[LP CYOA] Epic

[Baltika9]

I think it's important to mention why I think Dio should take the risk of going scouting himself. I understand the merit in staying home in our big, cozy fort and posting on RPG Codex - it's safer. However, I think that Dio's telepathy, supplemented by good leaders who know how to coordinate shit, and a small but well-lead force will be able to decipher what the Rus tribesmen are up to far quicker than marching in recklessly will.

And Besides, sitting on his ass won't earn Dio the title of "Big Papa G", so we really don't have a choice, unless we don't want to capitalize on our budding rep here.

 

[TOME]

Hey Baltika9, you got my vote wrong. It is ABB2.

 

[treave]

Sorry, but update will be delayed till Saturday, a friend needs my help to make a Chinese martial arts conversion of the SPECIAL system so that's taking up my free time, plus I have some other work to complete. Well, we might use a part of it, or at least some of the ideas being thrown about if we ever visit the Concordiat so it's not a total waste of my time.

 

[Baltika9]

Sorry, but update will be delayed till Saturday, a friend needs my help to make a Chinese martial arts conversion of the SPECIAL system so that's taking up my free time, plus I have some other work to complete. Well, we might use a part of it, or at least some of the ideas being thrown about if we ever visit the Concordiat so it's not a total waste of my time.

Interesting. Would your friend mind if we(or at least I) see the results? I am most curious.
Also, that's a pretty crowd you're hanging out with.

 

[Tigranes]

I think a few things are at this point indisputable.

1A: We need whatever we do to succeed. Therefore, we absolutely have to make sure our fighting capacity is maximum, and morale of the men stay high - as I said before, wars are won and lost by the belief the soldiers have in you and in the army. The costs of alienating the nobles is comparatively small and can be mitigated otherwise.

3A: By no means can we send Garsu on a suicide mission, as it will really piss of the nobles and there is a much simpler solution of telekinetic murder. I think, furthermore, we really do have to get out there - we need to, again, give men a belief in our ability, and there are no really competent underlings we can trust to do the job by themselves anyway.

So the only question is, where do we go?

I think 2B and 2C are, again, out of the question. The madman has opportunity for subterfuge and deception; so why would he do precisely the thing that he most obviously looks like he is doing, that is, attacking Odessa with all his might? He knows that a noble with no military experience has just taken over a group of demoralized soldiers waiting for an excuse to retreat; wouldn't he expect us to come to Odessa? Sure, there's an outside chance that there is something important in Odessa or he is going on an Attila the Hun style march into the heart of the Empire, but we can't rely on long-shots like that.

So the only question is, do we go for AAA2, going all out for Tigrien, or ADA1/2, and going with a thousand men to scout out either Odessa or Tigrien with Garsu? The first has the prize of achieving our primary goal, and the risk of, well, losing everything. The second has the prize of more information (and possibly nullify all of the Madman's deception), but will probably mean we will be too late to either save Odessa or Tigrien. Not having heard from the fort doesn't mean they're all dead - it might just mean they have nobody courageous or able enough to sneak past the Rus in the wilderness to get us a message, which I think is a reasonable assumption. If Tigrien really was wiped out, it would represent a massive, massive victory for the Rus and the madman; what would make most sense for them to do then is announce the news, chuck dismembered heads at our camp, parade with Ban's head on top of a stake - really demoralise us and make us retreat altogether, upon which they would ambush.

So no, I think there is still a sizable force intact and holed up in Tigrien. So I'm sticking with AAA2 for now, but I do think the scouting idea has merit... certainly not the currently consensus of AAB1.

 

[Esquilax]

I think 2B and 2C are, again, out of the question. The madman has opportunity for subterfuge and deception; so why would he do precisely the thing that he most obviously looks like he is doing, that is, attacking Odessa with all his might? He knows that a noble with no military experience has just taken over a group of demoralized soldiers waiting for an excuse to retreat; wouldn't he expect us to come to Odessa? Sure, there's an outside chance that there is something important in Odessa or he is going on an Attila the Hun style march into the heart of the Empire, but we can't rely on long-shots like that.

So the only question is, do we go for AAA2, going all out for Tigrien, or ADA1/2, and going with a thousand men to scout out either Odessa or Tigrien with Garsu? The first has the prize of achieving our primary goal, and the risk of, well, losing everything. The second has the prize of more information (and possibly nullify all of the Madman's deception), but will probably mean we will be too late to either save Odessa or Tigrien. Not having heard from the fort doesn't mean they're all dead - it might just mean they have nobody courageous or able enough to sneak past the Rus in the wilderness to get us a message, which I think is a reasonable assumption. If Tigrien really was wiped out, it would represent a massive, massive victory for the Rus and the madman; what would make most sense for them to do then is announce the news, chuck dismembered heads at our camp, parade with Ban's head on top of a stake - really demoralise us and make us retreat altogether, upon which they would ambush.

I don't think that they're dead, I think that the madman is manipulating the flow of information. We don't know whether the attack on Odessa is a feint, whether it's for real, or whether he's hoping we go towards Tigrien so that his forces can ambush us on the way now that we think that things have cleared up. However, you're absolutely right that AAB1 is not a great idea because sending Garsu on a suicide mission is going to piss off every single noble that's loyal to him: it's an incredibly obvious and heavy-handed move. If you're voting for A on the second choices, I would strongly advise you to flop to A2. Garsu can be killed in a far less conspicuous manner if he's close to us, and it won't make the other officers view us negatively. GreyViper oscar Stygian Lurker

What I'm positive about, regardless of whether this is a ruse or not, is that the madman is using Odessa as a means to force our hand.

 

[oscar]

I didn't vote A1 in the aim of getting Garsu killed but because he might be of some legitimate use in the defence of Odessa if he arrives there in time. Ideally I would have voted for a middle-ground of giving him about 5,000 troops for the relief, but felt 13,000 was too many for us to lose in our overwhelming priority, which is to rescue Ban and the 30,000 encircled soldiers.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

Esquilax, your reasoning makes sense. You convinced me to flop to BAA2.

 

[GreyViper]

Ok Esquilaxlets try it this way, floping BAA2 . The other option is to Ambush him near Eans tomb, when he has all the missing pieces and comes to reclaim the price. The downside being that he might gain goodies and powers when he claims the other pieces making him harder to beat.

 

[Baltika9]

New tally, tell me if I got anything wrong:
Oscar AAB1
Tome ABB2
GreyViper BAA2
Lambchop19 BAB1
Stinkinator ADB1
Esquilax BDA2
Tigranes AAA2
Baltika9 ADA1
Stygian Lurker BAA2
Storyfag ADB1
Arpad ADB1

1A- 7
1B- 4

2A- 5
2D- 6

3A- 5
3B- 6

1- 6
2- 5

Which makes the winning combination ADB1: Full meritorious promotions, a thousand men to both locations, Garsu to Odessa, go to Tigrien.

 

[TOME]

Flopping to ADB2.

 

[Storyfag]

Which makes the winning combination A A/D B2: Full meritorious promotions, Garsu to Tigrien, go to Odessa.

Ahem. My 3B means "stay at the fort" - an option that'll make itself availible if 2D wins... Unless 2A wins, please count my 3B separately from the Odessa ones.

 

[treave]

I'll double check the tally in a while then. Results have flipflopped drastically than if I had closed it two days ago.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, I've a question for you: considering that, three thousand years ago, the Gieloth started "going native," would it, in theory, be possible that they would start viewng humans less as a three-course meal and more as their lil' bros?

 

[Tigranes]

Surely it doesn't make sense to tally xxA/Bx and xxx1/2 separately? Most of the votes are either for A2 or B1, with only one exception of B2 from Tome.

 

[Baltika9]

Flopped to 4-1 for now, since I would prefer Dio to be the one heading to Tigrien. Will flop if we finally decide to actually "take care" of Garsu through 3A.

 

[treave]

A, D and B1 win

Chapter 7.18: Silent Fort

The march to Tigrien was unnaturally quiet. Fog had set in over the steppe on the day of your departure, and your scouts found no sign of any soldiers, tribal or Imperial, as you travelled along the beaten dirt path to the fort. The fog impeded visibility and your progress, slowing down a journey that should have normally taken the Imperial soldiers 3 days to complete.

On the fifth day, you finally spotted the sturdy walls of Fort Tigrien looming through the fog. As your men cheered and began to rush towards the fort, you barked an order for them to hold their position. There was something wrong with the picture, and as you stared into the gloom, you realized that there were no lights on the walls. Despite the persistent fog, there were no torches or braziers lit. You tell the men to set up camp first and instruct the scouts to check out the fort first. Grumbling, the soldiers did so, not too pleased that you had stopped them from making for the safety and warmth of the fort. As the scouts rode away, you explained to them your reasoning.

Some second-guessed you, any fear of a difference in rank subdued by your habit of fraternizing with the grunts, but you managed to convince them to wait for another hour or two.

It did not take long before the scouts returned with their report. The fort was deserted. They had hailed the fort from a distance, though no one responded. The gates had been left wide open - the scouts ventured a short distance in to confirm the lack of people within before leaving the fort. They had also found a relatively fresh trail of foot tracks leading away from the fort to the north, further into Rus territory. The tracks had been made by Imperial boots, and by the looks of it there were about a thousand of them, having departed from the fort about 2 days ago. You cursed the weather - if you had made better time, you might not have missed this detachment. If you rode fast, you could be able to catch up with them, but at the same time you might want to investigate the fort too.

Before you could make your decision, however, a messenger arrived from Fort Euphraxes, shouting and screaming.

The tribesmen had besieged the fort that you had just set out from five days ago with 70,000 men.

You wonder if their previous actions had been a feint designed to draw your troops away from the fort; but if so, you had left the bulk of your army within and they could likely hold out with no major casualties. You don't understand why the tribes had attacked anyway despite the apparent failure of their plan, but you did not feel that it was a problem. The messenger, however, painted a different picture - your well-intentioned appointment of new regiments by merit had created major issues. In your absence, the senior officers had begun to pull rank over the newly created regiments. Either you or Garsu could have held the fort together, although with differing results, but with both its leading officers absent, the senior officers began clashing with the new ones, who were emboldened by your prior support and had somehow gotten the idea that they should have equal treatment. The siege served as the pressure cooker that brought all these elements to a boil, heightening the petty tensions.

***

A. You return to Fort Euphraxes. They might be able to hold out with the Empire's better defensive abilities, but if any of the officers make a mistake it could mean that the fort gets wiped out.

B. You investigate Fort Tigrien. The scouts had not searched the place thoroughly, and it will take time to find out what has happened here.

C. You follow the trail of Imperial boots north. You should be able to catch up with them if you ride ahead.

1. All of your men return to Fort Euphraxes to assist with its defense.
2. All of your men occupy and investigate Fort Tigrien.
3. Your cavalry and chariots ride after the detachment that had left the fort a couple of days ago while your infantry occupy Fort Tigrien.

 

[Baltika9]

A3
Dio is needed elsewhere, let the Chariots go after Ban(last minute reinforcements of elite troops always win the battles, dont'cha know) and the infantrymen stay at Tigrien, they will only slow us down. Naturally, we should haul ass.
With our mind reading capabilities, Dio is the right man to regulate Euphraxes.

Edit: goddamn children.

 

[treave]

You were dealing with the runts of the Imperial Army, as I've mentioned a few times before. And it's not like Dio is some battle-hardened commander with a decade of military experience. Looking the part can only carry you so far without an actual reputation to back it up.

 

[Baltika9]

You were dealing with the runts of the Imperial Army, as I've mentioned a few times before. And it's not like Dio is some battle-hardened commander with a decade of military experience. Looking the part can only carry you so far without an actual reputation to back it up.

Right, after this is done, we're selling all of them off to Dagrun as playthings in exchange for patching Dio and Ean up.
Let's see how much dignity they have after future-Slaanesh is through with them.

 

[Azira]

When a plan backfires.

We set out to find Ban, yet now it seems oddly like the Madman might have snatched him up before us?

Fooled we were, yees. :yoda:

 

[treave]

The blame lies with Runikylos for making the tempting offer to Dio to play Fort Commander, well-intentioned though it was. Otherwise Dio would've went straight towards Fort Tigrien, no?

 

[Baltika9]

The blame lies with Runikylos for making the tempting offer to Dio to play Fort Commander, well-intentioned though it was. Otherwise Dio would've went straight towards Fort Tigrien, no?

Indeed. However, we are, in a sense, a part of Ean. And we all know what Ean owuld do in a situation like this, don't we now?

Time to show these bastards exactly who they're fucking with.

On a sidenote, Ban might have sent out in pursuit of ol' squidfucker and since our primary goal is to revive Ean, going after them might be a valid alternative, instead of playing hero. However, I would rather we win here, even if that means those two get away. A defeat here could be catastrophic for the Empire's morale.

 

[Azira]

Runi is the true Ean. The rest of the immortals are all dancing to his pipes.

 

[Baltika9]

Runi is the true Ean. The rest of the immortals are all dancing to his pipes.

Naw, Runi is Super Marduk-Shulgi in Zeus' body.