Feyrahl, Beginning!
Story by comidacomida on SoFurry
I am proud to announce the beginning of my newest Reader Driven Story. What is a Reader Driven Story, you ask?
Think of it as a "choose your own adventure" story in which readers help to determine the trajectory of the story. Unlike past RDS posts I've done, rather than rely on votes, all readers get a chance to choose what happens by making a decision without having to confer with or agree with others... but each reader only gets to make a decision once. That being said, read on and learn a little more about how this story will work, and go back to look at earlier posts to get an understanding of the setting and characters involved.
I look forward to telling a story with your help!
For now, however, VOTING IS CLOSED.
Feyrahl, The Beginning
With Feyrahl about to begin I wanted to take the time to make sure readers know what to expect, both in terms of the story as well as the method through which they can interact with the story. To begin, Feyrahl will be divided up into chapters, each consisting of 5 parts. Each post will be labeled with a Chapter number and part number; the introductory post will be 0-1, and then we will jump right into Chapter 1-1.
The story will last on each site either until the end of chapter 6-5, or the final post of a chapter after 3 posts go by without reader direction. (Any remaining posts will be handed over to my patrons on Patreon to help guide with a vote). Since past Reader Driven Stories usually have more involvement on SF, it is possible that FA's story could end before SF's, but I'll leave that up to the readers to decide based on their involvement and contributions!
Every reader on each site will be able to affect the plot a single time-- that is to say, with a total of 30 decisions to be made, a given reader only gets to make a single decision; 30 readers will be required on each site to have the stories wholly reader driven. Can we make that? Let's see together!
Beyond making a decision, readers will also have the power to, once per story, get some "behind the scenes" info on the results of all options on a story choice. This means that each reader gets two very important powers: First, they get to choose the direction a story makes at the end of each story part; Second, they can unlock the details of the results of the choices available before any decision is made. A reader could unlock details AND choose the direction on the same story part, or they can use these abilities on different parts in different chapters-- it's all up to them!
So, let's take a look at how that might work:
At the end of a story part, Mac must decide between five options:
1) Mac joins Emperor Caldif in the library to study prophecy.
2) Mac accepts Commander Joren's invitation to learn how to defend himself.
3) Mac gets dragged along by Guardsman Khosk to meet his brother Vihas.
4) Mac goes for a walk in the Capitol Gardens and meets Ranger Rolin.
5) Mac meets with Lehig and Lor to discuss magical theory.
If Furry4Evar, a very enthusiastic reader wants, they can select any of the five options and, so long as they vote before any other reader, their decision will determine the trajectory of the story as of that story milestone. At that point, while Furry4Evar will be able to continue reading, they will no longer be able to make another decision on FA's story-- they can still vote on SF's if they are also active on that site, however.
Presuming they succeed, and select #4, the story will continue and Mac will spend time with Ranger Rolin. At the end of the next part another decision will come up:
1) Mac graciously accepts Ranger Rolin's invitation to join him at the archery range.
2) Mac notes he will accompany Ranger Rolin to the archery range, but just to watch.
3) Mac declines the invitation since he is not much for archery, but suggests something else.
4) Mac declines the invitation politely and excuses himself.
5) Mac bows out of future interaction, realizing he has far more to do than attend a Ranger.
At this point, since Furry4Evar has already chosen a story direction they cannot make another one, but they can still provide guidance for other readers in the form of unlocking details, which will reveal additional information such as:
1) Increased Regard From Rolin. Decreased regard from Joren.
2) Increased Regard From Rolin. Decreased regard from Khosk.
3) Increased Regard From Rolin & Caldif.
4) Increased Regard From Vihas.
5) Increased Regard From Khosk. Decreased regard from Rolin.
As with the decision on guiding a story line, any given reader can only find out more information about a given choice once. If Furry4Evar selected to uncover details of what will result based on how Mac responds to Rolin's invitation, they will not be able to seek details on any other decision-- if they've also already selected the direction of a story line then they will have utilized (almost) all of their ability to interact with the story-- there will be one final thing that readers who have used their two abilities can do.
As the story concludes, there will be a single vote at the very end of the story; at that point it will indeed be a reader vote and only readers who have utilized a vote, asked for more details, or both will be able to cast a vote.
Finally, since this IS a reader-driven story, readers also have the opportunity to contribute artwork or peripheral story lines (by all means, feel free to contribute your own characters to the world too!) and, in exchange they can improve or decrease a potential love interest's regard by a small amount. Make sure you post your contribution and link to it in the comments of a chapter!
So, now that we're all up to speed on what to expect, you're welcome to add any questions in the comments below. Be ready for the story to start as chapters 0-0 will post soon and start with the introductions of the Humans. As an added bonus for those readers who are following along and read all the way to the end of this intro post, I'll also give all of you a chance to vote on the first Feyrahlians each respective Human gets to meet-- that's right: you get to vote on FA and SF on this post, which is the only chance you'll have to affect the other site's story here on this site. (Yes, I will be posting both stories on both sites, and no, this won't cost you your ability to affect the story with a decision at a later point).
SF
The first Feyrahlians Mac meets are:
1) Caldif the Sage King & Commander Joren Stonewall
2) Commander Joren Stonewall & Ranger Rolin Flat-Paw
3) Guardsman Khosk Firemane and his brother Vihas Icebrand
4) Caldif the Sage King & Ranger Rolin Flat-Paw
5) Guardsman Khosk Firemane & Mystics Lehig and Lor
FA
The first Feyrahlians Kenzie meets are:
A) Baldwin the Meek & Commander Victor Heart-Breaker
B) Commander Victor Heart-Breaker & Ranger Silas Longfield
C) Guardsman Cecil Blackguard & Ranger Silas Longfield
D) Guardsman Cecil Blackguard & Mystic Dark Gregor
E) Baldwin the Meek & Mystic Dark Gregor
You'll have until 11:59 pm (PST) on Wed the 14th to make this determination, as the story will begin thereafter!