Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[Baltika9]

But what if the true Theseus... is us?

 

[Tigranes]

A: Bullshitting these kids seems like a bad idea. Trying to paint ourselves as some sort of good guy sounds like it could backfire on us spectacularly down the road when it's obvious that we're not. Appearing as a great hero to your minions, only to have them become disillusioned later, has been the downfall of many an evil Overlord. This way, even though we're an asshole, we'd be an honest asshole.

And honestly, do you really see Erdrick as being good enough at manipulation to convince these kids that he's some sort of saint for the next couple of years? Fuck, sounds like too much work. He'd rather avoid it altogether.

A: The clear and obvious choice here. Our character is a pervert at heart and he has not gotten laid in quite some time. We need to unwind and relax a bit. The last few weeks have been nothing but battle and adventure.

B: While I think payment in breasts would be sufficient, we did loot the bodies for a reason.

Alright, flop to AAC. I'm generally in agreement and this is similar to my original vote anyway... but I still think they gave us the money, it's only half the normal payment, it seems way too needlessly dogoody to give it back. Kreia would be furious. If we can't take all the loot back, the villagers can loot the rest, or not. No need to do it and trade.

 

[Esquilax]

Alright, flop to AAC. I'm generally in agreement and this is similar to my original vote anyway... but I still think they gave us the money, it's only half the normal payment, it seems way too needlessly dogoody to give it back. Kreia would be furious. If we can't take all the loot back, the villagers can loot the rest, or not. No need to do it and trade.

The way I see it, if we can't carry all the loot, why not let the villagers have it? That is, assuming that they aren't creeped out by the prospect of accepting spoils of war from the dead. Would they be, treave?

And, well, assuming that this girl is worth ten silvers, then I suppose it's a fair trade, isn't it? I wonder what that amount of money would be able to buy us.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

But what if the true Theseus... is us?

Then we must kill ourselves.

More seriously:
Theseus is defined mainly by his or her prioritization "love" over the very life of the player character. Granted, most people would prioritize a loved one over anyone else, but the Theseus doesn't even need a direct threat to that person's life in order to kill the player character.

Naim only suspected that our trying to find and rescue Kyrie would get her killed - and so he shot us in the eye. Theseus himself just didn't want to be late for a rendezvous with his beloved, so he stabbed Ean in the throat. Uehara was told by a perfect stranger that murdering us in an occult blood ritual would set her sister free. Kyle was jealous that we were even trying to romance Mieren and so he cut her head off and was prepared to kill us too.

Therefor, the player character himself is only at risk of being a Theseus if the voters make that prioritization and are willing to literally kill the PC just on the off chance that he may endanger the life of a love interest. Though it's possible, it's unlikely. Usually, if we kill the player character, it is motivated by stupidity - in true codexian fashion.


edit: Actually, I forgot about the Spiral let's play: We were Theseus in that - or rather, our alter ego was Theseus. He prioritized his love over every living thing including himself.

 

[treave]

The way I see it, if we can't carry all the loot, why not let the villagers have it? That is, assuming that they aren't creeped out by the prospect of accepting spoils of war from the dead. Would they be, treave?

They would be uneasy about it, but would try to be polite and appreciate your gesture.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Taking the loot from the dead may bring reprisals. Our kind gesture may get them all killed later on - that's my thinking, but then it's based on an episode of the anime The Legend of the Legendary Heroes.

 

[treave]

There's too much loot to carry if you don't split it up, so even if you take all of it, you'll still have to send the goblins to retrieve it later.

 

[Esquilax]

Y'know, I think that we'll net a sufficient score from the loot in the battle. Asking for tits and money might make the villagers resentful. They'll do it if we demand it, but I think it'll stir up some ill will with them, which I'd like to avoid seeing as they're our neighbours. On that note, I'm flopping my original post to AAA.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

We just saved their miserable lives and life of their prince. Their silver will be replaced by the prince and the loot from the dead probably isn't even wanted by them.

Granted, the woman is asking a lot, but it's not our fault that we were born DDC. I mean, it is our fault, but not our character's.

 

[Kipeci]

Didn't we pull a Theseus earlier? You know, betraying all of our friends (many of which seemed a good deal closer to us than Kyle) and so on for the sake of attraction to a pretty girl?

 

[Esquilax]

Didn't we pull a Theseus earlier? You know, betraying all of our friends (many of which seemed a good deal closer to us than Kyle) and so on for the sake of attraction to a pretty girl?

No, you see it's completely different! You see, the difference between what we did and what Kyle did is that 'gs,al;hagksma FUCK KYLE KILL THAT BACKSTABBING CUNT OF A THESEUS!!!

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

We weren't actually going to kill them. Besides, as I said, Theseus tries to kill the Player Character. We were not a Theseus. We were just a horny asshole.

 

[Kipeci]

It wasn't for lack of trying with what that amulet did.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

And we didn't know about the amulet. Again, not a Theseus - just a horny asshole.

 

[archaen]

I like watching the formation of Treave-ology. Interpertation of weaboo themes through the lens of Codexian angst.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

BAA

 

[Nevill]

Taking the loot from the dead may bring reprisals.

From Barzamites? They kinda tried to slaughter them all for laughs and politics, I don't know how their reprisals would be any different from their normal behavior.

Y'know, I think that we'll net a sufficient score from the loot in the battle. Asking for tits and money might make the villagers resentful. They'll do it if we demand it, but I think it'll stir up some ill will with them

I am not seeing the problem. The village owes us 20 silver coins - going by the rates of the Adventurers' Guild, which they assumed we belong to - but can only afford 10. The girl is a way to compensate for those missing profits.

That we give them anything at all in return is a gesture of goodwill in itself.

Though I am, too, interested in what this kind of money could buy. 20 coins can't be that small of a sum, seeing how it can get you a small mercenary force to kill bandits for you.

We weren't actually going to kill them. Besides, as I said, Theseus tries to kill the Player Character.

You mean, the Protagonist. The Hero. That is, Kyle. Whom we plan to kill even now because of our love for Mieren.

I like the line of thought where something is only assholish when they are doing it to us. It is delightfully Codexian.

Yeah, no, we are Theseus, and it is you who made us that way by stalking Kyle in your jealous rage. Deal with it.

Granted, most people would prioritize a loved one over anyone else, but the Theseus doesn't even need a direct threat to that person's life in order to kill the player character.

You mean the Shulgi hunts where we try to kill people over a possibility of them trying to fuck us or our crew over?

Yeah, that's totally different.

Tally

Baltika9 A B>A C
Nevill C>B A B
asxetos A C B
lightbane A>B>C A>C>B B
Grimgravy C>B C=B B
Tigranes A A C
Absinthe A x x
Kz3r0 A A B
Azira B A B
GreyViper C A B
Elfberserker A A B
Smashing Axe A C C
Kipeci B C B
Jester B C>B B
Esquilax A A C
wjw B C B
TOME B B A
Lambchop A A C
Storyfag B C B
Rex Feral C B>C B
ScubaV B A B
profreshinal A A C>B
archaen A C B
Quetzacoatl B A A

A - 12
B - 8 (10)
C - 4 (2) Grimgravy, Nevill

A - 12 (13)
B - 3 (1) Baltika, Rex Feral
C - 8 (9)

A - 2
B - 15
C - 6

 

[Esquilax]

Flopping to AAC. We're doing this half-price anyways (the girl should account for the other ten silvers), so hopefully there isn't much resentment. Giving them a bunch of loot pilfered from the dead seems like it would be off-putting. Either take the money or don't, bartering spoils of war feels a bit too macabre for what is basically mercenary work to protect a village.

 

[Nevill]

Giving them a bunch of loot pilfered from the dead seems like it would be off-putting.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

We are teaching them a lesson in expediency, by showing them economical value of actions they have never considered before, like pimping off their girls and looting corpses. Give it a few years, and the backwater agrarian village will turn into a sprawling hub of scum and villainy, Las Erise, with Enzel family holding the largest casino network in the whole Methuss.

That's a much better way of boosting the region's economy than a trade with puny goblins.

And, well, assuming that this girl is worth ten silvers, then I suppose it's a fair trade, isn't it?

And if we don't like her, we can still sell her off to return the investment. Good choice all around!

 

[Baltika9]

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

“Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.”

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

From Barzamites? They kinda tried to slaughter them all for laughs and politics, I don't know how their reprisals would be any different from their normal behavior.

Well, the only reason they attacked this village was to lure the prince. They attacked the village with a small force and kept the rest of their troops waiting in the forest to surprise the prince. The goal was never to wipe out the village itself - only to draw the prince in to their trap. The next time, they would just want to bring all the troops quickly, slaughter the village and call it a day. That'll teach those greedy buggers.

You mean, the Protagonist. The Hero. That is, Kyle. Whom we plan to kill even now because of our love for Mieren.

No, again, Theseus is a term reserved for things that relate to the player character and not to NPCs. This is mainly because it seems particular to treave's own writing style to have characters that are motivated by love to be perfectly fine with murdering the player for any number of reasons - not that I'm criticizing that or saying it's unreasonable, just that it's a recurring theme. It has nothing to do with a moral judgment against Kyle or ourselves. It's merely a meta-classification for non-player characters. We are not an NPC and treave isn't solely responsible for our decisions. Therefor, no matter what we do, we cannot be a "Theseus". We can act like one, but we can never be one.

You mean the Shulgi hunts where we try to kill people over a possibility of them trying to fuck us or our crew over?

Shulgi is an entirely different classification. Shulgi is a perceived menace that we do not know actually poses a threat, but merely suspect that it does. For example, at present, Kyle could be our Shulgi, if we were obsessing over what-ifs about him knowing we've resurrected and gunning for us.

 

[treave]

This is mainly because it seems particular to treave's own writing style to have characters that are motivated by love to be perfectly fine with murdering the player for any number of reasons - not that I'm criticizing that or saying it's unreasonable, just that it's a recurring theme.

No, it's because you guys like it so much. Call it fanservice.

 

[lightbane]

The real threat isn't the adventurers guild but the level one villianess and her Theseus in training brother that we are currently raising. I foresee the two of them becoming a problem if we don't raise them carefully.

That's why one of our first mandates once we establish our Empire is to establish mandatory psychiatric counseling for all of our liutenants and other important characters. A slightly crazy behavior is acceptable, but if their psychosis reduces their performance in any way, then that's unacceptable. Moreover, we should fund a bunch of orphanages in order to be filled with all of the orphans of destroyed villages and the like. That way we prevent the rise of further heroes who may threaten us. Extra points if said orphans become soldiers later on, who cause the apparition of more orphans through a vicious circle of violence, Big Boss style.

PS: That Theseus guy sure generated a lot of butthurt

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

That Theseus guy sure generated a lot of butthurt

Yep. And not just from me. But it's less about butthurt now and more about eliminating a threat. Keep in mind that every character I have accused of being a Theseus has been a Theseus. All of them.

 

[Nevill]

No, again, Theseus is a term reserved for things that relate to the player character and not to NPCs.

Oh. 'This player character acts to NPCs like a Theseus would to PCs, but since I have arbitrarily excluded exactly that outcome from the word's definition he totally can't be called that.' Okay then.

I suppose I could introduce the term PCeseus so that it does not trigger you, but I see no need to use two words for what can accurately be summed up with one, and it would steer too much into fluid genderqueer territory where people come up with new words to descibe their unique circumstances.

We can act like one, but we can never be one.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

This is mainly because it seems particular to treave's own writing style to have characters that are motivated by love to be perfectly fine with murdering the player for any number of reasons

You mean like Jing murdered that poor bastard of an Imperial agent FOR SHUN, right? I mean, there was no particular reason, but it might have harmed our beloved somehow and so we killed him just to be on the safe space side.

Don't conflate the meta-memes.

Oh, I'd love to.

Spoiler

Theseus-Shulgi

But I am not conflating them. We are being Theseuses as we search for our Shulgis and eliminate the suspects or dick them over.

Yep. And not just from me.

I wonder.

The 'Dex as a whole seems to handle people like Bai Juitian a lot better than you.