Branch notes

I've seen others do this, so figured I might as well.

THIS PROJECT

So, first things first - this is absolutely a side-project for me. A way for myself to avoid falling into a slump. At any single point in time I am liable to work on 5-8 writing projects, some of which I take much more seriously than the others. This in particular is one of the later, rather than the former.

Thus, my nonexistent writing schedule and slow update rates.

I write this when inspiration strikes, and I am not busy with other writings.

BRANCHES

I'll be frank. I can envision dozens if not hundreds points where the story could branch off, and thus my writing is at least partially focused on finding good spots to offer a branching choice.

That said, I also neither have the time nor interest to actually explore any of the myriad branches I can think-up. Some time in the nebulous vagaries of the future, that might change, but for now, I am proceeding only with a vague idea and planning story progression in small increments.

But, I am also not jealous. I do this purely for fun, and no other reason. If my poor excuses for erotic prose catch someone's eye, anything contained herein is freely offered and free for the taking. I am fully aware that this site is chock-full of people that could do anything I have written exponentially better.

Erotica

At my hearth, I am a storyteller. Thus, smut, for me, is simply another part of writing. It is there to enhance the overall story, not to be the centrepiece in and of itself.

What that means in practice is - Do not expect long and involved passages describing every single piece and part of a sex act. I get bored quickly reading that stuff, and thus don't have patience to write so either.

I try to give the erotica enough focus - that's why I'm on this site after all - but never at the expense of the story. How good I am at that, I cannot rightly tell, but you have my most sincere assurances that I am giving it my best effort.

Setting

So, as you might have noticed, my little story happens in somewhat different part of the greater world of Shards of Arkus than most other branches do.

As it should be fairly obvious my Honeyama and Kemono-kai are very much inspired by the Japan and their rich history, culture and mythology. But, that is as far as it goes. The buck stops at inspiration. I do not feel beholden to follow the inspiration source(s) one whit farther than I personally desire to.

With that bit having been made clear, on to the setting itself:

The story is happening upon the Honeyama island which I envision as a starting part of an archipelago continent/superzone. The superzone was not there from the start of SoA, but was rather added in a later 'far east' themed expansion.

The island itself consists of 3 zones:

Ruins of Kemono-kai - lvl 1-25 - Jungle, wetlands, beaches and lots and lots of overgrown ruins

Honeyama mountain - lvl 20-40 - Mountain, rocks, bit of a desert, fortresses, citadels, caves and military compounds

Shi no rōhi - lvl 40-50 - All desert and blighted rock and sepulchral themes. No trees, no bushes, nothing alive.

In the in-universe lore, The Honeyama is the ancestral birthplace of the beastfolk, and at some point in history the disparate races got united into a singular political entity, the Kemono-Kai. Kemono-kai was an insular polity, concerning themselves only with the internal inter-racial tensions and fulfilling their gods-given purpose of containing the evil of the Shi no rōhi, which occupied a big area of the mountain.

Unfortunately, at some point the internal politics took precedence over the purpose, and the jockeying for power erupted into civil war. Fearing that the evil of Shi no rōhi would break free during the civil war, a faction within Kemono-kai arranged for the invasion from the 'mainlands' and invited humans, elves, and what have you other player races onto the Honeyama. Facing war both amongst themselves and the invaders, most of the beastfolk abandoned the lowlands of the island, witch also contained the former capitol of the kingdom, and employed a form of magical scorched-earth policy which ravaged the lowlands and accelerated the nature taking back the ruins.

The Island is roughly shaped as Yin-Yang symbol, with the ruins of the Capitol and Shi no rōhi taking place of the two small inner circles within the teardrops. Of course, the capitol is much smaller than Shi no rōhi, but symbolism, eh?

Themes

The original idea behind my development of this branch was to explore the effects and consequences of the protagonist already being a part of a pre-existing faction, and I still have some vague ideas in that direction, but that original impetus is by now long gone.

My current plans are more focused on a building the territory and politics then upon development of personal power, if that makes any sense?

Shin is supposed to become a leader and manager rather than a true dungeon/raid boss.

System

I use different leveling mechanics then DosEsh, simply because theirs do not make sense to me from developmental standpoint.

mine goes

level tresholds: lvl1-10: (lvl+1)*100exp; lvl11-20: (lvl+2)*110exp; lvl 20-30: (lvl+3)*120exp; etc...

Experience gain: If lvl-Targetlvl ≥1, then targetlvl*(100-((lvl-targetlvl)*10))exp awarded, else targetlvl*100exp awarded

Thus: if level 5 defeated a level 3 foe they would get 3*80=240 exp; if a level 5 defeated a level 4 foe =360 exp; if level 5 defeated a level 5 foe 5*100=500exp; if lvl 5 defeated lvl6 =600exp

And, I also separate craft skills from the regular skills, because, well, that makes sense to me for an MMO