Codex Book Club - 03 Ectoplasm

#1

Hi all, and welcome to the next installment of our 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 1.

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?

Codex-Ectoplasm
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This week, we’re discussing Codex - Ectoplasm, an issue dedicated to exploring spirits, specters, and phantasms! It contains the following:

  • Huge Problems in Little Shanghai, a Monster of the Week mystery by Jason Cordova
  • The Ghost, a playbook for The Sprawl RPG by Old Jeffery
  • Thirteen Haunted Magic Items, for Dungeon World
  • Three Dozen Signs of Ghostly Habitation, a Miscellany (System Agnostic)

Codex Ectoplasm can be purchased on DriveThru RPG here.

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The next book club will be for Codex - Starlight. We’ll start discussing it on Monday April 8th.

5 Likes
#2

A great issue. There was a time when Huge Problems in Little Shanghai was the absolute most popular thing I ran for the Gauntlet, both f2f and online. That mystery has been run, easily, 15+ times. It was practically a rite of passage. There is actually a slightly expanded version that I wrote for a MotW mystery project that never got off the ground. I might ask Oli to go back and add it to Ectoplasm. It adds a few more tables, some character quotes, and some advice on running it.

7 Likes
#3

This issue was also the first time I really started to love the Miscellany. The Blood miscellany was cute but quaint. The Chrome miscellany was interesting, but I’m not a sci-fi person, so it never really stuck. But this one… it was the kind of gloomy, twisty, scary shit I love. I also remember it felt like people in the submissions thread were trying to outdo each other. It was this little competition to come up with the creepiest thing. Every Miscellany since has had that kind of lightly-competitive aspect to it. I think it’s why the Miscellanies are so good, because people are trying to outdo each other, while still making space for everyone’s ideas. It’s a nice balance.

7 Likes
#4

Just going through the Dungeon World items, I’m loving the Ghast Blade because it has effects but the fact that it’s calling on the seeing the Black Gates as who can wield it just makes me go “I WANT TO USE THIS IN MY GAME!”

2 Likes
#5

I’m loving this Monster of the Week adventure. Not only would it be tons of fun to run, but I appreciate how diverse it is. The primary setting means that investigators should likely be people of Asian descent, which would be a nice change-up from the traditionally anglo characters my home group plays. Plus having the mystery centered around gay ghosts is also a very fun twist on the damsel trope. Tonally, I can see this having an excellent mix of horror and slapstick comedy. Definitely need to see if I can get it on the table soon.

2 Likes
#6

The Thirteen Haunted Magic Items may have been intended for Dungeon World, but I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t be right at home in a game of Urban Shadows or even later-season Monsterhearts. My personal favorites are the Book of Lost Names, the Spectral Shawl, and the Cordial Invitation, all of which would be right at home in my f2f campaign!

5 Likes
#7

I loved the elevator in Huge Problems, especially the custom move and all the options given. I might pick that up for some other elevator-y hijinx.

The Cordial Invitation also immediately sparks ideas, or any of the items that lets you interact with dead people.

4 Likes
#8

heh I was about to type the same thing about Monster of the Week.

Regardless of game, you can have a group (of good guys or bad guys) collecting the items to power up before they smite their foes, but the gathering of these items is attracting a creature type (spirits, aberrations, snot demons, whatever) and causing an increasing side effect/threat clock.