#stats page

[leoneliterary]

I have a few questions about how the romance system works, if that’s ok!

Is there a definitive amount of romance flags that you have to accumulate to be considered within an RO’s route?

For example, let’s say that I’ve interacted with Desma 10 times in scenarios where there were options to flirt or not. 7/10 times I don’t flirt, and 3/10 times I do flirt.

Despite the majority of the interactions being platonic, do those 3 flirtatious options result in Desma seeing the MC romantically for the rest of the story? Is there a set number of romance flags to be reached before an RO considers the MC in a romantic light? If yes, does this number change depending on who you’re romancing (less flags needed for Desma but more flags needed for Sarai for example)?

Sorry if the ask is a bit confusing! I was wondering how lightly we can tread the line between friendship and romance with some of the characters 😅

In most IFs I always end up going for slow burns but worry about pacing, thus I wanted to know what would be realistically feasible in HAT.

Good question!

Here's how I have it set up so far, but might have to make some adjustments to it in the future.

Not all romantic choices are equally weighted, meaning that certain romance options are worth more points. This is determined based on how intense the option is. Light flirtation = maybe +1 or +3. Romance option that conveys genuine understanding or that comes after a tense moment = +5 or +10.

As for slow burns, some romances are slower than others, meaning choices are worth fewer points and are harder to get.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these points get you to certain levels of the relationship. The idea is that the relationship can grow and develop as the story does, and you can kind of gauge the intensity based on the choices.

In addition to the romance stat, there is also the friendship stat, which is just as powerful and exists in tandem with the romance stat, so you won't be choosing one over the other.

I have also put in place variables (that I won't mention by name for the sake of surprise) that add another relationship dynamic. So if you have a high friendship/romance, but then make a wild choice, that could definitely impact the relationship.

Also, certain choices, romantic or otherwise, can shut down certain romance routes. I think it's fun for y'all to find out which ones shutdown what on your own. You know, actions and their consequences.

Hope that answered your question!

[mushroompollution]

Character Stats + Navigation

General:

Name: Leo

Pronouns: he/they/she/any

Sexuality: asexual

Birthday: October 25 (scorpio)

Age: 23

Appearance:

Height: 5'6"

Eyes: don't worry about it (ᅌᴗᅌ✿)

Hair: Black. Long, to about mid-back. Probably Leo's most prominent feature, their thick hair is almost always an unkempt, unbrushed disaster. Their bangs are shaggy and hang over the top half of their glasses, with the corners flipping out awkwardly where they hit the rims wrong.

Race: human / white

Other:

Glasses: Leo is never, ever seen without their large, round, thick-lensed glasses. He has frames in several colors of metal, but they're all otherwise similar, and thick enough to consistently obstruct his eyes in photographs

Dress: When they have to be presentable for formal occasions and meetings, Leo dresses in delicate ouji-style tailcoats with billowing sleeves and so many bows. Otherwise, they prefer to wear oversized collared shirts, sweaters, or sweatshirts twice their size. They steal Elliot's clothes more than buying their own.

Pandora Hearts, but make it modern! Some things will be completely fun new AU adventures, and some will follow the actual plot of the source manga... to a certain point.

Warnings: Leo's backstory involves some heavy topics like child abuse, unethical experimentation, and child death. I'll do my best to tag anything as needed!

post will be updated with info/links to come

VENT BLOG: @hauntedphase

Resource Links:

Manga Context Tag

Glossaries:

Characters: Dukedoms || Pandora & Others

Places || Terms

my characterization of Leo is heavily influenced by @laciie, who I used to rp w as Elliot, so I want to make sure to put some credit where it's due

[absentia-if]

Also when the entirety of chapter one is released for Absentia, I hope you all enjoy what I’ve done to the stat page too. It’s not much but I decided to add RO information— both brief and a bit more detailed— as well as side character information; wherein they’re grouped by where you usually find them (so the Hospital Group, the Police Group, and so on)… I just know how annoying it can sometimes be whenever you’re talking to a side character, after not doing so for a bit, and you’re trying to figure out who they are. All of that will be in the stats page— I hope you all enjoy that.

As an example…

I hope you’re all doing well!!! ❤️🌹🌹❤️

[the-orient-express]

Woop! I got a late entry chance for The Great Railway Show. :3

[leoneliterary]

I think stats in IFs is one of the most significant ways to characterize an MC so I think that locking at least some type of outcome behind stat checks should still be implemented. There should be some kind of reinforcement as to why a player would choose to pick one option over another.

I think it’s fine if you don’t want to lock important branches behind stats, but there should be some kind of representation for all available stats in each branch.

The climax of the branch can stay the same but there should be a distinct difference on how the player gets there.

Also, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoy consequences in IFs. If an MC with bad strength stats decides to 1v1 a dragon for some reason, there should at least be some kind of negative impact like significantly decreased health/honor/character relationships. This doesn’t have to be a binary lose/fail scenario either, you can maybe try implementing something like a “bad success”/“avg success”/“big success” type of system instead. Bad successes would result in things like less payout/major injuries/less honor gained whereas big successes would result in the opposite.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I have been tracking choices with variables, it's just for some reason, I've had an easier time doing that with variables than with the stats. It's something I'm actively working on, but I really like the idea of different levels of success.

I also realized while reading your ask, that all of the stats is a really great way of tracking all of the types of choices you've made and the type of character you're playing as.

I'll keep the stats page and try to structure it in a more consistent, immersive, and fun way.

[leoneliterary]

Um, what's the matter with Diomedes's arrow during the hunt chapter? MC can take it or leave it, and upon taking it the text kind of hints on it maybe being useful later, as MC takes care to wrap the arrow in fabric. But there is no variable to track if the arrow was taken, so it doesn't matter at all?

Maybe I have something very clever and detailed planned for that arrow.

Or maybe it doesn't matter at all...

(Or maybe I just made a note of the variable and didn't formally add it in because I was tired and knew I'd be working on the stat page and variables like I am now.)

[leoneliterary]

I am loving your story so much - esp the characters and themes, they are so vibrant. ❤️ I'm curious about why you decided not to implement visible relationship stats? Not accusing - genuinely just curious!

Oh my goodness, thank you so much! I'll never stop being happy about y'all enjoying my characters and story! 💕

I did/do plan to implement them, but on the list of my priorities, it's story first and stats second. I'm not that great at keeping up with the stats and I was on the fence as to whether I wanted the relationships to be represented with a bar or with words. I think that I'll do both and group it together with the character info on the people of note page. Another thing I was hung up on was which characters should have a relationship bar or an info section.

In summary, the lack of visual stats is due to my indecisiveness around what I want the stat page's final look to be and me focusing on the story itself.

Thanks for the ask!

[leoneliterary]

What happens when you fail stat checks:

If our MC brutally fails a forgery check they just write “pper aprovd” with physical typos and all

If our MC brutally fails a pickpocketing check they awkwardly stares right into the person’s eyes as they “discreetly” take the wallet from their hands

If our MC brutally fails a lockpicking check they just give up and full-body tackles the door/window and Gerger gives them a concerned side eye when he just casually opens the not-locked door and asks if they need ice for the bruise

Bahahaha 100% what happens anon!

The only person any of this could work on would be a romanced Nari or Aretas.

(In truth, I fail every stat check because I have to write them and I hate them 😫)