Imperial Grace Chapter 1 Walkthrough: Regicide Choices and Early Strategy

Chapter 1 of Imperial Grace opens on the worst morning of Lydia's life: her father is dead, most of the court doesn't know it yet, and the next few hours decide who ends up wearing the crown. That's why a reliable Imperial Grace chapter 1 walkthrough matters — "The Crown" front-loads decisions that shape your resources, your allies, and your reputation long before the game explains how any of it works. This Imperial Grace chapter 1 walkthrough goes beat by beat through the demo's opening act, showing what each choice costs and how the first policy phase ties back to the promises you just made.

Imperial Grace Chapter 1 Walkthrough: The Big Picture

The demo titles its opening act "The Crown." In the playthrough recorded for this video, it runs from the night of the assassination to the morning of Day 15, where the first part ends. Along the way you face three kinds of decisions: story choices about grief and suspicion, secret-keeping choices about the people who witnessed the murder, and a policy phase that turns every promise you made into a number on your resource bar.

The build most players meet first is the demo, and its own tip screens are upfront about what's still missing — CGs and the diplomacy feature among them. That's also why the rest of this Imperial Grace chapter 1 walkthrough sticks to what the demo actually shows rather than to plans for the finished game.

One more thing worth knowing before you start: rollback is enabled on purpose. In a March 19, 2023 interview with NookGaming, director Ayael said she considered disabling it for the management portions and decided against it, because players who want to undo a choice will just reload a save anyway. For a walkthrough, that's good news — you can test a branch and come back without restarting the chapter.

Setup Choices Before the Story Starts

Before the first scene, the demo asks you to build Lydia. The playthrough spends a good ten minutes on it, cycling through wavy, curly, dreadlocks, and braids hairstyles, then setting each eye separately until it lands on one blue and one green. Skin tone and eye color are yours to choose, but hair color stays white, as Kismet's demo review notes. Ayael told NookGaming that the artist drew four different faces for each skin tone rather than simply recoloring one, which is why the options feel distinct instead of cosmetic.

Then comes the mode screen:

• Normal mode — you manage resources wisely, and every promise has a price.
• Story mode — infinite resources, so you follow the plot without the arithmetic.

Ayael describes the management layer as an optional hard mode in that same interview, which is exactly why the toggle exists. Pick story mode if you're here for the romance and politics; pick normal if you want the petitions and policy board to bite.

The last setup choice is your specialty, and it's the one to think about. Four paths — army, stewardship, diplomacy, and faith — each come with a bonus and a tutelary god, and the demo's tutorial text says each one unlocks new scenes and more advantageous options later. The playthrough takes stewardship and is told it grants economy and mathematics bonuses, with Myriade as its tutelary god. The four gods named in the demo are Basan, Myriade, Horel, and Amatera, and when NookGaming asked Ayael which she'd pick for her studio's journey, she chose Myriade — the one who brings money and success.

Scene by Scene Through "The Crown"

The assassination and your first reply

Alden, the imperial advisor, wakes Lydia with the news that Emperor Magnus V was assassinated a few rooms away. General Alexander is already at her side. The first menu asks how she reacts, and the playthrough stays neutral — mourning in front of the court is a performance she can postpone until there are witnesses worth performing for. Alexander's oath follows, and Alden's does too, in a far more practical form.

Alden's suspicion

The advisor then asks the question every regicide story needs: did you have your father killed? The playthrough answers with two arguments rather than a plea. First, half the nobility is already in the palace for the emperor's birthday in two days, which makes security nearly impossible. Second, after a regicide the heir is always suspected, so anyone clever enough to plan this wouldn't plan it this badly. Alden accepts the answer and pivots to damage control.

The witnesses — the choice that echoes

Three guards and the emperor's personal maid know the truth. The menu offers three handling options:

1. Have them killed and pass it off as collateral damage from the assassin.
2. Tie their loyalty to your future by promising better positions once you're crowned.
3. Pay them a few coins, promise more later, and send them on leave far from the palace.

The playthrough picks the third, reasoning that money is cheaper than blood. It half-works: on Day 8, Alden and the Master of Murmurs report that the servants left without complaint — and then that one guard, Brunin, has figured out what the secret is worth and wants a payout.

The high priest and the Quadrator's letter

Lydia then brings in High Priest Robert, tells him the truth, and asks him to pray for her father's soul — a request that conveniently keeps him locked in the great temple. She also asks him to write to the Quadrator, the church's leader she can't reach directly, since only kings and high priests can do that quickly. Robert's caveat is uncomfortable but honest: an unmarried woman may struggle to win the Quadrator's approval. The letter Lydia slips into his correspondence is the chapter's cleanest resource decision — promise a hefty donation to the Great Temple of the Four in Meridian, or use leverage that could stain the Quadrator's reputation. The playthrough pays.

The Blackmail Dilemma

Brunin's demand is modest enough to pay, which is precisely why Alden argues against it: giving in once invites the next demand. The menu offers three answers — pay what he asks, have him silenced for good, or send agents to remind him of his place. The playthrough chooses intimidation.

It goes wrong. Brunin brings four men, and Alexander is gravely injured before he drives them off; the attackers are killed. One decision costs you your general for a stretch of the chapter and forces Lydia to invent a cover story. The playthrough's approach is to say as little as possible and grant Alexander a few days' leave, knowing the healing scholars can be discreet. If your Imperial Grace chapter 1 walkthrough run reaches this scene, decide before the menu opens — the option you pick drives the next two scenes, not just the outcome screen.

The First Policy Phase: Turning Promises Into Numbers

Between scenes the game hands you a policy board. Seven resources — people, nobility, money, faith, army, resources, and influence — fund six areas: taxes, offerings, trade, economy, army, and diplomacy. Kismet's demo review describes each area as having three settings plus a net-gain readout along the bottom of the screen, and the playthrough's opening spread of 15 people, 15 nobility, 20 money, and 10 each in faith, army, resources, and influence explains why the math matters.

The choices this run makes:

• Taxes: moderate. Higher rates fill the coffers faster but cost goodwill.
• Offerings: middle setting. Temples and academies get funded at a cost in money.
• Trade: free trade, for the income it brings in.
• Economy: raw resources, the option that returns three resources and one money.
• Army: maintain rather than expand or dismantle.
• Diplomacy: active, sending full delegations for influence and nobility.

Two caveats. First, the demo build didn't yet include full diplomacy actions, so you're choosing a stance rather than negotiating. Second, don't treat the policy board as free money — changes take a delay before their effects appear, and normal mode will punish a plan built on promises you can't fund. Kismet's review also mentions a demo achievement, "Spare no expense," tied to running completely out of money, which tells you how fast the bar can drain.

FAQ

How long is Imperial Grace chapter 1?

In the demo playthrough, "The Crown" runs from the assassination night to the morning of Day 15, where the first recorded part ends. It's dialogue-heavy, with a handful of management screens between scenes.

Should I play normal mode or story mode for my first Imperial Grace chapter 1 walkthrough?

Story mode gives you infinite resources, so it removes the arithmetic but not the consequences. Normal mode is the harder, more strategic version, and Ayael treats it as an optional layer rather than the default way to play.

Which specialty should I take in chapter 1?

The demo suggests each specialty opens different scenes and advantageous options, so there's no single correct pick. Stewardship is the one this walkthrough takes, and it's documented as granting economy and mathematics bonuses with Myriade as your tutelary god.

Can I undo a choice if it goes badly?

Yes. The director deliberately kept rollback enabled, so you can replay a menu, test another branch, and return without restarting the chapter. Check the choices and consequences in the Imperial Grace page on Steam before you commit to a full replay, and treat the demo as the place to experiment.