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

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
We won't be coming back till I complete the other two LPs on my list, at which point I might very well dust off this thread and add a third part. Which would end up being like the Godfather III of the trilogy, I suspect. :lol:

Anyway, the white ghosts did exist in the universe already, just that space's so big that you rarely encounter any, not to mention they flit between dimensions too. The white Earth was a small, city sized pocket dimension Sekhenun discovered in her experiments. It became her lab of sorts. It imprinted its visitors' locations (Ankida, then Kyoto) on the surroundings. She conducted the portal opening that allowed the rogue Master to pass through in that place. The ancient massacre Senya came across is the aftermath.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
It takes a lot of talent and Dio-like willpower to keep coming back to update this with such quality so regularly over these 450+ pages, as can be seen in how the other CYOAs started at about the same time just fizzled out. Finding an update to this always made my day even when we goofed, it's a bit sad that it had to come to a close. Good thing that a new one is going to start, if it's half as good as this it'll still be one of the best CYOAs I've ever read.

I'll go for A.
 
Last edited:

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
It is just about the best thing on the internet I took any small part in.

I have no idea what I want next, but I suppose A for a change.
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
i vote A for new LP

Thank for your great work Treave hope that you enjoyed this as much as we.

Some stupid questions.

Ean Saga:
What was best use of gieldoth informations possible to extract from Sek?
If Ean chose to go to asia would he be able to make Concordat?
Was Ean able to establish Ean-fu?
How would making anti immortal sword techs influence world?
Was it possible to restore first Ean kingdom?
Was Ean and Shulgi only immortals to break masters control over them?
If Ean would be around when immortals voices was restored would he be able to convince Athena or someone else would rebel against masters?
Was it possible to get Edem to end game?
What powers Ean would get if he would choose fuck everything and run option?
Was there buddism or other real world religion look a like in this world and who where immortals establishing them?

Dio saga:
Was it possible to shape Dio into evil chancellor type or make lasting alliance with shinar prince?
What happened to that prince btw, i don't remember that being stated?
If we would chose to continue to play Dio, was it possible to stop Ean resurrection?
What would happened to Ean if he would fuse with Dio or Madman?


Tree:
If Dio would become God by ascending would be it possible to play him in his quest to become the one God?
What happened to Olympian immortals?
Would Gieldoth Tree be able to save some of terrans and would be able to play as descendants gield/immortal union if we would chose to continue?
Why concordat didn't stop Zeus, did they lack immortals powerful enough to face him?

Senya:
Would we chose to make Senya into evil scientist tm would there be some goody two shoes main enemy to face? (something like power rangers?)
Was it able to convince cult that Senya is as worthy as Rei?
What kind of person was Cult "mother"?
Could Senya become god Emperor if we took rebellion leader route?
Was there route where Senya make AI race?
If we would win fight with Naim during film part would we be able to influence its script?
Was not trusting Senya Shulgi greatest fuck up?
Rei was deleted from records so its mean only Senya remember her?
What happened to Kyrie awsome butler?
What happened to Keiko Rei friend?
If Senya would research nano bots was he able to make/change humanity into Immortals?
Was there way to upgrade existing observer, eliminating his imperfection?
Would mini Senya be able to break to real world using his idea?
What was the reason first observer malfunctioned?

Most important:
What does other characters think about Senya?
You got any special way to make CYOA? Like making long term scenarios and changing them after our choices?
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
We won't be coming back till I complete the other two LPs on my list, at which point I might very well dust off this thread and add a third part. Which would end up being like the Godfather III of the trilogy, I suspect. :lol:
:brodex:
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
That's a lot of questions. I'll answer it part by part.


Ean:

A bit hard to say anything on the Gieloth info now. It was used in an acceptable way I suppose.

No, I doubt he would have formed the Concordiat.

No Ean-fu.

You get an organization like the Dunamis, except fully human, much earlier.

Yes, if you stuck around Mesopotamia after awakening.

No, there were others. They were disposed of.

Depends. Hard to say.

Yes, don't go into the rift.

No special powers are unlocked by running.

No Buddhism but yes to Chinese and Indian mythical deities. Same scam as in the region most of the LP took place in.


Dio:

He isn't already an evil chancellor type?

Prince became Emperor, grew old, died peacefully.

Yes.

He'd just eat them up like he did the others, though Dio's Super Willpower may cause some problems later on...


Tree:

No.

Submitted, assimilated.

Yes, but the game would probably end there.

They didn't really know about it until it was too late.


Senya:

Possibly.

If you took the cult path at the end of chapter one, yes.

Sadistic bitch.

Yes.

Yes, there were plenty of chances.

Maybe, depends on how you end that chapter.

No, his greatest fuck up was not killing Diogenes when he had the chance, all things considered.

No, not really. But the records don't exist anymore so it is moot.

Turned into goo by Senya's nanites.

Slaughtered by Senya when he massacred the cult.

Yes, but that'd leave them vulnerable to Master dickery.

No.

Possible.

Which first observer?


Lastly:

Which characters in particular?

I usually have a general idea of where things are headed, but I do make some adaptions to the scenario as it goes along. Certain paths are more fleshed out in my head than others: these would be the narratively stronger paths, likelier to be more cohesive and meaningful, but the crowd doesn't always end up picking those.
 
Last edited:

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
You get the update titled Conqueror of the Creators as he destroys the Masters single handedly, then takes on Ean and the entire fleet if they refuse to submit and allow him to create World B. His motivations haven't changed, but he's even less inclined to spare anything that stands in his way. Obviously, Kyrie is lost for good.
 
Last edited:

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
He isn't already an evil chancellor type?
I guess he is from certain point of view.

Prince became Emperor, grew old, died peacefully.
Wow even Dio had soft side for friends.

He'd just eat them up like he did the others, though Dio's Super Willpower may cause some problems later on...
So Dio would win even against devour soul.


Sadistic bitch.
Sound like Shinar empress.

which first observer?
Iae is a replacement observer or something
Mikey said this so was there observer before IAE?


Which characters in particular?
Shulgi, Rei post/before cult slaughter, Ean, Sek, Anna, Selkhet, Erika, masters, Dio, Terra main officers, Adrasteia, Adrahasis, Boshen, rest of main empire officers, Yua.

Remembered some more stupid questions, lots of content lots of questions i guess.

What happened to masters after end of IAE?
After colony drop rest of crew of Kaguya-hime didn't react to Naim taking Senya achievements? They bought that lie about Senya being traitor and killing Kyrie? I didn't expect that from Captain Grimrock. Even if empress suppressed info some gossips didn't start? I mean one of crew members of Kaguya helped us get frame to escape after Kyrie assassination.
Who was sided with Cooper?
Could you tell us about who and what each master did before start of IAE?
Why Dio was disappointed when Senya didn't kill him after restoring his power?
Was it possible to father Ean Junior and what would be his masters codename?
What happened with Cultist of Senya? Those kids survived war?
Did Senya Jar organization survived war, does it still growing?
Did Dio consider someone friend other than prince?
Did dragon warden become real institution or it never counted more than one person?
How general public view Senya? (League/Empire/Terra points of view)
Did any "normal person" find out that Grand Marshal really is Ean?
What happened to Empress after her "talk" with vice president?
In central brain of FTL cannon would be able to pull off being Shulgi with info we had?
How did Shulgi inject his voice in Mere, did he contacted league before grey death?
Was there way to make humans Immortal like in early stages of CYOA?
Why Gield of America Shulgiland didn't change into tree form when there was no immortals there during Ean saga? I think they become Gield of concordat later.
What would be Ean character if we didn't influence him?
Did Senya had harem route in his first part? :D
Awesome butler become become goo? Does that mean he will be back to cockblock Senya in future?
What does Senya think about his road till destruction of IAE? Is he proud of himself or does he regret some parts?
Was there way to make necromancy acceptable to world society?
Did any of heroes decided to make biography or attempted to tell whole story to general public?

What is your favourite part of this CYOA?

edit:
During Minotaur act would we devoured voices was this possibility whole time or deus ex machina with evolved into hunger mechanic, former emperor and avatar of hunger concept?
Shulgi conquered his voices did he still hear them, if not when they stopped talking?
All immortals have same voices set mean personality etc?
Voices are winners of masters games? But there were codex avatars at begining... does this mean that people like Storyfag and Root survived apocalypse and won place. :D
Will you write story of random immortal voice or mby tell who some of them were?
During master game was there ever troll ending liek someone who told something along this line "Oh and btw only one person survive end of universe. Problem?" and run into the portal.
:troll:
bonus points if someone else would cross doors before them.
:troll:
bonus points if that person was janitor.
 
Last edited:

Kayerts

Arcane
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
883
Well done. And thanks!

My favorite parts were Tjaru, Ean's post-Cataclysm reign, the war against the Indus, and the arc between the Grey Death and the end of the Crusade. I notice that those are all cases where the odds were stacked against us, and we didn't understand the nature of the enemy. The structure of the lore and the rate at which it was parceled out was pretty near perfect--it felt like we were constantly learning fundamental, important things about our environment, and all of it was essential to our primary concerns--none of it felt extraneous, which is really hard to manage. We could be, e.g., trying to figure out how to best attack a ship that held a captive who had been a potential ally in our efforts to accumulate power through the galactic civilization of which she was a ranking representative, so that we could ultimately challenge the entities its leaders worshipped as gods, and that didn't feel convoluted at all.

Weakest part was probably the Grey Death itself; I definitely liked how the plot evolved afterward, but the gap between what we chose and what happened seemed great enough to break the players' sense of complicity in Senya's actions. I think that may have helped push us down the "no gods, no masters" path, as a means of bringing Senya in line with our own general lack of remorse--playing the penitent doesn't make sense if we don't feel like we did anything wrong. I think we generally seem to love stories in which we fuck up horribly, but we have to feel like we really earned the horrific consequences.

How do you sustain your output, by the way? This thing seemed like it was constantly overflowing with new ideas, which were all more or less consistent with each other.

B for the next CYOA.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I think we generally seem to love stories in which we fuck up horribly, but we have to feel like we really earned the horrific consequences.
Quoted for truth. I never thought that Bad Ends could be so entertaining and, dare I say it, satisfying. They were just fun, especially when we had to dig ourselves out of our own graves, like Ean's hunger, I especially liked us having to tiptoe around his hair trigger temper back in Babylon. Or, yes, the Gray Death (it worked for me, especially in that it defined the difference between Oldfag Senya and Newfag Senya). Yes, Shulgi took the fall for us... but fuck, the planet is in shambles. And don't even get me started on Tripping the Rift.

As for the "no gods, no masters bit," I can buy how Senya would be pissed at all the fuckers that were manipulating him from the beginning, and how he would want to stop that shit from happening to him or anyone else (LOLthal, I think, bumped his selflessness up a whole lot). Not what I would choose for him, personally, if I was around then, but it worked.

Edit:
During Minotaur act would we devoured voices was this possibility whole time or deus ex machina with evolved into hunger mechanic, former emperor and avatar of hunger concept?
I second this question.
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
There were many bros in this thread, both characters and posters, but there is one bro who out bro'ed even Ean himself: the person who thought up this story and had the wherewithal to see it through to it's conclusion. All hail His Bro-ness, treave, Master of Bros! Seriously though, this has to be literally the most epic CYOA out there, in terms of subject matter, scope, and duration. Someone needs to make this into a trilogy of movies or something.

I enjoyed it all, but I think my favorite part was ancient Mesopotamia. I usually like the beginnings of RPG's the best. It may be a nostalgia-like effect for when times/the game were simpler and possibilities were endless. I also absolutely loved the leveling mechanic of choosing new powers and upgrading old ones, best demonstrated by early Ean and Senya's mech.

As much as I'd like to try a Cthulhu-type mythos, I think trying something a little different mechanic-wise would be fun. So A.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Iae is a replacement observer or something
Mikey said this so was there observer before IAE?

We'll leave that for a possible sequel. :troll:


Shulgi, Rei post/before cult slaughter, Ean, Sek, Anna, Selkhet, Erika, masters, Dio, Terra main officers, Adrasteia, Adrahasis, Boshen, rest of main empire officers, Yua.

Shulgi:
Feels rather proud of trolling training a good little protege. Like watching a fledgling leave the nest.

Rei:
pre-slaughter - misses her big brother
post-slaughter - misses her big brother. She understands why Senya did it and doesn't really hold it against him.

Ean:
Does not agree with Senya's methods and goals but accepts and respects his convictions.

Sekhenun:
Likes Senya's cold-blooded pragmatism and ability.

Anna:
Thinks of him as a hacker rival... up until the point Evil!Senya kills her.

Selkhet:
Slight admiration for saving her, akin to a duckling imprinting, but besides that has not had enough interaction to really develop a relationship

Erika:
Still likes Senya. Probably won't be giving up anytime soon.

Masters:
Scared of him, but some, like Mikey and Rory, find him easy to talk to.

Dio:
Recognized a similar drive to survive and overcome against all odds within Senya, and was concerned about that. And there's that usual disdain for everyone who's not him.

Terran officers:
Respects his command and leadership and also jealous of that sweet-ass mech that he pilots.

Adrasteia:
Was slightly taken with him initially, but not enough time for it to go anywhere.

Adrahasis:
Scared of him but respects his ability.

Boshen:
Worshipped the guy.

Imperial officers:
Fear him as the man who imprisoned their Emperor. Grudging respect.

Yua:
Utterly loyal, as always.

What happened to masters after end of IAE?
After colony drop rest of crew of Kaguya-hime didn't react to Naim taking Senya achievements? They bought that lie about Senya being traitor and killing Kyrie? I didn't expect that from Captain Grimrock. Even if empress suppressed info some gossips didn't start? I mean one of crew members of Kaguya helped us get frame to escape after Kyrie assassination.
Who was sided with Cooper?
Could you tell us about who and what each master did before start of IAE?
Why Dio was disappointed when Senya didn't kill him after restoring his power?
Was it possible to father Ean Junior and what would be his masters codename?

They retain their undying existence and some of their technology, and are forced to eternally fight to prevent the Dreamer from awakening.

This was mentioned briefly, but they didn't buy it. There was just no point starting a petty rebellion or something over political manipulations when there's already a war to fight.

Shulgi.

Let's save that for a possible sequel. Or prequel.

Actually, the truth is this: mind games. If you think he secretly wants you to kill him by briefly expressing disappointment that you didn't, you might think twice about killing him. Then, in your moment of hesitation, he shanks you. Ladies and gentlemen, Diogenes Camna.

Offspring get no codenames.

What happened with Cultist of Senya? Those kids survived war?
Did Senya Jar organization survived war, does it still growing?
Did Dio consider someone friend other than prince?
Did dragon warden become real institution or it never counted more than one person?
How general public view Senya? (League/Empire/Terra points of view)
Did any "normal person" find out that Grand Marshal really is Ean?
What happened to Empress after her "talk" with vice president?
In central brain of FTL cannon would be able to pull off being Shulgi with info we had?
How did Shulgi inject his voice in Mere, did he contacted league before grey death?

The cultists that were with Emiri got gooed.

Yes, the Order survived and continue to promote knowledge and brotherhood.

Pro-tip: anyone Dio calls a friend to his face is likely not a friend.

There is a Cult of the Dragon Warden amongst the late Jheverg's Legion.

League: Troublemaker.
Empire: Respected villain.
Terran: Respected leader.

It wasn't publicized except to the military.

She got put in jail and remains there to this day.

Yes, you would have scraped past, though the subsequent choice would be even riskier.

The preparation was done via the virtual network technology. He injured her during a fight and 'infected' her that way. Obviously he threw the fight, not wanting the entire Council to personally come and eradicate him. Technically he is still inside the Sun, at least, the bulk of his nanomachines are, but he managed to find a loophole so that the part of him inside Mere became active.

Was there way to make humans Immortal like in early stages of CYOA?
Why Gield of America Shulgiland didn't change into tree form when there was no immortals there during Ean saga? I think they become Gield of concordat later.
What would be Ean character if we didn't influence him?
Did Senya had harem route in his first part? :D
Awesome butler become become goo? Does that mean he will be back to cockblock Senya in future?
What does Senya think about his road till destruction of IAE? Is he proud of himself or does he regret some parts?
Was there way to make necromancy acceptable to world society?
Did any of heroes decided to make biography or attempted to tell whole story to general public?

Not early on, no.

They don't do it until they reach a critical mass, or they feel the need to.

Cunning and arrogant warrior. Or honourable. It's hard to say. Interacting with him would change his personality.

He could have. But a harem route's hard to achieve.

Oh, the butler's already one of the recovered and ready for cockblocking duty.

What is your favourite part of this CYOA?

Hard to say. If I had to pick one, Ean's rift-jumping, sphere-whispering dumbfuckery. Thanks for giving me the chance to write the spheres. :lol: Also that scene where Diogenes and Aodh first confronted each other, in the palace, and almost everyone underestimated Aodh. I also liked doing the initial chapter of Senya's arc, with relationship points and all, and of course writing the Dragon Emperor fight scenes were fun.

edit:
During Minotaur act would we devoured voices was this possibility whole time or deus ex machina with evolved into hunger mechanic, former emperor and avatar of hunger concept?

The voices were going to be flawed and faulty. Devouring them was a deus ex machina, which developed into the Devourer and its associated concepts in the subsequent chapters. But the voices were always meant to be an agglomeration of former immortals from the beginning.

Shulgi conquered his voices did he still hear them, if not when they stopped talking?
All immortals have same voices set mean personality etc?
Voices are winners of masters games? But there were codex avatars at begining... does this mean that people like Storyfag and Root survived apocalypse and won place. :D
Will you write story of random immortal voice or mby tell who some of them were?

They continue talking.

No, they don't. Personality of the voice sets depend on which batch they are from.

Well, I suppose you could say that. :lol:

Probably not, but we'll see.


During master game was there ever troll ending liek someone who told something along this line "Oh and btw only one person survive end of universe. Problem?" and run into the portal.
:troll:
bonus points if someone else would cross doors before them.
:troll:
bonus points if that person was janitor.

Well, it wouldn't be a troll because the Masters only want one immortal anyway, carrying all the knowledge of his or her civilization.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
How do you sustain your output, by the way? This thing seemed like it was constantly overflowing with new ideas, which were all more or less consistent with each other.

I steal borrow a lot from other works. :lol:

It's just a matter of saying, hey, this is a cool concept. Now how do I make it work in the setting? And then I drop it in. Of course, having reality-bending as a premise means I'm not too limited in what I can throw in. The resulting mish-mash has been interesting, but it really wouldn't stand up to any hard scrutiny. A lot of the ideas in here are not explored to their full potential, particularly the cyberpunk portion. That was cut short rather early by the decision to drop everything and run off to the temple.

As for the Gray Death, I suppose that is rather the most controversial decision of the LP. It was not a decision I made lightly.

I did consider allowing you guys to play Evil!Senya as he went about trying to kill everyone, but decided against it in the end. The resulting scenario was not made to force penitence. Say you black out, and wake up with a bloody knife in your hand and memories of having stabbed someone to death. Would you feel responsible for it? Would you go about making amends? Would you hunt down the person who made you black out? Try to forget everything?

The disconnect was on purpose, in that sense. Regardless of what your intents were, these are the consequences, and they were truly out of your control. You have the option of not taking responsibility, as someone has already done it for you. You can forget all about it. You can make it your burden to bear. You can allow it to become your driving force for a higher goal. You can turn it into an embrace of insanity, the straw that broke the camel's back. How, then, do you approach the situation?

But in hindsight perhaps I should have been more restrained. It could have been done better. :lol:

Question: If Ean had not gone into the rift, could he have fought the Godling when it came out?

Which rift jumping session are we talking about? The last one? If the latter, you'd have to go into the Master's Dimension anyway with the bomb since that's the whole purpose of the war. If the previous session, he might have been able to prevent Naram from summoning the rogue Master. Maybe, depending on your choices.
 
Last edited:

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
What happened to Kyrie after she got "assassinated?"

And since the majority of Shulgi's nanites are in the Sun, does that mean there will eventually be two Shulgis? Oh the lulz that may yet be!
:troll:
And I always knew he thought of Senya as a mini-me.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
She was kept in a prison, managed to break out, gets into plenty of her own adventures along the way while looking for Senya, teams up with Erika, finds Evil!Senya during his bloodthirsty rampage across the world, and seeing her turn into goo stops Senya long enough for Shulgi to finally subdue him.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
What do the other civilizations think of Terra and Terrans, now that all is said and done?
Respect, hate, scared shitless of the batfuck insane, tentacle loving
:kwanzania:
?

Did Broshen survive? I might have missed it earlier, but olease tell me he did.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Rightfully fearful of what they might do. Last time they turned Jupiter into a bomb, who knows if you piss them the fuck off they might turn their Sun into one this time around. Basically, even though they're a very minor power in conventional terms, people are afraid of the MAD that might be unleashed, or worse.

The Council had Boshen executed by pulverization. He went bravely, singing praise-filled hymns of the Dragon Warden all the way. Though he may have recovered, in time, universally turning off the nanites ensured that he is well and truly dead now. His place of death is now a martyr's shrine where the Cult gathers to worship the Warden.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Yes, AI Goddess Yua ushers in a new era of peace and prosperity for the multiverse, though depending on how you treated her, it might not go well for Senya personally. I mean. She can get rather... possessive.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Personally I enjoyed the early Ean bits and Diogenes Camna the most. I love Antiquity, I love scheming dicks, and also I think the pacing and lore balance was the best as well. We all had an intuitive grasp of the material, our characters' capabilities, the cast, etc., and there was always a genuine mystery. Inevitably I felt that with the introduction of sci-fi elements and as the story became lengthier and more epic, it became a bit harder to keep track of everything in parts of the Senya saga, even though my day job is basically to read hundreds of pages of stuff a day. I do like how it all got tied off expertly in the climax.

The Tjaru dilemma, Diogenes' scheming and Ean's tree-death will live long in memory.
 

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