Cres and Back Again | Part III
Day Three / Sunday, 28 June 2026.
or how I Learned to Stop Worrying and Talk to My Heroes
Sunday started almost exactly as the day before. A short snuggle with the Daggerheart book, a delicious early breakfast on the balcony overlooking the sea, two cups of tasty caffeine delight and a near miss with none other than Luis Carazo. I think we both used our Reactions to avoid Physical damage and save Luis’ coffee. Drawing upon the Experience with Mislav, Matej and the Dark Sun crew the day before, I nervously struck up a conversation. All the anxiety melted away as he started to tell me what a great time he was having even though he still didn’t get a chance to go for a swim. The short conversation felt so natural, almost as if we collided into each other every morning. I briefly thanked him for coming to Cres and told him what a huge fan I am of Critical Role and his contribution to the stories I adore so much. Luis, I really hope you got that swim. You deserved it!
– The kraken in the Cres port from the festival’s second year
Feeling the Exhaustion levels starting to compound due to a lack of sleep, I decided to forgo games for the day and employ my Perception skill instead. First thing on the itinerary was the homebrewing seminar and workshop by Matej Požarina from Hero’s Rest. It was full of useful writing tools and systems to spark the imagination. My biggest takeaway was to “dream big, but begin small”, to craft lore into a few irresistible, shiny gems worth stealing instead of piling them into an annoying Encumbrance problem.
As the seminar went on, I was trying to write down as much useful information as I could, when a successful History check helped me to remember an old college habit I used to have. During class, I would sometimes draw the important parts instead of just writing bullet after bullet of plain text. It was something I completely forgot about, and it manifested itself at the perfect time.
– My notes/illustrations of Matej’s seminar on homebrewing
As it was my last day, I took some Down time and went for a short afternoon swim to take in some of the beauty of Cres. I went into relax-mode so much that unfortunately I missed Luis’ Meet & Greet. The seaside atmosphere was so intoxicating I just lost track of time, but I am sure Luis’ would have understood.
When I snapped out of my Charmed condition, the early afternoon was coming to an end, and I hurried back to Moise Palace to catch Rowan Hall and Spencer Starke for their Meet & Greet. I only had a short amount of time as I wanted to listen in on Mislav’s seminar that was starting shortly. Sweat rained down my face while standing in the queue, but the Fire Elementals Annual Assembly wasn’t the problem. For the first time in my life, I was about to ask someone I admire for a signature, and I was looking at every person in line for a Help Action to figure out how to behave. Before I could Disengage, Rowan and Spencer were already greeting me with a wide smile. I recall Rowan remembering me from the Friday session while she was signing my copy of Daggerheart. I also got to pull a card from a Daggerheart deck. I pulled the card “A Soldier's Bond” and they signed it as well – a special boon I will cherish. After a short talk, I inquired if there were any full Daggerheart setting books in the works or expansions focused solely on campaign frames. They seemed somewhat surprised by the question but very enthusiastic even though they weren’t ready to share any clues or secrets. At the end, I thanked them for being such wonderful and inspiring guests and hurried to catch the rest of Mislav’s seminar.
Mislav constructed his seminar around utilizing creative writing tools for TTRPG worldbuilding and session preparation while using examples from his own homebrew campaign. I was very happy to have been able to write down and draw his lecture as well. The really endearing part was his players sitting in the audience, trying to sneak a peak behind the curtain. Afterward we all went for a drink and laid out a plan for the evening: one more event and then a beach-themed Adventure to finish the festival in style.
– Illustrations and notes of Mislav’s seminar
We went to see the last panel of the day with Kate Welch, Tyler Jacobson and Marco Bernardini. Marco moderated the topic of creating and imagining new worlds and what kinds we of obstacles come up the most during the process. They talked about the fact that our backgrounds inevitably shape our creative outputs as it is difficult to reach beyond our experiences and create something completely new, not based on biased perspectives. They also gave great suggestions for countering those problems and doing the unexpected. The “mocha tent” story and the “settlements as characters” concept are two points that really stood out.
When the event concluded, a lot of people from the audience went to talk with the panelists while a social Stun effect left me standing undecided. I will never know if it was the Cres air, the magical atmosphere or a manifestation of the card “A Soldier’s Bond” I have drawn before, but before I could plan an escape route, I was already talking with the panelists showing them my drawing and asking for a signature under it. They were full of encouragement and such sweethearts. Their autograph under my drawing of their ideas and thoughts was an end to the festival I would never have imagined. Thank you, Kate, Tyler and Marco for the memory!
– Illustrated notes of Kate's, Tyler's and Marco’s ideas
After doing a few favours for the Hero’s Rest crew, we headed to the beach for a night swim. The lack of Darkvision was no problem with the full moon providing ample lighting. Our little party from yesterday had expanded, and now we were six, with Vedran and Dominik joining the ranks, also players in Mislav’s home campaign. We Uncanily dodged some sea urchins in the shallows and plunged into the sea. I was enjoying the ambience and listening to them talk about their campaign. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to catch the ferry the next morning. We said our goodbyes and had a group photo to remember the moment. That is why we play TTRPGs, to meet people and have adventures in and out of game.
Sadly, I did miss the closing ceremony and the traditional group singing of "Misty Mountains Cold". The good thing about missing events is that now I have a reason to come back. The festival had such a packed program that casting Misty Step, Teleport or even Time Warp wouldn’t have made a difference. It was a magnificent Point Crawl with rewards waiting at every turn. The organisers, volunteers, guests, artists and attendees directly tapped into the Weave and sprinkled some real Magic onto the streets of Cres. I am so happy that I had the pleasure of witnessing this incredible story unfold.
It was a festival to remember, and I can’t wait for 2027! Until next time, dear Islanders. May your dice roll high, and your stories be filled with friends you meet along the way. Farewell.
Epilogue
As predicted, there was a delay for this final instalment of the Isle of Wonders 2026 Chronicles. It was a slow crawl, but I am very happy the text has finally seen the blue light of the screen. With this trilogy out of the way, I am faced with an empty lot of online real estate that is yearning to be made a home. I am not sure what the future will bring or what kind of home this blog will eventually become as I very deliberately dived into this without a plan. The only course of action is to continue writing and, hopefully, something should eventually surface from the binary depths of an online word processor. Actually, hope is the wrong word. I will do the work and the work will speak for itself. I will be seeing you soon!
– The Punk Kobold