In the Shadow of a Hero- CYOA- Intro

Story by bagpiper on SoFurry

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#1 of CYOA

Thought I'd try my hand because I really love writing but wanted to make it as unique for myself as it would be for the viewers. Every entry will have a set of choices at the end, but the audience is not limited to what is listed and is free to vote for their own choice or a modified direction and if it is popular enough it will be added into the story. I will try to make a regular posting schedule but I'll see how popular it is first to judge how to space entries. Also, I'm going to Nursing school so there will be times I am swamped with studying.

Disclaimer

This is inspired by "Pathfinder" Choose Your Own Adventure by the talented Gideon Kalve Jarvis.

This is a work of fiction, any relation to characters or places in real life is completely coincidental. It's a fantasy furry story, but y'never know XD

Title is a work in progress and is open to change.


My father was a hero. No, not a hero- THE hero. The court magicians practiced a forbidden art and sacrificed their souls to summon forth a champion unlike our world has seen, a heavenly paragon to smite our enemies who had been encroaching upon our lands in an attempt to eradicate us. What they got was the exact opposite of what they were expecting; a noble pacifist who had never seen combat or war. Our country had poured too many resources into him and already stoked the fires of hope in the people, it was too late to turn back. Our land was divided- to the east were the carnivorous conglomeration of Kazacar and to the west lay the Kyrian Empire. They weren't the only nations, but they were the biggest, and to make a long story short, after building tensions Kyria launched a Blitzkrieg- as my father called it- assault in an attempt to wipe out the predators once and for all. Luckily, that didn't happen. The Kyrian's superior magic strength was met by my father's introduction of technology and we were able to push the invaders back and effectively force a truce. Our queen wasn't too happy to settle but when the shining champion won over the people there's not much she could've done. That brought us twenty years of peace and both nations have been recovering from their losses, my father acting as liaison and diplomat. Which brings us to me and my siblings.

Very early on, in order to...ensure my father's cooperation, he maneuvered into not the traditional one, but three marriages. In Kazacar, a man's power is related directly to the strength of the woman who called him her king. It makes politics...intense. The males generally make the decisions, but the women fight behind the scenes for dominance. So, giving my father three wives put him at equal strength as the queen- who is a very scary woman in her own right. Needless to say, this was not the queen's idea, and I only found out recently my father was furious at this concept as well. You'd never know it the way he loves all of them, and all his siblings equally. He had an interesting way of raising us, away from the luxuries of palace life and the chaos of politics. He wanted us to carve our own path and gave us exactly what we needed to succeed in life, no more, no less. I don't just want to succeed though, I plan to thrive- because of my father and in spite of him. I will make my own legends.

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Character Bio-

Let the voting begin. Much of this is obvious, but I'll explain some of the finer things as they come up.

Gender : Male (Name: Cael), Female (Name: Caella) or Herm (please put if the character will identify more as male or female- which will decide the name)

**If male or herm, specify whether one dick or two**

Mother : (Determines species. Will be half dragon on father's side. All three will have raised the character, but only one can be the biological mom)

Seratha- Blue dragoness, hot-tempered and passionate, not afraid to speak her mind or get her claws dirty and is a little loose about rules and laws she feels she should follow. Won't take orders from someone she doesn't respect and is stingy with what she feels possessive over. **Please specify internal or external gonads**

Maeven- white gryphon, a mix of a peregrine falcon and a snow leopard. She's very meticulous and precise and very twitchy. Everything has to be just perfect or she gets anxious. Very intelligent and extremely observational but often gets distracted trying to finish (or fix) multiple tasks at once.

Brenna- A surprisingly thin-yet-floofy brown bear, doting and caring to the extreme, she's rather laid back and doesn't worry about much. Doesn't seem to be very intimidating until you somehow find a way to anger her in which case she's likely the scariest of the three mothers.

Reader's Pick- If you aren't sold on the choices above, feel free to suggest opinions of your own and I'll make the father have an extramarital affair which could bring some nice drama. The mother will not have been around to raise the character but this is for the species.

****Notes on children in this world- As of the time writing this, all species are compatible. Most of the time the species will be that of the mother in order to fit with the biology. The father does not generally contribute other than frame and features like coloration but there are exceptions. For each pregnancy there will be a secret roll which will determine how much the father is apparent in the offspring, which can include mutations. Other exceptions include known hybrids and fantasy creatures. Lion+Tiger=Liger/Tigon, etc etc. However gryphons are different- in a bird/feline pairing, if the mother is a feline, the children will be full felines, maybe with mutations, if the mother is an avian there is a chance the children will be gryphons. If the mother is a gryphon, the offspring will always be a gryphon regardless of the father's species.****

Talent : something the character is just naturally good at whether by gifted genetics or something inherently learned through upbringing, helps with the relevant checks- generally opposed checks like if you're competing with someone else trying to best you in that area, like grappling for strength checks, being spotted for stealth checks etc etc

Strength- very physically fit, character inherited his parent's natural strength and dexterity but does not necessarily mean they're adept at wielding it. Character will likely be taller and bulkier as a result.

Intelligence- a high mental acuity allows the character to solve problems and brainstorm better than most, making connections not everyone can see. Generally leads to an aptitude for magic or technology. Carnivores are not generally known for magic but it does exist, especially in dragons. **If you choose this please specify knack for either magic or tech**

Stealth- whether naturally inclined to be silent or learned growing up the character is generally apt at not making a sound with whatever they're doing and can pick out the shadows that are easiest to hide in.

Diplomatic- naturally very smooth with words, can get out of tricky situations by reading the situation and saying just what needs to be heard- also very good at solving quarrels or getting friends or enemies to see a different side. The least combat-applicable of all the attributes however.

Trade : nothing fancy, but all siblings had to get a part time job.

Manual Laborer- while not a job per se, character has grown up paid to do the heavy lifting at various places- blacksmiths, wood cutters, cargo loading, you name it. Gives a little boost to strength-based checks.

Hunter- being alone in the wilderness has taught the character to be patient and crafty, using all senses to 'see'. Slightly helps in perception and stealth checks.

Acolyte- while not so much a job as an apprenticeship at the local mages guild, character did the generic and mundane tasks for the magicians and magical researchers and in return has gleaned some magical knowledge. Bit of a boost for magic and intelligence checks

Mechanist- Technology is a new concept, introduced by the character's father but the Conglomeration is quickly taking and advancing the concepts. While potentially a situational field, it helps with operating, repairing or sometimes building such things as ballistae or basic engines.

Courtesan- Skilled at seducing members from all walks of life (within reason), character knows the most powerful persuasive tool is one's body and is not afraid or shy to use it. Adds a bonus to persuasive and diplomatic checks when using sex. Also knows the herbs to not get pregnant. Do note, if this path is taken character will not be a virgin unlike the other options.

Fighting style : This isn't so much about battle strategy as much as where they fit on the battlefield and combat in general. I won't get into specifics as it'll blend with previous choices- unless the previous choices don't involve combat (diplomatic+courtesan for example). These choices generally don't affect much gameplay or roll-wise and is more character flare.

Melee weapons: character has trained in being up-close and personal. Strong characters will likely have heavier weapons, stealthy or other characters might have a rapier or daggers, etc etc.

Ranged weapons: character likes to stay back mid to long range. Stronger characters will likely have a longbow, others might have darts or daggers, etc

Unique weapons: trained in the bizarre and unorthodox, character relies on finesse and unpredictability to take opponents by surprise. Can find an array of weapons like whips, moon swords, chakrams, disconnecting spears, etc etc. Feel free to suggest something yourself if you want

Technology: I'll admit, more of an open-ended idea than an actual 'style', but I'm putting it here for a reason. Regardless, will mostly include ranged weapons like basic guns (and I mean basic), small launchers (think Fallout's Fat Boys but...obviously not nuclear), Japanese-esque launchers among other things. Can include melee weapons like hand-blades or modify things onto armor. I'd like to stress this doesn't affect rolls.

Magic: Can only be taken if character has a knack for magic in one way or another- either in 'talent' or being an acolyte. Will likely have a wand or orb to focus magical energy until the character gets advanced enough to not need a focus.

Magic Blend: As above, can only been taken if character has a knack for magic- please state either melee or ranged, character will have experience blending weapons and magic into a unique fighting style

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One final note is that this is indeed a mature story and will contain sex, rape, blood, death and most things are on the table as far as voting options and battle or sex scenes. I'll include 'jackass' or 'evil' options whenever I can think of them and the combined choices will also start to shape the character. If we fail and it leads to unfortunate circumstances, we'll keep rolling until either we escape or people vote for a 'bad end'- or if I state in the options "could lead to a bad end if failed" in which case we'll either pick up from a new character (likely a surviving sibling) or move onto a new story and world. Any species are likely to occur, except insectoids and stuff like that. I will include marine mammals but will avoid other marine life unless it's voted upon or unless it's some mythical thing like a Kraken rape monster.

That's it! Sorry it seems so long and convoluted, I promise it's not as complicated as it looks. I wanted this to be a "make your perfect character" instead of "give choices to characters" who may not be perfect- and hey, add dragons into the mix! And hey, if people don't want dragons, the character doesn't need to be draconic in any way physically. In any case, I plan to use all this info to build a character. I decided against putting a personality or outlook as I'd like that to be shaped by history, so combining everything should give a decent picture. If anyone wants to suggest anything, I'm open to ideas, especially if it gets enough votes. Don't know what a hefty vote tally will be since this is my first time (be gentle :P) so, let's get this started and enjoy!