[WIP] Virtue's End, a dark fantasy horror game (INACTIVE/OUT OF DATE)


The current thread for the game can be found here (adult section): >> Virtue’s End. <<

Click here for the OLD demo (which no longer will be updated): >> Demo Link <<


✧ Description

In a dark world overrun by monsters from the shadow plane, you exist as a hybrid monster hunter called a helvling, a human whose very soul has been Bound to one such entity. Travelling from warded settlement to warded settlement with your surly Keeper, Shea, you have the thankless task of defending the common folk against these horrors from Hel.

Usually, a fate such as yours is only reserved for the lowest of criminals, as penance for their loathsome deeds… You wouldn’t know if your fate has been deserved, however, since upon completion of your Binding seven years ago, all former memories of your human life have been lost.

You’ve been moulded into a weapon by the Virtuous Order, trained to be an unfeeling and ruthlessly efficient hunter… But is that who you are? Who are you, truly?

✧ Features

  • A fully customisable main character, including pronouns, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical appearance, etc.
  • Choose to be Bound to one of four different helspawn entities, all of which have their own unique appearance and abilities: the deadly basilisk, the mighty sylvan, the alluring nokken, or the terrifying barghest.
  • Find your way in a world that treats you with scorn, whilst trying to retain what’s left of your humanity.
  • Encounter terrifying creatures and entities from the distorted shadow plane called Hel.
  • Seek answers to the mysterious origins of a world-breaking event known as the Catastrophe, which ushered in an era of darkness over 100 years ago.
  • Help or hinder a small ragtag group of rebels intent on disrupting the Order’s iron grip.
  • And perhaps finally discover the truth of your past…

✧ Characters

Over the course of the game, you will meet eight romanceable characters in total; six of which that can be flipped between male or female and two that can be flipped between male, female, or nonbinary.

  • Shea, your ever-present grim-faced Keeper. Stoic, serious, and aloof.
  • Elexis, an enigmatic member of the Royal Guard. Forward, charismatic, and inscrutable.
  • Idris/Idrissa, a gifted mage. Confident, intelligent, and arrogant.
  • Penrose, a mighty templar. Good-natured, compassionate, and thoughtful.
  • Guinn, an idealistic youth. Genuinely good, kind, and innocent.
  • Eir/Eiri, a cynical mercenary. Abrasive, sarcastic, and harsh.
  • Sutton, a standoffish druid. Hot-tempered, passionate, and reserved.
  • Sinclair, a flirtatious scoundrel. Jovial, mischievous, and charming.

Detailed RO info
Your Keeper

Shea Clane.
F/M. Age 39. Height 6’1”/186 cm. Glossy black hair, olive skin, pale grey eyes.

Shea has served as your Keeper for the past six years, turning you from a feral monster into a person that somehow resembles something approaching human. They’re not unkind, but they’re very stern and have a strong preference for a strict routine. They rarely show any sign of emotion.

Shea is tall and broad-shouldered, with a powerful, muscular build most often hidden behind layers of armour, warm furs, and a thick dark cloak. Their black hair is pulled back in a low ponytail and the left side of their face is marked by two long scars, crossing down their cheek and over the line of their jaw.

The Enforcer

Elexis Selwyn.
F/M. Age 24. Height 5’11”/180 cm. Bright-red straight hair, fair skin, blue eyes.

Not much is known about Elexis except for the fact that they’re employed by the royal family in some capacity. They have some history with Shea, but your Keeper is tight-lipped about it. Elexis likes to take jabs at people and press their buttons, to see what makes them tick.

Elexis is of slightly taller than average size, with a nimble and athletic build. They most often wear form-fitting leather armour that has been dyed a wine-red colour with a long dark cloak. Their hair, an unusual bright red colour not unlike the colour of freshly spilled blood, reaches to just below their shoulders. They have a curved scar on their chin that continues along the bottom of their jaw.

The Mage

Idrissa/Idris Renske.
F/M. Age 29. Height 5’9”/176 cm. Wispy black hair, tawny skin, dark brown eyes.

A brilliant and gifted mage, Idris(sa) turned traitor after making a shocking discovery about the inner workings of the Virtuous Order. They’ve had a privileged upbringing due to their previous position in life and therefore may sometimes appear arrogant or pretentious. However, they’re willing to make amends for past mistakes and do what must be done, for the good of the realm.

Idris(sa) is of average height, with a slender and graceful build. They mostly dress in elegant yet practical clothing in various shades of dark blue, gold, or black. Their wispy hair is long, reaching to their mid-back, and is usually tied up in a top knot or half-up.

The Protector

Penrose Sadrahar.
F/M. Age 32. Height 6’5”/196 cm. Curly dark brown hair, dark skin, dark green eyes.

A stalwart companion of Guinn, Penrose can never be found too far away from them. Having served as their guardian for the past 11 years, the two have become nearly inseparable. Despite their occupation, Penrose is actually very kind-hearted and thoughtful. They’re compassionate, good-natured and show their affections easily.

Taller than most and outfitted with a gleaming suit of armour, Penrose strikes an intimidating figure. Despite their formidable build, they carry themselves with grace and restrained strength, usually preferring a gentler approach. Their angular face is framed by loose, shoulder-length curls, the top locks most often tied back in a short ponytail.

The Dreamer

Guinn Bedirsa.
F/M/NB. Age 22. Height 5’6”/167 cm. Poofy light brown hair, bronze skin (freckled), black eyes.

Guinn has spent their entire life being watched over in a gilded cage. They long to be free, to use their powers for good, to just experience the world and all it has to offer. The only person that they feel they can trust completely is Penrose, who has practically raised them from a very young age. Guinn likes to see the good in everyone and they are hopelessly optimistic. They’re genuinely good and kind, which is something you don’t see very often.

Guinn is of average height and build, unaccustomed to any form of physical labour or activities. They’re dressed in various layers of simple grey clothes and their forehead is marked with a silvery, eye-like rune. Their poofy light brown hair is streaked with golden highlights and frames their face like a halo.

The Liquidator

Eiri/Eir Finvrir.
F/M/NB. Age 26. Height 5’9”/174 cm. Lanky white blonde hair, deathly pale skin, icy blue eyes.

How Eir(i) came to join the group is a mystery, but nevertheless the acerbic mercenary has joined forces with them… for now. They have a caustic personality and find most social interactions very tedious. Their outlook on life is extremely cynical.

Eir(i) is of average height and has a lean, sinewy build with long legs. They’re mostly dressed in all-black or dark grey, with various wickedly sharp knives hidden upon their person. Their lanky hair is uneven but reaches to about chin-length, and it usually looks like they’ve messily brushed it back too many times with their hands. The bridge of their nose is marked by a long, horizontal, jagged scar.

The Druid

Sutton Kinney.
F/M. Age 27. Height 6’2”/189 cm. Wavy gold blond hair, tan skin, light hazel eyes.

If it was up to Sutton, they’d rather not have joined the group at all, but fate has conspired against them it seems. All but forced to team up, they lend their considerable skill in nature-based magick to the group. Naturally a very stand-offish person, Sutton has no patience for people who are frivolous or otherwise airheaded (in their opinion). They’re extremely hot-tempered and not always successful in keeping all of it contained.

Sutton is a tall person with a lean and agile build, honed whilst spending years in the outdoors. They’re usually clad in brown hide armour and furs, wearing a dark blue shirt underneath. Their hair is about shoulder-length, the sides of it shaved and the top pulled back in a messy knot, braid, or ponytail. Black tattoos mark their face and an old scar slants across their left eyebrow. They wield a longbow and an engraved bearded axe.

The Scoundrel

Sinclair Colepepper.
F/M. Age 24. Height 5’8”/172 cm. Curly ginger hair, rosy skin, blue/green eyes.

Sinclair’s reasons for joining the group aren’t entirely related to the thwarting of the Empire or the Order, but Sinclair is never one to turn down an adventure. Their greatest skill is the use of their mouth, in more ways than one. They possess a natural sort of charm that most people can’t help but find appealing and Sinclair makes great use of this, conning people out of their valuables left and right. Their personality can be described as jovial, flirtatious, and slightly mischievous.

Sinclair is of average height with a lithe and willowy build. They like to wear colourful and stylish clothes which show off their best assets. If male, their curly ginger hair is kept short and messy; if female, it is kept long and flowy. They’re not very skilled with weapons and only carry a small dagger with them (more for looks than anything else, really).


Notes: Public demo last updated on 3 February. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I changed how the code works, you will have to start a new game!

For in-depth update info and other stuff, please check out my blog on tumblr. I also have a Kofi as well as a Patreon now if you’d like to support me!

New: The game now also has its own Discord server!

Changelog
  • (Feb 3, 2021) Update 2.01: word count updated to 51,687, average playthrough 16,725 words. Includes more tweaks to chapter 1 and a chunk of chapter 2.
  • (Nov 29, 2020) Update 1.5.1: word count updated to 34,860, average playthrough is at 10,411 words. Includes lots of tweaking and rewriting (to Shea’s branch in particular) as well as code and typo fixes!
  • (Nov 23, 2020) Update 1.5: word count updated to 30,614, average playthrough is at 9,644 words. Includes a nightly visit to Shea and I added some more text to the inn encounter. Also, people doing shady things in the woods!
  • (Nov 20, 2020) Update 1.4: word count updated to 27,110. In this update, the PC can visit Elexis!
  • (Nov 15, 2020) Update 1.3: word count updated to 18,504! This update includes a lot of changes and has one additional branching path, please check the pinned post at my tumblr for more info.
  • (Nov 4, 2020) Update 1.2: word count updated to 8,266, prologue completed, over half of chapter 1 completed
Next update
  • River district branch.
572 Likes

I really enjoyed your demo! Will the circumstances that brought us to the Virtuous Order be explored at some point in the game? Or will that be up to individual head canon?

The writing is really clear and strong. Also I already love Shea. Maybe Elexis, but definitely Shea.

I will be very hopefully watching for more information and updates. :slight_smile:

5 Likes

To Valhalla

Great start so far. Interested on where it’s going.

1 Like

Ooh I love what you have so far! The writing is immersive and the character interactions are extremely fun to read. I can’t help but find myself loving Shea and Elexis already haha! :joy:

Some suggestions:

The part where you chose your skin color was a bit off in terms of transitioning into the choice. Might I suggest rephrasing the lead-up sentences into something like “You stare down at your emaciated body clad only in a plain brown shift. A film of sweat and grime accompanies a sickly tinge to your… [insert choice]”?

I also noticed that there was a pov change after choosing your subject of binding. Maybe it would be good to add a quick little transition blurb such as mc losing consciousness or something so that the change in perspective is a bit less jarring?

Other than those small suggestions, I’m really excited to see what else you have in store for this game! :star_struck:

3 Likes

I enjoy this so far! I did notice, however, I chose to set all ROs to male yet still had to choose if Shea and Elexis male or female. I’m assuming this is because they’re not planned as full ROs, so if that’s the case, then I understand! Either way, I look forward to updates. Your writing is very smooth and easy to understand, so yay!

2 Likes

That was awesome!! I’m loving everything from the setting to characters to personality/customization options, you’ve definitely hooked me and I’m looking forward to more! (Also Shea already has me like :pleading_face: :heart:)

@Crimsis This looks really interesting. I felt a little confused by the descriptions of the demons though, particularly how they relate to the stats. I picked the purple one and it increased my intelligence… and my charm? I thought the blue demon was charm.

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I love it!

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Waaaaaaahh, it’s so gooooood!!! Can’t wait for more!

Oh, oh! I have a question!! Does Elexis know that Clane is Shea’s surname? I think it’d be cool if Elexis reacted when you take on Shea’s surname(or not !!)

That is all, lovely author, take care!

2 Likes

Will the circumstances that brought us to the Virtuous Order be explored at some point in the game? Or will that be up to individual head canon?

There’s definitely history there that will be explored further on in the story!

4 Likes

I definitely can see what you mean regarding the character customisation and POV change! Thanks so much for your feedback, I’ll edit it a bit in the next update.

1 Like

Regarding your spoiler text:

You’re correct that Shea and Elexis technically aren’t ‘full’ ROs at this point in the game. They currently fulfill a different role in the story and I really liked the idea of, for example, being able to somewhat customise your relationship to and the identity of your keeper/mentor (e.g. seeing them in a motherly/fatherly or big bro/sis role), seeing as that they’re the one you’re currently the most close to, whether your character wants to or not. Now, Elexis is a whole different ball game, haha.

Anyway, thanks so much for playing! :star_struck:

10 Likes

Hi! Thanks for playing.

I felt a little confused by the descriptions of the demons though, particularly how they relate to the stats.

All of the entities have a ‘main’ stat which receives the greatest boost, and then two of your other stats will also receive a big/minor boost. The mara (the purple one), for example, receives a major boost in intellect, a big boost in charisma, and finally a smaller boost in strength. The reason I coded it this way is that I didn’t want them to just be defined to a single stat increase— they all have areas in which they excel and some of them overlap a bit.

I’ll be adding some text to the next update to hopefully make it a bit more clearer for the player!

7 Likes

Does Elexis know that Clane is Shea’s surname?

They do know, actually! That’s actually a really nice idea— the game does track if the player has chosen Shea’s surname. I’ll see if I can add something like it in the next update! :blush:

15 Likes

the story looks very promising and i’m in love with your writing style. good luck! (:

3 Likes

chapter1 line 73: It is illegal to fall out of a *choice statement; you must *goto or *finish before the end of the indented block.

2 Likes

I’m sorry, I haven’t been able to reproduce that error. Does it occur when you’re specifying your relationship with Shea?

1 Like

I love the game . I want to offer a few suggestions
1.The description on the page breaks may be too long and may appear funny on mobile devices.
2.I set Shea as a female ; all is right except her gender.I’ll attach a screenshot.

1 Like

It keeps telling me I “can’t embed media in a post” . The main thing is that I described Shea to be a woman and it described her as one but her gender says female . Maybe you set her gender as male instead of female

1 Like