Shepherds of Haven (WIP) (DEMO UPDATE: 3 Aug 2021)

I didn’t see this… This is a joke right? ;-;

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Don’t worry, I’m certain it’s just an exaggeration.

I mean…Blade might actually hate geese because they’re hellspawn, but I’m sure the puppy part is just a joke!! :sweat_smile:

As we’ve established before, he’s sworn to protect the weak, and what’s weaker than a puppy that still has milk teeth?

Certainly not a goose at any age, that’s for sure. :expressionless:

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The more I hear, the more I want this. @rinari, you just keep surprising with the level of depth you are planning. I just hope it doesn’t get overwhelming.

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@resuri08 Don’t worry, it was just a joke! Blade is an animal lover just like the rest of us. :sweat_smile: : He just wouldn’t show it until there was no one else around to see him playing with a puppy…

@rose-court It’s definitely possible to max out relationships with companions even if you have conflicting worldviews and opinions from theirs. Some choices may lead to drops in approval with characters, but that drop can still plausibly be made up with time, gifts (/bribes), and other positive interactions. For example, following Trouble in the Equalist’s chapter won’t cause Tallys to hate you by any means: there may be a small impact, but nothing that would hold you back from maxing her out by the end of the game. In other instances where two Shepherds disagree with each other (or with you, for that matter), there may not be a negative hit at all, depending on the situation and how much they personally care about it. In the case of the hypothetical puppy, for example, where Blade might suggest giving it to someone else to look after and Trouble would insist on keeping it:

  • Let’s keep it and make it a guard dog! (+5 Trouble)
  • Blade’s right, we should give it away. (+5 Blade)

There are only positives to be gained in either route and neither character will judge or hate you for choosing the other side. This is, of course, all dependent on the situation. The more stake a character has in a situation, the more reactive they might be.

There are some instances where an extreme choice will just absolutely plummet a character’s perception of you, leading you to become hated and the relationship locked (there’s even an achievement to become hated by as many people as possible), but those scenarios are pretty extreme and not frequent. I can’t recall of many other times when it wouldn’t be possible to make up any hits in approval fairly quickly. It won’t be like DA2 where, if you sided with Anders consistently, you were doomed to be a rival with Fenris, and vice-versa. You can all get along with some work. :slight_smile: So to answer your question, the Shepherds’ viewpoints and differences in and of themselves won’t make it impossible to still get them to like you. After all, good friendships and relationships should be able to survive differences in opinion! :smile:

Now for the bad news… There is a time management element to socializing in H+H, somewhat inspired by Persona’s social system. Because there are only so many hours in a day and a limited number of days off, not only is it impossible to recruit every character in one playthrough, but I believe it will also be impossible to max out every relationship in the time you get. You will have to prioritize your time and relationships. Of course, if you recruit only five Shepherds, then it’s totally doable. But if you try and go for the max you can get (10…? Which would already be very difficult), then you can’t really jam meaningful stories with all 10 of them in one day, for both pacing and mechanic purposes. So there is some replay value for perfectionists! But some Shepherds may not be interacted with as much until the next time around.

PS: Yes, there is an achievement for being “Beloved”–it’s for getting at least 4 Shepherds at 100%!

And thank you, @2xs! I have already started writing out all of the character stories and I am excited for it. I think it’s easier for me because I’m already very comfortable with these characters and I like to give them lots of time to shine on their own, if the player wants to know more about them. It will take some time to give the system the depth and nuance that it needs, but at least it’s fun for me in the meantime! :blush:

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  • Let’s eat it! :yum: (-5 Everyone)
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Wait wasn’t there an achievement about recruiting every character in one game though?

Why would “everyone” have issues with that? I’d imagine at least one of them would be fine with it
Otherwise that’s poor representation imo

But points for originality, I guess

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Well, I did consider trying to work out who’d like it the most, but I don’t know the characters well enough… :thinking:

It’s an achievement for recruiting the maximum possible amount of characters in one playthrough. The Mage recruits, Red and Ayla, are interchangeable, so you can never recruit both at once–it’s either one or the other. (They’re not gender-flipped, though, they’re completely different people with different storylines, and are both ROs.)

Re: puppy eating… Maybe I should just write Haven and Hael: The Puppy Chronicles as DLC! :joy: A puppy wanders into headquarters and chaos ensues!

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This could be a cute filler arc.

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Re: puppy eating… Maybe I should just write Haven and Hael: The Puppy Chronicles as DLC! :joy: A puppy wanders into headquarters and chaos ensues!

well now you have to tell us what everyone would do with the puppy

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Yea who would pet the puppy, who would kick the puppy, who would feed the puppy, and who would eat the puppy?

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That’s for the DLC, ya’ll… We’ll use it to celebrate the Year of the Dog! :joy::dog:

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Year of the Dog, huh? So that DLC will be available this year, so that means the main story will be done by like the summer. Awesome, can’t wait!!! :grin:

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Aw yeah, H+H 2018 confirmed!! loljkjk

3RVzJ

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btw we will never let this go. :wink:

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I feel like this is my fault somehow

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So I was just re-reading the last two weeks worth of replies (we’re a funny bunch y’all, it was very entertaining!), because why not?

First of all:

[clutches heart] The concept is too precious for my sinful eyes.

And all the more reason to get that puppy DLC!!!


But more importantly:

How did I miss that the first time???
Oh my god, it’s gonna hurt. my. soul. to be mean, but I will play the crap outta that evil MC!! Gotta get the achievement.

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