| “ | 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 indie horror game Incscryption. Despite this Leshy is also a protagonist near the end of the game. He helps Luke defeat P03 at the end of the game.
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 1[]
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.
Final Act[]
Leshy tells Luke that he had fun and that he had a good deck. Leshy starts playing with Luke until the bell gets deleted. Once it does Leshy tells Luke the two should keep playing, later on both of their decks get deleted and Leshy shakes Lukes hand. Leshy does this as a way of accepting his defeat and tells Luke that he had fun.
Personality[]
Leshy is a rather kind figure, one who deeply cares about his minions and even shows compassion towards Luke. It's implied that Leshy cared for the previous people who played the game as he tends to be honorable and often holds onto his word. Leshy hardly ever lies in fact he never lies, Leshy will always hold onto his word no matter what. Leshy dislikes cheaters as he calls out Luke for "cheating" upon getting the third candle upgrade because much like Ryu Leshy seeks to find a worthy opponent. Leshy enjoys playing card games and only wishes to play games with other people. While it's not confirmed it's heavily implied that Leshy found out about the death of Kaycee and Leshy shows great sympathy for the death of Kaycee. In Act I Leashy allows Luke to stand and unlike P03 who lets him free for the sake of it being a convenience to him, Leshy does it because he doesn't wish to come off as a tyrant towards Luke. Leshy believes in free will and thinks that everyone should have it, hence why he admires animals so much. Leshy deeply cares for the animals of his forest and sees all animals as precious organisms. Leshy sees the animal kingdom as a work of art. Leshy dislikes losing to people or just in general; he's willing to accept when he's beaten or lost. This is proven when Leshy will sometimes offer his hand to Luke upon realizing that the game will keep on going forever or if he realizes that Luke has simply outplayed him.
Even though Leshy acts somewhat cruel and angry in Act I this was merely a facade he did because he wanted to intimidate P03. Leshy admits that he was a bit cruel, although Leshy owns up to his mistakes and shows great remorse for acting the way he did. He was only acting this way once again because he wanted to intimidate P03 because of how powerful P03 was and because of his evil intentions.
External Links[]
- Leshy on the Villains Wiki
- Leshy on the Inscryption Wiki