[LP CYOA] Epic

[treave]

3: KNOCK THE BITCH OUT!!!

Hm, I suggest you guys decide what to do with Iltani first before moving on to the subsequent choices.

Also might want to determine a suitable location to plunk her unconscious body. If I'm not mistaken wolves are native to Mt. Olympus.

 

[Baltika9]

treave:Exterminatus is automatic Game over, right?
Esquilax: So, what's your plan for buddying up with immortals and staying alive?

 

[TOME]

Why hasn't anyone consider feeding on Zeus? If we managed to get to Zeus before Marduk, we could feed on him and get his part of Varja. We would deny Marduk his meal, get power boost, get rid of Zeus, get another power boost in form of Varja piece, Marduk would be between Ean and Ares and we would still have Edem in our pocket. After that defeating Marduk would be easy and resisting the hunger a piece of cake. Downside would be announcing our nature to all but I think that is coming out anyway if we want to survive here and save the world. We can't protect Iltani while doing this so either we make her understand to stay hiding or we knock her out. Maybe showing her a bit of shapeshifting magic could convince her to stay out of god business.

 

[treave]

Re: wiping the planet.

It's nothing as flashy as virus bombs or cyclonic torpedos, but the Masters generally are not trigger happy about it. They would have to deem the planet as utterly lost, or otherwise find themselves unable to get rid of something that can threaten them directly, before they resort to that. It might help to think of it like maintaining a hard-disk, you usually don't reformat the entire thing every time you find a virus on it, but you can and will if you have to.

Think of it like a soft format, too.

Certain things may slip through the cracks. It's not entirely a game-over but to make it not a game over, you must want to LARP Fallout 2000 B.C.

 

[ScubaV]

AB 2 if she agrees to leave, if not 3.

NOT CANON, obviously (treave, I hope this isn't stepping on your toes):

Ean looked up at the craggy form of Mt. Olympus before him. Its slopes were darkened by ominous clouds gathering overhead and littered with bodies and debris. In the distance the din of fierce fighting could still be heard, punctuated by the screams of the freshly slaughtered and the long wails of the dying. The tension in the air was palpable. Amongst his things, the piece of Vajra he carried vibrated lightly, excited to be so close to its brothers. Then there was the hunger, a pang bordering on a craving that went deeper than his stomach. And yet deeper still, Ean himself was restless, excited, and even a little afraid. He had lived, died, and been reborn, but never did he feel more alive than when battle was joined and the stakes were high. Destiny was calling and it was all he could do to not rush off and answer it.

Ean took a long breath and looked at Iltani.

"Iltani" he said simply, putting his hands on her shoulders. For a woman who always impressed him with her strength, they suddenly seemed so frail in his grasp.

"Iltani, I care about you. I know we haven't spent much time together, but I really do care about you. If the fate of our world wasn't at stake I wouldn't even be here, putting our lives at risk like this. By now you know that I am no ordinary man. Sometimes I wonder if I am even a man at all anymore, but this fight ahead is going to test my limits and then some. I can't force your decision, but if you come with me I will have to protect you. I have no choice, I won't allow you to be hurt. However, that means I won't be able to fully concentrate on the enemy and you and I and the world will all be in greater danger."

Ean reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.

"Please, if you care for me at all get as far away from this accursed mountain as you can. I will win, I promise. And then I will find you and we will never have to be apart again."

Iltani looked at him for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes glistening. Then she opened her mouth to reply.

 

[treave]

"r00fles."

 

[Smashing Axe]

 

[treave]

Kidding aside, that was great writing.

Finally, fanfiction!

 

[Baltika9]

A
C+TOME's idea of feeding on Zeus (How come I didn't think of that?)
2, if it fails, 3.
Our nature will be revealed here, bros, whatever we do. Might as well get the most out of it and on our terms. Ares can prove enough of a distraction for Marduk I hope.

 

[CappenVarra]

Ehm, assembling Vajra before consulting Sehk how to best go about it is going to end in tears - remember that Master's transcript saying Instructions have been given for the priority of its retrieval.? Ean can hide himself, but the assembled artefact is going to be like a homing beacon... Also, Naram and Shulgi are probably somewhere close and about to throw a few roadblocks at random moments... Just crossed my mind.

 

[Baltika9]

I'm thinking Zeus is Naram. Judging by his praise of the Masters, taking in all their cocks at once of them and becoming their Avatar would be the best thing that happened to him, evah. But Shulgi, if he turns up, will be most helpful. Unless Marduk is now inhabiting his body, like he wanted to do to Ean.

Edit: and Shulgi showing up would probably be the best thing that can happen period. He can take all the credit, and the fall, for this crap then. All we have to do is sit in a good spot and make just one strike, and it will be over. One can dream.
Edit2:

Certain things may slip through the cracks. It's not entirely a game-over but to make it not a game over, you must want to LARP Fallout 2000 B.C.

, that sounds both awesome and promising. Not like Earth got too far away from that level, though, by that time.
And after they wipe the planet, they'll be much less alert, so we'll be able to shepherd humanity without interference.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

ab3

 

[treave]

, that sounds both awesome and promising. Not like Earth got too far away from that level, though, by that time.
And after they wipe the planet, they'll be much less alert, so we'll be able to shepherd humanity without interference.

Honestly I want to keep that option till much later so that Ean can taste the tears of his four thousand year-long failure as he wanders a desolate wasteland where the entire planet is almost entirely twisted into another dimension like a pretzel, causing weird anomalies to happen all over the place, while the last scraps of humanity that he managed to protect takes shelter in a small pocket of 'normal reality'.

 

[Baltika9]

, that sounds both awesome and promising. Not like Earth got too far away from that level, though, by that time.
And after they wipe the planet, they'll be much less alert, so we'll be able to shepherd humanity without interference.

Honestly I want to keep that option till much later so that Ean can taste the tears of his four thousand year-long failure as he wanders a desolate wasteland where the entire planet is almost entirely twisted into another dimension like a pretzel, causing weird anomalies to happen all over the place, while the last scraps of humanity that he managed to protect takes shelter in a small pocket of 'normal reality'.

HNNNGH!
Second best CYOA I've ever participated in, except root's 42K. If you actually come through with that, it will be number one. But if we fuck up here, it's escapable, right? Or will Humanity be reforged through their suffering into the most potent force in existence, led by the very aspect of vengeance and RAGE?
Edit: Bros, I know that some of you want to slap Iltani into submission to show who the man is, but I think we should first try one last trick, a-la ScubaV. If she gets mouthy, then we show her why no one questions Ean.

 

[Kukulkan]

AB3
I rather see treave's alternate history timeline pan out than the apocalyptic scenario facing us down the road.

 

[Esquilax]

Ehm, assembling Vajra before consulting Sehk how to best go about it is going to end in tears - remember that Master's transcript saying Instructions have been given for the priority of its retrieval.? Ean can hide himself, but the assembled artefact is going to be like a homing beacon... Also, Naram and Shulgi are probably somewhere close and about to throw a few roadblocks at random moments... Just crossed my mind.

Naram and Shulgi have been "somewhere close" for the past few dozen updates.

Great catch on the fact that Vajra could be a tracker of some sort. Our own Anbar-Shi was based off of it, so Sek would be the right person to ask. If this all works out in the end, I'm hoping that we can find a way to either disable its tracking properties or at least to destroy it so that we can deny our enemies its power/deny the Masters a gateway back into Earth. It really does seem like a white elephant.

Baltika9, can we at least not try to fuck things up horribly or go full-retard DEVOUR SOUL!!! on this one? I believe that the recent events of root's LP have shown us the dangers of full-retard. Khorne is the most boring of the Chaos Gods, I'd hate to play as him. It sounds a lot cooler than it actually is, choices would mostly amount to:

A) Do you BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!!
B) Do you SKULL FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!!!

Tzeentch would be awesome, but sadly, Shulgi's got that covered.

Here's what I think are the most reasonable choices:

CA1: I'm basing this on the fact that we're going to be unleashing our hunger on Shamash anyways, so we won't have to feed along the way. This means we'll have plenty of time to get in there and kill Marduk's most trusted lieutenant and stir shit up before he's able to pull out his trump card. It will postpone things enough so that Ares gets here to fight Marduk.

However, this has its share of problems. It'll tilt the odds in favour of the Olympians. Zeus with a fully assembled Vajra is every bit as dangerous to us/Humanity that a powered-up Marduk would be. That's why we'd be sending Iltani back to Babylon with her piece.

The goal of this choice wouldn't be a win against both Zeus and Marduk, it would be a draw. If we can make it back home with a dead Marduk, a living Edem, and perhaps a second piece of Vajra, that would be perfect. If the Olympians come after us again in Babylon, we're going to be ready for them now that Marduk has cut them down to size for us. They're going to be in no position to conduct another war after this one.

AB2: Nothing you say is going to convince her, so forget it. If she was willing to follow us to Egypt and then Greece, she's going to follow us here. If there weren't so much at stake, her loyalty to Ean would be cute. Iltani knows how to keep her man.

We can't afford to waste a single second on this - we have to show up right as Marduk is about to devour Zeus, while neither of them are aware of us, to take both of their pieces of Vajra. If we show up a minute too late, we're fucked. If our little lover's quarrel is interrupted by Ares while Marduk is up there, we're fucked. I don't want to see her hurt if it can be avoided, but we can't spare the time to chit-chat right now.

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax: I wasn't thinking Khorne(although that could be nice too, imagine Doombreed as a lieutenant. Too bad we won't get Doomrider, our hero is not a Slaaneshi type...yet) here, I was thinking more along the lines of an entire species of Black Templars/Krieg Death Korps. Look me in the eye and tell me that is not a good backup plan.

As for Iltani, bros, we might not have a signature, but she does. If we want to make a sneak attack, bringing her along is worse than pointless, it's counter-productive.

And 2B is both risky and foolhardy, here's why: suppose we fail to grasp the pieces of Vajra, suppose Marduk and/or Zeus exercised their brainpower/s and actually tied their pieces down/are holding them with a super-powered grip? What then?

And if, while we're lying in ambush, Ares charges in yelling "Surprise Motherfucker!" and tackles us to the ground, thereby ruining the plan? What was the point of bringing in a Greek god of war just to neglect his uses? I still hold that he can prove enough a diversion for Marduk by charging up his rear and emboldening the last of the Greek troops to buy us some time to kill/feed on Zeus, and having Marduk walk in tired out, however little, after fighting an immortal. Really, all the circumstances are giving us the best shot at B3, Edem included (I'm pretty sure a bright kid like him will put two and two together once he sees a psychic blank atop Zeus' corpse.)
Plus, there is absolutely no need to even give Marduk the chance at devouring Zeus.

And, yeah, Iltani is ridiculously devoted to Ean (@treave is she ugly or just madly in love), but I doubt it'll last after she sees him eating people.

 

[treave]

She's attracted to you but what's compelling her to go so far is honour and the feeling that she needs to be useful to you (i.e. save your life somehow) if she's going to be wed to you. She can't stand the idea of just being some trophy bride who pops out children, and she has not seen the part of you where you place importance on governing rather than gallivanting off on exotic adventures, so she feels her prior skills won't get her recognition in your eyes. She's young, idealistic, but at this very moment she's realized she's out of her depth here, yet she has too much pride to just leave without getting or doing anything.

If you had ditched her before this she would have just tried to follow you again. Now's the crucial time where you can send her away/have her hide and wait somewhere on or near the mountain/knock her out and leave her for the animals.

Break off Anbar-Shi's pommel and hand it to her as a pendant, or something. It's all up to you guys.

 

[Baltika9]

Oh, so having her actually wait is an option? Finally. Give her Scuba V's romantic speech, abridged ("Listen to your husband, woman. Brb, kthxbye.") and get it over with.

 

[Tigranes]

Yeah, Iltani probably won't leave - and if she does, there's a risk that, oh so typically, she'll be caught by Ares or something. At this stage, best to keep her with us. The only real choice is pre-empt the Zeus-Marduk showdown or sneak into it then use Vajra.

The thing is, Zeus has Ares coming to help him; if we devour Shamash, then Marduk is probably the weakest of the three factions on the field, and we risk Zeus coming out of it with all the cards.

Edit: Oh, fine, I guess she will.

 

[treave]

Give her Scuba V's romantic speech.

'k

 

[Baltika9]

Forgot to stress the abridged part. Best not temp fate too much here, I actually want to win this for a change and come out on top. Heroic sacrifices are overrated.

 

[Esquilax]

treave, do we have the statuette on us? We could just hand it to her and tell her to deliver it to Sekhenun in Babylon. Whatever works the quickest.

Baltika9, not going to comment on your arguments about Iltani since treave addressed it.

And 2B is both risky and foolhardy, here's why: suppose we fail to grasp the pieces of Vajra, suppose Marduk and/or Zeus exercised their brainpower/s and actually tied their pieces down/are holding them with a super-powered grip? What then?

They're way too busy trying to kill each other to worry about that. The pieces are already flying loose as is:

The fragment of Vajra that you had brought with you thrummed as it sensed the gathering of power, and for a brief moment it appears as if it'll fly right out of your robes and towards the peak.

A nudge of telekinesis at the right time, while Zeus and Marduk are unaware of us, will probably work. They're won't notice us wandering in, and when the right time comes, I'm confident we'll be able to take both of their pieces because Ean's telekinesis is very good.

Now all we need to do after that is to sic Ares on him. With a timely intervention from him and Vajra by our side, we can win.

And if, while we're lying in ambush, Ares charges in yelling "Surprise Motherfucker!" and tackles us to the ground, thereby ruining the plan? What was the point of bringing in a Greek god of war just to neglect his uses? I still hold that he can prove enough a diversion for Marduk by charging up his rear and emboldening the last of the Greek troops to buy us some time to kill/feed on Zeus, and having Marduk walk in tired out, however little, after fighting an immortal. Really, all the circumstances are giving us the best shot at B3, Edem included (I'm pretty sure a bright kid like him will put two and two together once he sees a psychic blank atop Zeus' corpse.)

How will he recognize us? He'll sense Marduk and see him before he manages to notice us. He's far more likely to notice the Gieloth eating Zeus than he is the nonexistent presence in the area.

Plus, there is absolutely no need to even give Marduk the chance at devouring Zeus.

Unless we've managed to induce permadeath via the toxin, Marduk would still be able to devour him. Here's what treave said about the toxin:

If ingested and the deed done in a clearly fatal manner, in a certain window of time in which the toxin circulates around their body - which may vary depending on how strong their regeneration is, ranging from a few seconds to an hour, yes. Permadeath.

Since we're going to be chopping him up with Anbar-Shi, he won't be ingesting it. I'm not expecting Zeus to have great regeneration, but we may not be able to permakill him fast enough to deny Marduk his meal. If I were confident we could end Zeus quick enough, taking him out first would be a great idea.

With an assist from Ares and Edem to stall the big man until the toxin offs Zeus, we could come out of this one with a draw (let's just gtfo while Ares goes after Marduk), and a second piece of Vajra.

Of course, it goes without saying that we shouldn't eat Zeus if we attempt to permakill him with the toxin. We eat him, we ingest the poison too.

 

[treave]

Quick, ask me whether the toxin will actually work on something with the job description "Avatar of the Masters"!

Sek still has the statuette, unfortunately.

You guys should just come up with something that'd be persuasive enough. It doesn't need to be much, she will take the excuse you offer, but she won't easily let herself be sent away 'just because it's too dangerous'. I'd worry more about what to do with Marduk, his lieutenants, his soldiers, Zeus's soldiers, Hera and Zeus himself.

 

[kazgar]

I'd worry more about what to do with Marduk, his lieutenants, his soldiers, Zeus's soldiers, Hera and Zeus himself.

Like any of that stuff's more important than our romantic interest, we haven't even completed her loyalty quest yet!