Plunge into a world where magic calls the passion in your soul and join a clan of immortal warrior-mages. Will you bond with a sexy tattoo artist, a feisty initiate, a playful sage, or a maverick with an unfulfilled quest?
You’ve been a spy for the kingdom of Minare since you were ten, when the king deemed you too clever and sent you off for training. Now a seasoned spy, you’re sent to infiltrate the Kitherin warrior-mages, whose tattoos give them supernatural abilities and whose blood rites bond them to powerful creatures from another world. When the call of the Kitherin sounds in your soul, do you befriend a dragon, griffin, or phoenix? What paths will you take as an initiate?
A group of mages invites you into their crew of camaraderie, where you might discover soul- deep love. Are you attracted to Teo, the soft-spoken artist who paints dragon ink on your skin, whose muscular body is covered in tattoos and whose eyes blaze with amber fire? Are you drawn to Kai, whose dark hair contrasts with brilliant blue eyes that glimmer with gold and dance with purple shadows? Kai’s mastery as a warrior is unmatched, but he faces opposition from the council as he plots to sabotage a corrupt regime. Perhaps you prefer Rae, the feisty initiate on her third round through the challenges, with her dark skin and wicked smile. Rae’s determination is legendary, and her boisterous spirit is unbreakable. Or maybe Thea is the one for you, with her sea-green eyes and copper hair. A Fae-blooded guardian of the Living Temple, Thea will show you her playful side if you earn her trust.
Explore the island of Ra’zai and all it has to offer. Shop from the finest market in the nine seas, surf azure waves, and dance at a full moon party where you might indulge in magical elixirs and intimate moments. Get dragon rune tattoos and learn to wield their power, show your prowess on the sparring field, and soar in the skies of the otherworld. Arrange a royal marriage alliance, meddle in the affairs of the mage council, incite a lawful rebellion, or resort to blackmail and poison to get what you want.
Will you confess the clandestine role you’ve played for your king, or keep your secrets and let the past die? No matter what you’ve done, your lover will stay by your side. When you pass your initiations and bond with your kindred, you will be joining the ranks of the Kitherin warrior-mages who bring balance to the interconnected worlds.
Art coming soon - stay tuned!
This is a Heart’s Choice game from Leia Talon, the author of Their Majesties’ Pleasure. It’s an indirect sequel to Their Majesties’ Pleasure: it’s set in a different part of the same world with a new PC, and you won’t load a save.
The PC is gender-variable, and there are four ROs: two male and two female. This game is rated 4 out of 5 chili peppers on the updated HC scale.
Directions for beta testing:
- First, read the Beta FAQ if this is your first time testing: Beta Testing FAQs - Please Read Before Applying!
- Then, email us, beta AT choiceofgames for access.
DO NOT POST ASKING WHAT THE BETA EMAIL ADDRESS IS. The first test to becoming a beta tester is inferring what it is based on how we describe it above.
Do not send DMs/PMs through the forum mail system, Discord, text message, carrier pigeon, or any other method than email. - When you send your EMAIL, include:
- the game you want to test in the Subject line of the email.
- your forum-name
- your real name (first and last).
Please indicate if your family/surname comes first as well. Beta testers’ names are listed in the game’s credits, which are accessed with the “About” link you’ll see within the game. If you don’t want to appear in the credits, or you want to be credited under a name other than your real one, please let us know.
- Do not email us multiple times about joining a beta. If you don’t email us as soon as we post a beta, you go into a queue. As we post new drafts, we admit more people from the queue. Eventually, we will get to you. Some beta processes last longer than others, and it may take up to a few weeks to reach the front of the queue.
- When you have been admitted to the beta, we will send you a link, a username, and a password as a reply to your email.
- If you have tested before, do not use the same password that you used to test any previous game. This game has a different password.
When you have feedback to submit:
- Return feedback as part of the same email thread where you were admitted. Copying beta@choiceofgames on that email is the best way to make sure your comments are seen as soon as possible.
- Please send screenshots or copy/pasted quotes whenever you can; it helps us track down whatever observation you’re making. In particular, the author may see things that you don’t, and/or the screenshot may contain more information than you realize.
- If you’re submitting feedback using the Bug/Submit button in the game, make sure you include your handle/name in the body of the email. The Submit button obscures your email address, and I can’t give you credit for feedback if I don’t know who you are.
A few more notes:
- You cannot be testing two games at once. If you are already testing one game, send in feedback on that game before you apply to another. If you apply for multiple games at the same time, you will likely be admitted first to whichever game has testing slots open up first, and we won’t be able to admit you to the other one until you send in your comments for that one. (From an admin standpoint, it’s easiest if you don’t apply to more than one game at once – applying to multiple games makes it more likely that we’ll miss admitting you to one of them.)
- If you’re admitted as a tester but realize you won’t be able to send in feedback for that game, please let us know! You won’t be penalized in any way - we’ll just take you off the list of testers for that game. But if you sign up to test a game and don’t send comments or withdraw, it will affect your chances of being admitted to future betas.
- There’s no standard length of time for a beta testing period to last, and we usually don’t know exactly how long a game will be in beta when it opens. The best way to know how long a beta will be open is to follow the thread for updates.
- It’s fine to send multiple feedback emails, but if you have a lot of quick comments, it’s easier to keep track of them if you bundle them into one email.
Tips on How to Give Feedback
We’re looking for “high level” and “low level” feedback. Not mid-level feedback.
- Low-level = typos and continuity errors. A continuity error is when a character’s gender flips, or someone comes back from the dead, or you run into a plotline that just doesn’t make sense (because it’s probably a coding error). For these low-level issues, screenshots are very helpful. If you see a problem, take a screenshot, or copy and paste the text that is in error, and email that.
- “High level” feedback has to do with things like plot, pacing, and characters. “Scene A didn’t work for me because x, y, and z,” is useful feedback. “B character was entirely unsympathetic, because u, w, and v,” is also useful feedback.
- “Mid-level” feedback describes things like grammar, style, word choice, or the use of commas. As I said above, I do not want mid-level feedback. In particular, DO NOT WRITE TO ME ABOUT COMMAS.
Be SPECIFIC in your feedback. General comments like “I had a great time and saw only a few spelling errors,” is not useful feedback. In fact, it’s the sort of thing that results in you not being given access to future betas.
Some examples of useful feedback:
- In Choice of the Dragon, you get to choose what type of wings you have: leather or scaled. Someone wrote in and asked about having feathered wings. Great suggestion! Done!
- In “The Eagle’s Heir,” someone asked about Eugenie. They said that the romance moved too quickly–because she only appeared in the last third of the game–and wished they could have had an opportunity to meet her earlier. So the authors added an opportunity to meet her and start the romance earlier in the game (in a scene that already existed).
- In “Demon Mark: A Russian Saga” several people commented on how the PC’s parents were unsympathetic, so the authors added a choice or two to deepen the relationship with the parents in the first chapter, to help better establish their characters.
- Pointing out a specific choice and saying, “this is who I imagined my character was at this particular moment, and none of these options seemed right for me. I would have liked an option to do X instead,” is also really helpful feedback.
- If you choose an option and then the results of that option don’t make sense. Like, if you thought an option might test one stat, but it seems to have tested a different one.