Hi everybody, I've got some goodies for you this month! ♥ We've also updated the password for this month, so if you come across the password screen while playing the alpha, remember to input the new password below!
New password: eternalsummer
No spaces and no capitals!
i sent something like this on tumblr a little bit ago so you don't have to answer it there, but how advanced is tattooing in Blest vis-a-vis tools/inks/etc - are their implements similar to the ones in our world (can their detail work get Very Detailed?), and are there any racial/cultural differences between the methods of tattooing or the kinds of inks? (... oof that's a lot and i understand if this is split into parts or something lol)
Hi there, ...
2021-04-26 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Enjoy this vision of glorious beauty as I work on answering this month's questions. :) Thief Chase and Pirate Chase... which is your favorite? 🖤
And thanks for voting for the creation of this character sheet! Stay tuned next week for our next poll as we do the whole rodeo over again!!! Enjoy the rest of your day!
2021-04-25 23:47:52 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, welcome to your last week in April!
As I mentioned last night, we got something like 40 or 48 questions last month; I answered more than twenty, but that leaves a bunch left over! As such, I will only be opening up for new questions for 8 hours this month. Don't worry, though, once we've cleared out the queue, it'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming! (Except that I'll probably only be open for one day a month from now on instead of two, to kee...
2021-04-25 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
It sounds like I'm a band or something lol, but yes, there is some new merchandise over at our Redbubble store!
Link to main store! Feel free to check it out!!!
It's not the notebook we're designing (still working on that, along with some other side p...
2021-04-18 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys, quick question: do you find the stats "Bright Mind" and "Razor Wits" confusing? I named them like that to fit the--metal--theme of the other stats, but since I've received some questions about them, I thought I'd ask you all!
Here's the stat description for Bright Mind and Razor Wits:
In short, "Bright Mind" is book smarts (knowledge, wisdom, academic curiosity and int...
2021-04-14 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, a very brief update and poll for you today!
I am finding the pace that I'm taking things at quite helpful for my health and wellbeing! I still have up and down days in regards to how I feel physically--sometimes I feel totally normal, other days I'm getting these weird ocular migraines--but I'm feeling emotionally more upbeat in general! I've been working hard on Chapter 6 and Riel's next day off, we had some great ShoH music composed, I'm planning a very Machiavellian sho...
2021-04-14 16:46:00 +0000 UTC View Post
As promised in the last post, here's the other piece that Irene Chan composed! This music is leisurely "walking" or "loading screen" music that is intended to be played on a loop while you go about your day off: it's not meant to be super distracting, since it will play whenever you enter the day off hub, and was composed to be both bright (like the luster and glory of Haven) and moody (like the darkness that its wh...
2021-04-10 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Greetings and salutations! I couldn't resist commissioning some music (even though that's technically a reward for a later date; well, there's always more music to be made!)--and you voted recently on a song for Haven! Your ideas in the last post were also so good that I couldn't resist doing two versions of music for the city--this one is its theme song, something that would play in the opening of the game (if Shepherds was a video game) or upon first seeing Haven; ...
2021-04-10 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, just a brief-as-possible, personal update for you today! I hope you are all well and enjoying your start of April! I have a good feeling that things are starting to return to normal slowly, so hang in there and stay safe!
As you've probably deduced, I didn't get as much as I wanted done on the alpha build last month, and I've also been a bit absent online. Although I did add 15,000 words of new content to the game, they were unexpected side activities--the quest system, th...
2021-04-03 00:25:11 +0000 UTC View PostI don't know who would take pleasure in Halek's story, but if you did, thank you for reading through that trial by fire...
Whose story do we want to see next? I'll try and not make it miserable and depressing, but no promises apparently!!!
(Leaving off the boys who have gotten two stories under their belts so far!)
2021-04-01 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, welcome to April (and happy April Fool's Day)!
If you haven't done so already, please message me or comment below if you'd like to have your name added to the Shepherds of Haven credits! 😃 Names like John S. or John Smith are preferred by Hosted Games (over usernames like hottie69420), but you can send in whatever you're most comfortable with! Thank you so much for your support and I hope you're having a lovely start to your April!
2021-04-01 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, it's finally here!!!
I did not get nearly as much as I wanted to done, for reasons I'll cover in a separate update (blog update, not game update) tomorrow! Still, in hindsight, it was still quite a lot! Lots of quality of life improvements as well as gameplay additions, all thanks to you an...
2021-04-01 04:27:15 +0000 UTC View PostAlternate title: A Glass, and Not My Brother
[CONTENT WARNING: horror, violence, descriptions of injuries, cults, mentions of cannibalism, adult language, depressive/self-destructive thoughts, discussions of death. For real, this is fairly to extremely dark: it is a horror story! I don't know why I can't write think-piece stories with these characters before ramping up to maximum angst/things just going off the rails. Sorry!]
Also, isn't it a coincidence t...
2021-04-01 01:06:23 +0000 UTC View PostDid pre castigation blest ever open a portal the our world or any other pre existing world?
In the books, yes, and this was actually a huge plot point in a trilogy of novels that I later discarded as not part of the "canon timeline" of the books! In that trilogy, a portal to our modern world was torn open by demons, no one could close it, and it was not a good time for anybody, especially when a human expedition team came through the portal and was like,...
2021-03-29 13:01:58 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone, welcome to the last week of March!
I’m sorry if I’ve been a bit silent this past week or so, I was dealing with some health stuff (the second COVID vaccine shot knocked me off my feet for a few days), but I have been busily working on ShoH, adding cool new features, and Halek’s short story (probably the darkest one yet)! I am also out of town (glamping and writing out in nature!!) for the next few days, so if you need something urgent, send me a message and I will get...
2021-03-25 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
...
What the fuck...
He's so beautiful...?!
And I'm sorry, but when I said the Hanged Man as his major arcana theme, I wasn't expecting the... ropes?! The struggle?! IF THIS FEEDS YOUR THIST, DO NOT BLAME ME.
Blame the incredible artist who made this card, mafuriah, who also made Croelle and Briony's cards!
2021-03-19 23:55:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hi everybody, I hope your March is going well! :)
I know this is a goal to be unlocked in the future, but I couldn't stop thinking about one thing...
Music!
I'd love to explore commissioning just one other song for the game, like the Opening/Credits Song a while back, and because I'm not very musically inclined, I'd love your input!
Let's vote below on what song we s...
2021-03-12 15:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, I'm hankerin' to diversify our portfolio of merchandise! :D
We have our stickers and magnets, and logos to go on things like shirts and mugs... but we don't have many designs specifically for just one thing!
What kind of Shepherds of Haven merchandise would you like to see designed next?
Also: I have added more stickers (Caine, Mimir, Croelle, Prihine, and a new logo) and the other sticker sheets to the Redbubble shop! :) Just a note: I ordered t...
2021-03-12 02:39:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Here we are! Voiceclaims for most of the Shepherds!
This took me TWO DAYS to put together and my computer deleted the folder with the audio files twice! 😭
I'm going to go with the usual disclaimer and state that these "voiceclaims" (like faceclaims, artbreeder, or even art) are not exact in any way. They do not perfectly capture things like accents, pacing, inflection, or etc., and often times are merely approximations for us to springboard off of--not gospel b...
2021-03-10 01:26:47 +0000 UTC View PostAs you all know, the Author Q&A last month was delayed, so I'm answering the questions we had left over from last time!
As always, the Q&A is divided by General, Spoilers, and NSFW!
This was over a year ago now, but can you do the female!ros reactions to finding a stash of love letters addressed to them, written (but never sent) by the MC?
I feel like I definitely answered this before, but if I did, I can'...
2021-03-06 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, welcome to March!
If you haven't done so already, please message me or comment below if you'd like to have your name added to the Shepherds of Haven credits! 😃 Names like John S. or John Smith are preferred by Hosted Games (over usernames like hottie69420), but you can send in whatever you're most comfortable with! Thank you so much for your support and I hope you're having a lovely start to your March!
2021-03-04 19:57:18 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, thank you for your patience as I was out of town with my family!
I got back just yesterday and am feeling a little worn out--there's some health stuff that my mom and I are dealing with, but other than that, I'm very glad to be home! We also celebrated my birthday on Tuesday, which was nice, and we are getting our second COVID shot next week, which is definitely a relief!
While I was out of town I managed to get a few things done on ShoH--I tidied up the day off in C...
2021-03-04 16:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, sorry for the delay--it took me a lot to manage this, but it's updated! The alpha build now has Briony and Red's first day off scenes, plus Caine's second day off!!!
Hi everybody, it's been a while since I've heard from our usual tarot card artist: I'm trying to get in touch with her without being a bother, but in the meantime, I just thought I'd share the WIP she did of Trouble's character card! If you remember, she's already done Blade, Red, and she's working on Trouble and Chase. Barring any issues or delays, those latter two should be ready soon. In addition, another artist (the same one who did Brion...
2021-02-20 19:38:26 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, I'd like to check in with you regarding a poll I posted a year and a half ago (how time flies)! If you participated in the first poll, thank you so much for sticking around and continuing to support me! 💖
Here's pretty much a copy-paste from the first poll:
Here's another question for you guys, this time about other characters' happy endings...
2021-02-20 18:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody, very quick update on some things!
This was sudden, so I didn't have time to plan for it, but I'll be accompanying my mother out-of-state for an important medical appointment on the 24th, and I'm not sure how long we'll be out of town. It's not anything extreme or worrying, it's a regular and mandatory thing a few times a year, but we've been putting it off due to COVID and can't put it off anymore. The fact that there are only 28 days in February also worked against me thi...
2021-02-20 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHi, everyone! Happy Lunar New Year, and Happy Valentine's Day!
I just have a brief update for you this week. I've been working on ShoH for the last two weeks, though almost exclusively on Red's first day off scene! Having him possibly be a 1) stranger, 2) friend, 3) ex, or 4) rival has a LOT of branching involved, lol... which is why I've been putting writing this scene off for so long! I'm just about done--the section just needs some editing and fleshing out--and then I'll be moving on...
2021-02-14 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
You voted, and here it is!!! Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays ever, almost purely because of the aesthetic... reds, pinks, whites!! HEARTS!! I'm obsessed! And I think the gang would have had a very fun time celebrating Valentine's Day... even if Blade doesn't totally agree! 😁
Illustration done by baueriny: from left, Trouble, Briony, Lavinet, Blade! 💝💟💌
2021-02-14 13:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThinking about Croelle's potential weapons astral-projected me back to a memory of Chase's original weapon... I'd totally forgotten this, but do you want to know what Chase originally wielded in the first Shepherds of Haven book drafts??
BOW KNIVES.
A BOW/CROSSBOW... MADE OUT OF INTERLOCKING KNIVES.
13-year-old Lena was a dumbass who watched too much anime and DIDN'T CARE or understand how weapons or physics worked AT ALL. I tell you this as a secret bec...
2021-02-05 16:28:04 +0000 UTC View Post