Dev Update
Version 4.63 is out. You can get it on Itch.io or Steam, or direct downloads (Mega.nz / Mediafire). This is a bugfix patch, fixing a few things like Psymoths respawning endlessly. It also adds two spots to figure out how to get into the Raccoon HQ.
I will continue fixing bugs like this for the next little while, as well as working on Project Ophiucus which is coming along nicely.
Witches of Ravenbrook Lore Update!
No not that one.
Inky and I thought it’d be fun to tease you with some of the game’s background. We’re currently working through some of the sponsor stuff. See below for the Moonstruck Moth!
The Previous Covens
Some say the pactrealms have been around since the beginning of time. Nobody knows exactly how long they’ve been there, but if you know where to look and can avoid getting captured by its current occupants, the remains of those who came before might be found.
The Raven Coven. “Knowledge is forever.”
What little is known of the Raven Coven is that they lived in a gothic castle with armed crow knights and flying maids who cleaned their towering shelves of artifacts. The Ravens jealously guarded their hoarded items, possibly not even fully aware of the power they possessed. The Ravens were also famous for their eye symbols, which they carved on everything they claimed ownership of. They say the Ravens can still see through those eyes to this day.
Nobody is sure if the Ravens are still alive. If they wanted to hide, there’s a lot of places they could do it. Don’t go into their castle, found at the edge of the realm of Deceit, by yourself. Then again, the treasures there are indeed alluring…
(Note: Fluffs wants you to get all the treasure. DON’T LISTEN TO HER. She will even give you free keys to the raven castle. It’s dangerous! Fluffs, for crying out loud!)
The Cat Coven. “Freedom is the only magic worth keeping.”
With minions of all sorts of felines, from your ordinary housecat, to the deadly tiger, to the actually did you know it’s a feline hyena, the link between cats and witches is eternal, so it figures a coven of catwitches would exist at some point. The Cat Coven almost never gathers in groups larger than three or four, and they have a particular fondness for crossroads and other places of joining.
There is no evidence that the Cat Coven actually sought control over the pactrealms. If anything, they avoid trouble wherever it is, and never have a problem relocating. Perhaps some still live, but if they showed their faces, the Witch of Pride would certainly not tolerate them.
The Frog Coven. “Decay is not death, it is change.”
In touch with nature and the spirits of the swamp, the frog coven are notoriously laid back. Some might even say lazy, but do not mistake this for a lack of mastery. They mastered alchemy and understand the natural world so well that it reshapes itself to serve them, and are experts at transformation and mutation curses.
Dahlia, the Witch of Wrath, particularly dislikes the stinking swamps leftover from the time of the Frog Coven, but even she can’t get rid of these blights on her domain. If you look closely and search in the waters of the bogs, perhaps you can find their leftover totems.
The Active Covens
The Pride Coven. “Gaze upon the superior power.”
The Pride Coven currently leads the alliance of witches who dominate the pactrealms. The Witch of Pride is front and center, and revels in showing herself to mortals, and making her fellow pactmates kneel before her. In fact, the Witch of Pride claims to be the embodiment of dark magic.
Who is the Witch of Pride? Anyone who knows is probably dead, or so thoroughly gone in a haze of adoration for their beloved mistress that they can’t even remember. You don’t need to know her name to kill her, after all, and kill her is what everyone would love to do. If they could.
The Lust Coven. “Desire shapes the world.”
With minions of seduction so lost to their own desires that they can hardly think, the Lust Coven certainly seems alluring if you don’t value your soul. Who is the Witch of Lust? The pactsworn need a Witch of Lust to control the pactrealms, but nobody knows her name. Not even her minions, who swarm around their brothels and perverse theaters.
You’ll have to both chase her down and resist her temptations if you want to have any chance of getting back home.
The Wrath Coven. “Anger blooms.”
The current Witch of Wrath, Dahlia, was once a schoolteacher who utterly despised her students and made a pact to gain the power she needed to truly punish them. Rather than fear what she wrought, she reveled in it. Her only complaint was she could destroy them only once, and she fashioned doll minions who could withstand her frequent bouts of anger. Perhaps some of the dolls who wander the gardens and her enormous mansion are those very same students, dolls for so long they forgot they were ever human.
Dahlia, too, was once a human, and has parts of her she’d rather keep hidden. She grows tall hedge mazes and thick forests around her domain to keep out intruders, while ordering her minions to maintain total perfection within. A hair out of place is liable to raise her ire, so tread lightly.
Oh, and pay no attention to the decrepit hospital on the edge of her realm. The mosquito nurses are holding a blood drive and you shouldn’t make a donation.
The Deceit Coven. “The script is what we make of it.”
The mask on your face is your true self, so say the possessive minions of the Runa, Witch of Deceit. Your old life, after all, was nothing but a bad script. Runa runs a mage college where unsuspecting students sign away their futures in exchange for magical education. Read that contract carefully.
So who is Runa? She’ll gladly tell you with the only catch being every time you ask her, the story changes. Maybe parts of it are true, maybe all of it was true once, but you’ll never know. Perhaps she came from nothing and nowhere, a being of malevolence knit together by the void, whose existence is itself a lie.
Control of the pactrealms rests of an alliance of witches who can represent the seven deadly sins, of which Deceit is not a member. Yet the Witch of Pride holds Runa in equal regard with her other subordinates. Why? What is she hiding? You’ll have to find out.
The Gluttony Coven. “To serve and consume are all that matters.”
“The worst of the bunch. I want to boil her and char her remains into ash and dump them into a pit where she can never come back.” – Fluffs
Honeybunns has a bizarre, almost mocking city that hosts her restaurant and production facilities. All of her minions are happy and well fed, and so brainwashed that even the other witches steer clear of them. That’s to say nothing of Honebunns herself, who the Witch of Pride quietly wishes would be killed by one of the others so she doesn’t have to deal with her endlessly chipper freaky attitude.
Whatever Fluffs has against the gluttons is something you can leverage. Fluffs might even bend a few rules to help you out, as long as it’s sand in the eye of Honeybunns.
The Greed Coven. “Greed consumes everything.”
The din of slot machines endlessly clicking and clacking, the glitz of neon lights as sexy insectile waitresses with parasites clinging to their bodies serve addictive drinks. It’s all overwhelming, you just want to take a sip of the honey. Is it odd that the casino has a hexagonal layout? And just who is the Witch of Greed?
Nobody knows, as the witch keeps to herself. She’s happy to count infinite profits as she captures the souls of those who fall into her traps. Her casino looms large at the border between Honeybunns’ city and Dahlia’s hedge maze. Her bee minions are sometimes seen collecting pollen, notably without permission, from the plants of Dahlia’s domain. Perhaps there’s a back way in?
The Sloth Coven. “Rest, and peace will find you.”
Do not mistake the moon maidens for gentle and friendly caregivers, for while they just want you to relax and enjoy yourself, they want you to relax and enjoy yourself – forever. At least they’re somewhat more agreeable than the more actively hostile witch covens.
As for who the Witch of Sloth is, not even the moon maidens know. In fact, because they swear not to harm anyone, you’ll meet some of them in the university hub and they’ll ask you for help finding her. She exists, and she’s nearby, but she’s been secreted away. Perhaps she just wants to make sure nobody bothers her while she slumbers, or perhaps the only way to focus her power is to sleep endlessly and thus keep the Witch of Pride at bay.
The Envy Coven. “I want what you have.”
There is no Witch of Envy. There is always a Witch of Envy. Clad in green and navy blue, flitting by at the edge of perception, who is she? Is she even one person?
She has no minions of her own, instead taking them from the other witches and controlling their wills so completely that the witches do not bother asking for them back. Be wary, for if she desires anything of yours, nothing will stop her from possessing it.
If you want to have any chance of taking her down, you’ll need to bring your best equipment and your strongest spells. Even then, if you defeat her, how will you see to it you do not take her place? Did you secretly covet her power, and now that she is dead, it can be yours?
The Fluffs Coven. “Gimme your money.”
Not actually a coven, not even technically. Fluffs wanted to be in the update so she slipped me a fifty.
Of course, that may not be all the covens, just the ones that are currently known. The pactrealms are old, and the witches often so vain that they do not scour the previous lairs when they take over. There is said to be a twisting, winding hallway ribbed with ancient bone that runs through many parts of the realm, with impenetrable golden doors that not even Fluffs knows how to open. There are hot places that radiate anger that Dahlia does not claim control over. Who made these places? Are they so ancient that all trace of their creators is gone? And maybe, just maybe, are there artifacts and secret doors there that might give us a sliver of a chance of defeating the Witch of Pride?
The Moonstruck Moth
Okay time for something a bit sillier. Meet the moonstruck moth!
She’s a singer and performer who is just over the moon about the… moon. As it, maybe she’s a little crazy, or a lot crazy. She’s hosting a concert in the gardens of the Sloth Witch and wants everyone to attend.
Slight problem. She really thinks Alia would make a splendid backup singer.
Search the area carefully and brace yourselves, because if you don’t play your cards perfectly, this duet might hypnotize your entire team!
This is the first sponsor quest I can say is in the “complete” phase for its art. I have a fun design for it as well. It will be possible to not have Alia get transformed if you follow specific steps, but come on, you know you want her to be a fantastic moth singer. Worse, if you’ve been relying on magic spells, you better think twice. The moths can sing so loud, they can drown out your spells! Rely on steel and fight a way to victory!
Extremely dumb bonus: I asked Koops to make some posters that will be hung up around the area to advertise the upcoming concert. Look at how much she loves the moon. She just loves it! She wants you to love it as much as she does!
Fan Art!
By Clover (https://vgen.co/muxu_0216)
That’s Elowen. You’ll be seeing more of her soon enough.
Questions!
The Link Pile
Where to find us:
Our Patreon and Subscribestar are great places to support development! You can also get cool bonus stuff like concept art and early releases of Pandemonium!
If you want extra pictures of cats, you can follow us on Bluesky.
And there’s always Our Discord. You can shout at Salty *in person*.
You can ask us anonymous question on Whisp.sh. If you’ve ever wanted to get smarmy answers to questions, or just know more lore, that’s the place!
We also have a Wiki! We’d appreciate it greatly if people keep it maintained for us. :3
Bottled Starlight Games:
Runes of Pandemonium, the big adventure TF RPG, always free on Steam and Itch.io.
Witch Hunter Izana, a battle-TF RPG. Available on Steam or Itch.io.
Witches of Ravenbrook, a battle-TF dungeon-crawler. The prototype is out now and free on Itch.io.
WoR Kickstarter page (260% funded! Thanks a lot!)
String Tyrant, a survival horror game, is on Steam and Itch.io.
Other Bottled Starlight Stuff
Salty writes a book series, with audiobooks and illustrations, called Tales of Strings.
Instruments is out now on Itch.io.
Passed Hand is now on Itch.io!
Spiderweb Theory is now on Itch.io!
Urban Explorers is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Varsity Vixens is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Crush Depth is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Three Short Steps is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Knighttime is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Sticks and Straws is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Strings Are Attached is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Only Shadows for Comfort VN Prototype on Itch.io!
Guise of the Goddess is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Actirangers, Come Forth is now on Itch.io! It’s free!
All of the ToS books can also be found on Wechange.me!
We have some ridiculous merch on Redbubble and Teepublic if you want to be the center of conversation (derogatory / celebratory).
Pandemonium Development 