Codex Spotlight – The Society for Vegan Sorcerers

Codex Spotlight – The Society for Vegan Sorcerers

The Society for Vegan Sorcerers appeared in Codex – Yellow. It’s a committee LARP about a group of Carcosan sorcerers who endeavor to find vegan-friendly alternatives to human sacrifice. It was written by Wendy Gorman and features an illustration by Sean Poppe (see below).

Codex – Yellow was about Carcosa, and the various ways the setting has been interpreted in literature, visual media, and RPGs. The Carcosa OSR setting (presently being published by Lamentations of the Flame Princess) has always been controversial because it features some pretty gnarly depictions of sexual violence and human sacrifice. The Society for Vegan Sorcerers, in addition to being a clever, wholly original game, is also a deep subversion of both the Carcosa text and its critics, and I love it for that. The basic absurdity of the premise manages to mock not only the ridiculous gruesomeness of some of the rituals depicted in Carcosa but also the idea that invoking magic powerful enough to wrangle the Great Old Ones would require anything less than that level of gruesomeness. Whether it was Wendy’s intention or not, the piece manages to be both a game and a commentary about the hobby, and I’m so into it. You may not be super-familiar with Wendy’s work, but trust: she has a voice when it comes to game design, and that’s not something you can say about a lot of designers. I hope more people discover her stuff in the months to come.

Codex – Yellow will be in the Gauntlet Patreon feed until May 31st!

https://patreon.com/gauntlet