2023 Retrospective

    I thought it would be neat if I recapped my year on my blog. I know people probably won’t read it, but I endeavor to do it nonetheless. This list isn’t in any particular chronological order.

This year I...

Watched A D&D Movie

    And it was pretty good! I thought it had some good “player characters” that retained the quirkiness usually found through play and although the plot wasn’t necessarily unique, I thought it was archetypal in a good way.

Discovered A Wicked City

Joel Heard

    I took this page and read every single link on it, revealing to me a foreign land of taigas and vast deserts, clockwork machines and cloud spirits, deep-seated corruption and hope. I really appreciated a setting that drew upon a different mythology! If I had to select my favorite non-basic articles of Against the Wicked City, I’d pick the Unkindness class, the Crimson Lake, the Children of the Pines, the wrestling rules, and the Dahākans. Of course I think you should read all of it, but those are my personal favorites.

Tried Being A Cultist

Weather Factory

    Don’t worry, I failed miserably. I am not one to usually play video games but I managed to push through my normal languor and really tried my hand at Cultist Simulator. It was a pleasant surprise not due to the mechanics (which are not really my style) but the lore. By the g_ds, the lore. I have spent a dozen hours on Cultist Simulator, and probably a fourth of that on the Secret Histories wiki researching the game’s esoterica and symbolisms. That’s not cheating, you’re cheating.

Read A D&D Comic

Stephanie Hans

    DIE is an amazing comic. It blends traditional fantasy, D&D meta humor, emotional horror, and some breathtaking art all in one amazing package. If asked to describe it in one sentence, I’d say “traumatic D&D Jumanji”. I also recently received a physical copy of the DIE RPG and am very excited to look through its pages. Shall I run a game? Perhaps, perhaps not…

Started Jujutsu Kaisen

Kariyen

    It’s good! Not Chainsaw Man good, but I’ve only gotten through volumes 1 through 7 so far, so I’ve got a long way to go. Akutami is very good at succinct, flavorful characterization and has developed an engrossing power system.

Learned About Radical Catgirl Anarchists

avvart

    No, this isn’t particularly relevant or important, but I thought it’d be funny to include anyway. In mid-November I clicked on CHASE THE BLACK RABBIT by Throne of Salt. I was then swiftly whisked away to an oneiric realm of internet links and hyper-focus. An eternity later I emerged a (not so) changed man, but it was still an entertaining ride. I read this and this an this, and one of my goals for 2024 is to read through the Stealing Solidarity series.

Played In An Open Table

sackcloth and ashes

    I both played and ran games in the Shattered Coast GLOG server, as referenced here and here. It was quite a fun time with lots of chaos, adventure, and growing pains. Most of the time I played Alexander, Warmind B, but near the end of my stint there I played Alice Gardener (whose picture you can see above), a PALADIN. She was present for one adventure which was never really completed, and ended her career with a sum total of 0 XP, but she was a blast to play and has officially taken up residence in my brainspace.

    I also met a lot of new people through Shattered Coast who I now talk to semi-frequently! Shoutout to the esteemed personages Gorinich, Vivanter, and the ever-elusive Abyssin.

Got A New Best Friend

    By which I mean dog. Readers of my blog, meet Copper, a very good boy. He loves to go on walks but the rest of the time is a very dedicated couch potato.

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    There you have it, the highlights of my year. I wish the readers of this blog a peaceful and successful 2024.