[LP CYOA] Epic

[CaptainAwesome]

B.

Who needs to be able to fight off armies single handedly, when you can delude the manboons into fighting for you?

 

[Baltika9]

All your points are very good, Baltika. I'm still on the fence, but I would like to play a character with true brains as well. Maybe the extra brains give us hints that will help us make the right choices and avoid the really bad ones... edit: treave, I'm looking at you when I say that. Seriously, bro - we needs us some training wheels when it comes to the blind choices that can majorly fuck us over...

...but not enough, I suppose. At the risk of being a douchebag, I'll bite.

How about we start exercising those "extra brains" right now? Consider this: we take the INT upgrade...and what then? How does this help us maximize our assets, the fight club with a parody of a human being it's only member, for our goals, which right now include first and foremost completing pwincess' "quest" (because if we don't we invite her scorn and very unpleasant consequences. If she demoted us from the top to the bottom in under an hour, what else will she do?) These guys will need a leader and mentor right now, because currently nobody in the club can fight worth shit. And considering this is a treave LP, we will get Diogenes' scouting trip (where he stood with mouth open, shitting his pants) at Euphraxes rather than Ean's defense of Tjaru. The strength upgrade gives us the fighting instinct we fucking need.

Next, we're also being hounded by interstellar chimeras. Advanced brain processing power is all well and good, but in a scenario like this it's goddamn useless. Again, we need the strength and instinct.

Dimension hopping? Our suit breaks, our reasoning fails, we're pinned to the ground? We need that instinct and strength. Edit: especially with our track record. We need a last resort that doesn't ddisfigure us like Dio, and punching someone in the face always works.

Advanced brainpower? We have enough of that and then some, we can already plan out war mechs and that's enough for now. We can bring it up later by studying and experimenting. As for the implants, I don't want to see treave's grimdark interpretation of trans-humanism and soulless cyborgs, we ahve enough working against us as it is.

In short: in favor of A we have congruence with past choices, immediate benefits (Fight Club, which is too close to the movie to be funny, and with Kyrie, plus her respect and possibly friendship) and long term gains (rounding out critical weaknesses) and totally needed and essential fighting instincts.
In favor of B we have "omg, socially awkward Tony that is also AZN! Gigglesquee!" (which will wear thin quickly, trust me on that), increased intelligence (as stated, it is rather redundant now and it increases our processing power, not a straight-up IQ boost) and improved mechs, which we can get the regular human way (which is my preferred way here: unlock humanity's inner strengths rather than tacking on machines and calling it a day).
Also, A makes us a fucking Space Marine. What else do you want?

 

[Esquilax]

Fuck it, you sold me on A, bro. Flopping my original post to A. According to my tally, I think it's tied.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Um it only turns us into temp Marine not permament Marine also it increases the amount of Data we can handle per second that i s much better then playing temporary hulk.

 

[oscar]

B.

This nerd is never going to be Hercules. His use will be in mech design and piloting. Having extra-ordinary reactions and senses mean he can become one hell of an ace.

 

[Baltika9]

Bloodshifter, oscar: it also gives us fighting instincts to succeed at our immediate goals of staying alive and meeting and beating Kyrie's challenge. If anyone thinks fighting instinct and tactical sense are useless, well, you are wrong. And our being a nerd isn't set in stone, we can still mold the character as we prefer, it only needs the correct choices, this being one of them.
Also, for those who forgot Skane and Euphraxes:

The axe was in a chest, lying among other assorted tools of a decidedly sharp and terrible nature. You could guess what they were for. You grasp the wooden handle and lift the instrument of chopping up. It was hefty in your hands. As you take a swing or two for practice, you head back towards Jannik and the servile young prince. Keeping your emotions tightly under control, you nonchalantly whip the axe at Jannik's neck - at least, where his head met his body. To your slight surprise, it hits home, biting deep into the great rolls of fat with little resistance. Blood spatters over you and red froth gurgles from Jannik's lips. His eyes roll back upwards into his head. Thinking it was over, you relax your grip on the axe slightly. You are immediately proved wrong as a stream of fire sprays from Jannik's outstretched hands and sets you alight. You scream and fall backwards, dropping to the floor to smother the flames.

With a deep, low groan akin to that of an angry bull, Jannik rises to his feet swiftly, surprisingly nimble for his bulk. His eyes were blood red in the light of the fire. He charges at you, fists raised, his footsteps thundering on the wooden floor. Panicking, you focus your telekinesis on his feet and trip him with a well aimed attack. Jannik stumbles, takes another step, and trips - falling right onto you. Unable to move away in time, you are crushed beneath his massive body. The flab flows over your face, smothering your nose and mouth. He struggles to get up, rolling to and fro over you. As you scrabble to get away from under him, your hand finds a grip on the axe still stuck in him. Using it as leverage, you pull and push with all your might. With a wet, tearing noise, it jerks free of the soft flesh it had been mired in, spraying more blood and fat all over you. At the same time, you kick away with your feet. Jannik's body tumbles to the side, his throat grinning widely. A watery bubbling noise arose from the cavity under his multiple chins.

Chapter 7.19: Ambush, Campfire and the Young Soldier

The trap was sprung the moment your men made contact. You had stayed a safe distance away and watched while the first of your cavalry was felled by a surprise spear. The tribesmen had probably looted Fort Tigrien for the armor and boots. Before you could think of running away, however, war cries resounded from the foggy plains around you. A rain of arrows fell all around you, striking men and horse alike. Before you knew it, you were surrounded. Despite your aspirations for command, nothing could have prepared you for the messy reality of an actual melee. In the midst of shouts and cries and dying men, the intense emotions of fear and panic emanating from your men overwhelmed your mind, leaving you gaping with your sword hanging loosely from your hand. In the next instant, you are pulled off your horse, and a burst of darkness engulfs your sight.

If you think we can avoid physical confrontations forever, you are completely and absolutely mistaken. Case in point, our current predicament.

 

[Baltika9]

A bros, I need backup. I really, really need backup.

 

[Kipeci]

I've just got to say that all the information processing in the world won't help our hero when we blindly ignore that information as some sort of flavor or something in favor of some conspiracy theory and collectively freak out about exactly the wrong thing. The Codex doesn't seem to really work well with intelligent characters with no other back-up to speak of... at least when we goofed with Ean, we could generally fight our way out of our mistakes. This will shore us up in the physical department and give us an ace up our sleeve when we inevitably screw up.

I have no problem with B if we can play a perfect game from here on out, but judging by our track record...

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

This is a really tough one. Yeah, that Skane thing was a bitch and a half. And the Codex is always charging headlong into situations like that. The one hope I have with B is that our character's intelligence level will compensate for our own...

 

[Esquilax]

B.

This nerd is never going to be Hercules. His use will be in mech design and piloting. Having extra-ordinary reactions and senses mean he can become one hell of an ace.

Why not? If he can advance his body beyond human limits (and he can) then why would it not be possible? Yes, he has an analytical mind, but he is physically powerless - all that plotting and scheming won't do shit for us when shit hits the fan. Look at Chapter 1 and all the great things Shulgi's planning did for him when Ean came on and chopped him in half. We need to be consistent with our choices to avoid flip-flopping disasters - our character has decided to peer in and acquaint himself with the supernatural world in our first choice, exposing ourselves to personal dangers, then we decided to get ourselves involved in a physical trial, that, if we succeed in, will greatly benefit us politically and socially and provide us with status. We ought to continue with this path now that we've set on it.

 

[Kipeci]

I just realized, I never actually voted.

A.

 

[treave]

B.

This nerd is never going to be Hercules. His use will be in mech design and piloting. Having extra-ordinary reactions and senses mean he can become one hell of an ace.

You raise a good point. I did consider, eventually, that the protagonist's personal mech might fall along the lines of either

A. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Robot

or

B. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Robot

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

While classic super robots typically use special attacks activated by voice commands, real robots more commonly make use of manually operated scaled-up/advanced versions of human weapons, such as lasers/particle beams, guns, shields, and swords.

Real robot, please. I'm just not sure the others will stick around if Senya starts shouting stuff like "Super Robot Sword Slash!"

edit: flopping to A to screw with Bloodshifter.

 

[Baltika9]

This is a really tough one. Yeah, that Skane thing was a bitch and a half. And the Codex is always charging headlong into situations like that. The one hope I have with a is that our character's intelligence will compensate for our own...

...you...really believe that? We need a safety net, as in we really need it. And also, our intelligence will be useless if we piss of Kyrie by failing her challenge.
Unless treave makes an asspull about how "increased processing ability compensates for complete absence of experience." Which would be total bullshit.

 

[Esquilax]

Also, root voted A, I believe.

 

[treave]

It doesn't, but it should allow you to predict their moves based on their muscle movement and perhaps pull off a surprise victory in one of the matches.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

This is a really tough one. Yeah, that Skane thing was a bitch and a half. And the Codex is always charging headlong into situations like that. The one hope I have with a is that our character's intelligence will compensate for our own...

...you...really believe that? We need a safety net, as in we really need it. And also, our intelligence will be useless if we piss of Kyrie by failing her challenge.
Unless treave makes an asspull about how "increased processing ability compensates for complete absence of experience." Which would be total bullshit.

Yeah, I actually think the girl will watch us get beat up and develop a grudging respect for us. Of course she'd never admit it. She'd probably just call us stupid, but she'd let us off with minor punishment. Typical anime broad...


also:

It doesn't, but it should allow you to predict their moves based on their muscle movement and perhaps pull off a surprise victory in one of the matches.

Probably the first one. Then we lose.

 

[Baltika9]

root, it's not just about steroids. Skill, instinct and cunning. Will be useful in every single situation.

A. Superhuman speed, strength, endurance, preternatural fighting instinct and cunning.

It basically turns us into a hybrid of Alexander of Macedon, Napoleon and Caesar.

Edit: or at least gives us the potential to do so.

 

[treave]

It doesn't, but it should allow you to predict their moves based on their muscle movement and perhaps pull off a surprise victory in one of the matches.

Probably the first one. Then we lose.

A typical kendo bout is five matches between five members on each side, best 3 out of 5. No matter whether you pick A or B here, to challenge the Kendo jocks and beat them convincingly as a club you still need two more people on your side to win.

By the way had you chosen academics she'd have tossed you into the Occult Research Club which is led by a conspiracy nut who is convinced there are monsters in the town.

If the choice was neither, she'd have invoked an ancient, unused clause that students with no clubs can be conscripted into the student council and made you her lackey.

 

[Baltika9]

A typical kendo bout is five matches between five members on each side, best 3 out of 5. No matter whether you pick A or B here, to challenge the Kendo jocks and beat them convincingly as a club you still need two more people on your side to win.

Which means someone's got to train them and it won't be our rivals. Unless we can find an ancient master (Ean) around, that task falls to us. Which means A for it to succeed.

If the choice was neither, she'd have invoked an ancient, unused clause that students with no clubs can be conscripted into the student council and made you her lackey.

We missed out on delicious naysaying.

 

[oscar]

We're getting decent physical strength with or without A, all it does is give us a temporary 'hulk out'. In the long-run, heightened senses, reflexes and mental calculation will be far more useful considering our future line-of-work (we're a pilot/designer/scientist not a Bronze Age warrior storming the enemy wall with a battle-axe).

I suspect it also has something to do with how our personality will develop.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Snip

Hate so much HATE
Dah Dakka Tally:
A-8. Esquilax. Baltika9. ScubaV. Stygian Lurker. Tome. Tigranes. Kipeci. Lambshop19.
B-9. Zwist. Cassidy. Smashing Axe. Bloodshifter. StoryFag. M4davis. Root. Captain Awesome. Oscar.
Undecided-1. Azira

Edit: also Root voted A then flipped to B and reaffirmed B again.
Edit MK2:yet again up to date and if Lamb flops again I will just keep him as A until Treave calls polls closed.

 

[Baltika9]

We're getting decent physical strength with or without A, all it does is give us a temporary 'hulk out'. In the long-run, heightened senses, reflexes and mental calculation will be far more useful considering our future line-of-work (we're a pilot/designer/scientist not a Bronze Age warrior storming the enemy wall with a battle-axe).

I suspect it also has something to do with how our personality will develop.

You're forgetting the fighting skills, instincts and cunning. It's not just a hulk-out button, it's also the experience of actual fighting and waging war. Goddammit, read up on Dio's misadventures on this page. This is what awaits us if we're unprepared for a serious physical confrontation.

And A also means reflexes, albeit physical. B means mental reflexes.
Edit:

To be even more precise, it'd work out like this.

A. Superhuman speed, strength, endurance, preternatural fighting instinct and cunning.

B. Heightened senses, quicker and clearer thinking, increased ability to identify, analyse and dissect something (anything).

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Yeah, Dio really lucked out by finding the Sek sword. If Ban hadn't had that, Dio would have had to return home a a scarred, eyeless disgrace, who had lost the army the prince gave him as well as any favor from the nobles he might have had due to his promoting non-nobles before the battle.

 

[treave]

Good thing you guys actually remembered why you were all the way out in Rus then.

edit: Regarding Dio in Skane, you guys specifically chose to attack the boss of the cult right in the middle of his territory. It wasn't an 'unavoidable physical confrontation' by any means.