One Knight Stand - King Arthur x Among Us Apocalyptic Road Trip (WIP - 614k)(UPDATE - 01/16/24 + 120k Don't like polo? Have a fencing match instead. Now with extra bug fixes!)

[Unregistered]

It’s the end of the world… and you don’t feel fine.

It’s just another humdrum day as the weekend winds to its inevitable end. All is as expected. The pandemic has stretched on for a decade now. A new serial killer stalks the streets. And your completely normal club is waiting. Just another ordinary day.

Just ignore the sounds in your living room. Just ignore that shadow scuttling across the floor. Just ignore the lies of the ‘friend’ who’s known you for years. He’s lying. She’s lying. That stranger on the street is lying. And the voices whispering in your mind are definitely lying.

Everyone is lying… especially the traitor who’s infiltrated the group.

But that’s fine…

Y̥͑̅̌̔̉ͯo̼̩̖̓ͪ̽͢ǔ̢͢͏̫͕͋’͎̬́͐ͥ᷇͢r̉͏͍̾᷉̓̓e͓͕ͦ̿᷅͆͠ l̜̻̈̅̃͢͞y̡̬͙̪̦̦ͧi̘᷅̓͒̐̍͑n̰͈᷅ͯͥͨ͜g̯᷾̒̑᷄̕͟ t̶̙͍̏͊᷈͠o̙̟ͦ̏̄ͭ͂o̥̮͆ͤ͐͝͠.̛͚̎᷇̍̕͜

Play the Beta Test

Update 3: 02/01/24 Major Bug Fixes

Update 3 Includes...

• Fixed bug where choosing to be an épéeist redirects to the foilist choice if the MC prefers to use long swords (also fixed the a épéeist typo in the same choice.
• Fixed the trailer attack being mentioned during the fight against the hellhound and during Merlin’s lore dump conversation
• Added long sword response for certain MC’s in the weapons talk with Merlin
• Fixed adrian_arthur/adrian_arthurian disambiguation bug that made it seem that MC always had Arthurian talk with Adrian
• Fixed Shrek/Sword in the Stone/Camelot Musical references
• Fixed(?) bug with current weapon on hand not triggering
• Fixed the bugs with the MC’s fencing lame.
• Removed Maelgwyn/Maelgyn typos
• Clarified "Modron"s background in Merlin’s Guide
• Fixed bug where game assumes a friendly MC has already seen Adrian’s text message in the fencing route
• Fixed Flip1/Flip2 showing up for lucky MC’s when using the Magic 8-Ball
• Fixed various bugs concerning the current status of the MC’s fencing gloves
• Fixed Stratchclyde/Strathclyde typos
• Fixed bug where people were getting +2 Silent instead of +1
• Added wiki to Adrian Garf during the Mist talk with Adrian
• Tactics & Photographic Memory now gray out some less than optimal choices during the fencing club route

Update 2: 01/16/24 Chapter 1 Part 3 (Fencing Club Route)

Update 2 Also Includes...

• Calmly letting Merlin into your apartment after escaping the monster-under-the-bed no longer removes the mute flag
• Fixed Adrian literally calling the MC as “MC” in the pub
• Fixed expresso back to espresso AGAIN *stares at it*
• Fixed the phil_status 2 bug AGAIN (Somehow I must’ve reverted a bunch of bug fixes in Chapter 1)
• Fixed bug where MC’s name permanently changes to their pseudonym if the player tried to back out of the renaming screen
• Fixed the “On second thought, let me try a different fake first name…” option so it only asks the player to change their fake first name (as originally intended)
• Fixed some dialogue with Adrian depending upon your clothing choices in the polo club branch
• Fixed the Adrian text messaging bug. Again. Hopefully third time is the charm.
• Fixed bug where your current job being your dream employment wasn’t triggering the positive job attitude flavor text
• Fixed bug where the mute flag was being toggled off when interacting with Adrian regarding your fancy outfit before the polo club meeting
• Choice where Lucid Dreamer MC talks to Modern Arthur about Merlin’s dreamwalking advice is now set to toggle only when the MC speaks to Merlin in the Camelot dream sequence
• Fixed bug with the user’s input option for Business Casual outfit
• User’s choice option for Business Casual & Business Suit now toggles pants or skirt variable
• Fixed bug with the Cracking text effect in darkmode
• All piercings & scars now available in one choice during customization.
• Fixed bug (AGAIN!) when Lucky MC fails the luck check to escape the bed monster
• Added reactions to Camelot-affiliated names belonging to inanimate objects
• Fixed *set ag2 2 -1* bug in Camelot dream sequence (I wonder how that didn’t trigger QuickTest)

Update 1: 11/16/23 Chapter 2 Part 1(Camelot Dream Sequence)

Update 1 Also Includes

Also includes…

• New option to stop packing early in the packing section.
• Hair highlights have been tweaked so only flamboyant colors (blue etc) activate the ‘striking’ flag
• Clarified that the Fairy Princess option removes the ‘mute’ flag
• Clarified ‘hecatomb_rue’ as Adrian’s screenname
• ‘Low-neck T-shirt & Jeans’ vs ‘Low Neck Shirt & Jeans’ bug fixed
• Intimidation bug fixed (stat was increasing after viewing the stats menu)
• Loredump Pro achievement bug fixed
• Fixed inventory bug that wouldn’t let you draw your sword/gun/knife during the protect Merlin sequences
• Monster-under-the-bed stat check has been made easier
• Lowered threshold to receive willpower boost
• Increased fear threshold for easier passing of some stat checks
• Raised threshold for possession check at certain parts
• Various other stat + flavor checks have had their thresholds tweaked
• Fixed bug where not changing your opinion of Adrian made the game assume you had a good relationship
• Harry Potter references now gated behind choosing a Harry Potter related dialogue option.
• 2 new shortened versions of the MC customization scene now available

Sound Effect Alert: Turn Down Your Volume At Start of Game

• Total Word Count: 614,000+
• Including Code: 833,000+
• Average Playthrough: ~60,000 words
• Average if you play ‘ask Adrian and Merlin five million questions around the city’: Considerably longer

LINKS: Patreon | Tumblr Dev Blog | Free Drabble

You’re a Harbinger of the Apocalypse… or so it’s been claimed. The destined reincarnation of a legendary hero from the time of Camelot. For the sake of the world, reclaim your past memories & powers and discover the true identities of yourself and your current companions.

For the sake of your survival, make certain that you’re a member of the successful Greater Circle… because in the end, only thirteen are needed and it doesn’t have to include you. The two previous Circles have failed and all their members paid the price for it…

…but third time’s the charm, ̷r̸i̷g̵h̴t̶?

Everyone is lying. That most certainly includes you. And one is an enemy infiltrator who’s entire purpose is to (murderously) sabotage this last and final circle. Who will you trust and who will you trick? The fate of both you and the world hangs in the balance.

Genres: Dark Urban Fantasy (with mystery/thriller/horror elements). The Camelot flashback sections are more High Fantasy.

Summary

• Play Among Us/Werewolf/Mafia/The Thing/The Mole/Danganronpa/Town of Salem/etc Arthurian lore style! (Also don’t forget the apocalypse, that’s kind of important)
• Lovingly craft your character in intimate detail or slap down that [Randomly Generate Your Appearance] button like I do.
• Choose your sad childhood background and your potentially even sadder (or more traumatic or more traumatically evil) deep, dark secret which must be hidden at all cost
• Play one million questions around the city with not-so-random people or go “Screw this lore dump, I’m taking a nap!”
• ᕕ(✿ ᐛ )ᕗ ← Merlin on their way to a six hour lecture because you had to ask every single question in their dialogue tree. I mean, there’s an Achievement for doing that, so you do you.
• Spend the entire time during this IF about Arthurian lore going “Who is Arthur and what’s a Camels-a-lot?” (Yes, this a legit strategy to get through the game)
• Figure out your previous Camelot reincarnation from amongst four different potential backgrounds (determined by your actions in the Camelot flashback sections). Or go “Nuts to this mystery!” and just wait to get your magic powers already. (Uh, you probably should still try and figure out who’s trying to kill you, though)
• Act like a saint, act like a psychopath, or randomly burst into song & dance like you’re trapped in a Disney musical at the most inappropriate moments.
• Survive the night… or die horribly and collect the Dead Ends like pokemon who give clues to what’s happening in the greater narrative. (You won’t be the only one… dying, that is)
• Get randomly turned into a water fowl (I mean, it’s Merlin, after all)
• Look out that window… you know you want to.
• Features creepy sound effects (which you can turn off from the main menu)

Summary

(Yes, this is basically Red Flag the Romance. Yes, there are ROs who can have a perfectly healthy relationship with you from the very beginning… and there are also ones who’ll just kill you. Good luck figuring out who is who. Also platonic buddy versions are a go.)

MERLIN (M/F/NB)
The nominal leader of this motley crew and the only one who knows what’s truly going on… or so they claim.

A shape shifting incubus who takes on the most appealing form of whoever is viewing them. Always elegant, always smiling, always for the greater good… a beautiful facade that hides a heart that’s entirely inhuman.

Unlike the others, they will never directly lie to you… lies of omission don’t count, right?

“Dear child, that’s for me to know and for you to find out, as they are wont to say. Shall we try again?”

ADRIAN BENONI (M)
A close friend, an unrequited crush, a passing acquaintance, a suspected stalker… the tone of your relationship may change, but what does not is that you’ve known this guy for years. A familiar presence within a world that’s suddenly become ever-so-strange.

But what darkness hides behind the ever amiable front that he always presents around you? Well…maybe not always. Why does he seem so desperate to like you even while keeping you an arm’s length away?

“I’m sure that if we all just came together in solidarity that we— h-hey you don’t have to laugh that hard about it!”

PERCY T. LONGSPEAR (M)
Someone who marches to the sound of his own drum… on a different planet somewhere in a galaxy far, far away.

Most assuredly the most strangely perceptive of the group, if only anyone could understand exactly what he’s saying. A potential soulmate to a very certain version of the MC.

Who his past reincarnation seems to be is so blatantly obvious that it’s the very height of suspicion.

“Why did I come in through the vents? Why would I use a *door*?”

CASSANDRA DE VAUX (F)
A detective who intercepted the group during an investigation of… well, it’s not exactly complete chaos that you’re leaving in your wake, is it?

No-nonsense when on the job, but playful during down times, she joined with little convincing or fanfare… but has she truly allied with the cause or is this just another sting operation to her?

And why does she seem so much more… wait what were we talking about again?

“Scintillating. Now please explain again from the top… you were doing *what* in the museum that night?”

GWYNETH REYNARD (F)
A vivacious and sweetly cheerful member of the group that pulls off true optimism far better than certain other members… even if she wears that sunny disposition like a suit of armor.

You found her wandering in an abandoned nineteenth-century mental asylum. A perfectly normal place to meet. (After all, you were there too!) And certainly there’s a completely sensible explanation for why she doesn’t want to head back home as well.

“Oh, are we making claims on who we want to be now? Then I want to be Buttercup from the Princess Bride!”

LORELEI GUERRIER (F)
An Olympic archer who is as unflappable as she is coolly distant. She has the rather laudable capability of beating down a lesser hellhound with nothing but a mop for a weapon.

Certainly her joining would be nothing but a boon to the group. Too bad she possesses nothing but cynicism and antipathy for the idea of chivalry and knights in shining armor.

But surely she’s a champion of Camelot, right?

“The virtue of a knight? Someone that parades around in self indulgence, all for the glory of their own pride, while better people are left wanting. That’s the true face of your so-called chivalry.”

BRODERICK DOE (M)
A grumpy, recalcitrant, and somewhat foulmouthed addition to the group. He really, really doesn’t want to be here. He thinks you’re all insane. (He may be right in certain instances.)

But someone has to keep an eye out during all this craziness, right?Especially if there’s a kernel of truth to this apocalyptic nonsense.

Of course, there’s no one in this city, this state, this country registered as ‘Broderick Doe’.

“And let me be clear here… I don’t trust a single one of you chucklefucks!”

̶̇̊͒̋͜4̸̼̕͜0̸͖̭̎͝4̴̹͈̍ ̸̯̱̦͓͑̑Ȩ̵̧̺̩̉̈́ŗ̸̔̄͊̍r̷̙̾̓̇o̷̧̩̻͇̽̊͗̋r̵̮̘̒̓ ̴̧̳̺͐̆̾̅N̵͕͐o̶̘͍͗t̴̫͋́̆̋ ̵͔͒͑͐F̵̹̍̈́̿ó̵̡̹͒͆ũ̴͈̠͘n̶̢̺̰̬̋ḑ̶̲͛̔͗̕ (???)

T̶O̵O̶ ̴L̷A̸T̸E̷ ̵T̴O̸O̵ ̷L̸A̵T̴E̶ ̴T̸O̶O̶ ̵L̴A̵T̸E̶ ̴T̸O̴O̷ ̶L̴A̴T̵E̶ ̴T̴O̷O̷ ̴L̶A̶T̴E̶ ̴T̸O̵O̶ ̶L̶A̸T̷E̴ ̵

CAMELOT ROMANCE OPTIONS
(Currently sealed away, so you can only interact with them in dreams and flashbacks)

ARTHUR PENDRAGON (M)
The Once and Future King, the doomed High King of Camelot who is fated to return at humanity’s greatest moment of need and lead them in survival during the end times.

The ideal that always had a surprising streak of pragmatism to it. If only he would wake up. He’s so very, very late you see. And things have spiraled wildly out of control in his absence.

A figure that’s currently haunting your dreams.

“You think I missed my calling as a troubadour? Mayhaps… for what is politics but a form of mummery?”

VIVIAN (F)
The third and current Lady of the Lake. One of the fae who is aligned with your side through blood oaths and promises as strong as compulsion.

One of the ones who sealed Merlin away and who remains bound at the very edge of the Veil even now. The tales never mentioned the part where she’s a mari-morgan that drowns people, did they?

“Hear this song… come along… just drift a little closer, pretty thing of mine. Simply a step closer… merely a bit *deeper*.”

(All of these scenes are already in the game… buried in there somewhere amidst the 800k+ of text. Good luck finding them!)

Summary

Action-ish!

Summary

Romance-ish!

Summary

Adrian loves the Cloudcuckoolander MC

Summary

Pessimist MC is having a great time here

Summary

Tsundere MC being their normal self…

Summary

Only the most serious of conversations during this emergency

Summary

Merlin makes their very subtle and discreet entrance in a game that had no overt magic until this point.

Summary

Text message your ROs for fun and profit!

Summary

Special prizes for particularly spectacular stat failures.

Summary

Oh wait, this is supposed to be horror, right?

Summary

Summary

• Cover Art of The End of the Beginning (It’s animated… sloooowly)

Summary

• Art of Various People’s MCs

Particularly looking for feedback on…

• Eternally looking for typos and bugs etc. I’ve done four polishing runs through Chapter 1 and I’m still finding them.
• The stat data shown at the end of a playthrough. I need to know if I’m setting the stat checks too high/too low etc.
• Any answers in the following polls to determine if everyone/no one is getting possessed, if I should jettison some particularly unpopular inventory items that will take a long time to code, if a branch is too obscure etc.
• Fencing versus Polo comparisons.
• Anything constructive.

[Unregistered]

(Now starring questions that actually get repeatedly asked instead of my just making stuff up!)

FAQ Hidden Here!

446,000+ words for the first chapter?!?

I know, I know… that’s not going to be sustainable unless we’re aiming for the first 6 million word release in history. I’ll be streamlining things more from this point onwards.

Is this a standalone or the first book of a series?

It’s a series. The first book One Knight Stand will keep going until we finally complete that Lesser Circle of Seven (or die trying) but the apocalypse won’t be over yet.

What is with all these wikipedia links in the game?

So I was going to have tooltips that popped up and explained things such as ‘greaves’ and whatnot like Twine games do… but oops, Choicescript doesn’t have that capability. The closest I could do is include a link to a website that explained it.

I decided that wikipedia had the best chance of still being available years from now and have handy explanations to most things I was referencing (so I wouldn’t have to chase after broken links when sites go down forevermore).

And then I just started running amok and linking to anything that the player might not know offhand. If you already understand the reference or have no further interest in it, please feel free to just ignore them.

How can I see the code for the game?

You can view the game code on my site the same way you do on Dashingdon just add /scenes to the end of the URL.

Do I need to know anything about King Arthur, Camelot, or random arthurian lore to play this game?

No, you don’t need to know anything about it.

You can spend the whole game going “Who is Arthur? What’s a Camels-a-lot? What am I even doing here?” as a legit strategy. (You can even play that way if you actually do know stuff about arthuriana.)

If you choose to be an in-game lore expert, it just means your MC is as likely to give an explanation as one of the other characters. However, anything important that the player needs to know will come up in the game itself.

You can also ask the other characters for info dumps on Camelot… and boy, will some of them give you (completely skippable) lore dumps all right.

Hey, this stuff that Merlin’s saying about Camelot doesn’t jive with what I know!

Maybe that’s the difference between what canonically happened in One Knight Stand’s backstory. Or maybe Merlin is just gaslighting you.

What’s going on with Merlin’s pronouns?

If Merlin’s pronouns don’t fit with the gender that you’ve chosen for them within the MC’s speech or internal narrative, then that’s a coding error (please report it).

If another character (say a little girl who’s convinced that Merlin is Elsa) is using different pronouns for Merlin than what’s expected, then that’s simply how that other character is currently perceiving Merlin.

But what pronouns does Merlin prefer?

Merlin doesn’t care what human pronouns you use for them. Out-of-universe I’ll be using they/them for simplicity’s sake (same reason I’ll be using ‘incubus’ instead of typing incubus/succubus the entire time).

What’s up with all of Merlin’s kaomoji in their text messages and e-mails?

They’re a fifth-century mage who’s been sealed away for 1500 years… they’re trying.

m(✿￣ｰ￣)m plz understand

Why are there so many Merlin questions in this FAQ?

I don’t know, it just ended up that way. Probably because they show up in Chapter 1 and have a rather… complex… situation that needs warnings attached to it.

(✿≖ᴗ≖ )ゞ “Naturally, I’m simply the most intriguing member of this party.”

Are all RO’s available to all MC’s?

Your MC won’t be blocked from a romance due to gender or sexuality. At most you’ll get a passing mention if you’re not the gender that the RO usually dates.

There are certain other mitigating factors, however… for example not all RO’s are going to be kosher with the Serial Killer MC (especially if said MC won’t knock off with all the killings).

Also there is one modern day RO that is incompatible with a certain Camelot MC background.

Is there a lock-in point for romances?

No, there will be several points where you can initiate and break-off relationships with the various RO’s (and know that the RO’s can take take those on and off-ramps just the same as the MC).

You can also romance another character after breaking up with your current RO… but that’s going to get tougher and tougher the more you do that.

Can we start a romance in Book 1?

Romances will proceed at a different pace depending on who your MC is romancing (and also on your MC themselves). For example Adrian will be friendzoning you through most of Book 1 for… reasons. Meanwhile, potential sex scene with Merlin in Chapter 3 if you’re feeling particularly horny.

Do I need to romance someone to take part in their personal subplot?

No, you just need to be “close” to someone, either platonically, romantically, or otherwise to take part in their subplot. You’ll also need to actually be physically present (which will not always be possible for everyone at the same time).

Is there any poly?

In the series, yes, but not in the first book One Knight Stand, as forming the triad will require developing a certain level of trust and loyalty between all three members. And right now everyone is too busy side-eying each other in suspicion at this point.

Thus, since the poly options won’t appear until Book 2, saying who is involved would be a *spoiler*since it indicates who’ll actually still be available for romance later in the series.

In general, there are three triads that will be available… one is male/male/MC, one is female/female/MC, and one is male/female/MC. Note that there is some overlap in the characters potentially involved in various triads since only a couple of the ROs are interested in this sort of thing.

What about options for flings and friends with benefits–

*points to Merlin*

So… Merlin the incubus as an RO. Can they be romanced monogamously? Can they be romanced asexually?

You can indeed romance Merlin and have them be emotionally monogamous to you as the partner they will always return to while everyone else is a (literal) snack.

But they can’t be physically monogamous with the MC. They need to eat and being Merlin’s sole food source would literally kill the MC in two weeks or less.

In fact, romanced Merlin is even more likely to seek out other food sources just to make certain that the MC is safe with them and that they won’t get too hungry and accidentally eat your soul.

Merlin’s nature as an incubus means their sexuality is highly integral to them, and while they will reflect back what their partner wants/needs from them, they are not naturally romantic. Basically if you’re not having sex with them, then a high affinity MC is defaulting back to platonic friends.

These are things that are definitely going to be brought up in-game if you try to initiate a long-term romance with Merlin.

Will any other RO have problems with an asexual romance?

Nope, sex can be entirely avoided with all the other RO’s, just choose the snuggle options instead of the sex options.

How explicit are we talking here regarding sex scenes?

You’ll have the choice between fade to black and something rather more explicit but not full-blown porn. If anything rated higher than that gets included as a DLC option (not part of the base game) will depend upon how much (if any) interest there is in that sort of thing.

Can I romance the saboteur?

You can certainly think you are! (Note: This is not recommended for your MC’s longevity)

Can I romance the 404 Error?

You can certainly try. (You actually have a better chance here than with the actual saboteur.)

Can I romance the dude in the elevator, that random paramedic, or some stranger walking down the street?

So there’s only one traitor, right?

There may actually potentially be more than one depending on the MC’s actions. But there’s always that one particular saboteur present despite whatever else the MC may do.

Will the gender of my past Camelot reincarnation be the same as the one I’ve chosen in game?

No, there’s no connection between your MC’s current and past gender (or really their current and past anything since they’re basically an entirely different person now).

There are four different backgrounds available for the Camelot reincarnation, 2 male and 2 female, so if you end up with a past incarnation you don’t like at the end of the game, you can replay for one more suitable to your tastes.

Who are the potential past incarnations of the MC?

That’s for you to find out! (No really, this is one of the major subplots of the game).

What is with all these grayed-out options?

Options will be grayed out if they conflict with a previous choice the player made if you haven’t fulfilled the prerequisites for unlocking them.

An example would be the “I’m lying about my amnesia” option not being selectable if you didn’t chose to have amnesia in the first place. (The exception right now is the fencing & book club choices… I just haven’t written those routes yet).

If nearly all the options have been grayed out, then usually that’s triggered by your fear or vice kicking in or because your MC is literally possessed (Congratulations!). You may want to work on that.

I’m here for the story and not for the trauma… what background choices are least likely to spectacularly blow up in my face later?

In that case, I’d suggest the Lab Technician job, the Imposter secret, Abandoned or Abused as your childhood, Lust as your vice if you’re not planning to pursue a long-term relationship with a RO (Sloth if you are), either Heights, Snakes, Spiders, or Closed Spaces as your phobia, avoiding Luck as your talent & avoiding the Internet as your addiction, and finally having Adrian as your close friend.

Not saying that you can’t make other choices during the game that’ll set you on the path to Hard Mode, but these background choices have the mildest potential repercussions.

I want the full spectacular clusterf*ck experience here! What background should I choose?

The Wrath (Vice), Accident (Childhood), and Serial Killer (Secret) combo is always f̴u̸n̷. The “Lying about my amnesia” secret is also it’s own brand of mindtrip as well.

Also, some other customizations include a Security Guard career, Fear Itself as your phobia (death & blood are also ‘good’ options and ‘darkness’ is pretty prevalent as a fear in chapter 1), Luck as your talent, the Internet as your addiction, and of course Adrian as your stalker because obviously we don’t need any good relationships to fall back on when playing Among Us.

What is going on with the “lying about your amnesia” option?

What indeed.

If you don’t like meta fourth wall breaks or otherwise heavily self insert, you might not want to choose that as your secret.

My MC’s skin is pretty dark, is that demonic-bruise thing actually going to be seeable?

Since the bruise being perceivable is an important plot point, then no matter how dark your MC’s skin is, that bruise is darker still even if has to become the abiding abyss of a black hole to do so. (I even described it as a black hole in some routes to cover my posterior.)

My MC is intrigued by this agenda of demonic conquest & people-eating and would like to subscribe to their newsletter. Can I join the other side?

Well… there’s certainly some Dead Ends where you can do that!

Screw all these people and this forced quest! My MC wants to leave the group and this plot behind.

You can certainly do that. You’ll die (since your MC is currently on the top of several different ‘Kill on sight’ lists), but you can do it.

At some point the MC will be strong enough that they can split from the group and frolic off into their own nonstandard ending adventures in the apocalyptic world while everyone else deals with the whole apocalypse plot thing. But you’re nowhere near that point yet.

So the MC can die prematurely here, huh.

Yep, this game is horror-adjacent and you’re being given a hundred save slots for a reason. I’ll be inputting checkpoints as well once we come to that part. Hopefully Choice of Games will start allowing normal save points in the near future.

Also, please note that all the Dead Ends include clues towards the truth of what’s going on here that may otherwise not be knowable, so they’re not complete wastes of time. Also, they all give Achievements.

What is a Cloudcuckoolander etc?

Please see this post for all your cloudcuckoolander needs.

What is going on with the Changeling MC?

Please see this post for all your changeling needs.

OMG, what the hell is this monstrosity that is Merlin’s Guide to Arthurian Lore ?

We’re playing Among Us/Werewolf/Mafia/etc here. You aren’t getting any word-of-god lore directly from me. That’d be too easy.

All info about the One Knight Stand world will be filtered through the natural biases (and lies) of the characters involved in the game. Hence, Merlin’s Guide to Arthurian Lore.

Feel free to read or ignore, as you like. (Also feel free to text Merlin back and tell them exactly what you think of that doorstop.)

So Why ‘Among Us’ in the description?

Obviously, it can’t be officially marketed like that, but I thought that would be the most popularly recognized description for this type of situation.

I also considered using the OG Mafia or Werewolf instead, but I thought that might’ve confused people into thinking that there are actual gangsters and werewolves present in the game.

About those werewolves…

No comment.

Are there any guides available?

Here’s a link to various guides & info posts available on this thread.

• Escaping the Monster Under the Bed
• Getting Excalibur Shards
• Gaining/Avoiding Corruption
• Potential Past Incarnations
• Saving & Getting Pippa Killed
  Potential Camelot MCs

What the hell is going on with Gawain in Merlin’s Guide to Arthurian Lore ?

So, while I was plotting out One Knight Stand and deciding which version of Arthurian lore would be taken as the “truth” of the OKS world, I looked at Gawain and his five million wives and lovers (because if you were going to create a female OC back then, high probability she’s shacking up with Gawain) and then I decided, yes, I’m going to make all of them canon.

The yandere. The other yandere. The one who dosed him with aphrodisiacs. That one who died of heartbreak because he couldn’t figure out how to get back to her castle. The cursed baba yaga.

Merlin’s also cursed ex-lover. *insert Merlin screeching in the background about not having done any such thing* The fairy daughter of Morgana… and that other fairy… and this fairy too.

All of them.

Good luck, Gawain.

Polls

I wanted to put some of these underneath Hide Details but I couldn’t get the polls to actually work properly that way.

Sound effects, yay or nay?

• Yay!
• Nay!
• Meh.
• No opinion.

Pacing? (No, there’s no ‘too fast’ option)

• Way too slow.
• A bit too slow.
• Eh… it’s fine.
• Just right.

Is your MC currently possessed?

• ̵Y̸e̸s̴
• No

Did your MC meet a Dead End?

• The Monster Under the Bed
• Refused the Call to Adventure
• Both! (Because I’m obviously collecting them)
• What do you mean, I’m immortal!

Punched the RO’s in the face?

• Punched Merlin
• Punched Adrian
• Punched both of them!
• Wait, I can punch the RO’s?
• Why would I want to punch the RO’s in the face?!

What happened to Pippa?

• MC saved her
• Adrian saved her
• Amnay saved her
• No one saved her. She ded.

What happened to the apartment complex?

• Only MC’s apartment burned down
• MC & their direct neighbors burned
• The entire 13th floor burned
• The entire apartment complex burned down (R.I.P.)

Your Vice

• Wrath
• Greed
• Sloth
• Lust

Your Secret

• Imposter
• Inhuman
• Serial Killer
• Lying about Amnesia

Your Childhood

• Abandoned
• Abuse
• Accident
• Amnesia

Your Addiction

• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Internet

Your Fear

• Heights
• Closed spaces
• Spiders
• Snakes
• Storms
• Attention
• Death
• Blood
• Dark
• Fear

Managed to escape from the Monster Under the Bed without help?

• Yes
• No

Current State of Your Bruise?

• Willingly Healed by Merlin
• Forcibly Healed by Merlin
• No one knows about it.

Were You Otherwise Healed by Merlin?

• No, it was never offered.
• No, it was offered but I rejected it.
• Yes, I willingly accepted it.
• That %^&^* forced it on me!

To everyone who’s MC doesn’t automatically come with a gun… even knowing that guns may backfire due their incompatibility with magic, would you still be interested in ‘acquiring’ one?

• Yes, all the guns.
• No, I’m good as I am.

Polls for Chapter 2 Part 1 are Here

Polls for Chapter 1 Part 3 - Fencing Club Route are Here

[EnaMeena]

I love your writing! Everything flows so well and sounds great. 400-something-k words for a first chapter is insane, but hats off to you and good luck as well. Very much looking forward to this.

[snas]

amogus

[Mumble]

From the thread title, to your username, to the introductory post, the characters, the puns,…I can’t wait to read it, the only thing preventing me to do so is my perfectionism and the MC’s supposedly in depth character creation, the various backgrounds, the multiple ROs and their different reactions to a certain type of MC, i feel like i have to do some maths before i can properly dig in, i must have a certain MC in mind to read this.

Now this may not apply since i haven’t read the entry yet but

I am not gonna lie, i am afraid to encounter these :

• ᕕ**(** ✿ ᐛ ) ᕗ ← Merlin on their way to a six hour lecture because you had to ask every single question in their dialogue tree. I mean, there’s an Achievement for doing that, so you do you.
• Spend the entire time during this IF about Arthurian lore going “Who is Arthur and what’s a Camels-a-lot?” (Yes, this a legit strategy to get through the game)

And be presented with a never ending…

• Question 1
• Question 2
• Question 3
• Question 4
• Question 5
• .
• .
• .
• .
• .
• .
• .
• .
• .
• Question ∞

And a whole page worth of answer to each question, knowing my short attention span and my perfectionism there will be a great inside battle to check off all those questions.

I am gonna admit when I first read the title, the first thing i came up with is a mental image of an among us crewmate ඞ with Arthur’s skin and thought it would be a short IF based on the game and then in the introductory post there was mention of a post apocalyptic setting and i thought maybe you wrote three different stories, and then there was Percy…wooow…Never thought i had see such a combination one day…and whats more within an IF…

On an unrelated note

I was not aware these can be changed ! Btw, you did a good job with the UI !

[Unregistered]

@EnaMeena

Everything flows so well and sounds great.

Thanks for the compliment on the writing style! It’s always helpful to know if something is working or not.

@snas

amogus

Indeed. ඞ

@Mumble

• Question 1
  .
• Question ∞

*coughs* I mean, I broke the dialogue down into subsections, so the questions won’t all show up at once…

*brings out pom-poms* But I know you can do it! The “Nevermind, I’m going to take a nap!” option. There’s actually an Achievement for sidestepping all the lore/info dialogue with the ROs too (and it improves some stuff like Health as well).

They say there’s no original stories left in the world, but I bet some combinations are still pretty strange. Hopefully the large number of save slots will help with people wanting to play around with different options for their MCs.

Regarding the stat buttons, I changed some stuff in the game’s system files. I think those might’ve been an index.html edit (or maybe ui.js?). It’s fine for IF Comp, but I doubt CoG would officially publish a game modded that way.

[MadAdam]

This was insanely fun. I can’t wait to do another run, and for future updates! Great humor and references to so many fun pop culture icons (especially the Monty python… my fave).

I only noticed two errors (amazing for a WIP of this length) thought I got a screenshot but somehow failed. Fortunately both are in the same paragraph when in the stairwell with Adrian. He says, “Got it one” which I believe is meant to be “got it in one.” In the same paragraph, he say “both doesn’t” which should be “neither is”

Really great stuff!

First run stats:

[Unregistered]

@MadAdam

especially the Monty python… my fave

It’s modern day King Arthur, so I was contractually obligated to work in a Monty Python reference.

Thanks for the compliment and the typo reports + stats! Four polishing runs, and I’ll still probably be forever finding typos. I must’ve reread that “Got it (in) one” line a dozen times too. I can’t find the “both doesn’t” line, but it might pop up again sometime. And the stats will help with me balancing the stat checks + setting the threshold for when fear & possession take over etc.

[Ashantiberry1]

Hey, Is there a way I could get the book club option? I really want to chose it but it’s greyed out. Is it not available yet?

[The_Lady_Luck]

Took me extra time, because I read all the lore entries we were sent.

End Stats

Magic : 14 Physical : 22 Intelligence : 16 Charisma : 50

Bold : 116 Sweet : 158 Sassy : 20 Optimist : 70

Health(at Climax) : 62 Health(Final) : 92 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 2

Caution : 24 Will : 2 Apathy : 0 Purity : 2 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 7 Denial : 0 Coward : 0 Silent : 5 Mute : false Pottymouth : 1 Intimidation : 16

Arthurian Lore : 2 Serenades : 3 Interpretive Dances : 1 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 7 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 0

Tech : 0 Medical : 25 Internet : 20 Criminal : 0 Botany : 30

Club : polo Job : wildlife biologist Hobby : garden Talent : magnetism Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : cat Dibs : None

Childhood : abuse Secret : inhuman Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : False

Vice : lust Addiction : internet Fear : dark Fear Level (at Climax) : 19 Corruption : 4 Mindcontrol : true

Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 1 Striking : 3 Body Type: 1 Height: average Best Feature: face

Tattoos : 4 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 2 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 4 Striking Piercings : true

Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : true Long Clothes : true Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : false Eyecolor Striking : false

Merlin Affinity : 65 Merlin Flirt : 42 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : male

Adrian Affinity : 88 Adrian Flirt : 1 Adrian Past Bond : 2 Adrian Current Bond : 1

Weapons : iron lamp |

Inventory : Audrey III & herb garden | wardrobe | picture of foster family | pet memento | laptop | pearls of protection | Arthurian Lore guide |

Achievements : Possessed | Run Run Run Runaway | Nepenthes | BBQ Deferred | One Small Step…

Is Polo the only club currently available, or did my choices lock me out of the others?

I was surprised a biologist didn’t get a higher intelligence boost.

Pacing: Sure, it’s a bit slow, but I think it works pretty well anyway.

General Impression: Prose is very well written and engaging. Horror parts were actually scary, and felt very right and relatable to me, as someone with anxiety. Funny parts might get a bit too silly, or at least in a way that didn’t work so well for me, at time, but was generally fine. Too many choices in parts of the character creation segment ( hair-colour and eye-colour i particular). The very specific pop-culture references also got a bit much at times. Especially jarring when my non-binary character quoted Harry Potter stuff without my input.

It’s currently 3am for me, so more notes will be after another play-through.

[Unregistered]

@Ashantiberry1

Hey, Is there a way I could get the book club option? I really want to chose it but it’s greyed out. Is it not available yet?

Yeah, the Fencing and Book Club options aren’t available yet. Only the start of the routes were written, so I grayed them out entirely in the IF Comp version.

@The_Lady_Luck

I was surprised a biologist didn’t get a higher intelligence boost.

Thanks for the stats and the general impressions! (Also here’s an invisible trophy for making your way through Merlin’s Guide to Arthurian Lore… I probably should’ve made that an Achievement). Most of the pop-culture references should be triggered by high sass or by something the MC mentioned earlier. Do you remember where the Harry Potter reference happened?

Definitely understandable with the wildlife biology expectation. The thinking there was that there were 3 other jobs that already boosted primarily intelligence (Lab Technician, Computer Programmer, and Ambulance Paramedic) but the ones that boosted charm were lacking and animals are also affected by the charm stat as much as humans, so…

[Raptorofwar]

The description reads like it’s on substances, but it’s all around entertaining. Also, kudos to the game for just. Letting me be a serial killer. And having a large quantity of knives to match.

[KrazyKeke]

This is so cool! Admittedly my Arthuian is lackluster as heck and I appreciate the game acknowledging that. Adrian is cute but my eyebrows are raised after the ending with his POV. I don’t know who to trust, if anyone thats the point, I suppose.

I’m gonna keep an eye on this game for sure, its really good.

[kneesama]

I LOVED THIS I THOUGHT IT WAS SO GREAT!!

I really do not like dying in stories and I didn’t die so that is a 10/10 for me - if there is always a cop out of death option that would be rad! But I am not sure if that is planned or I just got lucky by expecting someone to save me from under the bed

I did find myself skimming some sections due to wordiness - but for the most part it was easy to find important information if things were wordy. If you need an example of where this happened it was primarily the initial getting to ask Merlin lots of questions section

There are so many specific things I liked and I can’t list them all but this drew me in. At first I thought this wasn’t gonna be my cup of tea BUT THEN it was exciting, unpredictable and relatable while having likable characters.

My only question atm is will there be any passive flirt options in the future or will you be able to pursue ro’s with no flirt points? I finished with no flirt points because all of the options felt too direct but I am not sure if that would limit options as things progress?

[Quetriss]

LOVE ITT!!!
I don’t know why but the writibg in it just works! There are a tons of jokes and references scattered throughout the game but somehow it does not subtract from the plot. I don’t know, sometimes the scenarios and choices are so outlandish but it didn’t ruin my suspension of disbelief at all??? I really didn’t expect to obsess over this IF as much as i am right now since arthurian legends isn’t really my go to. Overall, you did a good job on writing this IF and I am looking forward to see how the story unfolds!

[JBright]

Is the “Mute” status triggered by being silent throughout the game, or is there a specific thing that triggers it.

[Shenice_L]

I don’t think an IF has made me laugh this hard…the MC can be so random and I love it!!

[Big_fan1231]

The secret of being Serial Killer route is surprisingly well done. Reminds me of the old CS demo where we wanted to get revenge for our best friend being killed. Was sad it was abandoned but now got another one to read

[Illusiveacorn54]

Very long first chapter and I freaking love it Love how you’ve combined the settings/genre, and the special effects during the game are cool. Went with the imposter route and I don’t regret it, definitely looking forward to how others in the story react if the truth gets revealed. (Especially with RO)

Was surprised that my mc was considered intimidating but realised it was probably due to the small collection of piercings, scars and tattoos. (Of course, swearing like a sailor probably didn’t help.) But it’s funny when paired with the fact that mc was also quite attractive and friendly. (I love it all)

Youve done a amazing job with this. Really looking forward to future updates.

[Robyn_Tact]

Oooooh, this is very good. It’s just so damned interesting and detailed, I adore the origins and the interactions and ahhhh

One question, will there by shy flirt options? I mainly noticed more bold ones (that said I haven’t finished everything that’s out), and I went for those since often in CYOAs you miss out if you don’t constantly flirt from the first chance you get.

Edit: Nevermind, I noticed, posted too hastily which is a sign I like this cyoa too much dlgjslkdjglksjdlgks

Also I absolutely ADORE explaining choices before asking for a confirmation on selecting them.