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I am having considerable trouble understanding how I should work with the advanced editor. I am writing a story but it has begun to be quite complex with its choices, but still linear in a way. How should I handle a death of a prominent character through a choice? There is two paths- path one you go here, save this person, and after you do that you go to path 2, to save THIS person. But the person that aids you in that can die in path 2, but you can do either one first? How would I handle this?

Maybe this really doesn't make any sense, but I am still seeking guidance.

You'll want to be more clear regarding this and THIS. Please confirm I'm getting this right -

Path1: Save Person 1, move to save person 2

Path2: Save person 2, Person 1 can die.

You can just make two separate story paths if Person 1 is definitely going to die in Path 2. Recycle text that's relevant in both paths in the other, e.g. descriptions of the weather or scenery will be the same between paths. Otherwise you'd want to use on page scripting. I'd strongly suggest you try out Twine (or another software, Twine's the easiest though) to map out your thoughts

I'd also recommend you check out this thread for more resources on game designing

You can choose between two paths:

Path 1: Save person 1 with help of person 3

Path 2: Save Person 2 with help of person 3 (with possibility of person 3 dying)

Alright, I see three branches forming then (P1&3, P2&3, P2). You can either manage it manually (by writing three separate story tracks), or by using variable scripting or on page scripting (e.g. show some text only if person 3 is alive or/and if person 1 or 2 is with you). I'd recommend you start out with the multiple manually written paths approach for now (it's easier to proofread).

If you're trying to figure out how to randomize person 3's death, you can use Link variables. Link variables mean that when a person clicks a link (in this case chooses path 2), something happens as is noted (in a variable). You'd need to use the RESET command. Say the person has a 40% chance of dying, have the Link script be RESET 1-10 on a variable (say Person 3). Then, on the next story page, have two links - one that only shows if Person 3 variable is >4 (i.e. he's alive), the other only when the variable is <5 (i.e. he's dead). If this sounds confusing, roll with the first paragraph.