[LP CYOA] 傳

[Smashing Axe]

I like Esquilax's plan. Let's go for it!

C A1/3

 

[Esquilax]

treave, could we also have trash-talk as a cheating option? Perhaps we can go up to the biggest, scariest thug we can find and give him some choice words about his mother. While we're doing that, maybe we can find one of the upright priests/monks among our temporary allies and say "Have you heard what that disgusting thug said about your school? Told me that Shaolin monks couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag!" While the thug would be looking for us in the match, the other party would be looking for the thug - we'd manipulate the situation so that they end up fighting one another in hopes that we knock off two of the tougher competitors early. Though admittedly, I gotta say that part of my motivation is that I want Jing to become great at trash-talk.

A plan like this would be A A4.

 

[treave]

Divide and conquer? I suppose I could add that in.

Don't expect any of the choices here to increase your skill though. This is hardly a life or death situation.

edit: And done, according to Jing's own take on the strategy based on his studies. If Ling Tong has competed before and recognizes familiar faces, there may even be old feuds... tiny feuds. You don't need to dig them all up, just spread some quiet allegations and let them assume the worst either about their old rivals or new strangers, then sit back and watch things play out.

It is still a gambit though, so it's not guaranteed to be super-effective especially since you're not walking around with 10 INT and CHA.

Trash-talking is something he can already do if he wants to, but you may need to want to look into getting a perception boost in the future to identify chinks in their armor for him to trash-talk more effectively.

 

[Kipeci]

What, would the poetry session have advanced our skills if we were halfway competent at it?

 

[treave]

What, would the poetry session have advanced our skills if we were halfway competent at it?

If you opted for the 'steal the topic and replace it with a forgery biased towards your own knowledge and prepare a poem the night before' tactic, it would have raised your artistic skill by one due to the desperate late night cramming, since you'd have had to work hard throughout the entire night just to come up with something not horrible.

Not so much here, I figure, but I may be convinced otherwise if you think you really deserve a rank up for any of the options here.

 

[Grimgravy]

Esquilax makes a good point. Master Yao might well get a chuckle out of our "complaining." Although A3 will likely only work once at most. If and when we start taking people down, the others will get wary and won't give us any quarter. Is it worth the effort? Some friendly non-competition could get us further. I do like the new A4 option of stoking fires between out competitors. We just need to be subtle about it. Editing my vote for the new option.

 

[Baltika9]

I see that many are going for laxatives.

After a while, you manage to strike up a conversation with a warrior-poet from Changsha, far to the south. His name is Ling Tong, a member of the Zifu Hall, a small gathering of gentlemen scholars in that city. According to him, the competitions do attract participants, but not as many as one would think. A good number of the fellows of the manor will pass their invitations on to worthy disciples or friends during a trial year, so that they may have a chance to be accepted. Others trade it for favours, though outright selling the invitation for money appears to be a taboo and could lead to a revocation of their fellowship.

treave, it seems that this gentleman and his "allies" might know someone from the Manor. I bet if we join and give them a good and impessive showing (relying on the gentlemanly arts of speechcraft and kicking ass), we may just find ourself on the invitation list even if we lose.

To that end, I subscribe to A A4, taking care not to slander our guys.

 

[Nevill]

Frankly, all cheating (a.k.a. second) choices are somewhat lame.

Spiking the drink with laxatives, lulzy though it is, comes too close to food poisoning for comfort. Besides, wouldn't it be too convenient if the person to win turned out to be the only aspiring physician in the group? I am afraid that the ensuing hilarity will make foul play so evident, that the match results might get revoked and your involvement investigated. And then, if they dig something up, you'll have your reputation stained and a mob of 29 furious pursuers on your heels.

Even if it goes without a hitch, I guess I am just unwilling to go to such lengths in a semi-friendly contest.

The second choice is much less evident to the general public, more villainous, and definitely more susceptible to being noticed by the contestants themselves. It takes one fighter feigning being lax for you to be exposed, and whatever comes next, it ain't going to be pretty. Besides, poisoning is not to be taken lightly.

The third one is definitely the safest, but of course it is the most ineffectual of them all. If you are so unwilling to participate, why don't they do you a favor and throw you out of the ring in the first minute? It's not like Yao will leave you to die if you don't win. There is zero reason for them to become more sympathetic to your cause, and you will be undermining the reputation of a badass that is just starting to form. I can't see much benefits with this choice.

The newly added choice is interesting... but naaah. I think it is unwise for us to be making enemies right after we enter the city. I mean, it's literally the first thing you do, and you are spreading rumors and being boorish to people you know nothing about? Come on, this is just asking for trouble if you offend the wrong guy.

The first proposition is much more interesting. An alliance does not require us to compromise with our conscience, nor it is going to affect our reputation in the city. I wonder if it is, actually, considered cheating and to be strictly against the rules? I mean, they are doing it every time, it can not be proven even if someone wanted to, and the alliance does not mean a thing in the end, as there can only be one victor anyway. They might as well consider this an unspoken rule.

However, I would not blindly throw my lot in with Ling Tong and his crowd. Not because I don't entirely trust him, but because it stands to reason not to do so. People in his group seem to know each other for a long time if they participated in a previous match - he mentions some familiar faces. The moment they'll clear the ring of other threats, they'll turn their undivided attention to you, because to them you are just a stranger with a reputation of a dangerous combatant - a wild card. It is in your best interest to ally yourself with another group and maneuver between both of them until their numbers thin enough for you to take out the rest.

I'd like to try securing several alliances and keep my hands clean. BC>BA4.

 

[Tigranes]

As Nevill says, I think xA1 doesn't gel well with our physician identity, yeah. xA2 is right out given we neglected to be trained in exactly that skill, and it's the most risky in terms of visibility. As for xA3, I don't think these guys are as hurr durr as one might think, and I don't think playing innocent is ultimately going to last us very long - that kind of sympathy will only help us survive the first five or six casualties. I'll post again but I'm thinking BD to maximise the bone we've been thrown with Ling Tong's offer.

 

[TOME]

BA134

 

[XenomorphII]

AC

 

[Nevill]

May I suggest for the people voting 2C to reconsider 1A?
I mean, what are you going to do when there are only you and a group of close-knit friends left?
Either divide them too with A4, poison them with A1, or take them out along with the rest with 1C.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I like how everyone assumes that our allies will honor their agreement. What if our rep has scared the piss out of them and they just made up the dea; so they can gang up on US while our guard is down?

BA 134

However, I would not blindly throw my lot in with Ling Tong and his crowd. Not because I don't entirely trust him, but because it stands to reason not to do so. People in his group seem to know each other for a long time if they participated in a previous match - he mentions some familiar faces. The moment they'll clear the ring of other threats, they'll turn their undivided attention to you, because to them you are just a stranger with a reputation of a dangerous combatant - a wild card. It is in your best interest to ally yourself with another group and maneuver between both of them until their numbers thin enough for you to take out the rest.

QFT

 

[Nevill]

I like how everyone assumes that our allies will honor their agreement.

It is not even a matter of honoring their agreement. It makes sense for them to hold true to their word - you are a valuable addition to the team. But what ELSE is there to do once they dispose of other combatants?

 

[Esquilax]

I think that Nevill is on the money.

The newly added choice is interesting... but naaah. I think it is unwise for us to be making enemies right after we enter the city. I mean, it's literally the first thing you do, and you are spreading rumors and being boorish to people you know nothing about? Come on, this is just asking for trouble if you offend the wrong guy.
...
However, I would not blindly throw my lot in with Ling Tong and his crowd. Not because I don't entirely trust him, but because it stands to reason not to do so. People in his group seem to know each other for a long time if they participated in a previous match - he mentions some familiar faces. The moment they'll clear the ring of other threats, they'll turn their undivided attention to you, because to them you are just a stranger with a reputation of a dangerous combatant - a wild card. It is in your best interest to ally yourself with another group and maneuver between both of them until their numbers thin enough for you to take out the rest.

I'd like to try securing several alliances and keep my hands clean. BC.

You make some great points here, but I'd like to add that I believe that BA4 is the right way to go. The problem with BC is that it will reveal us as a turncoat relatively quickly; once we strike against one group, another will see that we've switched sides. When the fists start flying, it's going to be pretty clear who is allied with who.This is why we need psychological warfare to even the odds - if we can ingratiate ourselves in two separate alliances while making members within each respective alliance suspicious of one another, it'll distract the competitors from either side about our intent. So we would forge multiple alliances with the intentions of weakening them while staying out of the fray as much as possible.

A1 is a bad idea for the reasons that you mentioned, Master Yao's apprentice will be the first person that they suspect. The BA134 that Lambchop19 and TOME have voted for is a bad idea too as it tries to do too much shit at once. Also, the idea of playing meek to get sympathy (A3) and spreading rumours in order to distract the competitors from us seem to be at odds with each other; it'll appear extremely obvious to any idiot that we're full of shit. So either go for the sob story or the psychological warfare, but not both. If we're maintaining multiple alliances, A4 puts us in the best position to maneuver between them and thin the herd while conserving our energy.

I've flopped my original post to BA4

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

CC

 

[Nevill]

You make some great points here, but I'd like to add that I believe that BA4 is the right way to go. The problem with BC is that it will reveal us as a turncoat relatively quickly; once we strike against one group, another will see that we've switched sides. When the fists start flying, it's going to be pretty clear who is allied with who.This is why we need psychological warfare to even the odds - if we can ingratiate ourselves in two separate alliances while making members within each respective alliance suspicious of one another, it'll distract the competitors from either side about our intent. So we would forge multiple alliances with the intentions of weakening them while staying out of the fray as much as possible.

I see the merits of A4. However, I believe that there will be plenty of non-allied targets for us to chase. I can't really make estimates, but I don't suppose that Tong's group numbers more than 10 people. That would look silly. Probably there are 6-7 of them. If we'll have 3-4 people on the other side, that leaves us 20 combatants to work with. I'd say by the time they are all out of the picture, not many of our co-conspirators would be left either. Then we'll ally with the weakest group and try to eliminate the biggest threat while weakening our 'friends' even further.

And here I was wondering why nobody plays Civ with me anymore...

I don't want to resort to A4 because I don't know who is who yet. It is entirely possible to insult an influental priest and cut ourselves from some monastery goodies down the road. Or worsen our reputation with a certain faction. Or make a powerful enemy. Or something.

 

[TOME]

I don't see being a physician and a group of guys losing control of their stomach suspicious. It just shows that everyone got a food poisoning but only one knows how to cure since only one of them is a physician. And since cheating is allowed (as long as you don't get caught doing the act), we are fine as long as no one dies.

 

[Nevill]

It just shows that everyone got a food poisoning but only one knows how to cure since only one of them is a physician

I guess he just happened to have a medicine for that particular disorder on himself on that day. Uh-huh.

 

[Azira]

He'd be a poor physician if he didn't.

 

[Baltika9]

It is not even a matter of honoring their agreement. It makes sense for them to hold true to their word - you are a valuable addition to the team. But what ELSE is there to do once they dispose of other combatants?

Fight each other, what else? The purpose of the competition is to get one winner, after they're done with everyone else, they'll be fighting amongst themselves, but it's not cut-and-dry like that. There's one thing about this you are overlooking:

After a while, you manage to strike up a conversation with a warrior-poet from Changsha, far to the south. His name is Ling Tong, a member of the Zifu Hall, a small gathering of gentlemen scholars in that city. According to him, the competitions do attract participants, but not as many as one would think. A good number of the fellows of the manor will pass their invitations on to worthy disciples or friends during a trial year, so that they may have a chance to be accepted. Others trade it for favours, though outright selling the invitation for money appears to be a taboo and could lead to a revocation of their fellowship.

I'm pretty sure that this little alliance we're being invited to can draw the attention of the scholars passing on their invitations. It's not a "win or lose" situation, a good show with these guys can get us an invitation even if we don't come in first.

They're also not dumb, as soon as our allies figure we're playing for two teams (which is fairly easy to do in the middle of a fight, a guy is either 100% for you or he's not; they're also aware of our Songfeng rep and there are two stories there, right now they think we're the good guy but that can change fast) they'll pounce on us pretty quickly.
I think that joining this team and working to get to the final stage with them will work better for us, as we'll earn some friends by not being a backstabbing snake. Making the other teams fight each other will just make it easier for ours.

Tigerwolves are pack animals, ffs.

 

[Nevill]

Fight each other, what else? The purpose of the competition is to get one winner, after they're done with everyone else, they'll be fighting amongst themselves.

Right. So, in a group that encompasses people that know each other for some time and some new guy, who would be the first to be omitted from the definition of 'an ally' when there are no enemies left?

I'm pretty sure that this little alliance we're being invited to can draw the attention of the scholars passing on their invitations. It's not a "win or lose" situation, a good show with these guys can get us an invitation even if we don't come in first.

And how exactly will we get an invitation? And why? Why would anyone be impressed with us allying with some dudes that will use us and throw us away as soon as we served our role? We'll be seen as a weakling that would never have been able to make it to the final stage without a team backing him up.

The dudes themselves can't let you have an invitation - they don't have any.

I think that joining this team and working to get to them final stage with them will work better for us, as we'll earn some friends by not being a backstabbing snake.

It is a nature of FFA to be "a backstabbing snake". Or a better and more cunning fighter, if you prefer. The point of the game.

No one will be backstabbing anyone. It is in the rules - there is only one victor, it would be stupid for us to harbor resent for these guys when they will have no one left to fight but us. And it would be doubly stupid not to prepare for such turn of events, unless you are ready to concede your right to the win. And I am not doing that.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well, I'm back after several days offline, and I'm pleasantly surprised that we are not dead (or castrated). Yet. Nice work codex.

Anyway, voting BC > BA4. If there has to be cheating then sowing misinformation is about the tamest of the choices. No point in drawing Yao into this, and poisoning people, even with something as mild as laxatives is not cool.

 

[Nevill]

treave, how are the votes counted? I mean, this is bound to end in r00fles if counted separately. Forging several alliances, then feeding everyone laxatives while insinuating that there will be cheating from the other team involved.

Then when the shit will hit the fan we'll be stabbing our former allies left and right, in a perfectly good health. Demonstrating each team our allegiance to the other team. Which is, according to us, cheating. With a clear case of food poisoning on our hands.

Nope, nothing suspicious at all.

 

[Esquilax]

Cheating is just the nature of the game here, it's really a function of there being only one victor. It's inevitable that there be cheating in a free-for-all like this. Really, this is like steroids in professional sports - everybody's using, so the rule isn't don't cheat, it's don't get caught. The dilemma is in deciding which option is least likely to get us caught while yielding the biggest advantage, and without a doubt that's BA4.

BC strikes me as a bit wishy-washy. You're still trying to be sneaky and make secret pacts, but you're not turning the odds to your favour by pitting those groups against each other with a divide-and-conquer strategy. If you want to do things cleanly, why not AC?

I don't want to resort to A4 because I don't know who is who yet. It is entirely possible to insult an influental priest and cut ourselves from some monastery goodies down the road. Or worsen our reputation with a certain faction. Or make a powerful enemy. Or something.

We might end up stepping on some toes, but that's the nature of the beast. Our goal here is Luoying Manor, which can provide us with lots of contacts and knowledge - I think that's worth pissing a few people off over. Yeah, this guy we met seems like a good person to know, but our goal here is to get into the Manor. Since this contest has a tacit acceptance of cheating and most of these guys know that's part of the game, we should get on it as well. As long as we aren't poisoning anybody, I don't see what's quite so wrong with it. Fighters use mind games and psychological warfare to get in their opponent's head all the time; Muhammad Ali was legendary at pissing off his opponents this way.

I don't want to resort to A4 because I don't know who is who yet. It is entirely possible to insult an influental priest and cut ourselves from some monastery goodies down the road. Or worsen our reputation with a certain faction. Or make a powerful enemy. Or something.

We may not know everybody here, but that can work to our advantage. Most of these guys have competed against each other before, so they remember who's lied and cheated in previous games. With our natural intelligence and our ability to talk with people, we can really start pitting people against each other during the fight so that we have enough energy once the contest narrows down to its last few competitors. "Fatigue makes fools of us all", so we'll be able to overcome an otherwise much better fighter than us if they've exerted themselves with other competitors while ignoring us.

Considering how many veterans there are here, I very much doubt that there are going to be that many "unaffiliated" martial artists here. If we stand around too long without committing to our team, we'll get found out. But if we undermine team cohesion by turning things into a series of individual fights, we can come out on top.