[#6] Narrative Intelligence
A library that eludes classification starts to classify the adventurers in return
In the Walbrook Public Library the shelves roam, and books obey their own laws of reality. The adventurers are set to work locating rare works in the stacks, along with the people who last attempted to find them before going missing.
In this investigative session the players first learn to navigate the wildwood of shelves, find the three persons who have gone missing, and guide them all back out again. As they travel, the adventurers find themselves in sections that have answers they need or areas that make them feel at home.
Bookcases in the library of the University of Leiden, Engraving by Willem Swanenburgh, 1610. Wikimedia commons
Setting:
This session takes place within the Walbrook Public Library, an older institution located in a regular library sized building. It has long held a reputation for housing older, esoteric works, in addition to being a reliable safe location where the library helps people find what they need.
Persons wandering through the shelves and getting lost is very uncharacteristic of the library, hence why the adventurers have been called in to help.
Before the session, specifically ask the players for something their character likes, and a question that they have unanswered. These will be used in a later portion of the session.
Story Beats:
Navigating the shelves
Rescuing trapped library goers
Escape classification
Navigating the shelves:
We start as the adventurers enter the library. The entrance hall is neither large, nor grand and has a door at the far end leading to the library proper. On another wall is the librarians desk with Ana Benson, the stern librarian preparing books for shelving. If the characters don’t already know each other, then a suggested opening is everyone arriving at the library for different reasons, before being mistaken for the group that was originally hired to search and rescue the missing readers. Be sure to note that due to the quick turnaround Ana is aware and prepared to pay an expensive invoice (Which should get the adventurer’s attention).
Upon entering the library proper, the adventurers should notice that apart from the occasional cool breeze through the shelves, the atmosphere feels still and untouched. There are a few signs to direct people toward some sections, however it becomes clear that this place does not follow the Dewey Decimal System as without sound, warning, or noticeable movement the surroundings rearrange.
At this stage, an adventurer may notice that a section they wander past contains something of interest to them. The longer the adventurers spend roaming these aisles, the more the library itself attempts to categorise them as it would new books. The adventurers may put together that this is how the other became trapped.
Rescuing trapped readers:
In total, there are three readers trapped in the library that the party need to find and rescue, each in their own sub genre of books. These genres are not located side by side, and so the party must navigate between them and risk being waylaid as they evade classification.
Housewife Romance novels - Nan Shepard - A shameless plug for a character I play, Nan is an elderly large tortoise who has very decidedly wholesome values. She has become “stuck” in a poorly written housewife romance novel, where they are currently being fanned by a gentle man who is very much in touch with his emotional side, and feeding her anchovies. In order to assist Nan with leaving, the adventurers need to convince them that leaving here is the better choice compared to the life of comfort they enjoy here.
Political essays - Noam Cronin - An elderly man, who presents themselves as very learned in the ways of the world . In searching for political essays to support their arguments, they have instead found themselves engaging with a variety of very short form (150 character) political opinions. His pride won’t let him back down from these ”debates”, and so the party must find some way to convince him to let it go.
Outdated History Books - Carla Speth - A scientist who is seeking out ways to expand our current understanding of the world. In particular, she has latched onto the idea of phrenology, and believes that it has relevant application to modern biology. If the adventurers attempt to explain how this is an outdated concept, she rejects this and places the burden of proof on them in order to discredit her. In reality, she has been assigned to look into how phrenology was discredited, but doesn’t want to do the research herself.
Escape classification:
This portion can be run concurrently with rescuing trapped readers.
While the adventurers roam the looming shelves, never quite passing the same place twice it should become more apparent over time that the library seeks to keep them there by tempting them with answers and comfort. How exactly it does this will depend exactly on what the adventurer in question is seeking.
For example, an adventurer who…
…never knew their parents may find themselves in genealogical records.
…was abandoned by a lover sees archives of transportation tickets out of the city.
…is trying to clear their family member’s name of wrongdoing locates an alibi via photo evidence
…runs from their past stumbles upon an obituary section of easy to assume identities
There should ideally be a temptation for each adventurer in the session. Starting with encounters that would be comfortable, before areas which would tempt someone to stay behind.
Toward the end of the session the encounters become more frequent as the library struggles to retain its “new acquisitions”. Books with explicit answers start to fly at the party almost forcing them to read, and the breeze starts to sound like it’s whispering secrets in their ears. If the adventurers stop for even a single moment now they risk giving into temptation and being trapped here.
There is no climactic boss encounter with this session as the primary focus is on the adventurer’s struggle with what they want vs knowing it will trap them here. Provided they stay strong they can make it back out in one piece and return to the outside world.
Probably.
Because that is the outside world right? Exactly where the party wants to go?
What did you think? Any ideas, feedback, or do you intend to use this in a session? Let me know!
This session was originally written with D&D in mind, and the original prompt for this session was “The ideas within books intertwine and over time the library gains a disembodied alien intelligence”.
Cowritten/Edited with the assistance of Alsanna.