Right, I was leaning toward the option to put it back to sleep until I saw how much it was sufferingā¦ Better to convince it to be your friend and free it I felt, even though I know The Margrave is gonna be pissed. Every time he leaves me unsupervised in that place more people are freed 
2 Likes
RIGHT? I just hope we can treat it with kindness lmao I couldnāt bring myself to harm it.
1 Like
Just pushed an update: a wrong *goto in Chapter 6 meant anyone trying to take the Masqued route was shunted, incorrectly, onto a Chorus route. Hopefully this should now be fixed.
6 Likes
For my curiosity, and so I can improve in areas where Iām underperforming as a writer, I thought Iād ask yāall about romance options. The romances are currently far from mature; thereās some potential conflict coming for all of them (especially Shrike and Raum) and the final scenes are yet to come so itās hard for you to judge them, but at this stage itās more about seeing which characters appeal.
Who are you romancing/intending to romance?
- The Archivist
- Raum
- Shrike
- The Margrave
- Nobody, but my preference is not to romance anyone (and/or this feels right for the character I made).
- Nobody, because none of the current options work for me.
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voters
Please feel free to expand on your opinion below, espeically if you pick the last option. If youāve played through the game multiple times and explored the options, youāre amazing. Please pick either your favourite or the choice you made from your first playthrough (whichever feels right).
I know some people are interested in romancing Kruach. To those people I say maybe, heās complicated due to him potentially dying/being imprisoned/etc in chapter 3 (and if heās alive his fate can branch further in some crazy ways in a forthcoming chapter Iām very excited aboutā¦) but I do kinda want to add himā¦ This would mean we would have three male-identifying ROs with one nonbinary and one female, however, and Iād prefer to give players options. While some romances like the Margrave and Kruach will be harder and will have less content (these characters are less present), I donāt want romances to feel too tacked-on and surface level. Iād prefer to focus on a smaller pool of deep romances rather than offer a cornocopia of shallow options.
10 Likes
I picked Raum, because although I tried the other romance options and liked them, I thought Raum was the most unique. First, because this type of chaotic shifter character is hard to get right. They can come across as shallow or irritating, but for me Raum is the exact blend of charm and nastiness to make things fun
And second, because Raum is essentially the only RO that aligns with a self indulgent, amoral MC just here to chew souls and kick ass. Shrike is not a do gooder by any means, but she still has boring ideas like morality, even if itās a little on the harsh side. The Archivist is the diplomatic and mostly friendly face of the party, and while he enjoys some shenanigans he rather they be productive. The Margrave is endearing in a stoic, emotionally constipated way, but heās all about honor and dull stuff like duty or saving lives. So for the type of MC I enjoyed the most, it had to be Raum, creating problems on purpose for absolutely no benefit!
6 Likes
Absolutely, and despite my better judgement, heād probably be my first choice. I would jump through hoops to make that happen, were it possible.
The Archivist is probably closest with my current MC, but the Margrave is intriguing, too.
I like Shrike and Raum as characters, but Iāll have to work on tailoring an MC that would mesh better with either of them. (For more than just friendly Adventuring-Party associations.)
4 Likes
Guyssss I can fix Kruach I promise. Trust 
Iāll make him believe in love again with the power of 
christmasāØļø
Hallmark should hire me
8 Likes
Peak!!
1 Like
Shrike is the only female RO so the only one Iād be interested in by default- but the romance is sortaā¦ not great anyhow. Comes in rather late and has very little mention or scenes from what I remember when last playing.
I like the story though.
Well the romance just started so obviously there isnāt much yet, but I really liked what I read so far. I donāt think it came too late, I prefer to get to know the characters a bit before having to choose anyway. I picked the Archivist, I love chipping away his neutrality. He is just too funny still pretending to be neutral, while helping MC every chance he gets. Like when he says he wonāt join us in the battle, but still gives us the suit of armor. Not to mention he must have studied MC for it to fit so well 
Anyway, I love the story, but I think MC keeps getting away with too much stuff without consequences. I pretty much screwed up with every single faction, they should all want me dead by this point, yet no one is trying to poison or assassinate me.
1 Like
Is the battle at bleak gaol are the ending of the demo?
1 Like
Currently the romances donāt really start until Chapter 5 - thereās a little bit of optional flirting beforehand. Thereās one āinitiate romanceā scene in chapter 5 and one some short mentions/affirmations (if you initiated) in Chapter 6 (and an initiation for Margravemancers).
@Pancake Would you mind unpacking that? Have you been blowing them off, trying to help them and failing, etcā¦ You can absolutely screw up with every faction in Chapter 6 but in the earlier chapters, at least in my head, itās less āscrew upā and more ādidnāt help us advance our goalsā which theyāre not thrilled about but doesnāt antagonize them either.
This is partly to offer players an informed choice and to ensure options arenāt locked off to quickly to allow for the all-important āfail forwardā gameplay; the factions will put up with a bit of incompetence or not playing ball without putting you in their crosshairs while they get their ducks in a row. They need all the help they can get. They are, however, not keen on direct betrayal, at least when theyāre aware of it. Openly siding with/against the Unbroken Circle or Chorus in battle will close some doors.
The player will ultimately be free to side with none of the factions for the endgame (by choice or if they annoy/do nothing to help the factions).
If you think the MC is getting away too lightly, I do have some tough choices and consequences in the pipeline for the later chaptersā¦
@Karl_Marx Yup, only the first six chapters are done so far.
2 Likes
Gaining the behemoth for yourself is a game changer lolx
2 Likes
maybe screwed up is too harsh, I mainly just didnāt help anyone.
If I remember my choices correctly: I freed the prisoners (twice) which antagonized the Unbroken Circle, I accused the Masqued at the casino, didnāt share the Memory Vault secrets with anyone, made my own deal with the judge and lastly sided with the Chorus in the battle, just to claim the Behemoth for myself.
I was just wondering because Caecilia got dealt with rather quickly while MC gets to scheme freely
Ohh I am looking forward to the tough choices, and hopefully some suffering 
itās hell after all
Similar to the choices I made
With cunning and brutality and a spice of finesse as well(Seneschal)
I hope they aināt too tough
I want them to be so tough that Iām questioning my humanity afterwards
@Pancake Sounds to me like your character is not going to be able to side with the Unbroken Circle or Masqued in the endgame at this point (not that they would be likely to try). The Chorus might be an option (and thereās a few more opportunties for you to improve that relationship before the big choice); the behemoth choice is not a 100% dealbreaker but if you meet Acantha again she will be bringing it up. The MC might be able to mollify her a bit but sheās never going to be happy with that particular choice. If youāve helped the Chorus in a lot of other ways, however, sheāll swallow her feelings for the greater good.
However, thereās absolutely nothing wrong with siding with none of the factions. I enjoy writing factions, but I donāt like to railroad players into them. If your MC just isnāt a team player (or just doesnāt vibe with the options) then they can be a side all of their own. You may want to try and raise both Influence and Might extra high if you do, thoughā¦
I canāt promise this game will leave you questioning your humanity, but the big choice currently planned for the climax of Chapter 8 is going to be especially tough for players taking a more heroic route who are any combination of the following: interested in leaving hell themselves/helping others leave hell/getting revenge on a certain someone/helping Kruach/wanting to raise their Might because they know theyāre going to need it soon. Doing the nice thing can be costly. I imagine anyone embracing a pure villain run probably will have a much easier time with such moral quandries, but thereās some pretty cruel options in the mix for them.
2 Likes
Tysm for your detailed response!
My first playthrough will probably be no faction/escaping/having the moral high ground, so Iām excited to see how thatās going to play out 