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Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

lightbane

Arcane
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Dec 27, 2008
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10,158
Are you talking about Dio?

Senya's Neo abilities were taken from him when he left the Matrix, if I recall correctly. :M

Nope, I was referring to that update when Senya was shot Theseus 2.0 Naim in that bathroom, causing a butthurt backlash strong enough to slightly crack the seams of reality.

Also, it is too late for Erdrick to be another Diogenes already: he has failed to remove one of his eyes, attack a strong cult leader in his own turf and be indirectly responsible for the suicide of his female companion.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Indirectly? :M

I don't think it gets any more direct than that when it comes to suicides.
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
Freeform questions; the bane of any LP. +M

Any coincidence treave did a freeform update right before the holiday crunch?

mem_art_schastlivyj_103819_300x240.jpg
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Something like Amesdan still being in the world of the living long enough to drop him into the regeneration machine, right after Rin is done butchering interrogating him (if that's not asking too much).

Of course. She learns from her mistakes. But he'd have to take up space in the pod for a few weeks.

I was more worried about the fact how the main character, who was able to fight several superhuman soldiers armed with katanas and survive with relatively minor injuries, was so easily shoot down by someone armed with a shitty pistol.

That's because guns are better than swords. :M

And that's not taking into account his ability to switch on super-reflexes.

He did, he relies on dodging the aim rather than dodging the bullet after it's fired. He doesn't have superhuman speed after all. And in this case the aim was obscured. :M:M

Or why in spite of being a secret agent working for the government, he was never offered the possibility of receiving dermal armor (unless he made it himself).

He didn't have high enough clearance for those mods. Besides, someone up there wants him to be put to the test. :M:M:M

Or even why he wasn't given a humble but effective bullet-proof vest as part of his standard issue gear. :M

Overconfidence on his part, he thought he was dealing with hackers and actresses. Also Shulgi. :M:M:M:M

In any case, in the unlikely case this game reaches such ridiculous epic scale, I wouldn't go with something as banal as an hyper-bomb. Instead, I would vote to make a literal solar-powered spaceship, which would be able to transform into a giant Super Robot armed with eye-lasers, a retractable Gygadine cannon hidden in his chest, rocket-propelled drills and a missile-launcher modified to launch boarding torpedoes (which would be filled with magnetite-powered killer golems and/or just Rin, depending of how much overkill is needed).
:desu:

You don't try to blackmail world creator snake goddesses into doing your bidding without having a trump card that can collapse a pocket dimension in a single bang. A super robot is cool but unable to release that sort of power. :M:M:M:M:M
 

treave

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Codex 2012
The Governor, Again

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Governor Ambrese Hastwell rotates the pair of shiny metal spheres in his large, thick hand. As they strike and slip past one another, they emit a clacking noise. Clack. Clack. There is a certain cadence to the tempo of the grinding; a tempo that seems to convey a profound irritation. Of course, the effect is enhanced by the look on the Governor’s square face as he stares at you, lounging in the chair in front of him as if it was your mansion that the both of you were in and not his. “I had hoped never to see you again, Muhchacraken. Or your… cow. How did you even get it in here in the first place?”

“That is rather unkind of you, Governor. Did I not help you solve your problem with Zayan?” Scratching Lucy behind her ears, you take great pains not to look at the first chair that you were offered. It had been reduced to a pile of kindling when Lucy had tried to jump onto your lap like a cat would, blissfully ignorant of the fact that she was many times heavier than a typical cat.

“And in solving that problem, a larger one was created.” Ambrese Hastwell winces at the memory of it, clearly regretting his decision to accept your help during that incident. “Is that what this is about? Blackmail?” he grunts. To his credit, his irritation at your presence is unshaken by the fact that he was complicit in the kidnapping of a foreign dignitary and the murder of her guards. Should that little nugget of information make its way into the shark pool that is the diplomatic scene of this world, it might generate an uncomfortable wave or two for the governor. Taking that into consideration, you actually find his mask of annoyance rather impressive: from your previous experiences, any other lesser official would be grovelling in cold sweat by now.

“I have no idea what you mean, Governor,” you say. “This is just a friendly visit.”

Clack. The balls stop. Apparently they were a stress reliever of some sort, but it does not seem to be working for the governor at all. “Friendly? After the mess you made in Yuiria, drowning Duke Hargreave’s niece, I am inclined to say that you do not arrive without any trouble following behind, Muhchacraken.”

“It was an accident,” you shrug.

Ambrese barks out an acerbic laugh. “Yes, well, tell that to Hargreave, will you? Great expense was spent to resurrect her, expense that he was forced to pay to protect his dignity. I am quite sure he is going to take that expense out of your hide whenever he finds you. Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when that happens. It would also be great if it didn't happen in my town, so don't stay for too long.”

“Ah, so she made it?”

“Barely,” sighs the governor. “No thanks to you.”

“That’s great news indeed!” you say with a smile. “Perhaps I should visit her soon.”

He stares at you, dumbfounded. “Are you perhaps insane, Muhchacraken?”

“I assure you, I am perfectly sane. Now, about why I am here…”

“Yes, yes,” he sighs. “You told me. You want some magnatite. Rejected.”

“But-“

“There is nothing you can offer me except more trouble,” says Ambrese flatly, firmly. “In fact, it would be in both our best interests if you would steer clear of Ontoglia from now on. I will not bar you from entering my town, but as a wanted man you should be more discrete about your activities.” He leans forward, his frowning face becoming craggier by the second. “You might be a powerful mage, Trider Muhchacraken, but do not overestimate your grasp.”

“What, are you going to sell me out to the Duke?” you grin.

“I do not want to, but I am considering it should you continue to try my patience further. Now, if there is nothing else you want to say…”

***

A. “As I have said, this is a friendly visit. The magnatite aside, I do want to find out what I can do for you… or your daughter.” The last time you were here, bringing up his daughter’s wellbeing was sufficient to sway him: he must love her very much. You would rather put him further in your debt by attempting to cure his daughter’s blindness. Magnatite given willingly is the best sort of magnatite.

B. “The Duke might not be so happy if he finds out you were involved in Zayan’s disappearance. Of course, he is probably not going to be the only one…” Two can play at that game. You did not want to use this trump card so early, but you decide to blackmail him into giving you more magnatite by leveraging the secret deal he made with you, a deal which resulted in a net loss for both factions of the royal tiff.

C. “Before you decide so hastily, take a look at this. Do you recognize her?” You draw your cloak back subtly to reveal Orange, who is happily bubbling underneath. Orange is an avid lover of all sorts of metals and minerals. That includes magnatite. You bluff about having an army of orange slimes that you will set loose in the Ontoglia mines if the governor does not give you what you want.

D. "Nothing more, governor. Have a good day." You give up on negotiations. Though you would have much preferred to come to a civilized deal between two men of merchantry, the stubborn old man leaves you with no choice. Having learnt a thing or two from Syke Nimfeet about casing out a joint and relieving containers of their burdens, you can just take what you want from the warehouses of Ontoglia.

E. "Yes, I suppose that is all I have to say, governor. Good day." You walk out the door politely. The moment you turn the corner, out of sight of the nearest guard, you cloak yourself with an Invisibility spell and begin searching for his daughter's room. You don't need the governor's permission to take his daughter. Besides, abducting and curing a pretty maiden of her blindness might be a dashing plot from one of Rin's romantic novels, so you'll show her how to pull this off in the real world for her future reference before she goes and does something similar: forewarned is forearmed.
 
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Azira

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Codex 2012
Of course we don't have a cat we can idly scratch behind the ears, when we're doing our Evil Mastermind thing, we have a great white cow. :lol:

I'm a bit torn here.

A>D
E
Flopped so we can get an update. :salute:
 
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Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Considering his words, I don't think he will react well to A.
Ambrese barks out an acerbic laugh. “Yes, well, tell that to Hargreave, will you? Great expense was spent to resurrect her, expense that he was forced to pay to protect his dignity. I am quite sure he is going to take that expense out of your hide whenever he finds you. Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when that happens. It would also be great if it didn't happen in my town, so don't stay for too long.”
He obviously doesn't trust us in any capacity whatsoever and would rather do business with anyone but us. Getting his daughter involved could be the last straw. Same with extortion, that will lock him in as an enemy, so that leaves B and D.
Blackmail.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
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Location
Vicksburg
Well, since we went through all the hassle of bringing orange with us, why not make use of him? It seems at least marginally more effective than just telling the guy that he'll get in trouble too if he calls the duke since he's already well aware of that pressure, and for the reasons given by Baltika I don't think A will work well. There is D, I guess, but trying to steal the stuff while they're alert doesn't seem like a way to get particularly vast quantities of it... let's just see if the slime bluff works, and if not, switch to another tactic.

C.
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
So Wist lives. Yay, I guess.

Looks like Gobblecock was right on the money - either Wist believes Trider was the one who killed her, or she doesn't have a say in the matter.

Hmm, is Erdrick admitting her drowning was his doing? I think a role of a wrongly accused victim would suit us better. Besides, if for some reason the royalty wanted to cut ties with Duke and stop pursuing us, it would be much easier to do so if we are libelled than if we are a self-admitted murderer.

I wonder if the resurrection fee put a dent in the expedition expenses, or if it speeded it up because Hargreave wants to replenish the losses quickly.

Anyway, what does the Governor know of us?

+ We are a man of his word. We fulfilled our part of the bargain to the letter, after all.
+ We are a powerful mage.

- We bring trouble wherever we go.
- We are insane.
- Last girl entrusted to our care ended up dead.

Based on that, I am not too sure he would trust us with his daughter. Mentioning her last time was a clear case of "don't involve her in this mess". On the other hand, only a fool would comply with blackmail without searching for a method to get back at the offender. What would be there to stop you from demanding more and more, until the governor takes too much and is hanged for treason?

The guy wants us to get out of his hair as fast as possible. I wonder if he wouldn't just look the other way, hoping that we go away once we do what we want, and leave him be without further implicating him. After all, does he really want us getting caught? Getting us killed, though, is an acceptable outcome.

On the other hand, A has the benefit of doing business without losing face. He must suspect we are not leaving without the thing we want, but this gives him the illusion of being in control of the situation. He wasn't robbed of his property - he chose to pay. Of course, that's if the governor even cares about these things.

Good thing I am not the one who wanted to get here. I can just sit back and watch the world burn. :M:roll:
 
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Nevill

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Same with extortion, that will lock him in as an enemy, so that leaves B
Yeah, because threatening him and his daughter with a slow and painful death the prince is going to inflict on them once he learns of his deal with us of all people does not make us enemies in the slightest.

The Governor makes an impression of a person who cares about his town first, about his daughter second, and about himself third. By threatening the well-being of his town, you might push a more powerful button and thus have more effect on the guy. On the other hand, do we really think that a mining town that has an enourmous strategical importance to the kingdom doesn't have the means to deal with a simple slime infestation?

Edit: I like A because it mentions his daughter without explicitly threatening her, but reminding him that whatever his decision will be, it will affect her. But it is possible for it not to be a bad thing... if he so wishes. He is already aware he is in some shit without you telling him (and he told us that if we have nothing more to say, we'd better get going), the slime threat I find more lulzy than credible, so to me it looks like either A or D angles will be more effective.
 
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profreshinal

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Jan 18, 2014
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We should aim for a reliable longterm supply of magnatite.

I think curing the daugther and making the mayor believe his daugther needs to drink a placebo potion that only Erdrick knows how to make would be the best option. Afterwards trading magnatite for worthless water is easy.

Hmm how about an option E:
You reveal Orange and offer your truffel-pig magnatite-slime's services in the search for new magnatite veins in exchange for a part of the found magnatite.

treave can Orange track food? Would E be a possibility?
 

Nevill

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
the choice of a healed daughter or a dead daughter is far more impactful than meekly suggesting "May I, the person that you think is crazy, experiment medically on your daughter" which leads to "double the guards around my daughter" and little else.
Very true.

I have to admit, I toyed with this idea a little. It has the benefit of having all the right elements of stick and carrot. It's better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Of course, the Governor might make a ruckus after his daughter's kidnapping, complicating the situation unless we inform him afterwards.

It would be possible to add that if he ever lets slip of what happened, his daughter would go blind again. But hey, if he doesn't - everyone profits off this. It's a solid business decision, unlike the ones currently on offer.

I'd probably go for it if that's an option.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
treave can Orange track food? Would E be a possibility?

Orange can do it but the governor wouldn't be enticed by that offer, nor do you actually have the army of slimes necessary for the time invested to be profitable. Unfortunately, the drawbacks of having to continue dealing with Erdrick also outweighs the benefits in the governor's mind.

Then abduct his daughter.

This'll be the new option E.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Note: If you want to teleport someone along with you, you need to use a magic circle. You can draw a disposable one easily but it'll be left behind after you use it. Since you're planning on taking responsibility for the kidnapping it's not really a big deal leaving clues as to who took the governor's daughter (not a lot of options as to whodunnit there, really) so you guys should be fine with that. Just something to note for future mass teleportation uses, or at least until you learn a better teleportation spell.
 

lightbane

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Dec 27, 2008
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10,158
Yay, an update! And an early one to boot! :incline:

Good thing I am not the one who wanted to get here. I can just sit back and watch the world burn

So bitter. From what I gathered from the update, going to Yuria wouldn't have been less dangerous (or smart).

So Wist lives. Yay, I guess.

It's possible the Duke was forced to pay a great price (not necessarily monetarily, or perhaps in addition of) to resurrect Wist. Moreover, she might not be all that healthy, perhaps she's been rendered comatose or worse. On the plus side, now we know The Priest was not going to do something bad for us... Probably.

“And in solving that problem, a larger one was created.” Ambrese Hastwell winces at the memory of it, clearly regretting his decision to accept your help during that incident. “Is that what this is about? Blackmail?” he grunts.

Hm, how did Erdrick arrive here? I assume through teleportation. Did he notice an increased number of guards around the town? Or other signs that there's trouble afoot (such as a "WANTED" poster with Erd's smug face and his magnificent hat). Nevertheless, it's clear the governator is not scared much about blackmail, he must have some kind of trick we are not aware of. And, of course, suggesting anything about his daughter is might cause him to react quite... Violently to say (I bet he has a battle-axe hiding under his desk, itching for Mercant to give him an excuse to use it).

Note: If you want to teleport someone along with you, you need to use a magic circle. You can draw a disposable one easily but it'll be left behind after you use it. Since you're planning on taking responsibility for the kidnapping it's not really a big deal leaving clues as to who took the governor's daughter (not a lot of options as to whodunnit there, really) so you guys should be fine with that

Hm, does that mean that Erd will have to stop and spent several minutes painstakingly drawing the magic circle? That sounds like tempting fate to have someone interrupt us at the most crucial moment. Can he use invisible ink to cover his tracks at least? What is the worst that happened in his world whenever a teleportation spell was botched?


My vote: E for now.
 
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Nevill

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Since you're planning on taking responsibility for the kidnapping it's not really a big deal leaving clues as to who took the governor's daughter (not a lot of options as to whodunnit there, really) so you guys should be fine with that.
Well... if possible, we would like the Governor to keep it under wraps. All kidnappers warn the relatives not to contact the FBI or their local equivalent, after all.

This could give a plausible deniability that the event has even happened. The daughter was missing for a week? Bah, he just sent her to a very powerful healer, too distant to be known in these parts. Nothing to see here, royal spies, move along.

Of course, only the Governor knows that we were here in the first place, but I'd like to do this whole thing in a way that doesn't become public knowledge.

I really hope Zayan will be more cautious with her SCIENCE if we tell her the magnatite is on the line. :M

On the plus side, now we know The Priest was not going to do something bad for us... Probably.
I never thought he would... but I never thought he would care if something bad happened to us anyway, as it looked like it would.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Did he notice an increased number of guards around the town? Or other signs that there's trouble afoot (such as a "WANTED" poster with Erd's smug face and his magnificent hat).

Not noticeably, no. Zayan-related spillover is happening with Rin's mission in the bandit forest though. :M

Hm, does that mean that Erd will have to stop and spent several minutes painstakingly drawing the magic circle? That sounds like tempting fate to have someone interrupt us at the most crucial moment. Can he use invisible ink to cover his tracks at least? What is the worst that happened in his world whenever a teleportation spell was botched?

If they magic cancel you in the midst of teleportation it might be bad. Ideally you'd be long gone before any teleportation countermeasures can be activated.

Of course, only the Governor knows that we were here in the first place, but I'd like to do this whole thing in a way that doesn't become public knowledge.

I suppose drawing the circle in her bedroom and leaving directly for Grahferde from there would be quieter than attempting to leave the mansion from the window with a girl and a cow in tow.
 
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treave

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Codex 2012
Current tally:

A - 2
B - 1
C - 2
D - 2
E - 5

Post-flip:

A - 1
B - 1
C - 1
D - 4
E - 5

May update in a few hours, if not then in a day or so.
 

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