Codex Book Club - 02 Chrome

#1

Hi all, and welcome to the first installment an ongoing book club series where we visit past issues of Codex in-depth and explore fun ways to use them!

What is Codex? Codex is the Gauntlet’s monthly RPG fanzine. Each issue is packed with awesome game material sourced directly from our community, as well as original art. Monthly issues are available to patreon members. Learn more over on Patreon.

Why a book club? I only joined the Gauntlet less than a year ago, and there’s a wealth of knowledge that I completely missed out on. I want to read through all the back issues of Codex and what better way to do so than to read it with everyone else and discuss what we like?

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This week, we’re discussing Codex - Chrome, an issue dedicated to exploring futuristic themes! It contains the following:

  • Chrome_Rot.exe, a The Sprawl campaign starter by Fred Bednarski
  • 19 Science-Fantasy Elements for Dungeon World
  • Three Dozen Pieces of Cosmetic Cyberware, a Miscellany (System Agnostic)

Codex Chrome can be purchased on DriveThru RPG here. For the first week of the Codex Book Club, we’re simultaneously discussing Issues 01 and 02! Just jump to the other thread and check out Codex 01 Blood!

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#2

This is a great idea! I only discovered Codex a couple months ago, and I have been slowly reading through them all. I really liked the Dungeon World supplemental stuff in this issue.

I’m curious: For those who have been around longer than I have, how has Codex changed? They definitely seem to have become longer/more polished. Any other major shifts?

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#3

Longer, more polished, and more original games. Less DW stuff (although Emerald has the best DW thing we ever put out). Also: more diversity among contributors.

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#4

I love the illustrations by Gennifer Bone for chrome_rot.ext and how they combine with the computer terminal layout and typography to solidly evoke cyberpunk.

I’m also delightfully confused by the tiny “Al’s Body Chop Shop” fake advert on page 13, which makes a call back to the cyberpunk starter from the end of the Science Fantasy Elements For Dungeon World. Or, is it an intro to the 3*12 Pieces of Cosmetic Cyberware that follows on the next page? Hell, it could be both. This playful easter egg makes the issue a joy to read, and helps give cohesion to the three independent pieces.

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#5

The advert was for the miscellany, but the layout on it is a little funny. It’s one of the things that has always bugged me about that issue

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#6

I have written chrome_rot.exe and some of the DW items for this issue, so I might be a tad biased :wink:

First of all, it was awesome to write for Gauntlet (perceptive readers might find few other texts of mine in the first year of the Codex). It was my first RPG writing gig in English, and I am still really thankful that I was able to share some of my passion for cyberpunk and fantasy oddness.

I feel that both Oli (the grapic designer) and Gennifer (the illustrator) did a kick ass job and really elevated chrome_rot. The presentation was much better than what I could have ever imagined. They both really nailed that retropunk aesthetic I was going for.

I really love the illustrations for the DW items. Sean’s style screams Zine! in the best way possible. While I love the more polished pieces in other issues, Sean’s art style is still a huge selling point for me (actually his art in Joy2 was the reason I finally subscribed to Gauntlet on a monthly basis).

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