In your tome, you find descriptions of each Quality recognised by the Library, as well as short verses on their ethos. The haunting words below the verses shimmer when they catch the light, as if the ink used to write them had been flecked with gold. They provide glimpses into the powers those with this Quality hold.

Qualities are what allow creatures and humans to exist in the Library. A strong understanding of your own Quality enables you to travel between different Library Incarnations. A Quality is deeply connected to your personality, past experiences, and what you specialised in before arriving at the Library. The connection between your Quality and your character does not have to be straightforward, and the GM team encourages creative and nuanced interpretations of how certain Qualities may apply to player characters.

Mechanically, your Quality limits what Skills you can take. While everyone can take General Skills, each Quality will have an additional 4 Skills you may put points into, and continue to advance over the course of the game.

In each Quality description there is a 'play this if' section to give you some ideas of what Qualities to pick if you're unsure. However, we designed each Quality to accommodate a variety of play styles, and these suggestions are just that: suggestions. The GM team is ready and willing to be surprised!

noun/ ænˈtiːk
an object such as a piece of furniture that is old and often valuable

An essence of age and timelessness.

A sense of value and knowledge gained through experience.

Sitting through, rusting all these years, you watched as all around you grew old and fell.

You have recorded their experiences, and through their patterns, you have learned.

Time, art and obscure methods of deduction.

Play this if you enjoy… Cryptic visions, knowledge and information-rich games. Reading. Sneaky scammers and pondering artists.

verb/ˈwɪspə(r)
to speak very quietly to somebody, 
so that other people cannot hear what you are saying

Unnoticed, unappreciated and unused.

Creeping through the darkness you hear something; it inspires you.

A whisper is often the start of something bigger, the start of some great change.

As it flits back and forth from lips to ear, ephemeral throughout the library, it never ceases to forget how inherently human it is.

The mentality and actions of living beings.

Play this if you enjoy… Manipulation, misdirection and diplomacy. Social characters and building NPC relationships.

verb/ˈwʌndə(r)
to think about something and try to decide what is true and what will happen

Surprise.

Admiration.

Fleeting but beautiful while you glimpsed it.

There is a tone of awe and curiosity at all around you.

Innocent appreciation and a passion for something.

A clumsy contraption skittering across the floor, hopeful smiles all around.

Learning, invention and the big picture.

Play this if you enjoy… Crafting and fixing things. Someone who thinks on their feet and is a jack of all trades. Practical problems.

noun/ˌpændəˈməʊniəm
a situation in which there is a lot of activity with a great lack of order, 
especially because people are feeling angry or frightened

Crackling fires, broken glass and chandeliers swinging from ceilings.

Unpredictability is its only constant.

Though dangerous, its entropy fuels discovery in its rawest form.

Untamed and ravaging before books have the chance to contain it within their neat pages.

Pure witchcraft.

Play this if you enjoy… Alchemy and potion making with unexpected outcomes. Merchants, healers, planners.

noun/ˈvænəti
the fact of being too proud of your own appearance, abilities or achievements

Excessive pride and hopeless efforts all swirl into one.

Vanity is obsessed with their own perception in the world.

They pursue an endless transformative cycle,

in an effort to reach perfection in the eyes of others,

believing they are closer in each iteration,

to what is essentially a moving target.

Transcend natural capabilities.

Play this if you enjoy… Doctors, magicians or rogues. Stealth and adrenaline.