New Tendency Poll & Upcoming Changes

All right, so I said we'd be doing a makeup poll for the tendencies that didn't make the cut, but I want to do one more new tendency poll first. While I was in the weeds with Night VI today, it occurred to me that instead of doing the fabled Week One update after Night VII, I'm just going to do it after Night VI.

Night VI is going to be much bigger than Night VII, since the latter is more of a holy-crap-so-much-happened-yesterday-let's-just-take-a-breath-and-chill night. So what I'm going to do is edit the previous nights and release the full first week altogether.

I know a lot of readers are worried it'll take a long time or that I'm going to make crazy changes to the story or characters. Not at all. I will be streamlining some things, such as the prologue. Rather than having the Zealot and Heretic have different backstories, they will have a clear point of divergence which revolves around that smutty book Miscilla gave her. How your MC handles that book will determine whether she ends up a Heretic or a Zealot. This means that your Heretic will be able to grow up a true believer like the Zealot, only to have her faith cruelly betrayed by the inquisitors. Likewise, your Zealot will be able to be a sweet, sensitive soul who adheres strictly to doctrine, not because she truly believes, but she's terrified to step out of line. Or you can play the trad routes of each if you want to keep a consistent character.

Next, we'll talk about the Serax of it all. Right now my discussions about him are scattered across multiple message boards/posts. I'm going to gather it all up and Darksingers/Duskweavers will be able to offer input and vote on whether we want the Serax MF route, as well as changes to his dynamic within the story.

Another change I've mentioned is the lusty darksinger. One aspect I downplayed in the original demo was the MC's carnal desire as she wakes in her new body. In general, she's been kind of blasé about her heightened senses and such, I'll be fixing that. I'll also be adding the option for the Unbound Mode Zealot to lose control on Night IV.

Speaking of modes, Sealed Mode will be dropped across the board. Almost no one plays it and it's too much extra work for readers who ultimately won't be the target audience of an erotic romance story. I'm opened to being convinced to keep it, but I think it's important to prioritize delivering content more quickly to the majority of readers.

One thing I'm considering with tendencies is opposed stats. So instead of Pious and Irreverent being separate stats, they'll be one wherein you have a certain percentage of each. It's a bit of extra coding, but it could really streamline the tendencies, so I'd love to get you guys' feedback on that. Once all of our new tendencies are picked, this Patreon feature will change. Rather bloating the game with a bunch of new tendencies every other month, we'll be voting on which tendencies you'd like to see more of in the upcoming episode.

For now, let's pick some new tendencies to round out our roster. We'll still be polling all the tendencies that lost, and I'll also be letting Tumblr users vote on a few of the unchosen tendencies. As always, feel free to suggest a tendency you'd like to see or make a case for your favorite tendency.

New tendencies:

Tender // A tender MC is quick to soothe and slow to judge. She wears her heart not on her sleeve, but in the small things—soft touches, listening ears, unspoken comfort. She finds beauty in broken things and still believes that love, when real, doesn’t need to be earned.

Morbid // A morbid MC is drawn to what most people flinch from. Death doesn’t frighten her—it fascinates her. She sees beauty in decay, poetry in pain, and sometimes wonders if love, like life, means less if it doesn’t hurt a little.

Cynical // A cynical MC has seen enough to know better. She isn't heartless, just realistic. Compliments bounce off. Promises are met with raised brows. If someone wants her trust, they’d better be willing to bleed for it.

Devoted // A devoted MC doesn’t give her heart often—but when she does, it’s absolute. Her loyalty runs deep, quiet, and terrifying in its intensity. She will follow the one she loves into ruin without flinching, not because she’s blind, but because she sees them, wholly, and still stays.

Final note:

You'll notice I didn't include the Serax/Valdricht +/-. Just pick what you think will be the most enjoyable without worrying about who will like what.