Game Overview
A stolen gryphon egg turns a lowly stable thrall into the keeper of a secret that can reshape an empire. Runt of the Litter is a choice-driven fantasy RPG told entirely through prose, trading animation and voice acting for a richly imagined tale of class oppression, war, dangerous magic, and the bond between a rider and their beast. Vaengrea’s elite gryphon keepers control the law, the borders, and the breeding lines, while a plague ravages the creatures on which their power depends. Your tiny, rejected hatchling is both a liability and a chance to claim a life beyond servitude.
Choices define nearly every part of the adventure, from how you conceal, feed, train, and discipline your gryphon to the allies you trust when the keepers close in. Raising the creature is more than a background detail: your treatment influences its personality and the kind of partner it becomes when danger arrives. The story branches through political maneuvering, resourceful survival, romance, investigation into the spreading illness, and clashes with northern wyrm riders and their fire-breathing dragons. Players can pursue a place within the ruling order, uncover a cure and defend the Empire, or turn their gryphon into a symbol for rebellion alongside the oppressed thralls.
Kelly Sandoval’s interactive novel stands out by making the central creature relationship feel personal rather than treating it as a simple mount or combat tool. Multiple gryphon breeds, flexible gender and sexuality options, varied romances, and opposing political paths give repeat runs genuine value, especially for readers who want to test different loyalties and parenting styles. The lack of graphics is deliberate: every flight, hunt, argument, and battle lives in the player’s imagination, with the writing carrying the spectacle. Fans of Choice of Games-style narratives, dragon-and-rider fiction, and character-focused RPGs will find plenty to enjoy, while newcomers get an accessible fantasy story where decisions—not reflexes—determine who survives.
Screenshots
Installation
- Select the Download button at the top of this page to open UploadHaven.
- On UploadHaven, wait for any countdown, then select Free Download. Optional: UploadHaven Pro for faster downloads.
- When complete, extract the archive to a Runt of the Litter folder using 7-Zip.
- Open the extracted folder and start the game normally.
- For errors, check Setup Guide & Troubleshooting below. Keep your security software enabled.
Setup Guide & Troubleshooting
How do I fix missing DLL errors for Runt of the Litter?
After extracting Runt of the Litter, navigate to the _Redist or _CommonRedist folder inside the game directory and install DirectX, Vcredist, and any other dependencies included.
What should I do if the downloaded file is corrupted?
The full archive is 89.05 MB — make sure your download completed fully before extracting. Use 7-Zip to extract the files. If you still see a "file corrupted" error, re-download and try again.
Do I need to run the game as administrator?
Usually, no. Start the game normally from the extracted folder. If you see a permissions or save error, check that the folder is writable and follow the game's documented fix. Only grant administrator access when a trusted game's specific setup requires it.
How do I update my GPU drivers for this game?
The game won't launch — what should I try?
Check that extraction completed and your PC meets the system requirements. Note any error message before choosing a fix. If it identifies a missing runtime, install the required DirectX components or Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft.
My antivirus is blocking the game — is it safe?
A warning needs to be investigated; the download source alone cannot confirm that a file is safe. Keep your security software enabled and review the detection details. Do not run or restore a flagged file unless you have verified that it is a false positive. If you are unsure, leave it quarantined.