[LP CYOA] Pilgrimage

[Random Word]

1 and 6

 

[Jick Magger]

1 & 4

You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgement... without judgement! Because it's judgement that defeats us.

 

[tuluse]

1 and 3

 

[Azira]

1 and 2

This will train our alchemy and herbalism skills. Alchemy is currently basic, herbalism trained. With this focus, and seeing as choosing 1 means we focus even more on something we have to train, no matter our choice here, I hope we'll get both to the third (whatever name that will have) skill level.
This will probably also have implications stat-wise. Raising int is probably a good thing in any case, but we might consider doing something that could mitigate one of our weaknesses: our low strength. So troglodyte boxing seems to have some immediate merit as well.
I'm not about to flop though, as I see herbalism as one of our strengths, and I'd like to play on that a bit more. Who knows, with greater knowledge of herbalism and alchemy, we might be able to do something about this disease on our own, should we have to.

 

[Hoodoo]

Troglodyte boxing sounds badass

and 5

 

[Storyfag]

1 and 2

 

[Zwist]

As skill progression is much slower for higher levels we are going to get much more out of progressing low level skills.
I still vote 1, because I like the idea of powerful knowledge.
The problem with herbalism as I see it is that it is local. We don't want to stay in the swamp always. But it might help us understand our sickness.
I vote 3 because of rat diplomacy. Might be a huge fucking waste of time, might not. But I am rather sure the Lord is not the real ruler here.

 

[Jaedar]

I'd say 4 and 6. It seems good to keep ourselves fit, and exploring the place can lead to many good things, including a way to escape if we were to ever need it.

 

[Internet]

Lord Kurtze...2) and 4), though it might mean getting poisoned and having a couple of ribs broken by a troglo.

Changing to 6) and 4)

 

[Monty]

The Lord’s full title is Lord Protector Clavius Kurze

The horror

He is now definitely portrayed by Brando in my imagination.

voting: 1, 6

 

[Rex Feral]

1 and 4. Strong in body, strong in mind.

 

[Esquilax]

Esteemed bros, first we ought to look at the quote in the beginning of the update:

"Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem\":
\"Visit the Innermost of the Earth and by Rectifying you will find the
Hidden Stone.\" This hidden stone, referred to in the above axiom, in
which the Latin initial letters acrostically form the word ‘vitriol’,
is a symbolical allusion to obtaining the tincture of life, which has
been held out to the candidate in the mysteries as a promise, so that,
like a crown on his path of initiation, he may receive and apply it as
a spiritual force, as the Philosophers’ Stone.

So our great work begins. Now, we ought to pick the options that align with our goals, but what are our goals? Personally, I am in favour of milking as much knowledge as possible out of Kurze and then disposing of him when he least expects it, as per Sith tradition. This is definitely easier said than done, considering it's implied that he has some ability at mind-reading.

I initially thought of learning the trog language, but considering we first came here by sacrificing one of their kin, I don't think we'll be able to fight the Kurze's compulsion and lead a trog revolt against our so-called Lord. root, I know that the pilgrim doesn't understand their speech, but do they seem wary or suspicious of our guy, or is it something he wouldn't know based on their body language?

Anyways, I think we might be underestimating Alia:

“Alia here would have you as a husband, would have your diseased blood serve as the seed for the conception of a wondrous child. Would that please you?
...
Your hear her faint footsteps as she walks up to you and feel the warmth of her flesh as her hands grab your wrist where the silver locket’s hanging from. You open your eyes and see surprise in her expression and something else, a momentary calm, a wavering of consciousness. The Lord looks at her with a frown and pulls her back, throwing her to the ground in front of him.

Kurze seems to have a fondness of her, and he probably likes keeping her around considering she's the daughter of a man he hates, so he probably takes great pleasure in having her a slave to his will. If we broke the spell he has on her, we could manipulate her into killing him potentially, or use her as a bargaining chip to gain Kurze's trust further *Deionarra*. There are some great options here, and we definitely had a nice "emperor has no clothes" moment when we noticed Kurze opening the secret door.

For the moment, I am voting

2, 6

 

[Rex Feral]

Is it just me or is this Kurze:

And is this us :

 

[tuluse]

My thoughts on each option:

1) Knowledge of alchemy should always be useful, dark arts here we come.

2) Greater herbology could potentially be useful too, since root specifically told use we're going to learn alchemy regardless, perhaps the dual knowledge could have a nice synergy.

3) I voted for this initially, but I'm having second thoughts now. I was originally thinking it would be good to be able to communicate with others here if/when we need allies. Now I'm thinking, is this just a path to become lord of the troglodytes? Should we not have higher aspirations?

4) I don't think our strength lies with martial studies. I think we should focus our mind to gain real power, others can do the physical labor for us.

5) I was tempted by this one. An ally would be handy, and if we could learn how the Lord controls her that could be doubly useful. However, she was the troll option last time, so I regard it with suspicion.

6) This one is too vague for my tastes.

I'm flip flopping to 1 and 2. In knowledge lies power.

 

[Kz3r0]

Esteemed bros, first we ought to look at the quote in the beginning of the update:

"Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem\":
\"Visit the Innermost of the Earth and by Rectifying you will find the
Hidden Stone.\" This hidden stone, referred to in the above axiom, in
which the Latin initial letters acrostically form the word ‘vitriol’,
is a symbolical allusion to obtaining the tincture of life, which has
been held out to the candidate in the mysteries as a promise, so that,
like a crown on his path of initiation, he may receive and apply it as
a spiritual force, as the Philosophers’ Stone.

So our great work begins. Now, we ought to pick the options that align with our goals, but what are our goals? Personally, I am in favour of milking as much knowledge as possible out of Kurze and then disposing of him when he least expects it, as per Sith tradition. This is definitely easier said than done, considering it's implied that he has some ability at mind-reading.

I initially thought of learning the trog language, but considering we first came here by sacrificing one of their kin, I don't think we'll be able to fight the Kurze's compulsion and lead a trog revolt against our so-called Lord. root, I know that the pilgrim doesn't understand their speech, but do they seem wary or suspicious of our guy, or is it something he wouldn't know based on their body language?

Anyways, I think we might be underestimating Alia:

“Alia here would have you as a husband, would have your diseased blood serve as the seed for the conception of a wondrous child. Would that please you?
...
Your hear her faint footsteps as she walks up to you and feel the warmth of her flesh as her hands grab your wrist where the silver locket’s hanging from. You open your eyes and see surprise in her expression and something else, a momentary calm, a wavering of consciousness. The Lord looks at her with a frown and pulls her back, throwing her to the ground in front of him.

Kurze seems to have a fondness of her, and he probably likes keeping her around considering she's the daughter of a man he hates, so he probably takes great pleasure in having her a slave to his will. If we broke the spell he has on her, we could manipulate her into killing him potentially, or use her as a bargaining chip to gain Kurze's trust further *Deionarra*. There are some great options here, and we definitely had a nice "emperor has no clothes" moment when we noticed Kurze opening the secret door.

For the moment, I am voting

1, 5

Actually, if the VITRIOL acrostic is any indication we should choose this:

6) Merely explore more of the Holds. More doors have been opened to you and you already know the Lord uses artifice to get through the many passageways. You could find more if you are crafty enough, and there might be treasure to be had.

 

[Monty]

Actually, if the VITRIOL acrostic is any indication we should choose this:

6) Merely explore more of the Holds. More doors have been opened to you and you already know the Lord uses artifice to get through the many passageways. You could find more if you are crafty enough, and there might be treasure to be had.

Agreed. "Visit the Innermost of the Earth and by Rectifying you will find the
Hidden Stone" - exploring seems a good idea.

 

[Kz3r0]

Well, VITRIOL is both a direct reference to Alchemy and exploring for hidden passages, all depends on how much we can trust Root on this.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

1 and 4

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

:D at everyone voting 1 (incl me). Noone here can resist trying to max out a skill or a stat. RPG fags.

1, 4

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Is it just me or is this Kurze:

It's just you.

 

[Rex Feral]

Actually that is Kurze :D

Another Kurze.

 

[Internet]

I prefer to think about him in these terms:

 

[Rex Feral]

Actually I think Mark Strong would be a good actor to play him.

 

[Esquilax]

:D at everyone voting 1 (incl me). Noone here can resist trying to max out a skill or a stat. RPG fags.

1, 4

The problem with trying to powergame here is that things aren't so cut-and-dry: knowledge (3, 6) and allies (5) might yield more to us in the long-run than just power. I understand the temptation to learn alchemy and fighting at the same time, it's very tempting - we all want to be the badass who can use his smarts and his brawn at the same time. Allies are fickle, they can always turn on you and you have to manage/manipulate them carefully for them to be of any use. All the smarts in the world won't help you if rat diplomacy fails and it's time to fight. Your skills on the other hand, can always be relied upon.

However, I think we need some knowledge here. Now that I've thought about it some more, my main concern isn't the Lord - it's whatever it is he's afraid of. It seems he has some power at mind control and perhaps he can occasionally read thoughts, but he's not running the show here:

I stand at the Lord’s door, bearing a bloodied sack. There’s an argument going on inside, the Lord loud and fierce and the other voice a barely audible whisper. I catch a few fragments from the Lord’s side: ‘…The horror…’, ‘…Won’t be coming yet…’ and ‘…Damn well what YOU are!” and then the argument escalates into a series of imprecations and expletives punctuated by the occasional hushed whisper in a very pointed tone. There’s something behind all those words, though. For all his bravura, the Lord is afraid of whomever he’s speaking to.

...as we reach our destination and the Lord opens a pair of wide, steel-reinforced doors of old oak with a calculated, theatrical wave of his hand. I notice the little string, almost invisible, dangling from the ceiling and look up to see the string hitched up to some sort of mechanism. The Lord does not notice my thin little smile.

I'm speculating that this is a spirit, demon or deity that Kurze was communing with. A major advantage with 1 is that I think that dedicating ourselves to alchemy will earn Kurze's trust quicker, and perhaps a few hints about "The Great Work" he wishes us to do. I'm speculating of course, but I think that when he said '...Won't be coming yet" he's referring to the Great Work which is not done yet, and that the unheard part of '...Damn well what YOU are!" is actually Kurze saying "I know damn well what YOU are!"

Another hint is this:

“The bolted door?”

“That is not yet for you. But come! Let us begin the great work.”

Whatever this "great work" is, Kurze seems pretty intent on keeping us somewhat in the dark about it and only telling us what suits him. I am not really happy with that - because I think that digging through his hidden rooms will yield clues about this, we ought to do this. Alia has been at his side for a while so she might know something the being he's afraid of if we manage to break the compulsion that binds her.

 

[Monty]

Good analysis by Esquilax. Still think 1 and 6 are definitely the way to go, who knows what we could find in other rooms. More carvings or pictures explaining the history of the place, secret passages, perhaps even scrolls or manuscripts which actually have something written in them. Any clue could be vital, definitely something we have to do.

Some sound speculation about what the fragments of speech are. The only thing I'd add is that the "Won't be coming yet" could have quite a few other possibilities - perhaps another party to the scheme, or an even greater power than the one he is communing with - he could even be referring to us, and not getting us involved yet.

Who knows, will be interesting to find out.