- Thank you for coming,
even though I don't think this is going to work.
I specifically asked for a research assistant
with experience in a scholarly setting
and a professional demeanor.
It's sensitive work that I do here, you know!
I can't just train anyone.
Well, there's no use dwelling on that now.
Who knows, perhaps you'll surprise me.
We'd better get started.
What's that on your hands?
(gentle fantasy music)
Just wash them, please.
I don't want that getting on the books.
Come back when you're clean and we'll begin your training.
(upbeat music)
- Hello, friends, and welcome
to another point-of-view roleplay video.
I make these to help tabletop gamers, LARPers, and writers
develop their original characters and practice roleplaying.
You've just met Nymwen,
a scholar who has hired your character
as a research assistant.
It's up to you to figure out
how your character ended up in this situation.
I know that most adventurers aren't likely
to willingly sign up for that kind of thing.
Maybe it's a misunderstanding.
Maybe they're questioning their decision to go adventuring
and considering settling into more honest work.
Maybe they're undercover for some reason.
You decide! Here's how it works.
In character as Nymwen, I will interact with
and ask questions of you, the viewer.
There will be a countdown timer in the lower corner
to show you how long you have to answer.
If you need more time, feel free to hit pause.
There's also a link to a document
with all of the questions in the description.
And of course, if you want to learn more about Nymwen,
you can read all about her on her World Anvil page.
- "Obsessed with a long-dead poet she's never met"?
This is defamation!
I'm not obsessed, I'm in love.
- World Anvil sponsors this series.
Their support makes these fancy
in-character narrative videos possible.
World Anvil is a toolkit for writers, game masters,
roleplayers, and anyone else who does worldbuilding.
- "Admirably dedicated
to her tragically deceased soulmate."
- World Anvil has everything you need
to organize and document your world:
wiki-style articles, interactive, nestable maps,
family trees, stat blocks and character sheets,
historical timelines, and more.
It's easy to see that this website was built
by worldbuilders who know exactly
what kinds of tools creators need.
- "Fanatic"?!
Is that any way to talk about a patron of the arts?
I mean, who hasn't wanted to bring
their favorite writer back from the dead?
And date them?
Right?
- DMs can even run sessions through World Anvil.
It has built-in dice rollers,
support for stat blocks and character sheets,
and even features like a party quest log
and character journals.
Plus, built-in privacy tools make it easy
for DMs to choose what's public, what's private,
and what is for their party's eyes only.
- "Prepared to attempt grave robbing
in order to facilitate her unethical necromantic"...
Who wrote this drivel?
This is going to need a complete rewrite.
- If you wanna see World Anvil in action,
check out the link in the description.
You can create a basic account for free
or use the code GINNY to get 40% off any annual membership.
Now let's get back to the roleplay!
(mysterious fantasy music begins)
- Hands?
Much better.
You understand, some of these books are very old.
They must be handled with extreme care.
They contain the knowledge of the ages,
painstakingly transcribed and then lovingly passed on
to the unknown minds of the future, minds like ours.
Well, minds like mine.
Forgive me, I failed to introduce myself.
I am Nymwen, and I am a scholar here at the library.
You have been brought here to assist me in my research.
What shall I call you?
Very well.
My work here is very important, and also sensitive.
As my research assistant, you will do as I instruct
and never ask questions unless they are necessary
to complete the task.
You're not a curious person, are you?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
Hmm.
Curiosity is an admirable trait in a researcher, of course,
but you are not a researcher, you are an assistant.
If any such curiosity comes up, please keep it to yourself.
There are many, both inside and out of this establishment,
who would do their best to stop my research
if they knew of it, who would call it unethical
or perhaps even illegal.
But any law that would stop the progress of knowledge
is a law built by a civilization destined to fail.
Do you agree?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
If anyone asks you to reveal my research here,
you are bound to confidentiality.
Do you understand?
You must not speak of the details of my work.
Can you do that?
This, of course, is why I ask
that you refrain from asking too many questions.
The less you know, the less aid you will be
to any hoping to stop me.
Your main tasks here will be seeking out material
on specific subjects and fields.
Forgive me if this is a rude question,
but you never know with adventurers:
do you know your letters in order,
so that you can find titles?
They're organized by alphabet within each area.
(Nymwen sighs)
I'll draw up a map to aid you.
I'm sure you will grow used to it quickly
once you begin work.
What is your overall experience level
with books and other scholarly writings?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
We'll have to make do.
The library is laid out into sections based on format:
bound books in the north-most aisles,
loose parchment in the southeastern corner,
and scrolls in the southwest.
You may explore the bound books
and loose parchment as necessary,
but it's best if you avoid the scrolls for now,
as they can be very dangerous.
Are you yourself a spellcaster of any kind?
Have you ever used a scroll?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
They can be quite valuable.
A scroll cannot simply be copied
without the destruction of the original text.
Instead, it can take a skilled magic user weeks
and thousands of gold in resources to create one,
depending on the magnitude of the magic, of course.
Perhaps after your first month, if you're very good,
you can take home one of the simpler scrolls as a bonus.
For yourself, for a companion, to sell, whatever you choose.
What sort of spell would you pick?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
(Nymwen sniffs)
Well, everyone has different areas of magical interest.
It is good that some choose
to focus on dull or trivial fields.
Just as some must be cooks
and some must be kings, I suppose.
My personal research is on resurrection,
the divine, the arcane, and even the necromantic.
Have you ever seen someone raised from the dead?
I've always wondered what it looks like,
the process, the result.
Are they pale afterwards?
Can you see the magic on them or in them,
or do they appear as a normal, living person again?
Is their flesh cold to the touch?
I hope it's not cold.
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
I find it so fascinating how we view resurrection,
as a society.
For example, some undead are as monsters to us,
but others are heralded as divine when they return to life.
I wonder if the exposure to extreme risk makes adventurers
more open to the idea of healing beyond death.
Do you think revivification unnatural?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
I apologize, it's easy to get distracted while researching.
Books are full of such fascinating stuff,
sometimes I just get lost in them.
Especially poetry.
Do you enjoy poetry?
Magic is normal to me.
I can snap my fingers and create light.
But I've always felt that the truly inexplicable
and beautiful magic of this world lies in poetry,
a window to another being's soul,
a connection that bypasses time and distance.
Have you ever encountered a story
or song or verse that made you feel
as if you knew another soul, inside and out?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
It would be nice, I think, to have your soul truly seen.
If you were to write something,
to let someone in, what would you write?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
My writings are largely empirical, of course,
technical, documentary, experimental, even.
But if I were to write something from my soul,
it would be a love story.
Not that five-copper erotic pulp,
but a deep story of joined hearts,
a true love that weathers time and tragedy and even death.
Perhaps one day I will live such a story.
Have you ever been in love?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
Sometimes people do terrible things for love.
But are they so terrible
if things are done for a reason like that?
How far would you go for love?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
Well, that's enough of all that.
It's time to get to work.
Tomorrow I plan to send you
to the temple cemetery to compare dates of death
with some documentation that I have.
Do you feel comfortable in such a place,
surrounded by the dead?
Or does it frighten you?
(mysterious fantasy music continues)
Well, there isn't quite enough light
left for that today, anyway.
And it can be dangerous, lurking in a graveyard after dark.
For now, I need you to seek out three titles for me:
"The Truth of Resurrection" by Nerissa Valakir.
It's a relatively recent publication.
Also "A Treatise on Necromantic Healing."
This one has no listed author, so it may be categorized
under T for Treatise or A for Anonymous.
And finally, an unnamed tome bound in human flesh.
You'll be able to locate it by the muffled screams it emits.
Be sure not to open it, though.
It becomes disruptive when unmuted.
Bring those back to me at my desk.
What are you waiting for? Get to work!
(mysterious fantasy music ends)
- I hope you liked getting to know
my spooky little gay librarian better,
and that you were able to learn something new
about your own character!
If you enjoyed this video, you are going to love
the other point-of-view roleplay videos that I make.
Check out the full playlist
to see how your character responds
to being treated by a healer,
questioned by a prison guard,
interviewed by a matchmaker, and more.
By the way, some people like to film response videos
as their own characters, so if that interests you,
there is a link in the description
to the full roleplay video without the background music.
Just make sure to link to this video
in the description if you do respond.