Info about old updates, since I ran out of space on the first post:
DOUBLE UPDATE 14 (approx 220K, 1.36 Million total- 23rd August 2025)
Hi, instigators, usurpers, plotters and protectors,
The new DOUBLE UPDATE is now available, comprising over 220,000 words about the relentless toil of the ash, totalling 1.36 million words.
This contains the Fleet Meet and Power Corrupts updates:
-Failed revolutionaries, who fled Fort Ard, will join the Road Fleet, meet Zuan et al, and the MC will negotiate alongside Tinnafri with Gravian Evagrey.
-Road Pirates from the Free Country will have a reunion with their Roachpede pals in the wastes, before the MC, alongside Tinnafri, negotiates with Gravian Evagrey.
-Royalist MCs will negotiate on behalf of the crawler with the Road Fleet. Depending on their previous choices, they will be accompanied either by Gravian Evagrey, General Thrayton (he was promoted) or Revira or Raith Evagrey. The twins have very different approaches to the talks.
-Rebel MCs will negotiate on behalf of the crawler with Rumble, who is either a councillor or the chancellor, depending on how you fared in the previous election.
-Baskilisk MCs have many ways to deal with the Road Fleet. None of them involves negotiations.
-Patrol the crawler as a Councillor or Chancellor, dealing with dissent and the manifestation of corrupt magic.
-Try to hold everything together as the Despair’s Demise starts to fall apart.
-Deal with Rumble’s final throw of the dice to gain ultimate control over his new Republic, to put the engine mates in charge.
-Or, investigate signs of a lingering plot targeting the Evagreys.
-Collect evidence and state your case to the King.
-Deal with the consequences of your investigation, one way or the other. Will the throne change hands?
-Both Royal and Rebel paths will desperately defend the crawler from an attack by a group of Silver Angels. Perhaps the great Despair’s Demise is on the verge of obsolescence.
-Behold your first, fleeting glimpse of the fabled Dragon Colony.
-Added a stats screen, at the end of the update, where you can now view the state of Behatland after the first year of the Revolutionary War. (Patrons will have already seen this/)
-Added a stats screen recording the evidence you may find during your investigation of the plot against the Evagreys.
-Added a stats screen with about 10k worth of lore, to help set the scene for new players.
-Added a stats screen with ‘Player Notes’ to give new players a heads up.
UPDATE 12 (approx 150K, 1.14 Million total- 22nd June 2025)
-Added two new TESTING starts to allow players to begin their adventures just before facing the gangs of the wasteland- an Abhidhar or Road Warrior start.
-Decide who governs the Free Country, Tinnafri, the Nagarese or a Popular Assembly.
-Direct building priorities and lay down the law.
-Hunt down a stalking sniper using tactical awareness and decide their fate.
-Road Warriors may find themselves gravely wounded, losing an arm of flesh and bones, and replaced with one of three possible contraptions to enhance them.
-Fight in the battle of New Yeirshee to rescue refugees, at the risk of freeing a Cold Pact crawler. Or, sacrifice the refugees to maintain the safety of Frelsisaire.
-Perhaps you can discover Zuan’s secret…
-During the aftermath of the battle of New Yeirshee, spend time with Zuan, Tinnafri or, perhaps, the captured sniper. Be careful…
-Modified scenes where the MC flees Fort Ard and meets the Road Fleet.
UPDATE 11 (approx 110K, 995k+ total- 29th May 2025)
-Added two new testing starts, one for those with oily, engine-delving panache and one for wannabe snake mages starting in New Yerishee. Be advised, these test-starts present you with an unrealistically well-rounded and competent MC.
-Build your fleet to take on all-comers and bring order to the ash.
-Use tactics, diplomacy or sheer force to tame the largest gangs in the wastes.
-Fight the Zthullu Zoomers, a bunch of goblins led by orcs driving a giga-carrier.
-Overcome the Ashland Angels, dray-driving dwarves who’ve carved a town of workshops, roads and turrets from the scrap they’ve found.
-Crush the Bulletlockers, a bunch of carrier-riding humans, led by a demonically possessed nutter commanding a throng of mutants.
-Finally, take on the undead-infested ruin of the Cold Pact Crawler, Pale Lady. Become the Abhidhar and battle the demonic force at the great metal-beast’s core, or salvage her cannons to use against her.
-Found a capital and a new nation, represented on the map in the stats screens.
-Added title music.
In ash and hopelessness, can you create the foundations for a new home?
UPDATE 10 (approx 80K, 885k+ total- 13th Arpil 2025)
Hi frenzied mob of discontent anti-monarchists,
I present the latest update, with an extra 80K+ of rebellious content, totalling over 885k.
Here, we’ll rid the crawler of tyrants and decide who will become the first Chancellor of the Republic of the Despair’s Demise. Let us hope it won’t become a despairing republic.
-One of two starting points, enter the crawler after winning the battle of Fort Ard’s and the Despair’s Demise’s road fleets.
-Fight through a maze of towering containers, mopping up opposition, with the help of any allies who’ve joined your cause.
-Or assist Rumble, the Union of Engine Mates Representative, on a mission to sabotage the main generators on a deck housing a static shield and a contained steam elemental.
-The second entry point sees you entering the crawler with a tribe of Goblins through the towering artillery barrels.
-You’ll engage in assassination missions to serve Gibleti’s vendetta against influential royalists.
-Arrive at the upper deck for the bloody showdown with Commodore Evagrey. Here, you’ll encounter a changed Avalina.
-Join the rebel council and engage in a lightning election campaign. The victor will be declared the first Chancellor of the new republic.
-Make promises, court favours, and schemes with underhand tactics. Or try to take the more moral course, setting an example worthy of the votes of the war-weary masses.
-Come with TESTER starting points to bring you closer to the new content. Select one of the ‘rebel starts’ after you have made your character.
-We now have title music, a track called Steampunk Victorian Orchestra- by Luis Humanoide 2.
Check it out on YouTube with the link below:
Royalty Free Steampunk Victorian Music
UPDATE 9 (approx 58K, 808k+ total- 14th March 2025)
Hi, loyal supporters of the Ancient Regime,
I present the Royalists in the Revolution update for you, more than 50K of new content bringing the total to 808K.
Here, we’ll return to the Despair’s Demise and put right what went wrong.
-Be greeted by the, really not quite right in the head, Evagrey twins, including a special scene for all your minions.
-Gather with Commodore Evagrey to receive your orders and get a promotion, perhaps 2.
-Negotiate peace with the Union of Enginae Mate rebels (and swabs too) to put an end to the fighting.
-Fight the last Basilisk holdout, meeting a change Avalina and, potentially, Father Roach.
-Deal with the recruitment from a bested Fort Ard to bolster the reduced crew of the Despair’s Demise.
-Receive a great revelation at the end of it all, before the crawler starts its turbines and engines to journey ever deeper into the ash.
UPDATE 8 (approx 50K, 750k+ total- 15th February 2025)
Please note, the Royalist Revolution Path is expanded, securing their primacy of the crawler, in the most recent Patreon build, for Krog Tier patrons.
-I have added a new TESTER START option, allowing you to begin as an engine mate in Fort Ard, ready to join the revolution on the side of the Basilisk.
-You will be reforged into a new class with new stats.
-Unleash new powers using your cog-and-coil panoply.
-Encounter a one-eyed beast from legend…
-Break Fort Ard before the will of the Basilisk before turning the city’s guns on the Despair’s Demise.
-Battle through the Crawler and bring Ash-Commodore Evagrey to heel.
-Perhaps connect coils with Avalina…
-Decide the final fate of Fort Ard in an invigorated crawler.
Please let me know if you find any typos and bugs, and I will fix them ASAP.
UPDATE 7 (approx 90K, 700k total- 14th January 2025)
I have included many TESTING start options after you pick your name and race, which places you straight into Fort Ard, when you first arrive and leave the crawler. These may come with additional bugs- please report these similarly though be aware that each prepared start locks you into certain choices. It is very helpful to have some starting options allowing testers to explore newer content, though you can still start again if you wish.
Please note- the Basilisk path, after the events at the Iron Hill Pub, is available on Patreon and will be updated here next month.
*-Start your game in Fort Ard using the TESTER OPTIONS after you have created your character.
-Join the rebels and gather allies to your cause.
-Discover a lost goblin tribe, with baborcs!
-Engage in an artillery duel with the Despair’s Demise.
-Fight a battle on the ash plains against the crawler’s road fleet.
-Board the crawler to begin retaking it for your cause.
-OR, join the royalists.
-After fighting your way to the Baron’s Quarter, discover the nefarious events within.
-Just what has the Baron been up to? You will decide his fate before returning back to the crawler.
-OR, flee the city in various ways and join the New Yeirshee Pirate fleet.
Please report all bugs and typos you come across!
UPDATE 6 (approx 80K, 612k total- 19th December 2024)
-All will get a scene in the Iron Hill pub, where Basilisk cultists try to take control.
-Royalists will get a longer path, finishing at the battle of the Baron’s Quarter. Here, you may see Father Roach make an appearance. You may also get to don the Bastion Armour if you are an ash marine who has joined that secretive order.
-Rebels will get a longer path, finishing when affiliated engine mates fire Fort Ard’s artillery at the Despair’s Demise. Among, other options, you may find a hidden goblin tribe or have Sera unleash the full extent of her demonic abilities.
-Basilisk cultists currently have their path end after the Iron Hill meeting.
-Those who have not sufficiently supported the Royalists or Rebels, and if they take control of events, will be forced into exile. This path ends soon after the Iron Hill pub meeting.
Please report typos and bugs. This is a very complicated scene to piece together and your help is much appreciated.
UPDATE 5 (50K, 531k total- 11th November 2024)
Here, you have the first part of the Fort Ard Update, 50k+ bringing this version of the game to over 500k words. How will you spend your time on the eve of revolution?
-Take the load off and enjoy a street festival.
-Or, if your cloth is cut properly, enter an exclusive club.
-Or, kick back in a pub with the rest of the crawler boys and girls.
-Lots of variable-dependent events. This scene could pass quickly or not, depending on your choices. Some choices are only available to certain professions.
-Potentially, get closer with Colonel Thrayton, Sera or add a notch to Gibleti’s, already hacked-to-pieces, bedpost.
-If you have become one of the Evagrey twins’ favoured bootlickers, get a chance to delve into their past and uncover another side of this sadistic pair.
UPDATE 4 (103K, 481k total- 13th October 2024)
This update is mostly events and stories, rather than game systems, conentrating on one of the crawler escape paths. Brakka is much denser than New Yeirshee. It has more issues. And more ways of handling these issues.
-Make a life in Brakka for a short period of time.
-Work in the mines, on the pit level, or in the gun towers on the crust.
-Visit the Gristle in the Bristles pub to join the Cold Pact and the bearded dwarves.
-Or join the actions of beardless dwarves and escaped human conscripts, deserters and wanderers to plan their escape.
-There are 4 missions for supporters of the beardless folk, to wreak havoc in Brakka. Or 3 missions to put the damn beardless in their place- making the scene very replayable.
-If you mess up you might die. More than likely though, you’ll be locked up to await a terrible fate as a slave in one of the Cold Pact’s crawlers, which will be a future playable path.
-Oh, and if you are a dwarf, you can grow a beard!
Any help with typos and bugs is much appreciated. I will resolve to fix any issues ASAP.
UPDATE 3 (128K, 378k total- 15th September 2024)
-Travel to New Yeirshee and explore this weird scab of a town
-Join the Ash Land Road Pirates and become a road warrior, earning a ‘road name’.
-Fight against other vehicles using the road combat system.
-If you are inclined towards magic, enhance your skills with the formidable, dark powers of Naga magic and become the legendary Abhidhar of Zthullu.
-Potentially, get much closer to Zuan, the Man Without Title.
-Keep up to date with events back in Behatland by viewing the ‘news portal’ in the communal mess.
UPDATE 2 (97K, 250k total- 14th August 2024)
-With Vin and Sera, with a squad of ash marines, venture into Zthullu to confront a Yonder threat.
-Take part in an intense battle and uncover the secret behind a new enemy weapon.
-Return from your expedition in the ash lands and report to none other than Commodore Evagrey, the Lord of Despair.
-Spread dissent for your favoured faction or weaken your enemies.
-Investigate sightings of an intruder… depending on how your expedition in Zthullu went.
-Potentially get closer, very close, to Sera, Gibleti, the Evagrey Twins and/or Colonel Thrayton.
-Learn new skills.
-Prepare for the coming revolution.
UPDATE 1 (87k, 153k total- 5th July 2024)
-Expanded the Crawler paths for each profession. Now, you can settle into your new job, meet a few new people and get involved with some of the politics and mysteries of crawler life. This is the main content of the update by far.
-If you have fled the crawler, you have a small expansion of events heading north or south. Go north to find the town of Brakka, home of many outcasts, or south to New Yeirshee, where you will join ash pirates and be able to pick a weapon and vehicle.
-Added a new ‘pamphlet’ section to the stats screen, where I can handily add bits about lore which would be useful for playing the game. Right now, there is a summary of names for various mixtures of the races of Behatland- mostly because I found writing things like half halfling half-elf terrifying.
-Split up the lore stats screen a bit, to avoid scrolling issues on mobiles.
UPDATE 0 (66k- June 9th 2024):
-Very early stages and everything is up for change and development. Less than 10% complete.
-Create your character and choose their heritage; dwarf, goblin, elf or halfling.
-Hone your starting skills in your gang, the Roachpedes.
-Begin to form relationships with factions which will alter your destiny.
-Arrive in Zthullu and begin your journey in this most blighted of places, as a runaway or as part of an ash crawler crew.
-From the stats screen, find the political map of Behatland and read about how the world has changed since An Unexpectedly Green Journey.
-If you join an ash crawler find a page detailing its immense size and power. Can such a mechanical beast survive?