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] Epic

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,519
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Just to throw a wrench in treaves careful counting, here's my vote. :troll:

C. You open up recruitment for all qualified personnel regardless of their history. What you need are skilled administrators to allow Babylon to thrive, and you cannot afford to be picky about the men you choose as long as they can do the job.

D. You introduce yourself as a new god to the pantheon and put Shulgi up there as a new addition equal to, not greater or lesser than, the old gods.
3. You do not do anything about Marduk worship.

A. Run a psychic check together with Sekhenun and keep only the ones that would loyally follow your cause. This should reduce the number to about 1000. The rest will be discharged and allowed to return home.
1. Get the Gutians to come as 'mercenaries' to bolster your troops.

B. You ask Sekhenun to select a suitably easy puppet from any surviving nobles to put on the crown.

B. You travel to Egypt to aid in their defense. Showing up at a desperate time and rescuing the Egyptians will take away credit from Marduk. Let Zeus and Marduk battle it out in Greece.
 

oscar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
8,036
Location
NZ
I support the Babylon Plan if treave decides to do a vote with this system. Though I would argue that why do we need such a big army if we're going to bunker down in Babylon? Might as well take the opportunity to purge it of Marduk cultists and incorporate the Gutians.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Well.... after all that flipflopping...
C B3 A1 B A
B B2 C2 D A
C D1 C1 C C
B A2 A1 E B
B D2 B1 A A
C D2 A1 A B
B D2 A1 B A
C D2 B1 B C
B B3 A2 E B
C D3 A1 B B
C B3 C1 C C
A C2 C1 B B
C D2 A1 B A
C B3 A1 D B
C E1 B2 E C
C D3 A3 B A
C D3 A1 B B

C - 11
D2 - 5
A1 - 8
B - 8
B - 7

No change. Let's set the vote then... we're going to Egypt.
 

kazgar

Arcane
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
2,164
Location
Upside Down
As an aside, I suspect Marduk is going to be in for a nasty surprise whenever Zeus decides to come out of hiding and enter the fray. If we do go to Greece we may end up having to help out Marduk temporarily rather than go straight for the kill.

The Gutians are crucial for this: they are all elite warriors who are specialized in hit-and-run attacks and they are deathly loyal to Ean. Better yet, they all have experience in fighting Marduk's super-soldiers, so they know what to expect there as well. Another wild card that might work in our favour is Edem.

This is a overestimation IMHO, they weren't doing that well when we first met them, once the element of surprise had been lost, it was only the addition of our cultist that turned the tide. I would also assume that their loyalty would be to their leader, their tribe and their families first, while they only really know us from the short time we spent at the camp. They are a useful force in Babylon, but I think beyond that things may differ.

Anyhow, update incoming, we shall see.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
If we ever come back to Babylon and things are settled down, let's give the throne to Gudersu. Make him a general or commander for the moment, since he has his own men.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350

Oh, bloody hell.

Time for Zeus/Marduk to bbecome bigger than we can hope to deal with + absolutely nothing of our legacy remaining in Babylon. Essentially we've lost an arm fighting to free a nation we won't keep and to weaken an enemy we won't defeat.

: x
 

oscar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
8,036
Location
NZ
Nice one assholes. Could have had fun empire-building and development of the Empire of BROkind.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
I guess this can be positively spun as us protecting the stability of Egypt after we spent so many years fixing that in place. Let's just hope that Marduk's ridiculous amount of amplifiers and supersoldiers allow him and Zeus' pantheon to keep wasting each other while we devour Ares.

By the way, has anyone considered that the Gutians might invade Babylon while we're out? I mean, the main thing that was keeping them away was the fear of Marduk. It wouldn't be that hard for them to realize that Marduk's out of power there, contact their eastern tribes and steamroll over the weak noble we put in place while we march out with their armies.

Granted, I'd have no problems with that invasion aside from our allies killing each other, but it might be a concern. I don't know how hard Gudersu might be pressed by the others when his unachievable goal of reclaiming it actually becomes a possible act.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
We did vote to make the Gutians part of the new military, didn't we? As long as they're paid they'd have no incentive to invade.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Chapter 5.13: The Besieged Border Fort

A month after your successful revolution, you departed Babylon quietly. Sekhenun remained behind to guide the new king, a young, malleable noble by the name of Nabuchasar, in the direction the both of you had decided to take the empire in. He was assisted by the best men and women you could find - pragmatism prevailed over ideology for now, and you selected the most capable administrators regardless of their previous allegiance. All you required was that they were loyal to the new ruler over their former god. It wasn't hard - most of the capable administrators were a pragmatic sort who had gotten where they were in the previous administration by knowing which way the wind blew.

For now there was little unrest; Shulgi's cultists were given the recognition they had desired for more than three hundred years, and though some malcontents gave voice to louder ambitions, their fear and respect of the newly revealed god, the Dread Master, son of Ereshkigal, ally of Shulgi, who reputedly destroyed the temple of Marduk with a single wave of his black sword, and feasted on the flesh of the guilty after they were judged in the underworld, kept them in check.

You had to hand it to Sekhenun - she could really spin a tale if she wanted to.

Marduk was called an impostor - you dredged up your memories of the old legends and beliefs of the Sons of Marduk, and claimed that the real Marduk was still sleeping in the west, awaiting a bigger catastrophe when he would return and aid the other gods. There were a few old adherents of the Sons of Marduk who had not been rewarded when Marduk rose to power, and they were only all too happy to spread the new word.

Your departure was done incognito. Had you marched from the gates of Babylon with a thousand men, you knew that the cities around Babylon would be tempted to attack. Control over the empire was tenous at the moment, particularly with the Assyrians to the north becoming eager to avenge their humiliating defeat and free themselves from the yoke of Babylonian rule almost a hundred years ago. Sekhenun assured you she would try to keep the peace and maintain the current status quo as best as she could. Only time would tell whether she could succeed. With her you left the remainder of the army that had been judged to be loyal - those that you and Sekhenun found untrustworthy were relieved of their position.

You also brought in Gudersu and his Gutians, hiring his warriors to bolster the Babylonian troops. On one hand, you would be able to stop him from further acts of banditry - the Gutians had been such successful bandits that there was little else competition in the area right now, and on the other hand, you would have men that you could trust your back with within Babylon. The village that they had temporarily settled in was granted to them permanently, putting them under the aegis of Babylonian protection. Sekhenun had advised you that settling them in Babylon proper would create clashes with the local population, and from what you had seen of Gutian behaviour, you agreed. You had Nabuchasar bestow upon Gudersu the title of War Chief of Babylon, a nominal title that pleased the Gutians. Kingship, they cheered, would surely come soon after that, and Gudersu was toasted as the most successful leader of their tribe in a hundred years.

Gudersu himself was overjoyed to see you again - the bandit who overthrew a god, he called you. You told him that you weren't going to stop until you killed said god. That pleased him plenty. Iltani, as always, seemed to scowl whenever she saw you, and she did not speak a word to you, even as you were leaving.

So, hoping that you had left Babylon in good hands, you left to rescue Egypt.

***
Tjaru was besieged.

The great chasm that you had opened still yawned dizzily across the landscape, but beyond it, past the rivers of crocodiles, it was besieged from the Egyptian side. All the way here, you had rode against a flow of refugees, ignoring the low thrum of dark hunger that you had become used to, but in recent days the flow had trickled to a halt, and now you know why: the most accessible land pass into the Nile Delta was blocked off by Greek soldiers. The fort was apparently still held by the Egyptians, but from what you could observe, there were a couple hundred Greeks camped outside it.

You could be able to sneak past, or even cross the crocodile-infested rivers, but should you help out the fort? As you were pondering what to do, you felt a familiar presence behind a nearby rock, which had been noticeably shadowing you for the past few days.

"You really are a tenacious girl, Iltani."

She lets out a small gasp, but remains where she is.

"Look, hiding behind the rock isn't going to magically make my awareness of you disappear."

Reluctantly, she steps out from behind the rock. She was dressed simply, in loose travelling clothes that hid her figure so that she could possibly pass for a short and feminine boy. A sword hung from her waist.

"Before you ask, I'm here because I owe you."

"You want to repay a debt that you owe me? I'm not sure how you think you're going to repay it."

"I was supposed to repay it by marrying you, but you have not brought up the issue once since we arrived in Babylon, and Father thinks it is my fault for not being attractive enough. He respects you far too much to pressure you on the matter, unfortunately."

"Oh... uh..."

You didn't really have any words to respond to the situation.

"So, I'll repay you by helping you out with your secretive mission, and once I have, I can proudly tell Father that the debt is repaid, and you won't have to marry me. Before you ask, no, I'm not going back, and you can't make me."

She was right - short of dragging her back to Sumeria yourself and wasting valuable time, you were stuck with her for now. You looked back to the fort. Screams and cries had started up again - it looks like the Greeks had begun another attempt to take Tjaru.

***

A. You go to help the Egyptians at Tjaru - it is the perfect spot to revive your persona of Runi. You will look out for Iltani, but she will have to defend herself as best as she can should things go wrong at the siege.

B. You sneak Iltani and yourself past the siege. Your primary goal is to defeat Ares and rout the Greek armies, not waste your time with every fort you see. With your ability it is no problem getting another person across. Having her at Tjaru would put her in harm's way, and you dread having to explain to Gudersu how you got his precious daughter killed in battle.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
A

I foresee an opportunity to develop our healing power, with this liability following us around.

Has our arm healed yet, treave?
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
The dreaded escort mission!

It's approximately two months after you lost the arm. You have a short stumpy thing for a left upper limb. You can wave it around, bend it somewhat, and wiggle tiny little appendages at the end of the stump. You keep it wrapped up because it is really freakish. Growing back a whole arm is a pretty complex matter... you'll probably need another six months or so to get a fully functional arm again.
 

oscar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
8,036
Location
NZ
I'm getting serious shy-and-incompetent-yet-popular-with-females-anime-protagonist vibes off Ean with Iltani as a Tsundre.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
He's not a virgin. <excuses> He just has too much on his plate to commit to a serious relationship, and is responsible enough that he won't have flings with women who could become emotionally engaged with him </excuses>.

>_>
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
A

It is the perfect spot for the legend of Runi to come alive once more, rising from the chasm to help Egypt once more. A few hundred soldiers should be relatively easy to take care of, even with us babysitting Iltani. Fucking escort missions.

That is unless there is an immortal hiding among the troops. Treave, can we detect other immortals like we can Gieloth? And did we get some of that immortal-killing poison from Sekhenun before we left? If not, why didn't we? It would seem obvious to get some now that we are moving against an immortal.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Ah, what she had worked on Gieloth, not immortals. The physiology is different. Poison doesn't work against immortals very well. She has a toxin that could prevent regeneration, of which she's managed to squeeze out enough for one use.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
Ah, what she had worked on Gieloth, not immortals. The physiology is different. Poison doesn't work against immortals very well. She has a toxin that could prevent regeneration, of which she's managed to squeeze out enough for one use.
That's the one I mean. So we have one dose of it? Good to know - I'd rather we save it for Zeus, but maybe Ares won't give us a choice in this matter.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Oh, by all means, Babylon will surely accept an Egyptian Demigod into their pantheon and place him over their rulers. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
And the worst part is... it's the best option for rescuing Egypt. I'm getting strong Marius Hax vibes here, so i'll just say this:

MAXIMUM FUCK!!!

oscar: Incompetent, riiiiiight. Bros, we want Iltani to be Ean's wife? We tell her that we will marry her NOW. If she goes into battle with us, she's dead. D-E-A-D dead. She'll probably die is what I'm saying.

Essentially we've lost an arm fighting to free a nation we won't keep and to weaken an enemy we won't defeat.
Oh, but wait, there's more: we're also a God now.
Oh, but wait, there's more: we're about to have Babylonians ruled by an Egyptian demigod, which will either be our greatest flop or our greatest troll yet.
Oh, but wait, you still haven't heard the best part yet: We want to shape and mold civilization directly.
Sleep tight, mankind, you're in, ah, capable hands.

:troll:

But, for all my complaining, Sekhenun gave us an opportunity here: Ean is in Babylon. We're in Egypt. Might as well make the best of this.

P.S.: Fuck you, Azira. Fuck you. In a bro kind of way.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
Oh, but wait, there's more: we're also a God now.
Oh, but wait, there's more: we're about to have Babylonians ruled by an Egyptian demigod, which will either be our greatest flop or our greatest troll yet.
Oh, but wait, you still haven't heard the best part yet: We want to shape and mold civilization directly.
Sleep tight, mankind, you're in, ah, capable hands.
Why the hell would we advertise the fact that we are Ean and Runi to anyone? The point of leaving Babylon alone (besides not striping down its defences even further) was precisely to avoid anyone knowing this. And as long as we tell Iltani that this is supposed to be a secret that's the way it will probably stay. We definitely don't wont anyone to blab about this at this point - there are still 5000 Babylonian soldiers loyal to Marduk here, and I doubt they will be kindly disposed to a person that destroyed his empire. Once we are done here we need to find some way to ensure they are not a threat to the new Babylon state - maybe just point them in the direction of Greece, away from Babylon. Or find some other way to neutralize them - getting them to change sides would be preferable, but I don't know if this is even possible at this point.
 

Storyfag

Perfidious Pole
Patron
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
15,899
Location
Stealth Orbital Nuke Control Centre
Oh, by all means, Babylon will surely accept an Egyptian Demigod into their pantheon and place him over their rulers.

What are ya ramblin' about here? We fucking are a BABYLONIAN god. They revered us as Marduk and believed we slept in the west, which even was kinda true. Then gieloth-Marduk came over and pretended he's us, so we've overthrown him and revealed (almost all) the truth. But we never told anyone in Babylon that we're also a demigod in Egypt. And even if we did, big deal. Ancient civilisations had a habit of appropriating foreign gods. The Hittite pharaos of Egypt found it wise to worship Seth, the Egyptian patron of... foregin lands. And guess what, it worked, the populace accepted them, even though they were outsiders. The Romans equated their Jove with the Greek Zeus, and later with the Celtic Essus, and it worked too. Only the Jews were butthurt about the idea (btw, how about we prevent the vile Christianity from ever developing? Knowing our luck, Ean will end up filling the role of Jesus... though I'd much prefer to personally crucify Naram).
 

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