She was once able to overthrow MC as a crownprice/princess(which is a huge feat if you don’t believe me crosscheck with history) , even if she is broken down she easily knows how to deal with depression and after war ends and she returns to her comfortable life she may bounce back. By letting Vedran suicide and Elya killed at the hands of Rade we not only become king of Kanton maybe even Krodia but also become almost invincible after marrying Duchess Lada we consolidate ourselves as King with support of a dutchy and soldiers.
She can do that again
Mira: Elya either you kill Marshall or I will kill myself.
Who will Elya choose her mother or her step brother who was also the reason for the Suicide of Vedran ?
Also I was not speaking of Ending 3
I was speaking about Elya being killed in the second book by Rade.
And us killing Rade.
Nobody but the MC has the legitimacy.
It’s like chess the last standing rook can become whatever it wants to be.
After ending 2 we won and Rade had to retract. Rade lost in direct battle now he will try assassins ( quite possible choice for him)
Marshall being adept at fighting won’t die same can’t be said for Elya. She will be dead.
Well it’s no use to speculate at the end of the day it’s the author who will write the story neither me nor @Snowflower so let’s see. The author had said we can become king even in second book in one of his posts. I felt this was the best way of us becoming king if we kept Elya’s strength stat at 0 like I did in ITFO by dealing with all her problems.
Also in chapter 5 Vedran was not an assassin he was just a traitor. Trained assassins would have killed Elya in a second. Marshall can fight so he can survive.
Again Drazen also was not a trained proffesional assasin. So I still think the same that Elya would die at the hands of real assassins just keep her strength a big ZERO
Also Rade personally has never sent assassins so he would try if he feels he is loosing.
Another way is by sending Elya ( by boosting her confidence) to front lines and then sabotage.
Also Darin is a veteran soldier in his early fifties not an old man ( fought all his life and survived) he can defeat an assassin not Elya without any leadership strength.
It’s rather underhanded to make use of the usual Choice of Games line of “play as a man or woman; straight, gay, or aromantic.” By doing so, you’re implying the existence of options that aren’t actually implemented, and whether you realize it or not, you’re exploiting the familiarity many readers have with the bullet points list most games use on their startup page to showcase selling points and main narrative features. Whether you want to write something or not is your decision as a writer, and nothing ought to compromise your agency to do so, but don’t pitch it as a mere token gesture for the sake of hitting sales or garnering interest from a wider audience, many of whom I reckon do not even use these forums and thus wouldn’t know any better. I’d suggest you amend that line by supplying specific examples the way some CoG titles have done in the past; “court a rebellious X, flirt with an Y, etc.”
Though my tone is accusatory, I’'ve yet hope that what I perceive as a cheap trick wasn’t something you had done with ill intent.
wait genuine question, aren’t all of these options available? I know some people have wished for a lesbian love interest, but even if there isn’t one, you can still play as a gay woman I’m pretty sure…? I recall that option in my playthrough. and there’s definitely a “not interested in romance” option which I would take as aromantic.
On one hand I agree that it could be seen as an issue and may cause some readers to be annoyed/upset that there is no current gay female romance. However I would argue the choice of sexuality for the character is still there and does still play a part in the story. Does it play a large part in comparison to the other sexuality/gender combinations? No. But very rarely do many choices in most interactive fiction games play large roles in the story. Some games have romances that are barebones at best and are more of a cop out romance than anything else. The author has described here in more depth that the reason he didn’t make or change a character into a lesbian romance is because most women during the time period inspiration of the game would not be in the setting that takes place for the most part of the game. Secondly because he wants to give the options proper respect and characterization rather than to make them barebone options.
So in an examination of the current characters that could fit a lesbian option you have: Lada, Elya, Mira, Kroridian maid. Obviously we’re going to remove Elya from this list as she is a sibling. Mira though not biologically your mother is an abuser who maimed the character and much older than the MC and acted as a maternal figure for a small portion of the MC’s life, therefore they are disqualified as well. Lada is specifically mentioned as her sexuality being a key part of her character as a noblewoman who actively accepts and understands their intention to be married later on. The Krorid maid then would be the last option. Which would counteract what the author wishes for, the maid is mentioned off-handedly and doesn’t even make an appearance and would therefore go against that wish.
So what’s the point of picking the Lesbian option for a female character? Roleplay. Through the story you receive a few moments to observe and form opinions about the sibling character that is attracted to your gender Lada for men, Milon for women. As a Lesbian your character will never accept or entertain any flirtation with Milon at all as it wouldn’t fit, furthermore when you get the option to think about how you feel about him you can choose to feel deeply uncomfortable about the situation as you can’t publicly speak about the issue and have to endure his attempts of flirtation as being gay is not culturally or possibly legally allowed within the setting.
Edit: Just to be completely fair. I myself do not identify with the role I am currently speaking of. I have played the role myself in the game and have enjoyed the path personally and made a character specifically for that role. But as I myself do not fit the role I welcome anyone to challenge what I said and I will fully accept that as I do not have the same understanding others would and would welcome that chance to learn peoples’ perspectives further.
there’s very little reason for Elya to take Mira’s threats seriously. Unlike where it was case with Sobik, Mira doesn’t hold any real threat over Elya’s head: Marshall’s bastard parentage is already known.
These options are actually implemented, though. You certainly can play as such character. I think you’re perhaps making a mistake of conflating this line with the one that usually follows: “Find love and/or friendship with list of ROs here” which this particular game actually lacks, and for a good reason: because it doesn’t provide romance options for every kind of MC?
The best way I can describe it for me is, I was bummed. The line of “play as a man or woman; straight, gay, or aromantic.” Did have me expecting it would be represented within the game. I understand why there isn’t a f/f romance, but I don’t like how it is a non-factor. Besides ticking the box that my character is a lesbian, lesbian Marshal reads the same as aro F!Marshal, and straight F!Marshal who isn’t interested in Milon. It just sucks not being represented.
I mean If she must choose one of them . Life always be like that .sometime you can’t choose both if you want .just like when choose Dimas or Lada in battlefield. Elya will alway choose Mira first and let Marshall die because Mira is her mother and only her real family by blood
Elya already chose the Marshall over her mother when she didn’t listen to Mira’s orders to stay away from MC. “Blood thicker than water” is far from universal truth, not to mention the Marshall is also Elya’s family – they have the same father.
For Christs sake, even as an Bastard King Main myself, I have to say the accusation some people throw here around are just ridiculous. Can’t even call that grasping for straws at this point.
I don’t have faint in half- sibling. Elya is Sobik and Mira 's Golden Child.She will become like him or Mira someday.she love Marshall because she is still young and stay in innocent day .In GOT Lysa Arryn still can betray Catelyn strak .they are real sibling anyway . But Elya and Marshall is only half sibling and It’s not mean she will always choose Marshall over Mira from now.
Mira is a useless old drunk.
The Marshall (if he/she is loyal) is pretty much her best asset for the war. Not even Vedran would be so stupid to fuck them over for that old crow.
Yes, her useful pawn like Sobik use Marshall. When this pawn’s duty ends or useless.she just discard it . Why we have be her pawn if we have change to be power player in this game?
If you would ask my Main Mc good old Kolscr, he would fully agree. I mean the dude got his “Heros welcome” in Krorid and just thought about how they will all abandon him anyway… so he aint the best guy to make objective decisions to be honest.
So let me the Player speak. Elya pretty much tries her damned hardest to give the Marshall a place, first as Magister Militium and later she literally speaks with the Marshall about helping him out with the whole “dishonered buisiness”, which could actually lead to his legitimization. Which could prove actually be dangerous to her own rule. Since ya know… older sibling? Especially if youre playing a man?
The Marshall already has enough responsibilities on their plate they literally want to kill themselves over it. Only a suicidal idiot would willingly put even more load on their back in such circumstances. Because what’s the point of being a power player in a game that you hate?
If there’s an ending that’s missing it’s one where the Marshall goes “i’m so done with this shit.” and goes fishing.
It’s one of the best and most logical endings for a Marshal that isn’t constrained by the premise of the game—vanishing into the Kroridian jungle and only being found if they wish it (and the people of Krorid haven’t seen anyone that meets the Marshal’s description, no siree…), sneaking out of Wrido as early as chapter 2. Elya and Darin come along because they are the Marshal’s sole emotional connections at that time.
I mean honestly fuck it. Just let Rade win. Is there actually anything wrong with putting him in charge? He’s certainly better than Vedran at the very least.
Thank you for the continued feedback and bug reports! Again, there’s too much feedback to respond to individually, but I do read everything.
It’d be good for establishing his new allies as a threat as well, and establishing the difficulties of coalition warfare. Maybe one of the flanks of the army gets goaded into charging and is encircled and destroyed by the enemy horse archers.
The Erisians are to the west of Krorid, which is already west of Kanton, but they are related with the “Friends in the East”. I envision the Erisians as a sort of Mongol successor state like the Golden Horde, where a previously powerful steppe empire conquered its way across the continent before collapsing, and the Erisians are just one of the few kingdoms that survived to ITFO’s comparatively modern age.
If I had a nickel…
I felt as if it’d be unnecessary drama. Lada wasn’t supposed to be there, she knew the risks, and she got hit for it. In book time, it would be a split second decision. And at that point, any romantic relationship between MC and Lada/Milon is still in early flirting stages.
Do you have screenshots? Without screenshots, I don’t know what to look for in the code. Looking at it now, whether the enemy cavalry struck your line is a true/false statement, so it should literally be impossible for both to be happening at the same time lol.
So was I. It might be a weird bug from the game being updated halfway through a playthrough.
I think so. I’ve even deliberately restarted from a checkpoint 3 or 4 times and it hasn’t bugged up. Nothing in the checkpoint code seems off (anymore, at least)
Winter was approaching, and a siege in the winter is not fun for either army.
Which sounds absolutely terrible. Imagine digging beneath the walls of Vienna in the pitch black, lit only by lamplight, when suddenly you break into the enemy’s tunnel and have to fight them in a crumbling corridor of earth. Absolute nightmare fuel.
I will say that once the number of men in both armies swell, the number of professional infantry will be a much smaller percentage than before.
Because revenge is very psychologically unhealthy. And he’s his own person, too, outside of the marshal. ‘Compassion fatigue’ is a real thing; sometimes you just grow weary of other people’s self-destructing behavior, especially when it hurts others, too. It sucks to say, but it’s true.
no
Place yourself in Darin’s head. A very mentally unstable 24 year old just usurped the throne, throwing away most of the legitimacy of the royalist cause, and potentially dragging out the current ongoing civil war. In the man’s own words: “One succession crisis at a time”. I personally don’t think of it as “do what I want”, but more of a “stop being a dumb ass”.
Lord Tomos is dead at the start of the story. Lord Moren is the sick man on the throne during chapter 7, and he stayed behind in Krorid on account of his illness. He’ll have a role to play in book 2, though.
yes
Absolutely untrue. I’ll have you know that I wrote an entire ending where she does of sepsis. Dismas is my golden child, and I let the narrative kill him, too.
That wasn’t what I was trying to communicate, but yeah, the line is iffy. Might actually leave it, though, because it’s ambiguous enough to act as a cliffhanger.
If you tell that to the nobility, you’ll have to back it up with steel.
This is really cool!
And I actually have a redemption arc in mind for Vedran, involving a cavalry charge that may mirror that of his fallen brother’s.
Siege equipment was built on sight rather than lugged around. And scaling ladders were more effective than I think people give them credit for. They were deliberately sized and angled to be as difficult to push off as possible.
It was absolutely a piss poor excuse, and even Miljenko says so. But it’s reality. Whether or not the marshal can change that reality entirely depends on their ability to win over the nobility and Church, as well as their ability to put down Rade’s rebellion.
Absolutely. Potentially fucked up enough to push a resentful sibling to launch a coup, perhaps?
Not nowadays, at least.
this angers me greatly
This is my own personal belief. When I do my test runs, I don’t fight her because I simply believe that there’s nothing healthy to be found in it.
I don’t think so. Not for any philosophical reason, but it’s just a serious pain to implement.
Belos said the same about the MC and he wound up six feet under. Just as the MC had more experience in war, so does Darin have more experience in the mental health department on account of his age.
A peasant’s perspective can be valuable, too.
Not necessarily. Machiavellian means more pragmatic, rather than evil and vindictive. I think Tywin dips too far into the cruelty aspect to be truly Machiavellian.
I genuinely set out with the idea of exploring that trope from a more realistic lens and breaking down why it’s questionable IRL. And then I wrote Whiskey-Four where 86% of readers saw a big, fluttering red flag and charged straight toward it.
Absolutely.
Never trust anyone–and especially not family.
I’m still torn on whether or not then I give an option to execute either of the captured siblings. It would, one, be a terrible idea from a PR perspective, and two, I think it’d be weird to spare Vedran in combat only to kill him later when you don’t have any excuses.
It’s a golden opportunity for someone pragmatic and opportunistic to seize on. It is an unwed princess who is the official heir of the king himself. Marrying her is a perfect way to take the throne in a legitimate way without any blood.
Easier said than done.
Lol such is life.
(I’ve hit the character limit, so I’ll continue in another comment)
