[LP CYOA] Epic

[treave]

You could go in if you really wanted to. If he didn't want you to go in no matter what, he wouldn't have let you know about the entrance and asked you to open the door, instead opting for other methods. /hint?

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax, let's not lose track of our primary goal: keep the Empire together and the status quo in power. Dividig our attention between different tasks is not wise in the current situation.

Installing spies is all well and good, but not when it puts the Empire at risk. And your plan, by itself, does. First, we have no guarantee he will get us a priness with strong ties to the throne. It might be a second cousin of the grandmother of the uncle of the father of Tamur XV. At least specify in your demands, he seems exactly the guy who will fuck us over on our wording (don't stab you in the back? But cutting your head of doesn't count!)
Keeping with that, he can indeed give us a princess. But we didn't ask him to hold the invasion off, so he didn't and now we are torn between Tamur and our own rebellions. All to the benefit of the Concordiat. This MHD isn't our friend, yet, so we shouldn't cout on him to do us any favors.

Combine it with A1 however, and it is a strong plan.

Edit: I'm leaning more and more to going inside.

 

[Esquilax]

Good point on the marriage, Baltika9. We'd probably get a marriage to some cousin at best, not someone really close to the throne. But it's still something, and it gets our hooks into Tamur.

Alright, the Esquilaxian A3 it is, since it's a better form of the 'blackmail' option. I thought going to the labyrinth would be cool story-wise and net us some benefits, and I don't know if treave would reject any deal that Zhang would, or allow us to screw up like that.

Going into the Labyrinth would be really fucking cool, you're right. But there are a few hurdles: (1) I'm speculating, but there might be a shitload of undead, and (2) I'm not convinced that we're equipped to deal with any dangers inside the Labyrinth since we've invested in making our character better at telepathy rather than battle. I'm worried that going in will mean getting our asses kicked, and I still haven't recovered from the rift debacle yet. That means that whatever we do, we're going to have to solve our problems with a little bit of finesse. I'd rather go in there with our soldier buddy in the near future, if possible.

 

[Baltika9]

But it's still something, and it gets our hooks into Tamur.

While our priority should be the Empire. See the problem I'm trying to highlight? And just this once I think going all "Let him attack! EAN, FUCK YEAH!" is a bad idea.

Lastly, this dignitary is not our friend and he has no interest in our wellbeing, or that of the Empire. Expect him to act accordingly.

 

[Tigranes]

I hadn't thought of this before, but would marriage bring the Tamur princess to the Empire as the soldier's bride, or would the soldier take up a position in the Tamur court?

If the latter, I think I'm flopping to the Tigranian A3, that is, A1 + Accompany to Labyrinth; not only has treave more or less said it would work, I don't want our soldier buddy to be a million miles away from us when we got him on our side precisely as our at-hand Brawn.

 

[treave]

I hadn't thought of this before, but would marriage bring the Tamur princess to the Empire as the soldier's bride, or would the soldier take up a position in the Tamur court?

It would have to be specified in the choice. Due to the free-form nature of A3 I'm leaving this choice open for a while.

 

[Storyfag]

Flopping to Tigranian A3.

 

[Arpad]

Tigranian A3

 

[Baltika9]

On the other hand, maybe exploring unknown depths without martial skill or flamethrowers is not such a good idea. Especially with a Gieloth at your side.

 

[newcomer]

So now instead of using other alphabets, Codex begins to name choices with the dynastic name of the person who suggests it

I'll jump to the Tigranian BAndwagon

 

[Esquilax]

Wait, Tigranes, would your plan involve going into the Labyrinth without our soldier buddy tagging along or only with Zhang? If it's the latter, then this is really ill-advised. Diogenes hasn't invested in combat abilities or elementalism, so he's actually not much more powerful than an average Joe. Even the update itself said as much:

Two of your Watchers were around... somewhere. It seems that they had learnt to trust your judgment, though it only meant that you had better not betray that trust. You aren't confident that your fledgling powers would allow you to survive should they actually decide to make a concerted effort to kill you.

Really, if we decide to go in without making sure our friend isn't with us, it's asking for another rift fiasco to happen again. Going into a dangerous area for some vague, uncertain gain without any backup - does any of this sound familiar? So I'm against it unless he's with us. I'm all for taking risks at the right time, but going in with someone we suspect to be a Gieloth and who we mistrust is foolish. There could be a horde of undead in there.

And why would we be going in in the first place? To find out what Zhang wants inside the Labyrinth? If you want to do that, that's what C is for (which is stupid, but for other reasons). I dunno, this just seems like another ill-advised misadventure if we don't have the proper backup.

 

[treave]

The soldier is not on Crete, obviously. He isn't your bodyguard. I would have mentioned his presence if he were.

 

[Tigranes]

I'd have thought the Watchers would follow, really, unless we explicitly schemed to lock them out (which would get their panties in a knot).

I'm happy with either of our A3s (and I am pleased to have inaugurated the dynastic naming scheme), but i just think entering the labyrinth has a clear benefit of knowledge (I doubt it would be a red herring of totally useless knowledge for us), while the marriage risks being a long term thing with zero payoff. If we send the soldier off to Tamur, we won't have him around to protect us and do stuff; if the princess comes here, then our leverage and influence on the Tamur court is diminished.

 

[Baltika9]

What good will the Watchers be against the things inside, if there are any? At this point, they are even more average than Dio.

And Esquilax's A3 will work with A1, which is why I flopped to it.

 

[Tigranes]

They'll both work with A1, or that's the idea.

 

[Baltika9]

Actually, how about this for A3: we open the labyrinth in exchange for the secrets of Chinese gunpowder and rifles. If anyone can negotiate that, it would be Dio.

Besides, what was the point of choosing the diplomacy skill if we're not going to use it?
Edit: if we pull it off, then we not only earn the gratitude of Lil' E, but also the adoration of the Adeptus Scholasticus and we will be able to bridge the gap between the Shin'ar and the Tentacle Oligarchy in the long run, as well as give the loyalist troops an edge should a revolt break out.

Very risky, though, in that he might refuse.

 

[Storyfag]

Edit: if we pull it off, then we not only earn the gratitude of Lil' E, but also the adoration of the Adeptus Scholasticus and we will be able to bridge the gap between the Shin'ar and the Tentacle Oligarchy in the long run, as well as give the loyalist troops an edge should a revolt break out.

And be well supplied to squash Tamur. I like it! Flopping to Baltikan A3

 

[Esquilax]

This is getting ridiculous. You guys simply are not thinking one step ahead, exactly the same sort of stupid shit that cost us Chapter 6. It would be too big of a concession for the Concordiat, Baltika9, even though the idea sounds nice. Zhang already said that he would try other things if we refuse him or offer him a bad deal, and he'll do exactly that if we ask for gunpowder tech. Remember that he has other avenues of doing things if we refuse a deal or if he finds our deal unsuitable.

The only way I could see something like this working is with a concession of our own, Even then, it seems unlikely:

Scholars have begun experimenting with steam power, and a working prototype of a steam-powered water pump is currently being tested in the northern mines.

Considering how unstable the north is at the moment, I'm not sure how feasible this would be. If one of the rebel Emperors like Jannik Inge control the mines in the north, then delivering this prototype to the Concordiat would be unlikely.

I'd have thought the Watchers would follow, really, unless we explicitly schemed to lock them out (which would get their panties in a knot).

I'm happy with either of our A3s (and I am pleased to have inaugurated the dynastic naming scheme), but i just think entering the labyrinth has a clear benefit of knowledge (I doubt it would be a red herring of totally useless knowledge for us), while the marriage risks being a long term thing with zero payoff. If we send the soldier off to Tamur, we won't have him around to protect us and do stuff; if the princess comes here, then our leverage and influence on the Tamur court is diminished.

But that's my point, if you're so concerned with finding out Zhang's motivations in the Labyrinth, then interrogate him (C) or tell him you're unwilling to bargain with him under his terms and send the Watchers to figure out what he's after (B). Or do as I suggested and arrange a marriage between our friend and a Tamurian princess so we can infiltrate the area more easily and find out what he wanted in the Labyrinth afterward. Even if we bring the princess here and our influence is reduced, we can still send a Watcher or two under the pretense of diplomacy.

Also, t's not about whether it would be pointless knowledge in the Labyrinth or not, of course it's important - it's whether we'll be able to actually come out on top if we're in there. Considering it's a Labyrinth that is probably full of undead (I believe my speculation here is reasonable), and that Zhang seems rather untrustworthy guy to be guiding us within the Labyrinth, I don't like our odds inside a place like the Labyrinth with only two Watchers in the vicinity and little in the way of fighting abilities ourselves. This guy is not Ean, and you should stop thinking like Ean. I mean, I guess we could make it and telepathy would at least allow us to figure out if he's lying or telling the truth to us about certain things, but this is really not Dio's natural environment and we really ought to be avoiding combat

Could we not stall Zhang in some way? Yes, he's stated that he has ways of getting inside the Labyrinth, but we really ought to have our soldier buddy with us. I'd prefer to get word to him, then explore the Labyrinth with our friend to deal with any physical threats, and Dio to use his telepathy to deal with any possible subterfuge from Zhang. However, this might understandably take too long. treave, is our friend in Ankida - would it take long to get word to him and bring him back to Crete?

In any case, I think that diplomacy with the aim of figuring out his intentions in the future is the most realistic option we have. I'm sticking with my vote.

 

[treave]

Zhang's going to do it tonight, if you're willing. He might wait for a day, but that's about it. The man has his own schedule and motives. Also, the soldier isn't in Ankida right now, he's off in Rus chasing the madman. He is not part of the resources you have on hand, which as of now would be:

1) Your wits and powers
2) Two watchers
3) 300 man garrison of Crete should you need the governor to mobilize them (huge maybe).

 

[TOME]

You guys need to stop thinking the soldiers as a extension of Dio. He is a player in this emperor/shard business just like us.

Option B will have you be feted as a hero of the Empire (if you make the right choices), with all the politicking that surrounds it as people attempt to gain your favour. You might just surprise them by showing that you're more cunning than the average soldier.

Marrying him of to tamurian princess will give power to him, not us. We may get little credit for pulling it off, but that's it.

We have no idea what is inside the labyrinth and no idea why Zhang wants to go there. I'm still not convinced that we should deal with him. He said he has other ways he could try to open the door but would he really tell the truth if we were his only hope? And even if he has other ways, well, look at the option A2. I don't think treave put it there just to tempt us and then turn us down, that is the price Zhang is willing to pay.

So if you guys really want to deal, you should come up with something good. Getting our 'buddy' laid and and sending a couple of spies to neighboring country, not even to Concordiat, is a really bad deal.

 

[TOME]

Considering it's a Labyrinth that is probably full of undead (I believe my speculation here is reasonable), and that Zhang seems rather untrustworthy guy to be guiding us within the Labyrinth, I don't like our odds inside a place like the Labyrinth with only two Watchers in the vicinity and little in the way of fighting abilities ourselves.

Let's see if I got this right. Island, check. Untrustworthy guy, check. Labyrinth full of undead, check. Fighting skill, nope. "You see a door. You think there is lots of zombies behind the door. Untrustworthy guy wants you to open the door. Do you open the door?" (Y/N)

Yes. Of course. What could go wrong?

 

[Baltika9]

Esquilax: it's just that Dio's strength lies in negotiation and diplomacy and we've done nothing but fortify that skill. So, it's about time, I think, to negotiate. Sure, we'll have to put something else on the table, but the end result of breaking a scientific stalemate will benefit us in both long and short terms.

We immediately will be able to manufacture and arm our musketeers with rifles and begin training new ones, giving us the upper hand with unsurrections and the pretenders.

And we will benefit in the long term by bridging the armament gap between us and tye Concordiat.

Very risky, but I think it's worth it.

Will flop to avoid the labirynth, though.

Edit: Proposing a new plan. A3: Negotiate for Chinese rifle technology, making concessions only if absolutely necessary. Bottom line: get the tech at any cost, but as cheaply as possible.

Edit 2: basicaly, I see an opportunity here to do something that has not been done before: win the Adeptus Scholasticus by giving them the equivalent of HEVANZ and win over the Prince by giving him more dakka. The military should react favorably, too.

 

[Computer Gamer Refugee]

Zhang's going to do it tonight, if you're willing. He might wait for a day, but that's about it. The man has his own schedule and motives. Also, the soldier isn't in Ankida right now, he's off in Rus chasing the madman. He is not part of the resources you have on hand, which as of now would be:

1) Your wits and powers
2) Two watchers
3) 300 man garrison of Crete should you need the governor to mobilize them (huge maybe).

Sorry for the derailment, but what I really think we need is a wheelbarrow, and perhaps a holocaust cloak.

 

[Baltika9]

Furthermore, we have something in this negotiation that no other diplomat has had before: this guy needs Dio's personal help to do something. That is already a point in our favor. And whatever other plans for opening the door he has, they must be a great deal more unpleasant/risky if his first(?) action is to ask an Immortal, of all things.
Once we get Dio into negotiations, we can use our psychic powers to make the best deal possible with him, with as few concessions as possible.

And this

Scholars have begun experimenting with steam power, and a working prototype of a steam-powered water pump is currently being tested in the northern mines.

Considering how unstable the north is at the moment, I'm not sure how feasible this would be. If one of the rebel Emperors like Jannik Inge control the mines in the north, then delivering this prototype to the Concordiat would be unlikely.

is what our Watchers are here for. No one need even know.

Asking for peace and princesses is a very good idea, it just seems too easy a a task for someone like The Dio.

Edit: treave, how much longer do we have to vote? Also, any hints on my plan being at all doable?
Tigranes, if your option wins, at least amend it to take some hundred soldiers with you inside.

 

[treave]

I will keep the voting open until there is no more active discussion. Basically once everyone's chilling about talking about tentacle sex or other stuff irrelevant to the update that's my cue to end the vote.