[LP CYOA] 傳

[treave]

Cultivating more amounts of that chaotic qi will hurt you more when you go nuts with it, yes.

 

[Anabanana]

We'd already get END, STR and AGI boosts with the 6-month neigong training, though.

 

[Tribute]

I'm pretty sure those are the boosts the neigong grants when it's active. The boosts when our neigong are activated are probably not going to make us more resistant to the risks and downsides associated with activating our neigong.

 

[Esquilax]

We'd already get END, STR and AGI boosts with the 6-month neigong training, though.

Not the same thing. You need to improve the base END if we're going to go nuts and cultivate a shitload of our chaotic qi. Right now our neigong is at 5, and after the boost, it will be at 7, which is two above our current END level. Boosting our base END will allow us to cultivate more of that chaotic qi without hurting ourselves in the process, and if we do need to go nuts and unleash our full +2 AGI, +2 STR, +2 END qi, we won't fuck ourselves up too badly because we'll be resilient enough to withstand it. This is why the END boost synergises so well with the neigong upgrade. It is a must.

Also, Jing is too skinny for his own good. A boost to END will make him more swole, like our lover mentor, Zhang Jue.

 

[Tribute]

Jing also has a history of getting hurt really, really badly, so the END boost will help there too.

He's not exactly gentle with his body even without his chaos neigong shaking him apart.

 

[Anabanana]

Yeah, it is probably a wise choice, given our constant attempts to get ourselves injured.

 

[Tribute]

So so far as far as musts go we've got:

Neigong boost and END boost for synergy.

Kenjutsu tech and Saber skill for synergy.

Reikan boost for holy crap +1 PER for only one month!

Artistic skill for seriously how many poems with techniques in them have we encountered already, we really really need this.

 

[Zero Credibility]

I can see the point in taking 6 months for an inner strength upgrade as it will make us stronger, faster and tougher. But 5 months for a single point in stat is just too expensive. With the sword skill and technique and the qi absorption, both of which I think are a must it already nears 2 years. 1 years, 1 and a half top - that's all I can vote for. Let's get out there and do shit instead.

Fucking hell, this voting is going to be a mess. Seriously, who is going to count all this and how are we even going to determine winning options? I can already see a whole week of discuss! ahead of us.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, do we still get "quality time" with Qilin and Cao'er regardless of what we pick?

Fucking hell, this voting is going to be a mess. Seriously, who is going to count all this and how are we even going to determine winning options? I can already see a whole week of discuss! ahead of us.

That's why we're putting packages together to vote on.

 

[Esquilax]

Okay guys, I think we've got a real winner on our hands and it'll take up 18 months time.

5) Thrown Weapons boost: Works really well with our spider silk technique, branches us out, and requires very little investment (1 month)
13) Sword boost: All-purpose sword skills to stack with and synergise with one (1) technique of our choosing. Mandatory. (2 months)
20) Yuchang Sword Style Technique: Improves our self-taught style further, and +1 SWORDS. A much surer bet than the Huashan Counter, which could be a dud. (3 months)
22) Reikan boost: A fucking steal for only a month investment. (1 month)
25) Neigong training: Our most dangerous asset as a fighter needs to be cultivated even further. Mandatory. (6 months)
30) END boost: Perfect synergy with our neigong training as we can cultivate more of our chaotic qi without hurting our body thanks to a greater level of resilience. Combined with the neigong training, this is deadly. Another must-have. (5 months)

5, 13, 20, 22, 25, 30

There we have it, a strong focus on improving our sword skills, branching out a bit with Thrown Weapons, and intensive neigong and END training, all within a span of 18 months. Good picks, all of them.

 

[Esquilax]

I can see the point in taking 6 months for an inner strength upgrade as it will make us stronger, faster and tougher. But 5 months for a single point in stat is just too expensive. With the sword skill and technique and the qi absorption, both of which I think are a must it already nears 2 years. 1 years, 1 and a half top - that's all I can vote for. Let's get out there and do shit instead.

Fucking hell, this voting is going to be a mess. Seriously, who is going to count all this and how are we even going to determine winning options? I can already see a whole week of discuss! ahead of us.

There's an important distinction here; the inner strength boost does not make Jing inherently tougher. It only makes him stronger, faster and tougher, so long as his neigong is active. The problem is, if we have to cultivate our chaotic qi beyond the point where our body can handle it, we will seriously hurt ourselves. This is why the +1 stat boost is so pivotal here. With more END, we can cultivate our chaotic qi more often while mitigating the negative effects by having a far hardier constitution. These two boosts are far more crucial and provide a far better foundation for us than the qi absorption improvement.

With the package that Baltika and I have put together, we can get all this done in a year and a half, to boot.

 

[Elfberserker]

Okay guys, I think we've got a real winner on our hands and it'll take up 18 months time.

5) Thrown Weapons boost: Works really well with our spider silk technique, branches us out, and requires very little investment (1 month)
13) Sword boost: All-purpose sword skills to stack with and synergise with one (1) technique of our choosing. Mandatory. (2 months)
20) Yuchang Sword Style Technique: Improves our self-taught style further, and +1 SWORDS. A much surer bet than the Huashan Counter, which could be a dud. (3 months)
22) Reikan boost: A fucking steal for only a month investment. (1 month)
25) Neigong training: Our most dangerous asset as a fighter needs to be cultivated even further. Mandatory. (6 months)
30) END boost: Perfect synergy with our neigong training as we can cultivate more of our chaotic qi without hurting our body thanks to a greater level of resilience. Combined with the neigong training, this is deadly. Another must-have. (5 months)

There we have it, a strong focus on improving our sword skills, branching out a bit with Thrown Weapons, and intensive neigong and END training, all within a span of 18 months. Good picks, all of them

That sounds nice, but are you willing to negoatie for adding Minamoto sword tech there? It sounds nice, race and solid technique even if it works best with Sabers. It never hurts to have backup technique.

 

[Baltika9]

Indeed, That is what I'm voting for as well. Let's dub it the
Esquilaxian Package:
5
13
20
22
25
30

5) Thrown Weapons boost: Works really well with our spider silk technique, branches us out, and requires very little investment (1 month)

Another thing that I like about this is that Qilin's main spec is with thrown weapons, and Cao'er isn't half bad with them either, so our girls will be able to give us pointers with them later down the line.

 

[Anabanana]

I'm not confident in the self-taught style. I'd rather go max unorthodox and take our enemies by surprise with RARE Minamoto sword skill (with accompanying saber tech) as well as the qi absorption. Most people can't counter someone who's rapidly draining their qi, which is the foundation for all techniques that are worth a damn. These are skills that are unique to us, and we should capitalize on them.

The rest of it sounds good though.

 

[Esquilax]

That sounds nice, but are you willing to negoatie for adding Minamoto sword tech there? It sounds nice, race and solid technique even if it works best with Sabers. It never hurts to have backup technique.

I am not sure I want to go past my 18 month timeframe on this one. My only real non-negotiable ones that I'm completely unwilling to budge on are the overall sword training, the neigong training, and the END boost. Perhaps you can put together a competing package?

Honestly, I'd rather go with the Yuchang technique because the Kenjutsu is more suited to a saber, but I still like it as well.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Are you guys willing to throw in qi-drain training? It's pretty much our only edge against defensive inner-strength techniques like Guo Fu's. Although I dislike the short period of training you're going for and lack of miscellaneous skills, I'd be almost willing to back this.

 

[Nevill]

This is going to escalate in 30 pages DISCUSS that noone sane is going to read.

Guys, before you go wild, let's come up with a method here. Rex Feral has the right idea with choosing the timeframe first. Except 1 year and 2 years are too vague for my taste. I'd split it like that:

1 year < 1.5 years < 2 years < 2.5 years and more, rounded down. Which means:

0-14 months < 15-20 months < 21-26 months < 27+ months

Now, everything in 20+ months range is a big NO to me.

Look at what we got in 6 months of active exploration:

Spoiler

+1 Swords
+2 Unarmed
+1 Artistic
+2-3 Herbalism (don't remember)
+2-3 Pressure Points (don't remember)
+4 Sleight of Hand
+2 Scholarly Knowledge
+1 Neigong (+10 cap)

Reikan (+2 PER, though we lost an eye)
Kagemi
Spider Silken Ropes
No-Effort Sword Song
Wuying Leipo Kick (our most powerful yet)
Xianglong Eighteen Palms level up
Shouwang Mad Claws level up
Self-Taught Style level up
Yuanshi Hundun level up + qi leeching
Potential poison immunity

Found and saved Cao'er and Yao
Found Qilin again and almost married her
Found Yunzi and helped her get rid of GFF
Foun Yu again and made him the Advisor
BROed it up with Guo Fu and Yandi
Made a name for ourselves
Created a Man Tiger Pig Persona
Met the Masters (and lost most of them )
Got connections with the Pirates, the Wudu Cult and the Fire Cult
Fucked Japan hard
Crowned Shun the Emperor, with Operation: Immortal, no less
Had a fight with the Guardian of METAL
Met Yang Xue
Met the Sword Saint

And God knows what else

So, if anyone promised you: "OK, I'll take back 6 months of your life and give you +2 physical stats instead. Hey, they are worth 10 months, it's a good deal!", what would you choose?

I will not sit idly when Yunzi is scraping by with her followers, secretly awaiting our arrival at the Temple; when Qi Luiwu drunks himself to oblivion; when Tianxie is getting anxious about his grandkids (treave, so Qilin didn't get pregnant, or did she?); while Nie Wuxung is getting more prominence day by day; while the enemy prepares for an invasion; while the Eunuchs who can not openly oppose Shun scheme behind his back; while the murderers of the Masters go unpunished; while the bad guys just won and the situation gets worse the more time passes. No, thank you. Honestly, Yunzi alone is enough for me to move on quickly. What girl will be waiting for you for 2 years when you do not show a spark of interest to her in the meantime?

Really, as much as this stuff interests me, the real world is where the action takes place. Our place is there.

So, I propose these guidlines. Everyone chooses a time interval first. Then they cram whatever they think is the most important there. Then, when a certain interval wins, we fill it with the most popular suggestions.

What I personally think:
Multiclassing is a no-go. We want to train to become a martial artist. The time spent of secondary skills is best spent in the world beyond the island. Futhermore, we will never agree on what to multiclass to, so please just avoid it to cut down on all the pointless DISCUSS (aka 'Traps! No, Spears! No, Thrown Weapons!')

Our primary skillsets are Unarmed and Sword Fighting. They should be prioritized. In fact, the only packages that make sense and have a chance of winning would be based on these two.

Physical stats are not worth the time investment. They do not make or break a fighter, techniques do. Wang Zhengchong wasn't the greatest orthodox fighter because he could move mountains with his muscles or seduce women with a glance. He wasn't brought down by some enemy with higher stats, but with a knife in his back by fellow pugilists. The physical stats you have will always be enough to overcome your enemies, you just need to be cunning enough to understand what to use in a given situation. They provide quantity over quality, and are thus simply not worth the time investment. Just look at the list above. I will not trade it for any amount of stats.

Moreover, again, we will never agree on which stat is more important, and I'd rather not have 50 pages of Strenght vs Agility vs Charisma again (really, Esquilax? Jing does not charm women because he is pretty or knows how to rhyme. It is because he does the things he does, being a utterly loyal YOLOtiger for his friends, that Qilin, Cao'er and Yunzi are attracted to him. I am sure Yunzi would be more glad to see you 5 months earlier - and maybe help the Fire Cult with the whole foreign prince problem in time - that to see a more MYSTARY-ous Jing).

I'll try to come up with some packages later, but for now, let's try to pick the timeframe first.

Work in progress:

up to 14 months:
Nevill
Zero Credibility
asxetos

15-20 months:
profreshinal
Baltika
Esquilax
Rex Feral
Elfberserker
Xenomorph

21-26 months
Anabanana

27+ months
Smashing Axe
ScubaV

 

[Baltika9]

Our neiggong is the most unique qi technique there is, treave called Jing a "special ssnowflake" earlier in the thread. Besides, with a skill cap of 15, it is an absolute must to develop. Plus three stat points, are you fucking kidding me?

 

[Esquilax]

I'm not confident in the self-taught style. I'd rather go max unorthodox and take our enemies by surprise with RARE Minamoto sword skill (with accompanying saber tech) as well as the qi absorption. Most people can't counter someone who's rapidly draining their qi, which is the foundation for all techniques that are worth a damn. These are skills that are unique to us, and we should capitalize on them.

The rest of it sounds good though.

Okay, I suppose you could put together a competing package that is very similar:

3 (+4 Sabers), 13, 15 (Minamoto Kenjutsu), 25, 30. This is very nice as well.

 

[Baltika9]

I'm not confident in the self-taught style. I'd rather go max unorthodox and take our enemies by surprise with RARE Minamoto sword skill (with accompanying saber tech) as well as the qi absorption. Most people can't counter someone who's rapidly draining their qi, which is the foundation for all techniques that are worth a damn. These are skills that are unique to us, and we should capitalize on them.

The rest of it sounds good though.

Okay, I suppose you could put together a competing package that is very similar:

3 (+4 Sabers), 13, 15 (Minamoto Kenjutsu), 25, 30. This is very nice as well.

Wait, that package comes out to 17 months total, which means we can still squeeze in thrown weapons, making it 3, 5, 13, 15, 25, 30. I'd be down with that.

 

[treave]

No pregnancy, safe sex, special fucking snowflake.

 

[Esquilax]

Are you guys willing to throw in qi-drain training? It's pretty much our only edge against defensive inner-strength techniques like Guo Fu's. Although I dislike the short period of training you're going for and lack of miscellaneous skills, I'd be almost willing to back this.

Like I said, I'd prefer not to budge on the timeframe in my own package, and I specifically designed it with an 18 month constraint. However, if you'd like to put together a competing package, so long as it isn't too long (i.e. no more than 2 years) and it contains neigong training, and END boost, an overall sword boost and at least one (1) sword technique, we'd be mostly in agreement. But really, I think that those four choices are absolutely mandatory and they are going to help us so fucking much. Especially the first two I mentioned. Seriously, with the amount of chaotic neigong that we will cultivate with a Level 7 Yuanshi Hundun, we are going to need to be physically resilient enough to handle it. The qi-drain technique is like building your house on a castle of sand; improving your base END is much better in terms of giving us a foundation.

So, to me, the qi drain technique is definitely nice, but not as mandatory.

Physical stats are not worth the time investment. They do not make or break a fighter, techniques do. Wang Zhengchong wasn't the greatest orthodox fighter because he could move mountains with his muscles or seduce women with a glance. He wasn't brought down by some enemy with higher stats, but with a knife in his back by fellow pugilists. The physical stats you have will always be enough to overcome your enemies, you just need to be cunning enough to understand what to use in a given situation. They provide quantity over quality, and are thus simply not worth the time investment. Just look at the list above. I will not trade it for any amount of stats.

Moreover, again, we will never agree on which stat is more important, and I'd rather not have 50 pages of Strenght vs Agility vs Charisma again (really, Esquilax? Jing does not charm women because he is pretty or knows how to rhyme. It is because he does the things he does, being a utterly loyal YOLOtiger for his friends, that Qilin, Cao'er and Yunzi are attracted to him. I am sure Yunzi would be more glad to see you 5 months earlier - and maybe help the Fire Cult with the whole foreign prince problem in time - that to see a more MYSTARY-ous Jing).

Jing wouldn't be able to charm women if he didn't have wits, a roguish demeanor, and a sexy, perverted aura about him. And come on, I'm sure Wang Zhengchong also had lots of attributes that helped him win fights too, not only techniques. I mean, fuck, look at Zhang - the guy has awesome techniques, but it also helps that he's built like a brick shithouse with like END 9. Stats aren't everything, but they sure as hell matter.

 

[Nevill]

Wait, that package comes out to 17 months total, which means we can still squeeze in thrown weapons, making it 3, 5, 13, 15, 25, 30. I'd be down with that.

Really, guys? You want to spend 5 months on a physical stat? And END, at that? Who do you think you are, Guo Fu?

Why don't you utilize that qi of yours that can give you +2 END as well as +2 STR and +2AGI? Or why not go for qi leeching if you need staying power? This is a weapon specific to you alone. Anyone can have big endurance, but who has +15 neiggong?


Really, trying to increase physical stats will get you nowhere. We can always be stronger, more agile, or more durable than we are. Or we can play smarter with what we already have.

 

[Elfberserker]

I am not sure I want to go past my 18 month timeframe on this one. My only real non-negotiable ones that I'm completely unwilling to budge on are the overall sword training, the neigong training, and the END boost. Perhaps you can put together a competing package?

Honestly, I'd rather go with the Yuchang technique because the Kenjutsu is more suited to a saber, but I still like it as well

Oooh good idea.

I humbly present

Elf berserker's sword and saber package.

3. Saber +4 ( 1 month)
13. Sword training with zhang +1 sword ( 2 months )
15. Minamoto sword tech and +1 sword ( 3 months)
16. Self taugh Yuchang tech ( 3 months )
22. improved Reikan ( 1 month )
25. Neigong training ( 6 months )
30 Endurance training ( 5 months )

Total time: 21 month ( 1 year 9 months. )

it's bit longer than Esquile package and it doesn't have throw weapon skill, but it has more usable sword techniques and saber skills boost and saber technique

Voting 3,13,15,16,22,25,30

 

[Nevill]

Jing wouldn't be able to charm women if he didn't have wits, a roguish demeanor, and a sexy, perverted aura about him.

Ok, he has that. Move along, you don't need CHA upgrade.

And come on, I'm sure Wang Zhengchong also had lots of attributes that helped him win fights too, not only techniques. I mean, fuck, look at Zhang - the guy has awesome techniques, but it also helps that he's built like a brick shithouse with like END 9. Stats aren't everything, but they sure as hell matter.

They matter far less than techniques. You have overwhelmed Guo Fu, even though the guy is a tank.
Your signature stats are strenght and agility. You are trying to be an all-rounder.