A Tale of Crowns
Chapter Twelve has been released!
A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy romance with Middle Eastern roots, both on pc as well as mobile! It’s entirely text-based, with choices throughout to shape both your main character’s personality and skills as well as influence their relationships with others. There are four love interests for you to choose from, both female as well as male, each with their own stories and secrets for you to uncover!
I will release each chapter as I finish it, so the game will be a continuous work in progress. It will not be available for download until the entire game is finished.
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OF INTEREST: FAQ | Designing Your MC | Pinterest | Report a bug
CONTENT WARNINGS: Depictions of violence, injuries and blood, death, trauma, psychological and physical body horror, sexually suggestive content and descriptions of animal cruelty. Safe to play for those 16 years and older.
The story takes place in Arsur, a fictional empire within a fantasy universe that draws inspiration from historical settings in the Middle East. Much of it is based on Kurdish culture, drawing from my own experience as a Kurdish woman.
Your character is 25 years old and was born and raised in Arsur, where magic is considered a skill no different from reading or writing. Gender, sexual orientation, and race have no bearing on social position or class; it is instead only based on wealth and level of education.
The Arsurian Empire itself is overseen by a single ruler known as the Crown. Unlike traditional monarchies, however, the title is not inherited through blood. Whenever the Crown dies, their famed golden eyes pass on to the one chosen by the spirits of this world to be the new Crown: this appears to happen at random, as Crowns in the past have ranged from the poorest farmer to the wealthiest noble.
Their parents murdered and the previous Crown of Arsur assassinated, your character finds themselves on the run as they’ve been bestowed with the golden eyes that mark them as the new Crown.
Unseen enemies at their heels, will they succeed as the Crown, or will they lead to the downfall of the Empire?
At the beginning of the story, you’ll have the opportunity to customize your Crown’s name, pronouns, sexual orientation, and their skill in magic. You can also customize many parts of your Crown’s appearance: hair color, hair texture, hairstyle, skin color, height, and clothing style are all up to you and will be reflected in the story as well.
Their ethnicity and culture is locked in as Kurdish/Middle Eastern. The Crown is also locked in as a person of color, as is in line with the setting - their specific race is up to the player to imagine.
As for your Crown’s personality, there are twelve different character traits in total, six of which will be decided based on the choices you make in-game. This will subsequently change your Crown’s behavior during story and romance scenes.
Depending on what your Crown’s sexual orientation is, the gender of the love interests will change accordingly to match that. There are four of them in total, and each love interest will have their own route which you will get to choose from at the end of the common route.
The Sorcerer; Rêzan/Rozerîn
The Crown’s Sorcerer, widely regarded to be a prodigy and expected to become the most powerful magus in the Empire.
The Hero; Xelara/Xelef
A legendary mercenary and the leader of the Crescent Blades, whose exploits were chronicled in song. Also known as the Pale Sword.
The Protector; Ashti/Azad
Once a peerless soldier in the Imperial Army, now promoted to the Royal Protector of the Crown due to their unrivaled skill and exceptional integrity.
The General; Dara/Delal
The General of the Imperial Army, known for many strategic victories in warding off attacks from hostile nations.
Artwork of the characters done by @artbygaia!
Development log
- Changelog 15/3/25 + Personality Cheat Sheet for the Crown!52 days ago
- Chapter 13 Progress [28/JAN]99 days ago
- Chapter Twelve Released!Dec 28, 2024
- Chapter Twelve Early Access Released!Dec 21, 2024
- Chapter Twelve Release DatesNov 25, 2024
- Chapter 12 Progress [06/NOV]Nov 06, 2024
- Chapter 12 Progress [08/APR]Apr 08, 2024
- Changelog 8/1/24Jan 08, 2024
Comments
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Can safely say after spending hours upon hours playing every route up to current chapter (12) that this game is worth the hype. It's also inspiring me to learn how to make my own IF. The world building, character interactions, and writing are truly phenomenal.
I just got to say - I last played this like a year ago, and the story still occasionally will pop into my mind, and I'll have the thought that I should come back and play more of it.
Really fantastic stuff :)
When i try to load a save from my phone files it exits the game, is there a fix?
This is amazing ! The plot is crazy and the characters so cool !! heheheh everyone is so endering, I really recommende
You gorgeous, remarkable, a million different other positive adjectives being holy moly. This story is so wonderfully full-fledged and thought out. The lore is insanely deep and every little word is intentional. I've been obsessed with this lovely storyline for the past three days and it has been well worth it. (I'm still only on Chapter... 6 I wanna say but omgosh) What if I just never left my house again and simply played through this for the rest of my life?? GOSH I adore this project. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful world with us <3
so real
I love this game! But there's a bug because the save, settings, or restart button won't show on my screen.
There should be a way to scroll down the sidebar to the options if they don't fit on your screen 🤔 You could try playing with a different browser? Some of them might give you problems like that depending on your device!
Ok thanks! Switched devices and it started working!
im half turk and half kurd and i loved this!! also the art is so prettyyy and i love xelef!! >-<
[Spoiler ahead]
I've been following this game since around 2022 I think, and with each update I grow more excited to read the rest. I don't write comment usually, but this game is just so worth it.
I can't decide on what's my favourite thing: the story, the story-telling, the characters or the romance. Everything's amazing.
The story and narrative are really good and I can't wait to unravel how Crowns are chosen, who really was MC's father or who are the ones behind the assassination attempt. The characters are well-written too and to be the Crown is truly a delight, as the MC's personnality is one that feels really natural and likable.
I also love that we can do meaningful choices that have a real impact on the story, such as favouring the people, the noble or the Mîrs or even trusting the Peri princess or not. That feels great, even if the consequences sometime bites you in the ass (rip Yokbûn :/ )
The setting is refreshing also, and the (I think middle-eastern ?) culture depiction is beautiful.
And of course, the LIs are so good, I don't know how many re-runs I did as a shy or bold Crown to see the reactions of each one. I clicked a bit less with Rêzan but Dara and Xelef are just <3. The interactions feel naturals and the relationship evolution is at juste the right pace. The romance with Dara is just so frustrating (good kind oc), let us love one another ahhh
Anyway, all of this just to tell you that I love your game, and you're just wonderful. It's a masterpiece as well as easily one of my favourite (and I've played many haha)! I hope you had a nice day and look forward to the next update :)
All this time, and whenever I replay I still giggle and fawn over Heval and Tujo. Yeah those two aren't ROs but I still love them both. Anyway, the actual 4 ROs hold a special place in my heart and I'm following the progress of this rich and inventive story eagerly.
Like the magic system and world building is so good that I'm getting caught up in those and the political maneuvering forgetting this is also a romance game so when the romance pops up again it's a pleasant and well paced reminder. That it's heavily based on/influenced by an actual culture just makes me very happy because I love seeing more cultures and peoples getting representation in media/literature. Can't wait for more!
giggling and kicking my feet reading this instead of studying send HELP
There is nothing like this game, and it's absolutely wonderful. 10/10 experience, creator deserves the world
Thanks so much 💖
I'm halfway in chapter 2 and let me tell you. IM DESPERATE FOR TUJO! Why isn't he a RO goddammit? 😩
STOP ME TOO 😭😭😭
What a fantastic experience. I'm so glad I found this story. Each LI is so compelling; I love the universe this is set in. The romance is mild yet sweet. My favorite intimate scenes were with R. *Melts.*
I wish the new text between playthroughs was differentiated somehow, kind of like how VNs have a 'skip read' function or different colored text. Maybe that could be added once finished/downloadable.
I've played this 5 times in the past week. It pulled me away from a $60 otome game and held my attention better too. Once I have some spare funds I'll be sure to tip! Great work!
Thank you, I appreciate it!! 💖 Unfortunately with the way Twine (the software I used to make this) works, a skip functionality or highlighting all the new text would be very tricky to implement, as the variations in writing and the way it's structured is much more complex compared to a VN engine like ren'py (see this image, this is what the game looks like). Especially with how huge this game will end up being, even going back and highlighting *every* "new" bit of text would be a massive undertaking. So yeah, that's probably not something I will be able to add 😩
I PLAYED ALL THE ROUTES AND AUGAGAGAGAHAGAHGA (ノT＿T)ノ ＾┻━┻ !!!!!
OHMYGOD this game is perfect!!!! ive replayed multiple times now and each time i feel like im reading it for the first time; the worldbuilding, the lore, the LIs????!!!!
delal sidar the woman you are.. i would like her to crush me between her biceps like that one meme wiqwsnhw.. for real though, "dont lead me astray".. brb crying rn 💪
ashti my shaylaaaaaaaaa!! i love her so much i would like her to throw me off a roof and i WOULD ask her to do it again. you rule my heart, child of the ruler 🙇♀️
lmao i hated xelef when i first met him that cocky bastard smh.. but now i will kill welat for him, my gorgeous sugar plum pie ♥♥
rezan.. rezan.. REZAN!! my cutie patootie babyyyy i love him to death!! ive replayed his route a bunch of times now and every time feels like the first time.. got me giggling and kicking my feet and shi hehehheeh
also FUCK ziryan, always interrupting me and my future spouse's quality time together smh 🙄 jkjkjk lolol i love all the side characters sm, they have actual personalities of their own and arent just dud npcs
everybody say THANK YOU QERESI for this otherwordly IF, pls keep it up, so excited for ch 13 i might combust but pls dont pressurise yourself, we'll wait as long as required 💖💖💖
Thanks so much for the lovely comment, it made me smile to read 💖💖💖
Regarding Azad’s romantic route. Am I the only one who got a kiss scene? When I read it again, I haven’t been able to trigger that moment again. I’m wondering how I would be able to get it again. But overall the entire story and all routes included are well written and beautiful. I can’t wait for more!
Hey, so i just finished A's route and wanted to know if you mean by kiss the one on the forehead or one on the lips because i only got the first one.
It was a kiss one the lips, I don't know how I got it. But i re-read his route over more than once trying to get it again. After he showed the mc his memory of the beach through his eyes. There was a kiss scene, i haven't been able to trigger it again
I regret to inform you there was never a kiss on the lips, only the Crown/A seeming to *intend* to do it, but not actually going through with it 😭 I think you must have misremembered. But the kiss scene will definitely get here eventually!
I can't tell you how obsessed I am with this game! I've played every romance route at least onc. Dara's twice because he's my new husband and I had to see both flirting options! Dara blushing!! Gah!! My heart X.x
Anyways, I have to say that this is now the WIP I most look forward to seeing finished. I need so much more!! The writing is so insanely well done. Some of the dialogue is just *chefs kiss* not to even mention some of the descriptions. I just loved some of the phrasing so intensely lol I even screenshot one! "A sense of foreboding brands urgency into his feet..." I can't explain why I like that so much, it's just the most interesting way to describe him picking up the pace to run a bit faster. The characters are all interesting and complex with their own unique baggage/backstory. I just love it!
Keep it up guys!! You are killing it! And, uh, when do you plan to have it all done? How many chapters are there supposed to be? I'm dying to complete this story lol
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind words!! It's also just little old me writing it, I don't have a team or anything like that (if I did I'd probably be able to finish it faster) 🥲 As such I also can't give you a timeline for when it will be done, realistically it will probably take me several years. But my estimate/aim for the amount of chapters is anywhere between 25-28!
I find it incredibly hard to believe that I didn't leave a comment on this yet. Simply put, a F***KING MASTERPIECE.
First of all, the range of options you have and how it affects you later on is amazing. Different characters will have different reactions to different choices and the romance is just absolutely beautiful. I'm on my 4th playthrough and the cheat sheet was a great idea. Makes my choices much more simpler.
I do have one tiny little suggestion that, even if applied, I think I'll forget that I made. When you first hear of the previous Crown, he's called the Ferzan the Bold. I think it would be kind of cool to have different titles according to the player's stats in the end. Like, wayyyyyyyy in the end. Epilogue basically.
Take it or leave it, either way, this is probably my favorite thing on the entirety of this site. You get a thumbs up from me! (because I have no idea how to apply emojis on this thing)
Thanks so much for the kind words 💖
About your idea for an epithet for the Crown: I was actually considering implementing something like that based on their character traits! but in the end I decided it would be more impactful if the epithet was gained based on the Crown's choices during their reign rather than their personality. You decide their traits very early on after all, and they don't change throughout the entire story, so an epithet earned through player choices will probably hit harder. So, that's definitely planned 🙏🏼
That...makes so much more sense. Really looking forward to that! And, I cannot stress this enough, this "tale" you've created is absolutely AMAZING!
I LOVE AZAD???? WHY DON'T I SEE MORE COMMENTS ABOUT HIM???? Amazing game, currently my first blind playthrough with Azad I love him sm aaaaaaaa
We love Azad for sure 💙🥰
real Azad is legit so pookie he has a sense of humor and is kind and very insightful. I just love him sm
this is amazing. first time in 20 romance novel things I actually fall in love with a character. slow burn my beloved!!! im so so so excited for chapter 13 I think I might explode. haven't done the other routes yet but I'm already obsessive over A. im . like. okay. thank you so much for this
Thank you, I really appreciate that 💖
i can't wait for chapter thirteen! and i especially can't wait for the poly update EEEK!! 10/10 story my favorites were A and X (i couldn't choose so i picked both routes and added them to my save for laters and safe to say i am NOT disapointed)
Thanks so much!! 💖 I'm really looking forward to being able to write the polyam routes in the future as well 🙏🏼
And I'll be waiting patently for you to bless me with your writing.
aimed for myself fell in love with xelef <33 would smash dara but i gotta stay with my bbg until there is a poly option :( (even then tho xelef on top)
so like update i tried dara and i thought he was strangling me but i misread how am i THIS blind
i was aiming for Xelef and FELL IN LOVE WITH MY BELOVED DARA MY SHAYLAAAA
what type of game genre are these called???
interactive fiction and then medieval fantasy, for example. Have you looked at the tags? They might also help to find something in that vein, "Story Rich", "Meaningful Choices" for example. Hope that helped
Ohh thank you, I didn't know there were tags
I haven't gotten that far in the story yet but I can already tell this is going to be my new hyperfixiation for the month.. Does anyone know if there's a poly option or is it all one on one?
From what I've observed, there currently aren't any poly options available, which means you must choose only one.
Polyamorous routes are planned for in the future, after the main game and the solo routes are finished!
I don't like to read but I wanted to leave a comment saying that we need more good stories like this, set in places which deviate from the Western European norm.
Completely agree!! I'd love to see others write stories of their own cultures and home regions 🙏🏼
I'm currently doing a thing where I do all four. and I love it so much. 10 outta 10. would recommend
Dude... the last chapter with D made me cry.
Them saying: "Don't lead me astray." ദ്ദി(╥﹏╥) I am unwell
I discover this game totally by chance and it's incredible!
I am absolutely sure that I'll play it again with Azad (I'm currently playing with Xelef).
But it's so well written that I am sure I'll play it just to experience the other choices!
I Play with some "reading playlist" and it's even better than a série on TV. I'm totally hooked!
I have been replaying this game multiple times and still obsessed with it
AGHHHW BRO HOW MANF TIMES ARE THESE IDIOTS GONNA INTERRUPT ME AND RÊZAN
REASONABLE CRASHOUT!!!!
HAHA
I agree.... Man let me touch his face in peace!
EXACTLY BRUUU
You are so right!!!! This pride and prejudice victorian thing is driving me insane!!! By the time they *get* somewhere, the entire palace will have gone down in flames from their combined frustration!!! I love this so much!!!!
Im not really a fan of visual novels like these but i love this one! I do wish that each route had a guide for them. Im so indecisive with my choices and struggle with choosing them. Was on X's route before I gave up lol. Def recommend tho!!
If each route had a guide, it would take out the fun of the game, I think. It's not supposed to be a guided experience - your choices matter and from what I've read on here, X can be a difficult character to romance if you don't "get" him as a person/personality. X seems very approachable and lighthearted, but actually trusts not easily, has a high moral compass and acts accordingly to it.
Whose route are you on now?
Thats understandable but I like to think some would use the guide for really difficult choices or something their stuck with. I stopped playing after I made that comment cause I got a headache lol, but I was on X's route when we had to choice between the councils or dancers beliefs.
This is one of my all time favorite games, but I can't get it to launch from the itch app. I can launch and play it in browser just fine but when I do that nothing saves so when a new chapter comes out I have to play through EVERYTHING again. When I click launch in the itch app, it just opens a folder. If anyone knows how to fix this it would be very much appriectiated!
Hiii I think for the save you have to save to files and load from the files too! Also one thing I do is that I make sure the tab I'm using to play it on isn't closed! Hope this helps! My friend had a similar problem when she was playing this on her iPad and that's what I had her do!
Hi!! I love the game it's wonderful, I just had a question. If I wanted to make my game in the same manner as this, text based with choices, what software do you use in order to make this game? It would be great if you told me. Thanks again !!!
The credits page in the game has everything listed!
is it always 2 girls 2 guys or is there a way to get them to change to have specific characters be a certain gender
If you choose that you are attracted to "anyone with a pretty smile" then the ROs will be mixed gender but in that same choice display you can choose for them to be all male or all female based on preference :)
What the person above said is correct, and to clarify: no, it's not possible to select specific genders for each specific character. It's solely randomized if you choose that your Crown is attracted to both men and women. That's an intentional design choice on my part!
it’s so hard to choose… i’m gay and greedy i want all of themmm
i haven't finished the released chapters yet (i'm on ch. 9), but OMG I LOVE THIS GAME!! there are so many details to it, so much reading, so much background, its wonderful. There is so much content already and its all perfect. I like every character, but especially Azad/Ashti and Dara/Delal, and the side characters!
i love ashti so MUCH!!!! my lesbian heart ugghehejejj GNAWING AT MY ENCLOSURE!!!!!
I KNOW IM LIKE ACTUALLY NOT NORMAL ABT HER jjkftjfkjtfk
Another comment about chapter 12 but here I am again re reading the entire chapter, same choices, same character, same LI, I might be a little bit hyperfixated these guys r always on my mind 😭
How can I have Lady Naza as Minister of Defense? I don't know how to get that option
I think you have to let the noble know about your assassinate attemp in the tunnel, i always choose that option and she will always appear to apply for the position.
Thank you for your advice I will try in that way
Lady Naza appreciates a bold Crown who doesn't show any fear and will put the nobility in their place with a firm hand. There are 3 choices where you can win points with her, and one of them (like the other person mentioned) regards the choice in CH5 on which factions to tell about the assassination attempt. As a hint, I will say that the person above only has it partly right ;)
If you then get a yellow tulip from her as a gift in CH6, then you're on the right track! No worries if you don't though, there are still two other choices (one in CH8 and one in CH9) that can win you points with her as well.
Thank you so much for your answer I shall test it soon!