Snowbound Blood

Snowbound Blood
Snowbound Blood title screen upon initially starting the game.
Series	Vast Error
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
Released	Prologue: March 22, 2019 Volume 1: March 22, 2019 Volume 2: April 5, 2019 Volume 3: April 26, 2019 Volume 4: May 24, 2019 Volume 5: June 20, 2019 Volume 6: August 10, 2019 Volume 7: September 26, 2019 Volume 8: February 9, 2020 Volume 9: June 18, 2020 Volume 10: January 11, 2021 Volume 11: October 22, 2021 Volume 12: February 10, 2023 Epilogue: May 17th, 2024
Genre	Visual novel

Snowbound Blood: A Vast Error Story, or simply Snowbound Blood, is a Vast Error spinoff anthology of visual novels. Acting as a prequel to the comic, the story focuses around Secily Iopara as she investigates a crime that leads her down a rabbit hole of quirky suspects, dangerous cultists, and a mastermind behind it all. Snowbound Blood can be downloaded for free on itch.io here.

Snowbound Blood's visual and game design take inspiration from Hiveswap: Friendship Simulator, much in the same way that the Trollodex serves as a parallel to Hiveswap's Troll Call.

The Prologue and Volume 1 were released on itch.io on March 22, 2019. As of May 17th, 2024, all volumes have been released and the game is complete.

Plot

Prologue

Chief Regulator Secily Iopara strikes down a brownblood during an operation, giving him a message for Ahlina Robiad: She will send them as many as they need to avenge her, and she's sorry she can't join her just yet. She takes a picture of the scene to document her success to her superiors, and admits that she takes some pleasure in killing. She sheathes Proserpina, her blade, and returns to Corporate for her next mission.

Volume 1

Secily has been stuck onto a Priority Aleph case, the highest priority there is, and meets with Sestro Enthal, corporate heir. He explains Operation Snowbound Blood to her: thieves have killed two truck drivers in the Northern Wastes and stolen only a philter of The Vivifier's blood. The precision of their work is immaculate, and they had insider knowledge to know of the secret transportation route and where inside the truck the philter was. Secily notes that this is the first time she's heard of The Vivifier in a serious manner, as she's mostly known as a fringe religious figure. Secily creates a deck of trollodex cards of suspects and potential allies.

She drives to the scene of the murder/burglary to investigate and is able to come to the same conclusion as Sestro, that the culprit was clearly skilled and had insider information in some way.

On her way back to Corporate, she receives a call from an anonymous person, taunting her. He says he just wants to help her understand, and that she will by the end. He ends the call with the cryptic message 'Eidolic Acres. +2.111. Two days.'

At corporate she meets with Hamifi Hekrix, Sestro's matesprit and another of Secily's superiors. She reports her conclusions, and notes that Hamifi seems nervous about this case, which Secily thinks is out of character for her. She leaves, and plans out who she'll interrogate first.

Volume 2

Secily starts her case off by meeting with Rypite Koldan, whose ties with Skorpe put him on her list as it came out of nowhere and is now the dominating chat client. He has no relevant information for Secily, instead telling her about his matesprit, Sirage Feltri, and giving her the card for his moirail, who he says is good at solving puzzles like this one.

As she already had Sirage on her list of suspects due to her past as a thief, she decides to interrogate her next, finding that she hasn't been at work since the wicend. Secily finds this highly suspicious, and sets out to find her, eventually stumbling upon her hungover in a park. After some conversation the two head to Sirage's office, where she admits she had a shipment on the truck that was stolen, but that it was just something she bought online. Secily coins the portmanteau 'murglary' to refer to the murder/burglary of the truck containing the philter while continuing to cast suspicion on Sirage, but eventually relents, admitting to herself that she feels sympathy for people like her, since her past is dodgy as well. Sirage mixes a cursed cocktail of whatever's on her desk, from ink to paper, and the two share a cup.

Volume 3

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Transcripts

Transcripts for every Snowbound Blood volume can be found on Google Docs. These transcripts are formatted and maintained by Snowbound Blood writer Alienoid.

Credits

Publishers

• Deconreconstruction LLC
• Snake Solutions Studio LLP (formerly)

Directors and producers

• Austin "austinado"
• Ed "eddieDraws"
• Heather "Sparaze"
• Kate Mitchell
• Andrew D. "Kohi"
• Xamag
• Austin "ValantWynn"

Programming

• Andrew D. "Kohi" - All Volumes
• VeritasUnae - Volumes 3, 7, 8, 10, and 12
• Alienoid - Volume 10, 11, 12, and Epilogue

Writers

• Kate Mitchell - Volumes 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9 (Prologue, Husske, Mshiri, Raurou, Cinare, Additional Writing)
• optimisticDuelist - Volume 1 (Sestro)
• Pip D. - Volumes 1 — 5 (Hamifi, Sirage, Husske, Oricka, Mshiri, Additional Writing)
• Alienoid - Volumes 2, 3, 7 — 10 (Rypite, Bytcon, Necron, Sabine, Glomer, Hayyan)
• Austin "austinado" - Volumes 3, 5, 7 — 9, Epilogue Acts 2 - 4. (Bytcon, Occeus, Necron, Sabine, Glomer)
• Heather "Sparaze" - Volumes 3 and 4 (Bytcon, Endari)
• Ed "eddieDraws" - Volumes 3, 5 , 11, and Epilogue Act 3(Bytcon, Occeus, Mshiri)
• Ciro Page - Volumes 4 and 10 (Endari, Crytum)
• VeritasUnae - Volumes 6 and 10 (Raurou, Cadlys, Hayyan)
• Leon - Volumes 7, 8, 10, 11, and Epilogue Act 3 (Necron, Valtel, Crytum, Noxious, Volume 11 Ending 2)
• Joseph C. "pN" - Volumes 7, 9, and 11 (Gerbat, Cinare, Volume 11 Ending 1)
• Neptune - Volume 10 (Crytum)
• Charlie - Volume 10 (Crytum)
• Julia Norza - Volume 11 and 12 (Yeshin, "Sesmifi")
• Valerie Serac - Volume 12
• Sarah Zedig - Epilogue Acts 1 - 2

Character artists

• Xamag - Volumes 1, 2, 5 — 7, 9, 10, 12, Epilogue (Secily, Sestro, Hamifi, Rypite, Sirage, Secily/Yeshin Dancing, Pozzol, Gerbat, Cretas)
• Ciro Page - Volumes 3, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 (Bytcon, Husske, Yeshin, Talald, Cinare)
• Big Chalupa - Volume 4 (Endari)
• Phil - Volumes 4, 7, 8, and Epilogue (Oricka, Necron, Valtel)
• Olschu - Volumes 5 and 10 (Occeus, Crytum)
• Neptune - Volumes 5, 6, 10, and Epilogue (Mshiri, Raurou, Hayyan)
• Charlie - Volumes 6 and 9 (Cadlys, Glomer)
• Banavalope - Volume 8 (Sabine, Noxious)
• Heather "Sparaze" - Volume 9 and Epilogue (The Executive)
• Eddie "eddieDraws" - Volume 11 (Yeshin)

Background artists

• Charlie - Volumes 1 — 4, 7, 8, 10, and 11
• Phil - Volumes 1, 3, 4, 6, and 11
• Lupa - Volumes 1, 3, 5, 6 and 10
• Xamag - Volumes 2, 3, 5, 7 — 9, 12 and Epilogue
• Chuchumi - Volumes 3, 4, 6 and 9
• Eddie "eddieDraws" - Volumes 3, 4, 6, 9 - 11
• Hallie Kane - Volumes 3, 5 and 8
• Bana - Volumes 4, 5, 7 and 9
• Ciro Page - Volumes 4, 6 — 8 and 10
• Donut - Volumes 4 and 7 — 11
• Heather "Sparaze" - Volume 5, 8 and 9
• Dia - Volume 5
• Olschu - Volumes 6, 8, and 11
• Dust - Volume 11 and Epilogue
• Tyson "Fireistuck25" - Volume 11

Ending illustrations

• Ciro Page - Volumes 1, 3, 5 and 10
• Big Chalupa - Volumes 2 — 4 and 6
• Phil - Volume 4
• Chuchumi - Volumes 6 and 8
• Alienoid - Volume 6
• Xamag - Volumes 7 — 9
• Neptune - Volume 10

Musicians

• Joseph C. "pN"
  • Title Theme, "Welcome to Night Vasterror"
  • Sestro's Theme, "Kid Business"
  • Investigation Theme, "Total Recall"
  • Hamifi's Theme, "Shh! The Adults are Talking"
  • Rypite's Theme, "Sirage, You're Not Gonna Believe This"
  • Sirage's Theme, "You Act Like You Never Answered a Boot Before"
  • Endari's Theme, "Heathen (An Evening with Chris Angel's Gay Cousin)"
  • Oricka's Theme, "Aeh... Geu Lageune..... (Damn Fish, You Live Like This?)"
  • Occeus's Theme, "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Ethics Violation"
  • Raurou's Theme, "Rautatouille"
  • Cadlys's Theme, "Potion Seller. Enough of These Games."
  • Necron's Theme, "tinyurl_dot_com_slash_y48fbov8"
  • Gerbat's Theme, "Don't Shake The Hand Unless You Mean It"
  • Cretas's Theme, "You've Opened the Door."
  • Valtel's Theme, "for me, its always like this"
  • Glomer's Theme, "Raison D'ohtre"
  • The Executive's Theme, "Executive Decisions"
  • Cinare's Theme, "No Cops At Pride"
  • Ahlina's Theme, "Ahlina"
  • Hayyan's Theme, "the sound of 1,000 mosquitoes inhabiting the corpse of James Bond"
  • Crytum's Reflection Theme, "Loved You"
  • Vol 11 Trailer Theme, "You'll Have To Speak Up, I'm Behind Seven Proxies"
  • Revelation Theme, "Or Else."
  • Various Sound Effects
• Kate Mitchell
  • Secily's Theme, "Beatriz (Secily Cut)"
  • Secily's Combat Theme, "pessimistic duelist"
  • Cornfields Theme, "x marks the field"
  • Mshiri's Theme, "mshiri dearest"
  • Yeshin's Theme, "yeshin, somehow irresistible"
  • Harbingers of the Alpocalypse Theme, "The Black Depths"
  • Cinare's Garage Theme, "machine shop"
  • Yeshin's 2'nd Theme, "yeshin plays this on a boombox outside secily's hive at 4 in the morning"
• James Roach
  • Bytcon's Theme, "the wizard of oz is an isekai if u think about it"
  • Husske's Theme, "THERE SHALL BE NO PEACE WHILE JAMES ROACH HAUNTS THESE HALLS"
• SplitSuns
  • Sabine's Theme, "I ADMIT IT, I DON'T KNOW HOW KING CRIMSON WORKS!! HE ERASES TIME BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! IF YOU ERASE TIME THEN SHOULDN'T IT NOT BE THERE? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN- WHAT DOES HE MEAN HE ERASES TIME?!"
  • Crytum's Theme, "thank you captain valken david"
  • Seinru's Theme, "Rejoice And Be Merry"
  • Additional Sound Effects and Foley
• Viridian
  • Cultist Party Crashing Theme, "Refutation"
• Kurt 'Rnd' Burton
  • X Theme, "Beyond the Wall (Intermission)"
• Moonsweater
  • Monorail Theme, "Corporate"
• CRISTATA
  • Tense Conversation Theme, "Nothing Special"
  • Yeshin's 3'rd Theme, "yeshin, again unfortunately"
  • Yeshin's Confrontation Theme, "deadly beloathed"
  • Secily/Necron Theme, "Checkmate 6 Romeo"
  • Secily/Sestro/Hamifi Theme, "very normal and healthy troll "familial" relationships"
• Kal-la-kal-la
  • Noxious' Theme, "You Aren't The Only One Cursed With Knowledge"
• VeritasUnae
  • Noxious' Hideout Theme, "[No E x i t .]"
  • Credits Theme, "Snowbound Blood"
• Rom M
  • Edolon's Theme, "corruptedcultist"
  • Kheparia's Theme, "Absolute Recall"
  • Credits Theme, "Snowbound Blood" (Producer)
• Heather
  • Talald's Theme, "Small But Knowing Jester"
• dbnet
  • White Noise's Theme, "Waltz in the Static Void"
• bright0n
  • Sestro Breakdown Theme "To Heaven, We Burn"

Character creators

• Kate Mitchell - Secily Iopara, Mshiri Libeta, and Yeshin Laevis
• Austin "austinado" - Sestro Enthal, Occeus Coliad, Necron Exmort, Pozzol Broyer, Talald Hieron, Sabine Berare, Glomer Hicner, Cinare Montor and The Executive
• Heather "Sparaze" - Hamifi Hekrix, Endari Vernir, Oricka Rourst and Valtel Gurtea
• Xamag - Rypite Koldan, Sirage Feltri, Gerbat Batrav, and Cretas Mglina
• Ciro Page - Bytcon Krypto
• Diz - Husske Mayzee
• Fear - Raurou Dersal and Cadlys Rankor
• Donut - Crytum Lydian and Hayyan Refero

Special thanks

• Xtine - Mshiri Libeta Concept Assistance
• Izu "princepeachu" - Additional Assistance for Hayyan Refero
• Daniel "Wattson" Westfall - Wave Shader
• Lup, Biscuit, Mocha, Peko, Tiny, and Sneeze - Moral Support Mousies
• Andrew Hussie, What Pumpkin Games, and the creators of Hiveswap: Friendship Simulator - Inspiration

Trivia

• Snowbound Blood's title screen continually updates as the player completes both routes in a single volume.
• Despite the game having a linear plotline, volumes can be loaded and launched in any order. This is to avoid players having to replay through earlier volumes if they redownload the game to play a newly released chapter.

See also

• Secily Iopara
• Trollodex
• Intermission 2 Side 2