Characters of the Mist

Overview

Characters of the Mist is a character creator and manager for tabletop role-playing games built on the Mist Engine, designed to handle complex builds while staying approachable.

Why it exists

It emerged from a specific need in our tabletop RPG group for better tools to create and manage characters. The goal was a flexible system that could handle intricate character builds without becoming unwieldy for the people actually using it.

How it grew

1. It started on Next.js, giving the app a familiar React foundation and structure.
2. As it matured it became clear that a purely front-end app had no need for a server-side rendering framework, so the whole project was migrated to Vite — untangling framework-specific patterns and rebuilding the build and routing setup from scratch.
3. It was then converted into an installable PWA, adding service-worker caching and offline support so players can reach their characters anywhere.

Under the hood

The character system is fully typed, adapting to different game rules and character types while keeping TypeScript's guarantees intact. A complete file system lets users save and export their characters, and service-worker caching underpins the offline, installable experience.

Where it stands

The app is actively maintained and still evolving — I regularly ship features requested by the people using it at the table.