Strings of Fate: Origins [155K words] - Chapter 3 released!

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I want there to be an option to change your name coming later on, but I’ve not yet decided when is a good time to do that. The name’s meant to be a village folk name, where these traditions still endure, but having it (and shedding it or not) is part of the journey of change as well.

If you manage to unlock the machinery later on in Chapter 3, you should still qualify for Amara romance even without learning the basics in Chapter 1.

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Chapter progress report later today; some rambling on what’s taking so long (largely life getting me really busy), summary of stuff that I expect Chapter 4 to have and so on.

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I always sure I have a way to unlock the machine. It’s a good boost so I don’t want to miss it. It’s fun finding these scenes things play out differently depending on what u picked. Same for the machine that was too much for an MC who learned a bit compared to the that missed the basics.

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I’m just overly bothered when I try to vocalize the name and it feels so stilted and awkward. Tanner is more of a real surname even if it’s also a profession, so I was disappointed that wasn’t an option.
It’s good to know the option is being considered, but this is mostly just a me issue. I’ll probably default to Smith if only because it’s the only one I could make a reasonable name for.

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The option to change surnames is something I’ve wanted for a while—the idea is first introduced when William begins to introduce himself as Musician instead of Carpenter. I mostly haven’t decided when is a good moment to introduce that, meaning, when is the most appropriate moment for the protagonist to really tip over that scale of ‘‘I’m not really a villager anymore’’. Haven’t quite made that decision yet.

In regards to the surnames; Hunter is an actual surname as well, though Woodcutter and (of course) Potions aren’t. I’ve been, for a while, wondering about changing Woodcutter to either Cutter or Sawyer. though I haven’t gotten around to making a decision about that just yet. I’d have to change a lot of stuff (like labels and variable detection), but it’s doable.

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Now that I’ve finished a rewrite of the main chapter branch, some things about Chapter 4 as it is now. Some of these things have already been said, some haven’t.

There’s currently a total of 35,000 words without code. The dungeons scene I’ve been working on should be almost done, but need to wrap up the various different ways it can branch to (I finished as far as the actual branching, in different parts, without wrapping up the branches themselves into a conclusion)

The mono romance lines are all finished, needing to finish the two poly ones, and most of the first half scenes are also finished. There’s a chance to buy some armor, get another optional magic bump (or a new sigil, if you’ve already awakened magic), meet a foreigner and learn more about them, as well as to into a deeper dive regarding Atheryn’s main religion. There’s also a conclusion in regards to the amulet Agrien finds in the goblin den at Chapter 3.

If you were trained in magic in Chapter 1, there’s also a new opportunity to learn yet another sigil. This is specifically for those that acquired the spellbook, not for those who awakened magic by other means.
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Magic coding has been changed. I believe I’ve said this before, but a detailed explanation goes: it used to be reliant on Arcana for your spells, now it’s variable based in regards to sigils. Although it’s not gonna change anything as far as Chapter 3 goes, it changes things for when you start learning more sigils, which Chapter 4 has a few opportunities to learn and they’re not a linear progression (which made the old system based on Arcana not sustainable).

The change, in practice: Magic is based on three sigils: Source (Arcane), Structure and Release. Let’s say you already know 3 Release sigils. By learning a new Structure sigil, you’re likely learning 3 new spells rather than 1—one for each Release sigil that you know.
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Why it’s taking so long: it’s true that this is taking longer than Chapter 3, related to its size (currently 35k words). This is because of a scholarship opportunity I’ve gotten and the bureaucracy on that is insane. It’s been a thing I’ve been chasing for a lil’ while and it’s nearing the finish line, so there’s less work done on a daily basis on the IF.

I am still working on it, though, and I’m still passionate about this story :slight_smile: I’ll keep giving updates about where I’m at as I can.

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I love how badass our “ordinary” MC is. Wrestling and taking down an orc solo like some human Legolas was very cool. Speaking of elves, I also loved how they actually look different from humans instead of just having pointy ears.

Is the appearance for MC set in stone? Woodcutters are tall but does our character also have the signature black hair blue eyes? I have no idea what the other heritages look like.

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Well technically that’s twice now while the first one was a forced learning experience how to beat them. Every an orc shows now everyone’s probably gonna send us to deal with it. Yep definitely just a ordinary villager lol.

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I didn’t count the second fight cause it was technically a tag team effort, lol.

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Yeah but it was mostly on the MC to beat the thing so that’s why I counted it. We get celebrated as some kinda hero despite a normal life before this. I already died once by accident against it. Thank goodness we have saves.

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That’s a big part of the appeal to me as a writer! Although the MC is far from being “your average standard villager,” the median line from which they come from is lowered significantly enough that beating an orc feels difficult, looks difficult, and is appropriately treated as something fantastic at the level they’re all at—meaning, the level of ordinary folk—rather than needing to be golems, dragons or something.

Things do need to escalate over time, of course, to maintain the sense of growth&danger, but the lower initial level makes it hit differently for me.

Not necessarily, no. Most Woodcutters have black hair, to the point that it’s quite characteristic, but not all of them do. Same goes for the blue eyes. Most of them have it, but not all of them. From there, you’ve got a range of people with black hair but no blue eyes, blue eyes but no black hair, and the rarest of them all being people with neither (but they do exist!).

You pretty much guessed where the sequel would go if it does get made. A little more expanded than that, but the gist is generally right!

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I hope Amara becomes a major romance option. Her romance and morning scenes are the best one, imo. The way the MC and her talked and addressed their knowledge(or lack of) in regards to each other’s race was very cute and intimate. It was clearly an unusual experience for her too, sleeping with a human.

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I enjoyed writing that back and forth a lot. It’s coded differently than most other dialog, too. Strangely enough, Amara was only meant to have like 10% of the screentime she has, but I liked the character’s dynamic by the time I started writing and gave her a little more. And then a little more. And then RO.

She’s absent in Chapter 4, but she can return in Chapter 5 and the romance can resume then. It’s the last chapter, though.

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Good IF, excited for updates.

Who are the poly options? I assume

Agrien and Alyssa are/will be one poly option since they get together if we don’t ask one of them out before the dance at the festival

but who are the other ones (if any)? [EDIT: Ignore the prior question, just saw who the poly options are on Tumblr, still curious about the latter question though.]
Also I just saw that you haven’t finished the poly routes yet,

if I was right about the Agrien/MC/Alyssa poly then will the option to ask them both to dance during the festival be added or no? (Or has it already been added but requires us to flirt with them both first to pop up? (only done monogamous playthroughs with Agrien and Amara so far.))

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As far as the unfinished poly routes, it’s only for Chapter 4, meaning I didn’t finish writing their date on the unreleased Chapter as of yet (whereas the other dates are finished).

When it comes to the poly route, the way it’s set up is that you need to flirt with the two options before the dance begins. At that point, you have to choose one for the dance itself. By the end of Chapter 3, after the romance scene, there will be a detection of the people you’ve flirted with, which triggers the RO asking about whether polyamory is something you’d be interested in.

There’s a few more ways to achieve it, dancing with someone is technically not strictly necessary and there’s varying reactions depending on choices, but this is the general gist of the structure for the poly romance. Basically, instead of throwing it in there as is, I wanted it to start with a mono romance that may evolve into it due to mutual interest.

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After so long away securing my financial situation and adjusting to new hours and obligations, I can happily say that writing on Strings of Fate will resume again.

As of tomorrow, I will start redesigning some of the systems to make my life easier on how they expand. From there, I’ll rewrite part of William’s new date scene (about half of it) because it looks really boring to me.

The systems update should come by the weekend, the rest I’ll update over time as I have so far, changelogs and progress reports.

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That was quite a fun read, there’s this mix of groundedness from formerly living a simple but dull life at the hamlet then being thrust into the thick of things with fantasy elements- which were already present from the stories old Bryn and William told as well as the religious practices (and magic), just their impact was muted in their lives which I think makes sense.

I’m pleasantly surprised at the sense of attachment to the protagonist’s parents and some villagers like Liam you managed to provoke in me (a village festival makes for a good catalyst), I was thinking of how fast things were moving for the MC since the attack and how they hadn’t had much time to process it or even knew how to- there was shock, denial, rage, more rage, then numbness. Then 1 slumber later where they try to go through a normal breakfast routine before the acute realisation of being alone crashes through their mind, they have a choice on what to do with that grief and anger, to internalise or externalise it.

After that they just have to get moving quick because the threat to the lives of everybody they know is approaching still, fortunately their friends are on the road alongside too and are desperately trying to keep the mc’s spirits up in their own way. But the question ringing through my mind was if the protagonist would even let themselves have a bit of normalcy or even be happy about something after so fresh a wound when it hasn’t been treated so to speak, something which I think you’ve done a good job at getting through with the opportunities to smile and laugh genuinely or for appearances’ sake or not at all, and the way those were spaced out with being able to let loose and be merry later after having accomplished something which helped many people. And of course the perceived chance to do something with the wrath built up inside on an offending party so as to soothe the flame within (is how I see it anyway).

Alright I think that’s enough of the heavy stuff, sorry about the word vomit but turns out there was a lot I wanted to say and still a bit more tbh lol

Not only fighting but pitting the mc’s strength against a bear was pretty badass, wasn’t a direct contest of course since being able to win that would have broken immersion but I really liked the way it was written. But the cherry on top was Ellanor wanting to name the bear Henry after talking with him, which happened to be mc’s name too. I don’t think I can go through that section wanting to kill the bear now.

So far the only person without a defined role in the party I can discern is William, well he is a bard but I was thinking as a combatant. So far I can only think of 1 place where he’s directly fought by himself but he wasn’t able to inflict a serious wound and left himself open to getting flanked. I saw you left a comment about having a plan for his growth, that is reassuring since I had thought he could use some kind of training from Alyssa or the mc or even Agrien.

Lastly, it seems I’m part of the band who was more interested in Amara in that manner than the core members, it certainly made it easier in the sense that I didn’t betray anybody’s confidence although I’m a bit sad we won’t be seeing her in Chapter 4 but such is the way of the plot. I also saw you place a good deal of importance in the romance aspects of the story which I believe Chapter 4 will contain a not-so-insignificant chunk of, I respect it of course but it does make Amara’s absence from it all the more noticeable if I understood it right. Given my sleep deprived state I think I will read Chapter 3 again once I have the time.

I’ve noticed it’s been a while since you’ve been in a position to work on this but I hope you managed to make things better for yourself.

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That’s a very thoughtful reply, thank you! I’m really glad the initial village had an impact, both the people and the transition. Transformation’s one of the core themes of the story (who you were then, who you are now), and given the whole premise of the takes, it’s important for the village to matter to the readers :slight_smile:

You picked up on something real there with the wrath built up inside, that particular choice (and more to come) are precisely about how to release that grief on the offending party.

In terms of combat, William’s a bit of the buffoon on the party for now. Elanor has his magic, Alyssa has her militia training, Agrien is a huntress; to an extent, they all have their thing. William’s strong and agile but can’t (yet) turn that into something meaningful for fighting. It’ll start changing more throughout Chapter 4, with references to the strange noises he’s been hearing and some more practical experience.

In terms of romance, Chapter 4 will have a romantic date; Amara’s not in it, but her own romance content will be present for Chapter 5 instead. Whereas the typical ROs have a bit in Chapter 4, and another bit in 5, Amara will have both bits in Chapter 5, if that makes sense.

Truth be told, Amara’s role in the original outline was for all of two scenes, it just expanded over time and I ended up making her a RO because I felt like it, even though it wasn’t the original plan. I’m unsure about adding her to the list of ROs given the very specific requirement she has (without that, there’s no option to try at all). I’ll have to think about it!

In regards to the hiatus, my financial situation is stable again. I have to adjust to new hours and responsibilities, but everything should be stable for the foreseeable future, so I’ll maintain steady work on SoF :slight_smile:

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The game is amazing​:fire::fire:

I didn’t know that we’d actually meet an elf tho but it was a pleasant surprise, I hope we can maybe visit her homeland too alongside the dwarves. Tho I admit the world building in the game seems a bit constricting its not surprising considering that the mc lives in an isolated village with little to no knowledge of the outside world. Tho the RO scenes and the sense of relationship with the mc’s parents is very well done tho a page for character descriptions, and personality would be great as well plus could you add Amara’s relationship bar as well :backhand_index_pointing_right::backhand_index_pointing_left:

Btw glad to hear your doing well financially and mentally but if you ever feel like its too much you can always take a break don’t pressure yourself too much on it man.

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I’ll make sure to add a relationship bar for Amara :slight_smile:

Alas there’s no plans to visit the elven commonwealth or the dwarven kingdom for this story, it all takes place in the region between Cadena and Woodcutter’s Village. The sequel, assuming it does get written, takes you to other places but still within Hendell Island (kind of). The third is somewhere else.

I do have the outline for 2 more stories other than this, set in the same setting, but that won’t be for a long time (if it does happen at all)

For context, SoF Origins will deliver what it promised (the conflict to save the village; the transformation of the MC through its journey). It stands (or should) as its own story. I just happen to have more stories beyond this which should be a natural extension

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