Ruby: Huntress of Vale is an AU (Alternate Universe) fan project centered around a 2D action beat-em-up game. This project is based on the web series RWBY originally by Monty Oum & Rooster Teeth.

Note this is a fan project. RWBY is currently property of Viz Media. Please support the original show and other forms of RWBY media.

Synopsis:

Ruby: Huntress of Vale is an AU where there is no Salem/OZ war, Grimm are a force of nature, and after team RWBY successfully graduated as Hunters (no Fall of Beacon) but shortly after end up going their separate ways. Weiss returns to Mantle to take up her reins at the SDC, Yang travels with her partner Blake as Blake takes a bigger role in Faunus and Human politics and a counter White Fang movement. While Ruby wanders Sanus being the huntress as she always dreamed. After a few months playing hero solo though, she's missing the close friendships and moments she had with WBY and she is re-evaluating her dream as a Huntress. After a lot of begging she convinces Weiss to take time away from work, to go on a hunt. Little did they know they were about to stumble on a plot that would forever change Remnants future...

Ruby: Huntress of Vale Project Goals:

The goal was to recreate a RWBY like experience but through a video game. Since it was the main girls along with over the top combat that attracted me to this series to begin with, I wanted this game to focus specifically on those key aspects.

The other main goal was to be mindful of scope. RWBY is a rather large story, with a large cast of characters, lots of exotic locations and cultures, and a rather large amount of lore that goes with it. I wanted to make a RWBY game, but at the time the sheer amount of assets, characters, locations that needed to be modeled and animated was far too much for me to do on my own. The game was designed in case I would be making this project solo. This was a factor that lead to me deciding to do an independent story for Huntress of Vale. Much in the way I built the combat engine around canon RWBY's story, I made the game's story fit within the confines of the HoV, and my ability to create at that time.

Prologue:

Remnant, a world caught in a never ending cycle of light and darkness. For centuries mankind waged war against its greatest foe, the creatures of Grimm.

For much of our history it was a losing battle. Civilizations rose and fell. Heroes were born, fought, and died protecting the lives they held dear. Monuments were erected to signify Mankind's greatest achievements, just to fall into ruin. The future looked bleak. Then humans discovered the raw power of these small crystals they named “Dust”. Wielding this new tool, humans entered a new era. New weapons, methods of transportation, long distance communication, and more powerful warriors. Thus turning the tide of war.

With Dust rose 4 mighty Kingdoms, Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, & Mantle. At their center was the Huntsman Academies. Schools of light, to teach the art of protecting their fellow man against the darkness. The future looked brighter than ever. However, the brighter the light, the bigger the shadow. Meanwhile all eras, no matter how bright, must eventually come to an end…

Main Cast of Characters:

Ruby Rose
Age 18

A shy, yet upbeat young huntress who dreams of being a stoic hero, like the stories and comics she grew up with. Ruby loves weapon crafting, video games, comics, and the thrill of 'Adventure'.

However, she did not expect just how lonely such a life can be. After graduation most of her friends and family went to follow their own paths, leaving her to figure out what her own future will look like.

She was particularly devastated when her friend Weiss left to follow a career at her fathers company.

Weiss Schnee
Age 20

A descendant of a proud family of warriors, and heir to Remnants largest economic powerhouse the SDC, Weiss grew up in a life of royalty in the Kingdom of Mantle.

Her upbringing & pride in her name led her to be cold and distant when first meeting her teammates. However, Ruby's persistence eventually broke through, and she became close friends with her team, especially Ruby.

After graduation, Weiss did return to the SDC, however she refused to take the position offered by her father, and instead applied as a commoner, and quickly worked her way up through quality work and skill alone.

Blake Belladonna
Age 20

This seemingly quiet, book loving, introvert, holds a few secrets. Her bow hides a pair of cat ears as she is a Faunus. The Faunus is a race that have notable animal characteristics of various kinds, which made humans uncomfortable. Growing up facing discrimination, she joined the Faunus rights organization known as the White Fang. Sensing the rising hatred and violent acts against humans, she left the organization for a chance to live a more productive life as a huntress.

Post graduation she decided to use her new role to try to mediate tensions between the races, rather then fight against them.

Yang Xaio Long
Age 20

This 'fiery' blond is Ruby's half sister, who in many ways took a more parental role for her younger sister after Ruby's mother vanished on a mission over a decade ago and was abandoned by her own mother years prior.

Yang has spent just as long trying to fully figure out herself, and finding balance between playing the family role put on her, wanting to live a life of excitement and adventure, and coming to terms with her anger and abandonment issues.

She has grown attached to Blake and has been traveling with her since graduation.

Roman Torchwick & Neo
Age 33 & 23

Criminal mastermind, and chaos agent from Remnant's underworld. Roman has developed quite the reputation across all kingdoms of the Remnant. His criminal record includes things of theft, larceny, extortion, among other things.

Not much is know about Neo other than she is Roman's right hand, and much of the time his Ace card when he finds himself in trouble.

Despite that Roman and Neo, somehow have managed to get hired at the Schnee Dust Company, to retrieve and ship 'classified' cargo of a certain kind.

Dr. Merlot Age 30

Once the world leading researcher on Grimm behavior and biology. Have since been ostracized by his peers due to controversial opinions, poor lab safety protocols, and questionable research practices.

Despite this Jacques Schnee, head of the SDC sees his potential and has taken an interest in his research and has dedicated funding and a laboratory to do his research.

Outside of his paid research, Merlot spends his free time seeking to unlock the mysteries of a Grimm that seems to appear in all the historical records of known fallen kingdoms...

Cinder Fall Age 25

Mysterious woman from the Kingdom of Mistral. Not much is known about her except that despite seeming to have fighting skills that are equal or even above that of the top academy hunters of any kingdom, she never attended any official combat school.

She has ties to a rising anti-government militia group operating in the shadows of Mistral, who is heavily investing into in the research of Merlot and the SDC.

What could they possibly want with his research?

Changes from Canon RWBY:

  • Before anything, I want to stress that the intent of this AU, is to play with new ideas, see the how the characters interact if the events of the plot aligned differently, and most importantly have fun. The intent is not to make commentary on the show or its creators, or to attempt to improve the plot of the show.

  • Ruby Focused - While you are able to take control of various characters, the games story is centered around Ruby, and told from Ruby's perspective.

  • Splits off from canon somewhere around Volume 2. Based some themes & easter eggs from ideas based on events of later volumes and side content, but knowledge of is not required for this AU.

  • No Fall of Beacon Academy - Without the disastrous events surrounding the attack, many characters story arcs are changed. This means a reset on conflicts, traumas, injuries, and even death from the event, or the events following it. This AU may or may not mirror the character arcs you expect from canon, and will go its own separate path. The start of the game will timeskip till about 3-4 months after what would have been their Beacon graduation. Which should be a half year ahead of their canon counterparts as of V9's finale.

  • Smaller Cast - Wanted a smaller cast of characters, to really focus on what made them unique and relatable. So expect other canon characters to be pushed into background roles, side characters, cameo's, or removed entirely. This is not done as a sort of commentary on the character, and strictly done to keep focus and keep the project's scope down.

  • Smaller World - While I still retain the 4 kingdoms of Remnant, the story stays close to the Kingdom of Vale, and surrounding lands / settlements. However, there will still be outside political and military influence on the plot from the other kingdoms.

  • Crescent Rose Modification - Unlike canon RWBY, Ruby isn't content with her weapon as is, and instead she is compelled to actively add new modifications and tweaks to her weapon... She loves every moment of it!

  • Mantle/Atlas In this AU Atlas and Mantle are not two separate cities, but rather one city rebuilt/renamed after the Great War to signify its reform and rebirth. The city does fly, but by massive quantities of gravity dust, not by any relics.

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Credits / Cast