Hello everyone! Welcome back to the yearly tradition of RPG a Day, this time for 2026.
Quick recap for the uninitiated:
RPG a Day is a social media event started by David F. Chapman (aka Autocratik) that has been going on for the past 13 years. The purpose of the event is to celebrate all the positive aspects of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) by sharing our experiences, ideas, and creations via social media posts, videos, blog entries, or other creative endeavors. If you decide to participate, there is a series of daily prompts to spark your creativity and encourage discussion. Tag your content with the hashtag #RPGaDay2026 so everyone can follow along!
You can find the prompts at Autocratik’s blog. He also partners with Anthony Boyd (aka Runeslinger), whose blog Casting Shadows also features the prompts along with an alternative set of questions you can use.
I’m reproducing this year’s infographic with the prompts and instructions below.
Okay, with that out of the way: what are my plans for this year?
The infographic mentions that this year can be approached as a character creation challenge, and I’m taking up that challenge. I hope to create 31 short NPC descriptions, aiming for two to four paragraphs each. We’ll see how well I manage to stick to that goal!
To set things up, I took the daily prompt. I combined it with the weekly modifiers (on the left side of the calendar) and the daily modifiers (at the bottom of the calendar), which are based on the Monday’s Child nursery rhyme—a poem I didn’t know until I saw the reference on the infographic. Together, these three elements give me the theme and motivation for each NPC.
To determine the genre for each character, I created this little random table to roll on:
| Die Roll | Genre |
| 1 | Fantasy |
| 2 | Science Fiction & Space Opera |
| 3 | Cyberpunk |
| 4 | Superheroes |
| 5 | Pulp & Two-Fisted Adventure |
| 6 | Horror (Cosmic & Personal) |
| 7 | Post-Apocalyptic |
| 8 | Western |
After rolling 31 times, here is the master list I’ll be working with throughout August:
| Day | Prompt | Modifier 1 (Week) | Modifier 2 (Weekday) | Genre |
| 1 | Discipline | Drive | Works Hard | Fantasy |
| 2 | Stature | Drive | Blessed | Pulp & Two-Fisted Adventure |
| 3 | Poise | Intellect | Fair of Face | Cyberpunk |
| 4 | Charm | Intellect | Full of Grace | Horror (Cosmic & Personal) |
| 5 | Burden | Intellect | Full of Woe | Fantasy |
| 6 | Reach | Intellect | Far to Go | Science Fiction & Space Opera |
| 7 | Mercy | Intellect | Loving & Giving | Western |
| 8 | Resolve | Intellect | Works Hard | Cyberpunk |
| 9 | Privilege | Intellect | Blessed | Post-Apocalyptic |
| 10 | Secret | Associates | Fair of Face | Superheroes |
| 11 | Tact | Associates | Full of Grace | Fantasy |
| 12 | Loss | Associates | Full of Woe | Horror (Cosmic & Personal) |
| 13 | Strain | Associates | Far to Go | Pulp & Two-Fisted Adventure |
| 14 | Regard | Associates | Loving & Giving | Science Fiction & Space Opera |
| 15 | Endurance | Associates | Works Hard | Western |
| 16 | Composure | Associates | Blessed | Post-Apocalyptic |
| 17 | Intensity | Instinct | Fair of Face | Superheroes |
| 18 | Directness | Instinct | Full of Grace | Cyberpunk |
| 19 | Desire | Instinct | Full of Woe | Fantasy |
| 20 | Promise | Instinct | Far to Go | Horror (Cosmic & Personal) |
| 21 | Charity | Instinct | Loving & Giving | Science Fiction & Space Opera |
| 22 | Grit | Instinct | Works Hard | Pulp & Two-Fisted Adventure |
| 23 | Fortune | Instinct | Blessed | Post-Apocalyptic |
| 24 | Distance | Emotion | Fair of Face | Western |
| 25 | Familiarity | Emotion | Full of Grace | Fantasy |
| 26 | Regret | Emotion | Full of Woe | Superheroes |
| 27 | Hunger | Emotion | Far to Go | Horror (Cosmic & Personal) |
| 28 | Devotion | Emotion | Loving & Giving | Cyberpunk |
| 29 | Labour | Emotion | Works Hard | Science Fiction & Space Opera |
| 30 | Pride | Emotion | Blessed | Pulp & Two-Fisted Adventure |
| 31 | Edge | Ability | Fair of Face | Post-Apocalyptic |
I don’t think I can invent 31 completely original names on top of everything else, so I’ll be using Fantasy Name Generator to help generate them.
These NPCs will be posted right here on the blog and shared across my socials: Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and Sunglar’s Musings on Facebook. I also plan to post a Spanish version of each NPC over at Desde la Fosa.
These are the prompts in Spanish in case you want to participate in your language:
This will run alongside my regular schedule of movie and video game inspiration posts, my Saturday Recommendations on Sunglar’s Musings, and hopefully Sunday interviews here on the blog.
That is an ambitious schedule, and something might fall through the cracks along the way, but I’m going all in! We’ll take stock of how I did by the end of August.
I hope you join us on this adventure for August 2026. Don’t forget to tag your posts with the #RPGaDay2026 hashtag. The RPG a Day community on Facebook is also a great hub for sharing posts and interacting with other participants. Whether you complete all 31 days or pop in for one, join us to celebrate the positives of this great community.
See you tomorrow!
