The Soulforge Order
Summary
For the last four years your mandatory service has seen you training to join the Soulforge Order, the only organisation capable of holding the line against the Exillium; monstrous, otherworldly beasts that have torn a rift in reality and wreak havoc upon Azish.
Our world, Azish, was once ruled by all-powerful Gods whose faith has dwindled to only a select few sects still practicing worship, with the vast majority of humanity relying on technology and military might to protect them against the ever-looming threat of the Exillium.
Will you rise through the ranks of the Soulforge Warriors or will you seek a deeper truth within the Order?
The Soulforge Order is a sci-fi fantasy text-based adventure game about becoming a powerful warrior whose mission is to protect the world of Azish and the many allies you’ll accrue along the way.
Features
- Customise your character: appearance, personality and gender
- Play as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, aromantic or asexual
- An approval system that allows you to romance, befriend or antagonise your fellow Soulforged
- Choose one of three unique backgrounds to influence your story
- A character-driven story where your choices matter
- Branching paths and multiple endings
- Consequences to your actions
Romance options
The Commander - William “Will” Strang
The poster boy for the Soulforge Order. He is what every Soulforge soldier wants to be and what every civilian believes a hero is. His charisma and confidence makes him the perfect leader. He is almost too perfect; what lurks behind his cheerful persona?
Appearance: He has golden brown skin and black wavy hair that is half tied back and half left free, resting just above his shoulders. His almond shaped eyes are dark brown and he has a chiseled jaw. His muscular frame is imposing with broad shoulders and lines of muscle clear through his clothes but it is offset by his cheerful grin.
The Second - Wilhelmina “Mina” Rothman
No one dares to speak against Drill Sergeant Rothman. Mina takes her job of training freshly recruited Soulforge soldiers very seriously. She has vowed that no soldier will die under her watch and she intends to keep that promise. Her closest and only friend is Will. She fights to keep people from growing too close. What is she afraid of?
Appearance: Mina has strawberry blonde hair that is styled into a fishtail braid and extends midway down her back. Her fair, light brown freckled skin is often sunburnt. Her nose bridge, a little crooked, has smatterings of brown freckles that lighten as they move down her cheeks and towards her ears.
It highlights her diamond shaped face. Her shoulders are almost always tinged red and dark brown freckles are scattered across her shoulders and neck. Mina has an athletic build with defined muscles seen in her legs and arms. Her sea green eyes hold a stern look as she purses her pink lips.
The Rival - Chih-Cheng “Nico” Wu
Nico is determined to be the best. He demands perfection not only from himself but everyone around him. To him, failure is not an option and it will never be. He is either the perfect soldier or he is nothing.
Appearance: Nico is lean and tone in build. His skin is a warm beige in colour and his hair, side parted with one half slicked back, is dark brown. He keeps his hair neat and his fringe curls lightly over his forehead. He has calculating, monolid eyes and a small nose that wrinkles whenever his lip curls up in disdain. He dislikes how pretty he is.
The Observer - Mei-Ling “Astrid” Wu
Astrid is the twin sister of Nico and can often be found writing in the journal she keeps available at all times. While more hospitable than her brother, people still find it difficult to connect with Astrid. Her blank expression and stilted manner of speaking seems to make people wary.
Appearance: Astrid has warm beige skin and dark brown hair that is pulled back into an elegant bun. Her fluffy bangs frame her face. She has a lean figure and her darting, monolid eyes are always evaluating people. Astrid and Nico share the same soft, delicate features. When they were younger they were often mistaken for each other.
The Outlander - Theo Gumede
At first glance, Theo comes across as a very intimidating man because of his size. However, he is one of the kindest and most gentle-natured men to be found. His baritone voice can often be heard murmuring to the plants he cares for and he is always quick to offer a helping hand.
Appearance: Theo is a brawny man. He has wide muscular shoulders, a barrel chest and long, strong arms and legs. His skin is a sepia colour, a deep reddish brown like that of mahogany. His black, thick hair is styled into short twists that are swept to the left and sides that taper into a fade. The fade goes into his well maintained and trimmed beard. Two deep dimples appear in his cheeks whenever Theo laughs or smiles.
The Heart - Arabella “Ara” Hendricks
Arabella is seen as the backbone of the Soulforge Order. She is always working hard to make sure that the day-to-day activities for Fort Balria are handled and that no one is of need of anything. She is quick to offer a warm smile and a kind word. However, you can’t help but wonder why she hates going on missions…
Appearance: Ara is short and toned. Her skin is a warm tawny colour and her eyes a stunning hazel. Ara’s light brown copper, curly hair is barely able to be pulled back into a neat ponytail. Stray curls escape to frame her heart-shaped face and flutter passed the rounded frames of her glasses. She has a small beauty mark just below her left eye.
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https://www.tumblr.com/thesoulforgeorder
To get sneak peeks, take part in polls and learn more about the game.
Feedback:
If you wish to provide any feedback please follow this link and I will make sure to fix any problems you run into it!
Development log
- Chapter One Complete1 day ago
- The Soulforge Order 1.1.713 days ago
- TSFO - Chapter One Release13 days ago
- The Soulforge Order 1.1.254 days ago
- The Soulforge Order 1.1.156 days ago
Comments
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The story is very interesting so far, I like all the customisation options. I chose the orphan background and I'm already protective of Spencer.
The background options made me think of Mass Effect, which I love. I'm looking forward to rest of the story!
Also, I can't wait to meet Wilhelmina (Mina) because she is my namesake XD (luckily, I read the description before deciding on my character's name!)
Although now I am wondering if your naming system would have let me have that name. It would make for a funny coincidence later on.
TLDR: I love your story, please continue at your own pace!
Thank you! Mass effect is one of my favourite game franchises ever, also dragon age, so I was inspired by it. I'm a beginner to coding so not sure how to code it but I would love to add something like that for the names!
I'm happy that you are enjoying the story and I'll try not to burn myself out.
Playing this while hearing to Mitski song is such a vibe, especially in that moment with spencer, 10/10.
Also i have a theory, since we could choose Spencer to have romantic interest to us and then looking back into the ROs list in the description... I smell death flag coming from Spencer in future chapter. But that's just a theory! The Soulforge Theory!!
anyway, just want to say that i love the story. The template are also different than usual IF, i just love how neon-feel the template is! keep up the good work, Author!
I want you to know that your comment made me giggle, thank you! Also Spencer is considered a secret RO/partial RO because they will not always be available like the main six.
You will meet Spencer later in the game and can try romance even if not on the orphan background. However, what you decide to do in the will greatly shift things so anything is possible.
.... also I just realised that I forgot to mention that ROs can die in the game. I should probably make a post.
Thank you for your lovely comment and I'm glad you like the UI!
absolutely love this. amazing worldbuilding and at no point did i feel like i was experiencing an info dump when reading. such a range of choices simply in the background of our character itself, and only one chapter in!! keep up the good work !! (also, spencer my love....)
I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the game so far. I'm working hard to finish the orphan background so chapter one is fully complete. I'll post an update when I'm closer to completing it so people know when to expect it.
Forgot to do this in my last comment: SCREEE
Anywayy, im very curious about this insurgent group and whether or not it was them who actually killed those people, and if they did, if we will be the perpetrators in that route (I hope I explained that alright)
If you want to see the other side to that, you'll be able to in the 'choose to leave' branch. I'm still writing and coding that but I'll make a post as soon as I am ready to post it! Also no worries, you explained it perfectly.
thank you!
Thinking about it now, i'm definitely wondering why the mc would be in this position, unless the government somehow caught them. I'm sure it'll be interesting to see >:D
It is definitely going to be very interesting. This path in particular is going to showcase the nuance I am trying to have in my story and world-building. I don't want things to just be taken at face value.
just finished chapter one!! AGRHHH I NEED MORE SO BADLY
I'm so curious to see how the story'll turn out though, and I really like the roleplay options that're given there's a lot of a variety that makes me wanna start up a new playthrough so badlyghmfkdjf
Thank you, this honestly made me so happy! Nothing makes me happier than people wanting to do more than one playthrough.
I highly recommend trying every background (it reason I made more save slots) and seeing what each route offers. Every background will have different information about the world and insight into what is to come later in the game.
This game is great, I'm not a big fan of sci-fi games but man this one suprised me, I can't wait to read more congrats
That is high praise, thank you! Perhaps it is because there is a mix of fantasy in the sci-fi? I can't claim that I am fully sci-fi.
Yeah it's probably that and the worldbuilding is excellent
Thank you, that means so much.
SHRIEK
- As I promised, I left a comment shrieking about the end of Chapter 1.
Now for the real comment: Great writing, super hyped to see where this goes. Especially if those of us with the military background actually end up in charge of the navy while still being a part of the order, or at least something similar. Also, I'm not sure whether I'm hoping that is something like Venom (without the obvious bad side effects) or something else, either would be epic.
One thing I'm unclear on is the tech level. Is humanity on multiple planets? If so, are these 'ships' as in interstellar/hovercraft travel/combat, or 'ships' as in travels in big blue wet things,? (Meaning oceans, gulfs, bays, lakes, etc.) - If I missed something, that's probably on me.
You will get your answer, somewhat, in chapter two. I will say this much though, you are very warm with your theory.
The ship is a normal naval warship out in the ocean. The setting of the story is in Azish (name of the planet) and you are in Voxis, capital city of Strize (country you live in). No intergalatic traveling sadly.
The technology level is high but only in regards to military development. Humanity has focused all their energy into trying to defeat the exilliums that the huge leaps in advancements were centred around that and doesn't really expand to other areas.
So there are flying cars, hoverboards, nanobots, AI assistants etc but they are very much for those in the military mostly. In the wastelander background they live very low tech lives and orphan it a mixed bag.
hi Salt.
just finished the new chapter. i was having a blast. i really like the story and your writing style.im really excited for the next chapter. i want to know what happens to MC.
some questions:
- what exactly does the number of the stats mean? in my case i focused on tactician and at the end of chapter 1 my MC had 0 in combat. does this mean she is absolutely bad in hand-to-hand combat or simply average?
==> also (what) will these stats influence? will certain choices be locked out/enabled by having a stat at a certain number?
- this is more a lore question: i chose the military background and chose options which states that my MC is happy to follow her fathers footsteps in becoming a admiral. since she is i the soulforge order, does this mean she relinquished her title/heirage?
thank you for your answers in advance.
The stats will dictate the flavour text and scenarios you can unlock. So, because you hard focused tactician people will acknowledge you for your use of tactics and gadgets. You have some skill with combat, everyone does in the military to a degree, but people will plan around and account for your highest skill.
You will be able to enter into combat scenarios but the outcome will change drastically if you have a low level in it. So to answer your question, you are considered average at combat and you aren't locked out of most situations, just a likely more hilarious outcome will happen if you use your lowest skill to check.
No, in fact, you will rise to power faster than anyone else in your family. The Soulforge are treated almost reverently and concessions are always made for them. If you accomplish a lot and asked for a post on a ship and expressed your desire to become an admiral the military would be ecstatic.
thank you for your answers.
I actually had the 3rd question as well, so thanks, that was really useful.
The military background more popular than I thought it would be, I'm happy!
No problem at all! I'm glad you enjoying the game enough to ask.
Currently the chapter is very short with just a simulation scenario going on? I'm not sure if that's intentional since the rest of the comments seem to have read more
Hey, I uploaded a new file and that should take you right to the start now. I think it started too far in because of my testing. Please let me know if it works now for you!
it's working great!
Phew, I am relieved. I thought I managed to break the game. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 is awesome! Great work once again. It pains me to see that Spencer is not an RO. What could it mean? Death? Abandonment? Or simply the friend zone? The suspense is killing me
Spencer is a special third option. Just know you have not seen the last of them by any means.
Egads! Wonderful >:) I cannot wait
already started, but ive noticed that these bottom three lead to an error at the bottom of the page.
images refuse to be attached for some reason, but the options were
• Use one of your gadgets to help yourself and others
• Focus on saving yourself with your strength
• Focus on saving yourself with the help of one of your gadgets
and the error at the bottom was either
Error: <<set>>: bad evaluation: Invalid left-hand side in assignment
Error: <<set>>: bad evaluation: Invalid left-hand side in assignment
Error: <<set>>: bad evaluation: Invalid left-hand side in assignment
Error: <<set>>: bad evaluation: Invalid left-hand side in assignment
the option for helping using strength leads to no error
Thank you! I fixed it and reuploaded. You should be able to play without that error occurring. Thanks for reporting the problem so quickly.
went on the wastelander route, and it said a new profile unlocked, but theres an error when you click on him
Error: the passage "Theo Gumede" does not exist
options in the next area has an error too,
Error: cannot find a closing tag for HTML <fieldset>
• Your heart stutters as his fingers brush over your wrist. You have a crush on Theo.
• Strange, you just felt a weird sensation in your chest after his fingers brush over your wrist
• You grin as you enjoy the small game you have started, dodging his shoulder.
</fieldset
Thank you, I have found the mistakes and fixed it now. Theo's profile will now appear as intended and the field box should appear.
One thing I noticed that seems a bit odd: Gender is currently hidden in the settings. While it doesn't mean anything yet in the story, I am a little confused as to why it's there when all of the other identifying info on you (besides your name) hasn't come up yet.
Is the current spot a placeholder until the other identifying info comes up in the story?
Yes, in chapter one you will begin to customise your character. So a lot of the current placeholders will be replaced with your actual information.
saw your reply on the last comment, and don't you worry, i shall be prepared to shriek at you
I mean, I might just leave a comment simply saying "Shriek" afterwards.
I happily await your reaction.
So...good thing the barrier (removed for spoiler reasons) either way, because otherwise I'd feel a little bad about prioritizing the few in the moment.
Can't wait for the update, that's a horrible stopping point for the demo (for me, though it's great narrative-wise)
I have good and bad news. I release chapter one next week, 30th of November, so you won't have to wait long.
The bad news? The way the chapter ends will likely leave people screaming in my comments.
Great!
Love this so far! So looking forward to more >:)
Next week you will get your wish.
YIPPEE
already so in love with this if! i cant wait to see the next parts!
Thank you! I am looking at an end of November release date for chapter one. I am almost done with the chapter.
The energy I'm going for with my character can be summarized by the following:
"You wanna start a street fight with me, bring it on. You're gonna be surprised by how ugly it gets. You don't even know my real name. I'm the fucking Lizard King"
Well clearly I need to put an option for there to be a street fight now
So far 10/10!
Thank you!
This was a great read! You pulled me in from the start, and I really felt the weight of the choices and moral dilemmas. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Thank you! Comments like these really help keep me motivated.
never expected much from new if but holy crap this is banger! dont you dare to drop this fic after dropping that godd writing style!!
Thank you! Your words really hyped me up to work hard on chapter one
Damnn this is too GOOD
Love it so far please please don't leave me hanging and bring out the next update!
I'm working hard on chapter one! It is going to be quite a big one so hopefully you won't have to wait too long
Don't usually comment on games but I'm loving this so far! Can't wait for the next update!
Thank you, that means a lot <3
I love the story so far it’s really good! So excited for your next update
Thank you!
Okay you piqued my interest there's not a lot of twine games like this and I can't wait for more
Thank you, I hope to live up to your expectations.
OMG! Ngl I usually skip reading a combat scene but yours really pull me in 😫 THE CLIFFHANGER THO?!! 😩 Looking forward to the next chapter! Good job 👏🏻
That is the highest of compliments, I will do my best to not update the game too sporadically.
This game is a work of art, savoured with the knowledge it was made with so much love and passion! I'm a huge fan of the world building and RO's already. I'm so excited to see what the author has in store next!
Thank you, I'll work hard!
This was great, can't wait for more.
Thank you!
Omg cliffhanger! Such hard decisions to make. It was really good! ❤️
Hopefully I won't leave you on the cliffhanger for long
Interesting start, looking forward to more!
Thank you!
THIS IS SOOO GOOD!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! >:33
Thank you! I already have half of chapter one written so hopefully I won't leave everyone on a cliffhanger for long.