Dad said five minutes. That was a while ago. Pick up the scythe in a cute-spooky idle adventure roguelike: collect souls, gear, spirits and mounts, come back stronger every shift, and rise.
One minute. Starts as hold music. Does not stay that way.
The job
Somebody has to be Death.
With Death at the shop, nobody has been reaping. The queue at the exit has stopped and the dead are getting comfortable. The scythe may only be held by a Grim. There is one other Grim. You are his thumb.
Clock in
Start a shift from the Breakroom. He walks, the days tick by, and from Day 6 things start wanting a word.
Build a run
Draft skills as you level. Frost, shadow, bone, toxic or holy: no two shifts play the same.
Reap or spare
A knight who misses his family. A nervous wisp. A customer who wants the manager. The job says reap. It is your call.
Hit the wall
Around Day 35 something much bigger than him is waiting. You will lose. That is the plan.
Train, then rise
Take the loot home. Forge, merge, train, soak in the hot spring. Go back and win.
From: HR · Re: Welcome aboard
HR is delighted to have you. Please find enclosed your signing bonus. Do not spend it on the vending machine. It is haunted.
From: HR · Re: Your father
Still out. The note says five minutes. We have no reason to doubt the note. We have laminated the note.
From: Management · Commendation (form 12-B)
The backlog is cleared. A replacement backlog has been ordered. Well done.
Career development
Start at the bottom. Rise.
Every shift sends him home with more than he left with. Collect it, combine it, and come back as a slightly bigger problem.
5 scythe forms
Outgrow the scythe
Pick three skills of a kind and the intern scythe becomes a halberd, a hammer, twin sickles, a flail or a gavel.
7 lantern fusions
Make colleagues
Two souls in his lantern fuse into a ghost who fights beside him. HR was not consulted.
Gear, sets, relics, trophies
Forge and merge
Three of a kind become one of the next tier. Wear a full set and the bonuses stack.
Stabled for now
Ride to work, later
The mounts are put away while he learns to walk the route. When they come back: a skeletal pony, a snail with a moustache, and one day, Dad's dragon.
12 spirits
Collect spirits
Open jars in the Sanctum, level the spirits you find, and put the best ones on duty.
Overtime
Stay late
Night Jobs, the Stairwell, the Sub-Basement, the Reaper Rankings. Overtime is optional. It is also where the good loot is.
Intern
→
Stronger intern
→
Alarmingly strong intern
→
Allowed on the dragon
Employee record
Meet Grim Jr.
Death's son. The smallest person in the building and the only one doing his job. He puts a clean glass out every night for when the milk arrives.
PositionIntern (Acting Death).
Reports toDad. Dad is at the shop.
EquipmentOne scythe (Dad's, on loan, tall). One soul lantern. Sensible shoes.
SaysNothing. He has no mouth. He files shift notes.
StrengthsTurns up.
WeaknessesSad knights. Ghost puppies.
OutlookNot worried. The shop must be far.
Latest note"Found a bench. Sat on it. Felt things."
No mouth. Five moods. It is all in the eyes.
On shiftHmOwDay 19Hot spring
How we got here
Gone for milk. Back in 5 min.
For as long as there has been an ending, one person has handled it. Death did every job himself and never took a day off.
Then one evening he looked in the fridge, put on his good hood, and stuck a note on his office door. That was a while ago. HR will not say how long. HR has laminated the note.
With nobody reaping, the queue at the exit stopped. The dead stood about, got bored, got jobs, and got in the way. They appealed. They complained. One of them made a sign.
HR read the rulebook. The scythe may only be held by a Grim. HR checked the files. There is exactly one other Grim. He was found on a chair outside his father's office, holding a clean glass, waiting.
HR cannot make a child Death. There are forms. So his badge says Intern (Acting Death), the scythe is still set to his father's height, and his robe has already been patched twice. He is not worried. The shop must be far.
Outside Dad's office. Still waiting.
Gone for milk. Back in 5 min.— Dad
Day 1. Dad went for milk. Waiting.Shift note, G. Jr.
Day 5. Customer wanted manager. Manager is at the shop. I am covering.Shift note, G. Jr.
The route so far
1
Whispering Boneyard
50 days
The easiest route in the Underworld. Nobody has cleared it since Dad left. You will not clear it first time either.
2
The Department of Unfinished Business
60 days
The backlog was never out in the field. It is the office. The mail machine thinks you are an envelope.
3?
Upstairs
Later
There is one form to deliver to the top floor. The lift is out of order.
Staff & clients
Everyone else has a reason not to work.
The Coffee Goblins
Breakroom
Run the only room that works. Out of cups. Out of milk.
The Smith
Bone Forge
Says nothing. Fixes everything.
Mini Skeletal Pony
Company transport, stabled
Off duty for now. Still eats paperwork.
The Weary Vanguard
Client, homesick
Misses his family. The form says reap. You have two buttons.
The Demanding Customer
Client, loud
Would like to speak to whoever is in charge of death.
The Nervous Wisp
Client, anxious
Scared of being reaped. Also of being spared.
?
Big Brother Ogre
Day 35
His little brother was asleep on a chest. This one is awake.
The Cursed Paladin
Client, refusing
Blocks the chapel door with a sign. That is not how signs work.
The Tax Knight
Client, auditing
Has found a discrepancy in the graveyard. It is you.
?
The Bone Captain
Day 50
Has guarded this crypt for six hundred years. Nobody has told him why.
The Ecto-Pup
Character test
You know what the right answer is.
Director Pendulum
Management
A clock that will not let anyone clock out.
Dad's dragon
Executive vehicle
The Ossuary Skydrake. Under a dust sheet in the stable. He is not allowed. Yet.
Death
Dad
Out. Getting milk. Back in 5 minutes.
HR
A department, not a person
Delighted to have you. Has never been found.
Evidence
A day at the office.
Screens from the build in development. Things will change. The hot spring will not.
The BreakroomOne thumb. Big scythe.Build a runForge and trainCollect spiritsBreaks are permitted
Office supplies
Frequently filed questions
FAQ
What kind of game is it?
An idle adventure roguelike you play in portrait with one thumb. Grim Jr. walks and fights on his own; you choose his skills, decide who to reap or spare, and build him up between shifts.
When does it come out, and on what?
No date yet. It is coming to the App Store for iPhone, and to Android. Leave your email below and you get one message when the doors open.
How much will it cost?
Not announced. The build in development has every real-money button switched off.
Is it scary or sad?
Neither. It is cute-spooky, and he is not worried about Dad at all. Nobody is hurt: everyone he meets is already dead and merely overdue. Defeated clients turn into a little soul that floats into his lantern.
Why does he have no mouth?
Because he does not need one. He says everything with his eyes, his hood and a small hop. It is the one rule nobody is allowed to break, including us.
Is he Death's son?
Yes. Dad went out for milk and left the scythe by the door.
Where is Death?
At the shop. He will be back in five minutes. That is what the note says and HR has no reason to doubt the note.
Who is making it?
ORY Studios. A very small team. Roughly intern-sized.
How do I get help or report a problem?
Email support@orynn.io. Tell us your device and what happened. Never send a password or payment details.
Opening soon
Get the memo.
One email when the doors open. HR will not contact you about anything else. HR does not know how.
Sign-ups are not open yet. Nothing you type here is saved or sent.
