Pliny the Elder, Natural History
Thirty-seven volumes of everything. Its author sailed toward Vesuvius to take notes.
Every stat is a checkable fact about the actual book, not a designer's mood. Bars are drawn against the highest value any book reaches.
By levelling up. A book that develops keeps what it knew and learns the rest on its new schedule.
| Lv | Move | Type | Cat. | Pwr | Acc | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thirty-Seven Volumes | Rationality | Argument | 50 | 100% | 20 |
| 1 | Scribal Craft | History | Argument | 55 | 100% | 20 |
| 8 | Steelman | Rationality | Type shift | — | — | 10 |
How to read these. In Scholar’s Dream, books argue with each other. Each thing a book can do in a debate is a move, and most moves carry a real quotation — the words the book puts on the table when it uses that move.
Strong against lists the opposing books and arguments a move was written to answer. Used against one of them, it hits much harder than usual: ×2 means twice the normal force, ×4 four times. It is the game’s way of saying: this is the sentence that answers that argument. Open an entry to read why.
“Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures.”
Pliny the Elder, Natural History 11.2 (trans. adapted from Bostock & Riley, 1855, public domain) — his own stated method, in thirty-seven volumes that tried to shelve ALL knowledge. He died investigating Vesuvius firsthand.public domain
In the gameEverything the ancients knew — and several things they merely repeated.
“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”
James 1:19 (WEB).
In the gameRestate the foe’s position in its strongest form — exposing its true weak point. Lowers the foe’s Defend. Always fair; never a bad move to use.