they’re mean even if you’re a radical lmao. i’m curious to see the other route because it’s jarring for every single non-grandpa character to be so confrontational upfront
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Yeah the radicals didn’t really fair better with my beastman. My poor guy gets lost and separated his brother, never goes to his rut and they are like ‘oh well, we can’t help you but stay with us and pretend to be our slave”. Kinda hypocritical tbh. I feel they do nothing to actually endear him, like maybe if they did something to help him, it just feels like he’s tagging along and they get these special roles - like sorry my guy isn’t being your sword or shield or whatever, he barely knows you after being forever to tag around and be your servant for months
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Yeah. Both of the characters I have input into are on the outside looking in, and only really give a damn about Prudence. The brothers and cousins were awful to the one from before they were introduced at her birthday party and to the other from when they invaded his home needing help in midwinter.
I also don’t understand at all why someone with no actual revolutionary leanings is continually thrown into the plotting by people who know they don’t have any of those leanings but I’ll just assume there’s a point to the plot railroading that. I do wish there was an option to run all the way to the Witch Queen’s side of things though, and leave both the “radicals” and the Sovereignty behind. At this point, the only realistic option seems to be trying to find a side that actually lets you speak and listens to what you have to say, because so far, that’s neither of the ones we’ve been presented with (unless you say exactly what they want to hear, which is impossible because they don’t actually want to hear anything from you.)
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This is probably a consequence of me writing every radical character as having very rigid morals (with perhaps the exception of Belvidere). Lázaro especially is confrontational because he’s had to be “on the back foot,” as it were, for nearly his entire life. Almost everyone is/will be a hypocrite and have some way of justifying what they’re doing, even if it doesn’t make sense from a purely rational point of view. Blythe is also confrontational, but that is borne from his expectation that everyone ought to be religiously devoted to doing whatever insane thing he wants.
Well, the good news is that MC2 is going to get a reunion with their sibling in the route where both they and MC1 joined the same side. I might also go back and add a reunion scene in the routes where they joined different sides… There might be some bad news as well, though, if MC2 joined the Sovereignty.
Part of it is railroading to give a saboteur knowledge that they would realistically not have, otherwise. It is also explained in some of the dialogue that Lázaro, while he may act like a noble leader most of the time, can also be very petty, vindictive, and impulsive. He is absolutely not above dragging an MC to strategy meetings just to see them squirm or lash out impotently. There are also times where he will straight up say: “No, I don’t trust you, get out” if you don’t accomplish what he’s asked and he doesn’t like you. In the next route, the Sovereign, too, will just exclude you from meetings if your favor with him isn’t high enough.
The nature of the two sides of the war means that the conflict would reach Muirhallr eventually, even if your MC hypothetically went: “Screw all of you, I am moving in with the Exiles and becoming a sailor.” The Sovereign’s ambitions would lead him to assault Wildfolk territory. I think Lázaro would deal less aggressively with Muirhallr, but he would ultimately not be willing to “live and let live” with a neighboring nation that sells people with land, disproportionately taxes minority populations, and raids settlements whenever some stupid young earl decides he wants more shiny things.
Yes, absolutely. The stakes are life and death and freedom and slavery. Everyone is out to use you, and no one is exactly what I would call a “good person.” Lázaro readily admits he would cut both his brother and cousin down without hesitation if “…the path to true freedom was paved atop their graves.” Prudence solves most of her problems by laughing them off (even if they ought to be confronted) or shooting people. Belvidere is a compulsive people-pleaser and will go out of their way to be petty and needle others when literally any other course of action would be more productive. Blythe is, well, Blythe. Basically only the main characters have a shot at being completely moral, and that has its own set of challenges in a fundamentally immoral world.
It is frustrating to be shoved around my fate/the narrative, yes, but I like to explore what choices people may have when they have no other choice. (:
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TRY updates and I’m like “Its been 500 years”
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So there is no point at which it matters what we choose? We’re just the ball everyone decided to play kick with?
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Haha!
“Yes” to the latter, and “no” to the former. When I said “no other choice,” I meant that there are points where such a situation occurs, but it is up to the player to choose what to do within those constraints. I could have explained it better, I think.
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There is a new update available for the members of my Patreon page! This update will be accessible by the public one week from today. In the update, I’ve completed one half of chapter 5 (including romance interactions for Blythe), updated the “quick start” feature so MC1 can properly set their romance threshold with Blythe and also so MC1 and/or MC2 do not have to be saboteurs, fixed some spelling/grammar errors I found, and written some 74,590 more words.
There’s also lore/supplementary content, commissioned artwork, and polls, so if that sounds like something you would be interested in, consider becoming a patron!
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Is there a post/description of characters and their gender (if non selectable)/roles? Its very confusing trying to piece together the romantic aspect and who to pursue if I’m learning as I go. Ex: A straight cis-gendered or trans-woman MC wanting to pursue a hetero relationship on the casual soldier route. Yet if the casual solider is a female that technically isn’t available. I’ve looked on the tumblr and patreon and can’t find anything detailing the characters , their gender, and who they are romance-able for
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This is the first time p4f has posted — let’s welcome them to our community!
First off, welcome to the forum!
I have a post on Tumblr with character descriptions, but I think it was the literal first time I posted anything there, so it would obviously be hard to find. Here is a link to that post, but I will include everything here for you so it’s easier to find. (:
Lázaro Emalius Goldendoor
From the text:
They are obviously twins, and both are somewhat short and compact, with olive-tan complexions. They have rectangular heads with slightly protruding underbites and brows. Each twin has a tall, aquiline nose, high cheekbones with somewhat gaunt cheeks, and large, green eyes. The inner corners of their eyes are upturned somewhat, giving them a naturally sleepy expression.
… Lázaro, has eyelids that are almost always half-closed and his lips are usually drawn, causing some people to mistake him for being overly-scrutinous and intimidating. When he speaks about things he is passionate about, though, his eyes fully open and he looks much more approachable. He has brown hair with a slight undercut, well-groomed sideburns, and a permanent five o’clock shadow.
Belvidere Ydl
From the text:
Belvidere could easily pass as the model for one of any number of marble statues that are so fashionable to keep in one’s garden. With their full face, large brown eyes, tall nose with thin nostrils, small mouth, and brown-gold curls, they are an exemplar of classical beauty. Still, there is something generic about their appearance – it is beautiful, but a beauty you have seen in every museum and that every artist copies.
Corporal Prudence Pri
From the text:
The woman also bears many of Whitaker’s other features, considered among the aristocracy to be marks of strength, intelligence, nobility, and good breeding: A round head with a strong jaw, full cheeks, small brown eyes, a slightly down-turned, broad nose, thick brows, and kinky hair.
Blythe Ond/Sovereign Mayhew Gen XXII
From the text:
Though his pedigree is obvious to your eyes, anyone that didn’t know what to look for would have a difficult time finding anything remarkable about him. Picture the most generic person in the world – that’s what he looks like. Only his skin is perhaps three shades too pale to look healthy, and his eyes are a little small for his face.
All romanceable characters are able to enter into a relationship with an MC of any gender with the exception of Blythe, who will only return the affections of a cis woman with non-Wildfolk ancestry.
I’m not sure if I’m reading this correctly. Do you want confirmation for Prudence’s gender? If so, then what you are saying is true (that a woman cannot enter into a heterosexual relationship with Prudence because she, too, is a woman).
If I was reading that wrong, or if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask! (:
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Thank you so much! 
This honestly helped a TON!
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You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help. (:
There’s a new update up! In this update, I’ve:
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Completed one half of chapter 5.
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- Including romance interactions between MC1 and Blythe.
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Added to the “quick start” feature so that MC1 can have a positive romance threshold with Blythe and so that neither main character needs to be a saboteur.
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Added 74,591 words.
Follow my Tumblr blog or join my Patreon page to see additional lore, what-if scenarios, and early updates! You can also always feel free to ask/tell me anything on this thread! (:
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There is a new update available for the members of my Patreon page! This update will be accessible by the public one week from today. In the update, I’ve completed three-fourths of chapter 5 (including romance interactions for Blythe and between MC1 and MC2), fixed some spelling/grammar errors I found, and written some 92,068 more words.
There’s also lore/supplementary content, commissioned artwork, and polls, so if that sounds like something you would be interested in, consider becoming a patron!
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There’s a new update up! In this update, I’ve:
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Completed three-fourths of chapter 5.
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- Added the route where both MC1 and MC2 have joined the Sovereignty.
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Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
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Added 85,499 words.
Follow my Tumblr blog or join my Patreon page to see additional lore, what-if scenarios, and early updates! You can also always feel free to ask/tell me anything on this thread! (:
_____________________________
I also decided to make all of chapter 5 available for members of my Patreon page because it’s also done rather than make another post tomorrow. I don’t want this thread to become entirely just me talking to myself just in update announcements, haha.
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So there is a god
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Can someone explain the significance of the surnames? Why are they only three letters?
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Haha! I almost do wish divine intervention was truly responsible for my increased update frequency, because the alternative answer is that I just have a lot more time on my hands because I lost my job. (x
Uh, well the real answer is that I wanted MC1 and the other Colonial nobility to have distinctive surnames and didn’t want to code any more than three letters because I need to reference each individual letter if I want to give the player the option of choosing their own surname.
For an in-universe answer, Prescott Yew speculates in his On the Recent Trends in Politics and Society in the Colonies (available for reading in the “Library” section of the stats screen) that the names once meant something in Ald Mainlander. If that is the case, though, their exact meaning has been lost to time. Unless your name is a pun like House Ydl (or whatever the player can come up with), I suppose.
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I… what?
Why would you need to reference each individual letter? If you want the two MCs to have different surnames then they can just have different surnames. No extra coding needed. You could just have a variable for MC1 Surname and another for MC2 Surname. You could choose them the same way any name is chosen in a CoG game. A preset list and/or the option to type in your own.
Maybe I didn’t understand what you meant, idk.
Edit: One of my favorite (abandoned) WiPs was called Become Mortal. It had two MCs as well and it just worked in the normal way. 
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I could have done this, yes, but like like you said, I wanted to include an option for the player to input their own name. All noble houses have surnames with three letters, and MC1 is a member of a noble house. If I allowed text input, there would be no way to limit the variable to three letters (and if there’s a way to do this coding-wise I don’t know how to do it and don’t want to overhaul every potential reference of the variable to accommodate it). It wouldn’t make sense if I referenced in the text that members of the nobility are recognizable by their three-letter surnames and MC1’s family name is longer than three letters.
I hope that explanation makes a little more sense. (:
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