[LP CYOA] Epic

[kazgar]

DBA

Biggest impact in the short term considering multiple threats. (and no, can't be bothered reading the tally and adjusting)

 

[treave]

Stuff that Ean has been told:

150,000 years ago - First Gieloth evolve, gaining sentience.

50,000 years ago - Gieloth civilization emerges on their home planet.

48,000 years ago - First contact with Masters, who are worshipped as gods. Gieloth are taken by the Masters into their portals for unknown reasons.

47,500 years ago - The hunger gene appears in the Gieloth population.

46,000 years ago - After a thousand years of inter-clan warfare over the hunger, the Gieloth are united under one leader who teaches them to practice control and to feed on others to sate their desires.

45,500 years ago - Gieloth home planet dying due to the rampant consumption of its resources. Research into a means of saving the planet, or leaving it, begins.

45,000 years ago - Gieloth evolve space travel as a method of reproduction, devour their own planet, and begin spreading across the stars in the form of spores.

20,000 years ago - Masters attack Gieloth for unknown reasons. Simultaneous surprise strikes on every Gieloth-held planet wipe out 99% of all Gieloth.The surviving Gieloth begin fighting back, moving rapaciously from world to world before the Masters can realize they are there. They damage Master-influenced worlds, but are unable to make any headway against the Masters themselves.

10,000 years ago -The Gieloth manage to capture Vajra and split it up. The process has the unforeseen side-effect of weakening the link between the Master's dimension and this one.

 

[Baltika9]

Yep, the Gieloth are tho much better guys., I'm with them.

 

[ScubaV]

Bros, in case the Chinese fail we need Goku Ean to learn Spirit Bomb energy attacks so he can defeat The Tree of Might the Gieloth conglomerate tree form.

 

[Tigranes]

Flip from CAA to DAA.

I wouldn't mind CBB either but I just much prefer empire-building, and don't want it to all fall apart 10 years after. It's a bit metagamey, but if treave presents us with such a choice, I can't imagine we'd come back from China to find the empire completely intact and just fine and loyal to the been-gone-a-while-God-Emprah. I doubt the gieloth will be able to overthrow the immortals immediately, and with roads and a bit of time we should be able to crush the Hittites, then actually have scope for a more full-scale expedition into India/wherever to meet the threat, Alexander style.

 

[Baltika9]

I doubt the gieloth will be able to overthrow the immortals immediately, and with roads and a bit of time we should be able to crush the Hittites, then actually have scope for a more full-scale expedition into India/wherever to meet the threat, Alexander style.

Since I am more in favor of the Gieloth, giving them more time to establish themselves and then seeing if they will play ball with Sekhenun, who by that time should make headway with her wormholes, giving us a leg up in the negotiations, and then bringing an entire army, well-trained, experienced and intact after the Hittite war seems very, very tempting. I'm considering flopping myself.

Although I'm not that much of a fan of Empire building.

 

[Esquilax]

Well, since everybody's going DAA, I'm going to be a good little sheeple and join in. Flopped my original post to DAA.

The spy network is way too good to pass up if we're staying home. If we stay in Shin'ar, we'll have Ean, Edem, Athena and Artemis as our hard power, but what we really need is espionage skills to make up for our lack of knowledge on the North and possible invasion routes that the Hittites might take.

Yep, the Gieloth are tho much better guys., I'm with them.

If we want the full picture we should either talk to a Master (which, given the alternate timeline with Zeus, is not something I'd like to try) or find someone obsessed with knowledge, like Shulgi. Naram would probably know the Master's side of the story. We're getting all of this information from a biased source in Sekhenun/Edem. There are a lot of holes in this history:

48,000 years ago - First contact with Masters, who are worshipped as gods. Gieloth are taken by the Masters into their portals for unknown reasons.

47,500 years ago - The hunger gene appears in the Gieloth population.

The Masters performed experiments on them for the intervening 500 years, probably. Sekhenun believes that her people were cursed by the Masters, but I think that's her Gieloth bias talking. More than likely, the Masters were trying to "guide" the Gieloth in some way* and it resulted in fucking something up in the Gieloth DNA while they were tinkering with it.

*They remind me a little of the Xel'Naga from StarCraft, actually.

45,500 years ago - Gieloth home planet dying due to the rampant consumption of its resources. Research into a means of saving the planet, or leaving it, begins.

45,000 years ago - Gieloth evolve space travel as a method of reproduction, devour their own planet, and begin spreading across the stars in the form of spores.

20,000 years ago - Masters attack Gieloth for unknown reasons. Simultaneous surprise strikes on every Gieloth-held planet wipe out 99% of all Gieloth.The surviving Gieloth begin fighting back, moving rapaciously from world to world before the Masters can realize they are there. They damage Master-influenced worlds, but are unable to make any headway against the Masters themselves.

10,000 years ago -The Gieloth manage to capture Vajra and split it up. The process has the unforeseen side-effect of weakening the link between the Master's dimension and this one.

I read this as "Gieloth kept infesting planets for 25,000 years and kept pissing the Masters off by fucking up their test worlds by infesting them. Retribution was swift."

Anyways, there's a lot here that we still don't know, so we should be careful before we go all "Those fucking Masters!! I love tentacles!!"

Edit: My current theory on the Masters is that they are these near-omnipotent beings obsessed with some sort of balance or perfection that they dispassionately try to achieve. Notice what Zeus called us: "aberration". Ean is something that deviates from the precise way that they've planned on ensuring that events unfold. They're supremely arrogant, and if something on a particular world doesn't go exactly as they planned, they start freaking out.

 

[Baltika9]

Anyways, there's a lot here that we still don't know, so we should be careful before we go all "Those fucking Masters!! I love tentacles!!"

But...but I do.
On a more serious note: cure their hunger, remove the "threat of the Gieloth" in it's entirety. Since the only thing really negative about the Gieloth is them strip-mining worlds, which is being done for sustenance, if we cure it, plus give them wormhole technology...well, I can already see a Human-Gieloth alliance.
And since inventing wormholes would make Sekhenun somewhat of a national hero, we can solidify that alliance by marriage. Catch my drift?

Edit: I'm not saying they are the good guys. What I'm saying is this: they are the better guys.

 

[Kipeci]

Hm. Wasn't the hunger a curse inflicted upon the Gieloth for disrupting the link or something like that? But there it seems to indicate that the hunger came much earlier.

 

[newcomer]

48,000 years ago - First contact with Masters, who are worshipped as gods. Gieloth are taken by the Masters into their portals for unknown reasons.

47,500 years ago - The hunger gene appears in the Gieloth population.

Is it possible to trace back the lineage of the first cannibal Gieloth with the Gieloth that are taken by the Masters? Did they ever suspect the Masters to be the cause behind all this?

And the reason the Masters attack Gieloth is very clear: the Gieloths are devouring their precious "control planets"

 

[treave]

C - 6, D - 12
A - 11, B - 7
A - 10, B - 8

Final tally has victory for DAA
Re; hunger stuff, I believe the only mention of it as a curse was at the start of Chapter 5, and when it originated has never been confirmed by me. If my memory serves me right. Also, the records indicate that the Gieloth that were taken never returned to their homeland.

***

Chapter 6.7: Fanning the Flames of Strife

Trade was the lifeblood of the empire - better roads and more roads enhanced its flow. The arduous task of paving the pathways began in earnest. The benefits were not immediate, but they were evident. Merchants began to favour the paved routes, as they ran less risk of their wagons suffering costly damages. Your scholars had labored over the best possible way to implement their proposal, and their hard work in analyzing the roads that should be given priority paid off.

Meanwhile, you had also begun the foundation of a gathering of people with specialized skills. These were men and women that you selected personally for their intellect, insight and willingness to do whatever is necessary to secure the wellbeing of the empire. Their identities were kept a secret from even the kings governing your empire. They were trained in a well-rounded curriculum that covered languages, self-defense, poisons, anatomy, trade and politics, amongst others. It was a strenuous education that lasted five years for the average initiate. Many of the first class were chosen from the scholars of your empire, who already had the foundations in learning that you required, and not a few returned to their duties as scholars - outwardly, at least. Some - the best - were tasked with infiltrating neighbouring kingdoms and tribes as merchants or itinerant wanderers.

In the summer of the 13th year since the founding of the empire, the Hittites finally made their move. They stealthily - or so they thought - began shifting their troops west, marching towards Greece. The Hittites thought that you would never expect them to invade Greece. Furthermore, they did not believe in the existence of the Terasphagos, which had been successfully contained to the Greek islands thus far. Assuming that the five thousand soldiers you had in Greece were its only garrison, the Hittites saw them as your weak point, and plotted to strike there.

Most of the first batch of watchers, as they had begun to call themselves after a few years of bonding, were still in training, but some of your more excellent recruits had already mastered the curriculum and been sent out into the world for practical experience. They had judged for themselves that the Hittites were the most imminent threat to the empire, and you knew the Hittites had moved their soldiers soon after they did so.

A council of war was convened when you received the intelligence reports. The three rulers of Greece, Egypt and Sumeria, as well as the ranking generals of the empire, met your summons promptly...

***

The Hittites were sending fourteen thousand men into Greece to overwhelm your defenses. They still retained nearly nine thousand standing soldiers in the Anatolian plains, having built up their military heavily over the past few years. You had five thousand men manning the fortifications around Olympus, but little in the way of actual border defense due to insufficient manpower. There were another fifteen thousand men in reserve, but they were stationed throughout the empire. However, thanks to the expanding road network and the early warning you received from your sources, you would be able to gather ten thousand men to meet the Hittites in Greece should you desire to. It was decided that thanks to the rather powerful personalities your empire employed, you could afford to split your forces, defending in Greece while invading the Hittites at the same time. Athena and Artemis would head the efforts in Greece, while Sekhenun and Edem would support the troops in Assyria. The only thing left to decide was where you should head to.

A. The Olympus rift and the Terasphagos were too unpredictable and important to take risks with, and that is where the bulk of the Hittite army would strike. You take command in Greece to ensure things go well.

B. You spearhead the march to Hattusa; if you bring down the Hittite king quickly and personally, you should be able to force vassalization at the point of a sword, having demonstrated the power that you wield.

C. You remain at the center of things on your throne, gathering information and directing the war effort. Your immortal and Gieloth allies should be able to handle the frontlines without your intervention.

 

[Baltika9]

C. They seem to know what's what, I doubt Ean needs to nanny them through this one. Independent thought and shit.

P.S.:

Most of the first batch of watchers, as they had begun to call themselves after a few years of bonding,

That name will not do. I would rather they be the Shin'Ar Service. "SS" for short. Inquisition would be perfect, but it is rather, ah, premature.

Edit: I actually hope our education program will eventually lead them to deduce that there are no Gods, before being promptly forgotten once Ean dies/disappears.


Edit 2:

Re; hunger stuff, I believe the only mention of it as a curse was at the start of Chapter 5, and when it originated has never been confirmed by me. If my memory serves me right. Also, the records indicate that the Gieloth that were taken never returned to their homeland.

And nobody who ventures into Olympus returns either. It is a rift in reality. It leads to the in-between of reality. And the Terrasphagos share the Gieloth tendency to eat everything. I don't like where this is going.

 

[Smashing Axe]

They all sound like good options, but I'm confident in Athena and Artemis' ability to defend Greece. I'm leaning towards B or C at the moment. Currently B, although I can be swayed to C. It will probably help us in responding to any unforeseen threats, but I like the idea of ending the battle swiftly with B.

B for now

Also, unrelated, has anyone read the Mistborn series? I'm on the first book right now, Ean is sounding an awful lot like a pre-ascension Lord Ruler

 

[Azira]

Whatever we do to get Athena to improve her opinion of us takes precedence. This incursion should be manageable, but I currently feel we'd be better off in the field, and at that, assisting Athena and Artemis in Greeces, as this also happens to be where the most risky part of this plan lies, the Terasphagos.
For now, I vote A, but I can be swayed by cunning arguments.

I was swayed, vote is now B

[EDIT]
First three votes cast, and they're all different.

 

[Baltika9]

treave: do I understand correctly that if Ean stays in Babylon and any of the two fronts start failing, he will be able to redeploy and lend support? Or will he party while Rome Babylon burns?

 

[Smashing Axe]

Just an idea with B, but how about we charge in with the terror twins, capture the ruler of the Hittites, shackle him, and then lead him in chains to the rift acting like we're about to throw him in, then give him a big lecture about how he almost unleashed a great evil with his foolish warring after he begs for mercy. Then demand he capitulate and force him as our vassal, acting convincingly enough like a god. This doesn't seem like a man you can control with the power of friendship, he seems like one who only respects strength, intimidation and ruthlessness. Still, I think it'd be better than simply executing him, it'd make stabilisation easier and once he understands the new status quo he should be easy enough to control, especially with the three other kings supporting us fully. I think controlling him with this plan would work if we can manage capturing him and display enough supernatural power. We'd still have to be cautious, we should never rule out supernatural intervention as a foil to our plans.

treave, have our spies indicated whether the ruler will be traveling with his army to Greece or remaining in his own lands?

 

[treave]

C pretty much has you wait and see, as mentioned. Also King Lubarna hasn't moved from Hattusa yet, showing no intentions of going to Greece.

 

[Azira]

Some thoughts:

A has us going to greece, but we take command once we get there. That might rile up Athena, and that's not what we want, even if we do dread the Terasphagos threat. Ideally, she has become wiser due to being queen and won't mind our meddling there, seeing as it's in the greek people's interest. We're there to protect them after all, so it shows us as something of a father figure. Whether she deems us as genuine paternalistic or simply a meddling fool is uncertain however. Might be she's longing for a father figure to help here, might be it will only irk her.

B gives us the opportunity to work closer together with both Sekhenun and Edem, and it presents us with the opportunity to quickly and decisively end the Hittite threat, but we might be seen as simple warmongeres and only in this game to revel in our own power and glory. On the upside, if we by doing a swift strike end the greek campaign early when word reaches their army, this could be seen as a shrewd and indeed wise way to save the most lives. Can't say for sure what outcome is most likely.

C lets us hang back, and "chillax as the elves say".. It has us showing confidence in the ability of our allies, and sitting as a spider in the center of our information web means we can mastermind and plan for any unforseen turns of events. We might also be seen as soft and unwilling to take part in the battle, as a poor leader who hides behind his underlings, even if we earlier, several times, demonstrated our ability and willingness to put ourselves at risk.
In short, I see C as the most out of character choice for Ean, even if it is a vote of confidence that our allies can deal with this shit without our direct intervention. It could work out beautifully. I'm just not sure.

 

[Baltika9]

C pretty much has you wait and see, as mentioned. Also King Lubarna hasn't moved from Hattusa yet, showing no intentions of going to Greece.

So, he's enacting his plan and waiting to see what happens. This means he will be able to act depending on the situation. The absolutely worst case scenario: one front goes south and Ean will swoop in for "Divine Intervention."
Something tells me it won't come to that and our soldiers and generals will win like the veterans they are. Them I have confidence in.
Azira: weak leaders hide. Strong ones delegate, because insects are not worth their time.
Weak leaders hide, strong ones delegate. Gods ignore things that are beneath them. Or, at least, that's how the Hittite king and our own men should perceive us.

 

[Esquilax]

I agree with Azira, I'm not so sure Athena would like having us take command in Greece. She might feel like we're stepping in on her jurisdiction. We may have gotten into her good graces with our education program, but she's still pretty fiercely territorial when it comes to her homeland. She is a great tactician, she knows the Hittites are coming, and she's got Artemis watching her back - Athena's got this. We could send her the soldiers we have in reserve as well to bolster the numbers in case of a Terasphagos swarm coming through the rift.

I know that Ean has lead from the front pretty much every single time before, but we're Emperor now - and that means letting your underlings shine. We've pretty much got the Hittites by the balls, I don't really see why our intervention is necessary at the moment. If the situation changes, sure. But at the moment... I don't see why.

I'm also concerned that going to Greece or attacking the Hittite lands might make our allies in the other front think that we're showing favouritism.

Btw, treave, do you have a character sheet detailing the extent of Athena and Artemis' abilities? I'm curious to see their skill set and how they compare to us.

B

 

[Azira]

Azira: weak leaders hide. Strong ones delegate, because insects are not worth their time.
Weak leaders hide, strong ones delegate. Gods ignore things that are beneath them. Or, at least, that's how the Hittite king and our own men should perceive us.

I can sympathize with the sentiment, problem is that Ean hasn't been a delegating leader so far. He's been quite active, out there, doing heroic stuff, sometimes of the questionable sort. But he has rarely been the court-room leader. It would be a bit out of character for him, but if this is the way we wish to mold him from now on, then I'm fine with that. To me, this just seems to stick out like the sore thumb out of the three options.

 

[Smashing Axe]

B or A should help with our mythological legend and reputation as a god, the more great deeds we perform the more we will be celebrated, and thus the greater the loyalty of the common people throughout the empire, although I think we get more from B out of the two since it has the potential of capturing the enemy king.

C will help our governing skill, and the overall condition of the empire but won't do much to help our personal mythos.

As I see it, that's what the choices ultimately boil down to.

 

[Baltika9]

C will help our governing skill, and the overall condition of the empire but won't do much to help our personal mythos.

C also begins preparing the soldiers and citizens for the time when Ean will be gone. Obvious choice to me, that self sufficiency has to start somewhere, otherwise we'll end up with a copy of 1984 (Gestapo+All-Knowing Emperor that is always Watching You. But don't worry, everything is okay, he will take care of you), circa 1850BC.

 

[Smashing Axe]

But that would be an amazing conclusion to our governance! It's also similar in the Mistborn series' Final Empire.

You do make a good point, I just really like the idea of forming our nation by personally defeating kings with amazing feats of personal martial prowess and forcing them underneath us. It is after all very... Gilgamesh.

 

[m4davis]

C