I think that the variables for the way in which we stalk marcus are swaped
2 Likes
Thanks so much for the catch - you’re completely right. I knew at least one thing in the free roam section was going to trip me up somewhere…
Fixed in my working copy; I’ll upload the patch tonight if a couple more bugs come in, tomorrow otherwise.
Really appreciate the feedback so far - let me know if you guys spot more stuff and / or any weird wording / clunky pages or paragraphs.
6 Likes
My stats
Might: 10 Finesse: 22 Charisma: 21 Intellect: 26 Reputation: 26
Personality
Sec/Dar: 57 Rat/Pas: 67 Cru/Emp: 65 Out/In: 38 Dbt/Cnv: 35 Inf/Fam: 46
AntiochRels
Adelais: 67 Eleanor: 71 Finlay: 60 Layla: 67 Marcus: 67 DancePartner: Adelais Friendship: 0
OtherRels
Julian: 60 Hawthorne: 55 Fausett: 45 Silas: 18 Lizbet: 42
Plot Notes
Murderer?: true phantomOutcome: Won solo Society: Explore soc1Outcome: 24 mistsOutcome: 2 ChosenMastery: Spirit worldScore: 1 dormScore: 1 aScore: 6 tScore: 0
Other
-Wondering how deep your patron’s influence extends. -Went shopping for a new knife. -Heard rumours of dark magic.
3 Likes
10/10 would get dragged into the Mist again
I can vouch for that. Eventually a lot happened. Where do I even start? Perhaps with Daphne. Poor Daphne… With how much she was failing, I had a feeling something really bad will eventually happen to her. Anyhow, it was worth the shorter-than-expected wait. Now I need more. Way more.
There is a 4chan thread? Huh, I guess it makes a lot of sense there’s one. I’m certain they take constructive criticism to a whole new level.
I’ll make my characteristically verbose observations after I let my sleep-deprived body rest (I have a great deal to to babble about, that’s for sure). Thank you for gracing us with some more excellent Eldritch Academia, dear author.
7 Likes
Well i now know what mastery im going with first, the bird is too funny to pass on
2 Likes
Thanks so much for sharing! Really keen to see how people’s stat sheets turn out. You’ve got a solidly versatile build there.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Except for the prologue (opening hooks are important!) I think Chapter 3 is by some way the most important of the chapters I’ve written so far, in that we’ve finally moved to the ‘real’ pace of the story after a couple of chapters of set-up taking place over only a few days.
It has a bit of everything that Pactbinder has to offer (except being relatively romance light) - character work, some intrigue, the free roam system and then at the end the fantasy-action-horror combo I’m going for. So I’m really taking feedback for this one seriously.
Yeah - a general CYOA one. I do think that it’s important spaces like that exist - I adore this forum and the tumblr, but I feel it’s also healthy for there to be parts of the community that feel able to criticize work anonymously. Always important to take that criticism with a pinch of salt of course, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable.
I’m looking forward to reading your further thoughts, and thanks for reading!
I’m glad you like Anzu - I’n very fond of them. Unironically one of my biggest fears when writing the Mists was that getting a familiar would be too strong a pitch for Spirit compared to the other Masteries, but I hope that the other Masteries offer distinct enough vibes that it won’t be an issue…
4 Likes
Anzu was a great pitch for Spirit, but I think the knowledge that we’ll run into them eventually anyway was enough to tide me over for a bit there. I ultimately stuck with my initial choice of Life. Mind will probably end up being my secondary both because of how subtle it can be and how terrifying the implications of that invocation were when you were heading out the door.
Didn’t manage to win the skyskimming race, but that’s okay. I’m here for the connections anyway, and hey! Maybe it will help my nerdy Pactbinder get in proper shape!
There’s so many interesting things going on during downtime and so little time to investigate them all. It’s going to drive my poor Pactbinder crazy. Digging in the code, I really wanted the Third House talk with Julian but I refuse to skip the longevity research. I did get him to allude to it, though. So hopefully I’ll be able to dig a bit more before he follows up with that. Not to mention all the stuff I didn’t get a chance to explore properly like necromancy and the Revenant!
My stats at the end:
Stats
Might: 10 Finesse: 10 Charisma: 22 Intellect: 31 Reputation: 28
Personality
Sec/Dar: 33 Rat/Pas: 63 Cru/Emp: 37 Out/In: 32 Dbt/Cnv: 47 Inf/Fam: 42
AntiochRels
Alice: 67 Eleanor: 67 Finlay: 68 Layla: 67 Marcus: 68 DancePartner: Finlay Friendship: 3
OtherRels
Julian: 63 Hawthorne: 54 Fausett: 46 Silas: 26 Lizbet: 40
Plot Notes
Murderer?: false phantomOutcome: Won solo Society: Boat soc1Outcome: 3 mistsOutcome: 2 ChosenMastery: Life worldScore: 0 dormScore: 0 aScore: 0 tScore: 0
Other
-Went shopping for a new knife. -Looked into longevity.
3 Likes
Wow. I love this game so much. You’ve created such a fascinating twist on the genre, and I really love it. The mix of eldritch horror and dark urban fantasy is incredibly compelling. Each magic is especially interesting, and the possibility of necromancy is particularly compelling.
Need more Alice in my life, guess Julian and I share similar tastes. I love Eleanor too, she is so sweet and nerdy. Lizbet and Hawthorn Jr are also quite interesting (Guess I have a bit of a thing for women who hate me). Clearly, my MC will have to start a harem once he becomes God-King of the Universe. /j
Anyway, here is my little sociopath in all his glory:
3 Likes
Here are my stats will post feedback latter
Stats
Might: 14 Finesse: 20 Charisma: 12 Intellect: 27 Reputation: 23
Personality
Sec/Dar: 56 Rat/Pas: 65 Cru/Emp: 56 Out/In: 58 Dbt/Cnv: 43 Inf/Fam: 59
AntiochRels
Alice: 67 Eleanor: 67 Finlay: 65 Layla: 65 Marcus: 67 DancePartner: Alice Friendship: 0
OtherRels
Julian: 57 Hawthorne: 49 Fausett: 44 Silas: 30 Lizbet: 36
Plot Notes
Murderer?: false phantomOutcome: Won solo Society: Explore soc1Outcome: 24 mistsOutcome: 2 ChosenMastery: Spirit worldScore: 1 dormScore: 1 aScore: 3 tScore: 1
Other
-Went shopping for a new knife. -Heard rumours of dark magic. -Inquired after a curious name. -Met the Revenant. -rScore1: 10 -rScore2: 50
2 Likes
Noticed a coding error here:
Though it takes some trial and error, and more than a few missteps that send the acid waters to frothing once more, you soon realize that the trick is to the tone/i], not the words. Gentle, slow and soothing. You continue to murmur on until the repetition resembles a lullaby more than spoken language, not once daring to stop or even slow your speaking until your throat is hoarse with the effort.
Also, from the class about the Kingsgift, “you wonder what the world would be like had an atomic bomb ever been used.” I know this setting is implicitly alt-history but I had no clue it went this far, I absolutely loved reading this the first time through. I hope we get more chances in the future to see how the Ungifted world has diverged from our own as well.
Keep up the good work!
3 Likes
Also, stats!
Stats
Might: 14 Finesse: 10 Charisma: 20 Intellect: 30 Reputation: 32
Personality
Sec/Dar: 33 Rat/Pas: 65 Cru/Emp: 43 Out/In: 38 Dbt/Cnv: 58 Inf/Fam: 51
AntiochRels
Adelais: 67 Eleanor: 68 Finlay: 67 Layla: 67 Marcus: 70 DancePartner: Adelais Friendship: 3
OtherRels
Julian: 60 Hawthorne: 52 Fausett: 45 Silas: 20 Lizbet: 45
Plot Notes
Murderer?: false phantomOutcome: Won solo Society: Explore soc1Outcome: 21 mistsOutcome: 2 ChosenMastery: Spirit worldScore: 3 dormScore: 3 aScore: 7 tScore: 0
Other
-Wondering how deep your patron’s influence extends. -Heard rumours of dark magic. -Inquired after a curious name.
3 Likes
Stats
Might: 10 Finesse: 22 Charisma: 10 Intellect: 29 Reputation: 17
Personality
Sec/Dar: 61 Rat/Pas: 64 Cru/Emp: 44 Out/In: 47 Dbt/Cnv: 45 Inf/Fam: 43
AntiochRels
Alice: 64 Eleanor: 65 Finlay: 68 Layla: 58 Marcus: 65 DancePartner: Nobody Friendship: 2
OtherRels
Julian: 59 Hawthorne: 51 Fausett: 45 Silas: 28 Lizbet: 34
Plot Notes
Murderer?: false phantomOutcome: Won solo Society: Explore soc1Outcome: 24 mistsOutcome: 1 ChosenMastery: Spirit worldScore: 0 dormScore: 0 aScore: 3 tScore: 2
Other
-Researched strange happenings on an old mountain. -Went shopping for a new knife.
2 Likes
That’s perfect - exactly what I was going for with its farewell - a light implication that it was around for the long haul, and reminding the reader another Mastery would be possible to take the pressure off wanting to keep Anzu.
That’s a cool mix - super versatile. I’m glad the Carcer scene landed for you, it was one of my favourites to write.
I felt Mind needed a really strong pitch since I spend so long telling people what it can’t do (in terms of mind control and the like), whereas with Matter you have some super OP displays of it throughout (Julian, the duellists in c2, etc), Life’s benefits are self explanatory and feed nicely into the longevity hook for players who are so inclined, and I knew Spirit would get the Anzu pitch. So I let Carcer show off a bit.
I’m glad this worked for you! In my mind, the downtime is where Pactbinders get a chance to differentiate themselves with what they’re really focused on. There are always other chances to get info elsewhere, of course, but free roam is where the player has control rather than relying on luck with what scenes and characters come up.
Thanks! I’m really glad the genre mashup is working - I know the whole campus novel/eldritch/urban fantasy/light political shenanigans mix is a bit of a genre mashup but I’ve been hoping the whole thing feels clean and cohesive even so. Very glad you’re enjoying the cast, too.
Ah, I’m really glad that hook worked for you! I think it’s a line that a few people will skate right past, but it’s one of the scenes I put the most effort into wording and rewording, and I think it’s really important in what it says about the world.
Thank you both very much! These are super useful for helping me to track what people are doing and what their builds look like so far..
7 Likes
I had only played chapter 1 before, chapters 2 and 3 were super interesting! Good work! Very endearing characters and interesting mysteries, looking forward to keep delving in them! I want to see more of Lizbet, Silas and Margaret too!
My stats report
Couple of typos I found in chapter 2
3 Likes
why so sus bro? 
I read some of the code and realised I got sus points with Alice cause no charisma + a propensity for lying.
Also why does she have two names? What did I miss?
3 Likes
Arive early, and try to see if anyone else arrived early then intruduce yourself, then just go with her on the garden walk
4 Likes
Thank you! Really glad you’re enjoying things so far, and excited to keep progressing, especially now that the plot has gotten properly going…
Thank you also for sharing your stats and the typos - hugely appreciated. Typos fixed in my working copy, which I’ll upload over the weekend at some point (I pushed an update with most prior bugs flagged before this comment earlier).
@noone2.0 is right - that’s the way to get this explained in character! Out of character spoilers for chapter 1 below: her birth name was Adelais de Mortemer, but she appears to have been disowned and fostered out at some point when she was young - her English foster family called her Alice Mortimer.
5 Likes
Oh, you have blended the genres quite well. I feel absolutely no dissonance between them.
The characters are all great so far. I have my favourites, but they’re all very compelling. For the main cast, my personal rankings would be:
- Alice
- Eleanor
- Finley & Layla (I hold a similar affection for them both)
- Marcus
I also love that we can play as someone very morally black, and I have a major soft spot for stories where you hide a dark secret from everyone else.
4 Likes
After reading the chapter once more, I think I’m ready to attempt to begin to comprehend the numerous plot points that this chonky update introduced. Given how much care has been put into the phrasing, and no information is given purposelessly, I feel the need to put a magnifying glass over every single sentence that has any relation whatsoever to the lore. And reread them a few more times just to be certain I properly understood what they conveyed.
Perhaps I’m being needlessly thorough, but I shall chalk it up to the author’s masterful writing skills.
Ch 3 Notes to help me get a grasp of things: Mages
Where to even begin? I guess I could begin on the mortal plane(kind of) and talk a bit about the Third House. Their name does a lot of the explaining, though. An institution that has as purpose the representation of mages within the UK institutional structure and the preservation of the “masquerade”. Although, if we enter into contact with Julian in his capacity as member of this organisation we learn they dabble into crisis management too. Nothing too extraordinary on this front.
Looking after their fellow practitioners of magic is well within the remit of the fourth power in the UK, one would assume. It shouldn’t surprise me that the separation of powers in Britain involves an additional branch to the universally known three branches of government, either. And that they overlap is a given, since the UK is known for their convention-based institutional arrangement. And they seem to employ promising students even during their studies! Given the variables related to them, I can safely assume we can be one such student ourselves. If they don’t figure us out. Which brings me to…
Suspicion variables! Oh boy, are there many ways to get suspicion points. You can have Adelais be suspicious, you can get your collegemates to suspect you, Silas and even the WORLD (a.k.a. Hightower). Never mind the Revenant… No wonder there is a tension stat. Juggling so many potential threats must exhaust even the most resilient of young adults. Although I’m not fully sold yet on Adelais’ suspicion being an inherently negative outcome, the others can certainly be. The friends’ perhaps less than the world’s. Stressful stuff, nonetheless.
Fallow-Gifted! Finally a proper designation. Not much additional information was given on this subject, other than the phenomenon of increasingly fewer mages attending Hightower being further confirmed.
What are Peers? “The Kingsgift can appoint Peers, too, of course” says Professor Fausett as if the transplant would have any idea what this is. My first thoughts led me to something akin to the House of Lords peers, but this concept clearly doesn’t apply here. On this subject I will not elaborate here, as it doesn’t seem to be something as simple as a title conferred upon someone.
I have many theories, but the one I am most certain about is that our dear author is a UK native. I can only aspire to be a proficient user of British English, but I am at least able to recognise when one has a relatively deep knowledge of this variety, and its specific vocabulary. It is technically a spoiler, so I will put it here just to be sure.
I will limit myself to one rambling hidden bar per post. There is so much more I can prattle about, but I need to replay the relevant content a few more times, and replenish my grey matter.
Unrelated to the above, but I wish to express my deep admiration for Julian and his “thing for tall, mysterious beauties”. He and I might not have much in common, but with regard to this preference we stand side by side.
5 Likes
Spoilers possibly?
I expect that “appointing peers” is probably the monarch bestowing magic on somebody else.
3 Likes