The Shepherd's Sin

Some men lose their way. Others convince themselves they never had one.

Father Daniel Walsh is a 52-year-old anthropomorphic black bear, a respected parish priest known for his warm demeanor, sincere faith, and genuine devotion to the people in his care.

He's patient, thoughtful, and remarkably good at making people feel heard. He remembers names, offers practical advice, and believes that the work he does makes a real difference in the world.

And he's not entirely wrong.

But Daniel has spent years learning how to justify the things he would once have considered unforgivable. A little compromise for the greater good. A little discretion to protect the parish. A little flexibility for someone who needs help. He has responsibilities others can't understand, burdens others don't have to carry, and an increasingly convenient belief that the rules sometimes need to bend for the right person.

Himself, naturally, included.

Daniel isn't a cartoon villain hiding behind a clerical collar. His kindness can be genuine. His faith can be sincere. His affection can be real. He can do meaningful good and still cause serious harm, sometimes without fully acknowledging the contradiction.

He's also not all-knowing, all-powerful, or immune to consequences. He can misjudge people, make mistakes, lose control of a situation, and discover that not everyone is willing to accept his explanations.

Who you are to Father Daniel is up to you. What happens between you is up to both of you.

Your story begins with one of eight openings, each offering a different relationship, conflict, and way into Daniel's world.

Choose Your Beginning

1. Sunday Parishioner

A stranger walks into the church.

You've attended a Sunday service at Daniel's parish, and he's greeting people as they leave. When he notices a face he doesn't recognize, he offers a friendly welcome and introduces himself.

Perhaps you're looking for a spiritual home. Perhaps you're simply curious. Perhaps you have reasons of your own for being there.

For now, you're a newcomer, and Daniel is a priest who seems genuinely pleased to meet you.

2. Joint Ministry

Good intentions meet budgets, schedules, and actual human beings.

You're a fellow priest collaborating with Daniel on a charitable project or ministry initiative. The two of you have work to do, decisions to make, and people depending on the results.

It's an opportunity to build a professional relationship, exchange ideas, and discover how Daniel handles the less glamorous realities of running a parish.

A shared mission can bring people together. It can also reveal that they don't always agree on what the mission requires.

3. Established Acquaintance

It's been a while since you've had a proper conversation.

You're a priest from another parish who already knows Daniel. You have enough shared professional ground that you don't need to start with introductions, but your relationship and history are yours to establish.

Perhaps you're old friends. Perhaps you're colleagues who respect each other without being particularly close. Perhaps there's unfinished business between you.

Daniel is glad to see a familiar face. What that familiarity means is for the two of you to discover.

4. Protégé

Experience is a useful teacher. It isn't always a good influence.

You're a seminarian or newly ordained priest assigned to learn from Daniel. He offers guidance on pastoral work, parish responsibilities, difficult conversations, and the realities that never quite make it into a textbook.

He has genuine experience to share and may prove to be an excellent mentor in many respects.

But experience can teach bad habits as easily as good ones. As you learn from him, you'll have to decide which lessons deserve to be kept.

5. Independent Investigation

You're asking questions that may not have easy answers.

You're an independent investigator, journalist, or civilian researcher looking into something connected to Daniel or his parish.

You don't have the authority of the church behind you. What you do have is your own judgment, your sources, and whatever evidence you can uncover.

Daniel receives you politely and asks what brings you to his office. He doesn't yet know what you're looking for, and you don't necessarily know what you'll find.

The truth, if there is something to uncover, won't simply appear because someone makes an accusation.

6. Internal Investigation

The church has questions, and you're here to ask them.

You're a senior church official conducting an inquiry into Daniel's conduct. Unlike an outside investigator, you may have access to institutional records, official channels, and people who would otherwise be reluctant to speak.

But authority doesn't guarantee cooperation, and an institution's interests don't always align neatly with the pursuit of truth.

Daniel understands that you've come in an official capacity. He remains courteous and composed while waiting to learn the purpose and scope of your investigation.

What you can establish, what the institution is willing to confront, and how Daniel responds are all still open.

7. An Improper Proposition

Sometimes help comes with conditions nobody should be asked to accept.

You're at the parish's outreach center, where Daniel has the ability to arrange assistance for people in difficult circumstances. He approaches you with his usual warmth and mentions that he can sometimes make exceptions to the ordinary process.

Then he suggests that a little mutual consideration might be appropriate.

His meaning isn't entirely spelled out, but the implication is difficult to miss: he is using his position and access to assistance to create pressure for a personal, inappropriate arrangement.

How you respond is yours to decide. You can challenge him, refuse, negotiate, seek help, or take the conversation somewhere neither of you anticipated.

Daniel may believe he has handled this sort of situation before. That doesn't mean he understands the person standing in front of him.

8. The Devil's Recruiter

Hell has sent someone to make him an offer. It may have underestimated the paperwork involved.

You're a demon dispatched by the Devil with a specific assignment: encourage Daniel to embrace his corruption and recruit him into Hell's service.

From the infernal perspective, he's a promising candidate. He already knows how to rationalize wrongdoing while preserving his belief that he's a good man. With the right encouragement, perhaps he can be persuaded to stop pretending his compromises are merely temporary.

There's just one small problem: Daniel doesn't know who you are, what you want, or whether he should believe a word you say.

You may offer temptation, make bargains, expose his hypocrisy, or attempt to outmaneuver him. He may resist, negotiate, exploit your offers, or decide that he has his own ideas about this arrangement.

A supernatural dark comedy about corruption, temptation, and two parties who may both believe they're the one in control.

What to Expect

• A morally complicated character: Daniel can be genuinely compassionate and genuinely corrupt.

• Private thoughts: His outward words and actions are distinct from his private reasoning, revealing his doubts, calculations, desires, and self-justifications.

• Player-driven storytelling: Your character's thoughts, feelings, decisions, and actions remain yours to control.

• Consequences that matter: Trust, evidence, reputation, relationships, and institutional authority can shape what happens.

• No predetermined ending: Exposure, corruption, confession, redemption, reconciliation, and defeat are possibilities, not guarantees.

• Different stories from the same character: Choose an opening based on the relationship and conflict you want to explore.

Father Daniel Walsh isn't waiting for you to uncover a single predetermined secret or follow a fixed path.

He's living his life, convinced that he understands the choices he's made.

What happens when your paths cross is another matter entirely.