[LP CYOA] 傳

[Absinthe]

Who needs to worry about traps with maximum AG?

That's exactly the kind of thinking that will send a poisoned crossbow bolt or spike up his arse when he least expects it. You don't always get time to react when you've triggered the trap. Sometimes you realize it's a trap by getting hit with it. Jing has zero talent for detecting traps. He has hopelessly average perception and no expertise with traps whatsoever. With +1 PER from B, 6 perception alone won't let him detect traps. The A vote gives him +2 traps, which means he will be familiar with traps, and +1 INT, which means he'd be good at adapting his knowledge to the circumstances.

Right now B makes him a faster attacker and a stealthier guy. If he's going to sneak around, he better know how to handle traps because thieves run into traps a lot. We've already passed on one chance to get a bonus to Traps.

In a fight, +1 AGI can help him evade and overwhelm people with fast attacks, it's true. But he's already really fast and if you get +1 INT then Jing can actually read and counter his opponents' moves. With 8 INT, he can even come up with better moves in the middle of a fight. He also needs that +1 INT if you want him to take advantage of his unique qi.

 

[Nevill]

A is good, true. Mostly because of Intelligence, really.

As for Traps, I'd rather not be a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. It means that we don't want to traverse ancient tombs alone (I am looking at you, Xuanyuan Sword), that is all.

 

[Esquilax]

Absinthe, I'm getting the feeling that you're approaching INT as this magical stat that just makes you awesome at everything a la Fallout. Yeah, there are a lot of benefits to intelligence, no doubt, but I get the feeling that every time someone argues for a physical stat increase, you could simply say "Oh well, if we instead had more INT, then we could use that to learn some brilliant technique on the fly that would totally beat the shit out of [insert hypothetical athletic freak of nature with 10 STR/10END/10AGI] anyways, so we need more INT." If that were the case, every great martial artist would be some scrawny brainiac, but not all of them are. There are other ways; for example, treave mentioned that a high level of skill with Sword/Unarmed would allow us to make techniques up too.

Kipeci, regarding the Southern Maniac, we had a pretty fucking good idea that he was more than just some strong guy. In fact, I think Baltika9 was the one that theorized that he was the Southern Maniac before we had even approached him. We didn't approach him out of ignorance, we approached him because he was dangerous. So I disagree with you on that. Not that there's anything wrong with that choice, I'm content that we talked to Zhang, but I would hardly call the voting bloc in these LP's "safe" or "risk-averse".

 

[Smashing Axe]

I'd rather we didn't vote based on the skill, they're much more temporal than the stat changes. I agree that traps aren't particularly desirable as a skill compared to stealth, but the stats are just so much more important than a measly +2 skill boost. I really think we should boost our int/per to a level where we can adapt and change other techniques, it will help us come into our own as a warrior.

 

[Kipeci]

Kipeci, regarding the Southern Maniac, we had a pretty fucking good idea that he was more than just some strong guy. In fact, I think Baltika9 was the one that theorized that he was the Southern Maniac before we had even approached him. We didn't approach him out of ignorance, we approached him because he was dangerous. So I disagree with you on that. Not that there's anything wrong with that choice, I'm content that we talked to Zhang, but I would hardly call the voting bloc in these LP's "safe" or "risk-averse".

You're right, of course, I phrased that wrongly. We did have plenty of indications that he was a dangerous guy, but I'm pretty sure no one expected him to go on over to Master Yao's residence and threaten to kill all of them in order to force us into being his apprentice. At worst, we were probably expecting to get beaten up or something; at least, that's what I was thinking would happen... well, in addition to my warnings that the girl would poison us, which turned out to be fairly incorrect.

 

[Baltika9]

Mechanics is up to treave anyway - no one here is sure how it really works. It's not like there is a manual. So yeah, we aren't.

I should have known from the beginning this was going to be about "SNEAKING!" "NO, FIGHTING!" Very well: C is up our alley, that is the way we solve problems as a group. I'll go for B if A will be winning, but otherwise I'm sticking to C. It just makes a more compelling character, a red-blooded, brilliant, loyal and ferocious leader.
And we will not stop taking ridiculous risks just because we picked a more "focused" build, that shit didn't work for Senya and it won't work here for Jing. It's how we do it as a group, and I've been around here since root's 40K LP, the one he actually finished, and that never ever changed (except, by some magical intervention, in grotsnik's LPs). No, I really think C reflects Jing the best and suits us the most.

 

[Tigranes]

Absinthe - of course traps are useful, of course healing finger can be useful, just about everything in the choices can be useful some way or other. We're having to choose between useful upgrades, nothing really sticks out as useless...I like A for INT and I wouldn't mind us getting it, but I hardly think Traps is a selling point given everything else on offer.

Baltika9 I do see the point about taking things head on, though I suppose the thing for me is that the capacities granted by super-high AGI or PER appeal to me more than that of super-high STR. You know, the intelligence or agility or whatnot to combine moves, etc. give us interesting options, whereas super-high STR, well, I suppose will give us a couple of interesting ways to lift entire mountains.

 

[Esquilax]

I'd rather we didn't vote based on the skill, they're much more temporal than the stat changes. I agree that traps aren't particularly desirable as a skill compared to stealth, but the stats are just so much more important than a measly +2 skill boost. I really think we should boost our int/per to a level where we can adapt and change other techniques, it will help us come into our own as a warrior.

This is a fair point, attributes are far more important than skill points. However, there are alternatives here - namely, developing our skills in Sword/Unarmed skill. There are other ways to compensate for this, the same way that INT and PER might compensate for a lack of athletic ability in a different pugilist. You could counter by telling me, "well, it's not all about brawn" - and you'd be absolutely right - but you know what, it's not all about brains either.

You know what, after having thought about it, C has really grown on me; I know, I flop a lot, it's an honored and sacred Codex CYOA LP pastime. Yeah, it's the straight-up fighter choice, but damnit, it's consistent with who we are. The truth is, I like Jing's cockiness, and that recklessness was part of the reason I was cool with going Tiger Adjutant to begin with.

We picked a more cerebral stat boost the previous time we had the opportunity to, but we would do well to remember that at his core, Jing is a fighter, that's what he's suited for, and I think we ought to stay true to that. I feel like we might be turning him too much into something he really isn't. As much as I would like a detached, mysterious Jing (D), there's just something that feels right about C that doesn't about A/B. I gotta say, the added recklessness is part of the appeal to me.

If there's one thing I've learned about character creation options, forget all the powergaming, which stat is the best, which choice gives the character less flaws - fuck all that. If the character doesn't feel right, don't even bother. But C just feels right.

Flopping to CB

 

[Baltika9]

So, uh, anyone else noticed the seven-page flamewar we had?

 

[Esquilax]

So, uh, anyone else noticed the seven-page flamewar we had?

Not really a flamewar, just a passionate DISCUSS!!! Besides, this is the Codex. What passes as a flamewar in this thread is peanuts compared to GD.

 

[Kipeci]

We've had 23 updates of actual content in addition to the three posts that started this up.

Pretty much everything else in this has been tears.

 

[Baltika9]

Wait, wait, wait

At any rate, none of the choices gets rid of his cockiness. That shit is too ingrained in him to ever go away.

Yeah, with this, taking C is a must. We need the STR and END to survive this shit, Jing really is the perfect avatar for the 'Dex. No amount of stealth or intelligence will curb ours and Jing's mentality of "COME AT ME, BRO!"

 

[Nevill]

Jing is also a fanatic at his core. Not everything that the character was at the beginning of the tale is worth keeping. Once again, hate smartphones.

 

[Baltika9]

The difference is, as Lady Ji noted, is that Jing is ever so slowly sliding off Shun's cock. His cockiness and optimism are pretty much born and bred into him. That's never changing.

 

[Esquilax]

Jing is also a fanatic at his core. Not everything that the character was at the beginning of the tale is worth keeping. Once again, hate smartphones.

I'd like to think that when we pick a character, we pick them for their flaws as well as their virtues. I loved Ean just as much for his hardheaded "honor before reason" mentality as much as I did for his courage and skill in battle. In the same way, I like Jing just as much for his cockiness as I do for his willingness to take risks and his sheer confidence in the face of his bad luck. I'm not out to mould a character who doesn't have any flaws - I'm out to make a character that's interesting. C just feels true to Jing's nature and it feels right to me - pretty much it's as simple as that.

When it comes to choices like this, there's no real right or wrong. Perhaps you interpreted the character differently than I did, or you have a different take than I do, but to me, this just makes sense. I can't really logic this out in the same way I would a lot of other choices, but there ya go.

 

[Nevill]

I can't argue back properly without a keyboard. So I'll just say this. We'll be the first Chinese ninja!

 

[Baltika9]

No, the Woman in Black already has that covered, black suits and all. Awesome vid, though.

 

[Baltika9]

Go 1C, bros. It's who Jing is, the lovable, cocky and impulsive bastard with a heart of gold. Leave the sneaking and trapping to Quiling, she'll be in our "sack" soon enough, leave the INT and PER to Scholabro, he'll come along because he owes us, take the STR and END boosts that synergize so well with us and develop the person we were meant to be, the fearless Tigerkhan! Plus, get drunk and punch shit.
If it all goes to shit, you can blame me.

 

[Azira]

Or me. I'm advocating 1C as well, and I can bear the blame.

 

[Grimgravy]

Bah, I like the attributes of 1C, but straight up fighting wild animals just feels stupid. I still advocate for anything else.

 

[Baltika9]

Awesome training, though, and it's not stupid if it works. After beating the shit out of bears and tigers, human opponents won't be half as terrifying. 'Sides, we're a warrior, this is what a warrior does.
It is what Tigerbro is, it's not like we're losing all our other stats and decisions up to this point.
Besides which, it'll be a red-blooded character that gets all the babes and all the friends.

 

[treave]

Ifeex - CA > AA
Zero Credibility - DA > BA > AA
The Brazilian Slaughter - BC
TOME - AA
Esquilax - CB
Jester - AC > DA
Kashmir Slippers - AA
Kipeci - CB
Azira - CB
kazgar - CB
Grimgravy - AC > BC > DC
ERYFKRAD - CA > CB
m4davis - CA
Smashing Axe - AA > BA > DA
Baltika9 - CB
Lambchop19 - BC
XenomorphII - BB
Nevill - BB
Tigranes - BB
ScubaV - BB
LWC1996 - BA
Absinthe - A > B > D
Bloodshifter - DC

***

Current tally:

1. A - 6, B - 7, C - 8, D - 2

After D > A flops:

1. A - 6, B - 8, C - 8, D - 2

After A > B flops:

1. A - 3, B - 11, C - 8, D - 2

***

2. A - 8, B - 9, C - 5

***

BB wins.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Cool! We just need an intelligence or a perception increase and I'll be happy with our character's mental stats.

 

[Azira]

I can live with that. Still, I think it's a shame we won't be the likable bear of a man with stupendous strength and good drinking skills.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Oh well, He can get str to 9 if push comes to shove.