Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[Nevill]

Even if the lulz faction is worth it, assuming they do not attach an anti-magic collar at the first opportunity, they'll force us to remove our hood, which will wreck our entire operation

They can't make us do anything if they want us cooperating wth the expedition, which I think they still do.

 

[lightbane]

Maybe, but sooner or later they'll press the issue once they realize Erd doesn't remove his hood plus hat combo no matter what. That, or try to remove it while he's sleeping. Or use magic to see through his clothes (in case of the female mages at least). Perhaps the gobbos can craft a fancy mask for us.

 

[Storyfag]

Perhaps the gobbos can craft a fancy mask for us.

 

[Nevill]

Maybe, but sooner or later they'll press the issue once they realize Erd doesn't remove his hood plus hat combo no matter what.

They won't press it until after the expedition is over. Our hat is not the most concerning thing about us.

You don't exactly look a gifted tiger in the teeth.

The only reason they might accept us with our reputation of a dangerous lunatic is because may think they need or can use us, and if they need us, they are not going to push their luck too much before they won't anymore.

That, or try to remove it while he's sleeping.

We don't really sleep.

 

[lightbane]

*cool goblin pic*

Where's that from? Bloodbowl?

We don't really sleep.

Too bad they don't know this (plus it would make Erd look even more suspicious if someone noticed his lack of needing to sleep). Actually, IIRC it took at most a day and a half to reach Erise from Grahferde, so perhaps this issue doesn't matter that much anyway. Of course, that's unless we managed to find out a way to intentionally (mis)lead them through the most dangerous and longest path possible, which would be quite fun to do.

EDIT: Too bad we didn't get more specific details about the twins' training. I was wondering if Mercant was going to do something more... "Intense", such as throwing Aria against a mountain too see if she could avoid it somehow.

Actually, does the thing the expedition is looking for still exists to begin with? The ruins were greatly damaged after we used our hyper-weapon for the first time. Of course, they don't know that too.

 

[Nevill]

Where's that from?

HoMMV.

Actually, does the thing the expedition is looking for still exists to begin with?

Did it ever?

They are looking for it because Barzam did, and Barzam did because the princess had a dream which may or may not have been about us. It is all quite funny.

Too bad we didn't get more specific details about the twins' training. I was wondering if Mercant was going to do something more... "Intense", such as throwing Aria against a mountain too see if she could avoid it somehow.

I wanted to pit them against each other. Maybe we still will, eventually.

What is this absense of sibling rivalry, anyway? How are we supposed to motivate them?

 

[ScubaV]

Aria) B > C - I do like the idea of teaching her Barbatos's techniques, but we do already have a monk sitting on ice (Mieren 2016, never forget!)
Arlin) B > A - Arlin's personality is not naturally inclined toward combat, even if he does seem to be naturally skilled.
Spy) B2 > B4 - Lucy is the perfect spy, but I'm not sure how she will communicate the finer details.
Moria) A - No idea, gonna roll the dice for this.

 

[archaen]

Ill join with Nevill in 2.A > B2

 

[Baltika9]

The training options aren't that big of a concern for me, but I want Brobatos to teach her some fisting skills, she has the perfect mentality for it. It will be a waste not to.
As for Arlin, his morals are cute and all, but I want to break his aversion to fighting and killing. Besides, it wouldn't do to have our apprentice get steamrolled in close combat.

I think that Aria is our best bet for a spy. She has an in with the squires and, ideally, the prince is going to see a hot warrior girl and start thinking with his lower head, like any teenage princeling ought to. And, if not, she'll be able to walk around comfortably enough. The only issue is the villagers outing her relation to Arlin and us.
I trust her to handle it, though.

As for the ruins, I have a feeling that there may be some relics buried in there. The dark stairs can wait for us, though, I don't want to deal with balrogs spoiling the show and calling attention down on this area. Glass room it is.

C C B2 B

 

[Esquilax]

I like Aria honing her talents at lightning magic, and I like Arlin developing his talent as a swordsman? treave, out of the options for Arlin, is swordsmanship the one that he shows the most natural talent at. The update where he and his sister had their first fight at Erise against the Barzamite force seems to indicate that this is the case.

1) BC

Aria needs to be our spy, for the reasons already mentioned, even though ideally Arlin would be our guy on the inside because he has a cooler temperament more suited to this sort of task.

2) B2

The mysterious, magical, and extremely dangerous element in C intrigues me. Broken statues? A dungeon with a medusa creature, perhaps? Guys, fuck looking for another mine in A, we have a shit-ton of magnatite already and enough for the immediate future.

3) C

 

[treave]

treave, what kind of spells would she learn if we take A here?

F and E rank spells.

What about "stealth", what exactly does that entail?

How to move quietly.

Lastly, what would these "utility spells" be?

F and E rank spells.

Regardless of the choice, treave, it would help if you reposted their characters sheets please , in case the twins grew stronger since the last time we employed them.

You'll get it when they're playing an active role to avoid clutter.

Also, treave, for some reason our 6 slimes have disappeared from the index post.

Must have accidentally deleted that row when editing.

Random question, treave: did Boss notice that upon noticing the ruins some of the goblins suddenly became racist, started ranting about the rats in the walls, strange beings with tongue-twisting names and something about the crawling darkness?

Not yet, no.

The only issue is the villagers outing her relation to Arlin and us.

Anyone who remembers Arlin's face might find her familiar. They are siblings after all.

treave, out of the options for Arlin, is swordsmanship the one that he shows the most natural talent at.

He shows the most talent at poking his sword in places his opponent least expects. Which is probably the whole point of swordfighting anyway, but can also be the mark of an assassin.

 

[Baltika9]

He shows the most talent at poking his sword in places his opponent least expects. Which is probably the whole point of swordfighting anyway, but can also be the mark of an assassin.

His other sword, you mean? Does he have any latent talent for cock-sparring?

 

[Nevill]

Anyone who remembers Arlin's face might find her familiar. They are siblings after all.

Anyone wants to consider possible ramifications for this?

 

[Baltika9]

They connect her to an eccentric wizard. Erise doesn't know us as Trider, I think, so the biggest problem from her on that front is someone either blabbing her brother's name in front of anyone who can recognize it. I think she's our best bet as far as the young princeling goes.

 

[Nevill]

They connect her to an eccentric wizard. Erise doesn't know us as Trider, I think.

No, I don't mean the squires or the villagers. I mean Alexander and any of the nobles, like Count Pellmall and others. The ones who have seen Arlin and might consider her familiar.

And Trider is the mage who saved the prince. While Erise may not know us by that name, there really is no mistaking us if anyone asks the villagers.

I am not worried about Aria much - they won't harm her, and she probably can just walk away through walls if we improve her lightning form.

The squires pretty much owe her their lives (if the slime carried Oliver off they'd have no way to protect themselves), - so that's a possible bonus for her, - and a face looking similar to someone else's is a factor that can be played off if she chooses to and no one else blabs, but we might ready ourselves to the possibility that her cover is not that great.

But then I am voting for walking up to them in person, so what do I care about cover?

 

[Baltika9]

Then she'll have to play it by ear. That's the tradeoff if we decide to take that option: not as risky as sending Arlin, but risky enough that she might get caught. I have faith that she'll succeed despite that.

 

[Nevill]

F and E rank spells.

treave, what would it take for any of them to learn Invisibility? That's basically the only D-rank utility spell that I wanted to teach them before anything else.

Also, When I asked if Aria/Runde can learn Invis in a short time frame, I got this:

Aria can. Runde can't.

Is Runde incapable of casting rank D spells in principle (due to his limits as a goblin), or is it that it would just take him long?

Does Aria have a penchant for learning spells through observation, or is it only our Gigadyne Verdant? Is she any faster to learn spells than Arlin?

We know she has a talent for magic, but does Arlin also have it? It might be important if we are considering his specialization. I always thought that Aria would be a fighter-mage in the pair, and Arlin will be a rogue-swordsman, but look like we might turn them into hybrid classes like ourselves.

I have faith that she'll succeed despite that.

Pretty much. Her one advantage over Arlin is that she may have acquaintances there.

 

[treave]

treave, what would it take for any of them to learn Invisibility?

More levels.

Is Runde incapable of casting rank D spells in principle (due to his limits as a goblin), or is it that it would just take him long?

Provided equal stats, he would be a lot slower at learning it. But he isn't actually slow, Aria's just fast.

Does Aria have a penchant for learning spells through observation, or is it only our Gigadyne Verdant? Is she any faster to learn spells than Arlin?

She's better at picking up spells than her brother, but her talent tends towards offensive magic.

 

[Baltika9]

Provided equal stats, he would be a lot slower at learning it. But he isn't actually slow, Aria's just fast.

Yeah, she's going to be our battlemage.
I think we ought to play to Arlin's strengths here, guys, namely his rational thinking, fighting talents and natural charisma, so I'm keeping my swordsmanship vote.
Flopping to A C B2 C

 

[Nevill]

I think we ought to play to Arlin's strengths here, guys, namely his rational thinking, fighting talents and natural charisma, so I'm keeping my swordsmanship vote.

I am leaning towards it as well, but I want one of them to learn utility spells. If Aria isn't willing to do it, I guess that's on him.

I don't want them to become his bread and butter, though. But as something to complement his other abilities, those should be alright.

 

[lightbane]

Well, it seems cow diplomacy got more attention than what I expected. However, no matter how tempting it may be, I wish to give the twins their chance to shine. They were beaten/trained for a reason after all. Too bad Barbatos' vote has no chance to win, but I hope he was sufficiently impressed through our show-off of our own Gygadine spell that we gained some "Bro points" anyway. Besides, Aria should learn to do more stuff with that spell besides being an "instant clothing removal". This game is not a hentai one yet (and she's too young anyway).
Therefore, I will change my votes for 2 so that either Aria or Arlin (most likely the former) go to meet the adventurers and do stuff. So I'll change my vote for 2 to this:

2: B2>B3>B1>C

Lucy will do something else but not less important, such as directing the exploration of the freshly discovered ruins. I'm sure her presence will be enough to make whatever basement dwellers monsters lurking here bow in submission.

What is this absense of sibling rivalry, anyway? How are we supposed to motivate them?

Well, it seems that unlike 99% of anime stories featuring siblings, both Arlin and Aria behave more or less like real siblings would, instead of being stuck in a never-ending conflict which exists only to define their characters. In fact, not only they are blood-related for real, the two also are their own persons and do things of their own. Moreover, fortunately there isn't an horrible incest plot shoehorned in that comes out of nowhere just to please the otaku deviants average fans. In fact, Arlin most likely was quite busy with the girls of his village (and those from beyond here) even before meeting us.

In any case, what I find unrealistic is that Aria, in spite of being the older sister, is actually somewhat supportive with her younger brother, instead of being an insufferable bitch that constantly belittles him to destroy his self-esteem. But that's an acceptable break from reality.

 

[Baltika9]

I think we ought to play to Arlin's strengths here, guys, namely his rational thinking, fighting talents and natural charisma, so I'm keeping my swordsmanship vote.

I am leaning towards it as well, but I want one of them to learn utility spells. If Aria isn't willing to do it, I guess that's on him.

I don't want them to become his bread and butter, though. But as something to complement his other abilities, those should be alright.

I like it when he uses that head of his to think things through. There's something to be said about people who solve problems without magic, and I want to keep Arlin that way. I'm down with making Aria a battlemage since she shows remarkable talent for that, but I'd rather keep Arlin's style largely as it is, which is him thinking things through and considering all angles of approach, not just the easy magical ones; only with a much more Mercantish mentality.
Kind of like our own reliable special agent whom we can trust anything to, be it leading armies, seducing the relatives of important figures, or taking out people in duels or the streets. A James Bond/Jack Bauer combination in a fantasy setting, minus the magic.
As Esquilax put it:

That's why we breed them for magical aptitude, not this crude physical matter. Imagine 500 gobbo uberkatzen eugenically selected for the ability to cast magic missiles and other minor spells. Weak physiques, small targets, ability to scurry away and hide when approached for melee. A bunch of guerilla magelings.

Everybody underestimates physical prowess until the big fucking barbarian splits your head open with an axe. Or when you can't use magic, as we already experienced.

But if it comes down to it, I have nothing against making him Erdrick's apprentice in the truest meaning of the word. Is the world big enough for two Mercants?

 

[Nevill]

There's something to be said about people who solve problems without magic, and I want to keep Arlin that way.

There is also something to be said about people who solve problems with magic.

I'd rather keep Arlin's style largely as it is, which is him thinking things through and considering all angles of approach, not just the easy magical ones

You are basically saying magic will spoil him. I think it will provide him with a whole new toolset so that he could better apply that head of his.

I don't think this choice is the one defining their future development in its entirety, just the first step. I am kind of considering whether we should develop the kids as indivudual all-rounder self-sufficient units, or as a team that would complement one another and cover each other's weak spots. I am leaning heavily towards the latter.

----------------

As a bit of an off-topic... do we intend to do anything about Wisteria? Eventually, I mean. Erdrick mentioned he should visit her.

I assume that she was sent to her headquarters in Naguria because of her injury, and that it's the reason why we are at -75 with them. I wonder what she was afflicted with that couldn't be healed by the Temple. Was the Duke doing the bare minimum to save his reputation, or is there indeed a limit to what even the Gods can do? It kind of puts them in a strange spot of someones who have control over souls/afterlife, but not over this life.

I doubt that Wist would agree with any of our actions, so I am not particularly serious when I talk about kidnapping her. Even if we could get the relationship to a somewhat cordial level, she would make for a poor minion due to considerable alignment differences. But I've been playing with the idea of making her disillusioned with her uncle and make her leave the service on her own accord to become an unaffiliated swordsman or a mercenary in Galbaldia.

As for how it would be beneficial to us, we'd have a friendly free-roaming agent, and the Duke might lose the influence over the Azurellion order if he can't run things in her name.

 

[Baltika9]

You are basically saying magic will spoil him. I think it will provide him with a whole new toolset so that he could better apply that head of his.

Kinda, I enjoy having someone in the group who can provide non-magical, common sense leadership. Especially in our access. Besides the advantage of having an ace in case we ever get into a position where magic is useless, that'll make him a better compliment to our whole organization, not just his sister.
He has the makings of a great spymaster/agent and I don't want to over specialize him or Aria, instead I'd prefer to play to his strengths at the beginning. Swordsmanship is where he's showing the most promise right now, so why not help him there?

There is also something to be said about people who solve problems with magic.

There's something to be said about everybody, if you want to get technical. A farmer could deal a killing blow to us under the right conditions.

 

[lightbane]

I assume Wist is just comatose for the moment. It is a matter of time until Erd cares enough to bring her to Grahferde and let the healing pod do the rest, if only to continue his crusade against the gods (and eventually become one ourselves, of course).
Personally I would like to see how the "East lands" are and the inhumans' point of view about their situation. Perhaps they are looking for an excuse to start a new war against humanity, something we could take advantage of.

Whatever happens, now the point is to focus on the adventurers and do as much damage as possible to them. Who knows, perhaps treave will do a change of perspective to whoever we send to Erise. It would be interesting to know Aria/Arlin true thoughts about us.

Perhaps Arlin is actually a monster-hating sociopath who wants to kill us at the first opportunity.