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[LP CYOA] 傳

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
I think generally angry ghosts expect you to commit some sort of taboo or wrong which they will then punish you for. That's why I reckon A is bad and B is good.
 
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Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I think the peasant would peek. This isn't the illusion of a warm fire or a family gathering; it's a girl having a bath, which is surreal, seductive, taboo... everything that is discomforting. I think out of sheer fear most will instinctively want to take a quick peek.
Think of it from the perspective if a peasant: you get KO'd and next thing you know, you're in an abandoned house that wasn't inhabited for ages. It's storming outside, the lightning is loud, it's cold and dark and suddenly you see nooses and bloodstained curtains...
Who the hell would get horny in this situation. Except our boy Jing, hunting tigers and trainung with Master Zhang for eighteen months kinda inures you to things like these.
I think generally speaking angry ghosts expect you to commit some sort of taboo or wrong which they will then punish you for. That's why I think A is bad while B can lead to good things.
Since we're speculating here, I think A may give us a view as to what actually happened in this mansion that caused the deaths. Like a ghostly reenaction.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I think angry ghosts kill people indiscriminately.

What did she kidnap us for? Which taboo did we commit?

I'd rather not engage in diplomacy attempts without information. This seem to be consistent with our choice in Qingcheng - though that one also had won by a hair's breadth.

Baltika9 said:
Since we're speculating here, I think A may give us a view as to what actually happened in this mansion that caused the deaths. Like a ghostly reenaction.
This. Let us search for clues before we start talking to it.
 
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Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
I think angry ghosts kill people indiscriminately.
In that case A, B, and C don't really matter. We're fucked any which way. The whole mansion is haunted anyway.

What did she kidnap us for? Which taboo did we commit?
The kidnapping isn't the "punishment." So far we haven't been treated particularly badly. The punishment is what comes after if we prove ourselves deserving.

I'd rather not engage in diplomacy attempts without information. This seem to be consistent with our choice in Qingcheng - though that one also had won by a hair's breadth.
The thing is, it's not worth gathering information for diplomacy if your information-gathering method (poking a hole through the wall and spying on her bathing) is likely to ruin your chances of diplomacy. Voting A just seems to be a "pray she won't notice us and get angry" option. It doesn't seem safe in the slightest.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
What makes you think she/it wants to punish us in the first place? And we're not necwssarily gathering info for diplomacy, we're doing it for situational awareness. If we peek in and see her 'bathing' in the middle of a pile of corpses, well, that kinda excludes diplomacy, doesn't it?
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
I don't know if she wants to punish us per se, but I do reckon she is giving us the opportunity to fuck up and then get punished.

Baltika9, if she actually is bathing amidst corpses but we don't see her, I think she would be more amenable to dialogue than if we do peek. We can't really outrun or outfight a ghost, so unless your preferred tactic for the quest is "hope the monk will rescue you and end your part in this" I say we proactively approach the ghost on polite terms and see if there is anything we can do to put the troubled spirit to rest rather than alienate her and get fucked.
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
A sounds too tempting. The description of the option makes it seem as if we are being subliminally manipulated to go into that room or at least peek into it. It states that "you must p… reconnoitre." Plus the lanterns suddenly going out while the only well lit and seemingly friendly room is the one where we could peek. Maybe that ghost/spirit/whatever has some means to enthrall us by visage, maybe that is how we lost consciousness in the first place. And I simply feel it safer if we don't go into that room. Why was the room we found ourself in barred from the inside ? Maybe to keep something out, something that may be in that very room (Though i find it hard to believe a ghost can't enter a locked room, maybe there were some wards).

Actually fuck this shit, it's too creepy. Flopping to C>B.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
Aye, as Rex Feral says, Esquilax, here's a counterpoint for your "she expects us to do B." The A choice reads "Besides, there are very legitimate reasons for this, such as… reconnaissance. Yes, that is it. You need to find out who else is here besides you, Xiahou Yu and Zhong Hai. There were horses in the courtyard. There must be some living people here – why would ghosts need horses? If you do not look, you will not find out. Ergo, you must p… reconnoitre." It sounds like Jing is already being subtly influenced towards voting A here.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Rex Feral said:
The description of the option makes it seem as if we are being subliminally manipulated to go into that room or at least peek into it.
Hey, it's Jing. The guy who stalks tigers and fights hundreds of men alone. Naturally, his thought processes are not what passes for common sense among the common folk. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

If that was anyone else, the thought of perving on ghosts would not occur to them. Then again, 'anyone else' did not make it out of here alive, so this kind of unconventional thinking may very well be our ticket to freedom.

Rex Feral said:
Maybe that ghost/spirit/whatever has some means to enthrall us by visage, maybe that is how we lost consciousness in the first place.
Then how come we still have free will, and how come she needs to lure us, if she can just appear before us and make us lose our mind?
 
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Absinthe

Arcane
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Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
Hey, it's Jing. The guy who stalks tigers and fights hundreds of men alone. Naturally, his thought processes are not what passes for common sense among the common folk. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

If that was anyone else, the thought of perving on ghosts would not occur to him. Than again, 'anyone else' did not make it out of here alive, so this kind of unconventional thinking may very well be our ticket out of here.
Or it could be that everyone is strangely struck by these ghost-induced urges, indulges them, and wakes up with a noose around their neck or their body sliced apart.

Then how come we still have free will, and how come she needs to lure us? If she can just appear before us and make us lose our mind?
It could be the talismans. It could also be "fuck it this is a CYOA and if we have no choices this wouldn't really be a quest."
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Absinthe said:
Or it could be that everyone is strangely struck by these ghost-induced urges, indulges them, and wakes up with a noose around their neck or their body sliced apart.
Or it could be that she asks everyone that strikes a conversation not to leave her alone, and gets angry when they refuse. And if they agree, they find themselves in a noose, her guests for eternity. I can do speculations, too, especially when we know nothing about the spirit.
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
Absinthe said:
Or it could be that everyone is strangely struck by these ghost-induced urges, indulges them, and wakes up with a noose around their neck or their body sliced apart.
Or it could be that she asks everyone that strikes a conversation not to leave her alone, and gets angry when they refuse. And if they agree, they find themselves in a noose, her guests for eternity. I can do speculations, too, especially when we know nothing about the spirit.

That's why I'd rather go with C. Better face the unknown than some pissed off ghost. Besides it already demonstrated that it has enviromental manipulation (lights don't go out at will, and darkness doesn't suddenly appear) and it might use it to influence our decisions. The seemingly danger of the darkness is only an illusion, in my opinion. We feel that our instincts are warning us about it, but, since we just lost consciousness, I believe we aren't judging pretty clearly.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Rex Feral said:
Better face the unknown than some pissed of ghost.
But see, the ghost led you to this place. If you up and leave, wouldn't that anger them?

There is no way to tell what would be the right choice here. We can only go with our gut feeling, and it advises against C.

Rex Feral said:
Besides it already demonstrated that it has enviromental manipulation (lights don't go out at will, and darkness doesn't suddenly appear) and it might use it to influence our decisions.
It can manipulate the environment, but the subtlety of it makes me think that it can not affect our mind. Else it wouldn't bother with intricate mazes, light plays and other tricks.

Rex Feral said:
The seemingly danger of the darkness is only an illusion, in my opinion.
The darkness - probably is. The danger - probably isn't.

Rex Feral said:
We feel that our instincts are warning us about it, but, since we just lost consciousness, I believe we aren't judging pretty clearly.
Going blind will not let us get a clearer picture.
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
Well I couldn't give a fuck about angering a ghost. I never wanted ghosts in the first place. I couldn't care less if we tear the wall down and run for it.

But you are right. There is a risk in every choice we have, because of the fact that we don't know much about the situation. We should all follow our own gut feeling about this.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
And it tells us to peek... err, scout.

That is definitely Jing's inner voice speaking in A.
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
First of all, forget about thinking what your hypothetical peasant would do in this situation. We have none of that information on hand, so A voters are going to say that a doomed peasant would go for B, while B voters would likewise say the same about A.

There is one clue that we have all been neglecting here:

You look around you again – there is no place for anyone to hide, not even under the small bed. The windows too are barred from the inside. How strange. It would be spooky, if not for the fact that Master Zhang once told you of a master assassin who could contort himself through the smallest spaces. Sadly, he found himself in a box one day, having been tricked by his mark, and ended up in several boxes soon after. This is not anything you would need to resort to ghosts to explain… you think.

Upon reading this, I thought that this was referring to other people who could be hiding, but then I realized that it was in reference to us. This tells us that nothing here could possibly hide from us, but more importantly, that we cannot hide from anything here, either. It's very interesting that this little anecdote that Master Zhang told us has popped into our heads just as we're about to poke open a small hole to peek into this woman's room. Foreshadowing, maybe? Perhaps this is telling us not to fuck with things, lest we be tricked by our mark.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Absinthe - B
Zero Credibility - B
Nevill - A
ERYFKRAD - B
Smashing Axe - B
The Brazilian Slaughter - C
Esquilax - C > A
Baltika9 - C > A
Elfberserker - C
Ifeex - B
Lambchop19 - A
Kipeci - C > A
asxetos - B
Stygian Lurker - A
Rex Feral - C > B
XenomorphII - A
Jester - A
m4davis - B
Omicron - A
Random Word - A
Anabanana - C
Kashmir Slippers - B > C
Azira - A
Tigranes - B
TOME - B

***

Current tally:

A - 8
B - 10
C - 7

Post-flop:

A - 11
B - 11
C - 3

Probably best to get your flopping done and over with as soon as you can.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
When we get that artistic training, they will be out of scribes to copy 'The Molesting Tiger and The Ghost Tits'. We'll make a killing.

Whatever choice wins, will the update be up today?
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Not sure yet. I might close the votes in two or three hours time, if I don't it'll be another 12 hours before the update.
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
From the previous update:

“That I have. I have wandered the land for over thirty years in my line of work,”replies the exorcist. “Why, lad, do you wish to see one?”

“It is one of my life’s goals,” replies the scholar proudly. Zhong Hai smiles thinly. “I would advise against it – the living and the dead are best kept apart… but I will not lie; it can also be one of the most strange and enchanting sights for mortal eyes. If you are that eager I would not mind some company on my next job.”

I think that A will result in us getting involved deeper into ghost shenanigans in some way.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
I haven't had time to read all the comments so far but I vote B. I think all the "normal" people would choose A or C (peasants so far, and they are not known for their gentleman behavior or their bravery) and since no one has ever come back I wish to do things differently.
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
I haven't had time to read all the comments so far but I vote B. I think all the "normal" people would choose A or C (peasants so far, and they are not known for their gentleman behavior or their bravery) and since no one has ever come back I wish to do things differently.

Guo Fu is a peasant, and the dude is pretty fucking brave. We have no idea what others have done in this situation, and this line of conversation has just led to a shitload of baseless speculation, as I mentioned before. Also, A is more likely to have us encounter the supernatural here in a more visceral level, since we're going to be taking a look at this spirit with our own eyes, something that Zhong Hai hinted at earlier. I am still going with A in part because the idea of Jing being a gentleman disgusts me.
 

ERYFKRAD

Barbarian
Patron
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
28,235
Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I haven't had time to read all the comments so far but I vote B. I think all the "normal" people would choose A or C (peasants so far, and they are not known for their gentleman behavior or their bravery) and since no one has ever come back I wish to do things differently.

Guo Fu is a peasant, and the dude is pretty fucking brave. We have no idea what others have done in this situation, and this line of conversation has just led to a shitload of baseless speculation, as I mentioned before. Also, A is more likely to have us encounter the supernatural here in a more visceral level, since we're going to be taking a look at this spirit with our own eyes, something that Zhong Hai hinted at earlier. I am still going with A in part because the idea of Jing being a gentleman disgusts me.
Guo Fu is more exception than rule, just sayin'.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Ninja-pirate Jing > Bai Jiutian wannabe. We've been over this.
 

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