Codex Spotlight – The Miscellany

Codex Spotlight – The Miscellany

Epidiah Ravachol’s Worlds Without Master zine was a big inspiration for Codex. As best I could tell, there wasn’t much of a zine presence for indie games and story games, whereas there were dozens that covered D&D clones. Eppy’s zine showed you could create space for more narrative-focused games in the zine format and, in a way, gave me permission to press forward with the Codex project.

One of the things I lifted from Worlds (with Eppy’s permission, of course) was the Miscellany idea. The question at the front of my mind when planning Codex was “How can I make this a community-focused project?” Because, at the end of the day, the community aspect of the Gauntlet is the main thing I care about, and I needed Codex to reflect that. If we weren’t going to find a way to do this together, I just didn’t see the point of doing it. The Miscellany was the answer. Each month, no matter how many wild ideas we came up with in terms of content and format, we would always have the Miscellany and it would always be a group effort. And the results have been fabulous. Each month’s Miscellany is wildly diverse and inventive, and reflects the awesome creative spirit of the Gauntlet community. It has become my favorite part of the zine and the G+ post in which I call for submissions is a highlight of my month.

I’m going to end this post with a choice selection from each Miscellany…

Codex – Blood

“Three dozen bloods and their uses”

Bear blood, presented in three shot glasses; the first is scalding hot, another frigid cold, the last just right. Drink all three to gain entry to any home, so long as the owners are away.

Submitted by Steve Christensen

Codex – Chrome

“3×12 pieces of cosmetic cyberwear”

OctoJunk. Genitals are replaced with a cluster of highly-sensitive, prehensile tendrils, surrounding a self-lubricating orifice. Tendrils can vibrate, soften, or harden at will.

Submitted by Gennifer Bone

Codex – Ectoplasm

“Three dozen signs of ghostly habitation”

When talking to someone in the house you hear the words “get out” in a normal conversational tone. They will deny ever having said it. 


Submitted by Alex Prinz

Codex – Starlight

“Three dozen signs the stars are right!”

All dogs assume a permanent submissive state. They constantly whimper and whine, and only crawl around on their bellies.

Submitted by Jim Jones

Codex – Dark

“Three dozen seedy taverns”

Argo’s Tavern, where the fare is common and the common tender is coin, but Argo provides first-class service to patrons who also bring him a severed hand for his collection.

Submitted by Dylan Ross

Codex – Love

“Three dozen fantastic places to take a date!”

Witness the marvel of the Clockwork Burlesque! Watch the automatons as they click and whirr between tables, bringing food, wine, and innocent titillation!

Submitted by James Mullen

Codex – Yellow

“Three dozen forbidden texts”

Bill Diamond and The Case of the Sleeping Girl. A beat-up dime store paperback about the titular detective’s investigation into the apparent murder of his estranged daughter, a fruitless and frustrating investigation that ultimately ends with Bill Diamond the character directly addressing the reader, pleading for help.

Submitted by Jonathan Cook

Codex – Iron

“Three dozen tempering trials”

The Second Birth, when the younglings will either scale the high walls out of the pit they have been raised in, or fall to their deaths, or worse: be forced to remain in the pit, as caretakers or cattle for future generations.

Submitted by me

Codex – Madness

“Three dozen Great Old Ones”

Ag’lom, the Drowning Star, manifests as a meteor with many holes. If you look in these holes you see the open-mouthed faces of drowned fools who did the same; the meteor starts gushing water immediately afterwards.

Submitted by Phillip Wessels

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