Bibdu

What Is Bibdu?

Bibdu is a hand-painted RPG set in ancient Ireland where you unravel myths and legends through open world exploration and strategic card battles. Released on Steam — developed and published by indie studio Rat and Monkey Studio. Windows only, with full controller support.

You play as one of the legendary Tuatha Dé — a race of immortal beings who rule Tír na nÓg, the Land of the Young. You've been banished from this land and cursed with mortality. Your hound is your only companion. You must find your place in the mortal world... before you lose yourself.

Every scene in Bibdu is painted by hand in watercolor style, based on real Irish locations like Newgrange, Rathcrogan, and the Hill of Tara. The soundtrack incorporates field recordings from around the country.

What makes Bibdu stand out:

• Hand-painted watercolor art. Every background, character, and creature is hand-painted and scanned. The art style is genuinely unique for an RPG — it looks like a moving watercolor painting.
• Card battle system. Combat uses deck-building mechanics. You collect cards based on native Irish animals, plants, and historical relics. Build your deck strategically for different encounters.
• Irish mythology deep dive. The story is rooted in real Celtic mythology. Characters include Lugh Lámhfada, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Cú Chulainn, Queen Medb, The Morrigan, Balor, and An Dagda. Quests are inspired by legends like the Children of Lir, the Cattle Raid of Cooley, and the Dream of Aengus.
• Open world with meaningful choices. You can follow the main quest, chase side quests, or ignore it all to explore. Decisions have consequences, and there are multiple endings influenced by your actions.
• Choose Your Own Path narrative. Dialogue choices shape relationships, unlock quests, and determine which ending you get.

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Core Mechanics

Open World Exploration

The map of ancient Ireland is divided into regions. Each region has settlements, enemy encounters, quests, points of interest, and historic site recreations. You can fast travel between discovered settlements.

Things to find in the world:

• Settlements — Safe zones with NPCs, shops, and quest givers.
• Historic sites — Recreations of ancient Irish landmarks. Complete them for lore entries and unique cards.
• Wild encounters — Random card battles against wild animals.
• Boss encounters — Mythological creatures tied to specific quests.
• Hidden areas — Caves, groves, and ruins with rare cards and lore fragments.

Card Battle System

Bibdu's combat is turn-based using a deck of cards. Each card represents an attack, defense, buff, or special ability.

Card types:

• Animal cards — Based on native Irish animals (red deer, Irish hare, fox, badger, otter, etc.). Each animal has unique attack patterns and elemental affinities.
• Plant cards — Healing and support abilities. Based on native Irish flora (clover, heather, ivy, yew, etc.).
• Relic cards — Historical artifacts from Irish history. Powerful single-use effects.
• Myth cards — Rare cards based on mythological concepts. High-cost, high-impact.

Deck building:

• Your deck has a minimum card count (20) and maximum (40).
• Cards are collected through exploration, quest rewards, and purchases.
• You can customize your deck between battles at any settlement.
• Each card has a mana cost. Manage your mana to play high-cost cards at the right moment.

Progression & Choices

Your choices matter from the beginning:

• Dialogue choices — NPCs remember how you treat them. Insult the wrong person and they may refuse to help you later.
• Faction alignment — The Tuatha Dé gods have competing interests. Side with Lugh and you gain access to his followers. Side with The Morrigan and you unlock darker quests.
• Multiple endings — Your final alignment determines which ending you see. There are at least 4 distinct endings.
• Mortality system — As a banished immortal cursed with mortality, certain actions drain your remaining lifespan. Push too hard and you may not live to see the ending you wanted.

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Characters & Mythology

Player Character

One of the Tuatha Dé, banished and cursed. You choose your background (warrior, scholar, trickster, or hunter) which determines starting stats and cards.

Key NPCs

• Your Hound — Loyal companion. Provides combat support cards and commentary on your choices.
• Lugh Lámhfada — God of skill and crafts. Offers warrior-themed quests.
• Fionn Mac Cumhaill — Legendary hunter. Leads nature and exploration quests.
• Cú Chulainn — Hero of Ulster. Combat-oriented quests with high difficulty.
• Queen Medb — Ruler of Connacht. Political intrigue quests.
• The Morrigan — Goddess of war and fate. Dark choices and sacrifice mechanics.
• Balor — Formorian king. Evil-aligned quests with powerful rewards.
• An Dagda — The Good God. Balance and wisdom quests.

Mythological Quests

1. The Children of Lir — Find and free four children transformed into swans. Long quest with heavy moral choices.
2. An Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) — Epic multi-stage quest involving Queen Medb's invasion. High combat focus.
3. Aisling Óengus (The Dream of Aengus) — Romance and discovery quest. Explore dreams and visions.

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Beginner's Guide

Getting Started

1. Choose your background wisely. Warrior gives combat bonuses. Scholar unlocks lore-related dialogue options. Trickster gives better prices. Hunter improves exploration rewards.
2. Talk to everyone. NPCs in the first settlement provide context about the world, hints about hidden locations, and starting quests.
3. Build a balanced deck. Don't go all attack cards. Include healing (plant cards), defense, and at least one area-of-effect card.
4. Explore before questing. The first region has several hidden card rewards. Finding them early makes combat much easier.
5. Save before major decisions. Dialogue choices can lock you out of quests or endings. If you want to see everything, keep multiple save files.

Card Battle Tips

• Mana management. Your mana refreshes fully each battle. Use it or lose it — don't hoard for a boss that never comes from a random encounter.
• Element matching. Certain animals have elemental strengths. Red deer (earth) beats fox (wind). Fox beats badger (dark). Experiment to find the cycles.
• Status effects. Poison and sleep are powerful in Bibdu. Build a few status cards into your deck for tough encounters.
• Deck thinning. A smaller, focused deck is better than a large collection of weak cards. Don't be afraid to remove cards from your deck.

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System Requirements

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i3-6100 / AMD FX-4350
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4400 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
• Storage: 2 GB available space

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 / 11
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 / AMD Radeon R7 370
• Storage: 2 GB available space

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Developer Background

Rat and Monkey Studio is a small independent development team. Bibdu is their first full-scale RPG release. The hand-painted art was created over three years, with the artist traveling to Irish historical sites for reference photography. The game's soundtrack features traditional Irish instruments recorded with local musicians. The team is active on the Steam forums and plans post-launch content updates including new cards and quests.