Heartfall: A Tale in Three Lives features over 12 characters adapted from the popular 3rd Life SMP YouTube series. Developed by Kazehita and created by seventy community contributors, this non-profit visual novel RPG puts you in control of Grian as he wakes up on a mysterious island. Depending on the dialogue choices you pick, your path diverges across branching alliances, resource monopolies, and shifting life colors.
Every character on the island has distinct personality traits, quest interactions, and relationship dynamics. The following guide covers all confirmed characters, their island locations, and their roles throughout the game's branching storylines.
Playable Protagonist: Grian
Grian serves as the sole playable viewpoint character throughout Heartfall: A Tale in Three Lives. Waking up in a sun-warmed pool within a flower-lined grove, Grian starts the game on a standard green life. Near the starting pool, players find an initial set of survival equipment consisting of a pickaxe, a wood axe, and an iron sword.
As the central actor, Grian's decisions dictate which alliances form and how faction relationships develop. In the village, Grian uncovers a hidden underground enchanting library concealed behind a bookshelf in an abandoned house. Depending on your playthrough choices, Grian can commit to a life-debt pact with Scar at Monopoly Mountain, form the early Blue Sword Boys alliance in the mountain caverns, or aid neighboring groups with stealth missions like the marsh cow heist.
Full Character Roster in Heartfall
The game includes over a dozen characters spread across the island's distinct biomes, including the Village, Mountain Trail, Desert Dunes, Forest, Beach, and Marsh.
| Character | First Location | Primary Project / Faction | Key Interactions & Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grian | Starting Grove | Player Character / Desert Duo | Uncovers the secret library; gathers base resources. |
| GoodTimesWithScar | Village / Desert | Monopoly Mountain (Sandlands) | Proposes burning the Mystic Tree; creates the Reputation Board; adopts Pizza. |
| Etho | Village Tree / Marsh | Independent / Village Resident | Babysits the Mystic Tree; trades Pizza for free sand; supplies wool for beds. |
| B-Dubz (BdoubleO100) | Village Center | The Crastle (Island Castle) | Welcomes Grian; works on curtain walls and moats; loses an early life falling from a parapet. |
| ZombieCleo | Village / Beach | The Crastle / Independent | Complains about early looting; trades chestplate for 25 reputation points; ransoms Pizza. |
| Impulse | Village Entrance | Village Base Coordinator | Maintains the "Who's Who" door list; requests materials for a music box; supplies red dye. |
| Skizz (Skizzleman) | Village / Mountain Trail | Mountain Path Excavation | Banters with Joel; clears the mountain rockslide; turns yellow after a monster attack. |
| Joel (Smallishbeans) | Village / Forest Edge | Independent / Bush Monopoly | Gifts Grian a personal photo; tames forest wolves; trades whittling tools. |
| Jimmy (Solidarity) | Lowlands Forest | Flower Valley / Cow Monopoly | Attempts manual cow wrangling; links pinkies to plan the marsh cow heist. |
| Scott (Smajor) | Lowlands / Beach | Flower Valley | Gathers sand for base windows; organizes the cow heist; blackmails Tango into a partnership. |
| Tango | Mountain Trail / Marsh | Marsh Facility Trap Builder | Warns of cave ghosts; hoards cows in a hidden marsh cavern; experiments with Red Jasper. |
| Martin (InTheLittleWood) | Mountain Cavern | Blue Sword Boys / Renchanting | Imbues swords with diamonds; executes creeper soundboard pranks; co-runs enchanting. |
| BigB | Mountain Cavern / Beach | Blue Sword Boys / Mountain Deck | Gathers Red Jasper; listens to echoing beach shells; trades red dust to Scar. |
| Ren (Rendog) | Ocean Beach / Mountain | Dogwarts / Renchanting Fort | Recites seaside poetry; helps gather driftwood; establishes the mountain enchanting service. |
Character Profiles and Storyline Roles
GoodTimesWithScar (Scar)
Scar is central to the game's desert storyline. Shortly after meeting Grian in the village, Scar schemes to monopolize wood by burning down the rare Mystic Tree. Following an early disaster where Grian leads an explosive monster into the village group, Scar loses his green life and returns shirtless with yellow eyes. Claiming Grian owes him a life debt, Scar enlists Grian to move to the desert, build a fortress on Monopoly Mountain, set up a cactus barrier, and manage an alliance Reputation Board.
Etho and B-Dubz
Etho spends his early moments contemplating and guarding the Mystic Tree in the center of the village. He values rare resources and agrees to trade away the llama Pizza in exchange for an unlimited supply of Sandlands sand. Later, Etho provides Grian with wool needed to craft proper beds for the desert tower.
B-Dubz establishes himself as an energetic builder attempting to revitalize the abandoned village structures before relocating to an island in a pond. There, he lays the foundation for a fortified castle featuring curtain walls and drawbridges. B-Dubz is among the earliest characters to drop to yellow status after falling into a dry moat while deflecting a rogue branch.
ZombieCleo and Impulse
Cleo is an observant, no-nonsense resident who keeps a sharp eye on island mischief. When visiting Monopoly Mountain, Cleo gives up armor to test Scar's reputation system, receiving 25 points instead of tangible goods. Cleo later kidnaps Pizza the llama from the desert pen, forcing Scar and Grian to hand over weapons, diamonds, and personal gear to secure Pizza's location on the beach.
Impulse acts as a community organizer in the starting settlement. He places the "Who's Who" registration list on a residential door so newcomers can record their names and portraits. Impulse gives Grian a side quest requesting two pieces of wood and one diamond to construct a music box, and he later yields red dye from his supply crates.
Joel and Skizz
Joel first encounters Grian alongside Skizz, handing over a vanity photograph of himself to help Grian study "the best of the best." In the forest, Joel struggles to tame wild wolves by brandishing meat aggressively, though Grian can intervene to show him a gentler method. Joel later claims a monopoly over dead bushes and gifts Grian whittling tools.
Skizz focuses his efforts on clearing the mountain rockslide to open a path to the upper cliffs. Despite cautioning others about island dangers, Skizz falls victim to a nocturnal monster attack, causing his eyes to turn yellow early in the story.
Jimmy, Scott, and Tango
Jimmy initially tries to corner cows using bare hands in the Lowlands forest before forming a domestic alliance with Scott in Flower Valley. After hearing distant mooing in the marsh, Jimmy and Scott organize a nighttime heist. If Grian agrees to assist, the trio discovers a massive underground bunker where Tango has been secretly hoarding the island's entire cow population.
When Tango discovers the intruders, Scott negotiates an agreement by blackmailing Tango into joining their group as a third partner. Tango accepts the arrangement, subsequently focusing his engineering efforts on traps and mini-games built with stone, sand, lava, and Red Jasper.
Martin, BigB, and Ren
Martin and BigB spend the early hours mining deep within the mountain cavern. Upon meeting Grian, Martin offers an alliance known as the Blue Sword Boys, using a rich diamond vein to upgrade Grian's weapon. Martin regularly terrorizes the island inhabitants by mimicking creeper hissing noises to trigger panic.
Martin eventually moves north to partner with Ren, who arrives from the beach after composing poetry and gathering pale driftwood with Grian. Together on the mountain heights, Martin and Ren build the fortified compound known as Renchanting, utilizing the magical tome Grian originally discovered in the village library to provide fee-based equipment enchantments.
Named Animal Characters
In addition to the human cast, several unique animal companions play major roles in Heartfall's questlines:
- Pizza: A llama brought to the island by Etho. Scar trades lifetime sand rights to obtain Pizza as the official mobile mascot of the Sandlands monopoly. Pizza is repeatedly stolen, ransomed, and relocated.
- Buttercup: A lone cow Grian can encounter and shelter near the desert border while running errands for base materials.
- Bud: A small calf discovered during the marsh cow expedition who remains a baby without growing, later kept by the Flower Valley residents.
Life Colors and Reputation Systems
Character behavior and physical appearances in Heartfall shift according to game mechanics:
- Heart and Eye Color: Characters begin on a green life with standard green eyes. Upon suffering their first death, their status drops to yellow, accompanied by visible eye color changes and altered dialogue tone. Further deaths push characters toward red life status, unlocking aggressive and chaotic motivations.
- The Reputation Board: Built by Grian using desert supplies, this board tracks player standing with Scar's Sandlands faction. Characters earn positive numbers through compliant trades and border respect (such as Cleo's 25 points or Jimmy's physical compliments), while mischief, sand theft, or attacks drop individuals into negative point totals.
- The Info Menu: Accessible via the escape menu alongside the inventory, the Info screen regularly updates character status cards. As alliances form, break, or sour, character titles update to reflect their current opinions of Grian, tracking labels such as "Trickster," "Scammer Roommate," or "Helpful Llama Thief."
Frequently Asked Questions
How many characters are in Heartfall: A Tale in Three Lives?
The game features over 12 primary characters from the 3rd Life SMP series, including Grian, Scar, Etho, B-Dubz, Cleo, Impulse, Skizz, Joel, Jimmy, Scott, Tango, Martin, BigB, and Ren, alongside animal characters like Pizza the llama and Bud the calf.
Can you change your primary alliance in Heartfall?
Yes. While the canon route aligns Grian closely with Scar in the Sandlands, the branching visual novel structure allows Grian to assist other factions, such as joining Martin and BigB's Blue Sword Boys or participating in Jimmy and Scott's marsh cow heist.
Who created the characters and art for Heartfall?
Heartfall is an independent, non-profit fan project directed by Kazehita and written, scored, and illustrated by seventy contributing artists and community members. The game is unaffiliated with the official 3rd Life SMP cast.
