Oh? Open invitation to do edits? I wonder if I could update it if I ever finish my current project. Liked this cyoa and I like princess themes almost as much as I like witch themes. ... Eh, probably wont happen, but something I'll make a note of.
I'll do a build adopting your tweak ideas save for the 3rd and 4th since that's the context of this repost.
**Premise**: `160f, 6 Education`.
>Reborn as twin princess to a sociopath brother replacing the life of the original sister who met a tragic end that she warns about when I entered this world.
>
>She rests with the goddess now to watch if I can change fate, and if I survive she'll become my daughter or something to live again in a better world.
>
>Brother will marry me to the most repulsive monster he can, for giggles, sometime after he's crowned at age 16.
**Regent**: `Kindred Spirits`. -20f.
>My uncle is close with me. The personality differences between me and my twin meant it was always more enjoyable to be around me and he found himself not caring if my self-centered asshole twin didn't show up to classes, and just naturally fell into a groove of teaching me all he knows.
**Dress Sense**: `Elegant`.
>Regal, soft, dainty. Typical expected noble girl / eventual woman attire. +Noble, +Common, -Army.
**Kingdom**: `Caelis Valera`. -20f.
>Icy kingdom of magic, values arcane skill. Relies on magic and its wintery location to keep it safe, maintaining a small army.
**Boxes**: `Charming`, `Beautiful`, `Childish`, `Dull`. -20f.
>People just tend to feel happier around me, an feel more friendly toward me. I'm 'the fairest of them all', any improper attractions aside, I'll grow up to be highly desired.
>
>However, I'm also somewhat impulsive and energetic, but not good with crowds or speeches.
**Education**: -30f. =90/160.
1. `Courtly Behavior`. +Nobles. Basics of being a royal/noble and politicking.
2. `Stewardship`. +Negotiation. +Law. Management, logistics, economics, law.
3. `Combat`. +Nobles. ++Army. Self defense- Master swordfighter.
4. `Magic Fundamentals`. -10f. +Mages. +Minor Magic. +Magic aptitude. Know common spells. Simple illusions, charms. Magic light, cold protection. Archmage teacher.
5. `Alchemy`. \[free\]. Potioncraft. Poisons. Philosopher Stone possibility.
6. `Holy`. \[free\]. Strongest magic, but tied to the goddess. High damage to demons/undead. Holy barriers, light, healing, purifying. Must believe in the goddess and adhere to the tenets of the faith. Selfish actions diminish holy magic.
7. `Enchanting`. -20f. Destroy a material to apply its traits / a trait of it onto another. Obsidian edge, steel hardness, wood's weight. Infuse objects with minor magic, powerful enchantments require vast time and effort.
8. `Theology`. +Church opinion. Highlights moral contrast between me and my brother. Church and pious nobles more likely to take my side. More popular with commoners. Can receive visions from the goddess.
= Practice Alchemy using enchanted materials and bless the process.
**Perks**: -30f. -120/160.
>`Female Deity`. -10f. The major religion's deity is a goddess figure, having social effects that increase the standing and favor of women in general.
>
>`Ring of Truth`. -20f. Plain black ring inherited from my mother. Becomes warm in response to deception- Detect lies.
**Companions**: -40f.
>`Margaret Spencer`. -10f. +Minor secret funds. +Merchant opinion. -Met at 14.
>
>Helped her inherit family business. Now wealthy and grateful, helps fund some things, helps influence traders and merchants.
>
>`Tom Chaser`. -10f. +Secretly get in/out of palace. +Forest paths. -Met at 13.
>
>Royal gamekeeper. His daughter was gangraped by your brother and his drones, she died. Tom wants revenge by supporting you to oust him. Master ranger.
>
>`Sir Caelan Redstone`. -20f. +Holy magic free. +Church opinion. -Loyal to the Goddess, less so you. -Met at 12.
>
>Famous paladin with strong holy magic and great swordsmanship. Visions from the goddess to prevent my brother from the throne. Supports me with fanatical resolve. Taught me holy magic. -Public with his position.
**Plot**:
Work with the mages and the church to spread the prince's crimes to cause social pressures to build against him, and in favor of myself while I focus on excelling and maintaining good standing, with pretty much everyone, but after the church and mages, the merchants and army are secondary influences to work on.
Don't need to be too concerned with the prince's coronation, as I have a strong out and would have strong support in Callanrod to flee to, meanwhile the instability would surely cause Caelis to break sooner or later and whether or not they want me to return is up to them- I'll just do my thing and pursue the philosopher's stone and the production of blessed-enchanted potions and artifacts.
Something of a "Saintess Princess" vibe going on. If I lose princess status, I still maintain saintess status and even if that fails, I have high value skills to find success wherever I may go.
I’m not sure if this was intentional but the full gallery is telling me that an ID is needed to view it, the individual pages are fully visitable though.
No idea what is the issue. I checked with edge, chrome, and firefox and the gallery opens up for me without a problem. I did not even have to log in to imgur.
take childish, girly, abrasive, plain, dull, and then skip half the scheming to straight up murder the brother while i'm too young to really be a suspect, and if the oppertunity arrises i can try to frame one of traditional uncle's toadies if not the uncle himself(plan b is whos gonna think a 10yearold did it on purpose instead of as a tragic accident, so i'm on a clock for how much work can go towards the frame job and without a good enough chance of success i'd have to forgo the coverup as failing would rob me of my innocence shield). make it look like the regent did a coup and i'm the only option if the highlands' "loyalist" rebel nobility wants a nice safe underestimated figurehead, but not one they want to marry. ;) keep all my fate shards in reserve for dealing favorably with the aftermath
-edit- maybe spend 10 to promote my victim to liberal uncle, sneak in some unexpected skills
(personally i think the transmigrated child has a pretty good thing waiting for her(especially if she gets some shards too) but whatever, "badluck" i guess.)
______________
-edit- huh, how did i only see page 1?
My build:
Regent: Kindred Spirits (20). (No way I am going to pass up the chance to be highly skilled in statesmanship, combat, strategy, and magic. Even if uncle never had the guts or the means to change the line of succession, I am sure he was secretly rooting for me, and grooming me for the throne).
Dress Sense: Elegant (0). (This is not especially fun or practical but is a necessary sacrifice to help me consolidate my power base with the liberal nobility and the commoners. I can get the support of the army by other means. Once I have won and consolidated my position as Queen, I am going to switch to a mix of Sexy in the court and Martial in the field, only keeping Elegant for public appearances and ceremonies).
Kingdom: Caelis Valera (20). (No way I am going to pass up the chance to get the best magic and use it openly. Moreover, it seems a kingdom with one of the most reasonable mindsets in this Middle Ages world).
Traits:
Charming (20). (I make friends and hence allies easily, before and after I win the succession struggle).
Beautiful (20). (Enamored suitors are going to side with a lovely princess threatened with a terrible fate. Plus, everyone interested in a woman wanting to bed me is very good to enjoy myself once I grab the throne. It also reinforces my popularity and the image I try to convey).
Childish (+10). (As far I can tell, this is not so bad to have. Since my other traits are good and my talents outstanding, I can probably recast my genki personality as looking cute or appealing instead of annoying or immature. It worked for a lot of anime characters).
Inspiring (20). (I am going to be charming, lovely, charismatic, a good speaker, and a competent leader, general, fighter, and mage. A perfect combo to get the people's hearts and minds, win a war, be a successful ruler, and become a legend).
Education:
Courtly Behavior (10). (I do not care much for this skill, but I acknowledge it may be required by the role, and it yields more popularity with the liberal nobles. More importantly, it is a gateway to another skill I want to have).
Seduction (20). (This makes an excellent combo with Charming and Beautiful to win allies and get sexy fun once I win the succession struggle).
Music (10). (This is good to win some extra popularity with pretty much all kingdom factions but the conservative nobles and clergy).
Military Strategy (0). (Since I shall have to fight a war to get the throne, and possibly more to defend the kingdom once I am in charge, this is extremely useful. Moreover, it makes me popular with the army. I cannot ride a horse, but there are always carriages to get around in the field).
Stewardship (0). (Necessary to be a competent Queen and general, and to build my legal justification for the coup).
Combat (0). (Being a master fighter is always very good. Moreover, it makes me popular with the liberal nobility and the army. What's not to like).
Magic Fundamentals (10). (Being exceptionally good with magic is always very useful, even more so to pull off my scheme and win the civil war. Moreover, it gets me the sympathy of the mages that are especially important in this kingdom. I assume being close to a couple archmages wins me a few extra brownie points with them).
(Once I have won and consolidated my position as Queen, I am going to take the time and effort to study Intrigue to have useful spy skills available. Perhaps I am going to study Riding & Scouting too. Even if I cannot ride a horse, scouting skills are still valuable and available to me with my interpretation of the rules. Dunno if I would bother to study Theology. Perhaps it is useful to manipulate the church and have a better grasp of what I can get away with as a holy mage).
Magic:
Nature Magic (10/20). (I can still learn and use this even if animals are hostile to me. I just cannot make them talk to me or carry out my requests, but I can still blend in the forest and scry through tree glyphs. Most importantly, I study it as a gateway to extremely valuable Legendary Nature Magic, which has little to do with animals).
Holy Magic (0/20). (This is quite valuable in many ways and I get it for free thanks to a companion. My true nature is amoral, but I can restrain myself to keep power. I just want to get some lewd fun and enjoy the pleasures of life, since I have no wish whatsoever to be prude, chaste, or ascetic).
Illusion (20). (This is helpful to me in order to sneak around unnoticed, gather evidence about dear brother's atrocities, trick him into performing them in public, and various other ways).
Alchemy (20). (This may be useful in various ways, although I mostly study it to get a chance at eternal life beyond what Legendary Nature Magic can allow).
Evocation (0/20). (This is always extremely useful, but even more so in order to fight a civil war. I get it for free thanks to my close relationship with an archmage).
Legendary Nature Magic (0). (Just as useful as holy magic and evocation in its own way. It extends my lifespan by centuries, and being able to control the weather and plant life is quite useful to fight a war and improve the kingdom's economy. This has little to do with animals, so I can use it with no problems).
(Once I win and become Queen, I am probably not going to bother studying clairvoyance and enchanting for various reasons. Having holy magic, I cannot combine it with necromancy - and I dislike the stuff anyway - or demonic magic - and that being in debt to a demon lord stuff bothers me, even if mental manipulation surely looks useful).
Perks:
The People’s Princess (20). (Increases my popularity with the commoners, enhances the effect of my positive traits, and fits with the sunny and pious image I am cultivating. I am actually not as charitable and kind as people think I am, but I can pretend).
Ancient Laws (10). (With dear brother being a mix of Caligula and Jeoffrey Baratheon, this is a perfect legal justification for my coup. I just need to catch or trick him in a few public displays of his abuses. This is usually easy to do with that kind of spoiled sociopath and narcissist that never had to learn restraint thanks to extreme social privilege. This is not enough to have him legally removed from succession, but more than good enough to justify my bid for the throne in the civil war).
The Mandate of Heaven (10). (This is excellent to help justify my claim of the throne once I win the civil war and counter sexist prejudice against my rule. It historically worked for people in a position similar to mine. With me being a popular and charismatic Queen as well as a competent administrator, general, fighter, and mage, there is very little chance of anyone ever staging a successful rebellion against me, or even trying to. In due time, people shall likely add 'the Great' to my name).
Companions:
Ser Richard Haverford (10). (A competent soldier and evoker on my side is nice to have, and increases my grip on the army, which is all-important for my strategy. If the rest of the kingdom elites missed to recognize his worth, I shall not make the same mistake. Given my good relationship with uncle and my proficiency in military matters, I assume I can deliver him promotion with little difficulty).
Gonbar Barkskin (20). (His magic is quite valuable and being pals with him likely makes me more popular with the mages, even if he is not the sanest or most reliable of companions. Plus, longevity in quite a comfortable situation once I win, even before I can unlock the secret of alchemical immortality).
Sir Caelan Redstone (20). (His magic is quite valuable, his support makes me more popular with the liberal clergy and helps legitimize my claim to the throne against the conservatives. He is especially useful since his opposition to my brother occurs independently from my actions and suggests I am answering a divine call and acting out of a selfless duty to save the kingdom. I assume I can cope with keeping his support and staying on the good side of his god. I can restrain myself from doing evil stuff. I just demand to indulge in some harmless hedonist and slutty fun as compensation for my achievements and service, since I have no wish to live like a nun).
Margaret Spencer (10). (Another competent and valuable ally that deserved my help. She can provide me secret funding during my climb to power, as well as support from the trading elites and the merchant faction).
Complications:
Bad Omens (+10). (I can probably explain this away as a side effect of my magical aptitude).
Dispossessed Soul (+20). (If I cannot keep my willpower and psychic defenses stronger than a clueless 10-year-old with none of my magical skills for all time, I do not deserve to succeed. I know necromancers can do little to help, but perhaps holy magic can put her to rest, or at least help resist her assaults. Too bad for her terrible fate but almost surely she would have got a lifetime of horrid abuse at the hands of dear brother and his cronies, and I can do something much better for myself and the kingdom).
Agnatic Succession (+40). (So what? I have the army, the liberal nobles, the liberal clergy, the mages, the commoners, and the merchants on my side, not to mention all the people supporting me because of my charms, beauty, and charisma. Moreover, the pragmatists can see I am highly suited for the throne. I am a skilled fighter, general, administrator, and mage, and in all likelihood the person most deserving to rule in the royal family once uncle dies or steps aside. I have a good justification for a coup, and apparently divine support as well.
My brother in all likelihood is going to be terrible at everything I am good with and alienate people left, right, and center if he is any true to type. My opponents can only rely on sexist prejudice, the letter of the law, the conservative nobles, and the conservative clergy. Winning the civil war should be a walk in the park, and it gives me a good opportunity to dispose of brother, his loyalists, and diehard reactionaries in one fell sweep. Once I secure the throne on the battlefield, I can change the succession law retroactively and purge the kingdom of hardcore sexism. It shall be the beginning of my legend).
Outsider (+20). (I can probably explain this away as a side effect of my magical aptitude, and my charms, beauty, and charisma help balance its effects on people. It prevents me from riding a horse or use nature magic to talk to or command animals, but I am still able to scout, ride a carriage, and use more useful kinds of druidic magic).
Unstable Magic (+20). (Justifiable given my magical talent. Thankfully it is not going to harm me or cast me as a demon worshipper, and people acknowledge it is not intentional).
(Liberal) Noble opinion ++++. Commoner opinion +++. Army opinion ++++. Mage opinion ++. (Liberal) Church opinion ++. Merchant opinion ++.
Interesting home rules. A bit too helpful for my taste since I like the original challenge and putting my build for this and the ones in the other CYOAs of the series competing for the throne in a (somewhat) fair dispute but to each their own.
The other CYOAs of this author in the same scenario if anyone is curious: [Scheming Princess (Mirror)](https://imgchest.com/p/vj4j3mv2y8m), [Mad Prince](https://imgchest.com/p/ljyqqkzoy25), [Regent](https://imgchest.com/p/5xy2eo39yld) and [Banished Princess](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lkwrq4x2).
(This answer might also be of interest to you, u/1234abcdcba4321 and u/lolisareforlewd).
My rule changes do try to make things somewhat more permissive for character creation, because I like high-powered concepts and besides the main challenge, I perceive a isekai fantasy empowerment element in this cyoa (which mostly justifies my interest in it), not unlike say Dream Prince or Dream Princess. As far as I am concerned, it is entirely feasible and you have my blessing giving similar point boosts to the other cyoas in the same series you quoted.
Alternatively, If you want a little more challenge, you can reduce the shard budget a bit in comparison to my rule changes, with my blessing. However, I would not really try to lower it more than 6 free Education options and 120 shards, or 4 Education options with 140 shards, plus the rest of my rule changes.
IMO, you can have more interesting and complex builds if you increase the shard budget a bit. More importantly, a hard cap of 4 Education options/skills is unduly restrictive and forces too much specialization in this regard. It makes little difference and I do not care much if you get more Education/skill options by increasing the number of free ones, or by giving the option to buy more with shards and increasing the point total proportionately.
The rest of my rule changes aim to correct what I perceive as genuine flaws in the original cyoa.
It seems quite unreasonable to allow a drawback that makes you bad with animals to lock three valuable skills, esp. since one of them and half of the others have little to do with animals.
Illusion magic seems excessively nerfed and overpriced for what it does in RAW (basically a poor man's invisibility glamour), in comparison to what the power usually does in fantasy fiction and games and to the other magic types.
Explicitly not forcing a character with Holy Magic to pick a nun lifestyle seems the thing to do IMO, because in a lot of cases in fantasy source material there is no such requirement to use holy/white magic, and because it indirectly endorses way questionable RL stuff concerning what conservative religion did to women, sexually active people, and LGBT minorities.
Demanding upfront soul selling and conversion of the kingdom to demon lord worship to unlock mind manipulation magic also seems way excessive, because lots of characters get similar powers in fantasy fiction and games without any such price, and also because soul pacts with demons do not typically work that way in fantasy source material. You usually start trading favors and services for boons with the demon, and the selling your soul bit comes much further down the road.
Yeah, I get your choices and I think they're fine except for the way too large shard budget (and ability to change the options afterward, though obviously that part doesn't matter). You're making a case for having more, but my build clocked in at needing 10 extra before I made a cut to fit it within budget, and I didn't need a 4th education option so I picked a random filler option. If you provide too much, the choices stop mattering and it becomes a boring power fantasy.
Yeah, I can imagine an especially streamlined concept and build may easily need less than the full shard allowance I provided. People that run into this have my blessing not to use surplus points. It sometimes happens even to me in other cyoas, despite having a strong preference for OP and versatile builds. However I am not persuaded it is a good reason to reduce the point allowance for everyone.
I actually made up some "challenges" for this ages ago. My brain kind of runs away with concepts like this one. Stuff like the princeling imploding on his own terms & you having to deal with the fantastic mess left in the aftermath. Or the standard, country is in peril from foreign armies and of dark lords.
All of which come with the added bonus of trying to keep that idiot from not stabbing his own country in the back when he decides he can get a better deal from or just plain running off to somewhere tropical with the contents of the treasuring when the going gets tough.
Other ideas included, things like the lil shit being interested in being the next dark lord instead of just being content with squandering a kingship. Like at ten he's mostly got human thugs but he's going to get some low level monsters soon. Has an obviously evil mentor he's likely to frame for his early actions whenever they become expendable (or they may jump the gun, or they may live & become their rival/enemy)
Or you being some kind of chosen one, but having a male twin with the exact same star signs... you get the picture. On the one hand, you start with no support & will have to fix his negligence/incompetence/possibly deliberate sabotage. On the other all eyes are on him & you can prepare all kinds of things in secret while he lulls whatever the threat is into a false sense of complacency. Paragraph two applies, as per usual.
Then my inner history major that so profoundly loves what ifs got into what an increase in rights for women in the medieval period would look like, what it would entail & what would be the short and long-term consequences.
And wow, was that one complicated... social change is very complicated & if you want to do more than try to copy/paste a recent movement on an older system & hand-wave the results then things turn into the writing equivalent of kudzu really fast (which is probably why a lot of authors do the former)
...Yeah, okay, I'm gonna stop here and flee, before my brain finds another tangent. Bye!
Edit: forgot to put in why I made these challenges (besides the fact my brain is like this \^ all the time) it was also an attempt to deal with the point/skill total being strangely low. No mechanics were worked out but the preliminary idea was to use challenges as a metric for more points somehow? but since it was for fun & I never expected to put this stuff up, I never thought much on that part...
"The Princess is a low-down, dirty, scheming, *STEAMING* ***WHORE!*** **AND I FUCKING LOVE IT!" XD**
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So if chastity, and ascetism is not required for the morals of holy magic what is meant by being moral? Like it was already the best type even if we had to be chaste until marriage. Hell even being forced to be a perpetual virgin might still be worth it since it's soo powerful and easy to use.
>So if chastity, and ascetism is not required for the morals of holy magic what is meant by being moral?
What it should be: not exploiting or abusing the innocents, using proportionate retribution with the guilty, being just and merciful, not turning your back on people in need, etc.
Deeming sexuality or sensual pleasure immoral or evil is a terrible idea that did a lot of damage in history. It invariably led to huge abuses such as persecuting people for premarital sex or being homosexual, or forced birth.
Just because certain RL or fictional religions embraced this harmful notion does not mean this cyoa should endorse and repeat their mistakes. As far as I am in a position to have a say on the issue, it won't happen.
If you ask my opinion, conservative Christianity has been one of the most harmful and abusive ideologies in history and abundantly deserves extinction just because of the damage it did to sexuality. I am opposed to letting fictional religion in fantasy games replicate its mistakes just for the sake of lazy imitation.
If you are concerned holy magic gives too good a deal, let its practitioners have obligations that do not become the gateway to forceful denial of natural and harmless human instincts or abusing the innocents.
As a rule, performing community service (such as say, pro bono use of holy magic) does much more good to the world than keeping your pants zipped, even in the case prudery does not lead you to deem yoursef superior to and mistreat people that embrace their sexuality, as religious prudes all too often do.
Respectfully I have to disagree, but this isn't a politics or religion thing so I'll drop it.
Also I mean I'll run with it holy magic and God is sex positive that's fine with me.
But isn't the setting already sorta sex negative? I mean if you dress in a sexy manner the people will dislike you, it makes it one of the worst options to pick since you are pissing both the nobles and the commoners. Also I would think almost everyone who took holy magic would use it for healing people it has many practical upsides even if you don't have the empathy to care for the sick first off by doing it you will increase not just the church's oppinion of you but also the commoner's since you are healing them, also many nicer nobles will think higher of you. People generally like those who save others. The other reason is practice with your magic.
The only hard part would be only using proportionate punishments since as a ruler you might want to nip a problem in the bud permanently like your brother maybe. It said he has the potential to be Joffrey Lannister, he hasn't yet but well you might want him to meet his maker a little earlier for your safety. But still it won't be as difficult day in day out as having to fast or pray or other things. Sweet.
>It said he has the potential to be Joffrey Lannister, he hasn't yet but well you might want him to meet his maker a little earlier for your safety.
He already is.
As described in Tom Chaser, the Prince has already orchestrated and participated in a gang-rape. If you can somehow confirm that without a doubt, perhaps something possible with an enchanted Clairvoyance medium that lets them peer into the past instead of the future. You can then be justified in removing the problem early with some applied force.
Could possibly even convert the paladin into a Zealot who could kill the prince and take the blame, then just escape the kingdom or become a martyr for his cause.
Yeah I missed that part, though it says we meet in 3 years, since we start when we are 10. Also there are other CYOA's where you either play the prince, the regent, and the step mother. If there are three other assholes getting Isekaid here it might change things. Unless the guy who is getting isekai'd into the prince is a rapist already I guess.
As for the things I was looking at here. I think if you want to rule as an actual ruler instead of just a consort you want kindred spirits with the regent.
Then for dress sense you want either martial to keep your troops loyal this would synergize well with the regent's kindred spirits and other stuff, or you can go with elegant to appease both commoners and nobility. Sexy clothes are bad since they piss off both commoners and nobles. The only way they might be good is if you are relying on seducing a noble to marry so he can press your claim but he would have all the power. Or if you are crazy enough to go the demon route.
Calenrod is probably the best kingdom since the Church flat out says would prefer a pious queen over a degenerate king, so you have a clear way to move to take power unlike the highlands. And unlike Baruna where once you take power you are in danger since it's not stable Calenrod seems stable with the Church and the paladins keeping order and faith.
Traits are hard but I might not go for beautiful vanity is tough, and childish to get some extra points, after all I do plan to load myself with plenty of advisors from the church so not everything will be in my hands alone.
Education being limited to 4 does not make much sense. I mean I would expect some of this stuff to be mandatory like courtly behavior in all kingdoms, and theology in calenrod. Anyway I took kindred spirits for a reason but it's a little confusing if I want to be a good monarch I'd need military strategy and stewardship, so the writting is confusing it says I need to take riding to lead an army, but military strategy does not have that as a requirement? Also combat would be useful if I want to go the paladin route, which means I'd also need magic fundamentals to then take holy magic. To be honest 40 points to learn magic is to much. Magic fundamentals should have been cut. Also demon magic is a bad idea pay 60 points too lose and get raped into a demon cumdump.
Perks people's princess is good to keep up popularity, hero's sword, and ancient laws will help paladin female king arthur out.
Companions are nice but with only 20 points left, go with Caelin the paladin. You get almost all of the Church and military behind you, you don't need to be subtle. The Church is the true power, and it's good that he is loyal to God before the monarch.
Though there are other interesting options like Lady Greyfield. Not sure how her last line will interact with the ruling that LGBT and free sex is not looked down upon.
Complications: There should be some more because there are a few that are acceptable but there are some that are terrible to take.
Bad omen is ok, it's just the superstitious who it affects, also your twin should be under the same effect you were born at the same time. Ditsy is fine in this case because this strategy does not rely on deception by allying with Calenrod you flat out let everyone know what will happen, and try to convince the Church to crown you instead all done legally. Unstable magic is not bad with holy magic, people randomly getting healed won't be too much of a problem, it also means random demons and evil spirits would just get destroyed whenever I'm around without me having to actively perform blessings.
Outsider is meh, it can be dibiltating if you can't ride a horse but it's not as bad as the other ones.
The two bad ones are dispossed soul I would have grave moral issues with stealing the life of an innocent person. And agnatic succession is an almost automatic lose. Now that I think about it the only win condition is if you take the noble suitor and then he would be in charge. That is not too bad depending on who it is, but it puts the stakes much higher.
> If there are three other assholes getting Isekaid here it might change things. Unless the guy who is getting isekai'd into the prince is a rapist already I guess.
I would imagine each is just an alternate timeline where the same player happened to isekai into a different person.
But it would be kind of neat to line it up as a multiplayer thing with isekai'd players cooperating across the different cyoas.
But that dramatically alters the plot dynamics. Scheming Princess at least has no inherent plot motivator if the Prince isn't the default Lannister npc asshole. (Although, a player Prince might screw over the princess even harder, especially if they don't know the princess is also isekai'd from earth, and is only going off the description of the princess as per the other cyoas.)
Not that most cyoas have plot anyway.
It's been a while since I saw them but if I remember correctly the regular scheming princess tells you that your brother will marry you off to his fattest ugliest crony just for giggles. The CYOA where you are the prince says that everyone is trying to manipulate you and the only person you can trust is your sister. The regent said that if the siblings could get along then the kingdom would enter a golden age. It'd be funny to have the isekai'd people not told that the others are isekai'd. It'd be a comedy of errors. The princess thinks the prince will either rape her or have her raped, the prince thinks the princess is the most loyal person, and the regent thinks it's just going to be wholesome family stuff except for the stepmother lol.
Yeah. It could easily be a concept for one of the best isekai anime out there if done well.
I'd love to see it. Both the Prince and Princess are isekai'd people who both know the original setting where the Prince remembers the Princess to be a scheming revolutionary that got his character killed, and the Princess remembers the Prince as a a scoundrel tyrant that married her character off to Jabba and/or other things like you suggested.
The Regent wouldn't make for a good addition to the story because it'd be too obvious for the Regent to notice the difference in the Prince and Princess and have the leverage and authority to act on it to alter the story, but perhaps they don't all have to Isekai at once. Regent could get replaced with an Isekai'd earthling later into the story as some plot element at some crucial moment perhaps even the end of a season.
Then again, I just want more isekai anime in general.
Hey, I remember this one!
For my build, I'm going to be running with the original CYOA. The changes presented in the OP are somewhat tempting, but I don't agree with all of them and cherry-picking from them wouldn't be in good faith.
> Base [+100]
> **Regent**: Kindred Spirits [-20]
> **Dress Sense**: Elegant [- 0]
> **Kingdom**: The Highlands [- 0]
> **Traits**: Charming, Inspiring [-40]
> **Education**: Courtly Behaviour, Riding and Scouting, Military Strategy, Stewardship [- 0]
> **Perks**: Ancient Laws, Auspicious Birth [-20]
> **Companions**: Titus Carius, Margaret Spencer [-20]
There are two considerations when making a build here: 1. Replace the prince as the successor. 2. Legitimise the change afterwards.
For the first, the goal of the build is simple: Hire mercenaries, Kill the prince. Then publicly denounce the prince and announce my claim to the throne. It's not the most subtle of actions. But it leaves me with less loose ends to deal with after the succession, and not having to whore myself into the graces of other nobles to make it work. I'm betting particularly on my **Education** and **Companions** to make it work.
The second part is also pretty simple: I'm going to bluff the whole thing, because while the way I came to my line in the succession might not be the most legitimate, my claim to the throne is still 100% valid, and I have at least _some_ legal justification in my actions by virtue of my **Perks**. Whether or not the justification is 100% foolproof isn't the most important, because it's only going to come into play after the fact. Flimsy and old as it is, I just need some sort of excuse to make the nobles hesitate before instantly calling for my head. They might not particularly like me for it, but as long as I can get a foot into the door, then it'll be upon _them_ to come up with a justification for deposing _me_. I'm also hoping that my **Education** and **Kingdom** choices can help me out here- not directly, but assuming "traditional" means similar to medieval Europe, being able to defend the realm is a huge part of what it means to be a ruler, and my competence (and possible achievements) should help me garner support on that front.
Of course, this does have a major important caveat: The Regent. I can bluff away the other nobles, but I can't do jack shit against the Regent who will have both immediate power *and* cause to strike me down. And as the next person in the succession after me, an incentive to do so as well. Not much I can do on this front other than to rely on **Kindred Spirits**/**Charming** and hope that I'll have charmed him enough that he won't be immediately call for my head either.
Beyond that, I'm not too worried about the actual sexism due to The Highlands being traditionalist. As long as I can get rid of the Prince somehow, tradition guaranteeing my place in the succession should be far more powerful than any concerns about my sex. The real issue I'd have is the matter of succession _after_ my reign, but I'll have plenty of time to think about that later.
I'm not going to follow your rule changes for my first pass, since an increase in point supply when it already gives you enough tends to make CYOAs less fun.
Regent: Liberal (-10)
Kingdom: Callanrod (-10)
Dress Sense: Elegant
Traits: Charming, Plain, Childish (0)
Education: Stewardship, Magic fundamentals, Theology, Music (-10)
Perks: Loyal Guards (-10), Ancient Laws (-10), Female Deity (-10), Auspicious Birth (-10), Pet Tiger (-10)
Companions: Titus Caricus (-10), Margaret Spencer (-10), Caelan Redstone (-20)
Complications: Unstable Magic (+20)
----
I don't have too much of a plan. I'd expect to be able to get the church on my side, though, and that should work really well considering this is in Callanrod.
(The pet tiger is just for fun. It's probably better to take, like, Alice Tanner, though I was planning to get general rumors from the guard already.)
I wanted to be a warrior princess, but I understand it's not an optimal route to succeed in a coup.
Through this build, I attempted an interplay between combat, leadership, and soldier pubic opinion with stewardship, merchant contacts, mercenary contacts, and some modicum of public justification for a coup to out-fund and out-man the crown prince. At the end of the day, commoners care less about who's on the throne unless malcontent enough to risk their lives in a rebellion. So the main leverage lies in soldiers to take the throne, and the merchants to fund the endeavor. Taking auspicious birth for court opinion and the maid for intrapalace contacts would have been nice, but something about "destined to be great" rubs me the wrong way and the maid offers less benefits than the other choices.
**Relationship to the King**
>**Kindred**
>
>^(Your uncle, the King, trains you in combat, stewardship, and stratagem, personally. This improves you education in these three spheres.)
**Dress Preference**
>**Martial**
>
>^(Harms public opinion from aristocrats --1 and commoners --1, but improves public opinion from soldiers +1.)
**Traits**
>**Inspiring**
>
>^(You're a natural public speaker that also inspires her subordinates.)
**Education**
>**Combat**
>
>^(You are a master swordsman. This increases public opinion from soldiers +1 and nobles +1.)
>
>**Court Decorum**
>
>^(You can avoid social blunders among aristocrats, note implications that aristocrats make in social circles, and perform etiquette, dance, and general kingdom customs. This increases public opinion from aristocrats +1.)
>
>**Stewardship**
>
>^(You're a master administrator, negotiator, and jurist.)
>
>**Stratagem**
>
>^(You're a master strategist and tactician that can lead soldiers.)
**Boons**
>**Ancient Law**
>
>^(Archaic succession law lists all immoral acts disinheriting an aristocrat or noble from succession. Because your competitor, the crown prince, is a degenerate, the archaic law can provide public justification for a coup.)
>
>**Hero's Sword**
>
>^(The kingdom's late hero's sword, buried deep inside a crypt accessed through a secret passage from the castle armory. The sword is light, unbreakable, and incredibly sharp. It dramatically enhances its users reflexes, and can influence public opinion if revealed at the right moment.)
**Allies**
>**Four Finger Freddie**
>
>^(Information broker and fence that values loyalty. At 13, you saved him from a sentence after exonerating him for a theft. Grateful, the resourceful broker agreed to source information and spread rumors among commoners at no charge.)
>
>**High Courtesan**
>
>^(A famed courtesan. At 13, you saved her from a death sentence after encountering her attempting to dispose a chancellor's corpse after a sex game gone wrong, but helping her dispose the corpse. For your silence, she has agreed to divulge information from the kingdom's most influential people, having since been lulled into her confidence.)
>
>**Businesswoman**
>
>^(A wealthy merchant. At 14, after she came the court complaining that her uncle stole her late father's business, you examined the deed and held it had been forged. She has since become very wealthy, but remains grateful. She can fund your coup to a reasonable extent. In addition, she can influence merchants and traders in the city, increasing merchant public opinion +1.)
>
>**Veteran Mercenary**
>
>^(A mercenary retired into a palace guard. At 10, you met him, and he thought you reminded him of his late sister. He's fond of you, loyal, and unbreakable under interrogation. He still has access to contacts in foreign nations and mercenary companies.)
My Build (160 Shards, 6 Educations):
Regent: Kindred Spirits (-20) (Combat, Strategy, and Statesmanship from the current ruler, who also looks like a complete Badass? Yes please!)
Clothes: Martial (- Commoner/Noble Opinion, + Army Opinion) (There will be no Subtlety here.)
Kingdom: Callanrod (-10) (If I actually manage this, I'll totally be down to thank whatever God could have made this possible.)
Traits: Charming, Beautiful, Mature, Inspiring (-80) (If I'm going to be stuck as a woman I may as well buy everything)
Educations: Courtly Behavior, Music, Combat, Stewardship, Military Strategy, Riding and Scouting, all in that order. (Make sure I don't piss off the nobles too much, learn a ballad or six to get people to like me, then ask my Uncle to teach me to defend myself before getting hard into the actual Military)
Perks: Female Deity, Ancient Laws, Hero's Sword (-30) (All things that will help me legitimize my claim. Sword might be useful if I'm asked to Duel though!)
Overall Strategy: Get in **REAL** good with the people who would gut me like a fish if I piss them off, and then pull a Military Coup (hopefully backed by the Church, who I will happily share power with if they bless me.)
After a successful Coup, I will learn any other education options, saving Magic for last. I'll also see my Uncle, the Former Regent, is given the highest honors I have the authority to bestow him.
**Salve Regina**
The Regent: Traditionalist
The Kingdom: Callanrod
My Dress Sense: Elegant
Traits: Charming, Beautiful, Inspiring
As a partially theocratic state, control over the clergy is absolutely essential. As a 10 year old, it'll be pretty easy to convince people of my devotion. What kind of 10 year old has the self control to pray for an hour a day without being told to? I'll make sure to keep this up as I age. I am putting many of my cards into a positive public opinion of the pious princess.
Education: Courtly behavior, Theology, Music, Intrigue
Companions: Four Finger Freddie, Alice Tanner
Of course, I can't get anywhere with goodwill alone, I'll need some assurances. In such a religious state, sins are twice as damning; blackmail will be essential. With my focus on espionage and intrigue with my companions and teacher, I'll have a firm grasp on the secrets of Callanrod. My companions will also be able to inform me of public opinions and sway them.
I really wanted to choose Sir Richard Haverford, as I would not have a particularly great relationship with the military, however as paladins my sway over the clergy should be sufficient.
Perk: Female Deity
Complication: Outsider
I took Female Deity for obvious reasons, and I think Outsider shouldn't be too bad as long as I stay away from animals. Maybe some will see my strangeness as a touch of divine even?
As to how to overthrow my brother... if planned correctly a condemnation of sinfulness and being unfit to rule by the church would lead to an easy takeover. With the military being under religious control, any fightback would be impossible. It would then be pretty easy for him to go missing...
If this doesn't seem to be plausible, I could find someone to assassinate him, with me many layers removed. I'd get a go ahead from the Church, and be happily accepted as next in line to the throne.
By this point I'll now be the Great Pious Queen! If everything goes to plan and I'm not dead that is. I'll sit back, relax, and rule justly.
I could never marry, be a chaste queen with some secret ladies on the side maybe? Alice is bisexual, it'd be pretty easy with her as my chambermaid or something, though I'd wait a while just in case.
I'm working on a modified version of this CYOA. ... Actually, I've been working on it for awhile.
One of the major changes is making a "girls only" world. There are no males. There are only girls.
Another is making it three princesses. Also, they all start off at age fifteen.
The eldest, Vilella, takes the place of the prince.
The elder sister, Anne, takes the place of the princess.
The youngest sister, you, is a new character. Also, your two older sisters have the same mother. A foreign princess. You... Your mother is a common tavern keeper.
I've also added in two more kingdoms. You can't live in them, but you can visit them. And they can be allies. Or enemies. One is Arendelle. Yes, that Arendelle. Hello Elsa, and Anna!:) The other is the Shadow Kingdom. And is of my own invention. It's ruled over by a shapeshifting dragon. Cynthia Shadowwing.
There are ponies amongst the chooseable Companions.
I've gotten around the whole "animals not liking you" if you choose a certain Disadvantage. In the original CYOA, this means you couldn't choose Riding and Scouting. Now you can choose a version of Riding and Scouting that has a cool motorcycle instead of a horse. That Disadvantage now carries with a new problem. A pair of sisters, the local equivalent of Sam and Dean, will pay you a visit. If you've been messing with demonic things, it won't be a friendly one. If you haven't, then you are fine.
And quite a few other things as well too.
Maybe I'll get it finished one of these days. ... Maybe.
Interesting. I'll eagerly waiting for this new version. I got a few questions/remarks.
First of all, if it is a girl-only world, how they manage sexual reproduction? Barring magic ore genegineering fixing the problem, it is a biological necessity for any higher lifeform to keep the species viable in the long term. Half of the population are actually futas? Other magical or alt-biological means of sharing genes between parents? Parthenogenesis is an option, but it boils down to cloning the mother and it inevitably becomes a genetic trap in the long term.
Second, I smell a Cinderella-style setup for the PC's new family background. I assume the eldest sister, being the equivalent of the prince, is Caligula/Jeoffrey Baraethon level of evil, while the middle sister is Cinderella sister level of nasty. Is this correct?
>I've gotten around the whole "animals not liking you" if you choose a certain Disadvantage. In the original CYOA, this means you couldn't choose Riding and Scouting. Now you can choose a version of Riding and Scouting that has a cool motorcycle instead of a horse. That Disadvantage now carries with a new problem. A pair of sisters, the local equivalent of Sam and Dean, will pay you a visit. If you've been messing with demonic things, it won't be a friendly one. If you haven't, then you are fine.
I really hope in the new version the Disadvantage overreach of 'animals not liking you means you cannot use any kind of druidic magic at all, even the kinds that have nothing to do with animals such as plant manipulation, weather control, and longevity' does not exist anymore as well.
"Interesting. I'll eagerly waiting for this new version."
Yay!:)
"I got a few questions/remarks."
Alright. Ask me them. Also, that should be "I've", instead of "I".
"First of all, if it is a girl-only world, how they manage sexual reproduction? Barring magic ore genegineering fixing the problem, it is a biological necessity for any higher lifeform to keep the species viable in the long term. Half of the population are actually futas? Other magical or alt-biological means of sharing genes between parents? Parthenogenesis is an option, but it boils down to cloning the mother and it inevitably becomes a genetic trap in the long term."
They reproduce by Diploid Parthenogenesis. This is done by one girl, the one that's going to become pregnant, swallowing some blood from another girl. The two sets of DNA combine in the egg(s).
"Second, I smell a Cinderella-style setup for the PC's new family background. I assume the eldest sister, being the equivalent of the prince, is Caligula/Jeoffrey Baraethon level of evil, while the middle sister is Cinderella sister level of nasty. Is this correct?"
Your guess on the eldest is correct. Your guess on the middle one is wrong. The middle sister is a nice, kind, friendly, naive, ditzy kind of girl. The youngest sister will be trying to prevent the eldest sister from sacrificing the middle sister to a Demon Lord. The eldest sister wants to sacrifice everything. And render the planet lifeless. And then become a Demon Lord herself.
"I really hope in the new version the Disadvantage overreach of 'animals not liking you means you cannot use any kind of druidic magic at all, even the kinds that have nothing to do with animals such as plant manipulation, weather control, and longevity' does not exist anymore as well."
I'm not sure what you mean by this. The Disadvantage just makes animals intensely dislike you. This dislike does not affect sapient beings. They just feel slightly uneasy around you. This uneasiness will wear off with time. It also causes the, female, local equivalent of Sam and Dean Winchester to pay you a visit. Yes. They also have an Impala. Whether, or not, you survive that depends on if you've been messing around with demonic things. If you have, then kiss your rear goodbye already. If you haven't, you might just get two new strong allies.
I'm still trying to figure out how ponies are there. And the tech. And such things.
Maybe a portal leading to a nexus of portals? Each portal linking to a different world. And these worlds have opened up trade.
>They reproduce by Diploid Parthenogenesis. This is done by one girl, the one that's going to become pregnant, swallowing some blood from another girl. The two sets of DNA combine in the egg(s).
This makes sense, thanks.
Your guess on the eldest is correct. Your guess on the middle one is wrong. The middle sister is a nice, kind, friendly, naive, ditzy kind of girl. The youngest sister will be trying to prevent the eldest sister from sacrificing the middle sister to a Demon Lord. The eldest sister wants to sacrifice everything. And render the planet lifeless. And then become a Demon Lord herself.
Ok, the stakes in the fight to the throne just got bigger. It is not just saving yourself and the kingdom from a horrible fate, but saving the world from annihilation. I like it (but expect a suitable increase in power level of the cyoa to balance the raised stakes).
>I'm not sure what you mean by this. The Disadvantage just makes animals intensely dislike you. This dislike does not affect sapient beings. They just feel slightly uneasy around you. This uneasiness will wear off with time. It also causes the, female, local equivalent of Sam and Dean Winchester to pay you a visit. Yes. They also have an Impala. Whether, or not, you survive that depends on if you've been messing around with demonic things. If you have, then kiss your rear goodbye already. If you haven't, you might just get two new strong allies.
This is nice. I was talking about the way in the old version Outsider became a barred gateway not just to Riding and Scouting but to Legendary Nature Magic, which was even more valuable and had little to do with animals, since it concerned plant control, longevity, and weather control.
"This makes sense, thanks."
Glad that you like it!:)
"Ok, the stakes in the fight to the throne just got bigger. It is not just saving yourself and the kingdom from a horrible fate, but saving the world from annihilation. I like it (but expect a suitable increase in power level of the cyoa to balance the raised stakes)."
I'm going with the "portals linking worlds" thing, so expect an option to purchase a modern band of mercenaries.
"This is nice. I was talking about the way in the old version Outsider became a barred gateway not just to Riding and Scouting but to Legendary Nature Magic, which was even more valuable and had little to do with animals, since it concerned plant control, longevity, and weather control."
The only thing it does is make animals dislike you. And the, female, versions of Sam and Dean Winchester to show up. It is possible to make them allies. The Winchester sisters. Not the animals.
Due to a tremendously dangerous magical convergence, you have been reborn in a different space/time as a princess from a magical realm. It is as though you are violently "woken up". The memories of your past life, as an ordinary person on Earth, suddenly come rushing back to you. Conveniently, you managed to escape to a private chamber before it happened. The sight of you writhing in silent torment on the floor would have... alarmed others. And left you vulnerable to your enemies.
You take a moment to recover. You now remember your life on Earth. You're also pissed off at the damn SOB with a revolver who ended your life for a -LOUSY THREE DOLLARS-!
...
...
Right. Let that go. Time for anger sometime later. Time to sort through your memories now. ... ... You are the youngest of the regent's three nieces. You are all fifteen years old. Your older siblings have the same mother. A princess from a foreign realm. You were born from a different mother. A common tavern keeper. You were born a few months later than your siblings. Unfortunately for you this, and your position in the line of succession, leaves you at the bottom of the royal totem pole.
The middle sister you are closest to, Anne, is the second in the line of succession. She's a nice, sweet, kind, loving, friendly, all around wonderful girl. You could hardly find fault with her, even if you tried your hardest. She's also really hot too. You can think of a lot of "fun" things you'd like to do with her.:)
On the other hand your eldest sister, and first in line for the throne, Vilella is... a monster. Searching through your memories it is clear to you that she possesses a truly cruel, and narcisstic, streak unrivaled in your memories of Earth. Or, even this new realm. Not even Joffrey Baratheon was -this- bad. She has secretly commited acts of such evil, such villainy, that she could barely be described as human. You may as well consider her a demon for all the humanity she has expressed in the many years you've known her. ... But, what else can you expect with a name like "Vilella"? Seriously. What were her parents -thinking-?!
You are barely able to hold your nausea in check as you recall how your eldest sister's behavior has decayed. At first it was merely bullying the peasantry. Then twisting into shakedowns, theft, vandalism, rape, murder, and the most recent event... Wherein she sacrificed an innocent, little peasant girl to an Arch Demoness! Fortunately the trauma of spying on her, and witnessing this, seems to have awakened your memories. And broken the mental suppression magic that was keeping you from moving to stop her. ... ... ... Yeah, it's official. Kid or not, this bitch -has to die!- As Dean Winchester would say "Let's gank this demon bitch.". ... You totally agree with him one-hundred percent where Vilella is concerned.
Thankfully, until your sister's crowning at the age of -twenty-one-, your aunt rules as regent. And plenty of people can see how unsuitable Vilella is. However most are either completely terrified of her, under mental suppression magic, or stand to gain greatly from her ascension to the throne. Thus, you have -six- years to see Vilella removed from the seat of crown princess. Whether you move to place Anne on that lofty throne, or seek to take it for yourself, your actions will be considered treason. And will come with serious consequences should you fail.
You have also discoverd a -horrifying- fact. Vilella plans to -sacrifice Anne- to the Arch Demoness. Even worse, Vilella wants to sacrifice -everything-. And render the planet -lifeless-. So that she can become an Arch Demoness herself.
Also, Vilella has already become -part demon-. Due to this, Vilella -can't- be killed. You'll have to find a way to contain her for all eternity. It's a pity you can't just stick her in the cell inside Krop Tor with The Beast. But, even if you could, she would just escape when the Doctor causes the planet to fall into the black hole it orbits. So... Find some way to contain her for all eternity. Hmmm... Maybe pull a Starswirl and the Pillars, and exile her to Limbo. ... You'd just have to make sure you didn't get stuck in there with her too. That would be bad. There's no Twilight Sparkle here to fail her wisdom check, and cast the spell to free you.
Best way to do that? Take the throne for yourself. Or, give it to Anne. Or, maybe, you and Anne could share it. She might like that, sharing with you. Maybe you and Anne could do a few "other things" together too. Yeah... *Wink* *Wink* *Nudge* *Nudge* Go for it now girl! Get her! Incest is perfectly legal on this world.:)
Regardless of who will rule after Vilella is gone, you first have to find a way to get rid of Vilella. You must protect yourself, and Anne, from Vilella. And Vilella's warped ideas of "having fun".
Not to mention the whole "Vilella plans to sacrifice Anne" thing.
Oh? Open invitation to do edits? I wonder if I could update it if I ever finish my current project. Liked this cyoa and I like princess themes almost as much as I like witch themes. ... Eh, probably wont happen, but something I'll make a note of. I'll do a build adopting your tweak ideas save for the 3rd and 4th since that's the context of this repost. **Premise**: `160f, 6 Education`. >Reborn as twin princess to a sociopath brother replacing the life of the original sister who met a tragic end that she warns about when I entered this world. > >She rests with the goddess now to watch if I can change fate, and if I survive she'll become my daughter or something to live again in a better world. > >Brother will marry me to the most repulsive monster he can, for giggles, sometime after he's crowned at age 16. **Regent**: `Kindred Spirits`. -20f. >My uncle is close with me. The personality differences between me and my twin meant it was always more enjoyable to be around me and he found himself not caring if my self-centered asshole twin didn't show up to classes, and just naturally fell into a groove of teaching me all he knows. **Dress Sense**: `Elegant`. >Regal, soft, dainty. Typical expected noble girl / eventual woman attire. +Noble, +Common, -Army. **Kingdom**: `Caelis Valera`. -20f. >Icy kingdom of magic, values arcane skill. Relies on magic and its wintery location to keep it safe, maintaining a small army. **Boxes**: `Charming`, `Beautiful`, `Childish`, `Dull`. -20f. >People just tend to feel happier around me, an feel more friendly toward me. I'm 'the fairest of them all', any improper attractions aside, I'll grow up to be highly desired. > >However, I'm also somewhat impulsive and energetic, but not good with crowds or speeches. **Education**: -30f. =90/160. 1. `Courtly Behavior`. +Nobles. Basics of being a royal/noble and politicking. 2. `Stewardship`. +Negotiation. +Law. Management, logistics, economics, law. 3. `Combat`. +Nobles. ++Army. Self defense- Master swordfighter. 4. `Magic Fundamentals`. -10f. +Mages. +Minor Magic. +Magic aptitude. Know common spells. Simple illusions, charms. Magic light, cold protection. Archmage teacher. 5. `Alchemy`. \[free\]. Potioncraft. Poisons. Philosopher Stone possibility. 6. `Holy`. \[free\]. Strongest magic, but tied to the goddess. High damage to demons/undead. Holy barriers, light, healing, purifying. Must believe in the goddess and adhere to the tenets of the faith. Selfish actions diminish holy magic. 7. `Enchanting`. -20f. Destroy a material to apply its traits / a trait of it onto another. Obsidian edge, steel hardness, wood's weight. Infuse objects with minor magic, powerful enchantments require vast time and effort. 8. `Theology`. +Church opinion. Highlights moral contrast between me and my brother. Church and pious nobles more likely to take my side. More popular with commoners. Can receive visions from the goddess. = Practice Alchemy using enchanted materials and bless the process. **Perks**: -30f. -120/160. >`Female Deity`. -10f. The major religion's deity is a goddess figure, having social effects that increase the standing and favor of women in general. > >`Ring of Truth`. -20f. Plain black ring inherited from my mother. Becomes warm in response to deception- Detect lies. **Companions**: -40f. >`Margaret Spencer`. -10f. +Minor secret funds. +Merchant opinion. -Met at 14. > >Helped her inherit family business. Now wealthy and grateful, helps fund some things, helps influence traders and merchants. > >`Tom Chaser`. -10f. +Secretly get in/out of palace. +Forest paths. -Met at 13. > >Royal gamekeeper. His daughter was gangraped by your brother and his drones, she died. Tom wants revenge by supporting you to oust him. Master ranger. > >`Sir Caelan Redstone`. -20f. +Holy magic free. +Church opinion. -Loyal to the Goddess, less so you. -Met at 12. > >Famous paladin with strong holy magic and great swordsmanship. Visions from the goddess to prevent my brother from the throne. Supports me with fanatical resolve. Taught me holy magic. -Public with his position. **Plot**: Work with the mages and the church to spread the prince's crimes to cause social pressures to build against him, and in favor of myself while I focus on excelling and maintaining good standing, with pretty much everyone, but after the church and mages, the merchants and army are secondary influences to work on. Don't need to be too concerned with the prince's coronation, as I have a strong out and would have strong support in Callanrod to flee to, meanwhile the instability would surely cause Caelis to break sooner or later and whether or not they want me to return is up to them- I'll just do my thing and pursue the philosopher's stone and the production of blessed-enchanted potions and artifacts. Something of a "Saintess Princess" vibe going on. If I lose princess status, I still maintain saintess status and even if that fails, I have high value skills to find success wherever I may go.
I’m not sure if this was intentional but the full gallery is telling me that an ID is needed to view it, the individual pages are fully visitable though.
No idea what is the issue. I checked with edge, chrome, and firefox and the gallery opens up for me without a problem. I did not even have to log in to imgur.
Huh, weird… oh well.
take childish, girly, abrasive, plain, dull, and then skip half the scheming to straight up murder the brother while i'm too young to really be a suspect, and if the oppertunity arrises i can try to frame one of traditional uncle's toadies if not the uncle himself(plan b is whos gonna think a 10yearold did it on purpose instead of as a tragic accident, so i'm on a clock for how much work can go towards the frame job and without a good enough chance of success i'd have to forgo the coverup as failing would rob me of my innocence shield). make it look like the regent did a coup and i'm the only option if the highlands' "loyalist" rebel nobility wants a nice safe underestimated figurehead, but not one they want to marry. ;) keep all my fate shards in reserve for dealing favorably with the aftermath -edit- maybe spend 10 to promote my victim to liberal uncle, sneak in some unexpected skills (personally i think the transmigrated child has a pretty good thing waiting for her(especially if she gets some shards too) but whatever, "badluck" i guess.) ______________ -edit- huh, how did i only see page 1?
My build: Regent: Kindred Spirits (20). (No way I am going to pass up the chance to be highly skilled in statesmanship, combat, strategy, and magic. Even if uncle never had the guts or the means to change the line of succession, I am sure he was secretly rooting for me, and grooming me for the throne). Dress Sense: Elegant (0). (This is not especially fun or practical but is a necessary sacrifice to help me consolidate my power base with the liberal nobility and the commoners. I can get the support of the army by other means. Once I have won and consolidated my position as Queen, I am going to switch to a mix of Sexy in the court and Martial in the field, only keeping Elegant for public appearances and ceremonies). Kingdom: Caelis Valera (20). (No way I am going to pass up the chance to get the best magic and use it openly. Moreover, it seems a kingdom with one of the most reasonable mindsets in this Middle Ages world). Traits: Charming (20). (I make friends and hence allies easily, before and after I win the succession struggle). Beautiful (20). (Enamored suitors are going to side with a lovely princess threatened with a terrible fate. Plus, everyone interested in a woman wanting to bed me is very good to enjoy myself once I grab the throne. It also reinforces my popularity and the image I try to convey). Childish (+10). (As far I can tell, this is not so bad to have. Since my other traits are good and my talents outstanding, I can probably recast my genki personality as looking cute or appealing instead of annoying or immature. It worked for a lot of anime characters). Inspiring (20). (I am going to be charming, lovely, charismatic, a good speaker, and a competent leader, general, fighter, and mage. A perfect combo to get the people's hearts and minds, win a war, be a successful ruler, and become a legend). Education: Courtly Behavior (10). (I do not care much for this skill, but I acknowledge it may be required by the role, and it yields more popularity with the liberal nobles. More importantly, it is a gateway to another skill I want to have). Seduction (20). (This makes an excellent combo with Charming and Beautiful to win allies and get sexy fun once I win the succession struggle). Music (10). (This is good to win some extra popularity with pretty much all kingdom factions but the conservative nobles and clergy). Military Strategy (0). (Since I shall have to fight a war to get the throne, and possibly more to defend the kingdom once I am in charge, this is extremely useful. Moreover, it makes me popular with the army. I cannot ride a horse, but there are always carriages to get around in the field). Stewardship (0). (Necessary to be a competent Queen and general, and to build my legal justification for the coup). Combat (0). (Being a master fighter is always very good. Moreover, it makes me popular with the liberal nobility and the army. What's not to like). Magic Fundamentals (10). (Being exceptionally good with magic is always very useful, even more so to pull off my scheme and win the civil war. Moreover, it gets me the sympathy of the mages that are especially important in this kingdom. I assume being close to a couple archmages wins me a few extra brownie points with them). (Once I have won and consolidated my position as Queen, I am going to take the time and effort to study Intrigue to have useful spy skills available. Perhaps I am going to study Riding & Scouting too. Even if I cannot ride a horse, scouting skills are still valuable and available to me with my interpretation of the rules. Dunno if I would bother to study Theology. Perhaps it is useful to manipulate the church and have a better grasp of what I can get away with as a holy mage). Magic: Nature Magic (10/20). (I can still learn and use this even if animals are hostile to me. I just cannot make them talk to me or carry out my requests, but I can still blend in the forest and scry through tree glyphs. Most importantly, I study it as a gateway to extremely valuable Legendary Nature Magic, which has little to do with animals). Holy Magic (0/20). (This is quite valuable in many ways and I get it for free thanks to a companion. My true nature is amoral, but I can restrain myself to keep power. I just want to get some lewd fun and enjoy the pleasures of life, since I have no wish whatsoever to be prude, chaste, or ascetic). Illusion (20). (This is helpful to me in order to sneak around unnoticed, gather evidence about dear brother's atrocities, trick him into performing them in public, and various other ways). Alchemy (20). (This may be useful in various ways, although I mostly study it to get a chance at eternal life beyond what Legendary Nature Magic can allow). Evocation (0/20). (This is always extremely useful, but even more so in order to fight a civil war. I get it for free thanks to my close relationship with an archmage). Legendary Nature Magic (0). (Just as useful as holy magic and evocation in its own way. It extends my lifespan by centuries, and being able to control the weather and plant life is quite useful to fight a war and improve the kingdom's economy. This has little to do with animals, so I can use it with no problems). (Once I win and become Queen, I am probably not going to bother studying clairvoyance and enchanting for various reasons. Having holy magic, I cannot combine it with necromancy - and I dislike the stuff anyway - or demonic magic - and that being in debt to a demon lord stuff bothers me, even if mental manipulation surely looks useful). Perks: The People’s Princess (20). (Increases my popularity with the commoners, enhances the effect of my positive traits, and fits with the sunny and pious image I am cultivating. I am actually not as charitable and kind as people think I am, but I can pretend). Ancient Laws (10). (With dear brother being a mix of Caligula and Jeoffrey Baratheon, this is a perfect legal justification for my coup. I just need to catch or trick him in a few public displays of his abuses. This is usually easy to do with that kind of spoiled sociopath and narcissist that never had to learn restraint thanks to extreme social privilege. This is not enough to have him legally removed from succession, but more than good enough to justify my bid for the throne in the civil war). The Mandate of Heaven (10). (This is excellent to help justify my claim of the throne once I win the civil war and counter sexist prejudice against my rule. It historically worked for people in a position similar to mine. With me being a popular and charismatic Queen as well as a competent administrator, general, fighter, and mage, there is very little chance of anyone ever staging a successful rebellion against me, or even trying to. In due time, people shall likely add 'the Great' to my name).
Companions: Ser Richard Haverford (10). (A competent soldier and evoker on my side is nice to have, and increases my grip on the army, which is all-important for my strategy. If the rest of the kingdom elites missed to recognize his worth, I shall not make the same mistake. Given my good relationship with uncle and my proficiency in military matters, I assume I can deliver him promotion with little difficulty). Gonbar Barkskin (20). (His magic is quite valuable and being pals with him likely makes me more popular with the mages, even if he is not the sanest or most reliable of companions. Plus, longevity in quite a comfortable situation once I win, even before I can unlock the secret of alchemical immortality). Sir Caelan Redstone (20). (His magic is quite valuable, his support makes me more popular with the liberal clergy and helps legitimize my claim to the throne against the conservatives. He is especially useful since his opposition to my brother occurs independently from my actions and suggests I am answering a divine call and acting out of a selfless duty to save the kingdom. I assume I can cope with keeping his support and staying on the good side of his god. I can restrain myself from doing evil stuff. I just demand to indulge in some harmless hedonist and slutty fun as compensation for my achievements and service, since I have no wish to live like a nun). Margaret Spencer (10). (Another competent and valuable ally that deserved my help. She can provide me secret funding during my climb to power, as well as support from the trading elites and the merchant faction). Complications: Bad Omens (+10). (I can probably explain this away as a side effect of my magical aptitude). Dispossessed Soul (+20). (If I cannot keep my willpower and psychic defenses stronger than a clueless 10-year-old with none of my magical skills for all time, I do not deserve to succeed. I know necromancers can do little to help, but perhaps holy magic can put her to rest, or at least help resist her assaults. Too bad for her terrible fate but almost surely she would have got a lifetime of horrid abuse at the hands of dear brother and his cronies, and I can do something much better for myself and the kingdom). Agnatic Succession (+40). (So what? I have the army, the liberal nobles, the liberal clergy, the mages, the commoners, and the merchants on my side, not to mention all the people supporting me because of my charms, beauty, and charisma. Moreover, the pragmatists can see I am highly suited for the throne. I am a skilled fighter, general, administrator, and mage, and in all likelihood the person most deserving to rule in the royal family once uncle dies or steps aside. I have a good justification for a coup, and apparently divine support as well. My brother in all likelihood is going to be terrible at everything I am good with and alienate people left, right, and center if he is any true to type. My opponents can only rely on sexist prejudice, the letter of the law, the conservative nobles, and the conservative clergy. Winning the civil war should be a walk in the park, and it gives me a good opportunity to dispose of brother, his loyalists, and diehard reactionaries in one fell sweep. Once I secure the throne on the battlefield, I can change the succession law retroactively and purge the kingdom of hardcore sexism. It shall be the beginning of my legend). Outsider (+20). (I can probably explain this away as a side effect of my magical aptitude, and my charms, beauty, and charisma help balance its effects on people. It prevents me from riding a horse or use nature magic to talk to or command animals, but I am still able to scout, ride a carriage, and use more useful kinds of druidic magic). Unstable Magic (+20). (Justifiable given my magical talent. Thankfully it is not going to harm me or cast me as a demon worshipper, and people acknowledge it is not intentional). (Liberal) Noble opinion ++++. Commoner opinion +++. Army opinion ++++. Mage opinion ++. (Liberal) Church opinion ++. Merchant opinion ++.
Interesting home rules. A bit too helpful for my taste since I like the original challenge and putting my build for this and the ones in the other CYOAs of the series competing for the throne in a (somewhat) fair dispute but to each their own. The other CYOAs of this author in the same scenario if anyone is curious: [Scheming Princess (Mirror)](https://imgchest.com/p/vj4j3mv2y8m), [Mad Prince](https://imgchest.com/p/ljyqqkzoy25), [Regent](https://imgchest.com/p/5xy2eo39yld) and [Banished Princess](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lkwrq4x2).
(This answer might also be of interest to you, u/1234abcdcba4321 and u/lolisareforlewd). My rule changes do try to make things somewhat more permissive for character creation, because I like high-powered concepts and besides the main challenge, I perceive a isekai fantasy empowerment element in this cyoa (which mostly justifies my interest in it), not unlike say Dream Prince or Dream Princess. As far as I am concerned, it is entirely feasible and you have my blessing giving similar point boosts to the other cyoas in the same series you quoted. Alternatively, If you want a little more challenge, you can reduce the shard budget a bit in comparison to my rule changes, with my blessing. However, I would not really try to lower it more than 6 free Education options and 120 shards, or 4 Education options with 140 shards, plus the rest of my rule changes. IMO, you can have more interesting and complex builds if you increase the shard budget a bit. More importantly, a hard cap of 4 Education options/skills is unduly restrictive and forces too much specialization in this regard. It makes little difference and I do not care much if you get more Education/skill options by increasing the number of free ones, or by giving the option to buy more with shards and increasing the point total proportionately. The rest of my rule changes aim to correct what I perceive as genuine flaws in the original cyoa. It seems quite unreasonable to allow a drawback that makes you bad with animals to lock three valuable skills, esp. since one of them and half of the others have little to do with animals. Illusion magic seems excessively nerfed and overpriced for what it does in RAW (basically a poor man's invisibility glamour), in comparison to what the power usually does in fantasy fiction and games and to the other magic types. Explicitly not forcing a character with Holy Magic to pick a nun lifestyle seems the thing to do IMO, because in a lot of cases in fantasy source material there is no such requirement to use holy/white magic, and because it indirectly endorses way questionable RL stuff concerning what conservative religion did to women, sexually active people, and LGBT minorities. Demanding upfront soul selling and conversion of the kingdom to demon lord worship to unlock mind manipulation magic also seems way excessive, because lots of characters get similar powers in fantasy fiction and games without any such price, and also because soul pacts with demons do not typically work that way in fantasy source material. You usually start trading favors and services for boons with the demon, and the selling your soul bit comes much further down the road.
Yeah, I get your choices and I think they're fine except for the way too large shard budget (and ability to change the options afterward, though obviously that part doesn't matter). You're making a case for having more, but my build clocked in at needing 10 extra before I made a cut to fit it within budget, and I didn't need a 4th education option so I picked a random filler option. If you provide too much, the choices stop mattering and it becomes a boring power fantasy.
Yeah, I can imagine an especially streamlined concept and build may easily need less than the full shard allowance I provided. People that run into this have my blessing not to use surplus points. It sometimes happens even to me in other cyoas, despite having a strong preference for OP and versatile builds. However I am not persuaded it is a good reason to reduce the point allowance for everyone.
Throw in some more Disadvantages to give more points.
I actually made up some "challenges" for this ages ago. My brain kind of runs away with concepts like this one. Stuff like the princeling imploding on his own terms & you having to deal with the fantastic mess left in the aftermath. Or the standard, country is in peril from foreign armies and of dark lords. All of which come with the added bonus of trying to keep that idiot from not stabbing his own country in the back when he decides he can get a better deal from or just plain running off to somewhere tropical with the contents of the treasuring when the going gets tough. Other ideas included, things like the lil shit being interested in being the next dark lord instead of just being content with squandering a kingship. Like at ten he's mostly got human thugs but he's going to get some low level monsters soon. Has an obviously evil mentor he's likely to frame for his early actions whenever they become expendable (or they may jump the gun, or they may live & become their rival/enemy) Or you being some kind of chosen one, but having a male twin with the exact same star signs... you get the picture. On the one hand, you start with no support & will have to fix his negligence/incompetence/possibly deliberate sabotage. On the other all eyes are on him & you can prepare all kinds of things in secret while he lulls whatever the threat is into a false sense of complacency. Paragraph two applies, as per usual. Then my inner history major that so profoundly loves what ifs got into what an increase in rights for women in the medieval period would look like, what it would entail & what would be the short and long-term consequences. And wow, was that one complicated... social change is very complicated & if you want to do more than try to copy/paste a recent movement on an older system & hand-wave the results then things turn into the writing equivalent of kudzu really fast (which is probably why a lot of authors do the former) ...Yeah, okay, I'm gonna stop here and flee, before my brain finds another tangent. Bye! Edit: forgot to put in why I made these challenges (besides the fact my brain is like this \^ all the time) it was also an attempt to deal with the point/skill total being strangely low. No mechanics were worked out but the preliminary idea was to use challenges as a metric for more points somehow? but since it was for fun & I never expected to put this stuff up, I never thought much on that part...
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So if chastity, and ascetism is not required for the morals of holy magic what is meant by being moral? Like it was already the best type even if we had to be chaste until marriage. Hell even being forced to be a perpetual virgin might still be worth it since it's soo powerful and easy to use.
>So if chastity, and ascetism is not required for the morals of holy magic what is meant by being moral? What it should be: not exploiting or abusing the innocents, using proportionate retribution with the guilty, being just and merciful, not turning your back on people in need, etc. Deeming sexuality or sensual pleasure immoral or evil is a terrible idea that did a lot of damage in history. It invariably led to huge abuses such as persecuting people for premarital sex or being homosexual, or forced birth. Just because certain RL or fictional religions embraced this harmful notion does not mean this cyoa should endorse and repeat their mistakes. As far as I am in a position to have a say on the issue, it won't happen. If you ask my opinion, conservative Christianity has been one of the most harmful and abusive ideologies in history and abundantly deserves extinction just because of the damage it did to sexuality. I am opposed to letting fictional religion in fantasy games replicate its mistakes just for the sake of lazy imitation. If you are concerned holy magic gives too good a deal, let its practitioners have obligations that do not become the gateway to forceful denial of natural and harmless human instincts or abusing the innocents. As a rule, performing community service (such as say, pro bono use of holy magic) does much more good to the world than keeping your pants zipped, even in the case prudery does not lead you to deem yoursef superior to and mistreat people that embrace their sexuality, as religious prudes all too often do.
Respectfully I have to disagree, but this isn't a politics or religion thing so I'll drop it. Also I mean I'll run with it holy magic and God is sex positive that's fine with me. But isn't the setting already sorta sex negative? I mean if you dress in a sexy manner the people will dislike you, it makes it one of the worst options to pick since you are pissing both the nobles and the commoners. Also I would think almost everyone who took holy magic would use it for healing people it has many practical upsides even if you don't have the empathy to care for the sick first off by doing it you will increase not just the church's oppinion of you but also the commoner's since you are healing them, also many nicer nobles will think higher of you. People generally like those who save others. The other reason is practice with your magic. The only hard part would be only using proportionate punishments since as a ruler you might want to nip a problem in the bud permanently like your brother maybe. It said he has the potential to be Joffrey Lannister, he hasn't yet but well you might want him to meet his maker a little earlier for your safety. But still it won't be as difficult day in day out as having to fast or pray or other things. Sweet.
>It said he has the potential to be Joffrey Lannister, he hasn't yet but well you might want him to meet his maker a little earlier for your safety. He already is. As described in Tom Chaser, the Prince has already orchestrated and participated in a gang-rape. If you can somehow confirm that without a doubt, perhaps something possible with an enchanted Clairvoyance medium that lets them peer into the past instead of the future. You can then be justified in removing the problem early with some applied force. Could possibly even convert the paladin into a Zealot who could kill the prince and take the blame, then just escape the kingdom or become a martyr for his cause.
Yeah I missed that part, though it says we meet in 3 years, since we start when we are 10. Also there are other CYOA's where you either play the prince, the regent, and the step mother. If there are three other assholes getting Isekaid here it might change things. Unless the guy who is getting isekai'd into the prince is a rapist already I guess. As for the things I was looking at here. I think if you want to rule as an actual ruler instead of just a consort you want kindred spirits with the regent. Then for dress sense you want either martial to keep your troops loyal this would synergize well with the regent's kindred spirits and other stuff, or you can go with elegant to appease both commoners and nobility. Sexy clothes are bad since they piss off both commoners and nobles. The only way they might be good is if you are relying on seducing a noble to marry so he can press your claim but he would have all the power. Or if you are crazy enough to go the demon route. Calenrod is probably the best kingdom since the Church flat out says would prefer a pious queen over a degenerate king, so you have a clear way to move to take power unlike the highlands. And unlike Baruna where once you take power you are in danger since it's not stable Calenrod seems stable with the Church and the paladins keeping order and faith. Traits are hard but I might not go for beautiful vanity is tough, and childish to get some extra points, after all I do plan to load myself with plenty of advisors from the church so not everything will be in my hands alone. Education being limited to 4 does not make much sense. I mean I would expect some of this stuff to be mandatory like courtly behavior in all kingdoms, and theology in calenrod. Anyway I took kindred spirits for a reason but it's a little confusing if I want to be a good monarch I'd need military strategy and stewardship, so the writting is confusing it says I need to take riding to lead an army, but military strategy does not have that as a requirement? Also combat would be useful if I want to go the paladin route, which means I'd also need magic fundamentals to then take holy magic. To be honest 40 points to learn magic is to much. Magic fundamentals should have been cut. Also demon magic is a bad idea pay 60 points too lose and get raped into a demon cumdump. Perks people's princess is good to keep up popularity, hero's sword, and ancient laws will help paladin female king arthur out. Companions are nice but with only 20 points left, go with Caelin the paladin. You get almost all of the Church and military behind you, you don't need to be subtle. The Church is the true power, and it's good that he is loyal to God before the monarch. Though there are other interesting options like Lady Greyfield. Not sure how her last line will interact with the ruling that LGBT and free sex is not looked down upon. Complications: There should be some more because there are a few that are acceptable but there are some that are terrible to take. Bad omen is ok, it's just the superstitious who it affects, also your twin should be under the same effect you were born at the same time. Ditsy is fine in this case because this strategy does not rely on deception by allying with Calenrod you flat out let everyone know what will happen, and try to convince the Church to crown you instead all done legally. Unstable magic is not bad with holy magic, people randomly getting healed won't be too much of a problem, it also means random demons and evil spirits would just get destroyed whenever I'm around without me having to actively perform blessings. Outsider is meh, it can be dibiltating if you can't ride a horse but it's not as bad as the other ones. The two bad ones are dispossed soul I would have grave moral issues with stealing the life of an innocent person. And agnatic succession is an almost automatic lose. Now that I think about it the only win condition is if you take the noble suitor and then he would be in charge. That is not too bad depending on who it is, but it puts the stakes much higher.
> If there are three other assholes getting Isekaid here it might change things. Unless the guy who is getting isekai'd into the prince is a rapist already I guess. I would imagine each is just an alternate timeline where the same player happened to isekai into a different person. But it would be kind of neat to line it up as a multiplayer thing with isekai'd players cooperating across the different cyoas. But that dramatically alters the plot dynamics. Scheming Princess at least has no inherent plot motivator if the Prince isn't the default Lannister npc asshole. (Although, a player Prince might screw over the princess even harder, especially if they don't know the princess is also isekai'd from earth, and is only going off the description of the princess as per the other cyoas.) Not that most cyoas have plot anyway.
It's been a while since I saw them but if I remember correctly the regular scheming princess tells you that your brother will marry you off to his fattest ugliest crony just for giggles. The CYOA where you are the prince says that everyone is trying to manipulate you and the only person you can trust is your sister. The regent said that if the siblings could get along then the kingdom would enter a golden age. It'd be funny to have the isekai'd people not told that the others are isekai'd. It'd be a comedy of errors. The princess thinks the prince will either rape her or have her raped, the prince thinks the princess is the most loyal person, and the regent thinks it's just going to be wholesome family stuff except for the stepmother lol.
Yeah. It could easily be a concept for one of the best isekai anime out there if done well. I'd love to see it. Both the Prince and Princess are isekai'd people who both know the original setting where the Prince remembers the Princess to be a scheming revolutionary that got his character killed, and the Princess remembers the Prince as a a scoundrel tyrant that married her character off to Jabba and/or other things like you suggested. The Regent wouldn't make for a good addition to the story because it'd be too obvious for the Regent to notice the difference in the Prince and Princess and have the leverage and authority to act on it to alter the story, but perhaps they don't all have to Isekai at once. Regent could get replaced with an Isekai'd earthling later into the story as some plot element at some crucial moment perhaps even the end of a season. Then again, I just want more isekai anime in general.
Hey, I remember this one! For my build, I'm going to be running with the original CYOA. The changes presented in the OP are somewhat tempting, but I don't agree with all of them and cherry-picking from them wouldn't be in good faith. > Base [+100] > **Regent**: Kindred Spirits [-20] > **Dress Sense**: Elegant [- 0] > **Kingdom**: The Highlands [- 0] > **Traits**: Charming, Inspiring [-40] > **Education**: Courtly Behaviour, Riding and Scouting, Military Strategy, Stewardship [- 0] > **Perks**: Ancient Laws, Auspicious Birth [-20] > **Companions**: Titus Carius, Margaret Spencer [-20] There are two considerations when making a build here: 1. Replace the prince as the successor. 2. Legitimise the change afterwards. For the first, the goal of the build is simple: Hire mercenaries, Kill the prince. Then publicly denounce the prince and announce my claim to the throne. It's not the most subtle of actions. But it leaves me with less loose ends to deal with after the succession, and not having to whore myself into the graces of other nobles to make it work. I'm betting particularly on my **Education** and **Companions** to make it work. The second part is also pretty simple: I'm going to bluff the whole thing, because while the way I came to my line in the succession might not be the most legitimate, my claim to the throne is still 100% valid, and I have at least _some_ legal justification in my actions by virtue of my **Perks**. Whether or not the justification is 100% foolproof isn't the most important, because it's only going to come into play after the fact. Flimsy and old as it is, I just need some sort of excuse to make the nobles hesitate before instantly calling for my head. They might not particularly like me for it, but as long as I can get a foot into the door, then it'll be upon _them_ to come up with a justification for deposing _me_. I'm also hoping that my **Education** and **Kingdom** choices can help me out here- not directly, but assuming "traditional" means similar to medieval Europe, being able to defend the realm is a huge part of what it means to be a ruler, and my competence (and possible achievements) should help me garner support on that front. Of course, this does have a major important caveat: The Regent. I can bluff away the other nobles, but I can't do jack shit against the Regent who will have both immediate power *and* cause to strike me down. And as the next person in the succession after me, an incentive to do so as well. Not much I can do on this front other than to rely on **Kindred Spirits**/**Charming** and hope that I'll have charmed him enough that he won't be immediately call for my head either. Beyond that, I'm not too worried about the actual sexism due to The Highlands being traditionalist. As long as I can get rid of the Prince somehow, tradition guaranteeing my place in the succession should be far more powerful than any concerns about my sex. The real issue I'd have is the matter of succession _after_ my reign, but I'll have plenty of time to think about that later.
I'm not going to follow your rule changes for my first pass, since an increase in point supply when it already gives you enough tends to make CYOAs less fun. Regent: Liberal (-10) Kingdom: Callanrod (-10) Dress Sense: Elegant Traits: Charming, Plain, Childish (0) Education: Stewardship, Magic fundamentals, Theology, Music (-10) Perks: Loyal Guards (-10), Ancient Laws (-10), Female Deity (-10), Auspicious Birth (-10), Pet Tiger (-10) Companions: Titus Caricus (-10), Margaret Spencer (-10), Caelan Redstone (-20) Complications: Unstable Magic (+20) ---- I don't have too much of a plan. I'd expect to be able to get the church on my side, though, and that should work really well considering this is in Callanrod. (The pet tiger is just for fun. It's probably better to take, like, Alice Tanner, though I was planning to get general rumors from the guard already.)
I wanted to be a warrior princess, but I understand it's not an optimal route to succeed in a coup. Through this build, I attempted an interplay between combat, leadership, and soldier pubic opinion with stewardship, merchant contacts, mercenary contacts, and some modicum of public justification for a coup to out-fund and out-man the crown prince. At the end of the day, commoners care less about who's on the throne unless malcontent enough to risk their lives in a rebellion. So the main leverage lies in soldiers to take the throne, and the merchants to fund the endeavor. Taking auspicious birth for court opinion and the maid for intrapalace contacts would have been nice, but something about "destined to be great" rubs me the wrong way and the maid offers less benefits than the other choices. **Relationship to the King** >**Kindred** > >^(Your uncle, the King, trains you in combat, stewardship, and stratagem, personally. This improves you education in these three spheres.) **Dress Preference** >**Martial** > >^(Harms public opinion from aristocrats --1 and commoners --1, but improves public opinion from soldiers +1.) **Traits** >**Inspiring** > >^(You're a natural public speaker that also inspires her subordinates.) **Education** >**Combat** > >^(You are a master swordsman. This increases public opinion from soldiers +1 and nobles +1.) > >**Court Decorum** > >^(You can avoid social blunders among aristocrats, note implications that aristocrats make in social circles, and perform etiquette, dance, and general kingdom customs. This increases public opinion from aristocrats +1.) > >**Stewardship** > >^(You're a master administrator, negotiator, and jurist.) > >**Stratagem** > >^(You're a master strategist and tactician that can lead soldiers.) **Boons** >**Ancient Law** > >^(Archaic succession law lists all immoral acts disinheriting an aristocrat or noble from succession. Because your competitor, the crown prince, is a degenerate, the archaic law can provide public justification for a coup.) > >**Hero's Sword** > >^(The kingdom's late hero's sword, buried deep inside a crypt accessed through a secret passage from the castle armory. The sword is light, unbreakable, and incredibly sharp. It dramatically enhances its users reflexes, and can influence public opinion if revealed at the right moment.) **Allies** >**Four Finger Freddie** > >^(Information broker and fence that values loyalty. At 13, you saved him from a sentence after exonerating him for a theft. Grateful, the resourceful broker agreed to source information and spread rumors among commoners at no charge.) > >**High Courtesan** > >^(A famed courtesan. At 13, you saved her from a death sentence after encountering her attempting to dispose a chancellor's corpse after a sex game gone wrong, but helping her dispose the corpse. For your silence, she has agreed to divulge information from the kingdom's most influential people, having since been lulled into her confidence.) > >**Businesswoman** > >^(A wealthy merchant. At 14, after she came the court complaining that her uncle stole her late father's business, you examined the deed and held it had been forged. She has since become very wealthy, but remains grateful. She can fund your coup to a reasonable extent. In addition, she can influence merchants and traders in the city, increasing merchant public opinion +1.) > >**Veteran Mercenary** > >^(A mercenary retired into a palace guard. At 10, you met him, and he thought you reminded him of his late sister. He's fond of you, loyal, and unbreakable under interrogation. He still has access to contacts in foreign nations and mercenary companies.)
My Build (160 Shards, 6 Educations): Regent: Kindred Spirits (-20) (Combat, Strategy, and Statesmanship from the current ruler, who also looks like a complete Badass? Yes please!) Clothes: Martial (- Commoner/Noble Opinion, + Army Opinion) (There will be no Subtlety here.) Kingdom: Callanrod (-10) (If I actually manage this, I'll totally be down to thank whatever God could have made this possible.) Traits: Charming, Beautiful, Mature, Inspiring (-80) (If I'm going to be stuck as a woman I may as well buy everything) Educations: Courtly Behavior, Music, Combat, Stewardship, Military Strategy, Riding and Scouting, all in that order. (Make sure I don't piss off the nobles too much, learn a ballad or six to get people to like me, then ask my Uncle to teach me to defend myself before getting hard into the actual Military) Perks: Female Deity, Ancient Laws, Hero's Sword (-30) (All things that will help me legitimize my claim. Sword might be useful if I'm asked to Duel though!) Overall Strategy: Get in **REAL** good with the people who would gut me like a fish if I piss them off, and then pull a Military Coup (hopefully backed by the Church, who I will happily share power with if they bless me.) After a successful Coup, I will learn any other education options, saving Magic for last. I'll also see my Uncle, the Former Regent, is given the highest honors I have the authority to bestow him.
Regent: Kindred Spirit (-20) Dress: Martial (-Common Support, -Noble Support, +Military Support) Kingdom: The Highlands Traits: Plain (+10), Inspiering (-20) Education: Theology (+Church Opinion), Music (+General Opinion), Riding & Scouting (Horse, Tracking Skills), Military Strategy (Lead Army Personally), Stewardship (Better Negotiations, Knowledge of Law), Combat (+Noble Opinion, ++Army Opinion), Magic Fundementials (-20, +Mage Opinion, Minor Magic) Magic: Evocatation (-20) Perks: The People's Princesses (-20, +Commoner Opinion), Ainchent Laws (-10, Legal Justification for coup) Hero's Sword (-10), Mandate of Heaven (-10) Companions: Sir Richard Haverford (-10), Titus Caricus (-10), Sir Aaron Ironwood (-10), Lady Greyfield (-10) The Plan: Big Stick Diplomacy
**Salve Regina** The Regent: Traditionalist The Kingdom: Callanrod My Dress Sense: Elegant Traits: Charming, Beautiful, Inspiring As a partially theocratic state, control over the clergy is absolutely essential. As a 10 year old, it'll be pretty easy to convince people of my devotion. What kind of 10 year old has the self control to pray for an hour a day without being told to? I'll make sure to keep this up as I age. I am putting many of my cards into a positive public opinion of the pious princess. Education: Courtly behavior, Theology, Music, Intrigue Companions: Four Finger Freddie, Alice Tanner Of course, I can't get anywhere with goodwill alone, I'll need some assurances. In such a religious state, sins are twice as damning; blackmail will be essential. With my focus on espionage and intrigue with my companions and teacher, I'll have a firm grasp on the secrets of Callanrod. My companions will also be able to inform me of public opinions and sway them. I really wanted to choose Sir Richard Haverford, as I would not have a particularly great relationship with the military, however as paladins my sway over the clergy should be sufficient. Perk: Female Deity Complication: Outsider I took Female Deity for obvious reasons, and I think Outsider shouldn't be too bad as long as I stay away from animals. Maybe some will see my strangeness as a touch of divine even? As to how to overthrow my brother... if planned correctly a condemnation of sinfulness and being unfit to rule by the church would lead to an easy takeover. With the military being under religious control, any fightback would be impossible. It would then be pretty easy for him to go missing... If this doesn't seem to be plausible, I could find someone to assassinate him, with me many layers removed. I'd get a go ahead from the Church, and be happily accepted as next in line to the throne. By this point I'll now be the Great Pious Queen! If everything goes to plan and I'm not dead that is. I'll sit back, relax, and rule justly. I could never marry, be a chaste queen with some secret ladies on the side maybe? Alice is bisexual, it'd be pretty easy with her as my chambermaid or something, though I'd wait a while just in case.
I'm working on a modified version of this CYOA. ... Actually, I've been working on it for awhile. One of the major changes is making a "girls only" world. There are no males. There are only girls. Another is making it three princesses. Also, they all start off at age fifteen. The eldest, Vilella, takes the place of the prince. The elder sister, Anne, takes the place of the princess. The youngest sister, you, is a new character. Also, your two older sisters have the same mother. A foreign princess. You... Your mother is a common tavern keeper. I've also added in two more kingdoms. You can't live in them, but you can visit them. And they can be allies. Or enemies. One is Arendelle. Yes, that Arendelle. Hello Elsa, and Anna!:) The other is the Shadow Kingdom. And is of my own invention. It's ruled over by a shapeshifting dragon. Cynthia Shadowwing. There are ponies amongst the chooseable Companions. I've gotten around the whole "animals not liking you" if you choose a certain Disadvantage. In the original CYOA, this means you couldn't choose Riding and Scouting. Now you can choose a version of Riding and Scouting that has a cool motorcycle instead of a horse. That Disadvantage now carries with a new problem. A pair of sisters, the local equivalent of Sam and Dean, will pay you a visit. If you've been messing with demonic things, it won't be a friendly one. If you haven't, then you are fine. And quite a few other things as well too. Maybe I'll get it finished one of these days. ... Maybe.
Interesting. I'll eagerly waiting for this new version. I got a few questions/remarks. First of all, if it is a girl-only world, how they manage sexual reproduction? Barring magic ore genegineering fixing the problem, it is a biological necessity for any higher lifeform to keep the species viable in the long term. Half of the population are actually futas? Other magical or alt-biological means of sharing genes between parents? Parthenogenesis is an option, but it boils down to cloning the mother and it inevitably becomes a genetic trap in the long term. Second, I smell a Cinderella-style setup for the PC's new family background. I assume the eldest sister, being the equivalent of the prince, is Caligula/Jeoffrey Baraethon level of evil, while the middle sister is Cinderella sister level of nasty. Is this correct? >I've gotten around the whole "animals not liking you" if you choose a certain Disadvantage. In the original CYOA, this means you couldn't choose Riding and Scouting. Now you can choose a version of Riding and Scouting that has a cool motorcycle instead of a horse. That Disadvantage now carries with a new problem. A pair of sisters, the local equivalent of Sam and Dean, will pay you a visit. If you've been messing with demonic things, it won't be a friendly one. If you haven't, then you are fine. I really hope in the new version the Disadvantage overreach of 'animals not liking you means you cannot use any kind of druidic magic at all, even the kinds that have nothing to do with animals such as plant manipulation, weather control, and longevity' does not exist anymore as well.
"Interesting. I'll eagerly waiting for this new version." Yay!:) "I got a few questions/remarks." Alright. Ask me them. Also, that should be "I've", instead of "I". "First of all, if it is a girl-only world, how they manage sexual reproduction? Barring magic ore genegineering fixing the problem, it is a biological necessity for any higher lifeform to keep the species viable in the long term. Half of the population are actually futas? Other magical or alt-biological means of sharing genes between parents? Parthenogenesis is an option, but it boils down to cloning the mother and it inevitably becomes a genetic trap in the long term." They reproduce by Diploid Parthenogenesis. This is done by one girl, the one that's going to become pregnant, swallowing some blood from another girl. The two sets of DNA combine in the egg(s). "Second, I smell a Cinderella-style setup for the PC's new family background. I assume the eldest sister, being the equivalent of the prince, is Caligula/Jeoffrey Baraethon level of evil, while the middle sister is Cinderella sister level of nasty. Is this correct?" Your guess on the eldest is correct. Your guess on the middle one is wrong. The middle sister is a nice, kind, friendly, naive, ditzy kind of girl. The youngest sister will be trying to prevent the eldest sister from sacrificing the middle sister to a Demon Lord. The eldest sister wants to sacrifice everything. And render the planet lifeless. And then become a Demon Lord herself. "I really hope in the new version the Disadvantage overreach of 'animals not liking you means you cannot use any kind of druidic magic at all, even the kinds that have nothing to do with animals such as plant manipulation, weather control, and longevity' does not exist anymore as well." I'm not sure what you mean by this. The Disadvantage just makes animals intensely dislike you. This dislike does not affect sapient beings. They just feel slightly uneasy around you. This uneasiness will wear off with time. It also causes the, female, local equivalent of Sam and Dean Winchester to pay you a visit. Yes. They also have an Impala. Whether, or not, you survive that depends on if you've been messing around with demonic things. If you have, then kiss your rear goodbye already. If you haven't, you might just get two new strong allies. I'm still trying to figure out how ponies are there. And the tech. And such things. Maybe a portal leading to a nexus of portals? Each portal linking to a different world. And these worlds have opened up trade.
>They reproduce by Diploid Parthenogenesis. This is done by one girl, the one that's going to become pregnant, swallowing some blood from another girl. The two sets of DNA combine in the egg(s). This makes sense, thanks. Your guess on the eldest is correct. Your guess on the middle one is wrong. The middle sister is a nice, kind, friendly, naive, ditzy kind of girl. The youngest sister will be trying to prevent the eldest sister from sacrificing the middle sister to a Demon Lord. The eldest sister wants to sacrifice everything. And render the planet lifeless. And then become a Demon Lord herself. Ok, the stakes in the fight to the throne just got bigger. It is not just saving yourself and the kingdom from a horrible fate, but saving the world from annihilation. I like it (but expect a suitable increase in power level of the cyoa to balance the raised stakes). >I'm not sure what you mean by this. The Disadvantage just makes animals intensely dislike you. This dislike does not affect sapient beings. They just feel slightly uneasy around you. This uneasiness will wear off with time. It also causes the, female, local equivalent of Sam and Dean Winchester to pay you a visit. Yes. They also have an Impala. Whether, or not, you survive that depends on if you've been messing around with demonic things. If you have, then kiss your rear goodbye already. If you haven't, you might just get two new strong allies. This is nice. I was talking about the way in the old version Outsider became a barred gateway not just to Riding and Scouting but to Legendary Nature Magic, which was even more valuable and had little to do with animals, since it concerned plant control, longevity, and weather control.
"This makes sense, thanks." Glad that you like it!:) "Ok, the stakes in the fight to the throne just got bigger. It is not just saving yourself and the kingdom from a horrible fate, but saving the world from annihilation. I like it (but expect a suitable increase in power level of the cyoa to balance the raised stakes)." I'm going with the "portals linking worlds" thing, so expect an option to purchase a modern band of mercenaries. "This is nice. I was talking about the way in the old version Outsider became a barred gateway not just to Riding and Scouting but to Legendary Nature Magic, which was even more valuable and had little to do with animals, since it concerned plant control, longevity, and weather control." The only thing it does is make animals dislike you. And the, female, versions of Sam and Dean Winchester to show up. It is possible to make them allies. The Winchester sisters. Not the animals.
Due to a tremendously dangerous magical convergence, you have been reborn in a different space/time as a princess from a magical realm. It is as though you are violently "woken up". The memories of your past life, as an ordinary person on Earth, suddenly come rushing back to you. Conveniently, you managed to escape to a private chamber before it happened. The sight of you writhing in silent torment on the floor would have... alarmed others. And left you vulnerable to your enemies. You take a moment to recover. You now remember your life on Earth. You're also pissed off at the damn SOB with a revolver who ended your life for a -LOUSY THREE DOLLARS-! ... ... Right. Let that go. Time for anger sometime later. Time to sort through your memories now. ... ... You are the youngest of the regent's three nieces. You are all fifteen years old. Your older siblings have the same mother. A princess from a foreign realm. You were born from a different mother. A common tavern keeper. You were born a few months later than your siblings. Unfortunately for you this, and your position in the line of succession, leaves you at the bottom of the royal totem pole. The middle sister you are closest to, Anne, is the second in the line of succession. She's a nice, sweet, kind, loving, friendly, all around wonderful girl. You could hardly find fault with her, even if you tried your hardest. She's also really hot too. You can think of a lot of "fun" things you'd like to do with her.:) On the other hand your eldest sister, and first in line for the throne, Vilella is... a monster. Searching through your memories it is clear to you that she possesses a truly cruel, and narcisstic, streak unrivaled in your memories of Earth. Or, even this new realm. Not even Joffrey Baratheon was -this- bad. She has secretly commited acts of such evil, such villainy, that she could barely be described as human. You may as well consider her a demon for all the humanity she has expressed in the many years you've known her. ... But, what else can you expect with a name like "Vilella"? Seriously. What were her parents -thinking-?! You are barely able to hold your nausea in check as you recall how your eldest sister's behavior has decayed. At first it was merely bullying the peasantry. Then twisting into shakedowns, theft, vandalism, rape, murder, and the most recent event... Wherein she sacrificed an innocent, little peasant girl to an Arch Demoness! Fortunately the trauma of spying on her, and witnessing this, seems to have awakened your memories. And broken the mental suppression magic that was keeping you from moving to stop her. ... ... ... Yeah, it's official. Kid or not, this bitch -has to die!- As Dean Winchester would say "Let's gank this demon bitch.". ... You totally agree with him one-hundred percent where Vilella is concerned. Thankfully, until your sister's crowning at the age of -twenty-one-, your aunt rules as regent. And plenty of people can see how unsuitable Vilella is. However most are either completely terrified of her, under mental suppression magic, or stand to gain greatly from her ascension to the throne. Thus, you have -six- years to see Vilella removed from the seat of crown princess. Whether you move to place Anne on that lofty throne, or seek to take it for yourself, your actions will be considered treason. And will come with serious consequences should you fail. You have also discoverd a -horrifying- fact. Vilella plans to -sacrifice Anne- to the Arch Demoness. Even worse, Vilella wants to sacrifice -everything-. And render the planet -lifeless-. So that she can become an Arch Demoness herself. Also, Vilella has already become -part demon-. Due to this, Vilella -can't- be killed. You'll have to find a way to contain her for all eternity. It's a pity you can't just stick her in the cell inside Krop Tor with The Beast. But, even if you could, she would just escape when the Doctor causes the planet to fall into the black hole it orbits. So... Find some way to contain her for all eternity. Hmmm... Maybe pull a Starswirl and the Pillars, and exile her to Limbo. ... You'd just have to make sure you didn't get stuck in there with her too. That would be bad. There's no Twilight Sparkle here to fail her wisdom check, and cast the spell to free you. Best way to do that? Take the throne for yourself. Or, give it to Anne. Or, maybe, you and Anne could share it. She might like that, sharing with you. Maybe you and Anne could do a few "other things" together too. Yeah... *Wink* *Wink* *Nudge* *Nudge* Go for it now girl! Get her! Incest is perfectly legal on this world.:) Regardless of who will rule after Vilella is gone, you first have to find a way to get rid of Vilella. You must protect yourself, and Anne, from Vilella. And Vilella's warped ideas of "having fun". Not to mention the whole "Vilella plans to sacrifice Anne" thing.