Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

[LP CYOA] Epic

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
As for the 'whitespace', some of them are actually sphere remnants... corpses, if you may. Others have... different origins. Something happened. There are no more spheres, or gods controlling them. This much Sekhenun has found out, but everything else will have to wait for a future infodump from someone more knowledgeable.
Dio's war on the Great Idea, maybe?
Can't find the exact quote, but you did mention him retroactively becoming the founder of the Masters and imposing his will on creation.

As for the zombies, since the Observer can't delete them due to formatting reasons, I wonder if Senya is subject to the same restrictions, being a "terminal," or if will we need to update our software with the latest antivirus packets.
 

Storyfag

Perfidious Pole
Patron
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
15,837
Location
Stealth Orbital Nuke Control Centre
You don't have any more info on the spheres, though Senya's existence is entirely different from the spheres. They don't have access to the records of fate. They do, however, seem to have been dead for a very long time. Millions of years, that's what Sekh says. Obviously they did not witness their destruction.

This does not compute with Ean meeting the Spheres personally. And with Naram-Master busily producing one on Earth. Does Sek have any theories which might explain this discrepancy?
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I think this will explain it:
When Dio meets the Great Idea, at the center of the multiverse, the event has happened simultaneously at every point in time and space, rewriting the universes as we know it without its inhabitants noticing.

Dio then proceeds to start an eternal war against the Great Idea to impose his meaning upon the multiverse.

In the moment of their meeting, Dio becomes - retroactively - the progenitor of the Masters. But that is a story for another time.

edit: One of the Olympus endings would have had you eating your way up the food chain until you devoured the Great Idea itself, and reset the multiverse, with Ean being the new big bollocks at the center of all things. It is not possible for Dio to do that even after stealing Anbar-Shi, as he does not have your experience in the void nor does he have the required mindset. His ego is simply too big to allow a silly concept like hunger to control him, and that self-control prevents him from ever being some devouring monster. Giving into the hunger has its perks, perks that he will never enjoy.

On another note, I don't see the benefit of A. So we make fools out of their General Officers, Julia gets pissy and rotates them. Now we have someone competent in command, possibly one of the officers we can sway in C. The Fed counterattacks with a numerically superior force and we're forced to fight those same forces we could have converted in C. What, you think she'll counter us with some average Joes?
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
I think this will explain it:
When Dio meets the Great Idea, at the center of the multiverse, the event has happened simultaneously at every point in time and space, rewriting the universes as we know it without its inhabitants noticing.

Dio then proceeds to start an eternal war against the Great Idea to impose his meaning upon the multiverse.

In the moment of their meeting, Dio becomes - retroactively - the progenitor of the Masters. But that is a story for another time.

edit: One of the Olympus endings would have had you eating your way up the food chain until you devoured the Great Idea itself, and reset the multiverse, with Ean being the new big bollocks at the center of all things. It is not possible for Dio to do that even after stealing Anbar-Shi, as he does not have your experience in the void nor does he have the required mindset. His ego is simply too big to allow a silly concept like hunger to control him, and that self-control prevents him from ever being some devouring monster. Giving into the hunger has its perks, perks that he will never enjoy.
Perhaps. Perhaps Marduk ate them. Perhap's Dio's war destroyed them. Corrupted their information. After all, if death creates more corrupt data ghosts, how much corruption would result in the repeated creation/destruction of entire galaxies and universes? Perhaps that was the point of the game to begin with?

Anyway, this lore dump puts a whole new light on our previous conversation with the master:
"That's quite impressive, considering that the area was nuked by the Shinar Empire a few years back. Every single leaf became more valuable than gold. Of course, after the Gray Death swept the planet, Dorje tea is now thought to be non-existent."

"I am good at obtaining things that do not exist." says the gentleman, taking another sip from his cup. "Like you."
"The work you have done with the calculator that we gifted to your reality was... interesting. Interesting enough that the moment you used it to open that portal it grabbed my attention. Then, I grabbed you. Imagine my surprise when I ran the checks on your identity." He raises both of his immaculately shaped eyebrows to articulate the sheer surprise he felt. It comes off as quite insincere.

"You mean, you found out that I do not exist?"

"Yes, exactly that. I have never seen anything like you."
So he can obtain things that have been destroyed and search for identity? Is this because the Masters have access the records of Akasha?
"We are in a temporary space where the system holds no sway, where It will not observe us." grins the man.
So things can exist without the observer...just not for very long it would seem...
You do not qualify for participation in the game, despite the voices that lie dormant inside you. However, your very presence is telling me that the game might no longer be important anyway. You could change everything.
In that we could kill the Great Idea and allow the Masters to supplant him? Or in that our very existence means the system has already reached a high level of corruption and the observer may be dying already?
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Something relevant, hastily assembled from wikipedia: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_records
In theosophy and anthroposophy, the akashic records (from akasha, the Sanskrit word for 'sky' 'space' or 'aether') are a compendium of mystical knowledge supposedly encoded in a non-physical plane of existence known as the astral plane.

Background
The akashic records – akasha being a Sanskrit word meaning "sky", "space" or "aether" – are described as containing all knowledge of human experience and all experiences as well as the history of the cosmos encoded or written in the very aether or fabric of all existence. The records or The Book of Life in the Bible (Psalm 69:28, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15 and Revelation 21:27) are metaphorically on a non-physical plane described as a library; other analogies commonly found in discourse on the subject include a "universal supercomputer" and the "Mind of God". People who describe the records assert that they are constantly updated automatically, and that they can be accessed through astral projection or under deep hypnosis. The concept was popularized in the theosophical, a 19th century occult Victorian
I suppose our Gentleman takes after that?
orientalism movement founded by Madame H. P. Blavatsky, writer of several books. According to the doctrine, there is no end to all things - merely a convergence or return to a light body of consciousness.
Light body of conciousness, eh? Kinda like the pool of personalities that got sent to the Void?
Various views are held according to study, because this is not a religion. It is derived from Hindu philosophy of Samkhya as well as ancient Tibetan scrolls and Buddhist writings. It is promulgated in the Samkhya philosophy that the Akashic records are automatically recorded in the elements of akasha- one of the five types of elements visualized as existing in the elemental theory of Ancient India
In Hinduism, Akasha means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the first material element created from the astral world (Air, Fire, Water, Earth are the other four in sequence). It is one of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five elements"; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound). In Sanskrit the word means "space", the very first element in creation. In Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati, and many other Indian languages, the meaning of Akasha has been accepted as sky
(akasha=Greek aether)
Mythological origins
Main article: Aether (mythology)
The word αἰθήρ (aithēr) in Homeric Greek means "pure, fresh air" or "clear sky", imagined in Greek mythology to be the pure essence where the gods lived and which they breathed, analogous to the air breathed by mortals
Miasma, anyone?
(also personified as a deity, Aether, the son of Erebus and Nyx). It is related to αἴθω "to incinerate", also intransitive "to burn, to shine" (related is the name Aithiopes (Ethiopians)), meaning "people with a burnt (black) visage". See also Empyrean.

Fifth element
In Plato's Timaeus (St-55c) Plato described aether as "that which God used in the delineation of the universe." Aristotle (Plato's student at the Akademia) included aether in the system of the classical elements of Ionian philosophy as the "fifth element" (the quintessence), on the principle that the four terrestrial elements were subject to change and moved naturally in straight lines while no change had been observed in the celestial regions and the heavenly bodies moved in circles. In Aristotle's system aether had no qualities (was neither hot, cold, wet, or dry), was incapable of change (with the exception of change of place), and by its nature moved in circles, and had no contrary, or unnatural, motion.
, called Mahabharta which is not a religious book, but rather a collection of colorfully historical stories spanning millions of years, from a period of prehistory and pregenesis (an esoteric biblical dogma) period of a long dead advanced civilization, wiped out by war and other calamity.
That's all I could (be arsed to) do.

Edit: and thanks to Kipeci, C now has the lead. Let's see if I was wrong about us having to sell out Sek. :lol: (But seriously, NEVER!)
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Meeting in Kamabharata

The meeting had been arranged for by one of the captains in the Autonomous Fleet, who still maintained links with his friends in the Federation. We were to meet at a specific bar in Kamabharata. The choice was a good one; even back in the earliest days of space colonization Kamabharata had developed a reputation for being a place where everyone could find what they need. What they need usually turned out to be sex.

As one of the older colonies, the infrastructure of Kamabharata was starting to show its age. Here and there I could see hastily applied fixes to the colony wall where the walls had begun to come apart at the seams. Skirting around a slow-moving family of wide-eyed boys staring – and drooling – at the decadence around them, I stride quickly down the narrow streets. A few pimps try to attract my attention but I wave them away with brief apologies. For them, it seems that business has never been better. I suppose people do get more horny when tensions are running high. A few classier buildings were even advertising an “End of the World promotion, get your appendage of choice gobbled before the Emperor gobbles you!”. I file that sentence away for possible tactical use in the future.

If I had to use one word to describe the bar that was to be our rendezvous point, seedy would be it. That makes a certain amount of sense if you don’t think about it too deeply, in a place where everyone looks suspicious, one more suspicious person in the mix would not stand out much. I sweep my eyes across the place. There’s a fire exit at the back – or at least the dirty, unlit sign says so. Given the disregard for building safety code I’ve observed so far, I would put good chances on it being obstructed. The open area has ten long tables set after Skanish fashion. The atmosphere is noisy; everyone is talking about the imminent arrival of the Empire. There is a private room near the back of the hall, reserved for regulars with the money to spare. I head towards that. There is a woman leaning against the wall, sharpening her dagger. She peers at me, and then flashes a crooked grin and waves me in.

As I enter the room, its inhabitants turn to look at me as one. None of them are in uniform, but had any of them been I would have turned and walked out immediately.

“You are right on time, and you came alone, as promised. Thank you for trusting us.” says the man closest to me. Tall, middle-aged, with streaks of grey lining his auburn hair: “No, thank you for being willing to meet with me, Major Miller,” I nod respectfully. Coming alone was slightly risky, but nothing I couldn't handle. I turn to look at each of the men and women seated around the table, returning their salutes as they introduce themselves. Colonel Kowaki. Captain Laresse. Lieutenant Colonel Torwick. Colonel Camna. Major Rothsen. Captain Antiokyes. Those present came from a smattering of ranks, high and low. We spend a few minutes engaging in polite banter.

“Now, let’s get down to business,” says Colonel Kowaki, taking charge of the meeting. She peers at me with a serious look in her eyes. “I will be straight here. What do you want to accomplish by fighting the Federation?” I think for a while, and choose my words carefully. “I am not fighting the Federation. I am fighting its leaders.”

“It’s the same thing,” says Captain Antiokyes. Lieutenant Colonel Torwick sighs. “Captain, I do not want to have to give you another civics lecture.” Antiokyes clams up with a frown, scratching his arm.

“Clearly there is a lot of bullshit going on upstairs,” says Major Rothsen, scratching his beard. “I mean, we’re still not being deployed while the civilians try to sort out who should be in command and where.”

“It’s a right mess.” agrees Laresse with a sigh. “And here we are talking to the enemy.”

“Ah, but he doesn’t have to be the enemy,” says Miller. “This is why we are here.”

“We want to find out what you want for the future of Earth,” says Kowaki.

I look at the assembled officers and fold my hands together on the table. “I want to find out what the people of Earth want. Then, we shall see.”

Kowaki gives a slight nod. “A legitimate viewpoint. I do think the president has been acting too rashly. We should have conducted a referendum on how to deal with the Empire.”

“The sackings have gotten worse too. A lot of my acquaintances are out of their jobs and on the streets.She’s always been paranoid, but even more so lately. We can’t trust the Fed anymore.” grumbles Miller.

“Wait a minute here, how is he any more trustworthy than the Federation?” blurts out Antiokyes, unable to hold his tongue. “The both of them are just as bad as each other, I reckon. Don’t forget that this guy was behind the events of Ankida. Better the devil you know, I say.”

“Antiokyes raises a valid question,” says Torwick. “How do we know you can be trusted to uphold the interests of humanity any more than the Federation has?”

I wait until Yua gives me the confirmation.

“Well, the devil you know seems to be rather interested in your activities right now. Isn’t that right, Antiokyes?” I give him a practiced smile, one that tells him I know what you are up to. With the instincts of a cornered rat, he springs to his feet and bolts for the door. Before he can get there, however, two colonels and a major have already brought him down, sending him crashing to the dirty bar floor.

“What are you up to, Antiokyes?” asks Rothsen.

I speak up. “Left arm, right above the upper third of the ulna. You will observe a slight, tell-tale growth that indicates the presence of a micro-radio which can record and broadcast audio at a touch. The signal was just confirmed a second ago. Ladies and gentlemen, Federation forces could arrive here any moment now.” Of course, I could have stopped him before he began his broadcast, but where would the fun be in that?

“Antiokyes, you rat bastard!” Laresse kicks the captain in the side. She proceeds to draw her pistol, but Rothsen holds her back.

“How could I stand by and let the lot of you conspire to commit treason?” His grin is ugly and wide, as if he’s already won.

“You’re acting as if you have already won.” I say.

“Of course I have. Did you really think we would not pick up on a bunch of problematic officers taking a break at the same time? We have the colony surrounded. Surrender and the President will spare your life.”

“Just listen to you, Antiokyes,” I laugh. “You’re talking like a comic book villain already.”

“Say what you want,” he growls angrily, “there will be no escape.” I turn my attention away from him, inwardly thanking the Federation for this blessing. Torwick pulls out a blackjack from his pocket and bashes Antiokyes over the head with it, knocking him out. He catches my glance and shrugs. “Always wanted to do that, but just being annoying isn’t a good reason to assault your subordinate.”

“We will have to get the word out to the ships,” says Colonel Camna, the first time he’s spoken in front of me. He calls together the other officers and they go into a huddle, whispering so that Antiokyes’s bug would not pick up their conversation. After a few minutes, they separate. Miller comes up to me. “Well, it looks like our hand has been forced. We may have to fight our way out of here. Again, thanks for trusting us, son. Better get out of here quickly, they'll treat you worse if they catch you here.”

"I didn't expect the higher ups to be so far gone," grumbles Rothsen. "Goddamn generals playing politics."

“If you surrender they might still take you back,” I say.

Torwick shakes his head. “It’s too late. We have no other option now.”

“Well…” I begin thinking. “There is always another option.”

***

A. Turn this into an impromptu operation to lure me in for capture. Although they had not planned on it, when they were offered the meeting by my contact, they decided to covertly conduct a plot to meet and capture me, the elusive annoyance that has been plaguing the Federation. They did not report it because they were concerned I might have more moles and spies planted in the Federation, and doing so might tip me off and cause me to chicken out. As for Antiokyes, they did not know he would go over their heads in a greedy attempt to gain credit. This will help preserve their positions for a while, until we are ready to strike. I am ‘taken’ into their custody – I’m sure that the President won’t be able to resist meeting me to gloat…

B. Same as the above, but I somehow ‘elude’ their grasp. This makes their position weaker but I would much rather prefer to spend my time back at the base preparing for the war to come.

C. I help them to escape, though this way they will have no choice but to declare their defection immediately. I had not seen any warships or troop transports when I arrived; the garrison of the Kamabharata numbers at a hundred and fifty, so this will be the extent of the forces I am facing. There could be a couple of CFs in the mix, and a dozen armoured vehicles. I should be able to handle this easily, although it will attract more attention to myself in the future.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Hmm, depating between A and C: we either go for the long term, but skip out on developing our forces and assisting/protecting Sek (sneak attacks are alwsys possible, and I do want Ean back ASAP, so that we can start schooling him on mechas and marksmanship; or we miss out on an assassination opportunity and a chance for tactical genius (honestly, killing the President and having the officers defect will demoralize the Fef heavily).

To Ean, or to Creed, that is the question.
“End of the World promotion, get your appendage of choice gobbled before the Emperor gobbles you!”. I file that sentence away for possible tactical use in the future.
:lol:
Oh really? Now that I'd love to see: Ean and Senya, the ultimate trolling team.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
C - I don't want us out of commission. We'll be jacked up on drugs and helpless, until our new found "allies" rescue us. We could instead be doing something else. We could try assassinating Julia with A, but it's far from a sure thing.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Good thing that you can kill the drug molecules inside your body if you want, not to mention the nanomachines that would probably alleviate the effects considerably. If there's a problem, it won't lie in being drugged or overpowered.

On the other hand, flexing your powers against an entire garrison should be interesting.
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,518
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
We can get Camna here. THE hero of the federation, the one accoladed by the Star League.
Let's grab that treat and run. I too, am reluctant to leave the base unattended, though I have no doubt Sekh is capable. But we want Senya to contribute as well.

I'm leaning towards C, could possibly be flopped.

Floppity-flop! A
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
A - Let's just cut off the snake's head instead of fighting a useless war that will cost us precious time and leave the federation too battered to defend against Marduk's onslaught. Besides, Julia has been asking to be cut up since day one. treave, maybe this has been revealed, but what did we do to piss her off when we met her anyway?
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
She got insulting, you got sarcastic, and things have gone downhill ever since.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
*sigh* Now millions of people are going to die, all for the pride of a sexually frustrated old woman. Bitches be crazy.
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,518
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Screw this, Senya can be devious. He could've pulled a nice one way back against Relius, if I'm not mistaken. Let's try our hand at this game. I've flopped.
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,518
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Remember folks, we want to hide our true strength (by virtue of the nanomachines) as long as possible. Julia just might buy that we were actually caught. If we instead choose to go HULK SMASH on the garrison here, we'd be outed immediately. Let's try and fly under the radar for just a little while yet on that account.

If we can get to Julia and dispose of her, we could possibly win this without the need for excessive bloodshed. That would put us in a better position against the Devourer.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
My concern with A is that it could put us out for too long a time. I'd like to prepare our super death robot before Marduk turns up.

Besides, with A we're relying on the good will of a Camna. How does that not scream imminent betrayal?
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
If we can get to Julia and dispose of her, we could possibly win this without the need for excessive bloodshed. That would put us in a better position against the Devourer.
But then again, C would allow us to get accustomed to our powers; If there's one thing I noticed, it's that Senya can't rely on instinct when fighting or exerting his powers, he needs time to practice.

'Sides, our side also needs an inspirational figure and decimating a base will do just fine for that. Marduk will know about us anyway, and that's fine: we'te not the ace-in-the hole. The black hole engine is.

Still considering.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom