Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens - Choose Your Own Adventure

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hollylolly: Jun 5, 2009; Do you like superheroes? Check out my CYOA Mutants: Uprising

How about weird historical fiction? Try Vampires of the Caribbean

1. B
2. GH
3. K
4. M
5. O
6. W - This really is the trickiest part. We can probably tell them about Baitel and Zepath/Kavodel and that in Ur we worship El.. That generally the strongest and toughest live at the edges while the true powerhouse is Baitel. We can probably tell them that we are from Kavodel/Zepath at the southern border. But we are reluctant to share more. They are pleading the fifth until we've established if our goals/views/whatevers are compatible. We want to do the same here [as per Basscop]
Vote change: U
7. Z
8. ~~E - same as 6, per Basscop~~ vote change: B
9. G

hollylolly fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 08:53

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 06:51

Tsyni: Sep 1, 2004; Lipstick Apathy

Ok, I am not good at spreadsheets and it's midnight so Diog's Zb = z (case matters) in the spreadsheet, and the repeating letters are lower case. This should be intuitive and make sense if you look at the spreadsheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wFqf1Rs8TmPGxFQ1w_AlkQjgNN3kjFBishTKJO5udCM/edit?usp=sharing

Editing is open.

Current winners(most write-in's shouldn't have an effect on the vote atm except for question 8 which bears looking through)

Here's a count for the thread:

Diogines posted:

1. Do you tell the Brood of what you DO recall of Mosquito mountain, namely the above and the revelation that you had inside of your own head?
8 - A. Yes. I tell them everything I do remember. Either because they asked for every detail, or in hopes maybe they can help somehow?

16 - B. No. The... being threatened that quote "RETURN OR SPREAD ANY KNOWLEDGE AND I WILL BURN ZEPATH TO THE GROUND. TUDIYA I WILL REND LIMB FROM LIMB AND ISHAMAL I WILL TEAR ASUNDER. I WILL SLAY ALL THAT YOU LOVE AND CAST YOUR ACCURSED SOUL INTO A PIT OF ETERNAL TORMENT. DO NOT RETURN!" In fact, even thinking about the fuzzy bits causes my head to hurt and if I think too hard about it, my nose bleeds. I decide not to provoke a demon-god to make war on Zepath. Also, I should probably ask Ishamal to take a look at my head when I get home?

3 - C. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

2. What do you tell them about what you find in the ruins of Amalek?
3 - D. Nothing more than what I told them already. They know I found the ruins, but I did not reveal anything else. Nor do I. How would they know we found more?
3 - E. I tell them we found the prisoners held there, as well Amok and woke him up.
1 - F. I tell them we found Amok, woke him up and what Amok said to me. Among other things, that I am a half-Melachim(I'll do this away from any of my Balls), that the god he knew was absent from the world, that the Melachim suck, that "the chains upon Asherah are nearly spent". And that Amoks aid I am a child of the Melachim.
18 - G. F., also tell them where Amok went, that he yelled "FARAMU!" very angrily and then went northeast.
8 - H. (Add on) - picked F or G, but I don't tell them Amok said I'm a child of the Melachim.
3 - I. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

3. The Maggot asked to know about your trip in great detail. Do you tell them about your wings, something you apparently gained after your encounter with Amok?
13 - J. Yes.
13 - K. No.

Diogines posted:

4. What do you tell the Brood of the Amalakites?
0 - L. I am vague and evasive, tell them as little as I can possibly get away with.
23 - M. I tell them everything that happened and every detail I can recall, including, apparently, more than one incident of divine intervention from El.
5 - N. M., but don't tell them about the divine aid you received.

Diogines posted:

5. Well, you've seen some smokey figures on this journey. What do you say of them?
16 - O. Nothing.
10 - P. I tell the Maggot about all of them. After the deaths of my Balls a vaporous blue form which resembled them soared to the northeast. One such thing seemed to be eaten by one of the prisoners in the ruins of Amalek. When the Amalakite giants died yellowish blue spectral figures seemed to come out and be drawn into stones they wore. First and Second seemed to have such things within them as well. When the Gebebans died, a blue vaporous form seemed to rise out of them and them scream in terrible agony and fear.
0 - Q. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

6. As to Ur I told them....
0 - R. Very little indeed. I claimed ignorance of the many cities of Ur and their histories and locations.
0 - S. I lie about Ur. Lie wildly about the locations of cities and how powerful they are. Ur is great and powerful and there are greatly Blooded men all over, as great as the days of the Old Tales. Avoid talking about Ur's most famous city, Baitel, in case they do know anything about it. If pressed, you don't know much about it, you live in Ur's most far flung city.

5 - T. Don't lie to them. I know of the ancient founders of many of the most famous cities of Ur, a lot of the Old Tales are about them. They want to know about Ur? I tell them. The location of the cities and what I know of them. I don't know every city in Ur of course, not by a long shot but I do know most of the oldest and more famous cities. Tell them of the Old Tales, my recall of which is fantastic.

6 - U. I tell about the great and powerful city of Baitel and of its history. I don't give much detail on other cities, avoiding the topic as best I can or simply pleading ignorance. Focus on the great strength and power of Baitel, which is absolutely true. There are large numbers of greatly Blooded men in Baitel, the King of Baitel lived in the days of the Old Tales and while no one knows who El's High Priest is, it is rumored to be a son of Labaras. I want to tell the Brood as little as possible about wider Ur, WITHOUT lying to them, while focusing on the great power of Baitel, so that Ur does not seem weak.

14 - V. Tell them what Ur is really like. Baitel is pretty great and powerful. And there are a number of other great cities still left. But men today live in a shadow of a great past. Much of Ur, in the interior, aka the Donut, is a cesspit where men are cruel to each other, war like, decadent and far less Blooded. Give them all the fine details they asked for, the histories of the more famous cities and where they are.

3 - W. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

7. Do you tell them about the demon attacks on Ibleam, Tanaach and Acco?
0 - X. No.
3 - Y. Yes. I tell them about the attacks and the Bnaimokt still troubling Acco. Don't go into great detail though.
20 - Z. Yes as per Y. Also, I tell them about my Balls heroic efforts in Ibleam, my Balls fight at Kavodel and what I saw in Tanaach.
4 - Zb. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

8. What do you tell them about Zepath?
0 - A. Lie about where Zepath is.
7 - B. I tell them where it is and that it was founded by Zepa but avoid details.
10 - C. Tell them where Zepath is and what Zepath and nearby settlements are actually like.
7 - D. C., also, tell them about the ancient hero there, Ishamal and the fact that three Melachim live there and protect it.
3 - E. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

9. What do you tell the Brood about Athar and the nearby villages?
1- F. Nothing. I tell them nothing.
6 - G. I tell them about Athar and its neighbors, they are primitives living an idyllic and simple life, except for the part where they murder everyone who gets sick or crippled or get too old and then eat them or sacrifice them to the demon Asherah.
20 - H. G., also I tell them I came from there and tell them the details of my rescue.
0 - I. Something else. Fill in.

Diogines posted:

0 - Option ZzA. I changed my mind. I won't tell the Brood in "great detail" about Ur. No deal.
0 - Option ZzB. I'll tell them about the trip if they will still give me the supplies offered, but not about Ur.
0 - Option ZzC. I'll tell them about the trip and a little bit about Ur, but not precise details. I will only tell them a little bit, which is not what they asked for.
1 - Option ZzD. I changed my mind about this, I want to handle this in a different way. Fill in. Lets try to renegotiate and get supplies another way.
3 - Option ZzE. FFS Diog. You have like a million options in this vote and that requires way too much effort. I don't want to fill them all out. BUT! I do want to make clear that I am in favor of telling the Bugs what they asked to know, so I am registering this vote here to make that clear. Only pick this option if you skipped the other questions. This is basically a "Not ZzA/ZzB/ZzC/ZZd" vote. Don't pick this if you voted on anything else.

Tsyni fucked around with this message at 09:40 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 09:10

Sogol: Apr 11, 2013; Galileo's Finger

Zze. I mostly agree with the way the vote is going.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 09:28

RandomPauI: Nov 24, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Our son is here, if we tell the insects about the wings we're telling him about them too.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 09:40

Arkanomen: May 6, 2007; All he wants is a hug

Zze, use Enkidel's best judgement

# ? Jan 31, 2016 09:42

Nettle Soup: Jan 30, 2010; Oh, and Jones was there too.

B
E-WHOOPS SORRY
K
N
M
P I see dead people and it super super freaks me out.

6:T I guess since you idiots committed to this
Yes
B
G

State that TBH I'm kind of worried you guys are going to go all war on us and we've had quite enough of that lately thank you very much.

Can go into more detail if they ask but if they don't, be kinda vague. Make it clear we're being vague not because we want to be but because really we've gotten into trouble for this poo poo before.

Nettle Soup fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:05

jazzyhattrick: Jul 1, 2010; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Zzf This is option zze but with 3 ammendments.

1: we will not give out any information pertaining to security, such as fortifications or troop placements and numbers. Not through any lack of trust but because it is foolish to volunteer such things even to friendly parties. They must surely have a similar rule and will probably understand.

2: We will not tell them anything we have sworn to keep secret, surely they would not wish to associate with somebody who breaks their word.

3: we will keep from them any information we feel may put them in danger, there is stuff we know that beings of immense power do not wish to become common knowledge.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:16

Ubern00b: Nov 4, 2009

1B, but explain with a vague disclaimer? I.e. full intent to tell the truth without getting fried.
2G
3J
4M
5P
6V
7Z
8D
9H

Truth for the Swarm! For the Hivequeen.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:21

The_Final_Stand: Nov 2, 2013; So cute and cuddly

1. B
2. D
3. K
4. M
5. O
6. U
7. X
8. A
9. G

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:25

Cornuto: Jun 26, 2012; For the pack!

Nvm

Cornuto fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:26

Tsyni: Sep 1, 2004; Lipstick Apathy

Cornuto posted:

Are we saying all this in front of our son?

This going to take place over several days at least, so...I am pretty certain we'd have another vote about who to say it in front of, except we've already had a vote about what to say and to who, so...makes sense that those exclusions would apply to any relevant information we're about to disclose.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:30

Cornuto: Jun 26, 2012; For the pack!

Was phone posting. Update specifically says they won't be around after double checking.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:31

the_steve: Nov 9, 2005; We're always hiring!

AFJMPTZCH

# ? Jan 31, 2016 10:56

Vavrek: Mar 2, 2013; I like your style hombre, but this is no laughing matter. Assault on a police officer. Theft of police property. Illegal possession of a firearm. FIVE counts of attempted murder. That comes to... 29 dollars and 40 cents. Cash, cheque, or credit card?

There Bias Two posted:

I hope Enkidel gives them so many details that they get bored. As in, he even includes what he ate for breakfast 5 years ago one Tuesday morning.

I vote for this. Also, specifically:

1. C: B with explanation of the compulsion to secrecy.

2. Abstain. I'm ... unsure, here.

3. K. (They've either noticed them by now or not.)

4. M.

5. O.

6. V. V for venting about how terrible people in the Donut are.

7. Z.

8. C.

9. H.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 11:08

UppaTree: May 4, 2013

2. What do you tell them about what you find in the ruins of Amalek?
G. F., also tell them where Amok went, that he yelled "FARAMU!" very angrily and then went northeast.
H. (Add on) - picked F or G, but I don't tell them Amok said I'm a child of the Melachim.

3. The Maggot asked to know about your trip in great detail. Do you tell them about your wings, something you apparently gained after your encounter with Amok?
K. No.

4. What do you tell the Brood of the Amalakites?
M. I tell them everything that happened and every detail I can recall, including, apparently, more than one incident of divine intervention from El.

Ishamal seemed to actively ignore any inquiry into such matters, but told you to ignore the "blue specters" you have seen. He also told you not to share "odd things" you have seen which others have not. That was not formally part of your agreement with him, but it is something he told you. You have not talked to others of these things.

5. Well, you've seen some smokey figures on this journey. What do you say of them?
O. Nothing.

On to Ur:

6. As to Ur I told them....
U. I tell about the great and powerful city of Baitel and of its history. I don't give much detail on other cities, avoiding the topic as best I can or simply pleading ignorance. Focus on the great strength and power of Baitel, which is absolutely true. There are large numbers of greatly Blooded men in Baitel, the King of Baitel lived in the days of the Old Tales and while no one knows who El's High Priest is, it is rumored to be a son of Labaras. I want to tell the Brood as little as possible about wider Ur, WITHOUT lying to them, while focusing on the great power of Baitel, so that Ur does not seem weak.

You will tell them what you know of the Kadmonim, which is not a vast amount. You know some of their religious beliefs and customs from what you learned from stories, or from the Kadmonim in Baitel.

For many long years you've avoided talking about Athar. When you were first rescued by Tudiya your mother told you to speak as little of Athar as possible, to anyone. Perhaps she did not wish you to seem foreign and alien, so you could fit in better? Anything that might challenge her claim that you were not a cannibal put your life in jeopardy. As an adult you can see the wisdom in Jalitha hiding your origin, the people of Zepath would not be very sympathetic to cannibals. Ishamal told you not to speak to others about Athar. It is was part of your agreement with him but it is something you have done your whole life. There is also the fact that Asherah is alive. Or so you think he is? According to the Old Tales several great and terrible demons were slain on El's orders by the Melachim, including a sea demon known as Asherak whom the peoples of Ur believe fathered the terrors of the deep.

7. Do you tell them about the demon attacks on Ibleam, Tanaach and Acco?
Z. Yes as per Y. Also, I tell them about my Balls heroic efforts in Ibleam, my Balls fight at Kavodel and what I saw in Tanaach.

8. What do you tell them about Zepath?
C. Tell them where Zepath is and what Zepath and nearby settlements are actually like.

9. What do you tell the Brood about Athar and the nearby villages?
G. I tell them about Athar and its neighbors, they are primitives living an idyllic and simple life, except for the part where they murder everyone who gets sick or crippled or get too old and then eat them or sacrifice them to the demon Asherah.

More or less this. These guys respect borders, and they respect Damat, i don't think they'll be invading Zepath , founded by Zepa under Damat's guidance. Telling them about Acco and Ibleam tells them we have our own problems with trespassers too, and they'll empathize with that.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 11:14

Zybourne Clock: Oct 25, 2011; Poke me.

1C. "I will tell you everything I know, save one thing. This is not done out of ill will, but because I was threatened into not sharing it. And I think the person who issued the threat can make good on his promise."

2G.

3J. But make sure Asahel turns his back around for a bit when we do show them.

4M.

5O.

6T.

7Z.

8C+E. I also tell them about King Tudiya, the man who hunts dragons for fun and slew an army of fishdemons all by himself. He also liked building statues. He doesn't really need any tools to do the carving; he just uses his fingers.

9G.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 11:45

Swedish Thaumocracy: Jul 11, 2006; Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0; Grimey Drawer

1: B. No. - No need to pointlessly antagonize a huge demon. If they press us, say we simply cannot without harmful consequences to our hive and swarm.

2: GH. - Sure, they already know about Amok anyway. Not sure about the Melachim parts though...

3: K. No - If they can sense them there is no point telling them unless they ask specifically.

4: M. Sure, we want to boast a little bit to show we are worthy of aid, right?

5: O. Nothing. The Spectres, whilst very interesting, aren't part and parcel of everyday knowledge of Ur. Since you can't really interact with them (unless you are semi-divine I guess?) the knowledge of their existence is mostly useless or upsetting.

6: T. Don't lie to them. But at the same time, they don't need to know the exact political state of the world and the whereabouts of our armouries and defensive measures. Focus on history, I guess? Build up Baitel.

7. Z. Yes as per Y. More opportunities for truthful boasting, also showing that we Fight the Good Fight against the Bnaimokt.

8. B. Don't lie but don't give up everything either, especially the secrets of it's defence.

9. G. Sure, I don't see the problem in telling them of random demon villages. Should probably warn them about magic priests though.

In summary; Don't lie to them but leave out Important Tactical Information. We should probably tell them this in advance though, that we don't want any harm to come to our hives and as such will tell rhwm what they want to know but not the things which would be considered harmful to our survival.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 11:58

gnarl: Jul 28, 2010; Soiled Meat

jazzyhattrick posted:

Zzf This is option zze but with 3 ammendments.

1: we will not give out any information pertaining to security, such as fortifications or troop placements and numbers. Not through any lack of trust but because it is foolish to volunteer such things even to friendly parties. They must surely have a similar rule and will probably understand.

2: We will not tell them anything we have sworn to keep secret, surely they would not wish to associate with somebody who breaks their word.

3: we will keep from them any information we feel may put them in danger, there is stuff we know that beings of immense power do not wish to become common knowledge.

This seems sensible

# ? Jan 31, 2016 12:48

By popular demand: Jul 17, 2007; IT *BZZT* WASP ME--
IT WASP ME ALL *BZZT* ALONG!

jazzyhattrick posted:

Zzf This is option zze but with 3 ammendments.

1: we will not give out any information pertaining to security, such as fortifications or troop placements and numbers. Not through any lack of trust but because it is foolish to volunteer such things even to friendly parties. They must surely have a similar rule and will probably understand.

2: We will not tell them anything we have sworn to keep secret, surely they would not wish to associate with somebody who breaks their word.

3: we will keep from them any information we feel may put them in danger, there is stuff we know that beings of immense power do not wish to become common knowledge.

I support this

# ? Jan 31, 2016 12:54

BoneMonkey: Jul 25, 2008; I am happy for you.

jazzyhattrick posted:

Zzf This is option zze but with 3 ammendments.

1: we will not give out any information pertaining to security, such as fortifications or troop placements and numbers. Not through any lack of trust but because it is foolish to volunteer such things even to friendly parties. They must surely have a similar rule and will probably understand.

2: We will not tell them anything we have sworn to keep secret, surely they would not wish to associate with somebody who breaks their word.

3: we will keep from them any information we feel may put them in danger, there is stuff we know that beings of immense power do not wish to become common knowledge.

This is a good plan

# ? Jan 31, 2016 12:57

I ride bikes all day: Sep 10, 2007; I shitposted in the same thread for 2 years and all I got was this red text av. Ask me about my autism!; College Slice

Tsyni posted:

1) a - tell them everything, I doubt that meanie is a friend of our bug pals
2) g - tell them everything, if Asherah's chains are close to spent then these guys should get the heads up, they are saving our lives and we owe it to them
3) j - why not, they probably already know
4) m - full deets
5) p - all of it
6) v - dose of truth incoming!
7) z - truth! truth!
8) d
9) h

This

# ? Jan 31, 2016 13:01

Balder: Apr 3, 2011

1. A
2. G+H
3.K
4.N
5.O
6.T
7.Y
8.B
9.G

# ? Jan 31, 2016 13:18

WhiteOutMouse: Jul 29, 2010; will blow your mind.

The fact that the bugs met the traveler who established deals with them is good, that means it is not absurd to make a deal. But that deal was about how far they could go and where they could not attack. Not so much about supplies, and it is probably crazy to hope for anything of the sort beyond immediate help here and now. Doing pottery differently almost got a cool dude killed, trading like this will get us exiled.

Either way, the old deal sounds like a very zepa thing to do. He was very specific about his domain. So neat, Zepa met the bug people, that has to bring some rep for what we are doing now. I assume Zepa kicked his rear end around town and met these people. Maybe they fought or maybe they stalemated? Either way he decided to leave some land just for them that's kinda cool.

But, if we keep asking too many questions making it apparent that Zepa is no longer around and we have no idea about this rule then the bugs will think Zepa is gone and they can start breaking the rules. We gotta be careful. Even if we have to allude to Zepa watching from afar and keeping his lands pure, even among our own swarm. I think their super-hospitality might come from a part of Zepa's deal and if that sounds like it's forgotten then we might suddenly be in danger.

I am assuming these bugs are traditional power-in-numbers kinda force. They are baffled at how such small numbers made it to their lands. We should demonstrate our power for them, they'll love it, but holy poo poo we gotta not threaten them. Our power will prove the benefit of a peaceful alliance but if we are a threat they will likley atta k us or at the very least, not help us because helping a threat makes no sense.

If they have a sidequest, like a statue-hydra of their own we can kill, we might earn their trust.

They seem tight lipped about their secrets while requiring all of ours. That kinda sucks. Maybe we should take turns, giving one detail back and forth until either one of us are done. Bonus that we have an entire Ur worth vs their probably small domain, then we can take facts for food/pack beetle.

Sorry for thought dumb, phone posting at work.
tl:dr
Zepa made a specific deal, that deal keeps us safe (probably) and if they find out he is gone it could vanish in an instant.

We can't get long term trade from here. Socially or logistically.

We should trade secrets/facts instead of spilling the beans upfront.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 14:31

Amazed: Dec 29, 2009

FoxTerrier posted:

Ahahaha holy poo poo this is the best thing, why have you not been posting these for months?!

I think people get a kick out of them more if they' really out of the blue, surprise is definetly part of the humor factor.
Oh god this vote.
Is it possible to just vote for whatever combination in game Enkindel thinks is the closest to whatever he guesses the bug values are?

# ? Jan 31, 2016 14:46

Greggster: Aug 14, 2010

1 B
2 I (Tell them of Amok, what he said about the chains upon Asherah, and he went to the land of Bnamoikt)
3 K
4 M (If the traveler is who we think he is, it could be beneficial to tell them that the god of the traveler is favourable to us as well)
5 O
6 U (We wouldn't care about any smaller hives the brood has, why would they care about our smaller hives?)
7 Zb (I want us to talk about the heroic efforts in Ibleam, of Kavodel and the heroic struggle of Tanaach. Tell them how we too fight the Bnaimokt, and that we share a common enemy)
8 E (Talk about Zepath, of whom it was founded by. Talk about our adoptive father and his just and merciful rule. )
9 G

Honestly, we're just another traveler who wishes to explore the world and talking about all that which we've seen isn't too much of a hassle. Not talking strategic details or exact locations is probably a good idea though, I think it's perfectly understandable by the brood not to talk too much about things they might use.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 14:58

Theglavwen: Jun 10, 2006; Frankly, I don't know anyone who likes Chinese bronzes, but I have one of the finest collections in the country.

Aw come on, that update went up five minutes after I gave up on an update and retired.

Alright, haven't read each vote in detail, probably too late to get in on any influencing that might have been going on, so I'll just smack my options down.

1. B
2. GH
3. K
4. M
5. P
6. U
7. Z
8. B
9. H

The ones I'm concerned about a bit are 4 and 6 really, details of El and of the Might of Ur/Baitel. I'm going with telling them, as (a) it seems like, if we're talking about Ur, details on El are going to come out, so there's no point in avoiding the topic, and mentioning that it's 'real' and can influence things and has a vested interest in us seems like valuable information that could improve our status and (b) talking about Ur as a great and strong civilization again puts us on more equal footing, ensures they know Ur's a civilization that is strong and can stand against demons, and that is both worth allying with and not dismissing.

I worry because of the possibility of these things affecting our chances. If they believe El supports us, maybe they'll feel less inclined to think that they should help us, why not just leave it up to our God? And if they know Baitel is so powerful, they might not want to chance word of their civilization getting back to it. I think the first one is probably just straight paranoia though, and any merit to the second should be mitigated when we talk about Zepath and the fact that we're far from Baitel and pretty isolated from it. So go for it.

Don't see any reason to mention us being related to Melachim. Don't know how they feel on it, and that's more info about us, not about the world. Besides, if they can see our wings it's probably obvious by now, if they can't, well :shrug:

E: Oh, don't tell them about the Donut of Douchebags. I guess it could keep them from accidentally thinking we're all a bunch of great guys and wandering in looking for peace, but they're not going to do that anyway. All it does is increase the likelyhood of them not wanting word of their civilization getting back to Ur. "Yeah, our people are a bunch of warmongering hateful xenophobic douchebags, you should help us get back there so we can tell them about you."

Also tell them about the souls. Don't know what it'll hurt, and we might get some valuable info out of it. And hey, the fact that souls die screaming in agony outside the boundaries of Ur is probably important news about the state of the world.

Theglavwen fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 16:02

There Bias Two: Jan 13, 2009; I'm not a good person

You know, if we tell them that our Hive would forbid us from telling certain things (like the details of Ur, which is the truth) I suspect they would be fine with us omitting that information.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 16:18

WhiteOutMouse: Jul 29, 2010; will blow your mind.

I think Zepa made the territory deal to keep these bugs safe as well.

I forgot to mention that in my last ignored post. He knew all mighty men would eventually just punch these things to death just for existing, so he had them stay way south. Why he shielded them so, I am not sure.

We stumbled upon Amok and sandwiches, is there another secret big player hiding here as well?

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:22

Outrail: Jan 4, 2009; www.sapphicrobotica.com

Zzc, gotta think about the rest.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:37

Vavrek: Mar 2, 2013; I like your style hombre, but this is no laughing matter. Assault on a police officer. Theft of police property. Illegal possession of a firearm. FIVE counts of attempted murder. That comes to... 29 dollars and 40 cents. Cash, cheque, or credit card?

Amazed posted:

Is it possible to just vote for whatever combination in game Enkindel thinks is the closest to whatever he guesses the bug values are?

Yes. That's exactly what we're doing right now.

What do you think the bug values are? We require some kind of consensus to move forward.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:48

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

Voting remains open.

The following options are leading right now:

1 - Don't tell them about Mosquito Mountain. Results looks decisive.
2 - Tell them everything about Amalek and Amok, including Amok saying your a child of the a Melachim. Result is still close.
3 - You will tell them about your wings. Result is still close.
4 - You will tell them everything about the Amalakites, including apparent divine intervention from El. Results looks decisive.
5 - You won't tell the Brood about the vaporous figures you have seen on your journey. Result is still close.
6 - You will tell them everything they asked about Ur, including the good and the bad, such as the Donut. They want a lot of information, your going to give them a lot. This information has military value to a hostile force, if they were one. Results looks fairly decisive.
7 - You will tell them about the demon attacks on Ibleam, Tanaach and Acco. I should have included Zepath in here too, that issue will be decided by what you tell them on #8.
8 - What you will tell them about Zepath is up in the air. Results looks decisive.
9 - You will tell them about Athar, what life is like there and that you are from there. Results looks decisive.

The Maggot said that the Consensus wanted information about your journey and the world in "great detail" and while voting remains open, it looks like you are going to tell them everything they wanted to know. You might be... evasive or misleading about Zepath, perhaps not, that one is still pretty close, as is what you might tell them about the vaporous forms.

You've never tried to tell someone else a detailed history of your civilization, as well as a fairly good summary of your culture but it looks like your going to give it a shot. This will probably take a week at a minimum, a few, surely less than a month. They want a lot of information and it looks like your going to give it to them.

Asahel can keep a secret. You can never, ever tell Tudiya about this. Monsters either exist because they are the spawn of demons and should be wiped out, or El wanted them to exist for men to overcome them. Either way, your culture is very clear on the role of monsters in the world, they exist to not longer exist. Men absolutely should kill them. Did your Balls not win acclaim, glory and respect because of your adventures slaying monsters and fighting demons? If Snarls nose did not say otherwise, your men would be dead certain these things were demons. And are you certain Snarls really knows the difference between what is a demon and what is not? How would he know? You can't tell Tudiya about this, you just... can't. Tudiya takes his obligation to protect Zepath very, very seriously and if the Brood were foes, the information you are giving them would have tremendous military value. You seem pretty sure the Brood are not a threat, they are far from Ur and seem if not nice, uh, reasonable-ish? You know, for weird and alien foreign-bug-monsters. They did offer your group refuge and supplies, didn't they?

Your Balls love, respect and would die for you. More than a few of them have died for you. They would surely never refuse to follow one of your plans just because it is suicidal. They might disagree and tell you if you have a bad plan or one they don't like, but mere fear of death would never get them to disobey. Wildly deviant behavior, dishonorable or immoral behavior(from their point of view) may still upset them enough to defy you.

Your see this journey very different than your Balls. They are following the plan of their god, they think, because you decided not to tell them that El didn't strand them out here, you did. You do, or probably should see the fact that you are going to run out of food in eight days as a serious and terminal problem. Slowing enough to hunt to feed hundreds of people is going to make you an even easier target to the dangers of the wilderness. This is a problem, but not as insurmountable a problem as far as your men are concerned, how will you get through it? El will provide, he has so far and has intervened to aid you more than once recently, has he not?

Nahari will very probably back whatever decision you reach, he has always been very loyal to you. Even when your decisions are less than optimal. He has come to blows with Uriah more than once when Uriah tried to defy you, such as when you dueled Jesbaam and told your Balls not to interfere, Uriah wanted to intervene to break the terms of the duel, Nahari fought him to stop him. It is tough to know how Uriah will react to this. If Uriah decided your betraying Ur he might act, Ithma might be persuaded to help him but Ithma is crippled and out of commission.

In a conflict between you and Uriah, the clear majority of your Balls would support you, but probably not all of them.

Of course you can probably avoid such a conflict entirely by simply not telling your Balls what you are giving up in exchange for the help of the Brood.

10. Pending the outcome of the other votes, what are you going to tell them your men about this?
A. Tell my men what I am doing. I think we can trust the Brood and they will help us, if I give them detailed information about Ur and our journey. I either think we need the supplies badly enough that it is worth the risk, or I think that we can trust them, or that they are not a danger to Zepath since they are so far away. Some of your men are going to have SERIOUS problems with this but perhaps you can win them over. Lay on as much charm and persuasion as you can.
B. A., but also tell them the bugs cut a deal with Zepa, so you can trust them.
C. A., but also tell them the bugs cut a deal with Damat, so you can trust them.

D. Lay down the law. Tell them what your doing as per A. Don't try to convince them, be authoritative. YOU are their commander, YOU are in charge, they need to trust in you.

E. El aided us before, he aids us now. How ridiculously unlikely is it that we would find these strange creatures and that they would help us? Clearly this is part of El's plan. That the bugs want information? Well, we want information about the world as well, isn't that why we came out here? They are far away, I think we can trust them and even if not, I don't think they are a danger, they are too far away from Zepath.

F. Tell my men that the Brood has invited us to rest and will feed us. You won't directly lie to them and the Brood did offer to feed your group while they stay here and promise it would be safe. You'll just be heavily implying they are letting you rest because they are such swell ~~guys~~ bugs. You've decided your group needs a rest. Why do you spend days in the Hive away from your men? Well because uh, reasons. Avoid that if your men pry. But don't lie to them.

G. Lie to them. Tell your Balls you managed to convince the Brood to provide supplies out of altruism. You are resting here because your group needs a rest and this helps Ithma recuperate.
H. Lie to them. Claim that you managed to work out a really sweet deal with the Brood. They REALLY value amber, small amounts of it were enough to convince them to give you all of this help! As to the delay? As per D, you decided your group needs a rest.

I. A suitably plausible lie to convince your Balls all is well without upsetting them will be used. Its for the best, you need the supplies and can't risk Uriah trying to lead your Balls in revolt against you.

J. Something else. Fill in.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:48

Theglavwen: Jun 10, 2006; Frankly, I don't know anyone who likes Chinese bronzes, but I have one of the finest collections in the country.

WhiteOutMouse posted:

I think Zepa made the territory deal to keep these bugs safe as well.

I forgot to mention that in my last ignored post. He knew all mighty men would eventually just punch these things to death just for existing, so he had them stay way south. Why he shielded them so, I am not sure.

We stumbled upon Amok and sandwiches, is there another secret big player hiding here as well?

I like to think that part of what pissed Zepa off is the view of his brothers/family/whatever on non-Urians; Zepa was more open to exploration, to other points of views (heretic tolerance), and maybe to other species/societies, where the rest of his family was all rah rah about eradicating anything different. I don't know how well that adds up, Zepa also seemed to have been really fanatical about his rights to HIS poo poo and HIS territory, and about smashing people who challenged him or used BAD SORCERY into little bits, but that doesn't seem necessarily incompatible with ideas of tolerance otherwise.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:48

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

Theglavwen posted:

Zepa also seemed to have been really fanatical about his rights to HIS poo poo and HIS territory, and about smashing people who challenged him

That is not at all unusual, kings anywhere in Ur have very strong feeling about what land is theirs.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:50

Vavrek: Mar 2, 2013; I like your style hombre, but this is no laughing matter. Assault on a police officer. Theft of police property. Illegal possession of a firearm. FIVE counts of attempted murder. That comes to... 29 dollars and 40 cents. Cash, cheque, or credit card?

Diogines posted:

That is not at all unusual, kings anywhere in Ur have very strong feeling about what land is theirs.

Is the default response to territory conflicts in Ur the thought "MINE!", by any chance?

Edit: Changing my vote on 2 (Amok details) from Abstain to I: split the difference between D & E. Talk about finding the buried ruins, the prisoners, do not volunteer information about the door or Amok.

Also, my vote on 10: J: F + I. Tell the men we're away having conversations with the bugs, discussing the world, learning how each other operates, but seriously downplay how much info we're giving out and play up how much we're learning of them.

Vavrek fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:55

Bede: Jun 2, 2006; I wasn't even around for the goblin baby vote

10. B

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:59

Diogines: Dec 22, 2007; Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

Vavrek posted:

Is the default response to territory conflicts in Ur the thought "MINE!", by any chance?

I am not sure about that but isn't the default response of most people and political bodies, throughout history, to zealously defend their land?

# ? Jan 31, 2016 17:59

I ride bikes all day: Sep 10, 2007; I shitposted in the same thread for 2 years and all I got was this red text av. Ask me about my autism!; College Slice

NM, I think I get it now.

I ride bikes all day fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Jan 31, 2016

# ? Jan 31, 2016 18:04

Task Manager: Sep 5, 2008; A weird time in which we are alive. We can travel anywhere we want, even to other planets. And for what? To sit day after day, declining in morale and hope.

10) J: H. Lie to them. Claim that you managed to work out a really sweet deal with the Brood. They REALLY value amber, small amounts of it were enough to convince them to give you all of this help! As to the delay? As per D, you decided your group needs a rest.
+
Actually give the Brood a large gift of amber to strengthen the lie.

It's a good lie - our men know they were interested in it. We're already rich so losing some ain't no thing. Finally, it butters up the Brood in the hope they aid us further.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 18:07

Theglavwen: Jun 10, 2006; Frankly, I don't know anyone who likes Chinese bronzes, but I have one of the finest collections in the country.

Diogines posted:

2 - Tell them everything about Amalek and Amok, including Amok saying your a child of the a Melachim. Result is still close.
3 - You will tell them about your wings. Result is still close.

(not actually directed at you Diog)

I don't see why we shoud bother telling them this Melachim/wing stuff. Are we going to tell them that we have arms and legs and a big ol' dick too? This is just info about our 'biology', for lack of a better word. If they can see the wings, cool, if they can't, whatever, it's a body part. Admittedly I don't know that it's anything specifically worth keeping from them, but it's unnecessarily complicated and doesn't seem to be anything they need to know either.

quote:

5 - You won't tell the Brood about the vaporous figures you have seen on your journey. Result is still close.

Tell 'em! I want to hear what they say, nobody ever comments on this poo poo. Plus, they want to know the state of the world? The fact that souls vanish in agony outside of claimed land seems pretty relevant to that.

quote:

6 - You will tell them everything they asked about Ur, including the good and the bad, such as the Donut. They want a lot of information, your going to give them a lot. This information has military value to a hostile force, if they were one. Results looks fairly decisive.

No donut talk! Telling them the majority of Urians are warmongering petty douchebags is just ... not helpful, and only increases the likelihood that they won't want info about their own society getting back to Ur. Not saying it'll make them hostile, but it'll make them think twice about helping us out.

quote:

8 - What you will tell them about Zepath is up in the air. Results looks decisive.

Huh?

quote:

10. Pending the outcome of the other votes, what are you going to tell them your men about this?

J: Essentiall Sogol's old plan*. Send Asahel back to the group to tell them these bugs have an old agreement with Zepa. Tell them to trust us that we know it to be true (whether or not we actually do). Tell them that we're going to commune with their leaders and exchange information, as did Zepa in days gone past, to renew terms and understanding, and to negotiate aid. Tell them that they are safe here, and that they should take the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Treat the bugs as our hosts, and do not dishonour the line of Zepa. We'll be considering how best to use this safe territory to make our trip more successful. Tell them to be glad that El has led us to aid and safety; this is a resource, and we will make use of it.

Don't tell them what specific information we're sharing. They don't need to know that, it's just part of negotiations. That's our department.

* (2- send Asahel back to report, after he hears their account of the Treaty and we make an estimate of the time we will be staying. One of the biggest risks right now is that something will go wrong with the camp. This increases the longer we stay. The camp (Uriah) needs very specific instructions. They should include that Zepa negotiated a Treaty with the Bugz in ancient times and that we intend to learn about and honor that treaty. Instruct them that we and they are currently safe. That we have a looooong standing agreement with the Bugz which technically we violated by crossing the border. That has been handled and we are now negotiating. We do not want to violate an agreement that reaches back for generations to the time of Zepa and they should act accordingly, even though the situation is strange. We are being treated as guests, no matter how strange this is, and we should act accordingly and treat them as we would any host. We intend to do this because it is our duty as a member of Zepa's line to do so and so should they. We may be negotiating for some days. During this time they are to focus on healing, resting and preparing for the onward journey. Asahel should return after delivering this, bringing us an update on how they are being treated and the current condition.

# ? Jan 31, 2016 18:10

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 06:51

Nyaa: Jan 7, 2010; Like, Nyaa.

10. E: El make monster to test men. These are clearly made to test our capability of KINDNESS! To remember our humility and generosity to others!

# ? Jan 31, 2016 18:14

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