Heartfall A Tale in Three Lives Playthrough & Endings Guide

Heartfall — A Tale in Three Lives is an independent, non-profit visual novel RPG developed by Kazehita and created by 70 community contributors. Based on the concept of the YouTube SMP series 3rd Life, the game places you in the shoes of Grian as he wakes up on a mysterious island where death changes player eye colors and unravels secret alliances across branching storylines.

Whether you aim to recreate the canon Desert duo or diverge toward Dogwarts, the following guide breaks down core playthrough mechanics, early progression steps, and major narrative branches confirmed across player playthroughs.

Core Mechanics and Early Session Progression

A standard playthrough begins on the beach of the grove. The opening section serves as a tutorial on navigation, dialogue choices, and inventory interactions.

1. Waking Up in the Grove: As Grian, you awaken by a pool watched over by a stone Watcher statue. Inspecting the ground nearby yields your starter tools: a pickaxe, a wood axe, and an iron sword.
2. Beach Loot and Saving: Near the shore, searching a stack of crates lets you take a loose diamond. The game features no autosave function; you must manually open the menu (via mouse or keyboard) to record your progress across different session slots.
3. Entering the Village: Following the path eastward past the mystic trees brings you to the central settlement. Here, you meet the initial cast: B-Dubz, Cleo, Impulse, Skiz, Joel, and Etho. Pinned to one of the doors is a "Who's Who" paper where you can sign your name and sketch a self-portrait.
4. The Secret Library: Interacting with the dilapidated house in town reveals an unreadable book on the shelf. Pulling it triggers a hidden switch that swings open the bookshelf, exposing an underground stairwell leading to an ornate library with an enchanting lectern.

The visual display shows hearts above player heads, while eye color corresponds to life status: green eyes indicate three lives, yellow indicates two, and red indicates one final life accompanied by shifting behavioral tones.

System Specifications and Settings

Heartfall features over 400,000 words of dialogue, 450+ cut-in illustrations, and 50+ original music tracks. The game is free-to-play on Windows, Mac, and Linux via itch.io and Steam.

Accessibility options inside the settings menu allow players to toggle sudden noises, flashing effects, bright colors, and coarse language. Specific route content warnings can also be audited directly in the in-game Info tab.

Major Playthrough Routes and Branching Choices

Across 12+ story routes and 36 achievements, early decisions with specific characters steer Grian down entirely distinct faction storylines.

The Desert Alliance (Canon Route)

If you agree to assist Scar in the village rather than declining his schemes, you begin walking down the Desert path:

• Arson and Monopolies: Scar tasks you with providing a flint and steel to burn down the central mystic tree while distracting Etho. Scar then proposes establishing monopolies on sand and the remaining mystic trees.
• The First Death: Following Scar's fake creeper noise prank in town, a real creeper approaches the group. Scar is caught in the blast and dies, dissolving into dust before respawning as a yellow-life player.
• Pizza the Llama: Scar drafts Grian into buying Etho's llama, named Pizza, in exchange for guaranteed sand supplies.
• The Ravine Bridge: Later in Session 2, returning with Pizza across the ravine leads to the rope bridge snapping under Grian. Grian dies, loses his first life, and wakes up with yellow eyes, triggering a major confrontation where Grian accuses Scar of sabotage.

Dogwarts / Renchanting Route

If you build positive standing with Martin and Big B rather than staying tied to Scar, you can break away to Dogwarts:

• Blue Sword Boys: Finding Martin and Big B in the northern cave allows you to trade and establish the "Blue Sword Boys" pact.
• Renchanting: Ren and Martin steal the hidden library's lectern to set up an enchanting emporium in the northern mountains, using crushed lapis powder to enchant gear with protection and durability.
• Abandoning the Desert: After dying on the desert bridge, you can choose to refuse Scar's pleas across the ravine. When Martin offers you shelter, you move up to Renchanting, sleep in their bunks, and fend off Scar at the fortress gates.
• Crafting Banners: Joining Dogwarts involves gathering cows from Scott in the Flower Valley and trading with Etho and Jimmy for red dye to hang kingdom banners across the mountain gate.

The Impulse & Secret Keeper Path

If you choose to help Impulse early on:

• You donate your stolen diamond and wood so Impulse can craft a music box.
• Impulse guides you back to the secret library and asks for skeleton bones from the deeper mines.
• Following the music box melody into the forest leads you to encounter a giant wolf named Moon, who is later revealed to be Pearl—a shapeshifter switching between human and wolf forms based on the day-night cycle.
• Investigating the library yields strange lore tomes describing red-life violence and the "Red King."

Alternate Faction Offshoots

• Joel (Ashes and Alliances): Players can align with Joel by helping him tame wolves with meat near the plains. An alternate branch involves Jimmy's runaway cow trampling Joel's pet, pulling Grian into an unexpected pact with Joel and Jimmy.
• The Mending Pursuit: Fishing along the freshwater docks can dredge up a mysterious catalog book referencing mending treasures, prompting an exclusive dedicated fishing pursuit route.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does Heartfall have an autosave system?

No. You must manually open the menu screen and save your game in one of the available save slots. It is best to save before major character choices or entering caves.

How do player lives and eye colors work?

Players start with three lives (green eyes). Dying once drops the character to two lives (yellow eyes). A second death drops them to one life (red eyes), altering character interactions and triggering warnings of violent bloodlust in the game's lore books.

How do you unlock the enchanting table at Renchanting?

In storylines where Martin and Ren acquire the lectern from the village library, Renchanting opens in the mountains once Skiz clears the rockslide path. You must pay Ren with gathered items and lapis powder to apply enchantments like Protection and Unbreaking to your armor.