appearances by phantom, celebrity lookalikes (Bogart, Groucho Marx). Rereading it, I do find it a bit intriguing, but we'll see where that goes.

Wonder Woman #328: This is our only Crisis crossover this week. Notably, Newell and Heck really evoke the apocalyptic feel of Crisis--and perhaps with good reason. The shadow-demons of the Anti-Monitor imperil the realms of the Greek gods themselves, so they interrupt the political machinations on Paradise Island (ending that subplot) and carelessly reveal Wonder Woman's secret ID to Diana's co-workers as they draft the Amazon's into the war. The forces arrayed against them and the need for all-out war cause Hippolyta to lose hope: She believes the dream of peace that led to Paradise Island's founding is over. She urges the Amazons to join her in pray and appears to withdraw from the battle, leading the Olympians to conclude they may have to go it alone.
Meanwhile, we get a bit of General Darnell's backstory and learn that he's been engaged in some Oliver North-esque behavior in Tropidor. It turns out a jilted ex-lover is the one threatening to reveal his misdeeds. Darnell reveals his crimes to his subordinates, taking full responsibility.
Well, the end approaches for Darnell, the Olympians, and the Amazons, too, as the next issue blurb announces that it will be the final issue of the series!

Action Comics #573: This one also is dated November. We continue with what I remain convinced is the burning through a bunch of inventory stories as the ongoing Crisis shortens their shelf-life. In the first one, Boldman and Schaffenberger/Oksner have that W.C. Fields stand-in J. Wilbur Wolfingham think he's pulling a master scam by selling the Earth to an alien visitor, but instead the alien realtor appears to have scammed Wolfingham, when he comes back and takes possession of the planet, evicting humanity.
In the second story, Campiti (only story for the Big Two)/Juaie (only story for the Big Two outside of New Talent Showcase) and Saviuk/Barreto have a street corner hotdog vendor castigate Clark Kent for ordering ketchup on a hotdog, then fantasize about how he would do all the super-problem-solving he hears Superman doing on the radio, if he were Superman.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #9: As the Crisis appears to be abating, the villains assembled by Brainiac and Lex Luthor strike. There is some dissension at first, though, and Brainiac has to disintegrate Earth-Two Luthor. After that, the villains quickly take Earth-4 and Earth-S and are making a serious assault on Earth-Two when the heroes rally and start to fight back. Brainiac and Luthor didn't necessarily intended that the villains would win; they were using this assault as a means to power for themselves. However, Psimon stayed behind on the station and overhears their plans. He blasts Brainiac to bits and prepares to take down Luthor to claim the rulership for himself.
Meanwhile, the World War II era characters get back to just fighting their usual war as the red skies recede. On modern day Earth-One, though, Wonder Girl and Firehawk prepare to enter an area of Manhattan where time is still confused to try to find Terry.

MASK #1: For a number of years, this 80s toyline would have been utterly forgotten, but I hear the toys are coming back and Skybound's Energon Universe has a MASK comic out now. The version here pretty much works like the cartoon, so far as I can recall, though Fleisher and Chen/DelBeato have a Cold War stand-in element that I don't remember in the animated series. MASK seem to be independent but closely aligned with the PNA (Peaceful Nations Alliance--peaceful but still with aircraft carriers!), and trying to help them construct a laser-powered missile defense system, while VENOM is the "mercenary arm" of Contraworld who are the bad guy alliance, and they're trying to stop MASK and steal the tech. The backgrounds of the MASK members seem weird for their government roles (Sato is listed as toy designer first and engineer second, Brad Turner's primary job is rock singer/guitarist, and Dusty Hayes is listed as pizza chef/delivery man), but then I remember DOGE happened, and it seems more plausible.
Anyway, I assume this appealed to the kids who liked the cartoon. The art nicely bridges an animation style with a standard comic book one.

Converting classic Dave Hargrave Arduin classes over to Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) is an exercise in taking high-gonzo, wildly unbalanced B/X-era mechanics and structuring them within ACKS II's strict, mathematical Custom Class Creation System (Build Points / Value Categories). Below is a direct breakdown of how toNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Welcome to Day 26 of #RPGaDay2026. As I explained in my Day 0 post, I’ll be creating NPCs based on the day’s prompts and the week and day modifiers presented in the infographic below. Check out that post for further details.

Today’s combination: Regret (Prompt) + Emotion (Weekly Modifier) + Full of Woe (Modifier) + Superheroes (Genre)

Here is today’s NPC.

Aaron Matthews, formerly Fire Falcon (Fantasy Name Generators used: Superhero name generator and American English name generator)

Aaron Matthews is a former super turned activist. He is an outspoken critic of heroes who work with underage sidekicks and an advocate for the rights and protection of young supers. Despite existing child protection legislation and its potential applicability in some instances, the unregulated and often secretive nature of private heroes, super-groups, and clandestine quasi-governmental organizations means that teens and young adults are frequently recruited and placed in immense danger.

Matthews is serious, sometimes grim, and has devoted his vast fortune to his cause. When he began his crusade, he came out publicly as the former hero Fire Falcon—a vigilante known for his flight-capable armored suit and a penchant for burning criminals with wrist-mounted flamethrowers. During his active career, a young woman known as Falconet worked as his sidekick.

Tragically, Falconet was killed in the line of duty, leaving Aaron devastated. While he has closely guarded her secret identity, he makes no secret of his deep regret and the emotional turmoil her death caused him. He abandoned his crime-fighting career entirely to take up a new cause: protecting young people from the inherent dangers of super-heroics.

Matthews is a passionate speaker; audiences are often moved by his experiences, and his voice fills with woe whenever he speaks about Falconet’s bravery. He has used the bulk of his family’s fortune to establish a non-profit that will champion this cause long after he is gone. Currently, he uses his considerable political influence to lobby for super-related legislation, a move that causes many in the hero community to fear a renewed campaign of the strict super-control measures of the past.

Thanks for reading; I am looking forward to your RPG a Day 2026 post, comments, and conversation. If you want further information about #RPGaDay2026, be sure to check out Autocratik’s blog.

A Spanish version of this post is available at the Desde la Fosa Facebook page.

See you all tomorrow!

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora, 1976 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Circuit Breaker continues as short story The Doctor and the Three Witches adds Martha Jones in a spooky fairy tale

Circuit Breaker moves into the world of the printed page for the first time with short story The Doctor and the Three Witches. It’s an appropriate medium for a story concerned with the art of storytelling and fairy tales. In fact, this is an addition to new printings of the collection Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales. That might slightly irk those following Circuit Breaker who already own a copy of previous editions. However, this is a substantial bonus, at two to three times the length of the other tales in the book.

 

Meanwhile at UNIT…

Although it doesn’t really warrant its own review, it’s worth noting the action here follows on directly from Don’t Blink on the UNIT website. This free story re-introduces Martha Jones to the Whoniverse, as Osgood recruits her to help wrangle the difficult Fugitive Doctor. The language in Don’t Blink is simple and direct, like an early Target Book, but this emphasizes its accessibility. It also doesn’t prevent it from being a creepy little interlude as the team discover that the Weeping Angel ‘secure’ in the Black Archive is anything but. It also adds a new layer of intrigue into the mix, as Osgood begins to suspect treason within UNIT’s ranks.

A visit to the UNIT website also offers a chance to catch up on the overall Circuit Breaker story arc. The Doctor Who multimedia event has been unfolding across games, audios, and comics all summer. Even though those chapters have done a good job of telling their own complete stories within the wider arc, the website makes sure no fan misses anything vital along the way, whether they collect every single breadcrumb or not. In a nice touch, it takes advantage of the series concept to present a series of emails. These messages between Osgood and the others about each mission’s briefing and debriefing cover all the essential plot points. The format also means they add a little value to the experience, even if you have gotten the comic or audio in question.

 

The Carrionite crystal turns out to contain an entire world of witches and wolves, operating on a disquieting, dreamlike logic

The Doctor finds herself trapped in the same Carrionite crystal ball where her later incarnation will exile them at the end of The Shakespeare Code. As you’d expect, the cackling trio of Lilith, Doomfinger, and Bloodtide are delighted to have the opportunity for revenge. But, more mysteriously, they’ve actually been expecting the Fugitive’s arrival. Combined with the fact the Angel has sent her here, rather than back in time, deliberately, it’s clear whatever sinister master plan is driving Circuit Breaker is entering a new phase.

All in all, the Carrionites seem remarkably upbeat for having spent centuries in a goldfish bowl. But that may be because The Three Witches re-imagines their prison as an entire fairy tale universe within it. This isn’t just reflected in the various settings and creatures the Doctor and Martha encounter. There are gingerbread houses and smooth talking wolves, yes, but also a certain dreamlike logic. This is a world where where you can simply run into a previously unmentioned ‘nearby forest’ at your back. Meanwhile, the Doctor concludes the only way to escape is to follow the plot of one of these fairy tales to the final page.

 

The criticism of the Fugitive’s methods still seems over the top given what other Doctors have done, but her character arc is shaping up nicely

All these witchy shenanigans aside, though, the real heart of the story is the Doctor and Martha’s relationship. This emotional arc continues to set Circuit Breaker a cut above previous initiatives like this. And although the Fugitive Doctor has warmed up slightly, she’s understandably getting a little resentful of constant comparisons to her later selves. If she’s going to get there, she has to get there by herself. Being constantly told she’s not good enough is clearly counter-productive. Especially since Martha and the others seem to view their Doctors through rose tinted glasses. Considering what Martha saw the Tenth Doctor to the Family of Blood, expressing horror at the Fugitive suggesting bunging a witch in an oven seems a little judgemental.

By the end of The Three Witches, we have a name, if not a face, for our arch villain. There’s also a sense that the endgame is about to begin. The addition of Martha at this point adds another strong voice to the mix just in time to stop the back and forth with Osgood getting repetitive. And we’re left in a strong position as he head into the final run of chapters.

 

You can buy Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales now, using the links from the official publisher page.

 

Picture Shows: Jo Martin (Fugitive Doctor) Petronella Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) Andrew (Omari Douglas) Circuit Breaker continues with Momento Mori, from Eastside Games on the 27th of August

 

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