Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[lightbane]

Now that we have an oddly-shaped but effective regeneration machine, perhaps the outcome of these "interrogation sessions" might not be as necessarily lethal as you may expect (Rin included). Of course, only treave time will tell.

Brunnen's Slimes: +50 (Friendly)

Hey look, a faction that does not hate us yet! What's more, the Adventurers reaction towards us hasn't changed in spite of recent events.



Either case, I believe that implies Brunnen will not only survive the reinforcements in one way or another, but that we'll see her again at some point in the future, be it because she has a quest favor to ask, or because she wants to check how her children are doing.

Random thoughts: It would be amusing that by associating so much with non-humans, Erdrick eventually forgot he was a human himself at some point. Although, perhaps that would be too grimdark for this setting.

Also, what if the reason the Angels are near-extinct is because most of them were female but had an extremely volatile, violent, passionate and possessive personality that was way more exaggerated than their male counterparts? And would Erdrick consider that a good thing or a bad one?

 

[Grimgravy]

A
D>A

 

[Nevill]

Hey look, a faction that does not hate us yet!

Give it time... give it time.

It would be amusing that by associating so much with non-humans, Erdrick eventually forgot he was a human himself at some point.

I don't think it affects his decisions much. One of the themes is that monsters are 'not so different' from humans. A dryad cares about the sapling first and foremost, Petze and the two goblins have their own love triangle going, demons have their own families etc.

If you think of what we refer to as one's 'humanity' - humans do not have a monopoly on it. Both Zayan and Rin are not humans, but do not behave visibly different from ones.

So I don't know what 'forgetting that Erd was once human' would involve. I don't see him giving humans preferential treatment as he is. They are just one of many species he has to live among - and it just so happens they are the dominating one.

BTW, I'll switch to 2D for an offensive upgrade. Our m. def is at A++ rank with the buffs already.

Tally

Karwelas C E>D
Nevill B A
Kz3r0 B C
lightbane B>C A>D
Azira B A
Kipeci A A
Lambchop19 C>B C>A
archaen C A
TOME A C
asxetos B>C D>E
Jester B A
ScubaV B C>A
Baltika9 C D
Storyfag A A
Elfberserker A D
Grimgravy A D>A

A - 5
B - 6
C - 5

A - 6 (8)
C - 4 (2)
D - 5 (6)
E - 1 (0)

 

[lightbane]

From my point of view, Erd forgetting his humanity would involve becoming more "angelic" in his behaviour, which would mean becoming more bloodthirsty and possibly aloof (in one way or another). Which is something that's kinda happening already.

Fortunately, his sloth and his perverted nature will never allow to fully lose himself into becoming an "angel-kin" and therefore turn into a "KILL! MAIM! BURN!!" mindless beast. Probably.

Either way, if dryads do not have a "collective memory" of some sort, I don't know what are we supposed to do with an infant dryad. Oh well, I'm sure Mercant will figure out a way to gain something from this situation, as he keeps doing so far.

In any case, I wonder if after we deal with the soon-to-be corpse prisoner we'll have a chance to go back to Methuss. We still should have more than enough time for a last expedition and maybe something else, before the month passes and the "adventurous invaders" come. There's also the issue with the Bandits, who we still have to contact sooner or later.

Lastly, I'll update my second vote to 2. A>D. The best defense is to overkill the enemy before they can act. Too bad my queries about if physical techniques can be "overcharged" with mana was ignored.

Random question: Would it be possible somehow to lose the innate passive bonuses our angelic nature provides? I mean the moderate increase to Mana and Magical Defense. Unless something drastic happens like our Halo being destroyed or being hit by a powerful anti-magic spell, they seem to be always active, even if for some reason we didn't want to appear to have so much magical resistance.

 

[treave]

Too bad my queries about if physical techniques can be "overcharged" with mana was ignored.

If I'm not tagged, I generally assume it's a question meant for discussion with the others, not something you need me to clarify. Converting mana into aura and using aura to strengthen physical techniques is how it works, but at the moment the conversion is capped by the low level of your battle aura technique.

Random question: Would it be possible somehow to lose the innate passive bonuses our angelic nature provides? I mean the moderate increase to Mana and Magical Defense. Unless something drastic happens like our Halo being destroyed or being hit by a powerful anti-magic spell, they seem to be always active, even if for some reason we didn't want to appear to have so much magical resistance.

You can always roll on the floor clutching your knee pretending that you're hurt. Erdrick isn't fond of actually getting hurt if he can help it.

 

[Nevill]

If I'm not tagged, I generally assume it's a question meant for discussion with the others

Ok.

Then I will repeat my question about the effects of S rank in m. defense. Does it mean the medium-level spells will just bounce off of us?

Does it influence the chances to become affected with a debilitating magical effect (deaf/mute/blind/stunned)? So we can grab, say, lightning elementals and not feel a shock? Or is it just resistance to magical damage?

If we weren't an angel, would we be vulnerable to Quekquek with a magic defense of that magnitude? Or was his poison not magical in nature and thus would not be affected by it?

Zhang Jue was described as a B+++ melee strength fighter, so I assumed S rank to be something ridiculously powerful.

Also, do priests use divine magic in this setting? Does divine magic differ from arcane one? Or are we not supposed to know that yet, having not encountered many examples of the former?

 

[treave]

Then I will repeat my question about the effects of S rank in m. defense. Does it mean the medium-level spells will just bounce off of us?

You'll need to test it to find out. It depends on the specific spell used, but in general anyone with a lower magical attack rank will be less able to harm you. At roughly one rank lower, the spell's effectivity is cut by 25%, at two ranks lower, 50%, at three ranks lower 75%, and four ranks lower they will likely have no effect on you.

Does it influence the chances to become affected with a debilitating magical effect (deaf/mute/blind/stunned)? So we can grab, say, lightning elementals and not feel a shock? Or is it just resistance to magical damage?

It influences all negative magical effects.

If we weren't an angel, would we be vulnerable to Quekquek with a magic defense of that magnitude? Or was his poison not magical in nature and thus would not be affected by it?

His poison was not created by magic but via chemistry. If it was created by magic, your ability to tank it depends on Quekquek's magical attack rank. Of course, if it was created by magic, your Spellshield should be able to consider it an attack and stop it without your magical defense coming into the equation.

Also, do priests use divine magic in this setting? Does divine magic differ from arcane one? Or are we not supposed to know that yet, having not encountered many examples of the former?

Divine magic runs off the same basis with mana and the like, but usually only those in the gods' favour are able to learn their spells. That means that it's possible for a cleric to multiclass to a wizard, but rarely the other way around. You have experience with divine magic from your world but not this one's.

 

[lightbane]

Well, the closest thing we have encountered to divine magic is this buffing spell:

[...]There, the wolves are flinging themselves in vain against a barrier that the mages have erected. An anti-lightning barrier? No, after some careful observation, you realize that there is also a physical component to it. Before the wolves can get together for another try, small pillars of earth erupt from the ground, hurling the wolves away. These begin raising in defense of the humans, disrupting the wolves whenever they try to attack. One of the mages raises his staff high and shouts out, “The fires of Asshimar burn eternal; Bountless Forges of the Second Divine Finger!” As one, all of the humans’ armor and weapons begin to glow a faint, pale blue.

Of course, for the Barzham arcane and divine magic may be the same thing. Incidentally, they seem to worship Gundam robots (assuming my Google-fu technique hasn't failed me).
Then there's the odd priest Erd encountered at Methuss, which seemed to radiate an aura of fear, but it is unclear if he was human to begin with.

 

[Nevill]

“The fires of Asshimar burn eternal; Bountless Forges of the Second Divine Finger!”

I never actually noticed that. Five Gods - five Divine Fingers?

Which one of them is the Middle Divine Finger, I wonder?

Incidentally, they seem to worship Gundam robots (assuming my Google-fu technique hasn't failed me)

Huh? I thought those were demons! Just search for Barbatos.

 

[treave]

Incidentally, they seem to worship Gundam robots (assuming my Google-fu technique hasn't failed me).

Also Google Methuss, Galbaldy and Dijeh while you're at it.

 

[lightbane]

If I'm not tagged, I generally assume it's a question meant for discussion with the others, not something you need me to clarify.

Alright treave. Let me try again then:

Spoiler

Does Barbatos' Gauntlet increase our Physical Attack stat upon being summoned, or does it "just" count as a magic weapon for purposes of damage and resistances? The brutal effect it had on Kek makes me think it's the former. Also, can physical techniques be used in an anti-magic circle and other similar effects?

Now, about Barbatos himself: can he technically take over Mercant's body if he wanted to, or is he not strong enough to force his will on us? It could be handy in specific and dangerous situations, such as if our character was knocked out and about to be killed. Of course, it is probably not a good idea to try.

That reminds me: what does Barbatos know about Angels? Since he's clearly an experienced traveller, he must know something about these (doubly so considering he's a literal part of Erdrick's body). So, can Mercant ask him what he knows about these? Surely the average angel behaves quite differently from Erd. More importantly: has he seen a female Angel at some point?


Lastly, what does Erdrick know about "common" demon traits? If Angels are immune to chemical attacks, I'm certain Demons have a natural resistance of some sort as well (possibly against venom and fire, I bet).

 

[treave]

Does Barbatos' Gauntlet increase our Physical Attack stat upon being summoned, or does it "just" count as a magic weapon for purposes of damage and resistances? The brutal effect it had on Kek makes me think it's the former.

The latter.

Also, can physical techniques be used in an anti-magic circle and other similar effects?

Theoretically, yes. Anti-magic circles disrupt the step where mana is used to cast magic, not the flow of mana itself.

Now, about Barbatos himself: can he technically take over Mercant's body if he wanted to, or is he not strong enough to force his will on us? It could be handy in specific and dangerous situations, such as if our character was knocked out and about to be killed. Of course, it is probably not a good idea to try.

He can't take over anything. The only thing he can do is nag you and impart techniques to you. Everything else is either a property of the gauntlet or your own strength.

That reminds me: what does Barbatos know about Angels? Since he's clearly an experienced traveller, he must know something about these (doubly so considering he's a literal part of Erdrick's body). So, can Mercant ask him what he knows about these? Surely the average angel behaves quite differently from Erd.

They're secretive, mysterious, blood-thirsty, sadistic and terribly powerful. Also not very smart. He doesn't think you are a true angel, only something that appears to be one, and he has little opinion on that. As long as you walk the Way of the Fist, nothing else matters to him.

More importantly: has he seen a female Angel at some point?

Of course.

Lastly, what does Erdrick know about "common" demon traits? If Angels are immune to chemical attacks, I'm certain Demons have a natural resistance of some sort as well (possibly against venom and fire, I bet).

Back in his world it differed from demon to demon. Usually they tend to have high resistance to charm, hypnosis or other mental attacks.

 

[treave]

Final tally:

A - 5
B - 7
C - 4

A - 6
B - 0
C - 4
D - 5
E - 1

Post-flip:

A - 5
B - 8
C - 3

A - 8
B - 0
C - 2
D - 6
E - 0

 

[Azira]

 

[lightbane]

They're secretive, mysterious, blood-thirsty, sadistic and terribly powerful. Also not very smart. He doesn't think you are a true angel, only something that appears to be one, and he has little opinion on that. As long as you walk the Way of the Fist, nothing else matters to him.

So Angels are indeed former bioweapons/Space Marines (Chaotic ones though). On the other hand, presumably female Angels exist, so it is not all that bad.

Brobatos continues to be awesome in any case.

 

[treave]

Downtime

“No, send him over to Zayan. Ask her to get something useful out of this.” You jerk your thumb dismissively over at Zayan’s laboratory somewhere within the dome.

“Fine.” Puffing her cheeks and looking somewhat disappointed, Rin makes the arrangements. You step over the struggling prisoner and continue to look around Grahferde. The towers are almost complete: seven of them, ringing the village. They had been placed in the ideal locations following the leylines that ran underneath this land. Besides serving as a vantage point, they would eventually form a strong defensive core for the village when upgraded. Or so Zayan said.

Returning to your room, you note down the events of the past few days. Your primary goal, which is to cure your body, has not been advanced by much. True, you found out that an aphrodisiac approach was unlikely to work, but you would have much preferred finding an approach that would work. At least you managed to return with some new slime companions and establish a supply route within their forest.

“Not a total loss,” you mutter half reluctantly, half hopefully. Striking out some scribbles in your notes, you continue to organize your thoughts.

Rin managed to return with a sapling from the dryads. You are unsure how much help it could be, but nurturing it should be one of the village’s priorities from now on. A bit of water every day is not a hard investment to make. Now, what comes next?

Out of the three major leads you had started with, one has been pursued to completion and the other is lost until you manage to find another colony of dryads. That leaves the main temple in Yuiria, the likeliest place you would find an angel provided that the rumours are true. Thinking about Yuiria, you are also reminded that the Adventurer’s Guild are organizing an expedition at the kingdom’s behest.

You notice a couple of letters on your desk. Opening them up, you find reports. One is from Fortunio, and the other is from Zayan.

Fortunio’s writing is horrible, his sentences consisting of thick, scar-like slashes that seem peppered about the paper at random. You peer at it for a while before remembering that you are not very good at reading this world’s language yet. Sighing, you call for Runde to come aid you with deciphering the messages.

Unfortunately for Fortunio, he seems to be in a slight spot of trouble. After the knights got tired of chasing the other bandits around, Fortunio thought it would be a great opportunity to recruit all of them at once. Unfortunately, a newcomer had come muscling into his turf, some bandit chief that hailed from Byarlant. This bandit chief had soundly defeated Fortunio in combat and put a halt on his ambitions as the Bandit King. Runde begins to read out Fortunio’s grievances against his foe and you wave at him to stop.

“I don’t really need to know all that. Give me the important information, Runde,” you say.

“Important information?”

“Yes, does Fortunio mention if this bandit chief is a woman? Or if it is a man, does he have a daughter?”

Runde tells you that although Fortunio liberally refers to this newcomer as ‘bitch’ in the letter, he is uncertain whether it refers to the bandit’s sex. No offspring are mentioned.

“Oh well. Toss that to one side, then. I’ll decide what to do with it later,” you shrug.

Next up is Zayan’s report. It is rather simpler and neater. She informs you that she has continued to work on the foundation of several projects, but also sees that she should remind you to obtain a source of magnatite as soon as possible. In her own words, her “unparalleled scientific genius” cannot be displayed in its full glory without more of that precious ore. If you supply her with more, she can begin having the golems construct more of their own: this would grow your golem workforce by leaps and bounds.

You rest your chin on your palm and begin to think. You are fairly certain that Ontoglia is your best shot at gathering a large amount of magnatite in a short amount of time. That would mean returning to the mining town… but a deal would not be an easy thing to make. Do you actually need the magnatite urgently? Zayan’s research could wait until things are more settled, and she could busy herself with theoretical play for now.

“Alright.” You clap your hands together.

***

You should delegate once in a while: why should you do everything? Aren’t you the Shining One, God of the Goblins… well, whatever it is they are calling you nowadays. Or maybe you think they are too incompetent to handle anything without your presence. That is also one possible way of looking at things…

(Free-form assignment of characters in your desired combination. If it doesn't work out, I will make several teams and return to a more conventional way of voting)

Locations and tasks:

Yuiria – Investigate the Grand Temple for angels and visit the Adventurer’s Guild for news on the expedition.

Virtue Forest – Join Fortunio’s camp and parlay with the new bandits.

Ontoglia – Drop by the Governor’s mansion to broker a deal for more magnatite.

Grahferde – Be on standby in case anything happens.


Underlings Subordinates Comrades:
Rin
Aria
Arlin
Lucy
Zayan
Runde
Petze
Robust
Boss
Blue
Green
Purple
Pink
Orange
Red

***

As for you, you decide to:

A. Go to Yuiria.

B. Go to Fortunio’s camp.

C. Go to Ontoglia.

D. Stay in Grahferde and take a well-deserved vacation.

 

[Nevill]

Oh, oh, a plan!

Unfortunately, a newcomer had come muscling into his turf, some bandit chief that hailed from Byarlant.

Byarlant again? These guys are everywhere!

Tentative desire to put Rin in charge of Fortunio situation. Corpse piles would rise to the heavens, but it's not like this is a situation that needs precision to sort out... or is it?

Maybe someone else to accompany her and to temper her, ah, urges. Arlin, perhaps? Or hell, even Lucy! The cow seems to understand what we want much better than a demoness does.

I can't think of many people to send to Yuiria. I'd like to go there personally. Monsters can't enter the temeple, and of the humans we only have Aria and Arlin, and I'd rather not risk them.

I wonder if the old priest from Erise is an option, as a companion.

Who to send to Ontoglia, then? Aria and Arlin are the only non-monsters in our party, well, and Zayan. Isn't it dangerous for her to show up there, though? The governor may be in a bit of a bind, and the Prince learned of us flashing the royal signet straight away.

How's that?
Fortunio - Rin and Lucy. Lucy as a commander, to keep an eye on the princess.
Ontoglia - Aria, Arlin. Maybe a good cop/bad cop aproach can work, though I'd rather give them more resourses to negotiate with. I'd send Zayan is she kept out of sight.
Yuiria - we and Erise priest.

Any monsters - slimes or goblins should either stay on guard, or come to Fortunio's camp. Can't see how useful they would be in human cities.

 

[treave]

I wonder if the old priest from Erise is an option, as a companion.

If you had taken Erise officially under your wing he would be.

 

[Nevill]

If you had taken Erise officially under your wing he would be.

He can't be paid or persuaded otherwise? We seem to have some money stashed 'cause we were cheap and didn't buy anything for Rin and Aria, and Erise owes us.

“I cannot carry all of this off by myself,” you explain. “Consider it an investment in the village’s reconstruction. In return, I may call upon you for future favours.”

“If you put it that way…” He nods. “Very well."

Can't we put our charisma to work?

The priest might be able to enter the temple, or at least know something about the layout, the other priests, or the cermons (when they are served and whether there is anyone around at certain times)... he might know things that are relevant to this situatiuon. Is there no way to make use of this without assimilating the whole village?

 

[treave]

You could try, but he is not on good terms with the main temple either. He didn't exactly get sent here because he was good buddies with them. Thanks to your previous choices you do not have enough influence over him in particular unless you want to force the issue with threats of violence visited upon the village. That can be arranged.

At any rate, if you are going to Yuiria, infiltrating the temple will have to be done unseen. A change of face does not rid you of the need to cover your halo and wings and you would certainly look out of place in there. It's not a place you can walk or talk your way into at the moment. Bringing him along does not help.

As for just gathering info from the village priest, that is a lot more feasible than taking him along.

 

[Nevill]

You could try, but he is not on good terms with the main temple either. He didn't exactly get sent here because he was good buddies with them.

Yeah, he got exiled. But he was a priest in the temple, was he not?

Thanks to your previous choices you do not have enough influence over him unless you want to force the issue with threats of violence visited upon the village.

Do we not? We have an agreement with the chief of the village to call upon him for 'future favors'. I thought this wasn't anything big, and that it might qualify.

Hell, we saved their lives, and all we asked in return was a cow. That would be mighty ungrateful of them to turn their backs to our requests.

In any case, this in only relevant if he and his knowledge can help us. I assumed the layout of the temple and which hours it is attended at, or which rooms are likely to be occupied to be something that would help infiltrate it, yes. Religious customs is something that does not change quickly, so we expecting it to be true even after all these years might not be too far-fetched. Not to mention learning more of their religion and what kind of powers we might be dealing with.

If he can't help us with that, it's all a moot point.

 

[treave]

Yeah, he got exiled. But he was a priest in the temple, was he not?

Guess who's not supposed to be there after being exiled?

Do we not? We have an agreement with the chief of the village to call upon him for 'future favors'. I thought this isn't something big of a request, and that it might qualify.

The village chief doesn't control the priest. The priest is his own man.

 

[Nevill]

Guess who's not supposed to be there after being exiled?

Yeah, ok. If information is all we can get out of him, that's fine by me.

 

[treave]

Interlude: Stories from the Past I

"Listen closely to my words. What does it mean to be a hero? A hero is one that is humble, yet at the same time his heart burns with passion. To be gentle yet strong. Ah, to be exact, strength does not mean only that found in the point of a blade. That is mere barbarism. A hero loves men, the people, and peace..."

"So, you mean a hero is gay?" snorts young Erdrick, sitting cross-legged on the temple floor.

He earns a whack on his head for his troublesome remark. The old priest glares at him and sighs. "Why would the Goddesses pick..."

"That's blasphemy, old man," says Erdrick. "The Goddesses pick who they pick, right?"

"I... suppose you are correct. Even if I may not understand their ways, they have always had our wellbeing at heart. Now, boy, the path in front of you is clear. Take this blade, go forth and fight evil."

"There's a better way of going about things, you know," grins the boy. "Look, your way of thinking is really stale. I'm a prospective Hero right? The potential Chosen One?"

"Yes, which is why you should take this blade-"

"Which is why I should sell this blade," says Erdrick triumphantly.

The priest's jaw drops. "W-W-W-W-"

"I know, I know, it is a shocking and daring move. But imagine the price this blade could fetch. Imagine the money you could make!"

"Money will not defeat the Demon Lord!"

"Ah ah ah, that is where you are wrong. See, with the amount of money I could get from selling this nice Sword of... haha, Destiny, what a name, I can hire an army of adventurers and focus my divine blessings on training them. With the reputation I gain from their victories, I can leverage it to make even more money through multiple merchandising opportunities, with which I can have each of my adventurers hire even more adventurers, and train them even further. Finally, once we are at the Demon Lord's doorstep, they can go and chip away at that tough old demonic fart until he is near death so I can stroll in and deal the finishing blow. See? Now do you understand why the Goddesses picked me to be their ch-mmmmmmf-"

Erdrick does not get to finish delivering his impassioned proposal. A large hand clamps over his mouth. He looks up: it is Rennock. The bearded old knight grunts an apology to the priest. "I am sorry, High Priest Ardunnos. He did not take well to being chosen as a candidate. It looks like he has not adapted to the responsibilities and duties of being a hero candidate yet."

"Rennock. This boy is your responsibility. The trials are but a week away and so far it looks like no lesson has taken root in his head," scowls the most important clergyman in the world.

"Y-Yes, I will make certain he is ready for the Hero trials, Your Holiness," bows Rennock, his very being the essence of apology.

As he marches you out of the temple, Rennock sighs heavily yet again. "Erdrick."

"Yes?"

"You need to grow up and learn how the world works..."

And so he did.

 

[Nevill]

Anyway.

No one but us has any connections to the Adventurer's Guild. Well, us and Arlin. We were the only one at the banquet. Coincidentally, Arlin is a persona non-grata there, and he can't hide his face. That makes us the only one who can go. Can't send Zayan (lol), can't send Rin (demon princess diplomacy didn't work once so far), can't send the monsters.

And infiltrating the temple for anyone else is suicidal. Hell, it's nearly suicidal even for us. Still, the Angel Liberation Front beckons...

That makes our negotiation options with Ontoglia very limited. The only one who can talk in our party, besides us, is Arlin. Damn, that makes me question whether we were right to not enslave Talan.

The question is if a boy is going to be taken seriously, and what can he negotiate with on our behalf. Maybe sending Rin to kidnap the governor's daughter wouldn't be too bad... but there is a danger that she 'forgets' that human neck does not rotate at 360 degrees.

Who has good candidates for some governor diplomacy?