2021 Challenge – Slick Dungeon's Dusty Tomes and Terrible Films

Posted on January 3, 2022January 2, 2022 by slickdungeon

Slick Dungeon’s 2021 Recap

Happy New Year everyone! It’s me, Slick Dungeon, and I thought it would be nice to do a little recap of things that happened on my blog last year. I’ll give you a little glimpse into what is coming for next year as well.

2021 was an interesting year no matter how you look at it. A lot happened in the world and a lot happened right here on this blog. I made some plans, wrote some articles, completed some goals and left others unfinished. Let’s take a look at some of the significant things that happened on this blog last year shall we?

In terms of numbers I wrote 104 posts this year. There were 77 comments made by myself and other amazing bloggers and readers of the site. There were 875 likes, 3,781 visitors and a total of 5,766 views. So close to 6K! Oh well, maybe this year!

My top post by far was this one about the Top 5 Horror Tabletop Role Playing Games. I stand by my selection here and this helped October to be my best month for views with 1,124.

I gave away some free stuff. There were over 30 downloads of my 2021 Read-Watch-Play challenge and my 2021 Book Challenge. There were over 50 downloads of my 2021 Movie Challenge. And for those of you wondering, yes I will be publishing challenges for 2022 as well so I hope some of you will follow along with me on these. Keep watching this blog in the coming days for more on that. I was able to meet my 2021 movie challenge for myself. The books and read-watch-play were a bit out of reach for me last year but I’m going to really make the effort this year to make it through all of my challenges.

But the real hot ticket for downloads was my 10 Golden Rules of Dungeon Mastering for kids with over 300 downloads. I hope someone out there found them useful and was able to get a kid into role playing with some of that advice. It’s a fantastic hobby that has lead to a lifetime of fun for me and my son.

As far as content goes, I continued to review lots of books and movies. For books I did a lot of reviews for Reedsy.com which I think is a fantastic website and a great way to find excellent independent authors. Two of my favorite books from that site this year were from the Ravenstones Saga which I started reviewing in 2020 with Eirwen and Fridis. These books happen to be about talking animals but they are genuinely complex and interesting. There is as much political intrigue here as any fantasy series I can think of and I am really hoping that author C.S. Watts is able to complete the next entry soon.

I also really enjoyed the sequel to Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar. Conquerer’s Blood is a sequel but with all new characters and a new point of view. It’s an impressive follow up to the first book and I even got to do an interview with the author himself. He was very thoughtful in his responses and it was a fantastic experience.

As far as movies go, I reviewed all of the Evil Dead movies and otherwise watched a wide variety of things. I still need to finish watching the Saw movies but I did see the first two for the first time this year. I promise I won’t only review horror movies in 2022 but it’s a genre I enjoy a lot so there will be plenty of those to come.

I started a series of posts about the Marvel 616 universe. I am going to review every issue that I can, one by one, in order. I’ve made nearly 20 posts in the series and I have not come even close to starting to scratch the surface of the surface so there will be plenty more where that came from. I love the Marvel comics not just for the big name heroes like Spider-Man, The Hulk, and The Fantastic Four. I also love the weird stuff like Mole Man, Typeface, and Paste-pot Pete (who I still think has the most epic and fantastic super villain name of all time.) I have no idea how far I will get in this experiment but it’s a great excuse to read and reflect on comic books.

I also continued my series Kids Kill Monsters where I give advice on how to play Dungeons & Dragons with kids. I haven’t forgotten the series and more will be coming this year as far as that series goes. We still have a long way to go so if you have kids, I hope you’ll check these out and get your kids role playing. It’s an activity that is super beneficial for children and seriously fun for both kids and adults.

This year I found what I think is my favorite Dungeons & Dragons product of all time and it’s not even made by the makers of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a magazine reminiscent of the Dragon magazine of the 1980’s and 90’s where a lot of us used to pick up advice, tricks, tips and adventures. The magazine I am talking about is of course Arcadia by MCDM. The best thing about this magazine is that there are a host of writers, artists, and contributors so the content stays fresh and is highly inventive. No matter what kind of Dungeon Master you are, there is something for you in each of these issues. And the art is mind-blowingly good. I don’t think I can oversell the artwork here so even if you don’t like a single word in the magazine, I promise you, there is at least one picture you will love. I’ll be reviewing more issues in the future. I even ran one of the one-shot adventures from the first issue and it was fantastic because my players were young enough not to see the twist coming and had to get really creative to deal with the situation. It was a ton of fun. I may do a blog entry all about that at some point as well.

I also wrote a short short story of my own this year which was then featured in Flashbang Volume II on DriveThruFiction. I really had fun with this and in 2022 I am planning on publishing some more things. I will announce all of it here and if you are interested, let you know how you can get your hands on your very own copies. If everything goes according to plan (ha!) there will be lots of goodies coming in the next 12 months.

The whole year was great on this blog. I mostly write this for myself as an outlet for some fun but I love to see that there are actually people who take the time to read and respond to what I write. If you are one of those people, thank you so, so, so much. I know there are a million other things you could be doing so again thank you. Also know that if I have ever liked or linked to your content it is because I really enjoy your blogs. It was a good year here in the dungeon in 2021 and I can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store for us all.

Gratefully yours,

Slick Dungeon

(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)

Posted on December 16, 2021 by slickdungeon · 2 Comments

Slick Dungeon’s Slightly Panicked Challenge Check-in: Movie Edition

Hey there dungeon crawlers, it’s me Slick Dungeon. Have you ever had a challenge checklist you wanted to complete in a year only to notice you are half way through December? Yeah me too. At the start of this year I put out three challenge checklists, one for books, one for movies, and one for a combination of books movies and tabletop RPG’s.

I wanted to take a moment to see where I was on these checklists and see if I have a shot at completing them this year. Today I wanted to focus on my movie checklist. I nailed the first three earlier in the year but that leaves me with nine more to go.

For this list, I think I will be able to finish it. It’s just a matter of taking the time to sit and watch the movies. My next one is a movie with an ambiguous ending. I thought about watching Inception for that but I’ve decided to go with the original Blade Runner so you’ll see a review for that soon. Keep an eye on this blog to find out if I complete my own challenge.

Also, just as a reminder if you complete any of the challenge checklists I put out this year and post about it on your blog, I will review anything you want me to (within reason). So if you complete my movie checklist and you’ve made a film, I will review your film if you ask me to. Same goes for books and tabletop RPG’s. If you complete the film challenge, write about it on your blog and let me know, and then I will review a book you’ve written, etc.

If you’ve been following along with this checklist at all, let me know in the comments. And if you want your very own copy of the checklist just download it from the image above or by clicking right here. Good luck getting everything wrapped up in the remainder of the year!

Procrastinatingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

Posted on April 7, 2021December 13, 2021 by slickdungeon

Slick Dungeon’s 2021 Challenge Check-in!

Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here, hoping March was an amazing month for you and that April will be even better.

(Note that there are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)

In January I put out three challenges for this year, one for books, one for movies and one that combined books, movies and role playing games. I wanted to take today to see if anyone has done any of the challenges and update everyone on my own progress.

As a reminder, if you complete any of the three challenges and talk about it on your blog, I will review anything in that category that you want me to and post that review on my blog with a link to your blog.

Don’t worry if you haven’t started, each of my challenges is only 12 items long and there is still plenty of the year to go.

In case you want to participate and still need the challenges, just take a look at this post and download yourself a neat little PDF or three.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, how did I, Slick Dungeon do on my own challenges in March? Let’s find out.

Challenge 1: Book Challenge

For the second month in a row, I did not make my book challenge. I am going to try to make reading a bit more of a priority for April. I make no promises though because I am a pretty slow reader. That being said below are the books I intend to read this month for my challenge.

This is a book recommended to me by a friend and I am about two thirds of the way through it so hopefully I will be reviewing it soon. That was the challenge from way back in February but this month is the month I will get this done!

For March the challenge I wanted to take on was a book you swore you would never read. I haven’t quite finished it but I am close. I am reading none other than Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I definitely have some thoughts about it and I’ll be sure to let you know what those are so stay tuned.

Challenge 2: Movie Challenge

My challenge this month was to watch a movie that scares me. I remembered being terrified by the film Phantasm when I was a kid and wanted to revisit it. If you want to check out my review of it, take a look at this post.

Challenge 3: Read-Watch-Play Challenge

This month for the Read-Watch-Play challenge, I did one of the play challenges. I had a little trouble getting a group together so I went with a solo campaign called The Executioner’s Daughter. Check out my review for it here.

Well, that’s it for March. Let’s hope I will be able to complete all the challenges in April. Here’s what I am going to be attempting.

A book recommended by a friend (left over from February)
A book you swore you would never read (left over from March)
A book that has a BIPOC author or protagonist
A movie with an ambiguous ending
Read a book with a quest

Good luck to the rest of you out there and if you have decided to participate, feel free to let me know how it is going in the comments!

If you would like to download any of the challenges you can do that on the original post or right below.

Challengingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

Posted on March 1, 2021 by slickdungeon

Slick Dungeon’s 2021 Challenge Check-in!

Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here, hoping February was an amazing month for you and that March will be even better.

(Note that there are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)

Don’t worry if you haven’t started, each of my challenges is only 12 items long and there is still plenty of the year to go.

In case you want to participate and still need the challenges, just take a look at this post and download yourself a neat little PDF or three.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, how did I, Slick Dungeon do on my own challenges in February? Let’s find out.

Challenge 1: Book Challenge

Ack, this one is the one I failed at this month. I did get a book recommended to me and I have started reading it. It’s by one of my favorite authors Isaac Asimov and is called The Gods Themselves. I’m about half way done so there should be a review for it in the next week or two here. In case you want to get it for yourself, check it out below.

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Assimov

Challenge 2: Movie Challenge

My challenge this month was to watch three films by the same director. I went with 3 early Alfred Hitchcock films. Challenge completed on this one woohoo! If you want to know what I thought about the movies check out the posts for them below.

Challenge 3: Read-Watch-Play Challenge

This month for the Read-Watch-Play challenge, I did one of the watch challenges. I chose to watch (well re-watch) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. While I love the book and I enjoy the film well enough, I think there is considerable room for improvement in the film. Check out my review for it here.

Well, that’s two out of three for February. Let’s hope I will be able to complete all the challenges in March. Here’s what I am going to be attempting.

A book recommended by a friend (left over from February)
A book you swore you would never read
A movie that scares you
Play a Dungeons & Dragons one shot adventure

Good luck to the rest of you out there and if you have decided to participate, feel free to let me know how it is going in the comments.

Challengingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

Posted on February 1, 2021January 31, 2021 by slickdungeon · 2 Comments

Slick Dungeon’s 2021 Challenge Check-in!

Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here, hoping January was a fantastic month for you and that February will be even better.

Last month I put out three challenges for this year, one for books, one for movies and one that combined books, movies and role playing games. I wanted to take today to see if anyone has done any of the challenges and update everyone on my own progress.

Don’t worry if you haven’t started, each of my challenges is only 12 items long and there is still plenty of the year to go.

In case you want to participate and still need the challenges, just take a look at this post and download yourself a neat little PDF or three.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, how did I, Slick Dungeon do on my own challenges in January? Let’s find out.

Challenge 1: Book Challenge

This one took me the longest to complete but it was well worth the time. The first box on this one was the book at the very bottom of your TBR list. For me that was a book called The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu. You can read my review of it here.

Challenge 2: Movie Challenge

This challenge item led me down a long strange trip to watch a movie called Butter on the Latch which involved absolutely no butter or latches anywhere. It was an experimental film and while I didn’t exactly understand the experiment, I think it’s always good to branch out of your own boundaries now and again and I absolutely support independent film. You can see my review of it here.

Challenge 3: Read-Watch-Play Challenge

I’ll be honest, I got lucky here. The challenge item was to read a book with a dungeon in it. It just so happened that a book I was enjoying and going to review anyway happened to have a dungeon in it. The book is called Overworld, the Dragon Mage Saga, book 1. It was a pretty cool read that was reminiscent of Ready Player One and you can read my review of it here.

Well, that’s three out of three for January. I have no idea how February will go but here is what I will be attempting.

A book recommended by a friend
Three movies by the same director
Watch a movie with a dragon in it

Good luck to the rest of you out there and if you have decided to participate, feel free to let me know how it is going in the comments.

Challengingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

Posted on January 1, 2021December 31, 2020 by slickdungeon · 12 Comments

Challenge Yourself! Books, Movies and RPGs for 2021

Hey Everyone, Slick Dungeon here. 2020 was a challenge to say the least and not in a fun way. This year I thought that I would face the challenge of the new year in a way that improves upon last year. Instead of the challenge of just muddling through life, let’s have a book, movie, and tabletop RPG challenge!

(This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through them I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

I haven’t done a post like this before so please let me know what you think and also, feel free to play along all year. Each list has 12 challenges so one per month should be doable but if you are an overachiever, feel free to knock these out in 12 days or less. If you do take up the challenge let me know how it went. And if you happen to post it onto your blog, let me know, so that I can link to your challenge on my blog.

Below are the rules as far as I am going to follow them. You don’t have to follow the same way I do but these are the rules I set for myself.

How Does This Work? The Rules

There are three separate challenges, one for books, one for movies and one for books, movies and RPGs lumped together. I will tell you a little more about each one and give some potential suggestions for what I think I will do to complete the checkboxes.
Once I finish a challenge I plan to check it off and then post about it on my blog. If you just want to do this for fun and not post on your blog, that is totally cool. If you do post on your blog, let’s compare notes!
These can be done in any order. Feel free to skip to the bottom, go to the middle or meticulously hit each one as they are listed.
I am not in the camp of double dipping so I will not be doing that. If you want to, you won’t get any judgement from me.
If you complete any one of my challenges and post about it on your blog, I will let you choose any one thing in that list’s category for me to review (within reason). For example if you complete my movie challenge and you want me to review The Emoji Movie, I will do it. If you complete my book challenge and want me to read and review a book that you published, I will do it. If you complete my Read-Watch-Play challenge and you want me to play an RPG that you think is really cool, I will play and then review it. Side note: I won’t review anything that I think is too extreme and I have ultimate veto power over what I post on my blog but otherwise, you can tell me what to review.
This is not a rule but these are all downloadable PDF’s so feel free to download and print them or pass them on to friends, relatives, neighbors or office mates looking for something to do!

Challenge 1: Book Challenge

The book challenge should be pretty straightforward. Pick one of the challenges and find a book that matches. Or if you are reading a book and realize that it fits in one of these categories, check it off once you have finished the book!

Some examples of what I plan to do are as follows. The book at the very bottom of my TBR list right now is The Ten Cent Plague, a non-fiction book about the comic book industry that I have been meaning to read forever. Maybe this challenge will finally get me through that one. For a graphic novel that is not about superheroes I plan to read Berlin which I have been told is an excellent book about the fall of the Weimar Republic.

Challenge 2: Movie Challenge

This one should also be pretty straightforward. Watch a movie that matches the category and check off the box once you have finished watching. I watch a lot of movies so for this one I might just watch first and then see if it fits the category after, although I do have some ideas for some of these. For three movies by the same director I am thinking I might take a look at Quentin Tarantino’s movies since it has been a while since I watched some of those. For a movie with an ambiguous ending I am thinking of Inception although I think there are definitely a lot more movies besides that one that have that kind of end. It’s just the first one that popped into my head.

Challenge 3: Read-Watch-Play Challenge

Out of all my challenges, this is the one that I will most likely do in order. It’s pretty easy to find books and movies to fit these categories but I realize that not everyone is familiar with good Tabletop RPG choices so I am going to tell you the ones I plan on doing and even provide you with helpful links if you need a suggestion. (These are affiliate links and if you do buy anything there it helps this blog out immensely at no extra cost to you. No pressure though, never buy anything from a website that you don’t want)

For my D&D 1 shot adventure, I plan to play Second Glance. It’s the follow-up adventure to First Blush, a one-shot that I enjoyed and reviewed on this blog. They are both duet campaigns, meaning you only need two people to play, so great for learning how to play the game. Also, they only cost $2, so it’s a great bargain to get you started.

For a Tabletop RPG I have never played before I have three that I am thinking about. I may end up playing them all but we’ll see. If you have played any of these, let me know what you think. The first one I am considering is Cyberpunk Red. While the video game release was a mess, I’ve always thought Cyberpunk made more sense as a tabletop game anyway. The second I am considering is Wicked Ones. This is sort of a reverse D&D where you play the monsters and try to keep those pesky adventurers from taking all your stuff and wrecking your dungeon. The third one I am considering is Altered Carbon, the TTRPG based on the popular book and Netflix series.

For a Tabletop RPG that takes place in space I plan to play Stars Without Number: Revised Edition. It’s a game about humans returning to the skies after their empire has fallen. I feel like it has a lot of sandbox potential and I’m really looking forward to it. The game has gotten great reviews and it should be interesting.

For a Tabletop RPG starring animals I plan to play Pugmire. It’s like D&D but with all pugs! The world of man is over but Pugs have evolved to take over. How great is that? If you like cats better try playing Adventures for Curious Cats set in the same setting.