Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Stygian Lurker]

Hm, interesting. I'm more familiar with the Black Company setting than Myth, but let's try this out...

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Vote: Female
1) Inventor
2) Scavenger
3) Apprentice

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Optional background -

The Courtesan
.....

This.

 

[Nevill]

1) Inventor
2) Courtesan
3) Scavenger

Flopping to:
1) Inventor
2) Prodigy
3) Courtesan

 

[Esquilax]

Male
1) Apprentice
2) Northerner
3) Merchant

The flopocalypse has come.

1) Scavenger
2) Apprentice
3) Prodigy

 

[Baltika9]

Flopping my votes:
Remlin Wyllt
Male
1) Scavenger
2) Apprentice
3)Prodigy

Switching my vote for a Scavenger victory. Because everything is better with MAGIC!

 

[Fangshi]

Ok, I am going to close the polls now unless there are any objections.

Brb, just going to go over the votes again...

Final Tally:

Kipeci Courtesan>Inventor>Archer female

Night Goat Inventor>Apprentice>Veteran female

Baltika9 Scavenger>Apprentice>Prodigy male

Elfberserker Prodigy>Northerner>Apprentice female

Kz3r0 Merchant male

Erebus Inventor>Merchant>Archer female

Esquilax Scavenger>Apprentice>Prodigy male

Tigranes Courtesan>Scavenger>Inventor female

Grimgravy Merchant>Apprentice>Scavenger male

Anabanana Courtesan>Scavenger>Witch female

JagreenLern Merchant>Apprentice>Scavenger male

treave Inventor>Scavenger>Apprentice female

Gondolin Scavenger>Merchant>Veteran male

Nevill Inventor>Prodigy>Courtesan female

Zero Credibility Witch>Apprentice>Scavenger female

Azira Courtesan male

Stygian Lurker Inventor>Scavenger>Apprentice female



Ok first the easy one, it looks like Codex wants to play an young lady, with 10 votes to 7 votes female wins...

Sex:

male 7 votes

female 10 votes


And here we have our dark horse entry, the Scavenger, I know many of you wanted to be a Sexpert but you will just have to build up to it, and besides you get a very stylish hat which is bound to help.

Background:

Apprentice 15 votes

Veteran 2 votes

Northerner 2 votes

Inventor 18 votes

Archer 2 votes

"Merchant" 13 votes

Scavenger 20 votes

Courtesan 13 votes

Prodigy 7 votes

Witch 4 votes


Now I will leave the name vote open as long as needed, you are a female spellcaster that enjoys esoteric talks and long walks in ancient tombs feel free to suggest/vote on names. I should have the first update ready sometime this afternoon or later this evening (estimate 2-5 hrs).

 

[Nevill]

Unless you want a transgendered protagonist, you'll need one extra vote for a gender. Therefore, I flop to female to ensure its victory, too.

 

[Baltika9]

We need one more vote for a name. C'mon, guys, vote for Merlin Remlin Wyllt! A great mage needs a great name.

 

[Baltika9]

Now I will leave the name vote open as long as needed, you are a female spellcaster that enjoys esoteric talks and long walks in ancient tombs feel free to suggest/vote on names. I should have the first update ready sometime this afternoon or later this evening (estimate 2-5 hrs).

I propose a name fit for a spellcaster: Morgana Argonne.

 

[Elfberserker]

I vote for Morgana Argonne too.

 

[Nevill]

Voting for Morgana Pendragon. It is not too late to flop!

 

[Esquilax]

Eh, I'd rather not be so cheesy as to take a name straight out of Arthurian legend, as awesome as it is.

I rather like the name that Anabanana picked out. Derryth it is.

 

[Nevill]

It's Derryth ó Foghladh, and you can't really type that in English without resorting to some ASCII woodoo.

 

[Anabanana]

I don't expect that we'll need to type out the last name that often anyway.

 

[Fangshi]

So we currently have three for Derryth and three for Morgana, those of you who have not voted feel free to post a suggestion or vote for one of the options.

Anyway, the update is ready, I am just checking it now, it got a bit long so I hope no one minds.

 

[Night Goat]

I'll go with Derryth.

 

[Fangshi]

Chapter 2: The Scavenger

As the cheering dies down in the crowded tavern the patrons return to their own private conversations and you are once again left to your own thoughts.

You catch the barman's attention and order another pint which you take to a small booth in the corner, it is not terribly well lit but there is enough light for your purposes. In the crowded tavern you can't help feeling that you are being watched. Paranoia, not a good sign, your old master had his share of it and it is a trait you were hoping you could do without...

You place your hat on the table, reach into your pack and withdraw a worn and well read tome. Running your hands across the cover you mouth the title, "On the Cycles of the Light and the Dark: A History of Our lands and the Great War, by Professor Henry Jones". This book is the only remaining link you have to your former master, Professer Jones, formerly of the twelve of Scales, formerly of the Magical Institute of Madrigal, currently a coat of red paint adorning some long forgotten tomb. You chuckle then sigh, you will miss the old man...

Opening the tome you flip though its pages, the work is meticulously detailed, outlining the theories on the formation of the world and on the cycles of golden ages and dark ages that has characterized all of human history, though your master believed that Emperor Alric may have broken this cycle you were not so sure.

You were perhaps not the best student of history as many of the entries seem unfamiliar to you, you resolve to change that if you can, if you want to know where you should be going you will need to better know where you came from. But tonight is not the time for a history lesson, you flip through the book to the section on the Great War and Balor's sack of Muirthemne for that is the reason you came to the city; you begin to read...

"Our chronicles pick up the tale of the latest Dark lord much earlier than those of his predecessors. By 2181 A.E. Balor -the latest Leveller- thrived in the east, recruiting and creating his evil hordes. Balor enticed the Myrmidons -once proud human warriors- into volunteering for the grisly undeadhood that drives them mad to this day..."

You skip ahead past the accounts of civil wars and human concerns to the next mention of this Dark lord, Balor...

"His forces slowly assembled, undead and alive alike, and in 2431 A.E. Balor began moving west with his six Fallen Lords..."

You involuntarily shiver at the thought of them; the beautiful and cruel Shiver; the cunning and mad Deceiver; the Lurker, the twice born daughter of flood and famine; the Voiceless One, loveless child of the unwed dawn; the Watcher as terrifying as he was ancient and the greatest necromancer in history, and Soulblighter the most ambitious of the lot and the least merciful. You may not have fought in the war but traveling with your master you saw the destruction they created, reflecting on it you can't say you are sad that they met their ends... you continue to skim the text and then you find it...

"In 2431 A.E. Balor and his vast armies announced their presence in grand style, putting Muirthemne to the torch in an immense mystical blaze that created the Barrier. The twenty four century old empire of Cath Bruig collapsed overnight. Most of the population of the city died in the blaze or in the fighting that followed, the most notable of which was the Emperor himself. The Emperor aware of the end of his empire refused to flee and instead worked to hide the royal artefacts deep in the city to deny Balor the use of them in his wars further west. This last act of bravery may have prevented the demise of all the realms of men. Amongst the relics lost in the city the most important was the Ibis Crown, the symbol of the empire, but a number of lesser but also terrifying relics such as one half of the great Halcyon Stone..."

Alric may have dug out the best loot in the city but he had not found it all yet and the half of the Halcyon Stone that was in the city when it fell is still up for grabs.

That, is in fact why you are here, should be easy you figure. You just have to put together a team, evade the city guard (as unauthorized ruin diving is punished by life in prison), slip into the ruined part of the city, follow the ruins through to underneath the palace fighting off any monsters in the way and retrieve your prize... ok, you have to admit this may not be easy but the Halcyon Stone was Henry's dream and you owe it to the memory of the old man to at least make the attempt.

Based upon your research the stone when whole would give its owner full control over the wind and the weather. Now half of the stone may not be as good as the whole thing but you figure you could find some use for it, and once you get the first half you can start looking for the other piece.

Closing your tome you look around the room, it seems the inn has cleared out for the night, placing the tome gently back in your pack you put your hat back on, the brown leather pressing down upon your auburn locks, you give a wink to the barman (who doesn't quite known what to make of you in your strange outfit) and start the walk back to the tent city you are staying in; you still just can not shake that feeling of being watched.

There are no more rooms for rent in the growing city and besides if you want to find treasure hunters then this is where you will find them. Slipping into your tent you secure a noise trap across the entrance (you can never be too careful in a city like Muirthemne after all) and you drift off to sleep, visions of tomb robbing drifting through your head...

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Morning comes all too quickly and as you stretch out you notice a woman sitting crosslegged with a book on her lap, your book on her lap, her mop of red hair dangles down over her face but when she hears you she looks up at you with the greenest eyes you have ever seen. If you had to guess she is probably a few years younger than you, so early twenties perhaps.

"Oh good morning!" she exclaims, "I did not want to wake you, looked like you needed the sleep."

Great, she is one of those bubbly morning types you think, then the more important realizations start entering your head. She is in your tent, she did not set off the noise trap and it looks like she has the book open to the section on the Halcyon Stone. This could be very bad...

"My name's Brigit, what's yours?" she continues casually, hardly noticing your hesitation; "so what is this, looks important."

She holds up the book for you to see and sure enough it is your notes on the Halcyon Stone.

"Give that back you will damage it!" you snap at her.

With a shrug she gently closes the book and passes it back to you.

"No need to be so crabby...", she momentarily looks offended before a smile reappears on her face.

"Look sorry..." You start before remembering that she should not even be here, hmm, time to be diplomatic, not your strongest area mind you but worth a try, "umm... Brigit what are you doing here?"

"Oh right," she slaps herself on the forehead and assumes a more formal stance; "I am here as an official representative of Dagda, that's my da, head of the new merchant's co-prosperity consortium and he, well we, wanted to extend an invitation to you to come and have a nice meeting with us... I mean you don't have to but da would be really disappointed and so would I..." she trails off and looks at the ground.

Yeah, a "merchant's consortium", so she means a thieves guild, probably one of many in the city. They will want to use you of course but maybe they are the sort of help that you need. As you sit there in silence you can tell that Brigit is getting a bit uncomfortable, eventually she breaks the silence.

"Well, ya don't have to answer right away, if you want to meet us I will be at the tavern you were at last night for most of today, after this I have the rest of the day off you see... anyway see you."

With a wink and a hop she is gone and you are left wondering what the hell just happened.

As you get dressed you realize that you need to figure out what you want to do today, you will need help and there are plenty of options available amongst the desperate, the insane and the cutthroat castoffs of the city, alternatively you could try some of the less scrupulous magic circles. There is Brigit's guild of course or you could try some of the more professional mercenary groups in the city though they will demand gold or favours. Finally you could try petitioning the government for an official permit to comb the ruins, of course if you find the stone they will try to take it from you so that is also a concern.

You figure you will have time to pursue two leads today (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), provided you don't head to the government offices, if you do you will spend all day doing paperwork.

Your resolve to:

A)Go Legit: Go to the government offices, you will have to be careful but they have the best equipment and soldiers around. An official expedition would be the most likely to succeed but would also likely cost you the stone. You would be paid well if you succeed however and may even get an imperial commission if you play your cards right.

B)Stay Independent and look for your own leads (you can pick two):

1)Go see Brigit's guild, she seemed friendly and you could use a few thieves to pull off this expedition. Without a doubt you will have to help them but that is how the world works, a favour for a favour.

2)Discreetly canvass the adventurers in the tent city. People from all over the known world are gathered here and may well provide useful skills for your expedition. However there are good reasons why these people are here and not a member of an actual organization, they may be a little strange and you can not really trust them either.

3)Look into securing the services of a mercenary group, many of these men and women served in the Legion during the war, they have the skills but it will cost you. They can provide the most reliable muscle out of all your options with the exception of actual Imperial soldiers.

4)See if you can use some of your old master's connections to get the help of one of the less orthodox circles. The Warlocks might be able to help as they care little for Imperial laws and are only concerned with knowledge and power. Having another mage or two come along may be a great boon but if your master had taught you anything it is that every other mage is potential competition which you may have to deal with to get your prize.

5)Magic help would be nice but there is no way you are trusting the Warlocks, there is another option however, the Children of the Callieach, a fairly secretive and minor magical circle more interested in the recovery of the past for the benefit of all. They are far less powerful than the Warlocks, dealing mostly in illusions but they are an option.

C) This is the standard other choice, this choice will always be available, if you ever have a plan I would love to hear it.

Also remember that the name vote is still open so feel free to offer suggestions or vote for a name.

 

[Anabanana]

B1. I'm fine with trading a favour for a favour, as long as we get our hands on the stone at the end. Seems like a natural fit if we're going to be doing clandestine work anyway.

EDIT: B2, B5

 

[Fangshi]

Noted, but don't forget if you go with b choices then you can pick two options to pursue.

And if anyone has any questions just let me know.

 

[Kipeci]

B4, I'm sure we won't come to regret it.

 

[Esquilax]

Getting government backing is nice, but it sucks to risk your neck like that only to give somebody else what you worked hard for.

Fangshi, how much money do we have? I can't imagine our character being too well off.

The warlocks are far too untrustworthy and much more powerful than us at this point, so I don't want to ask them for help. Canvassing the local lunatics seems like a lot of fun though. We might find a diamond in the rough if we're lucky - though with our winning personality, I don't know if that'll be the case.

B2, B5

 

[Anabanana]

You get two options for B, people.

I assume that we can use our spoils from the expedition to pay the mercenary group? We're only here for the stone after all, so anything else is fair game for our partners?

Good point that looking for lunatics in the rough might be fun, but they're untrustworthy and we have a Charisma stat of 2. So uh. Better let money do the talking for us.

I agree that B4 is a definite no-no. Unless you reaaally want to meet other mages.

EDIT: Oh wait, I see there is a new option. BRB flopping.
EDIT: BRB unflopping, they'll probably want to donate the stone to a museum or something.

 

[Fangshi]

Getting government backing is nice, but it sucks to risk your neck like that only to give somebody else what you worked hard for.

Fangshi, how much money do we have? I can't imagine our character being too well off.

The warlocks are far too untrustworthy and much more powerful than us at this point, so I don't want to ask them for help. Canvassing the local lunatics seems like a lot of fun though. We might find a diamond in the rough if we're lucky - though with our winning personality, I don't know if that'll be the case.

Well I may slip some of the unsuccessful backgrounds from the vote into the tent camp as characters since I liked the ideas you lot came up with, if you go looking maybe you will find them but it really is up to luck (seriously I will roll dice and everything)...

Well you don't have a whole lot of money, you sold off the artifacts you recovered from your last run and you are not a wasteful sort of person so you have enough to get by. You have enough to pursue all of the options with a reasonable chance of success, for example you have enough to put a down payment on a merc. troop if you give them a share of the loot. The Old Empire was very wealthy and there is a good chance of finding more mundane treasure along with the stone.

I added another magic circle if you are uncomfortable with the Warlocks, less useful but more trustworthy they are interested in knowledge but not in possessing it but instead spreading it.

Also you can pick two choices if you want.

they'll probably want to donate the stone to a museum or something.

They might, but they are interested in knowledge in general, the stone is powerful but grants little knowledge. Now if you find spellbooks and the like they will want those.

Basically actual mages are quite powerful in Myth but they rarely trust one another. Even the master-pupil relationship is a bit strained. They are useful but they are also interested in the same things you are. Maybe you can share and maybe you can't, we will just have to see.


Note to everyone: if you are purposely limiting yourself to one pick then make a note of it so I know. If more people choose to pursue only one lead then the most popular one will be chosen, if more people decide to pick two leads then the most popular two will be chosen.

 

[JagreenLern]

I vote B. 3 and 4.

 

[Night Goat]

Well, now we've tripled the number of female characters in the setting.

Anyway, I'm going B5 for my first choice, as I'd like to know more about the Callieach. Otherwise I'd go B3, since the soldiers in the games seemed bro enough.

 

[Fangshi]

Anyway, I'm going B5 for my first choice, as I'd like to know more about the Callieach. Otherwise I'd go B3, since the soldiers in the games seemed bro enough.

You can do both if you want, you will visit one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Or is this a conditional vote like B5>B3?

Well, now we've tripled the number of female characters in the setting.

Yeah women will play a larger role in this CYOA than in the games, something like 1/2 to 2/3 of the population of the entire world was wiped out in the wars and a lot of them were men so a lot of positions are open to be filled by whoever has the talent. Sort of like WW1 only on a larger scale.