Oh, look, it’s August! I guess we’re doing RPGaDay.

This is the thirteenth year AUTOCRATIK and Casting Shadows are hosting this event. As for me, this is my ninth time. Through the years, the prompts have become more abstract, but they usually follow a theme each year. So, for this year, the suggestion is to make a character each day. There are also additional tables to use for ideas, as well as alternative questions. I like alternative questions. Sometimes you can get quite stuck, and it’s nice to have some help. However, I bet there are some out there who use neither the extra tables nor the alternative questions. They must possess quite the discipline.

Do you know who else must possess discipline? Wizards. Discipline throughout many years of study and practice of their craft. And a specific wizard I have in mind is the one I’ve started playing in a campaign I joined recently. I’m still working on his character, but I believe discipline plays a big role for him. He is part of a merchant family that profits from the fact that they tend to have a great diviner each generation who assists them. That character is one of the candidates, but of course there is going to be political shenanigans within the family regarding that position. Having to navigate a political landscape, especially when family ties are involved, will require some decorum, tact, and discipline.

In my eyes, divination as a school of magic also requires a lot of discipline. Not because you will have to be exact when casting a spell with the potential to do a lot of collateral damage. It’s the opposite, because you need to work on a micro level. Divination allows you to navigate and gently manipulate the threads of fate. You don’t want to read the portents incorrectly, and you definitely don’t want to pull the wrong thread. My character has already done this once, and he’s lucky to be alive.

And that’s how we’re starting RPGaDAY2026. With a character I’m still trying to figure out exactly, but that may give you an idea or two. Tomorrow’s prompt is Stature. If you haven’t decided if you want to participate, I highly suggest that you do. You can follow the prompts exactly, use the extra tables, or use the alternative questions. Or just have and do a mix of whatever brings you joy.

And until next time, have fun!