Casting Shadows

This is the 22nd day of #RPGaDay2026. This should only come as a surprise to those who are unsure of the date. Those who are synchronized with our clock and calendar bound society and have the grit to weather all the hard work it brings, will instinctually sense also that there are a mere 9 days left in this grand celebration of the unmatched greatness of roleplaying games. Hopefully, we can make the most of it. In that spirit, there is but one more day of All for One: Regime Diabolique posts to follow this one, then it will be time to switch to the next game. As old hands will have gleaned from the above, today’s prompt is Grit, the daily filter for Saturday is “works hard for their living,” and the weekly filter for the 17th through 23rd has been “Instinct.”

One of the first archetypes which surfaced in my memory when I looked at today’s prompt was the Inspiring Commander. As a newcomer to AfO long ago, this character caught my eye because of their Rank Resource and what that means to how the character is both played and perceived, but also what risks they run for stepping out of line. In addition, their Inspire Talent is a fantastic way to support leadership as roleplay in tune with what the other characters are best at doing or interestingly poor at doing. On top of that, this whole combination gives the player a hard and satisfying choice between actively leading or not. It would be somewhat tempting to add the Guardian Talent at the earliest opportunity to round out a sense of tactical overwatch.

For those who like a little reward or incentive in their gaming, this character has some interesting and potent uses for the game’s Style Points. By leaning into the motivation of Duty and their Archetype of Soldier, the “Inspiring Commander” can dish out formidable bonuses which matter to starting or experienced characters, and how they do that and what they are, are of course great fuel for imagination and roleplay. For those who enjoy the challenge a serious character like this one has to offer, the Style points are just icing on a delicious cake.

Now, it has been more than a decade since falling in love with this game, and it long ago grew on me what sort of toll in stress and hard work this character has to pay for their position, in their responsibility to their musketeers, and in setting a good and effective example. The amount of attention they must pay to each musketeer in their command in order to find the right inspiration to pull the best from them. The study they must devote to the enemy and the terrain in which they might have to fight, the tools of their deadly trade, and the strengths and weakness of their steeds and supporting regiments. Instinct can carry them far, but without that bedrock of work to improve, stay current, and be prepared for the tactics of the enemy the road will be shorter than they or their crew might like.

On top of all of this, of course, comes the expectation of the King, the expectations of the people, and the habits of the other musketeers, to be flamboyant, be seen representing the pride of the nation, and at least a certain amount of dueling and wooing. That is a lot of work for an underpaid and rarely paid person to take on!

Tomorrow’s prompt for #RPGaDAY2026 is ‘Fortune.’ A certain amount of bad luck has come the way of a fairly large number of the musketeers, but perhaps with panache they can turn that around, no?

See you then!