The Shepherds of Haven Soundtrack (Volume 1) is Now Out!

Over the last several months, I've been working with the brilliant composer, Ivan Duch, to develop an official soundtrack for Shepherds of Haven! Volume 1 of that soundtrack is out today!

This volume contains 16 songs, including theme songs for specific characters like Shery, Riel, Chase, Red, and Trouble; motifs and signature music for the game and numerous locations throughout its alpha build; and so much more! 

Working with Ivan to create this album has been such a blast. I'm pretty new to working with a composer and commissioning custom music based on locations and characters that exist only in text (and my imagination), but Ivan is a bonafide genius and master of his craft. Seriously, if you have any desire to commission an orchestral or instrumental piece based on your own stories or characters, I can safely say you should run, not walk, to work with him! I have nothing but resounding praise for his work and how easy and fun this collaboration has been. :) Work on Volume 2 has already been started as well!

You can listen to the album at any of Ivan's links below. And please, give a shout-out to your favorite tracks! I'm over the moon about all of them... but Shery's Theme definitely makes me want to scream/cry/smile in the best way possible! 💖🎶

I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to give Ivan a follow, a share, or some praise if you feel like it! He has his entire library of music available to listen to as well, and it's all incredible: I've been listening to it myself while writing ShoH these last few months! 

(And last thing: if you want to read about Ivan's thought process when he was composing each song, try going to his individual songs page and click "Get it" on the song you want to see the description of. Here's Chase's Theme, for example! I just think it's really neat to see how he describes each track and his reasoning for each one!)

Links:

Ivan's Website 

Spotify 

Bandcamp 

Pretty weird ask, but are there any established like knightly orders within the Shepherd's world?

Not weird at all! In fact, a version of this question has been asked before, albeit over in a Patreon Q&A! I'll copy-paste a more fleshed-out version here:

There are knightly orders (also known as chivalric orders) in Blest. The most famous nowadays are Norm, but in the days of yore, Elven knights were the big thing and kind of the legendary predecessors for all knights moving forward. The precursor of the Shepherds, in fact, originally started as an Elven knighthood that moved around the Continent, putting down demons and helping out people who needed their aid; their fame was such that they eventually attracted members of all races and stripes to their ranks, from Elementals to Mages to Changelings and whatnot, which would ultimately establish the concept of the Shepherds (albeit thousands of years later).

The other races, like the Hunters and the Mages, either briefly had knights on-and-off in their history (Mages) before the concept fell off altogether (different government structure: Mages almost never had monarchies, so the need for traditional knights as we conceive of them wasn't really a thing), or have the equivalent of knights in their culture today--they're just not called that. (The Black Shield is the equivalent of a knighthood or royal guard in the Reach, and Elinden has a version of knights or an honor guard, who are typically called Weapons).

Again, however, it's largely the Norms who form the majority of knights and knightly orders on the Continent today. Lavinet, for example, is a chevalier of the Order of the Rose: one of the many orders of chivalry that exist within the nobility. Most orders are descended from groups and alliances that existed either around the time the Autarchy was formed, or older, when the Norm Kingdoms were still a thing. Chivalric orders were usually formed by knights, bodyguards, advisors, merchant-lords, and other factions that served the various Norm kings and their courts--those mutated into the orders that exist today, which are basically like elite social ranks for various heirs and aristocrats to be accepted into.

The Order of the Rose was, until recently, a chivalric league meant only for men. Initiates attempted to enter its ranks through a series of tests, and it has more of a military-trained slant: fencing and dueling comprised a good portion of its trials, and members carry a special gilded dagger to signify their membership. When the Autarch was a young woman, she ordered the Order of the Rose (and all chivalric orders) to be opened to all genders, which caused a bit of a fuss. Prior to that change, members of the Order of the Rose had access to special lodges and private social clubs meant only for their ranks in almost every major city in Blest. (They still have these, it's just they're not male-exclusive anymore.)

The other Orders function much the same way: you either are born into their ranks by dint of your family's blood and prestige; you bought your way in; you were recommended in by an existing member (or several); you were granted knighthood by the Autarch or a Consortium member; or you proved your mettle by passing the order's various tests and trials as a rite of passage. It just depends on the Order--the Order of the Rose is exclusive and high-standing, and the first male heirs of families often have to apply to it as a way of proving their worth, while with other orders, it's kind of embarrassing if you have to take its trials (aka, you couldn't buy your way or be grandfathered in). 

There are countless chivalric orders, including the Order of the Lily (more focused on the gentle arts, such as singing, embroidery, and general well-rounded etiquette and impeccable manners) and the Order of the Thistle, or, as Lavinet calls it, "the horse-obsessed." If you're curious, Lavinet is a member of the Order of the Iron Cross (another military-orientated knighthood that was fairer to its members) as well as the Order of the Violet, which honors lovers of beauty and fine things like perfumes, parties, and painting (but which has been suspected of being the source of aristocratic orgies... Lavinet adamantly denies this, though, so don't bring it up to her). 

Finally, in case you're wondering, only about 30-40% of young nobles are part of any order!

Hope that all makes sense!

'nuff said

Form Your Shepherds of Haven Adventuring Party!

Since we've been talking about this a bit the last few days, I figured I'd see what people's opinions of what the ideal party composition for the ShoH characters would be! You can only have four companions in your party... How will you rank them all?!

Go here, drag and drop the characters according to how you rank them, then save your tier list at the bottom and reblog this post with a picture of your results! You can even customize the text in each category to make it whatever you want! :)

As you shoulder your way through the crowd, you spot Chandry's Ends and Oddities, a colorful little stall on the end of a row of exotic shops.

"I'd be careful, if I were you. Chandry is an ally of the Shepherds' Order, but he tends to be... eccentric."

@shepherds-of-haven

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a bit busy and this is probably a bit late, but if you guys want to submit cheesy Valentine's Day greetings for the characters today, I'll make little Valentine's cards for them! Just leave a comment on this post or send an ask like this:

Mimir: Our future together is crystal-clear!

Briony: We can weather any storm!

Etc., etc.!

Part 1

Thinking about Blade's haircut and how he doesn't give a shit about it. But... if he were to hear MC comment on how nice some other guy's hair is (*cough* it's an undercut) what would be his reaction? Yes I'm totally bringing this topic back 🤣

Honestly, he would probably seethe in sulky jealousy knowing he can NEVER change his hair now because he knows his own motives would be suspect... not even like "MC will figure out I like her because I immediately changed my hair after she complimented someone else's"; his denial and pride would just be so strong that it'd be like "I would know I changed it just because MC complimented someone else's and that's fucking ridiculous" and then he would just suffer in this weird purgatory of wanting to change his hair and stubbornly not allowing himself to in a war between his own jealousy and pride 😤😠😒 Basically that translates to he'd get very huffy and sullen and no one would know he was having this invisible internal conflict over his hair

a little rough ref sheet of one my first ever ocs in interactive fiction, ahri :)!

MC: Briony is afraid to ask a waiter for more ranch but will body slam a cop

Lavinet - Shepherds of Haven

Do we know anyone with, like, a real creepy basement?

No bingo :c

If you win, click on the cookie to claim your prize!

🍪

Reblog with your results (even if you didn't win) and what cookie you got in the tags! 👀

I hope you’re having a great day Lena! I was just wondering if we could have any fluff facts about the shepherds as a whole! Like fun tidbits of how they interact with each other, what some of them do if they have the same day off, does anyone host weekly game nights?? I hope that makes sense! Reading the recent short story on Patreon I love seeing how the characters interact with one another and now I need moreeeeeee🙏

Ooh, great question! I’m feeling curiously tapped dry at the moment, so I’ll probably have to reblog this as more ideas come to me; I’m so happy you’re enjoying the short story, btw!! 💖

Some group dynamic headcanons:

Many of them steal clothes from each other. Briony wears a cute sweater of Shery’s (she asked), Ayla gets cold so she just takes one of Red’s jackets from a chair (she didn’t ask), Chase gives Tallys his scarf one day and Riel corders Trouble a pair of gloves from a fashion line he favors because his old ones are holey and they get into an argument about it… This leads to some recruits mistakenly thinking that the captains are all involved in some sort of mass relationship because they keep walking out of each other’s rooms wearing each other’s clothes. (The recruits believe a lot of really dumb stuff, if you couldn’t tell. They LOVE gossip. It’s like a competitive sport in the compound)

There is a weekly card game night, initiated and organized first by Chase, but it grows bigger over time, with snacks, cakes, drinks, and new games being procured! I’d actually say it’s more like every ten-fourteen days or so than on any set weekday, and is typically proposed by anyone who senses that they or others need to blow off some steam. They all tend to meet in a private common room and either just chill and play some card games and casually drink and listen to music, or they get LOUD and raucous and play more risque non-card games (like Question or Command/Truth or Dare). The loud nights are more like once a month or bi-monthly, though! They take place in the captains’ lounge so dumb recruits don’t get to join! It’s rare that they’re in there all doing the same thing, though: maybe half will be at the table playing card games while others will be broken up into smaller groups, say arm-wrestling in the corner or playing chess at the smaller table or reading, but they’re all there! Game nights are almost never held unless everyone is there, which is extraordinarily difficult to schedule, but they all make an effort to make it happen–even those who first had to be dragged into it, like Blade or Riel!

Speaking of chess games, Red and Riel have a standing game where they complete at least four more moves every night that they’re around and able to meet up after dinner. Planning their next move helps them both break up the monotony of the day, and it’s something they enjoy immensely. However, whenever he gets called away on a mission, Red gets sick with worry that Riel’s been cooking up all sorts of schemes while he’s been gone, so sometimes on the road he has, like, a schematic that he doodles on trying to anticipate Riel’s next move, and it’s very nerdy and ramps up in joking Anxiety. Riel, graciously, goes easier on him on nights after he comes back from long trips, though he denies it

Similarly, Blade and Trouble have a standing training session once a week where they just beat the crap out of each other. This is generally where they do the majority of their talking

Briony and Ayla first had an agreement that they would get the other one up if they overslept (Briony tends to be the one who oversleeps while Ayla is better about being up at dawn, but Ayla is really grouchy if she went to bed late and Briony is the only one who can handle her), which morphed into doing runs and sparring together at dawn and having breakfast frequently!

The girls have a standing spa night once a month where they all get together in a room (usually Shery’s) and basically do sleepover stuff and relax and chat and catch up for a few hours. This also sometimes involves showing each other new outfits that they bought that month! Sometimes there are even group baths in the big common bath, but these are rarer because Shery is shy and Tallys doesn’t like sitting in hot water getting pruny

Chase and Trouble drag Red and Halek to go drinking with them around once a month; sometimes Blade is persuaded to go if Trouble can get the drop on him and punch him hard enough to wind him. It’s complicated

Riel and Shery, of course, have tea together once a week! You’re not allowed if you can’t bring a chill vibe (Riel’s rules). Tallys, Halek, and Red are occasional visitors; Briony is allowed on a good day. Blade would be allowed but he has 0 interest

Similarly, Lavinet hosts a weekly brunch, either in a courtyard or at some restaurant in town! Typically it’s a girl thing and Ayla, Briony, and Shery are the most consistent attendees, but Chase has snuck his way in there often, and Riel, Halek, or Red pop up occasionally!

Tallys and Halek cook together! It’s not all that often and doesn’t seem to have any set way of materializing–it just happens somehow–but they both very much enjoy it! Sometimes they cook dinner for the whole group and have a little dinner party that they both secretly get excited for! Sometimes Shery bakes the dessert!

Riel noticed that Tallys has a little garden that she spends time weeding, so he sends gardening tools or special seeds when he thinks she needs them and she leaves baskets of vegetables or vases of flowers in his office. All of this is done without exchanging a word

Chase sporadically teaches Briony acrobatics and things like tightrope walking, just randomly whenever they’re both idle. She teaches him how to gut people with bare fists and also sometimes they paint! 

Caine caught Red grazing in the pantry late one night and now it’s like a Thing where they pass each other in the kitchen and Red sort of just looks the other way re: Caine’s bedtime and what on earth he’s doing up so late and Caine doesn’t tell anybody that Red is just absent-mindedly eating a loaf of bread at 2 AM because he was too busy working to remember to eat dinner. It’ll be like, “there’s some turkey leftover from dinner in the cold box” “oh hey, Caine. thanks. …so, what’s the news from the midnight watch tonight?” “i’m going to go hunt ghosts on the seventh floor with my friends!” “…okay! have fun!”

Lavinet has a monthly shopping trip where she updates her wardrobe, and it is very common for others to accompany her around the city and just shop while they drop! Common partners are Shery, Briony, Riel, Chase, and once memorably Blade, who didn’t know what he was in for!

Trouble and Ayla are wildly competitive and keep arm-wrestling each other for money; this becomes a bi-weekly sporting event that is eagerly attended and bet upon by third parties

There was ONE group karaoke night. ONE. Most of them got so blackout drunk that they swore to never do it again. Even now, several of them go green whenever they hear a popular bar song (“Don’t Piss Where You Plant Your Flowers”) being sung, especially badly

The game of “telephone” gets really bad in their group. It’s like, Shery will say to Briony that she’s worried because she thought Riel looked a bit peaky and feverish. Briony will say in passing to Trouble that Riel is getting sick and Shery is worried. Trouble will say to Tallys that Shery is worried sick because Riel is bedridden. Tallys will be mixing herbs and Chase will ask what for and Tallys will reply that Riel is sick, but because she’s mixing herbs, Chase will surmise that the sickness must be quite advanced, and will later say, “Damn, have you seen Riel? Seems like he’s really sick.” Red will interpret this as “I have seen Riel for myself and have determined that he’s extremely ill.” At least four people will bust into Riel’s room, expecting him to be on the verge of death, despite the fact that they saw Riel that morning. Riel will be fine and very annoyed at the intrusion.

They rarely go out as a group to bars and establishments outside of the compound (too chaotic as well as risky, for one thing, and also, recruits don’t need to see their superiors like hanging out of bushes and dancing on tabletops drunk out of their minds, and also, “Mages can’t drink” (lol)), but when they do deem it a worthy occasion (Trouble’s birthday, say), the girls are very punctual when getting ready, and the boys are almost always extremely late due to various shenanigans (Chase forgot that he put a booby trap on Red’s door, covering Red with flour, or a cat somehow slips into Trouble’s room and steals, like, a detonator or an important key, and they have to go chasing it across the city). This has led to the girls coming late on purpose in order to even out their arrival, but mysteriously, this has only led to even later start times, meaning they often don’t get started until like 10 or 11 PM when the most well-intentioned souls meant to be in bed by midnight… that never happens, either!

One such night once led to them ending up on a ridge in the Sun’s Embrace, like a mile outside of the city, in order to watch the sun rise together, because hiking in the dark while blasted out of their minds sounded like a really good idea. They all made it, and the dawn was spectacular, but the moment was ruined when Tallys said softly, “It’s the beginning of a beautiful new day–” punctuated by Trouble abruptly throwing up in a bush and Riel just flat-out passing out