That's what happens when choices matter? I think it's less choices being railroaded here and more you getting upset that Wayfarer's story isn't what you want.
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Stories that left you disappointed for a reason
- Thread starter Sant
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Tbh I like that unless you have MC pretend to fawn over the Count he, like an absolute narcissistic pycho he is, immediately decides to kill the MC. That's very on-brand and also makes me happy I always roll a high-charisma MC first
Same here, high charisma and perception with a little dexterity on the side. Talking yourself out of shitty situations is a very useful skill and for situations I can't talk my way out there's diplomacy (my sword).Tbh I like that unless you have MC pretend to fawn over the Count he, like an absolute narcissistic pycho he is, immediately decides to kill the MC. That's very on-brand and also makes me happy I always roll a high-charisma MC first
I meant that succeding a stat check or failing the stat check results in the same outcome. Why put a stat check there at all?
I thought you meant in that the MC was intentionally made helpless by the author via narrative which would be true.
Yes, but the wayfarer MC doesnt feel like a protagonist tho? I did mention that Geralt was very influential throughout the series and not that he was running the witcher world. Emphyr, Ciri, Yennefer, Vilgefortz, Wild Hunt if you take the games, All these characters are heavily influenced by Geralt and without him the story would be very different. Without Geralt, Emphyr would be dead and Ciri wouldnt have born, Without Geralt Ciri would be dead, Without Geralt, Yennefer would have no role in Ciri's life. Without Geralt Vilgefortz would have hunted down Ciri. And on and on. Im no expert on the Witcher series and its been very long since i read stuff.
Wayfarer MC has reached their 30s i believe. They were around 10 in the prologue.
I agree the first book is a snoozefest, But the MC, the RO's and their writing alone was enough for me to bear through it. I always use Golden Rose as an example to writing a good MC. They're no god or a power fantasy character but they ARE the MC and it shows when you see how much effort is put in by the author.
I feel like with almost 1 million words and a shitton of branching, its probably never gonna happen. MC should already be an established character. I feel like the author is more interested in writing their world and the side characters than their MC. Probably due to the fact that they gave so many origins to them.
Not really, I'm saying that you cant really expect what will happen when you choose a choice. Majority of the times choices dont matter. Its just flavor text and when it matters, its just so obscure you dont know how to reach that point.
Wait, you have to kiss his *** to kill him?
Yup. Which is very logical because he is a powerful narcissist and the advantage is on his side. You need him to lower his guard to kill him. How do you lower a narcissist's guard? You flatter them and make yourself seem useful but weak enough to be harmless. That's why I maintain that social interaction-wise Wayfarer is pretty logical.
Not knowing what will happen and if you will find a right thing at place X when you have to choose your next destination can be frustrating if you are playing it like a modern rpg video game, yes. But Wayfarer emulates a tabletop RPG, and it's a very common mechanic there: you go to place X and place Y becomes out of reach, maybe forever.
Wayfarer is not an open world sandbox - there still are plot beats to follow - but how you get there and what happens on the way can vary. Sometimes failure states can lead to interesting things, too (hello Aeran). And I think both MC and the player are supposed to feel frustrated at the beginning - it's a part of the setup and atmosphere.
Someone mentioned DnD, and I think it's actually a good comparison. An ordinary adventurer in a module is kind of... interchangeable, in that there is technically nothing they can do that some other adventurer couldn't; but with time and growth can affect the world in a major way - despite not being inherently special. It's just that it takes time, and the game isn't done yet to see how things play out.
Most of these things are a matter of taste, though.
Someone mentioned DnD, and I think it's actually a good comparison. An ordinary adventurer in a module is kind of... interchangeable, in that there is technically nothing they can do that some other adventurer couldn't; but with time and growth can affect the world in a major way - despite not being inherently special. It's just that it takes time, and the game isn't done yet to see how things play out.
To give some variation on how you got from point A to point B? This tailors narrative to the specific MC, even if the narrative itself remains mostly linear.
Most of these things are a matter of taste, though.
No? Failing that stat check means
1. Aeran gets blackmailed into accepting the job or leaving you without any medical help.
2. If you didn't have any scars, you get one, This actually becomes important during the party where you have to blend in. Having a visible scar (or having your wayfarer pendant on) can create different dialogues with some guests. I think it makes a persuasion check harder, but I need to double-check that play through.
3. Changes Aeran's relationship route if you're on his route (High romance vs low) this changes how he reacts after the argument and how he behaves during the part he betrays you.
4. I need to double check it again but if Aeran was the one who gets blackmailed, Aeran would talk about how he's always the one saving you during the argument.
2. If you didn't have any scars, you get one, This actually becomes important during the party where you have to blend in. Having a visible scar (or having your wayfarer pendant on) can create different dialogues with some guests. I think it makes a persuasion check harder, but I need to double-check that play through.
3. Changes Aeran's relationship route if you're on his route (High romance vs low) this changes how he reacts after the argument and how he behaves during the part he betrays you.
4. I need to double check it again but if Aeran was the one who gets blackmailed, Aeran would talk about how he's always the one saving you during the argument.
The only thing that doesn't change is being forced to accept the job and enter Velantris.
A bit off topic (and I may be misremembering), but you know what really made me frustrated in Wayfarer? That my MC haggled so hard to get some sweet extra pay, and now he won't be getting it! Thanks, Aeran 
Also Where's MY chance to betray Aeran? Let my MC get enamored with the idea of curing their wayfar-ism and become a lab rat for a sus mage because that won't lead to anything bad at all, amirite?
Also Where's MY chance to betray Aeran? Let my MC get enamored with the idea of curing their wayfar-ism and become a lab rat for a sus mage
Dang, I, too, need to replay the game
(let's hope I didn't delete the files or that the WIP thread has them)
My wayfarer had plans. Buy a nice piece of land, retire and marry Aeran and start a family. Now she doesn't have the money or the guy.
Not willing to be a labrat either, she is going to give Aeran hell for the betrayal though. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
It really just sounds like you want to play a power fantasy. There is no rule that because a character is the protagonist everything has to go their way and bad things can't happen to them.
Lmao there's also no rule that says no good things may happen to the protagonist and only bad things may happen to them. MC is stringed along by everyone, coercion is aversive and there's hardly any effort put narratively to counterbalanced it. it's natural to express distaste. I don't really like the way the MC of Wayfarer is written but the lore is interesting. I feel like the story intentionally or unintentionally undermines and steps all over the protagonist. They are just a poor man's plot device and the story doesn't even have the guts to say it. Atleast Aeran has a subplot, it also feels so on the nose when the author mentions that the savant was looking for Aeran and not the MC, like we were just a bonus or backup they fortunately found.
It’s always so funny no matter the story, someone who just wants the MC of said story to be competent will explain that, and most responses are like “You just want a power fantasy” lol.
It never fails, you can ask why can’t the MC of a story have a backbone and someone will seriously reply it’s not a power fantasy!! What an interesting community who for some reason most authors hate their own MC’s.
It never fails, you can ask why can’t the MC of a story have a backbone and someone will seriously reply it’s not a power fantasy!! What an interesting community who for some reason most authors hate their own MC’s.
Nah, thing is, Wayfarer's MC IS mostly competent if you play them as such, and I feel they do as much as one realistically can. E.g. you can talk around most powerful people you deal with and get bonus information, money and leverage out of them. There are two big characters you can make have a slip of tongue on some quite plot-important things. You can get injury-free out of all fights. You cannot attack the local ruler or a very powerful faction that kidnapped you (And who in their right mind would? tho I assume the way they treat MC is a setup for potential revenge plot). The big issue with MC is that they are literally in the dark about what is happening in politics rn because
- either they had a mentor who wasn't interested in politics much or their mentor preferred to keep them out of it because she (reportedly) played favourites
- iirc (don't quote me on that) they haven't been to the empire properly
- they have never been anyone of significance before
- they spent past few years just trying to stay alive and fed, and that kinda dwindles your interest in high-brow matters
And also MC got unknowingly dragged into a high-stakes political plot by their bestie\pal\situationship and now MC is having many bad days because some guys in power just have their own agendas and don't care about people they consider expendable. So kind of not a skill issue but a timing issue lol
There's a whole subgenre in classical literature that deals with ordinary\semi-ordinary people in the face of circumstances being bigger than they are. But I can understand why it can be frustrating for you to read. For what it's worth, I think someone in this thread who pointed out that these parts are meant to be frustrating, is right.
But MC not being omnipotent and the specialist person in the universe is a skill issue, I should kill the super powerful local ruler outright without having to do anything else because I want to. Anything else is incompetent and being dumb. /s
Jokes aside, MC wasn't there when the spire fell. We don't know if the person who put Aeran unto the job is the same person who contacts him while in Rona so there's realistically no way to know if MC was alive or in Rona since communication between Wayfarers collapsed once the Spire fell and Aeran was locking us (and whoever he's working with) out of the loop.