Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

[LP CYOA] 傳

XenomorphII

Prophet
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
1,198
B
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Let me get this straight, C is identical to A in terms of combat outcomes (i.e. we go up there with equal qi), right? Well it's not a complete disaster that we're doing the Cockwagon, but I think the challenge is not won yet and a totally confused post-kiss Yunzi is not exactly the best recipe. I'd prefer the making out to come after a joint victory together where Yunzi can restore her pride through combat.

A

And for the record, Absinthe was spamming like hell but I'm glad he managed to get enough flops to C. I guess I'm saying that because that was my original vote too, but the DISCUSS! that had previously led to a B majority was really haphazard and I think we should cut off DISCUSS! only when everything's already been said, not just because we've talked for a couple pages.
 

Kashmir Slippers

Magister
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Messages
1,018
Location
Here, obviously
B>A

Exactly how abhorrent is qi-leeching in the eyes of the general orthodox community? I want to know if we are seen as a monster now or if it just builds our image as a cunning trickster.
 

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
Flopping to C. And I see it like this:
I need you Yunzi - massive kiss of qi - I always needed you.

So romantic.... :D not doing it to spite her that is
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,519
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Those are the same Elders that Fangzhang probably took to a night at the red light discrict when they were younger. They'll be fine.

They're from the same generation as the dearly departed Iron Shaft, they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today without being the perverted degenerates that the late Abbot Fangzhang was. He wouldn't trust them, otherwise:

“Do you suspect something about them?” you probe.

The Abbot laughs when he hears your question. “Never trust a guy so clean that his clothes shine. We don't get to live to our age without learning that. Unfortunately, we can’t interfere directly with other sects, or I’d give that Bai Jiutian a spanking to loosen his spine a bit.”

Abbot Fangzhang only accepted drunken gamblers with a fondness for whores into his inner circle of BROS. To honor him, we shall kiss Yunzi in the middle of Shaolin Temple.

You're doing the temptation thing very well here. :salute:
 

Elfberserker

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
1,540
flopping to A>B

As much as I like manly brawls, but I think that helping our comrade gets more shaolin points. Furthermore GENTLEMEN MODE ACTIVATED to avoid pissed and confused Yunzi.

Failing that, MANLY TEMPLE DESTROYING FIGHT, HERE WE COME.
 

tropic

Scholar
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
129
OK, fine. She did clear half the fights out for us and deserves some credit. Going A > B for the same reasons as Elfberserker.

C is amusing but I don't want to fall for treave's trolling. Plus, all those monks are going to be reliving that horrible PDA in their meditations - not to mention poor Qilin. : (
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
You're doing the temptation thing very well here. :salute:

We'll get +1 SWORDS if we go with C, because it'll be a harder fight! Or something.

As much as I like manly brawls, but I think that helping our comrade gets more shaolin points. Furthermore GENTLEMEN MODE ACTIVATED to avoid pissed and confused Yunzi.

See, that's the thing, I don't think we can really get many brownie points with Shaolin at this point because we've done this whole thing the pussiest most tactically savvy way possible, bringing shame upon the legacy of Zhang Jue:

And winning the fight with a surprise drain does earn you less respect. They'll respect your wits but not as much your martial strength, while to defeat them in A you'd have to showcase both qualities. They aren't going to actively hate your victory since you did no permanent harm to the elders' inner strength.

Thus far, we've shown a clever ability to circumvent the obstacles they have put in place, but we've shown no martial strength. We skipped out of the first two challenges, won the most recent one with a surprise drain, and now if we pick B, we'll fight the Abbot with some steroids in our system. If we beat the Abbot with our supercharged qi, well, I doubt that the Shaolin will see that as much of a victory anyways; big fucking deal, you gave yourself an advantage that you otherwise wouldn't have had. It isn't as impressive as taking the guy on as we normally would, at full health. At least, that's the way I interpreted it. Am I correct, treave?

Since we've shown that we really don't care much about winning hearts and minds, going after their respect seems like "too little, too late" at this point. May as well just fuck Yunzi in full view of the Shaolin Temple at this point.

:troll:

Exactly how abhorrent is qi-leeching in the eyes of the general orthodox community? I want to know if we are seen as a monster now or if it just builds our image as a cunning trickster.

Well, treave said that it was distasteful because typically the methods by which you learn it and those who teach it are vicious, but it seems that the Shaolin Temple sighed a collective "meh" at our antics. Basically, Man Tiger Pig gonna Man Tiger Pig. Didn't hurt us, but it didn't help us, image wise.
 

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
You're doing the temptation thing very well here. :salute:

We'll get +1 SWORDS if we go with C, because it'll be a harder fight! Or something.

As much as I like manly brawls, but I think that helping our comrade gets more shaolin points. Furthermore GENTLEMEN MODE ACTIVATED to avoid pissed and confused Yunzi.

See, that's the thing, I don't think we can really get many brownie points with Shaolin at this point because we've done this whole thing the pussiest most tactically savvy way possible, bringing shame upon the legacy of Zhang Jue:

And winning the fight with a surprise drain does earn you less respect. They'll respect your wits but not as much your martial strength, while to defeat them in A you'd have to showcase both qualities. They aren't going to actively hate your victory since you did no permanent harm to the elders' inner strength.

Thus far, we've shown a clever ability to circumvent the obstacles they have put in place, but we've shown no martial strength. We skipped out of the first two challenges, won the most recent one with a surprise drain, and now if we pick B, we'll fight the Abbot with some steroids in our system. If we beat the Abbot with our supercharged qi, well, I doubt that the Shaolin will see that as much of a victory anyways; big fucking deal, you gave yourself an advantage that you otherwise wouldn't have had. It isn't as impressive as taking the guy on as we normally would, at full health. At least, that's the way I interpreted it. Am I correct, treave?

Since we've shown that we really don't care much about winning hearts and minds, going after their respect seems like "too little, too late" at this point. May as well just fuck Yunzi in full view of the Shaolin Temple at this point.

:troll:
But Esquilax they are BIG on pragmatism those monks. Reread the last update :D
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
So the choices come down to facing the Abbot alone with our energy boost or spending it and some of our own energy to revive Yunzi then fighting him together...

Well the case in favour of B is fairly obvious. It gives us hands down the best chance to win the fight. We will be at our strongest, we will not have had to really exert ourselves at all to get there and we should be able to use the WQS against him to ensure victory if we are uncomfortable about our chances to win with just our traditional moves. If we remove all emotional and social 'intangibles' it seems like the optimal choice.

Now for the drawn out however... ;)

If we win with A or C I think it will make a better long term case for Jing and the Fire Cult. If we use the stolen qi of the elders to smash the Abbot it will not reflect terribly well on us I should think:

I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.

We are not Shaolin but we seek to be accepted by them. Now the second major precept holds that you should not take that which in not freely given. We have violated that even as we demonstrated mercy, we have shown our cunning but no real honour here so it is largely a wash. It is looking like it will all come down to how our fight with the abbot goes. While it is doubtful they will be angry here we probably are no farther ahead then we were before the fight but there may be a way to turn this around:

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

They are also, in theory, big on sharing. If we demonstrate that we took this power to help Yunzi a case can be made that though we 'broke the rules', so to speak, it was done with noble intent. Now we will put ourselves at greater risk by weakening ourselves and we will have to rely on teamwork to get past the abbot but it will show that Jing is not a selfish or power hungry man. The ones that matter should really respect that.

So from my perspective this becomes a choice between the more sensible A and the more emotional C.

Then I remembered this:

“The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.”

and

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.”

Well Jing's heart is filled with 'trollishness' and tsundere love for the Holy Maiden and that truth must come out. It is time to once more embrace it! :lol:

As a result my vote can only be C.

It will demonstrate our charitable nature to anyone with the eyes to see it.

It will troll those that can not see it, quite nicely.

It will reaffirm the principles of ManTigerPig which we are in danger of losing through our constant caution.

It might finally break down that mental block the two of them have set up.

And most importantly it should help ensure that we are weaker than the abbot so that we can have a proper fight against him in true ManTigerPig fashion. A two on one fight where Jing and Yunzi's speed go up against Fangci's endurance, visually it is the sort of fight that is very enjoyable to watch, the raging river against the great mountain. Much more enjoyable to read about than just getting up there and rolling over him with qi leeching/WQS which honestly would kill me a little... ;)

So C for maximum YOLO-enlightenment with a conditional to, the more boring yet practical, A so that we don't wind up with B.

C>A
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
But Esquilax they are BIG on pragmatism those monks. Reread the last update :D

Pragmatism in moderation is what the old man said. You don't train under a whoring drinker and gambler extraordinaire like Abbot Fangzhang for decades without picking up some street smarts of your own and a taste for the finer things in life. But at the same time, these guys are still monks. Just like any true, upright orthodox martial artist, they value honor, mercy, and skill in martial arts.
 
Last edited:

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
She left us behind first...

I dunno about that, I think technically, we left her behind first:

“Yifang, I choose you.”

She yells in surprise. “M-me?” She still steps forward, however, clutching her sword tightly. It looks like she is nervous about facing these two – no wonder, given that they are respected orthodox pugilists, unlike the riffraff she has been dealing with thus far. Yunzi's face, on the other hand, is akin to a dark, cloudy storm; she seems rather disappointed.

We could have had a nice double-date with Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai, but we ditched Yunzi for Yifang. We stood her up first, no wonder she was so pissed!
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I guess this boiled inside of me long enough that I feel it has to be said.

I don't want this to be an argument for anything. I don't care if my words sway someone or have an opposite effect as much as I did before. It was fun to try and play politics with the votes, sometimes arguing the opposite of what I was thinking just for the hell of it - and I still remember those "Shun vs. Yunzi", "to Ying or not to Ying?" and "Tiger-punching vs ninja-pirating" discussions fondly, retarded as they may have been - but it has been overdone lately to the point when it feels like a bother. So, no, I don't intend to make a case out of it.

I'll say this as a reader and as a human being.

Sometimes you vote not because you want to gain something, but because the choice is so alluring, you want to read how it plays out no matter what it results in, consequences be damned.

The last time we were offered a choice that was as outrageous, trollish and seemingly stupid as we are offered now, was the Brown Wedding. I remember a lot of the - let's call them cautious - statements promising that it will never work as intended, will make everyone hate us for the rest of our lives, make Amesha Spenta mock us, will kill Jing, his wives and his non-existent dog, and will bring ruin to the Empire. None of these would have happened - and there was a lot of butthurt and vitriol afterwards, some of it mine. My impression was that most of us wanted to see it happen, but could not bring themselves to risk parting with something from the character sheet, being concerned more with reputation scores than with the actual story.

It was the same with entering the Fire Temple - there was no point in sneaking a peek except for our curiosity, and there were a lot of doom sayers that promised us a swift and painful end for no apparent gain. What it resulted in was the most outstanding success, the most tense moments that had everyone on the edge of their seats, and the most enthralling pair of updates I've seen in the whole LP - and I see the latter two as even more important than the former.

But recently there has been a rise in the arguments that smell of - I don't know how to call it - munchkinism, powergaming, number crunching? - seeking to gain the most with spending as little as possible. It is as if people were suddenly swapped with exchange dealers. They reason weighing some parameters against each other as if everything in the world can be accounted for and evaluated, ranking choices from best to worst as if it was some objective unassailable truth that can be proven with enough math thrown at it. Let's save Song Lingshu the easiest way. Let's put our best sword fighter up front. Let's have Xuxian handle the more sturdy fighter. It's not like it even works for us, yet I see more and more of these robotic decisions devoid of life and heart (and sometimes even of basic human decency) that favor instead some phantom benefits that often aren't there in the first place.

This is not a grand strategy game, where you obsess over points and caress the numbers in your mind. This is, first and foremost, a story that you want to read. The numbers alone don't make for a good story. "It's not about the goal, it's about the journey" is a banal phrase, but a fitting one nonetheless.

The overstatement of the mechanical aspect of this LP makes me truly sad. :(

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right, so with that out of the way, to the choice at hand. I'll spare you trying to play Lambchop19 and calling the 'Dex names again, and just state the information I think no one mentioned yet.

The Shaolin Elders surprised me. It does look like they are more in tune with the late Abbott then with the younger disciples. The chair-fu speaks volumes about their experience in bar brawls, and that little bit didn't go unnoticed, either:
You retaliate with a swift kick, swinging your foot upwards into his groin. He lets out a battle cry as your kick lands… to no
discernible effect.
Every one of them would qualify for the proud name of the Iron Shaft. Maybe they were brother-soldiers with Fangzhang back in the day.

Or maybe the more we go up the difficulty ladder, the less the challenge becomes about martial arts and more about efficiency and ruthlessness, and this is the real secret behind Shaolin teachings that you get to know after you've devoted your life to fighting. It would certainly explain the Abbott's confidence in that the Shaolin would be able to match anyone who dares to attack them.

The Abbott himself looks like he either led a gang, or spent a long time in the military service. I think our confrontation will not be a mere exchange of moves you would see at a tournament, and that he has plenty of dirty tricks up his sleeve.

It looks like they have realized the mercy that you displayed and acknowledged your victory. Certainly, if the fight had continued after you stopped the drain, you would have still have won – though probably at the cost of exhausting the extra energy you earned – but they would have paid an even greater price for that victory. It would have put you in a worse position for the next stage, however, and if they weren't willing to sacrifice...

“You must be thinking that we are cowards for giving up here?” smiles one of them suddenly.

“W-what? No, of course not," you deny awkwardly.

“Pragmatism in moderation, young master,” he repeats. “We will leave the rest in the Abbot’s hands.”
The elders chose not to pursue you further, even though the pride of their monastery is at stake. They let you go without making additional effort to fight you when they could, at a 'risk' of being considered cowards. One might want to ask himself, why did they do so?

They seem quite confident that the Abbott can take you down, even in your supercharged state, but I think there is more to their idleness. Abbott Fangci looks like someone who would have a right trick to deflate a gobbler that boasts a power that does not even belong to him. I begin to suspect that it is the overcharged state that might put us at a disadvantage somehow.

Mind you, I am not saying B will definitely fail us. I just think that it will not necessarily be easier for us to deal with the Abbott with it. If we go about it in an obvious way, we'll be one-upped somehow. We'll just have to outtrick the old man.

That also makes me think that it might be better to do something unpredictable right now and drop the excess of qi onto Yunzi to ruin their expectations, be it A or C. No one expects to face her again at this point.

Just throwing it out there.
 
Last edited:

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
Yeah the discuss went out of hand lately. What I want of this LP is mostly the awesome storytelling that is going on of course. And going for the 'most fun options' is cool with me as long as given options won't blatantly kill Jing. The munchkinism came from masively increasing dificulty lately probably. Yeah I agree we should stop the overboard discuss retardation and ad hominem attacks. A little discuss is fine and dandy.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
A > C

Hey, this is the Shaolin home, right? Women aren't even supposed to be allowed around but these bros were generous enough to make an exception here.

That said, princesses are still my priority over Shaolin anyway, so I'd prefer B not win.
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
27,012
How about someone really disliking Yunzi, her annoying antics and the retarded manga weeabooism that makes people fall in love with her,is this a good enough reason as reader and human being to go with B?
And when we are talking about the wedding, I voted to have Xu Jing dress as the bride
 

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
Is someone keeping the tally BTW? I do understand C wins this anyway but it would be nice to know :D
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
How about someone really disliking Yunzi, her annoying antics and the retarded manga weeabooism that makes people fell in love with her,is this a good enough reason as reader and human being to go with B?
Wasn't talking about you, man. :) Your Yunzi hate is as much a part of your motivation as Smashing Axe's Dio-worship. If that is the kind of story you want to get, I am fine with it. Just... don't dress it up in numbers to make it into some kind of a theorem that has to be true for everyone.
 
Last edited:

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
How about someone really disliking Yunzi, her annoying antics and the retarded manga weeabooism that makes people fell in love with her,is this a good enough reason as reader and human being to go with B?
And when we are talking about the wedding, I voted to have Xu Jing dress as the bride
This doesn't seem to be a genre and setting to your liking then.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom