Once upon a time in the infinite and ever-changing Great Library, there lived a fairy tale in search of being told, for that is how such stories survive and grow. It was the tale of an impossible theft, so it found a target, it found a thief, and soon after that, the Scryptwyrm found that a vital song had been stolen from its mind.
Song of the Scryptwyrm is a solo mystery game that slowly reveals the culprit as you gather clues from people, places, and things around the infinite Great Library. It can be played it as a stand-alone game or as a sequel to the CRIT Award-winning RPG The Librarian’s Apprentice, continuing your journey to becoming a Librarian.
- Immerse yourself immediately in the story, learning the rules as you play.
- Gather clues with the aid of your training as a Librarian's apprentice, your familiar, and your Collection - a small oracle deck that reinforces the themes of the Library.
- Craft a ritual for reading your Collection and use it to flavor your experiences.
- Populate the Library with provided characters and locations or create your own using generator tables.
- Explore the game itself for secret messages.
This game is a hack of the Hints & Hijinx solo mystery game system from Pandion Games and uses only human-made art, including elements from Alderdoodle, Galen Pejeau, Emily Entner, and the public domain.
“The song must be recovered before the twelfth chime,” the Scryptwyrm warned. “Fail, and terrible consequences will follow.”
Song of the Scryptwyrm is a 60-page, full color zine that contains:
- Just-in-time instructions that teach you the rules as you play
- 36 potential suspects, contacts, or witnesses, plus generators for creating your own
- 18 locations, plus generators for creating your own
- Tables of motives, methods, and opportunities
- Ephemera from around the Great Library
In addition to the game, you'll need three 6-sided dice and either a deck of playing cards or a copy of the oracle deck described below.
Each turn of the game follows the same core game loop:
- Identify a location for the next step of your investigation.
- Draw and interpret two cards from your oracle deck, known in the Library as your Collection. Use their elements to establish the opportunity and complication that await you in the location.
- Decide on an approach you'll use to try to overcome that complication and discover a clue.
- Your Apprenticeship: useful for research, navigating the Library, and interacting with others.
- Your Familiar: rely on their personality, knowledge, and connection to the Library.
- Your Collection: for when you need greater insight into the situation.
- Roll your Investigation Check.
- If you discover a clue, the dice will tell you which of three suspects it implicates, and the Investigation Track will tell you whether it reveals their name, motive, method, or opportunity. The first suspect with a filled Investigation Track is the thief!
- You may also discover Trouble is brewing. If this happens often enough, a twist occurs to make your path more difficult.
- If you aren't out of time and need more clues, choose your next location!
And so the Head Acolyte pulled forth her collection: a thick stack of bits and scraps of paper bearing symbols, notes, and stains from long use.
Some inhabitants of the Great Library carry custom decks of documents known as collections. By interpreting the symbolism of the documents, they gain insight into a situation: uncovering patterns, identifying challenges, and assessing potential opportunities.
You and your character will both use a collection during the game. Your collection consists of eight cards. Each has a name, a concept, themes, a yes/no oracle response, and a symbol, and each has been created from a different document from the Great Library.
