I was thinking more Machiavellian with this character. Definitely a schemer of some sorts, but not exactly a moustache twirling villain. I want some sort of complexity.
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Machiavellians are a classic case of “slippery slope” evil. The good ends justify the evil means. Then they discover that the evils committed don’t result in the good they desired. So what do they do? Do they have an attack of conscience and relent? Or do they double down on the evil means based on the logic that the problem wasn’t that they did evil, but that they didn’t do enough of the right sort of evil?
Meanwhile all that evil creates enemies who will get in the way of the leader’s plans for long-term good. So they too will need to be removed if all are to benefit from the leader’s long term plans…
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Again, depends on what you think evil is. My character is ambitious, someone with a vision for his country, and he isn’t going to let anyone stand in the way of it. And if he can humble his father and his other siblings in the process, well, that’s just a perk.
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You’re probably right, I haven’t read too much into Machiavelli’s works. Guess I’m sticking to goody good characters. 
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Actually, Machiavelli doesn’t quite say what a lot of people believe he says. Here is a direct quote:
Note that while being feared is good, being hated is not, and being feared and loved is better than being feared alone.
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In more humorous/lighthearted and/or cartoonish games I could probably go for mustache twirling, maniacal laughter evil, otherwise I agree with you.
Ah, half of our arguments over at the XoR thread seem to revolve around variations on these tropes don’t they? 
You’re right of course, except for the sort of people who torture other for fun, “evil” tends to be in the eye of the beholder.
That basically sums up my XoR character as well. 
In this game though, unless things change drastically, my prince character here would be content with making moderate, incremental reforms as the system seems to work reasonably well already.
Which means that once we get to the politics part he’s probably still going to be a liberal but not a revolutionary and certainly not out to depose his elder brothers. In fact I think there’s a rather high probability that Olarion in particular will become his favourite brother.
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Seriously can’t wait to read the next chapter! I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and the whole concept is really interesting! Great job!
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Ah, half of our arguments over at the XoR thread seem to revolve around variations on these tropes don’t they? [/quote]
Yup. 
That basically sums up my XoR character as well. [/quote]
And if millions of innocents die, that’s just the unfortunate price of progress from your XoR MC’s perspective…
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Not exactly a game but instead a book but i am reminded my Johnny Marcone from Dresden Files. The writer has said that the character reads the overlord list.
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I love “Gentleman” Johnny Marcone. If I were going to play a ruthless gangster in a world filled with even more evil supernatural creepy-crawlies, I’d want to play him. Dresden is very lucky that Marcone hasn’t taken his threats seriously, and that he finds Dresden more useful alive than dead overall, because Marcone isn’t the sort to allow a serious threat to live…
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The Prince was also not meant to represent the ideal of how one should act. Machiavelli wrote how he thought a government should be structured in his commentaries on Titus Livy. The Prince was basically a how to manual for the prince of a city state. A simple statement of what would work not how things ought to be.
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I want to be queen of the ophaesia my dad is such a butt.
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Actually, in my opinion Marcone would let a serious threat live (like dresden) simply because the risks of it are worth it. If I recall correctly, he even told Dresden that he isn’t worried about him at all because he’s so far down Harry’s list that by the time Dresden gets there, he will probably be dead.
Marcone isn’t evil for evil’s sake anyhow. He’s all about the profit; what gives him the most gain.
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Yep, he weighs the various probability equations and goes with the equation that has the highest expected value, and in this case, that means an equation that retains Dresden as a variable.
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It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, and it’s been even longer since I’ve answered any questions and such, so since I have a moment to spare, I’m going to do just that! I’m going way, way back to old questions I never got around to answering.
I’m afraid not. Possible pets include: a dog, a cat, or a falcon. There may also be a raven.
Yes. The dog you can have as a pet will be a dog bred for hunting (though you can keep them from hunting themself).
Oh, I love snakes! I would love to include a pet snake, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to.
I have always wanted a pet fox, but sadly my state does not allow them. There will be pet foxes present in the world, but unfortunately you will not be able to have one. At least, as things stand now. I might be able to work it into the game later on.
It is quite complex, with all its branches and characters and lore, but fortunately what I excel at is understanding the nuances of plots and characters. I keep very extensive notes that help, as well. The hard part is the actual writing, haha.
You’re right that had Ysonia herself not been such an infamous figure of Ophaesian politics, the MC would have been rather unknown. As the story stands thus far, the only thing that is notable about the MC is their mother.
Eraven’s first wife – whose name I have yet to reveal – isn’t commonly known by the commoners nor the nobles of Ophaesia and was, in fact, wed to Eraven before he ascended the throne. She bore him no children. Alapharen is much more widely known not only because she was Queen and bore him six children but also because her family – House Verathae – is large and powerful. Many consider House Verathae to be House Maeliah’s equal…
The city of Augotia came before the country itself, so the country is essentially named for it. And Ameslie won’t be too terribly important, but she will be around often as she’s one of Ysonia’s ladies-in-waiting.[quote=“LadyRavanna, post:970, topic:15629”]
That and I had a quick question: will you be able to have more than one pet?
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Yes and no. You’ll be able to pick a cat, a dog, or a falcon to have a pet. Say you have picked a dog for a pet: you’ll be able to take that dog hunting, but you’ll also still be able to take part in falconry, just not with a pet falcon. Same if you have a pet falcon: you’ll still be able to have hunting dogs, they simply won’t be your pet. So you’ll have one pet, but you’ll still be surrounded by other animals. I’ve had a bit of wine, so I don’t think I was able to word this as well as I would have liked, haha. 
You will attend your sister’s wedding, but you won’t have any part in the actual ceremony. You’ll be there more as a guest. [quote=“Rachel_F451, post:977, topic:15629”]
There’s a good sense of the day-to-day affairs of historical nobility without being dragged down by the droll actualities of being of noble birth in what is roughly the 15/16th century. Also, I think this is the best written attempt I’ve ever read/played from a child’s perspective. More often than not, when playing/reading as a child, it’s mostly just being a passive agent, instead of an active one. This is the exact opposite. There’s a real grit feeling that the decisions you’re making, the way you’re shaping the character, is going to really come into play in the future. Honestly, I cannot wait to see where the next chapter takes us.
A random aside: I don’t know why, but I get a lovely sense of the richness of the setting. Like everything is plunged in velvet, silk, stained glass, and thick plush rugs.
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Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the game. And yes, I would hoping that sort of richness would be picked up on. I imagine a lot of velvet and silk and the like, all very opulent and extravagant and lovely. (Truly, the lushness enjoyed by the rich in the Renaissance is one of the biggest reasons I decided to have the setting based around this time period.)
I’m sure I probably missed some questions and comment I had intended to answer. If you had asked a question previously and have not received an answer, please feel free to ask again! I’ll try to answer it as soon as possible.
For those of you patiently awaiting the next chapter, I am officially back to work on it! Thank you all so, so much for being so kind and patient, I truly appreciate it, and I hope the next chapter will been worth the wait. I’m not sure when it’ll be finished, but it will likely be extremely long if I stick to the outline – perhaps twice as long as the first chapter! (I’d surely make it up to y’all for the wait then, haha!)
With the next chapter, the family tree may be updated. Also, I hope to have an official map of Ophaesia and Southeastern Selanes made soon. It won’t be done in the style of the map currently up – I want something neater, that’s easier to follow and somewhat more detailed.
I also would like to make a website for Seven Heirs that will include sneak peeks of the chapter I’m working on at the time, as well as some bonus material, such as short stories and the like, and an FAQ. Whenever that’s done, I’ll add a link to it to the first post. Ideally, all of this – the official map, the website, and the possible family tree update – will be released at the same time as the update, but if the next chapter is finished before those things are complete, I’ll go ahead and release it and release the other stuff later on. I don’t want to make you guys wait any longer than I have to, as y’all have already waited for so long.
Anywho, I know this wasn’t an update, but I hope this please you guys nonetheless.
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Ah my dear Fawkes, you always please us. Thus i cant wait to see what you’ve got cooking for our little Prodigal Child.
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can we get a really scary grandfather from our mothers side like lets say something happens and the king aka our father hits us and your grandfather hears of this it would be awesome if your grandfather was very intimidating and scary but always kind to you and when your father hits you grandfather hears of this and came to the city personally and threatened the king with a speech like “if you hit my grandson again it wont matter if you are king or how many men protect you i will put your head on a spike” this… this would be bloody awesome having a protective and bad ass grandpa
also keep up the good work i love this game i love you just make sure you dont overexert yourself its not the story that is special it is you thats special as you are the one that wrote it 
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While I second the part of scary (but kind to us), protective badass grandfather (or grandmother) from our mothers side, I would prefer it without us being hit. 
In general I just want the MC to have some family who cares for her, besides her mother (and who she doesn’t have to prove she either useful to, “not” her mothers daughter etc…like with her siblings. :/).
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Oh, no please no a happy crappy familiar… I hate having a caring family in videogames. I don’t like sugary stuff and having to bond with a familiar I couldn’t use. It would great if could choose having a sugary soap opera familiar to bond or not. I just prefer skip it.
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I doubt our family is all that sugary though, on our mother’s side we have a bunch of far too pretty schemers, while on the other side our father despises us and seemingly poisons a good portion of the court including our youngest brother and sister against us.
That said my mc will do everything in his power to try and have a good relationship with his two eldest brothers at least, since he wants the heir to respect him, if nothing else and our brother Olarion seems like one of the most interesting (perhaps even the most interesting) people in the game and he’d like to have a close, brotherly relationship with the guy, if at all possible.
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