The Council

The Council is an episodic narrative adventure where your choices and your character's growth genuinely matter. You make hard-hitting decisions and develop a set of skills that directly shape the way events play out, and with permanent, long-lasting consequences there is no taking anything back. It plays out like a classic murder mystery, full of intrigue and manipulation among an alluring cast of characters, every one of them guarding dark secrets.

The story opens in 1793 with Louis de Richet, a secret-society member summoned to a secluded island near the English coast by the mysterious Lord Mortimer. The other guests include Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington, president of the newly formed United States. The reception is strange beyond its prestigious names, Richet's own mother has recently disappeared on the island, and everyone present seems to be pursuing a hidden agenda.

The heart of the gameplay is the Social Influence system: during confrontations you spend skills and limited resources to gain the upper hand, rewarded for knowing each character's psychological weaknesses and for the groundwork laid in earlier investigation. Failing an encounter is never a game over, but consequences are permanent and can leave lasting physical or mental traits. Richet has 15 skills to develop, diplomacy, occultism, detective work and more, letting you uncover the mysteries however you choose, with wildly varying results.