HTML Inner Empire [v1.8] [Defiant Explorer]

[Innocent Chloe]

So far, it's only the nightmare scene in Survivor Origin. With some stretch, something like this can be seen in the Chat scenes, but it's more of a gray area there rather than a non-con. Oh, and then there's the scene with the unconscious Meralion and (by player's choice) a bit too overactive Selene. But that's more of a... reverse rape? But even there, in a number of her lines, Selene may try to justify it as an attempt to express gratitude. Or just be a cold, egoistic bitch, though.

On the whole, I'm much more inclined to show "gray areas" where things aren't all unambiguous, to provoke player reflection, rather than straightforward scenes of sexual violence. The latter, however, is not impossible. Selene has no plot armor against this. There's just no room or suitable characters for it, narratively speaking, yet.

Ah okay thanks for clarification!

Grey areas are fine as well of course, was just curious to see if I was missing any major content in my playthroughs

I also had a follow-up question. Is there a way to avoid sex with Cadonis? On all my playthroughs I seem to lose my virginity to him and can't avoid it? I am presuming it is by design so that you don't have to write virginity loss sequences further down the line for the players?

It might be better from a player perspective since none of the dialogue options seem to let you get out of that, that you at least have dialogue options to say no and in essence then get raped as from a player perspective on a playthrough where you don't want to have sex with Cadonis it certainly feels like rape but yet all the dialogue and writing make it seem consensual eventhough as a player you are trying to get out of the situation and reject him but you simply aren't given this option and are forced to be consenting while you don't want to consent

There is a scene with the blacksmith that i certainly would classify as rape, due to consent being taken away half way through the sex.
There is also a scene with Meralion, where the protagonist can rape him in his sleep.

How do you have sex with the blacksmith? I've tried a few times but can't quite figure out how to get to his sex sequence

 

[Defiant Explorer]

I also had a follow-up question. Is there a way to avoid sex with Cadonis? On all my playthroughs I seem to lose my virginity to him and can't avoid it? I am presuming it is by design so that you don't have to write virginity loss sequences further down the line for the players?

Sex with Cadonis is completely avoided; all you need is at least Willpower 1 (since he's actively trying to seduce Selene, it's a check-based situation).

 

[ffive]

I also had a follow-up question. Is there a way to avoid sex with Cadonis? On all my playthroughs I seem to lose my virginity to him and can't avoid it? I am presuming it is by design so that you don't have to write virginity loss sequences further down the line for the players?

Selene can avoid it with some basic ounce of Willpower. However, keep in mind that she'll need to repeatedly shoot him down a few times for him to get the hint. And every time you allow him to push her boundaries the subsequent Willpower checks get harder.

How do you have sex with the blacksmith? I've tried a few times but can't quite figure out how to get to his sex sequence

After you see him talking with his wife in the village, follow him to the river. Then just... use your feminine wiles, i guess, it's pretty straightforward to seduce a horny husband, as it turns out. It might depend on their earlier interactions though, not sure. Also, bathing earlier may help to look more appealing. (can't remember if it's actually a thing, but, you know)

edit: Oh, and make sure you get some meal first. Starving Selene isn't in a mood to seek entertainment.

 

[Innocent Chloe]

Sex with Cadonis is completely avoided; all you need is at least Willpower 1 (since he's actively trying to seduce Selene, it's a check-based situation).

Ah that explains it on both my playthroughs I didn't invest any stats into willpower

Maybe would be worthwhile writing something in for 0 willpower characters who don't want to but don't have willpower to reject

 

[bolondro2]

Ah that explains it on both my playthroughs I didn't invest any stats into willpower

Maybe would be worthwhile writing something in for 0 willpower characters who don't want to but don't have willpower to reject

IMHO, you can not have your cake and eat it. Cardonis will hit with anything with a skirt in a 10 mile radious (highlanders included). If you have zero willpower and don´t want to expend any boost point, you must suck it...

 

[ffive]

Maybe would be worthwhile writing something in for 0 willpower characters who don't want to but don't have willpower to reject

Characters who don't have willpower to resist get the sex scene with him; that's plenty enough of something, i'd say.

(you also get to choose how Selene feels about it mid- and post-act)

 

[Defiant Explorer]

Ah that explains it on both my playthroughs I didn't invest any stats into willpower

Maybe would be worthwhile writing something in for 0 willpower characters who don't want to but don't have willpower to reject

This is self-implied, given that Willpower has "seduce" in its resistances list, which is written in the attribute description. That wasn't initially stated that way. I added it after all these endless discussions about the Cadonis situation.

Poor fella. He's doing exactly what I need him to do as an author, but a lot of people are still pissed off about it. Oh well. This character shouldn't leave anyone indifferent. This is his role. And he handles it quite well. Anyway...

All in all, I don't want to add intrusive in-game hints. That would take away players' agency. Even though it makes me a bit sad sometimes to read when people request an option from me that was already there, they just didn't notice it. Well, the attentive will be rewarded, and the inattentive... they'll get through the game too, it's not that hard, really.

 

[_DarkDesires_]

So far, it's only the nightmare scene in Survivor Origin. On the whole, I'm much more inclined to show "gray areas" where things aren't all unambiguous, to provoke player reflection, rather than straightforward scenes of sexual violence. The latter, however, is not impossible. Selene has no plot armor against this. There's just no room or suitable characters for it, narratively speaking, yet.

Shame, I don't know if it's just my particular kinks but a game like this, with a 'historical' setting where such things were part and parcel of the dangerous world around you - feels sort of incomplete without it. To me non-con while a hot kink, is also about making the world feel more real - especially for a female protag, by showing that there's potential substantial consequences for the choices you make.

Probably why I haven't yet played any updates after an initial playthrough, come to think of it. Obviously this is a fabulous work even without such scenes, but I guess 1st time playing my mind conjured up the scorching possibilities in such an environment, and I'm still hoping for those extra spicy scenes

 

[Innocent Chloe]

This is self-implied, given that Willpower has "seduce" in its resistances list, which is written in the attribute description. That wasn't initially stated that way. I added it after all these endless discussions about the Cadonis situation.

Poor fella. He's doing exactly what I need him to do as an author, but a lot of people are still pissed off about it. Oh well. This character shouldn't leave anyone indifferent. This is his role. And he handles it quite well. Anyway...

All in all, I don't want to add intrusive in-game hints. That would take away players' agency. Even though it makes me a bit sad sometimes to read when people request an option from me that was already there, they just didn't notice it. Well, the attentive will be rewarded, and the inattentive... they'll get through the game too, it's not that hard, really.

No no, I mean like writing in a scene or dialogue choice in the Cadonis sequences where if you built a character without adding points into willpower that it just plays out a bit differently. Either that the seduction is done differently where you feel more like the character is genuinely powerless to his seduction or where it legitimately plays out like rape

I don't mean a hint that 0 willpower makes it unavoidable. I mean more that the scene plays out a bit differently for 0 willpower characters who still try to avoid the seduction but can't due to 0 willpower

Anyway that is just my thoughts on it

Seriously, make a 0 willpower character and play through the Cadonis scene with the intention of that being a playthrough where you want to save Selene's virginity. You will see what I mean then that the writing just plays out a little bit weird when as player in that playthrough your Selene is intending to keep her virginity

 

[cd13]

I think it is kinda the point? 0 Willpower characters cannot avoid Cadonis seduction because he is just that good at it.

 

[burnerone1]

If you want to roleplay and not have your stats matter, you can always cheat and add XP/insight points through sugercube. Might break your game but that is risk you take

 

[Rinalivi]

The scene with Cadonis is fine, even in a zero willpower situation

A Selene that doesn't have the willpower to resist him ends up falling for him. And the scene plays well in that situation. You as the player may have wanted Selene to have resisted, but you made her unable to resist by not giving her willpower to show resistance when she needed the most, And if you as the player made Selene lust over Cadonis, the willpower required to resist him becomes even harder.

And like the dev mentioned, the player can then choose how Selene feels about the sex afterwards. And I think that part was done very well, by allowing Selene to realize that Cadonis manipulated her to get what he wanted, and once he was done wit her, he was ready to discard her like a dog discards his chew toy when they get tired of playing with them. I thought the scene was perfect. Though i do wish that Vagrant Selene could have been more forceful in telling Cadonis to F off, maybe by pulling a knife on him or something, but that modified scene will remain in the realms of my imagination.

 

[burnerone1]

you do wonder if Vagrant Selene did any scrapping growing up on the streets. Not that she would have been take on someone with training or most full grown men but other half starved homeless kids

 

[Rinalivi]

you do wonder if Vagrant Selene did any scrapping growing up on the streets. Not that she would have been take on someone with training or most full grown men but other half starved homeless kids

It doesn't sound like it based on the origin description. It only says that she and her buddy would use intimidation a lot. But one can imagine that in that enviroment eventually you'll be forced to fight, even if it's just as a way to try and escape, so i doubt she's completely useless with that knife.

 

[Defiant Explorer]

Seriously, make a 0 willpower character and play through the Cadonis scene with the intention of that being a playthrough where you want to save Selene's virginity. You will see what I mean then that the writing just plays out a little bit weird when as player in that playthrough your Selene is intending to keep her virginity

You don't really think I haven't done this countless times before? Especially after all the endless discussions that have taken place, particularly here on page 13 and, from time to time, further on. And here we go again...

The situation there varies, starting from the rehearsal scene. Selene, with a willpower of at least 1, consistently passing the checks, gets one set of lines and descriptions. Selene, without willpower or deliberately not resisting seduction, gets other lines and descriptions and even experiences, ahem, wet dreams. There is a dynamic, changing complexity of willpower checks, depending on a hidden seduction parameter that increases as Cadonis persistently seduces Selene. Because of this, the final willpower check ranges from an elementary 1 to a very substantial 5.

In other words, you are asking to add exactly what is already in the game.

 

[Deniz31]

Reading last patreon post reminded me something, will we see some pregnancy content?

 

[Defiant Explorer]

Reading last patreon post reminded me something, will we see some pregnancy content?

Yes. At the end of this chapter or the beginning of the next one, there will be a time skip of 1-2 game months. Then it will become clear whether Selene is pregnant or not. That's if we talk about random variables, which are checked automatically under every sex scene.

Also, with one specific choice (this has not been decided for sure yet), there may also be an option with 100% pregnancy. This is the option where Selene continues to have regular sex with someone behind the scenes during that very time skip. Considering that she is in her peak fertility age, I don't think it makes sense to use a random check for this option. I am not sure, however, if this will be a formula adjustment without player participation or if I will make a few choices (during retelling this time skip's events) to determine this by player choice. We will see.

And I feel like I've already answered this question. Many, many times. Yes, pregnancy is possible in the game. And it's not game over. Nor is it a dead end. It's just one of the game mechanics and possible story variations. Just believe it already.

 

[ffive]

I am not sure, however, if this will be a formula adjustment without player participation or if I will make a few choices (during retelling this time skip's events) to determine this by player choice. We will see.

Giving the player some input on what their character was doing during the time skip seems like a nice thing, if possible. Makes it feel more like they're shaping the story rather than just get to sit there for a ride.

 

[Defiant Explorer]

Giving the player some input on what their character was doing during the time skip seems like a nice thing, if possible. Makes it feel more like they're shaping the story rather than just get to sit there for a ride.

Well, yes, I agree. But it will depend on whether this choice is made before the time skip. Or in the time skip, during the description of recent events. That's what I meant.

 

[Defiant Explorer]

I'll say even more. Update 1.8 will be out soon. It will be followed by 1.9 and 2.0 (which will be smaller and come out faster... I hope). And sometime after 2.0 (the complete second chapter), I want to release a tiny update with this very time skip. It will be the very beginning of the third chapter. There won't be much to play there, just the introduction to the next chapter, but there, among other things, you'll find out whether Selene is pregnant or not.

Well, since this question is so important to some people. Besides, they will have the opportunity to replay chapters 1 and 2, depending on whether this is the outcome they want or not.