[LP CYOA] 傳

[Nevill]

Why would the Emperor be there? He is in Chang’an.

Shun's arm healed a long time ago. Several months have passed at least, if not a year.

Right now, it's a sword, and well made one at that.

I am wary of swords that are aggressively sought after since their disappearance ages ago. It must have some significance that we do not yet understand. It'll be funny if these swords turn out to be a Mandate of Heaven or something.

 

[Baltika9]

Reading compehension=fail. Thought Emps was in 1B.

I am wary of swords that are agressively sought after since their disappearance ages ago. It must have some significance that we do not yet understand. It'll be funny if these swords will turn out to be a Mandate of Heaven or something.

Nobody knows we have the sword, though. It was lost for an extremely long time, disguised as Master Rong's heirloom. Arguably, people are more likely to notice if we actively pursue information on it, as opposed to us just stashing it. Really, the only way the nuns will know is if we act the retard with it, something that can happen in every choice.
Edit:

Flip-floped to B, let's get STRONGER!

1B or 2B?

 

[Esquilax]

Really, the only way the nuns will know is if we act the retard with it, something that can happen in every choice.

... Or if bad luck strikes, which it almost certainly will. This is wishful thinking, the Emei nuns will find out that we have the sword sooner or later. I'm not making the "don't do x, if we get an unlucky roll, we're fucked!" argument frivolously here - the only way to mitigate fate fucking with us here is to simply not keep the sword around at all. No sword, no risk of crazy shit happening.

“Thought to be –hic– lost for a hundred years. It’s one of the Ten Great Swords of history. I suppose… –hic– it’s bad luck for you that it has come into your hands.” Cradling the slender sword, he looks grimly at you.

There's a reason that Qi said that the sword was bad luck, and that's because it isn't a good thing to have in your possession. If we aren't planning to create some incredible techniques that take advantage of the Yuchang Sword, we shouldn't even fucking bother with it. So if you aren't interested in learning of the sword's history, origins, poetry and song related to it, etc. don't bother keeping it around, it's too risky.

 

[Baltika9]

If by "techniques" you mean something uber-special that utilizes neiggong, there might be a problem with that.

Dude, it's a short sword, a well-made short sword, but still a short sword. That means the techniques for other swords will work for it just as well.

Really, you're looking too much into this, I sincerely doubt it can do things the other short swords can't do without qi. Keeping it in any option is an absolutely equal risk, and actively walking around the greatest commercial center around yelling "GUYS, I'M LOOKING FOR BOOKS ABOUT THIS SWEET ASS SWORD, ANYONE SEEN SUM?" will do much more to attract attention.

 

[Kipeci]

I don't see why there's even a debate about the second choice, why go against a choice that leads women directly for our crotch in search of an uncommonly powerful shortsword?

I flopped to vote A for the first part, though. Did treave say somewhere that this would be our last chance for a stat increase before it become all about ranks?

Also, did we lose our ability to pull off the first step of the Songfeng style?

 

[Jester]

Really, the only way the nuns will know is if we act the retard with it, something that can happen in every choice.

... Or if bad luck strikes, which it almost certainly will. This is wishful thinking, the Emei nuns will find out that we have the sword sooner or later. I'm not making the "don't do x, if we get an unlucky roll, we're fucked!" argument frivolously here - the only way to mitigate fate fucking with us here is to simply not keep the sword around at all. No sword, no risk of crazy shit happening.

And if those girls will somehow find out that sword was at School? Guess who was last person having it and what they will do if we wont have it when they found us?

 

[Baltika9]

There's a reason that Qi said that the sword was bad luck, and that's because it isn't a good thing to have in your possession. If we aren't planning to create some incredible techniques that take advantage of the Yuchang Sword, we shouldn't even fucking bother with it. So if you aren't interested in learning of the sword's history, origins, poetry and song related to it, etc. don't bother keeping it around, it's too risky.

No, I really don't see any "kickass techniques" that we can learn that are specifically designed for this one sword. A sword is a sword, right? It may have been finely made, exceptionally keen, doesn't break or lose it's edge, whatever. Unless we channel qi through it (that's where the problems start), it's still a sword. The vets in 1A can show us just as much as the books in 1C. Also, we may encounter some scholar historyfag over there, he may be able to clue us in on their origins.
In fact, treave, what does Jing know about the Ten Great Swords? Can they perform extraordinary feats or something?

I don't see why there's even a debate about the second choice, why go against a choice that leads women directly for our crotch in search of an uncommonly powerful shortsword?

Edit: The Brazilian Slaughter, I think you meant AB, bro, since it's the "go with the military and get stronger" option. 1B is the "go to the Imperial Capital and do something" option.

 

[treave]

Alright, few things to address:

I dunno, learning some neat tricks from a bunch of crusty old veterans sounds pretty good to me (the younger guys will just know the basic drills and techniques taught to them, the older guys will have been in a few life-or-death struggles where they had to think on their feet), it'll definitely give us an edge in fights and increase our chances of survival, as opposed to meditating on poetic texts. Jing is really coming into the image I had of him as an improvisational fighter, well these guys can probably help us capitalize on that. They are also bound to have specialists on many weapons (it's the military, after all) and swords will definitely be on the list. It also gives us the edge on our competition, they don't teach that shit in monasteries and assassin organizations.

Xiangyang isn't where you find crusty old veterans. You have to go to the northern and north-western borders, where the tribes are, for that. It is an important city, yes, but being ensconced safely in the middle of China right now, you'll find there well-trained soldiers but none with real experience in battle. They might have experience subjugating bandits. But you are right that it will improve your weapons skills. Not because the military is superior, but because the basic drills and techniques can be useful to you. It's a good way to bring up your weapons skills to a competent level.

Besides which, yeah, military training seems right up Jing's alley. He fights like a commando: fast, aggressive and brutal with stealth thrown into the mix.

This isn't the 20th century. What sort of spec-ops do you think they have? Certainly not ones hanging about a city with the normal soldiers. You'll find the 'secret police' in Chang'an. You had a bit of training from them already, as implied by your training to kill.

treave, I'm assuming based on the description that the Emperor doesn't reside here? But does the Crown Prince? The Emperor strikes me as a sort of superstitious fellow who is pretty isolated, so it's quite possible that the Prince is somewhere else. Are we aware of any Imperial libraries that would be here that might allow us to dig something up about the sword?

Shun should be in Chang'an. Imperial libraries... probably. There's a palace in Luoyang. But you can't just waltz into it. Besides, when it comes to libraries about martial arts - which is what you want if you are looking for martial information and techniques built around the sword - Shaolin is the place to go. Of course, you could just ask the Emei nuns should you bump into one; it's one of their treasures, they definitely have a technique made for the sword.

If by "techniques" you mean something uber-special that utilizes neiggong, there might be a problem with that.

Dude, it's a short sword, a well-made short sword, but still a short sword. That means the techniques for other swords will work for it just as well.

To start off with, it's faster, lighter, and sharper than any short sword. That means there are certain moves that can only work with the Yuchang Sword, where other blades would be too ungainly to pull them off with. Also, there are other attributes. Which you may discover in time, if it isn't taken from you along with your balls.

Did treave say somewhere that this would be our last chance for a stat increase before it become all about ranks?

Also, did we lose our ability to pull off the first step of the Songfeng style?

No, I didn't. I'll make it clear when we get to that point. You didn't lose your ability to pull off the first step, but the first step by itself is useless without the ability to chain it into the other moves of the swordplay. You've modified it into a direct attack of your own.

In fact, treave, what does Jing know about the Ten Great Swords? Can they perform extraordinary feats or something?

You don't know much. Just that they're really old and really well-made, surpassing any sword in existence. They may have special properties, but you don't know what yet, and Qi didn't tell you. These are legendary swords, akin to blades like Excalibur and Durandal in the West. Except older, of course.

 

[Baltika9]

Besides which, yeah, military training seems right up Jing's alley. He fights like a commando: fast, aggressive and brutal with stealth thrown into the mix.

This isn't the 20th century. What sort of spec-ops do you think they have? Certainly not ones hanging about a city with the normal soldiers. You'll find the 'secret police' in Chang'an. You had a bit of training from them already, as implied by your training to kill.

I wasn't thinking about spec ops, more along the lines of a forward scout. Sneaking up on your enemy and shanking him in the neck is a time-honored military tradition that predates Sargon. This being an outpost, I'd be surprised if they don't have some well-trained scouts around.

I dunno, learning some neat tricks from a bunch of crusty old veterans sounds pretty good to me (the younger guys will just know the basic drills and techniques taught to them, the older guys will have been in a few life-or-death struggles where they had to think on their feet), it'll definitely give us an edge in fights and increase our chances of survival, as opposed to meditating on poetic texts. Jing is really coming into the image I had of him as an improvisational fighter, well these guys can probably help us capitalize on that. They are also bound to have specialists on many weapons (it's the military, after all) and swords will definitely be on the list. It also gives us the edge on our competition, they don't teach that shit in monasteries and assassin organizations.

Xiangyang isn't where you find crusty old veterans. You have to go to the northern and north-western borders, where the tribes are, for that. It is an important city, yes, but being ensconced safely in the middle of China right now, you'll find there well-trained soldiers but none with real experience in battle. They might have experience subjugating bandits. But you are right that it will improve your weapons skills. Not because the military is superior, but because the basic drills and techniques can be useful to you. It's a good way to bring up your weapons skills to a competent level.

A little less than I hoped for (come on, not even a gruff, one-eyed drill sergeant?), but still pretty good. I'm sure they also can offer some strength and endurance training, helping us get our 10 STR score.

If by "techniques" you mean something uber-special that utilizes neiggong, there might be a problem with that.

Dude, it's a short sword, a well-made short sword, but still a short sword. That means the techniques for other swords will work for it just as well.

To start off with, it's faster, lighter, and sharper than any short sword. That means there are certain moves that can only work with the Yuchang Sword, where other blades would be too ungainly to pull them off with. Also, there are other attributes. Which you may discover in time, if it isn't taken from you along with your balls.

Would it happen to be this Yu Chang Jian? (found this site called Wuxiapedia. Maybe useful for us in the future)

In Chapter 4 of Gu Long's "Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword", a man dressed in green offered Li Xun Huan a short but shiny blade called the "Fish Intestine Sword" and declared that it had no equal in the world. Why was this so?



The story of the "Fish Intestine Sword" took place during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) in the State of Wu.

At that time, the State of Wu was ruled by a despotic king, King Liao, whom many believed would drive the country to ruin. Among these detractors was a nobleman named Gong Ziguang, who despised the king and his tyranny.

One day, Gong's henchman, Wu Zixu, approached him with an idea: "I know of a highly-skilled warrior, whom we can hire to kill the king. The warrior's name is Zhuan Zhu." Agreeing, Gong soon met with Zhuan and told him that he (the warrior) had to find out the king's likes and dislikes in order to be successful in the assassination.

By and by, Zhuan learnt that the king liked grilled fish, especially the one from Lake Tai. After three months of painstaking practice, he perfected the dish. It was time to put the final part of the assassination plan into motion.

Gong gave Zhuan a short and slender but extremely sharp sword and said, "Hide this blade in the gut of the fish until you have a chance to slay the king."

Subsequently, Gong invited King Liao of Wu to a banquet. When Zhuan, who was disguised as a chef, presented the grilled fish to the king, he was stopped by soldiers who searched his body for hidden weapons. He passed the security check, of course, and stepped towards his target.

Suddenly, he pulled the slender sword out of the fish and stabbed the king to death. Unfortunately, he was unable to escape from the king's soldiers, who overpowered him by sheer numbers and had him slaughtered.

As time went by, the slender sword that was used to kill the despotic King Liao of Wu came to be known as the "Fish Intestine Sword", or the Yu Chang Jian, because it was hidden in the gut of a fish.

On another front, the lethal move that Zhuan Zhu used in the assassination was passed down and eventually found its way into the swordplay techniques of the E-mei School as a stance called "Zhuan Zhu Slays Liao".

Still, that's what I've tried to say: this is an exceptionally good sword, but still a sword. What's good for the gander is good for the goose, in this case.

 

[treave]

I wasn't thinking about spec ops, more along the lines of a forward scout. Sneaking up on your enemy and shanking him in the neck is a time-honored military tradition that predates Sargon. This being an outpost, I'd be surprised if they don't have some well-trained scouts around.

Xiangyang is in the middle of China.

Outpost to where?

A little less than I hoped for (come on, not even a gruff, one-eyed drill sergeant?), but still pretty good. I'm sure they also can offer some strength and endurance training, helping us get our 10 STR score.

Strength and endurance training will not boost your 8 strength. You'll need to go beyond mundane training to raise it. It's not like you can just keep raising weights day after day and suddenly be pumping a ton without breaking a sweat, y'know. The human body has its limits, and the military is not the place to surpass those limits. They are good at bringing a lot of people up to a competent level, not at making some exceptional supersoldier. If you didn't get it at the start, to go past 8 you're probably going to need to use neigong. Perhaps you may reach 9 by growth, but definitely not 10.

Would it happen to be this Yu Chang Jian? -snip- Still, that's what I've tried to say: this is an exceptionally good sword, but still a sword. What's good for the gander is good for the goose, in this case.

Have you never heard of the concept of legendary swords gaining magical properties in stories beyond their actual myth? Yes, it is that Yuchang Sword, and the story retold there is an actual Chinese myth, but hey, if you want to think that what you get from wikis will be exactly all there is to the stuff you're going to find here...

Still, it's no skin off my back. The swords are powerful and valuable, but not so powerful and ludicrous that you'd be instantly at a master level with one. I suppose in that aspect you may be right that a sword is just a sword.

 

[Baltika9]

More useful for general information, for those of us that have never heard of wuxia (like me), I do remember you saying that you'll be taking liberties with the setting, so I'm not considering that a full guide. Helps me understand what you're talking about, though.

Thanks for the clarifications, this puts the choices in a clearer perspective, I was honestly expecting to have some hardcore vets and some scouts available for training:
1A- we get access to standard military training, get our skills up to a competent level and maybe learn some tricks only a soldier would know, giving us an edge over our monastic counterparts; learn to drink like a man. Besides that, very likely to get a chance to make some Wudang contacts and hopefully get closer to a cure.
1B- Hopefully get access to Imperial and Shaolin Archives. The choice to make if you want to get more info on the sword. Get Sekkrit Police training somehow?
1C- commercial center, make contacts and money. Get into their Great Library and become more , learn poetry and read manuals on martial arts. Very likely to get shanked in a dark alley.

 

[treave]

That's probably close to the gist of it, though there's a bit more stuff going on at each place that you'll only discover when you get there. It's all about side-quests and their rewards. It's entirely possible to visit the other cities afterwards, you aren't locked into a particular path by choosing a city here.

Current tally:

Smashing Axe - AB
Jester - CB
Kashmir Slippers - AB
Tigranes - CB
Lambchop19 - CB
Nevill - CB
m4davis - AB
Esquilax - AB
ERYFKRAD - CB
Grimgravy - CB
Ifeex - CB
XenomorphII - CB
ScubaV - CB
Bloodshifter - BB
The Brazilian Slaughter - AB
Cassidy - CA
Storyfag - CB
Kipeci - CB
Azira - CB
Baltika9 - AB
LWC1996 - CB

1. A - 6, B - 1, C - 14
2. A - 1, B - 20

I'm not closing this early, of course. Perhaps in about 7, 8 hours' time.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I suppose it's possible to spread a rumour or two that completely throws of any lead that points to us having Fishgut. Then when nuns start searching, we offer to help, then win them over to our side. The harem needs a nun, after all.

 

[Baltika9]

Probably pointless by now, but here goes:

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.

Not quite. If we go to the Great Library, we will get access to manuals, that's true, but we won't actually learn how to handle weapons, just read about it. If we want a solid grounding in using them, then 1A is the way to go: the soldiers will get us competent in them (~level 3-4) , which will give us a huge advantage if we find ourselves flat-footed. Also, the proximity to Wudang is our greatest hope of actually establishing contact with them and at least getting a partial fix (hopefully enough to get us off the pills; that's a huge liability: if we ever get in a situation where we can't use them, we're done), this is all about the side quests, after all. And if we don't actively pursue the solution, I doubt it will just come to us if we sit passively. And, yeah, if we want to get stronger, we'd better go to fixing our qi.

That's probably close to the gist of it, though there's a bit more stuff going on at each place that you'll only discover when you get there. It's all about side-quests and their rewards.

Han Gestapo training is a possibility, then? What kind of weaponry does the army train people in? I'm assuming the sword-spear-bow trio.

 

[treave]

Not quite. If we go to the Great Library, we will get access to manuals, that's true, but we won't actually learn how to handle weapons, just read about it.

There's no Great Library at Luoying Manor. What you'll find is an eclectic mix of martial artists with only one thing in common; their love for books and art and music. The knowledge you may want to tap is in their heads, not in the books.

Han Gestapo training is a possibility, then? What kind of weaponry does the army train people in? I'm assuming the sword-spear-bow trio.

You probably won't see them in Xiangyang, and even if you do, you wouldn't be able to identify them, and they have no reason to be talking to you.

The main weapons are the bow, sabre, spear and sword. The weapons are also commonly paired with a shield in the military.

 

[Tigranes]

I've heard various arguments about why AA is not a terrible option, but no real arguments about why it's better than CB. Nope. CB is winning and rightly so.

 

[Baltika9]

Not quite. If we go to the Great Library, we will get access to manuals, that's true, but we won't actually learn how to handle weapons, just read about it.

There's no Great Library at Luoying Manor. What you'll find is an eclectic mix of martial artists with only one thing in common; their love for books and art and music. The knowledge you may want to tap is in their heads, not in the books.

What about tea? Doesn't sound like a gathering of warrior-poets without tea.

I've heard various arguments about why AA is not a terrible option, but no real arguments about why it's better than CB. Nope. CB is winning and rightly so.

1C is the "learn the theory of fighting" option, we'll have to persuade the scholars to actually give us the training we need. It would be better if Tigerbro were more like Senya, fighting by analysis. While our persuasion skills are decent at best, our reputation from the Songfeng episode may cause some problems there.

1A, on the other hand, is the "learn how to fight" option: they give us the training in the most commonly used weapons, so we'll be set no matter where we find ourselves; Jing strikes me as the "learn with his body" type (as ERYFKRAD said earlier), as opposed from "learn from reading" type. Again, the Songfeng Duel is a good example: we studied it, but didn't realize how to counter it until we've actually experienced it. So I think it will be a better match than 1C. The military will also probably not give a shit about our killing Junior.

Now why do you consider 1C superior?

 

[LWC1996]

CB

 

[ERYFKRAD]

C has its merits as a trade center. We'll be in a position to get more handy information from a place that attracts a lot of travellers than a military whatsit hosting transients.

 

[Baltika9]

And what kind of information are you hoping to find there?

A. Xiangyang City. A vital fortress city overlooking the Han river, it is run by a military-minded prefect. Wudang Mountain is a few days’ travel from Xiangyang.

Sound like a pretty important place, actually.

 

[Tigranes]

See? "A sounds like a pretty important place." So what makes it more informative than an important place that is also a trade centre as opposed to a military outpost? Most of your arguments - or rather, rebuttals - are basically "hey A isn't that bad, it's good too, sort of"; otherwise, they are based on pretty fanciful projections of getting some access to Wudang secret knowledge or, I don't know, finding Tang Protocol and getting some spec ops training.

The argument for C has already been well rehearsed. It is the easiest place to get lost in the crowd. It is the easiest place to hide or pawn off the sword. It is the easiest place to get in touch with a variety of people, information, fighting styles, connections, possessors of odd knowledge. It is a place that is not necessarily inferior in fighting training or knowledge given our unorthodox trajectory; rather, it suits us best.

The time to go to Wudang was before going unorthodox, or before making us a nationally reknowned 'guy you don't want in your school' dude.

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

I agree with most of what you are saying, but I think it is too soon to say that we have ruined our chances of going orthodox already. We could always work back toward the other direction.

If Anything I think that studying would help our orthodoxy. I'd change my vote, but it seems pretty set anyway.

 

[Baltika9]

Actually, the crux of my case for 1A is this:

1C is the "learn the theory of fighting" option, we'll have to persuade the scholars to actually give us the training we need. It would be better if Tigerbro were more like Senya, fighting by analysis. While our persuasion skills are decent at best, our reputation from the Songfeng episode may cause some problems there.

1A, on the other hand, is the "learn how to fight" option: they give us the training in the most commonly used weapons, so we'll be set no matter where we find ourselves; Jing strikes me as the "learn with his body" type, as opposed from "learn from reading" type. Again, the Songfeng Duel is a good example: we studied it, but didn't realize how to counter it until we've actually experienced it. So I think it will be a better match than 1C. The military will also probably not give a shit
about our killing Junior.

Every option here has an advantage, what matters is that we take that advantage.
That being said, 1A will teach us how to actually fight better than 1C, which will teach us the theory of fighting. Xu Jing is much closer to the "instinct" side rather than the "analysis" side.
You guys are also overestimating the advantage of the manor, it's not the Great Library:

There's no Great Library at Luoying Manor. What you'll find is an eclectic mix of martial artists with only one thing in common; their love for books and art and music. The knowledge you may want to tap is in their heads, not in the books.

So we're unlikely to find info on the sword (which we're not pawning) and every technique in existence.
Sure, there aren't any veteran scouts around, but they can give us an extremely solid base in the most common weapons in the world. Military drills are very effective, which is why they were instituted in the first place. And, yeah, hanging around Wudang will definitely give us options to establish contact.

 

[Nevill]

we're unorthodox as fuck (-80!)

I'd like to point out that there is no scale to measure orthodoxy with, unlike reputation. It is not capped.
So -80 might still mean "slightly unorthodox". It took us 3 actions to get there, none of which were particularly infamous. If it takes 3 good deeds done properly to get back, I can't call it "unorthodox as fuck".

 

[Kipeci]

Wow, we did go up in the ranks for swordsmanship pretty fast, I didn't notice that! Thanks for pointing that out.