Line #11 VisualNovel/WinterShard


1	Times have been tough for [[ButtMonkey Frederic]] ever since his father, Rael Bladeoath, was executed for alleged treason against the King. Frederic believes that his father must have been framed, but before he can find out the truth, he's ambushed and critically injured by [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp Temonz]], a member of a rival family. With [[AnArmAndALeg his right arm torn off]] and bleeding to death, it looks like the end for Frederic...
2
3	...[[FirstEpisodeResurrection Except not]], as he's approached by the demon [[EvilOverlord Krotus]] and accepts his [[DealWithTheDevil offer]] to be [[TheUndead resurrected]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent as a powerful lich]] in exchange for his UndyingLoyalty to Krotus. After demonstrating to [[AssholeVictim Temonz]] [[WhosLaughingNow that he's no weakling anymore]], he begins settling into his new unlife as [[VillainProtagonist Frederone]], [[EvilFeelsGood happily]] using his [[TheEvilGenius talents]] and [[{{Necromancer}} newfound powers]] to further Krotus's goal of [[TakeOverTheWorld conquering the warring Northel and Southea lands]].
4
5	All is not well for our VillainProtagonist, however, as aside from the obvious problem of being reviled by the human race he used to belong to, he also has to deal with the terminal illness of his childhood friend Rosetta who he still loves, the presence of [[DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest Marliene]] if he fails to save Rosetta, and the [[TheStarscream scheming]] of various other servants to dispose of him and/or Krotus. And perhaps in the end, his own lingering conscience.
6
7	Will Frederone remain content in his undead life as Krotus's loyal servant, or will he decide to turn on Krotus out of ambition or guilt? Will he find love along the way, or will he decide that it's better to remain alone? And will he ever learn the truth behind his father's execution?
8
9	[[MultipleEndings It all depends on your choices.]]
10
11	The official website for ''Winter Shard'' is [[http://fiasanctuary.lunaen.com/wintershard/ here]].
12	----
13	!!This game contains the following tropes:
14	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Frederone becomes this in the game's darkest route, with a cult worshipping him and performing human sacrifices in his name.]]
15	* AffablyEvil: Krotus might be an undead conqueror, but his official goal is to end the long war between Northel and Southea and he treats Frederone better than most people ever did during his lifetime. The True ending even has him [[spoiler:congratulate Frederone after he defeats him and give him one last smile before dying]].
16	* AnArmAndALeg: Frederone gets [[RedRightHand a new right arm capable of tearing through flesh]] from Krotus to replace his lost one.
17	* AntiVillain: Frederone, in some endings.
18	* AssholeVictim: Temonz is killed by the newly Frederic-turned-Frederone near the beginning of the game, but considering that he was the one who brutally mocked Frederic, tore off his right arm and left him for dead, you probably won't feel ''too'' sorry for him.
19	* BastardUnderstudy: Frederone can choose to become this to Krotus.
20	* BittersweetEnding: The True ending.
21	* ButtMonkey: Frederic, before [[WhosLaughingNow he's resurrected as Frederone]].
22	* CameBackWrong: This appears to occur with [[spoiler:Rosetta if Frederone decides to resurrect her]], but it turns out that [[spoiler:it's simply Rosetta trying to make Frederone hate her before she commits suicide in accordance with her religious beliefs]].
23	* CessationOfExistence: It's established that there's no afterlife for the undead. [[spoiler:This becomes especially poignant in the True ending.]]
24	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Frederone reunites with his childhood love Rosetta partway into the game. Of course, his new identity as the Frozen Lich, not to mention her terminal illness, complicates things between them.
25	* DarkMessiah: Krotus claims to only want to end the perpetual war between Northel and Southea by conquering one or both of them. [[spoiler:WordOfGod reveals that this actually is probably true, as he was summoned by Frederone's father [[WellIntentionedExtremist with the express purpose of giving both sides of the war a common enemy to unite against]].]]
26	* DealWithTheDevil: Although Frederone doesn't seem to regret it in the least.
27	* DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest: Marliene was literally created for this purpose, but Frederone can subvert it by refusing to accept her.
28	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Rosetta will commit suicide some time after her resurrection if Frederone isn't there to prevent it. Marliene will also kill herself if Frederone coldly rebukes her advances.]]
29	* EvilFeelsGood: Frederone pretty much becomes drunk on the Dark Side after his resurrection.
30	* TheEvilGenius: Frederone's able to create the NighInvulnerable dreadnaughts with his anatomy skills acquired from his past work in an apothecary.
31	* EvilIsDeathlyCold: Krotus and Frederone are constantly associated with coldness, whereas Frederone's love interests Rosetta and Marliene are associated with warmth.
32	* EvilOverlord: Krotus, and Frederone in some endings.
33	* EyeScream: Frederone completes his HumiliationConga of Temonz by impaling his newly bony fingers with the eyes of his slain henchmen. Fortunately, we don't get to see an image of ''that'' ourselves.
34	* FirstEpisodeResurrection
35	* FlowerMotifs: Rosetta's association with roses is the most obvious, but WordOfGod says that the hair colors of Rosetta, Marliene and Metheus were based on the rose-related meanings for them: Rosetta's pink represents grace, Marliene's red love, and Metheus's yellow friendship.
36	* HeroicSacrifice: Metheus gets himself killed while protecting Frederone from his new master, but Frederone is able to resurrect him afterwards. A more final one occurs in the True ending with [[spoiler:Marliene, Metheus, and Frederone himself]].
37	* HundredPercentCompletion: Getting all of the game's endings unlocks the Staff Room, which provides more backstory to the game and explanations for several questions left unanswered by the game.
38	* LiterallyShatteredLives: In the True ending, [[spoiler:this happens to Frederone after he kills Krotus and his entire body starts crystallizing and breaking apart, complete with a TitleDrop]].
39	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Krotus turns out to be Frederic's father.]]
40	* MoralityPet: Marliene becomes this to Frederone in the King and Queen ending, with Frederone ruling his portion of the world with an iron fist but not conquering the rest of the world like he does in the other dark endings because of Marliene's presence. Metheus also fulfills this role to an extent in the main game.
41	* MultipleEndings: Eight of them, mainly determined by whether Federone acts more like a villain or an AntiVillain throughout the game and his actions with Rosetta and Marliene.
42	* {{Necromancer}}
43	* NoCanonForTheWicked: Getting the True ending requires Frederone to act as much like an AntiVillain as possible.
44	* NonStandardGameOver: One of the game's [[MultipleEndings eight endings]] feels more like this, as it comes from picking wrong on the very first choice of the game and results in an unglorious death for Frederone.
45	* OurLichesAreDifferent
46	* PetTheDog: Frederone might be a dark lich, but he still genuinely cares about Rosetta and Metheus and he'll Pet The Dog even more regularly if you pick the more morally "light" choices for him.
47	* ThePromise: [[spoiler:Rosetta]] makes Frederone promise not to [[spoiler:resurrect her after she dies]]. Frederone can choose to keep or break his promise, and his choice has a significant impact on the plot.
48	* RedRightHand: Frederone's new right hand leeches the warmth out of any living (and undead) being it touches.
49	* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: Temonz, which makes him ripe material for an AssholeVictim.
50	* ShoutOut: While WordOfGod says that any ''Franchise/StarWars'' parallels between [[spoiler:Palpatine and Darth Vader]] and [[spoiler:Krotus and Frederone]] were purely coincidental, the resemblance of the rose monster Frederone uses to keep Rosetta alive to the one in ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' was intentional.
51	* TheStarscream: Several of Krotus's undead minions actively plot against him throughout the game, Jubeist being the most notable of them.
52	* TakeOverTheWorld: [[spoiler:It's subverted in some endings, though.]]
53	* ThatManIsDead: A rare positive-ish example with [[spoiler:Rosetta]] in the Eternal Bride ending; [[spoiler:Frederone convinces her that even though the old Rosetta wouldn't have wanted to disown her god by becoming an undead creature, the new Rosetta is free to accept her new chance at life and her love for the undead Frederone]].
54	* UndeathAlwaysEnds: Averted in some endings, but played straight in others.
55	* UndyingLoyalty: The Eternal Servitude ending. Also, Metheus to Frederone, and similarly Marliene to Frederone if he chooses to accept her.
56	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Want to make Frederone as evil as possible, to the point of usurping Krotus as the new EvilOverlord? Go wild!
57	* VillainProtagonist: Frederone. Just how much of one he is depends on the choices the player makes.
58	* WellDoneSonGuy: One ending reveals that Frederic felt insecure about lacking the fighting talent of his renowned father.
59	* WellIntentionedExtremist: WordOfGod reveals that [[spoiler:Frederone's father was this, and Krotus by extension]].

Context VisualNovel / WinterShard