LOVED this one. So well crafted, both the narrative backbone and the explorations along the way.
I played first as a charming liar who romances Min and gets them to tacitly endorse my lies, before coming down on Cadafel like a newly empowered ton of bricks. (It was a pretty short and decisive battle). Then as a truth-telling mage who bonds with Meredith and Caron; and finally, for variety, as a demon-hating swordsman who gets into the A/V poly relationship, slays every demon I can, leaves Pasema a smoking crater, and puts Evan on the throne.
All deeply satisfying stories, in their ways, and it’s clear there’re more to be had. I saw different sides of characters, events, and places on each runthrough, which is the main thing I read IF for.
And Min’s song if you pick the evasive option when you first meet them? “Who can say? Who could know? It depends.” Ha! Brilliant.
I will say that the analogy to real life could be a little troubling. Fake news creates a world-threatening monster, and the optimal strategy in response is to up the ante, lie right back until your lie is accepted as true and enough people believe (groundlessly) that you’ll be their savior? That lets you beat the monster, all right…but that particular fantasy allegory would (in my version) end with much more presentiment that you’ve set yourself up to be the next world-devouring monster. Guess I’m too Min-like.