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Myth: A New Age CYOA

Kz3r0

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
27,013
Come on guys, with D1 we have the potential to become this world's equivalent of the Rothschilds! Global economic power could be at our fingertips!
:keepmyjewgold:
:flamesaw:
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
1)AD>AB
2)C
Fangshi if we get Thais friend with A, can we ask her to go academy to get power source or spell books?
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Jester said:
Fangshi if we get Thais friend with A, can we ask her to go academy to get power source or spell books?

If you recruit her you could leave her behind to gather what resources she can. It would have to be done after the meeting though provided there is nothing else you would rather do or have her do.


Current Tally:
Kipeci 1.BC 2.A
Smashing Axe 1.CD 2.D>C>B
Baltika9 1.BE 2.D
Zero Credibility 1.AH 2.C>A
asxetos 1.BA>C>F 2.A
Kz3r0 1.BG 2.D
Azira 1.AF 2.D
Jester 1.AD>B 2.C
Nevill 1.AC 2.D
Boxer 1.CF 2.F
GreyViper 1.AD 2.D
Grimgravy 1.AD 2.C>D

1.
A) 7 votes
B) 4 votes
C) 4 votes
D) 4 votes
E) 1 vote
F) 2 votes
G) 1 vote
H) 1 vote

2.
A) 2 votes
B)
C) 3 votes
D) 6 votes
E)
F) 1 vote
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
GreyViper said:
Wow that was some really good luck, hope it continues.

Maybe, I am retiring the set of dice I used for that battle though. They are almost certainly out of luck now. ;)






I will leave the polls open for another 48 hrs as I won't have any time to write until then.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
AD
C> D

That was an enjoyable read. Of course, being big damn heros is bound to have some negetive consequences. The peiple behind the crows are certainly aware of us and less than happy.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Current Final Tally:
Kipeci 1.BC 2.A
Smashing Axe 1.CD 2.D>C>B
Baltika9 1.BE 2.D
Zero Credibility 1.AH 2.C>A
asxetos 1.BA>C>F 2.A
Kz3r0 1.BG 2.D
Azira 1.AF 2.D
Jester 1.AD>B 2.C
Nevill 1.AD 2.D
Boxer 1.CF 2.F
GreyViper 1.AD 2.D
Grimgravy 1.AD 2.C>D

1.
A) 7 votes
B) 4 votes
C) 3 votes
D) 5 votes
E) 1 vote
F) 2 votes
G) 1 vote
H) 1 vote

2.
A) 2 votes
B)
C) 3 votes
D) 6 votes
E)
F) 1 vote

So 2.D wins and 1.A wins. As soon as the three way tie for the second choice in 1 is resolved I will close things up and we can go from there. And 1.D wins for the second choice. So banks and searching for the Inventor win out. Update in 12 hrs hopefully or some time in the next 36 hrs at the latest.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I'll change my vote to 1.AD. If banks are what you need to understand the city, so be it.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Chapter 5: Banks, Beers, and Little Birdies

Arm and arm the two of you stroll down the broad, clean avenues of Myrgard's high city. Your destination is the grand square of Ploutos and Tyche, home of the goldsmiths of Myrgard.

The girls are in the care of Trakk and his mercenaries; training and visiting with his extended family. Turns out Trakk has a way with children, though firm, he is fair and the girls are starting to warm up to the dwarf. This gives you and Thaïs the opportunity to explore the city at your leisure.

Leaning on one another you gossip and scheme about your future, as you slowly make your way in the bright, cool and crisp morning. The sun lazily pulls itself into the sky as the city comes to life around you. Already teams of dwarves rush back and forth with carts full of every product imaginable, restocking the vendors in preparation for the flood of customers which will soon pour out of their homes and into the streets.

You examine the ancient shops of the city; built of marble, pink, white and black, from the surrounding hills they shimmer slightly as the sun hits them. In the early morning the whole city has a slight glow that in enthralling. The two of you slip into the great square just as it is beginning to fill up for the day. You have a number of meetings scheduled with some of the local bankers, as you enter the square your eyes fall upon your first contact of the day.

He leans against the statue of Tyche, his heavy hands casually stuffed into his pockets. In most ways he is utterly unremarkable. With one exception, his eyes. It is not what they reveal that is fascinating but what they do not. This dwarf is almost completely unreadable to you. Out of curiosity you attempt a tentative survey of his mind, just a slight feint to see what he does. His response is immediate as his eyes spring to life, cold, sharp, and as dangerous as any blade. You quickly break off your attack before he realizes what is happening. This dwarf is no mage thankfully but the will he possesses is the sort that can alter the world.

With a deep breath you approach the man. In Bruig he begins, he is polite if somewhat withdrawn, "Good morning."

The two of you give him a slight curtsey, in quite good Dwarven you reply, "Good morning Mister-"

"Please, no titles," he waves a hand dismissively in the air as he switches to Dwarven as well, "Call me Mayer. You must be Derryth and Thaïs. I have heard of you, what you have done for this kingdom will be on the lips of every gossip and bartender within three days. For this reason I have agreed to meet you. You have my interest ladies, and so you have my time, do not waste either for I will not readily extend them again."

Not one for long speeches you quickly respond, "Very well Mayer, I have a few questions that need answering. Give me the right answers and perhaps we may both make a lot of money..."

------------------------------------------

"Well, that was certainly enlightening," you walk with Thaïs down the broad avenues leading away from the vaults of the goldsmiths of Myrgard.

She nods enthusiastically, "It really is an ingenious solution to their problems. I wonder... perhaps we could take some of these principle back to the empire..."

There is a fire in her eyes. One that matches your own. There is money to be made here though that is of little concern to either of you. Instead it is that which comes with money that has you both worked up. There is money here which means power and that is irresistible for any mage.

You have spent the better part of the day investigating the dwarven banking system in an attempt to understand this strange people. In many ways you found it exceedingly odd but also quite brilliant.

Given how dangerous the dwarven hinterland still is the transport of large sums of gold across the country in out of the question. Instead the dwarven nobility and merchant families leave most of their funds in the care of others. The goldsmiths of Myrgard being the natural choice given their reputation for dependability and security. It seems that any transaction worth mentioning is conducted through the trade of slips of paper guaranteed by the goldsmiths which in turn allow for supposedly immediate withdrawal of the necessary funds from their vaults. The system is fascinating and like nothing you have encountered in the human lands where physical goods are still required to pursue any sort of transaction.

You guide Thaïs into a nearby bar, the Golden Hart, and the two of you grab a booth in the back. In the low light of the establishment she begins to sort through your notes, "So what are our options exactly Thaïs?"

It was difficult to gauge the receptiveness of your prospective partners to the idea of investing in human lands. Part of you realized early on that it would be better not to plant that idea in their minds unless you were sure you could trust them. These people could just as easily wind up as competitors and you do not wish to give them any unnecessary advantage. Despite these constraints Thaïs believes there are a few possible avenues worth pursuing. She deftly plucks three folders from the pile, "Well the way I see it we have a couple courses we could attempt to pursue. That Mayer fellow is well situated to aid us..."

You remember Mayer from this morning. The memory of the man even haunts you a little, "He definitely knows his business but he is not the sort of person that we could easily dominate. With a will as strong as he has even the more powerful spells we could weave would have difficulty finding purchase. If we choose to work with him he will demand to be a partner and I can see no way around that..."

"Well..." Thaïs flips to the second folder, "How about the Barings family then?"

The Barings seemed nice enough though very cautious and quite curious about your motives. A family of refugees from the west the Barings had used their connections within the wool trade to establish themselves in Myrgard. Their position is not quite as strong as Mayer's which means they will have to rely on your resources to a greater degree but they also seemed willing to grant you greater authority in any partnership that would be formed.

You shrug slightly, "It is a possibility. We could also look at getting a proper meeting with the heads of the current banking houses. They would be less opportunistic than these up and coming dwarves but they are also far more conservative and quite adverse to risk..." you hesitate for a moment, "Maybe we do not even need to find a partner, perhaps we could simply steal their principles and set up shop in the empire without them."

Thaïs gives you an uncertain grin, "We would be making enemies of them all that way... but we also would not have to share..."

As the two of you contemplate your options a crowd has gathered near the center of the bar. The owner, a dwarf named Ketley, is holding some sort of meeting, "Welcome everyone to the fourth meeting of the Myrgard Building Society! If everyone would please take a seat we will send around for the monthly collection and then we can begin..."

The two of you watch from your booth as the dwarves go about their business. It seems that this "building society" works as some sort of "cooperative" with each paying member as a stakeholder in the running of the society. Currently Ketley is pooling the resources of all the members to build houses for them all. Once each member has a house the society will terminate and they will go their separate ways. You admit it is an intriguing concept though part of you wonders if they are not missing something.

You lean in closer to Thaïs, "You know if they used their completed homes as collateral they could probably draw in more members and maintain the organization with a rolling membership..."

Intrigued by the idea she whispers, "They could even expand their operations beyond simply housing..."

As their meeting breaks up you think you may have found an alternative route you had not first envisioned though you might still get better results from the "private" banking model you witnessed this morning.

With your sojourn into the world of finances momentarily at an end the two of you set off for the rougher side of town in search of an old "friend" of Thaïs'.

-----------------------------------------------------

"So this woman, Meletē, she is a friend of yours?" you sip on your ale as you wait. The Broken King is one of a handful of human bars in the city. It is run down, dirty, and filled with the worst sorts of human scum. The ale is watered down, the floor covered in sawdust and blood, and you half expect for a fight to break out at any moment. But if you want anonymity then this is the place to come. Thaïs has arranged to meet a former client that she believes could be a real asset to your organization.

"Acquaintance more than anything. She is a dear and quite loyal too but she has no luck at all with people," your partner gives you a grin, "Remind you of anyone?"

You grumble a little, "I am not that bad with people."

She lets out a melodic laugh, the sort that caresses your ear and reminds you why everyone seems to love her, "Derryth, I am your friend. As your friend I am telling you, you are that bad with people."

"Helzo ladizes... vould vone of yoze like ta keeep meee varmm..." you both turn in your seats. The... gentleman... before you resembles the offspring of a maul and a ghôl. Twice the ugly with half the sense, "I am afraid we are otherwise engaged sir," your friend responds.

He stands there in silence as the words attempt to penetrate his mind. After a minute or two a broad grin spreads out across his massive mug, "Ah, yosse are nat inta menzz? Vell come with me an I ca' fizz that..."

You suck your teeth but make the attempt to resolve this peacefully, "Tell you what. Why don't you go on up to one of the rooms and we will come join you later... much, much later..."

At first he nods his head enthusiastically but stops as a look of confusion drifts across his face, a single cloud in an otherwise empty sky, "Vait? Howw vould ya' find me aftar? Ya should come vith me now," he grabs Thaïs by the shoulder and instinctively you unload on him with a maximized assault spell.

He shouts in pain and slides backwards across the floor crying. You give Thaïs a winning grin, "See. I am great with people."

She matches your smile, "Whatever you say Derryth. So what are you going to do about his five friends?" she gestures slightly with her head to the group of men that are even now pilling out of their booth and stumbling over to your spot at the bar.

You give her a wink, "Only five of them? Well first I am going to finish my drink," you knock back the ale, "Then I am going to order another one," you wave over the barman and do just that, "Then I am going to hit the first two of them like so..."

You reach out with your mind.

The mind is a rather abstract thing all things considered but you are always fascinated by how your mind chooses to express this abstraction.

The Watcher's mind is all darkness and water, vast and full of menace. Secrets hidden deep below the surface.

By contrast Thaïs' mind is much like your own, a fortress filled with guards and traps. The two of you have been practicing on one another and it is striking just how similar your defences are, hers look a bit better, while yours function a bit better but it is a difference of degree and not kind.

Once, months ago, you worked up the courage to probe Nine's mind. It was beautiful, deep and terrifying. A city of shifting green glass and gold gossamer. You did not go far into it as it would be all too easy to lose yourself in there permanently. Part of you wonders if that is how she lost herself... trapped within those twisting alleys and enclosed streets.

It is not just mages that pose a challenge though. The banker, Mayer, his mind was an empty white plane dominated by a massive spire of black marble without windows or doors. A construct of his will that would take months of pressure to crack.

All of which is simply to say that each mind is expressed differently. Rendered into sensory information that you can easily process. In the case of these drunks their minds are small villages scattered in a wilderness of stupidity and base desire. There are no walls, no gates, no traps save those fit for beasts. Their minds are completely open to you and so you sweep them away.

The first two drunks drop and trip the men behind them. You casually sip you ale as you pummel the group for the next ten minutes. They lay, unmoving in a large pile in the center of the room. The rest of the patrons burst into raucous laughter. As you dismantle the group they applaud your efforts.

The rest of the night is quiet.

No one bothers you as you sit at the bar, one hour becomes two, then four, then six, "Well Thaïs, looks like she is not coming-"

You do not get a chance to finish the thought as a strange bird crashes in through one of the front windows and comes to rest on the bar between you and Thaïs. It is an odd thing, brass and iron with a silver hue to its wings. One of the wings is broken and the runes inscribed on it flash once and fizzle out, "From your friend I assume?"

Thaïs just nods as she pokes at the bird, "Probably," she picks it up and turns it in her hands. On the underside of the bird is a small hatch which she promptly opens. A scrap of paper slides out.


T.

Bastard found me.

Stuck in his compound. South side of city.

Red building, two black arrows over door.


Have hours at most.

Going to try and take me back to Muirthemne.

Will be killed.

Please.

Help.

M.


You let out a concerned 'humph', "Well that is not good. Did she step on the wrong toes or something?"

Your friend sighs, "I think so. There was an accident. She would not talk about it though. She has trouble asking for help and she did not want me involved. That she is willing to ask for help now must mean she is completely out of options."

You knock back the rest of your ale and grab your hat, "Did you want to help her?"

She smiles and nods, "Yes, if we can. I would appreciate it Derryth but if we do this we would be making enemies..."

"Nonsense, Thaïs, we make nothing but friends everywhere we go. It is a product of my winning personality," you pay for the drinks as the two of you stand and make for the door. You pass the unconscious drunks and you flash her a smile as you boot their leader in the ribs. He lets out a low groan as you step out into the darkness.


1. Investments. You have a few "ins" into the world of dwarven finance. Which would you like to pursue.

A) Mayer. You have the feeling that he will go far. You find him a bit unsettling but he is competent, knowledgeable and would make for a powerful partner.

B) The Barings. They have connections in the Province but lack the resources to currently capitalize on them. With your resources you could work wonders together but they are not fully established yet.

C) The goldsmiths. The heads of the guilds currently control most of the finances in the kingdom. It would cost a fair bit in time and gold but you could try and win them over to your cause.

D) The Building Society. The idea of a cooperative intrigues you. With a little help this organization could really grow and you might be able to grab a fair amount of power behind the scenes.

E) None. You do not need the dwarves now that you have the basics down. You will start up your own bank based out of the empire rather than work with dwarven interests.

F) freeform


2. Meletē, the Inventor. Thaïs' friend has been captured by her enemies. Do you want to try and free her?

A) No. If she has offended someone powerful you have no desire to make more enemies.

B) Yes. You will head to the compound immediately. The two of you will not be able to storm the place by yourselves but you could try to sneak in by posing as servants.

C) Yes. But you will get help first. You will find Trakk, his mercenaries and the girls. You will then storm the compound, you will have to be quick to avoid the city guard though.

D) Yes. You do not want to attack or infiltrate the compound. Instead you will round up your allies and attempt to ambush your adversaries when they try and take Meletē back to the empire.

E) Yes. You have a fair amount of wealth at your disposal. You will go to these people and try to negotiate for the release of Meletē. Surely she has not done anything too unforgivable...

F) freeform
 
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Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
So we're getting into banking now? Okay, let's roll with that.
redshield05.gif

1A- a partner like him will really help us go far, we have much to learn from him. And if it ever so happens that we get tired of him, well, we have ways of dealing with that.
2C
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
1)D - for glorious revolution! Future Commies in myth setting. > A
2)B
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
1A- a partner like him will really help us go far, we have much to learn from him.
I'll second that. Mayer is a kind of a no-nonsense guy that would give us a tremendous advantage with this new start up. I am not so greedy and unwilling to share that I would gimp myself by trying to work with a subpar personnel.

Besides, he just intrigues me greatly. I guess even Nine would have trouble pulling her moves on the guy.

As for the second choice, I am kind of tempted to grab Trakk and then go negotiate from a position 'release the hostage, or else'. I mean, with our newfound reputation of the slaughterer of eight hundreds of undead, who would really want to try and mess with us?

I am a bit unsure about whether to go with C or D, though.

AC.
 

asxetos

Augur
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
820
Location
Greece
1D - freemasons of the highest order :) how can we pass this.
2C - i think we will need the backup. Might flop to 2D if you guys think that any desicive action in the city might cause problems with the dwarves.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
B>E>A - We'd have more power in the partnership, and can dominate them if they don't do what we want. We need contacts and not so much resources with this venture.

E - I don't want to step on the wrong toes, and we shouldn't rule out diplomacy before resorting to violence. Get Trakk to act as backup and we'll talk to these guys civilly. Offer money as the carrot, violent retribution as the stick. We already have a good reputation here, let's not risk it.

We shouldn't lose sight of our original goal, which is to get in good with the dwarves. Violent reaction is shortsighted and jeopardises this, it's especially foolish since we're deprived of most of the facts. There is nothing to say diplomacy won't work here, especially considering the person we're trying to rescue has worse charisma than us.

This all may be resolved as simply as offering payment in exchange for the girl's release, with Thais doing the talking, and us using mental magic behind the scenes to convince them it's a good deal.
 
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Cassidy

Arcane
Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
7,922
Location
Vault City
D > E - They will never outsmart a Dwarven Banker. More likely for their wealth to be legally expropriated and for them to be dumped on the streets poor and broke before they can even finish spelling the word "shekels".

B > A - I suspect hesitation will lead Meletē to certain death. Either go in and soon or forsake.

Here a prediction:

The next Leveler will be more like a combination between a Wall Street Banker, Bob Page from Deus Ex and a necromancer rather than someone obvious evil is obvious like Balor or Soulblighter. Why risk wars against what can be corrupted and subverted from inside, bit by bit, until light is dark and dark is light?
 
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Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
The next Leveler will be more like a combination between a Wall Street Banker, Bob Page from Deus Ex and a necromancer rather than someone obvious evil is obvious like Balor or Soulblighter. Why risk wars against what can be corrupted and subverted from inside, bit by bit, until light is dark and dark is light?
So, what you're saying is that the next Leveler will be a Rotschild?
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
B > A - I suspect hesitation will lead Meletē to certain death. Either go in and soon or forsake.
They are not going to kill her outright. They will need to transport her to Muirthemne, first. What we are choosing here is the approach - a covert infiltration mission, a direct assault, an ambush, or negotiations.

The last attempt, even though successful, made we wary about brute forcing the problem, though. We are quite proficient with mind magic, so maybe we can do it quiet-like, without cocktails and fireballs flying everywhere? B is something to consider here.

Smashing Axe's approach of a carrot and a stick is quite good, too, but we don't know if these people are motivated by money or not.
 
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Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
D > B - because I would prefer an ally that we have at least some measure of control over and not someone more powerful then we are.
D > C - hopefully we will make it in time, because going just the two of us strikes me as unnecessary risky and I think we used up our share of luck for this campaign. I don't think we even look like servants, we would have to take of our armor and lose the weapons and that's just too risky since we have no idea what we are dealing with. Get help - that's what we have allies for. Worst case scenario we miss them, but we can track them down since we know where they are going.
 

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