Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[Baltika9]

Unless I missed something, they subsist as hunter-gatherers. Feeding and clothing them shouldn't be any issue, they took care of our broke ass, didn't they? As for the dead, all we have to say is this:

Spoiler

 

[Nevill]

You would also have to do something about the Uhihihi! that we are keeping in a fridge.

And thus, the ice-cream wagons were born!

 

[Baltika9]

...you're a genius. We can deceive all the human realms into thinking we're the good guy by selling ice cream. Everyone loves ice cream, we can't possibly be evil.

 

[treave]

You would also have to do something about the Uhihihi! that we are keeping in a fridge.

You use Cryodyne, the ice equivalent of Gigadyne, and use that to transport the body.

 

[Nevill]

...you're a genius. We can deceive all the human realms into thinking we're the good guy by selling ice cream. Everyone loves ice cream, we can't possibly be evil.

Spoiler

Needles Kane.

 

[Kayerts]

From what I've seen, they are talking about a pillar of light. A jump from light to electricity is not a very obvious one to make. Basically, I think only Gigadyne would be an immediate suspect.

But I think we are missing the point here. The pillar attracted everyone's attention not because of a religious significance or something like that - only the artefact has it, and only for Berzam, because everything is about religion there - but because it is a highly unusual phenomenon that has occured in a troubled region, and, if artificial in nature, was caused by a highly powerful being. In this case being powerful is what may cause a suspicion, ah, of being that powerful.

Powerful things do not interest people because of some symbolic meaning, but by themselves. I am pretty sure that is we dispose of 100 people by any method we would command the same amount of attention, regardless of the spells we've used.

Perhaps we have different underlying assumptions here. Mine is that, the prince's bravado notwithstanding, Erd and Rin combined are quite a bit more than the equal of a hundred men. This would mean that if we engage on the prince's side, we'd have a variety of ways to deal with the enemy, some of which might be more revealing of our full capabilities than others. E.g., we could try holding them off with lightning wolves while taking pot shots with spears. Or we could summon a dragon. Or we could blast them from the earth using a maximized Gratuitdyne spell. What I'm pointing out is that vis-a-vis the prince, the subtler options probably won't have much benefit, so if we're committing to keeping him alive, we are probably committing to letting him know the extent of our powers.

 

[treave]

A possible option is to see if you can find a balance where you hold back just enough that the prince successfully escapes the ambush, but not in a way that it could be considered a crushing victory through wiping out the enemy en masse. In essence, the difference between being seen to help him escape and being seen to help crush his enemies.

Regardless, I'll be closing the votes now and A is still ahead, so we'll be doing our white-knighting.

 

[Baltika9]

But how can you white knight for a white knight?

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

 

[Kz3r0]

revealing his angelic features in the process

I an not so confident in our disguise, I think that the prince knows we are an angel, besides when our halo will start spinning as we use magic our disguise will be blown off.

 

[Nevill]

I've only seen it spinning when we supercharged our Gigadyne.

 

[Kz3r0]

I've only seen it spinning when we supercharged our Gigadyne.

True, this rules out any powerful spell if we want to keep our disguise, will see.

 

[treave]

Commencement of Battle

“Sure.” Unsure why you are willingly getting yourself in more trouble, you nod. “I hope the payment for saving a prince’s life will be worth it.”

“Thank you very much! I am in your debt, sir mage. Rest assured that I will try to make it worth your while. Anything at all that is within my power to do so,” bows Farland. “This I swear, on my honour as a member of the royal house of Yuiry and the name of the sacred goddess Elmeth.”

“You can’t be serious,” mutters Rin. “Well, if I get to hone my skills on a few people, I suppose it does not matter much…”

“What should we do?” asks Aria all of a sudden. “Should we join the fight? I’ve been practicing with a sword.”

“Sis! It’s too risky!”

“You should hide,” advises Farland. “Stay away from the village until everything is over.”

“I wasn’t asking you, Your Highness,” replies the young girl rudely. Her eyes are fixated on you. The adjutant glowers, her gauntleted hand clutching the horse's reins tightly. A panicked Arlin immediately apologizes on her behalf, and Aria is made to give a sullen “Sorry” soon enough.

***

A. They can come along and prove their worth. Being thrown into the deep end is a quick and easy way to figure out whether you can do something. That’s what they did to you after all.

B. It would be too risky for them to come along, and you do not want to have to babysit them in the middle of a fight. You have them stay in the woods, out of sight, until the battle is over.

***

“What is your plan?” you ask Farland.

“Join up with my men, lead them away from the village, and hopefully escape with our lives intact,” he says confidently, banging his chestplate. “If not, we go down taking down as many of them as we can. With your assistance, however, I am certain we will survive this day. Come, let us ride!” He reaches a hand down to you, charmingly offering a ride on the back of his horse.

***

A. You accept his offer. Riding there on a horse will save you some time and effort.

B. You do not ride behind men. Only behind women. You ask to ride behind his adjutant instead.

C. You will head there with Rin on foot. You do not need to arrive there at the same time.

***

As you travel towards the battle, you begin thinking of your plan. You are ensuring the prince’s life in return for a future reward; any favour that you can name. The important part would thus be to get him out alive. To that end, you should:

A. Make a stand in the village, protecting the prince at close range. It is easier to defend him that way.

B. Do as the prince suggests and try to lure them out of the village to lead them on a chase.

C. Find the location where the enemy soldiers are most concentrated, and assault them there head-on.

D. Locate the commanders and the mages and take them out with a pinpoint strike.

Next, you would:

1. Use the barest amount of low-level magic necessary so that the prince can successfully escape, but not any more than that – defeating the enemy is not your immediate goal.

2. Cast low-ranked spells such as Magic Arrow to defeat the enemy bit by bit, hoping to chip away at their morale and force them to retreat.

3. Use a combination of status effect spells and an army of summoned wolves to herd and control the enemy forces before having Rin finish them off.

4. Go heavy with powerful area-of-effect spells, destroying large numbers of your enemies.

5. Summon a thunder dragon: this should be enough to take care of most of the enemy without having to put in further effort.

6. Unleash Gigadyne. Whether it is for a precision attack or for large scale destruction, it is flexible enough to fit most of your needs.

7. Grab a weapon and start swinging. You need to work out once in a while, and you can't be accused of having powerful magic if you don't use any magic at all.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, can we tell the kids to go with the prince? At the very least, it's two more warm bodies between him and the enemy.

 

[treave]

That's 1A, followed by 2A/B and then 3A/B. The prince will be extremely reluctant to take them along if you want them to stay by his side, since to him it looks like you're just throwing them into a dangerous situation. He can't do anything about it if you take them along and they want to go, of course.

Also, there's only two horses (prince and his adjutant's), and Rin will adamantly refuse to ride with a human. Should I add choices for her instructions, or do you guys feel that there's no need to micromanage the whole thing that much?

 

[Nevill]

“I wasn’t asking you, Your Highness,” replies the young girl rudely. Her eyes are fixated on you.

I like her more with every passing moment.

The duty of a ruler is to protect their vassals. If you fail in that duty, you simply aren't recognized as a ruler anymore. Glad that Aria understands that simple notion. We are their boss now.

Incidentally, that also means that the village of Erise is not actually our concern. They have their own King or Prince or whatever to look out for them. It would be a different story if they thought us to be their lord and were useful to us in any way, however, they do not and are not.

On the goals here - I want the twins alive (we didn't make an investment in them to throw them away like any common fodder - I can't see what throwing a kid in a fight with 1 to 10 odds can achieve), and I want the Prince alive. So long as he makes it out of here, he has no reason to complain, as that is what he hired us for.

And the adjutant, of course. We will know if she is cute or not.

1B for now, and will try to come out with a coherent plan.

 

[Baltika9]

Also, there's only two horses (prince and his adjutant's), and Rin will adamantly refuse to ride with a human. Should I add choices for her instructions, or do you guys feel that there's no need to micromanage the whole thing that much?

I doubt she'll listen anyway.
We have a few ways to do this, but these are the ones that are immediately obvious to me.
xAB3 The same blitz play we've done before: we ride with the Prince, seize the initiative with status spells and summon wolves to let Rin do her thing. If it works, why bother fixing it? For this option, I think it's best if we lure them out of the village, to give the Methussians room to regroup and launch a counter-attack.
xCC 4/6 Corner them in the village and power through with powerful spells, urban terrain is perfect for this, while keeping away from the prince and his adjutant so that they won't sneak a peek. Of course, this is conspicuous as fuck.
xAB5 We retreat from the field ASAP. I think a dragon will work much better here because it'll make it very hard for the enemy to focus on us when they have a fuckhueg lightning dragon on their asses. Not sure if the bare-minimum spells will work here.
xCD4/6 Have the Methussians act as bait, let the enemy move in, separate the leadership and vaporize them.

Obviously, I'm against using Gigadyne here since that will be a dead giveaway, but it is an option. As for the kids, depends on your personal preference. I want to take them with us to prove their worth. If they can't survive this, they aren't worth our time.
And I'll catch a lot of flak for this, but I think riding with the adjutant is a bad idea. She seems the type to be very competent and observant, and something tells me that if we do anything above the level of thunder wolves, she'll start connecting dots.

I'm going for the blitz play: AAB3

 

[treave]

If you ride, you're only riding with them until they rejoin their knights, then you are free to move about as you see fit on your own. There might be some advantages/disadvantages, but all in all it doesn't affect the tactics significantly.

 

[Nevill]

Alright, so one of the plans is: 'Cut the head'

C D4/6

Let the prince and his people ride ahead and have the enemy concentrate on them. You and Rin will target their commanders while the fodder is busy trying to kill the Prince. Then you wait for the rabble to rout or finish them off, doesn't much matter. Without officers to bolster their morale and provide tractical advice, or the mages to support them, that should not take long.
---
Another is: 'Better part of Valor'

B B1

Ride with the adjutant and do the bare minimum for the Prince to escape. We would ensure the adjutant's safety (since it would be also our safety), and we don't care much about the rest of his forces or the outcome of the battle.
---
Another is: 'Crushing defeat'

x C4-6

Rain chaos upon the enemy until everything is dead.
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Yet another is: 'ITZ A TRAP'

C B3

Have the Prince play bait and lure the enemy out in the open, then use crowd control to ambush them and finish them off. You probably should not be seen for it to work.
---
Finally, there is: 'YOJIMBO'

A A7.

Edit: An option to play be dumb, as you can't swing a sword with a wing covering your right hand and there is no point hiding your spells if you reveal you are an angel.

 

[Kipeci]

I'd like ABD6, I guess.

1A shows if the kids have potential by their success or else results in their demise, in which case it's unfortunate but we didn't pay all that much for them and they owed their lives to us anyway. I could also go for 1B, that part of the vote matters least to me.

2B because it's the option that gets us there fastest while also being a creep to women, putting it ahead of the other options. I'd prefer to get there before the folks we care somewhat for are wiped out.

3D works for me because we want to ensure the survival of the prince here; he and his men are much better quality than the trash mob standard soldiers, and from their earlier success the issue here is not necessarily that they are outnumbered. The issue is that the opposing side has mages with nasty tricks and commanders keeping the huge group fighting in a relatively organized matter. If we get rid of their mages then there goes also a lot of their defensive or offensive buffs as well as other strategies, and their organization is destroyed. We can then devote our efforts to mopping up the mob without fear of anything nasty remaining to surprise us.

And 6 because, well, it's the only way to really be sure. We can use the precision variant rather than the nuke one to take out particular guys and that sounds better to me than trying to target a bunch of spread out officials with a big dragon or many weak wolves or something. We've already thrown in our lot with the prince for the moment, so let's be sure to win it, and maybe he gets a better idea of our power so that he will be hesitant to make a strong enemy.

I'd lean towards any votes for 2B and 3D in the end, though. Other spells may work out very well, I just think it won't be quite as effective.

 

[Baltika9]

Alright, so one of the plans is: 'Cut the Head'

Let the prince and his people ride ahead am have the enemy concentrate on them. You yourself will target their commanders while the fodder is busy trying to kill the Prince. Then you just sling simple spells at them just to keep the Prince alive, and wait for the rabble to rout. Without officers to bolster their morale and provide tractical advice, or the mages to support them, that should not take long.

This would be my second preferred option, but I doubt that using our lowest-ranked spells is a good choice. We've seen this from their rank-and-file that these are not some schmucks out on a field trip. These guys are well-trained and know their shit, so I expect their leaders to be the same way. If we're going to go with that, then we definitely should be using our heavy-hitters.

I like her more with every passing moment.

The duty of a ruler is to protect their vassals. If you fail in that duty, you simply aren't recognized as a ruler anymore. Glad that Aria understands that simple notion. We are their boss now.

Lay off the judging, bro. Do you blame the cops if they don't patrol your around your house 24/7, waiting for an unlikely burglar to arrive? What happened here is shitty, but no one expected elite soldiers to engage in terrorism and provocation at this exact spot.

 

[Nevill]

We've seen this from their rank-and-file that these are not some schmucks out on a field trip.

We'e seen their rank and file and they are shmucks who can't kill an elemental without a mage's aid. Rin cut them down by the dozens, and our armor is nigh impervious to regular weapons.

The mages and the commanders are the real threat.

Lay off the judging, bro.

Hey, talk to Aria, not me.

Do you blame the cops if they don't patrol your around your house 24/7, waiting for an unlikely burglar to arrive?

No, but in that case forgive me for not bowing my head to the officials, and respecting the gang that does offer me protection more.

I am explaining my rationale for saving the kids as opposed to saving the village which I am not very concerned about.

 

[Baltika9]

We'e seen their rank and file and they are shmucks who can't kill an elemental without a mage's aid. Rin cut them down by the dozens, and our armor is nigh impervious to regular weapons.

The mages and the commanders are the real threat.

Schmucks compared to us, yes, but they're still competent soldiers and it would be dumb to underestimate them, which is the point I was making: their commanders will be competent in their fields and above the average soldier, which is why I am not convinced that low-level spells will be enough. If we're going to do that, let's at least do it right. There's enough space between us and the prince/adjutant to use our more powerful stuff (I am referencing option 4) without being too worried about getting caught.

 

[Nevill]

which is the point I was making: their commanders will be competent in their fields and above the average soldier, which is why I am not convinced that low-level spells will be enough.

Ah, I see your point. The choice postulates what we will be doing AFTER we take out the commanders. You surely don't come after them with low level spells.

D. Locate the commanders and the mages and take them out with a pinpoint strike.
Next, you would:
2. Cast low-ranked spells such as Magic Arrow to defeat the enemy bit by bit, hoping to chip away at their morale and force them to retreat.

treave might be able to clarify.

In any case, we have these plans in common:

xAB3 The same blitz play we've done before: we ride with the Prince, seize the initiative with status spells and summon wolves to let Rin do her thing. If it works, why bother fixing it? For this option, I think it's best if we lure them out of the village, to give the Methussians room to regroup and launch a counter-attack.
xCB3 Have the Prince play bait and lure the enemy out in the open, then use crowd control to ambush them and finish them off. You probably should not be seen for it to work.

Though I do not think Meths will be launching a counter-attack any time soon.

xCC 4/6 Corner them in the village and power through with powerful spells, urban terrain is perfect for this, while keeping away from the prince and his adjutant so that they won't sneak a peek. Of course, this is conspicuous as fuck.
xxC4-6 Rain chaos upon the enemy until everyone is dead.

If you use heavy-hitters, you would hardly be able to conceal anything.

And this one is where we disagree:

xCD4/6 Have the Methussians act as bait, let the enemy move in, separate the leadership and vaporize them.

xCD2 Let the prince and his people ride ahead and have the enemy concentrate on them. You and Rin will target their commanders while the fodder is busy trying to kill the Prince. Then you sling simple spells at them just to keep the Prince alive, and wait for the rabble to rout.

My take is - kill the commanders/mages while the Prince is too busy to pay attention, rout the rest without any flashy moves.

 

[Baltika9]

If you use heavy-hitters, you would hardly be able to conceal anything.

Depends on how far apart we are. I mostly meant our angelic features if our hood happens to fall off or the halo decides to get shiny. But powerful spells are powerful spells, it'll be hard not to notice all the electricity flying around.
What do you guys think of option 7? I think it's just dumb if we want to keep our disguise.

 

[Nevill]

What do you guys think of option 7? I think it's just dumb if we want to keep our disguise.

Ouch. I forgot about the wing impeding our right hand. Yes, that's dumb.