[LP CYOA] Epic

[ScubaV]

C1. Even if 10,000 is exaggerated and we pick up some additional troops at our vassal, Ean's presence will probably be required. However, I don't think we can leave those cultists free reign. I definitely sense Shulgi's hand at work here, either with the cultists or with Egypt or both. From what we know of him he seems bitter and petty enough to fight us over Akkad rather than lick his wounds and build up elsewhere in the world.

 

[oscar]

C1. Hopefully being able to confront both threats will be the dividend of our military investments.

 

[Tigranes]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

 

[newcomer]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

This. I think if we do leave some force, we need to stay with them so that we can help them resist Shulgi's malicious attempt. Otherwise, bring everyone to Egypt

 

[Quetzacoatl]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

Why would our men convert to his cause? If he can brainwash the troops to his cause, then why didn't he do it before in the previous ten years?

 

[newcomer]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

Why would our men convert to his cause? If he can brainwash the troops to his cause, then why didn't he do it before in the previous ten years?

Because Ean would chop him down & put him in an eternal torture chamber?

 

[m4davis]

Well if we caught him his fate would be something similar or worse but we didn't catch him and he probably never thought we would be a problem I personally hope he still thinks we are big dumb warrior person

 

[Esquilax]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

This. I think if we do leave some force, we need to stay with them so that we can help them resist Shulgi's malicious attempt. Otherwise, bring everyone to Egypt

I am coming around to your line of reasoning. So the smart play here is to either bring all 2,500 men with us to Egypt with us, or stay on our own because Ean is the only ones that can reliably resist Shulgi's mindrape abilities, right? I am leaning towards attacking Egypt with all of our forces, since leading the army and repelling the Egyptians would make us much loved by our city-states. Retaking the city in the event of an invasion would be simple given that the walls are no longer there. If Akkad is taken, we could offer the cultists amnesty provided they renounce Shulgi.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

What if leaving a force behind while we go just gives Shulgi more men to convert to his cause? I mean, it'll be exactly the same as Sargon.

Why would our men convert to his cause? If he can brainwash the troops to his cause, then why didn't he do it before in the previous ten years?

Because Ean would chop him down & put him in an eternal torture chamber?

So why would he do so now?

 

[treave]

Re: the walls - for what it's worth, they're still there, but have fallen into a state of disrepair. Crumbly, and you could probably make a good effort at punching your way through it if you need to.

 

[Tigranes]

So the smart play here is to either bring all 2,500 men with us to Egypt with us, or stay on our own because Ean is the only ones that can reliably resist Shulgi's mindrape abilities, right? I am leaning towards attacking Egypt with all of our forces, since leading the army and repelling the Egyptians would make us much loved by our city-states. Retaking the city in the event of an invasion would be simple given that the walls are no longer there. If Akkad is taken, we could offer the cultists amnesty provided they renounce Shulgi.

Pretty much.

Why would our men convert to his cause? If he can brainwash the troops to his cause, then why didn't he do it before in the previous ten years?

I don't think that proves anything either way. He surely needed a year at least to recover his bodily functions, and then will have judged that with us in control chopping down cultists, and with no strong point of dissent in the empire, he needed to bide his time and grow some kind of support base. But don't you think it strange that although the Cult of Shulgi was in fact very short-lived (the time of our Egyptian campaign, in fact), and he was clearly and openly defeated by Ean, that it is actually on areas outside Akkad - where Shulgi will surely not have ever had time to travel for long, if at all, as 'God' - that the cult is flourishing again? Don't you think that's a clear sign Shulgi is behind this again?

We've made big enemies of Egypt and if we let them take one city now they will keep coming, so there's no question - we have to fight them. If Shulgi is behind the new developments, then we know our presence is critical, but our army's is not. To me the only choice is between A1 and A2. Sure, we need to worry about rebellions elsewhere within our kingdom, or other situations where we need armed forces, but of even greater priority is a solid and sure repulsion of the Egyptian invasion, and to ensure that Shulgi does not hijack anything in Akkad in our absence.

(You know, the harem thing isn't a bad idea when we can afford to - who knows what capabilities our sons might have? Then we don't have to always be in 7 places at once.)

 

[Cassidy]

I can't see a way of getting rid of those rivals until we can ship them off to the sun.

Also:

http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Rules/Highlander/

Someone adapted this type of immortal for the World of Darkness tabletop RPG ruleset.

 

[newcomer]

That's what I'm thinking... Perhaps I'll flop to A2 (will edit original post)...

Well, for harem I guess I will go with my plan to kill my heir & shapeshift to heir, so Ean does not become an immortal king, at least by appearance. Keeping our presence low is a key to win the battle against tentacles

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Tigranes, I see where your reasoning comes from but I'm not swayed.
You know it would be interesting if treave started this CYOA in another forum. The difference would be that they'd be playing Shulgi.

 

[anus_pounder]

Not voting this time. I can see potential for disaster in all 4 choices (maybe not D), so I'll let the others handle this one.

 

[flabbyjack]

B&D&2 - There's no reason Ean cannot ferret out a cult in the empire and pick a few harem girls at the same time. Ean's mind reading skills will make him a very efficient inquisitor. Let the Tuwanans stall the Egyptians for Sumeria and the client states' sake.

After Shulgi is taken care of Pharoah is next. This stall will also give PC time to further raise an army to counter the now common Egyptian threat. The client states wouldn't dare refuse because they will probably be next after Tuwana.

"Forget those Tuwanans. Shulgi is still around and would flatten any inquisitors you send at him, you'll have to do it yourself. Put Shulgi in an iron box and dump it in the Persian Gulf"

 

[newcomer]

Consider the case where the city-states rebel against Akkad because we don't help them; we'll be in a deeper shit, no less painful than letting Shulgi retake Akkad. I guess we need to send our army regardless, either partially or all of them. Even if we lose, at least we honor our protection & we can rally other city-states' army next time

 

[Baltika9]

Treave, some questions: How many city states are the new recruits being sent to? How many men are at Tuwana? What are their defenses?
The reason I'm asking is: this pharaoh might not be a dumbfuck: if he really is there with ten thousand troops, he can just split them off, force us to withdraw out of Akkad to help our allies and then send some of his forces to our, laughably undefended and pretty much wall-less capital.

 

[Baltika9]

B&D&2 -
"Forget those Tuwanans. Shulgi is still around and would flatten any inquisitors you send at him, you'll have to do it yourself. Put Shulgi in an iron box and dump it in the Persian Gulf"

Nope, too soft. Eat the corpse, crush the bones into powder and snort them like cocaine. Then, shit and piss him out into a concrete mixer, swim out to the nearest, deepest piece of ocean and drop the concrete slab in there. Do it.

 

[Smashing Axe]

A1/A2, either works for me, with A1 taking preference.

Edit: A2 takes preference.

 

[treave]

Treave, some questions: How many city states are the new recruits being sent to? How many men are at Tuwana? What are their defenses?
The reason I'm asking is: this pharaoh might not be a dumbfuck: if he really is there with ten thousand troops, he can just split them off, force us to withdraw out of Akkad to help our allies and then send some of his forces to our, laughably undefended and pretty much wall-less capital.

They'll be visiting Lagash, Kish and Girsu, where most of the cult activity is located. There are smaller pockets scattered around the other city states, but if you divide your forces you won't have enough manpower to investigate them all. Ean has no idea how many men are at Tuwana - but last time he passed by the area, more than 10 years ago, they could muster up about 500 poorly trained militia. The main activity of Tuwana is in trade and fishery due to its location along the Levantine coast. They have mudwalls, just like you do, but the walls are small and pretty much useless in any serious battle.

 

[Tigranes]

B&D&2 - There's no reason Ean cannot ferret out a cult in the empire and pick a few harem girls at the same time. Ean's mind reading skills will make him a very efficient inquisitor. Let the Tuwanans stall the Egyptians for Sumeria and the client states' sake.

After Shulgi is taken care of Pharoah is next. This stall will also give PC time to further raise an army to counter the now common Egyptian threat. The client states wouldn't dare refuse because they will probably be next after Tuwana.

"Forget those Tuwanans. Shulgi is still around and would flatten any inquisitors you send at him, you'll have to do it yourself. Put Shulgi in an iron box and dump it in the Persian Gulf"

I strongly disagree. (1) Shulgi has thus far declined to show himself; why do you think we will be able to force a confrontation quickly, especially if he sees our need for a quick resolution? (2) What stops the client states, who are currently friendly to us but not deathly loyal, from simply pledging allegiance to the Egyptians' cause? History shows that one master is as good as another in most cases, especially if you can get the short-term rewards betrayal brings.

It would be good to have some info about Tuwana and the actual extent of our empire, yes. Actually, an important question. Historically, Tuwana is a city in lower Cappadocia, that is, along the southern coast of modern Turkey. How exactly is that a 'coastal city near Egypt'? Does that imply that Egypt currently holds the Canaanite and Syrian coastline, and cities like Damascus - that is, they have the territory of the New Kingdom Egypt? I'm perfectly fine with 'ahistorical' developments, but maybe it would be nice for us to have a rough, basic map of the area and our / their holdings?

(Obviously, I also accept the response: You tit, your memory of ancient history and geography is wrong, etc, etc.)

 

[Baltika9]

I'd advise sending three hundred recruits at the cultists, leaving two hundred veterans to guard our capital, they should give the pharaoh's ambush at least some pause. Besides, it's time more recruits got some combat experience of their own.

 

[treave]

[
It would be good to have some info about Tuwana and the actual extent of our empire, yes. Actually, an important question. Historically, Tuwana is a city in lower Cappadocia, that is, along the southern coast of modern Turkey. How exactly is that a 'coastal city near Egypt'? Does that imply that Egypt currently holds the Canaanite and Syrian coastline, and cities like Damascus - that is, they have the territory of the New Kingdom Egypt? I'm perfectly fine with 'ahistorical' developments, but maybe it would be nice for us to have a rough, basic map of the area and our / their holdings?

You're right there, I don't have much of a name-list for ancient cities built up, so it's quite ahistorical for minor locations. Places like Damascus, Memphis, Cairo and Jerusalem should still be perfectly placed though. I'll draw up a map soon. Old Kingdom Egypt here definitely has little territory in the Levant; this timeline's Sargon managed to conquer a lot of that.

At any rate, you'll just have to accept that it's closer to Egypt than you are, probably a good month's march from Memphis, while you might take the better part of three.

You're talking about... uh, right, the other Tuwanu. That's the one with all the women. This is the lesser known Tuwanu. They have only fish. >_>

 

[Baltika9]

[


At any rate, you'll just have to accept that it's closer to Egypt than you are, probably a good month's march from Memphis, while you might take the better part of three.

Right, so we don't march, we run like hell and arrive exhausted in the nick of time? Or arrive to find the city already betrayed us? Well, onwards then.