Casting Shadows

#RPGaDAY2025 starts on August 1st and while many people take it one day at a time through the month, many others share responses in ways that take some preparation time. Still others help spread the news by organizing their online groups on Discord or wherever into supportive bands who undertake the challenge of responding to each prompt as the month of August plays out. A particularly heroic group also share their talents by offering translations of the prompts in their native languages so that the positivity of the event can spread further than the English speaking world to go wherever RPGs are enjoyed. For all of those people, we like to release the infographic of the prompt during the month of July. July is the month of “get ready” and “get set”. Next month we reach, “GO!”

What is RPGaDAY?

Now in its 12th year, RPGaDAY was launched by David F. Chapman who may be known to you from his work for Cubicle 7 on the long-lived Doctor Who RPG with its innovative Vortex system, this year’s new adaptaton of the Laundry Files series to an RPG for C7, for his own intriguing game W.I.L.D., or his days in indie comics. Along the way, I joined in to help. In the ten years since, David and I have been pleased, surprised, and often humbled by how many people in how many places have taken part in this event year after year.

Each day in the month of August, roleplaying gamers work from the infographic below to take inspiration from each of the 31 prompts to post positively in affirmation of the joys and benefits of RPGs and the relationships and skills we have developed as a result. In many ways, it’s a reset or an antidote to the surging tides of acidic negativity which eat away at gamers throughout the year, making it easier and easier to drop out, stop recruiting new players, stop helping new GMs, and stop finding new games to play. No large group is without its problems to battle, but from time to time (like August and RPGaDAY!) it’s good to take a step away from the wars to remember why it’s worth it to fight and do more than fight. It’s important to play, and play well – to the resounding satisfaction of all involved~

How does it work?

While we hope that participants can post and share the posts of others every day in the month of August, we do not want that to be a barrier to anyone starting. Post on a schedule that works for you and your audience. For instance, a short or reel, a few quick lines, a haiku, or an image are ideal for daily posts about single prompts on the site or sites of your choice, while a lengthy blog post, podcast episode, video essay, or recording of the interpretive dance routines inspired by the prompts, might work better with a weekly format and cover multiple prompts. It’s entirely up to you.

The event runs from August 1st to 31st and so has 31 prompts which are intended to inspire you to share something you love about any positive aspect of the hobby, from its myriad games, through the people you play and have played with, to your characters, their adventures, and beyond. Participants are invited to start anytime after midnight on August 1st and continue on until the clock strikes midnight as the 31st steps aside to usher in the first of September. That said, if you are unable to complete the challenge of all 31 prompts in the 31 days of August, please do feel free to carry on and take as much time as you like.

The Hashtag

Each year, we match the name of the event with the year so that it’s easy to find and enjoy the posts that others are making on the prompts each day. This year the hashtag is #RPGaDAY2025. Please tag your posts, wherever and whatever they are so that people can find them and share them in their own circles.

The Prompts

This year we have returned to single-word prompts because it was time to remind ourselves of the intense power, breadth, and depth a single word can have as a prompt for imagination. Being people who engage in a highly imaginative hobby, that is good practice! Sharp-eyed readers, however, will have noted that that’s not all that is on the great shelf infographic which David has concocted to keep the prompts safe and organized this year. If a single word is insufficient on a given day to inspire you, there are three additional filters you can apply to help. You can use none, one, two, or all three of them. The first is a D6 table for question words with which to sort out what kind of response you might like to make. The second is a D10 table for moods through which to filter out which memories or ideas you might use to frame your response. The third is a D8 table suggesting some subjects to which to restrict your musings.

If you are feeling particularly creative, you can even invite randomness into the prompt selection and roll for which of the 31 prompts you might wish to tackle on any given day. For those who are into preparation and tracking details, that might be the most fun!

The Infographic

Here are the prompts to get you thinking, sharing, and most of all preparing your positive posts on RPG play. Please share this infographic around, tag it with #RPGaDAY2025, and get ready for a positive August full of anecdotes, recommendations, memories, and all the things which make RPGs the amazing things they are~

Plain Text Prompts

Daily Prompts

1) Patron

2) Prompt

3) Tavern

4) Message

5) Ancient

6) Motive

7) Journey

8) Explore

9) Inspire

10) Origin

11) Flavour

12) Path

13) Darkness

14) Mystery

15) Deceive

16) Overcome

17) Renew

18) Sign

19) Destiny

20) Enter

21) Unexpected

22) Ally

23) Recent

24) Reveal

25) Challenge

26) Nemesis

27) Tactic

28) Suspense

29) Connect

30) Experience

31) Reward

Question Prompts (roll D6)

1) Who

2) What

3) Where

4) When

5) Why

6) How

Mood Prompts (roll D10)

1) Envious

2) Nostalgic

3) Proud

4) Enthusiastic

5) Confident

6) Optimistic

7) Lucky

8) Grateful

9) Contemplative

10) Excited

Subject Prompts (roll D8)

1) Adventure

2) Character

3) Genre

4) Rule

5) Accessory

6) Art

7) Person

8) Lesson

I look forward to seeing what you all have to say this August!

SPECIAL NOTE!

If you are in the UK or Ireland, there is a slightly different version of the infographic which will pack a more powerful punch of positivity! We hope that you will use and share that one instead!

ANOTHER SPECIAL NOTE – FOR EVERYONE!