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| “ | Another challenger... it has been ages. Perhaps you have forgotten how this game is played. Allow me to remind you. | „ |
| ~ Leshy upon first meeting the player. |
| “ | I think it is time. Goodbye. Good game... | „ |
| ~ Leshy's last words before being deleted. |
Leshy is the secondary antagonist of the 2021 card-based strategy game Inscryption.
He is the Scrybe of Beasts, one of the four game masters in the singular copy of the video game Inscryption, based on the fictional card game of the same name. Upon booting up the game the player is forced to play against him in a sadistic game of cards, though it quickly turns out that there are others also trapped inside the cabin, seeking the player's help to escape his grasp.
He serves as the main antagonist of Act I, one of the three secondary antagonists (alongside Magnificus and Grimora) of Act II and a major character in Act III.
Appearance[]
Leshy is almost completely shrouded in darkness for the majority of Act 1. Only his white eyes pierce into the light, which turn into orange swirls every time he speaks, and his elderly, shriveled hands occasionally reach onto the table. When the player encounters an npc or boss in his game, Leshy dons a wooden carved mask to represent their faces.
It is only when facing Leshy as himself in the final battle that he fully reveals himself as an elderly humanoid with a beard made of leaves and twigs growing out of his head.
Personality[]
Out of the four Scrybes, Leshy is by far the most enthusiastic about playing the card game. He constantly gives overly dramatic narration about everything that is happening and is highly disappointed by opponents that lose to him too quickly. He places a lot of emphasis on worldbuilding and atmosphere in his game, as he always wears masks to represent npcs and bosses and fully acts out their individual personalities and quirks. He also displays a high degree of sadism, as he turns those that lose his games into cards to be played, fight and die over and over again, claiming that their "suffering is real". Even those that manage to defeat him are transformed into cards, though he honors them by putting them up on his door as champions, keeping them from participating in his cruel game.
As Acts 2 and 3 show however, most of his cruelty is merely pretend. Though his enmity with the other Scrybes is real and has locked them up into cards as a result, like them he is fully aware that he is part of a video game. None of the non-talking cards are sentient and even the challengers he turns into deathcards are not real, as such nobody besides the other Scrybes has come to harm by his games. Throughout Act 1 Leshy is just putting on a show to provide as much entertainment for the player as possible and really just wants to have fun playing cards. Even he acknowledges though that his treatment of the other Scrybes went too far after being defeated for good, though he still believes that there is great honor in living as a beast like they have.
Biography[]
Background[]
Before the video game Inscryption was in development, Leshy was original to the card game itself along with all the other scrybes. Leshy was the first scrybe to obtain the OLD_DATA through the Angler's help and while the initial developer of Inscryption, Kaycee Hobbes, was inclined to dispose of the copy, she kept it as a result of growing a close bond with him and decided to bury the copy of Inscryption and mark its co-ordinates on a card which was soon sold after her death.
Inscryption[]
Act I[]
Leshy is in possession of the OLD_DATA when Luke starts playing, meaning he can control the game. He uses these abilities to keep Luke playing his campaign over and over again. Leshy guides Luke through the game, giving him a starter deck containing a Stoat which he tries convincing Luke to sacrifice. Whether or not Luke does so, the Stoat commends him for his decision and formulates a plan to get them out of his cabin. Leshy consistently expresses anger towards the Stoat in particular, being well-aware that it can talk. He threatens to rip the Stoat apart, as it degrades his game and the changes he makes to Inscryption's traditional play style. As Leshy continues his game, he integrates new features. He disregards the other cards in favor of his beast cards however, utilizing bone mechanics for some. This is done before the player finds the Stinkbug, Leshy will go over bone mechanics to the player much to the Stoat's surprise. The game continues on, if the player gets too far before Leshy can introduce all mechanics to his game however, he will ensure their demise through eight bear cards during a boss. Whenever the player truly fails at Leshy's game, he'll make them a death card out of the cards they've collected in their run. When the player finds the two other talking cards, Stinkbug and the Stunted Wolf, they'll formulate a plan to take down Leshy starting with stealing his camera roll. Leshy's game has three bosses before he ultimately reveals himself to fight the player. Most of these bosses are ones that the player can encounter throughout Leshy's campaign.
Overall, Leshy takes on six personas. The Prospector, which can earn the player a random common card or a gold pelt which can be used to trade. The Prospector is later encountered as the first boss. Leshy also takes on the persona of the Angler, who is the second boss later redeemed in the campaign. The third bosses, Trapper and Trader, can be encountered before their battle to buy pelts with foils earned from excess damage in card battles, and to later buy cards depending on value. Leshy also acts as the Mycologists to morph two of the same cards the player may possess into one, or give them a card they already have, and his final persona, the Wood Carver, who provides the player sigil carvings. These carvings, the Stoat highly resents especially when Leshy uses it in battle himself. the Goo Mage is another character exclusively encountered in Kaycee's mod as an event where he'll try to replicate a card the player has with better stats. Leshy, however, dislikes the mage and treats it with little respect unlike his own workers. Deeming the mage useless, as it can be obtained by the player in the event that they come across an inventory event. He repeatedly tries to set them to the side, not enjoying their presence in the slightest. Leshy's game is a long, rogue-like that is often not intended to be beat on its first try. Whenever the player dies, he'll make a comment judging whether they were a worthy challenger or not. In the end, Leshy reveals himself to the player in their final battle as the moon shines down creating an atmosphere. He is a formidable opponent, using rare cards and replicating mechanics used in previous bosses. Then, he'll begin using death cards during his second phase before finally resorting to taking a picture of the moon itself, deploying it as a card. The moon has impressive stats, but could easily be thwarted by a card with the touch of death, or cards with the stink sigil. Upon it being defeated, Leshy surrenders as the player finishes him off. He rewards them with a pile of meat topped with a candle, before taking them to the room where he creates death cards. If the player hasn't obtained the film roll by this point, Leshy will make them a death card. If they have however, they'll turn Leshy into a card and be able to revert Inscryption back to normal.
Act II[]
Leshy is one of the three central antagonists of Act II alongside Magnificus and Grimora. He is often the first boss the player fights. Leshy treats his workers well, it seems. He gives the player a camera to help his workers out. The camera isn't the one he uses to inscrybe cards however, but rather an average run of the mill camera. Once the player has helped, and duelled all of Leshy's men, they will fight Leshy himself. After Leshy's battle, P03 visits him to taunt him for losing. Expressing anger for being turned into a stoat, meanwhile Leshy claims it had been the most honorable thing of him to do. Later, if the player decides to replace Leshy, he and P03 will show up. Leshy greatly degrades P03, claiming he has no taste for a proper game before being taken out by the OLD_DATA. It's likely that Leshy later sets off on the escape boat docked near his cabin along with the other scrybes after this.
Act III[]
Leshy is found hiding underneath P03's factory, alongside Magnificus and Grimora. They tell Luke to let P03 win, and that they have a plan. Leshy insists that he'll be the one to kill P03. Once Luke finishes P03's campaign and allows P03 to start uploading the OLD_DATA, Leshy appears behind P03 and rips his head off. Once Grimora finds Luke's hard drive and begins the deletion of the game, Leshy and Magnificus fear that she has doomed them all.
Finale[]
Leshy is the second scrybe fought in the finale after Grimora. He provides the player their cards they once used in Act I, reminiscing on how fond he was of the player. Leshy cares little of how the game's assets slowly begin to delete, planning to keep it going until he meets his end. Soon enough, all assets necessary to continue the game are deleted and Leshy says his final goodbye to the player, shaking their hand before he is deleted.
Trivia[]
- Leshy is named after the Eastern-European mythologic monster of the same name.
- Leshy does not actually speak to the player, he beams them into the player's head hence the swirly eyes when he speaks.
- Leshy's favorite food is fully raw mushrooms, sometimes magic mushrooms which is apparently where he gets some of the inspiration for his games from.
- Both Leshy and Grimora are roughly the same height, standing at 8 ft.
- Leshy's favorite tea is mushroom tea.
- Leshy's eyes are twitchy because of stress.