Lil’ Guardsman – Factions Explained 🤝🏴

At its core, Lil’ Guardsman is a medieval fantasy gate guard simulator (or “child labor simulator”, as one commenter put it). However, over the course of the game you will leave the shed, explore the world of the Sprawl & discover an epic story. We are so excited for you to get to know the Sprawl & its inhabitants. We hope this blog serves as a good introduction to some of the factions you will get to know in our game.

Dear Lil,
Although we haven’t met yet, I understand that you have been HOODWINKED by my royal advisors into working as a gate guard, and that they are trying to use you like a glorified puppet! I’ll work on them, I promise, but in the meantime here’s a breakdown of the various factions you should know about in order to keep your head (figuratively and literally!).

Your friend,
Princess Desdemona

It’s home, it’s friends and family, it’s the Sprawl. A bustling metropolis full of humans, elves, cyclopes and other various magical species. The city-state has been a melting pot since its very founding!

Since the death of King Oswin, the Sprawl has been ruled by three royal advisors on behalf of his daughter, Princess Desdemona, before she comes of age. The main line of defense is the City Guard Corp, which includes the gate guardians. Second, the City Council oversees politics and trade for the Sprawl, maintaining the delicate balance between the various powerful individuals and factions. Third is a jester who can juggle everything you can think of: pins, balls, knives that are on fire, and even people’s fates. That’s all there is to say about him at this time.

The princess’ birthday approaches, and she finds herself in a tight spot, with suitors from two neighboring nations vying for her hand – each with their own agenda. Princess Desdemona could use some help from a certain plucky young gate guardian to help make her choice. Let’s hope it’s the right one!

The ancient Marvagh Empire was founded on the guiding principle of “If your husband is hungry, he should make his own goddamn dinner”. After an initial bloody conflict, it is the women who lead their people and fight in glorious combat. In order to determine the line of succession, solve property and legal disputes, and frankly make calls about minor inconveniences, this warrior nation engages in the infamous Marvagh ballet: a vicious, days-long, battle to the death… where only one victor is left standing.

The newly crowned Praetor Kargan vanquished all of her foes in one such ballet, and she is on her way to the Sprawl now to win the hand of Princess Desdemona, and bring honor and prosperity to her people.

The Kingdom of Petrard is known for many things: the fashion, the food, the lavish parties… but for most, the first thing that comes to mind is the relentless sulfuric funk that emanates from its mines. These mines make Petrard a wealthy nation, and frankly the stench is nothing that a copious application (see: bucket-load) of the finest Petrardian perfume won’t cover up.

Prince Finius, next in line to the throne of Petrard, just wants to have a rollicking good time… with as many young, ridiculously good looking people as he can. But his parents, the King and Queen, have different plans for their cad (or Chad) of a son. They need to guarantee their royal line, which is why they’ve sent Prince Finius to the Sprawl: to woo the Princess and secure an alliance between their two nations that would make them the envy of the world.

“…Who do they think built this city up into the sprawling metropolis they get to enjoy today? Because it sure as hell wasn’t humans. Did humans haul the stone that became our roads and buildings? NO. Troll labor did that. Did humans dig the intricate system of subterranean tunnels that became the world’s greatest sewer system, getting our piss and shit off of the streets? NO. Our mole-brothers and sisters did that! The day of the royal wedding approaches, and hear my words people: that day will be their undoing! That day will be their reckoning. A change is coming on that wedding day, will you RSVP for a revolution?”

(Excerpt from the GLA’s pirate radio broadcast, moments before Councilwoman Ashe’s long-suffering assistant Travis got to the radio tower and screeched at the staff to “SHUT IT DOWN!!!”).

Secretive and mysterious, and more than a little bit full of themselves, the Mages Guild has long been a powerful faction operating within the Sprawl. It was formed around a set of guiding principles for all mages to respect and abide by, so if you knew a mage, you knew what to expect (i.e. less curses and necromancy, more plant magic and pretty fireworks!).

Typically, mages are solitary practitioners, but sometimes they must gather together when greater amounts of raw power is required for their spells and experiments. On very rare occasions the high council of the Mages Guild will summon its full membership by casting a glowing green beacon into the sky. In fact, if you look up into the night sky right now, you may just see the beacon’s green glow…

We hope you are excited for Lil’ Guardsman’s full release. In the meantime there are a few things you can do:

◦ Wishlist Lil’ Guardsman on Steam
◦ Join our community on Discord
◦ Follow our socials for news, behind-the-scenes content & more
◦ Tag us on socials when you post about Lil’ Guardsman

💜 GLHF,

Versus Evil Community Manager – Rezza/Sydney