|
Lanky Coconut Tree posted:Danal is what, 9? He's still ruled by emotional impulses at that age. It's not like this logic and appeal to friendship are going to change his mind when he's clearly got his whole heart fixed on going to see the battle. Seeing the slaughter would only egg Danal on. He has seen his father kill plenty of monsters up close. He was cheering his father on during all of those fights on our trip to this town. Also, I am totally corny and am all for the power of friendship and brothers.
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 16:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 17:22 |
|
|
The whole "show 'em the horrors of war" thing doesn't really work out so well when some of the combatants are superheroes capable of killing giant monsters with their bare hands, the stage is set for a one-sided massacre, and the kid you're trying to scare has every expectation of growing into another such superhero and is probably going to see the battlefield from the very winning side. Everything in his culture says that it is good and right to murder the hell out of monsters, and everything he's seen of his father suggests that he doesn't have much reason to fear being on the losing side of one of these fights. He goes down and sees his father and the men of his city wallop a whole bunch of nasty stinky monsters and he's just gonna go "THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!" Also, he doesn't even need to dehumanize the enemy first because the enemy is literally inhuman. He's not got much real reason to sympathize with them. There is the issue of how he handles the casualties WE take, but given that these losses are likely to be light and he can expect to become an rear end-kicking hero like his pa plus everything else mentioned above, do you think the sight of that is going to turn him to pacifism or is it going to make him even more gung-ho about being an rear end-kicking hero so that he can get revenge/stop poo poo like that?
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 16:41
|
|
|
Theglavwen posted:Possible, yup, but possibly not; the suspicion might largely just be from thinking the minotaur are acting oddly, but suddenly finding ourselves drawn to run with abandon after the fleeing horde, while we've previously been set against it, might make us paranoid. I figure the kid is pretty acutely aware of the possibility of being hosed around with by supernatural forces now. Maybe it is, of course, just a random urge, caught up in the moment, but being safe doesn't hurt. And how would you feel if you just saw someone twice your height literally ripped into pieces? Maybe they didn't believe the stories or thought they were exaggerations. There are a shitload of simpler explanations for their behavior than "it's an elaborate magic trap to draw a teenager onto the battlefield." Fights aren't won by killing everyone on the other side, they're won by making the other guy quit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 17:25
|
|
|
paragon1 posted:And how would you feel if you just saw someone twice your height literally ripped into pieces? Maybe they didn't believe the stories or thought they were exaggerations. There are a shitload of simpler explanations for their behavior than "it's an elaborate magic trap to draw a teenager onto the battlefield." Fights aren't won by killing everyone on the other side, they're won by making the other guy quit. Honestly I think that them being confused and scared is the result of a spell cast by Tudiya. It both frightens them, and encourages the men, hence the compulsion to run after them and scream ELLLL. And I still think that taking Danal onto the battlefield would provide a shock to him. The smell of blood, guts, and death is a strong shock after all.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 17:37
|
|
|
ShadowGlass, to answer your question as written. Yes.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 17:39
|
|
|
For what it matters, you may recall Danal was close at hand when Tudiya ripped the leg off of one one of those giant lizards, cheering them on and saw your not-father decapitated and another tribesman skewered from less than twenty five feet away. He has seen blood and gore he has no aversion to gore, the opposite in fact. I only point out those events since they were near the start of the game, several months ago.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 17:53
|
|
|
Lanky Coconut Tree posted:Honestly I think that them being confused and scared is the result of a spell cast by Tudiya. It both frightens them, and encourages the men, hence the compulsion to run after them and scream ELLLL. The way it is written, Tudiya's speech sounds more like a short prayer to El for strength and protection than any sort of magic spell. We experienced something similar when we were lost in the deep dark forest one night and stalked by predators. After praying to El, the forest went silent. I think praising El's name seems like the appropriate thing to do.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 18:26
|
|
|
Lanky Coconut Tree posted:Honestly I think that them being confused and scared is the result of a spell cast by Tudiya. It both frightens them, and encourages the men, hence the compulsion to run after them and scream ELLLL. Home field advantage. I don't think educating Danal about the horrors of war is exactly culturally in bounds or in our remit. It wouldn't even necessarily be a good thing if we were successful. He will eventually need it in himself to walk up to 20’ monster and beat it to death with its own leg. (Wow.) I do think providing some sort of 'strateic' thinking in the face of his natural inclination toward glory has been what we have been doing all along in our lesser escapades about town.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 18:33
|
|
|
paragon1 posted:And how would you feel if you just saw someone twice your height literally ripped into pieces? Maybe they didn't believe the stories or thought they were exaggerations. There are a shitload of simpler explanations for their behavior than "it's an elaborate magic trap to draw a teenager onto the battlefield." Fights aren't won by killing everyone on the other side, they're won by making the other guy quit. So? You seem to be under the impression that you can't consider more than one option at a time. Yeah, maybe the minotaur horde really are a bunch of dumb cows, who didn't realize what they were getting into or who they were marching on (despite being pretty organized, and Tudiya being in the pretty regular business of ripping monsters apart), and now they're just freaking out and running away after seeing their herd-leader get torn apart. Nobody's arguing that. It might also seem terribly convenient that, of all the things they could have done, immediately blanching and abandoning whatever purpose brought them all this way is the first and predominant response, and that on top of that we've suddenly the urge to go bounding after them like a predator after fleeing prey. It's kinda weird, and given that, and together with all the other reasons the kid has to stay put, you think it's completely off the wall for our character to be suspicious and want to see what's going on, rather than charging into battle? However the minotaur react ought to make it clear, maybe they'll regroup and have at it, and it'll all be nothing. Maybe the voice in our head is just childish enthusiasm. Maybe it's some remnant of Asherah telling us to chase and devour. Until it is clear, though, the kid's staying put.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 19:09
|
|
|
In light of differing views, I will add a big-ol: 2. OPTION G I grab Danal's hand so he does not fall in his haste to get down and say "Wait-! Just a second-" so I can see the Minotaurs reaction. How they respond is critical to my next decision, so I wait a moment and keep Danal here. You may be planning to deny Danal a close view of what you know that he may think is the greatest thing in his whole life. If you think you or he may be in danger, this is a wise idea. If you are not in danger, you know this will make him unhappy. So perhaps you wait a moment, to further gauge the scene? Then you might get there before it ends if it is safe, or be vindicated in your decision that waiting was a good idea. *I* cannot tell you what will happen next because I do not know yet either, because it did not happen yet. Like last game, we update the whole world on each vote, based on it's outcome, sometimes this changes things in a big way, sometimes not at all, so please, do not read into this suggestion as a warning to hint at the outcome, I just noticed a bunch of you wanted to wait a bit, though no one voted for that. I probably should have included it in the original options. Update won't be till I get home tonight anyway, so at least another five hours at a minimum. Diogines fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Sep 12, 2013 |
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 20:28
|
|
|
1.  In the moment. 2.  Wait a moment and see....
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 20:34
|
|
|
Then I'm gonna change my vote to A, G with the intention of following that up with A for #3 if nothing unexpected happens, like some kind of devious trap laid by the horde of giant cows 
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 20:36
|
|
|
I like the new option. I was suffering and feel so draconian keeping Danal here, but didn't see any middle ground. I don't want to just blindly follow authority, but do want to move in smart ways and act to ensure his safety. I also don't want us to contribute to him being resentful or hesitant. He is going to need all this rash stuff. It's his inheritance. It's basically how we make our way and if we weren't doing it we would just be that pet barbarian-cannibal. 2-G. Dunno if it can gain enough momentum this late in the vote, but it seems a really good compromise. Thanks for adding it. Sogol fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Sep 12, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 20:37
|
|
|
That sounds like a reasonable thing to do. If this battle is indeed going to lead to a humiliating defeat for the opposing army, then there's no point in not joining in on the looting festivities once the cowpeople withdraw. I'm changing my vote from F to G.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 20:40
|
|
|
Diogines posted:ShadowGlass, to answer your question as written. So does this mean that he can hear/see them or that you could confirm it if we asked :P? If it's the latter please confirm whether he can or not. e: I'm not sure if you meant this but it can't hurt to check.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 21:15
|
|
|
Everything which was described as being seen or heard, you saw or heard. Things you do not perceive are generally ommitted unless I really have to include them for the sake of context.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 21:22
|
|
|
Changing my vote on 2 from Sogol's F to G. Vote on 1 remains B.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 21:55
|
|
|
Zybourne Clock posted:That sounds like a reasonable thing to do. If this battle is indeed going to lead to a humiliating defeat for the opposing army, then there's no point in not joining in on the looting festivities once the cowpeople withdraw. I'm changing my vote from F to G. There is a point; the king ordered us to guard the chair and his son. He is a demigod. I would not like to incur his wrath until we know more about our own abilities. We should earn our respect as well. That said, losing Danals friendship or making him resent us is no good. Gonna stick with my original vote.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 22:50
|
|
|
ShotgunWillie posted:There is a point; the king ordered us to guard the chair and his son. He is a demigod. I would not like to incur his wrath until we know more about our own abilities. We should earn our respect as well. That said, losing Danals friendship or making him resent us is no good. The king also just ordered everyone to charge in wildly. We heard that order. We felt that order.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2013 22:52
|
|
|
Am I the only one whose heart is touched by bromance? Also, Diog, your CYOAs are responsible for 90% of the data usage on my phone.
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 01:58
|
|
|
Changing my vote to G as well, on the condition that we do a 360 sweep as well. But don't delay too long, let's go check out the battlefield with Danal. Up close we can get more info, maybe the cows are drugged or coerced here?
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 04:38
|
|
|
Going to stick with my original vote, since the reason I want to hold Danal back is essentially because even a winning battlefield is not a good place for a kid to be, also Tudiya will have our guts for garters if we let him out there whether we win or no. If we tell him "Hold on, wait a second," only to watch as the forces of El sweep right the hell over the minotaurs, he is NOT going to take it well if we then say "OK, stay here." If we stick to our original argument he might not be happy about it, but at least it might get through to him - and if it doesn't, at least we won't appear to be nuts and/or stalling.
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 10:13
|
|
|
Our senses are beyond powerful. Obviously we should use them to spy on women bathing and steal secrets in order to blackmail powerful people. Voting The_Steve
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 12:01
|
|
|
Diogines posted:In light of differing views, I will add a big-ol: Aye, that'd be the one, I guess. Still in time? Changing my E to G.
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 19:29
|
|
|
I am running around today but I will try for a late afternoon update, if not, expect one this evening. Can anyone do a quick count so I can work on bits of it as I run around?
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2013 20:50
|
|
|
Voting is closed.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 00:55
|
|
|
Rough Count 1A has a massive lead with 22, next closest is B with 8 2A is the most popular followed at 13 by 2G at 8, plan sogol 5, B 2, C 2 E 2 3B is in the lead with 6 but C is close behind at 5, A 2, D 3
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 01:18
|
|
RAISE UP YOUR SWORDS IN A SHOUT FOR EL AND BE UPON THEM! EL HA MELECH KOL HA OLAM! cries Tudiya, joined a moment later by the voices of nearly all of the men of Zepath, accompanied by hundreds of deafening horn blasts, you and Danal both shout it as well as you stand perched above your home. "EEEEEEELLLLLLLL!" Tudiya lifts his shield and his spear and charges towards the enemy line, the men of Zepath, behind him, charging as well, except for Ishamal's companions who seem to be gambling and celebrating early. You have heard the bleating of scared cows before but... nothing like this and you hear the sound of thousands of minotaurs make noise like frightened animals, looking left and right, dragging their hoofs through the dirt nervously.  One turns to run, then another, and another... some look left and right to see which will remain... and indeed some do. But not many. The monstrous horde has taken to flight before their lines are even met, Tudiya's performance and the defeaning sound more than their savage hearts can handle. Among those which you see stay are the tallest of the creatures, but you do not see them for long, for Danal is already climbing down, yelling "COME ON! We have to go! All the good trophies will be gone!" You do not need to be told twice, you climb down with Danal swiftly. You help him climb over the outer wall to the grounds of Tudiya's home and the two of you race through the city streets!  You can hear the screaming of men, trumpets and bovine fear in the distance, even over the rapid beating of your heart urging you to get there before it is all over!  You make it to the city walls and you quickly help Danal climb up the side of a single story home and from there quickly scramble up to the top of the ten foot high city wall. As you reach the top, you once again see the battle. The minotaurs are in a full retreat, the men of Zepath in a close pursuit behind them. You see minotaurs fallen in the dirt, spears in their backs and others with their entrails cut open. You see a handful of men who may be dead, but not many. You see Bareen and her professional adventurers taking prisoners, tying up some of the minotaurs with rope, you see Aaron, Tudiya and Barkof ahead of all others, in the midst of the fleeing minotaurs, slashing at them with swords as the other men of Zepath run to try to catch up and throw spears and javelins which rain down around the three of them, the few which come close to hitting the trio, batted out of the air by them as they run. The rest of the Mighty Men, the men who accompanied you from your home village, are close behind them, ahead of the rest of the men of Zepath.  The minotaurs are two miles ahead of you on a flat plane, the men of Zepath close behind them. You scramble down the wall with Danal and see other youths already ahead of you, eager to claim the best trophies! They have had quite a head start, then again, it looks as if there will be a LOT of dead minotaurs this day... 1. Just how badly do you want to get up there? A. I am no no rush. I want to wait till more of the battle is done before we get coser B. I want to get up there, but I will wait a little bit, so the battle is a little more resolved. C. I want to get up there quickly! D. I mean QUICKLY! E. No no no, you don't get it, I HAVE to beat those other bastards up there! F. MUST.... HAVE... SPEED!!!!! G. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! H. Something else. Fill in. 2. You are stronger, older, have longer legs and are significantly faster than Danal. Whatever pace go at, he is going to slow you down, quite a bit. You.... A. Go at Danal's pace, which means slowing down quite a bit. B. You are still quite a bit bigger than Danal, toss him over a shoulder and run for it! C. Leave Danal behind and run! He can catch up later, you will get him something cool to make up for it. Bonus C: Optional. I yell something to Danal as I leave him behind. What? D. Something else. Fill in. There is no doubt about the prize of the day and you see quite a few youths roughly your age already racing towards it... Spawn's horns, currently rammed into the ears of the massive beast. It lay in the midst of where the men of Zepath and the beasts stood, Tudiya and Spawn having met in the midst of the two. Both groups are now a distance away and moving swiftly. 3. As you close in towards area where the first minotaurs have died, you... A. Run for Spawn's head and try to get the horns! B. ...and if another kid gets there first, I fight to get them! Zepath is a macho place, I know I won't have a hand cut off or anything for a brawl like this, as long as I don't do any serious injury to another kid, but I risk having the stuffing beaten out of me if I lose. I figure that there is a good chance there will be a brawl if several youths get there at the same time. C. I forget about the loot, I want to help Bareen and her adventurers capture some minotaurs alive! I keep running. D. I want to kill me a minotaur! I keep running, look for a wounded minotaur which is bleeding out and finish it off! E. I want to kill a REAL minotaur! I want to catch up to the main fight and stab one of the running minotaurs in the back! F. I am looking for jewelry, an unusual weapon or something valuable among the dead minotaurs, I start looking for riches! They did not seem to have any, but with so many of them, I might be able to find something. G. Something else. Fill in. If you want to, feel free to join us on irc #madgod on synirc.net. The channel tends to always have some people in it and is especially active when updates go up. If you do not know what IRC is, here is a web based chat version which will not require you to register or download anything: http://chat.mibbit.com/ Diogines fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Sep 14, 2013 |
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:31
|
|
|
1. C 2. A - We need to keep an eye on him anyways, and he needs to be allowed to run on his own two legs. 3. F - Magic items!
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:38
|
|
|
Are there many men wounded in need of help?
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:38
|
|
HiHo ChiRho posted:Are there many men wounded in need of help? Ahead, you see a few men who have tripped and seem to have sprained their ankles and otherwise suffered injuries related to tripping while running at great speed. You see two men who seem to have taken spears in the back, probably friendly fire. One is being helped by other men, the other was left in the dirt and is very probably dead. Except for Tudiya, Barkof and Aaron, no one else has actually caught up to the fleeing minotaurs yet, though they are in hot pursuit.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:41
|
|
the_steve posted:1. C They are poorly armed, with simple wood and stone clubs and axes at best, many are bare handed. You can search, perhaps you may even find something, but from what you can tell of them, the odds of finding anything "magical" is rare. "Magic" items indeed exist, heck, you seem to find two in the forest and Bareen and her adventurers seem to have a few... but they are, rare. This does not mean you won't find anything, I am just clarifying as to what you can guess the odds are.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:43
|
|
|
=You scramble down the wall with Danal and see other youths already ahead of you, eager to claim the best trophies! They have had quite a head start, then again, it looks as if there will be a LOT of dead minotaurs this day... 1. Just how badly do you want to get up there? C. I want to get up there quickly! 2. You are stronger, older, have longer legs and are significantly faster than Danal. Whatever pace go at, he is going to slow you down, quite a bit. You.... B. You are still quite a bit bigger than Danal, toss him over a shoulder and run for it! 3. As you close in towards area where the first minotaurs have died, you... G. Tell Danal that a future leader needs to look to the needs of his men first before the needs of himself. Let's go help the men that got speared.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:51
|
|
|
C A A - try to get the horns, but don't fight for them. They probably belong to the king anyway.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:52
|
|
|
G B D Something we tore off ourselves will make a better trophy!
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:53
|
|
|
Whelp, if we're gunna go, we may as well go big. 1. G. Let's see if those sandals respond to our request for warp speed. They haven't in the past, but who knows? 2. C. Leave no Danal behind! 3. G. Catch up to Ishamal and his men to fight with them as support.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 02:58
|
|
|
That's a very clear and definite victory for Team Zepath. 1G. 2C: Optional. I yell something to Danal as I leave him behind. What? "Don't worry Danal, I'll get you the best drat prize there is!" 3G. There's only one prize I'm interested in, and it's the flag carried by the minotaur army. They're all practically naked and armed with wooden clubs, yet they have a very intricately designed banner. Either these minotaurs are have a civilization of their own somewhere far away, or someone gave them flag for reasons currently unknown. Finding that banner is the first step to solving this mystery.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 03:00
|
|
There are several banners which were carried by the horde, most were dropped when they ran, some are still carried. Ripe for the taking!FoxTerrier posted:3. G. Catch up to Ishamal and his men to fight with them as support. Ishamal and his men have not moved from their starting position and are gambling and drinking, with the exception of one, who ran off to join the melee... and to get lunch.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 03:01
|
|
|
Zybourne Clock posted:That's a very clear and definite victory for Team Zepath. There's no glory in killing the fleeing beasts. Let's get something interesting. I vote for this.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 03:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 17:22 |
|
|
HiHo ChiRho posted:3. As you close in towards area where the first minotaurs have died, you... Yes, lets use this as a teachable moment.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2013 03:03
|
|
