Song of the Scryptwyrm is a solo mystery game about a stolen memory. Slowly reveal the culprit as you gather clues from people, places, and things around the infinite Great Library.
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. Play 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 Librarian apprentice training, 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 a deck of cards.
Each turn of the game follows the same core game loop:
Mockup template by Emily Entner (oddsandents.itch.io)
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 find 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 enough, a twist occurs to make your path more difficult.
If you aren't out of time and need more clues, pick 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.
The eight core cards of the Collection
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.
Anatomy of a Card
While the game teaches you how to create a collection using standard playing cards, I've also designed a fully illustrated, tarot card-sized version. Every reward tier will include a digital version of this deck; physical reward tiers will also include a discount code for purchasing a set via print-on-demand through DriveThruRPG.
Stretch goals are awesome, but for this project I decided to include everything as part of funding the game itself. This means that upon funding:
Free digital copies of Song of the Scryptwyrm will be made available to anyone who works/volunteers at libraries or in education, or would like to make this game available in those settings.
20 physical copies of Song of the Scryptwyrm will be donated to the Americal Library Association's 2025 International Games Month, allowing libraries around the world to receive them for free. These are in addition to any library donation copies funded by backers.
All ten - yes, ten - collection cards will be included in both the digital and print-on-demand versions of the oracle deck. Card #9 is based on the cross-collab postcard reward from this campaign. Card #10 is hidden in the book!
A print-friendly version of the investigation form will be added as bonus digital content.
A plain text version of the game will be added as bonus digital content.
A written actual play will be added as bonus digital content.
A secrets guide with hints and suggestions regarding various hidden messages will be added as bonus digital content.
A creator commentary version of the game with trivia and design notes will be added as bonus digital content.
Song of the Scryptwyrm starts off with a lyrical story that beautifully sets the tone and then teaches you how to play as you go. It’s full of hidden elements between the pages (like torn bits from one page showing up on another) and documents in various states and forms – basically, the layout itself tells its own story and has a magic to it as well.
Dan is an artist. His medium happens to be brilliant, bibliophilic, bespoke games that evoke magical realism, fables, and spark the heck out of the imagination of anyone who picks them up. This game is a love poem to libraries and stories without end, and will guide and inspire and tease and mystify you and leave you wanting more. It reminds me of every afternoon I ever got lost in a mazelike bookstore or library and imagined I heard tiny giggles in the shelves. GO. GET. IT.
Dan has given us a beautiful love letter to libraries and their keepers. Scryptwyrm is a fantastical romp among the endless library nestled between the yellowed pages of nostalgia and adventure.
“You must identify the thief and return the song to me," said the Scryptwyrm. "To aid you in this endeavor, I offer a gift.”
I'm delighted to have teamed up with TTRPGkids for Pocketopia! If you back applicable Pledge Levels* for both of our campaigns, you will receive bonus items! Since TTRPGkids is funding Greeting Games, a collection of portable, mailable games on cards, it seemed appropriate to offer you a postcard from a community in the Great Library.
As a bonus, this postcard doubles as an additional card for your oracle deck collection, expanding the themes and elements you can call on when you play Song of the Scryptwyrm!
* Applicable Pledge Levels for Song of the Scryptwyrm are those for physical copies of the game.
🎲 WELCOME TO POCKETOPIA—a celebration of portable easy-to-learn tabletop games featuring 50+ creators launching together on BackerKit from March 13 - April 3!
🏆 Here’s how you can earn exclusive event rewards:
Cross-Collab Freebies: Look for projects marked as Cross-Collab partners! Back both projects to earn a FREE reward from each creator. The more pairs you support, the more freebies you collect!
Pocketopia Dice Bag: Back 6 projects or more to unlock this exclusive reward, surveyed and shipped by BackerKit.
⚔️ Rewards at a glance:
2 FREE rewards for every Cross-Collab pair you back (one from each creator!)
1 FREE limited edition Pocketopia 2025 Dice Bag when you back 6+ projects
⭐ PRO TIP: Maximize your freebies by supporting Cross-Collab pairs! For example, support 3 Cross-Collab pairs (6 projects) to earn up to 6 exclusive freebies while unlocking the Dice Bag!
*Only pledges to physical reward tiers or main digital offerings (if no physical items are offered) qualify towards earning these limited FREEBIES. Please refer to individual project pages for unlock requirements.
Looking for more projects to back? Check out these other campaigns currently funding through Pocketopia!
Shipping is only available to the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.
All shipping costs are estimates. Actual shipping will be calculated and charged via the pledge manager after the campaign ends. Please note that physical add-ons will increase this estimate.
Depending on your country, VAT or import taxes may also be charged as part of the shipping. You will be responsible for paying VAT or additional taxes if applicable. This includes any tariffs imposed on the origin country. The print-on-demand collection oracle deck cards will be available through DriveThruRPG. Their printing and shipping costs must be paid separately to DriveThruRPG. Each deck will cost $2.60 to print. Shipping costs vary, but the cheapest options are approximately as follows:
US: $3
Canada: $20
UK: $22
Digital content will be distributed through itch.io. Physical copies of Song of the Scryptwyrm will be printed by PrintNinja.
Fulfillment Timeline
April: Pledge manager opens
May: Digital copies distributed
September: Bonus digital content distributed and shipping details collected
While unexpected challenges can always arise, I've attempted to mitigate the risks by carefully planning each step of the process.
Game Creation: The game is written and layout is nearly complete. The oracle deck is done.
Printing and Fulfillment: I've selected an established printer (PrintNinja) and have factored in potential delays. If any issues come up that will impact the timeline, I will let you know about them.
Shipping Delays: I've built in some buffer time for shipping, but international backers should be aware of potential customs or postal delays.
