Strong wind ripples the long grasses of the plain as stormclouds gather, darkening the afternoon sky. A lush tree sits atop a lonely hill. The rapidly turning weather slaps leaves and small limbs from its verdant bulk.
A young man crests the hill, sword in hand, and shields his face against the wind as he surveys the plain. A moment later, his sister comes into view. She carries a bundle in her arms, and her own weapon at her side.
SISTER: This was a mistake. The weather turns.
BROTHER: It'll be fine.
Ardor & Obligation OST Track 1
Brother looks at the bundle, and sister follows his gaze, adjusting her grip to get a better look.
What is it?
A. Long and narrow, a powerful artifact. Calamitous in the wrong hands, merely dangerous in the right ones.
B. About the shape and weight of a small child. It's... it's a small child. Neither of the siblings are the parent.
C. Bulky and squarish, a pannier full of strange reagents and several glass ampoules containing a cloudy mixture.
D. Heavy and round, a chunk of faintly glowing ore. Its value would be immeasurable to the right person.
SISTER: I hope you're right.
She turns and scans the direction they just came from.
BROTHER: We'll make the border before nightfall. Do you want me to take...
SISTER: Felathas.
She cuts him off, spitting the profanity through gritted teeth. His eyes flick towards the horizon.
The siblings are pursued. By whom, or what?
1. A savage beast. Either territorial or hungry, it probably matters little.
2. Hostile soldiers. Their colors are familiar, but not friendly.
3. The siblings' dauntless rival. A peer in age, but not temperament.
4. Undulating ripples of light. It seems drawn to the bundle.
———
Over the next few posts, we'll flesh out our POV characters. For now, provide
NAMES and describe their
OUTFITS, using as much or as little detail as you want. I may pick and choose elements from multiple posts! Remember, JRPGs are the order of the day.
Status
Brother
-Confident
-Has Sword
Sister
-Cautious
-Has ?Weapon
-Encumbered by ?
Inventory
-Heirloom Crest (Brother)
———
FAQ (Updated 8/9/21)
What is this?
This is a story I'm calling Ardor & Obligation, a JRPG-inspired Choose Your Own Adventure game about a brother and sister. If you're not familiar with the concept, you can take a peek at
A Peaceful Time, which turned me on to this format of collaborative storytelling, and
A Practical Guide to the Destruction of Angels, from which I cribbed a few more conventions. Simply put, I try to make a post every day that sets a scene and ends with one or more polls or prompts. You as players then vote or discuss the options presented and choose where you'd like the story to go next. The rules, such as they are, are flexible - I might prompt for player-provided options, give special roles or gifts to specific players as rewards for particularly interesting posts, or provide an opportunity for players to flesh out the world and lore.
Special thanks to
@endless_serpents and
@mojo_jojo!
What isn't this?
What this is not, is a traditional RPG campaign where each participant has an in-game character and outcomes are decided by individual dice rolls. The voting options direct the story, but are not guaranteed to succeed and may have unforeseen consequences. I'm also not bringing a lot of pre-existing lore into this. We've all played a bunch of these games and we know the tropes, let's see which ones we lean into and which we subvert together!
Who can participate?
Anyone! I assume everyone in Critical Failures will see this, but I'm also going to post a link to the SE++ JRPG thread. Feel free to invite anyone you think would enjoy it!
How do I participate?
Just declaring your vote is enough to make it count! In general I kinda like the bold+red voting convention used in mojo_jojo's cyoas for indicating a vote, but I know the vanilla editor sucks on mobile, so don't feel like you have to. If you want to provide your reasoning or make an argument for a certain option, please do! I'll allow vote changing - please edit your previous post and use the strikethrough on your old vote. At some point voting will close and I'll start writing the next post based on the outcome. This is usually once a day.
Can I give my own options?
If I provide a blank spot as an option, absolutely! But sometimes I'll want to force a dilemma. You can always call for use of something in the inventory, either in conjunction with your vote, or as an alternative. If I haven't provided a blank option and you feel very strongly that there's another course of action I haven't considered, make your case! I may add it to the voting options.
How does the inventory work?
There are two inventories. One is a list of key items. These can be examined at any time for more information, but usually represent "plot" items. The regular inventory is for consumable items. Generally, as this is a group resource, if someone suggests using an item, I'll apply its effects before or during the next update, unless someone argues against doing so. Some items are either held by, or only affect, a specific character. Those items can't be used unless the character is present in the party. Some items are also awarded to specific forum participants, to be used at their sole discretion!
How does combat work?
Combat has evolved significantly over the course of the story, and will likely continue to do so. As of right now, when the party enters a combat encounter, you can provide commands for a round of combat - choosing three distinct commands from a pool of 4, and which characters you want to execute those commands. The command options are ATTACK (attempt to deal direct damage to your target), DEFEND (attempt to resist damage and restore HP), TECH (a special attack that cancels defense but is cancelled by regular attacks), and MOVE (attempt to gain an advantage in the form of party buffs/enemy debuffs). There's a combat engine that randomizes (seeded by the thread's inputs) the outcome, which is how I determine the events and outcome of the battle. Example:
Tia>Attack, Hilda>Tech, Atma>Defend. The characters who act in combat gain XP, and if the party achieves victory during your round, you specifically will earn loot!
Are there minigames?
Fuck yeah, there are. A few posts into the story someone suggests a postal sim element, so I worked that in. I've also worked in a card game, though time will tell whether it catches on.
Can I jump in even if I haven't been following along?
Absolutely! Here's a plot recap covering events up to
here:
Mercenary brother and sister Alexei and Tia, under the aliases Whisper and Sleet, have been working as part of an investment scheme by a mercenary company owner named Durandal. But a job goes awry when they realize two things - they've slain the mother of an infant, and a ghostly entity is pursuing them. They manage to escape the entity, it seems, and they turn the infant over into Durandal's care. Durandal asks them to take another job, along with a veteran named Hilda and a rookie named Stafford. The four of them escort a caravan to its destination, but along the way they uncover evidence of two separate plots. Durandal has betrayed them, and someone is attempting to start a way by assassinating the imperial prince.
Resolving to put their misdeeds behind them, Alexei and Tia convince Hilda and Stafford to aid them in warning the people along the border of the imminent danger. However, Durandal's one-time client Count Aldove seeks revenge for the death of his sister-in-law and presumed death of his nephew. He has hired a quartet of mercenaries to pursue Alexei and Tia.
Along the way to the border, the party happens across a strange young girl in an ancient ruin, trapped by a mechanical guardian. They free her and she joins the party, although she cannot speak the native tongue to explain her situation beyond her name, Atma.
Aldove's mercenaries catch up with the party in the foothills of the mountains near the border, and the party suffers a grave defeat. Alexei is captured, but the ghostly entity following the party, a weakened god named Hollos, intercedes. Unknown to the rest of the party, Stafford refuses the gods' gift, insisting that it use its power to help Atma, who he witnessed take a near fatal blow. Stafford is left comatose in the care of a hunters' village, and Tia now pursues her brother's captors. To that end she has hired a tracker named Gandry, and his faithful hound Royal. What dangers await them on the road...?
Posts
We stole our rival's kid
4. Undulating ripples of light. It seems drawn to the bundle.
We carry an ancient artifact of an eldritch power, and the power wants it back.
And my point of view on the names and descriptions
The Brother is known as Whisper and he's dressed in a dusty, old poncho with a confusing number of straps webbed across it holding a very large number of pouches and pockets. His good eye is a faded green and the other is hidden under a strap which holds his bandana in position. His face is heavily bruised, but it's nothing too serious.
The Sister is known as Sleet, both of her hands and forearms look blackened and burnt but closely inspection reveals they're actually clad in slick, black armoured gauntlets with no obvious closures or fastenings. The rest of her clothing is high quality but unremarkable and suggests a life as a senior servant to the highest tiers of society.
Both are keeping their real names quiet, even from each other, for now. DUN DUN DUN
The brother is wearing a flashy, top of the line leather jacket with an angelic insignia on the back made out of sequins. Beneath this he’s got a striped t-shirt, what looks like a weight lifting belt and cargo pants. His boots are steel capped and almost worn out. Let’s call him Mat.
The sister is wearing a wide brimmed hat and a long red cloak. Under that she’s got a silver pinstripe suit on with matching silver shoes. Her black silk tie is currently being used to bandage a thin cut on her arm. On each ear is an earring depicting some tiny black goddess. Let’s call her Tia
B 2
Let's make this silly.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
I figure we can have one belt king and one fancy butler who definitely hasn't chopped off their own hands and had demon hands grafted onto their stumps
We stole their child, to save and doom the world.
Throw some boots under those belts, that go all the way up.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
And let's go classic: Fighter & Mage.
Brother(Alexei) is lightly clothed, more like a ranger than a knight, tunic and slacks, especially since they're on the move.
Sister(Sandra) has a beige cloak worn over a long dress, in case she needs to blend in.
She dresses modestly to hide several burns on her forearms, the results of elemental teachings gone badly.
The border, and presumably safety, are beyond reach.
A. Take shelter and weather the storm. Build a fire to keep any nocturnal predators away.
B. Take shelter, but build no fire, to avoid unwanted attention.
C. Push on in the darkness and rain, despite the risks.
X. _____
If sheltering, who takes first watch? If pushing on, who walks in front?*
1. Alexei
2. Tia
* The child will be cared for by whoever is on watch, or carried by whomever is not leading the way.
Status
-Confident
-Has Sword
-Carrying an infant
Tia (Sleet)
-Cautious
-Has ?Weapon
Inventory
-Heirloom Crest (Alexei)
A. Alexei will take first watch, Tia's been carrying the child for most of the day.
Character flaws:
Slow to anger, but overtaken by an unnatural and nigh uncontrollable blood lust once in a fight.
Flaw: Gambling vampire: Can't turn down the thrill of a long shot or the business opportunity of a sure thing. Also needs to drink human blood.
The child will need a fire.
If our choices are caterwauling and light we can block and hope to disguise, we should take the latter.
Assuming the light following is cares any.
Character flaw: Prone to monologing
I doubt our pursuer is hunting by sight alone, so a little heat for the babe won’t hurt.
Character flaw: Barely contained laser eye powers.
"Okay so what's your main weakness?"
"Sometimes I overstep the mark and risk more than I can afford.
..
Oh, and before I forget, I sometimes turn to dust in sunlight"
Yeah, I wrote the original and then by the time I arrived at work I realised it was trivial to make much more interesting
Tomorrow the siblings will arrive in Runo, a moderately sized city they call home. Which 2 tasks will they attend to first, and in what order?
A. See Durandal, the taskmaster. Collect our pay and see what else needs doing. Hopefully the next job will be easier on the conscience.
B. Figure out what to do with the child. The orphanage is one option, but while the child is motherless, his father is likely a noble. Could be a ransom?
C. Visit Ophelia (Tia only). A salve-maker and attentive companion, her company is perhaps one of the few things keeping Tia sane.
D. Go to the tavern. Guaranteed to have the latest gossip. Of particular interest, there are rumors the emperor is in poor health.
Status
-Confident
-Has Sword
-Carrying an infant
Tia (Sleet)
-Cautious
-Has ?Weapon
-Discontented
Inventory
-Heirloom Crest (Alexei)
Then:
B Nobody wants a baby and a hangover
Also, character flaws:
Tia is a chronic bookworm, and any sources of lore or knowledge easily pulls her off the beaten path, sometimes for hours.
Status
-Confident
-Has Sword
-Carrying an infant
Tia (Sleet)
-Cautious
-Has ?Weapon
-Discontented
Party Inventory
-1x Heirloom Crest (Alexei)
Forum Inventory
-1x Lens of Truth (cj iwakura, consumable, reveals a hidden consequence of any vote option)
Yes, hit up the tavern to see if any wealthy local Merchant Nobility recently lost the lady of the house in a tragic roadside incident with a merchant cart and an unseasonable amount of flame magic. And how much of a reward there may be for returning the heir to the grieving parent.
And then we see if we can cash in. Not as a ransom (I don't think we want to go full mustache twirling villain this early), but certainly some reward for braving the wilds while carrying the lone survivor of a terrible tragedy back to town would be appropriate.
Then we can split up, Tia can look up her dealer, Alexei can report in on the mission progress.
who wants to break a hard-to-arbitrate tie?
ok
edit wait, this is not a peaceful time!
Gotta get the money so you have something to booze and gamble away, also I guess medical marijuana or whatever is cool too.
You're guarding a caravan that's traveling through a rough area. Which veteran will you ask to go with?
A. Hathaway: Boorish and insufferable, but an excellent soldier who will always follow orders. Wields a battle-axe.
B. Hilda: A charming and affable archer. A peerless shot, but useless in close quarters. Knows her limits in combat, less so when drinking.
C. Forsyth: Taciturn scout. Capable of acquiring information and securing objectives. Personality like a stone.
D. Portentia: A noble swordswoman, but with a bit of a hero complex. An excellent ally so long as her orders align with her own moral compass.
You'll also be responsible for training a rookie. Which one?
1. Stafford: A healer with a steady hand and cool demeanor, but has never had to raise arms in battle himself.
2. Licia: A morose, friendless girl, but unmatched with a spear. Shunned by others for her unseemly obsession with death.
3. Farid: A timid boy with strong, if unreliable, magical abilities. Eager to please, but lacks confidence.
4. Kaya: A young fencer who trains for hours a day, every day. Skilled with multiple weapons, but takes criticism poorly.
Ardor & Obligation Track 5
Status
- Confident
- Has Sword
- Carrying Infant
- Shady Dealings
Tia (Sleet)
- Cautious
- Has ?Weapon
- Afflicted
- Discontented
Party Inventory
- 1x Heirloom Crest (Alexei)
- 1x Silverpetal Oil (Tia)
Forum Inventory
- 1x Lens of Truth (cj iwakura, consumable, reveals a hidden consequence of any vote option)
Hopefully we won't run into any trouble, but if we do, we probably want a rookie that doesn't mind a bit of that.
Especially if we have to do away with protection racket competition.
Of the others, given the choice between the scout and the archer, I'd take the one that's able to deal best with an ambush.
Probably won't complain about Licia's proclivities either.
B1
1. Stafford.
I don't know much about Fire Emblem, but I do know that an archer is good for hitting people before they get close enough to stab our people. May also be helpful for hunting.
And, of course, healing magic for when our archer fails and someone winds up getting stabbed.