Jerian’s story branches hard, and it branches early. Miss one stat threshold in Chapter 2 and an entire ending chain in Chapter 5 disappears before you even see it coming. This guide walks through every key event chapter by chapter, with the exact numbers, character states, and mutual exclusions you need to plan a run instead of stumbling into it.
Overview
Every key event in this game runs on hard thresholds — stat values, relationship tiers, or specific character states like “Broken Hopes” or “Power.” Hit the number, the event fires. Miss it, and that branch closes, sometimes permanently.
A lot of these events also compete with each other. Trigger one, and its counterpart becomes unavailable for that playthrough. Some events don’t wait for the finale either — they cut the game short with an early ending, so if you’re chasing a specific late-game outcome, you need to know which doors close behind you as you walk through them.
This breakdown is organized the same way the game is: chapter by chapter, event by event, with requirements listed exactly as they check in-game. Where Sanity or Legacy can substitute for a stat requirement, that’s noted too — spending Sanity is often the fastest way to force an event through when your stats fall just short.
Chapter 1 Events
Chapter 1 only has three key events, but two of them lock each other out immediately.
- Strong Bond — requires Emil and Martha both saved, plus Emil 3+ or Martha 3+. Mutually exclusive with Worthy Student.
- Worthy Student — requires Diplomacy 5+, Science 5+, or Management 5+. Mutually exclusive with Strong Bond.
- Preserve Your Name — requires Strong Bond, or you can sacrifice 1 Sanity to bypass it.
If you’re aiming for Strong Bond, prioritize keeping both Emil and Martha alive through the early chapter — that’s the gate before the stat check even matters. Worthy Student is the more flexible pick since it accepts three different stat paths, which makes it the safer default if you’re not min-maxing relationships yet.
Chapter 2 Events
Nine events here, and the back half of the list is where the chapter’s real branching happens — three mutually exclusive paths that shape the rest of the empire’s political direction.
- Pater Familias — Uther Tempest 4+, Cornelius Tempest 4+, Servilia Tempest 4+.
- Oath — Uther Tempest 3+, Cornelius Tempest 3+, Servilia Tempest 3+, Ferdinand 3+, Gaius Tempest 3+, Will 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity).
- Pilgrimage — Uther Tempest must not be in Broken Hopes state, Uther Tempest 3+, Love 8+ (buyable with Sanity).
- Order of the Small Branch — Servilia Tempest must not be Broken Hopes, Servilia Tempest 3+, Blood 8+ (buyable with Sanity).
- Expeditionary Fleet — Ferdinand must not be Broken Hopes, Ferdinand 3+, Mind 8+ (buyable with Sanity).
- Love of the People — Great Houses 14+ or Worthy Arcnas 14+; Old Believers Clergy 14+ or New Believers Clergy 12+; Human Nobility 12+ or Common Class 12+. Mutually exclusive with Hope of the Arcnas and Hope of the People.
- Hope of the Arcnas — Great Houses 14+ or Diplomacy 10+ (Legacy-buyable); Worthy Arcnas 14+ or Management 10+ (Legacy-buyable); Old Believers Clergy 14+ or Science 10+ (Legacy-buyable); Love 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Love of the People and Hope of the People.
- Hope of the People — Human Nobility 12+ or Diplomacy 10+ (Legacy-buyable); Common Class 12+ or Management 10+ (Legacy-buyable); New Believers Clergy 12+ or Science 10+ (Legacy-buyable); Law 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Love of the People and Hope of the Arcnas.
Order of the Small Branch is worth flagging early — it’s the gateway to Tyranny of the Tempests in Chapter 4, so if that’s your endgame target, keep Servilia’s relationship out of Broken Hopes territory here.
The Love of the People / Hope of the Arcnas / Hope of the People triangle is the chapter’s real fork. Note that Hope of the Arcnas and Hope of the People both offer stat-based alternates to the relationship thresholds, which makes them more forgiving if you haven’t been building specific faction relationships. Love of the People has no such fallback — you need the relationship numbers directly.
Chapter 3 Events
Six events, all paired off into mutually exclusive sets. This is where the game asks you to pick a political identity.
- Rights of the People — Progress 3+, Equality 3+, Blood 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Arcnian Privileges.
- Arcnian Privileges — Traditions 3+, Elitism 3+, Mind 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Rights of the People.
- Viceroy — Cornelius Tempest 3+, Lucius Diamant 2+, Ovidius Lucullus 2+, Passion 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Oblivion.
- Oblivion — Egerius Monrog 3+, Martius Milanid 2+, Terentius Orgrif 2+, Love 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Viceroy.
- Law of the Younger — Love 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Love of the Elder.
- Love of the Elder — Law 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Law of the Younger.
Rights of the People and Arcnian Privileges matter far beyond this chapter — they’re the direct prerequisites for two of the three Tyranny paths in Chapter 4. Decide your Chapter 4 destination now, not later.
Chapter 4 Events
Twelve events, and this is the densest chapter in the game for branching logic. Three Tyranny paths gate almost everything else, including two early endings.
- Tyranny of the People — requires Rights of the People; Gunter el Croix must be Legate and in Conspiracy state; Servilia Tempest must not be Voice of Blood. Mutually exclusive with the other two Tyrannies.
- Tyranny of the Arcnas — requires Arcnian Privileges; Aelius Sejan must not be Imprisonment, Exile, or Condemned, and must be Conspiracy; Servilia Tempest must not be Voice of Blood. Mutually exclusive with the other two Tyrannies.
- Tyranny of the Tempests — requires Order of the Small Branch; Servilia Tempest must be Power and Voice of Blood. Mutually exclusive with the other two Tyrannies.
- Prelate — Junius Diamant condemned (by Inquisition or by you); Will 8+ (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Voice of God and Godfighter.
- Voice of God — requires Love of the Elder or Law of the Younger; Junius Diamant condemned. Mutually exclusive with Prelate and Godfighter.
- Godfighter — requires Love of the Elder or Law of the Younger; Junius Diamant must be Acquitted and Confessor; Blood 7 or lower (buyable with Sanity). Mutually exclusive with Prelate and Voice of God.
- Recognition of the New Faith — Junius Diamant must not be condemned. Mutually exclusive with Collapse of the New Faith.
- Collapse of the New Faith — Bernard must not be Master; Junius Diamant must be condemned. Mutually exclusive with Recognition of the New Faith.
- Jerian’s Credo — requires one of the three Tyrannies; Council Submission 3–7; Egerius Monrog not Power in Council but Dissatisfied with Credo. Mutually exclusive with the other three Council outcomes below.
- Council Collapse — requires a Tyranny; Council Submission 2 or lower. Mutually exclusive with Jerian’s Credo, Monrog’s Credo, Monrog’s Dictatorship.
- Monrog’s Credo — requires a Tyranny; Egerius Monrog not Power in Council and not Dissatisfied with Credo; Council Submission 3–7. Mutually exclusive with the other three.
- Monrog’s Dictatorship — requires a Tyranny; Council Submission 8+ or Egerius Monrog = Power in Council. Mutually exclusive with the other three.
- Empty Throne — requires Council Collapse, Monrog’s Dictatorship, or Tyranny of the Tempests.
- Ending: Empire of the Elder — Uther Tempest not Broken Hopes and equal to Happiness. Early game end.
- Ending: To New Shores — Ferdinand not Broken Hopes and equal to Admiral; Uther Tempest, Servilia Tempest, Agatha, Camilla Monrog, and Lucretia Orgrif all at 3 or lower. Early game end.
Note the Council Submission math on the Jerian’s/Monrog’s Credo pair — they occupy the exact same 3-7 range, so the actual differentiator is Egerius Monrog’s state, not the number itself. Get that character state wrong and you’ll trigger the opposite Credo from what you intended.
If you want to keep the game running past Chapter 4, watch Uther Tempest’s Happiness state and Ferdinand’s Admiral/relationship combo closely — both of those early endings trigger with very achievable numbers and can end your run before Chapter 5 even loads.
Chapter 5 Events
Twelve events here, closing out the game with a wide spread of endings tied directly to choices made three or four chapters earlier.
- Deprived of Allies — Lucretia Orgrif = Wife; Management 15+; Power of Tempests 20+ or Management 20+.
- Crushing the Rebellion — Rebelliousness 7 or lower, or Power of Tempests 20+, or any Tyranny path active. Mutually exclusive with Peacemaker and Retreat.
- Peacemaker — Rebelliousness 2 or lower. Mutually exclusive with Crushing the Rebellion and Retreat.
- Retreat — no requirements. Mutually exclusive with the other two.
- Outcast — requires Preserve Your Name, or Camilla Monrog/Julia Tempest at Lesson of Freedom; Servilia Tempest must not be Power. Mutually exclusive with Servant of Blood.
- Servant of Blood — Will-gated. Mutually exclusive with Outcast.
- Come and See — Younger and Elder both at Confusion or Ignorance.
- Beloved Student — Younger = Confusion; Elder = Confusion; Agatha = Prophet.
- Triumph — Balance of Power 71+. Mutually exclusive with the three outcomes below.
- Victory with Great Blood — Balance of Power 51–70. Mutually exclusive with the others.
- Empire in Flames — Balance of Power 21–50. Mutually exclusive with the others.
- Rout — Balance of Power 20 or lower. Mutually exclusive with the others.
The Balance of Power tiers are worth tracking across the whole playthrough, not just Chapter 5 — that stat accumulates from earlier decisions, and by the time you reach this checkpoint there’s little room left to course-correct.
Endings branch heavily from here:
- Affirmation of the Credo — requires Jerian’s Credo or Monrog’s Credo, plus Servant of Blood.
- Affirmation of the Protectorate — requires Tyranny of the People plus Deprived of Allies.
- Affirmation of the Dictatorship — requires Tyranny of the Arcnas plus Deprived of Allies.
- Usurper — Uther Tempest = Dead.
- Abdication — requires Servant of Blood; Blood 7 or lower and Law 7 or lower (both buyable with Sanity).
- True Tempest — requires Godfighter; Servant of Blood or Preserve Your Name; Agatha must not be Mentor; Terentius Orgrif must not be Break. Early game end.
- True Emperor — requires Godfighter; Agatha must not be Mentor; Terentius Orgrif must not be Break; Uther Tempest must not be Happiness and at -2. Early game end.
- Spearhead — requires Tyranny of the Tempests plus Deprived of Allies; Servilia Tempest must not be Broken Hopes, Exile, or Oblivion, and must be Power. Early game end.
- Oblivion (ending) — requires Tyranny of the Tempests. Early game end.
- Home — Agatha = Beloved.
- Void — requires Monrog’s Dictatorship. Early game end.
- Summit — requires Godfighter or Agatha = Mentor. Early game end.
- Foot of the Mountain — requires Godfighter or Agatha = Mentor. Early game end.
Summit and Foot of the Mountain share identical requirements, so which one you get likely comes down to a choice made in the moment the ending triggers — don’t assume the requirement list alone determines the outcome.
Chapter-Independent Events
These trigger off single stats hitting their cap, regardless of chapter, and two of them are hard stops.
- Absolute of Equality — Equality = 10.
- Absolute of Elitism — Elitism = 10.
- Absolute of Progress — Progress = 10.
- Absolute of Traditions — Traditions = 10.
- Absolute of Law — Law = 10.
- Absolute of Dogma — Dogma = 10.
- Ending: Collapse — Rebelliousness = 10. Early game end.
- Ending: Void — Sanity = 0. Early game end.
The Sanity-to-zero Void ending is the one that catches people off guard the most, since so many other event requirements let you pay Sanity to skip a stat check. Spend it too freely across Chapters 2 through 4 and you can end the game by accident before you ever reach the Chapter 5 finale you were building toward.