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In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Double-checking the tally and yeah, looks like D takes it. Tarot fortunetelling scene unlocked :M
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I like his commentary, for what it is worth. Who'd have thought that having voices in your head to confer with could be so neat!

Another reason why I am not worried for Sophie. :M
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
The Flight Home (I)


This is your first time on an airship. You are still not too sure about how airships work, but you vaguely remember something about Astra-powered propulsion that enables the ship to soar into the sky. According to Papus, he has named this sleek, blue airship the Zohar. While it belongs to the Hunter's Association on paper, he is responsible for its maintenance and operation, and has been allowed to take it just about anywhere he pleases as long as it is ostensibly for official duty. The airship's hull is smaller than the one which you had seen near the ruins. Papus claimed that the cabin could fit no more than ten people. As it turned out, that was not exactly the case. The cabin would be hard pressed to fit more than five, what with the amount of old books and arcane apparatus littering the floor. The musty smell of old pages fills the air.. Sophie and Elizabeth are outside on the deck, where the wind is fresh, while Tlalli is sleeping on a hammock at the back of the cabin.

"...and that is why the key to the mysteries laid out by the Tarot can be found in the arrangement of the Tetragrammaton." Papus has been lecturing you on his vision of the Kabbalah and fortune-telling with no thought given to whether or not he was talking to a child who would be unlikely to comprehend anything coming out of his mouth. You are unable to get even a word in, faced with his incomprehensible wall of words. Just as you are about to start regretting the decision to attempt talking with Papus, he makes a rather curious suggestion. "Given that we will be continuing to coast for another hour or so, how about I read your future?"

With nothing other to do and already having invested hours in listening to him talk about a subject you don't understand, you agree.

Excited, Papus clears up a small table on the cabin, brushing off papers and books to create enough of an open space for him to lay down his cards. Muttering esoteric chants, he begins to draw ornate cards from a deck, laying them face down; five cards in an upright cross, and five around them in a circle.

"Now, let us first reveal the spiritual heart of your future." Papus takes the center card, and flips it over. It shows a naked woman under a circle of stars. "The Arcana of the Star, reversed." Papus frowns, and begins to interpret what the card means. "The Star is a symbol of hope, and when reversed, the opposite holds true. In your future, there will be despair. However, the Star also serves as a guiding light, whether or not it is reversed, and thus you should not lack for a purpose when despair visits."

"The recent event that set you on this path will be illuminated by this next card." Flipping over the card on the left of the first one, Papus proceeds to call it the Eight of Swords. "This card signifies fear and caution on your part, and partial success on that of your foe. An encounter in the recent past has caused you to take a wary resolution, perhaps?"

Next, Papus flips over the card on the right of the center. "This card symbolizes what may be immediately to come. It is the Knight of Cups, which stands for changes and opportunities, particularly of a romantic nature."

The card at the bottom is subsequently flipped, showing a card with a queen on it. "The Empress, reversed. This position is the foundation of your reading, the root cause. It suggests that deep down, you feel unsatisfied yet stagnant, with a lack of growth in particular facets of your life. Perhaps you may consider yourself lacking in charm, for example." Papus eyes you, and then shrugs at your silence. "Maybe, maybe not."

He then proceeds to flip the card at the top of the central cross. "This is the resolution of your reading. This card is the Tower. The Tower signifies a great change to come. It will happen regardless of your readiness for it. Whether or not you weather that change is, of course, up to your own will."

"Now, let us look at the auxiliary readings." Papus begins flipping over the five cards on the outside circle one by one, reading them as he goes. "The reversed Knight of Wands is one possible outcome in your future. The Knight of Wands symbolizes stability, and to be more precise, it is the illustration of a family man, a father. Reversed, it may signify a loss of such a figure."

"The card which represents your fears is the Moon. This is straightforward - it tells of enemies, hidden and dangerous."

"The Four of Coins points to hindrances in your future. This card denotes the loss of wealth. Why, a surefire way to hinder a man, for sure!"

"Now, the card next to this is regarding the role and outlook of others close to you. Here we see the Two of Cups. As I must have mentioned, the Minor Arcana of the Cups are related to romance. Here, the Two of Cups means that there will be opposition to the commencement of any love affairs due to minor obstacles raised by the lover herself."

"Finally, the last card is about your own outlook. This is... the Hermit, reversed. While upright it is a card that denotes solitude in pursuit of enlightenment and spirituality, reversed, this card suggests withdrawal, loneliness, and isolation. Indeed, I would advise any who encounter the reversed Hermit to not lose themselves in thinking that they have to handle everything alone."

Finishing his reading of the cards, Papus strokes his bushy beard with a rather pompous and satisfied smile. "I would not be so boorish as to ask if I had, naturally, nailed every thought in your head. Regardless, we can narrow down the questions and make a targeted reading, should you desire. Romance? Career? Health? There are plenty of truths to uncover. We still have some time, after all."


***


You decide to:

A. Ask about romance. It is a topic you might be getting gradually more interested in.

B. Ask about career. Knowing if you will do well at earning a living might be comforting.

C. Ask about health. Between your leg and the strange dreams you had in the desert, you may be getting slightly concerned over your health.

D. Not ask anything - if this is accurate, vaguely knowing the future will not do you any good.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Wow ok, rude.
:lol:

It looks like our opponent got a leg up on us, our life will soon experience another dramatic upheaval, we'll be broke and stuck taking care of a girlfriend and a baby, while dealing with a messiah complex.

At least we still have our doge.
:shittydog:

A>C. If our journey taught me anything, it's that we need to step up our game. That being said, the smart thing to do is have the paranormal expert take a look at our leg.
 
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CappenVarra

phase-based phantasmist
Patron
Joined
Mar 14, 2011
Messages
2,912
Location
Ardamai
C. Ask about health. Between your leg and the strange dreams you had in the desert, you may be getting slightly concerned over your health.

i can't believe it's not butter
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Ah, a prophecy masquerading for a fortune reading. Every epic adventure needs one.
sWqsYWeN_o.jpg
"The Star is a symbol of hope, and when reversed, the opposite holds true. In your future, there will be despair. However, the Star also serves as a guiding light, whether or not it is reversed, and thus you should not lack for a purpose when despair visits."
"Now, let us look at the auxiliary readings." Papus begins flipping over the five cards on the outside circle one by one, reading them as he goes. "The reversed Knight of Wands is one possible outcome in your future. The Knight of Wands symbolizes stability, and to be more precise, it is the illustration of a family man, a father. Reversed, it may signify a loss of such a figure."
Also, the loss of wealth and a great change...
...Father McClellan is about to get Owen Lars' treatment to set a hero on his path, isn't he? :negative:
It is one of the possible futures, but we should keep that in mind, since I don't think we'll be seeing much stability.

It might not help much, but let's be careful when it comes to involving family in our affairs, yeah? At least in things that are in our power to do.

"This card signifies fear and caution on your part, and partial success on that of your foe. An encounter in the recent past has caused you to take a wary resolution, perhaps?"
What is this about? Who is our enemy in the first place? Is it Alexei? Is it Uridimmu, the one who scared us real good and whose offer we warily turned down? Or perhaps the one that used his fragment to try and kill Rain?

B. Ask about career. Knowing if you will do well at earning a living might be comforting.

Alright, if we are going to make a living "killing monsters" we might as well get a headstart and learn the rates.
 
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Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
I get that our leg (and overall health) has been fucked for quite some time, but considering where the tarot reading is guiding us, I think we'd be unwise to not go the romance route. I've highlighted the relevant bits:

Next, Papus flips over the card on the right of the center. "This card symbolizes what may be immediately to come. It is the Knight of Cups, which stands for changes and opportunities, particularly of a romantic nature."

The card at the bottom is subsequently flipped, showing a card with a queen on it. "The Empress, reversed. This position is the foundation of your reading, the root cause. It suggests that deep down, you feel unsatisfied yet stagnant, with a lack of growth in particular facets of your life. Perhaps you may consider yourself lacking in charm, for example." Papus eyes you, and then shrugs at your silence. "Maybe, maybe not."

Wrinkly, as we've played him, doesn't particularly give a fuck about being charming. But I think that this lack of satisfaction, combined with the last card (Hermit) implies that this lack of satisfaction is driven by a feeling of isolation and lack of connection with others.

"Now, let us look at the auxiliary readings." Papus begins flipping over the five cards on the outside circle one by one, reading them as he goes. "The reversed Knight of Wands is one possible outcome in your future. The Knight of Wands symbolizes stability, and to be more precise, it is the illustration of a family man, a father. Reversed, it may signify a loss of such a figure."

This could also represent our character too, not necessarily Father McLellan. I read this as a warning if we keep leaving Rain to go off adventuring without her.

"Now, the card next to this is regarding the role and outlook of others close to you. Here we see the Two of Cups. As I must have mentioned, the Minor Arcana of the Cups are related to romance. Here, the Two of Cups means that there will be opposition to the commencement of any love affairs due to minor obstacles raised by the lover herself."

What love story would it be if there wasn't a struggle beforehand? The tsundere is an anime treave LP fiction mainstay.

"Finally, the last card is about your own outlook. This is... the Hermit, reversed. While upright it is a card that denotes solitude in pursuit of enlightenment and spirituality, reversed, this card suggests withdrawal, loneliness, and isolation. Indeed, I would advise any who encounter the reversed Hermit to not lose themselves in thinking that they have to handle everything alone."

This is key right here. Our character is starting his journey, but he needs people he loves around him lest he burns out. We can't just be constantly chasing after new, daring challenges, or else it will end badly for our guy's psyche, and for his eventual success as well. This last bit sold it for me - you gotta have someone to love.

I'm really glad we picked this guy to talk to.

A > C
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
*sigh* No one is interested in honest work anymore.

Fine, romantic advice from a nerd it is.

Switching to A.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Chicks love astrology. Fated meetings, star-crossed lovers, all that jazz.

Astrologists, not so much.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
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ChumBucket

Augur
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
349
What is this about? Who is our enemy in the first place? Is it Alexei? Is it Uridimmu, the one who scared us real good and whose offer we warily turned down? Or perhaps the one that used his fragment to try and kill Rain?
Just like any good tarot reading, it will keep us second guessing, and drawing conclusions based on our own bias.
I think we'd be unwise to not go the romance route
Fine, I'll bite on this one. Lets see where this rabbit hole takes us. A>C it is.
 

Orbit

Scholar
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
108
Meh, not interested in more of this astrology bullshit. Leave the horoscope stuff to gullible fools. D.
 

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