[LP CYOA] 傳

[Nevill]

Why do you think it will be that bad, though?

I know the current arguments for A are really flimsy, but that can be said about any of the choices.

The bone-melting technique is a concern... but I guess a lot depends on whom you use it on. The Bloody Diamond Horn is supposed to rip people apart, yet it barely had an effect on the Abbott. Fancy Shaolin neigong nonwithstanding, there must be something about the inner strength that helps resist these moves, as we've taken hits that would have finished lesser men, and survived.

I mean, I can make an argument against C just as easily, and I dislike D for its 'lets outwait this' approach when facing a superior opponent.

Hell, I have half a mind to become a wheel in a bandwagon and go A myself.

 

[tropic]

My thinking is:

A will occupy her full attention, and I think we do have the speed advantage - even wounded Shun evaded her

B is also in her face, but she has the suite of Jiuyin techniques, including the weapon-blocking one (legendary swords vs legendary technique? who knows, but it's a big risk)

C is using ranged techniques against an opponent who is obviously superior with ranged qi-based techniques

D seems too passive to occupy her attention, furthermore Taiji relies on harmony with Tao and we are currently in a face-to-face battle with the will of heaven

E is turning your back on her - how did that work out against BJ?

 

[Nevill]

A will occupy her full attention, and I think we do have the speed advantage - even wounded Shun evaded her

True. But we have two goals here. To protect Shun, and not to die. We should not dismiss the latter one.

B is also in her face, but she has the suite of Jiuyin techniques, including the weapon-blocking one (legendary aword vs legendary technique? who knows, but its a big risk)

Well, it also puts an unbreakable pointy metal stick between us and her. The barrier is a bit overrated, I think. What makes our hands different from swords? The fact that we can channel qi through them?

C is using ranged techniques against an opponent who is obviously superior with ranged qi-based techniques

Wait-wait-wait. What? What ranged qi techniques are we talking about? Where did we even see that?

D seems too passive to occupy her attention, furthermore Taiji relies on harmony with Tao and we are currently in a face-to-face battle with the will of heaven

Since the celestial domain is no more, yet she persists in trying to interfere in the affairs of mortals, I think the lady qualifies as a renegade. Moreover, I am not a very literate person when it comes to philosophy, but what does Tao have to do with gods?

 

[ChumBucket]

My thinking is:

A will occupy her full attention, and I think we do have the speed advantage - even wounded Shun evaded her

Her attacks will also be inherently deceptive since they are Jiuyin. Do you feel better having a little space buffer to react, or so close that you have no room to recover if you misread them?

 

[tropic]

True. But we have two goals here. To protect Shun, and not to die. We should not dismiss the latter one.

Gotta go all out to save Shun! We are already a lost cause, may as well make the best of it...

Well, it also puts an unbreakable pointy metal stick between us and her. The barrier is a bit overrated, I think. What makes our hands different from swords? The fact that we can channel qi through them?

Who knows for sure, but that's the technique as I understand it. I did conditionally vote B, as I suspect we can overwhelm it with both swords.

Wait-wait-wait. What? What ranged qi techniques are we talking about? Where did we even see that?

She is currently resummoning her shadow army - I'm thinking this is like forcing a concentration check on that particular spell/technique. If she has to block super-fast kicks and deadly claws, can she maintain focus on the summoning?

Since the celestial domain is no more, yet she persists in trying to interfere in the affairs of mortals, I think the lady qualifies as a renegade. Moreover, I am not a very literate person when it comes to philosophy, but what does Tao have to do with gods?

This is, IMO, legit - she may actually be the one acting out of harmony now.

 

[Nevill]

She is currently resummoning her shadow army - I'm thinking this is like forcing a concentration check on that particular spell/technique. If she has to block super-fast kicks and deadly claws, can she maintain focus on the summoning?

Well, for one, since when the shadows became a ranged qi technique? Secondly, does she really try to summon anything, or is it just a cool special effect reflecting her killing intent? Thirdly, if she is going to stand there and look cool, we can blast her off straight away, which is why she is assuming the stance and preparing for an attack herself.

I don't think we interpret the text in the same way.

 

[tropic]

I'm on mobile so I can't look up the Jiuyin technique list, but it's the final technique from there - not just a special effect.

 

[Nevill]

Yeah, I assumed it too, at first. I asked what it does, and the answer was "you'll know it when you get hit by it", which is less than reassuring.

But other than it involves shadows, we know little about it. Might be anything.

Also, the list of the legendary techniques is linked to in the first post, in the 'Sects and techniques' section.

 

[ChumBucket]

I agree Nevill, there is nothing in the text of C that says Jing won't attack, just that he doesn't get in her face.

 

[Absinthe]

Her attacks will also be inherently deceptive since they are Jiuyin. Do you feel better having a little space buffer to react, or so close that you have no room to recover if you misread them?

I feel better being so close I'm touching her than so far that I have to depend on eyes and ears. It's much harder to be deceived when you're that close.

 

[tropic]

To engage in some stat-sturbation and having re-read, the qi barrier can block "even weapons and projectiles" implying everything up to that point (including fists).

So swords are just as good as fists from that perspective. Now, something interesting from eighteen palms:

The Frost Dragon Pierces The Ice – A palm strike consecutively executed twice on the same spot, the first a yin-dominant soft attack, the second a yang-dominant hard attack. Useful in breaking past qi defenses.

 

[ChumBucket]

Both carry risks of being deceived. I feel better having that buffer. We will be in chaos mode in option A and thus have a lower perception. And if physical contact is lost we will be just as easy (if not easier) to deceive.

 

[Absinthe]

The whole point of A is that we're not even dependent on perception for our fighting style.

And C has problems: Dragon-Subduing Palms probably loses to Jiuyin Holy Dragon Palms. We cannot afford to make a single mistake (we are new to these palm techniques). And we need her full attention so Shun does not die, so an all-out offense is our best bet. Plus, a strategy that depends on creating an opening against Jiuyin deceptive combat tech seems likely to bite us in the ass.

And tropic, we'd be more likely to use Frost Dragon Pierces the Ice in A (which is close range) than C (which is medium range, and too far away for this move). We also have White Tortoiseshell Breaker - "a style of forming claws strong and sharp enough to puncture the defences of the opponent, no matter their ability."

 

[tropic]

I hear you Absinthe... I'm still on A because I don't like the mid-range approach and I think our sword techniques are a little more on the defensive side.

 

[Nevill]

If Dragon-Subduing Palms loses to Jiuyin Holy Dragon Palms, then how come Shouwang Claws don't lose to the Bone Melting Claws?

Can't we accept that techniques are not inherently better than each other, but simply different?

The choice of techniques is pretty clear, too. Claws and kicks in A, swords in B, palms in C. I don't get it why we are more likely to use one in a choice that it does not correspond to. We'll be using everything in our arsenal, but it stands to reason that the technique chosen as a primary mean of offense will see more use.

When it says 'medium ranged' it does not mean we are using 2 or 3 ranged moves we have. It means that we are not purposefully closing the distance, instead deflecting blows and trying to stay out of reach.

 

[Absinthe]

Because Dragon-Subduing Palms seem to be a downgraded version of Jiuyin's Holy Dragon Palms to begin with.

Shouwang Claws is just ZJ tech, based on Shaolin moves, it seems.

 

[Nevill]

There're a few techniques in those manuals that have been cherry-picked and gradually evolved over the centuries. Also: Holy Dragon Palms, Dragon Subduing Palms.

Where does the 'downgraded' part come from? I see 'evolved'.

Much like Zhang's claw tech evolved from Shaolin one and God knows what else.

 

[ChumBucket]

Dragon-Subduing Palms uses yin dominant, mixed qi, and yang dominant moves. Comparing the yin only Juiyin Palms to them is like comparing apples to every kind of different fruit.

 

[Absinthe]

That's a bit like saying Yiyang Finger is more evolved than the Jiuyang Divine Finger.

I just kinda expect that in C we'd be using techniques against an opponent who understands the principles of our moves and knows more powerful versions of what we're doing. I agree that Dragon-Subduing Palms adds techniques unfamiliar to the Holy Dragon Palms though. It's just that overall, I think she's more likely to screw us over somewhere with her own palm moves.

At least Shouwang Claws are a different beast from Bone-dissolving Claws.

 

[Nevill]

Yiyang Finger is explicitly stated to be the toned down version of Jiuyang Divine Finger. No such statement was made for Xianlong Palms.

Besides, if we go by the names of the techniques, Yiyang Finger means One Yang Finger, while Jiuyang Divine Finger means Nine Yang Divine Finger. The names reflect their power levels.

Now, what does it say about Holy Dragon Palms and Dragon Subduing Palms?

Simply put, it is too much of a wild assumption to consider seriously.

Oh, and given that the manuals were out there for hundreds of years... I would not be too quick to discard a possibility that there is a connection to any of the orthodox techniques we've seen. Not that it means anything.

 

[Absinthe]

At any rate, none of this changes the fact that you want to use completely new moves as your core combat strategy against an opponent where you cannot afford to make a single mistake.

 

[Akkudakku]

Let's just not DIE here

 

[Rex Feral]

What the fook is a happening here?

Nevermind, I'll just give my two cents.

I'll concentrate on these

She will kill the both of you if you try to grab Shun and run.

That means running is a no go. It isn't even an option really.

She will kill Shun if you do not occupy anything less than her full attention.

That means defensive tactics are out since she doesn't really need to get close to kill him, she might snipe him with some qi projection or something.

She will kill you if you make so much as a single mistake in battle.

That means going all out might kill us. Or not going all out. But I presume it means we gotta think tactical here.

I'll go with B. A seems like it will kill us while C and D might have Shun dying as an outcome. C less so than D, however.

Besides, this is the Ten Sword Conference, if I'd be writing this I'd put an emphasis on legendary swords and let them shine in this chapter.

B>C

 

[Absinthe]

Rex Feral, why are you ruling out A? Also, I gave my analysis of all the options here.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

At any rate, none of this changes the fact that you want to use completely new moves as your core combat strategy against an opponent where you cannot afford to make a single mistake.

Because these never won us a fight right after we learned them:
Pine-Cutting Sword
Deceptive Fish Stab
Wuxiang Qiankun Skill
Luanshi Wuchangdao
Taiji Sword