Welcome, Candidates! Today's update brings versions v0.3.13 Free (on itch.io), v0.3.13 Supporter (for lower tier patrons) and v0.3.14 Supporter (for higher tier patrons). These updates contain the two halves of the conclusion to the Shapeshifter story arc, with a climax that may have long lasting effects on Valtan and her whole tribe.

While I've posted a fairly exhaustive guide on Patreon explaining all variables that might influence which ending you get, on today's post you will find these two sections: events and variables before the Twisted Festival that might have effects in its conclusion, and the complete guide itself - remember that the guide contains spoilers regarding the whole plot, so you may limit yourself to read the first section if you want to avoid spoilers.

Relevant factors for the Twisted Festival
- Positions of all other NPC Candidates (Padmiri, Nashillbyir, Claw, Maaterasu) regarding Valtan's situation, which was decided a few days before the adventure.
- Stats, Shapeshifter tribe respect and improvisation skill (minor skill gained in the Shapeshifter assembly) of all Candidates.
- Everything to do with Nersmias, including what the other Candidates tried to do regarding him, the result of your (optional) social battle with him, and your choices afterwards.
- Valtan's condition. This might be influenced if you hypnotize her in the deeper tunnels, which will obviously require hypnosis. If you didn't receive hypnosis skills from Varyonte, you can get them by delivering captured hypnotizing monsters to Artume.
- The outcome of Gleaming Caverns Rescue.
- Whether you were transformed by Mesquelles or not.

Detailed Guide
- At the start of this event, the counter "Shapeshifters forgive Valtan" (SFV from now on) is at -500. This is one of the two indicators that determine the ending you get.
- Flavor: Your highest relationship with the other Candidates will determine who will wake you up. If your best relationship is with Valtan or no relationship reaches the bare minimum, you will be waken up by Drishtya.
- Having been transformed by Mesquelles at least once takes you to an alternative passage early in the event, and opens up a new option later.
- Intelligence and empathy checks, earning you a bit of Shapeshifter tribe respect and hinting at what's going to happen.
- One Valtan attacks Padmiri on the stage, player choices:
* Stay quiet and watch: SFV +25, Padmiri gains 10 respect with Shapeshifters, Padmiri gains 150 domination and ambition drives.
* Join Valtan and take advantage of Padmiri: SFV -50, Padmiri loses 10 respect with Shapeshifters and 150 cooperation drive. You lose 20 respect with Shapeshifters. You receive extra rivalry and enmity from both Padmiri (300) and Maaterasu (150).
* Turn the tables against Valtan: SFV +25, Padmiri's cooperation drive raises by 150, both you and Padmiri gain 5 respect from Shapeshifters. Gained friendship (300) with Padmiri.
- Fight between Candidates on the stage: the fight would usually finish once all members of either team are defeated, no matter which team loses, you will be taken to the same passage. However, there is an alternate passage that you can access if all fake Candidates are defeated before any team is completely defeated. You will have to balance weakening the fakes from both sides while you make sure that no team is getting strong enough to completely roll over everyone else in the opposite team. Take notice that the real Claw and Ate will target their respective fakes fairly often.
* Fight between Candidates on the stage, alternate ending: SFV +70, Padmiri, Claw, Nash, Ate and you receive 10 Shapeshifter respect, all of these Candidates gain 75 cooperation drive.

Twisted Festival Part 2

- At some point, all the Candidates will preventively express what they intend to do if push comes to shove. Your options are:
* "I haven't decided yet": Your domination towards Padmiri and Claw falls by 150.
* "I won't defend Valtan": No effects.
* "Valtan doesn't deserve it": You gain 300 friendship with any present Candidates whose average ambition drive is above average.
* "The Candidates must support each other": You gain 300 friendship points with any present Candidate whose average cooperation drive is well above average. You gain 300 rivalry points with any other present Candidate whose average domination drive is well above average.
* "I can't let Valtan be humilliated like this": You gain 300 friendship points with any present Candidate who has a good relationship with Valtan (friendship+romance-rivalry-enmity>6).
* "I beg you all: Please support Valtan" (Requires at least one other Candidate to have declared they won't support Valtan): For each Candidate who would not support Valtan, you will attempt to pass a relationship check of (friendship+romance-rivalry-enmity) vs (their score to support Valtan multiplied by -1). Passing each of these checks will make the Candidate decide to speak in favor of Valtan, but will give you a debt of 20 favor towards them. Additionally, you will lose a flat amount of 25 merit, regardless of how many Candidates you convince.
- The Candidates will choose whether they speak in favor of Valtan or not, and they'll take their turns before you. Maaterasu is the only one who will always decide to speak, skipping any checks.
* Effects of Ate's, Mir's, Nash's and Claw's speeches:
** Increase SFV by a base value of 65, multiplied by:
*** Multiplied by 1.3 if (Charisma*3+Empathy+Will+Improvisation Experince*3) > 120; multiplied by 0.8 if < 120.
*** Multiplied by 1.2 if respect in Shapeshifter tribe > 50; multiplied by 0.9 if respect < 30.
**** The maximum amount of points earned by any of these Candidates is 101,4.
* The Player's speech will also be influenced by the same factors, but will also be multiplied by:
** Going through the bad ending of Nersmias' Social Battle will multiply your speech's effectiveness by 0.5. Note that the story switch that remembers this has only been implement at version 0.3.14, negating the effect if you played that event in a previous version.
** Mesquelles' support give you an extra multiplier of 1.4. You get her support by being transformed by her.
** Saving Glien will give you an extra multiplier of 1.3, which will increase to 1.6 if Valtan also helped you.
** If you're untransformed, you will have to choose between: "This cannot be a fair trial without Valtan", "This trial won't make sense without Sillan's testimony" and "I'll appeal to my deeds for this tribe". The two latter options will only be available if you spoke to Sillan or rescued Glien in the deeper Caverns, respectively, and any of them will change the base value of your speech from 65 to 80, effectively acting as a 1.23 multiplier. Note that this is incompatible with Mesquelles' support, as you will only receive it if you've transformed.
*** The maximum amount of points earned by your speech is 227,13.
* Immediately after this, this character will lose 50 respect in the tribe, and the relations between the Passion Temple and the Shapeshifter tribe will deteriorate by 100. This will only be reverted if Valtan is forgiven (Ending A).
- Telling Melesh you won't defend Valtan after you told the other Candidates you would will give you a large increase of enmity (750) from the Candidates you lied to and speak in her favor.
- Transformation scene: Right before it's time for the Candidates to participate in the trial, you may be visited by Mesquelles if she has already transformed you at least once. If you tell her you will defend Valtan, she will offer you to transform you into Valtan, warning you that the transformation might have complications.
- Valtan's speech has two checks that modify its base modifier of 100:
* If (charisma*3 + will + empathy > 85), the effect is multiplied by 1.3, and by 0.8 if < 75.
* If (charisma*2 + will*2 + empathy > 90), her speech will be longer and the effect is multiplied by 1.5. Note that it's rare for Valtan to reach stats this high on her own, but you can improve or deteriorate her will during the hypnosis scene in the Deeper Gleaming Caverns, depending on your choices.
- What determines whether Sillan decided to visit Valtan?
* Depending on your choices during the conversation with Sillan, a flag may be activated that will make Sillan decide to forgive Valtan.
* She might also take this decision if Nersmias' global conviction has fallen to 50, as long as you haven't convinced Sillan NOT to talk to Valtan. This means that, without player intervention, the actions of Mir, Nash, Claw and Ate on their own could also raise this flag, as long as they want to argue against Nersmias' positions.
* If Sillan didn't make any decision, but SFV reaches 0 or higher, Sillan will appear anyway.

--- Endings ---
Ending C (Alone in exile): If SFV is lower than -50 and Sillan didn't decide to visit Valtan, Valtan will be exiled and Sillan will stay in the Shapeshifter tribe.
- Valtan gains extreme pleasure and domination drives, loses ambition and self-improvement. Love falls to zero. Her romance with all characters falls to zero, and her friendship and sexual tension is cut in half.
Ending B (Banished together): If SFV is lower than -50 but Sillan decided to visit Valtan, Valtan will be exiled and so will Sillan.
- Valtan gains love drive. Valtan gains charisma and empathy affinities (5%).
Ending A (Rightful Candidate): If SFV is at least 0, or Sillan decided to visit Valtan and SFV is at least 0, Valtan will receive a reduced punishment and Sillan will move to the Passion Temple.
- Valtan gains large ambition and love drives. Valtan gains charisma, empathy and will affinities (5%, 5% and 10%). Valtan will gain friendship with every Candidate that defended her.

--- Other Consequences ---
- Maaterasu will gain ambition drive if Valtan is exiled, and cooperation drive if Ending A is reached.
- Padmiri will gain domination and ambition drives if Ending C is reached and she supported Valtan.
- Claw will gain domination and ambition drives if Ending C is reached, and cooperation drive if Ending A is reached and she supported Valtan.
- Sillan won't become a guest in the Passion Temple if Ending C is reached.
- Nersmias will never be able to become a guest in the Passion Temple if Endings C or B are reached.
- Lost respect and relations from the Shapeshifter tribe will be restored if Ending A is reached, and Valtan will gain the support of her tribe.