History VideoGame / AffairsOfTheCourt

** The PC's younger sibling manages to retain at least some of their idealism for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:unless they find out the PC murdered their husband and stepdaughter, in which case they will [[CrusadingWidower have you assassinated in revenge]]]].

* WomanScorned: Abandon de Mendosa for the Monarch in ''Choice of Romance'' and they will trash your reputation throughout the court. If you abandon the Monarch for Torres, they will likewise exclude you and your spouse from public social life in the epilogue.

** [[spoiler:Tomas de Reyes]] is an ''[[UpToEleven even bigger]]'' Caligula than [[spoiler:the Monarch]] ever was, [[spoiler:and is partly responsible for the Monarch's own rising paranoia]].

** The conflict between Iberia, the borderlords and Sahra. Eventually, [[spoiler: either the de Aguilars or Sahra will form an alliance with the Queen, leaving the other in shambles]].

* {{Magitek}}: An important plot point in '''Til Death Do Us Part'' is de Mendosa's invention of Death Rods, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything an allegory for guns]] that allow Life Mages and commoners with the slightest trace of magic to fight like Death Mage nobility. They're working on Life Rods as well, but they don't appear in the story, which is an important point for the political debate surrounding them in court.
* TheMagocracy: "Noble" and "mage" are synonymous in Iberia. One of the reasonss de Mendosa's Death Rods are opposed by many nobles is that they threaten to unravel the social order by placing magic in the hands of the common folk.

** [[spoiler:The Monarch is never exactly a good person, but in Part 3, they go completely off the deep end due to Tomas de Reyes' manipulation, and unless you've behaved perfectly toward them and can both moderate their madness and eliminate the source of the problem, they need to be put down.]]
** [[spoiler:Tomas de Reyes is an ''[[UpToEleven even bigger]]'' Caligula than the Monarch ever was, and is partly responsible for the Monarch's own rising paranoia.]]

** The Monarch develops a liking for this in the third game, [[spoiler:thanks to their SanitySlippage. They can [[ForcedToWatch force their own daughter to watch her husband and in-laws being murdered]] in revenge for a plot [[MisaimedRetributuion she wasn't a part of]], and they also cultivate a taste for inflicting {{Cruel And Unusual Death}}s on their enemies.]]
** The PC can do this in all three games by [[spoiler: framing the Monarch's spouse or paramours for various indecencies to get them executed, or just [[MurderTheHypotenuse assassinating them outright]], for the crime of being an unwitting obstacle to their ambitions]]. The second and third games also allow them to [[spoiler: frame or murder Juanita, whose only crimes are being ahead of the PC's sons in the succession and disliking them for breaking up her family]].

** In ''Choice of Intrigue'', if you chose to marry Torres but continue your affair with the Monarch, [[spoiler: they die of illness in the middle of the story with relatively little fanfare]].
** In '''Til Death Do Us Part'', [[spoiler: if you're exiled from or flee Orovilla while the Monarch is alive, you'll die of a random fever within a year. This doesn't happen if you legitimately receive a country estate.]] This also happens to [[spoiler: Luis de Vega's wife Sofia, who dies off-screen while testing de Mendosa's Death Rods]].

* ForcedToWatch: In the third game, [[spoiler:if Juanita is married to the heir of Aguilar or the Sahran prince and that faction's part in trying to assassinate the PC and their sons was discovered, the Monarch will order that she be ForcedToWatch as their own assassins slaughter the Sahran royal family, including her husband]].

* GoldDigger: Your job in ''Choice of Romance''. You can subvert it by eloping with de Mendosa, but that means you won't be able to go on to Act 2 and 3.

* HypnoticEyes: A major part of mind control magic and [[spoiler:Tomas de Reyes']] main weapon.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Odd example in ''Choice of Romance''. If you marry Torres, you may still get close enough to the Monarch to have an affair with them. If you do this and choose to tell Torres about it, they will reluctantly allow you to, telling you that they never met to force you into a marriage you weren't happy in. You can also attempt this with Mendosa, but they are not receptive to your idea. Averted if you aren't kind enough to Torres, however, in which case they take advantage of the opportunity to insult and extort you.

* KansasCityShuffle: In '''Til Death Do Us Part'' [[spoiler: the PC is the target of an assassination attempt, and the monarch finds the coins of either Sahra or Aguilar in the possession of the assassins depending on the choices made in ''Choice of Intrigue''. This turns out to be a FalseFlagOperation by the faction who did not mint the coins to frame their opposition and disguise their attacks against the PC and their sons. If the PC responds by sending their own assassins against the guilty party, the monarch [[MisplacedRetribution will still target whichever faction was framed]].]]

* {{Magitek}}: An important plot point in '''Til Death Do Us Part'' is de Mendosa's invention of Death Rods, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything an allegory for guns]] that allow commoners with the slightest trace of magic to fight like Death Mage nobility. They're working on Life Rods as well, but they don't appear in the story, which is an important point for the political debate surrounding them in court.
* TheMagocracy: "Noble" and "mage" are synonymous in Iberia. One of the main reason's de Mendosa's Death Rods are opposed so fervently by many characters is that they threaten to unravel the social order by placing magic in the hands of the common folk.

* MayDecemberRomance: Played straight with the PC and the Monarch in ''Choice of Romance'', but subverted with Torres, since the game will state in canon that you aren't in love. In '''Til Death Do Us Part'', [[spoiler:a romance with the older widower Luis de Vega also has shades of this]].

* TheMistress: You can become one for the Monarch if you aren't willing to murder the Consort. If you successfully dispose of the Consort, however, the Monarch will be RemarriedToTheMistress.

* MoralityChain: The PC is acting as one for the Monarch by the third game. [[spoiler:And if you aren't damn near perfectly [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure]], they'll turn on you too]].
* MultipleEndings

* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: [[spoiler:If you die or are forced to marry Tomas, and if your sons live, they will show up ten years later and announce this.]]
* OffWithHisHead: In the first two games, this is likely to happen to [[=PCs=]] who screw up, or the enemies of those who don't. [[spoiler: In the third game, the Monarch has stopped chopping off heads, and started [[KillItWithFire burning people at the stake]].]]

** In ''Choice of Intrigue'', if you chose to marry Torres but continue your affair with the Monarch, [[spoiler: they die of illness in the middle of the story with relatively little fanfare.

* ActionGirl: A female PC can have a few moments, such as fighting off assassins in the third game.
* AgeGapRomance: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him. But it's a forced marriage for Tomas' convenience, not a romance]])

* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Juanita]] is highly antagonistic to the player character, and [[spoiler:will banish them from court if she gains power]], but they're also one of the most honest, honorable and noble characters in the game, and perhaps the only character who is never involved in anything skeevy, [[spoiler: though her husband might be]].

* BittersweetEnding: Lots of them for the third game--in fact, nearly all endings are this. You are either: [[spoiler:burned at the stake but later avenged by your sons; brainwashed and forced into marrying Tomas--who promptly murders nearly everyone you love--and then freed when your sons lead a rebellion ten years later; forced to assassinate the wo/man you (possibly) love to stop their reign of tyranny; or exiled to the far ranges of the nation, but occasionally getting to visit your sons, who still get to take the throne.]] In the first game, marrying Torres, you're not in love and spend a lot of time bored and alone but you are rich and your family's future is secure.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: '''Til Death Do Us Part'' is a dark mess. Some characters are genuinely evil, but even "good guys" like Mendosa will lie, cheat and murder to save themselves, their loved ones or Iberia, to win power for themselves, or to ensure that this situation can never happen again. The player character may be an exception, but if they are, they'll be the only one and will probably suffer for it.

* TheBusCameBack: de Mendosa just drops off the radar if you don't marry them in the first game, then suddenly re-appears towards the end of the second game.

** [[spoiler:Tomas de Reyes is an ''[[UpToEleven even bigger]]'' Caligula than the Monarch ever was.]]

** If you don't trigger a war with Sahra in ''Choice of Romance'', it's possible that House de Aguilar and their allies will rebel against the crown instead.

* TheCoup: Possible in '''Til Death Do Us Part''. [[spoiler: More specifically, ''you'' can murder the Monarch and her closest allies in a palace coup and seize power for yourself.]]
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Playing the next two games in the trilogy requires one to have romanced the Monarch, either as their lover on the side or their new spouse.
* CuttingTheKnot: [[spoiler: Thomas de Reyes is a literal MagnificentBastard who manages to win over the Monarch and blackmail the PC, either succeeding or coming very close to seizing complete power in the kingdom. Defeating him will require engaging in some extremely risky and complex plot... or giving Death Rods to the people and having him KilledOffScreen during TheCoup]]
* TheDandy: Given that the protagonist in Choice of Romance was written as though a young lady but can be played as a boy, he rather comes across as this.
* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler: Augustin(a) and Tomas de Reyes.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: Augustin(a) develops a liking for this in the third game, [[spoiler:thanks to their SanitySlippage]].

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: In the third episode, if you're exiled from or flee Orovilla while the Monarch is alive, you'll die of a random fever within a year. This doesn't happen if you legitimately receive a country estate.]]

** King/Queen Augustin(a) is UsefulNotes/HenryVIII.
** The PC is UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn--even if male. They may or may not be more successful.

* ForcedToWatch: In the third game, [[spoiler:if Juanita is married to the Sahra prince and the Sahrans' part in trying to assassinate the princes was discovered, the Monarch will order that she be ForcedToWatch as their own assassins slaughter the Sahran royal family]].
* GoldenPath: The King/Queen's route in Choice of Romance.

* GoldenEnding: [[spoiler:You and the Monarch are able to live the rest of your lives in reasonable peace before they die in a hunt, after which you take over as Regent to prepare your son for the throne]]. [[GuideDangIt The game creators themselves have noted that this is by far the hardest ending to get, since there are only two ways to achieve it]]: [[spoiler:[[WhatTheHellHero throwing de Vega/de Mendosa under the bus when rumors of you committing adultery spread, which causes the Monarch to torture them to death]]]]; or [[spoiler:maintaining IncorruptiblePurePureness by keeping a sky-high Reputation, keeping the Monarch's love, not assassinating]] ''[[spoiler:anyone]]'', [[spoiler:directly or indirectly, and not using the elixir to conceive a Life Mage child]].
* HappyEnding: If you don't love the Monarch, then the [[spoiler:assassination]] ending becomes this. Eloping with de Mendosa gives you this in the first game, though it also locks you out of playing the sequels.

* HypnoticEyes: [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes]] main weapon.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Odd example in Choice of Romance. If you marry Torres, you may still get close enough to the Queen/King to have an affair with her/him. If you do this and choose to tell Torres about it, he/she will reluctantly allow you to, telling you that they never met to force you into a marriage you weren't happy in. You can also attempt this with Mendosa, but they are not receptive to your idea...
* KangarooCourt: There's no such thing as a "fair trial" in Iberia. All trials are politically influenced even if the facts are clear, and if the Monarch knows they won't be able to get a conviction, they won't bother with a trial in the first place.

* LadykillerInLove: Implied with the King/Queen in Choice of Romance.
** By the Choice of Intrigues' time, s/he's reverted back to their old ways, though you're still their favorite. [[spoiler:If you can [[GuideDangIt manage to produce]] [[LuckBasedMission a Life Mage child]], or otherwise seriously impress them, they'll fall even more in love with you and give up their cheating ways for good]].
* TheLadysFavour: The protagonist of Choice of Romance can do this for the King/Queen for the jousting competition. Alternately, she can take the Monarch's favor and joust herself.
* LetsWaitAWhile: The protagonist can do this with the King/Queen in ''Choice of Romance''.

* LoveMakesYouDumb: It's very possible for the PC to do ''very stupid'' things out of love.

* {{Magitek}}: An important plot point in the third act is de Mendosa's invention of Death Rods, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything an allegory for guns]] that allow commoners with the slightest trace of magic to fight like Death Mage nobility. (S)he's working on Life Rods as well, but they don't appear in the story.
* TheMagocracy: "Noble" and "mage" are synonymous in Iberia.

** In addition, the King/Queen will be so incensed by this, [[spoiler:when they find proof of the Sahrans' involvement]], they order a bloody massacre of everyone involved.

* MayDecemberRomance: The protagonist and Torres in Choice of Romance can get married, but it will state in canon that you aren't in love.
* MealTicket: Torres is this canonically, in a romance with him/her, you're not in love and it leads to a rather depressing but rich life. The Monarch can also fit here, depending on whether you use them to gain love, money, or power.

** [[spoiler: If you launch a coup d'etat while Tomas de Reyes is still alive, Tomas will launch his own bid for power at the same time.]]
* TheMistress: You can become one for the Monarch, if you aren't willing to murder their consort.
* MindManipulation: Can be performed by any sufficiently powerful Life Mage. [[spoiler:Especially Tomas de Reyes.]]

* MurderTheHypotenuse: In ''Choice of Romance'', it's an option...

* RedHerring: Several individuals are set up to look like a threat to your survival and power, but actually are not. [[spoiler: Nobody who the monarch is cavorting with is ever a threat to your personal position.]]
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The way marriages work in Choice of Romance, though here it's "rich and boring," "poor and exciting," and "rich, exciting, royal, and already married."

* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler: In the third game, Augustin(a) goes down the tubes, both from sheer paranoia and their bastard son's mind control.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: Your aunt for you and Torres, your uncle for you and the monarch (neither of them approve of de Mendosa.)
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: In Part 3, the most reliable way to save your family and Iberia from Augustin(a)'s madness is to murder them, either by poison or palace coup.]]
* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:Tomas de Reyes.]]
* StalkerWithACrush: Downplayed. The Monarch does not take kindly to you pursuing one of the other suitors, though they limit themselves to a few offensive remarks and neutering the political career of your spouse (should they ''have'' one).

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: A useful tool for getting rid of your enemies, if you have high Subtle.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: de Mendosa disappears from the plot if you side with de Vega.]]

** de Mendosa is extremely idealistic about improving life in Iberia through political and technological reforms.

* WomanScorned: Abandon de Mendosa for the Monarch in Choice of Romance and he/she will trash your reputation throughout the court.

* WomanScorned: Abandon de Mendosa for the Monarch in Choice of Romance and he/she will trash your reputation throughout the court.
* YourCheatingHeart:
** It's possible to cheat on the Monarch in the third game. It's not necessarily a good idea, but what kind of player is going to let that stop them?
** The Monarch will also cheat on you, though if you manage to raise their affection score high enough, they'll stop.
** In the first game, you can be married to Torres while pursuing the Monarch.

* TheSouthpaw: [[spoiler:Ricardo]] is seen wielding [[spoiler:his]] wand in [[spoiler:his]] left hand during the endings where [[spoiler:he and his brother overthrow the monarch]].

A trilogy of games created by the company Creator/ChoiceOfGames, the ''Affairs of the Court'' series is a group of ChooseYourOwnAdventure games, co-authored by Heather Albano and Adam Strong-Morse. The first game, ''Choice of Romance'' takes place in a Latin-esque fantasy world of politics and magic, where the PlayerCharacter is an ImpoverishedPatrician seeking to save their family's fortune by seducing a wealthy partner at court. The following two games, ''Choice of Intrigue'' and ''Til Death Do Us Part'', feature the PC struggling to maintain the position they've earned for themselves amidst a world that wants nothing more then to throw them down.

* AgeGapRomance: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him. But it's a forced marriage for Tomas'convenience, not a romance]])

* AgeGapRomance: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him.But it's a forced marriage for Tomas'convenience, not a romance]])

* AgeGapRomance: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him]])

* Age-GapRomance: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the significantly younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him]])

* Age-GapRelationship: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the significantly younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him]])

* AgeGapRelationship: An EnforcedTrope in-game, as people in their mid-to-late teens are courted by those estabilished enough to support a family, who tend to be at least in their mid-twenties. All of the player character's love interests are older than them (with the only possible exception being the significantly younger [[spoiler: Tomas de Reyes, if the PC marries him]])

Can be found [[https://www.choiceofgames.com/romance/ here]].

* CuttingTheKnot: [[spoiler: Thomas de Reyes is a literal MagnificentBastard who manages to win over the Monarch and blackmail the PC, either succeeding or coming very close to seizing complete power in the kingdom. Defeating him will require engaging in some extremely risky and complex plot... or giving Death Rods to the people and having him KilledOffScreen during CoupDeGrace]]

* CuttingTheKnot: [[spoiler: Thomas de Reyes is a literal MagnificentBastard who manages to win over the Monarch and blackmail the PC, either succeeding or coming very close to seizing complete power in the kingdom. Defeating him will require engaging in some extremely risky and complex plot... or giving Magitek Death Rods to the people and having him KilledOffScreen during CoupDeGrace]]

A trilogy of games created by the company ChoiceOfGames, the ''Affairs of the Court'' series is a group of ChooseYourOwnAdventure games, co-authored by Heather Albano and Adam Strong-Morse. The first game, ''Choice of Romance'' takes place in a Latin-esque fantasy world of politics and magic, where the PlayerCharacter is an ImpoverishedPatrician seeking to save their family's fortune by seducing a wealthy partner at court. The following two games, ''Choice of Intrigue'' and ''Til Death Do Us Part'', feature the PC struggling to maintain the position they've earned for themselves amidst a world that wants nothing more then to throw them down.

* [[spoiler:AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Tomas de Reyes tries to force your character to marry him to secure his position on the throne.]]

* [[spoiler:BastardBastard: Tomas de Reyes, the one unambiguously evil character in the entire series.]]

* [[spoiler:TheCaligula: The Monarch is never exactly a good person, but in Part 3, they go completely off the deep end due to Tomas de Reyes' manipulation, and unless you've behaved perfectly toward them and can both moderate their madness and eliminate the source of the problem, they need to be put down.]]
** [[spoiler:Speaking of which, Tomas de Reyes is an ''[[UpToEleven even bigger]]'' Caligula than the Monarch ever was.]]

* {{Expy}}: King/Queen Augustin(a) is UsefulNotes/HenryVIII.

** MealTicket: Torres is pure MealTicket; canonically, in a romance with him/her, you're not in love and it leads to a rather depressing but rich life. The Monarch can also fit here, depending on whether you use them to gain love, money, or power.

* MultipleEndings:
** DownerEnding: In the first game, it's [[OffWithHisHead dying]] or failing to secure a betrothal and being sent home in disgrace resulting in your mother marrying you off to a withered old man who smells likes goats. Very rarely happens in the second, but [[spoiler: if you're caught in a conspiracy to commit murder, you can die or be exiled]]. In the third, it's either [[spoiler:losing your sons to assassins, then being assassinated yourself]], or [[spoiler:having to flee the court, never seeing your sons again, and then dying of illness]].
** BittersweetEnding: Lots of them for the third game--in fact, nearly all endings are this. You are either: [[spoiler:burned at the stake but later avenged by your sons; brainwashed and forced into marrying Tomas--who promptly murders nearly everyone you love--and then freed when your sons lead a rebellion ten years later; forced to assassinate the wo/man you (possibly) love to stop their reign of tyranny; or exiled to the far ranges of the nation, but occasionally getting to visit your sons, who still get to take the throne.]] In the first game, marrying Torres, you're not in love and spend a lot of time bored and alone but you are rich and your family's future is secure.
** HappyEnding: If you don't love the Monarch, then the [[spoiler:assassination]] ending becomes this. Eloping with de Mendosa gives you this in the first game, though it also locks you out of playing the sequels.
** GoldenEnding: [[spoiler:You and the Monarch are able to live the rest of your lives in reasonable peace before they die in a hunt, after which you take over as Regent to prepare your son for the throne]]. [[GuideDangIt The game creators themselves have noted that this is by far the hardest ending to get, since there are only two ways to achieve it]]: [[spoiler:[[WhatTheHellHero throwing de Vega/de Mendosa under the bus when rumors of you commiting adultery spread, which causes the Monarch to torture them to death]]]]; or [[spoiler:maintaining IncorruptiblePurePureness by keeping a sky-high Reputation, keeping the Monarch's love, not assassinating]] ''[[spoiler:anyone]]'', [[spoiler:directly or indirectly, and not using the elixir to conceive a Life Mage child]].

* [[spoiler: RightfulKingReturns]]: [[spoiler: If you die and your son Ricardo doesn't, he'll return ten years later to the throne from whoever took you down. The same thing happens if you're forced to marry Tomas.]]

* TooDumbToLive: In this game, the stupidest thing the PC can do is ''nothing''. In a political, magical world where everyone is willing to lie, cheat, betray, and murder to improve their positions, sitting around on your hands is guaranteed to end in your death.

* WideEyedIdealist: de Mendosa is extremely idealistic about improving life in Iberia through political and technological reforms.
** The PC can also be a romantic who dreams of finding true love in the court. If they want to survive, they have to outgrow this ''very'' quickly.

* YourCheatingHeart: It's possible to cheat on the Monarch in the third game. It's not necessarily a good idea, but what kind of player is going to let that stop them?

** In the first game, you can be married to Torres while pursuing the Monarch.

* WomanScorned: Abandon Gabriel(a) for the Queen in Choice of Romance. He/she will trash your reputation throughout the court.

** In the first game, you can be married to Torres will pursuing the Monarch.