[LP CYOA] 傳

[Kashmir Slippers]

AA

That went a lot better than I expected. I think we should keep the sword for now. We don't have to flash it around and tell anyone what it is. It might be a bargaining tool in the future.

fyi, 2b is for keeping the sword. 2a is for pawning it off.

Thanks, I can't read.

 

[treave]

I didn't actually want to offer Xiangyang as a choice, but it just so happened to be close to Xuchang, and Wudang just so happens to be close to Xiangyang. That will teach me not to check my cities properly beforehand.

But bear in mind the choices only take you to the cities in question, not to the sect/temple/manor's doorstep.

 

[ScubaV]

I didn't actually want to offer Xiangyang as a choice, but it just so happened to be close to Xuchang, and Wudang just so happens to be close to Xiangyang. That will teach me not to check my cities properly beforehand.

But bear in mind the choices only take you to the cities in question, not to the sect/temple/manor's doorstep.

Translation: We have not progressed enough in the narrative to get our qi healed. Amirite?

Nevertheless, I'll hop aboard the SS Bandwagon and vote AB.

 

[m4davis]

AB

 

[Tigranes]

...why the hell are all voting A if we realise that we can't walk up to Wudang and say "hey gais I'm that guy who kills young Masters please heal me of my crazy-ass ailment which will probably take a long time"?! We will have plenty of chances to travel to the Wudang later, possibly when we have some sort of resource or recommendation or plot device or reason for them to heal us.

The close shave at Songfeng (which I will now call the Songfeng Shave) teaches us that Tigerbro needs to learn a lot more about fighting, and he's not going to get any of that really if he doesn't actively seek it out while he's with Yao. If we want training we want unorthodox, traveling, whatever, martial artists not cooped up in a school, and that is C.

 

[treave]

I didn't actually want to offer Xiangyang as a choice, but it just so happened to be close to Xuchang, and Wudang just so happens to be close to Xiangyang. That will teach me not to check my cities properly beforehand.

But bear in mind the choices only take you to the cities in question, not to the sect/temple/manor's doorstep.

Translation: We have not progressed enough in the narrative to get our qi healed. Amirite?

No, it means that I was worried people will just go WUDANG CAN FIX US and bandwagon A solely on that basis, rather than also looking at other factors like, say, the cities. Which are all differently described, if anyone bothered reading beyond the word Wudang.

 

[Nevill]

Translation: We have not progressed enough in the narrative to get our qi healed. Amirite?

...why the hell are all voting A if we realise that we can't walk up to Wudang and say "hey gais I'm that guy who kills young Masters please heal me of my crazy-ass ailment which will probably take a long time"?!

Healed - no. Become acquaintances with a senior disciple or two which are bound to be found in the city, get a lead on how to heal it in the future - possibly.

Also, a military city. Always liked them.

 

[Esquilax]

I had figured that B was the best option. I knew that Rong was getting reckless and baiting him in would work, while A involved doing way too much fancy shit that was beyond our abilities. C was obviously retarded, I'm pretty sure that we would be toast if we stabbed him with a hidden dagger.

1C looks interesting, but I am not sure that art, history and scholarly knowledge can be put to use any time soon. Meanwhile, we would benefit even from the smallest hint on how to deal with our qi situation.

It can definitely be put to use; the connection between calligraphy and swordplay is a big part of wuxia. Understanding history means understanding the art of war and knowing things about the world will open up techniques for us and maybe refine some existing ones. Keep in mind that our character is intelligent and already has a little bit of knowledge in Artistic Skill and Scholarly knowledge - digging deeper will only help us more.

I am very skeptical about the Wudang helping us. We've established our rep as an unorthodox type and I find it doubtful that we're going to gain some understanding of our qi issues from them. To them, we're the Killer Apprentice now. I'm not saying that C, getting accepted into Luoying Manor will be easy either, but they probably have far more acceptance for unorthodox types there than the Wudang would. As Tigranes said, at the moment they have no reason to even be contacting us, so I don't see what approaching them would solve.

No, we'll go to the Manor and refine our skills so that we can become the ultimate warrior-scholar. There's also another important tip in the description:

C. Xuzhou City. A major trade center in the Jiangnan region, it is also an agricultural center. The Luoying Manor, a learning house for martial artists who are interested in the pursuits of art, history and scholarly knowledge, is located near the city.

A major trade hub means lots of information about the rest of China, which could lead us to other martial artists that might be willing to teach us. A major trade hub also could mean a lucrative thieve's guild that exists underground...

Also, a military city. Always liked them.

A military city would be difficult to navigate through given our reputation, making it even less appealing. Should our sword be discovered, how the fuck are we going to explain that?

As for the sword, it's totally not worth hanging on to if we go to either A or B. A huge library of knowledge will give us information about the history of the Yuchang Sword and how it was lost over a hundred years ago. Knowing the history of the sword might lead to learning techniques built around it. Right now, we know nothing of this blade or how to utilize it, if we want to keep such a high-risk item around, we better know how to make the most of it.

AB

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

No, it means that I was worried people will just go WUDANG CAN FIX US and bandwagon A solely on that basis, rather than also looking at other factors like, say, the cities. Which are all differently described, if anyone bothered reading beyond the word Wudang.

Eh, nothing grabbed me about the other cities tho. Tigerbro isn't going to want to go and learn about art and the Sholin are likely to hate our guts due to our high unorthodoxy. :shrug:


Flopping to CB due to Esquilaxian arguments.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

CB. For now.

 

[Nevill]

A military city would be difficult to navigate through given our reputation, making it even less appealing. Should our sword be discovered, how the fuck are we going to explain that?

What is our reputation? Why would they care for a travelling doctor, and why it would be difficult to navigate the city?
What keeps the sword being discovered in any other place?

I like the idea of learning more about it, though.

As Tigranes said, at the moment they have no reason to even be contacting us, so I don't see what approaching them would solve.

But we have a reason for contacting them.
I do not expect to resolve the qi situation, but I expect to find out more about it. It is a rather pressing concern, and is currently on the top of our priorities list.

 

[treave]

Re: Swords.

There's nothing inherently wrong with carrying a sword around, though for now it's best to conceal it in any city you visit to attract less attention. In general, only members of known sects and schools as well as soldiers display their weapons in the open when in cities. The orthodox ones may do so because they are known to be 'upright'. The unorthodox ones will do so because they are to be 'feared'. You may be questioned for a bit by the guards if you walk around with a blade hanging from your waist. Thankfully, the Yuchang Sword has a short blade and can be concealed rather easily.

 

[Grimgravy]

CB Art and poetry are good for studying manuals, and we can learn about our shiny old sword. Let's put our intelligence and basic skills to use.

Speaking of manuals, what happened to our one page Songfeng manual? We studied it during the night, so we had it before the fight. Did we lose it during the fight or its aftermath? We may have a counter for it, but it could still be useful.

 

[Ifeex]

Yay, we didn't die. Voting for CB.

 

[XenomorphII]

CB

 

[treave]

Speaking of manuals, what happened to our one page Songfeng manual? We studied it during the night, so we had it before the fight. Did we lose it during the fight or its aftermath? We may have a counter for it, but it could still be useful.

Unfortunately, it was tucked in your clothes and got soaked with blood from your wounds, rendering it illegible. You tossed it.

C was obviously retarded, I'm pretty sure that we would be toast if we stabbed him with a hidden dagger.

Actually, no, but you'd have to leg it out of there very quickly before they grasp the reality of what just happened. At least initially they'd be too shocked to react at the brutal stabbing. As you'd be less injured than you were in B, escape would have been possible. You'd also get a bounty put on your head, but Yao doesn't really care about that.

The DEAD END choice was actually A.

 

[ScubaV]

WUDANG CAN FIX US...the word Wudang.

 

[Tigranes]

CB is the way to go, yes. Look, if we want to pawn the sword off (xA) or if we want to keep it hidden (xB) a swarming trade city full of travelers is far preferable to a military city on the borders for obvious, obvious reasons. Obviously we have to be careful doing either thing in any city, but it can only help to be lost in the crowd in such a place. Furthermore, us contact the Wudang - what do you think is going to happen, exactly? Oh, come in Killer Apprentice, we're so glad you're here, sure we will help you with your qi! We will (a) be kicked out lest we kill their Junior, too; (b) if they find out about our weird qi we might well be treated as a test subject or an abomination.

To confirm my second vote... even though xB guarantees that we'll probably be caught with it at some point:
CB

 

[Esquilax]

treave, we had the page for an entire night and we saw the Songfeng style play out for most of the day. Did we manage to at least commit the page to memory? Also, makes sense that A was the dead end choice, it would involve doing way too much stuff that was beyond our abilities. I actually thought that both A and C could have been dead end choices, but I was certain B was the right call.

Eh, nothing grabbed me about the other cities tho. Tigerbro isn't going to want to go and learn about art and the Sholin are likely to hate our guts due to our high unorthodoxy. :shrug:

We shouldn't get this idea in our heads that Tigerbro is the type to constantly do risky shit all the time. We kinda fell into this trap with Ean after Tjaru - remember how much more calculated he was in his risk-taking when defeating Shulgi and Sekhenun? Tigerbro has a noble's education and an understanding of courtly manners, and he's grown a bit more patient after this time, so C is hardly out of character at all.

What is our reputation? Why would they care for a travelling doctor, and why it would be difficult to navigate the city?
What keeps the sword being discovered in any other place?

I like the idea of learning more about it, though.

A large fortress-city led by a military-minded prefect would likely see the Killer Physician and his apprentices as a potential nuisance, so he'd definitely be watching us. I'm not saying that we'll be locked up in irons and have all of our belongings confiscated as soon as we got there, but he seems like the sort who would very suspicious of us. Okay, maybe our high CHA would allow us to ingratiate ourselves with the prefect and perhaps even learn a few things about technique and military strategy if we great choices, but that still doesn't change that we'd be hauling around a white elephant that we barely know anything about. That thing is basically a huge bullseye on our backs, so if we've got it our possession, we better fucking know how best to utilize it. A learning house that probably has lots of information about the Ten Great Swords of history seems like a good start.*

I'm not saying that A is bad: getting in close with the military and doing good work there might change a lot of minds about us. But I don't think that we can risk going there and keeping the sword around at the same time. Getting a few Wudang contacts is great, but I don't think that we can do that while keeping this liability that we don't know how to use around. Basically, A itself is fine, keeping the sword with us if we go there is way more trouble than it's worth.

* Also, I think that we ought to remember another hint:

A beautiful short blade is left behind. The inscriptions are archaic, catching the flickering light from the fire. It predates even the Han dynasty… perhaps even the dynasty of the First Emperor.

This predates even Ean the current dynasty - could it be something that the Emperor would be interested in if we pick 1B? Yes, the Emei sect is powerful and regards this as their property, but would the Imperial Court see this as a great gift should we provide it them? Maybe the Emperor would pardon us and allow us back. Note also that even though the blade is short and easily concealed, once you do see it, there's no mistaking that it's very valuable.

 

[treave]

treave, we had the page for an entire night and we saw the Songfeng style play out for most of the day. Did we manage to at least commit the page to memory?

Yes, it's done.

Since we're talking about manuals, you will find many manuals that are actually written in poetry with few illustrations to speak of - usually the students learn by watching the physical movements of the master and relating them to the poetry in the manual in order to understand the true essence of the technique. Only by getting into the proper mindset as described in the poems can your body execute the moves perfectly. Of course, if you don't know the physical actions of the moves in the first place it would be difficult to learn the technique, but talented martial artists can derive their own movements from the principles described in the manuals and achieve a similar effect to a conventional/orthodox practitioner.

 

[Esquilax]

CB is the way to go, yes. Look, if we want to pawn the sword off (xA) or if we want to keep it hidden (xB) a swarming trade city full of travelers is far preferable to a military city on the borders for obvious, obvious reasons. Obviously we have to be careful doing either thing in any city, but it can only help to be lost in the crowd in such a place. Furthermore, us contact the Wudang - what do you think is going to happen, exactly? Oh, come in Killer Apprentice, we're so glad you're here, sure we will help you with your qi! We will (a) be kicked out lest we kill their Junior, too; (b) if they find out about our weird qi we might well be treated as a test subject or an abomination.

Great point about the fact that Xuzhou sounds like a bustling city with lots of people coming through while Xiangyang is probably not the sort of place that gets many visitors - we'd stick out there like a sore thumb. Taking the risk of having the Yuchang Sword in our possession at the fortress-city is foolish, we'd be wise to ditch the fucking thing. Nobody would notice a few martial artists, even unorthodox types, in a big trade hub, so we'd blend in a lot easier. That's essential if we're going to take the risk of keeping the Yuchang Sword with us.

At the moment, the Wudang don't need us, so they have little reason to fix our issue. Our unorthodoxy makes us mistrusted from the get-go, so that compounds the issue even more. That being said, Jing is a likable guy who is clever with words, so I don't think it's unlikely that we can make a few friends here. Also, I could see how doing a few favours for the prefect, who seems to be a respected military man, could do wonders for improving our reputation. It would be hard initially because we'd be met with a lot of suspicion, but I definitely think we could work our way towards being seen as an unorthodox, but well-meaning type.

But if that is our goal (and it is a fine goal) then we can't risk having the Yuchang Sword found out. If we go with A, it's just not worth it to carry it with us. Our goal with C would be to gain knowledge of our sword, make contacts and become a cultured gentleman while blending in. Our goal with A would be to improve our reputation, get in tight with the military and hopefully make a few Wudang contacts. They are both good goals, but can't do the latter while keeping the Yuchang Sword around.

So it's either CB or AA.

 

[Nevill]

Furthermore, uscontact the Wudang - what do you think is going to happen, exactly?

We drink in a pub with a senior disciple on vacation (they do let them out from time to time) and learn things and names worth learning. Then act upon this information as we see fit.

if they find out about our weird qi we might well be treated as a test subject.

Not the worst way to handle the case, either. If it can get us closer to them and thus to finding ultimate solution - all the better.

A large fortress-city led by a military-minded prefect would likely see the Killer Physician and his apprentices as a potential nuisance, so he'd definitely be watching us.

We are not going to do something nefarious there. A military watching us could be a boon in disguise. Our best skillsets lie in the military department - we might be of use to them.

that still doesn't change that we'd be hauling around a white elephant that we barely know anything about.

Yeah, that unnerves me. But not to the point of throwing it away. Something to ponder over.

Maybe the Emperor would pardon us and allow us back.

Or maybe we can castrate the Emperor that way. Good thinking!

Do choices count separately?

 

[Esquilax]

We drink in a pub with a senior disciple on vacation (they do let them out from time to time) and learn things and names worth learning. Then act upon this information as we see fit.

This is really vague and gets us no closer to solving our qi issues. Have a beer with a Wudang member? Really?

Not the worst way to handle the case, either. If it can get us closer to them and thus to finding ultimate solution - all the better.

I'd rather find a solution that doesn't involve us being a guinea pig. Nevertheless, I doubt that the Wudang would go this far in their dealings with us unless we happened to really piss them off a whole lot.

We are not going to do something nefarious there. A military watching us could be a boon in disguise. Our best skillsets lie in the military department - we might be of use to them.

True, and that's why I see the merit of going to the military city. But you have to understand what that would entail as well: treave can correct me here, but I'm under the impression that travelers don't come to a place like this too often, most of the inhabitants are either locals or military personnel. So if we end up going there with our burgeoning reputation along with the infamous Killer Physician, we're going to attract a lot of attention, especially from the prefect. All those eyes on us and an ancient stolen sword in our possession is a terrible combination. So if you're serious about making a good impression there, we should get rid of the Yuchang Sword. There are Ten Great Swords, perhaps we can find another.

And yeah, the choices are counted separately for this choice. If the choice is a letter-number combo, then it's counted as a whole. However, I'd like to point out that this doesn't mean some combinations or choices aren't better than others.

 

[ScubaV]

Esquilax you are a gentleman and a scholar, even if you dun goofed by voting unorthodox.

Flopping to:

(CB)

 

[Bloodshifter]

BB