Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Nevill]

I have no idea what the actual procedure would include, but Thais needs to come up with an excuse for us to cast a spell as a part of it. I don't know how to go about it, though. A darkness spell that would conceal the involved parties once the cultists confirm they have the spearhead - to make the combat impossible after everyone gets what they want? Or some other bullshit 'safeguard' like that?

I gave it a bit of a thought. How would that fare as a justification:

Jan clearly does not want to come out and trust the cultists with his life. What would be there to prevent them from killing him and taking the artefact with no strings attached? So what if the trading procedure looked like this?

When the sides agree to each other's demands, we pick two people that would represent the groups (not the leaders, though - we want Rand's clone to continue holding Thais), 'disarm' them, and send them to Jan's hideout. While they approach it, we prepare a spell that would shroud Jan's location. The reasoning, of course, is that he is so afraid of their potential betrayal (we might want to put some words in Jan's mouth here), he might destroy the artefact unless his safety through the transaction is guaranteed. Therefore, a 'safeguard' spell is necessary, and we offer our services, since clearly Jan wouldn't trust the cultists with his safety.

That is also the excuse to send our people unarmed - the official reason would be so that they would not spook Jan into doing something stupid.

It does not change anything for the cultists - they still have leverage over us if we betray them, and if Jan decides to destroy the artefact, there is nothing they can do about it other than retaliate. They might take the offer if we present it as their only chance to get what they want. Thais should be the one to suggest that, since they are more likely to believe the one who has her life on the line, and she is a born liar.

While the location is shrouded, Jan is supposed to relocate to another hiding place, leaving the artefact behind to be picked up by our representatives. The observer team is supposed to confirm that they got the artefact and signal the cultists so they would be able to honor their part of the deal and free the hostage.

Naturally, this will never happen, as the spell we will be casting has nothing to do with our 'agreement'.

So... how plausible is it? Yay or nay?

archaen, zerozero, Kz3r0 and other DISCUSS-bros, any insights?

The benefits of the plan (if it works):
- Most of the social interactions are done by Thais, who is much better at it than we are.
- We try to ensure Jan doesn't snap and make things worse.
- We try to get Jan to cooperate with us. There is a possibility he will chime in on our side in battle.
- We try to get the cultists relaxed as things mostly go their way right until the moment they don't.
- We get an excuse and thus a much needed time to cast our opening spell.
- We get a surpise alpha stike off, as they would not be expecting us to use heavy artillery with Thais in their midst. Hopefully, this will also get rid of their leader as well, since he is the one holding Thais. Without a leader they might attempt to run if things start going badly for them.
- We get to split the cultist forces. There are seven of them against the five of us, so any extra kill would make our lives progressively easier.

I hope people would point out the drawbacks as well.

 

[Jester]

Hmm kinda expect that they wish to use spear to kill/stop watcher they did show up to try stop him from busting from jail.

Mby combo of Warrior mask and delayed reaction?

 

[Nevill]

Hmm kinda expect that they wish to use spear to kill/stop watcher they did show up to try stop him from busting from jail.

They didn't succeed in stopping them, though (did they aim to?), and whatever interests the Eberhardt rebels pursue, they are not the ones of the crown.

I agree that it is likely that the child they are talking about might be related to the necromancer.

Still, I don't suppose they need us to stop the Watcher, since if it was the case, the cultist Lords would have sent help to Fort Blackrock.

Mby combo of Warrior mask and delayed reaction?

How would that work? Who would be the target of a delayed reaction and how it would help us?

 

[Jester]

They didn't succeed in stopping them, though (did they aim to?), and whatever interests the Eberhardt rebels pursue, they are not the ones of the crown.
I agree that it is likely that the child they are talking about might be related to the necromancer.
Still, I don't suppose they need us to stop the Watcher, since if it was the case, the cultist Lords would have sent help to Fort Blackrock.

They didnt have spear there, so mby they were unable to pass through watcher damage resistance. King said he was impervious to harm. God killing spear is more likely to work, that normal chumps. They probably wish to save kingdom to change management to cultist. This place has lot of worshippers. And where did i said they need us for anything?

How would that work? Who would be the target of a delayed reaction and how it would help us?

Not Rand casted by Thais. He wish to get that spear, so he might try his best to keep bargain chip usable. This might buy us that minute needed to cast warrior mask and if he will cut her Thais got heal ring on herself. Wonder if they start casting simultaneously he will be able to tell how many spells are being cast.

Other idea is to try to use mind spells on Jan making it look like he is about to destroy artifact to focus all attention on him and give us opportunity to act.

 

[Nevill]

Not Rand casted by Thais. He wish to get that spear, so he might try his best to keep bargain chip usable. This might buy us that minute needed to cast warrior mask and if he will cut her Thais got heal ring on herself. Wonder if they start casting simultaneously he will be able to tell how many spells are being cast.

A bargaining chip is useful for as long as there is going to be bargaining. If anyone here starts unauthorized casting, it is a sign that the negotiations have ended, and then things might turn ugly.

A healing ring might not protect from chopping the head off. It heals, but it can not resurrect. I don't know, I don't think we can buy enough time by simple tricks. It is a whole minute, and they can kill Thais in seconds. If we are going to surprise cast, mind magic is our best bet, but there are seven of them, and there are bound to be other mages who will react appropriately even if we incapacitate not-Rand.

The signals the mages send during the casting are localized. During the battle inside the Palace walls we were able to tell the respective strengths of enemy mages which demonstrates that the signals are distinct enough.

And where did i said they need us for anything?

You didn't, not-Rand did.

Other idea is to try to use mind spells on Jan making it look like he is about to destroy artifact to focus all attention on him and give us opportunity to act.

Funny thing is, I think out of the options that get our whole group killed, trying to affect Jan's mind is a surest bet. The dwarf expects some mindfuckery from either us or the cultists, and he probably holds the spearhead hostage just like not-Rand holds Thais.

Mess with him, and you won't need to make it look like anything.

 

[Kz3r0]

Fangshi can we quickly mindscan the temple to see if there are other people besides us, the dorf vamps for example?

 

[Fangshi]

You don't really have a spell that can detect people within the temple and you know of no mental spell that could do that. (Interestingly enough the spell you are looking for might actually be an elemental spell of the lightning discipline, in theory a master of that specialty might be able to come up with a way to pick up the electrical signals in the human body. That is provided they were aware that such a thing is even possible.)

The best you can do is pick up on any magical signals that are powerful or nearby. At the moment the only magical signals you can pick up are as follows:

- Derryth, Thaïs, Biliku and Uttu are all giving off slight muddied signals that bear Derryth, Thaïs and Lyssa's combined signatures.

- Jan is giving off a slight signal though you can not place its exact nature (it may be a result of the spearhead he is holding).

- There are about five very weak signals coming from above you. They seem to be localized roughly where the eleventh sub basement is and likely belong to the prisoners kept there. If Hallr is to be believed these signals are likely the result of whatever magics are used to keep them dormant rather than the prisoners themselves.

- There is also a general level of background magical 'noise' that you can pick up on. It is the result of so many experiments and mages concentrated in one place in the Academy above you but it is fairly easy to filter out.

And that is it. None of the cultists seem to have any active enchantments in place and no one is casting yet.

If someone does start casting you will know immediately, as will Thaïs, Jan and any mages among the cultists.

 

[Nevill]

I guess I'll stop beating around the bush and put this plan to a vote.

D) You pretend to go along with their demands, then attack them when they least expect it.

- Slip a message to Thais via the bracelets of what needs be done.
- Have Thais make Jan cooperate and agree to trade the artefact. Call to both his emotions and senses as a scientist.
- Have Thais calm the cultists down and make them less twitchy.
- Come up with a trading procedure. Biliku and one of the cultists will disarm and go to retrieve the artefact from Jan while the rest of them stand somewhere we can see them (and hopefully, somewhere we can catch most of them with our Greater Energy Bolt spell).
- Come up with an excuse to cast a spell as a part of the procedure. When negotiations are that far, no one wants them to break down because of a misunderstanding. If we wanted to fight, we would not have needed such a convoluted scheme, and Thais would not approve of any plan that would involve her dying, right?
- Calm cast the Warrior's Mask at Thais and immediately follow that up with the Great Energy Bolt from the ring. Biliku cuts down the cultist escorting her while Uttu tries to blind with a flash those who weren't shocked to death and then peppers them with frost arrows.

Notes:
- One of the examples of how the trading procedure is supposed to happen is described above, at the top of the page. A team of two unarmed people head to Jan's place while we cast a 'shroud' spell so that Jan could retreat from his hideout, leaving the artefact for us to pick. After the team confirms that Jan upheld his part of the deal and they have the artefact, the cultists release the hostage. Naturally, we deviate from it at the 'casting the spell' part.
- If we succeed with the initial stage of the plan, we might want to ask Thais to hold Rand as we release both spells. Now he is holding her so that she could not break free, but this goes both ways. I don't want him tumbling out of the way of the spell.
- If we can do it completely discreetly while their attention is elsewhere, slip the Healing ring into Biliku's pocket, just to be on the safe side. She or Jan might need it, and we still have mandrake roots. If no opportunity presents itself, drop the idea. We don't want them to think the kid is armed, be it actual weapons or spell rings.

 

[Baltika9]

- Come up with an excuse to cast a spell as a part of the procedure. When negotiations are that far, no one wants them to break down because of a misunderstanding. If we wanted to fight, we would not have needed such a convoluted scheme, and Thais would not approve of any plan that would involve her dying, right?

What kind of excuse? How can magic be essential to this negotiation and why would they agree to let us do it when they are holding the upper hand?

 

[Nevill]

See above. They hold the upper hand in relation to us, but not to Jan. They have our hostage, Jan have theirs. They have no real power over him other than threatening to kill him, but that makes Jan not want to part with the spearhead even more.

So to escape this deadlock Jan may request a warranty of his safety while we are doing this transaction. Or rather, we give him the hint that it might be a good idea, putting some words in his mouth while explaining how we are going to conduct the trade.

Obviously, we are the only ones he can ask about it. He can't trust the cultists to provide protection ftom themselves, can he?

This is the way for the cultists to get what they want, and it does not cost them anything. It's not like we can attack them while they are holding Thais, right?

They might agree.

 

[Baltika9]

So we're basically offering to be the middle-man here. Good enough for the beginning, but why would they agree to let us use magic of all things?

 

[Nevill]

Good enough for the beginning, but why would they agree to let us use magic of all things?

Well, how else are they going to satisfy the conditions? A condition of one's safety is a reasonable one to make, and if they can't even guarantee that, then the trade is not possible. What can they offer him? At least we come to them with a pre-made solution.

Jan can't come out because he is afraid of them killing him. They can't come to Jan because of the same reason - he would not want them near him. Jan can't leave his hideout as it is because then he would be open to an attack. So the solution seems logically sound.

Besides, what can we do to them? There is no single spell that can save Thais, or at least I do not know of one. There are no teleportation spells in the setting (except for a very demanding Gate spell that very few know of). Invisibility or light manipulation? Won't help if they hold the hostage in their hands. Illusions? They know they have the real thing in their grasp. Mental spells? That is what they are prepared for, but we probably can't affect all 7 of them, and even a single one of them would be able to shoot Thais dead. Besides, if we wanted to do that, we could have done it straight away. Some kind of attacking spell? That would kill Thais as well.

After weighing their risks, I expect them to come to a conclusion that there is no way for us to save Thais and kill them all in one fell swoop. Therefore the spell we are going to cast is not directly harmful to them - and if it isn't what we say it is, they would be free to punish us.

The funny thing is, they are right. The Warrior's Mask is not our weapon, it is our shield. The real danger will come from another spell that we don't even need to prepare.

 

[Baltika9]

I kinda wary of gambling on that.
"Gais, I need to cast a spell."
"Why?"
"Uh, because."
I guess I could see us pretending to lose our shit when talking to Jan and charge a spell as if we are trying to strike at him, that would be believable. But what sane man would let a mage charge up a spell just because?

 

[Nevill]

'Uh, because?'

I believe the reason is clearly stated. Jan would want someone to provide his safety.

What can they offer him, except their word? How else can they do this?

But what sane man would let a mage charge up a spell just because?

A man that knows a spell won't be targeted against him for whatever reasons?

 

[Baltika9]

- Come up with an excuse to cast a spell as a part of the procedure. When negotiations are that far, no one wants them to break down because of a misunderstanding. If we wanted to fight, we would not have needed such a convoluted scheme, and Thais would not approve of any plan that would involve her dying, right?

That excuse is what I was referring to, since it wasn't clear what you intended it to be.
I guess if Jan agrees to cooperate, we can use the excuse that we're casting a protection spell on him.

 

[Nevill]

There is a whole effing wall of text dedicated to that very excuse on the top of the page. :D

And the best part is that we can plant the idea in Jan's mind. "Look, he is obviously afraid to come out and get killed without accomplishing anything." Oh, right, they can do that. "Jan, would it be acceptable to you if we provide you a way to guarantee your safety during the exchange?"

Thais can probably guide both sides where we need them to be. The hostage situation calls for a negotiator, and that's who she is.

That the negotiator and the hostage are the same person is an interesting twist, though.

 

[Baltika9]

If Thais cannot pull this off with 9 CHA then she deserves to die. Sounds good to me.

 

[Nevill]

With 9 CHA and a bonus on top! :powergamer:

Impressions II: Whiskey Tongue - Henry just had a way with people, particularly when he was inebriated or working on a deadline. Perhaps a little tension can be useful. From living through more of Derryth's memories of the man you think you might be able to put some of his strategies to good use. (Gives a bonus to charisma based actions taken under duress or while intoxicated.)

I guess our situation qualifies.

Please let this work.

 

[Azira]

Let's rock then. I vote for the amusing plan Nevill has put forth. If it results in a total party wipe, then at least it has been fun.

 

[Baltika9]

Fangshi, if we die, can we choose to continue with another character?

 

[Nevill]

Fangshi, if we die, can we choose to continue with another character?

Oh, one final thing, Gareth and Brigit had an immensely important roll and they rolled very well.

As Gareth junior, I suppose?

 

[Fangshi]

Fangshi, if we die, can we choose to continue with another character?

Depends on if there is interest to continue or not but I am not opposed to the idea in some cases. I would probably limit it to characters you already know a lot about though: Gareth, Brigit, maybe Serpent (though he is a King now and I hesitate to give you that much authority 'unearned'), that sort of thing.

Alternatively you could create a completely new character though I would likely jump ahead at least a few years to shake things up a bit.

Or we could go with something completely different, there are other settings/ideas I know I will never get a chance to use on a real group that I would not mind trying to adapt to a CYOA. For example I have a book here where you play not as a hero/villain but as the magic item that they use to achieve greatness (so a talking sword or a ring that subtly influences them or a singing teacup for example). You would have to influence your wearer/owner to achieve your own agenda whether that is freedom, revenge, power or something else. Alternatively there was that setting about demonically possessed superheroes I mentioned months back (Better Angels) or the setting that takes the Thirty Years War and relocates it to a Dante inspired version of hell (Hell Dorado).

Plenty of options really provided there is interest.

At any rate we can discuss what you want to do if you die after you actually die. As long as Derryth survives (even if the rest of the party wipes) it is all largely academic.

As Gareth junior, I suppose?

If they do have a child and if it is a girl then you know they will either name it after one of their mothers/grandmothers or after Derryth (she is the reason they got together). You could pick up where you left off with a brand new Derryth sixteen or twenty years later.


I will give the voting/discuss another thirty hours or so and then close it up.

Current Tally:

Spoiler

Grimgravy: C
Nevill: D
Baltika9: x
Azira: D

 

[Baltika9]

Nah, I'm abstaining for now since I want to retain blaming rights.

 

[Nevill]

If they do have a child and if it is a girl then you know they will either name it after one of their mothers/grandmothers or after Derryth (she is the reason they got together). You could pick up where you left off with a brand new Derryth sixteen or twenty years later.

But will she be as hot as the original?

And will she be a lesbian? It is kind of important!

Unless Serpent and Christie will have their Thais.

Nah, I'm abstaining for now since I want to retain blaming rights.

You have to vote for something, though, otherwise we will blame it on your indifference.

 

[Baltika9]

though he is a King now and I hesitate to give you that much authority 'unearned'

Or we could play as one of his children in the Royal Court of the Pimp In The North. That would be fun.