[LP CYOA] Epic

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

This won't work. It looks like the majority has decided to keep our group as a peace organization, so you can't really encourage our guys to just go out and cleanse an entire city. However, our enemies will be more than willing to indulge in these tactics, and soon, which is all the more reason to go South in search of other opportunities. We have to put ourselves in the best possible position before the battle begins. If we keep going with these guys (though why on Earth would you do such a thing) then our best bet will be earning lots of goodwill with the people and potentially having lots of recruits and loyal soldiers on our side.

Many already are itching to join the fight. The hunger will get the rest in a fighting mood. Eating another human has a way of making you a bit less pacifistic.

Yes, most of the Successors are already spoken for, but nevertheless, Ean is the True Emperor, and that means something. There are dozens of people claiming to be Ean, but we're the real deal, and not only that - we can prove it. We chose not to reveal our divinity to the Lady, but that doesn't mean we can't reveal ourselves to someone else who might be willing. I am also willing to bet that many people decided to speak for the Empire not out of any great loyalty to Dio, but rather because they don't want to end up being hunted down like the Yellowstreaks. Dio may have parlayed his success in Rus into divinity, but our name and our hunger mean something to our progeny. When it comes time to reveal ourselves, will they follow the true First Emperor whom they are the children of, or merely another sibling of theirs?

Oh, yeah. When guy number 101 shows up and starts claiming he's the true emperor too, I'm sure all the successors will just forget about the god-like tyrants that are their current masters and bow down at our feet. o_O Remember Marduk? Remember how we couldn't just waltz in and claim to be Marduk even though we were the real Marduk? Same thing. Just because we might have been able to get the lady to believe us doesn't mean we can convince the world. What are we going to do - run around cutting off our hands in front of large audiences like some bizarre circus act? When everyone has superpowers and claims to be Ean - including Dagrun who can regrow limbs and practically raise the dead - things get a little confusing for the people who serve them and they'll just side with the evil they know.

You've asked me and Baltika "why go south?" My question to you is, "why stay here?" What do you see in the Yellowstreaks? What qualities in them are there that will allow a limp-wristed, desperate pacifist force to go toe-to-toe with the Empire and Skane?

Um, let's see... They have powers similar to our own. Their power will increase with feeding. Some of them at least are in favor of joining the fight - that number will doubtless increase when the hunger manifests. They already are sworn to follow our orders. They may not seem like much right now, but with training, feeding, and and a small amount of brainwashing from us, they have the potential to be fairly powerful. Moreso than mere humans at the very least - which is about our only other option for raising an army at this point (unless you were planning on joining up with one of the pretenders or the gieloth...?).

I think your negative opinion of the Yellowstreaks is coloring your view on their potential, E. You speak of them as limp-wristed cowards when they've already risked their lives just to wake us up. They may be on the weak side for now, but they're still superior to ordinary humans in terms of potential.

War has not yet started, and the hunger hasn't yet caused a tremendous amount of chaos, and our current opportunities are somewhat lacking - now is precisely the time to strike out on our own and try to find others who might be receptive to following us.

Who? Dagrun? Shulgi? You've given me maybe two. We don't know that they'd join us - especially when we have nothing to offer. I stay we build up the Yellowstreaks and play the Lady until we have the capacity to absorb her and take over her organization. Then we offer to team up with those down south. To leave and start trying to bargain our way into the game now would be putting the cart before the horse and it would mean turning down a definite opportunity just because it doesn't offer the instant gratification we seek.

 

[Baltika9]

Lambchop19: I think you misunderstand. It's not about pressing the "awesum buttan," not at all. This isn't about seeking gratification, but maximizing opportunities. Right now, i'm of the opinion that maximizing Ean's anonymity to do some advanced recon/dickery/forge alliances/whatever works best in the places of power will be better spent than babysitting the green Yellowstreaks.

 

[TOME]

TOME, do you want B or to go to Skane with our Yellowstreak buddies?

Skane with Yellowstreaks. But if treave wants to revert back to ABC-choices, then B.

 

[Omicron]

I initially thought the direction of the group would be decided in the next update, if this is not the case I'd like to flip to going to Skane with the Yellowstreaks.

 

[treave]

Alright, thanks for the tally, Esquilax. Looks like nothing is settled yet. Once a decision is made I can make an update accordingly.

The original C would have had Ean leaving them without giving them a direction, that was the whole point. I'm fine with alternatives at this point in the story though. Looks like there is a slight majority of people in favour of a variant of C i.e. anything that is not A or B.

I'll say this though, neither A or B imply in any way that you'll be sticking around in the boondocks (unless you really want to). Remember, they were helping people caught up in the fighting, meaning that their usual regions of activity are much, much closer to the borders between various kingdoms.

 

[Baltika9]

Alright, thanks for the tally, Esquilax. Looks like nothing is settled yet. Once a decision is made I can make an update accordingly.

So, this vote can be summarized as "everything was fine until Baltika9 came along."
Speaking of tallies, here's one for the Christmas Special:
A- 1
Smashing Axe,
B- 3
Baltika9, Omicron, Lambchop19,
C- 5
GreyViper, TOME, Tigranes, Esquilax,, Kipeci

Feel free to thank me later.

Edit: added Kipeci.

 

[Kipeci]

Which was the Christmas Special option that had us go with Athena? I'm going for that one.

 

[treave]

Huh, I thought the Christmas special was a tie so I didn't bother updating. But Christmas is over.

 

[Baltika9]

Huh, I thought the Christmas special was a tie so I didn't bother updating. But Christmas is over.

Continue the celebrations, old chap.

No more celebrations? ...most uncapital!

 

[treave]

Celebrate Christmas with a continued special? Next year it is, then.

 

[Baltika9]

Celebrate Christmas with a continued special? Next year it is, then.

Toor not to, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous
Or to take arms against...oh just write the damn thing.

 

[Kipeci]

But Christmas is over.

False! Well, probably true for most here, but Orthodox Christmas won't come for around ten days or so.

 

[treave]

That's next year.

 

[Kipeci]

That's next year.

I never fail to get tricked like that this time of year.

 

[Baltika9]

So, treave, I really want, need, to know: does Ean have a Successor named Temujin? Or at least someone keeping with the theme?
Edit: also, this has been torturing me for a long time. Why did Marduk do what he did? What motivated him? Was it this sentiment

or something more?

 

[treave]

You want Mongols, you gotta go to Mongolia. As for Marduk, it was partly because he was horribly infected with the human desire for glory and overlordship and statues everywhere. Millennia of hiding out amongst humans changed a good number of the Gieloth population back then.

 

[Baltika9]

You want Mongols, you gotta go to Mongolia.

...tempting, I gotta admit. Then again, they are probably the Concordiat's lil' bitch now, or, the more likely scenario, there isn't an independent Mongolia anymore.
Another question: what is Ean's view on humanity? Are they like his children or lil' bros, or just people?

 

[treave]

I would've had him influenced by his experiences trapped in the sphere, making his current quest to set things right partially driven by his realization that however different Gieloth and immortals and humans may seem to be, they paled in comparison to the Other that lurked beyond the rift. He sees all of them as being together in this little game set up by Masters and interfered with by the Others. In that sense, to him, people are just people, no matter whether they are Gieloth or immortal or human. If a human happens to surpass him in leadership, he would not feel insulted to defer to one. That should've been the type of character he currently is based on the choices made in previous chapters, but....

Well, we'll see how it goes.

 

[Baltika9]

So, which one of these distinguished gentlemen is he?

I'm thinking Che.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I'll say this though, neither A or B imply in any way that you'll be sticking around in the boondocks (unless you really want to). Remember, they were helping people caught up in the fighting, meaning that their usual regions of activity are much, much closer to the borders between various kingdoms.

Ok, Baltika9 and Esquilax, so what's your beef with A & B now? We can be traveling around either way, so they aren't going to be tying us down. Imagine the kind of intel on the various kingdoms these guys could gather for us as time goes on.

I understand how you'd think they were losers - they are right now. That's the whole reason they want to fight for us. But we can rebuild them. Faster. Stronger. We have the technology! Jeez, it's like treave just handed us a box labeled "Superhuman Fighting Force Loyal to You" and you looked on the back and noticed it said "Some assembly required." and said "Fuck this shit! I want it assembled for me!".

 

[Storyfag]

Ok, Baltika9 and Esquilax, so what's your beef with A & B now?

I'm not the one you're calling to task, and it's not necesserily a "beef", but I'm afraid of getting tied down with the petty squabbles of our progeny. With the petty concerns of mortal men. I do not want to go around fulfilling Meyers' petty agenda. Or the Lady's slightly less petty one. We've already spent enough time playing Dio to fill my needs for small-time skulduggery (the whole Skane incident deus-ex-machina'd by treave with Fenris). The final chapters were somewhat more satisfying, what with armies dying at our command, etc, but I'm not satiated.

Now we're Ean, the God-Emperor of the Shin'ar. I want to shake the foundations of the world with our awakening. I want grand strokes, not small steps. I want the Epic back in this Epic. I want viscereal grimdark romances with plenty of awesome! I want to be a dragon!

 

[Baltika9]

Ok, Baltika9 and Esquilax, so what's your beef with A & B now? We can be traveling around either way, so they aren't going to be tying us down. Imagine the kind of intel on the various kingdoms these guys could gather for us as time goes on.

Who said it's a beef, LC? I genuinely like these guys, even Tenebrae despite the name. I do indeed see the potential in hammering together a "le Grande Armee" (remember, we're in France, so that would be a definite , i.e Napoleon) out of the casualties of these wars, of creating an army loyal to Ean (not to mention the EPIC of a bunch of Teutonic Knight expies, screw those Hospitallers), or using the goodwill of the people to create a network similar to Shulgi's cult in Chapter Five.

Where the issues start is here: our "Grande Armee" will have nothing, nothing on the numbers of the Empire and the experience of their veterans and will be outclassed by Skane if they complete their steam-engine research(that was about ten-eleven years ago)

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.

which means steam tanks, given the love of chariots in this part of the world.
Compared to our army of mostly farmers, merchants and disgruntled soldiers that we will have to train hard and fast to catch up to either one of those, or hope that treave will give us a plot coupon (considering how stupid you think that is, you are disqualified from using said argument).

And our support network will have nothing on Imperial and Skanian Watchers, not to mention Shulgi/Mindfucker Sr or Jr, besides which their effectivness will be limited by how long it will take the major players to figure out Ean's back (and considering Dio's and Fenrir's knowledge, within a week or two of the hunger being realized). Besides which, this undercover intel work will be very dangerous for them, given they will have much less power and hence a well-executed counter-intelligence operation by the Watchers will be able to realistically capture them and if not, they can just send in Darth Vader, sorry, Ban.

All in the meanwhile Naram/Big Zee is dicking around with reality in his Fortress of Regrets, bringing in the Warp (I'd actually let him continue, but then again...) and the masters are sitting on the outside, looking in and one hand over the "DELETE FUCKING EVERYTHING!!!1!!111!" button.

I'm not voting C because I dislike these guys or consider them losers (really, it takes balls to go your own way when everyone else is pressuring you to pick a side at gunpoint), not at all, I think they are a losing bet, circumstances and our track record considered. And we can't afford losing bets. Also, what Storyfag said to you) .

 

[Baltika9]

I would've had him influenced by his experiences trapped in the sphere, making his current quest to set things right partially driven by his realization that however different Gieloth and immortals and humans may seem to be, they paled in comparison to the Other that lurked beyond the rift. He sees all of them as being together in this little game set up by Masters and interfered with by the Others. In that sense, to him, people are just people, no matter whether they are Gieloth or immortal or human. If a human happens to surpass him in leadership, he would not feel insulted to defer to one. That should've been the type of character he currently is based on the choices made in previous chapters, but....

Well, we'll see how it goes.

Hmm... I'm getting strong Lovecraft/Akachi vibes here. "That is not dead which can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die." Perhaps this hunger shared between Ean, the Gieloth and the Others is more than just a coincidence.
Meta question: in your setting, can a person's conscience "abandon" it's body and become a purely psychic entity?

Edit: I'm being trolled, aren't I?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Ok, Baltika9 and Esquilax, so what's your beef with A & B now?

I want to shake the foundations of the world with our awakening. I want grand strokes, not small steps. I want the Epic back in this Epic. I want viscereal grimdark romances with plenty of awesome! I want to be a dragon!

Ah, that makes sense. Sort of like how early on there were those that didn't wish to get bogged down with civ management. Makes a bit more sense to me now, but I still worry that we don't quite have what it takes to shake many foundations, given the power levels of our adversaries have increased while ours have not (if we're a 5 and Athena is a 7 then what is Naram? A 14?).

Anyway, I doubt this choice will cost us the chapter or anything, but I'd just hate to see us get in over our heads later because we turned these guys down so quickly. Choose as you like though.

 

[treave]

...they can just send in Darth Vader, sorry, Ban.

...goddammit.

*rewrite*