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[LP CYOA] Epic
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
I thought that it would suit Dio more to make the royal family into his puppets with B rather than to eliminate them with violence and outright declare himself emperor as in A. We may as well take advantage of the existing power structure, rather than messily blow it apart and try to bring the pieces back together; we're certainly having problems enough in the empire without that, anyway.
C is the one where we attempt to destroy Ean.
C is the one where we attempt to destroy Ean.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Look, everything else aside, there's one thing that's being forgotten: Dio is known to flop when and how it suits him. Besides which, I really can;t see him being comfortable with feeding a god to "Volly's Sword of Mindfucking," when said sword can dominate/mindcrush him in an instant.
And if we factor in that this guardian is probably Sek, I'm sure we'll get the chance to betray Anbar'Shi.
P.S.: Fuck the Seljuks, Fatimids and Byzantines.
What flop of this magnitude can you think of? I saw your examples on the other page, and they were ones of 'backstabbing', not flopping. Backstabbing is only done where one benefit's one's self. It does not fit Dio's interests in any way to leave Ean alive, regardless of the other circumstances.
This is a man who depended on his lover being raped and driven to suicide by his intentional plotting to begin his rise to power coupled with engineering the poisoning of his father figure. There's really not much that I'd leave him to be uncomfortable with after that. Furthermore, that's all the more reason for Diogenes to have no reason to head to Iceland at the moment; if his options are 'kill Ean and get soul devoured' or 'get killed by Ean', it's a bad idea to go in general. Though, I don't see why he'd need to kill Ean with the sword. For all we know, he could just fling it away into the ocean or somewhere in an icy cavern while he's there and just slit Ean's throat with a regular knife. This is why we should get as much as we can out of Anbar-Shi at the moment.
How is the guardian 'probably Sekhenun'? Do you realize how much of your plan hinges on somehow coming across a revelation that causes Dio's personality to take a 180, for the sword to be denied, for the guardian to be a certain figure?
It seems that the tide is leaning toward C, but keep in mind; whenever we've taken the option to kill someone here, the character has done it. You forfeit any right to whinge about the results if your master plan to not get Ean killed by taking the option to get Ean killed results in Ean dying.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
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- 2,835
Just caught back up with the chapter. I don't see this as a repeat of not going to Greece to defeat Marduk, and killing Ean with the sword makes me concerned. Through that, it might grow too powerful for Dio to control, which we don't want. Dio has already imposed some of his will on the sword, with time, and by denying it, I think he'll master it in the long-term.
For now I'm going to vote A, it's time we confront RK-47
A
For now I'm going to vote A, it's time we confront RK-47
A
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
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- 9,611
You know, for a long while I suspected you of being treave's secret confidante. Today, I'm almost certain of it. You're trying to tell us the right way to play Dio, aren't you?
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Damn you...
Edit: of course, if you're just bullshitting us here, then we're screwed. But the possibilities...they are endless.
Esquilax
Arcane
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- Dec 7, 2010
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- 4,833
Kipeci makes perfect sense and ignoring his extremely well put together post is going to be a recipe for disaster. Following the whims of the sword sounds like it could really fuck us in the ass. The sword is just waiting for the right moment to overcome us.
However, I must disagree with Smashing Axe and oscar. I think that taking the throne ourselves would be a terrible idea and lead to a lot of the Kingdoms that we still hold fracturing. Dio has become a much smarter power-player over the course of this chapter, much as Shulgi (who we believe is Fenrir) has: you don't need to be the one wearing the crown to be the one in control. And in this case, ruling from the shadows is far better in terms of stability:
The Imperial family has been a 3,000 year old symbol of stability and prosperity, and I'm uncertain if Dio will be able to uphold the Kingdom on his own like this. Yes, confidence in the Imperial family now is low, but if we return to Ankida as a hero and destroy the undead plaguing Egypt, that will stabilize the remainder of the Empire and it will make everyone dependent on Dio.
Killing off the entire royal family risks further fracturing an Empire that is already very unstable. A stable Empire suits Dio's interests - he doesn't want the various Kingdoms being torn apart. As long as they're under the aegis of the Imperial family, he will rule by proxy.
Based on the excellent arguments made, I am flopping my original vote to B.
However, I must disagree with Smashing Axe and oscar. I think that taking the throne ourselves would be a terrible idea and lead to a lot of the Kingdoms that we still hold fracturing. Dio has become a much smarter power-player over the course of this chapter, much as Shulgi (who we believe is Fenrir) has: you don't need to be the one wearing the crown to be the one in control. And in this case, ruling from the shadows is far better in terms of stability:
The Imperial family has been a 3,000 year old symbol of stability and prosperity, and I'm uncertain if Dio will be able to uphold the Kingdom on his own like this. Yes, confidence in the Imperial family now is low, but if we return to Ankida as a hero and destroy the undead plaguing Egypt, that will stabilize the remainder of the Empire and it will make everyone dependent on Dio.
Killing off the entire royal family risks further fracturing an Empire that is already very unstable. A stable Empire suits Dio's interests - he doesn't want the various Kingdoms being torn apart. As long as they're under the aegis of the Imperial family, he will rule by proxy.
Based on the excellent arguments made, I am flopping my original vote to B.
Well, time for me to vote as well, and keeping a tighter reign on the sword through any means possible seems like a brilliant idea. Better than letting it feed on Ean, certainly. I'll side with Esquilax here.
B
B
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Well, this new information certainly does give me more reasons to flop to B. However, I'll hold on to C for now. I've already wrote many(too many, perhaps) posts on why, so in conclusion I'll say this:
We're not playing in a vacuum and if we don't seize the opportunities we have now, later they may very well be gone.
Besides, my flop won't change much anyways and if we'll play the next chapter as Dio, well, I'm fine with that.
We're not playing in a vacuum and if we don't seize the opportunities we have now, later they may very well be gone.
Besides, my flop won't change much anyways and if we'll play the next chapter as Dio, well, I'm fine with that.
Elite guard, eh? I'm still waiting on that confirm for making Anbar'Shi a staff, treave.
B, of course. Before deciding whether I want Dio to head to New Athens, I'd very much like to interrogate the Royal Family on their plans concerning Abnar'Shi, and on their general knowledge of the situation. Seeing as how they're a group of cunning bastards themselves, I do believe they weren't exactly keen on handing their power back to an awakened Ean. However I also believe they wanted to awake him nontheless. Perhaps, once their plans are revealed to us, all Dio will have to do will be replacing Runikylos as receipient of Ean's power and/or gratitude.
TOME
Cuckmaster General
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Ean grew his hand back. I don't think growing eye back is any different. But it did take some time though.
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- Jul 6, 2008
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- 11,370
Chapter 7.23: Diogenes the Hero
"So, you have it."
Runikylos looked coolly at you, lounging back in his chair. His office had undergone some rearrangement since you left, taking on a decidedly more warlike tone.
"Hero of the Empire. Bearer of the Emperor's Will. Diogenes Camna." he sighs. "I expected Ban to return to me with the sword immediately, but now you have it. You are in a sublime position to undo all I aspire to."
You grin at the Crown Prince of the Shinar as his eyes drift to the cursed blade at your side. "Your mask is off, my prince." Runikylos, you knew now, was a practiced liar as accomplished as you yourself were. He would lie to your face with the most genial and affable of tones, and even with your strengthened telepathy you were barely able to tell when he was telling the truth.
"Hm, pardon me. It must have slipped." A twisted smile spreads across the prince's face, an expression you had never seen before.
"Now that it has come to this, what should we do now?"
"I could feed you to my new pet, Your Highness, if you want to see the fruits of Ban's labour."
"And what a labour it must have been! Remind me to thank him. Where have you kept him, by the way?"
"Somewhere safe, where he can recuperate in peace."
"You imply that he has enemies he needs to be hidden from."
"Everyone has enemies, my prince. Even you, even me."
"I know. It's a sad state of affairs, to be surrounded by people who wish to do you harm even if you only wish to do them good. Enemies... are a bad thing to have." the prince says slowly, as if offering you a glimpse of his thoughts.
"Why, a truer thing has never been said! When you are beset by your foes, what you need most are friends. Friends are a good thing to have, something one can never have enough of."
"And we are friends, are we not, Dio?" Again that grin appears on Runikylos's face.
You bare your teeth in a smile as twisted as his own. "Till the end of time... Your Majesty."
***
Becoming Runikylos's ally meant that you learnt plenty about the Imperial family's history. How they had begun serving a higher power a thousand years ago, who called itself Naram and claimed to be the god that had granted the First Emperor his divinity. How they had followed this god's instructions, to find the body of the First Emperor and to keep it in slumber. The recent troubles, however, had not been of this god's doing - not that he knew of, at any rate. The experiments on the First Emperor had been started without permission, and the god had put a stop to it when it came to his notice. This heartened you, for it showed that this alleged god was far from infallible. Indeed, the experiments had begun as a way for the Imperial family to overthrow the god, seeking a way to kill him. That he had not wiped out the Imperial family for their temerity also showed you that the god was not almighty.
When you asked if the god was in Ankida, Runikylos shook his head. He had a palace within the wastelands of Olympus, where no one ventured. Ten thousand labourers had been brought there to construct it, and then one by one walled into the pillars as a living sacrifice, and also to keep the existence of this palace a secret.
Of course, now that you were part of the Imperial family in all but name, said Runikylos slyly, he had no qualms about letting you know of it. It was something known to only a few even in the Imperial family, mainly the heads of the most important branch families, those who were closest to becoming the Emperor, and the Emperor himself.
***
In the beginning of the year 2998 A.C., two months after the Times of Turmoil had begun and the Hero of the Empire had returned from the Rus plains, Emperor Rennephilio XIV met an untimely death as a result of illness. Some gossipmongers spoke of poison, but most rumours told of his excessive sexual appetite bringing on countless incurable sicknesses. Crown Prince Runikylos ascended to the throne as Emperor Runikylos V, and decreed that there were to be no celebrations of his ascension, given the recent death of his father and the troubles currently plaguing his Empire. A small festival was thrown soon after, however, in honour of the Princess Kyriesca's engagement to the Hero of the Empire. Diogenes was treated as the embodiment of hope to the beleagured people, the one who would lead them into a better future - it was a view strongly encouraged by the Imperial family. This was, in most aspects, the same cult of personality that had sprang up around the would-be pretenders to the name of the First Emperor in other kingdoms, but here Diogenes had become worshipped for his own name, not Ean's.
***
A. Continue playing as Dio.
B. Play as Ean, after a timeskip.
"So, you have it."
Runikylos looked coolly at you, lounging back in his chair. His office had undergone some rearrangement since you left, taking on a decidedly more warlike tone.
"Hero of the Empire. Bearer of the Emperor's Will. Diogenes Camna." he sighs. "I expected Ban to return to me with the sword immediately, but now you have it. You are in a sublime position to undo all I aspire to."
You grin at the Crown Prince of the Shinar as his eyes drift to the cursed blade at your side. "Your mask is off, my prince." Runikylos, you knew now, was a practiced liar as accomplished as you yourself were. He would lie to your face with the most genial and affable of tones, and even with your strengthened telepathy you were barely able to tell when he was telling the truth.
"Hm, pardon me. It must have slipped." A twisted smile spreads across the prince's face, an expression you had never seen before.
"Now that it has come to this, what should we do now?"
"I could feed you to my new pet, Your Highness, if you want to see the fruits of Ban's labour."
"And what a labour it must have been! Remind me to thank him. Where have you kept him, by the way?"
"Somewhere safe, where he can recuperate in peace."
"You imply that he has enemies he needs to be hidden from."
"Everyone has enemies, my prince. Even you, even me."
"I know. It's a sad state of affairs, to be surrounded by people who wish to do you harm even if you only wish to do them good. Enemies... are a bad thing to have." the prince says slowly, as if offering you a glimpse of his thoughts.
"Why, a truer thing has never been said! When you are beset by your foes, what you need most are friends. Friends are a good thing to have, something one can never have enough of."
"And we are friends, are we not, Dio?" Again that grin appears on Runikylos's face.
You bare your teeth in a smile as twisted as his own. "Till the end of time... Your Majesty."
***
Becoming Runikylos's ally meant that you learnt plenty about the Imperial family's history. How they had begun serving a higher power a thousand years ago, who called itself Naram and claimed to be the god that had granted the First Emperor his divinity. How they had followed this god's instructions, to find the body of the First Emperor and to keep it in slumber. The recent troubles, however, had not been of this god's doing - not that he knew of, at any rate. The experiments on the First Emperor had been started without permission, and the god had put a stop to it when it came to his notice. This heartened you, for it showed that this alleged god was far from infallible. Indeed, the experiments had begun as a way for the Imperial family to overthrow the god, seeking a way to kill him. That he had not wiped out the Imperial family for their temerity also showed you that the god was not almighty.
When you asked if the god was in Ankida, Runikylos shook his head. He had a palace within the wastelands of Olympus, where no one ventured. Ten thousand labourers had been brought there to construct it, and then one by one walled into the pillars as a living sacrifice, and also to keep the existence of this palace a secret.
Of course, now that you were part of the Imperial family in all but name, said Runikylos slyly, he had no qualms about letting you know of it. It was something known to only a few even in the Imperial family, mainly the heads of the most important branch families, those who were closest to becoming the Emperor, and the Emperor himself.
***
In the beginning of the year 2998 A.C., two months after the Times of Turmoil had begun and the Hero of the Empire had returned from the Rus plains, Emperor Rennephilio XIV met an untimely death as a result of illness. Some gossipmongers spoke of poison, but most rumours told of his excessive sexual appetite bringing on countless incurable sicknesses. Crown Prince Runikylos ascended to the throne as Emperor Runikylos V, and decreed that there were to be no celebrations of his ascension, given the recent death of his father and the troubles currently plaguing his Empire. A small festival was thrown soon after, however, in honour of the Princess Kyriesca's engagement to the Hero of the Empire. Diogenes was treated as the embodiment of hope to the beleagured people, the one who would lead them into a better future - it was a view strongly encouraged by the Imperial family. This was, in most aspects, the same cult of personality that had sprang up around the would-be pretenders to the name of the First Emperor in other kingdoms, but here Diogenes had become worshipped for his own name, not Ean's.
***
A. Continue playing as Dio.
B. Play as Ean, after a timeskip.
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