The Secret of Madame Legerdemain
The Secret of Madame Legerdemain
An interactive novel - inspired by a D&D adventure
When the silent grey-clad messenger pressed the embossed invitation into your hand, little did you know that it would lead to you trekking through the mists of Greenhaven’s most forbidden jungle. Then again, this sort of expedition attracts only two sorts of people: the greedy and the desperate. It should hardly be a surprise that they called on you.
Four mysterious pasts
Play as one of four characters, each with their own unique backstories, individual scenes and impactful decisions.
- Mazel Writborn is a half-orc, and a former guard captain to a noble family. She's here because it's the only way for her and her lover, Guinenne, to be together. Pragmatic. Professional. But also… a romantic, and maybe a bit of a rebel at heart.
- Diego de la Rosa is a swordsman, bard and folk hero who calls himself the Lion of Geldin. A man of effortless charm and panache - at least on the surface. He's trying to protect the reputation of his mentor, and trying to live up to the standards of the man he believes is a hero. He's learning that's not always easy.
- Jhorrick Dawnhammer is a grizzled Dwarven Paladin of the Lady of Life who's seen it all. But THIS mission isn't for his Goddess. His wife and daughter have been kidnapped, and he's been cursed to slowly lose his memories of both of them.
- Cellica Drakenstone is a dangerously beautiful high Elvish assassin with a terrible heirloom - a pair of cursed daggers containing the soul of her ancestor, Alexander. She's a force of nature. Seductive. Deadly. But also hurt and broken: a victim of her family's thirst for blood and power.
Content warnings: Violence, injury and death, reptiles/snakes, memory loss, sexually suggestive (but not explicit) content, kidnapping/ransom, emotional abuse.
Feedback encouraged!
This version of the game is a work in progress and comprises approximately 20%-30% of the eventual story. Changes based on audience suggestions are likely and feedback is extremely welcome.
In particular, I'd like to hear in the comments if:
- Anything felt emotionally jarring
- You were confused about what was happening at any point
- You wanted to respond or act in a certain way that wasn't offered as an option
- Anything made you want to stop playing
If you ran into any of the above, let me know and they will be fixed!
If you'd like to discuss the game in more detail (or get a mention in the credits by signing up as a playtester!) you can join the community Discord server.
You can also follow me for updates here, or on Tumblr or Twitter.
Credits
Written and developed by Joe Camberwell
Additional writing, characters and worldbuilding by:
Kenzai: Diego de la Rosa and the Lorei'an setting (Twitch, Instagram)
Nepenthe: Mazel Writborn, Lady Guinenne and Cordren
Guild Master Amir: Cellica, Alexander and Valeris Drakenstone (Twitch, Twitter)
Roy Ernster: Jhorrick Dawnhammer
Development log
- Act 1 rewritesApr 16, 2024
Comments
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I quite liked playing Cellica's path ! Interesting story so far I'm really enjoying ♡
Thank you so much! I appreciate you saying that - it really helps motivate me to keep writing.
I'm hoping the next update will expand both the story and the technical capabilities of the game - watch this space!
I will echo many of the suggestions that beaublue mentioned, but I wanted to specifically talk about a couple of sets of choices that I experienced as Jhorrick.
1. I really enjoyed the memory sequence toward the end of the demo, and the lack of control that I felt. That is what I expect with a character focused on memory loss. I hope this kind of strategy continues on.
2. I felt slightly confused when I let the indigenous people take one of the party, and everyone seemed to dislike that. Why did they feel that way?
3. I felt like Jhorrick frequently has the choice of several snippy ways of speaking in conversation (which is fine), but the other person in the conversation appears to not care each time. I would personally take a little offense if someone spoke to me like that IRL, and I didn't see that while playing.
Hi! Thanks so much, for playing and commenting - this is super useful feedback. With respect to 2: Diego and Mazel are the two most altruistic members of the party and don't like leaving someone behind - but maybe I'll think of some ways to make their reactions more natural!
Please do not take this feedback in a negative way, and remember that those are my personal opinions. You've done a great job overall.
Hi - thanks so much for the feedback! That all resonates with me and is generally stuff I planned to work on - so that's very helpful as it tells me what to prioritise!
The most meaningful choices in the story are yet to come and a lot of what's already there is exposition - but I also feel the need to add more choice and consequence in this first part. If there was any point where you thought "I'd like to be able to make the story go here" or "the consequences to this choice should have been this" that would be super useful to hear.
I'm also planning to heavily rewrite the intro. It doesn't serve the tone of the story well enough yet. The tone of the book needs to be spookier and the player dialogue need a rethink. I have ideas!
I'll also check out The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante because there's nothing better than an example of things done well! 😉
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is the best example of this kind of game that I think you are going for. It's great when it comes to showing consequence of choices, and the overall presentation and writing is in my opinion, perfect. The choices affect the story to such a degree that the game can get replayed several times.
> If there was any point where you thought "I'd like to be able to make the story go here" or "the consequences to this choice should have been this" that would be super useful to hear.
I will try to play through as another character when I have time and see if I have any more concrete feedback when it comes to this.
When you update your game, don't hesitate to write me a comment, if you will have the need for some feedback.
Well written intro. Enjoyed the simple yet logical options in the game play. Appreciated that I wasn't overloaded with too much before making another decision.
Thank you so much! I'm trying to avoid walls of text and follow a rule of "the player character doesn't speak or act without you initiating it" so I'm glad that made a difference.
If there's anything that could make it better, please let me know - my gut says that the transition into picking one of the player characters could be smoother, for example.