[LP CYOA] 傳

[Rex Feral]

Children? Wait, like two or more. And Yunzi seems to be one of them? Oh fuck I hope we ain't this lunatic's son.

Wat? Khan Bulun is Yunzi's father, which would mean that Yang Xue's daughter is Yunzi's mother. Remember, this was written forty years ago.

The other child of his is obviously Zhang Jue. He will come to rescue us and meet the father that left him so long ago in a tearful reunion. At that point, Master Zhang will resolve all of the childhood issues that led to him becoming so aggressive later in life and decide to settle down and become a monk, far away from the jianghu.

Yeah I misread the post about Yunzi being his grandaughter and figured it a minute too late.

Also I'll be going B1>B2>A2

 

[Nevill]

You're still getting a couple of rats every day. Not as much as you'd like, but if the situation doesn't change (assuming you don't get any better at grabbing rats from the old man) you could probably survive for a few more weeks before you start needing something more nutritious.

That settles it, then. We've made a decision to leave Cao'er up there, and while it may have cut us from some choices, it might have opened some.

If we can wait for her return, we'll wait.

Guys, is nobody else voting on the talisman thing? It might improve our chances.

 

[Baltika9]

treave will be rolling dice for it, meaning it can either soften him up or send him into a murderous rage which we probably won't survive. I must think on it.

 

[Nevill]

Are there any other results between the two? How many sides the die would have?

 

[Anabanana]

I would vote for the talisman thing buuuut I'm not sure if it's a real vote? Or if it's one of those "well we'll roll with it if we get enough support" things.

Will wait for tally to see if the option is included to consider flopping.

 

[Fangshi]

But YX is not looking for a fight with us. Why would he be fighting our friends?

Dinner? It would take a lot to overpower or sneak past the man so we are probably on our own.




Ah, the A options just are not terribly appealing what with losing an arm in A2 and the complete non starter that is cutting off Quilin's arm. B1 is the safest option but B2 could in theory get us out quicker.

I am not too worried about a gate or anything if the current of the river really is as fast as it sounds, not like they could just wade in and set up a grate though it may be capped on the exit if it actually leads outside. The caves we are in are fairly deep though and there is no guarantee that something will not be living downstream...

Ah, I like the talisman idea, maybe we can appeal to what is left of the old man's heart. Show him the talisman, tell him about his granddaughter and all that, maybe he will want to leave then...

Ok, voting Use Item: Talisman (with B1 I assume?)>B2>B1

Edit:

Well that didn't work so B2>B1 and hopefully the river does not kill us...

 

[Baltika9]

He seems to have his moments of lucidity, but it is unsure whether the symbol will have any effect or work the way you expect it to. Probably I'll have to roll some dice for the results, if you want to try reminding him about the tribe. Results may range from murderous rage to increased friendliness.

 

[Nevill]

I am not too worried about a gate or anything if the current of the river really is as fast as it sounds, not like they could just wade in and set up a grate though it may be capped on the exit if it actually leads outside. The caves we are in are fairly deep though and there is no guarantee that something will not be living downstream...

They wouldn't have left such a blatant way out.
You underestimate the ingenuity of Chinese architects.

 

[Kipeci]

It seems like we'd have to have fairly good luck to get a positive result out of Yang Xue and that any bad luck would screw us over terribly... so sure, why not? I vote to show him the fang, too. We can roll that up with B1, right?

Also, treave will Jing be dedicating any time to unraveling the mysteries of the rest of the bloody text with any of these options, and if so do we have any choice in what he focuses on?

 

[Fangshi]

They wouldn't have left such a blatant way out.
You underestimate the ingenuity of Chinese architects.

If they believed that it was not an actual way out then they might. I mean it is a one way trip and the only way they would find out if it leads outside is by throwing someone in and telling them to return if they find a way through so it is entirely possible that it could get us out of here. Hell given the factional nature of court politics and the size of the cave system it seems quite likely that the right people simply do not know what conditions are like down there.

 

[Kipeci]

How would it be a way out, though? Again, water follows gravity, it's going to take us further down. I don't think we can depend on some geysers or something to take us back up.

 

[Fangshi]

I don't think we can depend on some geysers or something to take us back up.

Well the hope would be that the water takes us out horizontally as it would admittedly not let us go back up. We would in essence be gambling on the existence of natural exits from the cave. As for the actual odds of such a thing who knows, it is certainly possible but whether it would ultimately be useful to us is impossible to say. If there is air coming from the passage then it will probably lead outside but it definitely is the "High risk, high reward" choice.

 

[Zero Credibility]

There is a good chance that the underground stream comes out again - sure, water flows downwards, but at some point the surface terrain slopes downwards as well and when it gets bellow the level of the underground river you get a new spring. If this is a significant stream I'd say that was quite likely - that amount of water has to be going somewhere. The problem is it is also quite likely that this doesn't happen anywhere close to here, and if we can't find any air pockets in between we are fucked. Cave diving is a really, really dangerous idea.

 

[asxetos]

B1 > B2

seriously, fuck the A option.

 

[Kipeci]

High risk, high reward

Every single option on this list can be described with these terribly annoying buzzwords. A1 gets us out the fastest and the possibility of gaining some of Yang Xue's knowledge without even being harmed at the cost of terribly harming Qin and a high risk of having her be later eaten by the General or something, or having her still be pissed off even if she were to survive along with the Wudu Cult. A2 has us lose our arm and carries risks that Yang Xue will just pull a trollface and walk off after eating it along with any other complications that could arise though it carries the potential reward of in-depth knowledge of his techniques and Qilin being rescued. B1 carries the risk that we don't find a way out and that no one comes for us while Yang Xue is lurking about and can potentially kill us while the potential reward could be using some of our extra time to study the writing (maybe, waiting for confirmation of that from treave ) and being in a familiar spot/around familiar people if we do manage a way out/get rescued. B2 has the risk of just dragging us down to an undersea ocean or whatever to drown us (let's hope Qilin doesn't get seperated from us, either) while it has the potential benefit of allowing us to quickly surface... somewhere, maybe.

The underground stream does come out, of course-- since the water is flowing, it's going somewhere (hopefully not a large subterranean cavern with no way out) but it could be that it goes into an underground river system that doesn't go up until it's reached more oceany territory.

 

[Fangshi]

Cave diving is a really, really dangerous idea.

Which is why the sensible B1 is winning and is even my first choice. I still prefer cave diving to ripping off arms however and I do not think that it is a dead end.

Every single option on this list can be described with these terribly annoying buzzwords.

Fair enough. Avoiding buzzwords then, A2 has the largest unknown variable to it. We jump in the river and... we have no idea what will happen really. With all the other choices we have a good idea of what to expect (at least in the short term). I actually think we probably are in agreement on the nature of the choices, I just don't see the cave diving as that much worse than trying to negotiate and better than getting all "rip and tear" with people's limbs.

 

[Absinthe]

B1 and Use Item: Wolf Fang Amulet

A1 is not happening. A2 is going to gimp Jing. B2 is not going to work. Yang Xue should already know the escape routes from this place. The stream is obvious, but he didn't mention it as a potential escape route. Also, we need to go up to escape, and the water only goes down.

 

[Tigranes]

Use Amulet -> B2

B2 is very risky and as Absinthe says is unlikely to directly yield an escape route, but I'm profoundly unsure whether just sitting and waiting will change the situation in any way. He's not gonna 'crack' and compromise with us. I could flop to B1 but I'd like to hear just what positive change we can expect....

 

[Nevill]

Also, we need to go up to escape, and the water only goes down.

I am pretty sure there is an integer overflow and that path goes through Heaven.

Tally:

Spoiler

ERYFKRAD B2
Kipeci B1 Talisman
Anabanana A2
XenomorphII B2
Kashmir Slippers B2
Baltika A2
Nevill B1 Talisman
Azira B1
Jester B1 > B2 Talisman (original vote Talisman > B2)
ScubaV B1 > B2 Talisman (B1 > B2 + show Yang Xue the talisman)
SirArvedeth B1 Talisman (showing Yang Xue the Wolf Fang Talisman)
Elfberserker B1 > B2 Talisman
Lambchop19 B1>B2>A1
Zero Credibility B1 > B2
Rex Feral B1>B2>A2
Fangshi B1 > B2 Talisman (Use Item: Talisman (with B1 I assume?)>B2>B1)
asxetos B1 > B2
Absinthe B1 Talisman
Tigranes B1 > B2 Talisman (Use Amulet -> B2)

A2 - 2
B1 - 5
B1 Talisman - 9
B2 - 3

Tigranes, using the amulet implies B1, I suppose. We still refuse to comply with Xue's request. What comes out of it, we don't know. Maybe we'll get comfortable for several months. Maybe he'll show us a way out. Maybe he'll agree to teach us without such a dire price. Maybe he'll kill us.

It is not a separate vote, as no other option requires us to show it... unless I got it wrong. So I automatically counted the Talisman as B1 choice.

So, a 'Talisman > B2 > B1' becomes 'B1 > B2 (+Talisman)'. treave can clarify how he counts it, though.

 

[Tigranes]

I thought we'd show it, have a chat, if it doesn't do much we go for the waterfall. But yeah, we'll see. I guess I"m a bit uneasy about sitting and waiting, since a week has been long enough for any 'rescue force' (and I doubt one would come anyway), and I really want to get back and help Shun.

That is, if Shun's still alive...

 

[Nevill]

I guess I"m a bit uneasy about sitting and waiting, since a week has been long enough for any 'rescue force' (and I doubt one would come anyway)

Cao'er will come. Even if they tie her up with metal chains, she'll come eventually. It's Cao'er. It's what she does.

That is, if Shun's still alive...

What exactly is on your mind?

I know we didn't leave the other princes much choice to succeed legally, so assassination is their only chance, but that is why we have Yoriwaka with him... unless he went off to see the Emperor to Zhang's Island personally. Still, Shun is not a fool and would not go down easily.

 

[Tigranes]

When we fell down, the majority of Shun's plan was still to be executed. It stands to reason that anything could have happened, and that I'd rather be up there in a position to help. I guess I'm just a bit worried that in B1 we're being passive without having a precise positive reason for our passivity.

 

[Baltika9]

B2 is very risky and as Absinthe says is unlikely to directly yield an escape route, but I'm profoundly unsure whether just sitting and waiting will change the situation in any way. He's not gonna 'crack' and compromise with us. I could flop to B1 but I'd like to hear just what positive change we can expect....

The whole thing with B1 is that it's stalling for time and hoping for a search party to come for us and come for us in time. And even if they do come, there is no guarantee they will get us past Yang Xue without someone dying. Just stating the facts, this is a pretty obscure location, we are guarded by a man who is on par with Zhang Jue and are slowly starving. Sooner or later, B1 will back us into a difficult decision and in the end, someone will suffer. B2 is just a huge gamble, we are basically hoping to get the fuck out of here without paying the price for freedom and escaping uninjured.

treave, I just had an interesting idea. Yang Xue said he wanted an instrument of vengeance against the jianghu:

“But there is one way out,” he says, looking up. “I can throw you up to the bottom of the bottomless pit. Haha. Bottom of the bottomless pit. In fact I can teach you everything, young one. Everything I know. You can be my spear, my weapon to strike at the twisted world of the jianghu. All I need is an offering.”

Well, he's asking an arm in return, which we're obviously not giving up. But what if we use the amulet to butter him up for a different deal: get him in a lucid and suggestible state of mind, suggestible enough where we can talk him out of taking an arm as payment and use our rep with the Ashina and knowledge of his granddaughter to earn his trust, and put our CHA and speech to work. Hell, we can even promise to reconnect him with his granddaughter. We have a strong connection to the Ashina, surely we can use that to our advantage somehow.

We agree to carry out his revenge against the jianghu, in exchange for Qilin's freedom and training from him. Of course, we will have to convince him that Jing won't be wasting his time and to do that, we will dedicate all of our time and effort to learn all his techniques on the wall, instead of spending our time searching for an exit. If we could get just one of his techniques to level five in just a week of sparring with the old man, then that speaks well of us and our potential, doesn't it?
Would this be plausible/have a chance of success? Or is the man too far gone?

 

[Tigranes]

That's... the deal we already have, except he has demanded an arm for it. It would be rather Biowarian of him to say, oh, amulet, kool, alright, no arm.

 

[Baltika9]

No, it's not. I'm trying an alternate approach to it: instead of paying an arm for those things, we take a gamble and use the Wolf Fang to butter him up and then convince him with our talents that we would be the perfect Lithuanian Hitman to exact his revenge. After all, if he takes our arm, we get weaker and less effective and he does want his revenge, doesn't he?