Goodbye 2023... You will not be missed... mostly

All in all 2023 was a pretty fucked up year but there were a few highlights for me.

My Collection

I added a few RPG things to my collection this year including:

• Caravans (Al Qadim) - One of the missing campaign box sets for my favourite D&D setting and getting rarer as every day passes.
  
  
• Citi-Block Floorplans for Judge Dredd - Completing my Games Workshop Judge Dredd collection has been a long awaited event.  Now Sector 55 can grow upwards.
  
  
• Flotsam: Adrift amongst the stars - A little indie RPG by Joshua Fox which has quite a cool refugees in space vibe going on.
  
  
• Cairn RPG - An interesting mini RPG which should be perfect for those inbetween sessions when the regular DM can't make it.  I also picked up the Cairn Bestiary to populate the forest with some pretty cool old school monsters.
  
  
• The White Box RPG - An OSR inspired mini RPG which looks like it might be a great first introduction to OSR roleplay.  
  
  
• Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master - I've been a long time follower of Professor Dungeon Master who highly recommended this tome of DMing Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks.
  
  
• Cthulhu's Vault - Not an RPG per se but a story telling card game of two halves where one player gets to become an Elder God and fight the other players to the death.  A lot of fun. 
  

Kickstarters Backed in 2023

• Ultracryl Paints - I just liked the look of these paints and  wanted to check out the ultra pigmented neon colours. 
  
  
• Tiny Epic Cthulhu - I have been a big fan of the Tiny Epic series of games since I first played Tiny Epic Galaxies back in the day.  I backed this without hesitation as there is definitely a space in life for another 

Movies I Enjoyed

Whilst Hollywood imploded upon itself this year, I got to see a few absolute gems: 

• The Dungeons & Dragons movie was a pretty good experience all round and whilst it is a shame that it didn't do more business than it did, I firmly expect this to be granted cult status and have a long life on streaming sites.
  
  
• Sisu - A goldminer makes a big score in Lapland and all he has to do is get from the mine to the bank in one piece.  In his way are a bunch of Nazis who are hellbent on capturing his horde.  Bloody good fun if you like a Tarantino style revenge movie or are a fan of Scandinavian movies.  Axsel Hennie doesn't dissapoint as the evil SS captain 
  
  
• Renfield - Who could pass up the combination of Nick Cage and Nicholas Hoult.  A popcorn movie which sheds a new light on Dracula and his man servant.
  
  
• Blood and Gold - If you enjoyed Sisu then you will love Blood and Gold which has a similar premise.
  
  
• They Cloned Tyrone - John Boyega stars in this made for Netflix sci-fi movie.  Done in the best possible low budget blackploitation style it's a really good story with an epic twist.  I really hope to see a sequel.
  
  
• Day Shift - Jamie Foxx lives a double life as a gardner come vampire hunter in modern day LA.  Good fun and a welcome antidote to the likes of The Walking Dead.
  
  
• Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire - I'm not a Zack Snyder fanboy but I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi version of The Seven Samurai.  Very watchable and I can't wait for part two where hopefully the world building will continue and we will get much more of Jimmy the robot.
  
  
• Glorious - If you enjoy strange tales of with strange premise you will love Glorious.  Effectively a one room play if your room is an out of the way roadside rest stop with a glory hole.  Full of twists and turns and epic bait and switch, so don't be afraid, watch it today.
  

Games I Played at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club

2023 saw the club continue to grow with a steady influx of new players and our future is looking very secure indeed.

• The Rivenlands - 2023 saw the culmination of this homebrew D&D 5e campaign which was an epic adventure for all.  The fun will resume in part 2 where we descend into Hell to retrieve our fallen comrade Derek.
  
  
• Delta Green - I haven't played this modern interpretation of Cthulhu in years and Mark did not dissappoint.  Some weird AF, X-Files inspired alien shenanigans occurred and I set the club record for having two characters die in the same session!!
  
  
• Where the Monsters Come From - A change of pace was in order as I joined our younger roleplayers band of misfits as Freddo the Frogling. Whilst we have not yet completed our epic quest to prevent the Arch mage from destroying everything to summon his demonic master, it has been a riot. 

Sadly I was unable to attend the Manic Tournament this year but well done to Josh who picked up the trophy.

The Nadir of RPG

As I get older I get more and more immune to being triggered by the manufactured "panic" which seems to be the currency of social media.  However, even I could not ignore some events.

The OSR Scandal which consumed social media in early 2023 until WotC realised they had just alienated their audience of both players and publishers. The jury is still out on whether WotC are going to see a resurgence in good fortune when they release the next edition of D&D and players buy into the new online experience.  I have it on good authority that the VTT is very IRL play inspired but as I do all my play IRL can I be bothered to subscribe to play the new version of D&D when 5e works well enough?  

I'm old enough to have gone through a few edition wars in my lifetime and know that whatever happens I will still be able to play great fantasy roleplaying games.

The Hasbro Lay-offs left a sour taste in the mouth with just 2 weeks to go before Christmas but I am sure that the talent will rise to the top and we will see a raft of new RPG projects and imprints as a result.