Apothecaria
Welcome to High Rannoc!
If you’re reading this, I’m probably missing...or dead. Let’s hope just missing.
I wish I could be there to explain all this in person, but life takes unexpected paths.
Hopefully this journal will be enough to guide you.
Apothecaria is a solo journalling RPG in which you take the role of a village witch creating potions for the unfortunate villagers, adventurers, and monsters that come to you for help. The potions you create and the stories that unfold come together to create a beautiful journal that is unique and personal to you. Fill pages with drawings of ingredients, stories of run-ins with thieving fairies and sleeping giants, and recipes for the potions you have created to keep you right in the future.
With loads of unique ailments like Fairy Fever, Candlesick, and Yeti Chest, Apothecaria aims to capture the humour and feel of games like Theme Hospital and Stardew Valley with the cosiness and wonder of Studio Ghibli films.
What You Need To Play:
- A deck of cards (Jokers in)
- Journal
- Something to write with
Apothecaria is intended to be a long term game and while you can rush through to discover what happened to the missing witch, I feel that its much funner to take your time and expand on the various discoveries that prompt you to create the world and characters around you.
Much like Stardew Valley, Apothecaria drops you into an existing world with characters, unique locales, and plenty of mysteries. As you progress, the stories you create will weave together to flavour your village and the people that come to you for help.
And, at the end, you'll be left with a journal full of memorable moments that makes for great comfort reading or as an artefact for a fantasy RPG.
Physical Copies can be found at blackwellwriter.com
You can also find @bespoketacle's awesome Reagent Finder at https://potionbrew.softr.app/
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $13 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
If, for whatever reason, you can't afford the usual price, feel free to grab one of these if there are any left.
I will put up 2 Community Copies for every Rating that people leave :)
Development log
- Bookmarks!Jul 16, 2024
- Yuletide SaleDec 10, 2023
- SoundtrackOct 21, 2021
- Guest Designer ContentSep 03, 2021
- Apothecaria CommentaryAug 08, 2021
- Printer Friendly VersionJul 05, 2021
Comments
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hi there, just wondering if any community copies would be released into the wild before Christmas
It’s a tough month for me without family and I’m after some good games to help cope with the holiday period. Kind regards
I am enjoying this game so so much. As I go, I'm adding little bits and bobs myself, and I feel like the game gives space for that. I really imagined the game going one way, but as I got into it, it's gone somewhere totally different, and I love that. I was a little worried because it's my first solo rpg but the mechanics are perfect for a beginner.
I've already added one expansion and am excited to add others. I also feel like the game gives you space to add your own stuff, so I've created a little side quest to repair one of the items in game. This is money absolutely well spent.
Glad to hear you're having such a good time <3
I have enjoyed this game so thoroughly in the time that I've been playing- I've not played as much as I wanted to, but it's the exact kind of cozy RPG that I was searching around for. I've never done a solo RPG before, and I was nervous about how the rules would work and if the game mechanics would be too strict, but the structure of the game is absolutely perfect for the beginner level that I'm at. I love the witch I've written, and they've taught me so much about who I am- at first I wrote them to be completely different from my own identity but I've figured out through playing that we're perhaps not as different as I'd originally thought. I bought the digital copy so I can take it with me on my ereader and my goodness do I feel like a modern witch whenever I do.
One of my goals in the new year is to really dedicate time to playing this game, just for myself. It's hard to get myself to write when it's not going to be shared with anyone, so I might do a blog of my playthrough, but... If any game can get me to keep something small and secret and warm, tucked away just for me, it would be this one. Thanks for creating it!
I'm sorry, but is there any chance that some additional community copies will be added?
What a beautiful game! So magical and fun!
Hello there! Today I finally started playing the game and I'm really happy with it. The only thing I'm currently a bit confused by are the upgrades. It is stated that you can start with a garden plot and that the garden plot can have one reagent at a time of value 8 or lower.
How often and when can you harvest it? And would you need to have a specimen of the plant first to plant it? Like you'd have to collect seeds or spores or something to plant it? Or is this up to the player?
Thanks for answering and also making such a cool game :). I played it with my mom (even though it's solo but we made our decisions together) and we had a blast!
is there a get everything released bundle? I can’t seem to to find one?
Yup! Here it is https://itch.io/s/122343/blackwell-bundle
thanks!
any chance community copies will be updated soon?
I would love to review this game for a community copy, please!
Hello, I got my copy through a BundleOfHolding deal and am just now starting to explore through it. I have a question, in one section it states that the Locales have Secondary Sections with Reagents. Was there supposed to be a second list for the Secondary Locales and their Reagents? The version only has lists for the primary locations.
Also, I don’t see anything about starting with any silver, do you arrive with nothing to start?
I'm not entirely sure where you're getting the Secondary Sections bit from. It could be referring to the fact that Reagents have multiple locations that they can be foraged from? In that case, it's all still the primary locales you just look at the Tags next to the Reagents and apply them appropriately e.g. something says Forest (5) then that's Glimmerwood Grove.
Or are you meaning Blastfire Bog, The Cloud Isles, Dreamwater Depths, and The Strange which are Locales which have requirements you need to meet in order to enter. In that case, there's an explanation for that in the book.
There's no difference between this version and the BOH copies.
And you arrive with no Silver :)
That’s what I was doing, overlooking the tags and not realizing that that is how they worked for the Locales for the Bog, Isles, etc.
Thank you for the clarification, sorry if I was being a bit thick headed.
I will have to buy an updated copy here, want the bonus material and pages versus the spread so I can print a copy for ease of play for on the go.
Also believe I already have my familiar. Going to base him off a plushie I have. If anyone is familiar with Quincy’s Tavern, I have Koko the Adventurer, a baby gryphon. Thinking he’ll be a perfect familiar and companion since I will have him next to me when I’m writing.
I had been wanting to play a solo RPG for a long time now, but I just wasn't sure which one I wanted to sink my teeth into first. Learning the rules of a solo RPG can be a big investment, and a lot of games just didn't click with me. I had been watching a lot of Frieren and Dungeon Meshi lately and I got it in my head to try to find a game with cozy, witchy vibes - something low stakes but still fun, engaging and comforting. Needless to say ... this game spoke to my soul!!! <3 I had been wanting to write for sooo long now, but the blank page had terrified me. But as soon as I got a handle of Apothecaria's rules... I'm tearing up a little now thinking of it but I spent hours upon hours writing about my witch, the relationship he had with the witch who vanished, and just settling into this cozy world!!
The blank page can be terrifying ... but if you want to engage your creativity with a cozy, witchy, low stakes setting with a hint of mystery - this is the game for you!! It has enough mechanics to feel like a game, but enough freedom that I don't feel silly if I'm writing pages upon pages of my witch talking with a demon he's found in a dungeon - the game offers space for you to do so and I love that!!! I only have the core game now (I bought it off Anna's site), but I can definitely see myself buying the expansions because I love this game so much.
Okay, so I've only played it for a night, but it was a lovely night! I spent the whole night envisioning my cozy version of High Rannoc, having fun pulling from my Spirited Away playing cards that I use for this game, and wow... I dunno, is it cheesy to say that a game made my heart feel at peace? It was everything I needed, I had so much freakin' fun!! I lit some incense and made a lovely cup of lavender earl grey tea -- (oh, maybe that caffeine is why I stayed up so late ... but it also helped that the game was so fun!!) -- and it was just, vibes!!! I just want to express my thanks to Anna Blackwell for creating such a wonderful game, worth every penny and I can't wait for my print copy to come in the post!!!
I hope someday there is maybe some sort of ultimate edition of Apothecaria that is just one PDF full of all the expansions, perhaps? :3 That would be super!!
Sigh. I have to go to work tomorrow. Can I call out and tell them that I must see what happens next in my solo RPG? LOL. Regardless, I have something to look forward to when I come home and I love that - High Rannoc will be awaiting my return home!!
Thank you, Anna!!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me this <3 I'm so glad you've found some peace through my game!
I too hope we can get a big deluxe edition of Apothecaria soon :)
When will more community copies be added?
Hi im loving this game so far. My only minor quibble is that the bookmarks in the pdf seem to be incomplete. They only go to page 25 out of 60 in my copy. Is this something that has been fixed in an update?
I didn't realise that was an issue, thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'll sort that out when I get a chance
Oh, no problem. Thank you.
Hi! Got the game recently and loving it so far. Just about everything about it. I'm just thinking about, if I wanted to share my journal... 1) Is that okay? And 2) If it has both writing and sketches, where'd be the best place to put it?
I love it when people share their journals, we've actually got a channel dedicated to it on the Blackwell Games Discord :)
https://discord.gg/QCSt2Fn8
Of course, sharing it on social media is a great way to support the game as well as it gets new people interested in it :)
Glad you're having so much fun!
Ha, you're right. When I have a a chunk done, I just might stick it on Facebook. Or Tumblr. Either way, I'd link you, just in case you'd have fun taking a peek. :D
i have a question do you wait until a number of peaple rating, then release community copies, or 1 rate release 2 copy right away?
I do it at random times to ensure that predatory people can't abuse the system. We've had some folks in the past leave a rating so that I'll put up community copies for them to take.
that's fair
hello from Malaysia by the way, thank you for the community copy
love the game! It’s cute and cozy~
This game sounds amazing. I'm itching to play it. I just got Delve, so I'm going to wait a bit, but this one also seems right up my alley as an artist, forager and witch!
I have yet to play this game, but I must mention how incredible Anna is: I reached out for an educator's discount for Apothecaria after reading about it (I run an after-school TTRPG group for some students with dyslexia). Instead of just a discount, she sent me a free PDF, mentioning how a digital copy would be more accessible for my students (in addition to a discount code for any additional materials). Considering how much hard work has gone into these games, I am incredibly grateful for her generosity and thoughtfulness. This is why I love independent creators and the community to which they've contributed. Thank you Anna!
Оk, I rated the game and waiting for community copies.
Did you rate the game before buying it just to get me to add community copies? :S
I can't pay with dollars, so I’m trying to get community copies any way I can.
That's not a good way to go about it. Especially as you've rated it 3 stars, that actually affects the game's ranking quite negatively.
I was coming back to get a link to this game and this guy got me to get off my ass and rate the game so I guess I'm doing my part. as the long-time forever dm of my group I salute you.
When I play this game, I’ll change my rating.
You realize this is how *no* community copies get made available, right?
Wow, rating extortion.
Is there a way to be notified when community copies gets released?
Hello! I bought a hardcopy version at GenCon last year. Is there any way I can get a digital copy or a discount?
Love world building this is exactly the type of game ive been looking for!
Oh no! I can't believe I missed the community copies again! such bad luck, I'll keep checking in the hopes of better timing :D I'm in the middle of doing village witch and was hoping to learn some potions with apothecaria
Any chance of community copies? This game looks really interesting!
I just put up a couple last night are they gone already? :O
I'm so glad that this was my first experience with Solo RPGs. I had no idea they existed until I saw someone in r/fountainpens discussing how they use them as an excuse to write and draw adventures...and man, I'm hooked!
I originally bought this before Thanksgiving holiday as something to do- and even got started using the PDF- but now that the physical copy is in my hands I intend to invest some insane amounts of playtime. As someone with ADHD, digital media can be a bit hard for me to focus on...but having pages I can bookmark and flip through to work through the game is such a boon for my focus.
I fully intend to return for an expansion book when the time comes. Thank you so much for publishing the basis for such a wonderful adventure! :)
I'm so glad I could be your entry to the hobby and thank you for letting me know how much fun you've been having with it! <3
Great idea for solo game. Using cards as a mechanic + Stardew Valley = ❤️
I just Started Playing as a beginner solo RPG and have so much fun! I got a hard copy from one of my local fairs I am uber-curious about the postcard and mini-game.
10/10 from me
I picked up the BundleofHolding bundle and am now reading the core book to learn how to play.
Five star rating from me. Looks great!
Just picked up Nightfall, too.
And I see there are some goodies here that weren't in the bundle. I don't mind paying the $13 to complete it, as it looks to be worth the cost. So grabbing it here, too.
Hello! Is there a chance to get a community copy? I would love to buy it, but sadly the conversion from USD to my country's currency is a little too much for me at the moment
Are there more community copies? :>
its possibile to have a community copie?
I would like to know how many pages the game has that you purchase before purchasing it
56 pages
thanks
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to leave a rating on mobile. But rest assured, between the various odd ailments, interesting encounters (I have tea once a week with a forest royal), and engaging, challenging ingredient collecting, I would leave a 6 stars out of 5. Both an astounding game and wonderful research for a budding game designer like myself! Well done!!
I’m not sure how to leave a rating but once I figure it out, this will be getting the highest rating from me. I’ve been playing this with the teenage child of a friend with us writing in our own journals and he is having an amazing time. Even if I didn’t love it, I would love it for his response. I plan to join on Patreon to support this game and get the expansion packs.
Thank you so much :) that is awesome to know!
The rating thing is hard to find but it should be on the top right of your screen if you're on desktop :)
Apothecaria is wonderful. There's the exact right mix of structure and free-form writing to make it interesting and move the plot along, but not leave you stranded in a quagmire of choice. ngl I wrote 6k words for the first segment alone and have no regrets.
An amazing game, and an amazing community! Stepping into this cozy little world was so easy and satisfying, and the first time I ever dedicated myself to keeping a handwritten TTRPG log. I love the freedom to craft a story around the detailed potion making process, and each flip of a card is as exciting as the last. I can't wait to play all the expansions!
Such a cozy, comforting game. Great inspiration for writing and imagination. It provides a tight mechanical loop searching for reagents and brewing potions while also delivering open-ended narrative opportunities in events, prompts, downtime, large-scale quests, etc. The annotated commentary PDF is also a fascinating insight into the decisions that went into writing the game.