A SHRIEK OF ASH AND FIRE 1(WIP) [approx 140K UPDATE, 2.21 Million TOTAL-24th May 2026] (2.37 Million on Patreon)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
,
724

Hi again, @Lorathil

It was a completely informed and valuable critique, and that you took the time to let me know is something I very much appreciate. The truth is, I could simply not have got much of this done without quality feedback.

In fact, what you suggested was so good, I feel almost guilty for not implementing all of it. Every point I find agreement with – although I cannot fit everything in, as I must finish. Long ago, after many hiccups and worrying I would form a habit of leaving things half-done, I resolved to finish what I started (not that I always will; life has its ways of intruding), and I well know that, after a certain juncture, it is best to focus on the finish, come what may.

I am resolved to add a few touches here and there to parts of the Road Fleet path because of you, as this is very doable without fiddling with important variables and causing everything to fall apart. And as for a DLC- I could be delving into these ideas again. Although I will also have to consider how things would impact Book 2.

And I will be much more organised with a follow-up! I will keep neat notes. I will buy many packs of coloured string and create story webs around my house…

The Rebel, Royal and Basilisk routes follow a very similar course until the Despair’s Demise reaches Fort Ard. Our MC will have to be somewhat consistent with their actions when they pick a side; otherwise, they will flee Fort Ard and join up with the Road Fleet, who, in this case, will not have established the Free Country.

I will say the Cold Pact route was the most surprising to me, as it went to places I didn’t first plan for. It starts as the grimmest route. Yet, in some ways, it can end up being the route with the greatest displays of humanity, albeit in grim situations. It wasn’t initially supposed to end up like this. The dwarven legion goes on its own journey. Even after being so completely evil, certain liches have a final moment of humanity, too. But it can get very bloody… I think those folk on the Grey Torment go through more than anyone else.

Edit: Forgive me for being a bit self-indulgent.:slight_smile:

5 Likes
725

I agree this usually holds true, but a notable exception in Book 1 is the Yonder Sage path of the Cold Pact route. That one really does have you feel like a powerful mage; you’re throwing out battle magic left and right fairly early on, and it’s a lot of fun on an otherwise pretty bleak path.

I didn’t expect to like it because of how grim it is, but it surprised me as well. Especially (spoilers for the entire Cold Pact route!)

because my character for that route was definitely conflicted about her actions and trying to be somewhat ‘heroic’ despite her ambition and thirst for power, doing things like saving the Centurion and the slaves. Because of this I was actually initially disappointed that the ‘Good Lich’ path was locked behind you dying and being reanimated as a ghoul…

But, ultimately, I think it was for the best because it made me stop and think about what she was really after, and that’s ‘power’. The power to make sure she can control her own fate and can’t be hurt again. So forcing the choice of ‘if you want to be a lich here you have to be evil and own it’ ultimately ended up taking that character in a direction I didn’t expect but that felt truer in the end. Faced with the realization that continuing to be a ‘hero’ required her to make an actual sacrifice instead of just finding the correct option, she balked and chose self-interest.

Not heroic, but truer to herself. Even after seeing that path didn’t exactly make Malachar and Signy happy, in the end.

4 Likes
726

You are right! Yes, Yonder Scholars do feast on magic compared to a chancermancer’s nibbles.

Scholars work for Yonderfolde, a state rooted in magic. I think we can say that magic is a very necessary part of the Grey Torment’s operations. On the Despair’s Demise, which can operate without magic, the etherneers learn at a much slower pace, their magic directed to ensuring equipment doesn’t overheat, overcharge, or fail, or to give it an occasional boost.

Ardland is a state wary of magic, like most of Behatland, so they don’t intend to teach their etherneers great power or to let them delve too deeply into dangerous mysteries. Yonderfolde Scholars need to manipulate flesh and matter itself, beyond mere tinkering, to be of any use.

My reasoning for locking out the Lich Saint was that it had to be earned the hard way. We first had to become undead, under the control of a lich (who is also undead), be forced to do some horrible things, and actively turn against them. Only then could we hope to turn the innately power-hungry drive of a lich itself into something good- or we could succumb to it.

As a mortal only, our MC never has to confront these issues. The consequences of lichdom are to abandon morality for the sake of knowledge; we have neither the experience nor the understanding to transform the nature of the lich we will become. Instead, we must commit an evil act, as a mortal, to free ourselves of morality to allow lichdom to take hold.

Although Pickles will refer to our lich as ‘Big Bad Evil One’ and the like, I don’t intend for us to be evil for the sake of it, as you expressed with the motivation of your MC. We will strive for power and control for our own aggrandisement, though this does not mean we slaughter everything. I hope to think of some ingenious evil events for Book 2 to satisfy your MC’s cravings. I sort of envision our MC Reaper becoming, when they have a full grasp of their power, the DM of a wider narrative which enshrines them in a position of ultimate power. Liches are puppet masters!

EDIT: Look at that! I see a cake with my name. It will be gone tomorrow. Today is my 3rd HG Forum anniversary, when I first posted the first part of a little, old orc game a few million words ago.

EDITEDIT: Thanks to those who have stuck by me and to those who have found me since.

9 Likes
727

The angst :sob::sob::sob:
I swear I knew that Avalina would betray us but there was something naive inside of me that thought we could actually befriend her and prevent the betrayal but noooo our poor roachpede is left to die.
Holy the revenge arc is gonna be enormous, now I REALLY wanna become a Machine Omnissiah and start making my own machine minions that will firstly purge the whole world from magic and its likes, and then advance technologically to the stars to discover and widen our horizons.

And maybe achieve a sort of machine evolution where we become an entire new species that are organic synthetic machines just like the reapers from Mass Effect 3…

But Ima try the Cold Pact and road pirate route too and see how my fellow dwarven legionnaires fare against those blasted scorned elves.. (Ima be honest if Im not the one dating the twins then scorned elves are just a straight no and I wouldn’t even be moved if we wipe their entire existence off the map cuzz… spiders lol)

Edit: Completed the other two routes as well and I must say the machine route is still the most tragical one… and I don’t care what the peeps on the thrones of the abyss think but considering how the Basilisk is basically a kind of Ai I have full belief that there will be another throne in the overworld… a throne for the Machine Omnissiah…
I will be the Machine Omnissiah…

image
image1177×1335 219 KB

5 Likes
728

Omnissiah, my cogs tick, and my coils spark in your honour! Awesome pic, btw.

Yes, we will be stripped of our power in this game, but the trappings of the grand array will persist within us. A machine throne may await, still!

Avalina… She was always manipulating us. But if we got close, I don’t think when she left us, she did it lightly. Maybe, if our MC managed to pierce her heart, she could be back… in Book 2. She is also not the only one to betray or abandon us, depending on our path. Our ROs all end up in a bit of a mess as everything falls apart.

We might get a very brief update on Avalina at the very end…

EDIT: I spoke too soon in my An Unexpectedly Green Journey thread. It looks like Shriek will beat it to 100K!!! Although Shriek’s WIP period has been twice as long as Green’s, where the views slowed a little while after release when the Green thread was moved out of the WIP channel. I know it isn’t that important, but in the non-computing world, as long as your hobby isn’t counting grains of sand, 100k is a pretty, pretty big number. :smiley:

6 Likes
729

An inconsequential, vainglorious celebration of 100K views

To the tune of 10 Green Bottles!

100,000 daring Roachpedes are racing stolen drays,

100,000 daring Roachpedes are racing stolen drays,

But if one poor Roachpede should crash while in the fray,

The 99,999 remaining Roachpedes are with them all the way!

EDIT: Pipped the Green Journey thread at the post by 400 or so views.

8 Likes