[LP CYOA] 傳

[Smashing Axe]

May as well just embrace the EAN!
We've already found our Sekh.
Edit B

 

[Baltika9]

Steal the girl away from the Prince? I'm down.

 

[treave]

Well, if you did marry her you would be the next Khan.

A Khan of a nomadic tribe, who can't be allowed anywhere near a horse.

...

Right.

 

[Baltika9]

Let's do it.

 

[Absinthe]

Absinthe: Different strokes for different folks, and that is fine by me, though I think it is rather unfair that you imply that I've manipulated Tiger into the winning spot, when in previous posts I have also elaborated on how interesting the Rabbit could be and defended it when people were mistaken about how that sign would work. What you say does bear thinking about, however, and I'll consider how my conduct appears in the future.

Actually, in the scheme of things, I'm not sure if trying too hard to be "fair" is going to be a good thing. That's where you start putting your head down in terms of making sure you're running it properly and before you know it you've got a boring CYOA on your hands because you were spending time and effort on possibly quite negligible things. Different strokes for different folks and all that. On the point of considering how your conduct appears in the future, though, Drabbit option appears on Page 9 while all the others were visible from Page 1, so it was underexposed to visitors/potential voters. Something to consider, anyhow. (Then again, does that mean you should or shouldn't bring up new options later? Is it bad to give extra information unprompted if it can overemphasize a choice? Dun dun duuun. That's the line of thought that could* draw you into focusing on shit that's too trivial. And while giving it more time might've added some fairness to the voting, it's true that people also just want the CYOA to start.)

*I'm using the words "could" and "might" in the dead neutral "may or may not" sense.

Well, there you have it.

 

[Tigranes]

B. We may be a Tiger, but we are a Tiger that knows - or at least, wants to think that it knows - when to bare their claws and when not to. We are not a Tiger that impulsively flails around just because the Prince refuses to kennel us; we are a Tiger that will, over time, learn to be sometimes wiser than the Prince, sometimes more impulsive.

The Tiger Adjutant description says impulsive, but also tempered by upbringing; now the rest is up to our choices. I don't see a huge amount to be gained by showing off here and I'd like to establish early on that we aren't going to just leap into everything Ean-style.

 

[Baltika9]

7 Agility isn't sucky.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Maybe we ain't gonna leap into everything, but right now, walking away might make the prince look bad. After all, he's the one she's challenging by proxy.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Finally.

Ok, on one hand I don't see how us beating up Khan's daughter will help the negotiations with him. Plus it will make us a powerful enemy in the process. And while treave said we shouldn't count on our bad luck cropping up every time, that could still be a trap - what kind of fight are we talking about here anyway? What if we end up accidentally hurting or killing the girl?

But on the other hand we answer to the prince and the prince gave as a choice to do as we please - given that he certainly knows about our impulsive streak he would have to know there was a very good chance we would accept the challenge. Why not give him some entertainment then. And the negotiations are not going well anyway, so it's not as if we can make things worse (yeah, right).

Still thinking.

 

[treave]

It won't be a deathmatch, just a (relatively) friendly sparring session.

 

[Baltika9]

Yeah, well, something tells me the trap here is this: she'll probably go tsundere over our tigerbro when we win. As much as I actually want that (being a potential mongol leader in the future? Fuck yeah! Hot waifu is a bonus), it will really piss off the Duke and compromise us in the Capital, princebro might want her too. Bad luck works both ways, after all.

How good is our bro at behaving like a proper gentleman of the court? Is he politically savvy? Can we put up a dignified facade, or does our charisma translate more into a personal magnetism, but we're still unskilled in acting?

 

[treave]

You're not much of a political person. You could get away with being an ass to everyone short of the Emperor, but even you recognize that's really, really bad, so you usually adopt a measured, somewhat respectful tone. Of course, some people are determined to hate you no matter what and treat your respect as mockery of them. So, considering your young age, you display sufficient etiquette to your superiors at most times, but intrigue is not your forte. You are rather popular with the chambermaids, and from their gossip you do have a simplistic grasp of what is going in the palace, who hates what and why, but you usually ignore it unless it may involve the Prince, in which case you will bring it up to his attention.

On another note, the Rabbit Adjutant would have been able to solve this acceptably for both sides by placating with words. And the Goat would have an option to try and debate the girl until she backs down under your impeccable logic, which would impress the khan but not so much the daughter.

 

[Baltika9]

Where's the fun in that, though?

 

[treave]

Not as fun as getting beaten by a girl, I agree.

 

[Storyfag]

Wouldn't beating the girl mean overshadowing the Prince?

 

[Azira]

treave, I got to know. What does "傳"mean?

Oh, and yes, I'm also all for our protagonist getting beaten by a young girl who knows her qinggong.

A, though I suspect we'll lose.

 

[treave]

You understand the Prince well enough to know that he wouldn't mind this. But yes, if you defeat their princess you will receive the acclaim, not him.

傳 can have two meanings.

To propagate, or to transfer - or to pass down something. This is pronounced 'chuán'.

As a historical chronicle (fictional or otherwise), or biography, or a legend, depending on which word you combine it with. This is pronounced 'zhuàn'.

 

[Esquilax]

Besides, I'd rather favour writing the Goat Adjutant. Much more interesting as a fighter.

I really liked the Goat for his genius intellect and great perception, combined with his respectable physical abilities, which is why I voted for him at first. He would have been a beast once he refined his technique. It's a shame nobody else liked him, but I found him to be an endearing, crotchety type. Goats are just not very likable, I guess.

“That’s right. The Ashina are regarded as a sacred tribe.

treave, what is meant by this? From what I am inferring, the Ashina tribe carries out religious duties among the Ashina people, correct? Based on the Khan not really trying very hard to rein his daughter in, he's possibly intrigued by how these foreigners are going to react. I mean, if he thinks of us and the Prince as being stuffy, soft noblemen, so maybe he's interested in seeing what we're made of.

Another question:

The Duke of Xiliang may be the cousin of the Chancellor, and command a hundred thousand men, and you might just be a fourteen year old cocky kid who happens to be the Crown Prince’s confidante, but you are not his servant.

How are these titles related, treave? Is the Chancellor the Emperor's main advisor, his second-in-command? I think it's important that we don't consider the Duke as an enemy or an asshole right off the bat, his animosity towards us is somewhat understandable. If I were him, I wouldn't like the Prince's cocky, impulsive buddy who is cursed by fate either. I'd probably be very concerned that he might get the Prince hurt. So don't take the Duke's attitude towards us personally.

My estimation of the Duke is that he's very politically savvy, but arrogant and out-of-touch with those outside his circle. I mean, he hasn't really conducted this negotiation all that well and he was presumptuous in assuming that these people's marriage customs were like the Han's.

Voting A right now. The point of coming here was to cement an alliance with these people in order to secure the northern border, and since I believe that the Khan wants to get a measure of what these foreigners are made of, perhaps we should show him. If successful, this will cause trouble back home though.

Neville made some good points. Flopping to B

 

[treave]

The Tujue people are Turkic, and consist of 12 tribes, including the Ashina. Everything after this is going to be a bit ahistorical - I'm setting this during the Tang dynasty, but taking massive liberties with history.

The Ashina are considered to be the 'chosen' tribe, and the princess in question is also in grooming to be a shaman of their religion, Tengrism. They once held the title of Khagan, but in recent decades have yielded that title to other tribes. Despite that, they are still extremely influential thanks to their semi-mythological status as descendants of the wolves.

This, and a lot more, has been taught to your character, but you didn't really bother remembering it all.

The Chancellor would be equivalent to a Prime Minister. Quite influential. The Duke of Xiliang is governor of the Xiliang region in northwestern China. As for the marriage customs, previous Tujue princesses have been taken as concubines by Tang emperors in the past, when the Tang were in a position of strength, and this issue has never cropped up, but apparently it is tradition amongst the tribe to have a test - not always against the female, and not always in strength, though those are options for a plucky, strong-willed girl seeking to humiliate her suitor - before marriage. The full ritual isn't as simple as calling out a suitor, though your character doesn't recall the details. A more perceptive character might be able to deduce why and identify any further peculiarities in the Ashina's behaviour that the Prince may have missed, but as far as your character is concerned, he just got challenged, and he'd like to be able to accept that challenge.

 

[Azira]

A goat would've been fun yes. But even more so a goat doctor.

 

[Baltika9]

Because your dick is never wrong.
What happens if the challenged person loses? I'm sure the tsundere wouldn't make a challenge like this willy-nilly. She can obviously handle herself in a fight, maybe she's trying to get out of this marriage by beating the Prince's #1 Bro (whom she probably considers a pushover), and we may just be falling for her trap by accepting the challenge.
I'm banking on our juiced up INT and combat stats to lead us through this, but she may yet surprise us. On the other hand, if we get beaten by a fourteen year old brat (nevermind us being one ourself), after all the training we received and the skills we have, we have no business at all being a fighter.


They won't be coming for Junior if we lose, right?
...
Right?

 

[treave]

You lose nothing but your pride, usually. Of course, you really aren't going in this to lose, no matter the stakes. If the challenge is accepted, the next update will involve the fight, and there will be a choice for actions you can take during the fight that will influence the outcome.

As for training and skills... you don't really have much to speak of. It's rather rudimentary - you can handle yourself better than most adult commoners, and your high stats will help out, but you're still a flea at the foot of the climb to the peak of pugilistic supremacy.

 

[Baltika9]

Well, to be fair, so is she.
Is Drunken Fist an available style?

 

[treave]

Yes. So are Drunken Axe, Sword, Staff and Spear. I'm not sure about how Drunken Bows or Drunken Flying Needles would work, but I'll be damned if the Drunken Master doesn't know how to pull it off, so yes, probably those too.

 

[Baltika9]

Drunken Needle Master is easy: aim for a pressure point, stab him in the eye.
Where's the nearest instructor?