Welcome to the Into Indie Games walkthrough of The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian Chapter 1, Obscurity.
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian is a narrative role-playing game featuring the story of the crown prince, Jerian. Your role in this game is to make decisions as the main character from beginning to end. For more information, head over to its Steam page.
As there are many decisions to make, it can be complicated and challenging to choose the right one at times. So, in this guide, we will provide you with a complete walkthrough of Chapter 1, Obscurity in The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian. In this walkthrough, we will explain in detail which choices are the best to make, what their outcomes are, and what happens if you choose the other available options.
Disclaimer
As The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian features a large number of choices and branching paths, this Chapter 1 walkthrough is based entirely on the decisions we made during our own playthrough. Your choices may differ from ours, which means you could experience different outcomes or encounter events that never appeared in our playthrough. Likewise, some events and decisions covered in this guide will only be available if you closely follow the same choices we made, so keep that in mind while using this walkthrough.
Table of contents
- Chapter 1: Obscurity – Walkthrough
- 4 Years Old – The Stranger
- 6 Years Old – Cornelius’ Guidance
- 8 Years Old – Growing Up & Divine Grace
- 9 Years Old – The Lotless & One’s Lot
- 11 Years Old – The Parade & The Past, The Present, And The Future
- 12 Years Old – Heretics in High Places & The Nobleman’s Lot
- 13 Years Old – Justice & Compassion
- 15 Years Old – The Test
- 16 Years Old – Tempest
Chapter 1: Obscurity – Walkthrough
As you start the game, you will have to read the book A Look Back, and then you will have to make a choice. At the end of the book, you will be asked what the one thing is worth living for. Then, there are going to be six different choices, and you will have to select one of them.
This seems like a major decision, so think carefully before selecting any option. We went with the “Your own freedom and desires” option as it seemed like the best one among the others. Then the book will continue, and when it ends, the game will truly begin with the first chapter, Obscurity.
4 Years Old – The Stranger
This chapter begins with Jerian as a four-year-old. Continue clicking Next after reading to start the chapter, and then read The Stranger book. Then, you will have to make a decision. You need to choose between two options, and both will have different consequences.
Hitting the stranger does not seem like the right choice since what you actually saw was a mirror. So, instead, choose the second option, “Take a closer look.” With that, your Logic will go up, and your Passion will go down a bit.
Then, from there, the chapter will progress further.
6 Years Old – Cornelius’ Guidance
Jerian will now be six years old, so the next book is going to be Cornelius’ Guidance. This part is going to be pretty long, but it is important to read everything so you can make a reasonable choice later. However, even if you miss something crucial, do not worry because we will tell you which option seems like the best one.
There are going to be three options: Insist on a reading lesson, Insist on a counting lesson, and Let’s go spy on them! The option among the three you need to choose in Cornelius’ Guidance book is “Let’s go spy on them!” That is because, rather than taking the reading or counting lesson, it seems much more fun to spy on Cornelius.
This option will increase your relationship with Ferdinand. However, the first option will increase your scholarship and the second will increase your management.
You will then hear a conversation between Cornelius Tempest and Aegerius Monrogue. You will get caught, but it is still an interesting interaction since Ferdinand learns something useful from it. So, this may eventually lead to something interesting later on.
8 Years Old – Growing Up & Divine Grace
Read the Growing Up book, and eventually you will notice on the right page that your Diplomacy and Management have gone up. However, you are still an Apprentice, so it will take some more time before you advance further. Then the Divine Grace part will begin, so continue reading.
Everything in this part is really interesting, so make sure to give it a proper read. As you continue reading, you will eventually get the Lock of Fate to pop up. There are going to be three options: Ask the Elder for consolation, Ask the Younger for justice, or Come to know both gods.
However, the third option will have the Lock of Fate. Click Next, and then hover your mouse over the third option. You will then see that, for this option, you need Logic greater than or equal to six. Now, if you had smashed the mirror earlier, you would not have received points in Logic, and this Lock of Fate would have remained locked.
However, now it will be unlocked, so select this option. This choice will let you speak with each of the twins. It means that you will essentially be selecting both of the first two options. Then the Divine Grace book will continue from there. With that, your Scholarship will go up, although it will still remain at the Apprentice level.
9 Years Old – The Lotless & One’s Lot
Now Jerian will be nine years old, and the next book will be The Lotless. Emil and Martha will then tell you about The Lot, and Jerian will start having questions that will continue piling up. With that, your Scholarship will increase even further.
There are no decisions to be made during The Lotless part. It mainly contains lore drops, and they are pretty interesting, so make sure to pay attention to all of the details. However, in One’s Lot, there is going to be an important decision to make.
This part is going to be really long, so make sure to pay close attention. As you continue further, the Arkinan will make fun of Martha’s family and then offer you a drink. Now, you will have three options to choose from. The first one is to Drink with the Arkinan, the second is to Refuse the drink, and the third is to Stand up for Martha’s family.
That said, if you drink with the Arkinan, your management skill will be improved.
However, the third option has the Lock of Fate, and for you it may still be locked if you selected the option to avoid punching the mirror. That is because selecting the other option increased your Logic while reducing your Passion. So, for this option to become available, you need Passion equal to or greater than six.
Even if you cannot select this option, choose the second one and refuse the drink. Continue reading, and then your relationship with Martha will improve.
11 Years Old – The Parade & The Past, The Present, And The Future
Now Jerian has turned 11, and The Parade will begin. As you continue reading, you will eventually notice that, in the Empire, the scale is tilted more in favor of Elitism. This means that the Arknians will secure their privileges while preserving the existing social stratification and hierarchy.
On the other hand, Equality allows society to overcome racial, financial, and class-based segregation. However, the Empire currently leans much more toward Elitism.
Then The Past, the Present, and the Future book will begin. In this part, Ferdinand will try to provoke Cornelius and will almost succeed. He will then ask why a sizeable tax is imposed on his lands but not on those belonging to the Arknians.
Cornelius then tries to change the topic, and Ferdinand will ask you to back him up. Then, a detailed note will appear explaining what happens if you agree with him, along with some additional context. After that, you will have to make a decision. There are going to be three options: Back Ferdinand up, Back Cornelius up, or Propose your own subject to discuss.
The third option will have the Lock of Fate, but it will be unlocked for you. This option is going to be the best one because taking either side is going to damage your relationship with the other person. If you choose this option, Jerian will propose discussing the recent advancements and changes within the Empire.
Thanks to this decision, your Scholarship will go up even more. Other than that, your relationship with both of them will increase as well.
12 Years Old – Heretics in High Places & The Nobleman’s Lot
As Jerian turns 12, the Heretics in High Places book will be the next. Read until the end, and then you will see that the Empire’s standing is much more aligned with Dogmatism, where religious doctrine is upheld, and the authority of the clergy is widely accepted.
The other ideology is Jurisprudence, which establishes secular law and protects personal freedoms. Then, the next book, The Nobleman’s Lot, will begin. Emil will eventually challenge you to a duel, and Martha will ask you to let him win because he is already having a rough time.
Now you have to make a decision. There are going to be three options: Let Emil win, Give the fight your all, or Withdraw from the duel.
The third option will have the Lock of Fate, and it will most likely be locked. If you let Emil win, he will rub it in your face, and your relationship with him will improve. However, your relationship with Martha will not improve any further by selecting the first option.
So, we went with the second option and won the fight fair and square. This also strengthened your relationship with Martha, as you looked cool in front of her.
13 Years Old – Justice & Compassion
This part is going to be pretty long, but there will be a lot of interesting information throughout it. So, read everything carefully, and then, as you continue further, Emil will ask you to go to the sermon with him. You will then have two options to choose from, as there is not going to be a third option with the Lock of Fate.
You can either go with Emil or stay with his father, Alfred. Choosing the second option is the better choice here, so we selected that, and Emil left without saying a word. With that, your Scholarship will go up, and you will advance from Apprentice to Adept. Then, The Dangers of Progress event will begin.
This event will show you that the rebellion against the Empire is increasing, meaning more and more people are getting ready to revolt against the Empire. Then The Looming Future event will begin, and it is triggered by your previous actions. You need to have three or more points in Management or Scholarship. We had the latter, so this event was triggered successfully.
The Looming Future
In this event, or rather this book, Ferdinand will ask you to go with him to witness the dissection of a living person. He wants to gain knowledge by seeing it happen firsthand and wants you to accompany him. You can either go with him, finish your assignment, or meet up with Emil and Martha.
The first two options will have the Lock of Fate, and the first one will most likely be unlocked for you. If you do not have your Management skill at level 3, then the second option will be locked. That said, if you choose the third option, your relationship with both Martha and Emil will increase.
The first option increases your Scholarship and your relationship with Ferdinand. The second option increases your relationship with Cornelius and your Management skill. We chose the third option.
The Last Sermon
This event is triggered only if you have two or more points in your relationship with Martha. In this event, as you continue, you will meet Emil’s father again, who has been sentenced to execution. He asks you to comfort him by giving a sermon, but Martha will stop you from doing so.
You will then get three options to choose from. The first option is to Console Alfred, which will increase your Logic while reducing your Passion. It will also increase your Scholarship by one level. The second option, Turn your back on Alfred, will only increase your relationship with Martha.
However, the third option, which has the Lock of Fate, is the best one here. This option lets you convince Martha to change her mind. It will increase your Scholarship by one point as well as improve your relationship with Martha.
15 Years Old – The Test
As Jerian turns 15, you will now have to read The Test book. As you continue reading, you will learn that Martha and her parents are being moved from the palace compound along with Emil and the younger children. You can rescue both of them, but it will come at a cost.
There are going to be three options: Hurry to help your friends, Deliver a well-thought-out speech, or Flounder through your speech. The first option lets you rescue both Martha and Emil while also increasing your relationship with them. However, you will lose one point in your relationship with Cornelius.
The second option strengthens your Diplomacy skill and your relationship with Cornelius, although it has the Lock of Fate. The last option also has the Lock of Fate, and it is unlikely that you will have it unlocked.
Do note that the second option also unlocks the Teacher’s Pet event. We went with the first option.
True Friends
This event can only be triggered if you rescue Emil and Martha. In this event, if you choose to spend the evening with Martha, you will manage to make her fall for you, and a new event, Unbreakable Bond, will be unlocked. You may not be able to select the second option, but if you can, it will make Emil your close friend, and the same event will be unlocked.
Also, the first two options have the Lock of Fate. The third option, which is to spend the time studying, will increase your Management and Diplomacy skill levels. We went with the first one. However, if you select the third option, your relationship with either Emil or Martha will not be damaged.
16 Years Old – Tempest
This is the final part of Chapter 1: Obscurity. In this book, Tempest, everything about you will finally be revealed, and you will then have to participate in the Blood Tide ritual, which will make you a true Arknian. However, you will get two options to choose from.
A new mechanic, the Lock of Sanity, will also be introduced. You can click on the Lock of Sanity to open it, but doing so comes with a consequence. In return, you will lose some Sanity. If you choose the first option, you will gain 15 points in Legacy of Tempests and one point in Blood, but you will lose one point in Will.
On the other hand, if you choose the second option, you will only gain five points in Legacy of Tempests. You will gain one point in Will while losing one point in Blood. The second option makes more sense because it also unlocks another event.
With that, Chapter 1, Obscurity, in The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian will come to an end.
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Obaid Ur Rehman is a lifelong gaming enthusiast with a deep passion for writing about video games. While he enjoys all genres, he specializes in RPGs and Soulslike titles. After tackling some of the toughest bosses, he often unwinds with a cozy game to relax. Outside of gaming, Obaid enjoys watching anime, bingeing TV series, or staying active at the gym.
