I’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Cold.

I’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Cold.

I’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Cold. The piece is called “Three dozen unusual things about this body we just found.” Submissions should be no more than 2-3 short sentences. By submitting here, you’re agreeing to let us use it (you’ll get a credit on the issue). We’re looking for evocative stuff. The purpose of the Miscellany is to inspire the reader.

For this one, you can go with any genre or flavor, so long as whatever is going on with your corpse is strange and might inspire some kind of investigation by the player characters.

Here are some examples:

“The serial number XKC4005281 is tattooed on the inside of her lower lip.”

“The tiny hard drive on his ocular recording implant is still intact, and contains video of everything he saw in the last three days of his life. Everything except for a tiny, 10-minute slice, which is no doubt connected to who or what did him in.”

“The flesh on the wizard’s fingers is completely melted off, leaving nothing but charred bones. It gives new meaning to the term ‘burning hands,’ that’s for sure.”

196 thoughts on “I’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Cold.”

  1. Not only do they have two left feet, they have two left hands, two left lungs, two left kidneys and two left lobes. We haven’t been able to identify which of each pair is the original.

  2. Not only do they have two left feet, they have two left hands, two left lungs, two left kidneys and two left lobes. We haven’t been able to identify which of each pair is the original.

  3. Every orifice seems to have a divider. Each nostril is bisected by a flap of flesh. The ear holes are twinned inside each ear. If you close the eyelids, a second pair of eyes and lids appear. No one has looked any lower yet.

  4. Every orifice seems to have a divider. Each nostril is bisected by a flap of flesh. The ear holes are twinned inside each ear. If you close the eyelids, a second pair of eyes and lids appear. No one has looked any lower yet.

  5. Every time you leave it or look away for any significant period of time, you come back to find it has changed position. In a morgue drawer, for instance, it would reverse itself head to toe each time you shut it in. But it’s definitely dead.

  6. Every time you leave it or look away for any significant period of time, you come back to find it has changed position. In a morgue drawer, for instance, it would reverse itself head to toe each time you shut it in. But it’s definitely dead.

  7. One thing that most people don’t know is that every corpse makes a little noise as internal organs shift or spasm, but this corpse is downright noisy! Squelching, slurping, farting, sucking, wheezing, creaking. Every few minutes it emits a new noise, seemingly infinite in variety, some loud some subtle. It’s embarrassing and disturbing.

  8. One thing that most people don’t know is that every corpse makes a little noise as internal organs shift or spasm, but this corpse is downright noisy! Squelching, slurping, farting, sucking, wheezing, creaking. Every few minutes it emits a new noise, seemingly infinite in variety, some loud some subtle. It’s embarrassing and disturbing.

  9. A perfect three inch by three inch square of skin has been removed from the corpse with surgical precision. Lack of blood from the wound indicates this was performed after the time of death.

  10. A perfect three inch by three inch square of skin has been removed from the corpse with surgical precision. Lack of blood from the wound indicates this was performed after the time of death.

  11. The corpse’s feet are still alive, with blood circulating from and to nowhere detectable past the ankle. Occasionally, they will tap out a beat or even attempt to dance.

  12. The corpse’s feet are still alive, with blood circulating from and to nowhere detectable past the ankle. Occasionally, they will tap out a beat or even attempt to dance.

  13. A badly decomposed body wearing a business suit, black necktie, and a parachute harness lays mangled on the ground next to a black brief case. There is no parachute present.

  14. A badly decomposed body wearing a business suit, black necktie, and a parachute harness lays mangled on the ground next to a black brief case. There is no parachute present.

  15. The words “Not dead, please wait” are written in blood nearby. the same blood that drips from the corpses fingers and the gaping pit where its heart used to be.

  16. The words “Not dead, please wait” are written in blood nearby. the same blood that drips from the corpses fingers and the gaping pit where its heart used to be.

  17. Two things. First, the head is detached from the body in a way that looks more like it was torn than cut. Second, a note is taped to the forehead. On it, a child’s scrawl in crayon reads simply: Sorry!

  18. Two things. First, the head is detached from the body in a way that looks more like it was torn than cut. Second, a note is taped to the forehead. On it, a child’s scrawl in crayon reads simply: Sorry!

  19. You can’t quite touch it. You can manipulate/lift it, but if you look closely your hands stop several millimeters away from the corpse, as if it were encased in a thick layer of invisible skin.

  20. You can’t quite touch it. You can manipulate/lift it, but if you look closely your hands stop several millimeters away from the corpse, as if it were encased in a thick layer of invisible skin.

  21. One I used in a 13th Age game:

    The body’s back is covered in a large black lined tattoo and when anyone touches the body the image changes to show whatever it is they currently desire most.

  22. One I used in a 13th Age game:

    The body’s back is covered in a large black lined tattoo and when anyone touches the body the image changes to show whatever it is they currently desire most.

  23. The body has marinated for many days in barbecue sauce. People around here all have their private family recipes so you could probably identify the killer if you… you know… taste it…

  24. The body has marinated for many days in barbecue sauce. People around here all have their private family recipes so you could probably identify the killer if you… you know… taste it…

  25. A body is seated upright against a tree, eyes open as if looking at a small hand mirror clutched with both hands. The mirror appears angled to the corpse’s right, where a running hourglass rests upon a rock.

  26. A body is seated upright against a tree, eyes open as if looking at a small hand mirror clutched with both hands. The mirror appears angled to the corpse’s right, where a running hourglass rests upon a rock.

  27. Precisely in the center of her forehead you find a rough trepanning hole with a dirty rag shoved inside. A closer examination reveals the pineal gland has been surgically removed. Preliminary findings indicate the victim was likely conscious at the time.

  28. Precisely in the center of her forehead you find a rough trepanning hole with a dirty rag shoved inside. A closer examination reveals the pineal gland has been surgically removed. Preliminary findings indicate the victim was likely conscious at the time.

  29. The body has no skin — well, it has some, but it’s not attached. The corpse was flayed, then dressed in clothing and jewelry delicately crafted from human skin, perhaps its own. The tailoring, from the lip-edged lapels to the body-hair stitching, is immaculate.

  30. The body has no skin — well, it has some, but it’s not attached. The corpse was flayed, then dressed in clothing and jewelry delicately crafted from human skin, perhaps its own. The tailoring, from the lip-edged lapels to the body-hair stitching, is immaculate.

  31. The body was thoroughly dismembered, severed at every joint, and then sewn back together. Thick strings have been threaded through its head, hands, and feet, all of which connect to a large marionette’s crossbar lying nearby.

  32. The body was thoroughly dismembered, severed at every joint, and then sewn back together. Thick strings have been threaded through its head, hands, and feet, all of which connect to a large marionette’s crossbar lying nearby.

  33. It was found in the smoking husk of a burnt out building and has resisted cremation three times.

    It will blink in response to yes or no questions but you must match its grim gaze during the interrogation.

    The same (or an identical) body was found in five other states at roughly the same time and located in roughly the same position in relation to the center of the nearest town.

  34. It was found in the smoking husk of a burnt out building and has resisted cremation three times.

    It will blink in response to yes or no questions but you must match its grim gaze during the interrogation.

    The same (or an identical) body was found in five other states at roughly the same time and located in roughly the same position in relation to the center of the nearest town.

  35. Despite most of the body being completely lifeless, one of the fingers wears a ring that is vibrating ever so lightly. And that same finger keeps tapping out a strange, recurring pattern.

  36. Despite most of the body being completely lifeless, one of the fingers wears a ring that is vibrating ever so lightly. And that same finger keeps tapping out a strange, recurring pattern.

  37. The body is in perfect condition; no scars, no bruising… but all of the internal organs have been removed with no indication as to how that was accomplished. The only way we were able to determine cause of death was this letter that the killer placed inside her skull…

  38. The body is in perfect condition; no scars, no bruising… but all of the internal organs have been removed with no indication as to how that was accomplished. The only way we were able to determine cause of death was this letter that the killer placed inside her skull…

  39. Evidence of black lung consistent with your average long-term steamworks laborer is contrasted with soft skin, complete lack of callouses, and the tattooed permanent makeup, typical of one of the City’s elites.

  40. Evidence of black lung consistent with your average long-term steamworks laborer is contrasted with soft skin, complete lack of callouses, and the tattooed permanent makeup, typical of one of the City’s elites.

  41. The body has a tattoo on the back of the neck, an old-style barcode that turns out to be the Universal Product Code for a late 20th Century supermarket brand of “potted meat.”

  42. The body has a tattoo on the back of the neck, an old-style barcode that turns out to be the Universal Product Code for a late 20th Century supermarket brand of “potted meat.”

  43. When you lower the corpse’s eyelids and fold its arms over its chest for burial, you see that the weird, abstract tattoos form a map of a strange city arranged around the temples of five outcast gods.

  44. When you lower the corpse’s eyelids and fold its arms over its chest for burial, you see that the weird, abstract tattoos form a map of a strange city arranged around the temples of five outcast gods.

  45. Be careful with that! It’s tertiary lung sacs are full of acetylene it produces as part of its metabolic processes! Why do you think that thick membrane separates the lungs from the gizzard full of flint?!

  46. Be careful with that! It’s tertiary lung sacs are full of acetylene it produces as part of its metabolic processes! Why do you think that thick membrane separates the lungs from the gizzard full of flint?!

  47. Jagged cuts under the jawline indicate potential ritual demasking. However the face seems to be intact, perhaps the ritual was interrupted and the culprit had to flee?

  48. Jagged cuts under the jawline indicate potential ritual demasking. However the face seems to be intact, perhaps the ritual was interrupted and the culprit had to flee?

  49. Looked like a case of a drunk falling into the river and drowning, but then someone ran a blacklight over the body. What do all these weird symbols and phrases mean? Who the hell is She Who Rules Beneath?

  50. Looked like a case of a drunk falling into the river and drowning, but then someone ran a blacklight over the body. What do all these weird symbols and phrases mean? Who the hell is She Who Rules Beneath?

  51. On her decomposing skin a tribe of incredibly small humanoids have built a city whose grandest building is no taller than a centimeter. Most of its inhabitants are busily employed in mining various fleshy substances from beneath her skin.

  52. On her decomposing skin a tribe of incredibly small humanoids have built a city whose grandest building is no taller than a centimeter. Most of its inhabitants are busily employed in mining various fleshy substances from beneath her skin.

  53. A zipper runs from the base of the skull all the way down to the tailbone. This corpse is a suit, recently vacated. A suit that has been running the city for the last 2 years.

  54. A zipper runs from the base of the skull all the way down to the tailbone. This corpse is a suit, recently vacated. A suit that has been running the city for the last 2 years.

  55. The apparent killer, an old lady with a kitchen knife who claims to have defended her home from the now-corpse’s invasion, babbles nervously about juice. Below the normal human skin, there are no vital organs, just fruit: squash in place of lungs, bananas in place of intestines, and instead of a heart, an impossibly delicious looking apple.

  56. The apparent killer, an old lady with a kitchen knife who claims to have defended her home from the now-corpse’s invasion, babbles nervously about juice. Below the normal human skin, there are no vital organs, just fruit: squash in place of lungs, bananas in place of intestines, and instead of a heart, an impossibly delicious looking apple.

  57. Remember how everyone thought the frozen Bigfoot exhibit was just a gorilla suit? It got purchased by the Skeptic Media channel as part of their big expose. Thawed it out in front of a bunch of big city experts and news cameras. sure enough its a monkey suit but turns out it weren’t empty neither!

  58. Remember how everyone thought the frozen Bigfoot exhibit was just a gorilla suit? It got purchased by the Skeptic Media channel as part of their big expose. Thawed it out in front of a bunch of big city experts and news cameras. sure enough its a monkey suit but turns out it weren’t empty neither!

  59. In most respects it’s a normal teenage male, save for the teeth, which apparently grew so rapidly and forcefully that the lower set punctured his brain just behind his eyes, while the upper set are protruding from the skin below his chin.

  60. In most respects it’s a normal teenage male, save for the teeth, which apparently grew so rapidly and forcefully that the lower set punctured his brain just behind his eyes, while the upper set are protruding from the skin below his chin.

  61. Five dwarves stand around a still locked chest. three appear to have died from wounds sustained earlier, one from exposure, the last from starvation. all died on their feet, staring at each other, with one hand resting on the lid.

  62. Five dwarves stand around a still locked chest. three appear to have died from wounds sustained earlier, one from exposure, the last from starvation. all died on their feet, staring at each other, with one hand resting on the lid.

  63. The person who froze to death was varying nothing but ice cubes. Their pack was filled with ice cubes, as where their pockets, and even the lining of their clothes. Each ice cube was a perfect .75 inch cube.

  64. The person who froze to death was varying nothing but ice cubes. Their pack was filled with ice cubes, as where their pockets, and even the lining of their clothes. Each ice cube was a perfect .75 inch cube.

  65. Sure, the tiny scars show where the surgery occurred, but not how the body survived long enough to heal itself after someone replaced all of its bones and organs with porcelain replicas.

  66. Sure, the tiny scars show where the surgery occurred, but not how the body survived long enough to heal itself after someone replaced all of its bones and organs with porcelain replicas.

  67. It’s a manikin, thing but wood cloth and pins. You hold up the lifeless limbs as proof as others watch you in disgust. They act as if you’re disrespecting the life and death of a person as if this object were an actual person.

  68. It’s a manikin, thing but wood cloth and pins. You hold up the lifeless limbs as proof as others watch you in disgust. They act as if you’re disrespecting the life and death of a person as if this object were an actual person.

  69. Many cultures tell stories about mellification: preserving a corpse by immersing it in honey. But how did this corpse come to be so completely mellified only hours after the victim’s death?

  70. Many cultures tell stories about mellification: preserving a corpse by immersing it in honey. But how did this corpse come to be so completely mellified only hours after the victim’s death?

  71. Isn’t that the bartender that told you the story about the woman he found dead in just this pose? Didn’t he say that he had seen her the day before her death in the bar, and she had said she had found a corpse or someone she had just talked to?

  72. Isn’t that the bartender that told you the story about the woman he found dead in just this pose? Didn’t he say that he had seen her the day before her death in the bar, and she had said she had found a corpse or someone she had just talked to?

  73. You know how jumpers often take of their shoes and place them next to each other at the edge, as if they’re coming back for them after they jump to their deaths? These shoes aren’t the right size for the corpse we pulled out of the water… And they were worn by a person with bunions…

  74. You know how jumpers often take of their shoes and place them next to each other at the edge, as if they’re coming back for them after they jump to their deaths? These shoes aren’t the right size for the corpse we pulled out of the water… And they were worn by a person with bunions…

  75. There is nothing wrong with this dead body. It’s heart is beating, it is breathing steadily; hell, it’s physical is better than. And yet it it is undeniable that it is dead and decaying.

  76. There is nothing wrong with this dead body. It’s heart is beating, it is breathing steadily; hell, it’s physical is better than. And yet it it is undeniable that it is dead and decaying.

  77. Almost exactly on the hour, air escapes from its mouth. I’ve heard it a few times now and I swear it sounds like it’s saying the secret name of the king.

  78. Almost exactly on the hour, air escapes from its mouth. I’ve heard it a few times now and I swear it sounds like it’s saying the secret name of the king.

  79. The boy had bones of coral, and his flesh was translucent like the egg sacks of the manta rays of the Sapphire Isles. Little molluscs grew on his cheeks, and he smelled of brine. He was found at the peak of Glitirtind, 245 km from the closest body of water.

  80. The boy had bones of coral, and his flesh was translucent like the egg sacks of the manta rays of the Sapphire Isles. Little molluscs grew on his cheeks, and he smelled of brine. He was found at the peak of Glitirtind, 245 km from the closest body of water.

  81. The body is decaying in reverse and you can’t leave. As the body becomes fresher and fresher it becomes apparent that the person’s death was especially brutal. You are not looking forward to watching this person die.

  82. The body is decaying in reverse and you can’t leave. As the body becomes fresher and fresher it becomes apparent that the person’s death was especially brutal. You are not looking forward to watching this person die.

  83. First it was impossible to not look away—this thing of grayed flesh and taut, cracked skin was worse than any nightmare (especially in such presence of the rotting-sweet smell of death) but something—something strange and horrible— compelled brief glances to become panicked inspections until finally, revulsion gave way to obsessed terror as you realized: this thing was you: unmistakably and impossibly you.

  84. First it was impossible to not look away—this thing of grayed flesh and taut, cracked skin was worse than any nightmare (especially in such presence of the rotting-sweet smell of death) but something—something strange and horrible— compelled brief glances to become panicked inspections until finally, revulsion gave way to obsessed terror as you realized: this thing was you: unmistakably and impossibly you.

  85. The outside of the body looks human enough, but inside, everything which might once have been flesh or bone has been completely replaced by a spongy, stringy matrix like the flesh of some strange fungus.

  86. The outside of the body looks human enough, but inside, everything which might once have been flesh or bone has been completely replaced by a spongy, stringy matrix like the flesh of some strange fungus.

  87. The body’s head has been replaced with a doll’s head. A cute blond plastic doll with eyes that look like they could klick open and shut but are sewed crudely into an open position.

    Though the body is male, there is a uterus in his belly, and in the uterus, a dying fetus. Should it be saved?

  88. The body’s head has been replaced with a doll’s head. A cute blond plastic doll with eyes that look like they could klick open and shut but are sewed crudely into an open position.

    Though the body is male, there is a uterus in his belly, and in the uterus, a dying fetus. Should it be saved?

  89. Clutched in one hand are two, 6-sided dice, a copy of Death Frost Doom in the other. An empty bottle of Champagne rests just a few feet away. The corpse appears otherwise nondescript but for a prolapsed asshole.

  90. Clutched in one hand are two, 6-sided dice, a copy of Death Frost Doom in the other. An empty bottle of Champagne rests just a few feet away. The corpse appears otherwise nondescript but for a prolapsed asshole.

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