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!)
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!
I’m intrigued
I’ve seen one typo tho, in the interview part, you’ve written thoes instead of those. Anyway, GOOD LUCK!
