Venatici House (WIP) (Demo Released 11/8/20)

Hi and welcome to Venatici House, my first COG game! This will be book 1 in what I plan to be a series.

Genres: Modern/urban fantasy, fairy tales, high fantasy (sort of), (dark) comedy, angst, romance.
*romance can be huge or not, you can be ace in this game.

Since this takes place in a universe with doors to other worlds, a few genres may change in future books. The main ‘Otherworld’ in this book will be a fairy tale realm.

Brief summary:

Two years ago your world fell apart. These days you’re… a bit of a mess. And, as it turns out, a soon-to-be criminal too- er, hang on let’s try that again.

In a 21st century world where abilities exist, attend university (for the 2nd time),
fall in love (if you can), make new friends, and go on cute (potentially life-threatening), fun adventures with them (aww)!

Hm? What’s that? The crime bit? No, no, why would you commit crimes, silly goose? You’re being sponsored to go to university by a law enforcement agency for goodness’ sakes, how could you be so brazen as to commit crimes when they’re housing and feeding you?

But hey, maybe there’s some things - someone - worth risking it all for.

Demo link: https://dashingdon.com/go/7124

Full Description

Around 100 years ago, magical abilities started manifesting in parts of the population. Today, more than 1/4 of the population manifest an ability after the age of 12. But something else started appearing too, all those years ago - keys.

People that found these keys realised they could create portals, ‘doors’ to other worlds, other realms. They dubbed these worlds ‘Otherworlds’ and began to explore them, but many were dangerous, and people lost their lives in exploration. As such, an association named Kastell was formed to regulate the use of keys, and make sure only qualified people would be able to use them. They created a university for people with abilities, where after graduating, students would become licensed Travellers, allowed to use keys and go on expeditions to Otherworlds.

That university was called Donjon.

Two years after a traumatising incident revealed that you had powers, you’re finally persuaded to attend Donjon to learn to control your abilities. Seems simple, right? You go, you get better, maybe you finally move on from what you did.

Except next thing you know you’re illegally entering a fairy tale world with your parolee housemate.

Features:

  • 5 ROs (+ 1 more you’ll meet in the next book)
  • Bonding moments! Each RO can also just be a friend, and I want the main cast to build up close bonds.
  • Play as cis, trans, or non-binary, and straight, gay, bi, or ace.
  • Customise your MC (You’ll see more personality stats when you enter the fairy tale world)

Bonus features:

  • A beautiful scarf from your loving guardian
  • A jukebox and a dive bar
  • Some good ol’ ‘Found family’ trope
  • Guns- er, human magic
  • Music references
ROs

*Note that these are only the initial impressions each RO gives (except Eddie because you’ve known them a long time).

Gil - Your friendly and easy-going housemate, he seems to genuinely want to befriend you. Like you, he’s attending Donjon on a Venatici sponsorship. Unlike you, he was in prison not that long ago. It doesn’t take you long to find out he was committed for murder. However, it seems like there’s a story behind it. You wonder what happened to him.

Appearance: 6’0. Black hair in a two-block cut, the top of which is usually parted above his right eyebrow and messily waxed back out of his face. He has a pale complexion, and chocolate brown eyes, with a beauty mark dotting the corner of his right eye. Tall and lean, his face is sharp and angular and his smile sometimes reminds you of a wolf or fox.

Eddie (can be male or female) - Cheeky but always kind and supportive, the two of you have a long history together. They were your best friend, maybe more, and the person that knew you best in the whole world. Now they’re lying in a hospital bed somewhere and you’ve spent the last two years blaming yourself, hating yourself for it.

Appearance:
Male Eddie - 5’9. Ivory skin, blue eyes, and short, fluffy, sunflower blonde hair with a
messy fringe that flops over his eyebrows (hair colour is naturally light brown but he dyes it). Broad shoulders and a soft smile.

Female Eddie - 5’6. Ivory skin, blue eyes, and straight, sunflower blonde hair that falls a couple inches past her shoulders (hair colour is naturally light brown but she dyes it). Soft features, soft smile, and a soft, slender figure.

Ernestine - A princess you meet in the fairy tale world. With her pretty smile and sweet demeanour, it’s like she really walked right out of a storybook. She’s definitely… a character. (Just wait, you’ll understand).

Appearance: 5’4. Long, honey blonde hair that covers most of her back, and golden eyes to match. Sometimes does her hair in a half-up half-down style, but changes her hairstyle often (depending on her outfit or what she’s doing). She has a warm beige skin tone and delicate features.

Otto - She’s a mystery with a great set of abs. Maybe you’ll get to know her better in time. She doesn’t seem like a bad person, but you have a feeling she’s probably dangerous. Something tells you she wouldn’t hesitate to pull a knife on you if she thought it was necessary. (But hey, maybe you’d like that?)

Appearance: 5’10. She has wavy black hair that stops half-way down her back, with parted bangs. She’s muscular, and has emerald green eyes and tan skin. The long sleeves she usually wears hide the tattoos on her arms, though a few small ones are openly visible on her hands.

Lemon Sorbet - A strange but nice man. Best friends with Otto.

Appearance: Short, neatly-trimmed light hair the colour of lemon sorbet, and
vibrant green eyes the colour of a lemon leaf. Slender body completely lacking in muscles.

??? - The 6th RO, you won’t meet them until the next book, but they are in this one.

Current word count

Total word count: 17.5k words
Average playthrough: 12.2k words

Feedback:
Any comments/feedback would be much appreciated, I’d love to get your thoughts on the story and characters so far.
Also, please come to my tumblr if you’d like (it contains some asks, info, and random things, no longer sad and empty!)

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Seems interesting.

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This is awesome! I’m genuinely sad for my MC though… which I suppose is a testament to great writing… I’ll definitely keep an eye on this!

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Happy to hear that, thank you!

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You got me with Otto’s description of great set of abs. :joy: The way you wrote the premise really caught my attention. Good job! Will come back later after reading it but nonetheless, good luck to you!

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Glad you appreciate those abs haha. Thank you!

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This was super nice!

First off: I love your version of a charming power, and I’m highly invested in learning how exactly it might’ve affected Eddie. Secondly: I will never not take Irma’s ugly scarf.

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Aww I’m glad you like the scarf, and thank you!

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IRMA :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face: :pleading_face:

Echoing above, I love the power, as I always go for a charm/persuasion-heavy character when given the option. And the characterization! It felt like a real world as I was reading, and I like that we’re given the options to have a range of opinions about things, like in class and in regards to Gil’s general shadiness. I also like that the MC has some pre-existing wholesome relationships; those interactions are sweet to read, which makes the MCs inner turmoil sting a bit more. I love this and I’m excited to see more of this!

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Thank you!! All your comments made me very happy but I also burst out laughing at ‘Gil’s general shadiness’ because it really made me realise that from the perspective of fresh eyes he really does seem super shady.

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:eyes: I’m intrigued

Can’t get over the idea of a woman called Otto. :joy:
The only people I know with that name, are old cranky men!

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I was hoping for some kind of lethal power but okay, I can use this ability to manipulate someone , it probably take time but it’s the only way

It was originally going to be short for Ottilie haha, but I ended up going through a lot of changes to her character.

Okay. I’ve just finished reading it and daaaaaamn. It is so GOOD! The writing is ugh, PERFECT! I’ve gotten into it that all I ever think is Poor MC. You captured our emotions pretty well. Well played. I am really looking forward for more! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I’ve seen one typo tho, in the interview part, you’ve written thoes instead of those. Anyway, GOOD LUCK!

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I loved it!

Just a question though, I’m not sure if it was mentioned or something or if it’s a spoiler,

but is Eddie only our friend or bf/gf because of our ability?

I’ll be bookmarking and keeping an eye on this one. Good luck!

Thank you, glad you liked it and oop I’ll fix that!

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Thank you! That’s spoiler territory haha so I’ll leave you to speculate for now.

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this is awesome! it’s well-written and the plot seems really promising! oh and the different reactions to the gun are absolutely gold. keep up the good work!

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@heij

Me: ROs? Charm? Oh REMY…

Remy peeps around a corner, intrigued…

Remy sees ROs, prepares to seduce every last one. :smirk:

Me: NO, NOT ALL OF THEM! AND NOT AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Remy: Grins evilly. :smiling_imp:

Me: …what have I done? :flushed:

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