[LP CYOA] Epic

[ScubaV]

I like D a lot, but it almost seems too good to be true. It potentially won't be traceable to us, leaving the element of surprise still available. It weakens (doubtful it will kill) Marduk. And it expends the last of Zeus's lightning in case we need to fight him as well. Still, I'm going to vote for it unless someone can offer a good reason not to or why another option is better. Esquilax Smashing Axe

 

[Omicron]

D seems the best. Even if Marduk survives, he won't be in the position to telepathicaly contact Shamash and I don't think Marduk would be able to survive very long under a combined attack from Ean and Edem. Shamash will probably continue charging Olympuss. Zeus and Hera will notcie something is up, but they are not in the position to do something about it.

Unless something unfortunate happens, like sucumbing to hunger because of the strain, I don't see a reason not to pick D.

 

[Kukulkan]

D

 

[Esquilax]

First, I want to give props to newcomer for the creative and unorthodox solution he came up with. The only concern now is how the presence of Vajra might change our battle with Zeus. I could see having all three pieces of the Vajra in the same room as Zeus backfiring on us. Marduk may be the biggest and most power-hungry asshole in the world, but I can't deny that he is a likeable dude. He's a funny guy, which is why we should kill him last:



I'd advise everybody voting to not worry at all if this choice opens up a skill tree or not. It won't, but even if it did, we have bigger concerns than an immediate power boost with all the risks out here. The lightning bolt will work, and it's going to wound Marduk, but don't think that we're going to come out of this one unscathed. Remember how we fared against Nabu's lightning during the Battle of Tjaru:

Something was wrong. The air began to buzz around your ears. Your eyes widen, and you yell at your men to find cover. There is a blinding flash, and a roaring sound. Fast as you are, you can't dodge lightning yet. You are blown clear of the gate, tumbling back inside the fortress, as a lightning bolt strikes the top of the wall.

We're faster than we were at Tjaru, but I suspect that we still can't dodge lightning yet. We just aren't quick enough to time this thing without getting badly hurt in the process, and we've got a lot more people to kill before the day is done. I believe that D is going to work - forget the protective cocoon Marduk has, if he wasn't wary of Zeus' bolts, he wouldn't have used Shamash as a decoy in the first place. However, I also think that it will affect our ability to properly deal with Zeus, Hera and Ares after this. This battle is a marathon, not a sprint, so we shouldn't grasp at every opportunity so short-sightedly. If going after Baran at Tjaru has taught us anything, it's this.

Worse yet, our hunger is an issue. Remember, this is Zeus' most powerful lightning bolt that he's saved up for the end, we are going to get fucked up pretty badly here. We haven't fed, so if this puts us in a near-death situation and results in going berserk on Edem, our whole plan is ruined. We're too close to victory to do stupid shit now. We already have a plan to deal with Marduk, and circumstances right now don't warrant changing it on the fly.

A) Sek is alive, I'm pretty sure Edem will back us up. Taking him by surprise with Edem's help will work. We have our piece of Vajra giving Ean a power boost. This one is straightforward.

Voting A
Flopped to D

 

[Baltika9]

Wait a second. Bloodthirsty. Loves to fight. Loves to conquer. Constantly seeks out new challenges. Sneaky git. Doesn't care about casualties, so long as there is a BIG FOIGHT.
Could it be that Marduk, hell, even all Gieloth actually are...

Masters or Gieloth, we're fucked either way, aren't we?

Esquilax: See, here is where we get into the important part. Do we kill Marduk now and call it quits while we're ahead, but risk Zeus' power to grow out of our control? Or do we play them one against the other and get rid of both of them. Yes, Holy Terra is safe, but only for a while. Remember, Marduk is public enemy #1 for the Masters, they do not know about Ean yet (who's much badder, and hence a bigger problem, than Marduk). And if they do find out someone other than Marduk killed Zeus(not hard to deduce if your Avatar dies after Marduk), or Marduk kills Zeus because we fuck up (never ignore that possibility), then Holy Terra is fucked, because it is not yet ready and the Masters will not calm down until Ean/Super Marduk/both are dead.
And, yes, drawing Ares here had a point. Egypt's rape will be much less damaging, albeit also less tasteful.

 

[ScubaV]

Esquilax, presumably since Ean is redirecting the lightning bolt he'll know where and when to expect it, or at least roughly. He should be able to avoid most, if not all, the splash damage.

 

[TOME]

I think C is the worst option here. Marduk knows just as well that showing his full powers will attract Zeus' attention to him, so why would he fight with full power? Especially if we are just going to taunt him and fight for show. And if we go with full power ourself, Zeus might strike us. And we have no idea if the bolt will even kill Marduk. With D, our Vajra adds more power to the strike so it will be more crippling.

B isn't that much better than C. The whole plan is to use our blank mind and general havoc to our advantage. We could do that anytime we want, even after our suprise attack, thus netting us a second suprise attack.

And it isn't flip flopping if we decide not to include Ares in our plan. It is just evaluating which elements we are going to use and which to ignore. Situations are going to change and we have to react to them, not blindly go with the plan formed ages ago. And besides, half the plan back then was to get Ares away from Egypt.

 

[Kipeci]

D.

 

[Esquilax]

Baltika9: We can't leave Zeus alive. They all have to die. This was Sekhenun's plan from the beginning:

She bites her lip pensively, wondering if she should share her plans with you. “Well, if you put it that way… I want both Zeus and Marduk out of the picture.”

Zeus' army is gone, he's all out of thunderbolts, and the rest of his pantheon is either dead or scattered. We'll never have a chance like this again. We'll get some attention from the Masters, but with Sekhenun and Edem's help, I feel that we can learn to evade them. Also, we don't really know how Edem would feel about cutting and running. This guy wants Marduk dead, but he also very likely wants Zeus dead too.

For Sek's plan to work, I think she needs a few centuries of peace and quiet to promote Gieloth coexistence with Humanity. That means no Marduk and no Zeus. Leaving him alive is a big mistake. The Masters will see what a close call the Marduk situation was, and maybe they'll create more immortals and avatars to back Zeus up. What if we have to deal with the avatars known as Hades and Poseidon a few centuries down the line, in addition to Zeus?

I think C is the worst option here. Marduk knows just as well that showing his full powers will attract Zeus' attention to him, so why would he fight with full power? Especially if we are just going to taunt him and fight for show. And if we go with full power ourself, Zeus might strike us. And we have no idea if the bolt will even kill Marduk. With D, our Vajra adds more power to the strike so it will be more crippling.

There's a risk of Marduk not taking the bait, but there is no risk of Zeus striking us. We have no psychic presence, so Zeus wouldn't even know that we're here to begin with. However, after reviewing my post again, I do agree that C is the worst option. Marduk has fought this battle very intelligently, and because of that I don't think he'll take the bait. We'll just blow our cover and be forced into a straight-up fight against Marduk after Shamash has been struck by lightning.

B isn't that much better than C. The whole plan is to use our blank mind and general havoc to our advantage. We could do that anytime we want, even after our suprise attack, thus netting us a second suprise attack.

And it isn't flip flopping if we decide not to include Ares in our plan. It is just evaluating which elements we are going to use and which to ignore. Situations are going to change and we have to react to them, not blindly go with the plan formed ages ago. And besides, half the plan back then was to get Ares away from Egypt.

A surprise attack isn't worth much if we're too wounded from this one to take advantage of it. We brought Ares here in part to save Egypt, but also in part so that he can be used as a distraction against Marduk. We've executed the first part of the plan, but it looks like the second part isn't quite feasible. That's fine, because A seems like a good bet here. Edem's psionics seem like the thing to get Marduk to momentarily drop his protective cocoon* so that we can take him out - he's our ace in the hole. The composition of the battle is like this:

Greeks: Zeus, Hera, Ares
Babylonians: Marduk, Shamash
Rebels: Ean, Edem

We have five targets, and we need to make sure that we take as little damage as possible before we reach Zeus. D would neutralize or weaken Marduk, but it would drastically push the balance of power toward the Greek side and probably result in Ean getting hurt. However, if we pick A, we ensure that the next few battles are arranged into more manageable chunks that are lower-risk:

Zeus kills Shamash, Ean and Edem team up to take out Marduk (Edem fires off a psionic assault to get Marduk's shields down, we then proceed to tear him to shreds). Once Ares shows up, we team up again to eliminate him. There's no danger from Zeus anymore at that point, so we can take them out with impunity. From there, we can make our way towards Hera and a spent Zeus while we're still relatively fresh.

* treave, is Marduk's cocoon from the telekinesis tree? Also, an off-topic question regarding avatars: back when we were in Egypt and had the option of using the Sceptre of Ra, would that have resulted in a Master possessing someone (i.e. Akil) and an avatar being created?

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax, I know there''s a lot of ways this can go wrong, that there are many valid arguments against it, but I want to do D for this and this alone:

As you gaze upon upon Marduk's charred remains, writhing their last as his lungs take their last, painful gasps, you look him in the eyes and only one phrase comes to your mind:
"Well buddy, looks like you've been...THUNDERSTRUCK!"

And screw the consequences, time to press the awesum buttan. Besides, I have the nagging feeling that we will come out ahead here.
Edit: Seriously, treave. Can you squeeze this one in?

 

[treave]

Esquilax: No, Marduk is known for his seven winds. You can think of it like a highly specialized branch of telekinesis though, just like how conjuring fire is also a highly specialized branch of the same. As for the Sceptre, it would have possessed someone, yes, and brought all the humans in Heliopolis to death or near it in the process as sacrifices.

Baltika9: Very punny.

 

[Baltika9]

EsquilaxAs for the Sceptre, it would have possessed someone, yes, and brought all the humans in Heliopolis to death or near it in the process as sacrifices.

What the fuck is their problem? Seriously, how much of a dick do you have to be to do that?

 

[treave]

The more humans around in the vicinity when the key is activated, the closer the avatar is to the full abilities of the masters.

It's an unfortunate side effect of the summoning process. For them to come through people have to be "displaced" from this world. You could blame the Gieloth for cutting their link and forcing them to fall back on this method.

Also you already got an infodump and now you want another one?

 

[Baltika9]

I suddenly feel reaffirmed in my decision to side with the Gieloth. I even feel somewhat grateful towards Theseus for leading us to become Marius Hax 2.0. Fuck those guys, seriously. I'm even getting the odd Vibe that Marduk isn't doing all this to "Gain power, kill Masters."

And what about those Mexicanos? And Panharth's knowledge?

Edit:

Also you already got an infodump and now you want another one?

Nah, I'm just asking if anything noteworthy came up, like the American Gieloth landing in China and raping their way across the nation. Or Panharth's brain giving us some more information.
Although if you want to make another infodump, don't let me of all people stop you.

 

[Azira]

Anyone else getting the feeling that Zeus is really Naram?

We already know that Naram had elemental powers. Apparently he summoned pillars of fire centuries ago to lay waste to Shulgi's kingdom. Now if he has succeeded in finding a new sceptre or other summoning thing, it would be natural for him to assume another persona now that he is in Greece.

If indeed it is Naram, I agree we need to take him down.

As it is, I'd rather have Ean fight them one by one, and not both together. Taking down Marduk before he begins his dance with Zeus seems prudent. I'm partial to either B or D, not convinced for either yet.

 

[TOME]

Anyone else wonder where and when Zeus were summoned and how close he is to full master powers?

Edit: 2999 posts in this thread. Thank you treave.

 

[treave]

70+ updates, 3000 posts, 3 months, and we're still nowhere near the invention of the horse collar.

 

[Baltika9]

Anyone else getting the feeling that Zeus is really Naram?

We already know that Naram had elemental powers. Apparently he summoned pillars of fire centuries ago to lay waste to Shulgi's kingdom. Now if he has succeeded in finding a new sceptre or other summoning thing, it would be natural for him to assume another persona now that he is in Greece.

If indeed it is Naram, I agree we need to take him down.

As it is, I'd rather have Ean fight them one by one, and not both together. Taking down Marduk before he begins his dance with Zeus seems prudent. I'm partial to either B or D, not convinced for either yet.

We could do this: after we finish Marduk, and if we're still in tip-top shape, sneak past the battle, letting Ares handle Shamash, to Zeus' palace. There, we let Edem take center stage,trash talk them for a bit, get their attention, while we go and kill Hera. After that it's two on one.

Anyone else wonder where and when Zeus were summoned and how close he is to full master powers?

Yes, I think so too.

70+ updates, 3000 posts, 3 months, and we're still nowhere near the invention of the horse collar.

Either this LP will be abandoned, orr take a few years. I hope it's the latter.

Edit: treave, there is one thing I don't quite understand. The military tactics Ean introduced in chapter two were Roman Legion tactics or Phalanx tactics?

 

[Kukulkan]

70+ updates, 3000 posts, 3 months, and we're still nowhere near the invention of the horse collar.

Employ larger time skips and haver small intermissions during the time skips. It's a good opportunity to let us try out control of different immortals in different areas of the world. Pick more isolated places such as the Far East, Sub-saharan Africa, and the Americas so as to not have to worry about their effect on Ean's actions.

 

[ScubaV]

Ok I made some (I think reasonable) assumptions about Ean and the lightning in my last post, but let's go to the source.

treave, how confident is Ean in redirecting the lightning onto Marduk? Does he think he can avoid being collateral damage?

 

[treave]

He's confident he can exert some kind of control over it. It shouldn't really hurt him or Edem at any rate.

 

[ScubaV]

That settles it for me anyway. D

 

[Baltika9]

Employ larger time skips and haver small intermissions during the time skips. It's a good opportunity to let us try out control of different immortals in different areas of the world. Pick more isolated places such as the Far East, Sub-saharan Africa, and the Americas so as to not have to worry about their effect on Ean's actions.

Well, we could use this to create pockets of anti-Masters insurgency in every corner of the world. That would definitely be helpful.

 

[treave]

D is the winner.

***

Chapter 5.19: Thunderstruck

The pressure in the air builds as the storm gathers power. Far off in the skies above, the tell-tale shine of Zeus's impending attack appears in the clouds.

One.

Marduk's attention is focused on the storm. You swing Anbar-Shi aloft, calling upon the piece of Vajra.

Two.

The wrappings of the sword unravel as they burn up in flames, the blade itself shining a brilliant blue. The lightning is halfway down the sky when you call it.

Three.

It answers.

From the distance, it forks across the storm clouds and arcs towards Marduk, a burning streak of death that even he can't escape. Your aim is dead-on; the lightning concentrated. A metallic smell fills the air as the bolt hits Marduk squarely in the chest and anchors him to the ground with uncountable amounts of energy. Not a second later, his body combusts. He does not even have the time to scream out, but you hear his psychic shriek as clearly as if he had. The lightning peters out soon enough, its energies exhausted, and you lower Anbar-Shi.

Wait. Be careful. There's something from him.

Edem gestures at you to move back. Suddenly, Marduk's charred remains, still smouldering, screams and clutches at his chest, his fingers sinking past his molten breastplate. He gets to his knees. From within you could see the same shade of blue that accompanied Vajra. It looks like his piece had somehow stopped him from being utterly destroyed, perhaps by absorbing part of the lightning's power.

"Edem, get him now!"

You raise Anbar-Shi again and run forth to finish Marduk off. With a grunt, Edem focuses and stretches out Marduk's limbs, keeping him restrained. The fallen god growls, unable to form words in his pain, but you sense the depths of his anger and hatred at this sudden betrayal. As you raise your sword to destroy his core, there is a sudden flash of light. You feel yourself tossed aside. Landing on the ground, you roll and get to your feet almost instantly.

What meets your sight is an aged man in a toga, standing tall in front of Marduk. He plunges his hand deep into Marduk's chest with no warning. When he retracts it, the piece of Vajra that had been inside Marduk is in his black-stained hand. Marduk's head lolls, and the old man throws him to the floor contemptuously. He turns his head to look at you. His face was strong, lined and adorned with a great beard of pure white, and his eyes blazed with electricity. When he spoke, his voice was deep, as befitting that of the father of the Greek gods.

"You are... hm, this is interesting. We had thought number 1337 Gil to be lost to us, but here stands the host before me, and with a piece of Vajra in hand. This is very interesting."

You stay on guard.

"It was a good measure of luck on my part that you used your piece when you did, as it appears that the previous strike would have been wasted on a fake. Imagine my surprise when I felt someone else utilize its power. For a moment we thought the Gieloth had succeeded in unlocking the secrets of its use. Well, no matter. You have what belongs to us. We would like it back."


***

A. You attempt to talk to Zeus. He is not openly hostile towards you for now, and a proper diplomatic solution might still be reached. Surely you and Edem together pose enough of a threat for him to consider negotiations instead of force.

B. You flee immediately. You cannot risk your piece of Vajra falling into Zeus's hands and allowing him to complete the weapon. You don't know what their true intentions are for your world, and you're not about to let them show you.

C. You fight Zeus. You have a piece of Vajra and Edem by your side, and Zeus had apparently exhausted the last of his lightning just now. Even if he has two pieces of Vajra, you should be able to take him down and complete Vajra for yourself.

D. Feel free to suggest any other course of action.

 

[newcomer]

D. Ean commanded Anbar-Shi to devour his piece of Vajra, rendering the weapon useless and thus prevent the masters from coming back to this world for some time. This will piss off Zeus....

The logic behind this is to weaken the 2 piece of Vajra Zeus already has in his possession; it will do no good for us to hold it because personally I doubt that we are able to control it again now that Zeus is very close to us...

EDIT: Might not be feasible due to treave 's comment; will be modified necessarily