As part of the Pixelles writing program, participants were tasked with creating a character for a game genre of their choice. As such, I designed the playable Olivya Revin, a changeling raised as the second line to the throne in an open world RPG. PDF

Game Information: Open-World Fantasy RPG (e.g. BG3, DA); 3 rd person POV

Role: Party Member; Possible Enemy

Name: Prince Olivya Revin (O-li-vya)

True name: Kathréftis

Age: 196

True age: 142

Sex & Gender: Gender-fluid; AFAB presenting (as Prince Olivya)

Race/Origin: Changeling. Presents as a moon elf.

Important Visual: Despite being able to change form freely, even when in disguise they choose to remain as

Olivya, physically. They will only shift if it is seen, in their eyes, as necessary.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Affiliation: The Kingdom of Staréfortia; House Revin

Archetype/Inspiration Characters: Lover; ESTP-A/Entrepreneur-Assertive; Inspired by Peony & Sharena (Fire Emblem Heroes), Ringabel (Bravely Default) and Tom Canty (The Prince and the Pauper)

3-4 keywords (personality traits): Callous; Flirty; Spoiled; Charismatic.

Wants/Needs/Motivation: To keep their current life & name; love. Not necessarily romantic, though that is what they claim to pursue. They want genuine connection but don’t know how to make it nor that they need it, not fully recognising the play-pretend relationships they have within their family for what they are. They aren’t delusional, but they don’t know better.

Other character relationships: Olivya has an almost professional relationship with their adoptive parents. Perfectly cordial, no real love there. Having quickly discovered that their daughter had been replaced, they made a deal with the changeling who had taken her place. To save face and not allow enemies or their people to learn that a royal child had gone missing, the changeling would take her place, so long as word never spread. As of late, their relationship is more strained.

Prince Olivya is very close to their younger sister, who never knew the original Olivya. Their relationship with their brother, the crown prince, is more strained. Whilst they believe they are accepted as his sibling now and they get along, there was a degree of animosity in Olivya’s childhood.

Though they’ve had plenty of lovers, Olivya hasn’t had many real friends up till now. An exception was the original Princess Olivya, a young elven girl who feared not the warnings of changelings who would steal children away in the night. She would sneak off at night to play with Kathréftis, who would show her life through a fae child’s eyes. Eventually, the children decided to switch places for a day, to give Kathréftis a taste of the royal life as Princess Olivya would have as much time as she desired to delve further into the forest from which her friend appeared. She never returned.

Note: Prince Olivya and Princess Olivya’s relationship can be positive or antagonistic after the latter’s introduction in the game, depending on player choices.

Summary: Consensual identity-stealing flirt.

Voice Notes: Precise, deliberate wording. They tend to speak in longer sentences but not a word is wasted, thus it never sounds like rambling. Clearly a trained speaker. In most cases, they will come across exactly how they wish to. If they wish to disguise rage, they will be calm, at worst giving a cold edge. If they sound flippant, they don’t mind if they do.

Audio Voice Quality: Alto. Smooth, playful. Somewhat dismissive at times, speaking as if they haven’t a care in the world. Speaks from the chest.

Background:

The second child of Staréfortia’s royal family, Olivya heeds adventure’s call when their parents force them into a political engagement. At least, that is their excuse for running away and disguising themself when the player learns of their royal status. In reality, Olivya is a changeling who traded places with the true royal child, and to keep order, the king and queen permitted this. Now, their elder brother is fading. A second-in-line princess’ death will cause far less disruption than that of the intended heir, and they were never the real Olivya to begin with. Logically, there is no reason for the changeling not to switch identities once again.

Yet, their name is not Cian. They are not a broad, muscular recovering general. They do not have an angular face. Their hair is not as black as night. They became Olivya at a mere seven years old, and that is all they have known for more than a century. It is not a persona; it is their identity.

And so, they run.

They run, so that they are not forced to surrender this name and face and the life they have led until now. Let the royal couple find another changeling to become Crown Prince Cian; even if they must from henceforth live in obscurity, Olivya will not die so that “Cian” may live in the public eye. However, that is easier said than done. As they travel the neighbouring country with the party, they slowly begin to realise how tyrannical House Revin can be, and the lengths that they will go to keep grasp of their secrets and power.

Unique weapon: Royal Lance gained as quest reward. When wielded by Olivya, increase MG.ATK and decrease probability of side-effects. Commissioned by the queen in case Olivya were to betray their house, it was designed to restrain Olivya’s magic. In Olivya’s hands, it can be mastered to gain control over their power.

Unique Ability: Shapeshift. Olivya can take on the form of allies, NPCs, or generic disguises. When taking on a persona, new dialogue options may appear.

Core Gameplay: Black Magic & Lance. Chance for random effect to occur when casting. Also specialises in social skills such as diplomacy or deception.

Additional Info:

1. Frequents art galleries and museums.

2. Proficient in the double bass.

3. Pineapple allergy.

4. Whilst having elegant handwriting in cursive, Olivya struggles to write with their letters separated.

5. Speaks 6 languages.

6. Princess Olivya would encourage them to use their shapeshifting ability to prank adults straying into the woods at night.

7. Cian was fooled for 2 years before overhearing the truth about their sibling.

8. Identifies as cis: for changelings, genderfluidity is the “default”.

9. Despite coming across as someone who simply wants to party all day, they are well read out of choice, spending their private time curled up with a book.

10. Growing up, they used their shapeshifting power to sneak out of the palace but would change back to their usual appearance once the coast was clear.