[LP CYOA] Epic

[Stygian Lurker]

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[Esquilax]

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.

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:

Shulgi’s cultists were scattered across all the cities of Sumeria, holding strong to their old faith underground. Marduk had attempted to stamp their cult out viciously when he came to power, like what you did a few centuries ago. And where you failed, so did he – the cultists were more resilient than Marduk gave them credit for, and thrived in the cracks of the broken society he created. They still believed Shulgi would return someday, though apparently one of Shulgi’s teachings was “I help those who help themselves”, and another one was, “Die in My name and you shall be exalted in eternal bliss.” They certainly wouldn’t pass up a chance to take up arms against Marduk themselves, rather than waiting for their god to do it for them.

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:

In the north, a great kingdom had arisen, united from the barbarian tribes of the north. It was a kingdom of men, and though Gieloth have infiltrated their ranks, they find themselves mysteriously stymied at every corner.

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 cut of domestic sheep prime]

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[Baltika9]

What did you have in mind that would be more discreet?

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."

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:

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)

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.

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.

 

[Bloodshifter]

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

 

[Baltika9]

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.

When you first grasped it after completing its creation, you imagined you heard a sound akin to "roofles" in your mind, but it has not reappeared since. Hopefully that disturbing sound does not recur...

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?

 

[treave]

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.

 

[newcomer]

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.

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"...

 

[treave]

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?

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.

 

[newcomer]

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

 

[ScubaV]

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?

 

[treave]

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.

 

[Kukulkan]

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

 

[Kipeci]

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?

 

[newcomer]

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?

 

[Baltika9]

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.

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

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.

How about the Empire of Oceania? Seems like a good name to me.

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

 

[Kukulkan]

How about the Empire of Oceania? Seems like a good name to me.

 

[newcomer]

How about the Empire of Oceania? Seems like a good name to me.

LOL NO! How did you get that idea anyway? Oceania is so far away from Babylon & not even a Sumerian / Coptic word...
And much part of our empire is land anyway...

 

[Kukulkan]

How about the Empire of Oceania? Seems like a good name to me.

LOL NO! How did you get that idea anyway? Oceania is so far away from Babylon & not even a Sumerian / Coptic word...
And much part of our empire is land anyway...

Fine. The Democratic People's Republic of Mesopotamia it is then.

 

[Baltika9]

How about the Empire of Oceania? Seems like a good name to me.

LOL NO! How did you get that idea anyway? Oceania is so far away from Babylon & not even a Sumerian / Coptic word...
And much part of our empire is land anyway...

Fine. The Democratic People's Republic of Mesopotamia it is then.

Ah-ah, Egypt isn't part of Mesopotamia, they're liable to get offended.

 

[Kipeci]

I go for Empire of the Rivers, provided that we translate that 'River' bit into either Coptic or Akkadian, whichever sounds more badass. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt are really based around their respective river(s), so it'd work, I guess.

Looking through some shitty translators, I was able to find that the word for 'river of the night' (yet nothing on just 'river') was 'margidda' in Sumerian. Nothing on the Coptic or Akkadian. Can anyone else find something better? This is a bit bad, considering that Sumerian was still long-dead as a language at this point. (It was apparently taking on a role similar to Latin as early as the time of the Akkadian Empire.)

 

[newcomer]

Hmm

How about the Levant Empire (Levant is in the middle of Babylon & Egypt, we can expand the definition a bit)
or Empire of Jerusalem? Most likely there'll be no Christianity here...

Or simply Eanid Empire (Ean)
or you can link the empire to the mini Eye of Terror, so the empire will act as the guardian of mankind (translate "guardian" to sumerian or coptic & make it our empire name)

 

[Esquilax]

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.
...

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.

...
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.

Ouch, that sucks. Well, hopefully this will at least serve as a postponing measure until we can find further alternatives. Maybe we'll learn a way to cleanse some of the corruption within us down the road. Let's save Anbar-Shi for big fights only.

As for the name, well how about this: "Deep inside the ruin was a single stone that would change the course of our history forever. On the stone was etched a galactic map and a single word more ancient than the clans themselves: Hiigara. Our home."

But seriously, we need a good name. Tianxia (China) means "all under heaven", we need something that can compete with that. According to the crappy Sumerian dictionary I looked up (Kipeci looked at the same one, I'm sure), there's a variation of the name Sumeria called Shin'ar, which translates to "The Land of the Watchers" Considering the threats to Mankind posed by the rift, I think the name is very appropriate. The Shin'ari Empire.

 

[Kipeci]

The term 'levant' initially referred to more 'where the sun rises' than a vaguely defined region between Iraq and Egypt. We may as well call it the Oriental Empire if we go with that.

Edit: Screw this, let's just piss off everyone except our bros. Call it the Gutian Empire.

 

[ScubaV]

But seriously, we need a good name. Tianxia (China) means "all under heaven", we need something that can compete with that. According to the crappy Sumerian dictionary I looked up (Kipeci looked at the same one, I'm sure), there's a variation of the name Sumeria called Shin'ar, which translates to "The Land of the Watchers" Considering the threats to Mankind posed by the rift, I think the name is very appropriate. The Shin'ari Empire.

Oooh that's got a nice ring to it.