[LP CYOA] 傳

[Nevill]

I have a feeling Yunzi will lose if we leave them on their own.

Then you only need to send the prince flying out of the ring and make him lose, too.

And then Yunzi has to marry you, because you have bested the prince who bested her. It's all good.

 

[Kipeci]

GD2

I admit I haven't read any of the extensive discuss and I'm not yet sure of what people settled on, but we need to trash some of these goons so that we can have a proper showdown with Yunzi. This guy seems reasonably strong enough to be a worthy first focus, stopping him right away will prevent him from doubling back to help out his brother (and his probable demise may very well distract his brother) and we go all out because exhaustion isn't much of a concern and there's but one fighter here that we really care over, two if you count the guy we don't want to fight. I want to see the power of an unleashed Jing.

 

[Esquilax]

I don't want to kill anyone just yet. It might set up more dog-piling and we should work through our current stack first.

Yeah, that does pose a problem. If our attacks are really brutal, that might prompt Xuxian and Ji Muo to come and stop us from killing everyone, however, something tells me that they have very little sympathy for an asshole like zhang Manxing. Nevertheless, our techniques are pretty nasty and even if Manxing deserves it, I think that they are nevertheless going to feel compelled to step in soon.

You say that if we take out zhang manxing, there still will be two fighters left, and those are dangerous. Right. But if we take on those fighters, then it would be zhand manxing who will be left in the game. The reason why I want to take him out was stated already - I suspect that the man will employ an underhanded tactic we might not see coming. The man already deals with drugs, why not poisons?

This is a fair point. The threat that the Little Tiger and the brothers bring is a predictable one, while Manxing is far more likely to have something more diabolical planned.

Furthermore, you dismiss the girl as a fighter, but you never ask yourself - if she is a lousy fighter, why is she here? What for? If you know her master is a ruthless bastard with not a grain of conscience left in him, you have to suspect the worst. She is really easy to ignore due to how out of place she seems, but would that really be wise?

Well, if she were a good fighter, why is she enslaved? Since she's absolutely terrified, she's probably here as cannon fodder. She might have some skills with poison or distractions as well if your theory that she's ex-Wunan is true, which would definitely make things complicated for us, but based on her demeanor and the fact that she's frightened, a direct threat from her seems unlikely.

Next, you talk about the alliance, and how taking manxing out would spell our doom... why exactly? If we take him down, the brothers will pile on Wuni, and we will only be left face-to-face with the bandit. There will be no alliance anymore, everyone will be left to their own devices. I can't see it as a bad thing.

If you take one of the brothers out, however, there would still be 3 or 4 fighters aiming at your throat. It improves Wuni's chances, sure, but it does not help your chances any - and you are in a far greater danger than he is.

The idea behind taking out one of the brothers would be to prevent Wuni from getting swarmed and putting him in a better position to look out for us in case we face some trouble ourselves. He can't do much for us if he has to fend off two of these guys.

Besides, seeing how the monk and the beggar do not like dogpiling, one of them may provide support to Wuni and take on one of the brothers just to make things fair.

Who knows? I'm inclined to believe that they won't step in until either they are appalled by our brutality or we defeat the others, whichever comes first. Doubt they'd step in to protect Xu Jing's new buddy. Maybe if Wuni were about to die or something drastic, but I don't see this happening.

Anyways, I'm convinced and I'll go back to GB2 for now, though I do feel uneasy about letting Wuni get ganged up. Since we aren't holding back, I'm fairly sure that Xuxian and Ji Muo will step into the fight after this. I don't see how we can make sure that Wuni can fend off both brothers without an early intervention in our part and I feel uncomfortable about abandoning him. The Prince may have changed the rules on us on two occasions, but nevertheless, the main goal of the competition is still that the winner takes the princess. Since we've decided to aid Wuni in his quest, I think we ought to at least be consistent with that.

 

[Kipeci]

If we attack the brother and thereby distract the other one, he'll be free sooner to peel off one of the other guys, no?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Guise, do we get a kingdom khanate if we kill the Prince?

 

[Nevill]

If we attack the brother and thereby distract the other one, he'll be free sooner to peel off one of the other guys, no?

In theory, yes. However, if we don't, we can easily get rid of several other fighters.

The man has to do something by himself, otherwise what kind of a winner would he be?

treave, is the prince participating under the same rules as the others? Or is he in to defeat Yunzi and does not care about anything else, so he can quit early and leave the tournament to run its course without him?

Yunzi said that she is going to try and win the tournament. Does the prince intend to do it as well? How does their agreement work?

If we throw him out of the ring, would that count as him losing to her? If she loses to us, what would that mean as far as the prince is concerned?

My understanding is that we have a battle royale with 3 prizes depending on who comes out on top. Is this correct?

 

[Azira]

I have a feeling Yunzi will lose if we leave them on their own.

Then you only need to send the prince flying out of the ring and make him lose, too.

And then Yunzi has to marry you, because you have bested the prince who bested her. It's all good.

But wait. Would that mean Wuni would be the one to wed both Yunzi and the Tufan princess, should he remain the last person standing?

 

[Kipeci]

What? We're still facing off against one guy either way, it's not a choice between attacking the brother rushing us or stomping three dudes instead.

 

[Nevill]

But wait. Would that mean Wuni would be the one to wed both Yunzi and the Tufan princess, should he remain the last person standing?

Oh no you didn't.

Change of plans, guys. Let's win the tournament!

What? We're still facing off against one guy either way, it's not a choice between attacking the brother rushing us or stomping three dudes instead.

Get rid of the douchbag, and you are left tet-a-tet with the bandit.
Get rid of a brother, and you are left alone against three people (the bandit, the douchbag and the girl).

 

[Esquilax]

In theory, yes. However, if we don't, we can easily get rid of several other fighters.

The man has to do something by himself, otherwise what kind of a winner would he be?

Well, it's a battle royale. The rules state that the last man standing is the winner. The winner still gets to marry Princess Rinchen. The details have changed, but the victory conditions and the rewards are still he same as they were before. It doesn't matter if we stomp seven of the other competitors easily, if Wuni pushes us over the ring afterwards, it still counts as a win. I'm down for letting him win, and I figured our previous choice was to cement the fact that we were going to put our efforts towards ensuring that he wins.

Change of plans, guys. Let's win the tournament!

Since when? Since you decided right now?

 

[Absinthe]

G

Kuanglang Step is probably best for him.

A Wuying Leipo Kick.
"in terms of speed and strength he is inferior to you." Wuying Leipo Kick is all about overwhelming your opponents with speed and strength, so this is a bad idea.

B. Xianglong Eighteen Palms.
"his inner strength is lacking." No. Those palm strikes are rather useless for him.

C. Shouwang Mad Claws.
Could be decent, but unarmed skills are still speed and strength based. Plus, he can already use Chakrams to slice people up, so I'm not sure how much offense Shouwang Mad Claws will contribute for him.

D. Chuzan Fist.
Still speed and strength based.

E. Minamoto-ryuu Sword Style.
This technique is very agility-dominant, which he's not good on. I'm also leery of adapting sword techniques to the chakram, as they will lose effectiveness.

F. Self-Taught Sword Style.
Fuck no. I can't imagine we can convert these deceptive sword techniques to the chakram with any success.

G. Kuanglang Step.
Bolsters his otherwise deficient agility, gives him a general capacity for evasion and elusiveness (that is, to avoid detection), requires the least amount of conversion to his fighting style, and high perception means he can really capitalize on this technique to evade attacks and seize openings.

As for other votes, see below.

 

[Nevill]

Well, it's a battle royale. The rules state that the last man standing is the winner. The winner still gets to marry Princess Rinchen. The details have changed, but the victory conditions and the rewards are still he same as they were before.

It is not about the rules (which are a bit murky now that the prince have joined, by the way).

 

[Kipeci]

Get rid of the douchbag, and you are left tet-a-tet with the bandit.
Get rid of a brother, and you are left alone against three people (the bandit, the douchbag and the girl).

No? If we knock out the guy, we're still faced with the bandit and the brother and we have no idea about the girl (it's very possible that he would continue to force her to fight on or face a terrible retribution and so she would keep on going, it's just as possible that she would flee. We just don't know.) If we knock out the brother, then we're up against the Han guy, his servant and the bandit, but we must also consider that we might very well distract the brother fighting the guy we want to win when we punch his brother's lungs out of his mouth. That would allow that guy the freedom to attack one of the other three focused on us without us having to worry about one of them maybe dropping out to overwhelm the guy we intend on having win the match. I think that Jing has very solid chances of holding his own whatever the distribution of foes is, but we don't want our buddy getting overwhelmed like Guo Fu if possible should the brother facing us decide to let the Han guy and the bandit shoulder the responsibility and flee to assist his brother.

If the reason you were assuming that we would only be up against one guy is because you think that the brother is sure to just immediately abandon going after us without even engaging and instantly rush back to help his brother, then that's all the more reason to focus on him right now.

 

[Nevill]

No? If we knock out the guy, we're still faced with the bandit and the brother

No. The brother wants to help the other brother that Wuni keeps occupied.

and we have no idea about the girl (it's very possible that he would continue to force her to fight on or face a terrible retribution)

Well... a retribution from whom?

I think that Jing has very solid chances of holding his own whatever the distribution of foes is

Well, it's a pity Jing does not share your confidence, then:

Of course, it is rather probable that every other contestant will be gunning for your scalp once the fight starts, and combined with the possible need to assist Jixuan Wuni that may prove to be an obstacle that even you may not overcome.

And if Jing doubts himself, that means the odds are really, really skimpy.

Since there are other ways to resolve Wuni's situation, I am not going to prioritize his safety over ours, especially since we are the one people prefer to pile on, not him.

 

[Kipeci]

No. The brother wants to help the other brother that Wuni keeps occupied.

Sure, but he's rushing for us right now. I guess he thinks his brother can handle the guy, but if he immediately wanted to help his brother rather than rush Jing wouldn't he be doing that?

Well... a retribution from whom?

The brother if we don't outright kill him, his sycophantic folks, maybe relatives of Zhang have other friends or family of hers in captivity of some sort. She may very well be compelled to keep on in this match even should her master fall, we don't know about what brought her here so we can't really make assumptions about her immediately fleeing for the hills or staying. She's a wild card.

Well, it's a pity Jing does not share your confidence, then:

And if Jing doubts himself, that means the odds are really, really skimpy.

He's been fighting with Zhang for a solid couple of years, you remember how he estimated those bandits to be much more solid than they really were? Jing's been unsure about these things plenty of times and yet pulled off several great victories, I think that helping our friend here so that he can also help to thin this horde of foes will do more to help.

Since there are other ways to resolve Wuni's situation, I am not going to prioritize his safety over ours, especially since we are the one people prefer to pile on, not him.

So what do you plan to do to 'resolve' his situation should the one guy break loose and go help his brother while we're being attacked by the Han guy, his servant and the bandit? He may have good endurance but even those guys can be overwhelmed by multiple foes, especially if these guys happen to be very strong, and if they manage to knock him out quickly then they can double back against Jing.

 

[Nevill]

Sure, but he's rushing for us right now. I guess he thinks his brother can handle the guy, but if he immediately wanted to help his brother rather than rush Jing wouldn't he be doing that?

He was rushing Jing until his brother was blindsided by Wuni. The only information about his further plans comes from the choice:

C. You focus your attack on Songtsu Taide, attempting to defeat the Tibetan before he goes back to his brother’s aid.

She may very well be compelled to keep on in this match even should her master fall, we don't know about what brought her here so we can't really make assumptions about her immediately fleeing for the hills or staying. She's a wild card.

There is absolutely zero point in it. What is her mission, to marry Pema Rinchen? He drops, she drops out.

So what do you plan to do to 'resolve' his situation should the one guy break loose and go help his brother while we're being attacked by the Han guy, his servant and the bandit?

Defeat everyone else while some of the combatants are distracted by Wuni, have Yunzi win the match instead. That if Wuni does not hold.
If he does, there is no problem whatsoever.

 

[Absinthe]

GC1: "You focus your attack on Songtsu Taide, attempting to defeat the Tibetan before he goes back to his brother’s aid."

If he helps his brother against Jixuan Wuni, Jixuan will lose.

Also, going with 1 now. We can handle this 3v1 without killing. Both the Beggar and the Shaolin will be observing so showing off our most powerful moves can be counterproductive. Besides, the current 3 aren't the most dangerous enemies.

 

[TOME]

I don't think teaching Kuanlang step to Wuni is such a good idea. I expect him to turn on us at some point and giving him means to backstab us is a big no.

As for the second choice, I really want to get zhang out of the way. He is exactly the kind of asshole we don't want to be there when we take on more powerful fighters. But on the other hand dragging the Prince and Yunzi into the battle could tie down a few fighters.

EB2>E2.

 

[Absinthe]

TOME, that makes zero fucking sense. We already agreed to throw the match in his favor. He has no incentive to try to backstab us when our goal is to make him win.

 

[Kipeci]

He was rushing Jing until his brother was blindsided by Wuni. The only information about his further plans comes from the choice:

Hm, good point. Well, all the more reason to strike him down before he heads back, then.

There is absolutely zero point in it. What is her mission, to marry Pema Rinchen? He drops, she drops out.

The princess goes with the winner, and if the winner belongs to someone then it's quite possible that she will be confiscated. If not, perhaps the girl would like to leverage winning as a way to become enriched and get herself out of service? The marriage would probably not happen, but there's probably still plenty of reward to be had even if it doesn't all go to the Han guy. Either way, she has some reason to stick in.

Defeat everyone else while some of the combatants are distracted by Wuni, have Yunzi win the match instead.

Losing to Yunzi? No way, we need to marry her. We need to best Yunzi and have Wuni beat us.

 

[Nevill]

The princess goes with the winner, and if the winner belongs to someone then it's quite possible that she will be confiscated.

The marriages do not work that way. Especially the royal marriages.
The princess is not an item to be passed over. If the person wins her hand, the person gains a post. The princess is not going anywhere.
They are not going to marry her to some 70-year old king who can't hold a sword just because he sent a warrior to win the tournament. They are interested in the warrior who actually won the contest, not in his owner.

The one who did not win does not have a right to marry, plain and simple.

Either way, she has some reason to stick in.

Because her master commands so. And he is the one who wants to win. If he does not, there is no point in her further participation.

Losing to Yunzi? No way, we need to marry her.

Oh, come on! It goes back and forth - she wins, we win, she wins, we win. The promise of a rematch is what brings us closer together.

Besides, you can jump out of the ring without 'losing' to her, and she still wins.

 

[Kipeci]

The marriages do not work that way. Especially the royal marriages.
The princess is not an item to be passed over. If the person wins her hand, the person gains a post. The princess is not going anywhere.
They are not going to marry her to some 70-year old king who can't hold a sword just because he sent a warrior to win the tournament. They are interested in the warrior who actually won the contest, not in his owner.

The one who did not win does not have a right to marry, plain and simple.

So that leaves her fighting for the great number of promised riches and the heightened position to get out of her current situation. That still seems like it might be worth fighting over.

Nonsense. We must convincingly win against her again to put Jing one ahead instead of at 1-1 with her.

 

[TOME]

We already agreed to throw the match in his favor.

His scowl deepens and his gaze drops back to his food and drink. Jixuan Wuni sighs heavily, scratching his head. “Look, Man Tiger Pig. I want no trouble with you. We will fight later and I will do my best. There is no need for you to seek me out. Leave the violence for the tournament.” It seems like he thinks you are here to goad him into a fight. You laugh heartily. “That is not what I am here for.” Leaning forward, you whisper, “You seem to be pretty chummy with some princesses.” The blood drains from his expression as he stares at you in horror. “You will not lay a finger on them,” Jixuan Wuni growls, his knuckles turning white as his fists tighten. “Wait, just what sort of monster do you think I am?” you ask quietly, mildly surprised at his reaction. He tells you. It appears that during the two years that you have been on the island, there have been several opportunistic knaves using your name to commit evil deeds near the less-policed frontiers of the Tang lands. Of course, it was nothing that people wouldn’t already put past you: murders, robberies, teasing virgin maidens, but it seems that your reputation as a no-good vagrant is on its way to being set in stone.

We aren't exactly a trustworthy person. What reason he has to trust us? We gave him a few pointers in martial arts but I don't think that alone is going to be enough to offset those rumors.

 

[Nevill]

So that leaves her fighting for the great number of promised riches and the heightened position to get out of her current situation. That still seems like it might be worth fighting over.

Wrong tournament, wrong prize.

The prize for the win is the hand of the princess in marriage. No marriage - no riches, no positions.

 

[Absinthe]

TOME, for starters, we're not even interested in getting the princess and he accepted that. Two, he doesn't really have a choice here. Without us helping him, he can't win. He knows this. If he's going to backstab us, he is going to do it at the sort of opportune moment after we clear out the other big threats (ie. after we've accomplished what we set out to do and when we would throw the match anyway).

This is some serious paranoia, dude. Jixuan Wuni isn't Shulgi.