Library Cats

Look and Feel

The game is presented in a friendly, rounded serif font, using slightly desaturated purples and gray for
accents. Main text is black. The logo is the name “Library Cats” alongside a line drawing of a cat in a
pounce pose atop a book, butt high in the air and tail waving, wearing wire spectacles on their nose.
Similar drawings of cats are scattered throughout.

Summary
You are a clowder of magical house cats tasked with keeping a magical library safe and helping its
patrons—so long as those patrons aren’t planning to end the world. But something terrible is about to
happen! You need at least 3d6 to play.

1. Create Your Cat

Roll the basics
Roll or choose to determine your personality, cat type, role, spells, and accessories. It’s okay to choose
a cat breed not listed here. Spells and specialties grant an extra die to actions related to them.
Personality
1. Snooty
2. Grouchy
3. Lazy
4. Spunky
5. Friendly
6. Bookish
Cat Breed
1. Persian
2. Siamese
3. Scottish fold
4. Savannah
5. Munchkin
6. Tabby
Specialty
1. Defense
2. Offense
3. Control
4. Medic
5. Sneak
6. Re-roll
Spells
1. Sneaking
2. YELLING
3. Thwacking
4. Hunting
5. Purring
6. Zooming
Accessories
1. A fun hat
2. A little cape
3. A unicorn horn
4. Boots
5. Tiny wings
6. Wire spectacles
Finishing Touches
Finally, don’t forget to pick a cool name like Whizbang the Wondrous or Sir Floofsalot.
Art: A purple line drawing of a cat peeking out of a box, eyes wide and mouth open as though mewing.
The cat has large fairy wings and is surrounded by sparkles.

2. Two Attributes and One Number

Choose your number
Roll or choose a number from 2 through 5. This is the dividing number between your two attributes. A
high number means you’re better at librarian things than cat things. A low number means you’re good at
cat things but not so great at librarian things.
Librarian
Things like studying, organizing, typing, and explaining. Really, anything that’s not a cat thing goes here.
You want to roll under your number to accomplish librarian things.
Cat
Things like running, jumping, clawing, demanding attention, comforting, sneaking, and mischief-making.
You want roll over your number to accomplish cat things.
Taking actions
When players or NPCs do something risky, they roll 1d6 to find out how it goes.
• If characters use a relevant spell or specialty, add another d6, up to 2 additional (for a maximum total
of 3). The GM should allow a spell or specialty to apply whenever the player makes a convincing
argument that it does.
• If you roll your number exactly, it counts as a success, and you’re a Fancy Cat. You get a special
insight into what’s going on. Ask the GM a question and they’ll answer you honestly.
If none of your dice succeed:
It goes wrong. The GM says how things get worse.
If one die succeeds:
You barely manage it. The GM inflicts a complication, harm, or cost.
If two dice succeed:
You do it well. Good job!
If three dice succeed:
It’s a critical success! The GM tells you what extra effect you get.
Art: A purple line drawing of a happy looking, fluffy cat laying in classic "bread" pose (paws tucked under
and tail wrapped around). The cat has a small unicorn horn and is surrounded by sparkles.

3. Create Your Library

As a group, roll or choose two positive and one negative trait about your library.
Art: A purple line drawing of a cat in a witch hat, prancing along happily with tail held high and legs
stretched out in a jaunty way. They're surrounded by small sparkles.
Positive
1. A small, well-trained ooze keeps the library spotless.
2. There’s a cozy café inside.
3. Many windows and a skylight create lots of sunny spots to lay in.
4. Illusory birds sometimes flit through the stacks.
5. A friendly mechanical golem helps tend the stacks.
6. The lobby includes a water feature—with a never-ending supply of fish.
Negative
1. Aggressive carnivorous plants surround the library.
2. A local band of cultists is obsessed with uncovering specific Forbidden Knowledge that doesn’t
exist.
3. People sometimes go missing in the stacks.
4. A harmless ghost constantly tries to distract the librarians (with yarn, feathers, spray bottle, etc.)
5. One of the litter boxes is haunted by a poltergeist with a potty mouth.
6. The library’s human overseer is constantly trying to herd the clowder (figuratively or literally).

4. Choose a Threat Scenario

May be rolled or chosen by the GM in advance or on the spot by the group. Nonsensical rolls may
either be re-rolled or coerced into some kind of sense at the GM’s discretion. The GM is also free to
make up situations not listed here.
An antagonist…
1. A polymorphed dragon named Beth…
2. A horde of mischievous ratfolk…
3. An owlbear with an eyepatch…
4. A clowder from a rival library…
5. One of the books from the Restricted Section…
6. A flamboyant demon…
Wants to… in order to / which will…
(Roll 2d6 twice, then combine the results. Re-roll duplicates.)
2. Rip a hole in reality.
3. Steal a book from the restricted section.
4. Kidnap the lot of you.
5. Cast a summoning spell in the stacks.
6. Destroy or shut down the library.
7. Pull screaming terrors through from The Void.
8. Get you all fired.
9. Turn every living thing into sentient mushrooms.
10. Start a war.
11. Awaken all tunafish.
12. End all nap times, forever
Art: A purple magic circle with three miscellaneous alchemical symbols and three cat-related symbols:
fish, mouse, and yarn.
Two Example Threat Scenarios:
1. A polymorphed dragon named Beth wants to rip a hole in reality in order to steal a book from the
restricted section.
2. A horde of mischievous ratfolk want to steal a book from the restricted section which will get you all
fired.

5. Play
Players
Introduce your characters and say what they happen to be doing at the moment. This should be
something typical of either cats or librarians.
GM
If you have time, run the clowder through a couple of simple library tasks before diving into the threat
scenario. Roll or choose from the list below, or make up your own. Choose NPCs from the antagonist list
to be regular patrons of the library, or make others up yourself.
When you’re ready, introduce the threat scenario.
Art: A purple line drawing of a cat in a box, dark inside with two wide, cat-like eyes peering out.
Simple Library Tasks
1. A patron needs help finding a specific book. They only remember the color of the cover and the
vague subject matter.
2. The fairy spiders have gotten into the botany section again. Better go clear them out.
3. Someone read a spell aloud and now it’s snowing in the lobby.
4. A clutch of dragonets is loose in the library and needs to be gathered up.
5. Someone is lost in the stacks and needs to be guided out.
6. All the lanterns in the library just went out. The mischievous sprites in the basement flipped the
magic circuit breaker again.
Art: A purple line drawing of a joyful cat wearing boots, standing upright in a jubilant pose. Their front
paws are flung in the air, their tail makes an arc behind them, and their face is smiling widely. Purple
sparkles surround them.

Credits
Library Cats (v. 1.1) is by Xander Ready.
Website: shardsofblue.com
Twitter: @ShardsOfBlue
This game is licensed under a CC BY-NCSA 3.0 license.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
The roll / success system and threat scenario creation are remixed from Lasers & Feelings by John
Harper, available at onesevendesign.com.
The two attributes used were inspired by Honey Heist by Grant Howitt, available at
gshowitt.itch.io/honey-heist.
Library creation was inspired by Lucky Goblin Journalists Open a Coffee Shop by Cardboard Anvil,
available at patreon.com/CardboardAnvil.

All artwork is © Xander Ready.