First, let me start off by saying that this post contains huge spoilers for the light-hearted, romcom story I’m writing about a first year student attending a high school for magic, and all the shenanigans that entails. So if this sounds like something you’d like to play, and want to avoid spoilers, you should stop reading here.
Although my story is intended as a wholesome slice of life romcom, there is the potential for the player to have a very negative reaction to a potential betrayal by one of the RO’s with chilling results. Choosing to follow that thread can lead to the player slaughtering entire swathes of the student body, before being confronted by the teachers. And even then, with sufficently high enough skills, the player can, if they’re quick enough, decimate the teachers before they have time to properly assess the situation, and realize the true extent of menace the player poses.
The only other permanent npc death is one that I’m actually thinking about removing from the story. Although, I did intend it to be a devastating gut punch. A friend I sent it to for opinions last friday, was so utterly emotionally crippled by it, that they ended up skipping Mandalorian movie night, and instead cracked open Saturday night’s wine, and then called at 3am to tell me about it.
The npc in question, is baited throughout the story as a potential RO, but they’re the skittish withdrawn loner type, the kind of character that apeals to players that need to step in and stand up for others. Or in other words, the kind players that would be the most devastated by an unavoidable RO death. The romance starts of very sweet and requires a epic amount of paitence and understanding from the player, who is given ample opportunities to display their feelings in some of the most tender ways in the story thus far. When the RO does start to show signs of flagging, as a direct result of the players involvement. The player is then presented with accepting this possible end and making the most of their time together. Or explore a range red herring options that will see them losing skills, and burning bridges with other characters, in a mad dash to save the RO, only to falter after each attempt, as time steadily runs out. Until they’re finally presented with one last alternative option out of the blue, that is treated as the golden bullet of magical options. Only to find that their RO had passed away before they could arrive with the solution, tears still wet on their face, their dead eye stair afixed upon door hoping in vain to see the player one last time.
So, yeah, I’m still on the fence as to whether I should include the character as is, while my friend thinks I should sodten the blow somewhat, and possibly work in a potential happy ending. The thing is, players already have the option to not look for a solution, to instead spend what little time the RO has left with the player together, and in turn find closure. It’s just that the kind of player that is likely romance this RO, is also the kind of player that’ll never give up.
My friend tends to consume media with the end goal of satisfaction, while I tend towards enjoying the experiences along the way, in many ways it’s the classical argument of journey vs. destination. In many ways, experiencing a great love, only to have it torn from your grasp, doesn’t diminish that love, it reinforces it, making it even more cherished.
The event that comes closest to resulting in the near-deaths of a lot of students, involves a student casting fireball in a classroom that could comfortably fit 18 seated students. Though the player can recognize the threat if they’ve learned about fireball, or attempt to dispel it if they’ve learned how, or allow themselves to be dragged off by an RO. Though should the dispel attempt fail, or the player attempt a more physical means of stopping the student, they are either hit by a tidalwave spell cast by student who was intended target of the firball spell, or both spells are cast simultainiously with extremely explosive results.