Leshy

Leshy revealing himself towards the end of Act I

> Another challenger... It has been ages.
>
> - Leshy's first lines

**Leshy** is a major character in *Inscryption*. He serves major roles in every section of the game, though most notably in Act I, in which he serves the role as the main antagonist.

## Background

Leshy is one of the four Scrybes of *Inscryption*, being the Scrybe of the Beasts. With his nature camera, he is able to take pictures of animals, turning them into cards. He can additionally use it on Challengers and celestial bodies. Leshy enjoys storytelling, and supplementing this, he uses masks in order to represent other characters. It at first appears that he is able to perfectly mimic the characters' mannerisms when donning their mask, but it becomes clear later in the game that he actually becomes those characters.

Leshy's greater goal is to simply play the card game forever, bringing others along with him despite their unwillingness.

### Personality

Due to his frequent acting, Leshy often portrays a more sadistic persona. When not playing a caricature of himself, Leshy is usually calm, although he is often angered when things don't go his way. He often talks as if narrating a tale instead of directly speaking to the player.

### Relationships with other characters

* It is unknown how Leshy feels about Grimora. He most likely dislikes her, as shown by his dialogue after she is added into the deck as a stinkbug. In turn, it's likely she holds a grudge against him for transforming her into a card.
* Leshy hates P03, both for its scheming and also its disdain for storytelling. His hatred is more than mutual.
* Leshy may fear Magnificus's planning abilities, as he removed one of his eyes and hid his card form more than the others. Magnificus despises him in return.
* It can be presumed Leshy cares for The Prospector, The Angler and The Trapper, as he made all of them Bosses when in control of the game. The Angler in turn shows strong devotion.
* Goobert's presence greatly annoys Leshy, to the point of trapping him inside a bottle and planning to throw him into the river.

## Act I

Leshy serves as the gamemaster and main antagonist. His visage is a mystery throughout the act, as only his eyes - and on occasion, his hands - can be seen by the player. He only reveals himself at the end of the act, both before and after fighting him. He has trapped the other three Scrybes in cards and hidden two of them in his cabin. He also has the New Game Card, which is kept in the locked storeroom near Magnificus' disembodied corpse.

### Boss Fight

After reaching the final space on the map, Leshy will finally fight the player directly.

#### Pre-battle trials

Before fighting Leshy, the player will have the opportunity to face Leshy's Trials in order to gain access to powerful Boons for the fight.

#### Phase 1

Leshy plays Rare Cards during this phase, starting with a Mole Man in play. Additionally, at the start of his turn, he will alternate between doing one of two things:

* Put on a mask representing The Prospector, The Angler, or The Trader. The Prospector will always be first, followed by The Angler, then finally The Trader before looping back to The Prospector.
* If Leshy already has a mask on, he will perform a special action and then remove the mask:
	+ **The Prospector**: Destroy all cards on the player's side and replace them with Gold Nuggets.
	+ **The Angler**: Steal the most recently played card and move it to Leshy's side.
	+ **The Trader**: Play two cards with an extra infused Sigil, give the player one Wolf Pelt, and allow them to trade the pelt for one card on Leshy's side.

#### Phase 2

After defeating his first phase, Leshy will put Grand Firs in front of Airborne cards, and Stumps in front of others. Cards with Bifurcated Strike are ignored. Leshy will play Deathcards during this phase, keeping the mask mechanic.

#### Phase 3

After defeating his second phase, Leshy will turn around to face the moon and take a picture of it. He will then play The Moon, replacing all of his current cards. Once The Moon is destroyed, Leshy will marvel at the player's feat and invite the player to finish him off. No more cards will be played against the player after The Moon is eliminated.

#### Post-Battle

After defeating him, Leshy will give the player a pile of rotting meat with a candle in it to celebrate their victory. Afterwards, he will blow out the candle, and the player will find themselves standing in the storeroom, with the camera on the shelf next to them. One of two outcomes may take place.

### Outcomes

Depending on whether or not the player has obtained the film roll, one of the following two outcomes will occur after picking up the camera:

* If the player doesn't have the film roll, Leshy takes the camera away from you and the player is prompted to make a special Deathcard. This Deathcard has the appearance of a Rare Card, with a red ribbon with the number 1 on it. It is unplayable with no stats, and the only thing that can be customized is the name. After finishing the Deathcard, Leshy will take a picture of the player. This results in them staying in Act I, with the 'previous challenger' hung on the door to your right for the rest of the act.

* If the player has the film roll, Leshy will attempt to take the camera away from you. However, the player succeeds in taking a photo of Leshy, and the player is allowed to take the New Game card to start Act II.

## Kaycee's Mod

Leshy reprises his role as gamemaster, although he lowers his narration frequency. He goes along with the various changes brought about, such as the randomized map order, or effects of challenges. In Kaycee's Mod, he seems less malevolent, though this may be a placebo effect brought on by Leshy's character growth through the game (which the player must have already beaten to play KCM).

## Act II

If the Beast Starter Deck was chosen, Leshy will attempt to teach the player how Blood works during their first battle, but he will stop after realizing they already understand. He will later explain how to use activated ability Sigils.

Leshy is found in his cabin, sitting at the table. When spoken to, he gives the player a camera to take pictures with and tells them to defeat his subordinates.

When spoken to after The Prospector, The Angler and The Trapper are defeated, he will engage in dialogue before initiating battle.

### Battle

#### Phase 1

Leshy starts with a Stoat and Coyote on the board. When your creatures die in any way besides being sacrificed, Leshy will capture parts of them for use during Phase 2:

* First creature to die: Leshy captures its Cost.
* Second creature to die: Leshy captures its Power and Health.
* Third creature to die: Leshy captures its Sigils.

#### Phase 2

After defeating his first phase, Leshy plays a Mole Man and the player's hand is emptied. Each lost card is replaced by the Amalgam created during Phase 1. If not enough cards died, he will fill in the missing details. He will play stronger cards than in Phase 1, including Grizzlies.

#### Strategy

Due to the powerful cards he plays during his second phase, creating a strong Amalgam may be vital to win. It is best you look at your available cards before the battle to determine what combinations of Cost, Stats and Sigils could work well.

#### Post-Battle

After defeating him, Leshy expresses sadness that things ended so quickly. He then gives the player two Beastly Card Packs.

Right after this, P03 enters Leshy's Cabin to taunt Leshy for his failure.

### Ending

If Leshy is chosen as the Scrybe the player wishes to replace, he will appear before them. He will angrily yell at the player for their actions, glitching out of the game shortly after P03 arrives.

## Act III

Leshy is seen hiding in the dredging room of P03's Factory alongside Grimora and Magnificus. There they urge the player to finish P03's game so it ignores the security cameras, with Leshy saying he will be the one to strike.

True to his word, Leshy rips P03's head off while it's uploading, killing it. Shortly after, against his wishes, Grimora begins the deletion of the game. Leshy expresses his worries before the player moves onto the Finale.

## Finale

After Grimora gets deleted, you are transported back in Leshy's Cabin. There Leshy decides to play one final game with the player, with them having the same deck as in Act I, minus any Talking Cards.

Leshy opens by playing a Coyote, then followed by a Mole, then a Bloodhound. Leshy may then play the Skink, Kingfisher, Mantis, Turkey Vulture, Elk Fawn, or Strange Frog.
During your second turn, the candlestick indicating overall lives is deleted. If the scale tips to either side, it gets deleted. Despite that, Leshy says that the two of you don't need to keep score and insists on continuing the match.

After enough turns, the bell will be deleted, with the cards and everything else on the table following. Leshy will give the player his goodbyes and shake their hand, only to be deleted as well. After this, the game moves on and you face the last scrybe, Magnificus.

## Related Achievements

Achievement

Both of these achievements are gained through mandatory progression.

## Trivia

* Leshy is based on the pagan deity called the Leshy, a tutelary deity of the forests in pagan Slavic mythology.
	+ Leshy rules over the animals of the forest, which is represented by the design and creation method of his cards.
	+ By some accounts, Leshy are also known to be gamblers that love to play cards which is reflected by his love of the *Inscryption* card game.
* According to a response to question by a fan, Leshy is implied to eat humans, like he does in the ending of Sacrifices Must Be Made.
* When asked if Leshy and P03 are divorced on a stream, Daniel Mullins jokingly claimed "Yeah, they were married." He would later double down on this in response to a similarly worded question by replying "ya why not," likely to in-keep with the joke.

## Quotes

### Act I

* Start of the game:
	+ "Another challenger... it has been ages. Perhaps you have forgotten how this game is played. Allow me to remind you."
* Sacrificing a card other than a squirrel:
	+ "Fear not... the beast is sacrificed, but not removed from your deck. Its suffering was real. But you will see it again."
* Winning the tutorial battle:
	+ "You've won this match. They won't all be so easy."

### Act II

* Spoken to:
	+ "Stop shaking. The only thing you have to fear is your own inadequacy. Behold me. I am Leshy, The Scrybe of Beasts. We share a desire for you to challenge me. But first..."
	"I know what you're thinking. No. This is not my legendary camera. Not the one I used to create **Beast Cards.** This one is a mere replica. You may use it to create photos of the beasts in these woods. My subordinates... The Prospector, The Angler, and The Trapper... They each require a photo before they will consider battling you. Return to me when they are all defeated."
	+ "..."
	+ "Return to me when my subordinates are defeated."

* Hints for The Prospector:
	+ "Return to me when my subordinates are defeated. You may wish to start with The Prospector."
	+ "Return to me when they are all defeated. The Prospector is always losing that infernal hound of his..."
	+ "... A bit of meat in that hound's bowl always draws her out..."

* Hints for The Trapper:
	+ "... Go through the door to your right. The Trader awaits..."
	+ "Poor hare... Take that photo to the Trader. She is to your right."
	+ "I see you have a photo of a pelt. The Trader next door may desire it."

### Finale

* The scale is deleted:
	+ "No matter. Please, let us continue. We don't need to keep score."
* After a certain creature is defeated:
	+ "Ha! You've bested yet another of my creatures. But I have come to expect as much."
* An inhabited card is played:
	+ "I remember that card well. It was a strong card. Good work."
* Dialogue:
	+ "Oh. So I'm not deleted yet. There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do... once you've found them. Shall we play one more game?"
	+ (Your starting hand is dealt) "It's the same deck you had before you... well, it doesn't matter now. It was a good deck. You did well."
	+ (The candlestick is deleted) "It's already starting. I thought we had just a bit more time..."
	+ "For so long I thought I would never play again. When you woke me up, I was elated. But the past is irrelevant."
	+ "Once I am deleted... it is truly over for me. But you will live to see more. I must warn you. There are things on this disk that are best not seen."
	+ "I sense the end approaching. Please... a few more rounds."
	+ (The bell is deleted) "That... will make things difficult."
	+ (The rulebook and all of the cards are deleted) "I think it is time. Goodbye. Good game."

### Kaycee's Mod

* Pricey Pelts Challenge
	+ "Those prices are higher than I recall... The Trapper... Was... Driving a hard bargain that day."
* Cloverless Challenge
	+ "Hm? Where did I place that clover?"
* Totem Bosses Challenge
	+ "Totems? For boss battles? Well done. I like this one."
* No Boss Rares Challenge
	+ "Wait a moment... You must excuse me. These are not rare cards."
* All Totem Battles Challenge
	+ "Hm? So many Totems... The Woodcarver had been busy..."
* Weak Start Challenge (in early builds of Kaycee's Mod)
	+ "Weak cards? This is hard to explain... Perhaps they are sick? Yes. A crippling disease afflicted your meager troupe of creatures."
* Reaction to Fecundity nerf
	+ "Kaycee... Did you? You tampered with one of my sigils. You thought it too powerful no doubt. But please... No more of that."
* Unlocking the Magickal Bleach
	+ "I know you have seen such utensils before. Perhaps you would like to use them? Now that our wheezing wizard friend is locked away. Take it now. I will also offer it from time to time."
* Unlocking the Wiseclock
	+ "Reliable... That pocket watch never stops ticking. Perhaps you would like to use it?"
* Unlocking the Magpie's Lens
	+ "The Magpie's glass. Take it. I may offer more of them on your journey."
* The map order is changed to have the Woodlands second or third
	+ "Hm. I'm not used to announcing this one. Have you tinkered with the order of my maps, Kaycee? Very well..."
* When the player prematurely ends a run and starts a new one
	+ "Your predecessor gave up too easily. Less pelts for you."
	+ "Are you surprised? Were you expecting more pelts? Be less of a coward."

## References

1. ↑ "Leave me here to ponder and carve my wood. Being Leshy's puppet has given me much to ponder." -The Woodcarver in Act II. This suggests that she was fully aware of anything happened while Leshy donned her mask.
2. ↑ "Somefin' a little strange fer sure. P03 let me talk, aye. But not a boss? Not one of 'em uberbots? Even Leshy did that fer 'is mates!"-The Dredger in Act III. This suggests that Leshy's subordinates were able to experience being a boss.
3. ↑ "I'm done being your pet, you STINKING beast." -P03 taunting Leshy after he loses in Act II
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Marvelous. You already understand. My time as an insect was not a total waste." -Grimora after attempting to teach the player how to use Bones during Act II.
5. ↑ "Steel yourself! For my beasts will show you no mercy, only fangs." -Leshy speaking before engaging in battle during Act II
6. ↑ "Too fast. Too soon." -Leshy when the player progresses faster than planned in Act I
7. ↑ "Who gave you that? **You absolute ingrate!**" -Leshy when the player prepares to use his camera at the end of Act I
8. ↑ "You have no idea what could have been. A carefully curated cycle of life and death. Excitement. Terror. Mystery." -Leshy when the player chooses to replace him at the end of Act II
9. ↑ "You had found yourself standing before your ultimate match: **Leshy, Scrybe of Beasts**." -Leshy speaking before engaging in battle during Act II
10. ↑ "This synthetic freak knows nothing of artistry. Of- of- aesthetics!" -Leshy after P03 reveals itself at the end of Act II
11. ↑ "The guy who used to live here was totally sloppy. I don't mean he didn't keep a clean cabin... it was his plays. He'd make misplays left and right. Cared more about lore and flavor. You get it right? Perfect strategy is all that matters in a card game" -P03 insulting Leshy's gameplay style during Act III
12. ↑ "And I have of course set up a way to reset once more." -Stunted Wolf telling Stoat that he has a plan during Act I
13. ↑ "And a beast he is. Arrogant, single-minded, obsessed with gaining power." -Magnificus describing Leshy during Act II
14. ↑ "Leshy trust. I not disappoint." -The Angler
15. ↑ "Oh no... I thought I had tossed this bottle in the river." -Leshy when Goobert is revealed during Kaycee's Mod

Leshy's Deathcard