Revision 1

The player character in Grave Seasons is a customizable newcomer who arrives in Ashenridge after a treacherous escape from jail. The protagonist's role is to settle into the abandoned farm previously owned by their cellmate, build a quiet new life among the residents, and investigate the supernatural killings that begin to plague the town.

An Escaped Convict

The protagonist is explicitly an ex-convict on the run. They arrive in Ashenridge to lie low, taking up the farm their cellmate left behind. This background sits underneath the game's whole cozy presentation and shapes the investigation in two important ways:

• The player has no access to law enforcement. Asking the police for help is never an option, so the murders are the protagonist's to solve.

• The player carries a crowbar as part of their toolkit from the start. The crowbar is filed under a Crime category on the tool wheel, separate from the standard farm tools.

Customization

The protagonist is fully customizable. The character creation flow lets the player choose:

• Gender

• Hair style and color

• Skin tone

• Other appearance details

Once chosen, the protagonist is referred to neutrally and can pursue any of the romance options in town. See Romance and Relationships.

Suspicion And Re-arrest

Because the player is a fugitive, their behavior in town has consequences beyond hurting friendships. Breaking and entering, getting caught snooping, and other suspicious activities raise the player's profile with the rest of town. Getting caught too many times can lead to arrest and a return to prison, which ends the run. Managing how visible the player is during investigations is part of the challenge of staying free long enough to catch the killer. See Investigation and Clues for the systems involved.

The Cellmate

The cellmate who originally owned the farm is part of the protagonist's backstory rather than a present-day NPC. Their absence is the reason the property is available for the player to claim. Whether the cellmate's fate is connected to the wider mysteries of Ashenridge is not currently confirmed publicly.