Enter the Codexi

Years and years ago, shortly after launching TLG in 1999, I put forward the concept of a series of mythology books, the Codexi. The inspiration for these books came from the old AD&D Deities and Demigods, a book that tackled the gods of over a dozen myths. Before each chapter stood a short section describing the world view of the various mythologies. This had always been my favorite part of the book, I enjoyed the crash course into history and world view the short few paragraphs offered.  

Thus, the idea for Codexi came to me.

Laid out for the d20 system and set to release in conjunction with the Codex of Erde that I was writing and Gary Gygax's Canting Crew and World Builder, the Codexi would bring in a mountain of material for the game master as well as the player. The focus would be the mythology, but the text would draw out of each mythology spells, combat techniques and similar cultural features peculiar to that mythology; for the GM the focus would be on new monsters, gods, powers, etc. also drawn from the mythology. All that material, folded nicely into the mythology, offered to bring everyone at the table a mountain of usable material. The books would contain the Codex Germania, Codex Celtae, etc.  The Codex of Erde, as its title suggests was part of the series, only being the mythology of Erde/Airhde. It was to launch the whole series; true to form it contained magic items, monsters, spells, equipment, etc.    

The Codex of Erde launched TLG into the game, our first release in hardback and contained material by Gary Gygax. His own Canting Crew and World Building followed in short order. But for a variety of reasons the Codexi never made it out. The Codex of Erde sold very well and quickly became a stand alone product. Our own attention focused on the plethora of Gygax material and we tooled TLG in that direction. By 2004 we added Castles & Crusades to the mix and the Codexi had long been set aside, joining the litany of good ideas time discarded.

Enter Brian Young. When TLG put a call out for new writers in July, Peter Bradley, our art Lord, put me in touch with Brian Young. Brian was ready to hit the ground running with a series of adventures he had in mind. We looked over what he had, liked it, approved it and in short order (literally short order) he was sending us material, the first book Goblins of Mount Shadow landed on my desk within a few weeks. Shortly after that I mentioned greater needs beyond adventure, he pitched an idea he had been working on for some years, a book that explored the mythology of the Celts, with deities, monsters, powers, etc. I remarked that sounded like a series we had set aside over a decade ago.

One conversation led to another and the Codexi rose from the bin of time's discards like the proverbial Phoenix. and before August was over a completed manuscript landed on my desk. We wrestled with the title for a bit, discarded Codex Celtae and adopted Codex Druidum but it did not matter. The Codexi was back. Before that was fully digested Brian began work on the Codex Germania, the next in the series.

So these past few months have seen the birth of a new Troll, Mr. Brian Young. You can read more about him here and check his blog out here. He is a Troll for certain, working every bit as hard as the rest of us do . . . maybe even matching Peter's tireless labor! When asked to make a comment for this article he said only this "Until I joined the Troll Lords, I didn't know that gaming and drinking were symbiotic!"

So without any more babble, Welcome to the Dens Mr. Young. May you resist its incessant tyranny! But if you can't, first round's on me!  

This article first appeared in the Troll's Tusk, the TLG Newsletter. To get your free subscription, click here: Troll's Tusk