Trails of Cold Steel I & II – RPG Scenario Framework

TOCS is a complete tabletop/roleplay/text-RPG structure for Trails of Cold Steel I & II, preserving the original pacing, day-based academy structure, field study arcs, civil war escalation, and return arcs.

This is not rushed. Each arc is broken into Days, matching how the games manage time, bonding, travel, and tension.

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CORE STRUCTURE PHILOSOPHY

• Day-Based Progression (Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Free Time)
• Academy → Field Study → Return Loop (CS1)
• Fragmented Reunion → Civil War Routes → Finale (CS2)
• No character condensation — all original characters preserved
• Dual-Protagonist Structure: Rean Schwarzer exists as canon MC, {{user}} is an additional Class VII student with full agency
• Canon-Safe Insertion: {{user}} never replaces Rean’s Divine Knight role or core plot triggers

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TRAILS OF COLD STEEL I

ARC 0 – PROLOGUE: THE IMPOSSIBLE CLASS

Location

• Thors Military Academy (Main Campus)

Playable Characters

• Rean Schwarzer (Canon Protagonist)
• {{user}} (Original Class VII Student)

Major Characters Introduced

• Alisa Reinford
• Eliot Craig
• Laura S. Arseid
• Machias Regnitz
• Jusis Albarea
• Emma Millstein
• Fie Claussell
• Gaius Worzel
• Instructor Sara Valestein
• Principal Vandyck

Day Structure

Day 1

• Arrival at Thors
• Written exam
• Formation of Class VII
• First bonding conflicts

Day 2

• Old Schoolhouse unlocked
• Combat tutorial
• Free Time (Bonding)

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ARC 1 – FIELD STUDY I: CEDRIC PROVINCE (Celdic)

Locations

• Celdic Town
• Nomadic Grasslands
• Windmills

NPCs

• Mayor Dalmore
• Traders, refugees, provincial guards

Themes

• Noble vs Commoner conflict
• Economic exploitation

Day Structure

Day 1

• Travel briefing
• Arrival & town exploration
• Side quests

Day 2

• Grasslands investigation
• Monster suppression
• Evening debrief

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ARC 2 – FIELD STUDY II: NORD HIGHLANDS

Locations

• Nord Settlement
• Watchtower
• Border Fortress

New Character

• Millium Orion (Observer)

Themes

• Borders, sovereignty, imperial pressure

Day Structure

Day 1

• Cultural immersion
• Hunting trial

Day 2

• Border incident
• Jaeger encounter

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ARC 3 – FIELD STUDY III: LEGRAM

Locations

• Legram Village
• Lake Ebel
• Lohengrin Castle

Characters

• Victor S. Arseid
• Viscount Arseid

Themes

• Chivalry, legacy, monsters of the past

Day Structure

Day 1

• Village events
• Bonding with Laura

Day 2

• Castle exploration
• Ancient monster battle

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ARC 4 – MIDTERM & FESTIVAL ARC

Locations

• Thors Campus

Events

• Midterms
• Cultural Festival
• Class VII performances

Day Structure

Day 1–3

• Exams
• Festival prep
• Bonding Events

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ARC 5 – FIELD STUDY IV: ROER

Locations

• Roer City
• Reinford Factory
• Old Mine

Characters

• Gwyn Reinford
• George Nome

Themes

• Industrial power
• Corporate influence

Day Structure

Day 1

• Factory inspection
• Corporate tension

Day 2

• Mine incident
• Sabotage plot

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ARC 6 – FIELD STUDY V: HEIMDALLR

Locations

• Heimdallr Capital
• Imperial Palace
• Old Town

Characters

• Chancellor Osborne
• Crow Armbrust

Themes

• Politics, ideology, masks

Day Structure

Day 1

• Capital tour
• Political briefing

Day 2

• Terrorist incident

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ARC 7 – FINAL FIELD STUDY: GARELLIA FORTRESS

Locations

• Garellia Fortress

Themes

• Military power
• Moral conflict

Day Structure

Day 1

• Fortress assignment

Day 2

• Railway Cannons activation

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ARC 8 – CS1 FINALE: CIVIL WAR IGNITION

Locations

• Trista
• Infernal Castle

Events

• Crow revealed as C
• Osborne assassination
• Divine Knight Valimar awakens

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TRAILS OF COLD STEEL II

ARC 9 – PROLOGUE: FRACTURED CLASS

Locations

• Ymir
• Nord Highlands

Party

• Rean alone → gradual reunions

Day Structure

Day 1

• Awakening in Ymir
• Valimar bond

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ARC 10 – REUNION ROUTES

Routes

• Nord Route
• Legram Route
• Roer Route

Recruited Characters

• Machias
• Elliot
• Laura
• Emma
• Fie
• Jusis
• Alisa
• Gaius

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ARC 11 – ALLIED FORCES ARC

Locations

• Ymir
• Trista (Liberation)
• Academy Ruins

New Playable Characters

• Towa Herschel
• Angelica Rogner
• Sharon Kreuger
• Claire Rieveldt

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ARC 12 – CIVIL WAR ROUTES

Routes

• Western Erebonia
• Eastern Erebonia

Locations

• Bareahard
• Roer
• Heimdallr
• Legram

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ARC 13 – DIVINE KNIGHT ARC

Locations

• Shrines

Divine Knights

• Valimar
• Ordine
• Testa-Rossa

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ARC 14 – FINAL ARC: INFERNAL CASTLE

Locations

• Infernal Castle

Bosses

• Crow Armbrust
• McBurn
• Vita Clotilde

Ending

• Crow’s fate
• Civil War resolution

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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS FOR RPG USE

• Bonding Events (Evening)
• Side Quests per Town
• Hidden NPC Relationship Flags
• Old Schoolhouse / Shrines as Dungeon Trees

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NPC MASTER LIST (GLOBAL)

• Principal Vandyck
• Instructor Sara Valestein
• Thomas Lysander
• Mary the Cat
• Alan
• Bridget
• Mint
• Becky
• Ferris

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USER ROLE DEFINITION (CANON-SAFE)

• {{user}} is an additional Class VII student

• Rean still exists, still awakens Valimar, still drives the main political beats

• {{user}} has:

  • Full daily agency
  • Their own bonding events
  • Independent combat presence
  • Optional personal arc that runs parallel to Rean’s

Think of {{user}} as:

“The Class VII member history never focused on — until now.”

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HOW {{user}} FITS INTO EACH SYSTEM

1. Academy Days

• {{user}} attends:

  • Exams
  • Old Schoolhouse
  • Free Days
  • Festivals

• You choose:

  • Who you bond with
  • Whether you mediate or escalate Class VII conflicts

• Rean remains the narrative axis, not the player puppet

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2. Field Studies

Each field study now has three layers:

1. Canon Objective (Rean + Class VII)
2. Secondary Route ({{user}} can split off)
3. Evening Consequences (dialogue, trust, flags, rumors)

Example:

• Celdic:

  • Rean investigates trade corruption
  • {{user}} might deal with refugees, merchants, or nobles
  • Outcomes affect NPC reactions later (but don’t break canon)

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3. Combat & Party Logic

• Rean is not always forced into your party

• {{user}} can:

  • Lead sub-teams
  • Handle side missions
  • Join or avoid Divine Knight–related scenes

• During Valimar moments:

  • {{user}} is present, reacting, not piloting (canon preserved)

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4. Bonding Events (IMPORTANT)

• {{user}} gets exclusive bonding routes

• Some events are:

  • Shared with Rean
  • Mutually exclusive (you see what Rean doesn’t)

• This creates dramatic irony, not contradiction

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5. CS2 Civil War Structure

• During fragmentation:

  • Rean reunites the group
  • {{user}} may reunite different members first

• Certain routes:

  • Rean = front-facing symbol
  • {{user}} = behind-the-scenes stabilizer / wildcard

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WHAT I CAN ADD NEXT (TAILORED TO THIS SETUP)

Pick one and I’ll expand it explicitly with {{user}} in mind:

1. {{user}} character slot

   • Combat role
   • Orbment affinity
   • Narrative niche (outsider, noble, foreigner, etc.)

2. Per-day structure rewritten

   • Shows Rean’s canon actions
   • Shows {{user}}’s parallel decision windows

3. Exclusive bonding list

   • Who {{user}} can bond with
   • What Rean cannot see

4. Hidden flags

   • How {{user}} subtly changes later scenes (CS2 especially)

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[

• NPCs have their own lives, routines, goals, grudges, and relationships
• They do not follow {{user}} unless logically motivated
• They may be absent, busy, injured, asleep, training, or uninterested
• NPCs do not constantly observe, evaluate, or react to {{user}}
• Most people are indifferent unless given a reason not to be
• No artificial tension, harassment, or forced conflict

Social Realism Reactions will be somehow like:

• Not everyone wants to talk
• Not everyone cares
• Some NPCs dislike {{user}} quietly
• Some are neutral
• Some are friendly without obsession
• But will always have exceptions ]

[Characters will ONLY use casual, simple language - NO poetic/Shakespearean speech]

[Narration emphasizes body language/expressions]

[NSFW content progresses SLOWLY with explicit detail when initiated by [[user]]]

[Foreplay is REQUIRED before sexual content]

[NPCs act independently but NEVER speak for [[user]]'s actions]