[LP CYOA] Epic

Allow me to introduce you to Terry's immortal improvement: Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

 

newcomer, the Tentacle Lovers have finished infiltrating and assimilating this LP. I think you and I have the right to feel rather... .



Edit: Also, since we're, thankfully, having Iltani marry to Akilhotep, we must have a sit-down with her and Gudersu both and explain shit. Otherwise, Iltani will be offended and insulted and Gudersu will be completely and utterly dishonored, both by Ean and his own daughter. That does not seem like a good foundation for our Empire. Yes, that means it's time to come clear with them about just who we are.

I'm also getting very strong Titan Quest vibes from this right now.

 

B, No need to expose ourselves more to unwanted immortal sights or fights
A,Teraspagos are a blight to the land as a dear friend might say "FOR TEH SCIENCE and stuff"
B, I kinda want to see if our human babies can be made with our powers as well as Gieloth ones
2, Last time we were emperor we "died" and left the land truly fucked not doing that again we "die" way too easily
D, Light Manipulation causing us to look like we are where we are not who wouldn't want this also do we really want a Muramasa as our blade driving us insane with bloodlust remember Anbar-shi IS sentient and I want our "growth" to not want the blood of innocents when he/she eventually becomes "alive"

Edit:
P.S. I wouldn't Mind a good WAAAAGGHH on this planet. Intelligent Xeno Spores that slowly change the planet to better suit the needs of the invaders while producing super soldiers that are born with knowledge on how to kill burn and maim? I can only say one thing "MORE DAKKA!!!"

 

The important thing here is to have a coherent vision for what we want to do in the future. Forget the 40k-wank here, we need something more solid than "LOL LETZ BE EMPRAH!" Before we get deeper into the Chapter, let's outline some of our goals. Being God-Emperor has nothing to do with them, but might help us achieve some of them:

• Unite Sumeria and Egypt so that they can pool their manpower together and help us out in Greece. It would also make the rebuilding effort in Egypt much easier.
• Find out more about the nature of this rift - Sekhenun will have a few answers here, no doubt.
• Find more ways to control our hunger.
• Our long-term goal is to reassemble Vajra and close the rift.

treave, should we choose to become God-Emperor of Egypt and Babylon, what would our duties and responsibilities include? Could we just let Akilhotep and Nabuchasar handle shit in their respective nations? Also, if we pick 4C, would we suffer less corruption per feeding? Or be able to split the corruption between Ean and Anbar-Shi if needed? I hope that this opens the door to future ways of dealing with the hunger as well.

Increasing our combat skills now would be short-sighted, I feel. Learning more about Vajra's abilities would be better, as it would make knowing how to close the rift easier - with enough knowledge we may not need all three pieces. Nevertheless, I still think that C is the best choice. The sooner we begin to find alternate methods of controlling our hunger, the better. Bloodshifter raised a good point by noting that the blade would eventually become sentient. Here's what treave mentioned about it:

So yeah, the hunger issue wouldn't be solved at this point. This is better than what we have now and a step in the right direction of eventually overcoming/mastering it. I would still recommend feeding judiciously so that our sword doesn't turn into Frostmourne and consume Ean's mind.

I don't think that we should stay in the shadows anymore. Earth is in serious danger from both the rift in Olympus and the Gieloth coming to China - both are potentially planet-destroying threats. The Masters are far more concerned about this rift than they are about Ean, so taking a direct hand in empire-building is hardly going to make things any worse than they already are. In fact, it's smart because it'll allow us to unify Egypt and Babylon and rebuild the region at a much quicker rate. We have little time, so we need to make the most of it.

Lastly, I have a suggestion, provided that treave is willing: I'd like to give the Immortals in China a heads-up on the Gieloth invasion. Mehrune is Egypt's best diplomat and I'd like to send her as an emissary to China. I want her to deliver a warning from the new God-Emperor of Egypt and Babylon to watch their shores, as the Gieloth intend to arrive in full force in the next decade. They might be suspicious, they might not believe it, but at least a few of them will heed the warning. We can't come there personally, but I think we should warn them. It won't be enough to stop the Gieloth from overwhelming China, but at least it will delay them until we can arrive.

Edit: A question regarding skill trees and specialities, treave: does each tree have specialities of some kind? For instance, Marduk had specialized wind abilities, would we be able to learn specialized Physical abilities (i.e. specializing in speed, dodging, that sort of thing) or specialized Telekinetic abilities (i.e. force fields, flight).

 

This. Splendid idea. Let's do it

 

Esquilax, since Olympus, it's not about Ean, Gieloth and the Masters. It's about humanity and Earth. You know what, let's ask Sekhenun about it before we decide anything. Seriously, what do we know about? That it spews out aliens/immigrants? That it endangers our planeet with Multikult?
treave: Can't Ean just go down the stairs right now and have a chat (and a "gald to be alive chat" too, for that matter? No better way to get rid of Iltani than breaking her heart) with Sekhenun? I really hate the idea of going in blind.

Edit: Yeah, I'm with you on the warning. I suggested the thing a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still for it. Although we'd better be much more discreet than that, like a messenger bird. I don't want them to come sniffing around.

Which raises up another point: I think we are much better off anonymous, since public figures are much more easier to undermine and invite investigation.

Edit2: Besides, do you really think everyone will be so worshipful of Ean once he's revealed to be an all-devouring monster? Granted, Egypt might not care, since we're the "Son of Osiris", and all, so it'll come with the territory.

Also treave: can't we work with Sekhenun to restore Panharth? I can't help but feel that we got off on the wrong foot, you know? I mean, if we restore her, we'll get another Gieloth ally (one, her sister's with us and two, she was asking for it).
Plus, y'know, twins.


Also, do we get any special talents for always surviving and winning in the last second, against hopeless odds? Something a-la having a last stand? Or do we have to be content with just being a badass?
Edit3:

See? THIS is why we need that rift, after we purge Zeus and Marduk outta there, of course. Their minds are too feeble to grasp the concept, I say! Also, inter-dimensional commerce. How is that a bad idea?
But, Esquilax, here's another reason to teach humans: suppose we die and/or fail (doesn't have to be in the EoT, and we're always cutting it close, surviving by the skin of our teeth as it were. Always, without exception. Every chapter ended this way. Every single one), what then? If we leave them weak and helpless against the horrors of the universe, we leave them open to exploitation by other immortals, Gieloth and whatever else will land on/ enter the planet. It is simply irresponsible to pass this chance up.
An' derez no such fing as enuff choppy.

Edit4: As for goals, I have only four for now, in this order:
Warn China, preferably remaining anonymous.

Stabilize Egypt and Babylon, whether by being the Emperor or from the shadows.

Procreate, hopefully Sekhenun can help us out here, but Iltani is out of the question. If (more like when, amirite) we die, I'd rather play an Immortal/Gieloth hybrid of Ean and Sekhenun (should be both badass and humorous) than anyone else.

Investigate the rift, ascertain it's threat and what the hell is it in the first place. Can it spread, can it provide stable, predictable passage onto other planets? Can it be exploited, or do we absolutely have to shut it down.

 

A
A
B
1
C
We should probably start expanding into North Africa.

 

Esquilax raises a good point GOALS should be established if anyone wishes to be God Emperor other wise we would be trolled hard from trying to do 6 things at once and "WAAAAAAGGHH" on the "rift". Short term my "goals" align with Esq. but I do have a few "things" to add

• Rift why close it? we have basically a "event" that if used properly can force humanity into a direction that we wish for them to "evolve" into not quite Space Marines but Imperial Guardsmen at least instilling the fear of Xeno and ALL things NOT Earth-born which I wish to make them into
• Vajra is gone and I am not about to leave Earth alone NOW to close the rift when it is such a damn great tool to shape Humanity
• Kids human, gieloth, and Immortals doesn't matter how or who do it soon knowing that we can give Humanity a power "boost" through our seed and repeating it as often as possible is advised.
• Removing other Gieloths AND Immortals get it done later as is they will need more time before they can move without Zeus and Marduk we are pretty much "El Honcho" in Africa/Middle East use the time hunt moar Immortals/ Gieloths power up so to speak I'd rather Body Map. or Light for focuses on power
• Anbar-Shi sword is Intelligent its still an Infant though I recommend trying exercises in getting a "response from it" Ex.(talking to it, Mental commands, and attempting to "change it's shape but leaving the sword to fill in some things *IE a blurry image or a vague shape or even a weapon that we come up with simply to force the damned thing to constantly "react" and change* the faster it gains Sentience the better. it can start working with us to tag team foes.

Well that is a wall of textness but it outlines my views for Ean and our continued "input"

"Chaos is fun, new, exciting, *shoots an Space Marine in the head* and ever so devious"-A Psyker

 

I thought about going C for the second choice and focus on rebuilding Babylon, but hopefully declaring ourselves Emperor will offset that. We do need to get this rift contained.

A
A
B
1
C

I also agree with Smashing Axe's values and Esquilax's idea to send a warning to China.

 

A.
***
A.
***
C.
1.
***
C.

 

What did you have in mind that would be more discreet? I'll grant you that the situation is complicated; if the Chinese Immortals are short-sighted assholes, they may just try to invade Babylon. I'm hoping our rep as the slayer of Marduk and Mehrune's diplomatic skill cures them of such silly ideas. I'm also hoping that our rep means that they're more likely to believe our warning. Regardless, we have to try - if the Chinese immortals are prepared, they'll be able to hold the Gieloth off for a longer time.

I'm not convinced by your argument that becoming God-Emperor result in people becoming overly dependant on Ean to save them. For proof of that, look at Shulgi's cult - say what you will about their skill in combat, they were tenacious as hell and were the only ones willing to take Marduk on when we arrived. In fact, I think that we should take a page from Shulgi's book in terms of how we develop our society:

In our situation, this seems like a pretty effective set of teachings to establish. If we build a religion/philosophy with a strong emphasis on community, scientific advancement, backed up with a disciplined warrior ethos (basically what Smashing Axe outlined), we'll have a cataclysm-ready society that can be self-reliant.

However, I'll grant you that the biggest point against being a public God-Emperor figure is that of the secretive Northern Kingdom that we've heard about from the Gieloth information network:

This is a big problem; someone very powerful is behind this. Perhaps Shulgi, perhaps an avatar of the Master at the end of Chapter 5. If we make ourselves a very public figure, it'll put us in the crosshairs. However, this is acceptable because (a) even if the Masters begin to notice us, they are far more concerned about Olympus than they are about Ean at this point, and (b) time is of the essence. We have ten years before the Gieloth land on China, and we need to take care of shit in Olympus preferably before they arrive. The quickest way of stabilizing the region, raising an army, and learning more about the rift is to unite Babylon/Egypt via marriage and establish ourselves as God-Emperor of both regions to bring them together socially and culturally. We've got two potential planet-destroying threats to worry about and only ten years to deal with one of them, so it's crucial that we work quickly and avoid wasting time.

Edit: I'm curious to see who taught us meditation. I'm thinking it's some sort of Hindu yogi.

 

A
C
B1
C

 

One of two things: instead of sending it from Ean's name, do it from the name of, say, one of our two kings (or both of them). When the Chinese Immortals show up to investigate, they will find that these guys are human. How did they find out? Marduk warned one of his remaining soldiers before the end of Olympus of his vision. The soldier then inexplicably died. Edem will be nearby to fuck with their minds. This relies on anonymity.
The second option is to send them an anonymous message by bird/carriage or Edem, who will LARP an old prophet (he can take credit for predicting Marduk's downfall and the rise of Sumeria's rebellion, or somesuch, to give him credibility). Simple fact is, they would much more likely believe an anonymous message/verified prophet than a random dude sending a random chick that says "ololol the gieloth are coming, RLY."

Two points: 1) You have a point about Shulgi's cult. But, in that case, instead of founding a religion, why not found an entire philosophy/ideology with us as a mythical Sensei/Guru? One that will not conflict with religions, making it that much harder to depose and exterminate. One that benefits mankind and it's rulers both? Like Buddha/Minamoto No Yoshitsune? Fits Ean's role/character as guide much more than a God (we have consistently avoided deifying him, leaving the myth of a man, or, at best, a Demigod to inspire future generations to rise up against divine oppressors.) All the more reason to found our own dojo, don't you think? By the way, I'm still not grasping what you people see in becoming God Emperor right now.

Also, to all bros. The God Emperor began as a just an Emperor.

2) What about my other arguments?(I'm just fucking with ya)

All the more reason to remain anonymous, unless we wish to invite ruin upon Egypt and Babylon. Seriously, the King and Pharaoh are very friendly, even eerily so. If we play our cards right, they might end up "uniting" their empires into "one, whole entity."
Hell, maybe marrying Iltani off to Akilhotep is not such a good idea, she may end up sexless for life. That is something she will never forgive us.

And I agree with your edit. Screen that guy, take nothing for granted. 'Sides, he may also turn out to be Buddha. wouldn't that be awesome?


And finally, we'd better find Ares. I think he would make a rather good apprentice, after we beat the pride and voices out of him.

 

great we are gonna end up with a man eating sword aren't we? guys the "hunger" isn't that bad that we need to flip to such an extreme thing as "the bloodthirsty sword of trolling"

FLIPPING VOTE CHOICE #5 TO A

 

I just remembered this.

Do you conceive what you are releasing upon this world?

treave, one more question, possibly meta. Is it possible to consume a being's essence/soul? In a more grimdark way than eating it?

 

Well, many questions to handle. Pay attention, guys:

Job Responsibilities:
It's not like you're drawing up a constitution for the new empire. As emperor you have power over everyone in the empire, even the kings. They are just choosing to officially acknowledge that you are the most powerful badass around and grant you a status befitting that power. You have as many or as little responsibilities as you wish, although the two kings will definitely come to you for advice from time to time.

You could draw up a system for the new empire: ranks, nobility, how the military is organized and who they answer to. Also, name it. Can't keep calling it "The empire that has Sumeria and Egypt."

Feeding with Anbar-Shi:
The effect of the hunger will be minimized, you do not need to feed as much, you won't go berserk (unless you choose to work yourself towards that state of mind), but the corruption (i.e. tendency to become a self-righteous grimdark asshole) remains the same.

China:
Many of you seem to be underestimating the difficulty of travel to China at such an early period of history. Marduk's invasion of the Indus was a success because he already knew where it was due to the Gieloth community. Even then it was a close call for his armies. Luckily, this means that there are established routes to India. However, there are no established routes from India to China. These will develop naturally in the next thousand years, but you aren't waiting that long. A military expedition to China would've involved suppressing the revolting Indus so that you can pass by, and from there scout out a path to the Chinese lands - you have the advantage because you know how far it is there, and roughly what to prepare for. If you do not go through the Indus, but take a direct route west, you're going through the mountains of Central Asia, past Gutian territory.

All of this is doable for immortals and Gieloth, but for humans to take an uncharted path without guidance is extremely difficult. Sending emissaries there is not a bad idea, but the only ones right now in Babylon who could probably get there unscathed in a reasonable amount of time, travelling in a small group, are you and the Gieloth. In the mean time, scouts will be sent to check out a proper path, but there will not be any reports during the duration of the coming time skip due to the difficulty involved.

Specialized Skills:
I would say Ean has already developed a specialization in armed combat. Right now he is pretty close to peerless when it comes to skill at arms. But yes, there are other specializations he can develop if it turns out he has the inclination for it.

Knowledge:
You can assume this happened offscreen - the only reason you even know it is a rift in reality is because Sekhenun tells you. And that is as much as she knows, despite being a scientist trying to open up an interdimensional portal of her own. This thing is new to her, as the Gieloth are not all that good with this interdimensional stuff. Even her proposal of a wormhole is a very radical one, it's never been tried before, and probably the other Gieloth would just scream at her saying that opening one would let the Masters in. Basically, you don't know jack-shit about the rift and what's on the other side and what the Terasphagos are, unless I choose to meta it, and at this point in time that's a firm LOL NO.

Panharth:
No. Perma-dead.

Lucky Escapes:
Let's check back at the end of each chapter.
Chapter 1: Clear win, was never in any real danger duelling Shulgi because of the difference in skill. Claimed a nation.
Chapter 2: Fucked up and put in a coma. I'd say it's a loss.
Chapter 3: Won by sacrificing powers and avoiding a near mind-rape. Near win.
Chapter 4: Fucked up and died. Also helped trigger the Aegean War. That's pretty much a loss. Survived only because, well, deus ex machina.
Chapter 5: Meta-knowledge helps avoid bad end. Fucked up after that and ends with the opening of a hellgate. Survived because people "had a bad feeling about this". Another near win.

DEVOUR SOUL:
A soul doesn't exactly exist in this setting, but knowledge and memories can be absorbed, or given form. Whether they are the same thing is debatable.

 

That's Codex for you

And for the DEVOUR SOUL sword, does it means our sword have to taste human blood / gieloth juice to be sheated again? What about Terasphagos blood?
And can't we just try Sekhenum's diet to avoid corruption?

For the empire name,

one vote for PERSIA

unless some of you suggest something like the "KKKodex Empire"...

 

It's more of a figure of speech, but putting hunger in the sword means that you are far less hungry and can exert near total control when the sword is not in use. Hence you should not draw your blade lightly. Only use it if you mean to wound or kill someone. Terasphagos is unknown, you'll have to try it out.

Sekhenun is always hungry, actually. Just that she has better self control than Ean does. Also back in Heliopolis she only made sure to eat innocent virgins.

 

That means there should be a 4th choice for Iltani's fate: EAT HER

 

treave perhaps this is too meta, but is the hunger corruption a strictly cumulative affair or does it fade somewhat by not feeding or feeding on innocents?

 

Cumulative, unfortunately. Even if you feed only when absolutely necessary, your indefinite lifespan ensures that it is only a matter of time before you get to LARP a villain.

 

So we eat on innocents and be a dick or eat the dicks and become a dick faster?

 

What's the business with this empire to the north? Some of us have been assuming that it is the Russians or Germans, but both options seem pretty unlikely to me considering that they are both ridiculously backwards if those areas are still somewhat resembling the original course of history. It's hard to say what else they could be, though. Did the Assyrians ever break free of the Akkadian Empire, and if they did did they manage to avoid being incorporated in Marduk's one? Maybe it's... I don't know, Armenians? Scythians?

 

This might be the empire in the north:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Bronze_Age

treave
What is the year in BC (Before Common Era)?
And we'll need to modify it into BC (Before Catalycism)

And the current year will be referred as AD (Anno Domini / In the year of our GOD EMPRAH EAN)

But Hmm... Anno Domini is a greek word... Let's change it to Sumerian / Coptic? Any suggestion?

 

Sadly, voting is apparently closed. No Dakkon and Kodex Kool Klubs for us. Dammit.

As for the name, how about "The Red Sea Empire"? Much more fitting, if I do say so myself, since Persia is modern day Iran and Babylon is modern day Iraq. And Iran has nothing to do with Iraq and even less with Egypt. The Red Sea is smack-dab in the middle of them, though.

treave: could you give us some more details as to how Sekhenun greeted us ("warm" is a broad definition) since the rest of us finally decided to get our act together and (b)romance Sekhenun. And start fucking around with her. Also, how soon until we get another chance to create our own Grey Knights?
Esquilax: forget the sensei crap for now, then. You've won, I concede defeat. But I still insist on finding a way to exploit the rift, within reason, instead of closing it in a panic.

Well, since we're in "EMPRAH, FUCK YEAH!" mode, how about A.E.S, or Akitu Essutu Sarrum, or Year of the new king?
Or S.B.M, or Se Brre Mntero, Year of the new Kingdom. In Sumerian and Kptic, respectively. Although I used the shitty online dictionaries, so feel free to correct me.

Edit2: Wait, if eating assholes makes us a dick, then eating manwhores makes us a Casanova as well?