Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[archaen]

More like Merkin"t" style.

Spoiler

 

[Esquilax]

Music to my Sith soul. Flopping to D.

Well, I was half-joking (and half-serious), referring to a line of reasoning in the Legend CYOA you'd occasionally wherein we'd sometimes hear "If Shun/Yunzi/Xu Jing can't protect the Empire/can't stop being such a tsundere/fight an army of pirates by himself then he/she/he deserves to die!"

Now, that being said, I definitely do think that the best approach to teaching Aria and Arlin is to push their limits. This doesn't necessarily mean sending them off to a suicide mission that they have little hope of surviving, but it does mean sometimes throwing them off into the deep end and seeing how they rise to the challenge. Pressure makes diamonds.

 

[Grimgravy]

A>D - Lets be lazy and let the cow handle it!

 

[TOME]

Grimgravy A>D

TOME B

Azira D
Baltika9 D>A
Nevill D
Kipeci D
Kz3rO C
archaen D>C
asxetos D
Gobblecock D
Jester D
lightbane D
Lambchop19 D>B
ScubaV D
Esquilax D
Tigranes D
Elfberserker D
Storyfag D

After Grimgravy's flop it's 1 vs 17. I still have hope, right?

 

[Nevill]

Everyone who opposes Zhang Jue style training is beyond hope.

 

[TOME]

I don't oppose training Aria, I just think B is faster route to slimes, which is our objective at the moment. Later we could use our guides as a peace offering to slimes. I bet those slimes are anxious to get a little payback.

 

[lightbane]

I believe it is safe to say that no-one will let the rookies leave. After all, they're witnesses and came here to kill our future allies, so it's fair to let them experience some tentacle-action first-hand.

 

[Nevill]

I believe it is safe to say that no-one will let the rookies leave.

I would. Why wouldn't we?

The rationale for killing/sacrificing them is the same one that was for killing the guards in Ontoglia - THEY HAVE SEEN OUR HAT, KILL! Thankfully, we held back the urge then.

And these guys didn't even see us yet. What exactly are they witnesses to?

Killing random kids is kind of a strange way to go about one's goals.

 

[Kipeci]

1 EXP is still EXP.

 

[lightbane]

Well Nevill, it will be kinda hard to recruit these slimes if we let go the ones that are going to their territory with the sole intention of grinding xp killing them. Therefore, conflict with these rookies is inevitable, one way or another. And they saw Aria, who's part of the retinue went to Methuss with us, so someone could make a connection if they manage to report back.

Either way, those that survive the slimes' careful ministrations can be brought back to Grahferde in order to interrogate them for info/let Rin practice/give Z new volunteers to work with/allow Stockholm Syndrome to work its magic, so Erd won't have to kill these personally and risk increasing his "murder-meter", if that's what you're worried about.

 

[treave]

And they saw Aria, who's part of the retinue went to Methuss with us, so someone could make a connection if they manage to report back.

Not easy to connect with just Aria alone as you didn't bring her to the banquet. Arlin would be more recognizable to them at the moment.

An update should arrive within 24 hours. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, we should be returning to the old update schedule by December, or January at the latest.

 

[TOME]

D is letting these rookies leave. I doubt these choices overlap. B is diplomacy and guides while D is Aria training and Erd staying back and most likely parting ways after the duel.

I'm not worried getting recognized or anything, I just think bringing gifts is smart thing to do when getting allies.

 

[Nevill]

Well Nevill, it will be kinda hard to recruit these slimes if we let go the ones that are going to their territory with the sole intention of grinding xp killing them.

You don't even know if slimes are sentient to be able to hold a grudge (as opposed to being animal-like), and besides, if they are, that's the incentive for them to move. We recruit them and relocate them to our village - and suddenly they no longer are grinding material for low-level mooks. Sure, they will have to work hard in case of a coordinated attack (that's what we want to hire them for), but I think everyone can agree that there will be no squire parties sent to Grahferde in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, conflict with these rookies is inevitable, one way or another.

Please. Scare them away from the swamp and no one will even remember they were there the next day. Some 'conflict'!

Either way, those that survive the slimes' careful ministrations can be brought back to Grahferde in order to interrogate them for info/let Rin practice/give Z new volunteers to work with/allow Stockholm Syndrome to work its magic

I am not very fond of choices that have us bring hostile parties to our HQ unless we will be killing them afterwars. I was against keeping Barzamite prisoners, against kidnapping the prince, and against torturing Talan into submission.

Didn't want to bring Wist either, though I may have been mistaken on that one.

Allies, or maybe even neutrals, are fine, but hostiles are just too much of a liability for no tangible gain. Interrogate the kids? What kind of secrets do you expect them to know? Let Rin practice? What a challenge!

It's also kind of petty. What's next, kicking dogs cats? Stealing cutlery? Spitting into someone's tea?

Subverting them might be worthwhile, but we already have two loyalists that we don't really know what to do with.

D is letting these rookies leave. I doubt these choices overlap. B is diplomacy and guides while D is Aria training and Erd staying back and most likely parting ways after the duel.

They are heading towards the slimes, so I don't think our ways will part too much until we find those.

 

[TOME]

They are heading towards the slimes, so I don't think our ways will part too much until we find those.

They might not if someone kicks their leader's ass in a duel and she needs healing afterwards, or something.

 

[Nevill]

Well, this might be a good way to introduce ourselves, seeing how we are a Healer.

 

[lightbane]

You don't even know if slimes are sentient to be able to hold a grudge (as opposed to being animal-like)...

I had the impression the slimes have minimal intelligence. Otherwise, I kinda wonder what's Erd's masterful plan to bring them to the village (lure them towards a giant pot covered with salt to trap them there, perhaps? )

Please. Scare them away from the swamp and no one will even remember they were there the next day. Some 'conflict'!

That would give them the opportunity to tell others that the forest is way more dangerous than usual, which might attract the kind of attention we don't want right now. Besides, they're anime/ jrpg children so they might be harder to scare out than what you may expect.

I am not very fond of choices that have us bring hostile parties to our HQ unless we will be killing afterwards. [...] Allies, or maybe even neutrals, are fine, but hostiles are just too much of a liability for no tangible gain. Interrogate the kids? What kind of secrets do you expect them to know? Let Rin practice? What a challenge!

You're right, they're too few to let Rin sharp her torturing skills and the twins could take that course of action quite badly. Perhaps we can convince Z to use anesthesics before employing her flesh-crafting magic (she has to start with some test subjects in order to research her Space Marine Angelic/Demonic Transfiguration research, no?), or save them for a slave cultural exchange when we go to Luna. Either case, I would assume a bunch of children would be easier to keep an eye on than a squad of elite soldiers. And the girl will be safe no matter what, of course.

It's also kind of petty. What's next, kicking dogs cats? Stealing cutlery? Spitting into someone's tea?

It is not evil if it's for SCIENCE! Well, we're supposed to be the bad guys, no? Besides, it's not pointlessly evil if it has a purpose behind it.

Well, this might be a good way to introduce ourselves, seeing how we are a Healer.

Yes and No. We didn't get Regeneration nor Greater Healing, but I guess we can spare a Healing potion at worst.

EDIT: Also, I will change my vote to A>C>B, just to be sure. The outcome has been decided already, but it doesn't hurt to try.

 

[Nevill]

I had the impression they have minimal intelligence.

If they are animals, it's just a matter of grabbing them and creating conditions suitable for their breeding back at Grahferde.

Edit: Failing the reading comprehension check, I thought you were talking about children at first (and 'intelligence' as in 'insider info'). Thanks for the imagery of Erd trying to lure curious children into a salted pot.

That would give them the opportunity to tell others that the forest is way more dangerous than usual, which might attract the kind of attention we don't want right now.

That's the forest (uh, mountain or whatever it is) near the capital we are in, not ours. They can send everyone they want there, it's not our business and it does not harm us in the slightest.

Either case, I would assume a bunch of children would be easier to keep an eye on than a squad of elite soldiers. And the girl will be safe no matter what, of course.

The girl is probably the only reason I might agree to the capture. Must collect all the lolis!

But if we aren't killing them, they are a risk nonetheless. Also, even our minions, which include gobbos like Petze, might be opposed to it. I dunno. I see no reason to do it, except because we can.

Well, we're supposed to be the bad guys, no? Besides, it's not pointlessly evil if it has a purpose behind it.

We already have the reputation without really trying. But what I am saying is that capturing them serves no real purpose.

If we manage to somehow indebt them to us, though, and have them want to stay with us somehow, it might be another mater. Make love minions, not war prisoners!

 

[lightbane]

Edit: Failing the reading comprehension check, I thought you were talking about children at first (and 'intelligence' as in 'insider info'). Thanks for the imagery of Erd trying to lure curious children into a salted pot.

Well, I was making a joke yes, I doubt slimes work like snails, but it wouldn't hurt to try. And just because Erd said he doesn't eat men, that doesn't mean he will eating children now. There are still many lines to cross before reaching the average World of Darkness villain/NPC "EEEEVIL BABY-EATER!!" level of villainy. Moreover, sloth may be one of his main vices, but even Erdrick wouldn't eat crude food:

Spoiler

Jokes aside, the rookies could tell us something about Wist's ultimate fate. They may not know much, but it's better than nothing. And we won't have to worry about keeping them under watch if Zayan can successfully turn them into more pliable beings (perhaps literally, considering how's Zayan).

 

[treave]

Slime Assault

Eileen Mesthall makes the first move. Raising her shield, she rushes towards Aria like a bull making its charge, stampeding through the water. Aria responds by dodging to the side – the standard move to make in such circumstances if you are unable to stop a knight’s charge by simply blowing up the ground underneath their feet – and follows up with a quick thrust at Eileen’s exposed flank. The female squire whips her shield sideways, sneering, “Such dull and predictable movements!” and parries Aria’s attack just in the nick of time. Aria’s blade catches on the edge of the shield, metal scraping against metal, and she withdraws. Your disciple is quicker and more aggressive, but not only is Eileen is just as aggressive, she does not let that aggression cloud her defense. The two begin exchanging a swift series of parries and feints, their duel taking them deeper and deeper into the river.

“Not by accident, is it?” says Barbatos.

You agree. Aria is pretending to be pushed back and gradually luring her opponent further in. It is not that easy to fight in water; indeed, one of the hardest battles you have had was against Sharkhead Vagan; commander of the Demon Lord’s water-borne armies, and an opponent you would have easily trounced on land. The rematch was rather easier after you dammed up the nearby river and left him and his men flopping about to dry out under the sun. And true enough, Aria’s strategy is paying out at the moment. The more heavily-equipped Eileen’s defenses are becoming more sluggish, bogged down by the water, and even as her comrades cheer for her, she realizes too late that she has walked into a trap. Her footing shifts – she is preparing to retreat to higher ground – but Aria does not give her the chance to do so.

Aria kicks up a huge spray of water. Instinctively Eileen moves her shield to block the water. This obscures her vision. Tossing her sword away, Aria dives down and grabs Eileen’s ankles. She pulls, tugging her opponent off balance and forcing her to drop her sword. As they splash around into the waist-deep water together, Eileen shouts out, “What a cowardly move! What type of degenerate master did you train under?”

“The best sort!” Aria shouts proudly, forcing Eileen’s head underwater. “Do you yield?”

The struggling squire does not reply. Instead, she seems to calm down immediately and grasp her shield with both hands. There is a bright flash. Aria barely has time to mutter a word of surprise before she is blown into the air. She falls back to the ground together with the fall of water like rain. Crouched in the river, water surging back around her feet, Eileen clutches the shield defiantly as a faint, shimmering barrier that has formed around her winks out of existence. Before a stunned Aria can recover from the attack, Eileen has retrieved her sword and leveled its point at her nose. “Hold still! I’ll just teach you a little lesson, you annoying bumpkin,” she snarls.

Cornered by Eileen, Aria’s eyes narrow, and you feel a flicker of magic. Weak… but familiar. She begins murmuring something under her breath. Eileen’s eyes widen – “A spell?” – and she quickly jabs her sword forward in a light poke to interrupt Aria’s chant. Too late. Aria’s figure blazes with light and when it clears, she is no longer there. Trails of electricity arc from where she was, circling around behind Eileen. Aria stands at her back, fists clenched, her clothes flaking away into golden streams of energy. With a gasp of surprise, Eileen spins around, only to be met with a triumphant punch that knocks her flat.

“Oh ho. What an interesting spell. I have never seen anything like this before, boy!” Barbatos says. “Do you know this magic too?”

There is no mistaking it. This is Gigadyne, or more specifically, its lightning form. Gigadyne Verandert. Granted, it is weak, does not provide any sort of incorporeality, and has ended up leaving its caster without a stitch on their person – which might possibly be an improvement – but you recognize the basic principles all the same. When did she manage to learn this?

Aria rips Eileen’s blue cloak off of her prone, struggling form and wraps it around her naked body. She is panting, slightly unsteady on her feet. If the other squires were to press a fight now, she would not win. As you force your reluctant eyes towards the others, there is a loud scream.

You see one of the squires – one of the males, you care not which – engulfed in a pink, gelatinous mass. Weirdly enough, it is a jelly-like mass that appears to have taken on the shape of a cute girl. The boy gurgles, his exposed limbs kicking and struggling.

“Ah, a slime,” says Barbatos. “It must have been attracted by all that noise.”

“Slime! Slime!” The warning shouts echo amongst the squires. One of them attempts to slash at the monster, but his sword only manages to pass dangerously close to the trapped squire without doing the slime itself any seeming harm.

A dizzy Eileen gets to her feet and shouts out, “Not like that! The enchantments! Where are the enchantments?”

“Oliver has them!” shouts out the other girl, pointing desperately at the slime’s captive. Within the slime, the boy’s armour and clothes begin to loosen. The slime burbles happily. Despite his wishes, a pained, reluctant look of pleasure begins to form on the boy’s face as the slime wobbles in a strangely suggestive manner. He lets out a muffled gurgle, his eyes half-closed in ecstasy. The others watch on in horror.

Your hand balls into a fist, your jaw clenched at the horrifying sight of the boy jerking and shuddering yet again...

“Ah, the virility of youth,” chuckles Barbatos. “That makes it three times in a row. I had almost forgotten that pink slimes love to drain their victims of nutrients in this manner. Why, it almost reminds me of the time I battled the Pink Slimelord of Passion Peak…”

It only serves to remind you of your own incapability.

***

A. Regardless of your feelings, you stay back and watch. If the squires cannot handle this incident, perhaps Aria can… if she can be bothered to. It might be an educational experience.

B. You interfere and save the boy. No one deserves to be assaulted by a slime like that. Besides, perhaps you can capture the slime and use it for negotiations with its kin.

C. If there is anyone who deserves to be assaulted by a slime like that, it is you. You need this. Rushing down to the riverbank, you boot the boy out of the slime and embrace it yourself. Maybe this is the cure!

 

[Baltika9]

A, Aria is doing surprisingly well, much better than I expected, let's see if she can come up with something else.
That C, though.

 

[TOME]

I don't think we are so desperate yet to rush in to hug slimes.

So, Aria knows Gigadyne. And how exactly did she manage to learn that?

A.

 

[treave]

Squire Log, Report 1173

Dear Captain,

Today a slime appeared and raped Oliver, and then a hobo appeared and raped the slime.

Can we come home now?

Please?

Yours sincerely,
Eileen Mesthall

 

[Azira]

Oh, this is rich.

C

 

[Elfberserker]

Dat third option

Well perhaps we can test slimes capability to actually cure our ailment and besides I think Erd wants to be tested by pinky female cutes ones than man slimes. Perhaps it's time to interfie, because I doubt that Aria has that much stamina to do anything.

Well C>B for now.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

C>B

for now. we need that slime captured at least, but if this is the cure, that would be even better..