to-where-all-paths-lie

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🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈PRIDE THEMED OC ASK GAME🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Bc I wanted one and didn't find it so. Here

[Send ask aimed at a specific character]

1. What's your oc's gender identity? What's their relationship to their gender?

2. What's your oc's orientation? (Romantic/sexual/platonic alterous ect) Do they have opinions about it?

3. How did your oc discover themself? Did something cause them to question, or did they always know?

4. Is your oc's environment supportive about their identity? How does this impact them?

5. How did you figure out your oc's identity?

6. How does your oc feel about labels? Theirs, or in general?

7. Is there something that could cause your oc to question their identity? What?

8. Have they had struggles with their identity, be it due to internal or external reasons?

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

10. Does your oc celebrate Pride? How?

11. Is your oc open about their identity? Are they more lowkey or more blunt about it? Why or why not?

12. Does/did your oc ever wish they could change the way they are? Why? If it's in the past, how did they get over the feeling? (this can be about internalized homo/transphobia)

13. Would your oc be open to a poly relationship? Why or why not?

[Not aimed at a specific character] / [Aimed at creator]

14. Do you have ocs on the aro or ace spectrum?

15. Do any of your ocs use neopronouns? Which ones?

16. Did you ever change an oc's identity when they were already established? Why?

17. Do you share identity with any of your ocs? Which ones?

18. Do you prefer to give your ocs specific labels, or keep it unspecified? Why? If applicable, do you change their labels depending on circumstance?

19. Do you have preferences about depicting homo/transphobia in your stories? What, and why? Does it vary by story?

20. Have your ocs helped you in self discovery? How?

21. Free ramble card wee

[to-where-all-paths-lie]

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned earlier, I'll be sharing more information about the new EXP/NP mechanic! Hopefully this should tide you all over while you wait for the next update. 😊

What's the new mechanic about?

Before I begin, let me preface this by saying that I plan to keep DDWCaPH! character-focused and NOT a stats-focused game. In fact, I've designed the new mechanics to be as simple and as unobtrusive to the story as possible, with the side effect of making some of the current traits/souvenirs with overloaded effects simpler.

The old EXP System

Alright, so the EXP system has always been kind of an afterthought (since leveling up from 12 to 13 takes very long). It feels like gaining EXP has no point at all, especially when you get more bonuses from acquiring traits and discovering trinkets.

With the introduction of NP, I tried to solve this by increasing your Max NP whenever you earn a certain amount of EXP. I still wasn't satisfied, but now that there's an NP mechanic, I was finally able to think of a solution to that, along with another problem I had: How do I introduce the special interactions from Ancestry/Heritage Traits without being too jarring? It would be weird if Dragon MC can suddenly just fly, and it would also be weird if they always knew they could.

I didn't go with a traditional leveling up system at first, since I wanted to keep the age = level thing, until I realized that it doesn't have to be MC leveling up, it could be the locket instead!

Introducing: Locket Upgrades!

Starting the next update, earning EXP will now level up your locket! Leveling up increases your Max NP, and gives you 1 Locket Upgrade point to spend.

Since I don't want it to be distracting, you can only spend the upgrade points at the end of every chapter. I'm also including a chapter summary in the next update (instead of just the end-of-playthrough summary), so that felt like a natural, non-disruptive place to put the Locket Upgrade menu. I might change it so that you can upgrade whenever in the VN version, but that's how it'll be for now.

What kind of upgrades can I get?

The Locket Upgrades are divided into 4 categories:

Stat Upgrades

Narrativium Upgrades

Relationship Upgrades

Special Upgrades

Here's a preview of what the upgrade menu looks like:

Most upgrades can be upgraded up to ten times. So if something says +2%, the maximum would be +20%. However, to encourage spreading out your points and not just dump all of them into Knowledge, the upgrades will have level restrictions.

The 2nd upgrade is unlocked at Level 5, the 3rd upgrade at Level 10, while the 10th upgrade is unlocked at Level 100. This will most likely change, but you'll be able to reach Level 20 at around 90,000 EXP, while Level 100 can be reached around 1,300,000 EXP (the original EXP required to level up from 12 to 13).

The first four stat upgrades (the Rubescent ones) will have a different name according to your locket's gem, and your locket shape will determine whether you get Heartful Innocence or Starful Sophistication (I'm only showing both for demo purposes).

I didn't want it to be overwhelming, so some of the upgrades are locked until you finish certain chapters, when they become relevant.

I tried to add a variety of upgrades for each playstyle, so even if you don't spend any NP, you can still benefit from the upgrades.

Special Upgrades

The Special Upgrades category is way too long to show here, so here's a list of all the upgrades instead. All of the genre-exclusive upgrades are only unlocked once you finish Volume 1 (you get upgrades for both your favorite genres), but most of them are one-time upgrades (that cost 5 upgrade points to unlock).

Here's where you unlock the special interactions. I've always planned Fairytale MC to be able to talk to animals, but now I can avoid the "jarring" problem: now you need to unlock "Aesop's Wisdom" to be able to do so. This also has the bonus of making the progression feel more "earned", rather than MC being able to automatically talk to animals just because you picked Fairytales as your fave genre.

Some of the special upgrades are just stat bonuses, but that allows me more freedom to spread out the effects of the more complicated traits/trinkets. Most souvenirs now have less/weaker effects at the beginning (which helps avoid the problem of overwhelming the reader during the prologue), but you will be able to upgrade them later to be much more powerful. This delayed upgrade means I can add more fun effects to the souvenirs without worrying about "this is way too powerful for the first chapter".

The upgraded Ancestry traits (the "+" versions) that you get when you choose fantasy are now called Legacy Traits, and is now locked behind the "Daddy's Legacy" upgrade. Meanwhile, all sources of Enhanced Senses are now temporary. Enhanced Senses was way too polarizing (you also had no idea which traits grant it), so now everyone has the option to unlock it permanently after Volume 1.

Closing Thoughts

I've always loved coming up with game mechanics ever since I was very little, which is how the idea of MC pretending to be in an RPG came to be. I'm not spoiling what the other upgrades do for now, but I guess you can always peek at the code later. I did have a lot of fun brainstorming the upgrade effects and the upgrade names. You can tell I got some of them from TV Tropes.😄

That said, I hope this makes you more excited for the next update! Most of this has been coded already (minus the parts you can't unlock yet), so you don't need to worry about that. I really think tying the story and game mechanics this way will make the overall game experience much better.

Let me know what you guys think! I'd also love to know what kind of upgrades you'd want to focus on (or if you have any speculations about what effects the other upgrades do)!

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Announcing: The Step 1 voice actors for the roles of Qiu, Tamarack, Ren, and Baxter! 👏

We want to sincerely thank all who auditioned. It was such a blast to hear so many renditions of these Golden Grove icons!

With that being said, we are honored to celebrate the following cast actors:

TAMARACK BAUMANN: Ariel Graham

Website: arielgrahamvo.com

Twitter: https://x.com/Super_Geek_Girl

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/supergeekgirl.bsky.social

QIU LIN: Emily Sun

Website: https://emilysunvo.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilysunnyville

Instagram: https://instagram.com/emilysunnyville

Twitch: https://twitch.tv/emilysunnyville

REN MURRAY: Willow Engel

Twitter: @WillPowerEngel

BlueSky: @willpowerengel.bsky.social

Website: WillEngelVO.com

BAXTER WARD: Cody Stevens

Website: https://yasgedtesting.my.canva.site/codystevensvoartist

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Clothing references

All References Male Clothing Female Clothing

Genres High Fashion Steam Punk Goth Street Fantasy

Modern Vintage Historical

Shirts Blouses Vests Jackets Coats Cloaks Hoods Corsets

Pants Leggings Skirts

Accesories Bags Jewelry Necklaces Rings Fans Parasols Tiaras

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Ashenmaw ROs: Tea (Teialumi)

Flight: Green

Gender: Female (she/her)

Age: Drake, a little younger than Vaelias

Mortal Guise: Forest-Elf

Studious, curious, inquisitive, absent-minded, full of secrets

(That's 'Tea' like the drink)

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Ashenmaw RO: Vaelias

Flight: Red

Gender: Male (he/him)

Age: Drake, around the same age as Phyron

Mortal Guise: High-Elf

Disciplined, skittish, constantly overworked, slightly aloof but with a kind heart. Kassias' protege.

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Ashenmaw RO: Rhidi (Rhidiyope)

Flight: Gray

Gender: Nonbinary/Genderfluid (they/them; he/him)

Age: A little younger than Vaelias and Phyron

Mortal Guise: Desert-Elf

Shy, soft-spoken, genius apothecary and poison expert.

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Ashenmaw RO: Nyra (Nyrabra)

Flight: Blue

Gender: Female (she/her)

Age: A little older than MC

Mortal Guise: High-Elf

A little bubbly and chaotic whirlwind with enough energy for the entire flight. Bit cloud-cuckoolandish, caring, very keen on explosions.

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Previews for Nyra and Rhidi's portrait.

Full portraits are/will be up on patreon (till mid-june, then they'll go public)

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Ashenmaw RO: Phyron

Flight: Black

Mortal Guise: Half-Elf

Bold, brash and boisterous, hopeless flirt, good strategist, has an eye on MC and not necessarily in the good way. Outrageously loyal once his (begrudging) trust is earned.

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Happy birthday Cove 🌸

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"Southern Arizona Landscape - Cochise County" by Josef Muench, Arizona Highways, January 1956

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I was wondering 🤔 just thought of these. Which dragons do not get along with each other. Bc we know red and black don't mix but what about the others?

Also, which ones get along together better?

Red and Green tend to butt heads over 'civilization' vs 'nature', and 'modernity' vs 'tradition', in some sense. For better or worse on either side.

Gray dragons have a tendency to be scoundrels and con artists, (though usually justified) so most other flights tend to be a little suspicious of them.

At the same time the black, blue and gray flight tend to go on like a house on fire, for their chaotic, mischievous tendencies. Also the blue flight loves going on adventures with gray dragons.

Blue and black share a strong connection through Ferhon and Salbri, already before things went south.

Green and blue also go along well due to their age and connection to the unseen.

though, of course, all of this is just an overall thing, and individuals can differ.

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Wait, you mentioned elementals. How many kinds are there and will we meet any in the future?

Likely. Usually you have your standard elements:

Air, water, fire, earth/rock, ice, lightning. Various magical energies. there's rumors of darkness and aether elementals, too.

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i want to make hypothetical look for my whelp's (older) humanoid guises.

Could you tell me what humanoid race does each flight prefer? And also what are the differences of one race to another? Thanks! (and i will post the finish look as soon as i can)

Of course:

Starting from Red/Gold, they usually go for human or, more commonly High Elven guises. They've taken a liking to the 'culture' and 'civilization standards' of especially the latter, deeming them a step above the older mortal races. (They can get a liiiittle bit elitist)

High Elves are commonly your 'classic' fantasy elf: tall, thin and a little uncanny valley.

Green/Brass usually dons wood elven guises, seeing wood elves are protectors of nature like them. Also the whole druid aspect comes into play too. Green dragons are also keen on less humanoid guises, such as elementals, but for humamoid ones they usually go for wood elves or humans.

Wood Elves are usually taller and stronger build, with prehensile tails with colorful tufts at the end and a broad variety of haircolors.

Black/Copper dragons commonly go for basic human disguises, some for high and more commonly half-elven ones. They are usually more muscled, but not always. Half storm-elven guises are also not unheard off, but since the vanishing of the stormelves they've become rare.

Blue/Silver dragons seem to prefer half-elven (commonly half-high elf) and human guises, but some can be seen donning the looks of especially ice, water or air elementals.

Gray/Bronze dragon take up desert elven guises most commonly, alongside human ones.

Desert Elves are commonly a bit lankier and more nimble, with tuft-crowned ears, slightly longer toes and a third, transparent eyelid.

Hope this is what you wanted to know.

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regarding the new np choice for chapter 4, does that mean mc can intimidate adults if their cold stat is high enough? Just curious since an achievement is mentioned and it would be funny seeing the mc that I had with like 95% coldness just start to intimidate adults from how cold they are.

Yup! If you succeed the intimidation check, Tita Steph will actually sorta apologize to JM and MC. In all of the other NP choices, she just does a half-hearted "my bad". You get extra relationship points with JM too, as opposed to losing points when you fail the check.

There aren't many opportunities to use the Intimidation stat at the moment, but I'd imagine you can maybe even intimidate some villains or animals/monsters later. And if that fails, you can just use NP to succeed anyway. 😄

I still wanna keep achievements meaningful though, so you might not get certain achievements if you use NP to succeed failed stat checks.

Also I do wanna point out that currently, the intimidation stat is calculated by using your Vigor, multiplied by a percentage of your Cold & Composed Stats, plus any other bonuses (of course that might change later).

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Can we get some Gareth fluff facts? I love him so much. Best brother.

Incoming! General facts

He's fond of animals in general, but especially of dogs

As of chapter 5, he has a pet dog, Max. She's a big, fluffy sheepdog who loves following him. She's got him to go out more to play together, and she loves to curl up next to him when he reads. He's taught her tricks.

I think this is something everyone knows after reading the demo, but he reads a lot, be it fiction or non-fiction. He enjoys dabbling in all sorts of topics. He likes a good adventure book, an introspective character study, a gripping mystery, etc. When it comes to non-fiction, obviously a lot of history and politics related stuff. One of the subjects he loves reading about is the Le Fay's history. He soaks up information like a sponge.

He's respectul of the Lady of the Lake and appreciates all the good her healers do, but he's not particularly devout himself. He does pray out of respect when he visits the Temple.

He enjoys a warm cup of tea and some pastries while reading, though if he's too engrossed by his lecture he'll completely forget about them.

He has friends at Court but he's not particularly close to anyone; it just feels a bit strange, given how people regard his Le Fay family members with caution, fear or outright animosity.

Diligent and passionate about his studies. Will ask for/seek out more study material on his own. His tutors love him.

Loves having discussions and debates on books. Analyzing themes and characters etc and also just generally gushing over books he loved, or taking apart the ones he didn't like.