Codex Volume One

The Gauntlet will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for the Codex Volume One Hardcover on October 2nd! Our goal is to produce a beautiful, collectible hardcover book containing the first thirteen issues of the Codex RPG zine. This post contains a breakdown of everything you will find inside. ​

---

Codex - Blood
Before we could begin publishing Codex in earnest, we had to convince ourselves we could do it, that we could produce great content, beautifully packaged, on a regular schedule. Codex - Blood is a test issue, and not officially part of Volume One, but it will be included as part of the hardcover collection. It contains:

• A striking cover by Dirk Detweiler Leichty. 
• "A Violet Crown, Steeped in Blood," an Austin, TX-based campaign starter for Urban Shadows. 
• "Five Blood-Soaked Magic Items for Dungeon World." 
• "The Blood Trancer," a compendium class for Dungeon World.
• "Three Dozen Bloods and Their Uses."
• Seven original interior illustrations. 

---

Codex - Chrome 
This is the first official issue of Codex Volume One. Keeping with the “chrome” theme, it has features for cyberpunk and for weird science fiction. This is one of the few issues that uses multiple colors on both the cover and the interior. It contains:

• A beautiful and strange cover by Dirk Detweiler Leichty.
• “chrome_rot.exe,” a campaign starter for The Sprawl RPG. 
• “Nineteen Science Fantasy Elements for Dungeon World.” 
• “Three Dozen Pieces of Cosmetic Cyberware.” 
• Eight original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery. 

---

Codex - Ectoplasm
This is when we first started to be a little playful with the theme of each issue. “Ectoplasm” implies ghosts, and there are plenty in this issue, but we also used the theme to feature a new playbook for The Sprawl RPG. This issue includes:

• One of the coolest cover illustrations Dirk Leichty did for Codex.
• “Huge Problems in Little Shanghai,” a Monster of the Week mystery.
• “The Ghost,” a playbook for The Sprawl RPG
• “Thirteen Haunted Magic Items for Dungeon World.”
• “Three Dozen Signs of Ghostly Habitation.”
• Eight original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Starlight
This issue stands out as being absolutely crammed with amazing material for a wide variety genres. The adventure starter/dungeon included in this issue is the one that has been featured in the short actual play segments of the Discern Realities podcast. Inside:

• A fun, “editorial” cover by Dirk Detweiler Leichty
• “Café Luz Estelar,” a starter for the Malandros RPG. 
• “Ex Nihilo,” a science-fiction Lovecraftesque scenario.  
• “The Temple of the Peerless Star,” a deluxe Dungeon World adventure starter. 
• “Three Dozen Signs the Stars Are Right!”
• Eight original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Dark
This was the first issue that contained an original game, the extremely creepy Called larp by Wendy Gorman. It also features my (somewhat) famous Pizza Time! horror scenario that has been played and run by many Gauntleteers. Inside:

• A striking cover illustration by Dirk Detweiler Leichty. 
• “Called,” a candlelit demon-summoning larp.
• “The Conjuration,” a Final Girl scenario inspired by the films Insidious and The Conjuring.
• “Pizza Time!”, a Chuck E. Cheese’s-inspired Lovecraftesque mystery.
• “Plunged Into Darkness,” superhero scenario for the 6d6 system.
• “Three Dozen Seedy Taverns.”
• Five original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Love
This issue is a robin’s egg-blue dream; one of the most visually beautiful we have ever produced. The features in it are great, but the look of it is just “Wow!” It is the first issue that uses color to tell a story, a technique we have maintained to this day. Inside:

• A beautifully stylized cover by Dirk Detweiler Leichty.
• “Stops Along the Journey of the Owl,” a Lady Blackbird supplement.
• “Temor, God of Love and Pestilence,” a collection of custom moves, magic items, and spells for Dungeon World.
• “Bogville,” a deluxe Dungeon World adventure starter.
• “Three Dozen Fantastic Places to Take a Date.”
• Five original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Yellow
This is our famous Carcosa-inspired issue. Fun fact: this issue is our consistent bestseller on DriveThruRPG. People just love their weird, art-infused horrorscapes! Inside:

• A wildly artistic illustration by Dirk Detweiler Leichty
• “The Society for Vegan Sorcerers,” an original LARP.
• “The City of Carcosa,” a Dungeon World adventure starter.
• “The Search for the Yellow City,” a scenario for Cheat Your Own Adventure.
• “The Yellow Planet,” a collection of elements for Dungeon World.
• “Three Dozen Forbidden Texts.”
• Eight original interior illustrations. 
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Iron
This was the first issue without original cover artist Dirk Leichty. It is another DriveThru bestseller, and for good reason: it features our first OSR scenario and our first original tabletop game (the previous original games were larps). Inside:

• A gorgeous cover by Vandel J. Arden.
• “The Gates of Cold Iron Pass,” a grim OSR scenario.
• “Wind on the Path,” a game of samurai duels.
• “Four Dwarven Shrines,” a collection of elements for Dungeon World.
• “Three Dozen Tempering Trials.”
• Six original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Madness
For a long time, this was our free issue, and it’s the one that really put Codex on the map. Its striking mix of both serious and fantastical features related to mental health is challenging and risqué. Ten years from now, this issue will be viewed as a classic. Inside:

• A dramatic cover illustration by Claudia Cangini.
• “Asylum City,” a Dungeon World adventure starter.
• “Rituals,” a Powered by the Apocalypse minigame and supplement about living with obsessive compulsive disorder.
• “The Madness of Cú Chulainn,” a new story game of Celtic myth.
• “The Madness of Legends,” a bit of frippery, Powered by the Apocalypse.
• “My Female Hysteria,”a scenario for Cheat Your Own Adventure.
• “Three Dozen Great Old Ones.”
• Six original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery. 

---

Codex - Time
This issue continues the dynamite mix of real-world and fantastical features that started with Codex - Madness. This one contains no less than three original games, a first for Codex. Inside:

• A grim cover illustration by Vandel J. Arden
• “Timegasm,” a LARP about time travel, legal wrangling, and incest.
• “Reset,” a mystery game for two players inspired by the classic neo-noir, Memento.
• “Turning,” a universal tool for dealing with vast time-spans in any RPG.
• “Overlooked,” in which you play as an android hated by humans in this dystopian RPG.
• “The Iron Tyrant,” an adventure starter for Dungeon World.
• “Three Dozen In Medias Res Starters.”
• Three original interior illustrations.
• Custom graphics and layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Neon
This is one of the rare multi-color issues of Codex. In addition to all the normal features you would expect to find at this point in Codex, it also has the winning entries of the 2017 200 World RPG Challenge! Inside:

• A dazzling cover by Vandel J. Arden.
• “Tonight Only! Soundcheck Presents…”, a battle of the bands larp. 
• “Solace,” a starter scenario for The Veil RPG.
• “Mechanical Oryx,” a 200 Word RPG Challenge winner: Post-apocalyptic robot deer.
• “Route Clearance,” a 200 Word RPG Challenge winner: Card-based military camaraderie.
• “Memories,” a 200 Word RPG Challenge winner: Bittersweet nursing home stories.
• “Four Dozen Neon Lit Business Establishments.”
• Nine original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery. 

---

Codex - Crystal
With the exception of the recently published Codex - Asphalt, this issue is the largest we have ever produced. It is absolutely overflowing with amazing stuff. Inside:

• A fantastic cover by Vandel J. Arden.
• “Heroes and Crystal Kingdoms (HaCK),” a JRPG version of The Indie Hack.
• “Trepallidic Parasites,” in which crystalline spores infect your Dungeon World campaign.
• “Keepers of Antarra,” an original storytelling game.
• “The Faceted Order,” a supplement for Dungeon World and OSR campaigns.
• “Guardian Stones,” a collection of magic items for Dungeon World.
• “Three Dozen Rumors of Crystal Falls Township.” 
• Six original interior illustrations.
• Custom graphics and layout by Oli Jeffery.

---

Codex - Joy
The final issue of Volume One is all about happiness and celebrations. It features a ton of new Codex authors, many of whom would continue to write for us in Volume 2. The beauty and diversity of this issue is off-the-charts. Also: Gauntlet Daddy!

• “Bunk Beds,” a truth or terror larp about a kids’ slumber party. 
• “So You’re Becoming a Dragon,” an original larp in which dragons and puberty are brought together at last.
• “The Kawaii!!!”, a new playbook for Apocalypse World.
• “Seven Celebrations,” which features festivals, fetes, and fancy for Dungeon World.
• “Gauntlet Daddies #001.”
• “Three Dozen Attractions at the Carnival of Dreams.” 
• Eight original interior illustrations.
• A custom layout by Oli Jeffery.