Codex

The Gauntlet’s monthly RPG zine

DA R K 2
o f hu nt s, haunts,
A host ldly tales
t he r wo r
and o
GHOST
DRUMS
A game by Gerrit Reininghaus,
Keeper of the Silent Voice of the Emperor
Based on a tale told by Salvador Ajtzip

Cultural consultancy & Spanish translation by Daniel Sojuel

Tz’utujil translation by Concepción Pablo Lacán
Illustration by Ismael Sosof
THE TALE
(A Tz’utujil tale from Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala)

Those who drown in Lake Atitlán often blame the living for their
death. They come back to town to tease them into damnation.
Fortunately, the good spirits of the lake force them to carry and play
drums when they come. That way the living can hear the ghost drums
and escape to safe places the ghosts can't enter. But one day, a
visitor from the States found a way to steal the drums from the
drowned and added them to his collection. Since then, there is no
warning anymore from the ghosts and they have
become dangerous. People disappear or go
suddenly mad. Maybe one day the ghost
drums will return and Santiago Atitlan THE STORY IN TZ’UTUJIL:
will be safe again from the J-ee’ aj xeya’ nke’ok pa pe
Drowned. tnamet k’moy kxin jlee chik wnaq;
k’j-ee’ utzlaj taq dyosil rxin ya’,
nkektaqchij che nkek’am pa je’ ktambor taq
nke’ok pa pe tnamet, rmal k’ara’ j-ee’ wnaq taq
nekk’axaj ktambor aj xeya’ nkeba ela alnaq ptaq kuchooch je
natan Ajaw chpam, rmal ra’ j-ee’ aj xeya’ majo’n nkekwin ta
nke’oka ptaq jay kxin wnaq je ek’asa. K’ola jun q’ij, jun wnaq je penaq
Estados Unidos xetqij naq nuban numaj ktambor aj xeya’. Kara’ xuban, taq
xekwina xumaj ktambor aj xeya’ xuyik ajni’ rebnoon tzra jle’ chik achnaq
je ruwloon je’a. Kamik j-ee’ aj xeya’ majo’n nkek’am pexta je’ ktambor,
rmal ra’ qas k’aloj ri rwech taq nke’ok pchik pe tnamet, rmal majo’n
nkek’axax xchik. K’j-ee’ wnaq qas nsacha kewa’ taq nke’ok pa j-ee’ aj
xeya’. K’o tara jun q’ij, xtmelox pta ktabor j-ee’ aj xeya’, che utz k’ara’
j-ee’ wnaq majo’n nban ta lowlo’ chka kmal aj xeya’.

Before you play

This is a short story game in which we re-imagine the above tale. There won’t be any dice or other resolution
mechanics. The game is highly ritualised with phrases you need to read, drums to play, and generally has a theatrical
tone. This is a horror game with the horror on the subtle side of the genre. Keep it serious and dark. Take your time
while playing the game. There is no reason to hurry.

As in many tales, the people and the village in your story stay abstract. It’s modern day, but it shouldn’t matter much
where in the world the story happens. Names, traditions, skin color, etc., can be a mix from all over the world. The tale
hits colonialist trauma sufficiently through the set-up.
 PREPARATION (5 MIN)
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY: Each player, except one, plays a Ghost—a person from
the lake who once died in the lake. The other player
• 20 minutes per player plays a Visitor to town from the North.
• 2 to 5 players
At the beginning of the game, each Ghost has a drum.
• A room for yourself without Create one from empty plastic bottles, actual drums,
distractions where you can dim whatever suits you. Put a glass of water in the middle of
the light (if not possible: play the table.
anyway)
• A glass of water in the middle TALK ABOUT SAFETY (5 MIN)
(if not available: play without) Talk about subject matter you prefer to exclude from
your game. This is a story about horror and cruel
• Old newspaper you can waste, death; consider what would take the fun out of it for
best with mystery reports (if not
available: any paper with faces you and mention that. The X-card and other safety
does it) tools can be used to exclude content without further
explanation while the game is going, but you might
• A pen want to exclude some topics (such as graphic violence
or suicide) at the beginning.
• A ghost drum per player (if not
available: anything you can drum In this game, you use darkness, drums, and your voice
on) to intensify emotions. If these elements become too
much for you, put your hands up with your palms
*For online play, each player facing the other players or say “Largo.” This safety tool
needs the requisites individually. signals to other players when they need to bring the
intensity of play down.. Practice this now by making
the respective gesture.
PLAying
The game is separated into text for the
Ghosts and for the Visitor. Each section
says for whom it is. You don’t need to read
the text of the other role and you don’t
need to read everything beforehand. But
take your time to read through the current
section before you begin.

ALL GHOSTS VISITOR

Character Creation Character Creation
CHARACTER INTRO

A GHOST
Character Introduction VISITOR
Character Introduction

VISITOR
Enter The Night

ALL GHOSTS VISITOR

THE NIGHT CYCLE

In The Night In The Night

A GHOST VISITOR
Losing The Drum Taking The Drum

ALL GHOSTS
On The Ground
of The Lake

VISITOR
ALL GHOSTS All Drums Are Mine
Final Screams
 Character creation
GHOSTS: CHARACTER VISITOR: CHARACTER
CREATION (5 MIN.) CREATION (5 MIN.)
Create a backstory from the time when your ghost was AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GHOSTS
alive, how you died, and what grudge you still have While the Ghost players create their story, answer the
with the living. Cut or rip out a face from the following questions to yourself and write at least a few
newspaper representing your character. Summarise keywords down:
your grief in a word or a short phrase.
• How did you learn that ghosts can’t do you
Whenever you are out to scare the living to death, any harm? (You are wrong about this.)
you will whisper this phrase (e.g. “Betrayal,” “I was
telling the truth,” “I cried for help but nobody came”). • How did you learn you are superior to the
Write the phrase on a piece of paper. Write your people in town? (You are wrong about this.)
character’s name on the piece of paper with your
character’s face. • What happened to you that makes you fear
water so much? (Unfortunately, you have good
WAIT FOR EVERYBODY TO reason, as you will learn.)
FINISH THEIR STORY. Grab the newspaper and cut or rip out a face for your
character. Ask the Ghost players to tell you when they
are ready.

WHEN EVERYBODY IS READY, THE VISITOR PICKS A GHOST AND

TELLS THEM TO START WITH CHARACTER INTRODUCTION.
Character INTRODUCTION
GHOSTS: CHARACTER VISITOR: AFTER
INTRODUCTION (5 MIN. EVERY GHOST
PER PLAYER) INTRODUCTION
Introduce your Ghost by telling the other players your (2 MIN. PER GHOST)
story. Start by saying: Every time a Ghost tells you their story, respond to it in
“Those who drown in the lake sometimes return to the the following way:
living. When the wind is blowing from the
underworld through the streets of the town where Tell them:
they once lived, they are with us. This is the story of “I don’t fear you. Actually, I don’t fear ghosts at all.”
one of them.”
Then tell them how you learned ghosts can’t harm you.
Tell it in third person (“he, she, they”) and as if it was an You can change this slightly each time if you like.
old folk tale. Keep it to 5 minutes maximum. End with Then say:
a silence of around 10 seconds (that’s a long time!). Let “I know people here in town fear you. But I’m not as
the piece of paper with your character’s name (!) sink pitiful as they are.”
into the glass of water and watch the writing dissolve.
Then tell them what makes you superior to the people
Then say: in town. You can change this each time if you like, but
“That person was me. Now I’m just the sorrow of that only slightly.
person. I now live at the bottom of the lake. But by
night I come back to show the living what they have Don’t yet tell them why you fear water so much.
done to me. When you hear my drum, run. Or you
will be drawn into what happened to me.” PICK ANOTHER GHOST PLAYER TO
Then whisper your phrase twice.
NOW INTRODUCE THEMSELVES. IF
NONE ARE LEFT, CONTINUE ON THE
LET THE PLAYER OF THE VISITOR NEXT SECTION.
RESPOND TO YOUR STORY.
VISITOR: ENTER THE NIGHT
THE NIGHT GHOSTS: IN THE NIGHT
(1 MIN.) (1 MIN.)
When you have heard and responded to the The Ghosts approach the town drumming —
last Ghost’s story, say: yes, that’s you as players. They are whispering
“I can’t wait for the night to begin. The their phrase. Stop when the Visitor shouts
drums of the drowned would make a great “Stop!”
trophy when I return North.”
The Ghost player chosen by the Visitor begins
Dim the lights or turn them off except one. If whispering their phrase again until the
you play online, ask the Ghost players to do Visitor tells them to stop.
so, too.

VISITOR: IN THE NIGHT (5 MIN. PER GHOST)

After listening to the concert of the (remaining) Then say:
drums for a while, shout: “Stop!” Pick one Ghost “I like this drum. It’s mine now, and you are just
who still has their drum by pointing at them or a drum-less ghost."
saying a spoofed version of their phrase. Tell them:
“I don’t fear you.” Take away the Ghost’s drum. Make fun of the Ghost
and its drum (imitating their whispering, mocking
Let them whisper their phrase continuously. Enjoy their drum play). In an online game, use your own
it. Shout “Stop!” again to make them calm. Then say: drum and pretend it’s from the Ghost.
“This is all long gone. You are dead. If I were to
believe in you, though, here is something that Tell the Ghost players they can now gather on the
would scare me.” ground of the lake (next section).

Then tell them what scares you, and how the Wait for the Ghosts to start whispering again. Then
revenge of the Ghost might incorporate it (for enter the next night (section above). If all drums are
example: "Your mourning could cause the young mother yours by then, continue with the “All drums are
to end her life,” or "The truth you died for would cause yours” section on the final page.
more deaths when revealed”).
 THE NIGHT
(continued)
GHOSTS: ON THE GROUND OF THE LAKE (5 MIN. PER GHOST)
Between the nights, the Ghosts of the drowned Now put your phrase into the water and let the
gather at the lake bottom. The Ghost player who phrase dissolve. This story is solved. But your
just lost their drum says: sorrow only grows.
“I lost my drum. The living can’t escape me
any longer." Write a new phrase on a piece of paper which
describes your growing sorrow after this cruelty or
Then tell the other Ghost players how you finally sadness you brought to town. You will continue to
took revenge on the villagers. Pick up on what the hunt the town. This is a new phrase you can
Visitor said would scare them. But make it worse. whisper together with older words.
Tell the story in third person from the perspective
of the living who died a terrible death, went mad, The other Ghosts weigh in by whispering their
or disappeared mysteriously just last night. It phrases. If what happened to your fellow Ghost
might look like an accident, it might look like a makes you want to change your phrase, write a
murder case, or even supernatural. new one and put the old one into the water.

For example:
“Marta came home late. It was quiet. Too
quiet. Wind came through the open window. LET THE VISITOR THEN ENTER
When she went to close it, she saw them: three THE NEXT NIGHT (FIRST
bodies shattered on the cliffs. After she found SECTION ON PREVIOUS PAGE)
the beds of her children empty, Marta climbed
through the window herself. While falling,
Marta heard a whisper: ‘Why did you leave
me?’ Then all was calm.”
 THE END
VISITOR: ALL DRUMS GHOSTS: THE FINAL
ARE YOURS (5 MIN.) SCREAMS (1 MIN.)
When you take away the last Ghost player’s drum, say: When the Visitor has told you why they fear water,
“Tonight, I feel the need to show the people in start whispering:
town that these are all coincidences. There is • your phrases
nothing to fear. I will row out onto the lake.” • what cruel destiny you expect for the Visitor
• what will make the Visitor regret what they
Now tell the Ghost players what happened to make have done.
you fear water. Tell them in a melancholy manner. You
somehow already know but won’t yet admit that this is Show them how you hate them.
your end.
GET LOUDER AND LOUDER AS IF YOU
AWAIT THE GHOSTS NOW. WHEN MOVE ONTO THE VISITOR PLAYER’S
THEY ARE THERE, TAKE THE CUT-OUT BOAT. WHEN EVERYBODY IS JUST
PICTURE AND DROWN IT IN THE SCREAMING THE VISITOR WILL CLAP
GLASS OF WATER. THEIR HANDS. THE GAME IS OVER.
WHEN ALL OF THEM ARE JUST
SCREAMING, CLAP LOUDLY INTO YOUR
HANDS. THE GAME IS OVER.
 OF GLUM
MOMENTS by Andrew Hauge
Written for use in Epidiah Ravachol’s
Swords Without Master, as ideas for Thunders,
Feats Heroic, or even a simple roll. Also
useful for inspiring fantastical tales of sorcery
and mystery.
$ A LINGERING NOTE scrapes free from the $ IN THE BACK OF THE SEER’S HUT, amidst
strings of a zither in the midst of the silent yellow wisps of smoke, carved bones
twilight, and the cries of wolves rise to tinkle in uncomfortable tones.
meet it.
$ A COLD BLUE PHOSPHORESCENCE rises
$ AS YOU CREEP BENEATH THE WIZARD’S from your skin when you call upon the
TOWER, the rolling hush of nightfall tale of days remembered by sages.
surrounds your ears, settling around you
and sapping your will. $ YOU WHISPER WORDS THAT SLIDE FROM
YOUR MOUTH and coil around your
$ LITHE FINGERS CURL ACROSS YOUR LIPS limbs, binding your intellect and deep-
with sinuous temptation and intoxicating ening your thoughts.
promise, drawing you closer in the mo-
ments before your realization. $ A SILENT KISS UPON YOUR BROW and
searching fingers tangled through your
$ HAIRS RAISE ACROSS YOUR BODY, fore- hair; in the moment of stillness, you
telling the fell wail which entangles itself behold them.
into your heart, whispering a forbidden
name. $ IN THE FURTHEST DARK CORNER of the
cave of Omasco, on the twelfth night of
$ A STRANGE INSECT FLUTTERS AROUND the fifth month, you can hear a gentle
YOU, cool air floating off its wings, moon- weeping that will eternally haunt your
light glinting off its many-segmented dreams.
body.
$ A BONE-WHITE BASILISK STARES AHEAD,
$ DRUMS ECHO IN THE DEEP, each sound unblinking, unmoving as it has stood for
reverberating with immensity through centuries, and your spine shivers as you
the shadow of night. see the night within its eyes.

$ QUMOE’S THRALLS APPROACH with halt- $ WORDS LAY UNSPOKEN yet understood in
ing steps and eyes filled with a milky the midst of the deepest intimacy.
white; a hollow laugh rings in unison from
their throats. $ SHE HOLDS HER HAND OVER A SAPPHIRE
GEM, her fingers drifting and crooked,
$ PALE EMERALD ICHOR DRIPS across the commanded by another force.
stone, and the creature’s life bleeds out
across the cliff with no witnesses. $ THE MIDNIGHT DRAKE STIRS, a billow of
cloud surrounding its icy scales, the
$ YOU LOOK DOWN AND SEE THE SECRET shadow blotting out stars and the moon
SMILE of your lover, shrouded in shad- as it rises.
ows, an unknown promise springing to
his lips. $ FADED LIGHT DRIFTS THINLY through the
wooded tangle of trees, revealing the
$ A SINUOUS MAP IS CARVED into chill twisted paths beneath your feet.
obsidian, marked with ancient, long-for-
gotten runes that weave a tale of blood $ THE GUARDIAN LOOMS, a solitary figure
and corruption. whose stature makes us appear like
vermin before it.
 When winding vine chokes chiseled stone,
These woods will claim a trophy of their own.

When graven gods are overgrown,

These woods will claim a trophy of their own.

When thorn bursts forth from living bone,

These woods will claim a trophy of their own.

When vengeful seeds are finally sown,

These woods will claim a trophy of their own.
 OVERVIEW
Trophy is a collaborative storytelling game about a group of treasure-hunters on
a doomed expedition into a forest that doesn’t want them there. It requires one
game master (gm) to moderate the game and portray the dangers of the world,
and one or more players to portray the treasure-hunters. A game of Trophy takes
about 3–4 hours.

The game tells the story of the physical and mental descent of the treasure-
hunters as they move deeper and deeper into the dangerous forest. Their jour-
ney will ultimately bring them to ancient ruins that hold the treasure they
seek, and the monstrous entities which now dwell there. This is not, however,
a hopeful story of brave and daring adventurers slaying dragons and dragging
bags of gold with them back to town. This is a horror story of entitled pillagers
meeting tragic ends. It is very likely that all the treasure-hunters will die or—
at best—be permanently scarred and haunted by their expedition.

Trophy is adapted from Cthulhu Dark with permission of Graham Walmsley. Trophy is also based
on Blades in the Dark (found at http://www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One Seven
Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Special thanks to all my playtesters: Agatha Cheng, Ary Ramsey, Chris Thompson, Christian
Svalander, Fraser Simons, Gerrit Reininghaus, Harry Morris, Jim Crocker, Mathias Belger, Oli
Jeffery, Paul Edson, Phillip Wessels, River Williamson, Sam Zeitlin and Shane Liebling.

The map was off. Th

e eastward bend in the
a dispute that pushe Naveh River came
d well past sunset. It up more quickly than
the crumbling stone was Amar—our ran documented, leading
face of some vaguel ger—who saw the ru to
y human effigy was ins first. Even by torch
apparent through the light,
The forest had alread h an g in g v in es and foliage.
y reclaimed so much
to the unholy tantrum . Once proud pillars
of a primordial child lay flat against the g
The weather-beaten . C o pper basins had tarn round, as though vict
slab that once served ished to that familiar im
perilous—entry poin as a roof had fully colla sh ad e of sickly green.
t to the temple's inner psed in, providing o
sanctum. nly one obvious—an
d
Sheets of cobweb cr
isscrossed the rough
Amar's torch and Lin ly carved passageway
eta's saber. Lineta w s, though they were
as well regarded for easily dispatched by
her skill wit h a blad
e, both in her surger
y
 dy served us well during our journey
practice and when negotiating with thugs. Her healing talents had alrea
gh the razo r-ro ot grov e. I wou ld have lost more than the three finge rs had she not amputated and sutured as
throu
swiftly as she did. It was a shame I couldn't return the favor.
centuries. Four black clay urns stood
Amar, again, was first to see what the temple had kept hidden all these
hall. Wordlessly though with much exertion,
unmolested at the center of the circular room that terminated the main
own discoveries. Four desiccated human
Amar slid off their covers one by one, allowing Lineta and me to our
husks each clung to a single golden metal stonefruit.
d the instant we saw those stonefruits.
Any doubts we had about the treasures of ancient Kalduhr were dashe
ected it further. Inscriptions in the style of the
Using my good hand, I pried one from its mummified cradle and insp
d scarcely read it, but running my finger
mage-scribes of King Argiol Seo wound around the golden fruit. I coul
g the inde ntati ons open ed some thing in the reces ses of my mind . I saw the empire burning as four nobles were
alon
d and place d in black clay urns . I linge red on the fune real proc ess— on every word and ritual and prayer
embalme
r wha t seem ed like days . I watch ed it play over and over and over in my mind, slowly pulling apart
and plea—fo
es licked at the temple building as the
the meaning behind the words the deat h priests spoke. All the while, flam
kingdom of Argiol Seo burned.
not what happened, but one of Amar's arms
When my mind pulled back, a fire raged in the circular room. I know
ed her into a corner with nothing but his
lay severed on the ground, cleaved by Lineta's deft hand. He had back
torch, which had already left horrible burns upon her face.

I ran.
le. I ran throu gh the night, following the river
I ran past my two travel mates. I ran through the corridors of the temp
as best as I could.
s involving a journey into the forest. At
I made my way back here to Fort Duhrin, the birthplace of all bad idea
ld go myself, but my second encounter
least you can start out with a map better than the one I was given. I wou
er with one foot and seven fingers isn’t
with the razor-root didn’t benefit from the presence of Lineta, and a hunt
but six corpses and my discretion. Three
long for those woods. Four golden stonefruits sit, protected by nothing
of those are all yours, as long as you bring one back for me.

So I ask: are you ready to claim your trophy?

HOW TO PLAY
RISK ROLL

When you attempt a risky task, say what you hope will happen and ask the gm
and the other players what could possibly go wrong. Then gather 6-sided dice.

Take one light-colored die if the task is something you are skilled at
because of either your occupation or your background.

Take another light die for accepting a Devil’s Bargain from another player
or the gm. Devil’s Bargains are described in the following section.

Add a dark-colored die if you are willing to risk your mind or body in order
to succeed. You must include this die whenever you perform a ritual.

Roll the dice. If your highest die is a:

1–3 You fail, and things get worse. The gm describes how. The gm may also
allow you to succeed, but things will get worse in some other way.

4–5 You succeed, but there’s some kind of complication. The gm describes
the complication, then you describe how you succeed.

6 You succeed. Describe how.

If you included a dark die and it rolled equal to or higher than your highest
light die, it counts as a Ruin Roll as described under ruin roll.

If you are unhappy with your roll, you may add an additional dark die to
your dice and re-roll. You can keep adding more dark dice and re-roll-
ing. You cannot re-roll when a dark die is the highest die in your roll.

If you use a Risk Roll to try to defeat any of the forest’s monstrosities by fighting
them in hand-to-hand combat, you will die. Instead, roll to hide, roll to escape
or roll to use a ritual against them. If you fight something that is not monstrous
or if you fight a monstrosity but not to defeat it (for example, to fight your way
past it), be clear about what you want from the fight, then roll normally.
 HOW TO PLAY
DEVIL’S BARGAINS

The forest is dangerous, and treasure-hunters take risks fueled by the folly of
their pride. To reflect this, the gm or any other player can offer you a bonus
light die if you accept a Devil’s Bargain. Common Devil’s Bargains include:

Causing collateral damage or unintended harm.

Getting lost or separated from your companions.

Sacrificing an item or piece of treasure.

Betraying a fellow treasure-hunter.

Attracting the attention of wild animals, forest spirits or monstrosities.

The Devil’s Bargain occurs regardless of the outcome of the roll. You make the
deal, pay the price, and get the bonus die.

The Devil’s Bargain is always a free choice. If you don’t like one, just reject it
(or suggest how to alter it so you might consider taking it). You can always just
risk your mind or body and take a dark die instead.

If it’s ever needed, the gm has final say over which Devil’s Bargains are valid.

RUIN ROLL

Your Ruin shows how much the forest has dug its claws into you, including the
physical and mental harm you’ve suffered. It starts at 1.

When you witness or undergo something disturbing, make a Ruin Roll

by rolling one dark die. If you’ve made a Risk Roll which includes a dark
die, and that die is equal to or higher than your highest light die in that
roll, your dark die is automatically considered a Ruin Roll.

If your dark die rolled higher than your current Ruin, add 1 to your Ruin and
work with the gm to describe how the forest is warping your mind and body.
HOW TO PLAY
REDUCTION ROLL

The forest wants revenge. Humans have stolen its secrets and its gifts and given
nothing in return.

When your Ruin reaches 5, you may now reduce it by acting in the interests of
the forest: destroying treasure, preventing the use of rituals or sabotaging your
fellow treasure-hunters’ exit from the forest. You should do these acts in a way
that does not draw attention to yourself. The more it looks like an accident or
simple bad luck, the better.

Each time you do this, roll one light die. If you get less than your current
Ruin, you succeed at your task and decrease your Ruin by 1. You may
continue reducing your Ruin in this way when your Ruin drops below 5.

BECOMING THE FOREST

When your Ruin reaches 6, you lose yourself to the wilds that have been grow-
ing inside you and you become a twisted monstrosity in service to the forest.
This is an important moment: Everyone focuses on your last flashes of lucid-
ity before you either run screaming into the forest’s depths, or turn violently
against your fellow treasure-hunters.

Hand your character over to the gm to control, and either create a new character
or exit the game.

CREATING YOUR TREASURE-HUNTER

On the following page you’ll find sample character sheets. Choose the name,
occupation, background, rituals and drive of your treasure-hunter.

All occupations can learn and use rituals. Increase your starting Ruin by 1 for
each ritual you know. You can choose up to 3 rituals.

Future Trophy supplements will provide additional occupations, backgrounds,

rituals and drives. You can also work with the gm to create your own.
Choose the name, occupation, background, rituals and drive of your treasure-hunter.

NAME OCCUPATION BACKGROUND RUIN

Alina Leech (skilled in forensics, herbs, surgery) Defrocked Priest (skilled in omens)
Baso Ranger (skilled in beasts, hunting, traps) Disinherited Noble (skilled in appraisal) 1
Daian Sellsword (skilled in athletics, defense, weapons) Escaped Cultist (skilled in deception)
Elisio Sorcerer (skilled in alchemy, rituals, symbols) Expelled Apprentice (skilled in lore)
Fion Reformed Thug (skilled in intimidation)
2
Kasien Retired Soldier (skilled in tactics)
Mahera RITUALS 3
Nima Choose up to 3 of the following rituals. Increase
your starting Ruin by 1 for each ritual you know. DRIVE
Orlen
Sibil Bind (hold a person or animal in place) Buy your brother’s freedom from Barsul Prison 4
Teodan Channel (allow a spirit to act through you) Earn the respect of the Governor of Fort Duhrin
Vero Hollow (push a spirit from its own body) Establish an estate in the Levasti countryside
Inhabit (possess a person or animal) Publish your discoveries from ancient Kalduhr
5
Project (observe a remote location in spirit form) Retire in comfort in the Rose District of Ambaret
Summon (draw a known spirit or person to you) Win the heart of the heir apparent of Naganeh 6

TROPHYRPG.COM

Choose the name, occupation, background, rituals and drive of your treasure-hunter.

NAME OCCUPATION BACKGROUND RUIN

Alina Leech (skilled in forensics, herbs, surgery) Defrocked Priest (skilled in omens)
Baso Ranger (skilled in beasts, hunting, traps) Disinherited Noble (skilled in appraisal) 1
Daian Sellsword (skilled in athletics, defense, weapons) Escaped Cultist (skilled in deception)
Elisio Sorcerer (skilled in alchemy, rituals, symbols) Expelled Apprentice (skilled in lore)
Fion Reformed Thug (skilled in intimidation)
2
Kasien Retired Soldier (skilled in tactics)
Mahera RITUALS 3
Nima Choose up to 3 of the following rituals. Increase
your starting Ruin by 1 for each ritual you know. DRIVE
Orlen
Sibil Bind (hold a person or animal in place) Buy your brother’s freedom from Barsul Prison 4
Teodan Channel (allow a spirit to act through you) Earn the respect of the Governor of Fort Duhrin
Vero Hollow (push a spirit from its own body) Establish an estate in the Levasti countryside
Inhabit (possess a person or animal) Publish your discoveries from ancient Kalduhr
5
Project (observe a remote location in spirit form) Retire in comfort in the Rose District of Ambaret
Summon (draw a known spirit or person to you) Win the heart of the heir apparent of Naganeh 6

TROPHYRPG.COM
GAME MASTER’S GUIDE
HOW TO RUN TROPHY

Trophy is, at its heart, a game about hubris. Desperation and greed might be
what initially drive the treasure-hunters into the forest, but pride is what keeps
them there, pushes them deeper and eventually does them in. Early victories
on the outer edges of the forest should give them a false feeling of mastery over
nature. Their increasing Ruin represents the erosion of their entitlement and
self-determination and should lead to the realization that in this tale of predator
and prey, they are the stag rather than the hunter.

At the start of the game, tell your players the following:

In the end, the forest claims everyone who enters. Most never return. Those that
do come back with their minds and bodies broken. Fight to survive, but know
that you will be marked. You will be claimed. You will be the forest’s trophy.

CREATING AN INCURSION

In addition to the usual themes, each session of Trophy should be built around
a theme designed by you, the gm. This gives focus to the game and ties the mon-
strosities, treasures and setting together into a cohesive and satisfying whole.

Theme
First, decide on a theme. This should be a single evocative word, such as Sleep,
Water or Masks.

Moments
Next, come up with a list of moments. Moments are short descriptive scene
fragments that reinforce the theme. For example, if you’re using the theme
of Sleep, a moment might be “thousands of dragonflies in torpor, attached
to trees and tents”, or for Water, you might write “pools fill in your footprints
as you lift your boots from the thick, gray mud.” Aim to develop at least ten
different moments, which you'll pepper into your narration during the game.

Moments are good opportunities to reveal the fates of previous adventurers

bound for the same treasure. For example, a game with the theme of Water
 GAME MASTER’S GUIDE
might have the moment “three bloated bodies float face down amongst the
mangroves.”

Conditions
Now, make a list of conditions. Conditions are the ways the forest manifests
in your players’ characters when they increase their Ruin. For Sleep, that could
be things like “your dominant arm is plagued by a constant feeling of pins
and needles” or “you find written words illegible, as if in a dream.” You'll want
between 3 and 5 conditions for each player in the game.

The Journey
As the treasure-hunters go deeper and deeper into the forest, they move
through five different rings, starting at Ring 1. Each ring contains terrors
which seek to drive them away, as well as temptations that pull them further
in. The characters cannot move to the next ring until they’ve encountered at
least one terror and one temptation from the current ring.

Ring 1

The terrors in Ring 1 exist to make the players and their characters feel confi-
dent. There should be clear signs of the terrors’ lethality, but the treasure-hunt-
ers should overcome them with relative ease and a minimal increase in Ruin.

example terrors: A wounded bear or other large mundane predator; A band

of rival treasure-hunters; Members of the kingsguard patrolling the edge of the
forest for unlicensed treasure-hunters

The temptations in Ring 1 should be ephemeral: rumors and whispers and

glimmers of hope. Connect them to broad promises of wealth and fame.

example temptations: A hermit who knows the way; A familiar location on

your roughly scrawled map; A fearful goblin offering help if his life is spared

Ring 2

The terrors in Ring 2 are environmental. They make travel difficult and sepa-
rate people from one another. Their role is to show the fury of nature.
GAME MASTER’S GUIDE
example terrors: Torrential rain and mudslides; Noxious clouds of psycho-
tropic spores; Carnivorous trees, choking vines or other malicious plant-life

The temptations of Ring 2 take the form of overwhelming evidence. They exist
to show the treasure hunters that they are on the right path.

example temptations: Temple ruins; A rough stone pathway; Ancient, weath-

er-beaten statues

Ring 3

The terrors in Ring 3 exist to create suspicion. They should make the charac-
ters question the motives of their companions.

example terrors: Dreams of impending betrayal; Your items discovered in

another’s pack; The realization that you’ve been walking in circles
 GAME MASTER’S GUIDE
The temptations in Ring 3 are personal, evoking the drives of the characters.

example temptations: A reminder of your drive; Food or songs from home;

A taste of creature comforts

Ring 4

The terrors in Ring 4 are monstrous. Their role is to pursue the treasure-hunt-
ers and drive them into the final ring.

example terrors: A mass of undefined flesh covered in hungry mouths; Shad-

owy claws that are only visible in your periphery; Children that appear to be
carved of granite approach with blood-speckled mining tools

The temptations in Ring 4 are just out of reach. They’re right there, on the ta-
ble, waiting to be grabbed. All the treasure-hunters need to do is push a little
bit further. They exist to beckon to the characters, to drive them to desperate
and foolish action.

example temptations: Golden bracelets and necklaces woven with precision

into a massive web; A vast, untouched library accessible only through a tight crawl
space; Piles of gemstones glimmering at the bottom of a still pool

Ring 5

The terrors in Ring 5 are psychological. They exist to pit characters against one
another and make them relent to their eventual fate.

example terrors: Monstrous promises in exchange for attacking your fellow

treasure-hunters; Isolation and abandonment; Doppelgangers

The temptations in Ring 5 are always things that other characters possess, or
are perceived to be in possession of. If there is something one character des-
perately wants, it should fall into the hands of another.

example temptations: Manifestations of important figures from your drive;

The thing you always wanted, held by a fellow treasure-hunter; A ritual to grant
your wishes, requiring just a sacrifice or two

A sample incursion is provided on the following pages.

GAME MASTER’S
INCURSION: TOMB
GUIDE
OF 10,000 DREAMS
The forest is old and full of nightmares. But you know the path. Through
the maze of brush and crushing darkness, you know where temples erected
to long-forgotten god-kings still lie untouched. All that rests within them is
yours for the taking. Will you tread carefully, and leave with riches and renown
beyond your wildest dreams? Or will you learn—far, far too late—that the
forest has awoken from its fitful slumber?

THEME

Sleep

MOMENTS

These moments can be used to provide texture to the world and reinforce the
theme. Pepper them in at any point along the journey.
Thousands of dragonflies in torpor, attached to trees and tents
A gentle humming sound, like a lullaby
A sudden warm breeze that smothers like a blanket
The cries of night animals (owls, frogs) during daylight hours
A bear in hibernation, unwakeable
A garden of stone statues, nothing in common but their closed eyes
A hole dug for a grave, left empty
A slow breathing, emanating from the earth itself
A fluttering form passes at the edge of your peripheral vision
Cricket chirps happen at increasingly greater intervals
Memorable trees and stones appear in the wrong location
Boots become heavy and walking slows, though the ground is not muddy
The moon appears through the forest canopy, though it should be daytime
A marker stone is discovered, covered with symbols evoking sleep
Stones used as head rests during camp are later identified as gravestones

CONDITIONS

These are conditions that your treasure-hunters might be affected by when

their Ruin increases. They don’t need to be permanent, but should show that
the forest is starting to have its way with them.
Blurry vision
A desire to lie down
Inability to read
 INCURSION: TOMB OF 10,000 DREAMS
Vertigo induced by a feeling of falling
Things from your dreams manifesting around you
Sudden time jumps
Every shadow seems to show a night sky full of stars
A feeling of pins and needles in one of your limbs
Temporary paralysis or unresponsive limbs
Weapons or other tools appear as strange objects

RING 1

terrors: A rival band of treasure-hunters have followed the party, willing

to threaten and injure them to get information about the tomb. They should
feel familiar, appearing similar to the party itself in a few oddly specific ways.
Ask the players what kinds of things are familiar about them. This can be an
opportunity to describe features and mannerisms of their own characters by
contrasting them against a third party. The rivals are easily overpowered and
dispatched. The manner in which they're dispatched will show you the party's
propensity for violence.
temptations: The rival treasure-hunters should drop a rumor or leave some-
thing behind that speaks very specifically to the riches held in the tomb. “The
stuff of dreams” is a good phrase to drop in. During this ring, ask questions
which get the party talking about what they would do with their earnings, in
order to learn about their drives.

RING 2

terrors: Night comes more quickly than anticipated, forcing the party to
either set up camp or travel in the darkness. Someone should fall or almost fall.
The use of a stretcher or other horizontal travel might make an appearance
here, as that provides foreshadowing for the horizontal movement that will
appear in Ring 4. During this ring, ask questions about their fears and how the
forest seems to be actively working against them.
temptations: The party discovers a garden of stone statues or an unmapped
graveyard, with plaques or headstones listing the names of the advisors of the
king held in the final tomb. Ask the party what myths their culture still tells
about the king or how the old civilization met its end. Try to reincorporate
these ideas in later rings.
INCURSION: TOMB OF 10,000 DREAMS

RING 3

terrors: The party should feel forced to make camp. At least one party mem-
ber dreams of another member of the party betraying them.
temptations: During camp, someone finds rations they didn’t pack, but that
remind them of home or of their drives. Aim to get them talking about their
drives, and specifically ask them “what is your dream?” During this ring, ask
them what has kept them from achieving their drives so far. Look for oppor-
tunities to connect their backstories together, especially if you can show how
one character has held another back or kept them from their goals.

RING 4

terrors: The forest begins to wake. Things that should be asleep or long dead
start to rise. The stone statues from the garden hunt the party. Vengeful spirits
try to include the party members in reenactments of the spirits’ nightmares.
The party seeks refuge in the mouth of the tomb. Never describe the mon-
strosities in shorthand. There are no golems or ghosts here. These are relentless
chimeras bound in stone and violent winds that gnash at you like teeth.
temptations: The treasures of the tomb are visible, but very hard to reach.
To get to them, the party will have to make a tight horizontal crawl through
cold earth or descend a dangerous vertical drop. There is a very real risk of
getting suffocated or of falling. Give them only bad choices.

RING 5

terrors: The party members begin having visions of their fellow treasure-
hunters raiding the tomb and then leaving them behind. Anything a character
has mentioned dreaming about will manifest here, though twisted into a night-
marish form or with dangerous demands of the treasure-hunter. Show them
awful things and keep asking for Ruin Rolls.
temptations: Portals which reflect the drives of the treasure-hunters begin
appearing, but passage is always blocked (inadvertently or purposefully) by
another treasure-hunter. Describe the things they desire in exquisite detail,
but make the real world confusing. Promise them comfort and happiness and
see how far they're willing to go to get them. Make everything tragic.
ORCHESTRA
of OBLIVION
New Bloodlines for Rhapsody of Blood by Jay Iles

By Maria Rivera
Illustrations by Jonny Gray
 THE GUARDIANS OF NATURE
MAKING YOUR GUARDIAN TRADITIONS
Pick one from each or write one of your own:
STATS
Pick One: Style: Rustic clothing; furs and pelts; barely any
clothing.
Chalices 1 Swords -1 Coins 0 Wands 1 if you focus on
Lore: Secret meetings; whispers of nature; hidden
caring for people while the castle corrupts the
enclaves.
outskirts.
Name: A sacred tree or animal; the name the whispers
give you; no given name.
Chalices 0 Swords 1 Coins -1 Wands 0 if you focus on
fighting the corruption at the source, caring little for
HISTORY
material gain.
One bloodline taught you how to fit in with the rest of
society. Set your pact with them to 1. You say what
Chalices -1 Swords 1 Coins 0 Wands 1 if you focus on
social expectation they taught you. They say how it
defending your territory at the cost of personal
has changed since.
relations.

PACT: THE WAY OF GREEN CONTEXT

Each generation, pick or invent one from each:
You prize the natural order. At the end of each session,
pick the explorer who went out of their way to destroy Refuge
the castle, and raise their pact with your bloodline by 1. A great tree, untouched by the castle’s corruption.
The forest closest to the castle.
While at one of your camps, members of other blood- A place the civilized dare not enter.
lines can spend 1-pact to gain an animal companion. Drive
While the animal is alive, they share one of your The dying wildlife in the local area.
explorer’s moves. A great beast turned evil by the Regent.
The encroaching industry of the castle.
SHELTER MOVE Breach
The worn pelt of a beast of the castle.
When your explorer finds Shelter in the castle, they
A growing branch tearing through a wall.
cleanse the area of the castle’s evil. Each explorer may
The wind which carries you to the roof.
clear their contamination track. Their Blood remains
the same.
BLOODLINE MOVES
Pick Two:
MEDICINAL HERBS PHASES OF THE MOON
When you have access to natural herbs and poultices, You can tell what is wrong with the world by looking at
choose one more option from Rest and Relaxation, even the moon. At the beginning of a generation, the GM will
on a miss. tell you if there are any Acolytes that speed the world’s
NATURAL VIGOR blight, what blight they bring, and on what ticks.
Your explorers can mark a second Minor Wound. PLANT WHISPERER
PANACEA You can communicate with trees and other flora. When
When you claim a Forward Base, you may mark contami- you seek Shelter near a tree, you may treat it as a contact
nation to reduce the Regent’s Clock by 1. of your choice.
 THE ARCHDRUID
FOUNDER OF THE GUARDIANS OF NATURE
You’ve left the comfort of the wilds to find the source of all evil. Now
that you have found it, it’s time to destroy it, for the good of the
natural order.

Iron 0 WEAPON Choose One:

Shillelagh (tags: stun, brace)

Glass +1 A rudimentary spear (tags: piercing, fragile)

Sulphur +2
History
Mercury -1 One of the other founders took part in one of your rituals of
communion with nature. Give their bloodline 2-pact on

Blood
you. You say what the ritual was for. They say what was
strange about it.

Looks: Old but fit; young but wise; feral demeanor (and
nature.)

HARM Name: Usher, Amergin, Tlachtga, Bodhmall, Cathbad,

Nameless
 THE FATE DEALERS
MAKING YOUR DEALER TRADITIONS
Pick one from each or write one of your own:
STATS
Pick One: Style: Ostentatious clothing; simple robes;
unrecognizable from common folk
Chalices 1 Swords -1 Coins 0 Wands 1 if you advise
people against the coming harm but lack the military Lore: Cartomancy; astrology; runecasting
strength to save them alone. Name: A mystical name; a defiant name;
Keepers of __________
Chalices -1 Swords 0 Coins 1 Wands 1 if you defy Fate
by gathering as many resources as possible at the HISTORY
expense of others. One bloodline goes to you for prophecies and omens.
Raise your pact with them by 1. They say what fate
Chalices -1 Swords 1 Coins 0 Wands 1 if you stare you saved them from. You say what ill fortune you
death in the face, everything else be damned. haven’t told them about yet.

PACT: THE WAY OF VIOLET CONTEXT

Each generation, pick or invent one from each:
You prize the struggle against Fate. At the end of each
session, pick the explorer who had the worst luck and Refuge
yet prevailed against it, and raise their pact with your A souvenir shop of trinkets and accessories.
bloodline by 1. The local fortune-teller’s tent.
Your house, strangely untouched by evil.
While at one of your camps, other bloodlines can Drive
spend 1-pact on you to get a glimpse of what might kill Ill omens through your readings.
them. They hold 1. They may spend that hold to Strange happenings in your local neighborhood.
declare that this is the vision that they saw, and gain A traveller from the most-likely future.
advantage on the roll. On a miss, they cannot avoid Breach
the noose: they die. (With thanks to Jason Cordova for the Hidden away in a caravan transporting goods.
Visions of Death move, upon which this is based.) A false pact with an Acolyte.
The right place at the right time.
SHELTER MOVE
When your explorer finds Shelter in the castle, they
may conduct some divination. They gain a glimpse of
BLOODLINE MOVES
Pick Two:
an Acolyte’s activities in the castle, and thus, their role. GRIM PORTENTS
When you Resist Doom, you add the following option to the
list: You learn of what the world’s blight will be. All Acolytes
that speed the world’s blight will act on the tick after they’re
GOOD MEASURE initially supposed to.
When you claim a Rest and Relax, you may spend 1 Relic to SWITCHEROO
gain an additional option from the list. When an explorer passes their misfortune unto you, they mark
contamination. When your explorer forces their misfortune
SOOTHSAYERS FOR HIRE unto someone else, mark contamination.
When you sell your fortune-telling services while calling for
Reinforcements, you always get 1 Relic in addition to any other
TWO-FACED COIN
When your explorer rolls a miss, hold 1. Spend that hold to
choice.
gain advantage on a roll.
THE ESCAPIST
FOUNDER OF THE FATE DEALERS
You may not be lucky, per se, but you work with what you get.
Whatever hand Fate deals you, you manage to get what you want,
and then some. This evil threatens to give more than just a few
lemons, though...

Iron -1 WEAPON Choose One:

Thrown Tarot Cards (tags: ranged, grazing)

Glass +2 A Hook and Chain (tags: tether, brace)

Sulphur 0
History
Mercury 1 One of the other founders helped you escape a terrible fate.
Give their bloodline 2-pact on you. You say what would

Blood
have happened if they weren’t there. They say how they
arrived there.

Looks: Sly smile and shady eyes; sad smile and worn
eyes; knowing smile and hard eyes.

HARM Name: Iris, Arsène, Carmen, Erik, Diego, William,

Robin
 THE DEFENDERS OF TOMORROW
MAKING YOUR DEFENDER TRADITIONS
Pick one from each or write one of your own:
STATS
Pick One: Style: Flowing robes; skin-tight suits; trench coats
Chalices -1 Swords 1 Coins 1 Wands 0 if your military Lore: Notes on the other Bloodlines; technology of a
might is unparalleled, but you stick out like a sore time to be; scraps of knowledge
thumb. Name: The name of a future organization; a numeric
designation; an unknown name
Chalices 1 Swords 1 Coins -1 Wands 0 if you’re
stranded in this world with no resources to get back. HISTORY
One bloodline told you about current events… to
Chalices 0 Swords 1 Coins 1 Wands -1 if your them. Raise your pact with them by 1. They say how
knowledge of technology is vast, but know next to this event is significant now. You say why it doesn’t
nothing about the supernatural. matter in the future.

PACT: THE WAY OF CHROME CONTEXT

Each generation, pick or invent one from each:
You prize the preservation of the future. At the end of
each session, pick the explorer who was most Refuge
interested in events to come and raise their pact with An orbital satellite.
your bloodline by 1. The machine with which you came here.
The ruins of an ancient civilization.
While at one of your camps, members of other
Drive
bloodlines can spend 1-pact to gain a strange, yet
The future, lost to the castle.
useful device. They hold 2. They may spend hold
An individual that must survive until the end.
1-for-1 to ask any question in the See Clear list.
Knowledge of historical events.
Breach
SHELTER MOVE Beaming technology.
When your explorer finds Shelter in the castle, they A time machine.
send scouts ahead. Gain 1 hold to Travel the An anomaly in the space-time continuum.
Labyrinth.
BLOODLINE MOVES
Pick Two:
COMMUNICATION DEVICES OUT OF THIS WORLD
You have effective means of long-distance communication. When you call for Reinforcements, add the following to the
Your explorer and their allies can communicate with each list: You hear about otherworldly friends trapped in the castle.
other through great distances without having to Summon Aid. Free them, and they will aid you for the rest of this generation.

DEATH RAY SCIENCE!

Exactly once, when Darkness Falls, you may declare that you When you Resist Doom by replacing occult resources and
have a final solution. Negate the effects of Darkness Falling, ceremonial paraphernalia with technological baubles and
but it will cost you a fragment of your souls. Your future devices, roll +Swords instead of +Wands.
characters start at Blood 1, as if you had left the castle without
claiming the grail and with Blood 4+. ELECTRIC EYE
When you claim a Forward Base, you may spend 1 Relic to
install hidden cameras that will warn you when the base is
about to come under attack.
 THE VISITOR
FOUNDER OF THE DEFENDERS OF TOMORROW

You came here to stop the greatest threat ever known to

the universe. You’ve gotten this far with the help of the
locals, and you will aid them with your knowledge.
Failure is not an option.

Iron 0 WEAPON Choose One:

Ray Gun (tags: ranged, ammo)

Glass +2 Beam Sword (tags: piercing, heirloom)

Sulphur -1
History
Mercury +1 One of the other founders found you and gave you a place to
stay. Give their bloodline 2-pact on you. You say how you

Blood
managed to fit in. They say how you stood out regardless.

Looks: Strange wardrobe; odd haircut; alien.

Name: Agent 42, X, The Wanderer, John, Starblaze

HARM
THREE DOZEN
CONSTELLATIONS
GALMORAN WAS A GREAT HERO ONCE, BUT UZANKA, THE KINGMAKER, is fully
HIS WOUNDS LEFT HIM HELPLESS. He spent visible on the hottest night of the
the remainder of his days asking for year, when the heir apparent of
food or coin under a grand sycamore. Irigabe is traditionally crowned.
As a reminder to a people who would Uzanka's stars can appear in two
send their sons to war and then turn configurations: horns up and the heir
their backs on them, the Goddess is accepted, horns down and the
Eluartha swept Galmoran and his tree priesthood reject the candidate. If
into the stars. Ten stars spread over there's a trick to why every heir
the southern sky to form The Beggar's hostile to the priesthood has been
Tree. rejected, no one outside the
priesthood knows it.
IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT THE CERBERUS
CONSTELLATION, as described by ONE BY ONE, THE STARS ARE DISAPPEARING
Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century, FROM THE SKY. Swallowing an infinite
is no longer recognized by the amount of stars is a long process, and
International Astronomical Union, and we watch for years and decades as they
is instead considered a part of the disappear. Goodbye, Big Dipper,
Hercules constellation. Less well goodbye, Orion. We continue on with
known is the number of Herculean our lives, hiding the horror that one
cultists within the IAU. day, the star that disappears will be
our own.
ONE OF THE CONSTELLATIONS OBSERVED BY
THE MONKS OF THE ORDER OF THE SILVER THE SIGN OF RUFUS, THE BEGGAR,
GLOW is called The Sailing Seeds. foretells a blessing and a curse;
Every few years, the monks update while your destiny is never to achieve
their records of the many stars, but great things, you will constantly be
they've failed to realize the Seeds witness to those who destiny calls.
keep getting bigger. They are coming. Many famous biographers have been born
under this sign, and many more have
ON THE LAST NEW MOON OF THE YEAR, the lied about it.
constellation of Secata, The Owl
Mother, hangs in the sky directly DURING THE THIRD EVENING HOUR on the
above her mountain shrine. At the third day of the third month, if you
height of her alignment, her docents whistle to the stars, they whisper
cast pellets gathered that year into their words. Not to your ears, but to
the pool and read the floating bones your soul.
for guidance.
THE SCORNED LOVER WAS FORMED FROM A
LARNA'S ARROW: THE OTHER GODS WILL SAY HEARTBROKEN SIGH. The chill of their
that Larna has not won the archery heart froze the anguish breath, and
contest as her arrow has not reached the heat of their anger carried it to
the end of its flight. Larna ignores the heavens. A bad omen for
their feeble protests and continues honeymooning couples.
her hunt.
EVERY WINTER FOR MANY YEARS, THEY
FOLLOW THE SIGN OF THE FROGSTAR, my FOUND ORION IN THE NIGHT SKY. Every
lovelies. Follow it down the long year, they kissed. Every year except
swampy road. Come to the town of one, when ocean and desert separated
Duskfork, my pretties. Come to our them—but they did not know this yet,
town and kiss the black toad. so they still leaned in.
(Southern folk song, ca. 1861)
FREHZURA, THE ENTANGLED GRYPHONS, OVER MILLENNIA, THE PEOPLE OF ARMUN
entwine beak and claw in eternal BUILT RELIGIOUS SHRINES ACROSS THE
struggle. Even lore has forgotten the LAND. These sites were chosen as they
source of their strife, and it’s told provided the vistas most favorable to
that staring into the sky’s great viewing the constellation of Vestarta,
melee has been the impetus for many the Mother of Peace, at specific times
rulers to break peace. during the year. Only recently did
they realize that these shrines and
IT IS SAID THAT WHEN ST. PATRICK CAME the connecting lines formed by
TO IRELAND, he cast out all the pilgrimage routes had traced across
snakes. What is not said is that St. the land a frightening pattern—the
Patrick made a deal with Ophiochus, constellation of Pallungong, the
the Snake-bearer in Heaven, to take Father of Destruction.
all those snakes. What is not known is
what will happen when the terms of the IF YOU GO FAR ENOUGH INTO THE PINEY
deal are up... WOODS and look for Jim's Shack of
Mysteries, there's a door inside that
EVERY CHILD IMAGINES SHAPES IN THE leads into a pitch black room. Inside
CLOUDS, but few dare to draw shapes in are all the constellations, outlined
the stars. The druids warn us that with old Christmas lights. They say
copying a constellation of another you can add your own if you offer him
world will open a bridge there. a hand full of silver coins, and it'll
appear in the sky. For a handful of
THE STORY GOES THAT WHEN SEMIAS THE gold coins, you can take it down
INSATIABLE FOUND NOTHING LEFT TO again.
CONQUER, he knotted a ladder out of
every kind of grass and rush, tied it THE FOREMOST POETS AND OPERA SINGERS
to an arrow, and aimed his bow at the are immortalised in the stars of The
moon. On clear nights you can see Muses. They burn as bright as their
Semias’ Ladder marked out in the stellar namesakes, yet all die before
stars, and Semias himself as the their time.
brightest star among them, still
climbing. AETHERE'S SHIELD: Nine yellow stars
around a bright green nebula. Aethere
EAT SAND AND LIGHT THE BONFIRES for set them there to hold Kery the
Zekubrox, The Plague Bearer, has risen Destroyer in place for a thousand and
in the northern sky. Soon all will be four years. The nebula boils with
nauseous and red boils will cover fury.
their lips. The crow roosts upside
down until the scourge passes. Light THE FACTORY PRODUCES CONSTELLATIONS AT
lamps! Eat sand! A RATE OF ONE PER WEEK. Forged in the
sun’s light, the stars are launched
EVERY SPRING, WHEN ARTAX IS IN THE into the sky at the weekly Festival of
HOUSE OF GRIOVAER, the children of the Filling. The children sing of the day
village wander to moonwell and gather when the sky will be glutted with
the holywater from it. The legend says sun-smelted fragments, and there will
that if one year the children don't be nothing more to fear from the
get the water, the demon Hastrufaal night.
will rise and destroy the village and
enslave the people. IN THE SAME WAY THE OCEAN'S TIDE is
based on the moon’s movement,
constellations’ gravitational tide is
based on the movements of unsensible
entities. The gravitational tide is
coming in fast.
THE NIGHT THEY REALIZED THEIR NAVIGATOR HAD THE BALLOONIST WAS KIND, GENEROUS, AND
SET COURSE for the left hand of Gustave the BELOVED BY HIS FRIENDS; but he was
Bone Mariner was a fraught one. Every sailor devoted only to the sky. He was always
knows that celestial skeleton’s eager to get back in his balloon,
bleached-bone fist crushes all vessels that always venturing higher and farther
steer or drift its course. Yet the captain from home until one day he didn't
stood by the direction. “After battles return. No sign of his bright yellow
wreaked our bow and bounties marked our balloon was ever found. See those five
heads, we’re doomed anyhow... Might as well stars, all yellow? They appeared when
find what solace the old man might hide.” he disappeared. The sky loved him
back, and the sky is a jealous lover.
CHILDREN BORN BENEATH THE SIGN OF THE
BLEEDING SOW are said to have a way with STIR THE SEA WITH YOUR OARS! Clash the
animals, good health, and poor eyesight. bow into the mighty sea king’s waves!
Such superstitious beliefs will get you Beat the drum until your arms fail
laughed at in the cities, but journey you! We sail to fertile shores!
outside them and it's hard to find a shepherd Hugarth the Wayfinder points our way
tending a flock not born at the end of fall. with his astral hand!
All of them are healthy, happy, and
squinting towards the horizon. THE PRANCING CAT BURNS BRIGHTEST AT
THE NEW MOON. They say its light falls
A RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGHT’S on all but thieves and strays.
ORCHESTRA, the Pale Rider is made not of
stars, but a dozen Armathian warships "OUTSIDE THE ABBEY WALLS, far away
traveling in rigid formation to usher in from where the torches blind your
this planet’s final movement. Scientists vision of the heavens, Brother Thomas
calculate the “constellation” will not told me that we could see the Crown of
arrive for several hundred years, so it It'Amatsu in the sky. Did I ever tell
largely carries on its way unheeded. you about It'Amatsu? His spring blade?
His winter blade? How he was
THE PEOPLE OF VORDUNGSTAHL EAGERLY AWAIT THE imprisoned in the sky by the emperor
FAINT CONSTELLATION rising over the eastern for refusing to fight the wind, his
peaks on the winter's solstice. On that lover? We should go see the Crown, I
evening, the astrologers convene to can tell you the stories as we walk."
reconnect the glimmering stars into some
new, creative shape, and it is believed that THE WANDERING SHEPHERD has only one
this discovered form will guide the city's eye, since the Sorcerer King plucked
destiny in the coming year. Every time, the the other from the sky to present to
constellation is christened with a different his lover. A thousand years later, his
name according to the freshly figured kingdom still burns.
pattern that the astrologers have discovered
in those glimmering stars. HE WOULD MAKE THEM THE STARS, said the
god-king. Xyele was foolish and in
THERE ARE NO STARS, just holes where the love and did not think to ask for
god-vandals have scrawled their names too specifics.
hard.

THE PROPHECY CLEARLY STATES a child born at

the exact moment the baleful blue light of
the eye of the Leviathan first breaks over
the horizon after winter will become the
God-King, yet after thousands of such births
(engineered by a brisk trade in vitosal, an
extract allowing timed induction), no such
individual has yet arisen.
CODEX KEEPERS
A Thousand Faces of Adventure, Keeper of the Drunken David Beaudoin, Keeper of the Clock's Fourth Hand
Pirate's Forgotten Wish Michael Beck Esperum, Keeper of the Recorded
Aaron, Keeper of the Child Upon Whom We Dare Not Grievances of the Thousand Heretics
Look Fred Bednarski, Keeper of the Secret of the Ethereal
Jesse Abelman, Keeper of the Moon’s First Memory Sphinx
Rob Abrazado, Keeper of the Purple Falsehood Dan Behlings, Keeper of the Iridescent Ungulates
Quentin Acord, Keeper of the Word that Binds and Mathias Belger, Keeper of the Spectral Hounds
Blinds Del Benjamin, Keeper of the Thunderstorm Chariot
Joaquin Aguirrezabalaga, Keeper of the Blood of Lursiss Aljoscha Beyer, Keeper of the Orichalcum Engine
Vendevogel Alain, Keeper of the Omegatherion of Fasar Al Billings, Keeper of the Dun Spirit of Disobedience
Alan, Keeper of the Wanting Widows of Thon the Sam Birnbaum, Keeper of the Last Light of St. Lannen
Promiscuous the Pure
Jason Alejo, Keeper of the Titan’s Heart Sarah Bolling, Keeper of the Last Lantern Before the
John Alexander, Keeper of the Child Whose Face is a Black Gate
Mirror Boni, Keeper of the Thirteen Principles of Volmun
Zach Alexander, Keeper of the Weeping Cells Jason Boucher, Keeper of the Feathers of the Molting
Brendan Allison, Keeper of the Child Who Creeps and Godling
Crawls Sophia Brandt, Keeper of the Dying Heart
Brian Allred, Keeper of the Spear Eldfuglinn, Which Patrick Brannick, Keeper of the True Name of Abbadon
Burns with the Terrifying Light of the Sun David Bresson, Keeper of the Tortoise Who Mends the
Bryen Alperin, Keeper of the Sibylline Grimoire Heavens
Joe Amon, Keeper of the Astral Blades Brett, Keeper of the Seven False Smiles
Erik Amundsen, Keeper of Pages Touched but Unread Darren Brockes, Keeper of the Agony Songs
Gary Anastasio, Keeper of the Bludgeons of Ecstasy Bromeliad, Keeper of Our Mother's Cool Breath, Bottled
Dustin Andrews, Keeper of the Egg of Existential Bill Brown, Keeper of the Emerald Path
Dreaming Bryan, Keeper of the Festering Estuary
Tom Androy, Keeper of the One Who Sees Through Stephanie Bryant, Keeper of the Vessel that Once Held
Clouds the Silver Dragon's Eyes
Robert Angus, Keeper of the Keystone of the Many Russ Brucks, Keeper of the Demon Idol that Spits Yellow
Worlds Bile
Vincent Arebalo, Keeper of the Dolm Sarcophagus Michael Burdick, Keeper of the Darkest Dream Under the
Gene Astadan, Keeper of the Temple of the Viridescent Mountain
Wyrm Mike Burnett, Keeper of the Fire of Nal-K’aa
John Atwood, Keeper of the Diary of Sanguine is the Eye Brian Burnley, Keeper of the Red Architect’s Impossible
Tom Axon, Keeper of the Sultana’s Blue Dreaming Angle
Misha B, Keeper of the Grand Apotheosis Agatha C, Keeper of the Ebony Cat and All We Deem
Jim B., Keeper of the Two Puppets that Gleefully Above Her
Interrogate Len C, Keeper of the Seven Sisters’ Rings
Thomas Bagley, Keeper of the Cardinal’s Confession Sean Cain, Keeper of the Hive Lord's Firefly Legion
Andrew Bailey, Keeper of the World Teeth Zach Cameron, Keeper of the Teeth Tithings
Chad Bale, Keeper of the Chimes of Misery John Campbell, Keeper of the Dark Shard of Nemrath
Noah Ban, Keeper of the Maze of Unending Pleasure Freya Campbell, Keeper of the Litch Child's Last Rites
Joe Banner, Keeper of the Testifier’s Skull Mike Carlson, Keeper of the Obsidian Forests of Yend
BansheeGames, Keeper of the Lost Child's Breadcrumbs Andi Carrison, Keeper of the Unknowable Words
Michael Barford, Keeper of the Eternal Chime Bill Carter, Keeper of Rengollis's Gaseous Blood
Marco Barreto Bittner, Keeper of the Leonine Child That Matthew Caulder, Keeper of the Bright Eyes of St.
Wails and Stings Hanneffin the Flame
James Barta, Keeper of the Dreary Island of St. Lomax Mark Causey, Keeper of the Lotus-Dweller's Fortunes
the Unseen Marissa Chabon, Keeper of House Fenderan’s Fallen
Jacob Bates, Keeper of the Fleeting Blooms Banner
Joe Beason, Keeper of the True Name of Ashmedai Chromatic Chameleon, Keeper of the Gossamer Crown
Scott Beattie, Keeper of the Worm Bone Frescoes of Good Queen Belinde
Bay Chang, Keeper of the Heart of Lursiss Simone Di Rubbo, Keeper of the Goddess in the Letters
Matthew Chappory, Keeper of the Ever-barren Barley DianaMoon, Keeper of the Bones of the Grey Rangers
Fields Mark Diaz Truman, Keeper of the Clockwork Corvid
Daniel Chartier, Keeper of the Sacred Bees and the Jeffrey Dieterle, Keeper of the Red Drums of Bellona
Honey of Salvation Steve Discont, Keeper of the Kingdom of Amanthi, as
Daniel Chiavaroli, Keeper of the Screams of the Unjust Captured in Miniature by an Unknown Sculptor
Jeremy Christian, Keeper of the Spiral Nemesis Fernando Dolande, Keeper of the Amber Crown of Good
Brendan Clougherty, Keeper of the Five Limbs of Acolla Queen Melys
Jeffery Collyer, Keeper of the Oneirophrenic Chords Ian Donald, Keeper of the Dying Grottoes
Edouard Contesse, Keeper of the Gifted One's Jade David Dorward, Keeper of the Fetid King’s Ashes
Carvings Matt Doughty, Keeper of the Well of Immaculate Blood
Alex Context, Keeper of Our Shared Phantasmagoria Tim Dreier, Keeper of the Bone Crown of Old King Smule
Barry Cook, Keeper of the Galactic Sextant Stefan Droste, Keeper of the Razor Grasslands
Robert Corr, Keeper of the Ram That Whispers Lies Alejandro Duarte, Keeper of the Throbbing Star
Malcolm Coull, Keeper of the Golden Nimbus Rachelle Dube, Keeper of the Many-Named Treasure
Anna Coulter, Keeper of the Teeth of the Two-Tail Giants Bryant Durrell, Keeper of the Golden Shroud
Jason Cox, Keeper of the Vessel of the Devil's Own Mark Durrheim, Keeper of the Little Gravestone Doors
Whiskey Herman Duyker, Keeper of the Beast Masks
Dylan Craig, Keeper of Sun Mother's Holy Mead Eli Eaton, Keeper of the Stone Sparrow’s Heart
Yoshi Creelman, Keeper of the Triton's Blessing Vincent Eaton-Valencia, Keeper of the Orc King's
Jim Crocker, Keeper of the Eight Heavenly Questions of Quivering Regret
Gong-Gong the Dragon Harald Eckmüller, Keeper of the Invisible Mouth of
Ian Crockett, Keeper of the God-King’s Viscera Molek
Jason Crone, Keeper of the Autumnal Princedoms edchuk, Keeper of the Sorrow of Morning Mist Castle
Michael Crowley, Keeper of the Argent Lock Paul Edson, Keeper of the Secret of the Thousand Cuts
Cubano, Keeper of the Iron Troll's Menagerie Matthew Egger, Keeper of the White Bats of Good
Jim Cummings, Keeper of the Silver Rods Queen Jedra
Jason D’Angelo, Keeper of the Merry Abbatoir Jason Eley, Keeper of Lianore's False Lament
d6, Keeper of the Endless Grudge Kurt Ellison, Keeper of the Shining Sadness
Love Dahlgren, Keeper of the Last True Pages Norm Elvin, Keeper of the Refined Rose Dust of Daar
Jerry Daly, Keeper of Time’s Aperture Angúl
Stentor Danielson, Keeper of the Last King’s Fear Tor Erickson, Keeper of Brother Elijah’s Last Breath
Dave, Keeper of the Shrine of the Silent Pantheon Jennifer Erixon, Keeper of the Spider Tombs
Tom Davies, Keeper of the Glossary of Blades Charlie Etheridge-Nunn, Keeper of the Unsolvable
Will Davies, Keeper of the Holy Seals Carved from Riddle
Valoña's Bones Richard Evans, Keeper of the Milk Caves
Alex Davis, Keeper of the Joyous Pit Mitchell Evans, Keeper of the Blackbird’s Brides
Jim Davis, Keeper of the Marmot That Suffers Not in Fabrissou, Keeper of the Apostate's Silvered Skulls
Darkness Katherine Fackrell, Keeper of the Seven Splints of the
Tim Davis, Keeper of the Ghost Cages Demon Crown
Kristen Davis-Owen, Keeper of the Whispering Menace Colin Fahrion, Keeper of the Slaughtered Hearts
Steve Dee, Keeper of the Tabard of St. Jasmine the Joshua Faller, Keeper of the Shrine of Melchior
Blessed Luis Farebrother, Keeper of the Songs of Satyrn's
Joshua DeGagne, Keeper of the Sword of Aloester Sounding
Graymantle Declan Feeney, Keeper of the Violet Crown
Tim Denee, Keeper of the Crawling Portrait Mark Fenlon, Keeper of the Undulating Brood of Clarissa
Warren Denning, Keeper of the Shambling Madness Dunlop
Jacob Densford, Keeper of the Rusted Metropolis Robert Ferguson, Keeper of the Mighty Thews
Rob Deobald, Keeper of the Child Who Turns the Key Scott Field, Keeper of Malvett's Living Dream
Alex Derbyshire, Keeper of the Blue Masquerade The Fifth World, Keeper of the Wisdom of Emerald
Aaron DeRosa, Keeper of the Silver Dragon’s Second Nightmare
Heart Klint Finley, Keeper of the Book of Marvels, Wired Shut
Joseph DeSimone, Keeper of the Secret that Allows Us Forever
to Sleep at Night Finn, Keeper of the Fungoid Blessing
Steven desJardins, Keeper of the Black Between the Andrew Fish, Keeper of the Path of Cenduwain
Stars Rose-Whisperer
Mark DesLauriers, Keeper of the Goblet of the Maudlin Asbjørn Flø, Keeper of the Ten Hidden Keys
flyaturtle, Keeper of the Red King's Heart Haiduc, Keeper of the Meat Orchards
Adam Flynn, Keeper of the Six-Tailed Dog-beasts Seth Halbeisan, Keeper of the Nectar Which Shall Never
Kevin Flynn, Keeper of the Vermin Chaplet Touch Our Lips
Justin Ford, Keeper of the Tilth Maven's Jaw Antler Justin Hamilton, Keeper of the Last Tears They Shed
Daniel Fowler, Keeper of the Unidentified Artifacts Noella, Keeper of the Tome of Forgotten Fae Remedies
Tom Fowler, Keeper of the Woman Who Witnessed the Hans, Keeper of the Wolf-King's Last Fear Sarah Walsh,
First Murder Keeper of the Star Whale's Lament
Josh Fox, Keeper of the Pitch-Black Sails hansbuetow, Keeper of the Echo Plantations
Lowell Francis, Keeper of the Black Quill Michael Hansen, Keeper of the Shriven Monks Who Have
Francisco, Keeper of the Blood-Soaked Corridor Lost All but One Mote of Hope
Brian Frank, Keeper of the Reflecting Pool of Galaurang A.D. Hardman, Keeper of Volcar the Red's Obsidian
Blaise Freeman, Keeper of the Zombie Queen's Hammer
Pheromones Robert Harper, Keeper of the Golden Library of
Michael Friese, Keeper of the Smoke Sylphs Anduul-Ran
Mirko Froehlich, Keeper of the Man Who Dies Every Patrick Harris, Keeper of the Endless Spire
Third Day Bethany Harvey, Keeper of the Crying Mirrors
furst77, Keeper of the Invisible Candle Andrew Hauge, Keeper of the Malefactor's Tender Heart
Tomer G, Keeper of the Squamous Beast Below Matt Hayles, Keeper of the Child Who Cannot Cry
Hayley G, Keeper of the Selkie’s Secret Rob Hebert, Keeper of the Leonine Sun
Angel Garcia Jimenez, Keeper of the Glass Bridges Blaise Hebert, Keeper of the Living Wick of Gautama's
Nicolás Garcia Lanza, Keeper of the Mossy Robes of the Candle
Green Monk James Heide, Keeper of the Manifest of the Ship of the
Zachary Garth, Keeper of the Ever-Burning Fury Damned
Josh Gary, Keeper of the Windswept Plane of Dust Michael Heiligenstein, Keeper of the Child Who Repeats
Charles Gatz, Keeper of the Last Words of the Drowned the Numbers
Men Vee Hendro, Keeper of the Laments of the Awful Sea
Rowan Gavin, Keeper of the Sentient Mist Edward Hickcox, Keeper of the Bridge of Wanderers
Gary Gehrke, Keeper of the Nightmare Diadems Andrew Hicks, Keeper of the Hell of the Upside-Down
Gregory Gelder, Keeper of the Knight of Mums Sinners
Michele Gelli, Keeper of the Woman Who is a Nest for Bryanna Hitchcock, Keeper of the Blight Goat and Its
Serpents Five Ever-Hungry, Ever-Gnashing Mouths
Walter German, Keeper of Galotta's Scarlet Dance Kyle Hodnett, Keeper of the Secret of Clovis
Joshua Gilbreath, Keeper of the Elven King Who Never Stout-Hearted
Was Nick Hollingsworth, Keeper of Tarnat’s Prayer for Peace
James Gibson, Keeper of Beltherion Brightlord's Shadow Danny Hood, Keeper of the Fabulous Fish Parade
Daniel Gill, Keeper of the Vial of Dwarf Tears, Secret Nicholas Hopkins, Keeper of the Passage to Dim Carcosa
Shame of Their Race Nicholas Hopkins, Keeper of the Space-Borne Memory
Raymond Goerke, Keeper of the Willow Crown of Old that Creeps into Our Dreams
King Celadon Jake Householder, Keeper of the Sky Tribunals
Edgar Gonzalez, Keeper of the Iridescent Forest Logan Howard, Keeper of the Broken Blade
K Grandberry, Keeper of Twilight's Heartfelt Whispers Stephen Humphreys, Keeper of the Puppeteer's Shadow
Matthew Gravelyn, Keeper of the Twelve Graven Images Sid Icarus, Keeper of the Box Into Which We Dare Not
Luke Green, Keeper of the Covert Tools of the Eight Reach
Immortals James Iles, Keeper of the Ruined Legacy
Christopher Grey, Keeper of the Lies of the Child Insanodog, Keeper of the Porcelain Lantern Which Shall
Kingdom Never Be Lit
Greyhoof, Keeper of the Jale Putrescence insert quest here, Keeper of the Silver Light of St.
Derek Grimm, Keeper of the Spirit Discs Lannen the Pure
Tre Grisby, Keeper of the Broken God's Final Indignity Spencer Isdahl, Keeper of the Steel Blessing of Ares
Andrew Gross, Keeper of the Fell Emperor’s Last Breath Zachary Isom, Keeper of the Nameless Queen's
Ollie Gross, Keeper of the Ministry of Embers Sobriquet
Paul Groudas, Keeper of the Rusted Crown of Old King Adam Jacobson, Keeper of the Eagle Knight's Cloak
Murrg Sarah Jacobson, Keeper of the Lion Child Who Wails and
Matthew Gushta, Keeper of the First Oak Stings
Lloyd Gyan, Keeper of the Seven False Smiles Jake Rides Again, Keeper of the Woman Who Scrawls the
Gene Ha, Keeper of the Gaze, Adoring and Wanton Symbols
Tony Hahn, Keeper of the Tongue of Gormakir the Cruel Jason, Keeper of Harmony Bleakwood’s Pain Diary
Johan Jaurin, Keeper of the Laughing Chaos Simon Landreville, Keeper of the Penumbral Phalanx
David Jay, Keeper of the Red and Endless Tankard Jesse Larimer, Keeper of the Wisdom of the
Andrea Jelen, Keeper of the Rootless Forest Eight-Legged She
Scott Jenks, Keeper of the Gelid Offspring Martin Larsson, Keeper of the Mutinous Younglings
Tim Jensen, Keeper of the Pilgrim’s Forge Andrew Lawton, Keeper of the Child Whose Face is
K Jeremy, Keeper of the Bloody Road to Bellet Osc Naught but Eyes
jestr, Keeper of the Skyward Mockery Rolan Le, Keeper of the Starlit Tomes of Astromancy
Joe, Keeper of the Six Keys of the Elements Leckie, Keeper of the Pedigree of Two-Faced Demons
Josh, Keeper of the Lapis Mysteries Petri Leinonen, Keeper of the Cavernous Bile Ducts
Justin, Keeper of the Nightmare Créche Jon Lemich, Keeper of the Star of Selem
Neal Kaplan, Keeper of the Ceramic Moon Dials of the Arthur Lender, Keeper of the Dire Pigs of Moloch
Terpsichore Witches Sean Leventhal, Keeper of the Revenant Chord
Karlo, Keeper of the Midnight Court of Old Queen Rubin Levinson, Keeper of the Golem's Eyes
Rianne Brian Lewandowski, Keeper of the Prime Ascetic, Keeper
Stephen Karnes, Keeper of the Hare Skull and the Blue of Nothing
Candle David Lewis, Keeper of the Titan’s Skull
Kassidy, Keeper of the Flask of Sorrows Daniel Lewis, Keeper of the Unspeakable Fixation
Joshua Kershaw, Keeper of the Conch Shell Horn of Melissa Lewis-Gentry, Keeper of the Dolls of Old King
Nammu Clay
Lucian Khan, Keeper of the Delightsome Corpse Jason Li, Keeper of the Descendants of the Rain Wyrm
Colin Kierans, Keeper of the Blood Binding Chamber J.D. Lichauco, Keeper of the Silent Chimes
Tomasz Kijas, Keeper of the Forest of No Return Shane Liebling, Keeper of the Unlearnable Alphabet
Andy Kitkowski, Keeper of the Scrolls of Heaven and Arnulph Lisieux, Keeper of the Winter Reverie
Earth Tyler Lominack, Keeper of the Burning Pages
Matthew Klein, Keeper of the Crystal Grotto Benjamin Longcor, Keeper of the Child Who Has No
Daniel Klein, Keeper of the Many-Jointed Mud Mummer Shadow
Charles Klempay, Keeper of the Irresistible Mule, Eric Loren, Keeper of the Drowned Colossus
Luscious with Treasure and Fat Eduardo Lorente, Keeper of the Chambers of Gentle
Julian Kluge, Keeper of the Key to Zee'Tha Understanding
Renee Knipe, Keeper of the Wayward Samurai and the Bryan Lotz, Keeper of the Skull of the Wax Child
Welcome We Gave Him Kevin Lovecraft, Keeper of the Flesh-Bound Book
Ryan Knott, Keeper of the Locks without Key Benjamin Loy, Keeper of Evlaar's Glass Bellows
Patrick Knowles, Keeper of the Violation Hymns Ludo, Keeper of the Malign Mouth of Danjeel the
Jonathan Korman, Keeper of the Bleak Lady's Last Confessor
Candle Hosea Lueke, Keeper of the Black Prism Protocols
Ilmari Korpi, Keeper of the Path of Cenduwain Chris Lutes, Keeper of the Blighted Egg
Rose-Whisperer Ryan Macklin, Keeper of the God Sarcophagi
Ben Kramer, Keeper of the Book of False Rituals Rory MacLeod, Srorrim Ni Nees Eb Ylno Nac Hcihw Taht
Mischa Krilov, Keeper of the Emerald Voice Fo Repeek
Tamás Krisztin, Keeper of the Five Hundred Years Stolen Mad Hatter, Keeper of the Vein-Seeking Tongue
Out of Time magnesium, Keeper of the Spider Tombs
Eike Kronshage, Keeper of the Chained Wolf, Herald of Kira Magrann, Keeper of the Singing Serpent’s Nest
Nothingness Jeremy Mahr, Keeper of the Almanac of Leng
Chris Krueger, Keeper of the Four Mysteries of the Steve Mains, the Keeper Who is Beyond Our Reach
Carnelian Empress Malex, Keeper of the Temple of the Golden Sky
Taejas Kudva, Keeper of the Screaming Statuary Eric Maloof, Keeper of the Child Who is a Nest for Spiders
Eli Kurtz, Keeper of the Blade of the One-Armed Rudy Mangual, Keeper of the Orphan's Kiss
Swordsman Josh Mannon, Keeper of the Twisted Teeth of Garthuul
Brian Kurtz, Keeper of the Law Library of Maedrovel Manu, Keeper of the Little Box with a Tongue and Mirror
Urosh Inside
Eli Kurtz, Keeper of the Blade of the One-Armed Michael Marciano, Keeper of Moonweaver's Celestial
Swordsman Cloth
Daniel Kusan, Keeper of the Child Who Has No Shadow Aaron Marks, Keeper of the Skull Which Catches the
Marcy L, ]Keeper of the One-Way Door Blood
Taylor LaBresh, Keeper of the Prismatic River Manu Marron, Keeper of the Automata Philosophica
David LaFreniere, Keeper of the Six Questions Eugene Marshall, Keeper of the Last Flame that Burned
Ric Lanciotti, Keeper of the Sapphire Temple in the Firmament
Kevin Marshall, Keeper of the Chains of the Nameless Elias Mulhall, Keeper of the Child Who Dies Each Night
Kings Alex Murphy, Keeper of the Sympathetic Stiletto, Sticky
Mike Martens, Keeper of the Thousand Verses of with Eye Juices
Voe'huul Dude Mysterio, Keeper of the Eyes of the First Pirate
Keith Martin, Keeper of the Woman Who Screams the Brent Naylor, Keeper of the Star Beyond the Veil
Prophecies Tiphanie Neely, Keeper of the Phantom Penitents
Robert Masella, Keeper of the Soothing Mists of St. Phillip Neitzel, Keeper of the Oculus Tenebris
Fenton the Merciful Keith Nelson, Keeper of Braegon's Anguished Ashes
J. Brandon Massengill, Keeper of the Lich-Bone Die Skyler Nelson, Keeper of the Child Dressed in Borrowed
Ryan Mather, Keeper of the Child Who Eats Her Own Skins
Fingers Adam Ness, Keeper of the Axe of Jeffery Bleakwood
Michelle Matsutani, Keeper of the Golden God-Poppies Ren Neuhoff, Keeper of the Wind’s Forgotten Songs
Colin Matter, Keeper of the Labyrinth Beneath the Sands Ben Newland, Keeper of the Unlit Effigy
Mikel Matthews, Keeper of the Scarification Blades Joshua A.C. Newman, Keeper of the Bronze Glyphs
Andru Matthews, Keeper of the First Murderer's Knife Chris Newton, Keeper of Where the Lone Wolf Sleeps
Christine Maunsell, Keeper of the Alchemical Blade Jessica Niles, Keeper of the Horn that Echoes the Cries of
Donogh McCarthy, Keeper of the Nine Dread Names the World
Jim McCarthy, Keeper of the Yellow Tree's Oozing Heart Sean Nittner, Keeper of the Wolves of Fall
Stephen McClanahan, Keeper of the Resonant Robert Nolan, Keeper of the Furtive Manikin
Heartstones Adam Nordin, Keeper of the Vault of Atrocities
Lee McDaniel, Keeper of the Crown of King Ahanu the Candida Norwood, Keeper of the Everlasting Wound
Laughing nurdertim, Keeper of the Mechanical Mastermind of
Tom McGrenery, Keeper of the Two Tongues Havena
Josh McIllwain, Keeper of the Blood-Soaked Corridor Nick O’Brien, Keeper of the Libidinal Journals of the
Anthony McIntosh, Keeper of the Chains of the Lust-Sages of Planet Zroth
Nameless One Tyler Oden, Keeper of the Blessed Venom Sacs
Casey McKenzie, Keeper of the Pain Repast Adam Oedekoven, Keeper of the Record of Fae Lineages
Alex McManamon, Keeper of the Rainbow Shores okokok, Keeper of the Carnifax of Hyluren
Lauren McManamon, Keeper of the Secrets of Quachil Andy Olson, Keeper of the Broken Bones of Askorath
Uttaus Johannes Oppermann, Keeper of the Temporal Rift
Ryan McNeil, Keeper of the Floating Flesh Monolith Oriflamme, Keeper of Moonpoison's Magnificent
Christo Meid, Keeper of the Tainted Feast Hurdy-Gurdy
Daniel Mejia-Onat, Keeper of the Wind God's Lungs Justin Ortega, Keeper of the Midnight Palace
Nery Mejicano, Keeper of the Magister’s Chain Timothy Osburn, Keeper of the Wyrm’s Black Lectionary
Alex Meltsner, Keeper of the Book of Infinite Zeroes Ray Otus, Keeper of the Endless Page
Michael Mendoza, Keeper of the Sleeping Pygmy Jen Overstreet, Keeper of the Wax Forest and All Who
Darius Meskauskas, Keeper of the Unseen Moons Must Remain There
Corey Metcalfe, Keeper of the Most Delectable Wyrm James Page, Keeper of the Seed-Sacks of Jonjon
Viscera Applecore
David Miessler-Kubanek, Keeper of the Meaning of the Mike Panciera, Keeper of the Quay of Memory and
Valiant Child's Sacrifice Sadness
Darren Miguez, Keeper of the Boxes that Once Held Thorsten Panknin, Keeper of the Thirteenth Bell of
Innocence Lahurdta
Kristopher Miller, Keeper of the Chain That Bound Thyme Paradox, Keeper of the Unspoken Oath
Desmond the Soul-Shattered Will Patterson, Keeper of the Child's Dream
Jason Mills, Keeper of the Nameless Guilt of House Chris Paul, Keeper of the Pungi of the Serpent Queen
Castafiel Paul, Keeper of the First Seer of Anglemoore
Ainar Miyata, Keeper of the Corpse Pierced with a Ivan Pawle, Keeper of the Merry Axe of St. Lucina the
Hundred Blades Mad
Steve Moore, Keeper of the Final Syllable, Which Must Wayne Peacock, Keeper of the Amber Horn of Heléthe
Not Be Uttered Pedro Pereira, Keeper of the Maggot Godling
Christopher Moore, Keeper of the Five Poisons Patrick Perkins, Keeper of the Vernal Extraction
Blaine Moore, Keeper of the Ancient Ungulate Jonathan Perrine, Keeper of the First Particle From
Jim Morris, Keeper of the Darkstar Instruments Which All Else Came
Harry Morris, Keeper of the Sebayt of Silver Dreaming Michael Petersen, Keeper of the Voidreaver Idol
Jim Morrison, Keeper of the First Starlight Loren Peterson, Keeper of the Chronicle of Masks
David Morrison, Keeper of the Tears of Lost Children
Jan A. Petrykowski, Keeper of the Irresistible Sendings of RPG Kitchen, Keeper of the Plentiful Cauldron
Azzzurbal Richard Ruane, Keeper of the Sacred Malignance
Philippe, Keeper of the Sentry Pines Russell, Keeper of the Smoking Mirrors
Jason Pitre, Keeper of the Planar Pathways Robert Ruthven, Keeper of the Hidden Moors
Adrian Polegre, Keeper of the Temple of the Viridescent James Ryan, Keeper of the White Kettle Estuary
Wyrm Blake Ryan, Keeper of the Words of Dissolution and
Leandro Pondoc, Keeper of Danelle Bleakwood’s Wonder
Blood-Stained Candelabra Blake Ryan, Keeper of Those Who Feel the Harrowing
Kurt Potts, Keeper of the City that Never Was Eternity
Julien Pouard, Keeper of the Phantom Penitents Ali Ryder, Keeper of the Blood Archive
Michael Prescott, Keeper of the Serpent Coil Throne Ramanan S, Keeper of the Book of Old Supplications and
Scott Puckett, Keeper of the Six Hands of the Child Rites
Lu Quade, Keeper of the Cloak of Logan Stormbreaker Marco Antonio Salazar Matamoros, Keeper of the
Mike Quintanilla, Keeper of the Spagyric Manifolds Twilight Hunting Grounds
Robert Quintero, Keeper of the Library of Eidoloss Marius Salsbury, Keeper of the Milk of the Serpent
Michael Raichelson, Keeper of the Maddening Rhymes Queen
Catherine Ramen, Keeper of the Blood-Stained Greg Sanders, Keeper of the Fragrant Void
Carnations CJ Sands, Keeper of the Womb of a Thousand Sorrows
Ary Ramsey, Keeper of the Museum of Grotesques João Felipe Santos, Keeper of the Order of the Crimson
Sawyer Rankin, Keeper of the Inevitable Kiss of the Knife
Grave Samuel Sarjant, Keeper of the Devil’s Decoction
Johannes Rasmussen, Keeper of the Nine-Fold Edge Sasha, Keeper of the Mistletoe Arrows of St. Aryndion
Frank Reding, Keeper of the Land that is Naught but Salt Ray Sawyer, Keeper of the Oblique Atlas
and Mysteries Ellen Saxon, Keeper of the Milk-White Putrescence
Alun Rees, Keeper of the Unlit Effigy Mendel Schmiedekamp, Keeper of Grandmother
Gerrit Reininghaus, Keeper of the Voice of the Silent Bleakwood’s Recipe Box
Emperor Aniket Schneider, Keeper of Nine Rooks
Frank Reiss, Keeper of the Thirteen Rhyming Spells of Noah Schoenholtz, Keeper of the Almadin Eye
Kiesow Daniel Scholler, Keeper of the Promise of the Jaguar
Peter Reitz, Keeper of the Child Who Neighs and Her Prince
Sack of Dreaming Crickets John Schuhr, Keeper of the Sanctuary of the Endless
Jose Reta, Keeper of the Baron's Hidden Succor Void
David Rezak, Keeper of the Three-Headed Coin Martin Schwartz, Keeper of the Yellow-Eyed Mask
Rhys Makes Things, Keeper of the Egg of the Immortal Jeremy Scott, Keeper of the Brazier of Azad-Kan
Serpent Victor Segell, Keeper of the Crown of Good King Edwall
Sam Richardson, Keeper of the Inscrutable Circle Seth, Keeper of the Wanderer’s Prison
Gina Ricker, Keeper of the Princess Whose Mouth is Sherman Sheftall, Keeper of the Impaling Tower of Old
Filled with Bone and Blood King Allonde
Ferrell Riley, Keeper of the Rodent's Wisdom Rach Shelkey, Keeper of the Tomb of the Winter Khan
Tyler Rithmiller, Keeper of the Nine Protocols Mike Shema, Keeper of the Endless Fermentation of the
David Rivas, Keeper of the Jale Dream Abyssal Grains
Maria Rivera, Keeper of the Crystal Shards Alexander Shendi, Keeper of the Umbral Seamstress
Mike Riverso, Keeper of the Untouched Hoard Dan Shimizu, Keeper of the Child Who is Wreathed in
Paul Rivers, Keeper of the Sandstone Mysteries Flame
Robbie, Keeper of the Feast of Fallen Stones Siddharta, Keeper of the Archlich's Last Breath
John Roberts, Keeper of the Sword of St. Murienne Asher Silberman, Keeper of the Basalt Crown of Old King
James Robertson, Keeper of the Undying Voice Abadon
Richard Rogers, Keeper of the Fathomless Well Aslan Silva, Keeper of the Unknowable Words
John Rogers, Keeper of the Leveraged Library Rustin Simons, Keeper of the Buried Box Which Must
Clarity Rose, Keeper of the Torment Gardens Never Be Found
Gerald Rose Jr, Keeper of the Mortician’s Tesseract Heart Fraser Simons, Keeper of the Neon Veil
Jesse Ross, Keeper of the Broken Forge Kyle Simons, Keeper of the Tome of Heroes
Dylan Ross, the First Keeper Samuel Slocum, Keeper of the House Without Doors
Darold Ross, Keeper of the Highest Ideals of the Bearded Matt Smith, Keeper of the Six Songs that Stain the Soul
Sages of Tiger Mountain Sean Smith, Keeper of the Stone Certificates
David Rothfeder, Keeper of the Hull of the Void Hatred Scott Smith, Keeper of the Tenth Face of Kali
Anders Smith, Keeper of the Knight of Mourning Lillies Evan Torner, Keeper of the Great Serpent’s Golden
Oliver Smock, Keeper of the Blind Nightbird Nimbus
smolghost, Keeper of the Canary Bridge and the Pact Tina Trillitzch, Keeper of the Eight Phrases
That Was Made There Will Triumph, Keeper of Tolgath, Arm of the Emperor
Luiz Paulo Soares Ferraz, Keeper of the Violet Spectacle Jason Tryon, Keeper of the Monkey's First Lie
Zak Soeria-Atmadja, Keeper of the Child Priest's Unholy Charlie Tsai, Keeper of the Corpse Cloak of the Storm
Pestilence Giant King
Leonard Souza, Keeper of the Six-Legged Substance Mark Tygart, Keeper of the Soul Mill
Lonnie Spangler, Keeper of the Nine Temptations of Pest Mikael Tysver, Keeper of the Hymnal of St. Evelyn the
Paul Spraget, Keeper of the Choir of Fallen Angels White
Spenser Starke, Keeper of the Woodwitch's Wine Well Colin Urbina, Keeper of the Copper Skin of the Lightning
Enoch Starnes, Keeper of the Machine That Must Not Tree
Stop Ivan Vaghi, Keeper of the Eyes of Gormakir the Cruel
Maciej Starzycki, Keeper of the Bone Reliquary Mark Valente, Keeper of the Spyglass of the Serpent
Stefan, Keeper of the Leporine Mausoleum Starwatcher
Lennart Steinke, Keeper of the Great Betrayal Adam Vass, Keeper of the Roar of K’al Ha-Whalit, High
Keith Stetson, Keeper of the Woman Who Mutters the Drake of M’huun
True Name of God Phil Vecchione, Keeper of the Cryptic Manuscript
Noah Stevens, Keeper of the Gilded Hour Joost Vervoort, Keeper of the Hollow Squire
Erica Stevenson, Keeper of the Forty Funereal Rites Charlie Vick, Keeper of the Lists of Shame
Steven Stewart, Keeper of the Rose Warden’s Garden RL Vieira, Keeper of the Iron Seals
Vana Stillwater, Keeper of the Weightless Stone Brian Vo, Keeper of the Seclusium of Loshe the Living
Ryan Stimmel, Keeper of the Bronze Sea Tabernacle Sabine Voelkel, Keeper of the Hell Armada
Johannes Stock, Keeper of the Murk Pontiff’s Geas Christian Vogt, Keeper of the Forest of the Moth Prince
Slade Stolar, Keeper of the Crone’s Black Verse Shervyn von Hoerl, Keeper of the Titan’s Womb
Jeremy Strandberg, Keeper of the Central Stone Eric Vulgaris, Keeper of the Harridan’s Many-Hued Hex
Paul Strawser, Keeper of Unclaimed Souls Chad Walker, Keeper of the Riddles of the Emperor of
Matt Stuart, Keeper of the Ulfire Door Rye
James Stuart, Keeper of the Seventeenth Oath of the Janie Walter, Keeper of the Stainless Vessel of St. Evelyn
Silenced Demiurge the White
Aaron Sturgill, Keeper of the Melody Glades Gerwyn Walters, Keeper of the Bleakwood Legacy
Dwayne Summerfield, Keeper of Azurix, the Blue Dust Richard Walters, Keeper of the Blood-Red Violin of
Planet Lagethelin Muse-Taker
Michael Suzio, Keeper of the Memory Circus Daniel Walthall, Keeper of the Idle God and His Infinite
Christian Svalander, Keeper of the Hidden Vortex Library
Jason Swank, Keeper of the Paper Feast Steven Warble, Keeper of the Basin of Vile Ablutions
James Sweetland, Keeper of the Child Who Eats Her Lester Ward, Keeper of the Golden Knot
Own Fingers Noel Warford, Keeper of the Tortoise Who Mends the
Harrison Swift, Keeper of the Supreme Emperor's Heavens
Anguish watergoesred, Keeper of the Rose Maiden's Labyrinth
Ben Swinden, Keeper of the Fell Cairn's Melancholy Steven Watkins, Keeper of the Three Wicked Kings
Alexander T G, Keeper of the Deed to the Ten Hells Mark Watson, Keeper of the Tales of the Forgetful Prince
John Taber, Keeper of the Song that Longs to Die Joe Webb, Keeper of the Lost Archives of Lahaug
TallTallSkye, Keeper of the Melody Glades Nic Webb, Keeper of the Tome of the Exalted
Andrew Tapp, Keeper of the Cannibal King's Ancillary Interrogator
Carnassials Phillip Wessels, Keeper of the Dun Putrescence
Michael Taylor, Keeper of the One Who Grinds Your Skin Matt Wetherbee, Keeper of Palowma’s Candied Delights
Brennan Taylor, Keeper of the Shell of the Fifth World Devin White, Keeper of the Venom of Lursiss
Doyce Testerman, Keeper of the Tainted Chorale Whitt, Keeper of the Ninety-Nine Laws of the Sleeping
Imani Thomas, Keeper of the Alabaster Heart of the Giant
Gnome King Christopher Wiegand, Keeper of the Head of Nerva
Ron Thomas, Keeper of the Spectral Visions Atellus
Christopher Thompson, Keeper of the Library of Atlantis Taylor Wilcox, Keeper of the Child Who Cannot Be Cut
Kyle Thompson, Keeper of the Light of the Peerless Star Will, Keeper of the Thousand Year Cocoon
Owen Thompson, Keeper of the Soul-Grinding Stone River Williamson, Keeper of the Blazing Sigil
Jason Tocci, Keeper of the Thirteen Spears of Num-Hei Isa Wills, Keeper of the Feathers of Regret
Ryan Windeknecht, Keeper of the Pain Manifesto
James Winterbottom, Keeper of the Mellifluous
Flatteries
Jacob Wood, Keeper of the Protoplasmic Pit of New Life
J.D. Woodell, Keeper of the Hymnal of St. Aasu the
Butcher
Jon Xuereb, Keeper of the Star Bears of Kazarak
Jason Yoakam, Keeper of the Child Who Sings the Final
Song
Ömer Aybars Yurdun, Keeper of the Prisoner Beneath
the Mountain
Sam Zeitlin, Keeper of the Grief Engine
Seth Zeren, Keeper of the Thousand-Blade-Pierced
Corpse

Codex Contributors:
Cover illustration by Chris Spence

Developmental editing by Jason Cordova & David LaFreniere

Content editing by Ryan McNeil

Line editing by Lauren McManamon

Layout by Jake Householder except for Trophy, which was laid out by Jesse Ross

Contributors for Miscellany – Three Dozen Constellations:

Robbie Boerth, Barry Cook, Aaron DeRosa, Mathammor Duin, Luiz Ferraz, Jaye Foster, Greg Gelder,
Bethany H, Goblin’s Henchman, Logan Howard, Zachary Isom, Mike Martens, Jen Overstreet, Ryan
McNeil, David Morrison, Pat Perkins, Ferrell Riley, Blake Ryan, Brie “Beau” Sheldon, Asher Silberman,
Matt Stuart, Sabine V, Lester Ward, River Williamson