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Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
I figured it was distracting a bit too much from the main thrust of this LP
Nah, I was into it. It's good to change things up every now and again. TV shows do it all the time - though they always return things to normal after a few episodes. People can't handle too much sudden permanent change. It's why half the LPers abandoned Epic when it went full anime.
there are some helpful lore tidbits and powerups you could have gained upon reaching the top of the tower.
A shame we couldn't have used Barbatos to break free or something. Thing I always wondered was why he was affected by our limitations too. I mean, he should be a separate being with separate karma as far as the tower's system was concerned, no?
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
I'm not arguing for it here, but in general I think the idea of limited rollbacks is good for a CYOA LP. Obviously with actual CYOA books you can rollback as much and as often as you want. For LP's like this, mistakes and poor decisions are going to happen. Even with the most intelligent and rational decisions there is some element of "guess what the author is thinking" that the reader can't account for. It's part of what makes these things so compelling. So when things inevitably go wrong, if it happens to be fatal or equally disastrous then I think rollbacks are a good option for the sake of telling a story. You want to see a protagonist's arc come to a satisfying conclusion (whether it is good, bad, or otherwise) not die ignominiously in a bandit city for example.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
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Location
Vicksburg
I was a fan of rollbacks before, but now I think I'd rather we just deal with it. We're going to botch it one way or another, I just wish that we would commit to it a bit, accept when we've screwed up and make the best of it rather than shooting for the now-unattainable best option... OK, we're totally powerless, devoid of our friends and locked in a room with some sort of clearly demonic being, it's offering us power at the cost of writing our name in blood which probably puts us in some sort of nasty contract. We screwed up, nothing looks good for us, but at least we could just accept that we messed up, take the hit of an exciting contract with a demon and carry on until we come across the snag in it later. But no no, we have to have our freedom, no masters etc. etc., we flip him the bird with the bright idea to climb up as a regular person when he said we'd need our full powers at the ready to have so much as a chance. Trying to go for a third option where everything works out OK for us in all respects is great and we can pull it off on occasion, when we have the power, but I think we just end up biting off more than we can chew most of the time we do this sort of thing.
Not that I'm not responsible, I'm as :retarded: as everyone else when this sort of thing happens. I'm sure we'll get that pet sphere any day, now.
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
A shame we couldn't have used Barbatos to break free or something. Thing I always wondered was why he was affected by our limitations too. I mean, he should be a separate being with separate karma as far as the tower's system was concerned, no?

He's a gauntlet, mate. :M
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
Again, this is why the codex needs a set number of fate points each chapter to get us out of difficult situations and/or rollback a choice. 1 or 2 would probably be enough. We are too prone to making slip ups that mess up the storyline.
Seconded. Especially with flipfloppers and whimsical voters.

If you guys want a rollback it should be all the way back to the whole "let's use a teleportation circle in the midst of the enemy camp and hope no one messes with it!" plan.

Well I wouldn't mi-

Regardless, no rollbacks. It's a good opportunity for me to jump the plot ahead a bit.

Don't worry, you'll be back in Grahferde in the next chapter as that statue of yourself you always wanted.

:decline: I see you took a page of Dragon Quest V. Too bad Erd lacks friends/comrades that would go that far (except Rin, maybe).

I figured it was distracting a bit too much from the main thrust of this LP, though there are some helpful lore tidbits and powerups you could have gained upon reaching the top of the tower.

:rage:
On the plus side (?), each chapter is becoming shorter and shorter. Perhaps we'll reach the end without being horribly killed at some point. Although I hope we still get to visit the beast kingdoms, meet another Angels and cure our condition.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
On the plus side (?), each chapter is becoming shorter and shorter.
We could make the next chapter even shorter and let Rin chop our head off with her axe.

Honestly, it's really quite frustrating from a reader's perspective. I start getting into the story and then we make a horrible screw up that lands us in space prison or get's us encased in carbonite.

Rollbacks lead to abuse, as we saw in Epic: Book 2 and Legend. The advantage of a fate point system - i.e., one fate point per chapter - is that we have a way out that we can OPTIONALLY use if we vote on it and the majority wants to use it.

For example, on our unsuccessful teleport attempt, we could have spent a fate point to control the teleport and skip the prison IF we all agreed to spend the fate point. Or in this situation, a fate point could help us to break free of the statue thing.

And of course, treave would be the one to decide whether or not we could use our fate point in a given situation. It's a more limited way to optionally continue the current story arc or just go ahead with the time skip.

But treave has stated that this is a no go, so it's a moot point, I guess.

edit: treave, though where are our anime space-nazi girls?
 
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Azira

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Codex 2012
All vote for the rollback? Heh. You do know that this is the 'dex, right? There will always be that someone who says no, just to spite the rest. Heck, it might even be me. :smug:
 

Azira

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Codex 2012
Also, this storybranch went southward when people got "creative" in how to handle the adventurers et al, poised near Grahferde. Teleport went wonky, we got sent across the world and depowered.

I hate freeform choices. They always seem to backfire.
 

Grimgravy

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3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
Also, this storybranch went southward when people got "creative" in how to handle the adventurers et al, poised near Grahferde. Teleport went wonky, we got sent across the world and depowered.

I hate freeform choices. They always seem to backfire.
That. And it takes forever for a vocal minority to come to a bullshit consensus.
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
Also, this storybranch went southward when people got "creative" in how to handle the adventurers et al, poised near Grahferde. Teleport went wonky, we got sent across the world and depowered.

I hate freeform choices. They always seem to backfire.
Besides the teleport thing at the very end, the plan went more or less as expected. I do not believe freeform choices are necessarily bad. Perhaps it's just that the info we were given was too vague. In many Quests from SV these freeform choices work quite well. Of course, it doesn't matter much if at some point many voters go full retard just so that they do not have to bow to anyone, even if the following outcome is even worse.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
All vote for the rollback?
poor choice of words. I meant if we vote on it and the majority wants to use it.
Also, this storybranch went southward when people got "creative" in how to handle the adventurers et al, poised near Grahferde. Teleport went wonky, we got sent across the world and depowered.

I hate freeform choices. They always seem to backfire.
That. And it takes forever for a vocal minority to come to a bullshit consensus.
Yeah, I far prefer the choices treave comes up with and if we all get together and figure out a better way on our own, then we can vote on that as a new option.

That whole freeform vote was an exercise in tedium and in the end, I just went along with everyone else out of boredom and wanting to see the update.
 
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TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
If you guys want a rollback it should be all the way back to the whole "let's use a teleportation circle in the midst of the enemy camp and hope no one messes with it!" plan. :M

Now, who's bright idea was that anyway?:M

I actually thought the prison break plot point was interesting and I would have liked to see it played out.

Same here. But we voted the way we voted and are getting punished now. And no rollbacks either if it isn't premature end of the story.
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
treave, though where are our anime space-nazi girls?
See:
We can make that cute anime moon alien girl nazis and call it a day. In fact you would have encountered a colony of them on the moon had you visited the white sphere. :M
:M

Perhaps it's just that the info we were given was too vague.

You mean to say, the information you obtained from sending in a barely trained albeit talented peasant girl instead of an experienced and cunning adventurer who's seen it all was too vague. :M:M

Same here. But we voted the way we voted and are getting punished now.

Don't think of it as punishment, think of it as a new form of relaxation. That and I'm thinking of granting some type of bonus for unlocking the carbonite scene.
 
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a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
In other news, real life McCraken sighted:

26.jpg
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Since the choice has been made and is now set in stone (pun fully armed and operational), could you give us a rundown of what the other choices would have entailed?

Mostly as expected, really. The blood was the major component as some of you might have guessed. Attacking him would actually have impressed him with your ruthlessness. Though it wouldn't have ended too well for you either.

Apparently, Erdrick finally managed to get it rock hard again.

Hm, that's a good idea.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Sorry, things are getting busy again, but I should be able to update this weekend.

edit: Fucking work. Give me a couple more days.

edit2: Tomorrow. Definitely. Meanwhile, here's a brief preview.

***

You become known as the Monument of Glory, proudly thrusting into the sky over Grahferde... or at least, where Grahferde used to be.

By the time Rin was done with it, unfettered by your voice of reason, the goblin village was no more.

Instead, in its place now stood a massive black fortress, visible even from Erise. The central spire is tall and gray, capped with a strange metal; the prison tower itself had somehow flown been over here and turned into the throne of the Mistress of Darkness - which was what she went around calling herself nowadays. At the very peak of the tower, placed up on a round pedestal with arms thrusted upwards towards an open ceiling and wings outstretched as if you are about to take flight, you stand there preserved at your moment of ignominy.

It took months for your consciousness to return upon being removed from the tower's basement. Now you are aware, but unable to move. Still, as surely as the sun shines down upon you, power gathers, and bit by bit, you regain your strength...
 
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a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
:deathclaw:

Good grief, what a disaster.
Lemmingdex loves its time skips.
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
Welp, it ended more or less like Dragon Quest V indeed. I'm not sure what's more surprising: that Rin somehow took even the tower back to Grahferde, or that Erise still exists as a village, considering she went full retard. Hopefully our mad scientist is still around...
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
Monument to Glory

Trapped in the rock, your consciousness remained as dormant as your body. From time to time you would stir briefly, hearing Rin’s soft voice in a dream. She told you of the things she did, of the people lost, of the changes in the land. What she did, in particular, was so amazingly rash that you were thankful it was all but dreams. These were dreams that were frequent at the start, but became rarer with each instance, until finally it stopped. It was only later, when you began to regain real awareness, as your mind became the first to shed the stone, that you realized that what you had heard was mostly true.

That Aria had never been found ever since the teleport mishap.

That while blaming you, Arlin had left the village in search of her, in an acrimonious parting.

That Methuss had become wary of Grahferde and stepped up patrols and its military presence in the region.

That Petze had been killed by Methussian soldiers while leading her scouts.

That Rin had then taken revenge for the dead goblins, causing a chain reaction of events that culminated in her conquering a vast swath of Methuss all the way up to Ontoglia in a matter of mere months, thanks to the nigh endless swarm of golems powered by a mysterious source of energy that had been uncovered in the ancient ruins far below the village.

That Dijeh had recognized Zayan’s handiwork with the golems, and launched an invasion of their own to retake their most precious treasure.

In short, things were a mess.

Up in the highest room of what you recognize as the gray prison – its architecture is distinctive enough – under an open ceiling, you stand upon a circular pedestal carved from marble. The room is circular, with a large desk hewn from a strange, dull material placed immediately in front of you. Behind the desk are the skeletal remains of a man in a moth-eaten leather chair, whose identity is a mystery to you. Equally dull and gray slabs seem to have sprouted from the desk, attached to it by fragile-looking necks. You are not sure, but somehow you have the impression that the tower’s presence in Grahferde has something to do with those slabs. Perhaps it was another dream.

Even though you are awake, your consciousness is still unstable. You spend countless long months unable to move, your thoughts fading in and out of existence. Dust collects throughout the room, and besides the birds who come and perch and make a nuisance of themselves all over your hands, you see no other living thing.

When that changes, however, it changes rather dramatically.

The entire tower shudders with the deafening bang of an explosion. There are shouts in the distance. Roars of battle, screams of death. There is a fight going on. Have the humans finally breached the tower? What was Rin doing? Was she so incompetent as to allow her fortress to fall? You check your line of thought and recall what it is that she was doing when you first met her, and decide that the answer is yes.

There is a growing unease in your chest, a feeling of discomfort. Where is she? You are certain now that she had been talking… no, reporting to you all through your rocky slumber, but she had not appeared since. You are unsure whether it was due to a busy schedule, or if something had actually happened to her.

The doors to the chamber burst open. A goblin staggers in. You recognize the bulky shoulders, the white-tinged fur and the aged but commanding glare. Boss. Leader of the goblins. He is dressed in full armour, a suit of custom-made chainmail dangling to his thighs. The mail is broken in places, and arrows have pierced his back. Leaking a trail of blood, he marches proudly into the room, gazing raptly at you.

He wheezes something in his goblin tongue, something you cannot comprehend at the moment.

Three people follow Boss into the room. A man, and two women. From the triumphant look on their young faces, and the shiny nature of their clearly magical armour and arms, you get the feeling that they are heroes. The particular sort of hero that you could never become. So those, too, existed in this world. They point their weapons at Boss, shouting out a challenge.

Whirling around, he snarls and protectively places himself between the heroes and you, wielding his battle-axe.

Your strength is still gathering. Soon you will be able to move, but not now. So you are only able to watch as the short fight ends brutally, and Boss staggers backwards with a mortal wound in his chest. But he refuses to fall, backing himself up against your pedestal, axe firmly held in a death-grip, even as he breathes his last.

It takes a while before the heroes get over their wariness and begin to approach Boss’s corpse.

And it is then that your strength chooses to fully return, then that the spell fully fades. As the stone cracks and crumbles and flakes away, and you are finally set free, you are beset by the thought that having your freedom return at such a dramatic moment seemed to be firmly in the tastes of certain goddesses you had the displeasure of being acquainted with. Could the touch of the Fates extend even to another world?

The thought puts you in an even rougher mood.

You step down from the pedestal, your wings flexing powerfully to allow you to float your way to the floor. Landing in between the heroes and Boss’s corpse, you glance at them. Raising an arm, you wag a finger at the intruders.

“Look, I’m in a bad mood, so if you would kindly leave and clean up after yourselves, I’ll let you off with just monetary compensation,” you say.

They flinch, appearing to take it as a threat. The man is fearfully babbling at you with sword raised. Magic is gathering in the blade. Of course, since you have not activated Universal Translation, they can’t be expected to understand your language. Just as well. You can’t say you didn’t warn them.

Shouting, the man stretches back and unleashes a powerful slash, dense with energy. At his flanks, the two women aim their staves at you and chant in harmony. A glowing glyph expands around you, creating a powerful field of magic that roots you to the spot and would leave you vulnerable to his attack. You can tell that they are all strong warriors; not on par with you and your adventuring companions, of course, but still strong enough to have taken down a Demon General or two.

What a good opportunity to test out your new spell. Those months of idleness had concentrated your mind wonderfully, and though it is an experience you would never like to repeat again, it has served you well.

***

A. You unleash Terradyne, a earth-variant of your trusty Gigadyne, and smash the entire chamber with a gigantic pillar of rock. Although your best affinity will always be with lightning, you are now able to perform other elemental variations of the spell, granting it even more versatility in combat.

B. You use Soulscythe, summoning an enormous, ethereal scythe that can reap an entire battlefield of enemies in the blink of an eye. It is a magic that can turn its victims into your skeletal minions, but for now it is enough to merely slice apart the glyph and the incoming energy wave.

C. You cast Black Dispel, generating a powerful gravitational field that will draw in the restraining glyph, the energy slice, and probably everything else in the tower if you don’t control the spell well enough.

D. You sweep your hand outwards and use Reality Tear. True enough to its name, it will slash a tear in the fabric of reality. It is a spell that will cut through anything regardless of its physical or magical resistance, including mundane spells and attacks.

***

As for the people who so rudely attacked you, you decide to:

A. Kill them all. You are in no mood for their antics.

B. You have no use for the man, but you will spare the women.

C. Spare them all. It will be easier to get them to cooperate if you lure them with hope.
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
First things first: Dammit Rin! At least she didn't abandon and d¡tch us, as the preview seemed to imply. On the other hand, the twins are gone, the pirate daughter is probably gone as well, Petze is dead and Boss died right now. Unacceptable.

-DB

They killed our gobbos. NO MERCY! Also, skeleton minions are awesome, depending on how dexterous/complex/durable they can be. Plus they have lots of bone, something which Erd will be greatly pleased. Let's show them The Touch.

Hey, Erd also gained a moderate power-up from his stoning experience. Perhaps Angels have Sayan DNA?

D. You sweep your hand outwards and use Reality Tear. True enough to its name, it will slash a tear in the fabric of reality. It is a spell that will cut through anything regardless of its physical or magical resistance, including mundane spells and attacks.

The touch of Shiki Epic never disappears. It always remains in some form.
 
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