The devil eyed scoundrel

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Nez was born a Devil Touched, a cursed child, and because of this he lived as an outcast. He managed to live by as a fixer in Yronburg's slums, in the Temenin Alliance of independent cities.

When a storm elemental starts to plague the lands of the Kingdom of Enerya, to the north, and the king himself is suspected of being behind it... Nez simply watched from afar.

But the arrival of three strangers will set him on a path usually meant for more commendable individuals than him... and that will threaten to shine a light on a past that Nez would like to leave behind...

-Inspired by a ttjrpg adventure (made with the game system Fabula Ultima)

-Fairly low magic setting, but with some technology (and also magitech)

-No classic fantasy races (ogres, beastfolk, and animated dolls coexist with humans... and there's Devil Touched too)

-Expect a lot of character development, and a little bit of drama (mainly focused on the protagonist's past and peculiar condition) and romance, but not too much

-Cover by: overload_th

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Juryo

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 15
Views: 4,941

Chapters(14 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(6)

A V DalcourtRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Outcast Nez is feared and hated by all he meets because of his devil-like appearance. Out to make a living without attracting too much attention to himself, he favours small jobs like thieving and vigilante justice that doesn’t go too far. After completing one such job, he returns to his favourite watering hole which is also the place where he tends to pick up his ‘odd-jobs’.
A band of heroes enters the slummy tavern, looking for some black-market good. Sensing a great deal of money and even less common sense, Nez sets his sights on ‘assisting’ this band of heroes without asking too many questions. The problem, they may have attracted more trouble to them than even Nez had anticipated.
Overall, the story flows at a fairly quick pace with a nice balance of details to keep the reader situated in the moment. From the moment we meet our heroes, to where I left off, there’s a nice drip feed of character development that has given the traditional heroes a bit more depth than the standard RR fair. Nez is turning into a demon with a heart of golds, who may happen to enjoy mayhem more than he cares to admit. The automaton doll who has abandoned her programming to pursue her own interests, and the would-be lovers in the knight who would level a city to protect his princess, and the princess who would stop at nothing to avoid doing harm to others.
IshasterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this type of story, the classic rpg type that shines thanks to the characters. I also love ttrpgs and i really got the feeling of one with this. Props for not being the classic fantasy world, and adding more original elements to the mix.
The style is pretty good. It manages to convey both the main characte's thoughts/personality and the events that unfold in the story. There's a single point of view (at least for now), and it makes sense since the title clearly states who the protagonist is.
As for the story... as i said, i might be partial on this but i'm liking it. It has a clear goal, and it will (most likely, knowing the genre) develop in a series of narrative arcs chained together to form the complete journey. For now it looks interesting (even if it starts relatively simple), and has the potential to be even better.
The grammar isn't stellar, but there are no problems with it. Myabe just a few typos that appear here and there (rarely enough not to be annoying), nothing that breaks immersion or takes away from the flow of the story.
The characters... that has to be my favorite part (i would give it more than 5 stars if i could). Nez (the main character) is well developped and intriguing. He is (sort of) a rogue, but he's more his own kind of rogue. Very interesting also the choice of making him this sort of "persecuted" figure because of the circumstances of his birth (and for not forgetting about it halfway through, letting the world around him react accordingly). The other characters are also very distinct, but i think we need more time to know them better.
Jack0fheartRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Nez is just your average devil-touched. That means he's loathed and despised by the masses. The story starts off with him conducting business as usual. Shady. His employer treats him with utter disrespect and thinks that she can take advantage of him because of his status in society.
Style score 5/5: The world is set in an exciting mix of guns and magic. You never know what you might encounter down a dark alley.
Story score 5/5: Overall, The Devil Eyed Scoundrel is an engaging story with a lot of potential. The first arc ends with Nez and company leaving Yronburg, the first city we start in, and heading south. I hope to see where the road takes them!
Grammar score 5/5: This is my least important rating, I only require a story is legible for me to enjoy it. The Devil Eyed Scoundrel isn't perfect but there aren't any glaring errors that detract from my immersion.
Character score 5/5: Nez is well-portrayed, the author does a good job in showing he's not someone to be triffled with. The supporting cast are also distinct and easily distinguishable from one another. With individual personalities.
All in all, The Devil Eyed Scoundrel is a thrilling mid-fantasy world reminiscent of steampunk rpgs. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a balanced mix of magic and tech! ♥
MorrasinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Despite sounding like just another fantasy adventure, it managed to leave a mark on me.
I really like the main character (he's not the edgy roguish type i was afraid to see) and the world bulding seems original enough to set itself apart. The rest of the main cast is getting fleshed out more and more every chapter.
Character development is top notch, and it gives nice breaks to the action parts.
ProconRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm a huge fan of the "rogue-like" detective dialogue and strongly delineated characters in terms of their personalities. This is incredibly important and not something many other authors do well, especially when establishing their starting caste and how their actions or choices affect their development.
I also want to point out how well the world was setup, becuase not once, not once, did I lose my suspension of disbelief or imagine the characters in a diferent setting than the one described- which is a super important aspect of any good story.
All-in-all, very happy with the work so far! Keep it up!
thegoodman99Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Overall:
The story follows Nez who is a devil touched scoundrel with a past. He teams up with a princess and her party to stop the elemental calamity happening in her kingdom. There is magic, droids, beastfolk, swords, guns, and demon powers. So far so good. Nez and the princess embark on the adventure together and that is as far as I have gotten in the story.
6/6 Horses. Would recommend especially if you are looking for a devil tainted MC
Style:
The story is told in third person from Nez's perspective. He kind of gives off gritty detective noir vibes and it works. Nez has seen and done some things in his past and it comes through in his thoughts and actions impacting the style of the story.
Grammer:
For the most part the grammar is good. There were a few dropped 's', and 'd's here and there and 'this' and 'that' or 'the' seemed to get switched up a bit but not enough to distract from the overall story.
Story:
I am only at chapter 4 currently with no more chapters to read at the moment. From what I have read the story is building to a promising adventure full of twist, turns, and challenges for our friends trying to save their kingdom.
Character:
Nez seems like an edgy guy. He even starts the book of sitting on an edge. So even if he isn't the most edgy of guys in my mind he's got an edge. He's got a past that he seems like he is bursting to share with others, but won't because he fears the will reject him if he does. He is an outcast living in the slums who has skills, powers, and the knowledge to survive.
He is who the story is following and I think he does a well enough job carrying the readers on his heavy shoulders. We also get the princess, the bot, and the guard who all seem like they have their own quirks and personalities. It is still early in the story so it will be interesting to see how each character develops and how their past comes into play.
My bet is that the story will get better and better as more chapters are released.
Thanks for writing.