Note: Input/Comments on thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Concept:
Considered an abject failure and given little other option, the MC is forced to go undercover to assassinate whoever is declared the true heir of Oxhurst after their reveal, all while concealing your true identity. A darker themed fantasy romance with a central conflict of interest, betray your father, King of Barchester, or your own potential lover/closest friend!
Genres:
Primarily a fantasy romance, but I am aiming for a more gritty and realistic experience of it. I am interested in trying to ground my low-fantasy historical setting, so if you feel as though it feels a bit too fantastical, please let me know what I can do to improve!
Intended Features:
- Play as a Male, Female, or Nonbinary character, allowing for gender bending for their disguise. Play as Gay, Straight, Pansexual, or AroAce (you can define if interested in NB romance).
- 3 Primary Backgrounds with differing impacts on how you relate to other characters (6 primary character traits).
- 3 Main Romantic interests with potential side romances later in the development of the story. (One as NB, 2 with genders you select!)
- Romance not dictated by flirting “boldly” or “shyly,” your personality matters and is what attracts or repulses you from potential romance. (Meaning more organic romance, I’m thinking of them being attracted to you as a person rather than your constant flirtatious behavior. They can develop a crush independently, and potentially even confess if you don’t shut them down!)
Main Character Info
The main character is the youngest member of the royal family of Barchester, a country of predominantly non-humans! The MC themself is a shapeshifter of some kind, though changing shape is risky, painful, and can ‘melt’ in moments of intense emotion! Shape your MC to your desires, just keep in mind that for a love interest to swoon for you, you will need to be someone they would find interest in!
Background Ideas:
Knight
Prior to your effective death sentence in your newest mission, you served predominantly as a military commander of a small campaign supporting the front of your elder sister. However, you lead yourself down the wrong path and make a crucial error, resulting in most of your soldiers getting wiped out. Your failure makes you a disappointment, making the assignment to the job a bit less than surprising…
Scholar
Prior to your effective death sentence in your newest mission, you entertained yourself in the arts and in education. You found joy in traditional scholarly tasks. However, your affection for these built you up for failure when you blinded yourself to the swirls of the courts underneath you who did not approve of your ‘meekness.’ Your father sends you on this mission with the apparent intent of proving yourself not to be what the courts say of you.
Third Background
Undecided ¯_(ツ)_/¯ toss me ideas bro
Romantic Interests:
First Heir - Cyril (NB - They/Them)
General Info: First born and heir to the throne, they are known broadly as an ethereal beauty with a haunting gaze. That much appears to be true, what is less widely spoken about is the melancholy and coldness by which they live. Will you be able to learn more about this “fragile flower” or only find yourself pushing them further away?
Appearance: They are tall and thin, almost gaunt, though they have a full face. Their eyes lack a distinctive iris, an azure hue that feels almost hypnotic. They have prominent facial features, and appear slightly more masculine then feminine, their hair is long and a red-undertone based ash blonde. Their ears are slightly tipped, indicating that they likely are not fully human (if the eyes were not indication enough) and decorated with a variety of golden and crystalline earrings.
Second Heir - Dorian/Daria (Selectable)
General Information: Second born and favored among aristocrats, they are a very charismatic and physical person. They don’t appear immediately interested in you beyond what you could provide to them, but they might just have more to offer if you show you are more then a pretty face.
Appearance: Slightly above average height and a lover of sport, they are vain enough to ensure they can attract the attention of those around them. Their hair is naturally coiled, with ringlets that curl to frame their face ending slightly below their cheekbone and mid-toned brown skin (haven’t decided specific shade). They are a lover of fashion, and decorate in elaborate, if a bit… impracticable garments so they can impress!
Third Heir - Marcus/Marcy (Selectable)
General Information: Third born, pragmatic and curt. They appear more to resemble a knight than a prince, while this makes them unfavored by the nobility, they particularly catch the interest of the military. They are ruthless in their pursuit of success and unwilling to compromise.
Appearance: It’s difficult to gauge their exact body type, considering they are never willingly seen without their heavy armor on, but it is clear they are the shortest of the siblings. They don’t particularly relish in the fact either, but it seems relatively insignificant. Most of the time, they wear a helmet over their face, when they aren’t you get an opportunity to see their olive skin tone and shoulder length ivory black hair. Their eyes are piercing, and intimidating, black pearls that burr past you to attempt to see your inner thoughts.
Open to introducing more romantic interests if there is interest among the side characters! Let me know if there is anyone you are particularly interested in getting to know in a more… intimate fashion! Note though, I am very stubborn about Cyril being a nonbinary romance, I feel as though there is not nearly enough representation of nonbinary characters, particularly romanceable characters.
Romantic Mechanic Concept
Just adding note of this idea so I don’t forget. My idea is that the characters will have 2-3 of the stats that they are most ‘compatible’ with, and the added value of the total of those stats in addition to a value given whenever the player gives specific responses culminates in an over all ‘attraction’ value. Basically: Certain choices can cause a character to become more attracted to you (based off of their own personal tastes rather than just through flirting) and they can have a few different stages of romantic interest before confessing. I am not entirely sure how I’ll make it work, since I don’t want to have to write the same scene like 20 times, but this is kind of what I have in mind right now!
General Information:
Oxhurst
Oxhurst is the main country for the setting of the game. A prosperous and varied country with large cliff faces and rolling fields, fertile lands. A predominantly human country with a not so human royal body. Unfortunately, it appears that the development of the lands reaps their own cost, as plumes of gas descend upon the cityscapes and they find themselves stagnated in political argumentation.
Barchester
Barchester has a much larger population of ‘mythics,’ predominantly dwarven populations, lycans, and fae. They believe that the domination of humans is a great evil, and that those who live within the lands of Oxhurst without calling home to their motherland are a disgrace. They wish to trample the short, if resilient human country that has been fostered on the continent. The country is largely obscured with a ‘haunted’ (cursed) forest to protect it from fools barrelling past the border.
