Friday, August 21, 2026

Prompt #21 for #RPGaDay2026

Charity

This word is a hard one to discuss.  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity; a gift for public benevolent purposes; lenient judgment of others.  I'm going to be honest right here and now that this post is probably going to be more like word-vomit because I have absolutely no idea how to even tackle this, haha.

Yesterday's post was about "promise", in which I mentioned that I don't rely on Patreon and Ko-fi solely for the monetary exploitation of others.  Those platforms are more for providing a gateway for people to become involved with my game, joining my community, and even partake in feedback for creatures.  I never wanted to be viewed as a "charity case" for my passion project, and I refuse to have that happen now.  

I am genuinely a person who likes to help others, regardless of any return.  It hurts at times, but it is what it is.  I've been in the dark recesses of humanity, and I rarely judge others because I've had to make decisions I wasn't proud of.  Some aren't as bad as what others have experienced, but for me it was pretty awful.  I won't go into the details, since that could be a plethora of situations listed, but I've made it out of those dark places and am doing much better now.  There are people in my community who are battling their own monsters, and sometimes they just want someone to listen to them.  Thankfully, having ADHD can be a bonus.  Sometimes I don't retain a damn word they say past that conversation, but then there are times I remember a lot and just kind of dismiss it, shoving it back down into the filing cabinet of theirs.  

My game kind of reflects this part of me.  Depending on what kind of interaction an NPC or even a creature has with a player, it could change a lot of future situations.  I believe I touched on this in another post earlier in this month, but if a player chooses to be nice to an NPC, that NPC could influence interactions with other NPCs.  If a player chooses to be nasty, then obvious repercussions are on their way.  Another example is the Calamivox Ingratus interaction that both parties were involved with.  Both befriended one, and I can't wait to see what they say once they realize that being charitable to it was a great decision.

In the end, charity goes both ways in my game.  Players can be good or bad, and they'll have to deal with their choices later on.

Links: