I’ve never seen this concept before count me in the train of interested people
Of course I still am!
Good to know! To give something of a preview, here are some noteable things that I plan to add as I go along:
-2 additional romances (outside of the marriage)
-Origin stories now have a greater effect on the plot
-New plotline allowing you to try seizing power for yourself
-Possible new mechanics during the feast itself (including assassinating particularly awful guests)
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What kind of origin stories will there be.
Short version: commoner, royal family, assassin
Long version:
Whichever path you choose, you were not born in Adaerwen (the country you are currently co-reigning in).
Commoner- You were born in Cedan, and fled from your tiny home country during a mass famine. Your family settled in Adaerwen, and you attended the crowning feast where you met your future spouse. They took notice of your exceptional charm, which had helped you settle into the country and quickly become popular with your neighbors.
Royal family- You were born in Eirleway, where your older sister currently reigns as empress. During peace talks between your kingdoms, your sister managed to deeply offend the monarch of Adaerwen. It is only by your intervention that your empire was able to negotiate a peace with Adaerwen. In exchange for allegiance, you were married to the monarch. They took notice of your keen eye and sharp wit, which helped you control the negotiations almost single-handedly.
Assassin- You were born in Lorin, and you grew up being trained as one of the assassins your country is known for. When Adaerwen began invading your country, you were tasked with assassinating the monarch. You lost in one-on-one fighting. Due to a mixture of complicated tradition and hubris, you were taken into the household and treated as a guest. Drawn in by your talents in subtlety and manipulation (and knowing of corrupt monarchy in Lorin) the monarch eventually proposed that you marry them rather than risk returning after a failed assassination.
(The assassination one was originally something for the comedic version, so I might end up changing it because it’s very very strange)
6 Likes
I don’t know… that might be cool if we are an assassin but our spouse is not aware of it. We infiltrated Adaerwen and were able to marry the monarch, somehow. Not sure how to make that work but in the end we have to choose if we go through with the assassination. That would be awesome. 
3 Likes
Giving an “assassinate the monarch” option was definitely part of the plan 
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Hey, I like the assassination failure option. It’s always cool when your parther is tougher than you (and they have to be, for a professional to lose against them). Plus, I’ve already had a RO in a game who started out trying to kill the MC and was spared, so to BE the one who made the attempt would be a nice change.
Not entirely sure I understood the commoner origin though. Just how approachable is royalty in this realm for a commoner to be able to just “meet” the royal? Was it by accident? Were they “slumming it” with common folk? Were they incognito?
There’s no real “royal family” in Adaerwen. Essentially anyone above a certain social rank is eligible to ceremonially challenge the monarch if they’re unsatisfied with how the country is being run. Adaerwen’s people have traditionally favored warrior kings/queens, so if certain requirements are met, they can duel the monarch to take their place.
So essentially, monarchs are very accessible to the common people. Moreso seen as leaders than elites by birth.
If that ends up being way too complicated to explain in the story though, I might adapt it so the commoner origin involves an accidental meeting.
I like this concept. I don’t mind if its short, just as long as you provide a lot of options for the player with multiple endings.
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That’s the plan! To an extent it has to be railroaded (you have to attend the feast and you have to be married to the monarch) but besides that I’d like to give the player choices beyond just making a good impression or bad impression at the feast. And multiple endings too.
4 Likes
I was kind of hoping for a bodyguard origin that would be cool
I’m a fan of the bodyguard/boss trope as well, but I think it would be discongruent with what Ive written about the monarch themself (warrior, won the throne through a duel, able to defend themself against assassins) as well as what I had planned for the PC (more talented in charm/subtlety/wit than fighting) for it to work without some heavy rewrites.
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