Review: Codex Dark 2 and Doom Patrol

 Codex is a monthly pdf zine published by The Gauntlet, a roleplaying community and podcast network. Codex is an anthology of small RPGs, supplementary materials, and miscellany centered around a particular theme that has been tied together with use of a color palette and clever graphic design. The free sample issue rotates, and this month's issue is a really good one, so grab it while you can because the games are delightful.

The star of the current is Ghost Drums, a short horror game by Gerrit Reininghaus inspired a Guatemalan ghost story. I can't really say anything else about it without giving away too much, but I am hyped to run this with the Minions in the future and, hopefully, turn it into a limited series podcast. This issue also has the rules for Trophy and a sample adventure, a dark fantasy game about flint-eyed scoundrels plunging into a wilderness that doesn't want them there and won't let them leave. Think of it as what might happen if your OSR play-through of Keep on the Borderlands turned into the Texas Chainsaw Massacre about two-thirds of the way through. Trophy also echoes the thesis of our current limited-series, Tales from the Old Man's Bar™, Don't be surprised if you see Trophy show up on our feed down the line as well.

Both games highlight a subtle shift in design philosophy: rather than playing to find out what happens, the party is playing to find out how it happens. The ending is never in doubt - you're all going to end up turned into sausage; however, the shape and texture of the grinder is flexible. Do you end up bratwurst or chorizo? I expect we'll see more horror games take similar approaches going forward because a strong framework provides a solid foundation for play.

UPDATE: Codex Dark 2 is no longer the freely available issue. Now it's Codex Gold which contains the rules for Trophy Gold. Also an excellent game, which can be found here.

In a similar vein, our present saturation of superhero stories reveals a rhyming pattern - the heroes will triumph at the end but how they'll triumph is the real question. Do they lose a loved one? Do they sacrifice themselves? Does a city get leveled? Do they find family along the way? DC Universe's Doom Patrol takes advantage of our foreknowledge to get weird - like really weird. If you're familiar with the Patrol, then that shouldn't come as a surprise to you. However, if you're new to the team, buckle up.

The show makes nods to the larger DC Universe, but quickly leaves the familiar world of flying strongmen and billionaire vigilantes behind in favor of extra-dimensional snow globes, doomsday prophet cockroaches, boys from Brazil, and a sentient street. Despite the high weirdness, though, the show doesn't divorce or alienate the characters from their humanity. If anything, the intense contrast heightens their all-too human frailties resulting in a satisfying drama.

Anyway, I know people hate spoilers so I'll just say this - Doom Patrol has consistently been one of my favorite comics and the show does not disappoint.

Check it out when you get the chance!