Author Answers (November) (Patreon)

This was so many questions this month, haha! Next time I might have to put a cap! 😅 As always, sections are divided between General, Spoilers, and NSFW! Thanks for sending your questions in and enjoy!

General

Who would borrow the MC's clothes and who would let the MC borrow their clothes?

Would borrow MC's clothes: Shery deep in the relationship, Tallys, Ayla, Red in a hurry, Chase as a joke, Briony, Trouble 

Would let MC borrow their clothes: Blade, Shery, Trouble, Chase, Red, Ayla, Tallys if they really needed them, Briony

Will there be a female DLC RO or just male?

There was originally going to be female RO DLC that would be either an extension of Prihine's romance or a brand new female RO, but with the incorporation of Briony, I do not see that being an urgent necessity. Short answer: not sure, long answer: most likely not but we'll see!

RO and MC recently got together and an ex from MC's past warns the RO to not trust MC. Reactions?

Blade would just completely ignore the ex. Their motives are suspect and he trusts MC 1000x more than some random, anyway.

Trouble: 'talk shit on my SO again and I'll knock out your teeth'

Tallys: meets up with ex again just to question them about why they would say this. She's not going to act on anything so vague but she's curious to see if they're legit or not. She tells MC about this beforehand but talks to ex regardless of their reaction.

Shery: the ex really gets in Shery's head and she gets really paranoid and anxious... she ends up asking MC flat-out what ex might have meant by that?

Chase: 'mm okay thanks bud i'll take that into consideration'

Riel: tries to discern whether ex is telling the truth or not; if they are, he starts looking into MC's past quietly to figure out why ex would have said this. If he determines that they're lying, he warns them to get out of his and MC's life for good or he's going to ruin them

Red: 'uhhh could you... elaborate?'

Ayla: (waits for ex to say more) 'oh that's it? fuck you then'

Briony: she'd immediately get angry and defensive of MC; she'd wait to see if ex had anything more substantial to say, but it'd be really hard for her to keep from yelling at them/socking them in the face

Lavinet: (confident laugh) 'oh please regale me, I'm sure this will be very amusing' (doesn't believe a word they say)

What is the RO’s favorite way to be kissed?

Blade: slow, lingering kiss on the mouth

Trouble: lots of little kisses everywhere, all over his face

Shery: kisses on both cheeks, all cute

Tallys: french kiss with lip biting lmao

Riel: quick clean kiss on the lips

Chase: luxurious, slow kiss on the mouth

Red: stupid loud kiss like "MWAH!"

Ayla: several pecks on the lips

Briony: kiss on the forehead, kiss on the nose, kiss on the lips, in that order!

Lavinet: romantic being dipped to the floor kind of kiss!

What do the Autarch and her two sons look like? Is their appearance known to all citizens of Haven/do they often show themselves in public? 

The Autarch is not seen by many people outside of the Sun Court; usually when she appears in public, she wears a gold veil that masks her features. An artist named wings-on-earth did fan art of her, though, and it's very accurate!

The Autarch's sons are more recognizable, though, because they're out and about and their faces are known to the general public.

Enik, the firstborn son, has pale blond curly hair and severe, cold, tin-colored eyes. He's thinner and more dignified than his brother, straight-backed and tall, and he has spent his life training with the Inquisitors in the Sun Court's depths and has an extremely sharp military mind. He is extremely competent, but a religious fanatic. Picture the face and build of a noble with the rigid stature and bearing of a soldier.

Ornos, the second-born son, is darker than his brother and generally sports long dark hair, a wicked, savage grin, scruffy facial hair, and mad, gold-colored eyes. He's much more broad-shouldered and larger than Enik, with the thick, meaty build of a linebacker and a nasty-looking, pale scar that looks like an impact wound on his forehead. He generally looks more disheveled and etc. in comparison to the rest of his family and cares only about chasing his own arbitrary obsessions and pursuits.

Enik is seen rarely in the public when he's out with his Inquisitors, and Ornos is seen more often but still rarely (maybe once a month) when he's just like terrorizing commoners. Still, everyone knows who they are and would recognize them!

In the crushing state, what would the (male) ROs do if they happen to find a stash of love letters addressed to them, written (but never sent) by the MC? 

Blade: he would try to stay quiet about it and pretend he never saw the stash, but his happiness and confusion would be too much and he would probably spill the beans to Trouble one night while drunk and ask for his advice!

Trouble: he'd wonder if MC knew someone else named Trouble and the letters were address to that guy? :( 

Chase: he'd not read them out of respect for MC, but he'd definitely be lounging in their chair the next time they came back to their room, a big smug grin on his face, like, "so... you like me, huh?"

Riel: he'd figure there was a reason why MC never sent the letters and just respectfully pretend he never saw them. Maybe MC changed their mind, maybe there's something holding them back... he's going to operate according to their timeline and wait 

Red: he'd be super happy and embarrassed and excited, but he'd pretend not to see the letters and would just proceed with subtly courting MC, only now he knows how they feel about him!

How would the ROs react to a MC with heavy survivor’s guilt saying they’d kill themselves in the FMK game? (in a half-joking, half-serious way) 

[awkward, shocked silence]

Blade

Riel

"uhh that's against the rules, that's not how you play the game"

Trouble

Chase

Ayla

[feeling/look of sadness]

Tallys

Shery

[after the game] "hey... are you okay?"

Briony

Lavinet

Red

How would the ROs react if the MC suddenly left the Order one day with only a resignation letter in their room? Like, would they look for the MC all over the world, simple move on (à la “if you decide to leave without a word like this then you might as well be dead to me!!!”), or mope around but not actively do anything? In a romance and with Caine's reaction too?

Blade wouldn't rest or sleep until he found MC again. If and when he did find them, he'd ask in the most betrayed, hurt voice: "...why did you leave me?"

Trouble wouldn't rest or sleep either, but his reaction would turn from concerned and worried like "I'm sure MC was forced to do this or is in danger" to eventual anger and being super pissed at MC; he's going to let them have it whenever he finds them.

Tallys: she'd become completely depressed and would just... go off on her own and never open her heart to anyone ever again.

Shery: she would basically become catatonic from pain, betrayal, devastation... confusion. Why? Why would MC do something like this? What did she do wrong? Why did they leave her without even saying goodbye? I don't know if she'd ever be the same again...

Chase: he would be in flat-out casual denial. What? MC is going to be back any day now. He's going to find them and they're going to greet him with a smile and say it was a misunderstanding and it will all be fine... It's all fine... Why are you looking at him like that? He's seriously fine!

Riel: he would be super angry and hurt. He'd try to move on but secretly he'd be sending out every person he had to find out where MC was. Not to confront them, because MC clearly wanted to cut ties with him... but just so he would know and could try to piece things together himself.

Red: he would just be... worried. Like literally not know what was going on. What? Where is MC? Why did they leave him this letter? Why would they leave without a word?? That's not the MC he knows... something must be wrong. He has to find them and make sure they're okay! Once he finds out if they're okay or not, the other emotions can come later...

Ayla: she would tell herself that she hates MC, that they're dead to her, that it serves her right for opening her heart to them when she knew it was going to end badly. If she ever saw MC again she'd deck them in the face... but with tears in her eyes.

Briony: she would be so hurt and betrayed that in her heart I don't think she could ever forgive them, no matter how good their explanation was. She'd never trust them not to abandon her without a word again. She'd stop at nothing to hunt them down, but it'd be less about getting them back than it would be about getting the answers she'd need to get closure.

Lavinet: Lavinet would be in angry denial, like if anyone were to suggest to her that MC left of their own volition, she'd go absolutely HAM on them. She would do her best to try and find MC, but she'd be FURIOUS with him and would unleash the rage of a thousand suns on him... but she still loves him so much!

Caine: he would be both hurt but also in denial... like HIS MC would never do that... something must be wrong, someone must have forced them to do that! he'd come up with all of these improbable explanations for their abandonment, but in his heart he would be deeply hurt and sad... 

What would the ROs do if they confess to MC and MC just sighs and says that while they would love to date RO, RO deserves someone better... 

All of the ROs would be shocked and would scramble to tell why MC why they're wrong!

How would ROs react to an MC who didn't value their life much so they would take hits for anyone and always put themselves in dangerous situations. Deep in romance. 

Blade: this would be an issue and it would cause a lot of fighting in their relationship.

Trouble: he'd be worried about MC a lot but he'd also admire their self-sacrificing demeanor.

Tallys: this behavior would scare her and might even make her reconsider being in a relationship with MC because it's going to lead to inevitable pain.

Shery: this would stress her out to the point of not wanting to date MC because she couldn't handle the strain...

Chase: Chase is like this, so he wouldn't mind it per se, but they would need to talk about it if they were ever to have kids or anything.

Riel: he would understand this about MC and love them for it, but it would definitely stress him out and make him worried and snappy if they took unnecessary risks just for the hell of it. 

Red: he would try to get to the root of why MC doesn't value their life. Is it about trauma? Self-worth? He'd want to show them why they're important and shouldn't throw their life away so carelessly.

Briony: she would empathize with MC because she's the same way. She wouldn't necessarily like it, but she'd understand it and would be on MC's side if anyone were to criticize them.

Lavinet: she would hate this and it would cause a lot of fights because she'd view their relationship as unstable since MC seems to be actively trying to die sometimes.

 So RO and MC are talking and by accident MC admits they like RO. MC, realizing their mistake, runs away and avoids RO everyday because they assumed RO will reject them. How do the ROs react? In crushing stage please.

Would persistently run MC down and corner them until they could talk about it:

Chase

Red

Lavinet

Briony

Ayla

Would give MC space, believing they were avoiding RO for a reason:

Shery

Tallys

Riel

Would just be generally confused and would have no idea what to do:

Blade

Trouble

So MC gets into a fight and comes back with injuries. Later RO finds out that MC was fighting because the other person was talking really bad about RO. How do the ROs react? 

Blade: (gently cleaning MC's wounds) "I appreciate that you fought for my honor, but I don't care what people think. I care about your safety. Don't do this again."

Trouble: (takes one look at MC) "who are they and where can I find them. I just want to talk."

Tallys: she'd sigh and clean MC off. She'd secretly appreciate the gesture and the fact that MC was willing to fight for her but outwardly she would scold them.

Shery: Shery would be really upset that MC got hurt defending her. It'd make her determined to handle things like that on her own and not get MC involved.

Chase: he'd make sure MC was okay and then immediately begin plotting his revenge against the person who hurt them.

Riel: Riel would scold MC for getting involved in a physical fight when words were just exchanged... but he'd find the gesture a bit romantic. Oh and he would destroy the person who hurt MC.

Red: he'd be upset: it's never worth getting in a fight/endangering oneself for something as dumb as someone badmouthing. He'd ask MC not to do that again and just ignore the person next time.

Ayla: she'd immediately hunt the person who hurt MC down and beat them within an inch of their life.

Briony: she'd be shocked and would give MC an earful for coming back so injured, but she'd also throw her arms around them and whisper, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Lavinet: she'd fall in love with MC even more, her knight in shining armor protecting the honor of his lady! How romantic!

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Spoilers

Congrats on the book!!! Now if I may-I was wondering around how high the magic stat has to be if we want to defeat Blaphomel without using a word of power? I got mine to 30% before the fight and I didn’t unlock the option to use my magic. Do we have to forego saving both Prihine and Caine in the chapel if we want to get the stat high enough? 

You need to have 35 Magic in order to defeat Blaphemel without using a Word of Power! I've tested it myself and it's possible, but extremely hard, which is the point I wanted to make with that choice! You don't have to forego saving both Prihine and Caine, though; you just have to aggressively choose every magic-oriented option you can!

Can you give us some spoilers regarding Croelle? Like his influence on the story or his motivations?

You should read the character story I just wrote for him! Nearly 10k words worth of backstory and spoilers! I can say that his motivations are this: he's stuck working for some very powerful forces, but it's against his will and he desperately wants to get out. When he antagonizes the MC, he actually doesn't want to; he's being forced to! He is a threat to them, but he's an unwilling threat. He's both one of the antagonists of the story and one of its most tragic figures. 

So you've said on the forums that it's possible to prevent certain characters from dying, or to achieve a happy ending, but it depends entirely on the choices that we make. How obvious will those choices be? Will it be something to the effect of 'You Can Only Save This Character if You Say This Thing In Chapter One', or will it be a bit more straightforward (i.e., the start of a branching path, passing certain stat checks, etc.)? If you can't tell, I'm a bit paranoid. 

Um, it depends entirely on the character! I think it's pretty straightforward on how to get a happy ending with a character, but I'm obviously very biased. The choices that determine a happy ending come from their character interactions over a long course of time, so you have more leeway; it's usually not boiled down to just one choice. Like for Shery, a series of conversations about her and her self-consciousness/fragility of character/helplessness will help determine where she ends up at the end of the game. It's an accumulative effect from this series of conversations, not just one dialogue choice, and the obviousness of which is the right path varies from character to character. (Hint: do you think her being super self-conscious about what other people think will lead to a happier romance or not?)

Regarding character deaths, these are less obvious sometimes, and other times easily preventable (stat checks, Words of Power). 

If you want to get super spoilery, I can give an example (skip to the next question if you don't want to see):

If you recruit Caine -> become Commander -> hire an on-site Healer for the Order -> there will come a time where that Healer might save his life. 

On the other hand, if you recruit Caine -> let Benir Roxak stay on at the Order without stripping his power -> he will sabotage critical medical supplies that will end up jeopardizing Caine's life when it matters, and he will die......... But Benir's choice is in Chapter 2, and the Caine thing doesn't happen until Chapter 9!

So stuff like that!

What happened to MC's biological parents?

MC's biological parents are currently locked in a kind of eternal slumber!

How did Blade wind up working for the Autarch?

You should also give his character story a try if you haven't! 

The spoilery answer: he attempted to assassinate the Autarch under the direction of his older brother, the leader of the Ket rebellion. He was caught by her forces, but rather than torturing him or killing him, the Autarch granted Blade mercy in exchange for working for her as Commander of the Shepherds. He's come to see that the Continent would actually fall into utter chaos if the Autarch were to be assassinated and that the Ket rebels have no plans to stop the inevitable violence and bloodshed that would arise as a result of that assassination, and as a result has become disillusioned with pretty much everything he once believed.

That's not the full story, but I think it will be more enjoyable if you guys experience it for yourselves in his storyline. :)

What was going through Blade’s head when MC asked him to watch over them after their nightmare? Crushing ofc

Why would she ask me to keep her company? I'm scary and not comforting at all. I have to do my best to be there for her and not let her down. Smile at her. No, that would look strange. Make small talk? What do you say in this situation? Don't worry MC, I won't let anything happen to you... she looks so vulnerable and cute right now... want to... pat on the head... wait, cute? Pat??? Wtf is going on with me lately?

If, in the alpha build, we decided to not tell the Shepherds about MC’s past, do we get a second chance to do so in another chapter?

Yes, you will, but the other Shepherds will definitely remember that you could have told them earlier, so they won't be so happy/accepting the next time!

Will there be a second way to improve our magic later on? For weapons/strength, we have the option to buy better gear; is there something similar planned for our magic attribute? (e.g. shop enough times at Chandry’s and you’ll unlock his secret inventory, or discover a hidden black market that sells tomes and the likes...) 

Currently there is no planned second way to improve magic!

Is it mandatory that we romance/become best friends with one of the ROs to clear the game? What if I make everyone hate my MC? 

Not at all! You can make everyone hate your MC, but it does lead to a really bad ending! Also, keeping everyone at neutral/positive but not best friends will still lead to clearing the game with an ending, best friends and romance is bonus and not mandatory!

How many endings have you planned for SoH?

So far there are 11 "end-state" endings currently planned for ShoH: these determine the state of the world and MC's fate at the end of the game. Is MC dead? Is MC alive but captured? Is MC alive but a hero? What does the Order look like? What does society look like? Etc. In addition, I counted 53 additional endings on top of the end-states (who MC romances, who they're best friends with, how their relationship goes, where each character winds up, happy endings versus unhappy endings, etc.)... but I'm sure there will be more as I write on!

Not one, but two Faceless Lords called MC "Brightburner". This, along with their strange dreams, Words of Power, and mysterious past, has made my Old Gods-worshipping Elf!MC very very suspicious. (Is MC connected to Althea?)

👀 Yes and no! MC is connected to Althea, but also not connected to Althea specifically!

Excluding their Words of Power, is it possible for MC to become the strongest Mage on the continent?

Yes!

Is seducing (and ditching lol) that Vice-Guard in the prologue gonna come back and bite MC in the ass?

Yes, actually, lol, there is a flag for that moment and it does actually impact the story; that particular guard comes back in Chapter 7, and he's definitely going to remember MC if they kissed him!

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NSFW

Happy almost Halloween, Lena! Also - I'd like to ask, NSFW, how would each RO react to MC (romance stage) walking in their room, locking the door and start slowly stripteasing for them? If possible to add Halek and Croelle, feed us some scrapssss 

can't stand the waiting and leaps on MC the first chance they get - I mean they appreciate the sexy display but they're ready to go like ASAP:

Blade

Trouble

Ayla

sits back and enjoys the show, teasing MC a bit as they strip:

Tallys

Chase

Halek

Red

sits in awed shock:

Lavinet

Riel

screams in half-excitement, half-embarrassment and hides their hands/gets a nosebleed:

Shery

Briony

already pinned MC up against the wall before they could start stripping:

Croelle

How do the ROs initiate sex? Like do they straight up ask? Are they coy about it? What’s a surefire way to tell if they’re horny?

Blade: he never straight up says anything, but the way he kisses MC changes and he becomes more physically clingy/affectionate/it's clear where his attentions are heading...

Trouble: he tries to be slick and suss out how MC is feeling but he's soooo obvious about it... like... "so..... how are you feeling?....."

Tallys: she just starts putting the moves on MC, kissing them hard, climbing all over them, already pulling at their clothes...

Shery: she starts blushing and avoiding MC's gaze and being really coy and shy... that's how they can tell she's horny but doesn't want to outright say it!

Chase: he just gives MC a look and a smirk. 👀 they know what he means!

Riel: his eyes start lingering on MC in places they don't typically linger. Otherwise he's extremely subtle about it!

Red: he starts subtly putting the moves on MC, like tracing the inside of their wrist, putting his hand on their thigh and caressing a bit, just generally trying to act sly and patient about it...

Ayla: looks them straight in the eye: "I'm horny, want to go?"

Briony: she starts looking hot and bothered, squirming a bit, biting her lip, fighting a hot blush as she looks coyly at MC...

Lavinet: grabs MC by the hand and starts dragging them to the bedroom no matter where they are

Which of the ROs spit and who swallows?

Of the ROs to whom this question applies...

Spits: Lavinet, Riel, Trouble, Ayla

Swallows: Tallys, Chase, Red, Briony

How would the ROs react to an MC who loves receiving hickeys and doesn't try to hide them?

Would be sort of embarrassed but sort of proud:

Blade

Briony

Shery

Lavinet

Would deliberately leave hickeys to 'mark' MC as their own:

Trouble

Chase

Tallys

Ayla

Would be super embarrassed and would wish MC would hide the hickeys a bit more:

Riel

Red

How would the ROs react if they overhear MC moan their name from another room? Romanced ROs please!

RUNNING in there, already pulling off their clothes:

Blade

Trouble

Tallys

Chase

Presses their ear to the wall, wondering what on earth MC is doing:

Shery

Lavinet

Briony

Walks away with a smirk, enjoying the fact that MC is thinking of them while enjoying some alone time:

Red

Ayla

Riel

How would ROs react to Mc wearing a sexy outfit or lingerie for them one night. While in a relationship?

My answers are the same as the stripteasing question above!

How would the ROs react to an MC who was very loud in the bedroom?

Blade: he would love it but he'd definitely be more cautious about approaching MC during like camp outs or when people are nearby!

Trouble: he would love it and feel very smug about his sexual prowess every time he made MC scream

Tallys: she would like it but at other times want MC to tone it down just a bit - she likes to sneak off and have secret trysts all the time!

Shery: she would find it hot but also a bit embarrassing/she'd be self-conscious of people hearing them a lot!

Chase: he'd love it and would definitely fantasize about the sounds MC would make in his off-time...

Riel: he'd enjoy it most of the time but there would be other times where it would make him feel a bit concerned about the servants hearing!

Red: he'd be a bit taken aback/wonder if MC was being sincere about the sounds, but overall would learn to enjoy it

Ayla: she'd be indifferent, it doesn't matter to her whether MC is loud or quiet!

Briony: she'd find it really hot and would love pulling all sorts of sounds from MC and seeing what made them do what!

Lavinet: she wouldn't hear them over how loud she was being lol