Codex - Hunger Miscellany

#1

Hey Gauntleteers, it’s time to crowdsource the miscellany for Codex - Hunger. This miscellany is called “Three Dozen Coveted Collector’s Items.” Submissions need to be a single sentence, or 2-3 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 things; the purpose of the miscellany is to inspire the reader.

Here are some examples:

“The writings of Saint Merione are beautifully poetic nonsense, but some swear by their prophetic powers. If this collection really is of her lost work, it’s beyond value. (And if not, well. People will believe what they want.)”

“There are only six known mint-in-box Cmdr. Jadirel figures mistakenly made with her head on Capt. Elber’s uniform base. The owner of the third just died, and the will won’t be read for nearly a month.”

“The reclusive artist (or collective) known only as Guliyev sells their work only rarely, and then only to private collectors. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is set to unveil three original Guliyevs next week.”

P.S. If you want to be credited as something other than your forum name, let me know!

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1 Like
#2

This toilet has drowned no fewer than three Hollywood starlets. Of course, we can’t confirm who, but we promise you won’t be disappointed.

17 Likes
#3

This is possibly the weirdest first submission I’ve ever gotten :joy: :sparkling_heart:

9 Likes
#4

This is the last wig Marilyn Monroe ever wore. After her death, it has been in the collection of one gentleman or the other - but they died. Murdered. Shot by a Carcano rifle. Different people have been arrested (and subsequently died protesting their innocence) for those murders, though, so it’s probably save to have it in your collection.

The peregrine purple pattingrey is a very rare bird, in that it looks like a butterfly. Not exceptionally pretty, but sometimes one of these will show up in an amateur butterfly collector’s showcase. There is a rather violent cult that is after these pattingreys, because they claim that once they have 49 of them, they can destroy the world.

Every collection of musical instruments should have an alphorn! Some amateur linguistics claim that word means ‘horn of the alps’, like in the mountains, in truth the word ‘alp’ means ‘nightmare, bad dream’. So yes, it should be in every collection. It can even be played, but only by those who know what they are doing.

5 Likes
#5

Thanks for taking Elvis and Lenny Bruce off the table, @DavidMorrison.

2 Likes
#6

A copy of the cookbook of Rufus Roundbelly: a guide to rare gourmet dungeon ingredients and cuisine from strange lands.

A rookie jousting card of Sir Oban “Longarm”: this jouster of humble origins was never expected to be a champion, and as such the stock of his rookie jousting card was a printed at a low volume.

Thylacine pouch: Similar to a bag of holding, but made from the pouch of a tragically extinct marsupial. If you were to find one, its contents would probably be just as interesting as the bag itself.

7 Likes
#7

Sorry this is slightly off topic, but this Miscellany reminded me of a shot story recently reprinted in escapepod about collectors. Collectors who go through yard sales and good will stores looking for stuff they want, and stuff they can resell at markup. Oh yeah… and there are aliens, aliens who are also collectors.

Carry on, with the Miscellany.

5 Likes
#8

The last time the Dragon’s Gaze Opals were seen was when a fire broke out on the dirigible transporting them. Whosoever finds them, beware; Should the gaze of the Opals ever meet the result is as blazing hot as the fire of the dragon they’re named for.

3 Likes
#9
  • This 4th edition printing of the Creature Feature Guide, Vol 6 is sought after by the First Church of the Heavenly Orbit, who claim that a series of misprints in this guide are part of the code to avert the end times.
  • The cave scorpion is a rare and sought-after specimen by assassins and those who wish ill will. Their exoskeleton provides them perfect camouflage, perfect to strike with their fast-acting venom.
  • Little Buddy Jr was THE Christmas Gift of 1987, but quickly disappeared from the shelves once the season was over. Collectors have yet to any in pristine condition, and those that have survived seem to missing both an arm and a leg.
10 Likes
#10

There may have been some amount of beer involved in my evening >.>

1 Like
#11

A collection of stamps, featuring heads of state who have never been. Widely thought to be modern forgeries, though interest in the collection has surged since their provenance has recently been ascertained. Strangely, most of the collection bears evidence of frank marks.

10 Likes
#12

The Rocket Ranger action figure was cancelled before production due to safety concerns about kids choking on the rocket. A few prototypes got out there, but when one was lifted from a prominent collection the whole collecting community was rocked by accusations and recriminations.

The Jade Jaguar is said to bring good fortune to every third person who steals it, and swift death to others. Do you dare risk it? Have you counted correctly?

9 Likes
#13

A bottle containing a gasp of air let out by the last recorded Pyrenean Ibex in history before their species slid into oblivion. Anyone can collect the bones of the dead but not their breath.

The black witch moth was hunted into extinction after it mutated into a particularly potent disease carrier. Fortunately, this ornate glass display will let you behold a species that exterminated countless others within relative safety.

7 Likes
#14

A padded keepsake album, full of dozens of locks of hair tied with ribbons of varied colours. All the locks of hair are platinum blonde. On closer inspection, they are all bleached and dyed from different natural colours.

7 Likes
#15

It was discovered by accident, a rosy brown paste at the bottom of a sealed antique vessel. The scent however, was unmistakable. Who dares taste the first chocolate?

"White Oak Willy" was a respected bootlegger up and down the Mississippi. He carried small batch whiskey in his hollow, white oak peg-leg. That Louisiana backwoods whiskey has been in there since the last day of prohibition, and would make an awfully decent drink on the 100th anniversary.

The Baun-Haus Audiotec 73 loudspeakers are the zenith of audiophile decadence. The extinct hardwoods beautifully dovetailed. The palladium-gadolinium driver coils engineered to the nano-meter. The manufactured diamond speaker cones all perfectly tuned and frequency balanced by analog circuitry built by a now defunct Japanese supplier. Such things are better seen than heard.

6 Likes
#16

Of all known strains, this line alone is most prized; it grew within Rax’il as xe shook Dol Shmid, infected the quiet Emir during the brokering of the Gliese Substra, even slept dormant inside Captain Haseya as she took humanity’s first, fateful cryo-journey. Could hosting it tie you, as well, to greatness?

4 Likes
#17

8 paintings by Renaissance masters who lived and died decades apart from one another. During reframing for a new exhibition canvas hidden under the old frames was found to connect them into a larger whole. A gap in the centre points to a 9th, unknown work.

8 Likes
#18

A utility belt of The Vow, a crimefighter who patrolled the streets of Gauntlet City for three months in 1993. 2 of the belt’s 20 pouches remain unopened. Contents of said pouches may include a thermite thumb charge, a blank invitation to join Maximum Justice Inc., or the soul of the Vow’s sidekick The Pledge.

8 Likes
#19

True, weird, and terrifying.
Humanity performed its only intentional extinction when we eradicated smallpox. The billions born since have no resistance. Exactly one sample remains at an undisclosed location

8 Likes
#20

Clerics of the God of Chaos craft their holy symbols in dangerous, personal rituals. Each is unique to the cleric, and will not work for anyone else. Someone has been seeking out these clerics and stealing their symbols, but to what end?

4 Likes