In Bibliotecs you play as a bibliotec.
A bibliotec is an adventurer who explores the ruins of the past in search of knowledge and memorabilia. They are keen eyed, knowledgeable, and brash. They live to explore. They can fight, they can fight well, but they’re more likely to evade, survey, and report back.
At this stage, the game Bibliotecs does not play out this way. The characters that come out of character creation have some of these elements, but often they’re combat heavy head kickers. Which is cool, yes, but doesn’t quite hit the mark that I am interested in. This is the main reason that production of this game has halted.
You see, Bibliotecs does not have a very defined world. Which was my intent, but I believe by leaving it too loose it has no supports to keep it upright. By being anything, it has become nothing.
But over the holiday break this game kept coming back to me. And I think the issue is that it is actually two games. That Bibliotecs is the name of one game, a solo or co-op exploration game. This comprises a lot of the play style outlined and the oracles in the book. It is the exploration and narrative side of what is there. The combat, the current rules, and all the equipment is another game.
And that game is a skirmish game. A skirmish game that has a base building mechanic attached to it. At the moment, this game is called Freebooters.
I see Bibliotecs and Freebooters as two possible different paths that people from this post-apocalyptic world could take. They’re unique paths, but both filled with danger. Varied roles for the people surviving in this imagined future bring texture to the wibbly wobbly nebulous world the original game is.
Freebooters is the closest to being complete, I think. At least it is the easiest to start play testing. This week we will run our first session. I’ll report back. And I think i’ll have little playtest packet ready to go soon after.
Stay tuned for more post-apocalyptic violence.
Long days and pleasant nights.
Stuart.
Concept art by Kiril Tchangov
