In Progress [LP CYOA] Tower

[Absinthe]

Hunter+Archer is my prio. It feels fitting, and it gives +1 dex, +1 con, +1 wis, and +1 int, with no downsides to any stat.

Judging by the ranked preference votes, I'd say it looks to go like this after conditionals:

Initial votes:

Ambassador 3
Hunter 4
Merchant 4
Slumrat 3
Scholar 6​

First runoff (Ambassador and Slumrat both eliminated):

Hunter 7
Merchant 4
Scholar 6​

Second runoff (Merchant eliminated):

Hunter 7
Scholar 7​

 

[Baltika9]

Why would scholar conditionals flop when they're winning?

 

[Absinthe]

Scholar conditionals aren't flopping. The others are. Scholar picks up 1 vote from conditionals (Azira's) once Merchant is eliminated.

 

[Kipeci]

It seems like such a waste to go into such a time of exploding complexity across all fronts of politics and science and choose to be a hillbilly orphan that’s focused on physical prowess at the detriment of their ability to influence people or think creatively. I was greatly entertained by Jing’s martial heroism in combat-heavy wuxia, but the skills and setting here seem far more tilted to clever pursuits and studies of the soul.

 

[Baltika9]

It seems like such a waste to go into such a time of exploding complexity across all fronts of politics and science and choose to be a hillbilly orphan that’s focused on physical prowess at the detriment of their ability to influence people or think creatively. I was greatly entertained by Jing’s martial heroism in combat-heavy wuxia, but the skills and setting here seem far more tilted to clever pursuits and studies of the soul.

Huh? You callin' me stupid or somethin'? Git a load of bird-brain over here, thinkin' he's smart wit all them fancy words! You even know how to handle a rifle, four eyes?

Absinthe, thanks for verifying. The way I do conditionals is pile the flops onto every option and then order them by looking at voter preference. I guess I missed a spot with all of the new votes coming in and lightbane issuing and retracting votes.

While I'm a bit disappointed that we won't get to fuck around with Great Power diplomacy like a proper gentleman, I'm cool with it. Let's show them city-slickers how it's done!

 

[Absinthe]

It seems like such a waste to go into such a time of exploding complexity across all fronts of politics and science and choose to be a hillbilly orphan that’s focused on physical prowess at the detriment of their ability to influence people or think creatively. I was greatly entertained by Jing’s martial heroism in combat-heavy wuxia, but the skills and setting here seem far more tilted to clever pursuits and studies of the soul.

Kipeci, I'm pretty sure you know by now that the all-rounder build I'm interested in* will also have bonuses to mental stats. I can tell you right now that I'm definitely going to see if we can develop Astra skills and other useful mental skills as a Hunter. I imagine that holds true for most other people picking Hunter too. So I don't think it's a real concern that we'd make a dumbass and somehow avoid training magic skills. Also, imo messing with politics (which we are definitely going to do - this is just a foregone conclusion) is probably going to be more interesting/entertaining as a more down-to-earth guy who doesn't get wrapped up in the usual high society bs. We've never really done a hunter before. We have done a lot of clever or high society backgrounds before though.

*For the record, it's this one: Hunter background + Archer sign: +0 str, +1 dex, +1 con, +1 wis, +1 int, +0 cha, fire mutability, +1 ranged skill, +1 stealth skill, +1 traps skill (which we've never really gotten in past CYOAs)

 

[ItsChon]

No one tags me for shit. Oh, and I knew we should have just wielded the shovel ourselves.

I am in agreement with Absinthe. I think the possible narrative that can come from our naive Hunter boy discovering the mysteries that the upper levels of the tower hold could be very cool. And I don't know about y'all, but if I was going to be entering into a foreign land, I'd want to be as physically gifted and skilled as possible. Dullards can't appreciate a fine intellect, but even the most intelligent person in the world can appreciate a physical specimen. Just because we start off as a Hunter, doesn't mean we can't branch out to more intellectual pursuits. The Archer background boosts what we're good at, and helps us with our INT which gets us back to five.

+1 Hunter

 

[Kipeci]

It seems like such a waste to go into such a time of exploding complexity across all fronts of politics and science and choose to be a hillbilly orphan that’s focused on physical prowess at the detriment of their ability to influence people or think creatively. I was greatly entertained by Jing’s martial heroism in combat-heavy wuxia, but the skills and setting here seem far more tilted to clever pursuits and studies of the soul.

Kipeci, I'm pretty sure you know by now that the all-rounder build I'm interested in* will also have bonuses to mental stats. I can tell you right now that I'm definitely going to see if we can develop Astra skills and other useful mental skills as a Hunter. I imagine that holds true for most other people picking Hunter too. So I don't think it's a real concern that we'd make a dumbass and somehow avoid training magic skills. Also, imo messing with politics (which we are definitely going to do - this is just a foregone conclusion) is probably going to be more interesting/entertaining as a more down-to-earth guy who doesn't get wrapped up in the usual high society bs. We've never really done a hunter before. We have done a lot of clever or high society backgrounds before though.

*For the record, it's this one: Hunter background + Archer sign: +0 str, +1 dex, +1 con, +1 wis, +1 int, +0 cha, fire mutability, +1 ranged skill, +1 stealth skill, +1 traps skill (which we've never really gotten in past CYOAs)

We can’t help but start off at something of a relative disadvantage for the magical approach if we begin in the boonies way far away from the centers of such learnings struggling to eke out a living by skinning rabbits or whatever, and I’d rather start in the thick of things with some background knowledge rather than having to gape at it all and get them explained at us. Goodness knows I’ve read enough about awkward farm boys or hunters going out from the mountains into a vast world, and it’s not as if a merchant’s kid is fancy-shmancy high nobility that will be banished for eating with the wrong fork. The scholars seem to not project that air either from their description.

Though, I’d actually be more interested in it if, rather than struggling our way into being a debutante at what I actually prefer, we lean into the uncharted territory a bit there to jack up constitution to become some sort of nigh-unkillable Rasputin or something.

 

[Tigranes]

I think it's really misleading for us to think that the Ambassador = can't lift a fucking pencil, and Hunter = gar gar I no talk gud I smash now?

treave gave us a clear baseline (<3 stat = dumbfuck) and we can easily use the secondary sign vote to balance things out as we like. I agree with Absinthe in general that we want a balanced starting build.

The key difference is in terms of roleplaying background: are we doing another sophisticated clever dick? Are we doing some swarthy streetwise fella? And what the Hunter brings is a character who brings a different, often uncanny intuition to the room, someone who can also get something done when the power goes out. Not Tarzan.

 

[Esquilax]

It seems like such a waste to go into such a time of exploding complexity across all fronts of politics and science and choose to be a hillbilly orphan that’s focused on physical prowess at the detriment of their ability to influence people or think creatively. I was greatly entertained by Jing’s martial heroism in combat-heavy wuxia, but the skills and setting here seem far more tilted to clever pursuits and studies of the soul.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I had a more cerebral take on this character archetype. More of a "shaman" type character, with a star sign that would provide boosts to WIS/INT (Fish/Archer, for instance), and an innate intelligence that would provide an outsider's insight into the world around him.

Basically, this:

And what the Hunter brings is a character who brings a different, often uncanny intuition to the room, someone who can also get something done when the power goes out. Not Tarzan.

Is the sort of character I'm going for. Someone without the formal education or upbringing of the Scholar/Ambassador's Child, but some innate intelligence, a "grounded" outlook on life, and a curiosity to learn more about the world around him as a 'blank slate' without any baggage.

P.S. Also, as a side note, this character's high CON means that the potential for our Drinking skill will be incredible. Xu Jing was never an impressive drinker, so it's high time we started learning how to brew forest hooch.

 

[Absinthe]

Fish would fuck our charisma to -2 (which would make for some "entertaining" diplomacy and politics), so Archer I reckon.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

OK, put me down for the hunter too. Not sure about the sign, but we can hash that out.

 

[Esquilax]

Fish would fuck our charisma to -2 (which would make for some "entertaining" diplomacy and politics), so Archer I reckon.

Yes, the CHA 3 really hurts. That's at the cusp of what I'd find acceptable in any character's stats. I suspect that we'd come off as pretty fucking filthy and uncouth with that charisma score, while still being able to function (poorly) in social situations.

As for the sign, we'll discuss that later. Assuming the Hunter gets picked, I'm guessing that each Star Sign/Hunter combination leads to a big difference in personality, much like in Legend - had we picked a Goat Adjutant character, we would have had a more cautious, meticulous, detective-type character rather than our beloved YOLO Tiger Adjutant.

 

[Absinthe]

Treave already confirmed that we'll be starting off as a kid and our personality will be determined based on our choices after during prologue (see below). But stats will obviously affect how we interact.

treave, will our choices of Astra influence our character like the zodiac signs did in Legend?

No, you will define your personality through the prologue's choices.

You're starting as a kid, by the way.

 

[Tigranes]

Given Slumrat's poor performance, I can go with Hunter > Slumrat. Along with the BARBARIAN CONSTITUENCY above, Hunter is now at 6 tied with Scholar for first.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I am still with scholar if that matters

 

[CappenVarra]

The Merchant’s Heir
+
Astra of Simha (The Lion)

We're only voting on the background for now.

i know, but the sign provides justification - a character that's about power (physical, mental, personal), a flame that burns bright and enchants (to take liberties with the astra description)

(i'd have preferred +2 str, +2 int, +2 cha but i suppose +1 str +2 int +4 cha is close enough)

 

[Absinthe]

Voting tallies:

Initial tally:

Ambassador's Child 3

Baltika9 Ambassador>Slumrat>Hunter
Nevill Ambassador
Smashing Axe Ambassador​

Novice Hunter 8

Esquilax Hunter>Ambassador>Slumrat
Tigranes Hunter>Slumrat
ERYFKRAD Hunter
Absinthe Hunter>Slumrat
baud Hunter>Ambassador
Life of the Party Hunter
Oscar Hunter
ItsChon Hunter​

Scholar's Scion 6

asxetos Scholar
lightbane Scholar
Lambchop19 Scholar
Grimgravy Scholar>Hunter
Kipeci Scholar>Merchant
Kz3r0 Scholar​

Merchant's Heir 3

Azira Merchant>Scholar>Ambassador>Hunter>Slumrat
Egosphere Merchant
CappenVarra Merchant​

Slumrat 2

Nahel Slumrat
Hello Friend Slumrat>Ambassador>Hunter​

Runoffs/Conditional vote flipping

1st Runoff: (Slumrat eliminated)

Ambassador's Child 4

Baltika9 Ambassador>Slumrat>Hunter
Nevill Ambassador
Smashing Axe Ambassador
Hello Friend Slumrat>Ambassador>Hunter​

Novice Hunter 8

Esquilax Hunter>Ambassador>Slumrat
Tigranes Hunter>Slumrat
ERYFKRAD Hunter
Absinthe Hunter>Slumrat
baud Hunter>Ambassador
Life of the Party Hunter
Oscar Hunter
ItsChon Hunter​

Scholar's Scion 6

asxetos Scholar
lightbane Scholar
Lambchop19 Scholar
Grimgravy Scholar>Hunter
Kipeci Scholar>Merchant
Kz3r0 Scholar​

Merchant's Heir 3

Azira Merchant>Scholar>Ambassador>Hunter>Slumrat
Egosphere Merchant
CappenVarra Merchant​

2nd Runoff: (Merchant eliminated)

Ambassador's Child 4

Baltika9 Ambassador>Slumrat>Hunter
Nevill Ambassador
Smashing Axe Ambassador
Hello Friend Slumrat>Ambassador>Hunter​

Novice Hunter 8

Esquilax Hunter>Ambassador>Slumrat
Tigranes Hunter>Slumrat
ERYFKRAD Hunter
Absinthe Hunter>Slumrat
baud Hunter>Ambassador
Life of the Party Hunter
Oscar Hunter
ItsChon Hunter​

Scholar's Scion 7

asxetos Scholar
lightbane Scholar
Lambchop19 Scholar
Grimgravy Scholar>Hunter
Kipeci Scholar>Merchant
Kz3r0 Scholar
Azira Merchant>Scholar>Ambassador>Hunter>Slumrat​

3rd Runoff: (Ambassador eliminated)

Novice Hunter 10

Esquilax Hunter>Ambassador>Slumrat
Tigranes Hunter>Slumrat
ERYFKRAD Hunter
Absinthe Hunter>Slumrat
baud Hunter>Ambassador
Life of the Party Hunter
Oscar Hunter
ItsChon Hunter
Baltika9 Ambassador>Slumrat>Hunter
Hello Friend Slumrat>Ambassador>Hunter​

Scholar's Scion 7

asxetos Scholar
lightbane Scholar
Lambchop19 Scholar
Grimgravy Scholar>Hunter
Kipeci Scholar>Merchant
Kz3r0 Scholar
Azira Merchant>Scholar>Ambassador>Hunter>Slumrat​

Final count:

Hunter 10
Scholar 7​

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Great, so if we are done with that, my vote for the sign is:

Astra of Mithuna (The Twins)
Affinity: Air, mutability
(Strength -1, Dexterity +1, Intelligence +1, Charisma +1)

It increases our Dex further and while we lose our strength bonus, we also unretard ourselves by normalizing Int and Cha.

I also think air mutability might get us to some sort of invisibility or camouflage in the future, but that’s just my guess based on what treave said earlier about mutability.

 

[oscar]

Hunter. Supposedly being a well-studied genius in settings we know very little about always feels a bit weird.

We'll be a little ignorant of the world but tough and resourceful. Probably leaning towards The Balance, The Goat and The Water-Bearer as our signs.

EDIT: since the background poll seems to be over..

Astra of Makara (The Goat) Affinity: Earth, dynamism
Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Wisdom -1

This leaves us strong, nimble and physically nigh-indestructible while only being slightly intellectually backwards. Ram isn't a terrible idea either but big muscles and being sub-par at speech is better than average muscles and only averagely charming.

 

[Baltika9]

I'm going with Lion>Ram>Archer.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

You can only pick one sign, oscar.

 

[Egosphere]

You can only pick one sign, oscar.

Or just vote for them in order of preference

 

[Egosphere]

Ram > Archer is my vote

 

[Absinthe]

For reference, the current winning background is this:

The Novice Hunter

The strange vastness of the Tower harbours both wide rolling plains and unexplored forests within it. You are a young orphan apprenticed to a hunter, residing in one of the countless, remote, nondescript villages that populate these areas. You spend your day learning single-mindedly how to hunt, and nothing else, somewhat stunting your imagination and sociability.
(Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution +2, Charisma -1, Intelligence -1)

Starts with:
Ranged Weapons +1, Stealth +1, Traps +1​

The possible astrological signs are:

Astra of Mesa (The Ram) Affinity: Fire, dynamism

Dexterity +1, Constitution -1, Intelligence +2, Wisdom -1, Charisma +1​

Astra of Vrsabha (The Bull) Affinity: Earth, fixation

Strength +2, Dexterity -1, Constitution +2, Intelligence -1​

Astra of Mithuna (The Twins) Affinity: Air, mutability

Strength -1, Dexterity +1, Intelligence +1, Charisma +1​

Astra of Karka (The Crab) Affinity: Water, dynamism

Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1, Charisma -1​

Astra of Simha (The Lion) Affinity: Fire, fixation

Strength +1, Dexterity -1, Intelligence +1, Charisma +1​

Astra of Kanya (The Virgin) Affinity: Earth, mutability

Constitution +1, Wisdom +1​

Astra of Tula (The Balance) Affinity: Air, dynamism

Dexterity +2, Intelligence +1, Wisdom -2, Charisma +1​

Astra of Vrscika (The Scorpion) Affinity: Water, fixation

Strength +1, Dexterity -1, Constitution +2, Wisdom +1, Charisma -1​

Astra of Dhanusa (The Archer) Affinity: Fire, mutability

Strength -1, Constitution -1, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +1, Charisma +1​

Astra of Makara (The Goat) Affinity: Earth, dynamism

Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Wisdom -1​

Astra of Kumbha (The Water-Bearer) Affinity: Air, fixation

Strength +1, Constitution +1, Wisdom -1, Charisma +1​

Astra of Mina (The Fish) Affinity: Water, mutability

Strength -1, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +2, Charisma -1​

Treave informed us of the following regarding astra types:

Dynamism: The Astra is of a type that emits its power externally. A sword firing sword beams, or a hoe that carves an entire furrow with a single swing, or manipulation of external objects ala telekinesis, among others.
Fixation: The Astra enhances the target. A sword that makes the user faster, a hoe gives the user more stamina, or targetable abilities such as enhancing the natural regeneration of a patient.
Mutability: The Astra's power is based in transformation and conjuration. A cloak that can change to act as active camouflage, bracelets which enable the user to transform into a wolf, or the conjuration of objects out of thin air.​

In addition he informed us that our sign will not determine our personality. That will be decided by prologue choices (and we are starting as a kid).

Archer>Twins is my current preference. I'm partial to the mutability astra type, and it helps that both of these fix our negative stats, letting us play as a solid all-rounder. Failing both of those Fish is my third pick.