"Faerie's Bargain: The Price of Business"—Amass a goblin hoard of treasure and wonders!

The novella, War of the Roses, is currently available on Amazon! You can read it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited, or purchase an ebook copy if that works better for you.

I should have thought the title out better, as obviously there are a lot of books about the Wars of the Roses, which can make finding it a bit difficult, but if you search with the author name as well it comes up alright. :see_no_evil:

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Are there any plans to produce a print version any time soon? If so, I’ll hold out and buy that. But if not, I’ll just have to suck it up and buy the ebook because I am so excited for this story, especially now that I have read the plot description. It sounds absolutely magical!

If you’re still taking questions, I have some confusion about the ystrum concept - specifically where you draw the line between an entity who is “yse” and an entity who is “it” (like an Aspect of Reality). Also, how do you pronounce the ystrum pronouns? Someone actually asked about that upthread and I offered my speculations, but I’d love to hear a definitive answer.

So the ystrum forms were created from the base word ‘yclept’ from Middle English (meaning ‘by the name of’). So I imagine the y in ystrum to be pronounced the same as the y in yclept. You can hear it if you google the word and click on one of the pronunciation videos or other options that come up.

Yse I read as slightly different in my head. That one is less short than the y in yclept and more like the pronunciation described by AletheiaKnights.

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Yes, I do plan to make a print version available. I just haven’t had the time to go through and a) do the formatting and b) get a back cover made. It should be available in print version options from Amazon in a few days to a week though (depending how long Amazon takes to approve everything).

The line is basically drawn by the entity the pronouns belong to. In my head when writing I tended to reserve ystrum for beings with a corporeal form and used it for disembodied aspects of reality, but that’s more a guideline than a hard and fast rule.

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In that case I’ll keep an eye on Amazon for the print version (unless you plan to sell autographed copies through your website, in which case I will buy it there).

So would it be reasonable to assume that if a disembodied aspect of reality became an embodied aspect of reality, it would start using ystrum pronouns? (I don’t suppose this is something I really need to know, I’m just fascinated by how it all works.)

Also, just out of curiosity, would you consider that the events of “Faerie’s Bargain” came before or after “War of the Roses”? (I’m always interested to know how co-canonical stories relate chronologically, even if they aren’t intended to be read sequentially.)

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I was wondering if and or when this fix was going to hit the omnibus app? I’m having a few continuity errors at the moment, mainly ones involving Victoria reappearing as dead after using the second chance, and also Yuvraj appearing instead of the RO’s.

I have the omnibus app and the patch seems to have gone through for me, at least the typo fixes.

Hmm, well the app on the App Store says it hasn’t been updated in a month, and I haven’t received those fixes, so I’m not sure if maybe the update has been slow to go through on iOS or if my app has decided to crack a wobbly :frowning:

It might be an iOS thing then? (I have Google Play. I don’t know if the update process is the same. But I don’t think a patch to a game would show as an update to the omnibus app itself.)

Patch notes 1/4/22

Summary of Fixes:

  • Ch11 - Fixed 2 variable errors where Yuvraj would incorrectly replace the name of the romance option in a few instances.
  • Ch11 - Resolved bug where a RO reaction was not setting properly.
  • Ch9 - Added clarifying text after the discovery of the letters in Tock’s throne and added a Yuvraj specific choice option to further differentiate the choice options.
  • Ch11 - Fixed variable error where Yuvraj would appear for a hug.
  • Ch11 - Added some additional text relevant to the Yuvraj options so the game narrative reads more clearly.

Sheryl G

  • Found bug where RO’s reaction is not setting properly (due to variable changes in last patch). Fixed (see second fix under summary of fixes).
  • Yuvraj hug issue. Variable needed to be updated. Fixed. (item four under summary of fixes).

Elaine Cuyegkeng

  • The problem is with rel11manip and a variable nested within it. I was unable to find an elegant and efficient way to get the variable issue to resolve at the beginning of the scene, so I moved the two lines of relevant code to the beginning of *label confront_line. This has solved the issue on all of my playthroughs, and works with the playthrough map so far as I can see. (This links to the first fix listed under summary of fixes).

Marina Nikolova

  • Reported issues with Yuvraj still appearing instead of RO. Screenshots depict Ch9, where a letter reveals a betrayal, and a choice later on that can be read as Yuvraj being a romantic interest even though he isn’t. I cannot find a variable or code issue here. I think it’s how some players are reading the text in that section so I’ve added a different one in the event Yuvraj is the betrayer, and added a gated choice with different language just for Yuvraj to make it even clearer. (This links to the third fix listed in the summary of fixes).
  • Reported issues in Ch11 with Yuvraj appearing in between mentions of RO. Found a place where an incorrect variable was being used (fixed) and added some extra prose to further differentiate the Yuvraj betrayral instance from the regular confrontation.
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How are “Yse/Ys/Ym” pronounced?

If you scroll up a bit, the author actually answered some questions about that. But basically “yse” rhymes with “fleece” or “geese,” “ys” is pronounced like “ease,” and “ym” is “eem.”

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I picked this up recently. My thoughts:

The Good: This is exceptionally well written. Both the quality of the prose and the overall world-building are among the best I’ve seen in this genre. The author does an exceptional job making the reader feel like an otherworldly being, one linked as much to magic, myth, and dreams as human concerns.

The Bad: My main quibble is that I was sometimes frustrated by the the stats system the author employed. I found that my stats pairings veered wildly in unexpected directions based on my choices and it was difficult to develop my character in the ways I wanted. The high mutability of the protagonist’s stat pairings fits the game’s theme (one plays a being split between its human and faery natures), but the directions the stats actually moved in response to my choices sometimes felt counterintuitive and even frustrating.

Also, given the complexity of the story, the ending seems short.

The Ugly: The baroque story is set in a somewhat alien environs where new concepts, not to mention a huge number of characters and political factions, are constantly thrust upon the reader. I liked the overall effect, which contributed to the world’s fantastical feeling, but this may not be to everyone’s tastes.

There’s also a steampunk element to the story in the form of intelligent mechanical automatons that I personally didn’t think totally fit the fey and otherworldly setting, but it’s probably in line with audience expectations around the genre.

Overall rating: 9/10

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Can’t help but feel that cauldron stirrer and tailor valiant stat bonuses should exchanged.

I really want to like this game, but i just don’t understand, i just can’t get desired ending whatever i do, everytime i try to cheat at this king’s stone or whatever it’s called i just get caught by Yuvraj. And then there’s this weird ending where he’s calling me to his tea party for some reason and i somehow end up in a relationship with lord A while i never ever was interested in him romantically, i just wanted to be friends with a guy. Is it a bug? Am I doing something wrong?

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Fans of Faerie’s Bargain will be delighted to learn that Trip Galey has just published a traditional novel set in the same world as the game. The main character is a servant sold as a child to a merchant of the Untermarkt in the kind of indenture our journalist frenemy Robin was determined to write an exposé about, and just glancing at the first page there are some familiar names like Blatterbosch and Maurlocke. It’s available for purchase on Amazon.

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It’s out it’s out! Thank you for posting about it, that’s so exciting! I love that cover…

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The one thing that disappointed me when I was looking it over earlier is that there was no mention of the game. I hope people who pick up the book (which has been mentioned on a couple of book sites I follow) will find their way here anyway.

Here’s an interview with Dr. Galey that does mention Faerie’s Bargain.

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Does anyone know how to get these achievements? I have been trying fora long time. Thanks in advance.

Blind the Third Eye!:
A Lord’s Secrets:
A Lady’s Secrets:
Knights Unhelmed: