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

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
See, Ill flip to C rather than A if we can do contingency voting. But that gets complicated. ATM my #1 choice is B

Some sort of ranking system would be ideal (3 points for first choice, 2 for second, 1 for third), but that's too much of a pain in the ass for someone to do manually.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
B is about electricity control. The thing that killed the general in B is literally a lightning bolt. This has nothing to do with our ability to create fires, and we have no experience with this kind of power. If we did then it would be mentioned in the choice - "Your long neglected elemental manipulation powers come to life" - like it was for telekinesis. There is no reason to believe the two are connected at all.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
We've been able to shoot lightning from our hands before, I've seen nothing to suggest that this is not elemental manipulation.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
* Ean's best asset is his Physical Ability tree, and that's about as unsubtle as it gets. And even then people think the dude is a mortal despite the fact that he moves faster than anyone they've ever seen and can shrug off wounds without a problem.

Well, it just so happens that you embody those tavern tales of a man lifting ten oxen with one hand. It's not like some peasant is going to blurt out, "I must say, that's impossible! Human muscles surely cannot perform a feat of such magnitude without some form of augmentation!"

B is about electricity control. The thing that killed the general in B is literally a lightning bolt. This has nothing to do with our ability to create fires, and we have no experience with this kind of power. If we did then it would be mentioned in the choice - "Your long neglected elemental manipulation powers come to life" - like it was for telekinesis. There is no reason to believe the two are connected at all.

Partially right, as in, you have had no experience creating lightning before because you didn't know how. It is classified under elemental manipulation, however, along with wind gusts and digging pitfalls without using your limbs. Just so happens that besides the regular four things you can do, you can also now taze people, bro.

I didn't repeat the text regarding "long neglected powers" because I don't want to make the choices sound too samey all the time.

Hm, let me just clarify the effects of the three choices. I think it'd be pretty straightforward if I break it down like this...

A - gives you a considerable power boost to your telekinesis.
B - allows you to use electricity in addition to the other elemental stuff you can already do, but the overall boost is pretty small.
C - new power, throw little energy needles, etc.
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
Well, Zero Credibility, I guess it's time for me to eat crow. I won't flop because A is winning regardless, but it does seem like a serious telekinetic boost is the short-term advantage we need to ensure our survival and the ability to gather future powers. Getting put out of commission again would fucking suck. If it's a big boost to our telekinetic abilities, then that means that we could tear off the siege engine's wheels or maybe even knock it over if we need to. Honourblade will further augment those powers.

Our body is pretty fucked right now, and telekinesis might be enough to give us the edge when we go toe-to-toe with Nabu. Even though Ean is hurt, I am certain that even in his weakened state all he needs is a small opening in the Gieloth's guard to strike the killing blow - this guy isn't the monster in close combat that his brother was. Giving him a slight push to daze him momentarily will be all we need. Our body is broken right now, and telekinesis seems like a pretty damn good crutch.

It would make dealing with Astarth if we make it out of this alive very easy. We've kept our nature hidden from others, so taking him out would be a simple matter of strangling him while he's eating dinner or pushing him off a ledge. New pharaoh dies, very tragic, his very popular general who saved Egypt steps in to "reluctantly" take the throne. Worst comes to worst, his weak heir comes to power and we're de facto ruler anyways. Piece of cake.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
Messages
2,951
Well, Zero Credibility, I guess it's time for me to eat crow. I won't flop because A is winning regardless, but it does seem like a serious telekinetic boost is the short-term advantage we need to ensure our survival and the ability to gather future powers. Getting put out of commission again would fucking suck. If it's a big boost to our telekinetic abilities, then that means that we could tear off the siege engine's wheels or maybe even knock it over if we need to. Honourblade will further augment those powers.

Our body is pretty fucked right now, and telekinesis might be enough to give us the edge when we go toe-to-toe with Nabu. Even though Ean is hurt, I am certain that even in his weakened state all he needs is a small opening in the Gieloth's guard to strike the killing blow - this guy isn't the monster in close combat that his brother was. Giving him a slight push to daze him momentarily will be all we need. Our body is broken right now, and telekinesis seems like a pretty damn good crutch.

It would make dealing with Astarth if we make it out of this alive very easy. We've kept our nature hidden from others, so taking him out would be a simple matter of strangling him while he's eating dinner or pushing him off a ledge. New pharaoh dies, very tragic, his very popular general who saved Egypt steps in to "reluctantly" take the throne. Worst comes to worst, his weak heir comes to power and we're de facto ruler anyways. Piece of cake.
Meh, I was wrong about the whole elemental manipulation thing - B apparently does synergises with our previous powers, even if we wouldn't have access to thunderbolts at this point. Treave hasn't specified what a considerable boost actually means in this situation, but hopefully telekinesis will work good enough. If not we could still try to burn the fucking tower down. But something tells me the other Gieloth might be a much bigger problem then we anticipate. If he really is a sorcerer type with some long range powers that can strike at our defenses, and we won't be able to close with him... this could turn ugly real fast. And then there's the matter of our wounds - no idea how that is going to affect us.

We'll see in the next update how good we did in the preparations for the battle. It could be our whole strategy is flawed from the start and that we are fucked no matter what.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Azira A
CappenVarra A
Kipeci A
Collage A
Zero Credibility A
Lambchop19 A
Stygian Lurker A
oscar A
anus_pounder A
Baltika9 A
TOME A

A - 11

Tigranes B
Urist McLurker B
Storyfag B
Smashing Axe B
Esquilax B

B - 5

Arpad C
Omicron C
ScubaV C
Bloodshifter C - he said b as well but he was drunk so...
newcomer C
m4davis C

C - 6
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Chapter 3.21: Battle for Tjaru

“… and out in the desert, I met the Babylonian general and slew him. These are the marks of my battle! He was a tough foe, but he is now dead, and tomorrow you face a snake without its head!” Your men cheer as you say that.

You had managed to get back to Tjaru, even in your broken condition. Your massive gut wound had closed up on the stumbling journey back, but it is still giving you tremendous pain. You could barely walk, let alone run. In addition to that, you are having a hard time utilizing your powers – they appear to be drained, and although you can use them, they’re not as strong as they should be. The voices run a check on your body, and tell you that this condition should clear up in a day or two. You hope that the battle tomorrow will go well…

***

A loud horn jolts you from your rest at dawn. All around you, soldiers are rushing to their positions: the Babylonians have arrived. You get up and begin making your way to the walls gingerly; you still feel weak and dizzy. At the top of the walls, you see the Babylonian army arrayed before you, resplendent in all their glory. The tower was there, looming over the army at the back of their formations. The sun rose behind them. They had picked a good time to begin their attack – the glare of the rising sun would throw off the aim of your archers. You see Netzi walking up and down the walls, giving orders to the archers. You are confident he will find the proper timing to unleash the arrows.

With a roar, the Babylonians began their charge. More than half their number came forward on foot, shields at the ready. They approached courageously and quickly, all caution thrown to the air. Clearly they were not expecting any traps… and so they walked right into it. The pits did their work. Men tumbled into the stake-lined pits, rushing headlong into their doom. Within the first few minutes of arriving in the trapped area, you could sense the Babylonians beginning to falter. A few of them begin turning to run. You watch as another thousand men came forward to help their comrades from the traps; this time they approach more cautiously. You wait… and once they are within range, you raise your hand and gesture at one of your officers. He holds up his bronze mirror, facing the sun, and gives the signal.

From the flanks of the battle, a dozen foolhardy men of yours, who had camped beyond the protection of the walls last night, lighted the fire. The flames sprang up as if from nowhere, running along channels hidden under grass and sand. More than six thousand Babylonians were trapped in the sea of flames, unable to move. This battle was yours to lose, and you haven’t even committed any of your forces to it.

Then, the skies darkened. You felt a stirring of power from the tower, which had remained still since the start of the battle. The platform at the top of the tower was empty before, but now you see a man… no, a Gieloth there, encircled by the weird metal rods you had spotted before. His hands appear to be gripping the rods. Then, the rain falls. Slowly at first, but surely getting heavier, and then – the fire subsides. The Babylonians begin to cheer, but their shouts of joy are cut short and they fall silent, all at once.

From the Gieloth at the top of the tower, you could feel thousands of psychic extensions leading to each and every soldier in the Babylonian army. The disturbingly silent soldiers begin to move towards the fortress again. A line of men spread out in front of the bulk of the forces and marched quietly in perfect precision and total synchronicity. They marched without any instinct of self-preservation, as the entire line was almost wiped out by your traps – and were promptly replaced by another, and another. The Gieloth must be controlling his army manually from the top of that tower. You hazard a guess that it might be amplifying his powers, similar to how your Honourblade increases yours. This might be troublesome…

The Babylonians would reach your walls soon. They had brought along ladders, and would likely bridge the moat with the ladders and then use more ladders to swarm up the walls. There was too many of them for you to pick off if they mounted a direct assault. Though their numbers have diminished, there was still more than five thousand at the front, with nearly two thousand held in reserve in front of the tower.

***

A. You lead a daring chariot raid against the tower. Even in your weakened state, you should have enough telekinetic power to damage or topple the tower once you get into range. You might get caught by the two thousand men guarding the tower if they move from their position, but you’ll just have to fight your way out. Your men are already shaken by the sudden rain and self-sacrificing nature of the Babylonians. Having them actually engage with a numerically superior army that appears to know no fear would be even more disastrous - if they flee the walls, Tjaru is lost.

B. Your walls are strong and you can still reduce their numbers as they march. You will just have to trust in your men to hold the walls as you fight along with them. You will not allow yourself to be swayed into changing your plan just because the enemy Gieloth can now puppet his army around. You have confidence in your soldiers. The Babylonians might not break, but they still die like normal men. You will slaughter them as they attempt to climb Tjaru.

C. You have kept a last resort, a trump card of a sort. The voices had told you about a fault line near Tjaru while you were digging the pits. You had then lined up the pattern of the pits in such a manner that you could more easily nudge the fault line with your elemental manipulation. By using the Honourblade to amplify your powers again, you can cause the land to quake and rupture, creating a fissure that would not only swallow up most of the Babylonian army, but also drop the tower along with the Gieloth into the bowels of the earth, ending the battle in one decisive move. However, in your weakened state, you have no idea what pushing your limits further would do to you…
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
I'm leaning towards B initially. C sounds like a potential coma choice, though it could also boost our powers even further by pushing ourselves. If we did A, we'd probably still have to contend with the Gieloth once the tower falls (though it's doubtful he has any martial prowess to speak of). The biggest concern there is the high chance of getting killed by the 2000 reserves, though maybe we could escape in the post-mind control confusion. It's unlikely our body would get super mangled so we should revive relatively quickly, but how quickly is relatively quickly?

I think we have to trust in our men. We're still outnumbered 7000 to 1600? and their side doesn't have to worry about morale. However we have walls. If worse comes to worst we should be able to retreat and salvage some of our force and give Ean a chance to recover.
 

newcomer

Learned
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
919
I fear C will turn us into a goo, not just a coma..
Still, I believe the tentacles are making a stupid move; with their current numbers & mindless attacks they can only hope for a victory with severe casualty at best, IMO...
Well, the tentacles might have something in reserve...
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
A.

The soldiers themselves would not have the stomach for the losses they were taking, and would likely run for the hills if they had a modicum of free will. If we take down or disrupt the tower, that gets us into a direct conflict with the Gieloth controlling them; if we can overcome that, the thousands of soldiers won't particularly matter, because scared, disorganized troops aren't likely to waste themselves en masse against a superstrong immortal who just slaughtered their strongest leader. Even if they were to try, only so many could crowd around us at once, and while we are currently weak (probably still superhuman, though), we're only growing stronger as time passes, while they would tire.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
Kipeci has me convinced, A.

Edit: Votan B for the moment. We should have later chances to act against the control tower. Every moment we delay the more powerful we grow.
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
I'm completely against C, I don't fancy being put out of commission for a millenium. In our weakened state and without our elemental manipulation skills improved, it would be a disaster.

That leaves either A or B. Since we don't have a small army of cannon fodder peasants within the fortress, we'll be overrun by these guys. Our men are near their breaking point already, we must show them bravery in the face of overwhelming odds - our elites might remain solid, but the militiamen will break for sure. This is the time to be decisive, we need to lead our men with a chariot charge, taking our elites with us. Our enhanced telekinetic abilities will pick up the slack for our diminished combat skills and allow us to knock the structure down.

We invested in our nifty new telekinesis skills so as to give us the biggest edge for the battle, and we used traps to thin their numbers. It is only appropriate then that we ride out to take the siege tower down. Ean is a leader of men, now it's time to lead.

B
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
I don't think our men are at 'breaking point', we just killed a thousand of their men and they are as yet completely unharmed. Still, B doesn't seem to give great chances for victory. (Hell, what are the odds the zombified men will just use each other as platforms to reach the breach, suffocating the crocodiles with corpses?)

A for now, though it seems likely to get us killed anyway.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
You think we'll be able to "fight our way out" of 2000 men in our state? Not to mention that the gieloth will still be there. Seriously, you're trying to have your cake and eat it too. We'd die AND the battle would be lost.

B - We'll do as much damage to the babylonians as we can and bug out if it gets too hairy.

edit: btw, if you were the guy on top of the magic tower, controlling your troops and - knowing that there's someone who can kill gieloth nearby - you see a small group approaching your tower, would you move your 2000 gaurds to defend the tower? Duh. Of course you would.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
Well my hope with is that they'll have lost quite a bit of their morale due to the casualties they've already taken and the way they've been compelled. That said I'm not adverse to B
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
B

Trust the men. We should be able to slaughter many thousand men and exhaust the gieloth. It can't be easy to control that many men.
 

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