I just played the demo, and read the FAQ so hah!! The amount of detail in this demo is amazing, I’ve only seen that once in a villain based game demo, and really enjoyed it!! I’m really looking forward to the rest of the game in the future though…
How do you get Cortez to like you?
Be polite, but not a doormat. That’s about how I’d describe the choose-able interactions that gained respect. He’ll like you more if you can get him to respect you a bit first. Being quick to get the truth during the interrogation scene gives a rather nice chunk of points to both stats.
It’s also important to note that even if you would normally get in his face for how he treats Val, remember this–he’s focused on the bigger picture, and only has an academic understanding of who she is on paper, as well as his first impressions of her not being all that impressive. Details like who she really is as a person are irrelevant so long as lives are at stake, so as harsh as he comes across in that scene, he’s reacting to the notion that she doesn’t feel the same sort of pressure he is about the gravity of what’s happened.
Thanks!! And to Callum to tell the truth? Do you have to be a cold asshole or something?
That’s a little more complicated. You need to get Callum’s Respect to zero in order to get him to admit it, however, this is a bit of a complicated dance to accomplish. If you just want to get the truth, you can save before each choice’s interaction that directly takes place in conversation with Callum, then check the stat screen after making your choice to track if it is decreasing. Some cause it to go up, which can be a tad annoying if you’re trying to get it to bottom out. 
Callum’s lack of respect for Ferdinand has more to do with the fact that he thinks he’s a delusional loser and less to do with a specific disdain for knighthood itself. It is true that Callum likes to buck authority and isn’t a natural fit for the knights, but he’s also the kind of person that will sacrifice comfort for the chance at revenge, and joining the Regaldan army is his best chance at finding and killing Leydriss (and the other Songbirds) in the knight path.
This will be made more explicit in future flashback chapters, when Callum and the corresponding MCs actually become knights.
@AdmiralLynx89 has done a fine job of explaining how to raise Cortez’s Respect stat, but to elaborate on how to raise his Fondness, you have to (somewhat counterintuitively) be a bit confrontational. He likes people with the confidence to stand up to him.
He also appreciates sarcasm.
Assuming you’re talking about the prologue achievement, LadyUmbreon is again correct about having to bottom out Callum’s Respect stat. Callum loses respect for you if you exhibit low confidence or behave too sentimentally, both of which he interprets as weakness.
Replayed and save scummed my way to a few more playthroughs and may I say how much I appreciate bro Callum (in the teen flashbacks at least). I was going in hoping to hate on him for the prologue stuff but man, he definitely was a trooper. Not perfect, but a solid trooper. Still does stuff you’d expect but he has his moments.
Only tried rival Callum once and it was interesting to see a different side to him, or at least see it from a different perspective. Now this man I easily saw growing into the prologue version.
Haven’t tried ex Callum yet, but I think I’d better prep a stoic MC just in case 
Alright, I’m just gonna have to ask. Why does Callum betray the MC? I’d go and find out myself, but I don’t have the heart to get his respect down to 0. Also, is that the MC’s only chance of finding out?
I think there’s some confusion about what this achievement actually means. Callum does not at any point in the prologue reveal the real reason he betrays the MC. What happens when you lower his Respect to 0 is he will tell you how he really feels about you, personally—that you’re soft-hearted and weak, and that despite his efforts to stay true to you, you’re just not the kind of leader he can respect.
It is also worth noting that he may not necessarily feel exactly the same way if you don’t lower his Respect to 0. The reason it only unlocks if you do so is because making the requisite decisions indicates that you’re playing an MC that he would feel that way about.
As for whether you’ll learn the truth about Callum’s betrayal later in the story…maybe you’ll find out someday!
Ahh. I love a good worldbuilding infodump. Lay it on me! I read every bit and now I want to know more. I’m very much a lore (and worldbuilding) nerd so I get excited when I see a lot of work put into the setting. I eat it like candy. For instance. The motereader sort of reminds me of myself because of my sensory sensitivities. It makes me think of what kind of mage I would be in this world; I would probably be more inclined to Conjuration or Amplification. Conj. because I love making things like the toddler I am and Amp. because I love playing the healer/support class.
Also, I have a question. Since I think Amp. deals with healing and is soul powered, would it be impossible to heal or amplify an animal, since animals are without souls or have souls different from humans? How about plants? The magic system kind of reminds me of Animism and I’m wondering if it differs in that regard.
Edit: Oh, and I feel super bad for Valerie at the end there! I would probably break down into tears because I’m suuuper sensitive to those kind of situations. Then eat like 500 chocolate bars. Yes, some could say I have a flair for the dramatic.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the worldbuilding! Figuring out how magic worked was one of my favorite parts of defining the Spellbound world.
Anything that’s alive technically has a soul in this universe, and could therefore be affected by Wight magic. However, you’re right that animal and plant souls are fundamentally different from human souls, and you’d need a different technique to Amplify (or Animate) them, in the same way that a surgeon could operate on both humans and animals, but would need to learn their respective anatomies to avoid messing something up.
Plants, of course, would require yet more diverse knowledge in order to properly use Amplification magic.
It is worth noting that Affliction does not necessarily run into the same problems—since Affliction is often (though not exclusively) used to cause harm, it’s more analogous to a weapon, which you could, of course, use to wound animals (or even plants) just as well as humans.
Been quiet in here for a while. 
Did I miss something, is there a discord now or smthg?
Theres been a discord for a while now. Not sure where the invite link is i’ll try and find it and edit it into my post for you. XD
Hey everyone, sorry for the quiet lately. In addition to just not being in a writing “mood” lately, I’ve been very busy with other commitments, such as “DMing a Dungeons & Dragons game with over half a dozen players, despite having no prior experience with the role and not playing the game since 3.5e”, or “still being alive, despite everything”.
At this point it’s looking very unlikely that an update will happen in July as intended, but hopefully next month will be more productive. Not gonna promise anything, but I really would like to push out something (or, dare I say, multiple somethings) before summer is over. Or, you know, winter, if you’re one of those southern hemisphere people (but we don’t talk about them).
Alternate plan, maybe I’ll just keel over and die, and then I’ll have all the time in the world to go find a soulgazer to write my story for me. Either or.
An online summer D&D Game (sorry Southern Hemisphere) sounds divine. Looking forward to the update but until then, even your posts make me laugh (I love your narrative voice) so all is good.Until then, I’ll be dreaming about the various ways I love/hate Callum.
The value of self-care, and spending your free time how you like is seriously underestimated these days. It’s actually nice to know that authors here on the forum are taking the time to have their life beyond their writing, and WIPs. Good luck with your DMing! May all your players make fun, easily managed snap decisions. 
One thing my low humor MC needs for the sake of a little fun is an opportunity to do is to make a doll, or action figure get up, and start walking around just to mess with the mundies. Nothing sinister, just something to earn a laugh, or two.
Someone recommended me this wip on tumblr and I’m absolutely into it!
The story is super interesting and I can’t wait to see what happens next 
Also the characters are 10/10 Val and Cortez are so different and I still like them both, idk what I’m going to do when the rest of the ROs show up 
and I love slowburn so I’m super happy that the mc doesn’t need to flirt 5 minutes after knowing the characters
Annnddd last but not least, fricking Callum 
he activates my fight or flight response lol, I’m super pissed that he betrayed mc but at the same time when he protected them in the flashback 
damn you Callum making my mc see you as a brother only to stab her in the back!! 
Anyway this is a big mess of feels, but I really liked your wip 
Oh man I love this so much.
wow!!! this is sooo good - something about an mc with a tragic backstory being betrayed by the one closest to them really hits…like do i want my mc to suffer? maybe a little i won’t lie 
the whole plot so far seems super engaging and i’m already invested in seeing more and i LOVE the idea of setting the story both in the present and the past!!
anyway ur writing is amazing and this is such a sizeable demo! i really can’t wait 2 see more…especially of callum…evil king…smth bout a toxic man really hits what can i say…anyway sorry this isn’t a helpful comment but i just wanted 2 gush lmao
also i LOVE cortez and val…can’t wait 2 meet the rest of the ros!!!
Absolutely
