Khitomer Peace Award Winner

Reason for the award

Cowboy deserves the Outstanding Player award for his sustained, high-impact contributions to Star Army, a long-running original science-fiction roleplaying community. He is both a standout player in the YSS Resurgence’s crew ensemble starship campaign and the game master of another starship plot, YSS Wakaba, helping create the same kind of crew-driven adventure, danger, humor, and emotional continuity that define the best starship sims.

As a player, Cowboy brings range and commitment through two very different characters on the YSS Resurgence. Sanda Hoshi is a front-line soldier and officer: intense, brave, protective, flawed, and deeply invested in her shipmates. Her story has included battlefield command, survival, injury, captivity, rescue missions, personal trauma, and continued service. Cowboy plays her not as a perfect action hero, but as someone whose courage, anger, love, and mistakes all matter to the story.

Cowboy also plays Caffran Canterbury, a rough-edged Nepleslian scout and close-combat specialist whose personality is completely distinct from Sanda’s. Caffran brings grit, humor, loyalty, and unexpected emotional depth. In a recent mission (Mission 22: D-Day), he helped turn a battlefield crisis into one of the plot’s most memorable scenes by trying to communicate with a colossal extradimensional dragon instead of treating it as just another monster to kill.

Moreover, he’s just a good guy who manages to be an excellent part of the community in spite of being a busy dad (I get this, as I’m in the same boat!), and is friendly, positive, and a pleasure to have around. Because of these great qualities, Star Army even named Cowboy as Player of the Year in 2025.

In conclusion, Cowboy is an outstanding player because he strengthens every plot he joins. He writes memorable characters, supports other writers, embraces consequences, creates hooks for game masters, and also gives back by running adventures for others. His contributions show both player excellence and community-minded leadership.