LP Beach

Cute Knight and and it's sequel, Cute Knight Kingdom, are a pair of games released in 2005 and 2007 that take heavy inspiration from the Princess Maker series of games while also lacking its more... infamous qualities. Cute Knight was also the first openly published game of Hanako Games, a small indie company known for handling similar raising sim games like Long Live the Queen and Little Lily Princess (presently being LP'd by Yamiaainferno here on the Beach).

Personally, the two games are a fascinating look a the early days of Hanako, though there's no denying that they live up to the expectations you'd have of a mid 2000's, low-budget indie PC game. Both of them feel more like a game you'd play in your web browser than on your desktop, there's only so much content, and the art...

Well, let's say that maybe starting this on Halloween may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's very much western indie anime art, which given the time of this game's creation, it was a contemporary to Shira Oka in a way.

But being completely fair, they made their best effort with this, and if my knowledge serves, all but the title screen art was done by the programmer. Regardless, I'm not going to rag on an indie studio's work from 2005. The following game does have a marked improvement, if that's any reassurance to you.

At the end of the day, both of the games are charming in their own way and make for a great way to spend a sick day or lazy afternoon. And if we combine it with the best way to spend a lazy afternoon, LPs, then that just sounds like a recipe for success, if you ask me.


Wait wait wait, what's a "raising sim"?

Put simply, raising sims are kinda like VNs but with more focus on building up stat points and such to do various things. You build up stats, do events, go on adventures, etc. They tend to be sort of paired with dating sims as well, though whether or not it's a main part of the game or not depends on on the game. Honestly, the line between the two is pretty blurry sometimes.

Some involve actually raising a character, such as Princess Maker, but that doesn't come up as often these days.

(It's all actually qualified as a life-sim, but genre tags are whatever these days)


Okay, well that sounds fun, I'm in. How's this going to go?

Well, each game only lasts 3 years and moves in a sort of a 7 day at a time increment outside of adventuring, but there's a good number of endings in them, including special early endings. Because of that, we can play in rather short or long intervals, whichever fits the moment at the time. All our actions for the most part will be decided by the thread, and for the most part progress in the first game is going to be quite fast.

Oh, and this will be SSLP as I usually do. I might try and write a bit into the characters, but I (probably) won't be going full narrative on this. Just enough to make each update a little more enjoyable, that's all. Should these games two go well enough, I've got a larger project I can follow this up with.

Right, and before I forget, please don't spoil anything for the thread. I say this knowing I'm probably the only person here who's actually played the Cute Knight games, but still- no spoilers.

Anyways, let's get to it why don't we?

Updates:



Update 1: What Do You Call A Mid-life Crisis At 18?
Update 2: A Town Of Many Opportunities, but No Minimum Wage
Update 3: Everybody's Shelving Books For the Weekend
Update 4: New Friends - Bookends
Update 5: Are You Sure Hilde Done It This Way
Update 6: Only The Good Die Young
Update 7: What Precisely Is A Wassail?
Update 8: Sisterhood
Update 9: The Usual Routine - End of Year 1
Update 10: Wizard Dueling and Fairy Tales
Update 11: Kindergarten Cop Out
Update 12: The Plot Unfolds
Update 13: Princess Maker [Ending 2]
Update 14: Lisa [Librarian Ending]
-----------------------------------------


(Coming Later!)

Update 1: What Do You Call A Mid-life Crisis At 18?



So, here's the title screen. It plays a MIDI Scarborough Fair while we're here, but it doesn't actually loop.
(Also, for some reason this game actually makes my computer need to turn it's fans up. I have no idea why it would need to, but it does.)

You may note the 2007; this is not actually the Deluxe version, which has a reworked magic system and new enemy/ending art, but the original game's 2005 re-release. I meant to be playing Deluxe for this, but I suppose there's something appropriate about exploring game history with the original release.

Options just brings up a few options across the top, which includes saving and loading, something we can do literally anywhere in the game, which is great for me.

Gallery's just a place where you can see all the ending images you've seen, a common element of games that fall somewhat near this genre.

Anyways, we might as well start. Normally the game prompts us for our name and birthsign, but since that'll be up to vote, I'll go ahead and show the unedited intro first.





I've lived at the orphanage for as long as I can remember. They took care of a lost child out of charity, but now that I'm an adult...

...They're throwing me out on my own.



I may as well give up now...



*The night sky begins to sparkle and a chime plays in the distance.*





Little lost child, only you can find your destiny... Hold on to your dreams and discover who you truly are...



You must find yourself before your twenty-first birthday, or your path will be set... Never lose hope...

Wait! Where do I go? What do I do? What am I supposed to find? Don't leave me!

*With the sound of a chime, the fairy vanishes.*



...Well, I'm not going to get anywhere feeling sorry for myself. The only way to find my destiny is to go looking for it.



-----

So, yeah, the big difference between Cute Knight 1 and Princess Maker is that instead of being a warrior hero raising a 10 year old divine child, we're just an orphaned 18 year old with an existential crisis. Truth be told though, one can relate to that a bit more than the latter.

For now, we need to pick our name and birthsign.



Her default name is Michiko, but since it's open to thread vote, here you go. I don't know if it has too long of a limit, but go for just one name and perhaps one not too long.



Here's all the birthsigns available. In order, their descriptions are:

Beginnings: Girls born in the month of Beginnings start with mostly average stats all-around and good health.

Changes: Girls born in the month of Changes are clever, agile, and artistic, but weak and bad at housework.

Grass: Girls born in the month of Grass are clever and enjoy experimenting with potions, but are less good at household chores.

Planting: Girls born in the month of Planting have excellent health and enjoy cleaning house and playing with pets.

Sprouts: Girls born in the month of Sprouts are skilled workers, good at many jobs, but physically weak and not very adventurous or clever.

Water: Girls born in the month of Water are clever and adaptable, with a little bit of talent at everything.

Letters: Girls born in the month of letters are very clever and good at magic, but physically weak.

Leaves: Girls born in the month of Leaves are natural fighters, ready for adventure but not fond of school or boring jobs.

Autumn: Girls born in the month of Autumn have fairly average skills all around and like to keep things clean.

Gods: Girls born in the month of Gods are pretty and charming, with average health.

Frost: Girls born in the month of Frost are very friendly and love children and animals, but hate to fight and don't like adventure.

Sleep: Girls born in the month of Sleep have good general skills and like to cook, but hate anything dangerous like adventure.

...So as you can see, some are a bit similar to others, but yeah they basically affect starting stats. It's worth noting that all the skills and such listed are all useful in some way or another (well except cooking- even cleaning has more uses than it.) Honestly, just pick whatever you like.

Well, with that, get to voting! We need a name for our soul seeking, pink-haired orphan, and what birthsign she has. I'll leave voting for this open for a day or two, I guess.

"You must find yourself before your twenty-first birthday, or your path will be set... Never lose hope..."

This is relatable, so I vote we be named "Relatable."

I vote that our knight be born in the month of 草.

Congratulations on in a single post heavily inflicting the feeling of "Wait, I've played that game before... wait, when did I play that game before."

Born in water, and I am too uncreative to come up with names.

I vote for a charming brutally efficient young lady named Hildegunn, born in the Month of Leaves. Burn all who stand in her path, and show no mercy, for the world has shown her none!

Jill, born in Leaves

Line born in Leaves.

I remember playing the demo of this ages ago! I also vote for water month, and let's call her Whatshername.

I also vote Water, and because I know some Japanese let's make her name a pun on that month, calling her Mizuko.

Who needs refinement, tact, and decorum? Not Agnes, not when she can blow things up with her mind. Born in the month of Letters with an unusual knack for magical mayhem, she's been the cause of much consternation among the orphanage staff, and they're certainly glad to finally get rid of her.

Nemryn wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 02, 2020 6:05 pm

Who needs refinement, tact, and decorum? Not Agnes, not when she can blow things up with her mind. Born in the month of Letters with an unusual knack for magical mayhem, she's been the cause of much consternation among the orphanage staff, and they're certainly glad to finally get rid of her.

Oh, I do like this, though it seems we've still got a tie on names and birthsign overall.

I did have a short and external tiebreaker vote earlier today before I got caught up with something else, but honestly, that wouldn't be too fair to do. So what I will be doing is leaving voting open until the end of the day (precisely 11:59 PM EST), and see if we can break the ties by then. (Changing votes is allowed too, if you want.) In the meantime, I'll be putting everything together to have the next update out swiftly tomorrow.


(I'm amazed at how much attention this is getting so far!)

-------------------------------------
The Current Tally Is:

Birthsign:
Grass: 1 (+ Potions, - Household)
Letters: 1 (+ Mental Stats, -Physical)
Water: 3 (Average, with Mental bias)
Leaves: 3 (++ Physical, -Household, - Magic)

Names (They've all only recieved one vote so far):
(It also does seem a char limit of 8 is present, so I will need to abbreviate if over that- apologies!)

Relatable (Rela, Relata, etc.)
Hildegunn (Hildgunn, Hildegun. etc.)
Jill
Line
Whatshername (Whatsher/ Sherna/ etc.)
Mizuko
Agnes

Edit: Well, no tiebreaker votes, so I'll use the previous tiebreaking results.

Update 2: A Town Of Many Opportunities, but No Minimum Wage

On the first day of the sixth month in the year of 1518, a young woman under the birthsign of Water entered the quaint castletown.

For most, she was but yet another ordinary wanderer, but in time, they would realize she was anything but ordinary.



This is the main screen for Cute Knight. It's... a bit less elegant for sure, but this screen will be our window into the world for most of the game.

The three buttons on the left respectively show us our stats, our gear (of which we have none), and our charms (our magic spells).



(I've never really been described as anything but average, really. Maybe, if anything I'm a little bit lucky, I guess.)

(...Though I could swear I was at least a bit stronger than this before I left. I guess the wandering took it out of me.)




Magic in this game is handled by charms, which are all small spells that can be linked together for a larger effect.



(Closest thing I have to a talent is this bit of magic light.)

(It might be small, but it did cause a lot of trouble back at the orphanage.)

(...Well, when I can actively control it, at least.)


Oh, and in the bottom right corner is a small map representative of all the locations we can visit. We can't really do anything without going to them, so I might as well take us on a full tour.

Whenever we go to somewhere, I'll bring up the map with the name of the location highlighted.



Well... first, I suppose I should find an inn. I'm going to need somewhere to stay while I'm here.



Name's Dan- "Dan the Man" they used to call me, but that was a long time back now. Anyhow, what can I do for ya?

Do you have any rooms open?




49G isn't a bad price for a week.

I suppose it'd be quite good, missy, but we charge 49 a day.

A day?! That's rather pricy, isn't it?

I don't make the prices. That's why I offer room and board.

(I've only got 100 gold leftover, so this is probably going to be a bit expensive of an option for some time. I probably won't be able to work room and board, and keep another job at the same time...)

I can't lower the price any, y'know. Back when I was still Dan the Man, I could afford to run this cheap, but these days that'd put me in the red.

...Hm. Well, before I go, do you have any job openings here?



(Neither of those sound particularly great for me, but I suppose if I had to I may at least meet some people...)

Well, I'll think about it.

I'll be here, in case you change your mind.


In Cute Knight, all forms of resting we'll see only takes one day, except for working for room and board. That will take our whole week up.



Hey, have you got any job openings?



(Well, that could help me with my arm strength, if I felt like it.)

Hm, well regardless, what are you selling?





(Well, that's all I can see in here that would be useful for me. Most of it would probably only useful if I went adventuring though.)

I'm not much on money right now, but I'm sure I'll be back when I do.

Alright, then. Have a nice day!






If you need to know anything, this is the place to be. You can just call me Books, everyone does.

(That's odd, because I'm sure we've never met before.)

Can you tell me about the town, then? I just got here, after all.



At the Spring festival we elect a beautiful Flower Queen. The Midsummer festival has the Tournament of Champions.

The Harvest festival is full of good cooking, and then there's Yule, of course.

(Those do sound quite fun, I can't lie.)

Oh, and we are ruled by Good King Humphrey and his wife Queen Penelope - and Prince Kirelan, their heir.



But she vanished a few years ago. Just disappeared one night. No ransom, no body, no word- it's a mystery!

Personally, I think she was kidnapped by an evil wizard who's holding her captive and using her for his wicked deeds! ...But that's just a theory. Anyway, other than that, it's a quiet town.

(That's... some theory.)

Oh! Except for that horrible sinkhole in the slums. That place is dangerous!

Dangerous, how?

In like, every way possible! I've heard there's all sorts of monsters down there, not to mention thieves as well! The guards keep all that away from here though, so there's no need to worry.

Well, I'll take your word for it and stay away.

(Although, it does sound like it could be exciting. Dangerous, sure, but exciting.)

Anything else?

Well, I'm trying to find a job. Do you have anything open?



I might be able to find you something better to do if you can learn the layout well.

Ah, well, I'll think about it.

Alright, see you around then!





Are you a traveler, perhaps? You have the look of one without home or family as well.

Huh? O-oh, yes, I am. Uh... How did you know?

You start to quickly see these sorts of things after some time. Will you be here long?

E-er, yes, I was planning to.

Well, child, if you are ever in need of lodgings, this church is happy to provide free of charge.

Really?! That's great!

-As long as your heart is still unburdened. We cannot provide refuge for sinful souls in this building.

(A bit strict, but it is free...)




Um... maybe? Well, I may need to come back later.

That will be fine. Our doors are always open to those in need.

(I do have to wonder, though, how would they know if I had sinned?)

Believe me, we can tell if you have, child. You can't pull the habit over our eyes.

H-huh? What's that supposed to mean?

You know as well as I.

...Right, I, uh, I'll be on my way now.


As long as we have zero Sin, we can rest at the church for free. It takes one day, and the amount it heals is a random percentage, though it does have a decent chance of healing a lot and it is completely free.





(I suppose there's a lot of things I could do here. If needed, I might even be able to camp out here somewhere, though anyone could just walk past and steal something...)

(Although, so could I, thinking about it. I've never actually done it before, but if things get very desperate...)

(I could also just play for tips. I've heard it pays really well if you've got talent!)

(...Though I don't have anything but a kazoo as an instrument.)

(I could also just go and talk to someone. That's a thing I could do, yeah. Probably more profitable than professional kazoo player.)

(...On second thought? Why do I have a kazoo anyways?)


We can camp in in the streets, though it comes at risk of being stolen from. It's also unreliable healing, like the church.





But what kind of class is "Kitchen Science", anyhow?


The college is our fastest way of raising specific stats, but none of it is cheap.





(Oh, er, am I not supposed to be here? I'll just play it calm.)




We could not repair the hole, but we did place guards and magical wards around the area to keep the beasts from escaping into the city.

Only brave adventurers - or foolish criminals - visit the slums now.

...Of course, foolish adventurers do as well.



Oh, I wasn't planning on it, I just stumbled over here without realizing what it was.

That's what they all say, lass.

Hm... what if I told you I was a trained martial artist and my fists were deadly weapons, my body trained harder than steel?



No.

...It was just a joke.

And I take my job seriously.

(Right. Well, if I did want to go in, I guess I would know where to go for gear.)







And so here we are again. Introductions done, it's time to start the game of building stats.

A lot of the stats do what they would seem to do, though I'll give a quick rundown of them all.

- EXP is really more of adventuring fame. Sin is sin, we get it from doing bad things, while Dream is effectively Hildegun's motivation. If it ever runs out, then we lose the game, having given up on our dreams.

- Strength affects melee combat in some way. As to how, I don't know for sure, but you do want it. It may influence growth rate of melee combat stats.

- Stamina and Mind directly influence our Max HP/MP.

- Luck is primarily used for certain professions, and any other uses I can't give any guarantee on. It may increase drop rates.

- Cooking is used for some endings and professions, but never produces anything in this game at least. Cleaning does have some other special uses though.

- Crafting can be actively used to make things, though Brewing cannot. Both are used to identify items, however.

- Taming helps to keep Sin down while exploring by letting us scare away living enemies.

- Combat is basically melee defense, while Weapons is damage and accuracy. You'll want both for melee weapons, but Combat is still very good for mages.

- Magic affects spell damage and our own resistance, I believe, while Spells just has you learn more charms.


The available jobs do mostly what you'd expect, but here's a short overview. The stats needed to succeed at them are typically the stats they raise.

- Maid: Stamina and Cleaning

- Chef: Cooking

- Box Moving: Stamina and Strength

- Shelving Books: Stamina and Mind

- Cleaning Windows: Cleaning, lowers Sin

- Tend Horses: Taming, lowers Charm

- Theft: Luck, raises Sin, chance of being labeled a thief

- Performing: Charm, Luck, variable pay but potentially very lucrative.


We can also try adventuring, but our stats are quite low presently. We'd also need a weapon and armor.

So, what I need now is votes for what Hildegun does on her first month in town. Each activity takes 7 days, though will end early if a festival is being held so that you have a chance to attend.

As each activity also drains 1 HP per day, I'll need to rest. Later on, I'll be asking how we handle it, but for now I'll default to using the church since it's the safest free option. We can work room and board, but that takes 7 days and consequently drains 7 HP. (It will raise stats though.)

I say we work on Shelving Books, since we're a smart type.

I'm gonna second shelving books

Do you always start with the Sun Charm or is that Water Month-exclusive?

Junpei wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 04, 2020 2:13 am

Do you always start with the Sun Charm or is that Water Month-exclusive?

The sun charm is just because we had a high enough Spells stat from the start to have it, given it's the lowest level charm. Had we been Leaves, for example, our Spells swould have been so low we wouldn't have started with any.

The charms themselves are just automatically learned as your Spells increases, (given that magic class at the college is really the only way to raise it,) though there's a good couple that are obtained by other means.

I vote on helping tend the animals at the church.

Talow wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 04, 2020 12:48 am

I'm gonna second shelving books

Yeah let's start here.

Update 3: Everybody's Shelving Books For the Weekend

I suppose I could figure out my way around shelving books for now. She seemed nice enough.

The pay isn't great, but knowledge is power, right?

...At least I think that's how it goes.



Back already?

Yeah, let's do this. To the shelves!



Work in Cute Knight is still very much like Princess Maker. The chibi sprite there is animated as the days tick by, while we either meet the day with failure or success We still usually get some stat ups but no gold if we screw up.

The main track played while working is Spinning Song by Albert Elmenreich, the two distinct sections of it being used separately. There's at least another one, but I can't really pick it out.

...While I appreciate your enthusiasm, Stodger's Guide to Stew Stoves doesn't even remotely belong on this shelf.

Oh, sorry! I can fix that, but I mean, that's just where it was in the order of the stack to start with.

That's because the stacks aren't sorted yet. Don't tell me that you did all these shelves and...

Oh... oops?



Success gives us more reliable stat growths as well as gold per successful day. Not every job gives you the stats at an equal rate, but shelving does. Though some randomness is involved, success in any of the jobs is pretty much about overcoming the initial stat barrier.

Not bad, not bad at all. Keep it up!



And at the end we get a summary of how much we made.

Just 6 gold?

Yeah, sorry, but I can't pay you for the days you made me have to work more. It's not like I make that much money to start with.

Fair enough.

You are getting better at it, at least.



One of the disadvantages of some starting months is how close they are to certain festivals. This was a larger issue in Princess Maker 2 where your only option was to participate in a contest or not, and lose the whole month regardless. There's four contests in Cute Knight but they all have at least minorly useful options even if you have no stats.

The game will automatically boot us out of any job if we reach a festival day, which is nice given your schedule rarely lines up with it after a while of playing. We also can just completely ignore them if we want, but they're at minimum decent opportunties to gain Dream.



Hey, I really am getting better at this!



Well, progress is still a bit rocky, but I think you'll figure it all out soon enough.

How'd you get so good at this anyhow? Whenever anyone asks, you know exactly where the book is.

Been doing it my whole life, really. You tend to figure it out after a while. Anyways, time to close shop for today- see ya!

Bye!



Phew. Never figured shelving books would be so exhausting. I suppose it's off to the church again, then.

:

Welcome back, child. Did you find success in your work today?

Some, but not much. I got more of it right this time. Can I borrow the same room as usual?

You may.



------

Hildegun, my child, aren't you headed to the library?

Mmnh...I'm still tired... wait 'til tomorrow... zzz

...The youth these days.

------



Ah, rested and ready to take on the day!

I would hope that sleeping for the entirety of yesterday would be restful enough.

I suppose it- I did WHAT?!



Still making progress, I see.

I didn't mix up anything this time did I?

You did fine!

But was anything out of order?

...More than half of it.

Rats.

Forget about that, I'm closing up early so we can get to the festival on time. We'll still be able to make it for the tournament!

Oh, right, The Midsummer Festival!







Well, I'm off to watch both of the tournaments for a while, but we can meet up at the ball later, if you want.

A ball? Dancing isn't really my strong suit...

It's not mine either, though everyone's there mostly to have fun. That and free food. That's honestly the best part.

Alright, well, I'll see you there then!

(Hm... There's a "Wizard's Challenge"? I wonder what that is like?)





(Sounds like it could be fun! I'm not sure if all that good with my Light charm, but there might be a prize in it if I can beat someone.)

An Alternate Timeline wrote:


Hah, this kid's like, barely a preteen. This should be easy-



HOW AM I LOSING TO A NINE YEAR OLD

(On second thought, I should probably learn how to control even Light before I get into doing that. It'd be rathe embarassing if I lost to the first contestant.)


-------



There you are, Hilde! How's the ball been so far?



But more importantly, free food!

I sure hope it isn't blasphemy, but this stuff is sooo much better than what I get at the Church!

Well, given that Sister Anju is over there stuffing her face as well, I think you're in the clear.

*munch munch*

------





Yeah, I'm in a lot better rested today after all of that.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying good food, child. Not a thing.



That makes one week here in the castletown.



I'm not that much improved, nor much richer, but I've at least met some people and found somewhat of a place.



Well, thread, what now? This month has no festival, so we've got four full weeks of options available.

The work list is the same as before, but this month I will be doing at least one week of the second most voted work (I'll do two weeks if it's a very close vote.)

We can also get some stuff and try adventuring, but we're still rather weak and broke.

So, uh, get to voting, I guess?

Library until we unlock whatever comes after shelving.

More Library

Update 4: New Friends - Bookends

Hurrock wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 06, 2020 9:15 pm

Library until we unlock whatever comes after shelving.

Junpei wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 07, 2020 1:26 pm

More Library

Supercharging the Library it is! Honestly, we're a bit too broke and weak at the moment to do much else of note.

----





Back for more?

Might as well. It's kinda relaxing in a way, and honestly I'm still trying to figure everything out.



You are getting a lot better at this. There's hardly any mistakes anymore!

Yes! Finally!

Hah, I've never met anyone who was so happy about shelving books.

I'm just trying to take every little victory in stride, you know?

Fair enough.



Alright, still doing well!



Hmmhmm... hmm hm...

Hey, Hilde, did you remember to put the Cantha's Canticle of Cant set on row 14, shelf 3?

Yep!

Simon Poole's Gui-

Row 9, Shelf 4.

And you remembered that Guide to Botany by M. Andrews is on shelf 4, not 5, right?

What? It goes on shelf 4. I know it does.

...Perfect!

Huh?

You've gotten everything perfect this week!

Aw, yeaaah! Awesome! Finally!

----



(How about that? It's only been what, two months and I'm already successful?)

(...It's not much, but hey, it's something! At least it's a niche to be in until I figure out what to do next.)



(If anything, I know I've gotten more focused and energetic of late. Seems a bit odd that working in a library would do that, but hey, I'm not complaining.)

-----





I must say, child, you have begun to settle in around here, haven't you?

I hope that's not a problem. The library doesn't pay enough to support much right now, but I am working up!

There is no need to worry, you're more than welcome here. Though, your soul must be clean.

I've been meaning to ask, you always state that so... strictly, I guess?

What do you mean?

Like, less of it being a rule, more of it being impossible? It sounds like there's some sort of magic barrier on this place that would physically block someone with sin from entering.

Oh, that's because there is, and it does exactly that.

...Huh.






Not as perfect this week, but still pretty good.

Rats.

Eh, don't worry about it, nobody's perfect. Besides, you look like something is on your mind.

...Did you know that the church has a magic barrier on it to keep sinful people out? A. Magic. Barrier!

...Somehow, I think Anju might be messing with you.

Hey, like your evil wizard theory is any more plausible!

Hm... got me there, I guess.

And-

ACHOO!

Ugh.



Note that our max HP went down by one. Every time we sneeze this happens, it seems.

RIP you if you have allergies, I guess.

Well, don't sneeze in the old books at least.

Right...

--- Two Weeks Pass ---





Yeah, you've officially gotten the hang of this I think. It really does help to have someone else around while I try to keep the kids in line. There's no time to think with them around.

They do seem to keep you rather busy. Say, what made you start running reading lessons and stuff here?

I don't know, really. It's just something I've been doing. It also helps with the government stipend I get, I guess. I know the church also holds a similar thing, but whatever, it can't hurt.

Well, it is a nice thing to do, at least.

Oh, and I know I'd promised I try and find you something else to do, but as you can tell, really not much goes on around here.

What about the kids? I could probably read to them as well, if you want a break from it.

Ohhh, girl, you sure about that? I mean, you can, but keeping them in line will wear you down as if you'd run a lap around the entire town.

It can't be that bad, can it?

Believe me, worse than you'd think. It's like taming wild animals sometimes.



I'll give you some time to think about it first, but the option's open I suppose.


And with this, we've unlocked our first new job, Reading to Children. It doesn't actually take any more energy than other jobs, but it's a lot harder to get right. This is primarily due to that it uses both Luck and Taming as its effective stats. It also drains Strength at a steady rate. It's quite similar to the animal care job, in a way.



One offscreen rest at the Church, and we're done for today. We've been getting lucky on these rolls of late, so I've been able to save a lot of time.
But speaking of time, it's that time again where I ask you for votes. We've gotten a significant boost in HP and MP after all this, and we've also got a decent store of cash on hand now, so honestly, it's been pretty good. Adventuring is probably a lot more possible right now, though we'd probably need to make trips back constantly.

We can definitely consider buying gear now, so I'll be including a gear list at the end of each update. However, the Harvest Festival will be coming next month, and that also has some special items for sale.

We can also consider finally going to school for something, so that will be on the list as well.

Anyways, next update will also be for about another month and a half- I'll stop at the Harvest Festival so we can get a taste of the item list available (nearly everything in the game) and see if anyone wants to get stuff from it. I know I've been posting these a bit fast, but now that we've reached a point that our options have opened up a bit more, I might as well leave the voting open a bit longer than before.

First, I'd say we need to not be reading to kids; we can't afford to lose any Strength at this point. I'd say we should probably round our physique out a bit by taking Exercise and Fighting classes. I realize we're set up for magic, but I feel like having some non-magic ability would be for the best. Job-wise, let's try our hands at Performing.

Important note: I'm terrible at management games, so take my votes with a grain of salt.

Take a Magic class to start preparing for adventuring, then spend the rest of the time picking boxes up and putting them down to help our stamina.

Commander Keene wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:24 am

Take a Magic class to start preparing for adventuring, then spend the rest of the time picking boxes up and putting them down to help our stamina.

This sounds good to me.

I've been curious about this series before; nice to see an LP of it!

Commander Keene wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:24 am

Take a Magic class to start preparing for adventuring, then spend the rest of the time picking boxes up and putting them down to help our stamina.

Thirded.
Let's really get started on the path to burning things with the power of the mind.

I do like the idea of trying out Performing. Charm and Luck don't have to be dump stats. We could also take a class in Magic or Item Creation.

Magic class.

Update 5: Are You Sure Hilde Done It This Way

Alternate Title: These Prices Put Me In Tears, I'm Just Gonna Leaf

Votes are in, and trying to balance the interests as best I can, we'll be going for Magic schooling, a week of trying out performing, and then just lifting boxes until the festival.





If anything, the one thing I want to do is try and get better at magic. If there's at least one natural talent I have, it's that.



Each charm will affect creatures differently. A Light charm would harm a vampire, but a Dark charm might make him stronger.

As you learn more charms, you must choose carefully which ones will be most effective against your enemies.



You can cast spells with up to three charms at a time. This will allow you to focus the most energy.

If your energy is low, you can choose to cast with only one or two charms instead of three.

This will cost less mana but also do less damage to your enemies.




Well, I feel like I've got a better grasp on this than I did before!

That's excellent! That'll be 210 gold.

Well, there goes two months of savings.

That's the price of power.

(My poor wallet...)

-----



So, all of that has earned us at least three charms. To explain what the magic teacher told us more mechanically, adding another spell charm costs you an extra 1 MP per spell cast for usually more damage. I find 2 charms at once is more than enough most of the time, but going all in on them isn't bad if you want to end fights very fast.

-----



Well, how did it go?

I think it went well.

Though, my savings are completely shot now...

I'd imagine- those prices at the college are gouged like none other. What do you need magic for anyhow? Planning on adventuring or something?

Maybe. There's a bit of excitement to the idea.

Regardless, I need to start earning money again.

Still thinking about reading to the kids? I can pay more for that.

Giving it second thoughts, I reasoned it might be a bad idea for me.

Smart move.

If it's alright, I was still looking to maybe branch out to some other work.

No need to ask me for permission. You're welcome back whenever, it's what friends are for.

Alright, thanks!






Hm, I suppose I can try and perform for tips. That always seems like it brings in big cash.



Oh! Thank you! Thank you very much!

Making any progress out here, Hilde?

Ah, hey, Books! I am now, it seems! Look at that, 10 gold! Soon enough, they'll be singing songs about me!

Yeah, it's probably from you singing instead of playing the kazoo.

...Why do you even have a kazoo, anyways?

I don't know! It was just in my pocket!

That was really just kind of embarassing.

Y-you don't have to remind me!


We've got a bit of Luck and Charm so getting started in performance isn't impossible. The both of them are far from dump stats- the only real dump stat is cooking, honestly.

Oh, and for reference, the max that performance can give per day is 25 G. It's the highest paying job in the game series, but it's unreliable at times. You can have 260 Charm and 120 Luck and still not get tips some days.


----




(Well, I might be able to make it at singing if I kept up with it for a while. Still, I might want to find something more... reliable for the moment.)



There's less organization here than you'd be doing in the library, but no less amount of moving.

Don't worry, I can handle it!

If you say so.



For just a frail wisp of a lass, you're quite good at this!

What's that supposed to mean?

Ah, nothing, take it as a compliment. It also means you did a good job, so here's your pay.

(31 gold!? This pays way better, for sure!)

(Can't really say it's as relaxing though.)


---



These flyers say that there will be wandering merchants at the festival with rare goods, so perhaps I really ought to save up some cash now and fast.

...And I know just the way!





I'll tell you this, you're a lot more productive than most of the helpers I've had before. If you get those minor mistakes ironed out, I can pay you full-time.

Well, er, thanks, I guess?

-----



Up early, my child? You must be excited for the Harvest Festival.

You got that right!

It lasts a whole week, you know. No need to rush.

B-But rare items! Good food! Why not get there first?!

Well, you do know I have to agree with one of those sentiments...









The song that plays here is just an instrumental of "Come Ye Thankful People," a Thanksgiving hymn. I suppose it's a appropriate, though the street merchants and games always give me a more party-like view of the Harvest Festival here.

Speaking of games...



We can play a streetside game for prizes, though each attempt costs us a day. I've never actually won anything higher than the teddy bear, so I've no idea how high your stats have to go to truly win this. It's typically a waste of time and money unless you really can just nail it every time.


(Oh, that last prize does sound great, though I'm not sure how good I'd be at this...)

(I think I'll go check the trader stalls like I planned.)



What's it do?

Hell if I know. Probably lets you walk through walls or something.

How would that work? What if it ran out while you were in a wall?

You'd probably die or something, I guess.

Yikes.

Want it or not?

I'll, uh... pass.



You're selling poison...?

Aye, and I've got Deadly Poison too. Best pesticides in the business.

I... okay.

Oh, Hilde! There you are, finally!

Oh, hey! I didn't know you were here too.

Yeah, I figured I might take a look around myself just to see if there was any texts for sale. Find anything good yourself?

Mostly just people selling questionable potions.

Oi! I'm standing right here!

Well, I thought I saw some magic staves or something over this way if you want to come.

Sure!



...

...

What?

...

...

Seriously, what?



305 Gold for a mop?!

Of course, it's magical!

Really.

Yes, really! It's a legendary kind of mop used by the legendary Battle Maids!

Legendary Battle Maids.

...Right.

It can slay anything, dragons, even!

...Hey, Books, you want to just go get some food now?

Yeah, I think that's the better use of time here.

Fine! Pass up this treasure! You may be non-believers now, but you'll see soon enough!


So, uh, yeah. The trader caravans let you buy nearly every item in the game, many of which would normally have to be crafted. For a still incomplete list, but good idea of the many things of interest we could buy, I made a list I'll include at the end of the update.

Each time you visit the traders they offer one random item for sale, and just visiting them takes a day. If there was ever a moment to savescum, it's here.



Anyways, that's it for today. I now need an idea of what to do for the next month and a half or so. Maybe even more, Yule doesn't really have anything special going on at it, really and I don't need to end an update there.

Anyways, tell me what jobs, classes, or items you want Hilde to do/buy, as usual. If there's an item in the giant list you're wondering about, just ask and I can tell you the stats.











-------

Well, we didn't get any prizes at the games, the shops were a bust, and the free food only lasted so long.

And half of it was pumpkin spice flavored.

Ugh... There's only so much pumpkin spice one person can take.

Ah, if there was only something we could do to get our time back. Have some real fun in spite of it.

Yeah...

...

...You know, I can split the price on that chainmail bikini.

What? No!

Aw, c'mon, you'd rock that look- I know it! Parade around the rest of the festival?

Hold on, if we bought that, I'm making you wear it! I'm not throwing my dignity away like that!

Oh, what, you don't want to look like... what was it he said, "a gorgeous warrior princess"? I think it'd suit you.

I think the cider's gone to your head.

Haha... probably...

...zzz...

What the- you didn't even have that much!

...there's some sort of barrier on this place that would physically block someone with sin from entering.

Well that’s a bit odd. How are you supposed to confess sins if you can’t get into the church? Or did Sister Anju buy the force field from the wandering trader?

I vote for more Lifting, at least until we’re likely to survive Adventuring.
We should buy a magic wand and armor to get ready.

I'm thinking a bit more lifting, getting some equipment, and then attempting to adventure.

Hurrock wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:23 pm

I vote for more Lifting, at least until we’re likely to survive Adventuring.
We should buy a magic wand and armor to get ready.

I agree with this. If we have any money left over, we should also get some health potions though.

I'm gonna join the chorus of keep lifting since Strength and Stamina should both prove useful in combat and it gives more money than shelving books. Then we should buy equipment, and go adventuring.
Healing potions would be wise too, though.

Alright, I've gotten the next update screenshotted out, but it may just take me a little longer than usual to fix it up given there's a lot more in it than what we've had going on in town. On the bright side, we did very well for our first run in the dungeons, so expect to see some good monster bashing content.

Update 6: Only The Good Die Young

You know, when I said a "little longer than usual", I meant like, two days. Curse you, creative block!

Anyways, we're back, and the vote is unanimous for lifting, making cash, getting some gear, and hitting the dungeons! So, let's get right to it!






Ah, you're back already? Figured you'd be out at the festival for the rest of the week.

Ah, well, I think I've seen enough already.

I just wanted to get back to having some more money at hand first.

Well, as long as you keep up your usual performance, I'm fine with making that happen.



Perfect work again, lass! You do well enough around here that I can trust you with more work opportunities.

Oh, thanks! What are they?

Well, I've only got one lined up for now, but...



I think you've got the cleverness for it.




(On occasion, this will happen with some jobs. I believe it's based on the inclinations of the birth month you pick at the beginning, but I can't guarantee that. It's bad when it happens though- it automatically fails the day, usually gets you no stats, and drains your Dream a bit. )


You know, I think I might just take you up on that offer now. These boxes are starting to get to me.



I see you're up to working the cashier now.

Oh, hey! Yeah, I was wanting a change of pace from all the boxes. Library still going alright?

Yep, as usual. Anyways, I was just stopping by for some more glue supplies- those bindings won't hold themselves.

Okay, see you around!

(I wonder if she wants me to work at the library again. We still hang out pretty often, but it seems like she's popping up more now than she used to...)

-----



I see you're back on boxes again.

Oh! Right, I was on cashier duty! Rats!

Sorry, I had to get a box and then I noticed one was out of place, and soon enough I was back to my usual.

It's alright, I got it, lass. Just don't overwork yourself. It's starting to get rather cold these days.

Right, right. Say, do you mind if buy some stuff before I go?





What's all this for? Heading for the sinkhole to be a hero?

They're, er, gifts for someone else.

You're not fooling anyone, lass. Just don't get yourself killed down there. I'd hate to lose a good worker like yourself.

I'm careful, I'll be fine. Besides I just want to try it one time, I'm not planning on sticking with it. I'm also not planning on dying anytime soon, I assure you.

---------



(...Argh... this is provided this cold... doesn't... take me out... fir...)

(...every... going... dark...)


---------



Ugh... where am I now? This isn't the church...

Ah, you're finally awake! Good to see that you're still hanging on.

Awake? Did I black out or something?

It would seem so. It's a good thing I happened to find you as soon as I did. The chill that night was unbelievable. Regardless, how are you feeling?



Though this is a bit embarassing.

Well, that's never fatal even if it seems like it might be. You're resilient anyhow, I've never seen someone so overworked they slept for a whole week.

Well I suppose-

Wait, a whole WEEK?

(How does this keep happening to me...?)

Indeed, but regardless I require no payment. We do accept donations and volunteer work if you wish to give back, but everything we do here is free for all.

I don't have much on me now, but I'll give back when I can!

(All of this for free? He must be a saint or something!)

(...Well, that or he could just be really rich. Maybe both?)

(Ah! I don't have time to be worrying about that- I've already lost so much time as is!)






So we've finally met the Doctor. As far as I remember, passing out is really the only way you'll meet him. Speaking of passing out, the winter season can just instantly knock you out if you were already really low on health. It's rather rude.

And yes, it did just drain some of our max HP as well. We should still have enough for the dungeons though.

One stop at the church later for a top off and we should be ready to head on in.



Okay, armor on...



And spells readied. I don't know if these two will do any good together, but I might as well.





Been a few months, but here you are. They always come back, even if they say they ain't planning on adventuring.

I'm just trying it out once, okay?

That's what they all say, kid. Every last one of 'em. But you're equipped... I suppose... so head on in. I won't stop you.

Just... keep your head about you, kid. That place has a corrupting influence on anyone who enters.

------------------



Well. I can't say I expected a dungeon to look better than this, but those stories really leave out how grimy everything is.





So, yeah, welcome to the dungeon. The perspective's a little funny, but this controls like you'd expect really. As the automap in the corner suggests, we move tile by tile through the place. Time also progresses, but as for the exact rate, I don't know. All I know is that it's a few days later by the time this update ends.

...Okay, less a few days later and more of "nearly a whole month".



Monster encounters happen randomly as we move around, but the encounter rate usually isn't amazingly high.

When we meet an enemy we always get these three options. "Fight" brings us to the combat prompts, "Run Away!" lets us retreat, (though as to what determines our escape chance, I have no clue,) and "Tame Monster" is a one-time attempt to peacefully end the encounter based on our Taming skill. Charm may have something to do with it, but I've no idea of the specifics. If the check does work, the enemy wanders off, you get a bit of EXP, and you don't gain any sin.

Oh, and if you flee, the monster doesn't leave the spot it's at. Trying to simply avoid every encounter's not very possible unless you've got yourself a massive taming/charm score.



Actually getting into combat provides you these three options. These all act as you think they would, really. The combat system in this game isn't amazingly complex, but Cute Knight Kingdom does expand on it some.



As for how the magic works, uh...



I'm not sure if I really know what's going on with it. Some spell elements counteract each other, enemies are weak to certain elements and stuff, but how any of the calculations work isn't something I've got access to.

I'll say this, usually 1 charm does 3-4, 2 charms does 5-9, 3 charms somewhere in the 10-14 range, but those charms all have to match a certain amount of elements. I think the two charms we use for this whole update counteract each other so we'll be doing less.

Like I said, I still don't entirely know how the magic works. It's not like Hilde does either though.



That's why she just eventually poked this guy in the eye with her wand.



Well, one of us was going to have to move.

I'd say I felt bad for that, but I kinda don't.



This ribbon looks nice though! It probably belongs to someone else, but I might just wear it until I find them.

I'll still probably have to scrub some windows to make up for that...



Ooooh! But if this is what I get for it, I'll easily put up with it!

What have we got, what have we got, what have... we...



...I expected a bit more.



Ah! Another one! Yessssss-



Hm. Well, I suppose I shouldn't complain about what I got for free.



This metal star thing would be kinda nifty if I cleaned it up some. That's a nice find, I guess.



Just keeps getting darker. C'mon, stay with me little light... I'd really rather not be here in the dark....





Great. It's locked. I might be able to break it down, but that's going to hurt...

I don't even remotely know how to pick a lock, so...

Maybe just shoot a spell at the lock?



...More magic than I intended to use there.

But hey, it's open!



Ah! Shoo, shoo! Get away from me!



Ugh, fine!



...I do feel bad about that one. Poor little thing...



Fine, be that way!

Have a wand to the eye!



This is about as much as I found in those treasure boxes!



Hey, shove off! I'm looting here!



Hah, more money.



A ladder down? If it's all this easy, why not?



Tch, dang door. Resist my magic, why don't ya?



Oww.....

...But that got you open at least.



(Good thing I have these. Not much, but it really helps.)



Hey, watch where you're-

Agh, what even are you?!



Why won't you just go away?!



Ugh! That was longer than I'd wanted it to be. Damn thing.

...! Ah, I didn't mean to say...

Wait, it's not like anyone else is down here. Who cares if I swear a bit?



Ah, more loot.



More money and a pretty necklace? Score!



I think I'll keep to what I've been wearing for now, matches my mood better.



Oh, hey, more gold!



So easy.



AAAH! SNAKE!



...Oh. Hm. That was fast.



More loot, more loot, more looooooot!



Would you things stop getting in my way?!



Tch, can't catch a break down here.



Hell yeah!



What kind of treasure is this supposed to be?



Ow....



Damn magic's hardly denting this thing!



Ugh... of all the times to run out of energy...!



...Can't... break... past...



Ngh... to hell with this...



--------------



...But I can tell already you didn't heed my warning.

Whatever. I got what I was looking for.

*sigh*



(That damn golem nearly killed me...)

(I can probably beat it if I had some more supplies, but I might need to train up my magic more...)



Hey, Sister, is my room still-

Dear gods, what happened to you?!

Huh?



*Runs and shuts the church doors*

...What? It's not that much blood.

...

Aw, hell, that sin thing. Right.

Well, I'm without a place to stay now.

Might as well pawn off something so I can get a room and still keep most of what I earned.





I... just... yikes, lass.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I look rough. You gonna buy this or what? I need to get a room before I bleed out here.

I'll buy it, sure, but...

Oh, and if you wanted to know, these wands are also really useful when going for the eyes.

I... okay.

-----



Right, but where to stay now? I suppose I could just stay in the streets if I feel like it, not like anyone even wants to be near me.

An inn room does sound nice right about now, though...




And there you have it! Hildegun's gotten herself a good amount of loot, and we definitely haven't lost anything but some potions in the process. She's definitely still the same person as she was when she went in.

We've mostly cleared floor 2, and while we can head back down to smash more things for loot, the chests don't respawn and the next floor is a lot tougher than we can manage right now. (Next time, I'll try to be a bit smarter about the magic, too. I was experimenting with it, and uh, forgot to stop th experiment.)

The items we got we can't identify without a higher Crafting skill, but I'll go ahead and say that the studded ribbon/choker gives a boost to Combat and Charm while the star necklace boosts our Magic. That much alone you can easily figure out by checking the stat screen.

That all being said, we're going to have to find new lodgings at least for now. (We don't have the energy to try and work off our sins immediately. We can still do it after we rest though. Well, that is provided the thread even wants to do that. We're only at 29 after all...)


So the votes I need are what do we do next as well as do we pay for inn rooms, work for them, or just sleep in the streets?

Splurge on the room and work off a little Sin. We're not at the point where we can really afford to be sleeping at an inn regularly, so the church still seems to be our best option for bed & breakfast.

Oh wow, the Cute Knight series? Must say, didn't expect to see this up here, but it's a welcome surprise to see someone delve into it.

I mostly played Kingdom, and while I have my own issues with it, I have to concede that alleviating the issues I have with a lot of the profession endings would throw the game directly into Scope Creep Hell with all the fleshing out that would need to be done. ...namely with the Cooking one, personally. For some reason I like the idea of the Cooking endings, and there's definitely a clear endgame for it in Kingdom, but, uh... it's not exactly the clearest breakpoints to pass when you start interacting with it, from what I remember. I'll save thoughts on the endings in general when we get to how they work; hopefully they'll be rather enlightening.

Votes will be for Stay At the Inn and Wash Windows to purge Sin. If we work it all off (I have no idea how much the windows remove), then I'll say Shelve Books for one week, then Work the Register for anything left. We can probably afford a little bit less pay to see how Books is doing.

You kill a half dozen or so sentient beings for money and suddenly everyone acts like you're some sort of monster.

Sleep at the Inn, then scrub windows to remove sin.

...it seems weird you can probably keep morally in the clear by scrubbing a lot of windows to make up for your blood splattered expeditions into the dungeon.

LPFinale wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 18, 2020 8:45 am

Oh wow, the Cute Knight series? Must say, didn't expect to see this up here, but it's a welcome surprise to see someone delve into it.

I mostly played Kingdom, and while I have my own issues with it, I have to concede that alleviating the issues I have with a lot of the profession endings would throw the game directly into Scope Creep Hell with all the fleshing out that would need to be done. ...namely with the Cooking one, personally. For some reason I like the idea of the Cooking endings, and there's definitely a clear endgame for it in Kingdom, but, uh... it's not exactly the clearest breakpoints to pass when you start interacting with it, from what I remember. I'll save thoughts on the endings in general when we get to how they work; hopefully they'll be rather enlightening.

I mean, it's always a welcome surprise for me to see that people other than me have played these games.

Yeah, there's unclear stuff regarding endings in both of the games- your insight on it's fully welcome when we get there.

I've got my own problems with the games, but most of is also just because of their scope. Small indie teams from years back had little in the way of budget or resources and I fully understand that they probably couldn't manage the workload to extend it any more. That being said, I can't help imagine what these games would be like if they were remade by present day Hanako.

(As a side note, though I can't say which game I prefer over the other, I think Kingdom's going to be real fun when we get there.)

Wash Windows to purge Sin. If we work it all off (I have no idea how much the windows remove),

Reading Wyvern wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:08 pm

You kill a half dozen or so sentient beings for money and suddenly everyone acts like you're some sort of monster.

Sleep at the Inn, then scrub windows to remove sin.

...it seems weird you can probably keep morally in the clear by scrubbing a lot of windows to make up for your blood splattered expeditions into the dungeon.

Eh, you know, those windows are like really grimy or something.

In all seriousness, gameplay concessions had to be made, I guess. It's not like Princess Maker did it much different either with their Sin removal.

As for the subject of sin removal, all of this made me realize I forgot to note that Tending Animals also lowers Sin. I've fixed the job list to reflect that, and if anyone wants to change their vote, they can. As for how much all of this removes, Windows and Horses are at the same rate of like 0-1 per day, while Volunteering is much faster at like a guaranteed 2 per day, but at a heavier cost to our stats. Window washing is the only one that doesn't penalize us, though.

Oh right, the other thing I forgot to mention issues with is... the magic system. To be clear, I love the basic premise of different Charms/Symbols for different spells, especially with how they're learned in Kingdom; it feels like the world's proper magic system, with the 9 elements being combined in various ways. What I don't love is how little explanation is given to how actually casting the damn things works.

For example, I never knew that casting certain elements together could weaken them like in what we've already seen. That might explain the times I cast three spells together and had them do basically no damage. That would've been good to know.