Shepherds of Haven (WIP) (DEMO UPDATE: 3 Aug 2021)

MC: Caine, go find me a demon or something to slay

Caine: haha, MC! It’s almost as if you’re trying to ditch me!

MC:

Summary

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Edit:
MC and RO finally got a break from slaying demons and are about to do the do

Caine: wow, that demon really scared me today! Is it okay if I sleep with you guys ?

RO to MC’s dismay: Sure!

MC to Caine:

Summary

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This is only making me want to protect Caine more—at this rate I’m never gonna romance Prihine because I’ll just be trying to make up for everyone else’s playthroughs where they ignore him!

[My MC and Chase are finally gonna do the do]

My MC: It only took sixteen playthroughs but I’m finally gonna romance you!

Chase: What

MC: What

Caine: [knocking frantically] [sniffling] MC! I had a nightmare and you were in it and—!

MC: [leaps over the bed and kicks the door open] COME HERE MY SWEET SON, WHAT
HAPPENED?

Chase: [sigh] Maybe in the seventeenth playthrough…


why%20the%20fuck%20you%20lyin%20(star%20wars)

tell me there's gonna be an option to egg him in the face for making Shery cry...maybe recruit some of the other Shepherds into joining.

Tallys: That’s just a waste of eggs.

Blade: You do realize you’d be egging us too, right?

Trouble: [already carrying crates of eggs] I see you and I are on the same page about this.

Riel: Just…stuff his mouth full of clay.

Chase: [slams fist on table] Count me in! Do you think he can smell? Because I actually buried a couple dozen eggs three weeks ago for…reasons.

mwahahaha

Maybe just have Trouble call him that, if it’s less work than making his name a variable.

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SEND HELP I’M d Y I n G

There totally is! Maybe not eggs necessarily but you have multiple options on how to deal with Vivek, either for Shery or with her! :stuck_out_tongue:

I don’t even think Trouble knows who “Fartageth” is honestly, Shery would just be chattering away about all this interesting minutiae about him to the MC and Trouble would just be in the background like “??” He’s often just, like, off in his own world thinking about guns and stuff.

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blush

I will fite for my wife.

(ง •̀_•́)ง

how dare my husband not pay attention to my wife

or know my hilarious nickname for this gargoyle

he can sleep on the couch tonight

oh my god

that is

so good to know

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Hmmm…on the one hand my mc is not particularly altruistic, but Caine and Trouble would be big exceptions to that. It is also true that even with them he might not actually have great bedside manners but he’d nonetheless make a probably hilariously awkward attempt nonetheless.

If the author wants to to go to the trouble then while all personality types can attempt all actions not all of them would be equally good at them. Like I said, my mc trying to help and be kind and nurturing to Caine and Trouble might look and feel rather awkward because it is a profound departure from his general disposition.

That’s too bad because my mc doesn’t need to use a word to save just Caine and there’s no way he’ll use a word and let everybody know about his other “power” just to save Prihine.

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I love Ayla to me she look cool and cute

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i read some of your work from a friend love all time and hard work you put in to this

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love this:heart_eyes:

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@Takashi_Shin Thanks! Ayla is a bit of a sleeper hit but she’s definitely a cool RO in my opinion! :slight_smile:

@Sino Thank you for your kind words! :blush:

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That great that me in nutshell I think I am in love Ayla:heart_eyes:

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I’ve been going through some items to purge our closets and I decided to replay an RPG iteration of this story that I made a long time ago (using RPG Maker FES). It’s always interesting when your past self surprises you with stuff you don’t remember making… I’ve attached some (crappy) photos of that game in case anybody is interested. I’m hoping to incorporate as many elements as I can when I can finally start working on SoH full-time!

Dumb kids

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Wanted: Extremely Handsome

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You could find Trouble's dog wandering around the city

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It would mostly just ignore you, though.


A roll in the hay

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Yikes.


Vivek!

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Shipping wars

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@rose-court’s internal monologue.


And finally, I took a long ferry ride a few days ago and randomly wrote down a list of trivia facts about each character that you’d never find out in the game–but which I think are kind of fun to know as you play! :slight_smile:

Random Trivia
  • Blade gets easily seasick and has a delicate stomach.
  • Trouble is allergic to cats.
  • Tallys constantly tries to be a vegetarian, but can never quite commit to it for long.
  • Shery used to love horses, but was bucked by one as a girl and can now only comfortably travel by train or walking.
  • Riel has a photographic memory. He also has a pretty bad sweet tooth.
  • Chase never gambles and never drinks as a rule.
  • Halek has a twin brother (actually, this can come up in the story). He also loves to cook.
  • Red is the only son with four sisters, and was a little bit of a charmer in school.
  • Ayla is a rare breed of Elemental Mage who can only specialize in one type of element: this happens to about 3% of the population of Mages.
  • Mimir is obsessed with the color purple.
  • Lavinet used to hand-grow roses in her private garden, but once torched the whole thing in a fit of pique (because her father almost forced her to marry a stranger, like her cousin Prihine. She wasn’t having it. He never asked again.).
23 Likes
I would've replied earlier, but I got distracted watching my dog try and hold a rawhide chew in her paws---she doesn't have opposable thumbs but she tries to hold it upright anyway and I love her.

You know what they say, one man’s trash is this crazy ho’s favorite pictures of the week just look at it! I’m getting serious Golden Sun/nostalgic childhood vibes and I freakin’ love it.

Wrong, these are precious children who must be protected.

shOcked

Okay…@rinari.
I have a very serious question.

Has my husband Chase always had blue hair?

I ask this because…back in high school…I too created a rogueish character with blue hair.

**His name is Blue and he’s my go-to Rogue for DnD and what the actual hell @rinari. except for the fact that Blue does all the drugs and people under the sky—!!

I think I made Darkest Timeline Chase in high school???

Is the dog’s name Toil?

Double, double, Toil and Trouble. :point_left: :point_left: :sunglasses:

Aww, he’s so fluffy in this baby picture!! :blush:

maybe%20so

why do I feel so insulted, it’s True

I must protect him.

No wait, I must protect him.

Oh god, it’s me.
My weakness is pork…and chicken…and beef…and fish…and the fact that I never buy vegetables…

I’m literally reading this while eating milk and cookies.

eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy me neither! let’s get married

Blue does, though, Blue hella does.

Art imitates reality once more! My younger brother is going through a purple phase as I type. @rinari are you psychic or are you just spying on me? because if so, I can explain


Oh, interesting.
Do these types of mages have a special name? Is it usually easier for them to master their single element when compared to other mages? Before the Castigation, what kind of employment would these kinds of mages have had, considering that they were, in a sense, handicapped?

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Summary

This is true, during the Equalist chapter of that game those children were set to disappear…

Ahhh, I’m sorry to disappoint, but no, Chase does not really have blue hair! :joy: I was using a pared-down version of RPG Maker and it came with very limited character assets to use–I just had to choose the one thiefiest and closest to Chase, which happened to have blue hair! In the “real story,” he has brown hair and green eyes! But maybe you did make the Darkest Timeline Kingdom Come Infinite Crisis Chase, a version where the MC was never born…

Damn it, why do you always come up with these things after the fact! :wink: The dog’s name is “Boy,” to absolutely no one’s surprise: Trouble mulled over his name for a few days, then shrugged and said what he calls him now suits him just fine. (In reality, he cracked under the pressure of choosing a good name and gave up.)

Chase doesn’t gamble or drink because 1) he never puts himself in a situation where you need something more than skill to win (i.e. luck) and he hates to lose, he’s a really bad sore loser–and 2) he needs to keep his wits sharp and alert because there could be nice things to steal at all times. He and Blue would probably get along! :laughing:

:eyes: I’m not spying! I’m just observing…seriously though, what were you doing with that wheel of cheese?..

Mages like Ayla are usually identified by their particular element, so instead of being referred to as a Mage or (rarely) an Elemental Mage, they’re simply called “Wind-Mages,” “Earth-Mages,” et cetera. It’s much easier for them to master their element in comparison–it comes much more easily and naturally, more a part of themselves than a skill they have to master, and they’re also quite a bit more powerful in that element than typical Elemental Mages. Because of that, they still typically filled the same roles as conventional Mages, though of course it depended on their element: Wind-Mages were often employed on ships, for example, to ensure good winds and fair weather for the journey, Earth-Mages were paid to help construct buildings or till the fields for wealthy farmers, etc. “Regular” people couldn’t really tell the difference, so they usually weren’t treated any differently.

One special ability that they did have was the ability to communicate with beings called Elementals, which included sentient creatures like the Hill Folk, Flamelings, Wind Sprites, Undine, and others. Common people usually couldn’t see or communicate with these beings at all, so Mages of Ayla’s breed could also become something like shamans, talking to and controlling these invisible “forces” that were all around them.

Elementals are thought to be extinct in the modern day, though, so there’s even less use for a Wind-Mage than there is for even a regular Mage. :sweat_smile: OR IS THERE? You see, I’ve learned your smol tricks!

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Also: let’s get real in this thread here–

When ya’ll start seducing these ROs, how much safe sex talk is warranted?

Realistically, I think it’s responsible and commendable to have some equivalent to “do you have a condom” before you start doing the do. But maybe in an escapist fantasy scenario, people wouldn’t want that? It really might disrupt the flow of the scene (as in real life), especially depending on the RO in question: they all have romances that unfold differently, so one might be an explosive night of passion, one might be a tender “gearing up towards it” event. One or two might not culminate in sex at all, if that’s what the player or the RO wants. It also might be repetitive to script out safe sex convos for each of those routes, especially for something inconsequential/unenjoyable for the readers, anyway. (The MC and their ROs will not get pregnant during the course of the story. Also, if you romance more than one person, you might see the conversation twice!) And of course there is the fact that same-sex couples won’t need to have the conversation at all, which is more complex coding.

Typing it all out, I just started leaning towards the path of “not worth it”–but I am also curious if there are any CS stories that do have any discussions about safe sex. What do you all think?

To elaborate/rinari gets real about magical sex protection

In the world of Blest, prior to the Castigation, you could go to a Healer and ask them for a spell of protection against pregnancy. Obviously, after the Castigation, people were a little uneasy about the idea of letting a Mage control your–inner parts, so the alternative now is to chew something called saltwort or breachwort, an herb that renders the user of either gender temporarily infertile. (You have to chew it an hour before sex. It can also make people a little irritable. It also doesn’t protect against venereal diseases, but you can still go to a Healer for that. It just costs a lot of money and Healers are now required to put down their every action in registries that are given to the Autarchy, which means the Autarchy effectively control your medical records.)

Also, if anyone is curious about how same-sex couples are perceived, among Diminished they’re a non-issue, accepted, normal, and not really thought about as a “thing.” Among the larger Norm population, same-sex couples are heavily discouraged, not just by the Church but by the Autarchy itself, which insists that Norms have a duty to procreate and produce sturdy Norm babies who’ll strengthen the Norm population against the threat of the Diminished. (Greater numbers being one of the main reasons why the Norm army won during the Castigation.) It’s not a crime among the Norms to love someone of the same gender, but it is much more taboo, especially for those in positions of power.

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Let’s rap about safe sex practices, y’all.


None of the CS games I’ve read have ever actually had discussions about safe sex practices—everyone’s doing the horizontal tango without shoes! How scandalous!

Just going by that, I would say it’s unnecessary to include such things, unless you think it’s something that an RO would really require of themselves and their partner, in which case, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to add one single line about the saltwort/beachwort being chewed furiously, or getting a spell of protection real quick.
Heck, you could probably get away with having it be a fake choice between the two, like:

You're very glad to have taken precautionary measures before you came to see {RO}.
  *fake_choice
    #I chewed saltworth/beachworth a few hours ago.
      You had a feeling something like this might happen. 
    #I visited a healer not too long ago; the spell of protection should cover for the night...
      ...or longer.

Better to be safe than sorry!

If it’s something that small, then I personally don’t mind it repeated, but then again, I am the type of person who prefers to see these little things when it comes to fiction. It just helps flesh out a world a bit more than usual.

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My dog appreciates the gif. She sniffed the screen and everything.

I have never hated wrong more than I have in this moment.

Seriously, I haven’t even played that part of the game, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to choose Tallys’ route without crying!!

https://alantierney.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lovejoy3.jpg

I mean…Trouble does, but he named his dog Boy. He needs all the help he can get.

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Honestly, I would’ve have the same reaction to any color combination, lol that’s how deep in RO Hell I am right now, rinari

Because we didn’t know each other then! But it’s fine, it’s good, we know each other now and I can throw dumb names at you whenever.

rinari: [gets a notification right before bed]
me: ok, i just had to throw this out there. what if we get a bird?
rinari: …
me: hear me out. it can just be a carrier pigeon that we name offhand, but the point is---
rinari: …
me: ...it's male, but we call it mrs. featherbottom because we can't tell the gender and also because I've been rewatching Arrested Development and I have other ideas that are essentially easter eggs
rinari: [rubs sleep from eyes]
rinari: [begins to type a reply]
rinari: …
rinari: Go on...
me: fROZEN BANANAS, RINARI. THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES.

[if you choose to help Trouble with the Equalists]
MC: So, what’s the name of our mission?
Trouble: The name?
MC: Yeah, what’re we going to call this? Operation: Save the Children? Mission: Implausable? Operation: Little Rascals?
Trouble: Uh…
MC: Ooh! Operation: Rascal Rescue!
Trouble: Fine, here’s the mission name: Save These Kids From Getting Brutally Tortured.
[beat]
MC: I like it!
Trouble: R-Really?

That’s like me in Skyrim.
I will steal the skooma, but I will not drink the skooma…because there’s so many wheels of cheese out there that require deft hands and precise movements.

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L i s t e n

My children in Skyrim were starving, and I had the bug where the butter churner wouldn’t work so I couldn’t make them pastries, I had to feed my kids somehow!!

that’s not true, that’s a lie. the wheels of cheese are just so goddamn shiny and ripe for stealin’…

INTERESTING.

smol tricks mean nothing when you can zoom nyehehehe

Still, this is very interesting. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see if I can make friends with a Wind Sprite somehow.

MC: I will call you…
MC: Seven-Up.
Trouble: Damn, that’s a good name!

That is…terrifying to know.

Blade: The Autarchy is cutting out budget.

Tallys: What? Why would they do that?

Blade: Because somebody’s been seeing a Healer three times a week for six months.

[everyone looks over at the MC]

My romantically indecisive MC who’s probably been trying to bang everyone: What are you all looking at me for?

8 Likes

I’ve never really seen any of the CoG stories I read make mentions of safe sex matters. Though honestly, it’s probably like this due to the common expectation that, even in games where sex is implied, the chances of the MC (or their love interest) having to deal with the chance of pregnancy and a baby DURING their playthrough (and not simply having the notion be mentioned in the ending) is extremely rare and hasn’t really happened in most games.

It is a talk that might be fascinating on some levels (well to me personally), but whether you can find a place for it to fit could be another matter (and if that something that particular characters in the story may even bring up). :thinking:

Though, out of curiosity (and I apologize if you already answered this question), what is it like if a Norm and Diminished were to get into a physical relationship? What is the likelihood of such a pair being able to create a child (is it rare for a child to be born, easier for it to be created, or just flat out impossible for a baby to form)?

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Sorry for cutting in, but this was simply too good to pass …

Can this be a legit scenario in the story?

CONTINUATION:
My romantically indecisive MC who’s probably been trying to bang everyone: “It was the cheese, I tell you!”

Ahem. Just wanted to drop by to say your premise looks intriguing nevermindthecharacters

Don’t know if this has already been asked, but:
A) Can we effectively take over the Shepherds and use them for our goals?
B) How big can our team be - 9 RO + 11 recruitable characters?
C) Will we able to do a little bit of matchmaking?
D) The name "The shepherds reminds me of Fire Emblem: Awakening. Okay, so this isn’t a question, just wanted to put it out there.
E) How much trouble will Trouble be? lame pun, I know, but Trouble caught my interest, partly because he shares the name with one of the characters from my WIP

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Ah, this is a good compromise! Rather than just grinding everything to a halt and being like, wait, do you have saltwort?, certain characters to whom it would matter could just have a throwaway line about having already chewed it or something. (And to some it wouldn’t cross their minds at the moment, probably realistically, lol.) That seems much more organic! :slight_smile: And it could add to their character development, too–Trouble being a bastard who never knew his father, for example, might be way more concerned about it than someone else.

Though I did just realize that Tallys, as the Order’s resident herbalist, is probably the one who always has saltwort on hand… that means she probably knows everyone’s business, lol…

MC: [knocking sheepishly on Tallys’ door]
Tallys: Again? This is sixth time today, isn’t it?
MC: Well…

Caine in the background, still hunting for demons

Thanks for asking this question, it hasn’t been asked yet! Prior to the Castigation, it was very common for Norm and Gifted couples to be together. (The exception being Elves, who generally kept to themselves due to the whole skewed-time-long-life thing. There were still occasional half-Elves running around, though.) A baby from a Norm-Gifted relationship was just as likely to conceive as not, but the manifestation of their Gift was wildly unpredictable and varied. Some half-Norm children never manifested powers at all. Some had weaker versions of the Gift–this was how “Hedgewitches” came to be: mixed-blood Mages whose power was only strong enough to cure warts or create love charms–and some weren’t affected by their Norm lineage at all, being just about as strong as any other Ket, Mage, or Elf. And sometimes the Gift just skipped a generation entirely and manifested in the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the half-blooded child, resulting in sometimes volatile, sudden surprise powers.

The only exception was with the Hunters (strong spoilers ahead): A child born to anything but two pure-blooded Hunter parents will never manifest Hunter powers. It’s a real problem with the dwindling Hunter population–plagued by early death rates and numbers decimated by the Autarchy–that the MC and Halek may have to talk about.

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Thanks for popping in! :grin: I might as well put the old demo up again because I keep bringing this thread to everyone’s attention without having any example to show for it, lol!

You can certainly romance more than one person in the story, but by the end of it you’ll have to choose the person you want to be with for your ending (or you can choose none and end up with no one, lol). Some characters are cool with you banging other people, some are very not cool with it, so it depends on who you romance!

Yes, there is a way to take command of the Shepherds, though it depends on what you mean by “using them for your goals.” If you mean to challenge the Autarchy, yes, you can do that. But you can’t use them to overrun the city and become, like, Caligula lol.

The max your team can be is 10 recruitable characters in one playthrough: there are technically 11, but Ayla and Red swap out depending on what the MC’s sexuality is, so you can never have both in one game. Out of the 10 possible characters you can recruit at once, there will be (I believe) 8 possible romance options within them.

No match-making, I don’t think–too busy slaying demons and trying to survive the Autarchy! :slight_smile: But there will be a lot of NPC-coaching in other ways, lol.

Woohoo for shared-name characters! :smile: Trouble is just his nickname–you can only find out his true name by maxing a relationship with him–but true to that nickname, he can be a lot of trouble depending on how you interact with him. :stuck_out_tongue: It’s usually for a good reason, though (he argues)!

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