G.I. JOE RPG: Cobra Codex

If you want to run a campaign as Cobra characters (yes, Storm Shadow is in this book), or just have the stats for Cobra NPCs and vehichles that your Joes might commandeer, this is the book you need. The game has turned out to be more fun than expected due to being able to play as canonical characters or invent your own. Now you can do it with Cobra, too.

Cobra!!! Need I say more? Chocked full of the many diverse Cobra operatives this is a welcome addition to the already pretty outstanding RPG from Renegade.

As a gamer that grew up in the 80's with G.I. Joe, I could not be happier with this book. It has a great wealth of new character options both for Joe's and Cobra. New equipment, vehicles, weapons, etc galore. I highly recommend this book if you are running the G.I. Joe RPG.

There are details in this book that I didi not know about. The only was it seemed to give very few details on vehicles for COBRA.

Honestly, I got the core rules on a lark- for a filler night game like some of the old school RPGs we had that weren’t so serious- far from it! I was blown away by the book alone- and it continues with the Cobra Codex, the newest sourcebook for GI Joe: RPG from Renegade. Beautifully illustrated with a strong stitched binding and a nice ribbon bookmark, it’s a quality book. The material equally so, and it covers all the eras of Cobra- from early 80s, to the more SF ridiculous stuff, to eco warriors and gangs to Cobra La! In a way that provides it IF you want to use it, a number of additional cobra equipment, character creation, enhanced combat rules, and the most impressive feat- stuff useful for making joes as well! Maybe you defected from Cobra, maybe you had a checkered past, there’s a lot of useful game material here! I’ve heard two big complaints from online reviewers- 1. It doesn’t reprint the rules from the core rule book. Ok, that’s true- but shouldn’t you have the core rules? I don’t see this as a problem because I think if you decide to play this game you will want to have both books. Personally, I am ok with this but I understand how it may irritate others, but I think it’s not an unreasonable marketing decision. 2. The organization of the book. Honestly in all my years of gaming that’s a common thread. Really I don’t think it’s that bad, and follows the same layout as the first book. Mileage will vary. I guess another think to look for is the rule changes and differences in terminology, I think if you are already familiar with the mechanics it’s not an issue but if you’re not well versed you may need to flip back and forth. In all a great sourcebook and those are often a mixed bag. I do think players should be familiar with this and the core rules and game masters should know the rules of the core book well before wrestling with this one, but it’s well worth the work involved, even if you don’t play a cobra campaign it brings more potential to the game and characters as a whole. Fun and highly recommended, from this humble patron.