[LP CYOA] 傳

[Baltika9]

Edit: In all seriousness: we decided several updates ago to attend this tournament as anonymously as possible. We stuck to that in our last choice. Neither of the choices here present us with any compelling reason to suddenly break this. What the hell are the Shaolin monks going to do to thank a dude showing them the way, pledge their undying loyalty and give Jing the sect's secrets?

That's actually a very fair question, what can we expect from the Shaolin monks? The way I see it, the Shaolin are a very respected bunch in the Orthodox world and while I really doubt we'll get information on our marks out of them directly, having them vouch for us, a no-name merchant's son, in the "locker room" could be our ice-breaker with the other sects, "oh, this guy isn't so bad even if he is rather unorthodox." Remember, it's all about learning the most of our competition.
As for Quilin, well, I don't think hanging around here is a must for us to keep our identity secret. She didn't appear to give a fuck when we dismissed her invitation:

“I would prefer searching on my own for a little while longer, Mistress Chi,” you say. You would like to stay away from her if you could. Who knows what manner of snakes she has hidden in the room as a pleasant surprise for you? Though truth be told, snake gall bladders have proven to be good for your inner strength, and you are running low on stock…

“Suit yourself. I’m at the Tanxiang Inn. You’ll know where to find me,” she smiles.

And I sincerely doubt she'll throw a hissy fit f we opt to stay out in the streets (although the look on her face when we'll eat her snakes will be hilarious), she has her own goals to take care of. It's not like we're her husband/boyfriend, plus developing our street smarts would be better for Jing's general development, he learns best through his own experiences, not having someone else explain it to him.

Now that we're out anonymously, I think it is even more worth it to invest in the drinking skill, to loosen up tongues and catch rumors in the midst of a social gathering, as opposed to picking pockets from those guys; social skills really do suit us better than that. Nevill, you were open to a flop from II to IV, I believe?

Edit: that, and if we accept Quilin's hospitality, she'll start pulling "favors" out of us. I think we have enough on our plate without having to take care of her shit as well.

Edit 2: going for AA.

 

[Nevill]

The way I see it, the Shaolin are a very respected bunch in the Orthodox world and while I really doubt we'll get information on our marks out of them directly, having them vouch for us, a no-name merchant's son, in the "locker room" could be our ice-breaker with the other sects, "oh, this guy isn't so bad even if he is rather unorthodox."

We will be wearing a mask in the "locker room". A merchant has no place there.

I expect to at least know the names of our marks from the monks.

She didn't appear to give a fuck when we dismissed her invitation:

Let's keep it that way. Without knowing what she is up to, there is no telling whether she will give a fuck in the future.

Nevill, you were open to a flop from II to IV, I believe?

No, I voted IV, but was open to flop to II in case of a tie. There is no longer a need to do so, since II should win by now on its own.

 

[Baltika9]

We don't have to wear a mask, bro, although going for the whole "White Wolf" thing is pretty tempting, I agree, and it will help us avoid attention from all the women that keep chasing Jing no matter where he goes. We have the invitation, the cover story is that we're a merchant's son that is interested in martial arts and there is no guest list. Nothing is preventing us from going in with our own face.
So, uh, is it possible to solicit that Sleight of Hand to Drinking flop?

 

[Ifeex]

AB.

 

[treave]

I, II already won. You can socialize with sleight of hand dice and card tricks anyway.

 

[Baltika9]

Street swindler, so be it.

 

[Nevill]

A tad better than a street drunkard.

 

[Absinthe]

AA

You guys realize that 2A means the Beggars’ Sect?

 

[Nevill]

You guys realize that 2A means the Beggars’ Sect?

Maybe. Are we going to reveal our identity to them, too? If not, they do not owe us anything. They don't owe us anything even if we do, though they at least would have a more favourable disposition towards us.

It is a choice of making an ally/not making an enemy out of a character we have cooperated before with and with whom we suspect we'll cross paths later, and trying to befriend some beggars from ground zero.

Truth is, I want to know where Qilin stands in relation to us. She is our link with an unorthodox world, and she is somehow connected to this whole story with the Ten Swords that had taken a back seat for now. I want her as an ally, plain and simple.

 

[Absinthe]

Beggars' Sect rep is already at +15, so it's only a short jump into +25 (Accepted). And we're trying to get info on the other competitors, which is what the Beggars' Sect specializes in. Revealing Jing's identity to the Beggars' Sect isn't a bad idea considering there are decent odds the Beggars' Sect would ID Jing anyway.

It's good to know more about Qilin, I agree, but that girl will try to trap Jing in unfavorable circumstances, so if we want to approach her, it's better to do it from a position of strength. Sure, she'll let us stay there if we part with our money, but then what is our broke ass going to do when we have expenses (which we will, staying in such a high class place) and she's right there? Not to mention the odds of going to the tournament poisoned. Of course she already recognized us, so we're already in a bad position. Anyway, the Beggars' Sect might be able to help with learning about Chi Qilin too. Also, there are chances that going to the inn with her will endanger chances of Cao'er traveling with Jing.

 

[Nevill]

Revealing Jing's identity to the Beggars' Sect isn't a bad idea considering there are decent odds the Beggars' Sect would ID Jing anyway.

They are information brokers, for God's sake. You give away that information, you don't know where and when it comes up. Hell no, we did not go in the city anonymously to spill the beans to the first beggar we came across. Making use of those measly +15 rep points is just not worth the risk.

Not to mention the odds of going to the tournament poisoned. Of course she already recognized us, so we're already in a bad position.

This. If she wants to screw you over, she can already do so. No need for poisons, traps and other unpleasant business.
If she doesn't, it would be good to keep the status quo, and possibly make a friend out of her. Knowing what whe wants would be a nice first step either way.

 

[XenomorphII]

AB

 

[Baltika9]

Well, if you're going for 2B to keep on Quilin's good side, it may have just the opposite effect. Think about it, she was sent here by her father to not just compete, but win:

“Perhaps. My father managed to procure an invite for me, and he thought it would do me some good to experience this event. What is your story, Mistress Chi?”

“The same, actually. My father decided this would be a good test of my abilities since I disappointed him in a previous test,” she shrugs. “So, I’ve actually been following you from inn to inn for a while now. Having trouble finding a place to stay?”
...

“My family’s first motto is, ‘profit determines allies’. We don’t do anything for free, and everyone knows it. Money will do fine.” She peers at you. “You are a rich merchant’s son, are you not?” You have made some money on your way here from dispensing herbs and selling cheap medicines, so you were not exactly impoverished.

Quilin is a smart girl, too smart to start strong-arming favors out of us right off the bat after not seeing us for over a year and a half. If we move in with her, however, she'll start to ask for one favor and then another, and then another, etc... until we find ourselves in a shitty situation because we've been looking out for her interests, which definitely don't coincide with the wellbeing of the orthodox sects, and haven't been looking out for our interests. That's how she got us to go on her nightly excursion with her in the Manor in the first place, act all coy and friendly and then put her booty in our lap as we're sleeping, "Oh Jiiiing, won't you help me, my knight in shining armor?" Fuck this cocktease.

As a matter of fact, declining her advances after we accept her hospitality will insult her much more than just avoiding her now, she gave us a clean way out:

“I would prefer searching on my own for a little while longer, Mistress Chi,” you say. You would like to stay away from her if you could. Who knows what manner of snakes she has hidden in the room as a pleasant surprise for you? Though truth be told, snake gall bladders have proven to be good for your inner strength, and you are running low on stock…

“Suit yourself. I’m at the Tanxiang Inn. You’ll know where to find me,” she smiles.

And that's not to get involved with her in the first place.
Also, if the orthodox bros we meet find out we're lodging with her, I don't think "swag" will be a satisfying explanation for them.

 

[Jester]

Well, if you're going for 2B to keep on Quilin's good side, it may have just the opposite effect. Think about it, she was sent here by her father to not just compete, but win:

“Perhaps. My father managed to procure an invite for me, and he thought it would do me some good to experience this event. What is your story, Mistress Chi?”

“The same, actually. My father decided this would be a good test of my abilities since I disappointed him in a previous test,” she shrugs. “So, I’ve actually been following you from inn to inn for a while now. Having trouble finding a place to stay?”
...

“My family’s first motto is, ‘profit determines allies’. We don’t do anything for free, and everyone knows it. Money will do fine.” She peers at you. “You are a rich merchant’s son, are you not?” You have made some money on your way here from dispensing herbs and selling cheap medicines, so you were not exactly impoverished.

Quilin is a smart girl, too smart to start strong-arming favors out of us right off the bat after not seeing us for over a year and a half. If we move in with her, however, she'll start to ask for one favor and then another, and then another, etc... until we find ourselves in a shitty situation because we've been looking out for her interests, which definitely don't coincide with the wellbeing of the orthodox sects, and haven't been looking out for our interests. That's how she got us to go on her nightly excursion with her in the Manor in the first place, act all coy and friendly and then pu her booty in our lap as we're sleeping, "Oh Jiiiing, won't you help me, my knight in shining armor?" Fuck this cocktease.

As a matter of fact, declining her advances after we accept her hospitality will insult her much more than just avoiding her now, she gave us a clean way out:

“I would prefer searching on my own for a little while longer, Mistress Chi,” you say. You would like to stay away from her if you could. Who knows what manner of snakes she has hidden in the room as a pleasant surprise for you? Though truth be told, snake gall bladders have proven to be good for your inner strength, and you are running low on stock…

“Suit yourself. I’m at the Tanxiang Inn. You’ll know where to find me,” she smiles.

And that's not to get involved with her in the first place.
Also, if the orthodox bros we meet find out we're lodging with her, I don't think "swag" will be a satisfying explanation for them.

Emm i think that most people wish to throw the competition anyway so why dont make deal with her that if we will met her in battle we will drop out? We should get some rep points with her for something we would do anyway.

 

[Esquilax]

Absinthe, our Beggars Sect rep is irrelevant here, because we aren't using our rep as Xu Jing, we're using a fabricated identity. For all intents and purposes, our Beggar's Sect rep is 0. Nevertheless, staying with Chi Qilin while trying to get in good with the Shaolin here is a terrible idea. It involves trying to do to many things at once and it'll end with us unable to keep all those identities separate. I'm willing to take my chances on the street and avoid most of the inns about town than I am to sleep at a viper's nest while trying to keep all the orthodox types that we'll be meeting from knowing about it.

Consider this: if we stay on our own, we can present ourselves as a good-hearted, but misguided street rat who just hasn't gotten around to joining a sect yet. This gives us the benefit of the doubt. Should these Shaolin (or anybody else, for that matter) discover where we're staying, they'll probably assume that we're part of the Wudu cult, at best. That destroys our ability to really fly under the radar and get these guys to trust us. Given how many people know us, it'll be impossible to keep up this double-life forever.

It would be good to remember why we did so. To buddy up with orthodox types more easily and procure information.

But how exactly we do that is extremely important. We don't want to be put into an awkward position: we're going to be presenting ourselves as a charming, likable unorthodox type to these Shaolin monks. They'll think that we're misguided for not being part of a sect, but they'll think that we've got our heart in the right place. If we stay with Chi Qilin, this presents problems: considering her father lives there, I'm fairly certain that the inn she's leading us to is a place of ill repute. The other problem is that any help that she provides inevitably comes with strings.

You suspect that she'll reveal that we're Zhang's apprentice, but nothing in her character has really shown her to be a rat. She kept our affair with Madame Jiang quiet, remember?

“So, that’s the second favour you owe me,” grins Qilin. You give her a stare of disbelief. “I could have done it myself in a while! Wait, second favour? What’s the first one?”

“Oh, think about that yourself,” she smiles mischievously.

It is a choice of making an ally/not making an enemy out of a character we have cooperated before with and with whom we suspect we'll cross paths later, and trying to befriend some beggars from ground zero.

Truth is, I want to know where Qilin stands in relation to us. She is our link with an unorthodox world, and she is somehow connected to this whole story with Ten Swords that had taken a back seat for now. I want her as an ally, plain and simple.

We're already on fairly good terms with her. She already said that it isn't a big deal if we decide to refuse her invite.

Oh, and it's interesting you mention the Ten Swords. Because I'm fairly certain that a poisoner looking to seek approval from her powerful uncle would love to know how to get her hands on ours. Remember that she doesn't even know that we possess the Yuchang Sword - how are we going to hide the sword from her and hide our identity from the orthodox world during the tournament, while avoiding the people who already know what we look like? It's just too much to juggle, and we will get caught.

 

[Esquilax]

Emm i think that most people wish to throw the competition anyway so why dont make deal with her that if we will met her in battle we will drop out? We should get some rep points with her for something we would do anyway.

Because she is irrelevant to our goals. Dude, fuck these deals, she's not even part of what we're trying to do. So she likes us better - so what? Our goal is to defeat and humiliate the eight orthodox sects, if we throw the competition (which we will eventually) I want to throw it to someone dangerous that we'll have to fight among the orthodox sects so that we can plan for them, not to this irritating girl who has nothing to do with what we're attempting to accomplish.

I don't want to antagonize Chi Qilin, but I'm not going out of my way to score brownie points with her either. Remain civil, but let's keep our distance from her. Our mission involves the orthodox sects - let's not lose sight of that.

 

[treave]

Her father isn't here and nothing in the update implied he was. No comment on the rest, of course.

 

[Nevill]

Think about it, she was sent here by her father to not just compete, but win:

So did yours. Your point being? You lied to her, and she knows it, but you take what she says to you for granted? If you want to know, not guess, what she is doing here, come with her.

If we move in with her, however, she'll start to ask for one favor and then another, and then another, etc... until we find ourselves in a shitty situation because we've been looking out for her interests, which definitely don't coincide with the wellbeing of the orthodox sects, and haven't been looking out forour interests.

And you know this because?.. How many favors did she ask of you until now? The one at the Luoying Manor? Didn't it benefit your own goals, attracting Lady Ji's attention and making you a Fellow of the Manor?
Funnily, our own interests do not coincide with the well-being of the orthodox sects, either. How many allies do you expect to make among them?

As a matter of fact, declining her advances after we accept her hospitality will insult her much more than just avoiding her now, she gave us a clean way out:

She also said that this hospitality can be repaid with money. What comes next, comes next.

It involves trying to do to many things at once and it'll end with us unable to keep all those identities separate.

I'll take the risk, because it is vague, and the benefit of possible Qilin friendship (or at least, neutrality) means a lot to me. It is a question of whether we want to be a fellow again. "Do you want to do stuff, or don't you?" Each answer comes with its own consequences, but for me there is no other choise to make.

Should these Shaolin (or anybody else, for that matter) discover where we're staying, they'll probably assume that we're part of the Wudu cult, at best. That destroys our ability to really fly under the radar and get these guys to trust us. Given how many people know us, it'll be impossible to keep up this double-life forever.

I told you a cover story you could use. It is a good story, and it fits our profile of a man who solves problems with money. I don't see them suspecting our affiliation with Wudu Sect as a valid argument. They really need something more tangible than this.

We don't want to be put into an awkward position: we're going to be presenting ourselves as a charming, likable unorthodox type to these Shaolin monks.

Personally, I want to keep our identity at the tournament and our identity as a merchant separate. With a mask. Therefore, I don't want to present myself to them as a participant at all, if possible.

You suspect that she'll reveal that we're Zhang's apprentice, but nothing in her character has really shown her to be a rat. She kept our affair with Madame Jiang quiet, remember?

I don't suspect anything. I say that she is the only one, except for the Emei, to know about our apprenticeship. If we do not keep an eye on her, she might tell on us - either out of malice, or trying to get everyone's attention to us while she does her stuff, or if we unknowingly put her own plans in danger - for whatever reason. We do not have a safety belt with her, as we do with the Emei. She might harbor no ill feelings to us, but it isn't exactly good if she doesn't care about us, either.

Dude, fuck these deals, she's not even part of what we're trying to do. So she likes us better - so what?

So she doesn't screw us here, and might be willing to help later.

 

[Grimgravy]

AB
Chi Qilin might not be too miffed until she learns we decided to sleep like some transient hobo. Aside from that, our sword is currently disguised. She has no reason to be interested in it. Street thugs, thieves, and opportunistic vagrants all have reason to bash our sleeping hobo ass over the head and steal it. We just learned we can't sneak in the city as well as the country. What makes you think we can camp out in the streets any better? Qilin is mischievous but not hostile. Her offer just seems better than the dangers of the streets.

 

[Azira]

AA

 

[Esquilax]

Chi Qilin might not be too miffed until she learns we decided to sleep like some transient hobo. Aside from that, our sword is currently disguised. She has no reason to be interested in it. Street thugs, thieves, and opportunistic vagrants all have reason to bash our sleeping hobo ass over the head and steal it. We just learned we can't sneak in the city as well as the country. What makes you think we can camp out in the streets any better? Qilin is mischievous but not hostile. Her offer just seems better than the dangers of the streets.

I disagree with this.

There will be no fighting outside the tournament allowed in the city for the duration of the competition, as decreed by the Eight Major Sects. This is to prevent butthurt losers from getting their sect buddies and starting a street fight, which has happened before to their eternal shame. The Eight police this rule rather strictly, and any orthodox member caught in a fight will be severely punished, if not expelled.

The city will be policed rather heavily to ensure that no fights break out. The strange thing is, being on the streets is actually safer than staying in with Chi Qiling as far as theft and assault are concerned. Who's going to start a fight in this city when the disciples from every orthodox sect will be watching like hawks to make sure no trouble breaks out?

As for Chi Qiling, she has an enticing initial offer, but you know there's going to be more to it than just money.

 

[Nevill]

I don't want to antagonize Chi Qilin, but I'm not going out of my way to score brownie points with her either. Remain civil, but let's keep our distance from her. Our mission involves the orthodox sects - let's not lose sight of that.

You know, since the incident with Yao I have reevaluated my approach of "mission comes first, personal matters later". I thought that the probability of the old man getting himself in trouble right when Zhang kicked us off the island was negligible. Well, I was wrong.

If we don't help her, or at least hear her, now, some paths might become permanently closed to us. Currently she holds power over us, might be useful to us later due to her connections, is somewhat friendly towards us for the time bring, and is said to be connected to us by fate, which implies we will meet her later. She isn't someone we can just ignore.

There is also the matter of what Lady Ji chose to reveal to us:

“Your clan dangles their secrets above your head, daring you to taste the forbidden fruit. Your uncle and master of the sect has placed great expectations upon you, as his designated successor. You may seem driven, but you are uncertain inside, are you not? Are the secrets worth it? Are they worth killing your warmth, making you cold inside?”

If there is a chance we are not already late to the party, and might actually help her resolve her inner conflict and end up on her good side, I'll take it.

 

[Baltika9]

Why do we give a shit about Quiling and her goals? We're losing the plot here, bros, our mission is from Zhang, her's is from her father and they don't really coincide.

Think about it, she was sent here by her father to not just compete, but win:

So did yours. Your point being? You lied to her, and she knows it, but you take what she says to you for granted? If you want to know, not guess, what she is doing here, come with her.

Dude, we don't need to read into her and her goals, she's here to win and prove her worth to her sect that is expecting her to be the next leader. Daddy was disappointed that she didn't get accepted into the Manor and now sent her to prove herself here. If there's anything deeper, we don't care, we came here to size up our marks and that's it. Don't get sidetracked. The closest analogy I can think of is back in EPIC, which was Aphrodite's Island. We were this close to pissing off Sekh and getting sidetracked from our original goal (we did screw it up later, but that was due to the choices we made in Crete), not all sidequests are worth taking in a treave LP.

It involves trying to do to many things at once and it'll end with us unable to keep all those identities separate.

I'll take the risk, because it is vague, and the benefit of possible Qilin friendship (or at least, neutrality) means a lot to me. It is a question of whether we want to be a fellow again. "Do you want to do stuff, or don't you?" Each answer comes with its own consequences, but for me there is no other choise to make.

She's already a Sis, though, after the Mansion and we're already on good terms. Sadly, we can't afford to get involved in her story right now, we have our own shit to take care of.

 

[Nevill]

Dude, we don't need to read into her and her goals, she's here to win and prove her worth to her sect that is expecting her to be the next leader. Daddy was disappointed that she didn't get accepted into the Manor and now sent her to prove herself here.

Ok, so then isn't it in your interest to tell her that you do not intend to win the competition? So that she didn't view you as a potential threat?

Sadly, we can't afford to get involved in her story right now, we have our own shit to take care of.

We are always knee-deep in shit we need to take care of. I voted to ignore Yao in favor of Shun's mission, and am I glad that my vote didn't win. We should not ignore people, we have too few friends and are about to make much more enemies.

The closest analogy I can think of is back in EPIC, which was Aphrodite's Island. We were this close to pissing off Sekh and getting sidetracked from our original goal (we did screw it up later, but that was due to the choices we made in Crete)

Funny. I can come with an analogy of my own, and exactly from Crete. The moment we found Theseus and Ariadne sneaking out at night, but decided not to follow them 'because we had our own shit to take care of'. Then proceeding to feed Ariadne the love potion to get an artifact that Theseus already had on himself. Which eventually resulted in the Aegean War and the Rift and screwed the entire world.

 

[Baltika9]

Dude, we don't need to read into her and her goals, she's here to win and prove her worth to her sect that is expecting her to be the next leader. Daddy was disappointed that she didn't get accepted into the Manor and now sent her to prove herself here.

Ok, so then isn't it in your interest to tell her that you do not intend to win the competition? So that she didn't view you as a possible threat?

We won't even make it far enough for her to register us as a threat. We'll be dropping out early, like after the 4x4 early. She won't tell on us because she's actually good with keeping secrets and, no, turning her down right now won't insult here. She gave us the indication that she doesn't really hold it against us. What will insult her is declining her requests to help her with the illegal things she'll need to do (we know this because she has a natural aversion to fighting fair).

Sadly, we can't afford to get involved in her story right now, we have our own shit to take care of.

We are always knee-deep in shit we need to take care of. I voted to ignore Yao in favor of Shun's mission, and am I glad that my vote didn't win. We should not ignore people, we have too few friends and are about to make much more enemies.

Bottom line: being seen living and socializing with the daughter of the Wudu Sect leader will make interacting with the orthodox participants more difficult. This counteracts the whole purpose of going undercover.