Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[treave]

including fireballs and other magic attacks that by all means should be considered lethal hazards

Elmont didn't think a fireball of that magnitude would kill you in the first place.

Not letting yourself be duped by a seemingly harmless opponent is a part of the skill.

This is what Arlin's particularly skilled at:

Arlin, on the other hand, was a surprise. He had not killed a single foe, and certainly did not try to. Yet, you have this feeling that you could have not watched after him at all and he might still have come out of it unscathed. He moved around his enemies naturally, exposing weak points that would have condemned one or two of them to instant death at the point of his dagger, but yet he refused to strike.

Beyond what is reflected by the stats, he has a talent for luring the enemy into exposing their own weak spots.

 

[Nevill]

This is what Arlin's particularly skilled at:

He should have Discipline: Obfuscate listed in his special abilities.

Beyond what is reflected by the stats, he has a talent for luring the enemy into exposing their own weak spots.

Oh, boy. We are raising a natural backstabber who is already critical of us.

 

[ScubaV]

A. You summon seven wolves. Two can play at that game. Let’s see if Elmont can call eight.

This is the most trololo optio, but it also threatens to drag this out and I can't see that as a fitting choice for lazy Erdrick.

B. You conjure a Lightning Tiger and have it eat the wolves.

I like it.

C. You call up a Thunder Dragon, structural integrity of the palace be damned. They need to learn not to bother you with piddling summons.

Also a decent choice, but may perhaps be overkill.

D. You tear the wolves apart with a Whirlwind.

Unsure about this one. It would deflect suspicions about us being a lightning-focused caster, but will it be effective?

E. You cast Elemental Protection against lightning, rendering yourself all but immune to the wolves attacks, and let Elmont exhaust himself trying to maintain his summons.

Seems okay. There's a trollish element here, but it's more defensive and may drag things out like A.

F. You are the one that they called the Thunder Emperor: you use Gigadyne directly on the wolves, destroying them and reshaping them into beasts under your control.

I don't see the value in revealing our ultimate ability, especially against a foe that we could far outclass even with something like the dragon.

G. Despite your strong feelings of apathy, Barbatos is feeling a bit left out that you haven’t been beating up your opponents with manly fist-fighting – you can tell from the way your right arm is tingling. You should probably entertain him from time to time. Exerting your Battle Aura, you break free from the swamp and smash the wolves with your fists.

Intriguing. It keeps us from having to reveal anything more about our spellcasting powers (of which we've shown almost nothing so far), but as Lambchop said it risks some kind of present or future interference from Athos or his human slave.

H. You surrender. There is no effort more minimal than this. So what if you have to strip?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! Codex surrender? Not even years of decline could break the willpower stubborn angst of the Codex.

G > B > D > E > C

 

[Elfberserker]

C>G

 

[Baltika9]

“If Sir Trider finds the challenge insufficient, then I think we would be much more entertained if the two of you treated this as an actual battle. Non-lethally, of course,” Nostrus speaks quickly, before you can readily agree with Wisteria. “I mean, a duel based in turns does seem quite boring, don’t you think?” He addresses that last question to the crowd, who holler in agreement.

Fucking manboons.
Voting for G>C, mainly because I want to punch Elmont in the dick.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

After hearing that Elmont isn't really going all out on us, I really hope C doesn't win. It's bad enough that it will probably collapse the roof and kill half the people in the room, but I really don't want to be the douche who takes a play fight with wooden swords to such an extreme.

 

[Baltika9]

Yeah, you're right. G>A>B; it'll be fun to one-up him on every wolf, but I'd still rather punch him in the dick.

Wisteria, being a connoisseur of turn-based combat, will be a fine addition to a harem. Erdrick doesn't fuck filthy casuals, we have a strict "no popamolers" policy.

I actually want to set Arlin up for a date with her, then quietly help him get laid from the sidelines.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I actually want to set Arlin up for a date with her, then quietly help him get laid from the sidelines.

the cuckening continues :facepalm:

 

[Baltika9]

Erd isn't getting any in this LP unless someone's trying to get one over him, so might as well have fun with it. I think he's one of those people who are good at giving advice at dating, but suck at dating.

 

[lightbane]

I don't think the Archmage is going to intervene in the battle. Not directly at least. At most, he could do something such as hindering Erd or empowering Elmont with a subtle spell. What's more likely though is that he's furiously taking notes of everything Erd has shown so far, in order to think what to do later. Of course, everyone else with minimal interest in us is probably doing the same as well, be it to attempt to recruit Erdrick... Or kill him.

 

[Jester]

I was starting to get worried we are a poor teacher.

Friend all hope is not lost. I must remind you that even our greatest founder Zhang Jue had certain problems with students. They tended to die after more, or less 2 months. After all it is stated in Zhang Jue education guidebook "continuous survival of student despite best efforts of society (usually tiger ones) is best indicator of success". Arlin is still alive (that can be corrected). We are a bit behind schedule, but there is nothing here that can not be fixed with Tiger pack survival lesson. Seriously we have to invest into Tigers, because i am not sure if electrical tigers are approved by headmaster of Zhang Jue academy.

The whiteknighting instincts are hard to purge, and certainly not with our tutelage.

This to can be corrected by healthy dosage of tigers.

btw G
With Jue unfortunately absent to prove superiority of fists we must grow a pair and show Arlin what it mean to be a MAN. (or rather try to)

 

[Nevill]

What's more likely though is that he's furiously taking notes of everything Erd has shown so far, in order to think what to do later.

Frankly, I want to win the duel by punching Elmont out just to show Julius that being the strongest archmage in the world is not his 'get out of jail free' card, and that there are other ways we can screw him ten times over if he gives us a reason to. Beating Elm in a magic duel might not have the same impact.

Or maybe I am just partial to my 'do not fight fire with fire, but with water instead' approach.

By the way, since Elm has to support the wolves from his own mana, doesn't it make more sense to go for the summoner instead of the summons? If he is knocked out of the fight, they will just dissipate, no?

 

[lightbane]

But beating the wolves with your bare hands before going for the summoner is way more impressive, which is what matters. Therefore, the battle's outcome will be decided by going full Muscle Wizard,

Spoiler

or calling this guy:

Spoiler

Too bad we can't do both at once.

 

[Tigranes]

E>G.

E seems the best way to keep things playful while drawing it to a conclusion, A and B are likely to draw things out. G is also an entertaining conclusion without revealing magic, but I'm a bit afraid that the physical exertion will lead to a wardrobe malfunction.

 

[Nevill]

Hm. What about 'getting a nasty shock' from touching the elementals? Do we get one, too? I know the warning was meant for the kids, who are a lot more fragile than we are, but could it be something we also need to concern ourselves with?

 

[wjw]

This is an entertainment show. Lets give them what they desire. B. I can already imagine the ooh's and the aah's from the audience.

 

[Esquilax]

Y'know, after thinking about this some more, I agree with wjw that this should be done with the appearance of being for the entertainment of the onlookers. ROFLstomping with a giant Dragon might look just as bad (in terms of hurting our reputation) as ducking out of the bet in the first place. That being said, I think that Tigranes is correct on this - tiring Elmont out seems to be a clever solution that doesn't show our hand too much.

Flopping to E > B

 

[Elfberserker]

Didn't this Elmond guy had pretty big mana reserve for human being?
I doubt that it's big as ours, but I don't think that he exhausts himself too soon.

Then again this battle is for enterteinment, so I am fine with fistt tigers and elemental protection.

flopping to E>G>B

 

[wjw]

We might indeed go for the unkillable-monk-style, i mean we already ate an entire fireball and and allowed them to kick us, and now we are stuck in the mud. It might be fun to watch, how we escape death time after time, and let them throw everything they got against us, until we defeat them both with one simple, but perfectly executed and well timed low-level move.

Flip the flop: E > B.

 

[Nevill]

I doubt that it's big as ours, but I don't think that he exhausts himself too soon.

At this point it is more about morale than stamina. After their best move does not appear to be effective, most people lose heart.

Definitely prefer the tiger over the barrier. G>B.

Tally

asxetos A>E
Karwelas B
Esquilax E>B
Nevill G>B
Kipeci G>C
Gobblecock C>B
Azira B>C>D>G
ightbane B>G
Rex Feral F>B>A
Storyfag E
Kz3r0 G
archaen E>B>G
Lambchop19 B>A>D>G>E
TOME B>A
Grimgravy E>D
ScubaV G>B>D>E>C
Elfberserker E>G>B
Baltika9 G>A>B
Jester G
Tigranes E>G
wjw E>B

A - 1 (p. 5)
B - 5 (p. 14) - 10
C - 1 (p. 4) Gobblecock -> B
D - 0 (p. 4)
E - 7 (p. 10) archaen -> B, Tigranes -> G, Esquilax -> B, Elfberserker -> G, wjw -> B
F - 1 (p. 1) Rex Feral -> B
G - 6 (p. 12) - 8

OR

A - 1 (p. 5) asxetos -> E
B - 5 (p. 14) - 10
C - 1 (p. 4) Gobblecock -> B
D - 0 (p. 4)
E - 7 (p. 10) - 8
F - 1 (p. 1) Rex Feral -> B
G - 6 (p. 12) Nevill -> B, ScubaV -> B, Baltika9 -> B

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

treave Question: do we know that punching lightning wolves is in fact something that won't electrocute us?

 

[Nevill]

Yeah, I asked the same question. My first guess was 'no' - come on, a few F rank creatures, trouble an angel? That should never happen. But it never hurts to ask, I suppose.

The thing that makes me doubt G, if only for a bit, is that it expends too much of our energy for not a very tangible gain, and that goes - ever so slightly - against the character I envision. I mean, the situation with Barbatos was comical exactly because he fell in the hands of a person who does not charge into people to punch them, and that made for an interesting contrast between our personalities. Besides, is it better to show ourselves as a slightly better mage than Elmont, or as a vastly superior physical fighter who can jump out of the bog and fist several elementals to death? The ones who don't like us could still cling to the hope of overcoming us with weapons if we keep to our reputation of a mage.

Ultimately, the tiger is a more elegant move that slightly one ups Elmont in his own game, demonstrating our superiority in magical matters, while the physical approach is more of a wild card.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Well, if we're dumb enough to collapse the roof with a lightning dragon, we're dumb enough to electrocute ourselves - that's my thinking.

But even if G works fine, I want to defeat Elmont as a mage and I'd like to do it in character as a lazy trollish scholar. We could have just gigadyned everyone's clothes from the start, or hit them with a giant fireball etc. The objective here is win by subtle trolling, not to smash everyone into pudding with our mighty powah. That's why B or A would be my preference.

 

[lightbane]

I would believe the Battle Aura's enchantment/Barbatos most certainly give us the minimal protection to punch electric wolves out of existence without suffering harm. Barb may be headstrong, but he's not a complete retard. The lightning tiger is another good option, but the FISTING MAGIC is the one he'll like the best. I bet that if he respects Erd enough, he eventually will reveal more useful battle techniques.

 

[Nevill]

The Aura itself doesn't grant any protection against elemental attacks, and I don't think Barbos does, either. Any protection would have to come from our own reserves - which, glancing at the character sheet, should not be lacking. Our Magical Defense stat in enough to take an E spell to the face without blinking - an electrocution or two would not pose much trouble... Hey, some people pay for this stuff!