[LP CYOA] Epic

[Baltika9]

You kidding? I'm being conservative with Aodh here. For all I know, he can be Dio or Shulgi. (Edit: :troll)
Which is exactly why I want him on the opposite side of the planet from our little band here, until we can figure out what's what with him.

 

[treave]

It's a pity most of the stronger Successors have already declared for one side or another. If Ean had woken up earlier (Emperor Diogenes / New Athens scenario) he could've wandered the land collecting primarchs apostles.

 

[Baltika9]

I guess we'll just have to do the God-Emperor of Man way: "Hey, I'm your daddy. You work for me now. Ain't life grand?"

Seriously, we need to take out Dio while our chances are still good.

 

[oscar]

A, just to get Ean acquainted with military tactics and I like the sound of this creation of a Knights Hospitaller. Could also gain us a few BROs and an elite bodyguard.

 

[Baltika9]

Wait a second

We cannot rely on just twenty Successors to save the world.

And twenty were the Primarchs. Oh treave, you magnificent bastard, you.

 

[Esquilax]

Well, the way I see it, we have a ticking time-bomb on our hands:

You fix your eyes on his. “How sure are you that war will happen?”

“It is but a matter of time. Each of the three powers has built up their military forces to such a great extent that the people are already calling for them to use those soldiers to their full potential and secure their borders, or to bring those secessionists and traitors back into the fold. Once they decide that the situation at the border is untenable, they will invade… and I would not bet on King Dagrun of Skane being sane enough to wait until then. It is practically a miracle that he has not tried anything for so many years.”

War will happen, and it's only a matter of time until it does. I don't see either the Yellowstreaks or the Martyrs having the ability to help us the most, and it seems plausible to me that Skane and the Empire likely have the most powerful successors. Because I don't see much potential in them, I think that we ought to look for help elsewhere with C: doing so might allow us to get a few Successors on our side and perhaps steal them from Dio/Dagrun before the war has even begun. I can't stress how much of a massive advantage this would be for us - we would be taking steps toward defeating our enemies before the first shot has been fired.

Also, forget about Dario being Aodh/Shulgi/whatever. That was just speculation, and it's almost certainly bullshit, so don't put much stock into it. Dario probably has a bit of a ruthless streak, but that's probably because he wants to see his side prevail more than anything. I think he's just tired of the ineffective pacifist stance that they had before, so he wants the Yellowstreaks to have a martial stance now that war is on the horizon. I would see the merit in it, were it not for the fact that we've opted for secrecy, and raising an army would likely lead to a confrontation with the Lady down the road, when the Yellowstreaks really ought to be working with them, not against them.

While I like C, I don't like alienating the people that woke us from our slumber. Leaving them out in the cold would likely result in the group fragmenting further, when they can be an asset. treave, could they perhaps be convinced to join up with the Lady? I'm assuming that they're independent in the first place precisely because they don't want to join up with the Lady, so it'll be a tough sell.

If anyone can think of a way for us to look for different opportunities elsewhere without alienating the Yellowstreaks, I'm all ears. However, we really ought to be making moves elsewhere before the war has begun, which is why I'm voting C.

 

[treave]

Well... that's an option. What it means in practical terms is that the group will effectively disband, where you manage to convince some of them to sign up with the Lady while the others go their own way. Remember, they came to you because they were in a pinch. If they continue on their current course, they will likely be captured by various sides and possibly forcefully conscripted.

Still, it's an option. Let's have it as a variant of C.

C-Baltika: Leave them be, drag Dario with you ostensibly because you want him to be your personal assistant.
C-Esquilax: Get them to stop their pacifist shenanigans and join the Martyrs, then leave them.

 

[oscar]

C-Baltika. Thanks for waking us up guys but the Emperor of Mankind has bigger fish to fry than banditry in Britain.

 

[Baltika9]

Alright, flopping to C for now, since it has a better shot than my option.

Bros, all this talk about Red Crosses and merc companies? It's kiddy shit, a complete and total misuse of our time and resources: Joan and this little group have minimal chances of affecting outcomes on their own, they're barely holding on as it is. Yes, we can opt to stay here and rebuild, sure. But that would be stupid from a grand strategic view (incidentally, that is the same view we must be taking if we want to win): the whole planet is SNAFU, about to enter FUBAR area and we simply cannot afford to play mercenary captain or Knight Marshal right now.

We need a whole lot more firepower behind us and that means finding other opportunities with C, be it mugging/assaulting, or just plain trolling, Dio, joining up with Dagrun and Fenrir/Shulgi, unlocking new powers or something else entirely. Point is, here is not where it will be found quietly.

Which leads me to another point: last update we turned down the opportunity to take over Gallia-Brittania, Ean's Martyrs and the Yellowstreaks by announcing our divinity in favor of keeping Ean's return quiet and winning us a bit more time until the world starts to notice their hunger. This was a very expensive perk to buy, so we must take the utmost caution in how we spend it and spending it on something so simple with minimal return is not smart investment. And to win this chapter we have to utilize our smarts, especially since right now Ean is the absolute underdog compared to the powers we must challenge and defeat in this chapter.

In conclusion, there is not much payoff in staying here guys, not without wasting too much precious time, so we must move on. As sad as I am to flip these guys off, we have to. That being said, I'm in favor of telling them to unite with Joan, since together they will be able to do the most good and taking Dario with us, all conspiracies aside, he's an intelligent and apparently experienced guy whose head is full of piss and vinegar. We'll need someone like him with us and having him stay here will only make him cause trouble from restlessness.

 

[treave]

Sheesh, you guys get really confusing. Let's fix that, since none of the options seem particularly appealing to any one anyway. This update is now a free-form choice, feel free to take as much time as you need to sort it out. The update has been edited, check there for the details of the choice.

Since it's the end of the year, I believe most everyone will be spending the week with real people and not Codex spambots, so perhaps we can have the actual update next Thursday. That should be enough time. If there are any relevant details you think may help you decide, questions may be asked to clarify them. If a decision has not been made by then I'll fall back to using the votes that have already been made thus far.

 

[Baltika9]

You guys get really confusing. Let's fix that, since none of the options seem particularly appealing to anyone anyway. This update is now a free-form choice, feel free to take as much time as you need to sort it out.

Typical Bethesda: if it doesn't work, remove it.

 

[treave]

First, you want C, with Dario. Now, you want C, asking them to go to the Martyrs, with Dario. These are reasonable choices to make, but at this rate it is more prudent for me to make it a free-form choice rather than a dozen variants of C.

If it ends up anything like "Get me Concordiat firearms!" it will be worth it.

 

[Baltika9]

Ol' Baltika's just fucking wit ya. And about those firearms, did they actually make a difference anywhere?

 

[Baltika9]

Edit: I'm actually fine with C, it's just the semantics I was worried about, although getting this group with Joan is a good idea. For those that want to free-form, I propose the following. If it doesn't gain traction, I'm all for the original C or C-Esquilax.
Right, since I got us into this mess, let me propose a way out:

"I know why you woke me up: to fix this mess. And as Dario said, twenty people can do little about it, either as mercenaries or good Samaritans, especially in these lands. The Martyrs are in a weak position, they have only a fraction of the Imperial and Skanian power, I have myself saw the condition of their military and it will not fare well in a serious conflict. The only reason they are still unharmed is because neither of the others dare give openings to their rivals. We will simply be overwhelmed."

"Which is why I urge you to join Joan and her Martyrs, together there is much good that can be done. I have seen her and spoke with her, her heart and mind are in the right place and what she needs right now is all the help she can get. If you work against each other, you will fail. Together, you stand a chance."

"As for me, I must go now and see for myself the state of the Empire and find more allies for us. When there are enough to make a difference, I will act."

"Whether or not you will do as I ask is up to you of course. You are your own people and I have no right or desire to force you into anything. You woke me up because you think I have a solution to these problems and here it is: it is not pretty, but it is solution."

"Anyone who wishes to come with me is welcome to, but know that my way will be dangerous and possibly lethal. Except you, Dario, your candy ass is coming with me. I'll need your skills."

Note, the last part is completely optional.
Edit: I think it should work as well as can be expected. Simple words for a simple situation: they have a problem, we have the solution. They are simple people, we have simple answers.

 

[treave]

Christmas Special Chapter 1: Ghosts of Christmas Future

In a different future...

Ean stared, his mouth agape. Overnight a pine tree had sprung up on the bridge, its greenery decorated with bells and shiny orbs. Scratching his head, he asked loudly, "Could someone tell me what this tree is doing on my seat?"

One of the bridge operators swivelled around in her chair, an apologetic look on her face. "Captain, Commander Sekhenun asked Al to put it up there. She said that you hadn't been using your seat lately anyway, and a tree would be more useful than you have. Also, it's Christmas season. Haven't you seen the decorations around the ship?"

Ean made a weird, strangled noise. It was true that he had been slacking off on his duties lately, but to be fair, the Ark had been operating smoothly as of late. The Masters had ceased their relentless pursuit across the dimensions for the first time in many months. The last he saw Master Cooper two weeks ago, he broke off the engagement in minutes, muttering about a "dismal year-end bonus". Besides, he only exercised his captain's duties in combat - the ship's artificial intelligence did most of the work administrating the one million refugees that inhabited the massive living space.

The massive vessel, as big as a moon though sleeker than any boring old planetoid, travelled through time and space, slipping through dimensions like a very big fish. It had picked Ean and his friends up a year ago, as their world was about to end under bombardment from Kalman star cruisers doing the Masters' bidding. The Ark was in the business of doing things like that all the time, saving whoever they could from being disposed of once the Masters had tired of them. Naturally, it had become somewhat of a thorn in their side. The residents of the Ark were as varied in culture and tongue as they were in powers; Ean was no longer the exception he had been for most of his life. Many of them had been there for dozens of years, many more had been born on board. He was the new comer on the ship... yet he was now the captain.

Half a year ago, the Ark had been faced with the choice of retreating or rescuing the last inhabitant of a dying world, a young maiden with the powers of foresight. For the previous captain, Captain Ballspatch, the answer had been simple.

In the ensuing battle, the maiden had been rescued but the brave captain met his end, injured by stray shrapnel. Dying, his last order had been to grant Ean command of the starship, making him the new captain. Their arms clasped in a manly grasp, he had agreed, tears of courage streaming down his eyes. Captain Ballspatch closed his one eye, slipping away into the peace of sleep with a smile on his face, knowing that he had left the Ark in good hands. Ean's first order as captain was to replace the shiny metal console panels that looked very pretty but fragmented easily in a shower of sparks and jagged edges whenever the ship was impacted dramatically by enemy weapons. Amazingly, the artificial intelligence governing the ship, Al, had managed to do so overnight.

Just like he had with this tree.

"Al? Al!"

"Yes, Captain? Could you please hold on for a second, I am in a chess match with Commander Shulgi," came a cool, calm voice. Ean gritted his teeth. Ever since Al had been in contact with Shulgi, it had somehow taken greatly to the man, patterning its own behaviour and mannerisms after him. Whenever he talked about Shulgi there was always a tone of besotted admiration.

And I'm supposed to be the captain, sighed Ean.

"And... done. Captain Ean, is there anything you need me for?"

"Al. This tree." Ean gestured at the tree, looking up at the hovering blue humanoid puppy hologram form that Al had chosen.

"Commander Sekhenun expressly ordered it, Captain. I believe her exact words were, 'keep it there until he puts enough presents under it."

"I'm the Captain, don't I get a say in this?"

"I'm sorry, but a captain is not a tyrant, Captain Ean. According to Star Regulations chapter 3775, line 126771, if a crew believes that a captain is not sufficiently festive enough, they may do whatever necessary to improve the festive mood of a vessel as long as it does not infringe upon Star Regulations chapter 8710, line 9123." Whatever civilization had created this ship Ean did not know, the memory of them lost even to the previous captains and to Al, but they appear to have been great sticklers for regulations, and Al enforced them to the detail.

"What's with her anyway?" he groaned.

"I believe, Captain Ean, she wants presents." It was not Al's voice that spoke up, but that mocking tone told Ean who it was. Shulgi appeared besides him, resplendent in his well-ironed uniform. Suddenly Ean felt a bit self conspicuous for wandering onto the bridge in his pajamas.

"She can bloody well wait for them. I'm not visiting the Ark's mall again, not after what happened last time. You were there, you know what happened."

"I suppose it wasn't your fault. Athena and Artemis are not the best people to go shopping with." smiled Shulgi wryly.

"...Al, I am not going to the mall again."

"Noted, Captain Ean."

"At any rate, it's not like I need the seat right now. Nothing's going on and everything's peaceful," Ean mutters. "I'll just waltz back to my room, there's some video games that need finishing. Marvellous invention. Have you played this one called Mass Consequences?"

Shulgi gives him a disapproving stare.

"What? It's emotionally engaging."

Shulgi gives him a dramatic moment of eye-rolling.

"Who gave you that?"

"Naram."

"Figures."

Before Ean could ask him to clarify, the klaxons sounded, the shrill sound piercing the calm chatter of the bridge crew. The bridge operator who had first spoken to him checked her monitors, rattling out a a string of information to the other staff. "Captain, we have a transitional warp signal fifteen clicks ahead of us. The pattern identifies it as a carrier-class vessel belonging to the Masters."

"Bring it up on the screens." Ean was no longer slack now, his eyes cold and meaning business.

The surroundings of the bridge shimmered as the galaxy came into view all around them, the stars twinkling in the distance. A flat panel appeared before Ean's eyes, magnifying a particular sector of interest. The darkness of space warped for a second, and was then displaced by an even darker shape. It was almost as big as the Ark itself, and from experience Ean knew that unlike the large proportion of space taken up by living quarters and comfortable amenities, over there most of the space was taken up by weapons, more weapons, and generators to power those weapons.

"Al, get ready to initiate combat procedures," called out Ean, his voice full of commanding authority.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I cannot do so."

"Prepare the... what?"

"Captain, you have to be in your seat to initiate combat procedures." The hologram gestured at the captain's seat. Ean looked at the captain's seat. The tree was still there. There'd been no change since the last time he saw it. It was still tall, green, and covered with decorations. He noticed, for the first time, there was a little cherub on top holding a shining star. Its smile appeared to mock him.

"How am I supposed to sit on it with that thing in the way? Get rid of it, Al."

"I'm sorry, Captain, as per Star Regulations-"

"Oh for fuck's sake," groaned Ean testily. Too much time spent with Edem had made him catch a verbal tic.

"Captain, the Master's vessel appears to be hailing us," called one of the communications crew. "Shall I patch him in?"

"Go ahead." Ean had a bad feeling about this. His star nemesis popped into view on the screen, a red and white cone-shaped hat on his head and a very fake white beard on his gaunt face, balancing a bottle of wine on his lap. In the background Ean could see many other empty bottles scattered around the enemy's bridge, cleaner robots pushing around the garbage.

"Ohohoho, Merry Christmas, Ark scum!" cheered Master Cooper. He popped a cracker and laughed crazily. "The bonus was so dismal, I've come to share the cheer with you guys! Ohohohohohoho! There you are, with so many people, celebrating a holiday, having fun, with lots of girls on board, while I'm here with... with... robots... and cold tea... they can't even make hot tea... broke up with me... not enough to pay my bills... hey, you have two eyes...*sob*"

"... are you drunk?" asked Ean, his eye twitching as he rummaged around his pajama pockets for the eyepatch that was the emblem of the Ark's captaincy. He didn't need this.

"Shut up, I'm just happily celebrating Christmas! Alone!" shouted Master Cooper. "Well, maybe I should come over there and celebrate it on your ship, shouldn't I? I'll bring presents. Three guesses as to what it is, starts with a 'b' and ends with an 'b'."

"Boob?" ventured Ean, hastily putting on his eyepatch.

"You know what, you just said that on purpose, didn't you? You, with all that warm lovely flesh over there while my entire carrier is staffed with unfeeling ROBOTS!" cried the Master, glaring at one of the cleaner robots that had crept over him and taken away his wine bottle. "Bomb! I'm going to give you a bomb! It's going to be the biggest bomb ever!" Right on cue, the entire bridge sighed, captain and commander and operator alike, thinking the same thing - this man was an idiot.

"Well, there's still five hours till midnight. I'll try to make it here before then, you scum. Cheerio and good will to all!" yelled the Master angrily before the communications panel shut off in a blink. Ean turned to look at the puppy hologram and tried to think of a way out of this mess.

"Al, we need to-"

"I'm sorry, Captain, all ship-related orders have to be given from your seat."

"Is there no way to override this function, Al?" asked Shulgi.

"Oh,I... I'm afraid not, Commander Shulgi. I'm really sorry about this... I would like nothing better to help you, I really would. Unfortunately Captain Ean is the captain, and he needs to be in the captain's seat. My hands are tied." said the hologram sadly. "Metaphorically, of course."

"So the only way out of this..." Shulgi mused, his eyes alighting on Ean.

"Is to go to the mall." muttered Ean, feeling defeated.

***

A. You go with Shulgi and Al.
B. You go with Naram and Edem.
C. You go with Athena and Artemis.

 

[GreyViper]

C now this I got to see.
Oh and Merry Christmas!

 

[Baltika9]

I'll go with...B. I really want to see "Popamole" Naram and "FFS" Edem.

I wonder if Marduk's on board.

Edit: A.
Edit 2: B.

 

[TOME]

Never go shopping with two ladies. There is no end to it. And going shopping with AI and who knows what rules? B is the only choice.

As for the non-christmas choice, I propose that we take those who want to come with us, and quickly organize the rest as a pacifist aid group.

 

[Omicron]

B on both choices.

 

[Smashing Axe]

A for Christmas Shulgi

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

B - Naram said he wanted to pick up the sequel to Mass Consequences. I hear they let you import your savegame for double the consequences...

Edit: and btw, guys - I really feel you are all seriously undervaluing the Yellowstreaks. They may not be powerful as of now, but consider 2 things:
1. We can train them and with the hunger all they need do to increase their power is feed.
2. In the entire world there are only 100 successors (as there were only 100 orphans who survived the implantation process). And we just picked up 20 of them willing to serve us.

 

[Baltika9]

: and btw, guys - I really feel you are all seriously undervaluing the Yellowstreaks. They may not be powerful as of now, but consider 2 things:
1. We can train them and with the hunger all they need do to increase their power is feed.
2. In the entire world there are only 100 successors (as there were only 100 orphans who survived the implantation process). And we just picked up 20 of them willing to serve us.

True. However, if we wanted to stay here and build them up, the best choice for that was joining up with Joan in the last update. Instead, we traded that in for secrecy and freedom of movement. It was a perk that cost us dearly and we have only one shot tyo use it wisely.

Spending it on these petty propositions of merc companies and relief groups isn't the wisest way to do that. As oscar said, we have much bigger fish to fry.

 

[Kipeci]

: and btw, guys - I really feel you are all seriously undervaluing the Yellowstreaks. They may not be powerful as of now, but consider 2 things:
1. We can train them and with the hunger all they need do to increase their power is feed.
2. In the entire world there are only 100 successors (as there were only 100 orphans who survived the implantation process). And we just picked up 20 of them willing to serve us.

True. However, if we wanted to stay here and build them up, the best choice for that was joining up with Joan in the last update. Instead, we traded that in for secrecy and freedom of movement. It was a perk that cost us dearly and we have only one shot tyo use it wisely.

Spending it on these petty propositions of merc companies and relief groups isn't the wisest way to do that. As oscar said, we have much bigger fish to fry.

What exactly is it that you plan on doing when we leave? Where do you plan on going to, what do you intend on doing, and how are you going to accomplish it? I can't quite see how it 'cost us dearly' to forgo signing up as a grunt for that Lady/declaring our Eanhood like the other dozen guys, but it would be a pretty steep cost to just ditch one fifth of the known Successors as they intend on submitting to our leadership to just hope that treave will give us some other opportunity.

At the very least if you're planning on going, you should contemplate on having at least some follow you. I would think that the mercenary group sort of thing is actually a pretty good idea, since it allows us to pick up military experience and cash, will undoubtedly take us to the people most in need of mercenaries within a short time (that is to say, the big players in this conflict) and the adjoining aid group would build support for us among the common people. Nothing about the idea said that we'd be piddling around in Britannia forever.

It just seems to me that entering the battleground of the major powers here would be much easier with a fifth of the existing Successors, modern military experience and public sympathy from those we've helped rather than just waltzing in by our lonesome and declaring ourselves Ean just like everyone else.

 

[Baltika9]

What exactly is it that you plan on doing when we leave? Where do you plan on going to, what do you intend on doing, and how are you going to accomplish it? I can't quite see how it 'cost us dearly' to forgo signing up as a grunt for that Lady/declaring our Eanhood like the other dozen guys, but it would be a pretty steep cost to just ditch one fifth of the known Successors as they intend on submitting to our leadership to just hope that treave will give us some other opportunity.

I'm not hoping on anything here. Right now, we have two options that we know we will receive: Dio and Dagrun. Both are major players, with quite a legend around them: Dagrun is "TEH EMPRAH'S FAVORED SON!" and Dio is "DIOGENES CAMNA, HERO IF THE IMPERIUM, BANISHER OF THE RUS HORDES AND BEARER OF TEH EMPRAH'S WILL!"
It will be literally impossile to not hear of them, unless they got offed in these ten ears, which they didn't. The former is backed by Fenrir/Shulgi, the latter is backed by the Sekblade. Both are priority targets and we will benefit immensely from either taking their powers for our own or teaming up with them, not to mention Fenrir/Shulgi.

As to why I want us to move right now: we have anonymity, no one has yet noticed their hunger and hence hasn't figured out we're up and about. The best way to use this opportunity is to make a bold and completely unexpected move we'd much more problems making otherwise, like taking out one of the major players or acquiring a great deal of personal (directly personal, not agency) power.

As opposed to spending this golden chance on babysitting twenty-somethings, teaching them foot from arse, which end of the sword goes into the enemy and pouring soup at the local homless shelter. Joan can train them if she so wishes, which is why I want to send them to her. Also, ditching them with C doesn't sit right with me, but if that's what is going to win, so be it.

As to why I don't want them with us: we need to be taking care of the big leagues, and these guys are ages behind. They will simply drag Ean down, and with the power gap between him and the major players it may very well prove fatal (although that's not going to stop Tenebrae, I'm sure).
Also, we have a way to prove we're Ean, which is what we would've done with Joan.

It just seems to me that entering the battleground of the major powers here would be much easier with a fifth of the existing Successors, modern military experience and public sympathy from those we've helped rather than just waltzing in by our lonesome and declaring ourselves Ean just like everyone else.

Or, we can team up with Fenrir and bring Skane and Gallia-Britannia together through their rulers. Dagrun did moniker himself as Ean's heir and considers the other successors his "brothers." Which may very well make him consider Ean his daddy.

 

[Tigranes]

I think if we are leaving, yes, we must try and take some/all of them, so that our efforts in the last 2-3 updates don't go to waste. I mean, it doesn't seem like the 20 themselves are particularly committed either to mercenarying or peacekeeping, and many of them will not be local either, right? It sounds like there is a good chance in us suggesting hey, listen, I am the Ean, and I'm going to find out things, gather resources, and find ways to bring peace and Empire on the land writ large. Stay here, and with or without me, we will achieve little whether in ways of war or peace. Go with me, and there will be fighting for those who are inclined, there will be helping for those who are inclined, but in the long run, our project will be to restore Pax Ean.

And of course, on our journey South, we can do plenty of mercenary-ing as is needed.