I wouldn’t even know where to start.
1 Like
I like Rook, but the word I’ve probably used to describe him most often is “ass.”
2 Likes
You like him? You like the man who signs off to have one of his subordinates raped for cash? You like the man who puts a bomb in the heart of his subordinate? You like the man who hands the control of said bomb to someone that obviously despises her? You like the man who committed biological warfare against the planets of Jupiter? You like the man who somehow despite this acts as if he has the moral high ground over literally anyone in the solar system?
Sorry for the rant, I’m sure you don’t support any of these actions irl. This comes off as very hostile which wasn’t my intention sorry
4 Likes
I like Rook perhaps because he reminds me of myself more than I care to admit. Not that I’d do any of that stuff, but I can relate to wanting to be a good person in a fucked-up world, and knowing I’m not living up to my own ideals, and finding it easier to cloak myself in inflated righteousness than do the hard work of self-examination and change, particularly when change means confrontation or a loss of comfort. There’s a part of me that appreciates that he does try to hold himself to a higher standard, even though he fails so spectacularly, since the only reason most of the people around him aren’t just as hypocritical is that they don’t have any principles to betray in the first place. If I thought there was anything blithe or untroubled about him, I would hate him irredeemably, but he’s sort of stymied in a dark night of the soul of his own creation, and too up his own ass to see the light, and I’d be as hypocritical as he is if I pretended that something about that doesn’t echo in me a little.
6 Likes
I will strenuously disagree with this point. Pretty much the entire cast are significantly more principled than he is. Damon, Hadley, Renfri, arguably Lisa, West, hell even Hammond actually holds more to his principles than the war criminal hypocritical rape apologist
1 Like
Isn’t he one of like 2 characters who immediately fold to dusk?
Sorry that was meant to go in the previous reply but Im not very familiar with the forum ui on my phone
1 Like
I wasn’t referring to the other major characters of the story, but to the corrupt system of power that Rook is part of in the first place, the ones who modify people to their use and then exploit them while still treating them as expendable inferiors.
I don’t remember if it’s immediate, but I know it’s inevitable. But it very much read to me as a weak man in deep denial about his capacity to resist. I didn’t see him as a mustache-twirling villain cheerfully donning a black hat - more like the addict who knows that once you get sober you’re not supposed to drink at all, but he knows he’s just built different, with more self-control, and so of course he can have just one beer.
1 Like
You mean exactly like he does? The only difference i see is that hes self righteous about it
1 Like
Yes, exactly. He took a gamble that he could be a hammer rather than a nail, landed somewhere above the nail but below the hammer, and now just keeps digging himself in deeper and deeper trying to convince himself he doesn’t regret it.
I did not expect to start a discussion, but I’m glad people care enough about my story to form strong opinions 
That’s such a good metaphor I’d wish I thought of it before making Lisa the team’s resident drinker.
In many ways, Kirill does function like an average addict. He’s sane enough to recognize the problem (playing by the rules of a pointlessly cruel system) but lacks the will to take any serious action. He’ll hesitate before reaching for a bottle, but will empty it all the same, because he’s too deep in to actually break the habit.
The metaphor I did use was one of a chess piece. A rook can enter a white square or a black square, regardless of where it’s standing currently. Kirill could change his ways at any point, but he keeps making awful choices because they feel easier, like a pointless check that only makes your position worse. He only gets a grip in specific endings, where he has no choice but to confront his flaws, otherwise he’ll just keep digging the hole until his open casket funeral.
Now excuse me, I’m off to get a drink. I’ll only have a sip, I promise.
6 Likes
That is a far better metaphor than mine for Rook’s character. Much subtler and less obvious, but sums up what I was trying to say better than most of what I actually said.
Actually, Rook being a problem drinker would have been a little too on the nose, and at the same time not quite fitting with my understanding of him. I see him as the kind who would look down on someone like Lisa for drowning her sorrows in the bottle, quite correctly recognizing it as a coping mechanism that does more harm than good in the long run, while not recognizing that he’s doing the same thing in his own way, and even doing far more damage to himself and others in the process.
1 Like
The game gives you plenty options to tell him how much he sucks, so that’s on you. I ended with 7%; had 4% at some point, but fumbled somewhere.
Also it seems that I haven’t seen a lot of stuff, but I guess being a violent, misanthropic meatbag hater is limiting in a way. Will definitely need to do more runs with diving into the code, for I failed to do a couple of things I wanted to do, like murk Hammon and convince idiot technolizard that I really were on her side. Anyway, my ending was watching meatbags burn and later travelling about with my besties Damon and Hadaly, not so bad if I say so myself.
All in all, loved the game a lot, atmosphere and general vibe reminded me of “Anachronox”, an old one-of-a-kind (or so I thought) RPG. Can’t wait for “Walls of Natrun” to get finished.
Oh, and gargoyle named Regill? 
Have you per chance been playing “Pathfinder wrath of the righteous” while writing?
1 Like
Its mostly because I was polite to him on missions as I deemed them more important than calling out his bullshit and then avoided him at literally every opportunity during the interludes
1 Like
It’s no secret that I did. I actually derailed my own WIP thread by whining about parts of the game, mostly the existence of Camelia. When I came to blows with teleporting insta-kill gargoyle clerics, I knew I had to parody them somehow.
4 Likes
but she’s helpfull, is she not
1 Like
We can’t kill Kirill? There’s no way he could beat the MC in a fist fight. Just sayin’.
Stick ‘em up, meatbag.
2 Likes
Love this setting so much. Can’t wait continue. There is so much secrets left untouched, so much plot hooks, world feels so large but at the same time, it’s not overwhelming you with useless dumps of data, and oh, how I miss Crystal!
Wish there was romance option. Or at least, make them some part of your journey beyond just chasing there. Maybe, staying together. Hiding on that spot rather than fleeing who knows what location.
There’s another game. Sure. But maybe this universe has something more, like, something to read, Discord discussions?
I do indeed have a discord server, if that’s what you’re asking. You’re also invited to read what people are saying on Steam and perhaps write your own review. Sun knows I need some genuine ones.
Random question, does Rook knows that Orthodox Christianity sees homosexuality as a sin or is he unaware?
He knows. It can come up briefly if the PC is masculine and gets intimately involved with Rook.