Romance in Wanderfolk has always been about earning trust over time — showing up, listening, and proving you’re not going to disappear at dawn. Now that arc can reach its conclusion: marriage.
The Full Arc
Every romanceable NPC follows a unique emotional journey shaped by their archetype — a guarded warrior who bolts from vulnerability, a shy herbalist who opens up through shared work, a charming performer who flirts with everyone but commits to no one. The progression moves through seven stages:
Stranger → Friend → Romantic Interest → Courting → Devoted → Partner → Married
Each stage requires real relationship investment — reputation, gifts, time spent together, and conversations that matter. NPCs don’t advance because you clicked a heart icon. They advance because you earned it.
Proposals and Weddings
When the relationship reaches the partner stage, you can propose marriage. The NPC may say yes immediately — or they may ask you to wait. If a villager recently died, if they’re processing something difficult, if they’re just not ready, they’ll tell you honestly and suggest a timeline. The waiting period is character-driven, not a game timer.
When the day comes, a wedding ceremony takes place in the village square. Nearby villagers gather to watch. The ceremony triggers a village-wide reputation boost and unlocks the Wedding Day achievement (diamond tier, +10 skill points). It’s a moment the whole community witnesses.
Living Together
After the wedding, your spouse moves into your house. This isn’t cosmetic — their home location, sleep schedule, and daily routine change. They physically appear inside your house when you enter it, sleep in your bed at night, and greet you with intimate warmth in the morning.
If you enter your house at night, you’ll find your spouse already there. Conversations shift from “I saw you across the square” to “pass the bread, love” and “the garden needs work before the frost.”
NPCs Know You’re Married
Every conversation now reflects your relationship status. Your spouse greets you differently — with pet names, references to shared domestic life, and the easy familiarity of someone who wakes up next to you. Other villagers notice too: the tavern keeper congratulates you, the blacksmith mentions your wedding, children ask your spouse about you.
The LLM generates all of this naturally from the marriage context — no scripted lines, no canned responses. Every married conversation is unique.
Breakups
Not every story ends well. If the relationship deteriorates — through neglect, betrayal, or reputation loss — the bond can break. When it does, your former partner moves back to their original home in their original village. The game tracks their pre-marriage state and restores it cleanly. Village gossip spreads about the split.
Partner Economy
Partners contribute to a shared household economy. They farm in the morning, trade at midday, and craft in the afternoon, depositing earnings into a shared chest. The household economy only activates when you’re truly cohabiting — declared partners or married, not just courting.