The Summoner | Updated Nov. 26th, 2024 (217k words) | Kofi Demo 237k words

Looking forward to it :smiley:

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I hope to deliver!
Iā€™m always glad for yours and everyone elseā€™s support, hopefully I finish writing this chapter by the end of this month for you guys, but thatā€™s an overly optimistic guess haha

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Iā€™ve played through this a couple times already. I tired being being mean to Caine but I just couldnā€™tā€¦,too loyal of a warrior and itā€™s something I can respect. Itā€™s amusing, I didnā€™t come here for romantic inclinations but I have to say Caine does me good. Her POV got me even more interested.

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Dev update time c:

We are now at ~117k words! Look at that, Iā€™m steadily trucking away even though Iā€™m a procrastinator at times.

Iā€™ve been busy lately too thoughā€”fire damage is worse than just the fire itself haha. Maybe uncommon knowledge: thereā€™s water damage from firefighters to deal with and other complications sheesh

Anyway! I digress.


Iā€™m feeling like I have a better grasp on Reiā€™s personality, but Iā€™ve not yet started to write what happens if you choose to hang out with them unfortunately.

I am however quite set on the parts where you can see insight into their view on the debrief with the Commander! So if you donā€™t send them away when you get the chance, you can let them stick around to have a slight variation in your scenes.

I donā€™t know what my obsession with writing scenes where you can do several things of your choice is about because it then takes me longer to progress in the chapter which I donā€™t like lol. But hooray for replayability and variation!

This section has so much variables, it was a feat to puzzle out with my small brain. It lends for a nice transition between choices though, which Iā€™m happy with.


Iā€™ve mostly finished writing the choices where you can send the first letter to Illia and read some of the pages of the book you bought from Celen, although Iā€™ve still got a bit to add to parts. It was surprisingly fun to write the stories for them, but lemme confess, theyā€™re not entirely plotted out. Even so, I think they can be an enjoyable read while not exactly impacting your summoner. (Except for Ark, that one sucks) Also just because you choose to read a book for the time youā€™re allotted doesnā€™t mean small events wonā€™t happen during c:

Anyway, the other 2 books do give slight insight to the world of Therra, even if theyā€™re not entirely based on it, being a hypothetical fantasy novel. One involves a cipher because why not. I didnā€™t create it, but if anyone wants spoilers of the name of it bc they canā€™t ascertain it, just ask lol (but it should be easy if you search the right thing or if you know a lot about ciphers for some reason)

Hereā€™s a tidbit: ā€œWu zrwu zrc pcilq ah hlcczwvm ctwuzcvscu?ā€

The only thing that came out of his mouth was gibberish if she was being honest. With a blink and a squint, Robin cautiously nodded her head. ā€œI donā€™t know what you said. But yes?ā€

And hereā€™s a hint: He nodded. ā€œWe ā€˜Godsā€™ do. You may call me Iuzpiceu.ā€

Robin pressed her lips together. ā€œThatā€™s quite a mouthful. I donā€™t mean to disrespect you, but might there be a nickname you go by?ā€

He laughed, a bright sound. ā€œI suppose in your language, ā€˜Astraeusā€™ shall suffice. A nomenclature easy to speak, is it not?ā€


There will be a soft save system! I tried two different methods at this, but the tool made by cup_half_empty is amazing, I highly recommend checking it out once you have a decent understanding of Cscript (if youā€™re writing an IF). Choicescript wikiā€™s also got a lovely guide on implementing one which explains a lot of the mechanics behind it, but it involves more manual labor.

Idk if there are any bugs with it, so once the updateā€™s out, please make sure to check your stats and shout if somethingā€™s off c:

Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I think having the reloading system in the stats menu is impossible with the way Cscript works :smiling_face_with_tear:

I wanted to have it so you were able to go back and forth between any checkpoints whenever you wanted, but I guess thereā€™s a reason no IF has that function lol. It looks like it works, but youā€™re actually stuck in a pseudo stats menu, even if it gives you the option to ā€œshow statsā€. (if only there was a hard save for published works!! Weā€™re all asking for it, PLEASE just give in COG, being able to reload does actually promote replaying, I swear!)
EDIT: wait apparently thereā€™s an update to Cscript w/ checkpoints? I need to check this out :o


Letā€™s goooooo! Iā€™m glad I could do that because Iā€™ve pretty much never written romance before. So as long as the character is hard to be mean to, thatā€™s a pretty good step :smiley: (also Iā€™m so happy the POVs are well received so far, I found Caineā€™s difficult to write haha)

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Do check out the new checkpoint system - you can implement reloading to a previous checkpoint, or to a variety of earlier ones, using the stats page or an ingame choice. I tried using it today and it worked a treat.

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Iā€™m eagerly checking it out, but itā€™s too bad I donā€™t think itā€™s compatible with CSIDE atm? Still a really cool update to the code though, Iā€™m really happy it was in the works and once I figure it out, Iā€™ll have it in the code!

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Heyyyy Iā€™ve been very preoccupied lately but Iā€™m finally posting a dev update! Sadly not a content one, this chapter is taking a muuuuch longer time to churn out than I expected.
I caught covid like two weeks ago but still got my daily words in :,)
But at least Iā€™m p much recovered and finally finished my fall classes so hopefully I write faster/more in the upcoming weeks! Iā€™m now at ~137k words, ~36k of which is chapter 3. And I donā€™t think Iā€™m anywhere near even halfway through the chapter SEND HELP.


I have the Choicescriptā€™s checkpoint save system figured out and implemented, but itā€™s currently not compatible with dashingdon so you wonā€™t see it appearing when I finally do update the build. But when dashingdon does become compatible, youā€™ll then be able to talk(?) to a mysterious voice!
Iā€™ve also coded a way for you to be able to skip from, say, chapter 2 to 4 while taking your changed choices into account, but Iā€™m bad at code so thereā€™s probably a better way to do it. At least it works and is hopefully mostly coding error free :smiley:


Other than that Iā€™m almost finished with the first day youā€™re awake. Yes, the 36k words is just for that hahahaha Iā€™m going insane
Anyway, that first day are comprised of segments w Caine, commander, willow, and Rei. You get to take Rei on a tour around the camp and learn a little bit more about them! After that? Honestly Iā€™m not sure. My outline is more like a draft 1 so things have changed a lot. I think this chapter may have the First Battleā€“or maybe not, weā€™ll see.

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Sorry been busy withā€¦well life. But thank you for the reply.
Romance itself is in the eye of the beholder, as Romance can be as simple as saving a damsel in distress to Shakespearean as Romeo and Juliet or Taming of The shrew. Then thereā€™s dark and gritty war stories, perhaps like this one, that emotions are high people might die tomorrow so they decided to live it up and you know try love.

But meeting Rei huh? She or he sounds complex or perhaps just cannot see the grey side of things and with clash with Caine depending on the circumstances. Pray they donā€™t both fall in love with you lol

Beyond that I think the familiar servant master bond thing is interesting. I havenā€™t seen it used in a IF here so I wish you luck!

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Donā€™t worry about it! I donā€™t expect anyone to reply especially if theyā€™re busyā€“but I appreciate one all the same C:
You make a lovely point! While I worry over whether Iā€™d be able to write a nuanced and interesting story the whole way through, especially with the dark parts expected of a war setting, Iā€™d definitely like to do so to the best of my abilities. But if it falls flat, you didnā€™t see this

Youā€™ve read them and their probable plot pretty well already lol
Theyā€™re kind of difficult for me to write, but once I get over the hurdle of them acting impulsively because itā€™s been years since they could talk to anyone, I think their character will come to me more easily.

Thank you for the luck! I always am astounded to be told the plot is unique, I was expecting the opposite haha (although I certainly am working with a lot of common elements. medievalish setting? magic? war? thousands of that out thereā€“good for those of us who like that, I am one of them)

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Hey all, Iā€™m UPDATING THE DEMO! Finally!!

Chapter three is not actually finished, but I think I need feedback on whatā€™s currently there because Iā€™m struggling with writing the next scene lol. Itā€™s now at ~148k words and so far, an avg plathrough would run you at ~38k words. Would likely be longer depending on how you go about things.

I finally got through the tedious part of the chapter that I was working on since I released the initial demo, but Iā€™m only feeling the slightest bit relieved. Now comes the aforementioned part thatā€™s giving me stage fright and writerā€™s block; how I want the next battle scene to go. Itā€™d be so much easier if its thematic purpose was along the lines of fighting the bandits, but as it is not, Iā€™m currently violently struggling with how to execute it. Iā€™ve got to keep it interesting, but in all honesty, a summonerā€™s role is not that involved in the actual fighting. Youā€™re like a glass battery, after all, itā€™d be illogical for you to be on the frontlinesā€“but readers like agency, right? Iā€™ve half a mind to give you a choice to act out to your detriment, but Iā€™m still puzzling on the contents of the battle in general. My fear is writing a boring or unsatisfactory high-point, but I suppose the only way Iā€™ll know if it disappoints is if I finish it and get it out.

If youā€™re a writer or just have insight to give as a reader, Iā€™m begging for you to share what youā€™d like to happen lol


Iā€™d advise you to not use old saves because stats and variables are probably broken from what Iā€™ve experienced, testing things. But at least you might see the improved/added bits and pieces here and there!

Whatā€™s new exactly? Everything I mentioned in past posts plus:

  • You can at last experience the finished festival path w/ Calla! But if you donā€™t go along that route, a convo with Zack and Calla crops up later down the line. And my god did it take me so long to write, itā€™s quite the hefty scene in total, even though one playthrough wonā€™t see everything that went into it.
  • You will at last meet Rei, someone whoā€™s totally not suspicious at all. Hang out with them or donā€™t, thereā€™s only so much time in the day to do things.
  • One such thing being sleeping the day away! If you choose to dream about a spirit, itā€™s randomised whether itā€™s with Caine or Rei. Tell me if youā€™d rather that be a choice instead of rng, I wasnā€™t sure what would be better ^^ Do any of them mean something or are they purely things written in a delusion? Wink?
  • & more! But go ahead and discover them yourself. Iā€™d say theyā€™re just as meaningful despite not mentioning them.

One of the plays, Villain Reversal, is actually something I think Iā€™d love to make into an IF someday if I had the time and resources. The title might just be ā€œTransported into a Terrible Dating Sim!ā€ and itā€™s exactly what that sounds like (rest assured you can choose the gender of the protagonist and ROs, itā€™ll be quite different from the play for a reason).

Itā€™s not going to be serious (at least not at first maybe?)ā€”Iā€™ve been barely holding myself back from making shitty jokes this entire time so that would all go into this IF lol.

Itā€™d be set in the distant future of Therra after the events of The Summoner, with a different protag, but I shouldnā€™t get ahead of myself. Nothingā€™s set in stone and I donā€™t want to divert my focus. You can ask about it though, would be a good way for me to procrastinate writing the battle scene :')


What rating did Rei give you? (The ā€œchatā€ Iā€™m referring to is the one thatā€™s only available if you sent them away during your discussion w/ the commander, btw.)

  • Itā€™s definitely bad.
  • 3.5
  • 4
  • 5 (they are intimidated)
  • 5 (we shook on it)
  • No tour, but I did chat.
  • No tour, but I let them roam.
  • No tour, no chat, and sent them away. (RIP? More like RIOR [rest in other realm])
0 voters

Hopefully it matches your narrative, but if not, lemme know. I am trying to gauge your stats and choices from this (make it easy on me please, and just tell me what your stats are and how you intend to play/what choices you make)


Thatā€™s all for now! Please report any bugs/errors and give me your thoughts on the story. Your feedbacks truly are useful and appreciated, they help me with knowing if something needs changing or if it landed just fine :smiley: (and feel free to suggest ideas or things youā€™d like to see, I may take inspiration from them)

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Will definitely give my opinion when get chance to playthrough but looking forward to seeing what you have so far in the update.

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Lovely story.

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I donā€™t have any good feedbacks to give rn but I do want to say that I love the writing, story so far and I absolutely love Caine and Reiā€¦ I canā€™t decide who I want to romance, I love them both so much I canā€™t wait for the next update :sneezing_face::sparkling_heart:

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Loved the update so much! I have only played through once so far since the update but will play again to see all the different options. I canā€™t wait to see where this story goes :blush:

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I have the say Rei makes me question the more philosophical parts of this world. But part of them makes me nervous especially when you learn the cost for level 3 spirits. Though that doesnā€™t say I dislike Rei as a character itā€™s just going be interesting with depending on our choices. I questioned things and didnā€™t agree with her on everything so a 3.5-4 is probably the best I could get. Being completely agreeable makes me feel too much of a kiss butt if you get what I mean lol

Beyond that the additional words the story are a great addition to the story. I imagine the war is going to be interesting considering the spirit summoner with it seems to be medieval technology at the time spirit vs spirit would be something speedy, fast, and quite a sight depending on the said spirits.

Good on the next part I look forward to it!

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I loved it so much, especially the characters are amazingly written. I love Cain and Rei, I give them all the affection they need. Itā€™s okay to be affectionate to both, right? or will they be jealous in the future?

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Not a fan of how the Rei interactions were written. Iā€™ve had my Summoner be fairly quiet and stoic/taciturn when in the military camp or aroundā€¦pretty much everyone. While she warmed up a little to Cain during the festival (as heā€™s someone else who doesnā€™t get to make his own choices very often,) the interactions with Rei completely ignored ALL OF THAT. There was no choice other than to just set him loose and not engage at all that didnā€™t have the PC being just as overly chatty as the irritatingly happy-go-lucky Willow and Cara.

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Hey ho, I just wanted to say Iā€™ve been checking the demo and yupā€”I did not catch all the errors before releasing the update lol

Itā€™s nothing game breaking, but thereā€™s a slight part in the tour w/ Rei where I tested for status quo =100 instead of status quo !=100. So the flavor text is wrong, but oh well, just a small thing that I decided to change the numbers for as well.
Also checked stats for some scene variations and the affectionate scene w/ Caine should logically trigger if you have >=80 aff w/ them even if your like stat with them is <=7, so I changed that.
Also some typos. And a lot of sloppy prose.

None of this is in the current demo, but it will be when I update, sorry for the hold-up! The bug fix will either come when I finish writing chapter 3 or earlier if dashingdon updates with Cscriptā€™s new checkpoint saving system.


But in happy news, Iā€™ve regained some confidence and think I know how to take the next scene! At least structurally.

To be honest, I had the impression that everything I wrote for this update was lackluster and that there couldnā€™t be anything to like about it lolā€”but maybe with your guysā€™ feedback and me being able to reread everything I wrote after stepping away for a bit, Iā€™ve realized I actually like a lot of it. Woohoo! Itā€™s salvageable, I didnā€™t write myself into a corner and I like to think itā€™s not as boring as I thought :smiley:

SO yeah, just wanted to say thanks for all your support! I reply to every single comment in my head, youā€™re all great C:


I just took delightful inspiration from what you had to sayā€”I feel doomed romance can be enjoyable to read at times and I think whatever Iā€™ve got cooking could be something great if I execute it well. That, or Iā€™ll just scare people off of Rei bc they accidentally got this ending, who knows. I swear they can be semi-normal at endgameā€¦ depending on what your summoner believes and does. Actually, I canā€™t swear anything at all, because my plans might change.

You can be affectionate to both! I donā€™t think theyā€™re the type to be jealous, although Jackal probably would be if you get a high like stat with them.

Once in a relationship, I donā€™t think Iā€™ll give you affectionately romantic scenes beyond friendship with ros you didnā€™t confess to lol. But if you get anyoneā€™s like stat high and you confess to someone else, they might get upset. Tread lightlyā€”yet theyā€™ll get over it either way in the end.

Hmm, yeah I didnā€™t really take into account that sort of stuff outside of dialogue choices where youā€™re not saying much. I guess I was leaning too much into the MC feeling more comfortable in their environment lol. Itā€™s funny cause when I play IFs, I like having the MC be pretty withdrawn as well, but here I am accidentally writing the opposite over time!

I did at one point during writing ch3 almost implement a social vs not stat, but even if I had, I donā€™t know if it would have accounted for quieter MCs since it was more about avoiding socialising rather than talking less. Mind telling me all of your stats including the hidden ones? And the sort of character your MC is past, present, and future +anything else you think is pertinent towards writing this sort of character properly.

I think I may eventually implement either a hidden or visible stat so you can play a quieter MC. The MC would still have to deliver essential lore though, so I donā€™t have to account for crazy branching ;;
I canā€™t promise to get exactly what youā€™re looking for since Iā€™d still like to include world building, but Iā€™ll certainly try something!

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gud stuf u got here

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Is the MC guaranteed a premature death or something close to it in this? Based on everything thatā€™s been said I canā€™t imagine MC somehow getting to live a full life after everything and Iā€™d rather know now than spend my time on something I wonā€™t enjoy.

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