The 2023 Character of the Year is...

[coz1]

One might think that with the sheer number of AARs already listed that there would be an equally expansive list of the characters that inhabit them, and they would be right! The list is long and each of them massively deserved. None more so than our winner. The 2023 Character of the Year is...

Morgana Pendragon, the Witch Queen from Omentide by @The Kingmaker (AoW4)​

A richly deserved selection that appeared on over half the ballots. It turned into a runaway which could have miffled last year's winner that came in second...

Richard of York from The Wars of the Roses by @coz1 (EU4)​

At least Richard was able to best his nemesis coming in third place...

Queen Margaret of Anjou from The Wars of the Roses by @coz1 (EU4)​

These two were not the only pair or multiples from the same AAR as we shall see with our full list of nominated characters:

Sol President Ersh na-Filvan from I Have A Dream - The Tale of the Sol Republic by @Nikolai (Stellaris)

Ouster from Tomorrow Belongs To Me - A 'Democratic' Germany AAR by @TheButterflyComposer (HoI4)

Cali D.Kara from Year of Hell - A Stellaris War Story by @Macavity116 (Stellaris)

Lorenzo de Medici from Machinations of the Medici by @jak7139 (EU4)

Empress Eulalia from Road of Queens - CKII India AAR by @Eurasia (CK2)

Davy Crockett from Sundered Nation by @The Kingmaker (Vic3)

Sverker from Born to Breed: House of the Prophets by @Peter Ebbesen (CK3)

Tiaiell Fellhand from The Fourth Age by @Uriel Blackwing (AoW4)

CEO Emeritus Naomi of Unity from Life2.0 - a Broken Shackles Narrative by @CBR JGWRR (Stellaris)

Etienne from Crowns of the Levant by @Werther (CK3)

Pepin Karling from Song of the Karlings: Karloman's Legacy by @LPDK 356 (CK2)

Cennet from Talking Turkey: Alternate History from 1936 by @Bullfilter (HoI3)

Þorolfr, King of Mead from Lost Seasons of the Danes - A Viking AAR by @Chac1 (CK2)

Captain Kard from Lingering Wounds by @JackGoose (Stellaris)

Captain Relmi from Lingering Wounds by @JackGoose (Stellaris)

Efraim Kadlec from The Thin Wedge of Europe by @Revan86 (EU4)

Jarl Alfr from Lost Seasons of the Danes - A Viking AAR by @Chac1 (CK2)

Amenmeit from Amenmeit the Sealbreaker by @starkwolf (AoW4)

Rolls Royce aircraft engines from The Butterfly Effect: A British AAR by @El Pip (HoI2)

Jedi Master P'Konori from Stellaris Wars: A Nemesis Ironman Saga II - Rebellion: The Imperium at War by @Arithmetician (Stellaris)

Leanda the Lady of Tuskheim from The Fourth Age by @Uriel Blackwing (AoW4)

Laena, Queen of Skulls from The Dragons Realm, A House Targaryen AAR by @streaker77 (CK2)

Ponnico, mercenary of The Resonance Cascade from Song of the Solitaire by @Macavity116 (Stellaris)

The students of Manchester from Echoes of A New Tomorrow: Life after Revolution in the Commonwealth of Britain by @DensleyBlair (Vic2)

Viola from Born to Breed: House of the Prophets by @Peter Ebbesen (CK3)

Lord Larys Strong from Tale of the Clubfoot (A House Strong AAR) CK2 AGOT Mod AAR by @LPDK 356 (CK2)

King Decimus 'the Unwavering' from Decimus Grexolis by @Goblin-Cookie (AoW4)

Jarl Olafr the Impaler from The Breton Chronicles by @Werther (CK3)

Offa from Mead and Blood by @The Kingmaker (CK3)

Carlos de Villahermosa from Italian Ambitions: A Florence AAR by @JerseyGiants88 (EU4)

Edward VIII from The Leicesters: History of England under the House of Dudley-Tudor by @ageofadelina (EU4)

Jarzom from Die Wacht Im Raum - A Kaiserreich Stellaris AAR by @Side (Stellaris)

Cecily Neville from The Wars of the Roses by @coz1 (EU4)

Chieftess Dura from The Fourth Age by @Uriel Blackwing (AoW4)

Sybille from CLASH OF PATHS - A double-face AAR by @Silverio90 (CK3)

Count Herbert Karling of Vermandois from Confessing Their Apostasies (A Mildly Interactive AAR) by @HistoryDude (CK3)​

As I've stated in years past, never let it be said that there are just no good characters to vote for when the CWoW comes around. From narratives to gameplay and a great cross section of the games, each and every one should feel proud to have found nomination here! Many congratulations to @The Kingmaker for a resounding victory and well done to each of our nominees. The floor is now open for your own thanks, congrats and discussion of these characters if you so wish.

 

[El Pip]

Congratulations to the our worthy winners and the many excellent characters further down the list.

In some ways it seems a shame the War of the Roses vote was split. I know @coz1 won't mind because he is far too much of a community minded gentlemen, but it does seem a tad unfair. That said Richard and Margaret being so busy fighting each other that they forget the big picture and so both lose is very much 'on brand' for their characters, so perhaps it is appropriate.

 

[Idhrendur]

Congratulations @The Kingmaker! And to everyone else nominated!

 

[The Kingmaker]

I am highly honored for my protagonist to be recognized given such steep competition. I am also most gratified to be able to share the podium with the illustrious @coz1, who as was mentioned above would likely have taken the gold if his two feuding protagonists had not split the vote. It's worth mentioning that the characters from The Wars of the Roses are truly big personalities who are most deserving of this award. My especial thanks and congratulations to @coz1, not only for his tireless efforts to produce a top-notch and long-lived AAR of the caliber of The Wars of the Roses, but also to continue to support this community by facilitating these awards year after year. Please take a bow, my friend!

I've also got to give credit where it is due -- 2023 was a year with many superb characters, and I feel it would be most ungracious not to at least mention @Nikolai's Ersh na-Filvan, @TheButterflyComposer's Ouster, and @Macavity116's Cali D'Kara, all of whom I consider to be sharing the podium with @coz1's characters and mine. They are all extremely worthy competitors, so please give them each a hand.

Thank you to everyone who supported my work and voted for Morgana, Athla's most bad@$# sorceress, but if any of you are unfamiliar with any of the other characters named above, please take the time to check out their respective AARs and support their talented authAARs.

And now it's time for Morgana Pendragon herself to make her appearance on the red carpet... or is it her modern alter ego, Morgan Penn-Drake? Either way, despite her penchant for witty repartees, she is far too classy to mention the old children's mnemonic, "Richard of York gave battle in vain." We already know the colors of the rainbow anyway. Thank you all again and happy writing in 2024!

 

[Tom D.]

My congratulations to all the winAARs and nominees!

 

[Macavity116]

Warmest congratulations to @The Kingmaker for the win and @coz1 for a strong podium showing. I was really eager to see Omentide win a category and I'm so jazzed to see Morgana get some well-earned recognition.

Richard and Margaret being so busy fighting each other that they forget the big picture and so both lose is very much 'on brand' for their characters, so perhaps it is appropriate.

@El Pip is right. It is very in-character for Richard and Margaret to split the vote, possibly in an attempt to spite one another.

I feel it would be most ungracious not to at least mention @Nikolai's Ersh na-Filvan, @TheButterflyComposer's Ouster, and @Macavity116's Cali D'Kara, all of whom I consider to be sharing the podium with @coz1's characters and mine. They are all extremely worthy competitors, so please give them each a hand.

This line right here was how I found out one of my characters made it onto the list. Had to triple-check, but Cali finished in 6th place, the exact same placing as Inez Espinosa last year. A funny coincidence in my opinion.

Additional Kudos to everyone who made the list. Making a memorable character is no easy feat and you've accomplished just that!

 

[Rensslaer]

I, for one, am DEVASTATED that Cecily Neville came in after Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines - she deserved better than that! But of course we all know she's most devastated that she came in behind Queen Margaret of Anjou.

Congratulations @The Kingmaker ! I'm just starting to become acquainted with Morgan/Morgana but looking forward to more!

Congratulations @coz1! Great to see Richard and Margaret up there together (lol) on the stage (as a cat fight breaks out)!

Very happy to see @Macavity116's Cali D'Kara way up there near the top, and @Nikolai's Ersh Na-Filvan and @jak7139's Lorenzo. Also glad more than one voter picked Davy Crockett from @The Kingmaker's Sundered Nation!

And, heck, I bear Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines no ill will. They're great engines!

Congratulations to all our honored writers!

Rensslaer

 

[Chac1]

Congratulations to @The Kingmaker & @coz1 . Congratulations to all the character writAARs.
Thanks to all who supported my characters in this voting.

 

[jak7139]

Well done @The Kingmaker and @coz1, and to all the other nominees! The inclusion of this category is always well worth it. There are many times in stories where the characters have more control over the plot than the author, and I'm sure that's the case for many entries here.

I know I was a victim of that effect with Lorenzo. Which turned the story into something very different from my original idea. Thank you to everyone who voted for him! I am pleasantly surprised that he got such a high place on the list while being among many other great entries.

Well done everyone!

 

[DensleyBlair]

Wonderful work all round, yet again. Many congratulations to our winners and nominees – particularly to my personal favourite: Rolls Royce engines. This sort of meta-commentary on just what it means to be a character is exactly the sort of boundary pushing discourse I expect from The Butterfly Effect.

Each of the three podium finishers is a fantastic, complex, vivid creation in their own right; the results really could have gone in any direction and it would still seem fully merited. But as things stand, as has been noted there is an enjoyable fittingness to seeing Richard and Margaret fighting themselves into silver and bronze.

Many thanks to Butterfly too for the Echoes nod. Uppa students!

 

[Nikolai]

Wow, how many amazing characters can we cram into one category, the 2023 edition! Congrats to @The Kingmaker , to @coz1 and all the others. You guys rock, and so do your fantastic characters!

 

[Wraith11B]

I'm impressed with @El Pip, verily, a mighty titan of the AAR boards to have made something that could be quite as dry as a bloody aircraft engine a character in and of itself!

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats @The Kingmaker, @coz1, and all of our other nominees!

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I'm impressed with @El Pip, verily, a mighty titan of the AAR boards to have made something that could be quite as dry as a bloody aircraft engine a character in and of itself!

All the other memes are dead now. Haven't had tractors, battleships, tanks or sometimes Spain for quite some time.

 

[El Pip]

All the other memes are dead now. Haven't had tractors, battleships, tanks or sometimes Spain for quite some time.

As Abdul Alhazred and Romeo would warn you, do not confuse death with sleep.

Or for those who prefer a more pop culture approach;

 

[Eurasia]

Congrats to all the winners, voters, writers, readers, and fictional characters!

And the Basilissa Eulalia of The House Dysnomia thanks you for you votes.
This is her when she first took the Imperial Throne in 934 AD at the age of 36 years.​