Path of Martial Arts (IF)
TW: extreme violence, harsh language, very dark/grim world. Strictly 18+.
Path of Martial Arts is a xianxia-inspired interactive fiction made in ChoiceScript. It's entirely text-based and can be played freely in the browser.
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You play as an heir of an old and noble, but decadent family of Martial Artists. The sole descendant of your clan, it’s fate within your hands: whether you will restore its previous glory or will let it collapse under turbulent tides of the Martial World is up to you.
- Attend a sect full of noble scions. Forge friendships, establish connections and make enemies.
- Shape your character and their morality: decide how to treat commoners and mortals and see how far are you willing to go to achieve your own goals.
- Practice Martial Arts, gaining abilities far surpassing ordinary humans. Enter tournaments, take part in duels and fight in a brutal war.
- Navigate the cutthroat politics hiding underneath the martial honor and bravado — or don’t and submit them all with brute force.
- Help the reigning Dynasty maintain order — or be the spark that ignites the civil war.
Take in mind, this is a WiP (a very active one). The current size of the demo is 590k words.
Here's a couple of links, if you're interested:
Discord
Premium Version (need password from Patreon, 663k currently)
Download
Development log
- 0.18 updateJul 01, 2024
- Update 5th feb 2024Feb 05, 2024
- Save FixJan 18, 2024
- Update 16 dec 2024Jan 16, 2024
- Pronoun FixesJan 07, 2024
- Update January 2 2024Jan 01, 2024
- Save to DiskDec 24, 2023
- Update 23 december 2023Dec 23, 2023
Comments
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Wow I love the new update we get to know about what or what we truly are I have an question though will we be able to to ascend to a god and leave the world and do to the celestial realm meet gods and fight them and even become the God King or something because because an immortal Lord told us that we can become an really powerful god quick
This game is sooooooo good! I can't wait for it to be finished, wasn't expecting to like the story and worldbuilding as much as I did
great game
How do you convert sect points, or is that a relic left over from a previous version?
Sect points and money are now held as single variable, "funds". One sect point equals 10 gold, and conversions are performed automatically.
Thank you for letting me know, have a great year!
Cool game, everyone is saying it's amazing but I disagree for a few reasons. 1. There are loads of grammatical errors and incorrect phrasings, I'm not sure if English is your first language and if it isn't I don't blame you. 2. There are some things that don't work, I'm very indecisive, so I've already restarted six times, and these last two times I went with the Phoenix Heart and it doesn't revive, not sure if it's just me, or maybe it actually doesn't work. 3. Lack of options, there are a variety of choices in this story obviously, but some of the options leave me wanting a different option. 4. Pan Bo, During one of my playthroughs, I played as a Saint, I didn't kill Pan Bo. Maybe I missed something but as I was going through the story, everyone was saying I killed him when I didn't, is there not a route for this or did I just straight up miss it? Now I'm not saying the game is bad, far from it actually, I just notice things and think they can be improved upon, the game is still a great game overall. This is just my opinion.
Now that I've assumably all the content I have more things to say, I found out that the Unique Talent, Pristine Meridians also doesn't work, not sure if it was supposed to be a gameplay thing, but I chose it during a playthrough solely to combat the negative effects from the pill that Elder Rin gives you, but it didn't work. On another hand I was disappointed that there wasn't any Swordsman route for the MC, I would've liked to have that in common with Ruo and hoped to cross blades with them instead of them eventually using a Revolutionary Sword style, while I fight with my bare hands or if you chose the Element path near the end game, with Water or Fire. For some tips for newcomers, 1. Make sure to get a business talent, money is A LOT in this story, and if you act out of line you will be fined, a business talent gives you money every 'Free roam' the Epic rarity gives you a little over 1k funds every roam while the Legendary Rarity gives around 3k. Funds are a necessity considering the shop and it's good items being over 20k at the least and the Auction where honestly the only good thing are the gloves, but if you want to steal the stone for 120k feel free. 2. Arena, the arena isn't really useful, and I personally think it's a waste of time and funds considering you have to take yourself to the infirmary for thousands of funds. And the points the Arena gives you every roam might be useless because I still haven't figured out how to turn Sect Points into funds like the Auction Suggested. 3. Don't kill Pan Bo, don't even accept the Mission. It'll make your story so much easier if you just ignore it.
Pristine Meridians prevents negative side-effects of basic growth pills. It doesn't affect special stat-reducing pills like the one Elder Rin gets you.
Appreciate the verification, I never used any growth pills. I restarted the story and chose Pristine meridian for the sole reason of seeing if it would nullify the stat decrease, and when it didn't, I restarted once again. So, thanks again for the new info.
When I played as female mc, I love that Tang Ruo want me to be his concubine when he saw how pretty my character was, haha! Gender matters, this is good and very enjoyable. And most importantly, this game focuses on the story mixed with some adult content. 10/10. Lore and choice matters makes this game a good story game too. this is great.
I'm randomly had this recommended to me on Tumblr and I'm so glad! I don't usually go for these style IF's, I think the closest was Samurai of Hyunga (Which isn't really that close) And it's great! The story is really fun to follow and the worldbuilding is amazing.
I hope this becomes get a wider fanbase, because frankly the people in these comments come across as so rude, demanding new updates, asking you to spoil the ending or complaining about things that wouldn't even make sense in the story??
I love this one! When will the next update be?
New update when is it coming
This is fantastic writing! Already, I think the prince hates my gut, yet, at least I've made friends with Mei Mei and possible, Tigress??? I don't know if the purity is default to 100 or not, but I'm clearly a saint, a purity of a 100 and surpassed the prince. (I won 2 rounds but apparently I got my ass beat in the finals, I'm easily forgiven the people in the game, sticking to a virtuous route here!) I easily forgiven my father Wu! Although I question his development in the story, I wanna predict he will actually be proud for once if we succeed the material arts and become the as strongest clan? So far, I'm weak AF, but my agility saved my ass during the 2 rounds I've mentioned earlier. ＼(°o°)／ whoa, Mei Mei, can we be more than just friends, is this my first love of the same sex? Wow, I think I'm in love! ( ꈍᴗꈍ) Even if she's the sister of that jerk, ugh! 😩
ヽ(｡◕o◕｡)ﾉ. OMG, she's adorable, l beg for more updates! I will definitely beat the prince one day! In the kindest way possible.
Virtuous Route and Mei Mei don't go together...
brother, I am surprised the great filter hasn't got you yet.
Yeah... Mei Mei is a devil in disguise.
When will the full game come out and what the ending will we become a God or what
Sounds like the average ending of a xianxia novel, if not a god we will just find out that there are world creating god beings, and beings above those, and then some more being above those still, and we will eventually find that there is yet another unexplored level beyond. xD
When is the next update dude we've been waiting and wassup wit you just hand out the password bro Your game is amazing
Is there any way to donate on itch?
Yes, I know there are other options like Patreon. But I don't have an account and I'm too lazy.
No, unfortunately. There are ways to donate on itch in general, but none of them would work for me
This game was amazing!! I loved the story and all the different choices you can make. I love the gameplay mechanics. This game clearly had lots of blood, sweat, and tears put into. I hope it doesn't get dropped *knocks on wood*. I am definitely looking forward to the next update!
I must I am a disappointed for 39 days one month and some that's this is all the new update has it has no story to add in the plot and instead of the mc getting stronger he is weaker he is getting more damage in the arena like what the hell at this point I don't feel I like the mc is not the mc because everyone can beat him like he is an ant and you make fim fear persons you should make him not afraid of anyone even if the are way more powerful than him and when are you planning on make the mc the most powerful being in the game like hit someone like the monkey king and it kill him like he is notting i cant wait because the mc is too weak for too long😠😠😠
You're complaining about a *free* demo that's longer than the vast majority of COG games? Because... it's not updating fast enough for you? Baring in mind most WiP's can take several months to release updates?
And the rest of your complaint is just pure nonsense, either play on a lower level that you can actually handle or learn how the mechanics work?
oh and excuse I did not realize I was speaking to you person like you sick I guts commenting on people text I sure know that people have Said worse that I and I was talking what I think and that not of your business so go comment on someone else's I have way much better things to do than this crap
As sharp as a marble aren't ya?
If that what you think you do you
spoilers!
can you become nascent without murdering everyone?
(SPOILER)
How long is the lifespan of Qi Gathering, Qi Condensation and Core Formation respectively in and outside of PoMA world?
Hi @NickyDicky will POVs ever be on the free demo? Or are they only exclusive for patreons? Because not everyone has money laying around, and it's so sad not to see the povs of our favourite ro's. Maybe a Christmas release?
They will be included with the full release
Nick do you have an idea when the games going to be finished
Playing public .20 on mobile, and none of the new arena fights are loading in, says file not found.
Lost all my saves 5 times because of the stats menu glitch. 5/5, would make an essay to describe the hair and eye color the 6th time.
I became a child of the Demon Queen by accident. Highly recommend!
By the way the plot is amazing. The twist litteraly shocked me and some of the moments made me so excited that I barely stayed in place. MCs choices are actually well fitted and I had a really good time playing this demo. Can't wait for next updates! ♥️
Really loving the game, though I would like to say my piece. The hardest mode is cool, not that hard though, until you get to the qi part. When we achieve that part of the game, the difficult spike like hell. Qi is not very easy to manage, it is hard to get, and too costly to use. You need to use it for everything that you want to do, for talents, to upgrade your attributes cap, to use the golden seed. And about the golden seed, to make martial arts invalidated in an Xianxia/Wuxia media is kinda of bad, even more with how unbalanced the current system is. The experience you get is also very low. All in all, I loving the game, but belive it can be amazing with some changes.
Wow, this game is so damn good, the only way to praise it is to curse it!!!, I love the freedom that exists and you can even do that haha e.e, of course, I recommend increasing the difficulty of the game, don't get me wrong, it's fun to hit left and right every guy you meet, but after a while you get addicted to it, finally I curse He Mei, never trust a He!I hope there is an event where I can take my life, because of him I can't use the alchemy and I have to use my brain to become strong o.o
Late game really needs rebalancing for Mortal difficulty. Several of the checks need advance knowledge to pass, or unreasonable Qi expenditures early on (restaurant event with spear twin moment), and Arena fights feel nearly impossible even after the auction. I had to resort to legendaries (Demonic Overlord/Paragon of Virtue) to get the necessary XP; idk how I would get to the end of the game otherwise.
Regarding the arena specifically you basically spend double what you gain to heal from fights afterwards so you're always operating a net loss. Could be easily fixed by saying the sect heals you from arena fights and having your health reset to full after each fight.
Also regarding balance, the infirmary is insanely expensive compared to healing talismans and cleansing organs doesn't actually remove the amount you're spending in contribution points.
Also there may be a bunch of kills you don't get Qi for. I recall killing the opponent in the Ruo event and not getting awarded any.
Still of the opinion Qi should be reworked as well. The idea is nice but damn man I want to use my techniques without having to dedicate a whole legendary trait to it (Martial Sovereign). Or be able to regenerate without bonking my stat pool.
Skill issue. Just don't get hit so you won't need to heal 👍
Are you playing on Earth/Heavenly/Story difficulties or cheating? Cuz there are several attacks that are unavoidable if you don't use Qi, and even sometimes if you DO use Qi, or pass the stat check, and you can't be spending Qi on techniques if you're playing on mortal you need every stat increase u can get your hands on.
And yes some stuff still uses Qi even with Martial Sovereign. Infusion, golden barriers, qi infused punches, regeneration, etc. Only space/body/elemental attacks dont consume qi with that trait.
I was just joking xD but actually i think i died like one or two times because of fights. Everytime i either destroyed them or in the "end game" (i remember the ninjas or something) barely scraped by. I played on mortal and i dont know if im lucky or something but i had full stats almost the whole time. I had a talent for perception 100%. I also got the Demon Queen worm or whatever that was that boosted my stats. Pretty easy 😎
demon queen worm makes str and agi like 9999 in exchange for perma health losses. I suggest you try out the game without legendary traits and without using artifacts like dq worm and the power gloves to understand more of what i'm talking about
I appreciate that this update filled up some of the holes in the plot.
When will we be getting the next update it's been 31 days since it was last update🧐🧐😒😒
A month...? It's a free demo done in the authors spare time for free, and you're complaining over something as small as that?
This is peak, Nothing can be better than this.
Okay when I'm using a skill umm ability??? Like Celestial shield or void leap... I press some of this things and then I die I don't why and I'm so confused and I don't know what to do?? Do I have to do something or it just happens
It only happens on story mode I think I don't know I play story mode all the time so... I don't know it's a bug or a feature
Have you noticed your hp? It's definitely not a feature. Celestia shield (protect) and void leap (evade). It definitely can't kill you. It should keep us alive, not dead. It might be a bug but I don't have any problems.
When is the next update I have been waiting for 26 Days
There are people who have been waiting for more than 6 months or 9 months haha. We have to keep waiting. The full game is definitely fun.
This game Mogg so hard!
I am dieing for the next update but I am so disappointed in the mc power he is supposed to be a God but mare mortal can harm him the mc need to become overpowered because he is so weak please make mc powerful I am playing in god mode and i feel like i am playing in normal mode
Click Story Mode. I already tried it. Everything is much easier.
It's a shame that our FemaleMC is beautiful as otherworldly beauty but no one compliments our FemaleMC. People say Wu Lan sell herself to our Dragon waifu Before the auction starts and People compliment our Dragon waifu (she's f*cking hot -from outer disciples or inner disciples I don't know). I feel sorry for her. I'm sure she's much more beautiful than every female characters. There are still some noble who like Tigress, but our FemaleMC doesn't have any. What is the cause? Poor Wu Lan. No one compliment our FemaleMC. Only got punched and teeth fell out but the teeth kept coming back. No one is interested in the beauty of our FemaleMC. At first I thought both men and women will scream at our FemaleMC otherworldly beauty and body hourglass figure like Fubuki from One Punch Man......Even Fu Bing isn't interested in raping our FemaleMC After poisoning our FemaleMC. What a waste of otherworldly beauty lol.
After the full game release I'm sure every misspelled words in this game will be corrected. And Full Game definitely free Because NickyDicky earn $750/month And it is possible to earn more than $850 after the full version Release. the game won't end easily and It's possible to have more than 1000 episodes Because the game potential is too great lol. This is The best story game I've ever played. I'll wait for the full version.
The main character's body explodes is the ending, right? We have to wait until it updates, right? I chose blurry stone and death. I've been looking for a game like this for a long time, Finally. even if I have to wait another 10 years until the story ends, if I don't die first, I'll download it and play. But for now, I'm going to go back and play the male character's storyline. I am bored of normal nsfw. If this game has NSFW Just a little bit would be good. The story is very interesting. Really interesting. I have never played a game this fun. The writer of the story is really excellent. I wish there were sex scenes sometimes. This game is not a normal game since it has a dark story and our father have sex with half of the insect. Including milf.
To be honest, I don't know anything about this game. But I love it. I downloaded it 1 day ago because I accidentally pressed download. I don't know if the body explode is the end or not, but I went back and selected every stone and all died.
You have to get rid of the 99,999 Failures. You can either throw it away, or if you beat Long Chen you can use it on him before choosing the stones. You exploding is not the end of the game, the bomb just explodes in your spatial ring.
Thank you so much! The protagonist/the main character has no plot armor at all. Got a new body but died from the explosion. Our protagonist has almost no role in the battle with Long Chen. Long Chen was like the main character, but he wasn't. He killed guo.
Thanks again. I finished playing the demo. The main female character is friend with a prince after our FemaleMC saved his life but I would prefer our FemaleMC to be the prince's wife. Have at least 3 children before going to another world Lol. I am sure we can choose our husband/wife in the future update.
I adore this game. The twist at the end of the expedition too- Agh. SO GOOD. I want more. I just- I literally cannot form words. I love this so much.
I love playing though it i just don't like doing the run around part but 10/10 though ^^