We’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Hell.
We’d like to do some crowdsourcing for the Miscellany in Codex – Hell. The Miscellany is called “Three-dozen demons and how to bind them.” Submissions need to be a single sentence, or 2-3 very 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.
Your demon needs three pieces of information: 1) a proper name or nickname; 2) what they are known for; and 3) how to bind them to your service. The tone for these entries can range from humorous to dark.
Here are some examples:
“Lingus, the Everlasting Tongue, a demon of low sensuality. To bind it to your service, put your tongue into thirty-three different holes, reciting the Lord’s Prayer each time you do so.”
“Madame Bogwallow, who appears as a sickly-yellow batrachian the size of a large dog. She is known to reside in the deepest, darkest parts of the swamp, and if you bring her a beautiful blonde child for her supper, she will cure you of any ailment.”
“Kazzgulran, a demon scholar whose studies focus on the secrets of aristocratic human families. He knows where all the bodies are buried and will share this information with you, but only if you speak his name one-hundred times in a summoning circle drawn from sage ash and make an offering of a canary in a silver cage.”
I want more GMs. I talked about that this week’s Podcast, but let me reiterate: I’m here to work with anyone who has thought about running games for The Gauntlet Hangouts (or anywhere online). We’re opening up new high-level Patreon spots end of the month, so we’ll have more room and opportunities for GMs next year.
I’ll be glad to talk with you one-on-one to…figure out technical issues; go over what you’re thinking about running; discuss technique; get advice about running online; break down your planning; look at online tools; tell me about what you dig about GMing; or talk you down from the panic ledge.
If you want advice, I’m glad help—but if you just want someone to listen, I’ll do that. I may not have all the info or specific game advice, but I’ll do my level best to help and direct you to folks who do have that.
The best place to start, obviously, before you run games for The Gauntlet is playing our games. That way to get a sense of the table culture, structure, and approach. But once you do that and start thinking about running, I want to help. I want other people to be comfortable and have as great a time with the Gauntlet as I have.
You can email me or hit me up on Slack if you have questions or want to talk.
Hello! When we kicked off our Patreon a little over a year ago, we made 50 spots available at the $7 level. These 50 spots give the folks holding them one week of RSVP priority for new Gauntlet Hangouts events.
Effectively, this put Gauntlet Hangouts games behind a paywall, which, admittedly, was something we were initially nervous about doing. A few people in our community strongly opposed it under a theory, I suppose, that everything should just be free, and that the principal community organizers should shoulder the entire financial burden of running the Gauntlet. Some of those people even chose to disassociate themselves from the Gauntlet entirely.
Wherever those folks are, I hope their gaming is even a fraction as good as what we are currently getting on Gauntlet Hangouts.
Gauntlet Hangouts games nearly always make. And the people who sign up for those games take them seriously. We have a culture of respect and mutual admiration at our game tables that is quite distinct. We do not suffer from the scattershot flakiness that affects much larger platforms like Roll20, nor do we have to cope with the toxicity that permeates many meatspace gaming communities. A major reason for our success is that people tend to take things more seriously when they have to pay for them.
The original plan was to limit the $7 tier to 50 spots through calendar year 2017. We have decided to move that timetable up by one month for several reasons:
1. The calendar is much bigger than when we first conceived of this idea. In fact, the number of available games on a month-to-month basis has more than doubled. Limiting the RSVP priorities to 50 people was based on a much smaller slate of available games to join.
2. Gauntlet Con 2017 was a huge success, and many people are asking how they can game with us on a more regular basis. Moving up the timetable for new $7 slots helps us capture some of that excitement from Gauntlet Con.
3. Starting in January and February, we have a number of brand-new folks running games on our calendar. Opening up the $7 spots a little early will give those games a chance to fill faster.
So, with all that said, there will be 100 new $7 Patreon spots available on November 30th. We will maintain that level until July 1st, 2018, at which point we will make more spots available (provided the number of calendar offerings has substantially grown by then).
This is a really exciting time to be involved with Gauntlet Hangouts. I can’t wait to share it with more people!
Here are some stats and thoughts on the first sixteen issues of Codex (including the Discern Realities Annual).
Basic Stats
Number of articles: 79
Number of original illustrations: 143
Number of pages: 338
Things I’m very happy about
Codex is a community effort
Codex is distinctly a product of the Gauntlet, and something only we could pull off. The content comes from so many places: crowd-sourced directly from the community; contests we organize and advertise on our podcasts; paid freelance work; and material from long-running campaigns on Gauntlet Hangouts. It is a space where players, new game designers, and established game designers have their creative work shown side-by-side. And we do all of this on a rigorous schedule that sees us publishing each new, high-quality issue on the first of the month (so far, without fail). More than anything, Codex is a celebration of this amazing community. The Gauntlet could be gone tomorrow, but the creative efforts of our community will live forever, and Codex is emblematic of that.
Number of different game systems featured
Between original games and supplements for existing games, the total number of systems that have been featured in Codex is 36. Most zines (and even larger magazines) tend to focus on a very small number of systems (and most of those are D&D derivatives). I’m very pleased with the overall variety of game content in Codex.
Number of original tabletop games
11 original tabletop games have been published in Codex. Many of these, such as the recent Pack of Strays, have been extensively play-tested before hitting the pages of the zine. The authors of these games are a mix of established game designers and game designers being published for the very first time.
Number of original LARPs
To my surprise and delight, LARPs have become a significant feature of the zine. 9 original LARPs have been published across all issues. This makes me happy because the LARP side of the hobby, in my estimation, hasn’t really come up with a good solution for easy access to these game texts.
Number of paid contributors
41 different contributors, both authors and artists, have received payment from Codex. As in some earlier stats, this a healthy mix of established RPG industry folks and newcomers.
Things I’m less happy about
The number of paid women contributors
Of the 41 paid contributors we have had over the life of the zine, 7 were women. That is not enough, and it’s something we are trying to improve as we go forward. There are a couple of positive caveats here: 1) although the total number of paid women contributors is not high, several of that group have received a significant portion of the available dollars (Claudia Cangini, for example, has received more commissions than any single male artist) and 2) the numbers are getting better in Volume 2 of Codex: In Volume 1, the percentage of paid women contributors was 18%; in Volume 2, the percentage (based off who has already been booked for the next few issues) is currently 28%.
No stats for people of color or queer contributors
Anecdotally, I suspect that Codex is (like the rest of the hobby) white af and straight af. But I haven’t actually done any surveys of contributors, so I’m not sure. The diversity among paid contributors might be better than I realize, but until we do a formal survey, I can’t say with any precision.
Distribution
I’m torn between two powerful urges: 1) to make Codex an exclusive reward for folks who are willing to support the Gauntlet at-large via Patreon and 2) the desire to get this great zine in the hands of more people. I’m not sure how to reconcile these two competing impulses. We can’t do the latter without the former, and I feel a particular loyalty to the former that makes it hard to consider all the various options for the latter. It’s a dilemma.
Closing thoughts
Overall, I’m really happy with how Codex is going. Big thanks to everyone who has had a hand in making it such a successful project!
The main point of this is to take the same concept and recreate it in multiple game systems, right now there are…
Originally shared by Thrythlind aka Luke Green
The main point of this is to take the same concept and recreate it in multiple game systems, right now there are three. D&D 5th Edition, Fate Core, and Hero System 6th edition
I will likely do other versions of Fate later (especially as games like Strands of Fate use a very different character generation system) but am unlikely to do this with other editions of Hero or D&D. As I did the D&D version first I’ll probably end up looking back at that and seeing if there were additional things I wanted to say.
I chose the gorgon archer because: A) I liked gorgons as a concept; B) It’s an unusual concept for a PC that isn’t going to be pre-built in many systems; C) it’s primary focus is on martial skills but also has a touch of supernatural abilities.
Can I get some feedback regarding a magic item I’d like to create?
Can I get some feedback regarding a magic item I’d like to create?
So, one of my PCs is playing a bard and I’m pretty sure he’s modeled off of the Mariachi for Desperado (has a guitar case full of guns). I’d like to give him something similar, maybe a guitar case that lets you pull out a random weapon, depending on what you roll.
Here’s what I have:
From the outside, the guitar case of the famed musician, [insert name] looks like a normal, beat-up guitar case. When opened, everyone but the owner sees an acoustic guitar. The owner, however, sees a shimmering portal. When the player needs a specific weapon, he can reach into the guitar case and pull out whatever the situation requires.
10+: Pull out exactly what you were looking for
7-9: Pull out a weapon, but not what you needed
-6: Pull out something completely useless, oftentimes, not a weapon at all.
So, its basically a bag of holding but with a different flavor. I’d appreciate any ideas or tips anyone can share. I really want the PC to love this thing.
