I am a little confused about Dionysos’s ability.
On the stats It says: Insanity manipulation.
But on view information about your godly parent, it says: You can expose people to their deepest fears.
Isn’t fear and insanity two different things? 
Also, I want to say I really like your game @Goddess and I wish you good luck with it.
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I believe it’s something akin to you showing others their deepest fears and they go insane because of it. Like this story: “The Thrakian king Lykourgos (Lycurgus) attacked Dionysos and his companions as they were travelling through his land and drove them into the sea. As punishment, the god inflicted him with madness causing him to murder his wife and son and mutilate himself with an axe.” Supposedly the wife and son became horrible monstrosities in the eyes of Lykourgos.
Side note: did anyone else know Dionysus was supposedly the dude who led the invasion of India with his army of satyrs???
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@Yalung Mmm, kinda. More-so when the eyes themselves feel like it (I kinda pictured them like hazel eyes, where in some lights they look very different than other lights) except more extreme. No real rhyme or reason. It’s the same for all the other parents if anyone was wondering.
@VioletHikari Wow weird. Didn’t notice that. At all. I swear. 
@PhoenixKnight Thank you, I’m glad you noticed the differences. Heritage does play a significant role in the story, and although you can stray from stereotypes, I wanted some parts to stay similar. And I love rants, they teach me a lot because I’m still very much so learning. Thank you for the typos, they’re very welcome!
@Iello Yep, there are pretty significant differences for parent routes, from eye colour to sibling personalities to names offered for the MC (which I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while because they’re my favourite touch, so I appreciate the opportunity). I’m glad you’re enjoying it, and thanks for the love!
@Lady-of-few-words Thank you for the love! Yep, @Jackpot1776 hit the nail on the head. Dionysus kids can’t actually see or even really manipulate the fears, they can just play off them to drive the target to madness. Also I did not know that Dionysus fact that I 110% needed in my life, so thank you. 
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Thank you for your reply @Goddess and to you @Jackpot1776 ! 
I didn’t know about Lykougos and Dionysus, and that he was supposedly the dude who led the invasion of India with his army of satyrs.
I am pretty new to Greek mythology, but the more I learn about Dionysus, the more I start to wonder why Hades is the god all people fear. 
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Just realized that this is probably going to be one of the few WiP out there were incest is acceptable 
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Okay now will you the question is how far will you go with Dionysus! Cause Dionysus and Aphrodite for that matter have vary…complex histories with much much more lore than you think. So word of advice is be careful with which version you take as canon and not.
There is Mycenaean Dionysus, strong connections with chthonic matters, death, rebirth and intoxicating insanity (connection with wine and intoxication) but overall a nice guy kinda god. Orpheus died because of his cult’s implication of the time. This one is not referenced in the greek pantheon, along with Hestia.
Orphic Dionysus sometimes synchronized with Zagreus (Its weird) born of a mortal mother, who is younger than his previous incarnation. Much more into temperamental insanity, dismemberment, disregard to the rules and loses the chthonic (death and rebirth) connotations. Insanity, plague and madness are his domain. Think of the crazy hippie psychopath. Yep. At this point, he is technically in the pantheon but not really referenced as such.
Then there’s the Hellenistic Dionysus (the more current one). Because of Alexander the Great and the ruling class, they took a few (see they picked party and power) of the Cult of Dionysus’s values and used it to nationalize it across Greece. Hence Dionysus lost more of his crazy connotations for a more frat boy type of guy.
So yeah. There is a lot of variations that can happen and be careful if you want to stay true to one version or mix and match.
Fun Fact - Hellenistic Dionysus still shows reference to his divine otherworldly powers of death and madness from the Mycenaean times. He is not to be trifled with. Why? (In Mycenaean Pantheon, Hades didn’t explicitly exists. Dionysus had the chthonic connotations that Hellenistic Hades is known for. Ergo - You could view Mycenaean Dionysus as the precursor/codifier for Hades but that a personal theory not back by history so don’t quote me on that.
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I really love anything about Greek mythology! Keep up the good work! 
Oh here the code : 2322451123APA
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I exit the dorm, checking my phone as I go. Even if my mother is an all-powerful being, no one can do communication better than Steve Jobs (although he is Athena’s kid).
Dang that’s cool! Are there any other people who are considered the children of other gods/goddesses?
Also cool how it’s the children of Hephaestus the ones who made some of the buildings.
I’m not sure if this has been asked but if Ajax’s name is based on the greek hero, then who is Mor named after?
“I am here to give some answers. As the official,” he coughs proudly and sticks his chest out, pulling a roll of parchment from the inside of his toga. “As the official messenger of the gods, I am here to deliver the news of a quest, straight from the oracle herself.” lmao hermes
Anyway this seems like a really nice game! I can’t wait for you to continue it! I love greek mythology (even though it’s quite messed up) so it was nice to find a game like this!
And this is my code: 3442215213EBA
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This is really really cool I love stories like this can’t wait to read more BTW I so want to be son of Aries lol😁
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While it would be nice to have other Godly parents to choose from, I went with Demeter! Mor makes me chuckle and I can’t explain why. I did enjoy this, though! Oh, and this is my code: 4342215213EDM. I didn’t run into any issues or anything, and I will certainly keep my eye on this.
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@PhoenixKnight Wow, thank you for all of that information! It’s incredible. I haven’t really thought about which Dionysus I’m thinking about. When I was doing research, I noticed that there were several but never really looked into the different types. From reading your descriptions and spending some time on Google, I’d say that he flows more Hellenistic in personality, although he will be an Olympian.
@ydefsoul Thanks for the code and the love !
@gomisegye Ajax was the og first character I ever came up with, so he is named after the hero. However, once I started adding more and more characters to the mix, I realised I couldn’t name everyone after a hero, and I do really like names that mean something. So Alya means sky/heaven and Al comes from that, due to heritage. Mort(e) is the old French way of saying dead, and Mortimer, the name, means “dead sea”, which goes well with his father and his turbulent nature and something else. Morgan doesn’t have any special meaning, but is a reference to Morgan le Fey just because of some similarities between their characters. Kai and Cyrus/Cyra are also references to their parents. Thanks for the kind words and the code!
@Jj_Olivier I’m glad you’re enjoying it, thank you for the love!
@PrismaticSpace Thanks for the comment and the code!
@Thunder-Man Thanks for the catch and the code!
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@PhoenixKnight just wanted to say that I appreciate the thoroughness of your question. I too am interested in the ritualistic aspect of the Greco-Roman gods and not just their literary versions that have come down to us via poetry.
It is interesting how Dionysus became domesticized by the cultural elite in Hellenistic and Roman times enough that Dionysian themes were considered appropriate secular art well into the Byzantine Christian era.
Though that is a reminder that I do need to sit down and read the Dionysiaca at some point! It’s a hefty epic poem but I’ve always wanted to see how Dionysus was portrayed in late antiquity.
@Goddess I just did my second run as a Demeter kid and I noticed the different name thing! That’s a really thoughtful touch. It adds a lot of value to different replays, just by increasing the uniqueness and immersion. I love your approach to this. And I didn’t realize that about the siblings either, I thought I was going crazy when they seemed different!
Can’t wait to see the Athena variations for the name, siblings, eyes etc.
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Interesting so far.
Kind of wish we got a description of Mor & Ajax prior to choosing who to interact with. For example, after the exercise at the start of the story, since Mor (& maybe Ajax too??) is mentioned/speaks.
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@bric Thanks for the suggestion! I actually had the little monologues that the MC gives each of them written out way earlier (when they’re introduced), but I also kind of wanted players to go in more blind, I guess, in the end of chapter choice? Like I didn’t want to give a description and have someone immediately like/dislike that particular character, especially since I’m not the best at describing things. However, I mostly changed it because I wanted people to place the path that said “neither” on the same level as the other two. I honestly think that Rayne’s one of the funner routes to play, especially for first-time players, and I didn’t want to take anything away from her. However, I’ll see what I can do.
As for a general update, I’ve decided that the revised version of chapter one, which is nearing an extra 7k words on its own, will be released on 12/28. It’ll include Ares and Athena as parents, as well as incorporate the suggestions I got on here and the ones I came up with myself. Chapter two is currently in the works. So far you’ve met C and thought about the ~future~.
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The player could still pick neither to be antisocial. That’s how I viewed it, which made the encounter with Rayne even more surprising. For my MC, not particularly positive, but that’s because it genuinely was about being an antisocial jerk. So you can probably guess how that went. 
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True, Rayne’s appearance was unexpected, I thought an NPC would appear, maybe a teacher.
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A person who is forced into a situation will act differently in that situation people have been forced to fight in Wars they don’t want to be a part of people have been forced in the darkest corners of the world stripped of their homes and Families and the human rights but that person can change different things in their life they can leave that side that’s forced them to fight they can leave that corner of Darkness behind find their own path in life and don’t stop for nothing when you do why I wrote this is how the story is made actually the gods are forcing a young individual to be part of a quest they may not be able to be a part of
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The updated chapter one is officially live!
What the update includes:
- Athena and Ares as parents.
- Minor additions/changes to the narrative.
- Incorporations of (almost) every suggestion I got.
- Typo corrections.
- The first ~1000 words from chapter two, just so you guys can meet C.
Demo Words: ~29k without code (that’s an extra 8k words, but probably an extra, like, 1k per play-through, mostly because of the chapter 2 snippet)
Although my private version has about 33k, in case anyone was wondering where I’m really at.
I also launched a Patreon, in case anyone wants to see the side stories and things that I write adjacent to ZD about ZD. For example, next month I’m doing a short (500-1000 word) snippet of the ROs meeting the MC from the ROs’ point of view for each of the four, that I edited from my original notes on the matter. I’m also planning on releasing the chapter two demo earlier there, once it’s finished. You won’t get prompted to pay for December, since the month’s almost over. Of course, it’s by no means anything that I want to sound obligatory, and I promise this is the last time I’ll advertise it unless there’s a major change.
Other Notes:
@LadyUmbreon89 and @Marvey thanks for your comments! I did include a little more information about the two ROs during the speech scene, although I’m still not quite sold on how natural it feels. I hope my addition helps, though.
@Takashi_Shin I’m… not sure what you mean, but if it is what I think it is, then the MC’s reaction to going on the quest is completely up to the reader. The MC can totally have the gods force them into the quest, then act like a brat the entire time, although the MC might actually have to do at least something for ~plot reasons~. WHY the MC does the something can be up to you, as well.
@No_This_Is_Patrick Sorry, that was a typo that’s resolved now. Choosing “just men” would have been the same as “just women”, I just forgot to change the gender. Thanks for the catch!
@Yalung It’s been fixed, just not in the demo. Thank you!
@Iello Thanks for the comment, I just changed it to “exudes simplicity”, which should work better for a child of Athena. Also, yes the grey eyes were a given 
@Wolfie That food is… more for a hidden “environmentally conscious” stat that will influence some major things later, because I know many people go vegan or vegetarian for the environment. I might remove it in a later draft if I find enough places to stick some environmental choices elsewhere. Furthermore, Ares was notoriously not appreciated in ancient Greece and by the gods, so I decided to make that his children’s “quirk”. You will, of course, be able to intervene, wear your reputation with pride, or, eventually, dismantle the reputation altogether. Thanks for the comments!
@Ramar_Blood Thank you! I’ll make sure it’s not something on my end.
@AChubbyBlackCat Thanks for the typo, it’s been corrected. And thanks for the code and stats as well!
[sorry for constantly responding in the same spot, I didn’t want to clutter my thread with my responses]
As always, please let me know of any typos, errors, or suggestions that you guys have. Hope you enjoy!
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