Noble dad might be a desperate social climber, but helot dad was already a snitch to begin with.
Regarding the traitor for those playthroughs that demonstrably encountered one, I hope there will not be too big of a focus on that narrative in future games. I can understand for those MCs in love with Breden being interested in the search. However, for those MCs who never trusted Breden, obsessing over the food poisoning even in future games would be excessive. To use an American analogy, it would be like spending the entire American Revolutionary War fretting over who fired the Shot Heard Round the World. Considering that the MC is beginning a war against a superpower controlling tens if not hundreds of millions of people, events that affected at most one thousand rebels are in comparison irrelevant. My MC does not know who the traitor was, my MC does not care who the traitor was, and it does not matter anyway since my MC has a major war to win.
Regarding the Abhuman Lore dump, I think what will primarily interest my MC will be how every “Abhuman” manages to learn and is able to power the equivalent of wisardry. For the duration of the Rebellion, my MC is likely to view almost everything through the lens of whether or not it will be helpful to the Rebellion and emulating a population where everyone is capable of wisardry would appeal to my MC.
As far as the “Abhuman” culture and beliefs are concerned, my MC will probably simply not care about much that is not applicable to the war effort. I had thought Abhumans were a separate species entirely, but now it seems that my MC is probably going to conclude that even the name “Abhuman” is a Hegemony lie since “Abhumans” in my MC’s opinion actually are humans who have used an equivalent to wisardry to Change themselves.
@Havenstone What is the Abhuman/Seracca education system like? Approximately what is their literacy rate?
Concerning Changes to Abhuman eyes:
What about staying with non-compound eyes but expanding the wavelengths those eyes can see? In other words, having eyes that can perceive colors not visible to normal human eyes? It seems like ink of a color not visible to normal human eyes would be a useful way to communicate in Hegemony territory.
Here are a few of my earlier questions that I do not recall having seen answered or perhaps did not realize were answered.
It was my intention to find a way to lower the total body count from harvesting aetherial blood rather than to be deliberately grotesque in asking the following:
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Infrared vision is a non starter for mammals since mammals would foul up their own infra-vision because they generate so much heat. But I suppose you could have sealed pits on the end of your nose like a vampire bat. That could work. Ultra-violet vision is more doable since human eyes already have some sensitivity to ultra-violet light, it’s just that your lenses filter it out. Change or remove the lens, and voila! Ultra-violet vision just like dogs and cats. Now birds have a 4th type of cone in their eyes that is especially sensitive to ultraviolet light, so who knows what kind of unique color birds perceive UV light as.
There does seem to be a wide degree of variance in the ability of birds to see UV light. Small low-flying birds tend to have better UV vision than raptors for example.
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A few humans also have a 4th type of cone in their eyes naturally.
EDIT: @P_Tigras Nevermind, just noticed the second article you linked already mentioned some humans having 4 types of cones. I should have finished reading that first.
I wonder if wisardry would have an easier time bringing out traits that can already occur naturally if very rarely.
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Yep, I didn’t mention it specifically because unlike the 4th cone in birds, the mutation in humans doesn’t seem to give or improve UV vision. UV-sensitive cones isn’t even something that could be selected for in humans as no UV light reaches the cones due to filtering. We’d have to lose the ability to filter out UV light first which would likely make our eyes more vulnerable to UV damage. Presumably, UV damage is less of a concern for shorter lived creatures.
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New people may bring new perspectives, and it’s hard to tell with confidence from a 3200-post thread if your particular point has been articulated before. I’d rather presume on the patience of longstanding readers than create a discouraging climate for newcomers.
If people would like to start putting the pros and cons of the traitor/poisoner debate up on the Wiki, then I’d be slightly more sympathetic to a standard response of “Check the Wiki before starting another thread discussion on the identity of the traitor and/or poisoner.”
Future games will reveal the identity of a number of Kryptasts, which will open up problems that go well beyond the question of who betrayed you in Chs 1, 2 and/or 4 of game one.
An understandable perspective–but one which might not give enough credit to the connection between belief/culture and the ability to sustain a society in which everyone learns and powers Theurgy.
The Seracca get a basic education from the sages, a mentorship in Change from someone in their clan, and then more detailed skill education within their guild. They have a simple glyph-language that almost everyone can read, and an alphabetic language that is mostly learned by members of the Scribe, Merchant, and Guardian Yega’a.
I like the idea. Let me read through the material you and Tigras have shared, and I’ll probably add it in some form–thanks.
On the other points:
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Fetal tissue doesn’t have a significantly greater aether content than infant tissue. The gameworld’s maximally efficient horror-system doesn’t ahem, wouldn’t involve C-sections, but rather pregnancy maximisation with immediate harvesting of newborns, while bleeding the eyeless slaves involved to within an inch of their lives.
- Xaos-storms dissipate very quickly over water. And yes, the Sun rises in the east in the gameworld, for reader convenience.
- Heh, good question on the teeth. Let’s say that the grinding function of molars isn’t all that weapon-like, while it’s the canines and incisors that primarily retain an attacking/tearing telos. So yes, it’s the front teeth that ache. And fingernails, very slightly, no variance based on length.
- Training to fight using things that weren’t primarily made to be weapons – whether those are tools or body parts – doesn’t change their telos. So no, no difference in effect for people trained in unarmed combat.
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I’ve been reading a lot of the posts in the past of this thread, and partially since this is easily my favorite Cog game, wanted to lend in some of my own experience.
To start with I’d like to remark on how frequently peasent revolts failed - I cannot actually think of a single succesful example actually - and at best were not immediatly crushed. The most succesful occured at times of extreme unstability or war, so severe in fact the ruling regime was usually under an existential threat for its existence. In this rare, limited times - the regime also had to be powerful enough to deter foreign invasion - the peasents (along with the yeoman and bourgeois) could extract concessions. With the Thaumatarchy, there is clearly no such option. When a peasent revolt could not do this, it was universally crushed or was TOO succesful. It would then bring the regime crashing down and create a ripe target for a stronger neighbor to invade, and the peasents were no more free.
As such I think it is incredably important for the MC to develop a form of support outside of just fighting for the helotry. No matter what you tell them, no aristo, priest, merchant or yeoman will care about the helotry. I find it difficult to believe they would be attracted to the cause of skepticism unless it offered open handed Theurgy for all. The predation of the Karagond church is squarely focused on the lower classes. Even the most ambivalent atheist would have little reason to uproot their entire lives to destroy the church for no tangible personal gain. Any opposition would have to be entirely ideological - and the average person, even the average educated person - is rarely ideological enough if their circumstances aren’t grim.
A devout MC would be capable of not just fighting against the caste system, but creating a new divinely ordained system. There, as with all new systems, people of all classes could benefit. And thus, all could have a reason for rebelling.
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Well… I don’t think Joana wanted to poison the MC, but… she wants to get rid of Breden (for various reasons) by pin pointing Breden as the spy and traitor , i remember reading some line about Krypstap wants to play a waiting game , unleash a bigger net to get bigger fish … She knows MC will eventually contact other potential rebels , hence she would wait for that moment… but Joana also knows Breden was suspicious of her (Breden had once mention the traitor could be among the elders) , in this case it could be that Breden knows Joana is an assassin too, that’s the reason Joana wants to get rid of him/her
Breden also knows the Krystap code , the hypothesis is that Breden was an apprentice of another Krypstap but Breden killed the master and thinking about joining the rebellion , from his/her previous training, Breden could had witness other Assassin as well
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FYI: I loved Heroes of Myth. Go give it a play if you haven’t already.
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Do you have a longer review. I don’t trust one-liner hypes. 
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Yes. Click the link. 
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Totally different of my own but I agree that objectively could say is good. More if you don’t lie. I myself if were not but a single game dynamic choice it could have enjoyed it. As it is I can’t even trying finishing without imagining a multitude Demanding me Tell the truth
However, I recommend support Cog and I am happy to have bought it…
@Havenstone promise me you won’t do something like that in next game lol. If There is a fairy or something asking Mara why don’t love slaves? Please use violence… Each 1,000 words. or I will die by Sermon.
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HEY! LISTEN!
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You get the joke lol!! exactly If there is an example of an annoying creature is Navy. My dad said playing with me that the real Demon is navy using Complaint cries
Hey, first time poster here. I have played through the game a few times now and I absolutely love it. The occupation of Shayard reminds me quite a lot of the occupation of the Soviet union by the Germans in ww2 (of course, Shayard isn’t necessarily like the union, but the helots and yeomanry fit the bill of Soviet farmers and villagers) while the Karagond forces definitely seem like the occupiers trying to core this foreign province.
That was my take on the occupation of Shayard, but now I’m going to ask @Havenstone a question: What real life city has the biggest resemblance to Grand Shayard/Shayard City?
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I don’t think so as is not an occupation There have been occupation centuries. It is like say that the Hispania it was occupated by rome almost half Millennium. It wasnt it was conquered not occupated. Occupation is temporal, and assume you haven’t total control during 20 generations of it.
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It’s not got a single referent, though London (in various eras) probably has been the biggest single inspiration.
Welcome and so glad you enjoyed the game!
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Congratulation to @Havenstone as Choice of Rebels had reach 100k download in Google playstore …
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That’s excellent news! It’s such an amazing story- it’s wonderful to hear that more people are discovering it! Can’t wait for the sequel… WILL wait for it tho! 
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You are correct. 
Also,
and will shortly be pushing some minor tweaks that make it a little easier to start it on the sheep raid.
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