[LP CYOA] Epic

[treave]

This is going to shape the next character's personality, and each choice will be counted separately. Liking to have friends but not good at making them means that your character would be shy, awkward, but probably a nice guy when it comes right down to it.

I'm planning to have this one contain more flavour text as writing practice, and if any of you (read: most of you) dislike animu cliches you might want to stay away for a while. We're going full steam weeaboo. I think there'll be enough grimdarkness in the coming future in other LPs anyway.

 

[Esquilax]

treave, this is just... fucking awesome. Thanks so much. I don't want to sound greedy here given that we can create a character, but, why can't we pick Shulgi? Did he die at Olympus as well? Storyfag, no need to powergame the create-a-character choice, just pick whatever's the most fun. Personally, a few flaws make it more interesting for me. I really loved Ean as a character, and his flaws were a big part of that as well. I don't want to make the same character again, of course, but I also want a realistic character too.

 

[treave]

The rest of the immortals were taken up by the egg and no more, Ean is gone, his Successors are not truly immortal and died out, the Gieloth are no more except for a few feral refugees hiding in the deepest, darkest crevices of the world, the Concordiat is wiped out, its people becoming wandering refugees, and with Dio gone there is no one around that can even match him for plotting, so it's childs play to make things go his way.

Even then, his powers are slowly fading away, as mentioned in the updates, and after his constant failures he's kinda had enough. Remember, while Ean was asleep or getting tortured in a timeless prison, Shulgi was active for more than 3000 years... it is not strange for him to get tired. Even for a seeker of knowledge like him, there is only so many things he wants to know, and he already knows almost as much as any Master - he just lacks the power now, and that is something he fears to seek.

Diogenes reminded him of his old self, and seeing how close things were to ending because of that man actually frightened him. With the knowledge he wields, gaining the power to fully use it could turn him into something even more terrible. He doesn't trust himself with that much responsibility, and besides there is no great threat that would need him to do so anyway.

He'll just guide the world that Ean left behind until it can take care of itself, and then he'll retire and wander around.

At least, that's what I had planned for him.

edit: Regarding the character choice, if 5A (Lying is always acceptable) wins I will see that as carte blanche for me to write the personality as I see fit. Because... well... lying is always acceptable.



Think of this as a hint as to how the choices might not end up with the personality you expect.

 

[Baltika9]

I wonder, is the headmaster's name Sargon?

 

[Kukulkan]

1. How did you gain entry to the Academy?
A. Academic scholarship.


2. Are you more of a pragmatist or an idealist?
A. Pragmatist.


3. Do you like making friends?
B. No.


4. Are you good at making friends?
A. Yes.


5. Is lying ever acceptable?
A. Always.


6. From the list below, select the one thing most important to you.

C. Knowledge

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?
A. Yes.


8. What attracts you in a partner?

B. Smarts

9. If you are unhappy with the state of things, you would rather change:
A. The world.


10. Do you want to live forever?
A. Yes.

 

[Azira]

It's the proper way for Ean to pass.

 

[TOME]

In short: ABAABCADAA


1. How did you gain entry to the Academy?
A. Academic scholarship.

2. Are you more of a pragmatist or an idealist?
B. Idealist.

3. Do you like making friends?
A. Yes.

4. Are you good at making friends?
A. Yes.

5. Is lying ever acceptable?
B. Yes, if it is necessary to avoid greater harm.

6. From the list below, select the one thing most important to you.
C. Knowledge

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?
A. Yes.

8. What attracts you in a partner?
D. Personality

9. If you are unhappy with the state of things, you would rather change:
A. The world.

10. Do you want to live forever?
A. Yes.

 

[Azira]

1. How did you gain entry to the Academy?
A. Academic scholarship.

2. Are you more of a pragmatist or an idealist?
B. Idealist.

3. Do you like making friends?
A. Yes.

4. Are you good at making friends?
A. Yes.

5. Is lying ever acceptable?
B. Yes, if it is necessary to avoid greater harm.

6. From the list below, select the one thing most important to you.
A. Relationships

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?
B. No.

8. What attracts you in a partner?
B. Smarts

9. If you are unhappy with the state of things, you would rather change:
A. The world.

10. Do you want to live forever?
A. Yes.

 

[ScubaV]

One of, if not, the best CYOA I've read here or anywhere. It was a pleasure to participate.

 

[Storyfag]

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?

Do note that most, if not all people won't know that about themselves. They can only learn if faced with such choice.

I have a couple more questions about the previous chapters treave:



1. What would happen had we accepted the sphere's offer to kill the replicas it created? More specifically, what would happen had we devoured one and what had we killed it in a way preventing devouring it?
2. Was Sekhenun's portal idea doomed to fail anyway, or was it specifically due to Naram's meddling? And how did Naram manage to contact Zeus, who was stuck on the other side of the Olympus Rift?
3. Was Sekhenun turned into the blade by Naram/Zeus to be his tool, or did she create the blade herself, and when her body was destroyed her mind retreated into the blade, much like ours survived inside Abnar-shi when Thaeseus killed us?
4. Why didn't Naram/Zeus kill us while we were asleep? Surely he suspected we could foil his plans?
5. Why did the Masters decide to exterminate the Gieloth?



@people voting 2B and 5B - you realise this combination is internally inconsistent? You cannot be an idealist and accept the possibility lying.

 

[Kukulkan]

What if we decided to play Shulgi from the very beginning?

 

[TOME]

What if we decided to play Shulgi from the very beginning?

Most, if not all, of our choices would be locked because Shulgi and Ean crossed paths. Or would you have the glorious tale of Ean the Virgin be erased?

 

[treave]

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?

Do note that most, if not all people won't know that about themselves. They can only learn if faced with such choice.

I have one more question about the previous chapters treave. What would happen had we accepted the sphere's offer to kill the replicas it created? More specifically, what would happen had we devoured one and what had we killed it in a way preventing devouring it?

@people voting 2B and 5B - you realise this combination is internally inconsistent? You cannot be an idealist and accept the possibility lying.

In the end, the answers for the questionnaire reflects how the character sees himself. As I said, the end product might not be what you expect. Regarding the spheres, if you killed the replicas it would have taken over you. If you didn't eat one the sphere would've just made you put the replicas through various forms of torture to eventually trick you into doing so.

As for playing Shulgi from the start, there's nothing I can answer. To many variables, story might have gone entirely differently after the first few chapters.

Edit: for the follow ups...

Naram's meddling, that wasn't Zeus, forcibly turned her into a sword via a series of excruciating experiments, he didn't think Ean was a threat and after he got bored, passed him off to the royal family for cold storage, though Sekblade was designed to put Ean down just because he knew Sek was at the very least an ally of his and it amused him, Gieloth are weeds.

 

[Storyfag]

Thank you. However, in the meantime, I edited the post, including many, many more questions ]:->

 

[Azira]

I for one think it was a near perfect ending for this CYOA. Ean managed to fix all that shit, and he got to chill forever with his sis Sekhenun. Holes in reality stitched, threat from Gieloth/Master annihilation averted, spheres stopped from wreaking havoc. A win-win situation. Heck, Shulgi even survived to gently guide humanity for a couple thousand years or however long he could stomach.

Epic.

 

[Storyfag]

that wasn't Zeus

Oh? I thought the Zeus replicas were there because it was Zeus. It even used lightning against us. Thanks for clearing that up!

So how did Naram come into contact with this mysterious Master? Did the Master guide him into meddling with Sek's portal, or did he decide to do so on his own?

A win-win situation. Heck, Shulgi even survived to gently guide humanity for a couple thousand years or however long he could stomach.

And then, somewhere in the depth of the Void there is a living Diogenes Camna. A win-win-win situation

 

[TOME]

What happened to Marduk? How did Zeus end up being replica but not Marduk?

 

[Tigranes]

Awesome, treave. Thank you for doing this and it was a magnificent ending. (Though there are no ending slides showing C&C in the various quest hubs! IT'S LIKE MALACHOR V ALL OVER AGAIN : x)

My votes:
1A - Academic scholarship
2A - Pragmatist
3A - I like friends
4A - I'm good at it too
5B - Selective lying is why I'm good at making friends
6A - Obviously, relationships = power & knowledge, especially in a weeaboo game
7B - The hundred shall die.
8B - Looks don't count for much in text-based CYOA
9A - What can change the nature of a man? As I change the world, so do I change myself. My will.
10A - Yes, so that treave shall never be free from his thrall of writing CYOAs

 

[Stygian Lurker]

1. A. Academic scholarship.
2. A. Pragmatist.
3. A. Yes.
4. B. No.
5. B. Yes, if it is necessary to avoid greater harm.
6. B. Power
7. B. No.
8. B. Smarts
9. A. The world.
10. A. Yes.

 

[ScubaV]

Ean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEDISMnosLM

My only regret is that we didn't get to play Commander Ean, traveling the stars, grabbing collars, and being awkward around space chicks.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Awesome ending, treave. Actually, even now knowing how it would have gone had we gone to Olympus, I still prefer this ending. Simply perfect for Ean. Thanks for this amazing LP.

And to Ean:

1A
2A
3B
4A
5B
6A
7B
8A
9B - Trying to change the world is futile. Easier to change yourself and then the world will change around you. My 2 cents. edit: also, I worry that answering A to this would create a character who doesn't think to improve himself, but instead just bitches about things he can't change... Of course if he is granted superhuman abilities he might be able to change whatever he wants without having to improve himself, so whatever...
10A

 

[Esquilax]

Really, if Ean had to go, he couldn't have gone out a better way - this is bittersweet. Seriously, Jesus Christ doesn't have shit on Ean. While I really wish that we could have remained to guide humanity had we made the right choices at the beginning and teamed up with Shulgi (I was totally right to be suspicious about Dario, it was funny how treave was trying to throw me off his scent ) but I'll take this as well. They would have made a hell of a team.

I agree with Lambchop19 that if you picked the Pragmatic trait, it makes more sense to try and change yourself rather than change the world. I think that people are only voting for it because they're assuming we're playing someone who is aware of their immortality, and therefore with the ability to really change the world. Remember that Ean and Shulgi were normal men once, and that influenced the personalities they became when they were gifted with immortality. Ean was once a simple man with simple desires, so we should answer the questionnaire as if we were an average Joe.

The character concept I have in mind is a brilliant academic with a keen understanding of the world around him, but also a bit cynical and withdrawn. Not a bad guy, but maybe a little bit grim. He's probably the kind of kid that grew up as a bookworm and didn't have a lot of interaction with people. Basically, a brilliant guy who has an understanding of the world beyond his years, but who has trouble connecting with people, in part because of that cynicism.

Also, treave, is our character 13 years old at this point, based on the text about the Imperial education system? This is relevant because it makes sense to me that a teenage boy (assuming the character is in fact, a boy) would want to fuck any girl who is anywhere near halfway decent looking.

On that note:

1. How did you gain entry to the Academy?
A. Academic scholarship.

2. Are you more of a pragmatist or an idealist?
A. Pragmatist.

3. Do you like making friends?
A. Yes.

4. Are you good at making friends?
B. No.

5. Is lying ever acceptable?
B. Yes, if it is necessary to avoid greater harm.

6. From the list below, select the one thing most important to you.
C. Knowledge

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?
A. Yes.

8. What attracts you in a partner?
A. Looks

9. If you are unhappy with the state of things, you would rather change:
B. Myself. (Only an idealist thinks he can change the world)

10. Do you want to live forever?
B. No. (Wouldn't it get boring?)

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

treave minor questions:

What was the nature of the agreement between the immortals and the Concordant? What kind of people made up the Concordant? I read it as them being half-gieloth/half-human hybrids of some sort. Did the gieloth and the humans intermarry with tentacle sex and everything or was there genetic manipulation involved?

I just thought it might be nice to know a bit more about the civilization we devoured...

 

[Anabanana]

Beautiful ending, treave. I literally had tears in my eyes.

AAABBABDAA


1. How did you gain entry to the Academy?
A. Academic scholarship.

2. Are you more of a pragmatist or an idealist?
A. Pragmatist

3. Do you like making friends?
A. Yes.

4. Are you good at making friends?
B. No.

5. Is lying ever acceptable?
B. Yes, if it is necessary to avoid greater harm.

6. From the list below, select the one thing most important to you.
A. Relationships

7. Would you sacrifice the life of a loved one to save a hundred strangers?
B. No.

8. What attracts you in a partner?
D. Personality

9. If you are unhappy with the state of things, you would rather change:
A. The world.

10. Do you want to live forever?
A. Yes.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, before I vote I must know if we will eventually play with this character out in the open world (assuming we make it that far ). The reason for that is is that I want to set our boy up for success from the begginning, whatever the chosen field might be, but if the answer is no then I might as well have fun rolling a nerdy neckbeard or champion jock, heir to the Imperial Throne.
Although my preferred character would be a witty, intelligent lower-class gentleman of unrivaled sophistication despite his status, also good with sword, fist and gun. That, or Ean's Spiritual Successor, complete with dragons, grimdark and blood fountains named Hawke.

Also, your description of Shulgi's aftermath

The rest of the immortals were taken up by the egg and no more, Ean is gone, his Successors are not truly immortal and died out, the Gieloth are no more except for a few feral refugees hiding in the deepest, darkest crevices of the world, the Concordiat is wiped out, its people becoming wandering refugees, and with Dio gone there is no one around that can even match him for plotting, so it's childs play to make things go his way.

Even then, his powers are slowly fading away, as mentioned in the updates, and after his constant failures he's kinda had enough. Remember, while Ean was asleep or getting tortured in a timeless prison, Shulgi was active for more than 3000 years... it is not strange for him to get tired. Even for a seeker of knowledge like him, there is only so many things he wants to know, and he already knows almost as much as any Master - he just lacks the power now, and that is something he fears to seek.

Diogenes reminded him of his old self, and seeing how close things were to ending because of that man actually frightened him. With the knowledge he wields, gaining the power to fully use it could turn him into something even more terrible. He doesn't trust himself with that much responsibility, and besides there is no great threat that would need him to do so anyway.

He'll just guide the world that Ean left behind until it can take care of itself, and then he'll retire and wander around.

At least, that's what I had planned for him.

reminds me of a certain King of Prussia. Would this be close to how he would look these days?

A tired, cranky old man wandering the world with his wolves? Also, I don't mean to put pressure on you, especially not after banging out five updates, but could you give us a timeline of Shulgi after Akkad and tell us why he changed his view on the world and himself? It's just that impalement and cremation don't seem like they'd make him a good guy, quite the contrary actually.

Also, what was his view on Ean (would he consider him a friend?) and why did he never show himself, even when he knew we were around? Fear, shame, pragmatism? And what's with the wolf form, did he lose use of his body?

And, finally, should we ever meet, I have one question for you: single malt or blended?