Doolally is a fantasy/horror in which you, upon moving back to your home town, find yourself inexplicably haunted by a grumpy spirit/faery/demon (you’re not sure, they won’t tell you), and that’s not the only problem. Strange things start happening in the sleepy town of Taliesan and it’s up to you to figure out what exactly is going on, (or ignore it and attempt to continue with your normal life). At the same time, your housemates are struggling with their own problems and your new, invisible ‘friend’ seems intent on driving you mad. Can you solve Taliesan’s troubles, and can you do so whilst keeping your sanity?
This is my first interactive story, the demo stands at 85,000 words. Note that this story is written in British English, and is also set in a (fictitious) town in England, so expect tea, scones and ‘extra’ u’s in words. It’s probably going to be a series. Below is some more info on the ROs and stats, please let me know what you think! (And good luck to anyone who decides to look at the code, it’s a bit of a mess).
ROs
Summary
Emilia (f)
Leander’s younger, overprotective half-sister, though she looks and acts older. You knew each other as children, and she’s just as brash and overbearing as she ever was. Despite this outgoing nature she seems at a loss when it comes to overly social situations, and if asked she’ll tell you that she’s never had the time for friends, or much of anything else. Emilia has strawberry blonde hair, lots of freckles and pale green eyes, she has a tendency to forget personal boundaries and can be rather oblivious.
Leander (m)
Emilia’s older half-brother, though he looks and acts younger. You knew each other as children, and he’s come a long way from the shy, reclusive boy who always hid behind his sister. Leander is cheery and friendly, he enjoys childish teasing but can easily become flustered and has a strong dislike of conflict. Leander has deep red hair, lots of freckles and dark green eyes. In contrast to Emilia he enjoys social experiences, he is difficult to offend and is keenly observant.
A poly option with Gabe and Leander is available.
Gabriel/Gabrielle (Gabe) (m/f, as chosen by you)
Gabe is your new, mysterious housemate who refuses to answer questions, no matter how innocuous they may be. They’re a shameless flirt who knows they look good, with their curled black hair, smoky eyes and darkly tanned skin, and they won’t hesitate to drop all the innuendos (both subtle and not so subtle). Gabe can also be petty and confrontational, though their bark is often worse than their bite.
A poly option with Gabe and Leander is available.
Imri (m/f/nb, as chosen by you)
Imri is your invisible ‘friend’ who seems to take great pleasure in messing with you, and you suspect that they’re trying to drive you mad. Imri enjoys being purposefully difficult and will take every opportunity to ridicule, tease or generally put you down, they are capable of great cruelty and can be vicious and destructive, however, given their limited understanding of humans, it’s difficult to tell how much of this might simply be due to differing world views. If befriended, you may see an entirely different side to this otherworldy being.
Imri has curly white hair, a white tufted tail and snowy skin, their eyes are red, they have noticeable fangs, pointed ears and ram horns, for maximum spooking when floating after you.
Notes:
The romance system does not require certain choices or a certain relationship percentage. Instead there is an ‘issues’ system. If the MC does or says something that upsets a character or that they don’t agree with, they might take issue with that. Minor issues can be resolved through talking, doing something for the character or just through time passing, major issues (which will be ‘deal breaker’ type things for characters) will take more effort to resolve, if major issues aren’t resolved you won’t be able to romance that character.
Stats
Summary
Impulsive/Cautious: As implied, this measures how impulsive or cautious your character is. An impulsive MC will struggle with ignoring Imri, and is more likely to react to things that they do, whilst a cautious MC may hesitate to act in a dangerous situation.
Bold/Timid: How outgoing you are. Bold MC’s are more likely to speak up and take charge, timid MC’s tend to hang back and let someone else take the lead.
Friendly/Hostile: A measure of your friendliness, essentially. A friendly MC is generally more agreeable and thoughtful, whilst a hostile MC’s behaviour ranges from sarcastic and rude to antisocial and cruel. Not all characters will react negatively to a hostile MC.
Bravery/Fear: These are measured separately rather than on a sliding scale. Bravery is a measure of how outwardly courageous you are, and will be used in stat checks that require bravery. Note that certain circumstances (such as high relationships with characters) may allow you to overcome a low bravery stat. Fear is a measure of how inwardly brave, or scared, you are. This will only really be used for flavour.
Combat/Perception/Stealth: These do what they say on the tin, for those trying to maintain a low madness, it will be essential to raise at least one of these stats.
Madness: Your belief in, and control over, magic. It will gradually increase during the story though certain actions will raise it more whilst others will lower it. Higher madness will allow you to see more of the magical world and allow you to manipulate this world to a greater degree, however, high madness also increases Imri’s ability to interact with the world, and this stat is called ‘madness’ for a reason.
Note that failed checks will, usually, still raise the stat.
Warnings (may contain spoilers)
Summary
Depending on route taken, the following warnings may apply: sexual content (non-explicit), swearing, violence, alcohol use, mentions of drug use, mentions of historical abuse, mentions of prostitution, depictions of psychosis and psychiatric wards (for the MC). Let me know if you think anything else needs to be added.
Changelog
Summary
18/09/21- First half of chapter 2 uploaded
25/06/21- Chapter 1 uploaded
17/02/21- New demo uploaded
1/1/21- ‘Angels’ route added
21/12/20- Fixed continuity error, extra choices added to the end of chapter 1
20/12/20- Added missed labels into the coding
19/12/20- Topic created, first chapter and part of second uploaded
Demo: https://dashingdon.com/go/7844
Tumblr: https://minnaloushe.tumblr.com/
And thank you to my good friend at: Login • Instagram for creating my black cat avatar, and who’ll eventually do the cover art for Doolally when I’ve figured out what I want.