Noblesse Oblige

Noblesse Oblige is a 137,000-word, text-based Gothic romance novella in the Crème de la Crème universe. On a windswept island far from Westerlin, you take a job as a conversation partner to a lonely young aristocrat. With an impoverished upbringing and a middling university education, you have few other profitable opportunities. There are no graphics or sound effects; the story is shaped by your imagination and choices.

Life at the estate

You attend grand balls, join fast-paced fox hunts, spend evenings with the servants and teach lessons to your charge. You can also observe or take part in the northern land’s religious rituals. As secrets emerge around the estate, you investigate your charge’s nighttime wanderings, the secretary’s letters and your employer’s efforts to keep outsiders away from the family’s affairs.

Romance and loyalties

Amid the island’s cold and secrets, you can pursue midnight trysts and stolen moments. Potential romances include a forthright, flirtatious housekeeper, an intense and zealous conversation partner who longs to hear about the outside world, and a charming, cultured stranger who offers excitement and luxury at some risk. You can connect with people beyond the estate to make a future elsewhere, work toward a secure future at your job or abandon it to follow your heart.

Your choices

You choose whether to play as male, female or non-binary, and whether your character is gay, straight or bisexual, monogamous or polyamorous, asexual and/or aromantic. Your choices can earn you a strong reputation in the household or surround you with suspicion, and build steadfast loyalties or break them. When you uncover the estate’s mysteries, you decide whether to bring those responsible to justice or leave their secrets buried.