In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower

[Absinthe]

I don't recommend B. Pay attention to Uridimmu, man. A primeval nightmare demon is helping us here and he believes the entire dream would be improved with bloodshed and violence. If we're not careful, we'll end up turning it into that too. Just because B might ultimately succeed doesn't mean Sophie won't be left with mental scars if we go down the road of violent escalation.

 

[Nevill]

I recommend B. I don't see a link between silencing a maid and a bloodbath. I am being very careful by carefully hitting an old woman on the head and carefully stuffing her in a closet so that no one would have any reason to worry and raise their blood pressure.

Spoiler

 

[Absinthe]

Even if we manage to knock her out before she screams for help, she will be found and the situation will go worse. I don't think we'll cause an instant bloodbath but we are going to make the threat and presence of violence into a thing for our dream, and it will probably be able to escalate further easily. Playing to our strengths isn't a good idea when our strengths are the wrong sort of tool for the circumstances. What we need is a way to handle the situation that avoids escalating our problems, not trading one problem for another, and in this sort of setting, people carry guns and swords and that maid is going to be found out and claim she saw a horribly disfigured man sneaking into the laundry pile, who then beat her up and stuffed her into a closet. We don't want to be a victim of any heroics here.

I'm pretty sure H will work. So will E, just not so well, but we would manage.

 

[Orbit]

Voting E.

 

[Kz3r0]

Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias

It’s the name of the current wife of king Juan Carlos of Spain.

 

[Kz3r0]

Alright, voting:


A


Not because I am confident in our speech skills but because is basically a better E and will obtain the same effect as some of the proposed alternatives, to look like what we are, an ill mannered brat.

 

[ChumBucket]

The DISCUSS that has spawned from this development is hilarious, and is evidence that there is no place more terrifying than the mind of a teenage girl.
I vote B. This old woman is not real, and is in our way. This is an illusion of Sophie's mind.

 

[baud]

F: Bow, hand her the chemise, say "You dropped this", and walk out.
> E

 

[CappenVarra]

C. You attempt to stuff the chemise into the old maid’s mouth so that she can’t scream.

then tie her up and stuff her in the closet

continue with the stealth option (somewhat, we're not ghosting the level now but we can still reach the primary objective and steal the chalice uhm, find imaginary Sophie)

it goes without saying that finding Sophie means messing with her mind - that's the only possible outcome of interfering with her trial, hello

 

[Absinthe]

Alright, voting:

A

Not because I am confident in our speech skills but because is basically a better E and will obtain the same effect as some of the proposed alternatives, to look like what we are, an ill mannered brat.

If that is what you are after, would you be willing to flop to H?

 

[ItsChon]

Nevill's analysis of the situation is spot on. C sounds like a good idea, but knocking her out and shoving her in the closest is literally just as stealthy as trying to shove a cloth in her mouth. If they find her tied up with a gag, how is that different from them finding her knocked out in the closet? The reason I lean towards B is because it's the easier option to execute than C. How the fuck are we going to stick a gag in her mouth while she's conscious?

As for the other options, I don't know how many of y'all have actually met old people, but a lot of them really fucking suck if they're not related to you, especially if they're from this time period. The chances that this old maid will be anything but a crotchety old woman is pretty low I'd say, and even if she is a nice one, it's not like she'd be able to really help us. At best she says come with me and leads us out the mansion without getting the mansion goons involved.

That being saidddd....there is a fairly decent chance that since this is Sophie's fantasy, the Maid will react as such. Who knows, what if Sophie's dream is Wrinkly bursting into the hall, making a super heartfelt speech that moves everyone to tears, and Sophie runs off with us to go back to her father and fulfill her duty! I don't know, split between the two possibilities.

 

[Azira]

I can see no clear laxatives option here, so I'll abstain from this round of voting.

 

[Baltika9]

As for the other options, I don't know how many of y'all have actually met old people, but a lot of them really fucking suck if they're not related to you, especially if they're from this time period. The chances that this old maid will be anything but a crotchety old woman is pretty low I'd say, and even if she is a nice one, it's not like she'd be able to really help us. At best she says come with me and leads us out the mansion without getting the mansion goons involved.

A benevolent and kind-hearted governesses are also a staple of Jane Austen (and Victorian, in general) novels from this period. Not saying that she's a walking saint, but it is plausible that she will turn out to be a nice person.

 

[Grimgravy]

F: Bow, hand her the chemise, say "You dropped this", and walk out.
> E

I like this.

F>E

 

[Nevill]

That being saidddd....there is a fairly decent chance that since this is Sophie's fantasy, the Maid will react as such.

A benevolent and kind-hearted governesses are also a staple of Jane Austen (and Victorian, in general) novels from this period.

And that is the thing, isn't it? We don't know how this dream operates. I would have a much greater confidence in its benevolence if I knew Sophie is in control of the dream, because I would implicitly trust her not to wish us harm. But it is a nomads' trial getting environmental information from Sophie's subconsciousness. We don't know if the dream itself is harmless.

And even if people here are projections of Sophie's mind, it still is no guarantee of them being harmless regardless of Sophie's intentions. I would call attention to this scene in Inception (the beginning of the scene is also worth watching):

Spoiler

I would also point out that this is how we failed a trial in EPIC, by refusing to kill a dummy imagined NPC and ending up unable to progress in the dream while the mini-me stole control of our body.

It is not a guarantee that any of this works one way or the other, but it is worth considering.

 

[Baltika9]

I would also point out that this is how we failed a trial in EPIC, by refusing to kill a dummy imagined NPC and ending up unable to progress in the dream while the mini-me stole control of our body.

So you're saying that A is sphere diplomacy?



You know how I feel about sphere diplomacy.

 

[Nevill]

So you're saying that A is sphere diplomacy?

...no? How did you get that? This is what I left out by linking to the middle of the clip:

Ariadne : Who are the people?
Cobb : Projections of my subconscious.
Ariadne : Yours?
Cobb : Yes. Remember, you are the dreamer, you build this world. I am the subject, my mind populates it. You can literally talk to my subconscious. That's one of the ways we extract information from the subject.

Sphere diplomacy refers to something high above your station with unknown motives, an inverse of rat diplomacy where a rat is the one trying to approach a human with a proposal and hopes it holds any kind of meaning to them.

I am just saying that if we have to get rough, it might be not that big of a deal.

 

[ItsChon]

My vote is A>B.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

*sigh* well so much for "blending into the dreamworld".

You guys missed out on a truly badass entrance by crashing through the window.

F: Bow, hand her the chemise, say "You dropped this", and walk out.
> E

I like this.

F>E

C>F>A

I would also point out that this is how we failed a trial in EPIC, by refusing to kill a dummy imagined NPC and ending up unable to progress in the dream while the mini-me stole control of our body.

In that case though, the dummy NPC was specifically designed for that purpose.

This is a dreamworld, not a deliberate deception...at least as far as we know.

I think that a non-violent solution would be best.

Once they find the maid, tied up or not, I think that finding her alive would be better than finding her corpse.

 

[Nevill]

I think that a non-violent solution would be best.

Okay, how do you imagine C? I think I told it repeatedly that I don't get it, but maybe I am missing something.

 

[Tigranes]

I think that a non-violent solution would be best.

Okay, how do you imagine C? I think I told it repeatedly that I don't get it, but maybe I am missing something.

Look, it's simple. Our choice is:

or

except from the front. with underwear.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I think that a non-violent solution would be best.

Okay, how do you imagine C? I think I told it repeatedly that I don't get it, but maybe I am missing something.

Look, it's simple. Our choice is:

or

except from the front. with underwear.

Yes, but the more I think of it, the sillier I thing both attacking or using the underwear is.

We’re 10.

Flopping to A>F>C

 

[baud]

Yes, but the more I think of it, the sillier I thing both attacking or using the underwear is.

We’re 10.

It just means the maid will never expect this!

 

[Tigranes]

"Acknowledge this user's agenda"? Sheepmeat dude, I haven't even voted yet. Chill out.

Actually, I haven't voted yet because I have no idea. I don't know either how C's even supposed to work. I was hoping, ground floor or upper floor, we'd get to stealth and scout a bit, but it hasn't happened.

I wonder if A or E might at least give us a chance of getting a bit more of a handle on what 'genre' this dream is supposed to be, because at least we'd see how she reacts / what she says / way she talks / if she even talks, etc.

 

[Nevill]

We’re 10.

She is like 60, so an opponent in our weight class. >_>

Seeing how people are considering F, I just want to ask... do you think of it as a legitimate option? 'cause up until Lambchop voted for it I thought it was "refuse to engage the choice and seek refuge in lulz" kind of vote. I mean, what do you expect to happen, to walk out after breaking into the house, and not get called out on it? Having E as a backup suggested to me that people perceive it as close in spirit to the "do nothing" choice, but maybe I was mistaken about it?

I wonder if A or E might at least give us a chance of getting a bit more of a handle on what 'genre' this dream is supposed to be, because at least we'd see how she reacts / what she says / way she talks / if she even talks, etc.

If you want to see her talk, however briefly, you should probably choose the option explicitly trying to talk. Just saying.