You did a great job invoking The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I really like that you included all these other versions of the end times as well. So many things that are similar and so much knowledge to be shared; plus your writing is excellent. Keep up the awesome work!
1 Like
Why not reference one of the CoG/HG/HC stories? Perhaps one of Lucid’s Daria-based worlds, or perhaps one of the stand-alone titles.
They may not be as famous as those you mention, but they might be known well enough in your audience’s experience.
Another possibility is the white haired wizard character in Baldur’s Gate 3 that is a colleague of Gale’s. Since this character is Larian’s nod to the caricature, it would doubly fit here.
3 Likes
Me,reading only the title: “oh, another Arthurian story…”
Me, after reading through the story: “holy shit i could be sweeney todd. omg i love this.”
6 Likes
Oook, that was great, I kinda didn’t like the 4th wall breaking at the start, but then when the choice about the desert/lying about amnesia presented itself it all clicked, soooo… Judging by the things being said by the entity? during said choice, Merlins comments regarding demon lords and Adrians thoughts about ‘The end of their innocent stint in Eden’, also looking a bit through the code and all the common demon names being blocked from the character creator and meta commentary if (liar) being added to a lot of choices… is it exactly what I’m thinking? Wink twice for yes.
Oh, and here’s the stat block:
Magic : 20 Physical : 19 Intelligence : 16 Charisma : 60
Bold : 158 Sweet : 50 Sassy : 60 Optimist : 53
Health (at Climax) : 79 Health (Final) : 90 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 0
Caution : 28 Will : 11 Apathy : 0 Purity : 0 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 16 Denial : -1 Coward : 0 Silent : 4 Mute : false Pottymouth : 7 Intimidation : 0
Arthurian Lore : 3 Serenades : 2 Interpretive Dances : 1 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 7 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 0
Tech : 10 Medical : 10 Internet : 50 Criminal : 0 Botany : 0
Club : polo Job : reporter Hobby : internet Talent : magnetism Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : cat Dibs : None
Childhood : amnesia Secret : amnesia Crazy Theory : werewolf Crazy Theory Level : 2 Two-Faced : False
Vice : lust Addiction : internet Fear : dark Fear Level (at Climax) : 25 Corruption : 5 Mindcontrol : true
Random Appearance : false Attractiveness Level : 1 Striking : 2 Body Type : 1 Height : short Best Feature : figure
Tattoos : 0 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 0 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 0 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : false Long Clothes : true Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : false Eyecolor Striking : true
Merlin Affinity : 71 Merlin Flirt : 43 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : male
Adrian Affinity : 93 Adrian Flirt : 9 Adrian Past Bond : 0 Adrian Current Bond : 1
Weapons : Excalibur | broom |
Inventory : wardrobe | picture of desert | pet memento | laptop | Gawain figurine | Magic 8 Ball |
Achievements : Possessed | Insomnia | Nepenthes | BBQ Deferred | One Small Step…
1 Like
This is a really enjoyable start! I’m glad to get to play a mute MC.
Magic : 12 Physical : 27 Intelligence : 21 Charisma : 25
Bold : 94 Sweet : 78 Sassy : 32 Optimist : 52
Health(at Climax) : 38 Health(Final) : 102 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 2
Caution : 11 Will : 4 Apathy : 0 Purity : 2 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 5 Denial : -2 Coward : 0 Silent : 31 Mute : true Pottymouth : 0 Intimidation : 0
Arthurian Lore : 0 Serenades : 0 Interpretive Dances : 1 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 6 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 1
Tech : 30 Medical : 25 Internet : 0 Criminal : 0 Botany : 0
Club : polo Job : wildlife biologist Hobby : gadget Talent : memory Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : None Dibs : None
Childhood : abuse Secret : inhuman Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : False
Vice : wrath Addiction : booze Fear : blood Fear Level (at Climax) : 23 Corruption : -2 Mindcontrol : false
Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 3 Striking : 0 Body Type: 1 Height: short Best Feature: smile
Tattoos : 0 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 0 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 0 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : true Long Clothes : false Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : false Eyecolor Striking : false
Merlin Affinity : 57 Merlin Flirt : 42 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : female
Adrian Affinity : 70 Adrian Flirt : 0 Adrian Past Bond : 0 Adrian Current Bond : 2
Weapons : squirt gun |
Inventory : wardrobe | picture of foster family | Magic 8 Ball | pearls of protection | tech repair kit
Achievements : Insomnia | Nepenthes | BBQ Deferred | One Small Step…
1 Like
Can we have a less serious addiction added? Caffeine or sugar or cheese or crunchy things…
(I would eat my weight in cheese when stressed out, if lactose intolerance hadn’t reared its head and bit me in the ass.)
A caffeine crash can be just as awful as a nicotine crash, particularly for those with energy drink habits.
1 Like
I found a bug for the character Adrian. Somehow he knows about our apartment situation when I never told him. He claimed I talked about it earlier when we were out. Even if he might be a stalker but there some things even he shouldn’t know.
1 Like
If I could give this game a 100 stars, I would give it a 99, (a hundred depending on how frequently the author updates, though don’t rush yourself). Very versatile story, good character customization, nice branching, multiple choices, stats, good plot, amazing characters and the best IF I’ve read, I’ve never had these much fun when playing an IF before. I’m so hyped for an update. This might become my new favorite IF. You have my attention 900%. Great work, can’t wait for more.( 
why does 400k+ words be so short, damn you branching.)
Though if you don’t mind, just a grain of salt, I would suggest if you could (depending on if you want to) add a way to create an op mc(is op the word, I meant cheat mode) for those who want to succeed in most case scenarios where stats are involved. I think it could go well with the MC lying about their amnesia(the meta path or so I think)
Anyways nice story, cheering you on and hope you win!
2 Likes
Love when I can just play a super unhinged MC that have moments of clarity. tbh the moment the ROs post mention that Merlin is a incubus, I knew who I gotta romance. Also!! I think I found a bug with one of my save when I tried to go back to Merlin dancing and it only bring me back to new messages in phone’s section.
1 Like
Found a (tiny) bug:
(I’d post a screen cap but it’s not letting me)
“And now for local news,” the newswoman’s voice breaks through your morose self-reflection. “Authorities still remain stymied when it comes to the spate of what are believed to be animal-related mauling deaths that have stricken the East Coast these past few weeks. Dubbed the Midnight Mauler attacks have been—”
Ah, and here it is. The reason for your extended work shift. The newest murderous prowler who stalks the night.
“Today another body was discovered in a McBuckway Bell’s parking lot within city limits in the early morning hours. Witnesses have described the body as appearing ‘half-eaten’ with large claw or tooth marks in—”
phil_status 2 Poor Phil. He always had the worst of luck.
These rather dour thoughts have you reaching for your…
Also, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I prefer my games to not have any references to the work of an openly - and proudly - transphobe who’s still alive and profiting from both her work and her transphobia.
3 Likes
There’s a bug where female merlin considered as male
Also my final stats
Magic : 3 Physical : 17 Intelligence : 45 Charisma : 20
Bold : 29 Sweet : 73 Sassy : 22 Optimist : -15
Health(at Climax) : 73 Health(Final) : 94 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 1
Caution : 27 Will : 2 Apathy : 0 Purity : -1000 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 3 Denial : 0 Coward : 0 Silent : 12 Mute : false Pottymouth : 1 Intimidation : 0
Arthurian Lore : 1 Serenades : 0 Interpretive Dances : 0 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 6 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 0
Tech : 25 Medical : 20 Internet : 20 Criminal : 0 Botany : 30
Club : polo Job : lab technician Hobby : garden Talent : tactics Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : None Dibs : None
Childhood : accident Secret : killer Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : False
Vice : lust Addiction : internet Fear : attention Fear Level (at Climax) : 17 Corruption : 6 Mindcontrol : true
Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 1 Striking : 3 Body Type: 1 Height: short Best Feature: eyes
Tattoos : 0 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 0 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 0 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : false Long Clothes : true Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : false Eyecolor Striking : true
Merlin Affinity : 59 Merlin Flirt : 41 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : female
Adrian Affinity : 79 Adrian Flirt : 0 Adrian Past Bond : 0 Adrian Current Bond : 2
Weapons : hunting knives | iron lamp |
Inventory : Audrey III & herb garden | wardrobe | picture of family | laptop | pearls of protection |
Achievements : One Small Step…
Now that i read my stats again, how the heck did i got a -1000 purity? 
What’s count pure and what’s not?
2 Likes
So, this was really fun! I have to say though… character creation is too much. I’d be tempted to say everything is a bit too much, but it was the most apparent in character creation. Having to go through layers and layers of choices for every minute detail of my character dragged the first time, and I can only imagine it getting worse on each repeat. While the random option is nice to skip, I would still like some control. I think a “quick” mode that cuts off all the second and third order choices (I.e. if I say I like yellow just take that, instead of making me pick between amber and honey) could be good? Just something to cut back on the sheer volume of very minor choices.
2 Likes
Well, I haven’t seen any published games with sounds either, so it’s possible that unbeknownst to me they were quietly banned years ago after an author ruptured too many reader’s eardrums with overly loud cow mooing MP3’s or something (Hopefully not).
Thanks! It’s great to hear that someone enjoyed some of the extra details that you can dig up in conversation.
Both suggestions sound interesting. Since I’m not familiar with either work (besides the first Lost Heir book, but I’m blanking on any white-bearded wizards there), do you happen to know the names of the characters in question? (So I can look up further details on them).
Yeah, it seems the Serial Killer background is comfortably in second place now. 
Thanks for the stats! And I think you’re the first to go codediving. 
(Although I did purposefully obfuscate what was going on in the code and added in a bunch of red herrings on top). Otherwise…
Thanks for the stats! And glad to know someone is using all the silent options I put in.
While I don’t mind adding in extra bits here and there, unfortunately all of the choices (like Addiction) that go “Are you sure? Is that your final answer?” mean that they’re not just flavor text but will have a major impact on the narrative. So, I won’t be adding in any more addictions since it’ll balloon the word count too much.
It may be small comfort, but Caffeine was one of the last potential addictions that got pruned. (In the end, it just didn’t have as much connection to the subplots as the other addictions). There will be opportunities to be binge-eating in stress or chugging caffeine while travelling in the motorhome, but they won’t be your main addiction.
That part is actually not a bug. Please don’t mind Adrian whistling innocently in the background over here.
Also please continue to report if you think you find any other bugs.
Thanks for the compliments! There actually was a Cheat Mode in the game that I removed for the IF Comp version. (It’s never meant to be part of the base game, but might be made available as a DLC).
I probably won’t add it to the beta for awhile though, since I really, really need the not-maxed stats to determine if anything strange is going on with stat gains & stat checks etc.
Good to hear someone’s going for Merlin even with all their… difficulties. If I understand correctly, that’s a bug when you’re trying to use the save system, right?
Unfortunately there’s a known bug with the save system where if you check out the stats page (and the phone messages are part of the stats page in the game) before you make a save, then when you try to restore that save it’ll go the stats page instead. To get around it, you basically have to save your place in the story before checking out the stats page.
LMK if this bug is actually something different and isn’t triggered by saving/restoring.
Thanks for the bug report! I’ve fixed it in the post-IF Comp release. (Don’t mind me wondering when the heck I managed to insert that bug because I know it was working as intended earlier.)
Thanks for the stats! If you’re referring to Maia in the screenshot using male pronouns for Merlin, than that’s working as intended (Maia sees Merlin as a guy).
As to to the -1000 purity. *cackles* Yeah, I know exactly what choice did that. And going by your stats, that’s working as intended too.
I was hoping the checkpoint would help people to not have to go through the customization again (unless they’re restarting with a completely different MC).
It’s possible to do a middling version between full customization & random, but I’m not sure if that would shorten things enough to make a difference. Looking at the code, the things that can be compressed would be…
- Haircolor - just basic blond/brunet/etc skip fiddly highlights stuff, I’m assuming that people would still want to choose hair length & hair texture separate.
- Wardrobe - compress style + color, so the choice would be black trenchcoat, bomber leather jacket, etc
- Piercings & scars will still need a location chosen
- Tattoos… only way to compress is if I just gave a few default options - angel tattoo on shoulder, rose tattoo on chest etc
That’s pretty much it for stuff that can be compressed. Any leftovers are single level options (best feature, attractiveness level, eye color etc).
Another way to go would be to allow the player to customize the most popular parts of a MC (going by other games that’d be gender, height, eye color, basic hair color/length/texture) and then randomize all the other options? Or default to having tattoos/piercings/scars to none, average attractiveness level etc.
8 Likes
nods I was thinking specifically of using a bow and arrow with the jitters, which would be terrifying for everyone around you, but I suppose you can get those from coming down off of pills as well.
1 Like
For Lucid’s games, I was thinking more a school of magic; all of his stories are Daria based, so:
would be what I base the reference on …
For the BG3 reference, the wizard is Elminster Aumar:
He is their riff on both Gandalf and the typical Merlin… so he might be your best bet, especially with BG3’s popularity right now.
Edit:
One option is to make a few “preset” characters for those wanting to jump right in. Personally, I like the detailed character creation and don’t mind going through it multiple times, but I know not everyone does.
1 Like
I’m back with my end report! Can’t wait for the final game, you really have something special here!
Magic : 16 Physical : 17 Intelligence : 31 Charisma : 25
Bold : 169 Sweet : 90 Sassy : 66 Optimist : 54
Health(at Climax) : 52 Health(Final) : 94 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 1
Caution : 18 Will : 1 Apathy : 0 Purity : 2 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 9 Denial : 1 Coward : 0 Silent : 13 Mute : false Pottymouth : 2 Intimidation : 0
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 : 40 Medical : 10 Internet : 60 Criminal : 0 Botany : 0
Club : polo Job : computer programmer Hobby : internet Talent : magnetism Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : None Dibs : None
Childhood : abuse Secret : inhuman Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : True True Sass : True True Optimist : True
Vice : sloth Addiction : internet Fear : dark Fear Level (at Climax) : 23 Corruption : 5 Mindcontrol : true
Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 1 Striking : 3 Body Type: 2 Height: average Best Feature: hair
Tattoos : 0 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 0 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 0 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : false Long Clothes : false Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : true Eyecolor Striking : false
Merlin Affinity : 64 Merlin Flirt : 41 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : male
Adrian Affinity : 87 Adrian Flirt : 3 Adrian Past Bond : 2 Adrian Current Bond : 1
Weapons : squirt gun | iron lamp |
Inventory : wardrobe | laptop | bible | pearls of protection |
Achievements : BBQ Deferred | One Small Step…
1 Like
Found a typo:
The type of coffee is actually spelled “Espresso”, and not “Expresso”
1 Like
Right, my stats!
Magic : 2 Physical : 22 Intelligence : 31 Charisma : 27
Bold : 49 Sweet : 21 Sassy : 21 Optimist : 20
Health(at Climax) : 43 Health(Final) : 92 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 2
Caution : 6 Will : 3 Apathy : 0 Purity : -1000 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 5 Denial : 8 Coward : 0 Silent : 15 Mute : false Pottymouth : 5 Intimidation : 10
Arthurian Lore : 1 Serenades : 1 Interpretive Dances : 0 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 6 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 0
Tech : 0 Medical : 25 Internet : 0 Criminal : 0 Botany : 30
Club : polo Job : wildlife biologist Hobby : garden Talent : tactics Using Pseudonym? : true Pet : None Dibs : None
Childhood : accident Secret : killer Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : False
Vice : wrath Addiction : booze Fear : dark Fear Level (at Climax) : 15 Corruption : 8 Mindcontrol : true
Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 3 Striking : 1 Body Type: 1 Height: tall Best Feature: eyes
Tattoos : 0 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 6 Striking Scars : true Piercings : 0 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : true Long Clothes : true Flashy Mask : false Haircolor Striking : false Eyecolor Striking : false
Merlin Affinity : 51 Merlin Flirt : 40 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : female
Adrian Affinity : 58 Adrian Flirt : 0 Adrian Past Bond : 3 Adrian Current Bond : 2
Weapons : hunting knives | polo mallet
Inventory : Audrey III & herb garden | wardrobe | picture of family | Magic 8 Ball | pearls of protection |
1 Like
This is the end of the IF Comp Version. For stat balancing purposes, it’d be greatly appreciated if you included the following stats in any feedback. Here’s a link to the official feedback forum for One Knight Stand on the Choice of Games website.
Magic : 12 Physical : 34 Intelligence : 11 Charisma : 42
Bold : 176 Sweet : 86 Sassy : 83 Optimist : 50
Health(at Climax) : 61 Health(Final) : 92 Wound : healed Serious Injuries : 1
Caution : 18 Will : 1 Apathy : 0 Purity : 2 Cloudcuckoolanderness : 12 Denial : 2 Coward : 0 Silent : 14 Mute : false Pottymouth : 4 Intimidation : 0
Arthurian Lore : 3 Serenades : 1 Interpretive Dances : 1 Crimes : 0 Known Crimes : 0 Reject the Call : 0 Ward Status : 7 Lore Dump : 0 Lore Dodge : 0
Tech : 10 Medical : 20 Internet : 30 Criminal : 0 Botany : 0
Club : polo Job : police detective Hobby : internet Talent : magnetism Using Pseudonym? : false Pet : cat Dibs : Mordred
Childhood : abuse Secret : inhuman Crazy Theory : None Crazy Theory Level : 0 Two-Faced : False
Vice : wrath Addiction : smoking Fear : heights Fear Level (at Climax) : 12 Corruption : 6 Mindcontrol : true
Random Appearance: false Attractiveness Level : 1 Striking : 2 Body Type: 2 Height: average Best Feature: face
Tattoos : 1 Striking Tattoos : false Scars : 0 Striking Scars : false Piercings : 1 Striking Piercings : false
Striking Clothes : false Heavy Clothes : true Long Clothes : false Flashy Mask : true Haircolor Striking : true Eyecolor Striking : false
Merlin Affinity : 71 Merlin Flirt : 41 Merlin Bond : 1 Merlin Gender : male
Adrian Affinity : 98 Adrian Flirt : 5 Adrian Past Bond : 0 Adrian Current Bond : 1
Weapons : Glock-19 | Excalibur |
Inventory : picture of foster family | pet memento | autograph | pearls of protection | Arthurian Lore guide |
Achievements : Possessed | Nepenthes | BBQ Deferred | One Small Step…
1 Like
I love this demo 
1 Like