In Progress Emperor of Nothing [40k CYOA]

[Baltika9]

Kz3r0 , does root's resurgence presage the return of treave ?
Flopping to B>D.

 

[Kz3r0]

Kz3r0 , does root's resurgence presage the return of treave ?
Flopping to B>D.

We can only hope.

 

[Azira]

And then The Barbarian?

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Not much to give up when we never had this "chance" in the first place. Rebellion is a yoke by another name.

Whose fate would guide ours, I wonder? The Emperor? Tzeentch? Someone else?

Better not to leave it to more powerful entities. Man must prevail, not Fate.

Guilliman's return changes nothing - fate governs that which was and is and will be, not that which is merely possible.

Guilliman's return actually changex a lot. Many future events stayed the same (Chapter-Master Dante's fated confrontation with Warmaster Abbadon upon the steps of the Golden Throne, for example), but even those were changed. Even the traitors now have more freedom of action thanks to the opening of the Rift. None predicated the Primarch's return. Even Tzeentch knows not the fate of all, that lies deep within the Well of Eternity.

If we believe him, The Emperor, having grasped the "fulcrum of objective" which "perceives all possible realities," reached a kind of omniscience outside of time itself and used this eternal awareness to craft a thousandfold plan that would see his goal through, whatever the cost. This is the Golden Path.

That way to victory is out of our reach, for now. We would need many more loyalist Primarchs to do so.

Right now, we can't win. Best we can do, is survive. We need to survive before we win. The Imperium was already doomed before the Rift.

The Emperor seems to call these middling paths "resumption" and I don't think he is merely referring to the repeat of failed Imperial military policy. I think that, having grasped the Objective, he understands that the Warp returns eternally and knows the folly of these lesser ordeals, for otherwise he would have undertook them.

Does it work?

The reason for failure is because the Imperial Truth was built upon the lie of a secular universe.

I say we either follow the God-King's plan to the T (or the A, as the case may be) or chase rape and revelation as per E, and as above I am much more inclined towards E.

Remember - one of our enemies is the Architect of Fate.

We should break fate.

 

[LogOS]

I've rewritten some of the main text in hopes of making the G-E dialogue clearer, and substantially reworked all choices, as well as adding one that Neanderthal noticed was lacking. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I recommend re-reading at least the new choices before voting.

Also, Infinitron thank you for the help

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Part 1 and you're already retconning

 

[Sheev]

Press F) to pay respects.

And you, young LogOS, we will watch your career with great interest.

 

[True Ukrainian]

E

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

IT BEGINS AGAIN

F) The Path Boundless

I see a great hand, reaching out into the stars! The hand is your hand, Roboute Guilliman.

 

[Grimgravy]

Still B

 

[oscar]

C>A

New challenges require a new human race capable of breaking the cycle of decadence and barbarism

 

[Andnjord]

Flip-flopping to C

 

[Obsequious Approbation]

Well, now that you mention it, F) sounds pretty good. Let us follow the path of the 'Thal, I say.

 

[Lithium Flower]

E) > F)

I am still particular to E, but F holds the secret of battle...

 

[Storyfag]

Still B.

 

[hoothoot]

C

rape and revelation could be good too tho but

 

[Esquilax]

“We have lost Cadia, and the Eye of Terror has bloomed into a chancre festering across human space, seeping corruption on our doorstep. I mean to undertake a second Great Crusade, to retake and pacify as many worlds as I am able, and offer some measure of succour to those beyond my reach. Will you support me in this?”

YOU SEEK RESUMPTION.

“I seek redemption. I, Roboute Guilliman of Ultramar, seek and end to-“

The definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting different results. My gut feeling on this is that we need to guide ourselves in a different direction, while also not being beholden to slavish morality, as Lithium Flower suggested. After all, it's Guilliman making decisions here, not the Emperor making decisions for him.

THAT IS NOT YOUR NAME YOU ARE DEATH AND REDEMPTION IS NOT FOR YOU TO FIND.

The mystical import of these words is not lost on Guilliman, the Arcana laid across his gene-memory, but for the first time he wonders about the banality of the Occupant. Can He really not see?

“But it is for me to seek.”

See mankind stretched upon his palm, a pawn in the Great Game. The Primarch XIII knows he is Death, he is the Emperor’s Fury and the descent of angels.

But he is not Judgment.


You are Roboute Guilliman, The Thirteenth, Death on the Emperor’s Tarot. You are the last Primarch in this Fallen Imperium. The Cicatrix Maledicta has spread across the galaxy and the Thirteenth Black Crusade claimed more victories than it did losses. The irony of this last number is not lost on you. It falls upon you to guide mankind in the path you choose, to a destination unknown.

Part of this I suspect is the Emperor's own arrogance - you finding redemption doesn't matter, only the objective matters. Ignore the human factor completely.

This is why I don't much like A; in carrying out the Emperor's vision ourselves, we twist it.

But part of this is also fate - we are Death and we must play our part, and hope that our enlightenment and redemption will come.

E, but I still may flop!

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Isn't E kind of a cop out? Blaming everything on fate? Seems pretty weak to me.

 

[Baltika9]

The gang is coming back together.
Nevill, get in here!

OK, but what is your guys' plan with E? Guilliman at least describes strategies for the other options.

This:

E) The Path of Fate, the Path Indeterminate: All that will be already was, terror and grace exist in equal measure and only for their own sake. Mankind is past evolution and lacks only the maturity to make a choice: Prey or predator? Curze, Corax and Alpharius followed this path.

is not a plan. What will we say to our command staff and the Imperium? "You just gotta choose between preying and being preyed upon?"

I also dislike F. The Imperium barely held on since the first Great Crusade. How do you guys expect to expand?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

I also dislike F. The Imperium barely held on since the first Great Crusade. How do you guys expect to expand?

Through extreme violence and absolute, fanatical dedication.

 

[Baltika9]

You don't have one, do you?

 

[Lithium Flower]

Isn't E kind of a cop out? Blaming everything on fate? Seems pretty weak to me.

Acknowledging the role of fate doesn't blame anything, it frees you from the deadly delusion that we are all self-moving souls. Even in a universe where there are multiple "architects of fate," and reality is a transient illusion that depends on faith, there can be an overarching fate (as The Brazilian Slaughter , who offered most resistance to this idea, has already mentioned, even Tzeentch is blind to the fate of all), like a metaprophecy that is the result of all the other, at times conflicting prophecies. Having this perspective is the only way that would allow us to gain awareness of what was and is and will be, to grasp the...Absolute, shall we say - the Emperor certainly claims to have done so. Ironically, these things you guys want to achieve - usurping the architect of fate and cleaving your own destiny - these can only be achieved through this recognition, not by blindly running head-first into the enemy while screaming "I chose to do this and no fate is gonna tell me otherwise, yo!"

This: is not a plan. What will we say to our command staff and the Imperium? "You just gotta choose between preying and being preyed upon?"

Again, E implies quite a few things, even besides the recognition of fate. "All that will be already was, terror and grace exist in equal measure and only for their own sake. Mankind is past evolution and lacks only the maturity" is an abandonment of the kind of slavish morality that burdened the Imperial Creed thus far, an abandonment of the yoking mindset that there is an inherently right or wrong path to take in the pathless Warp (think of all the technological stagnation the Imperium suffered as a direct result of that small-mindedness.) Plus, I sincerely doubt LogOS/root-sama is going to go "Lol, you picked E, but you just do nothing because E didn't specify what you told to your command staff. Get fucked, retards!"

I also dislike F. The Imperium barely held on since the first Great Crusade. How do you guys expect to expand?

What it says on the tin - unshakeable belief. In a world where faith = reality, I see this as the most blunt approach. Through indomitable conviction the Imperium is to run against the wall of reality until either its will or the latter break. The issue is that this could have the residual effect of empowering Khorne, and considering that's how that one other CYOA ended...I still think E) is a more interesting option and one more likely to succeed.

Again, if we were going for the path most likely to succeed in the Emperor prevailing, it would be A) specifically because of the Emperor's claim to have already grasped the Absolute, but at this point I am very skeptical that the Emperor - rather than Man or even merely ourselves, Gullyman Rowboat - prevailing is something we actually want.

 

[Baltika9]

I can see where you're going with this: we will rebel against the Emperor and the Chaos Gods. Like a second Horus.

Plus, I sincerely doubt LogOS/root-sama is going to go "Lol, you picked E, but you just do nothing because E didn't specify what you told to your command staff. Get fucked, retards!"

That wasn't the point of my question. I want to know how you plan to sell this vision to the Imperium, to your commanders, to the Ecclesiarchy and, yeah, the Inquisition. Rebelling against the Imperial Truth sounds cool, yes, but how are we gonna do it?

 

[Lithium Flower]

Rebelling against the Imperial Truth sounds cool, yes, but how are we gonna do it?

That's where I hope the whole "rape and revelation" bit comes in, my dude :^)

 

[LogOS]

Again, E implies quite a few things, even besides the recognition of fate. "All that will be already was, terror and grace exist in equal measure and only for their own sake. Mankind is past evolution and lacks only the maturity" is an abandonment of the kind of slavish morality that burdened the Imperial Creed thus far, an abandonment of the yoking mindset that there is an inherently right or wrong path to take in the pathless Warp (think of all the technological stagnation the Imperium suffered as a direct result of that small-mindedness.) Plus, I sincerely doubt LogOS/root-sama is going to go "Lol, you picked E, but you just do nothing because E didn't specify what you told to your command staff. Get fucked, retards!"

I've no idea who root is, but I get the impression i didn't translate the idea of E) quite well. The Path of Fate (The Path Indeterminate) means the Path of Chance, that all things will be as they will be, and the only choice to be made is how you meet the crises that will inevitably arise.

The Path of Fate is roughly translated to "Que Sera, Sera" and the choice to how one shall meet this inevitable fate. It does not reflect some actual metaphysical Fate enginereed by Tzeentch. I apologize if this wasn't clear.

In fact, all choices are to reflect more of a philosophical worldview as opposed to a plan/determination of how things will happen. They are representative of Guilliman's possible outlooks, not mystical incantations to determine outcomes.

Perhaps my inclusion of Traitor Primarchs made this needlessly complicated, but all these choices are supposed to embody a principle, not a metaphysics. Chaos is not part of the equation at all. It is merely a way of determining what sort of man (or not even a Man, depending on the choice) Guilliman will be in this Dark Imperium.