Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Zero Credibility]

I'm tempted to go for the loot everything option as well, but aren't we likely to run against whatever we ran from over there the last time? There's still the shadows and monster to consider, aren't there?

 

[Baltika9]

I hope we have the common sense to actually rest up and heal up before we go for our graverobbing adventure? Fangshi, yes or no?

They encountered a group of the creatures from the center of the city. Fifteen little ones and a large one. It was very close but Thaïs rolled extraordinarily (actually I guess this also answers your earlier question about rolls) and she managed to save the group. I was fairly certain you would lose at least a few kids if not one of your friends but they pulled through. Thaïs would have died protecting the children if necessary, some how she has gotten this crazy idea in her head that a leader does not abandon her followers... don't know who she learnt that from...

Wonder who she got that ridiculous idea from?

 

[Nevill]

If you threw Bari at him you would have taken him out in one hit as the sheer magnificence of a flying anti-magic dwarf would have blown his head clean off like in Scanners...

I so regret missing the scene. Kz3r0 was right all along.

Wonder who she got that ridiculous idea from?

Seeing as how easily we influence our followers, we could have started the school of combat based on the principle that if anything bad happens, you should throw a dwarf at it. It would have the potential to conquer the world.

In the library you could have found different allies though you would have had to kill Amena and Ithapi. If Miosguinn had not found the book the entire end of the chapter would have been different as well as would the fates of the three orders. You would have wound up with different enemies and allies and may have actually had to break into the vault yourself.

What were the potential allies? The creatures? They didn't strike me as ones for diplomacy. The demon in the book?
Speaking of which, what was the book Mios found? Was it connected to the Goddess?
What were the pendants he and Isolde wore? What would have happened if we spied on them since the beginning? If we confronted Mios about the tome? If we trusted him with the runes on the tower?
What was the event that happened recently and changed everything for the Blues, as you told us?

 

[Smashing Axe]

On my phone at the moment. But guys, I really think we should go with Bari to see the dwarf king. We'd make a powerful ally who would owe us big, returning with the hammer will have a much greater impact than returning after at another date. We can then return to consolidate our power. I really think the dwarves will reward us big.

 

[Fangshi]

I'm tempted to go for the loot everything option as well, but aren't we likely to run against whatever we ran from over there the last time? There's still the shadows and monster to consider, aren't there?

As long as you have a mage with the Light Runes spell you are almost completely safe from the shadows. They are actually serving as your guard dogs right now keeping the more dangerous (to you) creatures out of your area of the city. Monsters are a definite concern but you will move as a group and you have already broken most of the organized resistance in this third of the city. You will rest, heal up and then start looting before the creatures in the center of the city start to spread out into the power vacuum you have created.

Seeing as how easily we influence our followers, we could have started the school of combat based on the principle that if anything bad happens, you should throw a dwarf at it. It would have the potential to conquer the world.

Depends on the follower. You have had a profound impact on Thaïs for a number of reasons. But someone like Gareth has probably had a larger influence on Derryth than the other way around. Derryth's speech pattern even shifted a little when she got to know the man. She sees him as a leader and tries to emulate him in some things so it is a two way street all things considered. And naturally nothing beats dwarf tossing... nothing.

What were the allies? The creatures? They didn't strike me as ones for diplomacy.

The Shadows, and that is all I will say.

What was the book Mios found? Was it connected to the Goddess?

What was the event that happened recently and changed everything for the Blues, as you told us?

The book contained the location of his "Goddess", it also gave him the theory necessary to modify the Gate spell he learnt from helping you and Eris (he checked the spell at your request and watched Eris cast the rest). The result was the ability to implant a fraction of his goddess into living and dead hosts very rapidly. Orginially he had been trying to mass produce warriors like Isolde but it was very slow going. This new technique let him and the other Blue leaders build an army almost overnight. The book was in the possession of Abharsair when you blew him up so it is gone for good and you killed off everyone who had read it so the knowledge is lost for the time being.

What were the pendants he and Isolde wore? What would have happened if we spied on them since the beginning? If we confronted Mios about the tome?

The pendants were a gift from his goddess. It let him channel some truly terrifying spells. It also let him control the "original" Isolde (it is the reason she did not attack when he told her to release Brigit) but the grenade neutralized it. From then on he had to rely on his connection to his goddess and his own skill.

If you had spied on him from the beginning you would have found out he was a Blue. But the Blues were not set up to always be your enemy either and the Reds and Silver were more dangerous to you before they were attacked. So it is impossible to say what would have happened beyond that. If you confronted him about the tome he would have lied, if you demanded to see it he would have given you a fake, he would not have trusted you enough to help Brigit and Gareth and you may have lost them both, he also would not have left you the note as a warning. He was legitimately trying to help you there. (As a side note if you had not let your people ransack the building they all would have been present when the Reds attacked and the Reds would have been massacred. Of course you also would not have found the mortar so no awesome button but there you go.)

 

[Baltika9]

Seeing as how easily we influence our followers, we could have started the school of combat based on the principle that if anything bad happens, you should throw a dwarf at it. It would have the potential to conquer the world.

Depends on the follower. You have had a profound impact on Thaïs for a number of reasons. But someone like Gareth has probably had a larger influence on Derryth than the other way around. Derryth's speech pattern even shifts a little when she talks to the man. She sees him as a leader and tries to emulate him in some things so it is a two way street all things considered.

A-ha! So I was right, Gareth really is the real workhorse that pulls most of the load here! We owe this dude a drink every day for at least a year.

 

[Fangshi]

A-ha! So I was right, Gareth really is the real workhorse that pulls most of the load here! We owe this dude a drink every day for at least a year.

Well he is essentially your NCO, it is expected that he will do all the hard work...

 

[Zero Credibility]

As long as you have a mage with the Light Runes spell you are almost completely safe from the shadows. They are actually serving as your guard dogs right now keeping the more dangerous (to you) creatures out of your area of the city. Monsters are a definite concern but you will move as a group and you have already broken most of the organized resistance in this third of the city. You will rest, heal up and then start looting before the creatures in the center of the city start to spread out into the power vacuum you have created.

I'm primarily asking about the library here. The last time we were chased out of there by some... thing. Aren't we likely to run into it again if we are spending a month there?

 

[Nevill]

Then the battle with the Blues that happened when we blew up Abharsair. What were the outcomes where? Which ones were easier/harder? Wasn't it better just to sit tight and wait for the assault? Did I make things worse by planning to trap the army inside the gates? How would asxetos' plan work? Which of the two was more beliavable to Miosguinn? What it would have affected? How many of the creatures Miosguinn had? He had 2 days to build up the army.

What about the retreat options? How would they have played out? What rolls would we need to make? What about Blue diplomacy and trying to trick Mios with Thais?

Why did he ran back to the offices? What did he try to cast there? How would a glamour spell have played out, what were our choices to resist/dispel it? What was in the basement or in the main halls?

What would have happened if we had gone through the door? What was the black egg?

 

[Baltika9]

A-ha! So I was right, Gareth really is the real workhorse that pulls most of the load here! We owe this dude a drink every day for at least a year.

Well he is essentially your NCO, it is expected that he will do all the hard work...

Thankless fucking job. Promote him to a an officer right away, give him some competent helpers and put him in charge of our own personal Royal Guard. Also, honeymoon with Brigit when Serpent and Christine (honestly, where did this name come from? Seems out of place, like Tenebrae from EPIC).
Time for the man to be rewarded for his efforts.

 

[Azira]

Votes galore!

1,1 A
1,2 A
1,3 A

2,1 C
2,2 C
2,3 B
2,4 C

3,B Return with Bari to the dwarven lords. That meet and greet should be awesome, question is, could we postpone this until the tower and loot from this part of the undercity is somewhat consolidated? Or will Bari be leavin immediately? I mean, if we promise to go with him (Derryth, Thais, possibly Gareth and Brigit, but leaving Biliku, Uttu, Ithapi and Amena at the tower to protect it and the orphans, while securing the tower), would he be willing to stay for a while and help loot what can be looted? Those smelting torches seemed all kinds of awesome...

4,D

 

[Smashing Axe]

1
A
A
A

Loot it ALL

2
Could you define the difference between having Thais as a partner and having her as part of the group please?
B or C depending
B
B
C

3
B - Go meet the Dwarf King. Make a powerful ally/patron. Then make a decision about our group's future.

4
D

FangshiAre there any artifacts or items of a magical nature that we can track down in Tyrvard's homeland? I kinda want to go along with them to witness the d'awwww that will be their honeymoon. Unless you're offering a bonus series.

I'm imagining the d'aww moments going something like this

Spoiler

 

[Baltika9]

That's pretty adorable and something I would love to see. Quick, drown Fangshi in brofists (not like he didn't earn them anyway)!

 

[Fangshi]

I'm primarily asking about the library here. The last time we were chased out of there by some... thing. Aren't we likely to run into it again if we are spending a month there?

It is possible. The thing that attacked was a result of the creatures going to get help. Derryth doubts it is still there (and will take precautions to make sure) so as long as you do not let a patrol get away you should be fine. Derryth will not risk people just for a little money/power in most cases.

Then the battle with the Blues that happened when we blew up Abharsair. What were the outcomes where? Which ones were easier/harder? Wasn't it better just to sit tight and wait for the assault? Did I make things worse by planning to trap the army inside the gates? How many of the creatures Miosguinn had? He had 2 days to build up the army.

Well if you had not blown up Abharsair then the Blues would have had their whole command staff alive and a lot more soldiers to throw around. But Miosguinn was a much better commander than Abharsair. Miosguinn actually set up a strategy with multiple fronts while Abharsair would have tried to brute force the problem. As to which was easier well that is not knowable. It would depend on the choices you made.

Depends, when you say "wait for the assault" you mean Miosguinn's assault right? If you had done that he would have been even more cautious than he was. As it stood he though he had it won so he let his army push too far ahead and he called in Isolde's strike team without thinking. You did surprise him, you just had to sacrifice your allies to do it.

He sent the book on by spider along with noted on the Gate spell. It took his allies a couple days to figure everything out and a couple days to get the materials. After that they just pumped out monsters until they had a horde. Miosguinns force numbered in the low thirties to low forties supplemented by every spider he could find. He literally drew every resource he had available into the fight.

What about the retreat options? How would they have played out? What rolls would we need to make? What about Blue diplomacy and trying to trick Mios with Thais?

If you had just left right away you could have escaped just fine. It really was not your fight until you mortared the leaders. The dwarves would never have left and Serpent would refuse to abandon the wounded and Christine. You could have forced the issue but you probably would have had to kill people. Once Miosguinn was in charge your odds of cleanly escaping were gone and he would have hunted you.

To get anything out of the diplomacy option you would have had to come along personally. I would have been you, Thaïs, Tyrvard and maybe one other. He would have offered to let you meet his goddess similar to update 19 only less hostile. If you refused there would have been a fight and you probably would have lost but it was possible to kill him that way and escape with no casualties though it would take careful planing and luck.

What would have happened if we had gone through the door? What was the black egg?

If you had trusted the eldritch abomination? You would have opened a direct connection to her by touching the black egg. The next few updates would have been in your own mind and it would have been Spider Goddess Diplomacy so yeah... though you would have a single ally that could turn the tables against the Goddess as well so not all hope would have been lost.

If you lost or accepted the Goddess' deal, well you would have wound up like Miosguinn. You would have been given the option to forcibly convert your allies or kill them and you would have either joined Miosguinn or replaced him.

Thankless fucking job. Promote him to a an officer right away, give him some competent helpers and put him in charge of our own personal Royal Guard. Also, honeymoon with Brigit when Serpent and Christine (henstly, where did this name come from? Seems out of place, like Tenebrae from EPIC).
Time for the man to be rewarded for his efforts.

Well if you want you can have him train up Biliku and Uttu in proper military strategy. Ithapi could also work if you took the time to properly educate him. He is quite bright but no one has ever given him the time or attention neccesary to see him shine.

As for Christine's name. All of the female names for the Damned have a connect to Spiders:

Christine is a reference to a character from The Black Spider originally she was going to be a villain but I prefer to give even the villains some good qualities and once your mutual bad luck stuck her with Serpent I revised her role somewhat. Even the characters realize it is an odd name for the setting.

Neith is the name of an Egyptian goddess associated with women, weaving and marriage and by a round about way spiders.

Uttu is a Sumerian goddess with a similar portfolio

Biliku is a goddess of the Andaman Islands if I remember right and again is associated with spiders.

Could you define the difference between having Thais as a partner and having her as part of the group please?

Sure, it will determine just how much of a stake she has in things. If you keep her as part of the group she remains your employee and will work to the best of her ability but will expect to be paid on a regular basis. If you make her a partner then she will see herself as more of your equal. She will want a larger part of the resources but she will also be much more invested in your long term success since your success will be her success.

Essentially it comes down to how much are you willing to share and what do you hope to gain from having her around. She would prefer C but will accept B, she does not really want to leave but will if you do not want her around.

 

[Fangshi]

Return with Bari to the dwarven lords. That meet and greet should be awesome, question is, could we postpone this until the tower and loot from this part of the undercity is somewhat consolidated? Or will Bari be leavin immediately? I mean, if we promise to go with him (Derryth, Thais, possibly Gareth and Brigit, but leaving Biliku, Uttu, Ithapi and Amena at the tower to protect it and the orphans, while securing the tower), would he be willing to stay for a while and help loot what can be looted? Those smelting torches seemed all kinds of awesome...

He wants to leave soon but he can hold off if you ask since he does owe you a lot. You probably want to vote 2, 4C though or you will send the kids away...

 

[Zero Credibility]

Ok, voting:

1.1. A - we are unlikely to encounter resistance here now and we do have guides for two of the orders.
1.2. A - yes, but only the vault as it only takes a week. Less chance of a fuck up that way and I do want to be out of here before the great carnival starts. We already have the library in the tower to loot.
1.3. A - certainly

2.1. B - we need someone good at talking with us to keep us out of trouble now that we are returning back to civilization
2.2. B - of course, skilled and loyal people are hard to find
2.3. B - the same
2.4. C - our future orphan army?

3. A - stay and start investing in some of our possibility. I would like t check out some of the upcoming events as well. But we should also take that time to plan our next move - there's the other part of the stone and the map to the treasure we found, we definitely want to check that out.

4. A - I suppose this would be useful.

 

[Azira]

You probably want to vote 2, 4C though or you will send the kids away...

Err, yeah. Goofed on that one.

 

[Smashing Axe]

3. A - stay and start investing in some of our possibility. I would like t check out some of the upcoming events as well. But we should also take that time to plan our next move - there's the other part of the stone and the map to the treasure we found, we definitely want to check that out.

While I definitely agree with you that we need to take some time to gather our bearings/build the foundations of our powerbase, I think we're missing a real opportunity by not visiting the dwarf king with the hammer in hand. Showing up at his halls five years after the fact will engender a warm welcome, but likely no real reimbursement. If the dwarf lord survived, that would be different since we've already established a connection there, but as things are, if we don't go, we will be nothing but a name to the dwarf king that he once heard and remembered fondly. At the moment the only link we have to the dwarves is Bari, which, while nice, is nothing compared to having the ear of royalty.

Nothing else we can possibly do is time pressing compared to meeting with the dwarves. (Except trying for the Heron Guard, which I think we don't want to do anyway) No one can find the other halycon stone without the piece we have. The map and the treasure we found will still be there.

At the risk of inviting disaster, I say we can do those things afterwards.

 

[asxetos]

Great chapter end

Part 1. Treasure
1) The Vault, Red, Blue and Silver Orders
A) Loot it!

2) The Library
A) Loot it!

3) The Tower
A) Explore the tower

Part 2. Personnel
1) Thaïs
C) You keep her on but make her a partner.

2) Gareth and Brigit
C) freeform (Keep them and also propose partnership to Gareth) > B

3) Serpent and Christine
B) You offer them positions.

4) Amena, Ithapi, Biliku, Uttu and the orphans
C) You keep them.

Part 3: The Plan Part 1
A) Stay - If you stay you can do things like organize a mercenary company, build a proper Circle, or buy your way into the Eastern Nobility. You will also be able to do more training and research (like finding the other half of the stone) this way as you will be stationary. There are also a few important events coming up in the capital. The Heron Guard had to push back their tournament following the attack on the city at the end of the prologue so that will be happening in four or five months. There is also the great carnival in three months and a few other things to do as well.

Part 4: information
C) Religion, Theology and Philosophy > D) Artefacts and People of great importance


Here is my reasoning:
We will have to loot everything in order to be able to start our own Black Company based in Muirthemne and to raise the children properly.
We give time to Serpent and Christine to come back while we are establish our base.
Thais will be invalueble help in this whole process so she deserves a partnership. I further propose we offer partnership to Gareth too since we want him as a tactician and battle master for the company.
Amena, Ithapi, Biliku and Uttu already look up to us and we should not let them down. Amena will be an excellent addition to the circle and the others are pretty good fighters. Ithapi will be an issue at first (since he will face hostility from the city people) but Thais has the charisma to overcome the obstacles i believe. The rest of the orphans will have to decide for their own if they want to join us when they come of age.

We will have to see what Fangshi throws at us story-wise, but if things are calm after a year in the city i propose we go after our map of the Dream.

 

[Smashing Axe]

The only thing that makes me hesitant about inviting Thais and/or Gareth on as partners is that there'd be no clear chain of command.

I'm fine with having lieutenants or whatever. But we're The Captain

 

[Zero Credibility]

Nothing else we can possibly do is time pressing compared to meeting with the dwarves. (Except trying for the Heron Guard, which I think we don't want to do anyway) No one can find the other halycon stone without the piece we have. The map and the treasure we found will still be there.

At the risk of inviting disaster, I say we can do those things afterwards.

Hmm, well I'm kind of thinking (or hoping) it would be the other way around. Bari will brief them on what happened when he returns and we will have their good will and favours to call on when we need them later. Sure, we would miss on the ceremony and the celebrations, but what we did will not be forgotten and the debt will be repaid.

 

[asxetos]

The only thing that makes me hesitant about inviting Thais and/or Gareth on as partners is that there'd be no clear chain of command.

I'm fine with having lieutenants or whatever. But we're The Captain

I agree with you. It will have to be made clear that we are the company leader.
The partnership is more like giving them a bigger cut of the loot and lieutenant positions in the company. Fangshi will they accept something like that?

 

[Smashing Axe]

Nothing else we can possibly do is time pressing compared to meeting with the dwarves. (Except trying for the Heron Guard, which I think we don't want to do anyway) No one can find the other halycon stone without the piece we have. The map and the treasure we found will still be there.

At the risk of inviting disaster, I say we can do those things afterwards.

Hmm, well I'm kind of thinking (or hoping) it would be the other way around. Bari will brief them on what happened when he returns and we will have their good will and favours to call on when we need them later. Sure, we would miss on the ceremony and the celebrations, but what we did will not be forgotten and the debt will be repaid.

The thing is though, we're more likely to receive titles and accolades from the dwarf king while the tale of our success is still fresh. That, and once we've received honours from the dwarves, some of that prestige is going to transfer to human society. Elevation to the nobility would be easier, as we'd be a diplomatic asset, a bridge between the humans and the dwarves. The titles and/or accolades would further mark us as a cut above the merchant nouvelle riche looking for social elevation.It'd also further legitimise our circle.

It does seem very likely that meeting with the dwarves now, will make the stuff we want to do later relatively easier

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well would Bari wait until we get ready at least? We have to buy and secure a new headquarters to house our treasure and the kids at least.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Well would Bari wait until we get ready at least? We have to buy and secure a new headquarters to house our treasure and the kids at least.

Yeah. If there's a banking system, we could probably deposit all the gold/jewels, take the light magical artifacts with us and keep the rest in a respectable warehouse or something.

If Brigit is sticking with us and she trusts her old man, we could probably get him to look after some of our things for a fee.