#the one I'm playing right now is a cowboy elf

[zhongster]

guys I'm trying so hard to work on my commissions right now but I'm listening to my sea shanty playlist and I KEEP GETTING DISTRACTED BY IDEAS FOR A NEW DND PC

[larkingame]

so, i don't usually crosspost these posts, but this week's update on patreon is available to everyone and I know I have a bit of a larger following on tumblr, and I'd really like everyone on the same page so I'm dropping all I have to say here too.

good evening friends!! i hope you're all doing well! welcome to the first update of 2024. momentous for me personally, because this is the year we finish larkin. i am making this post available to all patrons, (paid or not) because I'd really like to start 2024 on the right foot with everyone aware of the road ahead. i am so determined to get it done you have no idea. this is my year. 2024, i christen thee: the year of the vampire cowboy.

okay, so big things ahead, lets talk about the update, explore some of the features we have in the game, plans for this weekends release, the schedule and a couple other things.

so, if you've played at all with the new version of the game, you'll take notice that it's a little bit different than my first image of the game. at first larkin was just a straight interactive fiction following the likes of cog like games, with choices and avenues and split stats and the like. but now, as of 2024 (crazy) we're seeing a game that is more reminiscent of a ttrpg, like dnd or cyberpunk, with stats, classes and dice rolls. admittedly, the very first encounter of the game is well (it's a little rigged) the game, of course, could not really get started if the preacher gets cooked before they've even made it to nevada, so, the odds are a little bit stacked in the players favor this round, but at least, it gives you a little bit of a taste of whats to come. to dive into the specifics of what's important with this first encounter (or just, how to avoid getting your ass really kicked) these first few rolls give bonuses to players with high dexterity and athleticism—-but that's not to say you need to make your character beefed up in these departments. each stat will get their time to shine later down the line.

but let's talk about what i'm really excited to discuss: classes. so with the new version of larkin, i've introduced a system of classes that operate somewhat like your standard dungeons and dragons class, but with a little bit more of that classic background from the original ttrpg mixed in—coloring the way your character sees the world of the game, sort of how a race might effect a dnd character--(a dwarf player is going to have a much different worldview than say, an elf.) for this i was heavily inspired by games like dragon age origins and baldur's gate, and while I do have those original background ready to be dropped a little bit later on the game in relation to your character's perspectives on the abrams family, I really like how these have come to form.

in total there are seven new classes: con-man, outlaw, healer, thief, gambler, showman and slayer. each of these classes warps the perspective of the player character, giving them new motivations, dialogue options, and affects their relationships with the other characters in the game and the world around them. to illustrate this, I'm thinking of making a little bit more of an in depth explanation screen to be added to saturday's update to really get that point across, but I'm still toying with how I want to phrase the specifics of it. what i might do is something similar to baldur's gate with little pop-up tutorials that can be turned off/on depending on how you'd like to play.

to give an example of some of the more in depth motivations/choices each class offers lets talk about the thief and the outlaw classes. the thief class i am especially excited for, because like the con-man class and similar to a few others, it really allows your character to be very money/materialistically motivated. it opens up routes later in the game, like romancing one of the sokolovs—with motivations reminiscent of gold-digging (hehehe very excited for that—i think it will be very fun to write—because you have this idea of a cold hearted player who is entering into a relationship with them strictly for business, versus a cold hearted player who is in it for the cash but also. might be falling in love with one of the sokolovs? ((a lot of fun dynamics afoot here.)) the outlaw class is also one i'm excited to work with because it really puts something of a strain on the preacher and wyatt's relationship—-mostly because you see a strong division in terms of their ethics—the preacher in that case is very 'do what you gotta do to survive,' whereas wyatt believes (key word—believes) he's living by some sort of moral code—that he's failed to instill in the person he views as his child. so like there are layers here boys. layers of resentment, failure—to connect, to teach, to bond. a final tidbit about the slayer class before I move on: if you would really like to play into the enemies to lovers trope with one of the vampires, I would highly recommend giving your player this class ((that's all I'll say))

so: saturday, that takes us to the bar, where each class will get a unique scene, similar to how the scheming tactic section worked in the original game. we're gonna finish up the encounter with the first vampires, meet our guild pursuers and move to the bar. I'm planning also to implement the character customization here—(sort of a way to prep before the player heads out to the bar.) most likely won't get to all classes by saturday's code, but after that, I'm planning to release again on next wednesday, so we're keeping on track. I'd really like to give a full picture of customization for the player character, with all the original options for physical appearance (i might keep clothes vague for now though and let you dress your character later on, until you get a taste of the inventory/bartering system-—you have to deal with MY poor fashion choices for a little bit.) but that being said, about character customization, if there's something that's lacking here and you'd like to suggest an addition I'd be all ears. This is what I'm planning to implement so far:

skin tone

body type*

hair color

hair texture

hair length

hair style**

height

skin details (acne, scars, vitiligo, rosacea)

facial hair

make-up

piercings

eyewear (glasses, no glasses, eyepatch, prosthetic eye)

gender-affirming customization (for ex. use of binding)

* a note on the body type section, I kind of had this idea of digitally drawing some silhouettes of different heights, shapes and sizes, and allowing the player to click through arrows to select a rough estimation of what their body-type might look like. I'm going to do an art dump later this month, and I have a few sketches of what I'd kinda like to do with that, but I'm still toying with it, because even that could be a little limiting in terms of options. if any of you had thoughts on that, I'd love to hear them.

**I think it might also be cool to kind of have drawings of different hairstyles available to the characters, arranged in the card formats like the previous gender options in that same red colored sketch format.

speaking of art though--and this is purely tangential so I apologize, I'm sure you've taken notice of some of the art being repetitive--for the moment that's purposeful. I'm planning to commission some work for the cards to be implemented in a later update--so what you're seeing are just placeholders for now.

okay! with saturday's notes out of the way, plans for the rest of the week. I need to finish the timeline and then I need to make it readable to people other than myself. it is currently incomprehensible and of the few people that have gotten their eyes on it only one (1) could make sense of my mad ramblings. (shout out to friend of the game bianca from exiled from court if any of you are familiar with her or her stuff, we are  big bianca fans here.) After that I need to do some edits with the new update and such, and poke at the code.

Tonight after I post this, I'm specifically working on sending a few more emails to betas (know that sending emails is. my personal hell because of intense social anxiety. BUT we must persevere. emails will be sent tonight.) after that, I have to work on the phillip/kc/sam schedule + calendar for this month, just to keep the three of us on the same page. I'm in the process of looking at some stamps.com printers for sending out packages with this next round of physical rewards and ordering the merch (hehehe)

okay. super long update for our first one of the year, but I am so excited to get to keep working with you guys :) i'd like to thank you all for your continued support and I can't wait to show you more of the little universe i've crafted :)

until friday! i'm gonna be posting some cyrus asks/scenarios for you all to enjoy, so look forward to that! <3

[feral-mouse]

Mouse! Mouse! OPEN THE DOOR!!! Trick Or Treat!! What are your ocs dressing up as for halloween?

Omg this is such a fun question. I’m just going to say right now, when trick or treating, make sure you go to Elowyn’s place because she is going to be giving out the biggest chocolate bars you have ever seen

Since this is long, I'm gonna put it under the cut

Ok, so for Dan, I honestly think he would absolutely love to cosplay as one of his favorite anime characters. Although he’s not good at it, he would definitely try to create his own costume and wear it proudly when October 31st comes… But if he’s running out of time, he’ll just go for the classic sheet ghost. Grab a bed sheet and cut two holes in it, and you’ve got yourself a spooky Halloween costume right there. Bees also suggested that Dan could dress up as a cowboy, a vampire, or a werewolf :)

Randy would probably go for your classic Halloween monsters, like a devil or a werewolf, but mainly he wants something that will make him look cool and sexy >:). It’s time to show off his belly even though he already does that every single day. And maybe, some titties? 👀. Now is definitely the time for him to take advantage of his sharp teeth, so dressing up as any creature with sharp teeth is an absolute win. Or he might just go as a murderer covered in blood. Wouldn’t be that hard to do it lol

Davis would honestly use Halloween as an excuse to also dress up as something sexy. You mean he can wear whatever he wants and just say that he’s wearing a costume? I can definitely see him going for some classic vampire designs, something formal and classy but also inherently hot 😳. However, unfortunately for him, I’m forcing him to wear this

Ronny is also going all out. He loves making DIY outfits and this is his chance to show off. Definitely wearing a lot of black and making an amalgam of extremely goth/grunge clothes. Maybe he’ll call himself a zombie or Frankenstein’s monster with a twist. But I can definitely see a lot of stripes, a lot of black, ripped stockings, a fuck ton of makeup. Maybe a bunch of bones and skeleton themes. He would probably try to create his own design and play off of classic Halloween icons like spiders and bats.

Elowyn would definitely dress up as something cute; the fluffier, the better. She loves wearing comfy poofy clothing, so maybe something like a bunny or a sheep would be perfect. But also, you could never go wrong with dressing up as a princess, a fairy, or an angel. Something with a lot of white and pink would go perfectly for her costume.

Cyrus unfortunately wouldn’t dress up for Halloween, since he doesn’t exactly live near people to celebrate it 😔. I think that if he did want to dress up though, he would love to dress up as something that would really show off his hair (he’s proud of his long hair). He'd honestly dress up as a hunter or an archer because it would be the easiest for him to do lol. But I like imagining he would also dress up as an elf or Li//nk

[silurisanguine]

As I'd spoke about your first choice already and you asked for something else @a-cosmic-elf -

Here's a snippet from Parley, which i'm sure you might guess is the Pirate verse chapter. Been working a bit more of the chapters, so even if it sounds familiar, it's a little more developed along. Also posting this for Sunday Snippet (thanks for the tag there @fangbangerghoul ) so it's a two for one deal!

Sarah’s harsh eyes narrowed on Seren, who tried not to move, though her eyes darted behind the General briefly to spot Walther in his usual seat and Barrett busily dusting one of the library shelves. No one else seemed to be around, though what made Seren inhale sharply was the lack of a single Artifact on the display table in the middle of the room. Had she come to the right place after all? ”I see. So Ms Jones, why are you here now? That contract was terminated.” Seren snapped her focus back to Sarah who stood with her arms crossed in front of her, waiting for an answer. Although there were no Artifacts here, her other self had been tasked to retrieve one from Vectera. So if she played along with that, maybe she could find where the rest of them were. She slowly gestured to the bag on her shoulder, which she lowered to the ground, opening it to show the artifact peaking out. ”I have the Artifact with me as agreed. The Fleet were there, but I told them I worked for you and they let me go. I want to join you, because I want to be part of an organisation that can make the Fleet nervous.” ”Oh they aint nervous of us darlin.” That familiar voice echoed from above Seren and she glanced up to see the retreating silhouette of a man in a cowboy hat make his way towards the stairs behind her.  But she dared not turn around to look, for the weapon still pointed at her. Instead she focused back on Sarah who seemed to be contemplating the situation, until the owner of that voice walked past both of them and planted himself in a chair against the wall. That made her sneer briefly before she focused back on Seren, who now was staring at the new person in the room. Sam Coe, in the flesh, though like everything in this universe, flipped over and turned inside out. No longer the warm friendly man she remembered, now he was dressed in full Crimson Fleet attire, not too dissimilar to what she remembered Delgado wearing, so Seren surmised he must be high up in the ranks. His hair was a tad longer, though the most noticeable difference was the scar that ran down the side of his cheek through his still well kept beard, to his jawline. The only familiarity she saw in the man she loved was the pendant and hat he wore, which stood out starkly against the rest of him. It was only when he looked up at her with those familiar blue eyes that twinkled mirth, did Seren quickly focus her own eyes back to Sarah who stood there impatiently waiting.

For the wip ask game: What can you tell us about ROAPL - Emissary? 👀

Answered here