The Librarian's Apprentice

2024 CRIT Awards Winner for Best Solo TTRPG! 

Physical Copies: Tabletop Bookshelf, Indie Press Revolution

Press Kit: The Librarian's Apprentice - Press Kit

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THE GREAT LIBRARY

Infinite, ever-shifting, and sometimes dangerous, the Library exists in the space between worlds and times. Among the many who call it home are the Librarians, and only those who truly understand it may join their ranks. You seek to do so.

The path of a Librarian’s apprentice is a long one. Your current task is designed to test your skills at traversing the Library and finding information. Retrieve the six documents requested by your Librarian before the day is out and you will have completed one more step on your journey.

Good luck.

The Librarian's Apprentice is a solo journaling game created with the Firelights Creator Kit by Fari RPGs. The rules will guide you, but you are in control of where the story goes.

To play this game, you will need:

• A journaling method
• A flat surface to build your map on
• A standard deck of cards
• Two six-sided dice
• A small token

Time to play: 30 - 90 minutes, though it can run as long as you wish.  

Touchstones: The Stygian Library by Emmy Allen, the Interstitial Library Circulating Collection, Terry Pratchett’s L-space, and various works from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, including Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Princess Mononoke.

Content: This game consists of three double-sided trifold brochures and a character sheet. All PDFs are flattened for improved printing, with both color and black-and-white versions provided.

• Volume I contains the game rules, actions you can take, and character creation. 
• Volume II contains the bestiary and roll tables for fleshing out areas of the library (descriptors, features, content categories, and document formats), events and secrets to discover, and complications to encounter. 
• Volume III contains roll tables to help flesh out patrons and inhabitants of the Great Library, including descriptors, quirks, library duties, and what information they are seeking.
• The Character Sheet is a bookmark where you can document your stats, fatigue, resources, and familiar.
• The Library Card is a digital prop. Should you ever find your way into the Great Library, it may be handy.

The Online Resources document includes:

• A Google Doc version of the game for use with screen readers.
• Google Doc and audio versions of a Play Guide that provides tips on how to play solo journaling games in general and The Librarian’s Apprentice in particular. The first section covers guiding principles; the second section is a written account of an actual play-through of The Librarian’s Apprentice.
• An online generator loaded with all the roll tables.
• Content for playingcards.io.

License: Released under CC-BY 4.0. You are welcome to take this game and make it yours, hack it, or create something totally new with its mechanics, even commercially.

Sam Leigh of Blinking Birch Games created the curated playlist for use with The Librarian's Apprentice:

• Spotify
• YouTube

The French translation of The Librarian's Apprentice was created by Erell of Axolotl.  Printed copies are available!

This was a really fun game to play, and I loved the setting and how the cards and dice worked in tandem with each other to create a very unique difficulty scale and challenge each round.  The prompts were great and engaging, and the mechanics were complex enough to be interesting without being too complicated to explain to kiddo." (Full Review)

- Steph C | TTRPGkids.com

Playing The Librarian’s Apprentice allowed me to reexperience the magic and mystery of libraries... I loved fleshing out the simple descriptions of documents and complications into more complex objects and scenes, and I wrote something fun just for myself! (Full Review)

- Alenka Figa, librarian

"This was a wonderful, somewhat cozy solo game, with whimsy and a little Pratchett/Henson-style spookiness. The character sheet is a bookmark, people. Put it in one of your favorites, and find it again years later!"

  - Galen Pejeau | Assembly Requisite

"The Librarian's Apprentice expands on the Firelights system in both highly thematic and efficient ways…  Staying true to the Firelights ways, the game provides just enough information to get your mind going, but includes many tools to truly experience a wonderful journey alongside your familiar. Additionally, the layout of the game is beautifully achieved.  Stellar work from start to finish."

- René-Pier Deshaies | Fari RPGs

"Dan has written a masterpiece for us with each piece of the game fitting together perfectly. A joy from the first word, The Librarian's Apprentice gives players all the tools needed to get lost deep in the infinite library on a spectacular adventure.  Packed within the trifold pamphlets are tables brimming with secret knowledge, lore, and mystery to get lost in.  This is a fantastic game."

- Andrew Boyd | Pandion Games

Actual Plays

• Scriv the Bard
• Tabletop Bookshelf
• Black Dragon Dungeon Company - reskinned using Warhammer 40k lore
• Wanderer’s Haven
  • Miniature Monday - creating a mini of the apprentice
  • Solo Sagas - seeking 4 artifacts created using the roll tables