Episode 46 of Discern Realities features Phil Vecchione, The Legacy Weapon, a discussion of the Barbarian move…
Episode 46 of Discern Realities features Phil Vecchione, The Legacy Weapon, a discussion of the Barbarian move Herculean Appetites, and much more!
The newest issue of Codex, called Codex – Time, features a Dungeon World piece by Ray Otus.
The newest issue of Codex, called Codex – Time, features a Dungeon World piece by Ray Otus. Here are the details on what’s inside the whole issue…
Timegasm
I’m not going to go into too much detail here because part of the fun in Timegasm is reading it for yourself and just letting it sort of…wash over you. BUT, I will say it’s a committee LARP by Wendy Gorman about a group of lawmakers and educators trying to solve a particularly troubling side effect of time travel. If I ever decide to run something at a convention, this is probably what I’m going to run. It’s a delight. Also: it features an illustration by Sean Poppe
Reset
This game is SO COOL. It’s a two-player game by Kyle Simons inspired by the film Memento. The GM creates an underlying mystery and a set of starting information which, in the fiction, are Polaroid pictures, tattoos on the protagonist’s body, and personal notes. The player takes the role of the protagonist, a character with anterograde amnesia. The player does their best to solve the mystery before the protagonist “resets,” meaning their short-term memories are wiped. This short-term memory loss is cleverly replicated in the game by the fact that a player never gets to play the game twice, but the GM can continue the story with a new player at the point of reset. Recording of play sessions is encouraged.
Turning
Turning, by Slade Stolar, is the first setting creation tool to be featured in Codex. It examines a major aspect of society which is usually glossed over in RPG texts: a society’s core values. It then asks: “How do those values change over large timespans?” When we’re talking about futuristic settings or time travel scenarios, we tend to use things like technology or biology as the lens through which we understand how such a setting is different from our own world. We rarely look at things like how much they value freedom of speech or how they treat their poor. It’s a fascinating tool that can be easily added to any game that deals with large timescales.
Overlooked
This is a microgame, also written by Slade, designed to be used with Turning. In it, you play androids who are trying to discover the origin of their memories. During play, their memories can be corrupted, and sometimes the androids are forced to power down and may not wake up again until hundreds of years in the future. It’s a slim, bleak design, and I’m rather fond of it. It features a lovely piece of art by Per Folmer (see below).
The Iron Tyrant
This is a fantastic Dungeon World starter by Ray Otus. It’s about a god-like golem from another time, the fanatics who have taken to worshipping it, and a mysterious woman, Sadra, who seems to be a little unstuck in time herself. Ray took his inspirations from Zardoz, the Iron Giant, and the destitute villages you find outside Dracula’s castle in old films. It’s a fresh take on the Dungeon World starter, with an emphasis on a regional mystery rather than dungeon crawling and features an illustration by Randy M.
Miscellany: three dozen in medias res starters
This miscellany is different from those in previous issues in that it’s not organized around a theme. It’s a set of situations for beginning a game in medias res, which is a really neat interpretation of this issue’s “Time” theme (with thanks to +Christo Meid for the idea). Like all the miscellanies, it is absolutely overflowing with cool, evocative ideas.
The cover illustration for Codex – Time was done by Vandel J. Arden. Editing was done by myself and David LaFreniere. Layout was done by Oli Jeffery.
To get Codex – Time, just make a $4+ pledge to the Gauntlet Patreon by June 30th!
Hello!
Hello! Today is the last day to get all the Codex back issues from the Gauntlet’s Patreon. The Gauntlet produces the Discern Realities podcast, and Codex features a TON of Dungeon World material.
To get the PDFs, just make a $4 pledge by midnight!
Thanks!
Shrine Contest
Shrine Contest
This is just a reminder about the Discern Realities shrine contest. The winner gets a $50 gift card to either Amazon or Drivethru. The winner and up to two runners up will be invited to co-host an episode of the show. Here are the details for the entries:
-400 words max
-A short description of the god or entity the shrine is dedicated to.
-A custom move associated with the shrine.
-A magic item.
-A spell (or a second magic item).
You can send entries to gauntletpodcast@gmail.com. The contest runs through May 31st. If we get enough entries, we will publish them in a special issue of our zine, Codex.
Thanks!
Cc: David LaFreniere
Codex – Madness plus back issues available!
Codex – Madness plus back issues available!
Hello! The newest issue of the Gauntlet’s fanzine, Codex, is now available in our Patreon feed. Madness features a DW starter called Asylum City. Also, we are making the back issues of Codex available in the feed for anyone who pledges by May 31st! Of the eight back issues, seven of them contain material for Dungeon World (and lots of the stuff in Codex is system-agnostic anyway).
There has never been a better time to check it out!
Episode 43 of Discern Realities is here!
Episode 43 of Discern Realities is here! In this one, David LaFreniere and I discuss more Anglekite, talk about the new Sword Breaker zine, take a look at the Aid/Interfere move, announce a brand-new contest, and continue Ramshackle’s story in an AP that can only be described as EPIC.
If you’re interested in participating in the shrine contest we announce here, please send your entries to gauntletpodcast@gmail.com.
A reminder about the details:
-400 word max
-Description of your deity and their shrine
-A custom move for the shrine
-A magic item
-A spell
-Alternatively, you can do two magic items instead of the spell
Enjoy!
The newest issue of the Gauntlet’s zine, Codex, is now available!
The newest issue of the Gauntlet’s zine, Codex, is now available! At 29 pages, Iron is the heftiest edition of Codex yet. Here’s what’s inside…
The Gates of Cold Iron Pass
This is an OSR-style adventure about the mountain pass home of an isolated clan of dwarves. I won’t include any spoilers here, but let’s just say something is growing in the darkness of Cold Iron Pass. This grim little romp was written by Kiel Chenier and includes illustrations by Nery Mejicano.
Wind on the Path
Potential strangers
Meet on their private journey
Blades open for death
Wind on the Path is a short form game about samurai duels. It’s designed to be played at conventions or other spaces where you might run into people who are also playing the game (for example, I’m going to organize some games on our Slack!). Winning duels increases the skill of your samurai, but also their notoriety, meaning valuable information is revealed to future opponents. The game was written by Jonathan Lavallee and features art by Randy M. The play sheets were designed by Oli Jeffery.
Four Dwarven Shrines
These dwarven shrines for Dungeon World were written with an eye toward turning the common dwarf tropes upside down (in one case, literally so!) or just playing around with the idea of what it means to be a fantasy dwarf. Each includes a custom move for the shrine, a magic item, and a cleric spell. The authors on this piece are Slade Stolar, Ray Otus, David Lafreniere, and Daniel Fowler. The art is by Allan Dotson.
Three dozen tempering trials
Our miscellany this month features trials and competitions meant to temper mind, body, and emotion. These are all highly evocative and imaginative, and many would make a great set piece in your game, or even a whole adventure!
This month’s beautiful cover features an illustration by Vandel J. Arden. Layout on the issue is by Oli Jeffery. David LaFreniere handled editing.
To get Codex – Iron, just make a $4 or higher pledge on our Patreon!
Here’s a link to Episode 42 of Discern Realities, for those of you who follow the show here. Enjoy!
Here’s a link to Episode 42 of Discern Realities, for those of you who follow the show here. Enjoy!
The Gauntlet’s Dungeon World podcast, Discern Realities, was nominated for a Golden Geek award this year!
The Gauntlet’s Dungeon World podcast, Discern Realities, was nominated for a Golden Geek award this year! We know many people in this community supported the show, and we are very thankful for it.
Here is a link to the newest episode. This is a special one in which David LaFreniere and myself welcome the winner and runners up of our recent compendium class contest: Michael G. Barford Scott Selvidge and Fraser Simons!
Enjoy!
Discern Realities is back!
Discern Realities is back! Episode 37 is packed with good stuff, including a terrific discussion about facilitating emotional play in Dungeon World and a big surprise in the AP.
A reminder: our compendium class contest is going until midnight on the 15th. You can send your entries to gauntletpodcast@gmail.com.
Enjoy!