[LP CYOA] Epic

[Arpad]

C

 

[Esquilax]

Restoration could be useful for reviving our best lieutenants and greatest scientists and thinkers. Body Manipulation would also be nice to make us into the godly looking fellow we deserve to be (I see us as a Conan type).

Exactly, physical prowess is important here. Ean is a warrior, so he shouldn't neglect the skills that gave him so much success in his life before.

A

 

[anus_pounder]

Oho hey. Doesn't Zoroastrianism or some religion in the persian empire (which i assume is not yet formed ?) worship fire or something ? fire would be very useful in making an impression, imo. But I'll vote

B.

for now. willing to flip-flop if someone comes up with an argument.

 

[oscar]

Restoration could be useful for reviving our best lieutenants and greatest scientists and thinkers. Body Manipulation would also be nice to make us into the godly looking fellow we deserve to be (I see us as a Conan type).

Exactly, physical prowess is important here. Ean is a warrior, so he shouldn't neglect the skills that gave him so much success in his life before.

A

I meant Conan in appearance. A grey-eyed Aryan warrior-king.

 

[TOME]

B. Mind over matter.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

A

 

[Smashing Axe]

A

I want us to be a mighty warrior. Achilles/Hercules style.

Edit: Oh fuck... are we Gilgamesh?!

 

[XenomorphII]

B

 

[SerratedBiz]

B / C. What use is mighty strength if someone is too far away for you to use it? First you need a ranged power or you're the proverbial big dumb warrior who always gets paralyzed by the evil wizard in the end-game.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Mighty strength and super speed is what I inferred, SerratedBiz.

 

[newcomer]

And also consider this: If we start shooting fire from our hand & converting people to fire paganism (reference to a certain LP...), what would Sargon think of Ean? If I was Sargon, I will think that Ean is either:

a. Politically dangerous entity (read: leaning more towards the to-be-traitors Naram & Shulgi)
b. The person blessed by Enkil the power of immortality & the right to govern over the universe (which is somewhat true), thus uncovering our lies
c. Both of them

As the king's second hand, we have to be powerful, but APPEAR LESS POWERFUL THAN THE KING, else the king will fear that we will take over his position

 

[eklektyk]

B moar stealth less flashy
what you cant see kills beter

 

[ScubaV]

As I see it A is probably more useful in the short and medium-term. We can really impress people with physical feats and lead armies into battle. However, if and when the LP advances to modern and futuristic times I think telekinesis will be more useful than physical power. Imagine smashing battleships (of the naval or space variety) together with our mind. We can't exactly run over and smash them with our fists. Plus telekinesis will have short-term value as well.

It'll be kind of ironic if B wins, leveling up telepathy and telekinesis when we chose a warrior archetype to start with. Fuck it. B.

 

[Esquilax]

As I see it A is probably more useful in the short and medium-term. We can really impress people with physical feats and lead armies into battle. However, if and when the LP advances to modern and futuristic times I think telekinesis will be more useful than physical power. Imagine smashing battleships (of the naval or space variety) together with our mind. We can't exactly run over and smash them with our fists. Plus telekinesis will have short-term value as well.

It'll be kind of ironic if B wins, leveling up telepathy and telekinesis when we chose a warrior archetype to start with. Fuck it. B.

You're basing the choice of which power we'll take now based on circumstances that would be favourable to us in 6,500 years. This is some pretty goddamn long-term planning if I ever saw it. I find it pretty implausible from a character standpoint as well - nobody does that sort of thing. Ean is an ass-kicker, he wants to improve his skill at ass-kicking.

Just as importantly, improving what we're naturally best at will protect us and allow Ean to stay "alive" so that he can learn more powers in the long run. I don't see telekinesis being able to do that. Our powers are still in their infancy too, so there's no telling what the "physical" tree of powers will advance to in the long-run. I could easily see the ability to shrug off wounds, revive quickly upon being killed, and stay alive in a vacuum being possible

 

[CappenVarra]

A)

We're in the period when physical prowess will be necessary, will get us into legends without obvious alien influence, and which fits our character background. Not that he'll be a brawn-all-the-way kind of guy, but what better time to pick up some physical power than in glorious battle? And we already have mind reading lvl1

Also, damn I love the Bronze Age; more RPGs should be set then

 

[XenomorphII]

Well I actually went with B because it seems to me that something like that would be harder to detect for normal people (not real sure how they would react to the super powers) and it might be more likely to catch our two "friends" back home off guard (as they no doubt see us as a big dumb brute).

 

[ScubaV]

As I see it A is probably more useful in the short and medium-term. We can really impress people with physical feats and lead armies into battle. However, if and when the LP advances to modern and futuristic times I think telekinesis will be more useful than physical power. Imagine smashing battleships (of the naval or space variety) together with our mind. We can't exactly run over and smash them with our fists. Plus telekinesis will have short-term value as well.

It'll be kind of ironic if B wins, leveling up telepathy and telekinesis when we chose a warrior archetype to start with. Fuck it. B.

You're basing the choice of which power we'll take now based on circumstances that would be favourable to us in 6,500 years. This is some pretty goddamn long-term planning if I ever saw it. I find it pretty implausible from a character standpoint as well - nobody does that sort of thing. Ean is an ass-kicker, he wants to improve his skill at ass-kicking.

Just as importantly, improving what we're naturally best at will protect us and allow Ean to stay "alive" so that he can learn more powers in the long run. I don't see telekinesis being able to do that. Our powers are still in their infancy too, so there's no telling what the "physical" tree of powers will advance to in the long-run. I could easily see the ability to shrug off wounds, revive quickly upon being killed, and stay alive in a vacuum being possible

What can I say? In games with no respec I'll take short-term pain for long-term gain. Fortunately, it's Ean who has to wait 6500 years not me. I see your point, but I'll stick with B. We'll see which option wins.

 

[Kipeci]

In the event of that battleship issue, It could be that unlocking some of our physical powers could enable us to run over those waters and smash them with our bare hands. We have thousands of years to develop our skills if we don't screw up.

 

[SerratedBiz]

Mighty strength and super speed is what I inferred, SerratedBiz.

Despite the fact that I used the same adjective as you, that wasn't actually a follow-up to your post.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

A) Physical strength is much more useful for us now.
How long will we remain in the middle east?

 

[Sergiu64]

A

 

[treave]

Results:
A 9
B 6
C 3

A takes it. SerratedBiz went B/C, so I added his vote to the highest between those two by the end of the tally.

 

[treave]

Chapter 1.7: Memphis Falls

As you smash the orb with your sickle sword, the old man's broken body drops to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The black tendrils shrink and evaporate, and soon there is no hint they ever existed. You turn to look for the king, but he is no longer there. King Sargon, in fact, had staggered off to get another chariot and plunge back into the battle while you were occupied with the monster. He should be able to take it from here. You stoop to take care of your wounds... and realize that they do not hurt anymore. In fact, they have begun to scar, fresh pink flesh growing where the tendrils had eaten away at your body.

Guess we forgot to mention that, did we?
This is just another one of the nifty tricks you can pull.
Congratulations, by having us with you, you won't be able to die!

"You mean... I'm immortal?"

To just about everything I'd say.
But don't get too eager about it, when you get stabbed it still hurts like a bitch.
It's a small thing, really, so just think of it like a... a bonus or something, for letting us stay in you.

It's a bit too much for you to process. Immortality? To live forever? This was something you never sought - you don't know what to do with eternal life. Your pleasures in life were simple, not grand. But you suppose that you should deal with this one step at a time. For now, you have to find out just what that thing was.

You know the stars, right? Up in the sky? Well, that thing came from beyond those stars.
It's not the only one of its kind. They tend to gather in seats of civilization.
When you get a lot of people in one place, power tends to accumulate there. Political, military, economic... you get the idea.

You don't really get the idea, but you let the voices continue.

So these things will creep in and try to take over all that power.
Of course, given how damned ugly they are, they need to hide in hosts, disguising their presence.
There's many types of them out there, but they all share the same desire: to lord over humans as you would over cattle.

If they gather in seats of power, you have to wonder: were there any of them in the royal capital of Akkad?

Probably. They are not always at the top of the hierarchy, though they will try to infest those who wield power.

You look at the old man. His head-gear and kohl markings indicate that he is a member of the priestly caste. Definitely an influential member of Egyptian society. If there was more like him in Sumeria...

You shake your head. There were more important things to take care off right now. You pick up an abandoned spear from the ground and head back into battle.

***

Memphis falls that very night. The royal family had long fled the city though - the servants indicated that the pharoah and his kin had ran for the sea. Over the victory feast in the palace's great hall, Sargon lamented that he would not be able to strangle the pharoah to death with his bare hands. He has made no mention to you about the thing in the desert so far, and so you do not bring up the issue. As you made your way around the hall, the men praised your name to the gods; your heroic rescue of the right flank had endeared you to them greatly.

Before you could take your place besides King Sargon at the table, a messenger walks in and kneels before him.

"Hail King Sargon the Great, brave conqueror of Ebla and Phoenicia, and now Egypt, and places many more. I bring word from his loyal son, King Rimush, priest-king of the Akkadian Empire."

Sargon's brow darkened at those words. "And what word would my prince bring me?" The messenger gave a slight smirk of satisfaction, as if irritating Sargon amused him.

"King Rimush hereby decrees: The gods of old have sent a divine message that they have stepped down to make way for a new chief of the heavens. As defender of the faith, the king of the Akkadian Empire must obey and worship he whom the gods have chosen. King Rimush is aware that his brave and venerable father might feel disinclined to change his worship at this time of his life, but the people of Akkad and all of Sumer are also loyal subjects of the gods, and cannot be ruled by one who would disobey them. King Rimush would gladly lay his crown before King Sargon should he return and pay homage to the new god. If not, in a token of his good faith, he will leave the barbarian lands ruled by King Sargon unmolested, and hopes they can get along as good neighbours from this day onwards."

Treacherous son, who would've thought that?

A loud roar of rage erupts from around the hall. The men were clearly disapproving of Rimush's actions. Sargon chuckled. "That is a lot of words for such a simple message." He sprang from his chair, his speed belying his age, and sunk his dagger into the messenger's chest. The messenger expires with a surprised gasp, his hands clutching at the king's cloak. Kicking the corpse to the ground, King Sargon gives you an order, "Ean, take his head and wrap it up. After we are rested and fed, I will be returning to discipline my son... and Shulgi."

***

A. You return to Sumeria with the king. You are interested in finding out what Shulgi and Naram have been up to while you were away. Furthermore, the voices suspect there may be more of that thing you fought in the desert hiding out in Akkad - if true, it would be best to root them out.

B. You remain behind as governor of Egypt and the lands stretching between it and Sumer. Sargon leaves you with five hundred men to hold the peace while he goes to bring his wayward son to heel. While developing Memphis and consolidating your - well, technically the king's - rule, you may also find out more about the black tendriled creature that had been lurking here.

C. You flee into the wilderness. Ruling and politics and treacherous princes are not your cup of tea.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Let's stay with the army whose loyalty we've inspired.

A.

 

[oscar]

A