31 Days / 31 Characters - DANAR DUGONG

The announcement of Toon getting a Second Edition made me wax nostalgic about my old Zoonatics campaign from the early 90s. My love for that game inspired me to make a brand new Zoonatics character, dusting off my copy of the original Toon.

I rolled up the character's Stats but for everything else I used my own ideas and preferences for what this character would be like instead of randomizing.

Character: Danar Dugong

AKA: None

Player: Possibly me, possibly an NPC.

System: Toon

 

Nature: Created for this Challenge.

Gamemaster: None yet. Possibly me.

Circa: January 4th, 2026

Origins: As mentioned above, the idea for this character was brought about simply by the announcement of Toon's Second Edition and a hardy dose of nostalgia for my ol' NJ Group and our Zoonatics campaign. 

Backstory: Danar Dugong was born and raised in the warm, shallow waters around the Philippines. From a very young age, Danar wanted to swim further and deeper than his fellow dugong, curious to see new places, new creatures, and to learn all he could about the deep sea. Unfortunately, he - like all members of his species - breathe air! He can only go so far and so deep before he needs to surface. 

Unless...

Danar decided to learn the art and science of Deep Sea Scuba Diving. After years of study and practice he became an accomplished Diver, Scuba Instructor, and discovered a number of shipwrecks and new fish species. After an injury that prevented him from Scuba Diving for a while, Danar filmed sequences for Zoonatics. This lead to him having his own seqment, 'Diving with Danar Dugong'.

Overview: "Hello! Beautiful day isn't it! Look at that Sunshine! Feel that breeze! Smell the salty air! I am Danar Dugong and this is Diving With Danar Dugong! That's Me!"

OK, gonna get dark here for a moment...

Zoonatics, as noted in my previous post on the campaign, has a dark secret. The animals are in a zoo for the mentally unstable. There's no show, no cameras, and the audience stares at the characters through bars.

So what's wrong with Danar? Well...

I'm thinking he dove too deep once or twice and suffered a tiny bit of oxygen deprevation. The backstory above is largely all in his head. He tends to talk about himself in the third person, he exaggerates his accomplishments, and he is absolutely fearless to the point of ignoring obvious signs of danger. At the same time, he is always positive, warm, generous, and boisterous and wants to share his love of the sea with anyone who seems even remotely interested. 

The Highlights: None yet but I can already see this guy being a lot of fun in small doses. He isn't a 'main character' like Jekyll, The Killer Emu, Uhaul, Manny, and Flamingo Rose. He's more on the level of the Ninja Zebra, Ludwig W. Wombat, and Frog and Toad. 

"Hello! I didn't see you there! I am Danar Dugong and this is Diving With Danar Dugong! Today, we are diving the Great Barrier Reef! Don't look so scared! It's easy for Danar Dugong. Danar Dugong is going, are you? Of course you are! Danar Dugong is happy for you! Let's go!"

Game Info:

Notes: I only chose four out of the eight possessions each character is allowed at the start because I couldn't think of anything beyond those items that immediately sprange to mind. They are all of the unusual items one can have as I would rule these items as kind of special and uncommon were I the GM. 

In addition to the obvious items like a Compass and Scuba Gear, I figured he'd also carry a Map of the area his diving in and a Waterproof Camera to take underwater pictures.

Legacy: We'll see. I'm sure I could drum up a one-shot of Zoonatics when Toon's Second Edition releases. 

AD

Barking Alien

TOON - ZOONATICS

In order to provide context to my next 3w Day Character Challenge entry, I think it's finally time to post a Campaigns I Have Known installment covering one of the greatest games I've ever done.

This one defies all logic [except its own]. It goes against what makes sense to most gamers - a long term [Semi-Dark] Comedy campaign with strong player 'buy-in' and immersion. 

'Here's Our Show (It's really funny!)

Here's Our Show (It's how we get our kicks!)

Here's Our Show (It better make us some money!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Zoonatics!

Here's Our Host, Jekyl the Jackal,

Trouble Won't Leave Him Alone.

His Nemesis is The Killer Emu,

Heir to the Dinosaur Throne!

His Sidekick is Uhaul the Rhino,

There's Manny the Mannequin Bird.

There's a Frog and a Toad and a Ninja Zebra*,

After that it just gets absurd. 

Here's Our Show (It's really funny!)

Here's Our Show (Sometimes we take our licks!)

Here's Our Show (It better make us some money!)

Without further adieu its The Zoonatics!'

Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

ZOONATICS

Title: Zoonatics

System: Toon, Steve Jackson Games. Houseruled (See below).

Circa: 1993 (I believe)

Gamemaster: Me.

Like playing the AI in a Red Dwarf campaign, I was both the GM and an active Player Character here. In fact, I rarely Gamemastered in the traditional sense. I think this was the first time I had done this and I would later adopt a similar approach when running my homebrewed The Muppet Show game. Obviously I suggest going this way in The Googly Eyed Primetime Puppet Show if playing in a setting where there is an announcer, host, or Master of Ceremonies type of character.

It was extremely freeing to just act in character and make references to a possible story or adventure and see where the players take it. I honestly miss that.

Player Base: The players in this game were a collection of various friends from what I tend to refer to as 'The NJ Group'. Said group has changed and shifted its membership over the years as friends have come and gone. 

This outing featured about five regulars other than myself: Allen, Lynn, Martin, Nelson, and Anna. Others came in and out in 'Guest Star' roles. These players included Beverly, Phil, and Big J. There was a roughly even mix of male and female participants, of a variety of ethnicities, the major being older than myself by two or three years. I was in my early 20s.  

Origins: It's genesis was somewhat accidental. My friends and I were at the house of an aquaintence (a sort of mecca for much of the fandom/nerd crowd we knew) discussing the [then] brand new Warner Bros. animated series Animaniacs, which had come on the tail end (all puns intended) of Tiny Toon Adventures.

For no particular reason I went into this first-person riff where I pretended to be Jekyll the Jackal, host of a children's variety TV show (animated was the implication but never stated outright) who was putting the first episode together as it aired. I gave Jekyl an accent both Latin and Slavic, making it sound like his name was either Jekyll the Jekyll or Jackal the Jackal as I pronounced the two words nearly identically. As I went on I spoke directly to the 'audience' but not necessary to any one friend present, clearly breaking the fourth wall. 

Then What Happened?:

I did a number of very odd things to give Jekyll more character, such as make references to the 'behind-the-scenes' staff of the show (Denise the Stage Manager, Joe the Cameraman, and Andrea in Craft Services were mentioned most often), talk about his admirations for Abraham Lincoln (leading to one of the best, organically forming running gags EVER to come from one of my games), and the fact that unlike 'that silly Coyote', everytime you think Jekyll has been crushed by a rockside, run over by the stage cleaning machine, or blowtorched by the Killer Emu, it wasn't him. Of course not, he's the Star of the Show! Jekyll has people for that! There's a group of Stunt Jackals who all look nearly identical to him and are paid to get injured instead of their boss.

Next I started going on about auditions for other parts on 'the show' and my friend Martin stepped up as Uhaul, a Rhinoceros who was going for the part of Sidekick/Co-Host. We interacted and ad libbed the idea that the 'part' was that of a dumb sidekick, while Uhaul was a formally trained Shakespearean actor, thoroughly mortified that he'd been reduced to taken such a role. He read for it and then almost walked out until I said, "There are no small parts, yes? Only small actors.". Looking him up and down - Martin was a head or more taller than me and we assumed the same scale between Uhaul and Jekyll - I added, "And you my Rhino friend are NOT a small actor!".

After having Uhaul except the job, Martin has a true stroke of genius and introduced a new character, simply called 'The Emu'. The Emu was there for the part of Master of Ceremonies. He wanted to be the host of the show. Jekyll informs him the HE, Jekyll the Jackal is the host. We already have that thank you. Martin goes full melodramatic villain, whipping a black cape he found around him and declaring "You have made a grave error this day Jackal the Jackal! From today forward I shall be your arch-nemesis. I am now the bane of your existence! I shall not rest until you and your show are totally destroyed! Call me, 'The KILLER EMU!'! Muwa-hahahahaha!" He then ran into the kitchen leaving everyone, myself included, laughing hysterically. 

He also opened the flood gates. Nelson starts mimming a silent Zebra who we would later learn was a ninja. He could flawlessly (kind of) disguise himself as any Black and White animal. The new sound guy who's a Panda, that Penguin messager from yesterday, this skunk fella over here...all the Ninja Zebra! He had a tell though; he was easily distinguished by the can of Coca-Cola he always had in hand regardless of his form.

Lynn become Flamingo Rose, femme fatale singer, dancer, spy, and love interest of both Jekyll and The Killer Emu, with the latter hiring her to get intel on our Jackal host.

 

Ludwig and Livingston

Allen was Ludwig W. Wombat, host of a Wildlife Show-within-the show segment, 'The Wombat Walkabout' with his assistant, a Puffin named Livingston who only spoke in small, soft caw/chirp sounds. The two had a very Bunsen and Beaker vibe. Ludwig would come upon some ferocious animal, describe their environment and behavior, make it sound extremely dangerous, then tell Livingston to, "see if you can wake the Orca and ask if we can interview him. Go on now." Ludwig's voice was...I can only describe it as an Middle Aged Australian English Professor on Safari. 

There were rival talk show hosts, The Frog and The Toad patterned after Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. Someone was a Possum Maintenance Worker always complaining about the 'Higher Ups' and working conditions and invoking his Union membership whenever he could. There was this Toucan, I wish I could remember his name; an easy going fella who sang and joked with a Caribbean Island accent (patterned after Bob Marley for the most part and a little like the Muppets Tonight host character Clifford - originally created for the Jim Henson Hour.).

I myself added The Killer Emu's sidekick Manny the Mannequin Bird (one of my all time favorite characters I've ever played! Inspired by Marcie from the Peanuts). Although the Killer Emu hated Jekyll, the latter couldn't be bothered to even remember who the Killer Emu was most of the time. Meanwhile Uhaul and Manny were on very good terms, often described eating with each other or playing chess in the background in some scenes. 

I thought this was an RPG campaign

We improved this whole thing for over an hour until we couldn't speak from laughing so hard. I looked up to notice others in the house watching and laughing along; a true audience! Finally, someone off to the side said, "Is this a game? WHY ISN"T THIS A GAME!". I looked over at Martin and Nelson to see they were looking at me with a questioning expression. Lynn did the same, nodding and wiping tears from her eyes. 

And so it became one. I wrote up everything in Toon, though I'll admit to being even looser with the mechanics than Toon already is. The rules had to support the improv and not the other way around. 

Highlights:

There were several re-occurring sketches/skits such as Animal General (an 80s style Soap Opera), Good Cop, Boar Cop (Police Drama Parody), Great Birds of the Galaxy (All Avian Space Adventurers), And Then You Add Bamboo (a Cooking Show featuring a Red Panda that always adds Bamboo to every dish), and the aforementioned Wombat Walkabout. These along with the Killer Emu constantly trying to destroy or take over the show and/or kill Jekyll and Jekyll's Lincoln themed outro.

Every 'episode' ended with me as Jekyll saying, "And remember kids, if Lincoln were alive today...", followed by some humorous, sometimes odd or morbid, statement. Examples include:

"If Lincoln were alive today...that would be impressive. He'd dead you know. Very dead."

"If Lincoln were alive today...he'd say, (in a muffled voice), "HELP! Open this box! HELP!"

"If Lincoln were alive today...the smell...I'm thinking the smell would be unbearable."

The best part is that I did this for the first few sessions but then one time I started to say it and when I got to, "If Lincoln were alive today...", and then Martin stepped in as Uhaul and said: "If Lincoln were aiive today, he'd likely be complaining of a headache at the very least." Another time Allen stepped in and did one. Then Lynn did it. Then Martin did one, Lynn did one, and Anastashia did one, all in the same session. 

I swear, one time two of my friends visited me at work in midtown Manhattan and sometime after they left my supervisor walked over and said he was about to head home for the day (he had the Opening Shift, I had the Closing Shift). He said, "Before I go I just want you to know...

If Lincoln were alive today...he'd be doing this", he proceeded to vibrate his right leg in spasms, "because he had that problem."

I stood there slack jawed. Completely and utterly dumbfounded before bursting into laughter. How?!? Who?!? He wasn't in my gaming group! How did he know about the gag??? Turned out he overhead my buddies doing it, laughed, asked where it was from and after they told him he was like, "Oh...I got one." Then he waited til his shift was over to deliver it to me. So well done! I tip my hat you sir, wherever you are.

Finally, there were hints, very subtle usually, that something about the entire Zoonatics 'show' was off somehow. There was something deeper and weirder going on. Over the course of the campaign, some of the players started to catch on and by the end (nearly) it finally clicked. I forget who figured it out but it was spoken aloud following a scene featuring Mr. Tycho, a Tiger.

The Tiger was a sponsor of the show. His supported it in an unclear way that was implied to be something like a key advertisers. We needed to key Mr. Tycho happy. He told everyone how much he liked the exciting sequences, thought the Soap Opera parody was too slow, loved it when Flamingo Rose did a song and dance number - "More of that! That's great entertainment!", and wanted more gazelles and deer on the show. All the while he paced back and forth. Well, I did. Back and forth. Back and forth. Sometimes leaning forward as I/Mor. Tycho spoke...

"Wait a sec...", one of the players started, "he's a tiger and he paces. He paces like a tiger in a zoo. In a...". All the players went wide-eyed and looked to one another. "A ZOO! Are we in a zoo? Is this a zoo? OMG! We...all these animals are animals in a zoo!"

"Denise...Joe...", said another player, 'they're not a Stage Manager and a Cameraman. They're Zookeepers! Maybe Denise is the Zoo's Manager but...Holy Sh**!" The player stood up, "Andrea...Craft Services...she feeds the animals! She's the Zookeeper that feeds the animals!"

"Now hold on...", said yet another participant. "What about the show? There's a show and I guess the kids in the audience are those children looking at us...through the bars? *Shudder* But...but...there is a show right? Or...is there no show at all? Are we all...crazy?"

"TYCHO! The Tiger is the key! He's pacing...he's definitely disturbed. And Jekyll...OMG. It's. like an insane asylum for beasts! A Zoo caring for crazy animals! We're All MAD!"

And there it was. My plan from the beginning. The idea behind the idea. I got honest applause from my group that day. Pats on the back. Like I said, one of my best campaigns ever. 

Legacy:

Many years later while I was developing my own TRPG, The Googly Eyed Primetime Puppet Show, my (now departed) friend Dave Cotton about Zoonatics, he said he didn't realize it was Toon that I had used. He said, "Whenever you've mentioned this game I always saw the characters as Puppets. It had to be live action for the Stage Director and other staff to make sense. Yeah, I pictured an animal kingdom themed Muppet Show."

As a result of that conversation, Zoonatics appears in the published TGEPPS books as one of the campaign examples, complete with character sheets for Jekyll, Uhaul (under the name Yuhall. It was also occaisionally written U-Haul), and Flamingo Rose. 

I think about this campaign all the time. If you search Zoonatics in the blogger search on the tool bar at the upper left (on desktop) you see a few references to the game, always promising to do a full write up of it. I'm happy to have finally done made this post. Felt good.

Now...a new, Second Edition of Toon is coming...could we see a Return of the Zoonatics?

Now that you know about Zoonatics, check out my next 31/31 Character...

AD

Barking Alien

31 Days / 31 Characters - CAPTAIN CONDOR

I thought I'd round out the opening trinity of characters with a Superhero. After Medieval Fantasy and Science Fiction, that would seem the logical follow-up genre to cover the major TRPG 'Food Groups', right?

I don't have time to do a Champions character right now (thinking about what kind of Super to make takes more time than the actual act of Character Creation for me at this point), so I thought I'd go old school with a random generation system. Inspired by a fellow fan of the game by the name of Tim Hartin, I chose my favorite game from way back when, Villains & Vigilantes!

Let's find out who's going to be out there fighting for truth and justice shall we? *Rolls*

Oh boy. This guy is...definitely a V&V Character. LOL

Character: Captain Condor

AKA: Alan Dale, The Winged Wonder

Player: Possibly me, possibly an NPC.

System: Villains and Vigilantes, 2nd Edition

 

Nature: Created for this Challenge. 

Gamemaster: None yet. Possibly me.

Circa: January 3rd, 2026

Origins: Random rolls inspired me to think of this guy as a cross between a Captain America and a Superhero in the Public Domain named Airman, but then I realized I'd rolled on the 'Powers' list. This fellow doesn't use devices or special gear to fight crime. He has Bird Powers! Not only that but I actually rolled 'Animal/Plant Powers' twice. When you get this result you get to roll for an additional 1D6 powers based on your rolled or chosen animal type. I rolled Avian and decided to go with two times the Bird Powers! As you can see, this fellow's got a lot of powers related to his Condor-ness. 

Backstory: (I imagine this character as Silver Age, early 1960s or so) Inspired by the heroes of the Second World War and the recent return of both new and old ones to the world stage, down-on-his luck pilot Alan Dale volunteered for what he believed to be a secret government project to create Super Soldiers for the USA by combining ones DNA with that of a particular animal. Alan requested 'Avian' DNA as he thought 'Flight' and 'Eagle Eye Vision' would work well his past experience and skill as a pilot.

He was right, though the process was extremely painful and resulted in physical mutations he was too naive and desperate to anticipate. Dale grew functional wings, retractable talons on his fingers and toes, as well as a number of other changes. Just as he was preparing to test out his abilities the facility he was in was raided by a number of established Superheroes and CHESS Agents. As it turned out, the Scientist was performed the operation was lying and has no connections to the government whatsoever. He intended to perfect his techniques and sell his proccess to Intercrime to create new Super-criminals. 

Alan aided the heroes in capturing the Mad Doctor and his minions and was not charged with any crimes himself. Instead, they offered him a job! Work as a Superpowered operative for the Central Headquarters of Extranormal Activities for the Secret Service (CHESS, get it?)*. Originally the CHESS head honchos wanted to refer to his new identity as 'The Winged Bishop' but Alan requested something more inspiring, like the Golden Age Superheroes of yore. He wanted to be called, 'CAPTAIN CONDOR'. They laughed...but they liked it. 

Overview: I remember back in the day playing V&V and rolling the same power twice. We initially re-rolled, an unspoken houserule. Then one day, for reasons I don't recall, we allowed someone to just have a double strong Superpower. Not long after I rolled up a fellow who had Animal/Plant Powers, Animal/Plant Powers again, Wings, and then Waterbreathing. Everyone thought I'd start over but instead I had an idea; I chose Avian and Fish as my Animal Power Sets and created a Native American character called, 'The Seahawk', a cross between DC's Aquaman and Marvel's The Falcon.

He was perfect for the campaign we'd planned, a superteam made of heroes from states other than New York and California; 'The Heartland League'. Representing Seattle, the Washington local had magical powers letting him talk to birds and fish, fly, breathe underwater, and possessing incredible Strength, Endurance, and Agility. Sure, Captain Condor is similar but luckily I also rolled a Body Power and a Special Power, allowing him to possess two unique abilities. Capt. Condor has his paralyzing Condor Cry and the ability to lift things into the air with his feet.

Fun!

The Highlights: Definitely like his Flight speed, the Condor Cry, and the Taloned Feet. His Natural Weaponry makes up a bit for his having lower Strength than I'd have hoped for. 

Game Info:

A couple odd things:

I couldn't figure out how to determine his starting Inventing percentage and beginning Cash. It's been a long time since I've played and forgot how it works and where to find it in the rules.

I totally remembered that we changed the Security Clearance system 'cause it kind of ridiculous. The lower the number the better it is, so the President of the US would have a SC of 1 and a Rookie Beat Cop would probably have a 30 [maybe]. You start with the number 40, subtract your less, then you subtract your PC's Intelligence and Charisma. This means someone with Heightened abilities would have an incredibly good Security Clearance. Capt. Condor here ended up in the negatives! Much better than a US President. That just doesn't make sense, especially for a starting character. 

I'd probably just fudge it.

Notes: None as of now. Again, I like him but I haven't thought about it too deeply as of yet.

Legacy: I can see translating this fella into Champions with a few upgrades or modifications. Maybe I'd use him as a PC or NPC in another Supers game as well but with nothing in particular on my plate, Captain Condor gets filed away for now. 

UPDATE: Last night my buddy Mark used Captain Condor as an NPC in our City of Heroes setting Cypher Superheroes game! The good Captain helped the PCs escape an alien ship that had abducted a Superheroine NPC and my PC.

Coming up...Someone Else!

Stay tuned.

AD

Barking Alien

*In Villains and Vigilantes canon CHESS stands for The Central Headquarters of Espionage for the Secret Service. I changed it back in the day as I wanted it to be thought of as a Superhero Support organization and not just a Spy agency.

31 Days / 31 Characters - BEFITIR

After making a D&D-esque character, I thought it would be a nice palette cleanser to create one for Star Trek Adventures.

For me, Star Trek is comfort food. Gaming in the Star Trek universe feels like going home. As such, it's very easy for me to create a character, since I'd be happy playing almost anything.

To that end, I'm going to roll a D20 and if it's even I'll make a Communications Officer, odd a Navigator. As far as Species, I did say 'almost anything', right? Definitely going with an alien. I'll make a list of my favorite Star Trek Alien Species and roll for that too.

*Rolls* Cool!

Character: Befitir Rru'ro

AKA: Lt. Befitir

Player: Possibly me, possibly an NPC.

System: Star Trek Adventures, 2nd Edition
 
Nature: Created for this Challenge

Gamemaster: None yet. Possibly me.

Circa: January 2nd, 2026

Origins: As noted above.

Backstory: Befitir Rru'ro was born on Starbase 1 (later dubbed Spacedock) in orbit around the planet Earth to two Diplomats from the Betelgeuse System. Befitir's father is the Betelgeusian Ambassador to Earth and his mother is a Chief Consular Officer at the Betelgeusian Embassy.

Fascinated by the myriad languages and customs of the people constantly coming and going to and from Starbase 1, Befitir Rru'ro studied a great deal about the galaxy's many and diverse Alien Species. When he was old enough, he performed the J'tonka, choosing of one of the great heroes of Ancient Betelgeuse to emulate, and picked Slichez, The Thinker and Intellectual. Following this path, he was drawn more and more towards joining Starfleet Academy.  It just seemed the best place to learn...well...more.

Betifir did well at the Academy, majoring in Communications and Linguistics. As part of his upbringing and heritage, he took minors and independent studies in other areas such as Self-Defense, among other subjects. He eventually graduated in the upper percentage of his class and was assigned to a Scientific Research vessel. 

After a few tours on a few different ships, Betifir, now a Lieutenant, has been posted as Chief Communications Officer on the recently commissioned Ventura Class Mk. III, USS Curiosity. 

Overview: I like this guy. I've never played a Communications Officer and always thought it would be fun to show how they could be used in a interesting way. Very often players playing this role connect the character to Starfleet Intelligence, code-breaking, or other spy shenanigans. I wanted to go a different way so I kind of focused on Diplomacy, Culture, and Linguistics. Since it's my character I decided to go TOS Era since that's my favorite period (well that and the TOS Movie Era around Wrath of Khan to Undiscovered Country). 

 
The Highlights: When creating a character in Star Trek Adventures you choose two Career Events. For Befitir I picked Narrow Escape and Negotiate a Treaty. The former is a fan made.event. 

Narrow Escape: Then Ensign Befitir was on the USS Hubble when the Landing Party was besieged by hostile creatures that could not be negotiated with via words. Befitir aided in the group's escape but it was a quite harrowing experience. He gained the Value: Solutions come from adaptability. 

Negotiate a Treaty: As a Lt. JG aboard the USS Goodall, he was instrumental in formulating a Treaty with an alien species with initially confusing ideals. Befitir learned a lot about Command and especially how and when to take action. His Value related to this would likely be Knowledge is power but application is free.  

 

Game Info:

Notes: For the Betelgeusian species I used the cultural information from previous  incarnations of Star Trek RPGs. The idea of the Six Heroes was from Decipher I believe. Having had Betelgeusian PCs and NPCs in the past, I would probably draw some inspiration from those experiences as well. 

Legacy: Who knows? He could certainly work as an NPC in my ongoing Star Trek: Prosperity. I'd definitely like to play him. I think he could be alot of fun. 

I wonder who's up next?

AD

Barking Alien

31 Days / 31 Characters - ALEA LOOKBEYONDTHESEA

I had a helluva time trying to figure out what kind of character I should create first.

Honestly, arguing with myself over which RPG would go first was starting to drive me a little mad. I have so many options, so many games that I love, that I came very close to overthinking the entire idea and experiencing 'Analysis Paralysis'. Finally I just stopped, took a deep breath, and thought, 'Where do stories begin?'. The answer is 'at the beginning'. Well what was the beginning? What started it all?

Dungeons & Dragons. 

I can sense your confusion. Adam doesn't like Dungeons & Dragons. He especially dislikes Character Creation in D&D. Well yes, all that is true. Creating a character for D&D would not only be uninteresting to me, it would be kind of pointless. I'd never end up using the character 'cause I never play that game. You're right again. 

I used to though. I started with D&D. I've played and run both short and long campaigns of Advanced D&D 1st Edition, as well as Dungeonmastered long campaigns of Dungeons & Dragons 3E and 3.5. I've played every version at least once. My favorite is...my version. D&D-But-Not, a term I've used over the years, isn't just an easy way to refer to my houseruled version of D&D but it is actually a game in and of itself. That is to say, D&D-But-Not (also called D&D AD) is a complete(ish) homebrewed game of my own creation, largely based on the various earlier edition of the famous ampersand Fantasy game. 

Introducing ...the first Dungeons and Dragons-But-Not Character I've created in at least 10-15 years.

Character: Alea LookBeyondTheSea

AKA: Alea of Corindel, Alea The Sea Ranger

Player: Possibly me, possibly an NPC.

System: Dungeons and Dragons AD/D&D-But-Not. A Homebrewed RPG based on D&D.

But very different.

 

Nature: Created for this Challenge.

Gamemaster: None yet. Possibly me.

Circa: January 1st, 2026

Origins: I already went over that above. I have chosen to go with a Race/Kind and Class that shows off the differences between my homebrew and the official versions. 

Backstory: Alea (Pronounced A-Leia) LookBeyondTheSea was born on the Island Continent of Corindel, the daughter of a Corindel 'Half-Elf' Shipwright and a Sea Elven Scout. She grew up a happy child, her family doing well as members of important and lucrative Guilds. Alea spent most of her time on the land with her mother where she learned about ships and sailing. She looked forward to her father's return from the sea to hear his tales of the ocean and its wonders.

As she approached her her 'teens' (late 20s to early 30s) she apprenticed with her father and used her talents and knowledge to quickly raise to the level where she was dubbed a true 'Ranger of Corindel'. In adulthood she became a full member of the Corindel Rangers Guild. With her good looks, warm personality, and both learned and natural abilities, she was hired quite often. She was especially popular with Adventurers seeking fame, fortune, or knowledge either above or below the waves or on any of the scattered islands of the Northern or Southern Atlantaen Seas. Fueled by her innate Curiousity, she looked forward to any mission that took her to where she'd never been before, to see things she had never seen.

Overview: Alea LookBeyondTheSea showcases both a Kind (aka a Race - in this case a Race of Elves) and a Class with features particular to D&D AD.

She is a Corindel Elf, the accepted name for the people of the nation/continent of Corindel. The inhabitants of this land (think Australia) are the descendants of Humans, Elves, and Half-Elves who have lived, married, and had children together for many generations. While she is mechanically a Half-Elf, she could very well be a Six-Eighths Elf or a One Fifth Human. She receives a +1 Intelligence, a +1 Charisma, and two -1's that can be placed wherever the player wishes. In addition, while an Elf may choose a +3 Elf Trait and a Human a +3 Human Trait, Half-Elves choose one Elf Trait and one Human Trait, each at +1. She automatically receives Seafaring +1, as all Corindel natives due (which would drop her Kind Trait to a +2 if she were pure Human or pure Elf). . 

Hmm. For my stats I've rolled 4D6 drop the lowest. Wow. Not bad. Honestly best rolls I've had in a really long time. I add the +1 Int, +1 Cha, and adjust a -1 to Strength and -1 Wisdom. As her father is a Sea Elf, I'm picking the Sea Elf Trait 'Amphibious'. No Movement Penalties related to being in the Water versus being on Land. I should've gone with 'Waterbreathing' but I almost feel that's too expected. Her Human Trait will be Curious. This gives her a +1 when investigating/looking for clues, trying to learn something new, etc. 

Her Class is Ranger and in D&D-But-Not, Rangers begin with two Class Traits (Ranger Class Traits). One has to be Tracking +Level (Bonus is equal to the Character's Experience Level). Rangers follow trails, track animals or missing villagers, etc. Her second Trait is free for me to choose and I choose Survival +Level. This will help her if and when her Seafaring fails and ends up running aground, marooned on some tiny isle. I'm making her as a First Level Character so that's it. Later I can choose additional Traits or raise previous ones.

Lastly, Alea gets two Personal Traits. Traits unique to Alea LookBeyondTheSea. This is the fun part. One gets to be at +Level and the other is +1. Tough. Hmm. Random rolls! OK. For my first Trait I got a 'Gift' - a Magic Book! Ooh, how about a Magic Book of Maps! I'll call it, 'The Cartographer's Memories, A Guide to Where You've Been'. It makes maps of the places you go to as you move through the area so you'll have a (mostly) perfect record to refer back to. For the other I'll choose Swimming since, yeah, you figure she'd be good at that. 

I like her. A Seagoing Ranger who knows her way around a ship, can swim and move through the water almost unnaturally well, and has maps of the seas and lands she's already been to. Selsa's not just good on a boat or in the drink but can handle herself on land, skilled at finding a way to survive in the roughest environments. 

Her character sheet would look like this...

Game Info:

Elements of Alea's Character Sheet will be both familiar and strange to many a D&D player and that's to be expected. As noted, this is NOT a Dungeons & Dragons or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons PC. This is a D&D-But-Not PC. There are several major and minor differences in the mechanics of my version of the game. 

Still and all, I think you get a decent idea of Alea's capabilities and could easily convert her to one of those lesser...ah, I mean...more familiar editions of the game. Heh.

Notes: This was...fun? I'm honestly not sure. I mean, I like her but there is nothing earth-shattering here. She isn't a member of The Winghorn Guard; those character sheets read more like a Superhero game! Rolling randomly for much of it was sometimes interesting but mostly slow. It took me longer to roll her up than to create a character for Star Wars D6, Star Trek Adventures, my Ghostbusters game, ALIENS, etc. 

In the end, I'm happy to be done with this first entry and look forward to creating characters for games I'm more jazzed about. Essentially, I like her but still don't like the game, even my take on it. 

Legacy: She'd make an interesting NPC. Maybe spice up her backstory a little more. Not sure.

Onward!

AD

Barking Alien