Don't know if I discussed this elsewhere, just wanted to say you've definitely grown as a writer. The original content, what's now the Prologue, despite being interesting, never really grabbed my imagination save for the second route's lore, because it was obvious from the description that the characters would likely get home safely. Chapter 1, on the other hand, is great. Love the mystery of who certain characters are and who they're working for. I can guess, however, that the Unknown Shadowling and friends are in league with the Brellian army, possibly seeking to enlarge their forces by pressganging unfortunate sailors into their ranks... or maybe I'm confusing it with the main campaign.

I am pleased to hear that! This is basically the first creative writing project I've done in a long time, so I'm glad to hear that you think Chapter 1 was compelling. Your guesses are partly right. Don't worry, more planned on that in the next Chapter.

I definitely "rushed" things in the Prologue; I found out the hard way that if I wanted to keep the whole campaign manageable in scope for me, it was going to be hard to tell a very deep story while maintaining some kind of pacing and balance with battles. Now that I am expanding it into a longer narrative, I feel like I can set up more stuff and leave more mystery.

Just finished chapter 1, doing the no-rescue route for the Prologue. I'm interested with where the plot is going.

I did pick Ya'seek when given the choice of characters to get the favour. She seems the most interesting of the picks. I'm not sure why anyone wouldpick the Photokineticist, since he barely had a role so far.

The swordman definitely gives me some time travel vibes with the whole "already been here, done that" thing.

I am curious how important the branches will be. What route are you assuming on a fresh save file?

Thanks for the comments!

Yeah, I partly included the photokineticist in case someone felt like going with the character that is a big unknown. I don't expect him to be as popular as the others, but you will find out more about what his deal is in the future.

I'll just say that there will at least be some teases next chapter, so that you can start piecing together why the swordsman seems to know so much.

The prologue route will probably still have a little relevance going forward, but I am planning for the Chapter 1 choice to have a bigger impact. The Chapter 1 choice will at least partly determine what missions you get in Chapter 2, but I am still figuring out the specifics. I am also still thinking on who the "default" choice will be for fresh Chapter 2 files, but leaning towards Ramiro (the healer).