Lilancholy
A downloadable game
Re-prints are available for pre-order now~
Warning, this book was made to hurt. It is meant for mature audiences and is filled with mature themes and imagery. Reader discretion is advised. Sensitive topics include: abuse, trauma, violence, self harm, depression, anxiety, and pet death.
She told me that Fairies want our humanity. They want to take it from us. All the little names that make us up. They do this by challenging us to games. Winner takes all.
These are the games she showed me. When we would play them, she would say “I promise to keep you safe. I promise to protect you.” Then she would walk me through the rules. Sometimes she would hold my hand. “That part isn’t necessary,” She said.
I promise to keep you safe. I promise to protect you. You can hold my hand if you need to. And remember…
This is a special book. An experiment of form. A marriage of fiction and play. The end product of the lyric game movement.
Lilancholy is a guide to surviving encounters with fairies. I jokingly call it “evil warioware” as it’s filled with a plethora of tiny games that fairies will challenge you to. A collection of school yard games warped into horror experiences, all wrapped inside of its own fiction.
It’s a novel. It can be read and experienced as such.
It’s a guidebook. There are sections that detail rules and explain spells.
It’s a (lyric) game. It’s meant to be played.
Writing by John Battle
Editing by Vi Huntsman
Layout by Micah Anderson
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (36 total ratings) |
Author | snow |
Genre | Role Playing |
Tags | fairies, Horror, Tabletop role-playing game |
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Comments
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I don't think I like her. But I don't know who the author is, now.
This book is absolutely captivating. I wasn’t planning to read it all in one session, but pretty soon I couldn’t put it down. The descriptions of Lilancholy are both beautiful and terrifying, a sort of haunting beauty. The emotions feel so real and true. It’s enough to make you believe, even if only for a moment. And it is real, in the way that fiction so often is real. Thank you for writing this, and for sharing it with us.
The layout, art, and typography elevate the writing but it would be worth deciphering off a shattered clay tablet or corrupted .txt
How many players does this support?
i truly don't know how to answer that question. it depends on what you do with it.
Full audiobook for your listening pleasure!
I read the warning and it did not soften the blow.
While I am still mystified by the notion of "lyric game", I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through this and even performing some spells with my girlfriend, who read with me. The prose is great and the story has a lot of staying power. Been thinking about it for days.
Also, FUCK YEAH SCARY FAIRIES!!! More fairy horror, please.
Spencer did a great video called "Lilancholy in 5 Minutes!"
Watch the trailer for lilancholy here!
This is beautiful and creepy, especially the story about the cracked heart.
This reminds me of Zilphia Keatley Snyder’s book “The Changeling”, about a timid girl with a feral-girl best friend who claims she’s a changeling; and Arthur Machen’s “The White People”, a classic horror story about a little girl who travels into lands of dark magic. I recommend them both highly.
I'll have to check those out. Thanks for the recs.
this is gorgeous <3
Pretty.
The moire effect that last page is strong! The bike and the cement are my favorites so far,
Did you ever read Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century? The energy in this and that is harmonic.
Your day, be this.
Hey! Thanks. Feel like I haven't see you around as often haha But no, I haven't read Lesser Known Monsters. I'm gonna have to check it out.