#interactive romance

Where sort of do Val, Serax, Kerach fall on like combat power for lack of better word in comparison to sithrak’s and other darksigners lines? Or if that’s too spoilery could you maybe say if other darksingers are capable of hunting/tracking sithrak the same way the love interests are?

(also I loveee Kerach acceptance route he’s so soft and will make him and Serax get along just every once in a while)

Not too spoilery. For them, taking down a single sithrak is simple. A swarm of them is a more complex process, with Valdricht having an easier time of it due to his ability to teleport short distances. Even so, it's unlikely that monsters would pose a real threat to them without extenuating circumstances, it's more that if they aren't attentive the MC could be in danger.

Kerach isn't a darksinger and perhaps not even a shadewalker. Physically he is stronger than both Valdricht and Serax. He doesn't like sithrak and tends to want to avoid them whenever possible, but it may not be fear that his aversion comes from. He does have some unique abilities in both of his forms that will give him a marked advantage in combat against monsters, which will be revealed later.

Compared to darksingers, Kerach is stronger than a lot of them, but not all. He has a lot of resistance to their compulsions (songs) which gives him an advantage over any darksinger who relies solely on songs to fight. Serax is stronger than a lot of darksingers by virtue of his bloodline, however at only a little over a century old he's quite young by their standards and a lot of his songs are sloppy or ineffective. Like Kerach, he has pretty good resistance to the songs of weaker darksingers and would likely win in a fight versus darksingers 2-3x his age.

Valdricht is very old and powerful, but extremely measured. Your MC isn't likely to understand the full scope of his capabilities until much later in the story. There's only one living darksinger who he'd be hesitant to fight, but even that would be a tossup. However, as Valdricht himself has explained in the original story and will later lay out, there isn't much value in being the strongest darksinger. There have been plenty of powerful darksingers who have been overcome by a village of determined humans because they were careless. They're particularly vulnerable during the summers, for obvious reasons.

There are also a variety of gods/demigods scattered around Nazralt which you'll encounter at various parts of the story. Some are stronger than Valdricht/Serax simply by virtue of being immune to darksinger songs, which is why it's important for them to be competent fighters.

Did you tone down the boys "jerkniess" in classic route? 😂

I've noticed a lot of scenes where they're deff less mean than I remember, so I'm guessing you left those to the Dark Maiden version? Hmmm that puts me in a situation... I can say with confidence I LOVE angst, i eat that for breakfest, so I was okay with with their behaviour as long as it was addressed or improved once they went "ohshit i thinl im in love" u know?

Sooo I'm not certain i should go to Dark Maiden..I'm not sure if I'm a BIG dark romance fan. I like stories that make it HURT, but there needs to be consequences, so the couple can grow from it and their love stronger.

SO, tell me, which version should I go for? 😭 The worse it hurts now the sweeter it'll be later, provided its not just the FL taking the shorter end of the stick all the time

It's definitely toned down from the original Bride of Shadows. I actually felt like the original version was pretty tame, but there were a lot of complaints, particularly when it came to misogyny.

In the current version of Classic, they're fairly tame but still douchier than standard romance fare. Valdricht is pretty manipulative, but not in an overt manner. He just says whatever he has to do to manage the MC and sleep with her. Tbh I think a lot of players don't even realize how much of a snake he is. As for Serax, his less savory impulses are curbed by Valdricht who is genuinely protective of the MC. You'll see Serax get more assertive after he's slept with her for the first time, and more abrasive as he competes with Valdricht and eventually Kerach for her attention. Where that abrasiveness is directed depends on your dynamic. The MC can also be pretty toxic in Classic, depending on how she handles Serax and Valdricht's relationship. I'm giving players the option to be a team player or jealous/territorial for either guy.

Dark Maiden is very different from Classic, a lot of players play both routes, assuming they're comfortable with the dubious nature of the DM relationship. The guys aren't very nice in Dark Maiden. They aren't cruel imo, but it's clear that the MC, at least initially, is just a body for them to use. In Dark Maiden, it's actually Serax who is clingier in the early chapters. The MC is kind of like a toy that he and Kerach are constantly fighting over, while Valdricht is like the aloof, mercurial overseer who's somewhat distrustful of the MC. I like Dark Maiden because there isn't really an early bond between the MC and the guys, it's more of a relationship born of desperation that slowly evolves into something more. When it finally does, I think it feels pretty earned, but it depends on how tolerant you are of being objectified/used for most of the first act of the story.

​Night IV of Bride of Shadows is now available to play on Itch! This update actually includes the second half of Night III in addition to Night IV, adding around 30,000 fresh, hot words of gameplay. Enjoy some banter with Serax and intimate moments with Valdricht, all while delving deeper into the mysterious world in your dreams.

[Play for Free on Itch] [Follow on Patreon]

Bride of Shadows is a text-based interactive novel and a WIP. There are four chapters available on the public build, with around 60,000 words of content. It is a dark fantasy for adult readers who enjoy story rich tales and toxic males. Please mind the content warnings.

Housekeeping

It's way past my bedtime. Here is some stuff mostly for patrons who see this before my posts tomorrow:

Shadewalker Edition is updated! I'll be making an alternate link this weekend for users who need it.

Fated Mates excerpt will be posted tomorrow evening. When I was writing my schedule I kinda forgot I had a whole chapter launch scheduled for today, and I haven't had time to transcribe and edit the excerpt yet. I've added a cool fork wherein even if you asked Valdricht to marry you, you can still let him debauch you in the morning. Just don't expect him to be rushing you the the altar, you degenerate.

I'll be posting some longform excerpts of Dark Maiden and Fated Mates to Patreon next week. These will be free for followers to give everyone an idea of what the Dark Maiden and Fated Mates routes are like.

The sexy content in the public build update is time sensitive. Next week I will be transitioning Bride of Shadows to Mature, a step down from Adult. This means that explicit encounters will become fade-to-black, however sensual scenes will remain intact. I don't think I'll have to change any of the language or violence levels, but I'll double check with the guidelines and let you guys know.

Note, this is only for the public build, Patreon versions aren't affected by this. Once the changes are made, UK players should be able to access Bride of Shadows on Itch again. Users can play the uncensored version of Night IV on Itch until February 9th.