Rosemary Isles: Book One is a classical-era fantasy game set in the Rosemary Isles, the fertile heartland of the Archipelago—where patronage, reputation, and social games decide who gets to rise and whose name is erased from history.
For as long as you can remember, you have wanted one thing: to study magic at the Monastery of Hekau. You’ve built your life around it—training where you can, learning what you can, holding onto the idea that if you can reach those gates, everything will finally make sense.
When the Monastery rejects you, you have to forge your own path: build a band of misfits, raise a dragon, and navigate loyalty, rivalry, and romance that can make or break your party.
- Play as male, female, or nonbinary.
- Customize your appearance and sexuality.
- Build a band of misfits and castoffs—from dockside tinkerers to disgraced heirs. Enjoy banter, bonding, rivalry, and downtime scenes.
- Romance your chaotic genius artificer childhood friend, a golden heir who acts confident to hide what’s cracking underneath, an outcast noble with sharp edges and a guarded heart, and a dreamwalker caught between visions and reality.
- Fight with a staff and an elemental crystal of your choice.
- Let your choices shape your philosophy: tradition versus innovation, order versus chaos, faith versus logic, self-interest versus altruism.
- Solve problems through arcane knowledge, diplomacy, or force.
- Take on contracts and draw the attention of a powerful patron—and a rival band that doesn’t want you to rise.
- Solve ancient puzzles and play minigames.
- And…raise a dragon (customizable, shaped over time).
NERI
Full name: Nerion/Neria.
Background: As your childhood friend, Neri has been in your corner for as long as you can remember. You were both raised by their grandmother in Meria’s Artisan Quarter, surrounded by workshops and the constant rattle of tools and trade. Self-taught and obsessive, Neri grew up scavenging scraps and teaching themself how mechanisms and crystals work—especially the ones that go boom.
Neri’s brilliance comes from hard work, not privilege, and they know it. When the Monastery rejects you, Neri doesn’t hesitate—they shift their plans without complaint and stay at your side as if that decision was always obvious. But what happens when a childhood best friend becomes your partner in a dangerous life?
Personality: Brilliant but scatterbrained, fast-talking and impulsive, with anxious humor that kicks in when things get too real. Loyal to a fault and emotionally expressive, but insecure beneath the bravado.
Physical description: Usually smudged with soot or oil, with wild curly hair that never stays in place. Wears a patched tunic with sleeves rolled up and too many belts and pouches stuffed with tools and vials. Often accompanied by a mechanical sparrow.
KAEL
Full name: Kaelian/Kaelia Suncrest.
Background: As Heir to House Suncrest, one of the most powerful Great Houses in Meria, Kael was raised in wealth and public life, trained in rhetoric, dueling, and the art of being watched. They grew up surrounded by feasts, temples, patrons, and Council games—expected to shine flawlessly, no matter the cost.
But that shine is only part of the story. Beneath the confidence and the polished image, Kael strains under the weight of the Suncrest name and the expectations that come with it. Will you look past the performance and help them prove they’re more than the role they were born to play?
Personality: Charismatic, daring, and openly arrogant, with a competitive streak and a love of attention. Beneath it, they’re sensitive to judgment, stubborn about pride, and quietly hungry for something real.
Physical description: Neatly styled brown hair, defined features, and a smirk that says they know all eyes are on them. They wear ornate bronze armor with the Suncrest sun-disk, which seems to glow as if kissed by the Sun. They carry a gilded khopesh.
RHAL
Full name: Rhalion/Rhalia Lionhart.
Background: Once a member of House Lionhart, Rhal grew up as part of the noble society, surrounded by Council politics, alliances, and expectations. They were trained to understand power, reputation, and the unspoken rules that govern Meria’s elite.
That life is behind them. Cut off from their House and stripped of status, Rhal now carries noble habits into a world where their name no longer protects them. Will you see past the bitterness and help them become something more than what Meria made of them?
Personality: Sharp-tongued and cynical, especially toward nobility, but deeply loyal once their trust is earned. Pragmatic, guarded, and difficult to impress.
Physical description: Lean and athletic with a duelist’s build. Long, dark, untamed hair and storm-grey eyes. Dresses in travel-worn red linens and carries a curved kopis.
ISMA
Full name: Ismare/Ismaret.
Background: Isma serves at the Temple of Sunrise, where they tend to patients whose sleep turns dangerous—visions, waking terrors, and minds that can’t find their way back. Their work is quiet, intense, and ritualized, done in sanctum rooms thick with incense and prayer.
Isma is a Dreamwalker, and that rare gift shapes everything about them—their certainty, their distance, the way they can look at you like they’re seeing something you can’t. When you first meet them, they claim they saw you in a dream. Will you trust what dreams show them about you—and what they might show next?
Personality: Calm, soft-spoken, and deeply intuitive. Speaks like they’re half in another world, with a curiosity that can feel comforting one moment and unsettling the next.
Physical description: Tall, with warm brown skin and dark hair pulled back into a top knot, threaded with small purple hyacinth blossoms. Vivid green eyes that seem to shine in dim light. Wears a simple green tunic with a healer’s satchel at their belt.
OTHER DETAILS
WORD COUNT
Demo: 75,000.
Demo per run: 27,000.
Written overall: 85,000.
PROGRESS
Chapter 1 – 100% done. [in Demo]
Chapter 2 – 100% done. [80% in Demo, 100% in Patreon EA]
Chapter 3 – To be done.
Chapter 4 – To be done.
Chapter 5 – To be done.
Chapter 6 – To be done.
Chapter 7 – To be done.
Chapter 8 – To be done.
Chapter 9 – To be done.
Chapter 10 – To be done.
Chapter 11 – To be done.
Chapter 12 – To be done.
FEEDBACK
I appreciate all sorts of feedback! 
Feel free to ask questions, point out errors and bugs, or just talk about things you liked or didn’t like in the game.
CHANGELOG
December 27, 2025
- Demo release (ca. 34,500 words).
February 20, 2025
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Skills Revamp: The skills (staff combat, elemental crystal, diplomacy, arcana) are no longer tracked via numerical changes—they now work in tiers (Novice, Adept, Expert, Master). Your regular choices no longer change how skilled you are at something. To advance a skill, you have to spend time during your playthrough to do so. There will be specific moments for that in later chapters. You won’t have enough of the ‘time resource’ to max out all the skills.
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Mechanics: I added a new section to the stats page—Mechanics. It explains the skills and the philosophical dichotomies, both as a whole and individually. I hope you find the section helpful, and if you think something could use further explanation, do let me know!
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And typos. As always…
March 27, 2025
- Chapter 2a release (ca. 40,500 words).
- I split Chapter 2 into two sections. The first one is now available in the public demo. It focuses on gathering people to join you and Neri on your endeavors. By the end of this section, you will have met all the ROs available in the game (at least for now).
- The second part (ca. 10,000 words) is already available in the Patreon EA. It’s more linear and main quest focused. And…something big happens, too. No spoilers…
- Both sections have more flirt options now, as I’ve decided to expand those compared to the light version we had in Chapter 1. Earlier, I wanted to tie the romances to ROs’ quests and scenes, but then I had a change of heart, and now I’m putting these options wherever they feel right. This does mean some ROs have more options than others at this point, but it should all balance itself out later on. Hopefully, this approach works well!
DEMO | TUMBLR | PATREON | PINTEREST
If you enjoy Rosemary Isles, consider supporting my work by buying one of my already published Hosted Games–Temple of Endless Night, Hidden Sanctum, or Eldritch Tales.
TEMPLE OF ENDLESS NIGHT [Dark | Fantasy | Horror | Ancient Egypt]
THE HIDDEN SANCTUM [Modern Fantasy | Magic Powers]
ELDRITCH TALES: INHERITENCE [Horror | Romance]
And if you’re looking for more free games, you can try these:
EVERBLOOM [Cozy Fantasy | Slice-of-life]
THE ALCHEMIST [Short | High Fantasy]
AI Disclosure:
No — This project does not contain the output of Generative AI*
Yes — This project contains the output of Generative AI
*It does use non-generative Grammarly for basic grammar things.
