Player Comments on Rogues

Introduction:

"Rogue," an interactive fiction masterpiece written by EndMaster, as always, draws players into a morally intricate world of choices, consequences, and challenging ethical dilemmas. This literary analysis delves into the multifaceted characters and thought-provoking themes that define "Rogue." Set in a gritty fantasy realm, the story follows the life and choices of a young thief, allowing players to navigate the blurred lines between right and wrong, justice and self-interest.

Plot Summary:

"Rogue" thrusts players into the role of a cunning thief navigating a gritty urban landscape. As the story unfolds, players encounter a wide array of characters, each with their own motivations and agendas. The branching narrative presents choices that lead to divergent paths, ultimately shaping the protagonist's destiny. The plot's twists and morally challenging scenarios create an immersive experience, encouraging the players to explore the consequences of their decisions.

Brief thoughts on the characters:

1.The Protagonist:

The protagonist of "Rogue" serves as a complex lens through which players navigate the story's intricate moral landscape. As a thief, the protagonist's choices often involve personal gain at the expense of others. However, the narrative doesn't shy away from exploring the depths of their humanity, showcasing moments of compassion, vulnerability, and internal conflict. This multi-dimensional portrayal invites players to grapple with the notion that morality is rarely black and white.

2.Allies and Antagonists:

"Rogue" introduces a host of supporting characters, ranging from potential allies to formidable adversaries. Players encounter individuals with their own desires, secrets, and motivations. The dynamic relationships forged throughout the narrative challenge players' preconceptions and illuminate the intricacies of human interaction. The characters' varied moral compasses mirror the complexity of real-life interactions and force players to consider the consequences of their alliances.

Themes and Motifs:

1.Moral Ambiguity:
At the heart of "Rogues" lies the exploration of moral ambiguity. The narrative forces players to confront situations where traditional notions of right and wrong are blurred. The choices presented often pit personal gain against ethical considerations, highlighting the complexity of human decision-making in morally challenging contexts.

2.Agency and Responsibility:
"Rogues" underscores the concept of agency, emphasizing that every choice carries responsibility. Players witness the far-reaching consequences of their decisions, both for themselves and for those around them. This theme encourages players to grapple with the weight of their actions and their impact on the narrative's unfolding.

3.Power and Vulnerability:
The narrative frequently examines the balance between wielding power and experiencing vulnerability. The protagonist's interactions with characters of varying status and influence showcase the complexities of power dynamics. As players navigate the narrative, they are confronted with the inherent vulnerability that accompanies even the most skilled rogue.

Character Growth and Development:

The protagonist's growth in "Rogue" transcends the traditional hero's journey. Instead of a linear arc from innocence to enlightenment, the protagonist's evolution is characterized by introspection and adaptation. Players witness moments of self-discovery and transformation as the protagonist grapples with their actions and seeks a sense of purpose in a morally ambiguous world.

Rating: 9/10 (7/8)

General Recommendation: I definitely recommend this game. It’s one of the few games on this site that is truly epic in its scope, and provides a wide variety of different gameplay experiences, including many that readers probably haven’t been exposed to in other games.
Preview: After fleeing your hometown, what will you do to make a name for yourself as a rogue in your new city?

=SPOILERS BELOW=

General notes:
Whereas the strength of many of EndMaster’s other works, like Eternal or Necromancer, lies in the epicness of the plot and circumstances, this game draws its strength from its protagonist’s humble origins. While characters like the Necromancer have been born destined for greatness, the Rogue is a pickpocket running from a backwater village to escape local trouble. There is no guarantee he will ever amount to anything historic, and indeed, on many pathes he does not.
In many pathes, particularly the Klyton ones, you play simply as a rogue trying to make your way in the world. Though in many stories only making history is rewarded with an official epilogue, in this game you can get an epilogue for much more simple intimate things; such as settling down with your family, or reopening the family inn, or returning home after years abroad. You can also get epilogues for modest success in your career as a rogue, such as in epilogue 3. With this wide variety in possible epilogues, the story provides the player with a lot more flexibility than many similar games.
Of course, this contrast also serves to make the pathes where the Rogue does achieve historic greatness all the more awing. The player can truly appreciate the extent to which he has pulled himself up form his bootstraps and made a name for himself, as they know how easily things could have gone differently.
The tonal difference between the pathes in the city of Holgard and the rest of the story is notable. While the entire story is well written and plotted, there’s an extra layer of complexity and edge to the Holgard city pathes that makes them feel much more gritty and real.
It’s interesting how many of the Rogue’s epilogues allow him to be unsatisfied. In Ending 2, Zal has died and he has no direction. In Ending 6, he’s living a fairly hollow existence. In the middle of the Holgard path, he reminisces about how he’s not enjoying his success and things have gotten overly complicated. This works well, as it shows that mere success isn’t enough for him to feel satisfied, and it makes the endings where he achieves real happiness more meaningful.
The Rogue is definitly an antihero, though how much depends on which pathes you take. In some pathes (such as endings 1, 5, and 12) he keeps a relatively moral outlook and eventually leaves his life of crime. In other endings the opposite happens, such as him running a thriving slave trade in ending 9. EndMaster has always been skilled at writing characters who are morally lax but still engaging and likeable, and this story is no exception. It takes skill to have a character do the things the Rogue has done and remain sympathetic, but it’s done quite well.
The setting’s various fantastic religions are handled very well, with each taking the focus on some branches and affecting the plot. For the most part this lurks in the background on the Klyton arcs, with Virgil representing the Joachimites, and occasional references to Yag. This lets relgion be familiar to the reader when it takes center stage on the Holgard pathes. The story also does a good job representing polytheism in a realistic dnd-like way. Many written fantasy works fail to capture the diverse and patchwork feel that role playing games tend to have surrounding their pantheons. With the 4-5 major gods involved in the plot, Rogues creates a gallery of gods that have the depth to support a variety of storylines without overwhelming the player with names. The factional interactions between the gods creates a tense and suspenseful atmosphere in the Holgard arcs, in addition to the worldbuilding they provide.

Character notes:
Tom’s inclusion is a nice callback to Innkeeper, and the role he plays fits well with what we know of his character.
Zalmora’s inclusion as a major player across two arcs lets the reader see her from a variety of different angles. As an older and more experienced thief, she serves as a contrast to both the Rogue and the Rogue’s other potential love interests. She can be seen as the Rogue’s “default” love interest; a human rogue who is very similar to him in a lot of ways. All the Rogue’s other love interests are different than him in some major way, and these differences stand out more when compared to Zalmora.
I like Vaughn. He seems to be one of the Rogue’s more well-balanced associates, and provides stability to the Crimson Talons arcs.
Virgil’s inclusion on the various Klyton pathes is a good way of tying them together. He takes a more hands-on role in the path with Mara, but still not quite center stage.
I like Yvette, but I’m not especially happy with the way her arc turned out. We have an intriguing character, a budding angel-blooded mage who’s just coming into her own who then does… nothing. She marries the Rogue, has kids, and never learns about his shady past. It would have been interesting to see how her own skills and abilities could interact with the Rogue’s but they never intersect.
Franklin is a fun character. Angellic characters are often tough to potray in a balanced way, but Franklin seems well-rounded, and his attitude towards his daughter and son in law seems reasonable.
The idea of the Rogue adopting a daughter is a very fun one, and while Mara is still a child, she brings the story in interesting directions. I found the turn towards romance disappointing, however. The age gap and power dynamic differences are too severe for them ever to have a truly equal relationship, and by including attraction into their relationship, the story sacrifices the more interesting parental feelings she evoked in the Rogue.
Tych’s role is a more interesting one, as he’s never quite trustworthy, but ends up working with the Rogue at times. Their final interaction where he calls him blivik is well done.
Isabella is very well characterized. From her first scene it’s clear who she is, and her aloof nature fits well with the vampiric archetype. The Rogue’s relationship with Isabella tracks his journey towards becoming a true vampire. It’s also interesting to see her gradually grow to like or dislike him depending on whether the player is on track for epilogue 6 or 7. She only opens up and becomes a reasonable partner for the Rogue when he makes specific choices.
Ghoul Lisa and Lisa are pretty much completely different people, with ghoul Lisa being barely even sentient. Ghoul Lisa is important only in the influence she has on the Rogue, and despite her lack of sentience, she drives him towards purpose and a goal. I’d be curious to learn how Lisa will react when the Rogue eventually becomes powerful enough to turn her fully into a vampire, given what we learn about her personality on alternate pathes. Lisa as a human is more interesting. It’s good to see where Lisa winds up after the Rogue was detained for a year, and it’s also good to see that she’s doing alright for herself, knowing that she doesn’t have as much luck in other branches. Lisa is an interesting character as a concept, but we never have a chance to see her take initiative for herself, all her development happens when she’s been forced apart from the Rogue.
Heather fits the “asshole wizard” too, but in an entirely different way than Ral. She’s much more organized, much more subtle, and proportionally much more dangerous. No matter what branch you’re on she’s generally bad news, but interestingly, in some of the Rogue’s earlier interactions with her, she can show an altrustic side that later doesn’t show as much, with her increasing bitterness and lack of morality
Warts is my favorite character. Though he isn’t a major player at any point, he remains consistently one of the Rogue’s only real trustworthy allies. Seeing how their relationship changes and doesn’t change over the years really brigns into perspective the other changes in the Rogue’s life. On the road to epilogue 10, he’s pretty much the only real friend the Rogue makes that he doesn’t betray in some way. It’s nice to see him gain acceptance from his people and have a happy life settled with his family.
I like the balance of Garrick’s character. As Sneaks says, he’s a fairly good boss as far as rogues go, but it’s clear that spending lots of time repressing his feelings with a succubus over the years has taken its toll on his mental stability. He’s a sympathetic character in this way, but it doesn’t prevent him from being a compelling antagonistic force when his goals eventually clash with the Rogue.
It’s interesting to see the changes in Sneak’s character from when the Rogue meets him in the Holgard path, to when he runs into him later on the Klyton pathes. On the Holgard pathes, he seems to play a similar role to Vaughn, being a steady voice of reason and a friend to the Rogue. I was always disappointed that you have no choice but to betray him, and I’m glad there are other pathes where you can end up being friends.
Tanya is handled quite well. She’s a delicately balanced character, initially rejecting her demonic bloodline, and late rembracing it. Having her feelings for the Rogue be purely subsumed by this goal would be unsatisfying, but allowing them to have a successful relationship would be equally unsatisfying. Tanya IS a succubus, and the idea that she could maintain a balanced relationship with the Rogue while becoming fully demonic is unrealistic. What happens with them instead is much more satisfying. I tend to be hesitant of the trope where the main character wears down his object of affection over time, as there’s often no clear reason why the woman eventually changes her mind about him. I don’t have that problem with the relationship with Tanya. Her initial hesitation is more out of wanting to protect herself and others than genuine dislike, and she grows closer t othe Rogue as he’s one of the few people to actually see her as a person. Tanya’s life has largely been dominated by outside influences, such as her demonic heritage, and Garrick’s involvement with the Guild (though this was largely unintentional). When the Rogue is able to resist and accept the risk of her demonic nature enough to care about her and her own personal interests, it’s believable that her feelings towards him would change. It would be interesting to learn what happens to her on the pathes where she never meets the Rogue, and if she ever becomes a full succubus regardless.
Vera is certainly an… interesting character. Oddly enough, despite her somewhat fanatical devotion to the Rogue, she’s one of his few partners who genuinely stands up to him. His relationship with her mirrors his relationship with Tanya; both are attracted to the other, but unwilling to enter a relationship due to not wanting to endanger them. In the rogue nation path, Vera and the Rogue are able to overcome the obstacles to their relationship, while Tanya and the Rogue are not. Vera’s assertiveness makes her likeable, but her pro-slavery attitudes prevent me from really liking her or approving of the relationship. She’s one of the most morally loose characters the Rogue associates with.
Annah is annoying, but in an endearing sort of way, and her relationship with the protagonist is entertaining. Seeing her relationship develop with the protagonist over the years helps frame his own journey. Her importance to her pathes contrasted with her disappearance on the other 10 makes her presence key to the arcs she does participating, and it’s fun to see the influence she has on her plotlines.
I also have some notes on the gods in this story, as the depth of the religious worldbuilding really adds a lot:
Yag has a bunch of fun details, appropriately enough, such as the focus on dice, the lack of a strong desire for active devotion, and the go-with-the-flow nature of his priests surrounding their fates. His personality feels relaxed, and appropriate for a luck trickster god.
There are a number of obvious similarities between Dendrin and Fel, to the point that one might suspect a relation between them. The tendency of the Felians to work in the background is fun, and leads to some interesting plotlines.
It’s nice to see a knowledge/magic god of dubious ethical standards. Dorna is clearly one of the more dangerous gods, because of her power, the attitude of her followers, and her subtlety. I found myself trusting the alliance with her even less than the alliance with Fel.
Karn is the least involved in the plot, but his presence is still important to round out the city’s pantheon.
I like that the Joachimites can very easily take on a purely antagonistic role towards innocents despite being a religion dedicated to holiness and light. It’s also god that we get to see various different sides of the Joachimites, between Virgil and the interactions on the Holgard path.
Neroth fills the role of a typical darkness god, and he fills it well. As a more one-dimensional antagonist, he works well as one of the first antagonistic forces the Rogue faces on the Holgard path, and later steps aside to allow the Rogue to face more complex antagonists.

Specific notes:
-Obviously, setting this story as a sequel to Innkeeper immediately ties the player into the world. The reader already has a basic feel for the setting and some of the characters, which gives the story a sort of head start on characterization.
-I enjoyed the Holgard Rogue’s Guild pathes most the first time I played this, so I’ll be saving those for last.
-It can be tough to write fight scenes in a way that is both quick and accurate, but the confrontation with Klint is bot well-paced and descriptive.
-Lol, “It’s not the size of the weapon, it’s how you use it.” -“Yes dear, you keep telling yourself that.”
-Seems odd that the hanging cages are considered a mercy.
-I’m enjoying the contrast in tone between the pathes where the Rogue makes his way alone, and the ones with Annah. Appropriately, there’s a much more casual feel, and a lighter tone. It makes a good contrast with the other pathes.
-The protagonist pretending to have a pistol is amusing, especially considering he actually does have one on the Holgard path.
-I appreciate the comedic dynamic she and the protagonist have, as well as the skill it takes to balance it. This type of bickering can be easy to write in a way that puts the reader off, but EndMaster balances it quite well.
-Virgil being mentioned before he’s seen, as well as his first introduction, characterizes him efficiently.
-Klint’s father’s appearance is done well. It’s logical and foreshadowed but not made obvious, and surprises the reader.
-The narrtaor beaking up with Annah is good for their relationship. Annah developing her own support system makes her a much more equal partner for the Rogue, and allows her to be characterized in ways that a relationship wouldn’t have given room for.
-Annah’s repeating that in different situations the narrator would probably get along with Jenny suggests to me that she appears in other branches.
-Ah, it’s always annoying when you can tell a drink is drugged but can’t choose not to drink it.
-I suspected that Tom or Dave might be running the Talons, and I’m pleased that that’s the case. It’s a nice callback to Innkeeper.
-The Rogue’s thriftiness is a fun character trait for him that gives the opportunity for character driven scenes and relationships. I’ve always found paranoia endearing in characters.
-The references to Yag rolling the dice are a nice worldbuilding element.
-Nice Innkeeper reference with Flameflower’s appearance.
-I like how Checkers plays a small but continued role throughout the story. Checkers helps to ground Annah’s development.
-The sequence with Flameflower and the bandits is done well in a way that shows the seriousness and tragedy of the situation without overplaying it.
-It’s quite amusing that the Rogue has somehow ended up being looked up to by a gang of teenagers.
-Annah’s had some excellent character development. She’s changed a lot, growing in competence and realizing she’s more morally loose, but the changes all seem believeable, and take her character in interesting directions.
-I like that what’s happening in Jicol is followed up on in more than one path. It’s interesting to see what the Syndicate is doing in Jicol without the narrator having already dealt with them in Holgard.
-It’s also an interesting contrast that in the Annah pathes the narrator is very wary of gangs, but ends up leading one in the Holgard path and some of hte Klyton pathes. It shows the difference between his character in the arcs.
-The scene with the Innkeeper is done quite well. His limited appearance on the other pathes makes him showing up here all the more impactful. He’s acting in character with what we know of him from Innkeeper, while still having changed and grown in a reasonable way since that story.
-The Inkeeper’s interaction with his son is quite touching. It’s clear that he wants him to step up and still cares deeply about him after all this time. I like how the Rogue’s ongoing thriftiness is now used as a point in his being a father. Their conversations on the way back to Klyton really go to show both what has changed in the past twenty years, and what hasn’t.
-Ending each major branch with the sister’s return is an excellent narrative decision. It ties the story back together to the beginning, and gives a logical in-universe reason for the reader to look back on the story and reflect. It also helps to highlight the difference between the Rogue’s situation in each of the epilogues.
-I like the use of technology in this world. Like in Innkeeper, there is technological advancement, but it has yet to reach the general public, and is similar to magic currently in its use and availiability. It works well with the tone of the setting.
-Ending 11 is fun. It’s amusing that after all the trouble with them in other branches you can have a positive relationship with the Ebony Claw Syndicate, and the idea of being a crime family is both fun and oddly wholesome.
-It’s a little annoying that choosing to leave the Syndicate is the only way to successfully join them.
-The detour in the Delantium Kingdom does a good job of establishing the riskiness of dealing with the Ebony Claw Syndicate.
-Having pathes in Klyton both with and without Annah is a good way to show the significance of her presence. The silence and simplicity of the journey to klyton without her there does a good job of showing both the advantages and drawbacks of her company.
-Tom’s appearance being brushed over on the Annah path is also a nice detail, and a good way to show differences, and the references to different Crimson Talons members in Annah’s arcs also makes meeting the characters in person in the Klyton path more interesting.
-It’s interesting that in the Klyton path you run into Zalmora much sooner than on the Annah path.
-It’s interesting that all of the drugs are named after colors.
-The scene with the wanted poster for the Grinning Man does a good job setting the scene.
-It’s nice to see the Rogue interacting with both orgainzed crime, disorganized crime, and disorganized organized crime. With the Thieves’ Guild he’s part of a competent organization trying to fit into it. With the Crimson Talons he’s one of the more competent members trying to salvage the group. And he also has the opportunity to be a solo thief in Klyton. The differences between these pathes show how the player’s decisions have affected his character and provides a wide variety of different plotlines.
-I like that Jake uses the word “Bloody” for his group, regardless of which one it is.
-All the references to Innkeeper on the Klyton path are fun. I’m pleased to see more of Scales, I always thought he was an intriguing character.
-Mr. Reynold’s concern for Olaf’s welfare & wife is a good character detail.
-I find it interesting how the Rogue’s relationship with Zalmora is different when they’re part of the Crimson Talons and when they’re independent. They seem to get along more casually as independent associates than in a formal organized system.
-Man, Madeline is nuts. EDIT: Not surprised to learn she’s part succubus, I was getting suspicious when the Rogue mentioned the dreams he’d been having.
-Not sure why we’re trying to assassintate the Governor of Hessla. Seems counterproductive.
-Amusing that in the 3rd epilogue you can have a positive relationship with Mr. Reynolds, despite all the conflict he causes in alternate branches. It’s also interesting that the Rogue runs a legitimate business in this epilogue.
-It’s interesting that the relationship with Zalmora doesn’t work out in many branches. It makes sense given what we know of their personalities, and I tend to like when stories show relationships ending in realistic ways. In the epilogue where they do end up together, the number of epilogues where they don’t makes it feel more earned, and shows clearly the circumstances that allowed it to happen.
-Zalmora’s marriage proposal is quite amusing.
-I like the attention given to the side characters, like Junior, the Ogrefling.
-Epilogue 2 is allowed to be both a “Victory”, due to being one of the epilogues, and a failure, due to the nature of the Rogue’s circumstances. The sister’s visit and their shared journey towards Teckleville gives the ending a sense of hopefulness and continuity, the Rogue’s life is not over. More than the other epilogues, this one feels like the beginning of a story rather than the ending, in a good way.
-The side adventure with the pirates is entertaining. Side adventures like this one and the one with Madeline give the story more depth.
-Wendy’s appearance is done well.
-This game devotes a lot of attention to death endings and side pathes, which is nice. In many cases, these dead ends have multiple pages and options.
-The parallels between the Rogue’s situation with and without Annah as a freelancer in Klyton are good.
-Dr. Gossey’s appearance is an entertaining surprise.
-I like that qweepas appear across multiple branches.
-Pretty pathetic that you can’t do anything to protect Elena. If this is going to be representative of this path, I don’t have much respect for the Rogue here. Also it’s pretty weird that he names his qweepa after her.
-It’s interesting that the Rogue is less thrifty on the path without Annah. Perhaps his reluctance to spend was more of a reaction to her spending habits than an inborn trait.
-The various tasks the Rogue ends up doing on the independent Klyton path remind me a little of parts of Legend.
-Virgil’s continued appearances across the various pathes is a good bit of continuity, and it helps set up his character for the point where he begins taking a more active role in the plot.
-The fact that the Rogue not being a rapist makes him a catch to Ola says a lot about Gix.
-I like that the Rogue can end up being involved inthe massacre on Rifiv’s ship that he later hears about in the other pirate path.
-It’s nice that we get a chance to see a bit of how magic works in this world on the branch with Yvette, for the most part magic has only been a background element.
-I think Yvette can do better than the Rogue. He’s lied to her, pushed at her boundaries, and they’ve spent all of one trip in each other’s company.
-I like Mara so far, and I like the impact she’s having on the Rogue. He’s probably not the best influence on her, but certainly better than what we’ve heard of the Klyton orphanages.
-Sneaks’s appearance in Jicol on multiple different branches is nice.
-I wish you have the choice not to enter a relationship with Mara. The power dynamics feel wrong and the age gap is too big. I liked their relationship better when it was purely paternal.
-It’s nice that you can end up on either side of Mr. Reynolds’ political campaign.
-Honestly, I don’t think the Rogue should have ended up with Yvette. He’s lying to her and he has no intention of stopping. I like her and I like Trinity as characters, but it doesn’t feel deserved.
-The difference between the Klyton and Holgard pathes is made immediately apparent with the death of the merchant. In Klyton, you can afford to pet the dog every now and then and keep your head clean, Holgard will afford the player no such luxury. On these pathes, it is a burtally kill or be brutally killed world. The fact that the Rogue has now killed three people is addressed but not dwelled on, which shows how life is treated more casually here.
-It’s clear from the Rogue’s conversation with the wizard that he’s scared and unnerved.
-Lol, “Did you just magically enslave me?” “I hate when it’s put like that.”
-The references to Legend on the path with Ral are entertaining. It’s also nice to see more about how magic works in this world on this path.
-The tone of the path with Ral does a good job of showing the Rogue’s situation. He’s stuck and frustrated, and this comes across well in his narration and the attitude of others.
-The use of the word “Plivik” is clever, as is Tych’s characterization in general.
-The beginning of the path with Ral has an interesting episodic feel that’s quite different from the rest of the game.
-The wazia is a well-imagined fantasy creature, not sure if it was made up for this game or not.
-“Sounds very similar to plivik.” “Sometimes in our culture the two are interchangeable.” This is another good character moment for Tych and the Rogue, and the sprite culture at large.
-Lol “You have a pet manticore?” “Sure, doesn’t everyone?”
-While the religious faction war is the focus of the story in the Holgard city pathes, it’s nice to see it affecting the plot on the vampire path. It’s also nice to see Heather interacting with the Rogue in different contexts.
-It’s too bad there’s no path that follows the Rogue when he chooses not to go to Isabella for help with his condition and instead leaves the area. It’s an intriguing situation for him, with a lot of possibility.
-One strength of this path is the way in which the narrator slowly grows away from being a rogue. It starts with his service to Ral, then his cold condition, then his vampirism. The change happens slowly enough that it’s believeable, and opens plotlines rather than shutting them.
-Fittingly, the Rogue’s first and foremost challenge as a vampire is boredom. My dude needs a hobby. He should take up fishing or crocheting or the trumpet or something.
-The plotline involving Heather and the religious war does a good job showing the Rogue’s aimlessness. He’s not doing this because he cares, he just doesn’t have anything better to do than let himself be used by Heather. Fittingly, it doesn’t end well for him.
-I like that the Joachimites appear in both the Holgard and Klyton branches. For the most part, those two pathes are fairly disconnected.
-It’s interesting that on the path where the Rogue dominates a village he’s able to correctly identify the power imbalances in his relationship with Isabella. The Rogue enters relationships with power imbalances in many other pathes (such as with Mara), but doesn’t seem aware of the issues, despite having a much firmer grip on morality.
-Green Eye’s character is interesting, and provides an unusual challenge for the Rogue.
-I like the doppelganger. She adds interesting possibilities to the plotline, and is a unique character.
-It fits that the Rogue never winds up properly happy on the path with the ghoul villages. It doesn’t fit with what he wants out of life, it doesn’t challenge him in ways that matter, and he has no real friends. It’s good that this path shows that despite his power, these endings aren’t necessarily positive. The ending with Isabella, by contrast, shows the importance of companionship to the Rogue’s genuine happiness.
-The vampire pathes just don’t really do it for me, for a couple reasons. The Rogue is more interesting when his moral code is a bit tighter, and when his journey towards power is more gradual and self-driven. In the vampire arcs, he’s thrust into power without ever really earning it, and predictably uses it without having a full appreciation for it. Another factor may be that choosing to deviate from the vampire pathes’ main plots often leads to “your life as a Rogue is over” endings. The path with Lisa is slightly more engaging, as the Rogue has a clear purpose he’s trying to achieve. I also found the earlier parts more engaging, before he is turned into a vampire.
-The theme of freedom surrounding the pathes with Ral is interesting, particularly since the Rogue never really achieves it in most of the pathes. He remains bound to Lisa on the ghoul path, bound to Isabella on the second path, and in no case manages to avoid becoming a vampire.
-Lol, “Poor depressed vampire wallowing about how nobody understands his pain. Why the hell is it that half of all you vampires are like this?”
-Ending 8 is oddly wholesome, with the Rogue committed to making things right with Lisa despite everything that’s happened. It’s nice to see him still upholding his obligation to fix his mistakes despite other changes to his moral code.
-I like all the variety between the different gangs. The ECS, Thieves’ Guild, Crimson Talons, and Black Hooks each have their own unique character.
-I’m usually irritated by transcribed accents, but Warts’ speech patterns are subtle and understandable enough that they’re not irritating.
-Lol, “Thank Yag we got outta there when we did.” “Thank ME we got out when we did.”
-The tone of the Holgrad pathes is done quite well. Whereas the Klyton pathes have a casual and relaxed atmosphere, in Holgard, there’s a constant sense that everything is slowly coming to a boil. This sense of unease is especially pervasive in the earlier parts of the arc, where the Rogue is still learning how he fits into the city’s political structure. Oddly, despite this, he seems to “fit” more with Holgard that with Klyton or Ral; the city is a dangerous place, but he’s a dangerous man, and this city is where he fits in most naturally.
-The Rogue’s initial relationship with Tanya is refreshing, as his other love interests are the ones interested in him for the most part. It’s realistic that not everyone the Rogue is interested in would immediately throw themselves at him. The Rogue’s behavior towards her is a little pushier than I’d like, but it’s forgivable since he’s under demonic influence.
-The mini adventure with time travel is an interesting detour, and makes me wonder what caused it to be included in the narrative. Though certainly entertaining, it’s wholly disconnected from the rest of the story, making me wonder if there were plans to flesh this out into a full branch. It bears some similarities to the alternate universe plots of SSS in tone.
-The interaction with Naji is oddly wholesome considering the circumstances.
-The background information on Neroth from the Rogue’s first burglary is helpful when he becomes more important later on.
-Lol, “I obviously don’t have that much influence if you’re able to keep a secret like that from me.” “Um, well I did just confess to you.” “Oh right. Shit.”
-It’s interesting that the politics in Holgard initially remain in the background to the Rogue’s story. References are made to the Baron, and later the Baroness, but the Rogue doesn’t become directly involved in city-wide politics, or the religious war, until later.
-The sequence where the Rogue is recalling how the people’s he’s slept with have died is presented well.
-I like that the Rogue is morally against slavery, I just wish it was due to a genuine moral code rather than his unresolved issues surrounding Tanya. It feels like a major blow to his character when he later abandons this code in the path with Vera.
-Yinen’s identity as the inquisitor is an interesting detail, but it fits well with what he’s told us of his history. Even though the plotline isn’t explored in depth, it’s intriguing.
-The Rogue’s killing of his sexual partners on the Holgard path is one way to show the effect dating a succubus has had on him. His eventually getting over it on the Vera path shows his release of Tanya, and his inability to do so on the hero path shows how he’s never able to let her go.
-The plot surrounding Kol is a good way to round off the rogue nation branch. After all the large-scale confrontations on the branch, a more intimate family-based challenge wraps up the story nicely.
-The way Heather develops in the hero path is logical given what we know of her ambitions and actions on other pathes.
-I like the irony of the “hero” path having the Rogue take some of his most immoral actions.
-The sequence with Tanya at the end of the hero path is excellently written. The Rogue is not a nice person (understatement of the year), particularly not on this path. Neither is Tanya. However, they are both capable of love, and uniquely equipped to overlook each other’s faults (as Tanya says “you really don’t judge, do you?”). Their reunion illustrates both their feelings for each other, and why these feelings can never be reciprocated. It provides a satisfying conclusion to the relationship within the scope of the story, managing to be genuinely touching despite the extreme circumstances.

Grammar
There’s a number of typos and proofreading issues, but not many actual grammatical issues.
Mastery of Language
There seems to be an improvement in language use in this story compared to some of EndMaster’s previous ones. The comedic pacing of the sentences seems better and more thought-out. The dialogue in general is well-paced. There are still a few sentence structuring issues.
This story also does a good job intermixing description and summary with dialogue, which is good since it covers such a large expanse of time.

Branching
Very good for a story of this length, there are 12 full epilogues. There’s a lot of variety here.

Player Options/fair choice
Pretty good for fair choice. The consequences of actions tend to be well foreshadowed. There are exceptions, of course.
As far as player options goes, there’s only so much you can do there in a game of this length. There are a number of places where the Rogue makes major decisions without consulting the player, or decisions that should logically lead to major pathes end with “your life as a rogue is over”. The game states up front that it is more story-focused, however, and it would be unreasonable to expect otherwise in a game this long and complex.
The decisions that split the game into different branches tend to be representative of the true decision being made, and make it clear to the player what effect their choice will have on their gameplay. The one glaring exception to this is choosing how to avoid an orgy, which leads to a major split in the game’s branches based on a pretty random decision by the player.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I got ending 9 (Rogue Nation) the first time I played this game, and then played through the rest of the Holgard pathes. After exploring the others, I came to the conclusion that Rogue Nation was probably the best ending, just wish it could be without the slavery.
I have spent at least seven hours reading and reviewing this game today alone, and that was just for the final two pathes (9 and 10). I’ve been spending hours on this for days. My finger aches from clicking the little blue buttons.
Worth it.
On to the next one!

CONCLUSION: An epic storygame that lives up to its high reputation.

I think I've read everything in Rogues as it's currently published, and I've definitely read to every epilogue ending. Some general thoughts first and then some more specific.

As usual, Endmaster does a great job here at making completely different paths that all work as satisfying stories. I don't really mean the differences between choosing Klyton or Holgard but that different storylines are focused on completely different things. These range from vampires to gang wars to more individual or even romantic "rogue" plots (with Tanya, Annah, or whoever). Another author might be able to make each of these separate ideas work as separate stories, but here they all fit together in the same world and with many of the same characters, and none seems out of place once you've read them all.

The characters are another strength. Each has at least one interesting trait that makes them memorable, and the more important characters have more developed personalities and backstories. Depending on the paths, you get different amounts of this information for different characters (Sneaks, for example, can be a major character or someone you meet right at the end of the story. Same for Heather or, in a different way, Annah).

I think it is the Rogue himself which unites all these characters and storylines. His character is pretty consistent no matter what situation he ends up in- obviously not moral but never completely monstrous (even when a vampire), usually a loner even when he's in an organization, and without much tolerance for being bothered. These are the same kinds of traits as the Eternal and other Endmaster protagonists, and the fact that he can write similar characters so often and still make the stories so engrossing is a testament to his skill.

Some more specific observations:

1. My favorite endings were the most wholesome- when the Rogue ends up happily married to Annah or Yvette and leaves his life of crime. Oddly enough the ending with Ghoul Lisa fits here too (surprisingly sweet). My favorite Eternal ending was Eternal Bliss, so maybe I'm just sympathetic for this kind of thing, but it was nice to see the Rogue's life turn out in a "good" way, where he's happy and not doing anything too terrible.

2. That being said, Tanya was my favorite love interest. Unlike most of the others, she could clearly hold her own against the Rogue, but, unlikely Isabella, she had a vulnerable side too which made her a little more appealing. I liked Yvette a lot too, but she didn't get quite as much screen time as Tanya.

3. As I said, the characters were a strongpoint. A few in particular stood out as especially memorable- Warts started off as basically comic relief, but he ended up as one of the Rogue's only real friends in any path. Virgil the drunk priest was another good one, as he ends up trying (if usually failing) to be a good person and his scenes are entertaining, and Heather was another.

4. I thought I remembered reading that there was some connection between Rogues and the Innkeeper universe and Eternal, but if so I didn't find it. Fel was a lot like Dendrin, but then shadow gods are all going to be pretty similar.

All in all, another excellent story. I think Eternal is still my favorite, but this is a strong contender. I'm very excited to read about the sister's adventures.

inappropriate

Um super long story but great better than BitLife

This is shaping up to be a great story, though I really hope the MC's twin sister is romanceable. So many rumors flying about, might as well make em true!😏 Don't get me wrong, Annah is great and all, being bitchy and high maintenance, but c'mon! A twin sister!

Im hooked lol wish I had more feedback, it does appeal to different audiences I would say, it did to me at least, thanks for the reads! #author

Good story. I would've liked more choices. Needs to be spell checked.

Another brilliant EndMaster story with fantastic writing, in-depth characters, and plenty of plot twists including some that take us to some pretty interesting places :D A fantastic story.

Amazing, a great read.

I like story is good yippee.

I cried, I laughed, I was horified, I was disgusted, and in the end, I cried more, and then was promptly smacked in the face with siblings fucking. God why? This was an amazing and strange read.

This story is so fuc- damn good the up and down well I enjoy the story much

WOW! I just finished the game for the nth time, and all I can say is ' I'm mind blown.' I mean, who knew an IF could keep me glued to my screen for hours? It's like a virtual page-turner, and I'm dying to see where the next twist in the plot takes me. Super addictive!

The things I've read in here are so disgusting and vile, that I love it I just need to, KILL!!!!!

I did the nasty in the pasty

Wow, just wow. This left me absolutely speechless with wonder and twists and turns.

Goob game

mid mid mid

I had sex with my sister :(

Interesting tale...not much fighting, but the storyline was good....and they all DID live happily ever after (on my 5th try anyways lol)

Interesting tale...will try again and see if he runs into his sister...

Meh. That's three hours of my life that I'm never getting back.

You know what's more fun than reading about petty pickpockets, watching paint dry.
Sociopaths, serial killers, kingpins, these are the kind of criminals that make an interesting read. Not to mention, the game was extremely linear, every other choice resulted in game end. The protagonist was one of the worst characters I've ever read. Hell, even Annah would have been a better and more interesting protagonist than him.

It's a really good story with some strong flaws. Still well worth playing.

First, Rogues are absolutely massive in scale. There's no railroading, a single decision made in the beginning leads to a completely different story. I think I got 2/3 of endings and this point, and it feels like I went through several completely different games. It's impressive and you won't run out of story anytime soon.

As for the story, it's also pretty good. I won't spoil the story, so just play it yourself, it's worth it.

So, what are the flaws I mentioned? First, dialogues feel... strange. Most characters speak in super long, complicated sentences. It's kinda hard to read. Not really a big deal, but could be an improvement.

Second flaw is pushing way too much sex. At some point it doesn't really feel like part of a story, but a distraction. Whenever a woman character is introduced, you're only waiting until she tries to fuck the hero. It gets boring quickly.

So... I just realized this review ended up more critical than I planned. But if anything, it's a compliment to this story! These flaws stood out to me only becayse Rogues were really, really close to being perfect. It's still a great story and well worth playing. Give it a go, you'll have a lot of fun.

The Story Is Very
I Was Sad When Zalmora Died

My favourite is ending 10: The hero, for reasons most can guess.

Wow, and Amazing! Rogues is one of my favorite story games here. (Although admittedly, there are a quite a few I can say that about.)

I've played through this when I first started hanging out around CYS and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, at that time I did not leave a proper review even though I rated it, so I will leave one now.

The writing in this story is compelling and keeps the readers attention. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, and it always seems like there is a new way to explore or some other path to take. The MC has quite a variety of choices in how he chooses to go about his life, and has plenty of opportunities for either more or less moral paths.

What really makes this particular story so much fun is the variety of paths that you can travel down to reach an ending. The world in this story is large, and the way it is branched truly allows you to choose your own adventure, rather than being guided down a path with varying choices along the way. Depending on choices you make, you can have different goals, meet different characters, and have the entire story take place in different locations. It is brilliantly done.

Also, because of the variety of narratives available, this stands up to replay very well. It seems there is always something new to explore in this world.

This story is so good that Gryphon wrote a review that's probably longer than half the stories on this site.

Overall, I wanted to give props to one of my favorites here. This is not a story to miss. Definitely recommend. 9/8 (yes, I know I put a 9 there)

yes yes no yes

Well....shit, I loved every minute of it.
The dialogues were phenomenal and how character I thought were mob turned out to be key players really appealed to me.
I went with Tanya route and didn't regret the a second....although the epilogue had me face palming myself repeatedly but I won't spoil that, why should I be the only one to get that reaction go read it and find out

After reading this story and getting several different endings, I have decided that if I were ever to realize that life were an Endmaster story, I would hold onto my virginity tighter than a tick on a dog. Anyway, great story

Not bad

I have seen every ending now, i think. Absoulutely loved every one of them. Clevee writing, outstanding connections between characters. From being an ice man to a vampire i loved every unique experience. Hope to see more great work like this one sooon. Thanks for creating such a great piece of art!

Excellent storytelling and very well-created characters. A bit too... well, x-rated for my tastes, but very well written.

i died inlike ten seconds

What’s my score

good

Amazing story! The writing was descriptive, and the characters seemed well developed. I really enjoyed the vastly different narratives available depending on certain choices.

This story is an absolute masterpiece, I'm so impressed by the immense amount of work and character development put into the story. 11/10 is long but definitely worth it

AMAZING!!!

Amazing

NO BAD, VERY BAD

It was ok
not as good a custers revenge

The narrative and writing were really good, as a choose-your-own-adventure it felt lacking to me. I did two full run-throughs to get to the epilogue and went back quite a few times (usually after dying in various ways). Almost every decision had only one option that wouldn't result in death. There are a couple exceptions, but the different pathways that were actually available seemed somewhat random in their results, and weren't exactly tied to the decision you chose. A decision to "draw your knife" rather than "attempt to disarm opponent" leads to a completely different story. This is a good story, but I didn't feel like I chose my adventure, just like I was repeatedly rolling the dice until I got an option that didn't kill me.

Good read.

Years ago, I stopped visiting CYS regularly until returned a few weeks ago. I wished I had come back sooner, because there's a lot of great storygames, old and new, that I had missed. This is my favourite one so far that I've played since coming back.

As always with one of EndMaster's ambitious, detailed, sprawling multi-epilogue storygames, this was a joy to go through and an emotional rollercoaster. There were plenty of times that I felt genuinely touched, angered or saddened as I empathised with the protagonist and other characters. The wealth of vastly different storylines, and the different ways that the same characters, organisations and places can interact depending on your chosen path, is truly astounding.

The excitement I got from playing Rogues was heightened even more by the nostalgia: I got the same feeling I had when first experiencing Eternal. The high fantasy setting; the writing style; the loveable, foul-mouthed, horny characters; and the simple, yet effective, game mechanics of peak narrative-first STORYgame content; were all factors in making me feel like I was a CYS newbie reading Eternal again. And that's an amazing feeling.

I rate Rogues 8/8, but if I had to find fault with it, I would say the often sparse descriptive writing. Sometimes I would find little to no description of the environment or characters where it felt warranted. Just a few lines of descriptive writing here and there would have gone a long way to help the reader see the world more vividly, in my opinion. Still, this is overall a phenomenal storygame, and far more descriptive and evocative than the vast majority here. I'm just trying to find something to constructively criticise, because there isn't much else.

I might also add that there is a little too much copying and pasting between different epilogues for my liking, and it does feel a little disappointing that a large part of your reward for finishing a storyline is predictable. That said, I understand that all the info there is necessary for those reaching an epilogue for the first time, plus it is a design choice that there is a certain poetic uniformity to every epilogue. Also, there is enough difference between each epilogue to make them all worth reaching. I personally had the fortune to read Epilogue 12 first, which I found the most different from the others and it was very heartwarming. I consider it the true ending for Rogues, as touched or amazed as I was with many others.

Enjoyed every single second of it, very nice.

Also good but also wasn't paying attention

This is a rich and worthwhile story with many branches and a lot of D&D-like elements. You play through various events around a handful of cities, each with power struggles you can influence, sometimes to great extent. Note that there's violence and minor descriptions of sex. Just skip reading reviews and go read the story now if you're not gagging at the thought.

Some thoughts (and spoilers):
It's always nice to see how characters change, especially the MC becoming less of an ass when pursuing the "good" paths. Another is how Annah mellowed out after some torture.

The Tanya plot and ending was a cut above, mostly because there was this underlying mystery being slowly revealed about how the infernals worked, and it was referenced without being the center focus for a long time. When it all came to a head, it was actually touching.

The side story with the crown was interesting and a good place to expand, I think.

Love it!

I really enjoyed the depth of the story but i wish there was a timeline that involved a life after tanya or even a life with tanya but then again i love long stories and this was an AMAZING story regardless of any ending. (first try i was beaten to death if i remember right)

SPOLIERS ALERT.

Freaking amazing story! Reminds me of Skyrim it’s so worth the read. Pretty sad what a happened to zal tho and the ending like is just amazing! Your truly talented

Honestly, this is the best story I've ever seen. All of these twists, the writing, and every other thing is just amazing. I'm still a new author, but I hope my story telling can be as good you one day. Well, to be fair, ill be drawing manga but still. Thank you for this long, and honestly amazing story. I really like how the characters developed. I've only played through this once so I'm not sure if you can prevent some deaths or anything. But this story always kept me hooked. Thank you!

i love this!!! so fun

Though it was *slightly* boring after a little bit and there were some grammatical errors, it was still good! I recommend Rogues, definitely!

Imma be completely honest that was one of the best stories I have read. If not the best ending I have read. Have you written any others?

What is there to say about this story that hasn't been said already? Mabey that it sucks? But then that would be a lie because this story is absolutely phenomenal; the characters,the dialogue,the branching paths,are all fucking amazing.EndMater is an amazing writer and I cannot wait to see what he writes next.

I probably should have been exepting this but the whole thing was just nasty.

A word of warning before you continue reading, this contains a LOT of spoilers.

Rogues is a fantastic storygame that I would definitely recommend, it was an enjoyable experience to get through to every epilogue and to read all the paths available. I recommend you do this as well, since there are many hidden side plots scattered around the place.

With Rogues, there a 5 main paths that branch out to 12 epilogues and each one is unique in their own way, ranging from joining a gang in Klyton or Holgard, becoming a vampire or just plain old thieving with your girlfriend. Despite each path going in completely different directions, the world feels highly interconnected. Characters can be just minor ones in one path, but are recurring characters in another e.g. Zalmora and Sneaks, meanwhile the Rogue himself can be just an observer or a major participant in events that unfold during the course of the story, e.g. the Crimson/Bloody Talon feud, the Thieves Guild/ECS feud, the Religious War, etc. I find it really interesting to see the outcomes of events in alternate paths and encourages the reader to explore different storylines.

Another one of the strong points of Rogues is that the characters are rich and diverse in personality. You have Zalmora, she's more mature and wiser than the Rogue but ultimately, she's loyal and becomes your partner on path A and for a little bit on E. You also have the seductive, yet powerful vampire Isabella, the overly attached ghoul Lisa and so much more.

Now on to my personal favourites. I got epilogue 12 on my first playthrough and what made it fun was that you never become overly powerful, you were just a simple rogue at heart picking locks and stealing stuff. The relationship with Annah was quite a journey, she went from annoying brat to slimy backstabber to deadly gunslinger to eventually ending up as your wife. You settle down with her in Teckleville, have twins and give up the roguish lifestyle. It's wonderfully wholesome.

But the story that takes the cake has to be epilogue 10...well for the most part, just wait until you get to the extended epilogue...With that all aside, this story was the most exciting and adventurous. You rose from being a small time thief to a powerful leader of the city's enforcers. In a single playthrough you fight your way through a criminal gang war, religious faction war and a massive invasion all while having a mysterious curse surrounding your love interest. And that brings us to Tanya, a very well written character in the story. Her inner conflict with her identity between human and infernal adds an additional layer to her character. She is evidently attached to the Rogue but is torn between living up to the expectations of her terrifying nature or following her love for the Rogue, but she ultimately decides to leave him behind. I really hoped for an ending where she could stay with the rogue and regain her humanity, nevertheless I am satisfied with the bittersweet ending.

Yes there are spelling/grammatical errors, but this shouldn't get in the way of immersing yourself into the story. Well done EndMaster, this was excellent. An 8/8 from me!

ching chang chong, the fortune cookie is always wrong

Greatest story that I have ever read.

I found the writing and character dialog quite excellent. It's only my first playthrough, so I'm looking forward to the other epilogues (Not gonna spoil, but I got the "CL" one.) Also, caught the "Masculine," Godfather reference, loved it. Looking very forward to the next couple of playthroughs to see how the story can change.

Very entertaining

I loved ALL of the reading that was incorporated.

It was cool to play, where can i find next part?

The extended epilogue was ... unexpected.

Very well constructed and a really enjoyable read!!

This was a great story. shame i died so early though!

The best I've read

It swore too much and that made it unenjoyable

As always another great story. Love your work. Although I must admit this had far less of the sick stuff that your brilliant mind can concoct.

There are too many "but that's another story" endings. I understand burn out and I understand that a choose your own adventure game/story may be a bit more than an author was expecting but it just seems too often for me.

There are also quite a few instances of none choice where 1 choice advances the story while the other immediately ends it.

GOOD

It was great! Loved every second of it, but felt kinda cheated by the ending I got. Scales killed me when I tried to hire him to assasinate Jake.

This is very good

It's good but i got bored. Sorry!

Very good game, i like it

ehhh it was okay

This was pretty awesome.

Great story, endmaster never disappoints.

amazing

stupid to inaproprisate nocussing!!!!!!!!!!!!

fucking crap? it didnt mention fuckn sex or get erotic not fuckin ONCE my fucking boner hates yalls guts!

it is way too long!

I like it, I'm not very good at it though.

Incredible story and world with an insane amount of detail and character building, Endmaster's best IMO. I feel guilty playing this for free.

too short, bad ending

i lost so quickly

The option I took could have been made longer. It felt short and incomplete

As always with comments there will be spoilers so be warned.

I really enjoyed this storygame much. As I am a person that likes to explore many paths in a storygame I was very interested to see how you see all events from other paths also playing in the background.

For example when you meet Heather and she tells you the rest of her order was killed while investigating a magical disturbance.
If you become a Vampire you are the one who kills them while investigating the disturbance with Isabella and you get to know it was Ral who caused it.

When i started playing the Klyton paths I was also amazed to realize that your father in this game is also the protagonist of the "Innkeper" storygame.

All in all it was very well done. The story was very consistent and it was great how the different people appeared in the different paths.

Another great piece of writing done by Endmaster in my opinion.

Kind of boring, rather do homework

Truly you are the master of ends, and I'll always appreciate reading your stories. You are the real hero ;)

Have you considered writing a novel? Well done!

Loved the story and the dialogues.

Wow, I'm sad boi

I read scads of narrative, but only made maybe 2 decisions?

How come no version with Annah alive seems to let you go back and get stash from Klyton even when he goes back for medicine?

Boy this was a long but amazing one for sure. Masterful writing aside from. a handful of typos. A must read

good story

Once again EndMaster shows us who is the boss of this place

Damn good work keep it up i wanna see more.

Epilogue 10 (sis ter fuc er) ending wasn't that great (because I dont end up with a family and not necessarily with my sister. I just want to continue my lineage). Its certainly a great game. I find ending 9 the best. Also the part where you end up in the past to kill your great-grandfather to fuc k your great grandmother could be expanded a bit and made into an "official" ending

Epilogue 9 was the most interesting. Though gonna play again to see what would happen if I fuc ked my sister at the costume party.

I've read a few of your stories now, but this one is brilliant, heartwarming, and just overall amazing. Wow!

Bien

Solid set of stories as usual, nicely linked together. Too bad there was no demon path to end up with Tanya, would've been nice to explore that area. 8 outa 8

it was simply amazing and had me wanting more especially with the ending that i got which was a special ending.
simply loved this

UH I GOT FED UPON...

seeing as I just finished reading through all the paths, I'm excited to say this story is one of the most diverse that I've had the pleasure of reading. Endmaster seems to have a way with words and worlds that always seems to suck me in. anyone that has an appreciation of fantasy worlds, will enjoy this immensely, so If ya haven't read this yet, I'd ask ya to stop reading this, and read the frikin story.

onto the spoilers!

one thing I am actually disappointed in was the fact that the DK was an option to go after killing klint. ya get there, and get sort of recruited by the ECS, but then you just get caught and killed no matter what. it felt like Endmaster wanted explore the DK and the ECS, but after building all the other paths decided that was enough and just left that path hanging. that was going to be that last place I went, but it didn't go anywhere unfortunately.

A similar thing happened with seemingly minuscule choices. an example would be when Isabella kicks Rouge out of his Holgard tomb. he leaves, but we never explore what happens next, which I'm sure him being an immortal vampire and all, he could have done some sort of exciting stuff. Just look at Isabella, she lived through tons of countries rise and fall, she saw the beginnings of the ECS! what would Rogue have seen or been apart of? and thats just one example.

Okay, done with the criticisms, so for those who managed to read through my rant, I got lots more complements, because I gave this an 8/8 on the rating thing despite those two issues. this story is extremely immersive, so immersive I'd say that it's easy to become invested in all of the characters and romances. even some characters that got basically no screen time still seemed to seem interesting. the baroness is an honorable mention for me, because even though I personally wouldn't want to go to one of her parties, it was still a spectacle to read. warts was my favorite non-romantic interest character, because of how he always seemed to be there for Rogue, no matter what crap Rogue would give him. also I liked his gift when he started working for the baroness, it made me laugh to think that Warts thought that Rogue would like it, even though he did.

on to the romances. my personal favorite just had to be Tanya, I mean, how could you not find it adorable that even though she is a friggin succubus, she's still a virgin. I know that she's only half succubus, and that she avoided sex just to not become one, but it still makes me laugh. also, I really like how she interacts with Rogue, and how their interactions slowly become more warm and open. it's slow (not story-wise, but in-world-wise), but works well. Tanya is an angel despite the fact that she's a demon, and you can't convince me otherwise.

speaking of angels, my third favorite romance (i'm sorry for skipping NO. 2, but this just flowed too perfectly on accident) would be Yvette, even though she is 1/4 angel, she's close enough that it counts. I don't have too much to say about her due to her not having too much screen time, but she's still an angel. The fact that there are also celestials in this universe make me so amazed, even though in a way it kinda makes sense. god's would have to have immortal servants, cuz the mortal ones are too fickle. Yvette is really sweet. I'm kinda sad that I had to lie to end up with her, but in the end, Trinity was totally worth it, the little children in this book are perfect (except for Mara when she was a kid) it's easy to get attached to them too.

number 2 favorite romance would have to be Zal. she's the only real competition in my eyes against Tanya, because even though she does come off as "a bit guiding," she always tries to stick by you. when I was introduced to her after Annah comes with Rogue, I instantly liked her, and I liked that she changed, and slowly stopped wanting to be a criminal. after the first taste of what I liked about her as a character, I actively searched for a way to end up with her, which makes me happy that that comes true in epilogue one, which by default due to this ended up being my favorite ending, even though Tanya isn't in it.

now that I'm done with that, y'all's can learn about my favorite endings.

as I said epilogue 1, Son of Innkeeper, is my favorite because Rogue ends up with Zal. What I did not say however was WHY else I liked it. one of those reasons was that it was so interesting to know that this story comes full circle with Innkeeper. he becomes a pretty decent person, gets married, has a loyal group of friends, doesn't have any targets on his back, and his family can be proud of him. most other endings can't say the same about many of these things. also, I find it funny that he ends up having to vote for Mr. Reynolds.

second place would then have to go to epilogue 10, Hero. this one makes Rogue out to be frikin amazing. he takes out 2 criminal organisations, leads his own, gets a succubus to fall in love with him, defends Holgard from an entire invasion, gets so in love with Tanya that he ends up killing other girls that he had sex with just because they were inferior to her in a literal and sexual way. warts somehow sticks by him, and he's one of the only main side characters that survive as long as Rogue.

also, honorable mention to epilogue 5, stability. this ending is great because ya know, Trinity.

anyone still reading this is crazy, but if ya did, congratulations! this story was amazing and rivals that of eternal on amazingness. 20 gold stars. Endmaster keep being an amazing creator on this website!

This is End's best work, IMO

My eye ouch

Simply amazing. I truly enjoy all of Endmaster's stories due to their intense and diverse character development, colorful battle descriptions, excellent details and very strong and rather unique story lines. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading more.

Incest is wincest!

I seemed to pick the prison rout but it just makes me want to explore the rest of the paths!

This is currently the best storygame on the site by quite a margin IMO.
I've been an admirer of EndMaster's work for several years now, and like many others have been impressed by the rich worlds, backstories, characters, and excellent branching to multiple successful endgame scenarios.

What's so much better about this one?

Well for a start the old storygame explanation notes that serve to inform the reader/player about aspects of the world, characters, etc are not here. While they can save some page space for those rushing through scenarios seeking successful endings, it's a clunky way of informing.
The way that all that information is incorporated into the main narrative (like a traditional novel) gives a significantly better reading and playing experience - allowing you to more easily become part of the world rather than an observer.

The sheer level of complexity in the pathway branching, recurring characters that are different on various paths due to when you interact with and influence them, and the widely different winning scenarios (12) make "Rogues" stand out as something special.
Of all the other games, only "Eternal" is in similar class IMO.

Another thing I noticed that seemed to elude some others is that your character behaves with more or less confidence partly based on how safely you play the game - the greater the risk, the greater the potential payoff - or risk of death lol.

Even the death scenes and various methods stand out as interesting and noteworthy in many cases.

Congratulations - you've lived up to your name and past work yet again!

Best story on this site 8/8

Update : just finished Epilogue 10 since everyone's been saying that it's the best ending in the game. Now i can safely proclaimed that this is the best game i've played from yours now...

I went back to CYS after several years of hiatus and played this story. Reminded of Innkeeper i'm really impressed at how great this story was until i recalled that you've made several masterpieces before this (Eternal, Death Song, Ground Zero). Considering how Innkeeper is more of a story (with 1 epilogue) instead of a CYOA, i'm very happy with how this turns out! I haven't try other routes yet, but i'm happy that my first try gives me what i want from the start which is Epilogue 12. It seems that taking the safe route is my calling ever since i played my first game from you. 8/8, will definitely try again!

No todo é realmente genial, mas senti que em muitos momentos faltavam opções. Ou você acertava a posição do autor ou morria.

PRAISE ENDMASTER

As I read this, I saw a rather different EndMaster.

Ever since I was an invisible guest, I've always had a passion for your works. I still remember having fun with Ground Zero and all its radioactive humor. Through all the time, I had gotten used to this distinctive pitch-perfect writing style you employed in my favorites like Eternal and Death Song (TRASH and Love SICK included).

I didn't really expect you would produce another storygame, so realizing it DID happen I immediately played it. The first thing that struck me odd was the technical aspect. There were quite a few small typos, grammatical tics and such. From the very beginning, though, I was already hooked. It's probably like getting to watch Marc-Andre Hamelin from the 90's then seeing him perform 30 years after that time. A little flawed, but nostalgic, emotional, and powerful all the same. Classic shit. (SPOI-FRICKING-LERS AHEAD) I never even expected to have my views towards Annah change so much in just a couple hours' reading. I saw the damned badass Gruz in Zal (whom I wish could've stayed longer). By the end of it, I felt the same thing when I conquered Eternal long ago: satisfied, empty, drained, and craving much, much more.

Goddamn. Goddamn and a half. 8/8.

Excellent! Loved the story telling and explored all the paths (I think) and a whole lot of effort went into making several believable long paths (and lots of short deadly one!) Definitely one of the best stories on the site that I have read. And I also agree with the R rating, some of the violence and sex is more on the explicit side but not too much so.

So far I only got one epilogue. So amazing and emotional, now I want to play all 12.

good

This is easily the best storyline I've ever read on this site. I highly recommend it.

I've played this story multiple times and my favorite one has to be becoming a vampire. My only problem is how short the kingdom story line is so short compared to all the others.

Hero of Holgard is the best ending in this period. I'm not gonna say why, but you have to get it. Its... let's just say it's very... different and you also finally find your true love.

10/10, 8/8, GOAT.

DANK!
THIS IS EPIC

You should make more

Spent a solid 12+ hours going down branching paths in the game. Gotta say epilogues 1,9, and 10 are my favorites. I love Vera but god damn I love my sister too.

could not leave this one for later, had to finish it in one reading. absolutely amazing.

Great read, well developed characters, interesting story arc, leaves you wanting more.

Whatever happens don't use your gun :D

Is there going to be a continuation? I liked it but the sudden stop with the prison thing kind of was an upset, really looking forward if there is more!

P.S.
Isabella is the best waifu.

This story is awesome.
I love how every choice I made (and I made every choice) led to a unique path. Even the unmarked endings were generally entertaining. There were a few typos here and there, but not enough to be significant in a game of this magnitude.
Another thing I noticed and appreciated was how, although the main character changed with time and the choices I made, he always retained his core traits that made him who he was.
I look forward to reading the additional paths in the future.

A story to rival eternal

I like how you have no choice in sleeping with your “adopted” daughter. 8/8

Goddamn, what a masterpiece

A very interesting read, I tell ya. I would definitely recommend this to someone.

Tis story is good story.

Fantastic!

This author continues to make stories that keep me coming back fo more. Never a disappointment and this one upholds the reputation. Great story!

Brilliant! Over the years if reading these choice books I have never laughed so hard as I did while reading the events during the curing of the curse. Maybe I'm a little perverse myself and that helped as well in the strength of my connection with the main character. I'll be starting over immediately to take another route though I doubt it could ever be better than this, my first go round. Again, brilliant! Thanks.

Great story overall. I finished paths 8 to 12. I highly recommend to play this. Very smooth pacing(besides some exceptions), memorable story and characters, deep and I'd say well-thought universe. Surely for mature readers. No kids allowed. Following are some spoilers. To the first time reader, I highly recommend you play this at least once before proceeding.

About the Protagonist. Depending on the path, he ranges from absolute badass who destroys religious cults and criminal organisations to a complete victim of circumstances, unable to act on his own free will. The most badass path is the one in which you become a hero of the town(9 or 10). Great foreshadowing on that path, especially with that revelation in the end (YOU ARE NOT DONE YET). It was even foreshadowed in its adjacent path, in the end, when your character is visited by his sister in the island. I knew i had to replay to see what would happen in the other path (that damn vacant room). I also enjoyed the path 12(?) in which your father comes to you and gets your rogue ass back home so you take up responsibility.

In some other paths, I didn't like how your character was completely shuckled by someone else. The specific path i will refer to, also felt very forced. Enter path 8. You become enslaved (in its loosest definition) by a wizard. You meet a girl. Her personality is described in 2 paragraphs maximum. Your character is in love with her. Your character decides to do something stupid to become free. Shit goes bad, he becomes a vampire, achieves nothing, and lives the rest of his eternity with someone who the reader cannot in any way relate to. Annah was more relatable in those introductory pages, and she was annoying. And in most non epilogue endings in that path, which were due to leaving Lisa behind, the character's end seems very uncertain (Ground Zero semi-ends). Funny thing is, that end is better than the epilogue. Many loose ends left there.

I wouldn't like to sound harsh. Actually, if this story wasn't as great, I wouldn't mention what would otherwise be a mediocre path. For someone else, that path, could even be a complete (start, mid, end, structured storyline) story.

Also, some slight grammar errors, typos, and a few issues with wrong names in dialogues. Pretty minor, doesn't take away from the experience.

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!

Ok I just reread the Epilogue 10 path and when I got to the orgy party part where he fucks his sister, I couldn't believe how much foreshadowing you actually put in there. I mean really, both of them remembering that time when the sister walked in on him jerking off, and then that one line about Vera and not wanting to fuck a sibling?
That was fucking brilliant.
You are a gosh darn genius. In a very incestrous mind-blowingly twisted way
8/8

Good to have a happy ending in this game. I usually die quite a bit playing these storygames.

Absolutely amazing. The writing is genius, the character development and flow of narration are perfect. And now for spoilers, which you really shouldn't be reading until you've played.

Endmaster from what I understand tends to usually write two types of characters: the wageslave loser who gets beat down vs the immortal tyrant who conquers worlds.

(Get ready for me to butcher and fail to remember names.) That is effectively the choice between Klyton and Holsgard(?)

In Klyton, all the paths seem surreal, but the main character is weak-willed. I know he's weak, but to just walk away while the girl he's escorting is raped and enslaved? I know she was a prick, but it just feels so pathetic when the mc is forced to do that. Things he could be doing right he ends up botching. He's not a badass, just a peasant trying to get by. People don't give him much dignity, he really doesn't earn much there. He usually ends up fat and feeding scraps to his family if they're not all murdered by the gangs that bully him.

In D Kingdom you get tempted into drug courier service and immediately get sold out, sentenced to prison without any out. There's no epilogues, no escapes, just dread. Maybe we'll see some of those guys in the sequel?

Finally, our last destination is way more chaotic. Any path you follow usually ends up with you being a huge dick, but also incredibly amazing. You can be a wizard's servant later a vampire, get sent back through time and act out what I think is a futurama episode where you kill your great great grandfather, annihilate all of your allies and betray almost every loved one and become known as a legendary "hero."

The problem I have with it is one town your a powerless shmuck usually with a sense of decency, the other you're a depraved monster with none. Though I have to say, I didn't dock points, since this is a matter of personal preference and not reflective of whether or not it was still a good game.

Fair warning, the game has excessive smut. In fact... now that I think about it... I don't think a single girl the main character hooks up with is "pure" save for, ironically, the succubus who doesn't seem to enjoy her first time. Heck, even the girl who is part angel dated a few guys, your adopted daughter played around when u mess up as a parent.


8/8

This story has utterly floored me. The flow of the story in my opinion was captivating, especially the romance. I don't want to spoil anything for those that read so i'll just say it was both spectacular and heartbreaking. I usually don't like romance but this, this was mind-blowing.

Hats off. This was an excellent story. 10/10.

Omg I got the ending where he f**ked his sister hahaha. Fantastic story.

After finally finishing what I believe to be all the endings, I’ve decided to increase my rating by 1. I do believe that I chose as my first cluster of pathlines the most boring one (going to Klyton without Annah). Literally every one of those 6 (?) pathlines in Klyton with epilogues ended with the protagonist not having accomplished much of anything, and the plots were mundane and, in the scheme of things, quite similar. By contrast, the Holgard paths were much more diverse and interesting. As an additional criticism, I often felt that there weren’t enough choices. For instance, on the path where we rescue Tom and join the Crimson Talons, we’re forced to kill Tom no matter what. The game doesn’t even give us a choice of whether to do so. As another example, near the end of the Annah path (on Jicol), it said that Annah would be willing to go along with any decision we make, whether it be to join the ECS, leave Jicol, or for her to remain a full time mother. However, we aren’t given the option to keep her a full time mother. These are just 2 of many instances in the game where the protagonist makes key decisions without sufficient reader input. I understand that this is in the interest of actually completing the story and putting the narrative ahead of an abundance of choices, but it nevertheless feels like the reader doesn’t have much control over how the story plays out at times.

So far I was almost raped by a gay pedophile, forced into years of being a familiar to a wizard, then being a submissive fucktoy to a vampire, to having a submissive fucktoy as a vampire and a lot of other stuff happened.

...I'm just going to assume the rest of the "paths/epilogues" aren't like this, because this is much more VTMB and a lot less about rogues.

actually amazing, I absolutely loved it, I would def recommend

Nice ending but abrupt and a bit anticlimactic

Amazing!The storyline is brilliant! A must read! But make sure you have a couple of hours in your hand.

maybe you should have expanded on the kingdom option more

got epilogue 9, great shit

I've loved most of the EndMaster stories and this one's right up there with any of them. Better than even a lot of the classics.

Despite all the badassing and the violence all Endmaster stories are so classically romantic... this one almost convinced me of having kids.

Finished reading through all of the epilogues, my favorites being Rogue Nation, Tales from the Crypt, and Blood Bond. Definitely liked all of the paths in that direction a bit more, but overall the entire story was an enjoyable read. Definitely recommended.

Nice game. Got Rogue Nation in my first try.

Just got my first epilogue (Epilogue 2). Maybe I just chose a bad route, but I can't help but feel that it was boring and that the epilogue itself was quite lackluster. Despite the incredible wordcount, the path still felt rushed and unsatisfying. Of course, I'm holding this story to a very high standard, given Endmaster's magnum opus, Eternal. I'll also mention that, at times, the dialogue doesn't sound very natural for a criminal underworld setting.

That's strange. I just reached my first non-death ending, locked up in a Sivak prison, but the story ends really abruptly after I received protection from Ponyride. I was expecting to receive tasks from the Ebony Claws boss and eventually make an escape, and that seems to be what the author originally intended to do, but it seems that he decided to cut it off as a cliffhanger instead. I recognize that the rest of the story is probably much more exciting, but getting a cliffhanger as my first ending is really disappointing.

this was incredibly satisfying

Warning: Do not read Rogues if you do not want to be caught up in an immersive world with fantastical characters. Seriously though, the characters (even minor ones) were incredibly enjoyable. From sexually confused landlords to overly sexually aggressive half-elves, (yes, there's a lot of sex) each character was interesting and their contribution to the story development made it a fun read-through. Sometimes I found myself break out in gleeful excitement in appreciation of how ridiculously entertaining the story was.

I read through a few different endings and it's clear that Rogues should be played multiple times. It's exhilarating to see the ending from different factions. After getting acquainted with the lore, it was cool to see what happened to possible friends/foes and that your choices had a clear effect on their outcome.

Definitely would recommend reading Rogues and it's a good referral story when you tell your friends about this site.

This another great story.it ranks right up there with eternal. Thank you for another awsome story. No hard feelings but this was better than innkeeper.

So I just finished the game with the family ending, and I must say this is now one of my favorite story games on the site. To be honest I wasn't really a huge fan of Innkeeper, but I appreciate how Rogues goes in a completely different direction while tying in the events of Innkeeper. My favorite part of this story was the characters, I truly feel that Endmaster writes the most genuine and relatable characters on the site. There were many times that characters would do horrible things to the PC, but I still found myself loving them and wanting to read more about them. I also loved the ending I got, Epilogue 12, granted its the only one I've gotten so far so the rest could be garbage, but I like to think they're just as good. Anyway I loved Epilogue 12 because it was really a wholesome way to end the story of the character's roguish life, spoliers ahead btw. He marries his first and only love, has two twins with similar ambitions as himself as a child, finds a trade that he can apply his skills as a thief (in some way at least), and reunites with his sister after years. It really hits me in the feels and wraps up the story incredibly well.

Overall it was a great story and is a testament to Endmaster's incredible writing.

Came for the tsundere. Ended up with the GILF.

8/8

Endmaster is the GOAT, amazing story telling and an
incredible amount of content, i could not stop reading.

this was honestly the best chooseyourstory story that i have ever had the pleasure to read and play.Although i didnt really get the extended part of the epilogue though so i would like the author to email me and explain the ending, but still great story.

This game had some spelling and grammar issues but never the less it was a very good game.

I got epilouge 2. Is that good?

Fantastic, just fantastic in fact, like a wonderful melody carried so perfectly in our, the midsummer’s night breeze, a tune to the heart, one that will make many hearts race and beat with a drum of anticipation,
a story brighter than just the theme or genre of the fantasy or adventure subject and plot, it is a grand, a truly grand story, of life, oft small in scale and vast in its scope,
life that feels real, as enticing to us as it is involved to its character’s woes and tribulations, their plight and ascent into great personal legend, it is life in its many varieties, and trials, of character, troubling as mere obstacles and leading as fated choice, trials of choice and change, trials agonising and spoiling for choice as they may sometimes be to us... The sweetest of the bittersweet fruit and chocolate extract, the poisoned pistachio(?) ice-cream in a multitude of flavours. ...but I digress. Bear with me, for it is a long road we’re on, an oceanic one at that..,
with many such journeymen, what are as well traversing this at times bleak and oft kaleidoscopic realm of deeads cloaked in shadow,of artful illusions breaking realities’ mold, of noble sedition and hearty deception,
and many a fellow sojourner in our paths, are a prospecting “poet” and bard knowledgeable and appreciative in life’s great devices...being what they are...
It’s really hard to describe though without somehow falling back in on the vaguest of terms and descriptors... most inadequate to our tale of roguish exploits
it’s really not at all like I’ve(we, might’ve) been expecting, it is though and Definitively so, a pleasant kind of surprise.
I suppose I could say it’s really a more “realistic(?)” and Definitely engaging take on fantasy, a world and genre that we're ironically beginning to feel become a dull edge in our storytellers’ wares and tool-belts, an item of the repetitive to the point of mundane, if given poor or harsher management than is called for...
after all, no matter what the miraculous nature of wonders, amazement without substance and variety does wear off, and even miracles repeated enough become the norm of life, yet another casualty of the mundane experience in our existence, a life that could be as ever fulfilling, and as exciting as any adventure our life presents to us regardless of greater circumstances, ...the metaphorical roses we’re not smelling and fluffy clouds we’re no longer bother to notice, the stargazing we no longer carry on with...
And yet, sometimes, just a shooting star, a comedy or a trail of meteors, it’s enough, a story to inspire and grip at our attention with the best of strings...
A fading of the stellar dreams and hopes brought down to us to shine and failing, falling short yet again in of our vision and our mind’s reach... a fading that has become a reignition yet again, just leave it to EndMaster... and he’ll spin you a tale like you’ve never heard before, in the style of the old, poignant and empathetic to the heart of the matter, with a good hint of modern spices to bring shock and awe... a delicious and lively recipe that will make your emotive and intellective tastebuds buzz and light your most dormant of senses ablaze,
romantic even, you could say

— A

Well, I’m finally allowing myself to give a review since I’ve read everything. I’ll try to avoid spoilers for those assholes who read reviews before playing the storygame.

Also, holy cow. This is a friggen good story. There were also quite a few memorable characters which is not something I can say about many stories I’ve read here. Annah, Mara, and (of course) the Rogue were particularly outstanding (though I may be biased since they held my two favorite paths as well). The decades long semi-relationship between Annah and Rogue was fun. For some reason, I also really liked the arc with Mara.

One thing I liked was how the Rogue was just a dude. It sorta reminded me of Death Song’s protagonist. Of course, Rogue could rise to powerful levels, but he had to work (well, do Rogue stuff to be specific) for what he got. His selfish but somewhat principled outlook on life allowed the character to have a multidimensional thought process. He also had a “Screw it” attitude that fit quite well with the spelling and grammar errors. Why? The author said, “Screw it. These bastards shouldn’t complain about some grammar crap when they have half a million words to read.”

As for the branching, it was an interesting setup. Within the first few clicks, the reader has placed themselves on one of three major pathways leading to 12 epilogues. Often, a choice might seem right at first, only to lead to a premature ending (though not necessarily death). I think Ground Zero had something similar if I remember correctly. (Semi Spoilers approaching.) Straying away from the path’s “theme” (like choosing to get rid of your ghoulfriend) ends the story. Other times, something seemingly small (like choosing to flee from the party or to hide in a room) leads to very divergent paths.

The paths also interlock. (Screw it. Here comes friggen spoilers.) I got to the Mara path before I did anything in Holgard. Thus, Sneaks mentioned how his old Thieves Guild boss had “feelings” for his “daughter”, so I thought to myself, “Huh, EndMaster’s put in his normal references to debauchery. Ok.” Later, I made different choices which led me to Holgard and met said father-daughter duo which was very fun to experience as it was happening. I often wonder what happened to so-and-so character if I choose a path where we never cross paths. Does Tanya (I think that’s here name. The demon girl.) become a succumbs if I never interact with her? What happened to Mara if I was never there to help her? I’ll have to pester you about those questions eventually.

I’ve seen one person complain about the limited choices of the paths. He’s dumb. There’s a ton of choices. Yes, many lead to immediate death, but many don’t. Btw, death by getting eaten by faeries (or was it sprites?) over a week was my favorite death. The vampire endgame choice that had the Rogue torn in half was hilarious (since he was alive and complaining).

As for the Epilogues (SPOILERS!), a few stood out. Epilogue 10 was the badass one (since the Rogue killed two major criminal organizations, two religions, a cult, an invading army, the leader of another religious organization, a bunch of random women like some psychotic Jack the Ripper dude, had a ton of sex with a succumbs who fell in love with him, killed/outlived just about every named character during that story arc, and made friends with Warts). Damn. Oh, and the Epilogue extension was awkward, funny, and totally EM levels of screwed up (though I saw that coming the moment the incident occurred). The other would be Epilogue 12, my favorite. He was just a “normal” rogue and he fell in love with his childhood sweetheart. Then, he reconnected with his father and had twins. It was so sweet. :)

Anyway, this was incredibly entertaining to read. Thanks for all the effort you put into this, EM. Rogues is truly an epic. This’ll be one of CYS’s staple storygames… Eternal(y).

Finally finished reading through, ending at Epilogue 11. Man, this story was great!

What else can I really say? The grammar and spelling was all well polished and sentences flowed smoothly.

The characters were all fleshed out and cool, and each had their own developing arcs; even that bitch Annah!

I would have to say some of my favorite parts, in no order so far, was the confrontation with Flameflower, the inn owner who had relations with that T'ran'i fellow, and the whole bit with Zalmora was pretty cool. Not to mention the epilogue and the events leading up to it as well.

It's pretty interesting to see how most, if not all of your stories are connected in some way. While this serves as an action packed sequel to Innkeeper, which was more laid back in terms of adventure but was still an awesome story in it's own right, I am kind of curious to see what else you have come up with in the rest of the branches of this epic tale.

Well, probably going to go read through some more branches now. Great job End!

Damn dude. Read two different main branches.... And damn. Ha sick man, just sick. Great story!

Endmaster's writing is like crack

Naw discount my previous review. I forgot it was endmaster and he always has that choice system. Just forgot that there was a choice earlyish. Rip

Despite your strange fascination for very fucked up elf dominatrices (I'm sensing a theme). You bring yet another thrilling story to your library of already great stories. So let's get this review overwith:

Story: I fucking hate you... I really fucking do... You soak up all my goddamn time. This once I said to myself, "I'm not going to get into this story, I'm gonna detach myself and read it from a more literature based standpoint". But screw me, if I didn't get absorbed fucking immediately. Alright that's enough ass kissing. The story was very very good. The characters were definitely fleshed out, with a variety of distinct personality and lines of dialogue. I've noticed that this story is quite dialogue heavy when it comes to character building, which is a great way to chracterize if it is used well (which it was). The plot was nicely made with appropriate rising and falling actions. This review is based on the: "Welp, shit I've got kids now" ending. This ending was quite cute and ties the story nicely. At the beginning of the story, the reader is expected to be seeing his sister as a reoccurring character as she is one of the first charcters the reader meets. However this is not the case at all. Which makes it quite a nice little mixup, by putting, not only the character, in a state of "wonder where dat bitch went" but low-key forcing the reader to try to spot any dialogue or hint of the character's sister. Naturally making both, suspicious of the main romance character. Which makes it all the more powerful when she surprisingly does something nice.

Choices: Look endmaster I love you and all your excellent stories and want in NO way to impead your original intentions for a story buuuuut... This one could stand to have a more brancing path during the journey, especially more so then your previous stories. Now it's probably my fault for mostly picking ones that lead to death when I did try to "explore". Like I would be lying if I said I didn't want more story based on the little girl from "the wandering inn. Thing...place". As I got a bit excited for the whole endevour. I was gunned down in the streets by cops like a black man with Skittles when I talked to a priest. Also sure it's nice that some of the "branches" are well hidden But... And this is a big butt... Your other very successful stories had at least one pivotal, obviously story changing, choice near the beginning that impacted the entire story. For death song, it was a choice between mercenary and soldier. For Eternal, it was the choice to Beg, Die, or Stuggle. These choices even if one of the paths is considered "worse" (for example, lots of people liked the soldier path then the mercenary path in death song) the fact that they exist makes the other choices carry more weight early on, plus it helps to have some choices early on to help the reader define the character a little bit before the reader has a chance to learn about his character. If that makes any sense.

Grammer: I only noticed like, one spelling error. Nothing special. But some of the dialogue was a bit confusing I'll admit. With a story that's really dialogue heavy it really helps to have more clarification on who is talking. Usually with your other stories I didn't have a problem, but those were usually quick transactions between vastly different personalities rather then multiple paragraphs of dialogue between characters of similar interests. So it was somewhat confusing sometimes but thats the only REAL gripe I had with it. I personally perfer your style of characters talking without multiple "he said/ then she said". But putting one in during extended dialogue can help.

Overall: fucking gud m8.

This review is brought to you by MacDonald's because every time he posts a new thing, I come back to it like an obese child trying to new big Mac size.

Extended epilogue was perfect.

I still think Innkeeper is my favorite Endmaster story.

Rogues is an incredible story, and it's difficult to distill it into a simple tagline. Like, one ending has you start a family owning an inn, and another has you deal with mythical beasts and wizard-priests.
It's like Suzy's Strange Saga, but taken seriously. It's really impressive that all of these tales can be put together and mesh so well, but I think the most engaging tales were the ones that led to epic showdowns and noteworthy endings. Which makes sense. A stable life is boring and simple. That's the point of it. Plus, Innkeeper managed that perfectly, and there really isn't any reason to retread the same story again.
Rogues is a great story, and I appreciate that it really does well as a sequel to Innkeeper. Klyton is literally filled with old characters. And living as a thief and experiencing the reputation the Dr. Innkeeper had just made it so painful to see how his son turned out, and how incredible he really was. Running an Inn in an Endmaster world isn't easy.

[I think my favorite ending was the spymaster route. And you have no idea what a scare I almost pressed restart before the last link haha. Couldn't be an Endmaster game without that though.]

This is honestly yet another fantastic storygame by yours truly. Every single path, twist, and turn leaves no shortage of a rich and deep narrative that's accompanied by writing that can be considered iconic at this point from EndMaster.

I would go as far as saying that there was not a single path that didn't leave me dissatisfied as I reached the conclusion. So much attention to detail is woven into each page, with even the gameovers the reader can receive also being well-written and given care. Sometimes you never know if a choice is correct or will have ramifications later down the time, and it'a truly things like that which kept me as a reader at edge at times.

Once again, praise-worthy and commendable work as to be expected from a prolific creator of CYOA's that goes by EndMaster. I don't think I can stress enough and recommend this storygame to those that are aware or unaware of this writer's work.

And though this work gets my highest praise, one should really read this for themselves. Rogues ends up putting an interesting twist on the fantasy genre that things certainly feel fleshed out, and the world both lively, dangerous, and also ripe for opportunity. Whether you're simply looking for something incredible to read, or whether you wish to see a blueprint of sorts on how a CYOA can be made, this storygame is for you as it accomplishes both of those things.

Wonderful writing as always, EndMaster.

The Hero finally meets the masked blond! :D