[CYOA] It's all Greek to me; Let's read the Cretan Chronicles!

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100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Published under the same banner as the much more well-known Fighting Fantasy series, the Cretan Chronicles was a series of three gamebooks, that, rather than go the usual high-fantasy route, are set in bronze-age Greece. They draw fairly heavily on Greek mythology, with the idea that you are (or will become, at least) a hero; given how the Greeks did seem to love tragic things happening to their heroes, it's a little dubious if this is something to be too enthused about.

Contents:

Book 1: Bloodfeud of Altheus
Book 2: At the Court of King Minos

We're in something of an alternative take of the myth of Theseus; We're his brother who never showed up in the original story, because that version of Theseus was quite a bit more successful than the one in our story here.

Now's as good a time as any to mention that, while I find Greek literature and the like incredibly interesting, I'm not the most well-versed in it; these books do tend to have lots of little references here and there, and if I notice them, I'll mention them! If you spot I've missed a clever reference somewhere, please do point it out, and I'll happily tweak the relevant post to include it.

Below here, it's basically all mechanics and rules, which I'll (mostly) be keeping track of. If you're not interested, skip to 'taking a hint', as that's probably the thing most crucial to understand as a thread-reader. If you're curious about why we might wind up committing Greek Seppuku for being a terrible hero, read on.

Background and Rules posted:

In this book you are Altheus, a Greek hero with an awesome mission to accomplish, striving against wild beasts and men, and seeking to win the favour of the gods in your quest. The journey will be difficult, but it is you who will determine your destiny. The book is laid out in paragraph format; at the end of each paragraph you will be given directions, which will determine the number of the paragraph to which you next turn.

The paragraphs are set out in numerical order; you should not read a paragraph until you are sent to it from the one you have just read, or you will spoil the continuity and enjoyability of the adventure. If there is no destination given for you at the end of a paragraph, you are dead. In this case, you may start again at paragraph 1 with a new Altheus, all values at their initial value, all weapons and equipment as at the start, and all the gods attitudes at Neutral.

You will need pencil, paper and dice to appreciate the travels of Altheus - your travels!

Mostly pretty basic CYOA stuff here, with one particularly notable thing: unlike some books, such as the grailquest series, there's no built-in method of quickly skipping back to where you were with a bit of a penalty. If you die, you're meant to start over completely.

If and when we die, I'll likely hold a vote on what to actually do next. We might start over completely, backtrack a bit and try something different, or outright cheat; obviously I'd prefer to avoid the latter, though.

The gamebooks are more than just a simple choice system, though; there's combat, dice rolling and even a character (or Chronicle, as the book calls it) sheet!

There are a few stats I'll be keeping track of for Altheus, key amongst which are Might, Protection, Honour and Shame.

Might is how good we are at hitting things in combat. It starts at 4, and can be modified by weapons and the like. When fighting, we roll 2d6 + Might to determine if we hit something. Whether we hit them or not is determined by their protection.

Protection, as alluded to above, is how hard you are to hit. Altheus starts with 10, representing his inborn dodging ability, and it can be modified by various pieces of armour, and even certain weapons.

Honour is, essentially, something to keep track of how heroic you are. Without it, your fellow men may think less of you, your patron deity may not be as inclined to help you, and there may be other consequences.

You start with 7, and can earn it through valorous deeds and besting opponents in combat. It can be lost through certain actions, and may also be spent in combat, traded in for a temporary Might or Protection bonus, at a 1:1 ratio. I tend to struggle a little with these books as a result, as I tend to fall into an RPG hoarding mentality, leading to me being very honourable, but very dead. :v:

If honour somehow falls to 0, it can no longer be raised, except through an appeal to Zeus, or possibly a special item of some kind.

Shame is also important. It starts out at zero, and is gained through unfavourable actions, such as killing a surrendering opponent, retreating from a fair fight, or failing to perform heroic deeds. As the book puts it, "Such gross crimes as patricide, marrying one's own mother, or failure satisfactorily to maintain one's armour will be penalized by a greater increase in shame points."

Once you acquire Shame, it's very difficult to get rid of, but, fortunately, just having a little doesn't have too much of an effect; if we get too much, however...

Might, Protection, Honour and Shame posted:

If Altheus' Shame ever rises above his Honour, he will be overwhelmed by the burden of his heroic conscience, and he will either disembowel himself with a shortsword, if one is available, or be struck down by a thunderbolt from Olympian Zeus, father of the gods, and his spirit will go whining through the dark halls of Hades the life-destroyer. Resurrection is, in this case, specifically forbidden. If shame ever exceeds Honour in the middle of a combat, no action is taken until the battle is completed. Thus, the Honour he gains from victory may save him from this horrible fate.

Brutal. Who knew the ancient Greeks were performing Seppuku before it was cool?

That's actually more or less it for stats. You might notice we're missing a 'health' stat, and there's a good reason for that; this gamebook has a very unusual system it calls the Wound Track. In a fight, all combatants generally start at Healthy. If they receive a hit, they move to Wounded. From there, to Seriously Wounded, and from there, to Dead.

Normally you roll 2d6 + Might to determine if you hit, with 2-3 being an auto-fail, and 11-12 being an auto-hit. Once seriously wounded, however, you only roll 1d6 + Might, with 1 still being an auto-fail, but 6 no longer an auto-success.

While Healthy or Wounded, we may still attempt to retreat from combat (at the cost of some Shame), but once we get to Seriously Wounded, that is no longer an option. Instead, once Seriously Wounded, we may attempt to Surrender in most cases, which costs us our strongest weapon, strongest piece of armour, and 1 shame point. When combat ends, Altheus immediately returns to being Healthy.

Human opponents will generally surrender once they become Seriously Wounded, giving us the chance to steal some of their stuff. The theft of their stuff isn't always explicitly mentioned in the text, but the book's rather long winded explanation of combat does say that after defeating a foe, Altheus may 'Strip the opponent of any armour or weapon he wishes'.

There are a few other little bits and pieces to some fights, but I'll mention those when they come up; I'll be the one rolling dice and such, anyway. :v:

I mostly just wanted to give a reasonably clear idea how the system works.

Gods posted:

The gods are a crucial part of Altheus' life. At the start of the adventure he must dedicate himself to one of Ares, Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Aphrodite or Hera, and he must try to avoid angering any of the gods. Presiding, enigmatic, over them all is Zeus, father of the gods, who will aid Altheus once in the adventure. Beneath this pantheon are many lesser gods, goddesses and spirits, whose anger is still to be avoided. In the case of a patron deity (who will be chosen later, in the course of the adventure), Altheus' standing is determined by his Honour. At certain points in the text, Altheus will be offered help by a deity; if it is his patron, he may expend the requisite amount of Honour (sometimes a random number) and accept the favour. If Altheus does not have enough Honour he will be referred back to the paragraph where the chose was offered, but will none the less lose 1 point of Honour. Once at 0, Honour cannot be regained, except by praying to Zeus ,or by use of certain artefacts.

In the case of deities who are not his patron, Altheus is either in Favour (F), at Neutral (N) or in Disfavour (D). Initially, he will be at Neutral with all of the gods, except his patron, but this may change in the course of the adventure, as he performs actions which appease or anger the gods.

Altheus may pray to Zeus once during each adventure. This will have one of a number of effects, at Altheus' choice.

1. If he has been killed by any other means than Shame overtaking Honour, he may be resurrected, with all equipment, Shame of 0 and Honour of 1, at the paragraph indicated in the text. When Zeus saves you in this manner, do not be surprised if you find yourself moved to a nearby point in the same town or vicinity; this is simply divine Zeus' way of ensuring your safety.

2. He may simply gain 1 to 6 Honour points (roll one die).

3. If his honour is at 0, he may have it set back to 1, and regain the ability to acquire Honour.

4. He may have the attitude of all the gods set back to Neutral, regardless of what they were.

Remember that the intervention of Olympian Zeus is very rare indeed, and may never be used more than once in an adventure, unless it is specifically offered in the text.

Long story short, it's Greek mythology. Gods are waiting to pop out of every hedgerow, and whether it's to irritate you or to grant you a boon is probably a crapshoot depending on how they feel. We get to follow one god, who'll be more helpful than most, and may gain favour with/piss off the rest at our leisure.

Also, once per adventure, we can ask Zeus to intercede on our behalf, to bring us back to life (possibly the reason behind the 'no quickly skipping back to where you were' thing), give us some honour, or tell the other gods to calm down. (That's once per book, specifically: This three-part series allows you to keep your character between books, but you get a fresh prayer to Zeus in every one)

Equipment posted:

Although you are a hero, you will start off lightly equipped, with only a club (Might 1, Protection 0) and no armour. During the course of the adventure, you will acquire other pieces of equipment and should note these on the Chronicle Sheet. You may only carry one spare set of armour (in addition to any you may be wearing), and this will give you no extra Protection, but there is no limit to the amount of small items you may carry. This rule does not forbid the wearing of a breastplate and greaves and a helmet, etc., merely the wearing of two of any particular type of armour.

Simple enough. We start off with basically bugger-all, and, unfortunately, we're not allowed to max out on armour by wearing a thousand helmets and nothing else.

Nearly done with the rules and setup, there's just one last thing; The game uses an interesting little system I don't think I've seen in any other adventure gamebooks.

Taking a Hint posted:

At times during the adventure, you may wish to perform non-standard actions. These will not be offered in the text, as this would give you a degree of foreknowledge granted only to the prescient. Instead, if you are at a paragraph with the number in italic type (i.e. 476 rather than 467), you may run the risk of adding 20 to the paragraph number and turning to that number; this process is known for convenience as 'taking a hint'. If there is no non-standard action at that point which a Bronze-Age hero would have thought of, you will pay a penalty in either Honour or Shame, or both, for trying to be ahead of your time.

Note that this option will never be explicitly offered in the text; you must remember it and use it when you see fit.

This a fairly neat little thing, I think. The downside is I no longer have the original books, and the scan I do have isn't exactly spectacular, so it's not always easy to tell when something's italicised or not. Still, I'll do my best to highlight when it's there!

Now, on to the adventure!

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 10:21 on Dec 11, 2015

# ? Oct 26, 2015 17:47

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 17:22

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

A helpful map, courtesy of the gamebook:

Background and Rules posted:

'Theseus is dead', replied Hermes. 'His body lies yet at the heart of the labyrinth of Minos. The spirits of your ancestors cry out from the halls of Hades, lusting for retribution. Aegeus, your noble father, mourns the loss of his strong-armed son. His spirit, fired with soul-searing anger, urges him on to revenge, but his feeble frame cannot undertake the task. It is you, amicable Altheus, who must journey far across the wine-dark sea, and destroy the scourge that threatens the city of your birth.' So it was that Hermes spoke, and in a wisp of smoke, he vanished before you.

Told you this universe's Theseus wasn't that successful. Still, there wouldn't be much of an adventure left for us if he was.

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

1

Trembling with terror at the tale of Hermes, you rush out of your cottage and into the fields. You search for your mother, Aethra, and find her huddled under a spruce tree tending the goats. In haste, you blurt out the words of the god.

'My son,' replies your mother, 'the words of the god fill me with sorrow, but they are true, for the gods never lie. You must follow the orders of the winged messenger. Travel to violet-crowned Athens and seek for your father Aegeus. Take with you my jewel, for it was once your father's, and he will surely recognise it. But first visit Passes, High Priest of Troezen, and take what advice he can give you. Good luck, my son; prove worthy of your noble father and your dead brother.'

Having spoken, she turns away lest you catch sight of her tears. You linger a moment, then, with the jewel clasped firmly in your hand, you rush away down the hillside into the town. It is dawn, and rosy-fingered Eos has only just tinged the horizon with red. The streets of Troezen are empty, save for a handful of scurrying slaves already about their masters' business, and you come quickly to the temple. The high Priest greets you; he already knows of your errand.

'Altheus, before you lies a great journey to lands of which you have never even dreamt. Many dangers await you; without the aid of a god you cannot prevail. Choose now a patron god or goddess to guide and help you.'

'Grey-eyed Athena offers you the gift of wisdom; Ares, god of war, offers strength. If Beauty tempts you, think of Aphrodite. Apollo, the archer god, controls the gift of prophecy, while Hera, queen of the gods, has influence over Zeus. Your travels are sure to take you across seas and oceans, and these are Posedon's province. Choose now one of these six to aid you, and pay them homage. Good luck, Altheus son of Aegus.'

For Aprhodite, turn to 42
For Ares, turn to 71.
For Poseidon, turn to 117
For Athena, turn to 168
For Hera, turn to 203
For Apollo, turn to 352

One thing to note, we do actually get the jewel as an item. The book often doesn't have any kind of 'You get ITEM' prompts, you have to be paying attention to the text. In the case of the jewel, it's noted on the chronicle sheet by default anyway.

Right off the bat, we have a fairly major choice! Our choice of god comes with some mechanical effects, and will change how certain situations play out.

If you'd rather be surprised by what each god can do for us, at least right away, don't read these.

Aphrodite: Offers no mechanical benefits right off the bat. She'll give us a ride, at least.
Ares: Gives us a +2 to our natural Might.
Poseidon: Also offers no mechanical benefits right away. He'll likely be more more useful when we have sea-related stuff to do.
Athena: Has some kind of weird speech impediment. She also gives us +1 Protection, and means we no longer pay Honour penalties for taking a hint incorrectly. Shame penalties affect us as normal.
Hera: No initial benefits. Perhaps the queen of gods has better things to do than listen to every prayer that comes her way?
Apollo: Taking a hint never incurs any kind of penalty. Not directly, at least.

Character Sheet posted:

Might: 4 ( + 1)
Protection: 10
Honour: 7
Shame: 0

Equipment

Club (+1, +0)

Deities
Patron:
Favoured:
Disfavour:

Inventory + Notes

Mother's Gem
Zeus prayer still intact

So, vote on which god you want to follow! This is something that we can't generally change without completely starting over, and you're supposed to carry your god with you through the whole three book series.

Your patron can have a relatively large impact on how things play out, either by saving you from situations of otherwise-certain death, or just by having some kind of often-useful effect.

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Oct 26, 2015

# ? Oct 26, 2015 17:48

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

You appear to have missed Hermes's message off the first post!

And, whilst Ares is tempting, I'm going to vote for Athena. Wisdom is always important!

# ? Oct 26, 2015 18:32

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Ghostwoods posted:

You appear to have missed Hermes's message off the first post!

And, whilst Ares is tempting, I'm going to vote for Athena. Wisdom is always important!

Whoops. It's actually the first quoted thing in the opening post, but it'd probably flow a bit better/make more sense if it was included in the first post instead/as well, you're right. Thanks for that!

# ? Oct 26, 2015 18:36

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

I haven't actually read through the previous LP in quite a while, but if there's one thing I remember, it's the copious amounts of stupid pointless Shame and Honor penalties for taking a hint at a totally reasonable juncture. I'm voting for the radiant Apollo to dispense with that bullshit.

(If you want to experience the book as intended, feel free to vote for a different god, but do know that Athena won't be of much help in that regard)

# ? Oct 26, 2015 19:13

Hyper Crab Tank: Feb 10, 2014; The 16-bit retro-future of crustacean-based transportation

A hero needs wisdom almost as much as courage. Athena!

# ? Oct 26, 2015 19:17

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Xander77 posted:

I haven't actually read through the previous LP in quite a while, but if there's one thing I remember, it's the copious amounts of stupid pointless Shame and Honor penalties for taking a hint at a totally reasonable juncture. I'm voting for the radiant Apollo to dispense with that bullshit.

(If you want to experience the book as intended, feel free to vote for a different god, but do know that Athena won't be of much help in that regard)

Entirely true. If I had to pick, I'd probably recommend either Apollo, just for maximum ability to look at hints without fear of retribution, or Ares for sheer combat stats. If I recall correctly, Ares is probably the least interesting in terms of showing up to do stuff in the story, but it's possible I've not seen absolutely everything ever. :v:

Anyway, leaving this going a bit longer! I'm enthusiastic to get started, but I'd like as many people to get a chance to vote as possible.

Then again, it's not like we can't swap gods if we die early or something.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 22:50

Lacedaemonius: Jan 18, 2015; Rub a dub dub

Athena without a doubt. Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and Metis she's the ace of all trades. She's the patron deity for like a million things, about the most level-headed god(dess) in the pantheon, and favors great heroes. Odysseus triumphed over all the horrors of hell and Earth because of her. She'll help us defeat the Minotaur, and then offer us guidance out of the labyrinth and protect us on the high seas.

And what else do we have? Nothing really great.
Aphrodite: A fickle mistress and not likely that useful unless we intend to spend the entire adventure partying hard, in which case Dionysus would be a better choice anyways.
Apollo: Athena's brother and not necessarily a bad choice, being god of a million athletic skills and pursuits of intelligence, but not particularly well-versed in combat (relatively). Also rather temperamental.
Ares: A half-insane god guided by bloodlust and thoroughly useless outside of battle, but with no guarantee that he'll even help us in battle.
Hera: A horrible choice. A notably jealous and angry goddess who likely won't come to our aid, not that it would matter since she's goddess of the hearth and like one other thing. The extent of her wrath is the fire going out at the local tavern and making everyone a little chilly.
Poseidon: A reliable and powerful god, but since the sea and chariots are his domain he likely won't be any help for the minotaur or the labyrinth.

E: Oh and did I mention she was the patron deity of Athens, the base for Rome and pretty much all Western culture?

Lacedaemonius fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 01:55

SystemLogoff: Feb 19, 2011; End Session?

Xander77 posted:

I haven't actually read through the previous LP in quite a while, but if there's one thing I remember, it's the copious amounts of stupid pointless Shame and Honor penalties for taking a hint at a totally reasonable juncture. I'm voting for the radiant Apollo to dispense with that bullshit.

(If you want to experience the book as intended, feel free to vote for a different god, but do know that Athena won't be of much help in that regard)

Voting for Apollo as well. Gods cheat and we need to cheat back.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 02:09

Tuxedo Ted: Apr 24, 2007

Athena is the one. Maybe we can meet Bubo!

# ? Oct 27, 2015 02:23

Wentley: Feb 7, 2012

Apollo is the way, the truth and the strife. Life. I meant life.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 02:38

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

Athena.

Comstar fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 03:03

corn in the bible: Jun 5, 2004; Oh no oh god it's all true!

Ares, because he's cool and rad

# ? Oct 27, 2015 03:16

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Aphrodite. We're drat well going to stun our enemies with our dazzling smile.

Also, use Zeus's prayer for some honorbux.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 06:01

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

In other news, Archaeologists just discovered someone who might end up fitting our description.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 06:12

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

Apollo

Check all italics.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 06:12

CommissarMega: Nov 18, 2008; THUNDERDOME LOSER

SystemLogoff posted:

Voting for Apollo as well. Gods cheat and we need to cheat back.

Same here- Apollo all the way.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 07:06

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

The score is currently tied between Athena and Apollo at 5 votes apiece, with Ares and Aphrodite lagging behind just slightly, with uh, 1 each. Anyone care to break the deadlock? If not, I'll just flip a coin or something.

theshim posted:

Also, use Zeus's prayer for some honorbux.

Totally an option! Not necessarily a great thing to do this early on, but if we're going to have our first run be one where we don't worry too much about surviving all the way, it's something we can do. Anyone else want to weigh on on saving our big prayer VS getting some free honour?

# ? Oct 27, 2015 10:22

Sylphosaurus: Sep 6, 2007

Athena, all the way, baby!

# ? Oct 27, 2015 12:33

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Appears we have a winner, Athena it is!

I think I'll hold off on the Zeus prayer a little bit longer, we can trade it in at any time after all - if people really want that honour boost, though, I won't say no!

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

168

In the temple at Troezen, you bow down at the statue of Athena and pray. The room grows quiet and peaceful. Then, in a shimmering haze, the statue stirs into life.

'Altheus, son of Aegeus, you have chosen wisely, and wisely shall I aid you in your quest. In weturn, I ask of you one favour. Go to Cwete and wecover your bwother's body, that it may be buwied in Athens with fitting wites. Good luck.'

...Yeah. For some reason, the goddess of wisdom has a speech impediment. I don't know, either.

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

168 cont.

Athena is goddess of defensive war, so you may add 1 to your Protection value. In addition, you need pay no Honour when instructed to do so, if you take a look twenty numbers on and there is no hint. If the penalty is in Shame, you must sitll take it.

The statue falls silent, and will speak no more. You set out for Athens, where your father is king. Turn to 2.

Not bad little bonuses. Shame penalties from the hints are much more annoying than honour hits, because honour is much easier to recover than Shame is to get rid of, but it's still a nice thing to have. Likewise, +1 protection isn't too bad a thing to have at all times. Nothing gamebreaking, but a nice little bonus nontheless.

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

2

The road is hard, and you are soon tired. As you struggle up a rocky mountain path, a man and a woman ride past on a horse, deep in conversation. As they gallop on, the dust makes you splutter, but they are out of sight before you can react. Eventually you reach the top of the hill, and, for the first time in your life, can look down into the valley beyond. It is fertile and inviting. You can see high-walled Tiryns in the distance and, a little nearer and to the east, Epidaurus sacred to Asclepius the healer. You drink deeply from the wineskin and press on down the hillside.

The path forks: will you go left (turn to 309) or right (turn to 410)?

I won't always point this out, so people will have to pay attention, but do note that the chapter number 2 is indeed italicized, meaning we can choose to take a hint here.

Also, for good measure, here's the map again.

Character Sheet posted:

Might: 4 ( + 1)
Protection: 11
Honour: 7
Shame: 0

Equipment

Club (+1, +0)

Deities
Patron: Athena
Favoured:
Disfavour:

Inventory

Mother's Gem
Zeus prayer still intact. (for now!)

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 12:48

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Give us that ~~stupid Shame hit~~ hint, book.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 13:01

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Xander77 posted:

Give us that ~~stupid Shame hit~~ hint, book.

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

22

No Greek hero should feel fear so soon after leaving the halls of his ancestors. Take 1 point of Shame and go back to 2.

No, no, you were right the first time. Such is the downside of Athena; Shame penalties are worse than Honour hits, and feel more prevalent from hints. This interesting new system idea is off to a good start! :v:

Just to reiterate our choices:

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

2

The road is hard, and you are soon tired. As you struggle up a rocky mountain path, a man and a woman ride past on a horse, deep in conversation. As they gallop on, the dust makes you splutter, but they are out of sight before you can react. Eventually you reach the top of the hill, and, for the first time in your life, can look down into the valley beyond. It is fertile and inviting. You can see high-walled Tiryns in the distance and, a little nearer and to the east, Epidaurus sacred to Asclepius the healer. You drink deeply from the wineskin and press on down the hillside.

The path forks: will you go left (turn to 309) or right (turn to 410)?

Character Sheet posted:

Might: 4 ( + 1)
Protection: 11
Honour: 7
Shame: 1

Equipment

Club (+1, +0)

Deities
Patron: Athena
Favoured:
Disfavour:

Inventory

Mother's Gem
Zeus prayer still intact. (for now!)

# ? Oct 27, 2015 13:11

Lacedaemonius: Jan 18, 2015; Rub a dub dub

great start, thanks pericles
let's go left and hope we don't walk facefirst into a 20 point shame penalty

E: if hints are going to punch us in the face every time we use them maybe there should first be a requirement for a minimum number of requests for the hint

Lacedaemonius fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 13:17

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Let us

Also I request again that we use the prayer. We will only truly succeed when we face things raw and unarmed, with no safety net :black101:

# ? Oct 27, 2015 14:53

Hyper Crab Tank: Feb 10, 2014; The 16-bit retro-future of crustacean-based transportation

Sure, why not, go left.

Save the prayer though. I have a feeling we might need it.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 14:55

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Lacedaemonius posted:

there should first be a requirement for a minimum number of requests for the hint

Yeah, definitely. Otherwise, we'll be facetanking each and every one.

Left sounds fine.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 14:56

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Lacedaemonius posted:

E: if hints are going to punch us in the face every time we use them maybe there should first be a requirement for a minimum number of requests for the hint

Probably a good idea, honestly; in this case, I just sort of wanted to show off the system... and, of course, just how bullshit the system can be. It definitely doesn't ALWAYS face-punch you, it sometimes offers decent advice, or sends you on an otherwise unavailable path. There is a fair ol' bit of face punching, though.

I'll probably just stick with saying an action needs a minimum of three votes before going for it, or something? :iiam:

Depends on how many people wind up actually voting on stuff, and if I know something is a non-choice that doesn't make much difference.

Actually, on that note, if I know something is a non-choice, should I just take the route that gets us a bit of extra text rather than offering it up to a vote?

Zeus prayer stands at one voter for, one voter against. If we use it up this early and manage to die, it'll probably be best to start over.

Anyway, left it is!

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

309

The Journey to Tiryns is uneventful, and the path clear of other travellers. You arrive in the high-walled city by nightfall. Will you look around (turn to 45) or look for somewhere appropriate to spend the night (turn to 200)?

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 15:05

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

100percentjesusfree posted:

Actually, on that note, if I know something is a non-choice, should I just take the route that gets us a bit of extra text rather than offering it up to a vote?

If it's a non-choice, yes, please breeze on through

I'll vote no to Zeus for now.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 15:28

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

Ghostwoods posted:

If it's a non-choice, yes, please breeze on through

I'll vote no to Zeus for now.

In that case, for reasons that'll quickly become apparent, to 45!

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

45

Tiryns seems as uninteresting as your journey there. There are a few drunken brawls, but nothing a hero would get involved in. The day's travel begins to sap the strength from your legs, and you feel that you must rest. You look for a place to spend the night. Go to 200.

Well, we could do that, oooor do we want to try to take a hint/nonstandard action? The first one might not have panned out, but they can't all be bad, right?

...right?

Character Sheet posted:

Might: 4 ( + 1)
Protection: 11
Honour: 7
Shame: 1

Equipment

Club (+1, +0)

Deities
Patron: Athena
Favoured:
Disfavour:

Inventory

Mother's Gem
Zeus prayer still intact. (for now!)

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 15:35

Hyper Crab Tank: Feb 10, 2014; The 16-bit retro-future of crustacean-based transportation

Drunken brawling is hardly heroic behavior. Get some rest.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 15:57

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Yeah, that whole "not something a hero would take part in" suggests another lurking slap around the chops. Let's just hit the hay.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 16:15

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

On we go!

Bloodfeud of Altheus posted:

200

After some searching, you find an inn which is sumptuous and well furnished. Perhaps this is why there are no other guests. You eat and drink deeply with your host, displaying great laevendia, and then stumble to your room and collapse on the bed. Your feet stick out over the end but you manage to curl up and get comfortable. If your patron god is Apollo, turn to 55. Otherwise, you become sleepy (turn to 500).

Where is our God now?

Once again, we get the choice of seeing if we want to take a hint before bed. Unfortunately, no hint to tell me what the hell Laevendia is, and Google isn't helping either.

So, hint, or nap time?

Also, I'll probably refrain from posting the character sheet, unless something changed on it recently or it's been a while since it got posted.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 18:58

Hyper Crab Tank: Feb 10, 2014; The 16-bit retro-future of crustacean-based transportation

Oh man is this a Procrustes sort of situation? I think we should take a hint.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 19:09

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Pretty sure we want to take the hint, as the alternative is to become ~~taxidermist fodder~~ ~~cannibal breakfast~~ ~~the latest sacrifice in the local cult's rites~~ dead.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 19:11

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Nah, I'm sure it's fine. Let's crash for a bit.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 19:18

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

Yeah, serious hint time.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 20:07

100percentjesusfree: Mar 18, 2009; FOE! FOE!
100% FOE!

With three votes, Hint it is!

220 posted:

220

Before the pwoers of Sleep brush closed your eyelids, you open a cupboard to put your clothes away, and see there a heap of human skulls. The innkeeper must be a mass murderer! As you hear footsteps approaching, you shut the cupboard and hide behind the door, seizing your club. Turn to 272.

Oh hey, seems like this hint was actually a good choice. The innkeeper is a mass murderer, and that's why his inn was so devoid of people!

...Quite how he continues to operate a business and such is anyone's guess. Same as to why he just keeps a collection of skulls in the room he lets the guests stay. Let's just not think about this one too hard.

272 posted:

272

The innkeeper enters with an axe in his hand. When he sees nobody in the bed, he gasps and looks wildly around. Shouting the battle-cry of your people, you attack him, take him by surprise and inflict one Wound. Then the battle starts, with you striking first. Procrustes is Might 1, Protection 10, and his axe is Might 5, Protection -3. Cornered in the room, you cannot retreat.

If he is Seriously Wounded, go to 21.

If you surrender, go to 571.

If you die, and Zeus saves you, go to 263.

Okay, so, we have a fight on our hands! Unless the thread wants me to change this, I'll generally only surrender if I hit Seriously Wounded and don't think that we're in a fight we're going to win.

As Hyper Crab Tank alluded to, we're doing battle with Procrustes, a mythological rear end in a top hat who liked to either forcibly stretch people out, or chop their legs off, in order to get them to fit into a bed. It seems the Minotaur isn't the only thing our Theseus failed to do his job with.

We start with a significant advantage, having already inflicted a wound, and getting the first strike!

Altheus:

Wounds: Healthy
Might: 4 + 1 = 5
Protection: 11

Procrustes: Wounded
Might: 1 + 5 = 6
Protection 10 - 3 = 7

Round 1

Altheus: 3 + 1 + 5 = 9. Hit!
Procrustes is now Seriously Wounded. We move on to 21

21 posted:

Procrustes, now Seriously Wounded, goes berserk rather than surrender. He only rolls one die, and abandons his axe, but his combat values change to Might 12, Protection 5. If you kill him ,go to 315; if you die, but Zeus saves you, go to 263.

...Apparently being seriously hurt caused the man to go from having the strength of a feeble old man to being able to out-punch an armed hero. What. :psyduck:

I had a lot of fun with this book series, but I didn't remember quite how unusual it gets at times.

In any case, thread, the choice is yours! Kill our host, or Risk a hint?

Hints aren't always quite this thick on the ground, and I'll try not to always point them out, but when I'm stopping at a non-choice like this, it's pretty obvious anyway. :v:

100percentjesusfree fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Oct 27, 2015

# ? Oct 27, 2015 21:12

Tallgeese: May 11, 2008; MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR

Let's take a hint, die for it because it'll probably happen, and then quietly go back and choose Apollo.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 21:17

theshim: May 1, 2012; You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Fight him

# ? Oct 27, 2015 23:01

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 17:22

Ghostwoods: May 9, 2013; Say "Cheese!"

100percentjesusfree posted:

but when I'm stopping at a non-choice like this, it's pretty obvious anyway.

Perhaps not as obvious as you think, because I can't tell whether you're hinting that it's a good idea, or hinting that it's a trap!

# ? Oct 27, 2015 23:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > [CYOA] It's all Greek to me; Let's read the Cretan Chronicles!

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