Hero Maker IF

Blog for Hero Maker Interactive Fiction // My name is Mar but you can call me Snail as well, nice to meet you! (any pronouns)

[heromaker-if]

(This book is rated for 18+, for content warnings, check in the links below)

Summary

Stories of heroes, legends and chosen ones are commonplace. But you'd never thought it was your child who would have to save the world from the Demon Lord's clutches.

Features

Customise your Character: Name, Gender, Pronouns, Sexuality, Appearance, Specialisation, etc // And your child as well: Name, Gender, Personality

Romance one of the two Main Love Interests, both of them, neither, or even other secret Love Interests.

Make your choices to shape your path, and also the hero's path. Will they take your lessons to heart? Or will they deviate from the set path and cause havoc?

Learn to use Controlled Magic, Alchemy, Sword-fighting or even Wit to defeat your foes.

Unlock secret branches of the story for deeper and crazier storylines! Perhaps the Demon Lord isn't the true enemy? Or join The Empire and take the throne for yourself.

And many others!

Prologue + Chapter One Total Words: 74K words (excluding code) Average Playthrough: 32K words

DEMO | FORUM POST

Spoilers ahead...

🌑THE NIGHT [LI]

Not much to know about Pachypoda Ranunculaceae, they're one of the only friendly Nights you know, and a powerful druid at that. A bit clumsy but really intelligent, behind the distant reputation they hold, lies a caring and sensitive heart who craves attention and relationships.

☀️THE SUN [LI]

An ex-bard and an ex-monk, there isn't a lot that Astro/Astra Mu Leonis hasn't done. They are confident, selfless, and if you were to ask them: tons of fun! They crave adventure and thrill but there's roots coming out of their soles, eager to finally settle down.

🌸THE FLOWER

Impossible to keep track of is your partner, Freyr/Freya. They're always jumping from one task to the other, but they commit to every single one. They're loyal to a fault and hide secrets that they are unaware of. But still, so loving that every day you can't stop yourself from missing their affection...

⚔️THE HERO

Your child is many things, but like you, they aren't. You'd always wonder what part of yourself did they inherent, but you only see your partner in them. Can you be the parent they need in a world overrun by demons? And can you guide them to the right path?

🔥THE MISSION [LI]

A secret Lover to be found. The Demon Lord and his hound.

👑THE GOAL [LI]

A secret Lover to be found. But did they deserve to be crowned.

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Links

[Content Warnings] | [Physical Descriptions]

Tags

#Hero Maker IF | #hmif

#hmif spoilers (if you want to avoid spoilers, block this tag)

[heromaker-if]

Small Little heads up!

Hey guys! Funny story... 😶

I'm glad my work load is getting much more organised and I think I will be able to do weekly progress updates, but not this month.

I've been going through some new diagnoses and medication and it's been a bit hard to work since that, not to mention that this month is gonna be vacation time and I'm gonna be spending time with my family. I might still write here and there when I can but I'm not getting my hopes up until things are back to normal.

Once again, thank you for the patience (seriously I appreciate it a lot), and I will see you guys in September!!

Oh and happy summer holidays! 🏖️☀️ If you guys celebrate that!

[heromaker-if]

Progress 04/08/23

Okay hi! So I think the deadlines really work cause I managed to reach my goal in one week!! Which COULD mean that I can manage some weekly progress updates that are actually substantial. 🫡

This specific scene that I've been writing was... a very different type of scene. It was triggering, so I will advise again to anyone who is planning to read this to really consider the trigger warnings. Since it's also a scene that might happen depending on your choices, I will put warnings at the beginning of each chapter, indicating what will happen and might happen on that chapter.

Either way, that scene is over and we have finished another small path. Just a few more to go to complete this whole Demon path thing! 😈 It's not pretty at all, but I feel like my writing as improved throughout the chapter.

04/08/23 - 170k words (43% of Chapter Two - Demon Path)

Total word count as of now: 248k words

[heromaker-if]

[yuuugay-deactivated20250320]

idrk where i was goingwith this but it was goin

[heromaker-if]

Mar i think you should give Pachy a gun. is what they deserve for all the suffering that they and the other characters are going through. /hj

You are so right anon. Any trauma incoming to them or their friends is going to get a pop pop from Pachypoda! 🔫🔫

[yuuugay-deactivated20250320]

i saw layer modes and i went back to my old habits oncew again

[heromaker-if]

I say they bury Pachypoda in the sand while they’re at the beach! :D

Pachypoda: ... Um... Ok.

[heromaker-if]

who eats the pickles and who passes their pickles off to the pickles eater?

Can you believe I've never had pickles before...? I certainly can't! Anyways, to answer your question

😒Pickle passer: Hero, Frey, Secret LI1

🥒Pickle eater: Astro/a, Pachypoda, Secret LI2

Thanks for the lovely pickle asking anon!

[heromaker-if]

ROs (Means F too ❤️) and Hero go with MC to the beach.

After making sure to save a spot, set up shade and apply all the sunscreen on 9ur baby hero, who'd help the MC sign a big hole?

I like to dig big hole. It relaxes me.

Oh my god. A beach episode on my asks??? YES.

This is so cute! I personally love watching people dig big holes, mainly cause I get very concerned if someone is going to fall in by accident. I don't do it myself cause sand... and I don't get along.

Anyways, thanks for the ask anon! I won't go too in depth with these answers, because I think the answers can be rather straightforward. I will say that slathering sun screen on baby Hero is adorable though 🫠

Who'd help dig a hole: Frey, Astro/a

Who would not help dig a whole and why: Pachypoda (doesn't think it's safe and might harm the critters that leave underneath), Secret LI1 (doesn't want to get dirty), Secret LI2 (wouldn't find it fun).

[infamous-if]

✮ CH. 2 PART I ✮ 92k (+86k) -> 178k ✮

PLAY CHAPTER 2: PART I

It's here! First, sorry for the long wait. Chapter 2 has proven to be a behemoth, and I'd gotten sick this past week, my computer broke, my documents went kaput and I had to do some Frankensteining for the last few pages of this part. I'm not too worried, as Part II update can help smooth out all the kinks. I will definitely be looking for beta testers once chapter 2 is complete ha

Anywho! Enough about my problems. This demo update adds 86k words (86, 818 to be exact) and is the first part of a two part chapter. Which means the narrative in this chapter is not complete, but I kind of closed it off at a pretty satisfying place. As with every Infamous chapter, this is very character driven. So have fun!

What to expect in Chapter Two PART I:

get on the bus & deal with the consequences of your actions lol

arrive to your first tour stop and do your first gig...which might get messy (both literally and figuratively)

hang with a familiar father and daughter duo

have some heart to hearts/ some cheeky little POV passages

meet more BOTB crew and learn exactly what's in store for you this season

get roped in some ValenReign mess !

Maintenance:

this chapter has a lot of flavor text, or at least, more than the demo did, so if there are any errors or if there are lines that don't correspond with your choices, please let me know so i can fix that!

you will no longer be forced to write your own lyrics and the update will offer you pre-written lyrics by yours truly. im not t swift so i would advise you not to expect professional level songwriting, but they work well enough lolol

lyrics page is up as well as stats, but i don't really like the system i used to balance it, mostly because new...stat things will be added as the story goes on, so that's still getting reworked. still, good enough for now, as there are some personality stat checks!

Prologue and Chapter 1 errors/typos/grammatical bits fixed. (Wouldn't be surprised if I missed some though...) + variables updated.

Scenes not showing up fixed. hopefully, that huge error in which it throws you back to the fight after returning to the house is fixed (It was a bit wonky for me, hopefully it works for everyone else)

Stat and relationship pages updated ( + lyric page to look back at all your lyrics).

Can choose to be asexual and any sexual scenes will be skipped or replaced with romantic scenes. Flavor text in which MC displays any sort of sexual desire will be skipped. (This option comes up during Dakota's party scene. If not, it will show up when it presents itself again.) (Nothing sexual has come up yet, but if there are any scenes or even lines/ internal thoughts that should be skipped or changed for Asexual MCs, please let me know!)

If there are errors or anything, im always open. I've play tested but you girl is always prone to errors. As always, thank you for your love and enthusiasm! It makes me really happy and motivates me to keep writing ! <3

(Also, if you're thinking "omg amy how did you go from 65k to 86k?!" i don't want to talk about it /j)

See you on tour!

[heromaker-if]

Just one more game related ask... the characters playing stardew valley :3

Hello anon! Thank you for the ask! Another great game to this modern AU addition 🥰🐔🧑‍🌾

MC would mostly depend on what type of MC you have but the one thing I will reinforce is that the farm would be ORDERLY. Each section of the farm carefully organised for each function - not to mention very pretty 😊

Hero's farm would be non-existent. Like, they'd spend most of their time mining, doing adventurer's guild objectives, and helping villagers (if your Hero is nicer). I can see them just running around the game, neglecting the farm and just doing the bare minimum to unlock the mine LMAO

Frey would be a mixture of taking care of the farm and befriending villagers. I can see them forgetting about the farm in general because they want to find gifts and unlock heart events for the villagers. If MC were playing the game with them, I can also see them giving lots of attention to the MC. If not, their favourite character would be Krobus.

Pachypoda would do very well in this game (pachypoda is actually so multi-talented, they learn things so quickly). Their farm would be flourishing, and I can imagine that they know the best way to be efficient with their products. They would especially like taking care of the animals, so I see a lot of time invested on that. I think they'd find the monsters and creatures hilariously gross. I can see them being a Penny-romancer too (ME TOO TO BE FAIR)

Astro/a would be TERRIBLE AT THIS GAME!! They'd grow bored of it too. They'd do their best, keeping up with the farm and fishing and mining, and other things, but I think they'd get annoyed very quickly because things are simply not working out. They're character would pass out so many times due to low health or past curfew, to a point they'd get frustrated. I also think they'd have a weird feud with Alex and maybe Haley too.

Secret LI1 would have to be forced to sit down and play this game. Most of the time they'd be still, not sure what to do, but after learning the mechanics, they get addicted to fishing. Just fishing. Nothing else. They'd be good at it though! Regarding villagers... they'd probably not care for anyone, but I can see them softening with Jas.

Secret LI2 would LOVE this game! They'd have a lot of hours in it too, farming, fishing, mining, and just general gameplay. They'd focus a lot on upgrading their farm and buying the best seeds for the right seasons (even buying them before the season!). They'd definitely get addicted to the game LOL I also think they'd grow quite fond of Robin and her entire family.

[heromaker-if]

Progress 29/07/23

Okay! So I found a way to keep myself more productive! DEADLINES 🥳🥳🥳

I know, crazy to believe I managed to go this far without any proper headlines, but you could tell by my progress updates that there's days where I... write very little. Which isn't what I want. So I gave myself deadlines (at least in this final stretch, more of this improvement will be noticeable in the next progress updates), and it worked!

Anyways, just a bit more words but we're almost halfway through one of the paths! 🥰 And finally meeting Astro/a too!!!

Thank you all for continuing to be patient, I truly don't know how to express my gratitude other than continuing to work on this.

29/07/23 - 160k words (40% of Chapter Two - Demon Path)

Total word count as of now: 240k words

[valtsv]

i will ALWAYS clap my hands excitedly and lean forward in my seat when someone tells a character to "keep your dog on a leash" only for it to turn out they're referring to another person

[valtsv]

the way it reframes the entire relationship dynamic between the two people being addressed. the way wilful loyalty becomes hopeless devotion. the way aggression and violence goes from honorable and rational to bestial and instinctual. the ways faith and trust intersect with codependency and reliance. the questions about power and who wields it in the relationship it opens up. the way it functions as both an insult and an expression of intimidation, of fearful submission.

[prettyboyhowl]

Two years ago your world fell apart. These days you’re… a bit of a mess. And, as it turns out, a soon-to-be criminal too- er, hang on let’s try that again.

Venatici House is a 17+ interactive fiction game, planned to be book 1 in a series.

Genres: Modern/urban fantasy, fairy tales, (dark-ish) comedy, angst, romance.

Around 100 years ago, magical abilities started manifesting in parts of the population. Today, more than ¼ of the population manifest an ability after the age of 12. But something else started appearing too, all those years ago - keys.

People that found these keys realised they could create portals, ‘doors’ to other worlds, other realms. They dubbed these worlds 'Otherworlds’ and began to explore them, but many were dangerous, and people lost their lives in exploration. As such, an association named Kastell was formed to regulate the use of keys, and make sure only qualified people would be able to use them. They created a university for people with abilities, where after graduating, students would become licensed Travellers, allowed to use keys and go on expeditions to Otherworlds.

That university was Donjon.

Two years after a traumatising incident revealed that you had a power all along, you’re finally persuaded to attend Donjon to learn to control it. Seems simple, right? You go, you get better, maybe you finally move on from what you did.

Except next thing you know you’re illegally entering a fairy tale world with your parolee housemate.

- Customise your MC - Choose your name and appearance, play as cis, trans, or non-binary, and romance whoever you want, or no one at all!

- Balance university and a cross-world adventure where you’ll encounter fairy tale creatures and characters (though maybe not how you expect)

- Bonding moments with the main cast! Go on shopping trips, almost die together, attend a party, and other fun things

- Some good ol’ ‘Found Family’ trope (+ a beautiful scarf from your loving guardian)

Eddie (m/f) - Cheeky but always kind and supportive, the two of you have a long history together. They were your best friend, maybe more, and the person that knew you best in the whole world. Now they’re lying in a hospital bed somewhere and you’ve spent the last two years blaming yourself, hating yourself for it.

You’ll fix this, you will… but what will that take from you? More info

Gil (m) - Your friendly and easy-going housemate, he seems to genuinely want to befriend you. Like you, he’s attending Donjon on a Venatici sponsorship. Unlike you, he was in prison not that long ago. It doesn’t take you long to find out he was committed for murder. However, it seems like there’s a story behind it. You wonder what happened to him. More info

Otto (f) - She’s a mystery with a great set of abs. Laid-back and on the quiet side, she doesn’t seem like a bad person, but circumstances tell you she may be dangerous. Of course, with the way she does things at her own pace, it’d be hard to avoid her even if you wanted to.   More info

Ernestine (f) - A princess you meet in the fairy tale world. With her disarmingly pretty smile and (seemingly) sweet demeanour, it’s like she really walked right out of a storybook. At first sight anyways. More info

Lemon Sorbet (m) - A strange but nice man. Best friends with Otto and doubly enigmatic. Funnily enough, while his personality exudes warmth, his body seems to sap away any heat from its surroundings, leaving him with a perpetually cool aura.  More info

??? (nb) - The 6th RO. You’ll only properly meet them in the next book… but that doesn’t mean they’re not around.

DEMO (54k)

Discord: https://discord.gg/hpY7UHzRQP

Tags: #eddie, #gil, #otto, #ernestine, #lemon sorbet

If you want to show me something, feel free to @ me!

[heromaker-if]

Hello! I just found your other blog and found out you were the author of The Vanished Project?? I just wanted to say that really was my favourite wip ever so I’m so happy to find out about Hero Maker and excited to play it because I love what you create!!!

Oh hi! I remember you!! So happy to have found you again, thank you for joining me on yet another journey, and for supporting me then and now 🥰

Thanks for sending me this ask, it's nice to hear from familiar people!

[heromaker-if]

I love the horses so much ❤️

Just imagining lil Hero watching as MC has a long conversation with Yennefer(including responding to her points) while affectionately stroking the both of them.

Or even MC getting ready to teach Hero how to ride on their own and when MC goes to get a horse they pull Yennefer off to the side and whisper talk "...and so I trust you, and I'm asking if you can be the first horse Hero truly rides on their own"

...I like horses and I love it when family animals are actually apart of the family.

❤️..less of a ask and more of me gushing sorry!

AAAA ME TO ANON!!

In real life I'm actually terrified of horses 😨 I think they're beautiful but I'm scared of them LMAO!

Either way, this is all so cute. I can't wait to write interactions between Hero and Yennefer (and Arthur too). MC being all protective of Hero and treating Yennefer like an actual person is so adorable to me. I'm gushing about them too now 🥰🥰

Fun fact: the first ever draft of Hero Maker was a scene between MC and Yennefer, where Yennefer was a long time member of the family and it was a very sad scene (unfortunately, but you all know me by now). That scene was scrapped however, but largely inspired the scene when Yennefer was sick!

Thank you for this ask anon, I think it's so cute the scenarios you have in your head, and I'll be sure to them justice in the actual story 🐎🐎 I can't wait for MC to teach Hero to ride!