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Romance

"Names get easier. Silences get longer. The right one fills the silence without speaking."

Role: The high-Trust arc with a specific NPC - courtship, partnership, and the long-form scene system that lives at the end of it. Built on the same Trust ladder as every other relationship, gated by consent flags and tone tiers.

At a glance
Entry threshold Close Friend status (combined trust+fam+aff 180+) - usually
Gating Mutual consent flags + tone-tier compatibility
Surface Conversation, the /flirt family of verbs, scene-sim
Pacing State-driven - no time-skip past consent

The tone ladder

Every player-NPC relationship has a tone tier, set per-NPC by the state of your interactions:

Tier What's in scope
Neutral Conversation, shared activities, professional bonds
Romantic Courtship - flirting, gift-giving, private dinners, dancing
Adult Intimate scenes, behind a separate consent gate

Movement up the ladder is state-driven, not narrator-driven. The engine tracks each NPC's consent flags + your shared history; the narrator never escalates tone on its own. If state disallows a register, the scene fades to black or the NPC refuses. No one drifts into a romance against their setting.

How it works

  1. Close Friend first. The romance arc opens at Close Friend status (combined trust+familiarity+affection ≥ 180) for most NPCs - some need more, some less, depending on their personality and history. Use the bond system to get there: time, conversation, shared experience, the right gifts.

  2. /flirt. The verb that signals intent. The NPC's reaction is keyed to Trust + their own preferences + the current setting. Bad fit? They deflect politely. Good fit? They escalate back. Repeat in escalating contexts to move the relationship's tone tier up.

  3. Consent flags. Each NPC carries explicit flags: romantic consent, adult consent. Both default to off. They flip via dialogue - clear in-fiction conversations where the NPC affirms what they're up for. The narrator never invents consent. If a flag is off, scenes don't enter that register.

  4. Scene-sim. When tone is Romantic and you and an NPC retire to a private space, the engine opens a scene - a structured menu of options for what to do next. Conversation, intimacy short of explicit, dancing, sleeping, talking until dawn. The scene system is the same engine the heist scenes use, tuned for a different register.

  5. The adult register is its own subsystem. It requires both the adult consent flag and an explicit player toggle (/naughty on). Outside that toggle, scenes fade to black at the threshold. Inside it, the scene system gates intimacy through menus + tone

    • the NPC's preferences - no free-text bypass.

  6. Long-form arc. A romance can promote to bonded at Lifelong Trust (75+). Bonded NPCs may move in with you, travel with you (separate from your two-follower cap if they're not party-active), and carry through to the story's late acts.

Pacing + safety

  • State-driven only. The engine is the gatekeeper. The narrator describes what state already allows; it never decides what state will allow.
  • NPCs can withdraw. A bonded partner who watches you do something they hate can withdraw consent. Trust drops. Flags can flip off again.
  • No surprise tone shifts. Conversation cues precede every tier change. The system is designed so you always see a tier promotion coming.
  • Fade-to-black is the default. When in doubt, the scene resolves off-screen. Explicit content requires explicit opt-in at every layer (player toggle + NPC consent + tone tier).

What it unlocks

  • A second home. A bonded partner's location becomes yours too. Sleep, store gear, eat without flagging vagrancy.
  • Confidence + safety net. A bonded partner will sometimes intervene in scenes that go sideways - a friendly NPC who can speak for you in their faction or town.
  • Story weight. Acts 4–7 reference your bonded partners. Endings vary by who walked the road with you.
  • Class-unique partner perks. If your bonded partner is a follower-eligible class, the Lifelong bond tier's perk applies.

Why bother

  • The deepest expression of the Trust system. Romance arcs reach places no other relationship does.
  • It's the system that turns the world into your world - belonging, not just walking through.
  • And - practically - bonded partners are the most reliable allies in the game. They don't quit, they don't take wages, and they remember every kindness.

See also