[LP CYOA] Epic

[Collage]

1C | I say we take the throne. We can leave most administrative issues to Akil and the others, but we are easily the most inspirational leader our people could rally behind. Our power as figurehead is important to winning the hearts of those under us and striking fear into our enemies.

2A | It will then be easier to unite the other cities under us rather than some illegitimate puppet. We may not have an army to fill the horizon, but we make an imposing figure with our p. cool powers and sword. Even with those powers I doubt we could take down the reigning Pharaoh and Astarth (when he inevitably attacks) ourselves - we'll need those other cities.

3A | This choice follows the other two. The militia stand the best chance when we lead them in battle.

4C | We need a second front to delay Astarth. It's inevitable that he's going to cause problems; we need all the time we can get to consolidate our power base.

 

[Tigranes]

Two things immediately stick out:
1B seems silly - he would provide neither the moral authority of A nor the direct control of the empire of C.
4B also - if Astarth is so warmongery, why would he give up the road to war when he learns of our plans? 4D also - he will surely learn of our plans whether we court the other cities or go for Wankare straight away. There's no middle ground here, either we try and integrate him or get rid of him.

Not sure about the decision as a whole, for now I'm thinking ABAC. It seems like we have a decent chance of taking on Wankare; we have time to depose Wanketh later if need be; Thebes could possibly distract Astarth long enough. What's ijmjportant is to be the one that tips the balance here, or we will lose any kind of prominent position in this morass of interests.

 

[Zero Credibility]

C - If Akil doesn't mind, why not? First stop to God-Emperor: Egypt.

A - We need more men to take on Memphis, and we would have to put down the uprising anyway even if we win the throne. I doubt those Gieloth infiltrators are just going to give up when we take the throne.

A - We were a great general and leader of men once, so let's do that again. Leading from the front and smashing all opposition under our chariot. Hell, we are practically a one man army - that kind of power could prove decisive both against normal soldiers and against any Gieloth that other side can deploy.

D - Let's not advertise our plans to Astarth or any Gieloth infiltrators in his court or in Thebes just yet. Besides, Astarth just might be our next target.


That reminds me, what the hell happened to that Gieloth chamber under the temple? Is it buried but still alive or what?

 

[XenomorphII]

ABAC

 

[Baltika9]

B- I have faith in the guy. He has the brains, and his heart is in the right place. Everything else Ean and life will teach him.
B- If we take over Memphis and install our own pharaoh, they other cities will simply say "Who da fuck is this guy? Getouttahere, kid." But if we unite the cities, make the our pharaoh their leader and spiritual liege(even if it takes an eternity, I will wait for an ultrasmurfs reference), and they will carry him to the throne themselves, with their own hearts and hands.

By the way, I don't recommend relying on Sekhenun's trollblade too much, develop our base powers, and use it as a last resort.

And treavebro, now that I think about it, can Ean morph his face into the trollface, or is it much too soon?
Edit: corrected as asked by treavbro. I'm still waiting on that trollface confirm, bro.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Now that I think about it Astarth isn't actually moving against us (hell, he probably doesn't even know we exist). He is going after Wankare in Memphis. So the best course of action I can think of is to gather strength and put down the rebellious cities that will not be in the path of his army. Lay low while he attacks Memphis - then, shoot at the winner.

 

[Esquilax]

1A) As much as I like Akil and want him to be pharaoh, I just realized he has no claim to the throne at all. Adding yet another contender to the throne when there already appear to be three (Astarth, Wankare, Wanketh) would make things even worse than they are now - it would basically be Westeros. Personally, I'd like to stabilize the region and GTFO, both other options would require us to stay in Egypt. However, considering the fact that they've already sent emissaries to Babylon, it's possible that they'll invade again.

2B) Strike hard and fast. We just took out Sukhenun, taking out 2000 men with our skills and 500 men should be a piece of cake.

3A) I'd love to take out the Gieloth through stealth, but we didn't pick the light manipulation choice last time and we're a leader of men/warrior type. Our presence in leading the men will be essential in making progress here.

4D) We take Memphis before anybody else does to cement Wanketh's legitimacy and take Astarth by surprise. If Astarth tries to attack us, he'll be branded a usurper and lose a lot of support from his people.

ABAD

 

[CappenVarra]

AAAB keep it simple

 

[TOME]

1.B Do you really want to be a Pharaoh for one lousy country? I would rather see us more like the Pope, crowning kings, threatening with God's wrath etc.
2.A We need an army against Heracleopolis.
3.A Leading men is what we do.
4.D If we let Astarth know our intensions, he could speed up his preparations and conquer Memphis before we can.

BAAD

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

AABC

 

[Quetzacoatl]

CA

 

[Smashing Axe]

1B, I like a challenge

2B, if we're putting Akil on the throne, striking quick and claiming it for our own will give us a semblance of legitimacy where before we had none. If we spread word of Akil's divinity and create a myth surrounding him, we'll probably create a divine mandate with which the others have to accede to our demands. Anyone who disagrees with us we can then proceed to deal with. There'll be five years or so of moping up rebellions and performing a few miracles to show its Akil's birthright, then we can relax for a few years in Egypt, perhaps get our bearings and find out a bit more about this/these "master/s"

If I remember the history class I took six years ago, pharaohs are the living embodiment of a god and are responsible for the nile flooding each year which provides a good harvest, perhaps we can work with that.

3A - If we're going for option 2B, this is the natural choice, we should be a god of the battlefield now at my guess. Five hundred against two thousand won't be too difficult, and presumably all of the other Gieloth we might encounter will be weaker than the ones we've faced.

D - What care we for a puny city? If they strike at us they will pay dearly.

 

[Kipeci]

BBAD

 

[Esquilax]

Very good plan

This is a solid plan and I've flopped to it... except for the first part. Akil, as much as he has come off as an intelligent and brave young man with a good heart, simply doesn't have any kind of claim because he is a nobody. Besides, I don't even know if the guy wants to be pharaoh in the first place.

With Wanketh on the throne, your plan is pretty much perfect. We strike quickly and take Memphis without warning, which shouldn't be too hard given our skill in battle. Then, once the dust settles, the hated Wankare is replaced by the much-loved Wanketh, maintaining the royal line of succession and promoting stability in the region. Astarth, furious at the new upstart who just took the city, will probably want to attack Memphis, but will be unable to do so given that such a move would be political suicide.

If he attacks a well-loved new pharaoh whose army swept through an enemy four times their size like a divine wind, his people will hate him for it. Putting Wanketh on the throne before he's had a chance to prepare for his invasion will really back him into a corner and leave him with only two options: (1) attack and be perceived as a power-hungry usurper or (2) be quiet and shut the fuck up. However, if Akil is on the throne, he'll be completely justified in prolonging this war even further in order to take down this upstart pretender to the throne. It'll be a fucking mess.

 

[treave]

I was planning for this choice to be counted as a block but it appears that 4 parts offer too many permutations to have a satisfying majority. On the other hand counting it separately might end up disastrous. Let's move step by step; if you gentlemen would kindly edit your votes to just the first two choices for now, or allow me to count just the first two, we can continue with the other choices later once we have gotten that settled. I apologize for the interruption.

 

[ScubaV]

AB (with the intention of voting AD for the second two, pending the outcome of the first vote).

Akil is a bro, but he doesn't seem like a natural leader to me in addition to issues of legitimacy. Also, I don't think we'll need the other cities' armies. We can probably almost solo a 2000 man army wielding 2000BC equipment. The Gieloth will complicate things, but with 500 militiamen that will even the odds.

Also, I think Ean has a good opportunity to relieve his 300 year forced celibacy (offscreen of course).

 

[Bloodshifter]

No problem Treave

1st two votes are
AB

 

[Tigranes]

AB certainly, following up on the previous discussion. Wanketh could prove to be more annoying than Akil, but I think it's worth sacrificing some puppetry here for the benefits. If we later distinguish ourselves on the battlefield, then Wanketh will find we are too valuable an asset for him to dismiss lightly.

 

[Smashing Axe]

BB - any question of Akil's legitimacy will be thrown out once we demonstrate his "divinity". He's also a better option than A because he will acquiesce to our requests, whereas A may have designs of his own. I see it as essentially a trade-off between loyalty and legitimacy.

 

[treave]

m4davis - BA
newcomer - CB
Collage - CA
Tigranes - AB
Zero Credibility - CA
Xenomorph II - AB
Baltika9 - BB
Esquilax - AB
CappenVarra - AA
TOME - BA
Lambchop19 - AA
Quetzacoatl - CA
Smashing Axe - BB
Kipeci - BB
ScubaV - AB
Bloodshifter - AB

AA - 2
AB - 5
BA - 2
BB - 3
CA - 3
CB - 1

AB wins - We shall raise our army under Wanketh's name, and head straight for Memphis. If anyone wishes to change their votes for the latter two choices after knowing this result, feel free to do so.

Regarding the trollface question - no, but you can have a smug face.

 

[newcomer]

Then there's no need to inform anything to Heraclepolis...

AD

 

[Tigranes]

Reading things again, AD for the second set seems like a decent choice. Antagonising Astarth may jeopardise our bid for unity amongst the Egyptian people, but if we can steal a march on him in Wanketh's name, he too cannot afford to war against us and jettison his reputation.

 

[ScubaV]

Making my second choice of AD official.

 

[anus_pounder]

BC because.

No love for the far east.

 

[Smashing Axe]

AD