Codex Time 2 - Miscellany

#1

We are crowdsourcing the miscellany for Codex - Time 2. This one is called “Three Dozen MORE In Medias Res Starters.” It’s a sequel to the one published in the original Codex - Time.

Getting the action going by putting characters right in the middle of an event is a classic story telling (and GMing) technique. Tell us your favorite go-to scenario that you have come up with, or invent a new one as you are inspired by other entries!

Note: please avoid sexist imagery in your submissions—we don’t publish stuff like that.

Submissions should be no more than 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 is the original “Three Dozen In Medias Res Starters” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_-YSi_5savEJIvnXk914F6tUgG-UUA3B/view?usp=sharing

Note: if you’d like your name to be listed differently on the Codex credit, send me a DM here (but please keep your submissions in the thread).

1 Like
#2

The team’s rogue sprints down a hallway toward their waiting party and the getaway wagon. The rest of the group sees the cultist’s prize relic clutched firmly in the rogue’s hands, and the temple’s horrific stone guardian barreling down the passage in hot pursuit.

6 Likes
#3

You wake up in a hotel room you don’t recognize, and you don’t remember checking in. Your head is throbbing… it feels more like you hit it on something than a hangover, but you don’t remember that either. And you certainly don’t remember there being a dead body on the floor next to the bed. And now there’s a knock on the door. What do you do?

5 Likes
#4

You’re tearing down the highway in your big rig at a hundred miles an hour. A bullet shatters the passenger-side window of the cab, as a gang of outlaw bikers surrounds your truck at speed. What did you do back at that roadhouse that pissed off the Full Moon Marauders so badly they want you dead?

5 Likes
#5

“Shields up! Red alert! All hands to battle sta—” BOOM! The captain’s command is cut off as an explosion rocks the ship, sending sparks flying from your instrument panel. A synthetic voice comes over the comms. “Alien vessel: You have violated the territory of the Vendroid Hegemony. Surrender or be destroyed.” What do you do?

3 Likes
#6

A loud explosion sounds over your head, after the ringing in your ears stops you realize the glass elevator you are in is quickly falling down. A hundred stories bellow you see the city getting bigger and bigger as your feet lift from the floor in zero-g. What do you want to do?

2 Likes
#7

The body is still warm when you lean to check for pulse and find nothing. You couldn’t have been out of your bedroom for more than 10 minutes to get ice and there was no here when you left. But now the bellhops’ body is lying there, and your hand is covered in their blood. What do you want to do?

3 Likes
#8

Cool air rushes past you as you speed down the dark tunnel. Water splashes all around, is this a sewer pipe or water slide? hard to tell with this little light. Ahead of you hear something screams…

2 Likes
#9

The crowd cheers. The previous contestant smirks smugly at you as they walk past you. They call your name and the stage organisers push you towards the stairs of the stage, you can see some of the judges from here. Why did you enter this competition again? and what are you going to perform right now?

7 Likes
#10

Shotgun loaded with salt shells? Check! Iron crowbar? Check! Expell runes written with ashes? Check! Who is the bait for this ghost? Why are they shouting “This is not a ghost”?

2 Likes
#11

The heist went off flawlessly…almost. You are all in your getaway vehicle, racing through downtown with a handful of black clad guards in pursuit. Who is driving? Who did you steal from? What is in the duffel bag in the back seat? [After the scene - What went wrong that led to the chase? Who hired you?]

2 Likes
#12

You carefully make your way down the dark hallway, covering each other while avoiding the plates of food strewn across the floor. You quickly make it to the exit, leaving a dead bellhop and another shooter dead in a doorway behind you. One of you is wounded - who and how? After leaving the building, you round a corner to the pool area. You see your mark sitting at the bar talking to the bartender. Who is she? What do you need from her?

4 Likes
#13

You stroll into the cockpit of the DC-9 with forced nonchalance… you hope that the flight attendants in their revealing 1970s uniforms didn’t notice the beads of sweat dripping under your cap. The co-pilot nods and says, “Welcome aboard, Captain!” As you strap yourself into the pilot’s seat, you know this op has gone completely sideways. Despite your uniform, the Time Corps did not teach you how to fly a mid-20th century jetliner. So… How are you getting yourself off of the doomed TWA Flight 307 to Detroit without upsetting the timeline?

4 Likes
#14

The roc releases you into the its nest where you find yourself once again among your companions, as well as half a dozen man-sized boulders. The boulders begin to crack horizontally with great grinding, gravelly noises like an earth quake or a rock slide; beaks the size of helmets puncture through. What do you do?

3 Likes
#15

You stretch your foot to cover one more hole in this leaky boat. As you plant both your hands firmly over the miniature geysers forming in the hull, you hear the clacking of piranhas’ teeth outside in the water. What do you?

2 Likes
#16

The knocking on the door is ragged and insistant. Your eyes open slowly in response, fighting the heavy sleep that fills them.
What? - you call out harshly.
“Hurry, hurry, you must hurry! The ship, she is sinking” comes the equally ragged and insistant response.
Your eyes drift back closed for a moment before snapping wide awake.
What ship?

5 Likes
#17

Who would have thought half a bag of counterfeit frogs to have been so heavy?

5 Likes
#18

You’re sat in the visa office when the guard’s fingernails noisily hatch.

4 Likes
#19

The engine roars as you press down hard on the gas pedal. You swerve left to avoid another hit by the tractor-trailer behind you. The sound of your bumper hitting the pavement is drowned out by the blast from their air horn.

3 Likes
#20

When they said time trial, they weren’t kidding - you are now being tried for actions you haven’t done yet! Which crimes will you commit, and what makes them so crucial to carry out?

6 Likes