TWELVE YEARS HAVE passed since the last fires burnt out, but signs of the Fallow Purges still linger, from the pox-scared survivors of the plague to the ash-shrouded fields where living things cease to thrive. Few could fathom anything more devastating, but when a second wave of plagues begins to consume the land, the Fallow Queen does not for a moment stay her hand.
The all-consuming fires of the Second Fallow Purges allow you to live, but leave you marked: your arm is charred and grotesque, yet clinging to life by the will of some archaic relic. Youāre brought to trial before the Fallow Queen as a drygce, found wanting, and given your sentence.
The Hound of the Fallow Queen is an interactive dark fantasy story set in the war, famine, and plague-ravaged realm of Waurdaede in the year 533.
Warnings: Game contains some violence, profanity, and dark themes.
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Fantasy Realism
Current Wordcount Per Playthrough: 9,500
Wordcount Breakdown
- Act I: 9,500/60,000
- Other: 85,000 [code only ā debug mode baby!]
Planned Features
- Eight unique origins
- Four full companions
- Five optional romances
- Rise to power or remain small time
- Play as hero, villain, anti-hero, reluctant āheroā
- Play as male, female, non-binary
Progress Updates (Unreleased)
9. June, 2019: I have the entire structure of Act I done, now Itās just a matter of methodically sorting through it all before posting.
23. June, 2019: Everything is completed except for some missing writing in the weaver dialogue and the ending where all travellers are rejected. Experiencing some minor issues with the sailor in regard to the lie and subsequent confession. I expect to post the completed Act I this coming week.
August 31, 2019: I did technically finish Part II, but never ended up posing it because I realised something that would become a glaring issue the more I wrote. Iāve spent the last little while restructuring all of the coding to make writing easier on myself (simple to use, multi-use, etcā¦). So far, I have most the new coding for the character codex, character relationship stats, quickstart, and skills addition/checking. Now Iām working on a better choice tracking system, then I just need to finish converting Part II and playtest it.
Projected Wordcount
Projected Wordcount Per Playthrough: >58,000
Act I: I Give You the End of a Golden Thread
Part I: 2,000 [First Draft 100%][POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: 3,700/13,000
Part II: 2,000 [First Draft 95%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: 3,700/13,000
- Noble Introduction: 2,000 [First Draft 99%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: ???/???
- Trouper Introduction: 2,000 [First Draft 99%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: ???/???
- Clergy Introduction: 2,000 [First Draft 90%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: ???/???
- Corsair Introduction: 2,000 [First Draft 100%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: ???/???
- Weaver Introduction: 2,000 [First Draft 90%][PARTIALLY POSTED] ā Actual Wordcount: ???/???
Act II: The Plague Full Swift Goes By, I am Sick, I Must Die
Part I: 5,000 [First Draft 20%]
- Noble Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 50%]
- Trouper Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Clergy Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Corsair Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 40%]
- Weaver Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 70%]
- Hunter Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Beggar Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Courtier Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
Part II: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Noble Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Trouper Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Clergy Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Corsair Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Weaver Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Hunter Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Beggar Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Courtier Origin: 5,000 [First Draft 0%]
Part III: 5,000 [First Draft 10%]
- Noble Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Trouper Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Clergy Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Corsair Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Weaver Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 10%]
- Hunter Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Beggar Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Courtier Origin: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
- Generic: 1,000 [First Draft 90%]
Act III: The Carriage Held but Just Ourselves and Immortality
Part I: 2,000 [First Draft 80%]
Act IV: What the Hand Dare Seize the Fire
Part I: 3,000 [First Draft 25%]
Part II: 5,000 [First Draft 7%]
Part III: 2,000 [First Draft 0%]
Act V: Ten Fathoms Deep on the Road to Hell
Part I: 4,000 [First Draft 0%]
Part II: 5,000 [First Draft 10%]
Part III: 3,000 [First Draft 0%]
Act VI: She Came up to Meet Him in a Smooth Golden Cloak
Part I: 2,000 [First Draft 0%]
[Re-Outlining in Progress]
Act VII: 2,000 [Not Started]
Act VIII, Part I: 6,000 [Not Started]
Act VIII, Part II: 3,000 [First Draft ?%]
Act IX: 2,000 [First Draft ?%]
Important Notes on Update
Act I, Part II is currently an unfinished first draft.
Iām posting it in itās current form just so that if anyone had suggestions on what theyād like to see in these dialogues, they can suggest it before Iāve finalised everything for the draft.
Some bits of text are sparse. Please keep in mind that this is only the first draft and my main goal at the moment is to create the skeleton of the story.
The weaver dialogue has been left in itās original state because so much of her dialogue is woldbuilding-related, and Iād like to wait until Iāve solidified that part of the world. The weaver will have full dialogue in the finished draft.
The stats are not yet evenly balanced, and Part II has almost no disposition distribution at the moment.
Some of the choices are still quite awkwardly worded, or a bit difficult to understand.
Changelog
9. March 2019 ā v1.0.0 [Original Release]
10. March 2019 ā v1.0.1 [Minor changes to Act I]
- can be much less forthcoming about their past
- can refuse to hear the Reonianās promise altogether
- fixed the sailorās missing name (Cenric)
- can catch up with a rejected group/person at the end
- changed the sisterās name to Rothaid, or Rose for short
- added sixth origin choice by rejecting everyoneās help
- fixed minor bug where choosing to wait for the sailor while speaking to the weaver repeated the text
- slightly better passage of time and time variation as you await the five people
20. April 2019 ā v1.1.8 [Active Interaction & Stat Overhaul] ā Update on Post #33
- added new dialogues with travellers
- added two new origins
- added stat providence
- added disposition volatile:controlled
- added skill deception
- renamed dispition honest to forthright, deceptive to clandestine
- removed disposition benevolent , sassy , aggressive , ruthless
- added disposition instinctive, calculated
- minor changes to existing text and choices
To Do List
General
- balance stats
- figure out language
Act I
- add more bulk to noble dialogue ending
- add more emotional reactions from noble under certain circumstances
- add more questions to trouper
- clean up trouper psychic stuff
- add more deception options to sister
- add weaver dialogue
- add more interaction between dialogues (eg. letter)
Drafts & Feedback
A Note on Drafts and Feedback
Under normal circumstances, I would never let a first draft see the light of day, but Iām posting this story as a way to force myself to meet deadlines. But, being that itās still a first draft, everything is subject to change.
First Draft: Focus on coding and getting the story down [Current]
- styling and grammar will be off in some parts
- from feedback, will fix bugs and add mostly minor choices and changes in this draft
- the entire thing will be posted here
Second Draft: Focus on branching
- story will be greatly edited
- from feedback, will expand major choices and changes
- wont be posted
Third Draft: Focus on editing
- plots, characters, etc⦠will be cut or added as need be
- draft will contain most major changes
- will probably be posted as closed beta
Fourth Draft: Focus on styling
- improve repetative sections and sentence flow
- more implementation of minor choices in text
Fifth Draft: Focus on styling again
- improve tone and atmosphere
Sixth Draft+: Final edit
Characters
Drýge Wallach Sicwéne, the Fallow Queen
Sworn in as a child, the Fallow Queen has reigned over her realm for eighty years. Since her coronation, her rule has been marked by endless war, famine, and plague.
The RƩonian, the Merchant Who Knows, the Merchant
The rumours that follow the RƩonian are often given little credence until he is encountered. Despite his manners and charm, there is something unnatural about him that often leaves people feeling at ill ease.
Viserey Regent Grimhild Veressa Adair III, the Captivating Mariticide, the Lady
Lady Grimhild was born to a middle class merchant family. At age seventeen she facilitated her rise to power by arranging to become the fifth wife to Viserae Haight of Eastern StĆgand.
Wulfgang, the Trouper
Wulfgang was born to nameless peasants and left to the elements for being another mouth to feed. He was found by troupers and grew to become a cut-purse and musician.
Praetir Rothaid, the Sister
Sister Rothaid was raised to be a cold-blooded killer, but the older she gets, the more she realises how much the past weighs.
Captain Kaenrik Seaver, the Damned, the Sailor
Those who knew Captain Kaenrik as a child were sure he would grow up to take his fatherās place as village alderman, but chance taught him that he was more apt at killing than farming.
Esmir Ellison, the Weaver
Ser StiƩr, Head of the Adair Guard, the Guardsman
StiƩr has served the Adair family since he could swing a sword, and his loyalty to the Lady Grimhild is second to none.
Vinsent, the Playwright
Dawnling Aerbeordie Dunn-Abbey, the Acolyte
Gerald Ellison, the Husband
Wassa, the Hunter
Eldgyth, the Captain of the Guard
Thiess, the Jailer
Raedrik, the Turncloak
After playing around with an interactive story for a year or so, I found this forum and have been lurking ever since. My main WIP isnāt written in ChoiceScript, so Iāve decided to start a new story so that I could share it here.
Itās based off a wholly unfinished and experimental short of mine that was meant to be a very bleak dark fantasy with a little bit of hopeless romance. Iāve planned out a rough outline (something I never do), but from experience Iām sure the finished product will be something completely different from what it is now.
Worldbuilding (To Be Updated)
Very Early Map of the East:
This map is unfinished because Iāve scrapped it to start anew after deciding on some major changes. None of the names will remain the same, the shoreline at top the of landmass has been reshaped, the location of the mountains have been changed, and the orientation has been flipped horizontally (as shown) since this version.
Very Early Map of the West:
The same goes for this map. Entirely renamed, flipped, and reshaped. As far as I have planned the story wont actually go West, but itās still important to the plot.
Iām having a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy what I have so far, short as it is!