I just want to say thank you for removing needles from the whole tattoo equation. I was very relieved to find out that only ink and brushes are involved. 
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And yet it still hurts! 
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That’s fine. I just have a Thing about people touching me. Adding sharp objects does not help. 
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I happen to be blessed with an extremely low pain tolerance. 
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Oh dear. I’ve only completed one trial so far and I can already tell this is a “no pain, no gain” type of training environment. 
Good luck to you!
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If it weren’t for Teo’s calming vibes, I’m pretty sure I would have noped right back to Minare when I learned what the second initiation was. 
Teo
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Definitely going for Teo on my next run with a magic-crazy mage type. Right now it’s Kai and an MC who isn’t really down with this whole magic thing, she really prefers sneakity-sneakity stabbity-stabbity, but she’s starting to think maybe wreaking havoc on some other world with this hunk might not be too bad.
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I love Kai too, although Teo is closer to my real-life “type.”
There’s just so much good stuff in this game. I love it!
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I’ll be honest, the fire trial would definitely send me packing, in real life, even if I made it that far.
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Halfway through my first playthrough, and one thing that’s a bit odd is that there’s seemingly no option to play a reluctant character. That’s the kind of character I tried to play to begin with: someone who would try to resist the call, refuse the trials, even resent his kindred for choosing him without his consent. There are a few options to express uncertainty, but other than that the character always seems totally on board with their new life, which seems odd seeing as they’ve potentially just escaped their involuntary service to the king only to be pressed into involuntary service to this “balance of the multiverse”.
I’ve restarted with a more eager character and am having a much better time, and I get that it would be a very short game if you could just hop back on the boat the moment you hear the call. But still, all the beauty and wonder and opportunities for love and friendship and personal growth are marred somewhat by the fact that the main character is essentially a prisoner on this island, chosen against their will and forced to undergo painful trials and permanent changes to their body.
This is even more sinister when you consider the character of Rae, my chosen romantic interest for the game. Obviously she’s determined to pass the trials no matter how long it takes, and hopefully she’ll eventually succeed with or without the player’s help - but what if she doesn’t? What if, after a few more failures, she decides she’s had enough, she isn’t going to put herself through this again, and she wants to go back to Rumia? Would they let her go? Or would she have to keep reattempting the trials for the rest of her life if it comes to it, watching countless other initiates come and go whilst she’s trapped in this endless Sisyphean cycle of pain and humiliation? Suddenly this island paradise doesn’t seem quite so paradisiacal.
I understand these sort of questions aren’t what the game is about. But they’re what was going through my head while I was playing.
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I’m playing a reluctant character myself at the moment and those questions ran through my head as well. What happens if you don’t pass the trials? What happens if you just… leave, partway through? What does it mean to be exiled? Of course the answer is probably something like, “Well, then the game would abruptly end”, which, yeah, fair, but it would’ve been nice to at least be able to ask someone about these things.
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The PC does ask about that at some point, and I think it’s Thea who explains that it simply never happens that anyone has wanted to leave after meeting their kindred. Presumably the Call only goes out to those who are right for it. If you were the kind of person who wouldn’t/couldn’t make it as a Kitherin, you wouldn’t have received the Call.
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Basically this. There’s no option to refuse because that’s not what the game is about.
You’re welcome to play as a reluctant initiate, and there are opportunities to express that, but you’ll probably have more fun if you embrace the chance to become Kitherin.
Rae would eventually pass if left to her own devices. Most of the mages are helpful and welcoming. No one who is chosen to hear the call of the Kitherin fails forever, and Rae is all-in. She wouldn’t want to leave and is determined to do whatever it takes.
Nails it.
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I’m late to the after-party, but grats Leia!
I still have not yet played my initial run, but will as soon as I can.
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I figured that, which is why I always planned (if I liked the game) to do another run with a borderline-annoyingly-gung-ho recruit. That is definitely going to happen. 
But my first runs, while I’m getting familiar with a setting and characters, tend to be on the skeptical side.
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I suppose it is mentioned that the kindred (or some of them at least) can “see through time”, so presumably they’d know whether or not a person would make a good Kitherin before they even arrive. And I know that Rae’s determination will see her through sooner or later; she’s a scrappy underdog and I love that about her. I was just playing with what-ifs.
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Totally fair. I guess I look at it as one of those situations in life where you’re thrown into something unexpected. I tend to try to make the best of it, but there’s lots of ways to approach it. I hope you have fun regardless!
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Purchased
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I think the presence of the line (by Thea, I think), “This is the last chance to back out” might have contributed. Because, well, there is not a chance to back out, which made her words seem rather hollow and almost dishonest. For me, this created a dissonance with the rest of Thea’s presentation, which is very empathetic and supportive.
Of course, I know that COG guidelines discourage early game-overs, so there’s a conflict between the story element and the game element. Which is pretty common for narrative games, I think.
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I don’t think Thea delivers a line like that… The ferrymaster is the one who first brings up the warning that going to Ra’zai means there’s a chance the PC will hear the call of the Kitherin. There is a chance to talk with Thea about feeling reluctant about the call, though, so maybe you’re thinking of that? You don’t actually meet her right until after you’ve heard the call.
The game is about becoming a warrior-mage so there really wasn’t any way to write it and also give the chance to back out. I tried to give enough warnings, starting with the ferrymaster in the opening scene, so it’s not a surprise when you go through the gates.
Thanks! I hope you have fun with it!
Most welcome! Yes, there’s still pain involved, but I think painting on the tattoos makes it better? Somewhat?
I love this! 
Teo is something special, for sure! 
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