[LP CYOA] Epic

[treave]

To clarify things: All you know from Tuwanu is that the Pharaoh has 10,000 men and is threatening to crush them if they don't submit. They aren't exactly camped outside Tuwanu already. An army marches slower than a fast messenger can ride, and the city would not have sent out a plea for help if they did not think you could mobilize in time.

Of course, it could also be a trap.

 

[Baltika9]

Yeah, betrayal seems possible. Then again, the pharaoh's then thousand may just be farmhands and tradesmen mixed in with some surviving soldiers here-and-there. He may have some monsters there with him. Hell, here's an idea: Shulgi's in Egypt, his cultists in Tuwanu stirred them up for rebellion and we ARE headed into the trap. Soon as we're there, the other city states will turn on us. We have no way of knowing, though, so I hold my opinion:

E. Send three hundred recruits after the cultists, a hundred for each city; leave two three hundred veterans to guard the city, if we have a Leonidas, he stays with them(*cough*), and the rest go with us to Tuwanu. If we die, we die as a Warrior-King should, protecting his own and inspiring the future generations.

If an Immortal has children, do they become immortal?

 

[anus_pounder]

I highly doubt the Pharaoh has 10,000 Men. Persia's massive invasion force of Greece was said to be over 2 million men, but according to modern historians a more accurate figure is around 100,000 to 300,000. Keeping in mind the Persian Empire is a lot bigger than either our kingdom or Egypt... That and Sargon's force of 5,000 was itself a mighty sum.

Coupled with the fact that Sargon decisively beat the Egyptians, the force can't have more than a thousand (two is stretching it imo) well-trained men (I won't say Veterans). The rest are likely to be peasant rabble with limited training at best. Maybe Slingers or a spear and board.

tl;dr post count +1

 

[treave]

Alright, can't find my Photoshop, so here's a crappy map in Paint. Historical anachronisms and inaccuracies ahoy! I hope there'll be less mistakes as we progress through the LP, and I'd appreciate it if you guys keep pointing out any problems.

 

[eklektyk]

without doubt we must go with our army against Egypt
normal battle/monsters/trap/betrayal all are posible and require our input and simply ignoring problem will mean that we lose our west part of kingdom and face uter destruction
so with that 2500 or 2000 soldiers is secondary element- sending them to stomp some cultist is good, even if no real progres is made it is a nessesary step and sacrifice[shlugi can be with Egipts army advising/commanding or with cultists stiring trouble -either way we keep him busy while aserting our supremacy over border states- without border states within our sphere of influence it is all game over for our kingdom]
C1 it is then.

 

[TOME]

A1

Shulgi's cult isn't so big of a threat than egyptians.

 

[Tigranes]

Cool, thanks for clearing that up treave. You're right about the two Tuwanus.

Much depends on whether we think we can afford to split the troops and still beat the Egyptians. To me, we need all the troops down there, unless we go ourselves (C1), because even though there's no way the Egyptians can have 10,000 regular troops, they're still likely to outnumber our own men considerably. Now, if we choose C1, I doubt that will mean the remaining soldiers manage to root out the cult for good, with Shulgi behind the scenes. That's why I'm saying A1 or A2 - A2 to try and do both at once best we can with Ean against Shulgi and our crack troops & tech against the Egyptian rabble, or go full force and beat the Egyptians decisively so we can turn to internal affairs.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

C1

 

[treave]

A1 - 4
A2 - 2
B2 - 1
C1 - 8

Update coming in an hour or so.

 

[treave]

Chapter 2.3: The Empty City

Five hundred Akkadian men would be sent to suppress the cult. You bring the rest of your army with you, leaving behind only some militia to guard Akkad. The march would be long, and you arrange for a system of messengers to keep you constantly updated of events in Akkad and near Tuwanu. As you go along, you call on your other client states to bring aid. Tuwanu had already sent word to them before this, and it does not take them long to mobilize.

By the time you see Tuwanu in the distance, your numbers have more than doubled. Two thousand Sumerian warriors, and nearly three thousand more from twenty five city-states paying homage to the Akkadian Empire. To command so many men was a rare feat; Sargon was the last one who did so. Tuwanu, surprisingly, was still unmolested. The Pharaoh's army was nowhere to be seen. You wonder if the Egyptians were only making empty boasts. You send your scouts ahead to make contact with the city.

***

"My king, the city is utterly deserted. We found no one at all. There were also no signs of battle, so we do not think the city has been invaded. " You ponder this information. According to the scouts, food and trade items were left untouched, so it is unlikely that the citizens evacuated either. The last message you received from Tuwanu, a week ago, stated that they were delaying the Egyptians by engaging in diplomatic talks, and hoped you would arrive soon to put the enemy to the sword. Near the city, you find signs of encampment, but they were clearly abandoned recently. Was the Egyptian army here just a week ago? Your army is tired after the months of long travel, and now you have to decide what to do next.

***

A. You have your army occupy the city and settle in. This will give them good beds to rest in and good food to eat, improving their morale after the long march. You will also be able to defend yourself more easily should the Egyptians return to attack. You can perform your own investigation of Tuwanu while inside the city.

B. You camp your army outside the city, setting up proper encampments, and send men inside to scavenge for food, though they will not be able to rest up as much as they would have inside the city. Should the Egyptians attack your men would be caught in the open, but you need to investigate and make sure the city is safe.

C. You give your army's a night's rest in makeshift camps and abandon Tuwanu to move on the next day, towards the Egyptian border fortress of Tjaru. Since you're already all the way out here, you might as well go all the way to Memphis.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

C
The Pharoah's head will make a great ornament.

 

[m4davis]

C

 

[ScubaV]

B though I could be persuaded to A. We need to check this city out. I don't want to push farther from Akkad with tired men especially when this may have been a decoy of some kind.

 

[oscar]

B

 

[XenomorphII]

B

 

[Tigranes]

All risky options, but surely B is the only one we can reasonably take here.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

The city might be an illusion and not actually be there. It's a trap I tell you.

 

[Azira]

It's a tarp!

 

[Quetzacoatl]

It's a tarp!

No, it's a Mon Calarami.

 

[Curufinwe]

Definitely B. The city is definitely a trap, indeed, but we cannot push forward without resting and investigating.

 

[Cassidy]

B

And Shulgi is definitively behind this.

 

[Azira]

B

And Shulgi is definitively behind this.

Naram might have retreated into the wilderness, as we were given that option a mulititude of times, but we do not know for sure that he is not the one behind this. Depopulating villages is a new tactic for Shulgi. Might be just what Naram would be up to.

Then again, it might not. All I'm saying is to keep a wary eye open. If we're too intent on rooting out Shulgi, Naram might rise to bite us in the ass something fierce.

 

[TOME]

A

Maybe we were lured here to start a war with egypt? Shulgi justs sends a message to pharaoh and he'll see we are amasssing a large army near the border. While we are fighting, Shulgi and the cultist take over. Again. This time with a better trap. The faster we search the city, the better.

 

[Esquilax]

Naram might have retreated into the wilderness, as we were given that option a mulititude of times, but we do not know for sure that he is not the one behind this. Depopulating villages is a new tactic for Shulgi. Might be just what Naram would be up to.

Then again, it might not. All I'm saying is to keep a wary eye open. If we're too intent on rooting out Shulgi, Naram might rise to bite us in the ass something fierce.

I am not sure that Shulgi was responsible for this as well. I doubt that he had anything to do with the Egyptian army at our doorstep: his cult is centered in the Sumerian cities around Akkad, and I doubt that he would have spent time in Egypt when he'd probably be working covertly in Sumeria to gather more followers.

Naram seems like a possibility here, as he seems to be a trickster-illusionist type compared to Shulgi's charismatic manipulator. However, I think there's another possibility: the Pharaoh was probably shitting himself at the prospect of another invasion when we sent our envoy earlier. I think that he was desperate to defend his country so he collaborated with the aliens we had met in Memphis to stop us. Can't say I blame him for it.

As for the choice, we've got to be careful. If we're caught out in the open, hopefully our leadership and our superior arms will be enough to protect us. B is the way to go.

TOME: Shulgi wouldn't need to send a message. We sent a very hostile message to the pharaoh on our own already.

 

[Baltika9]

Voting for B. And make the investigation quick, this place reeks of an ambush.