Inactive [LP CYOA] Overlord

[Nevill]

B - oh, I know this one! Unlike most heroes, Storm Spirit's ability to do damage is largely contingent on his mana pool and regen, due to his ultimate ability Gigaball lightning's lack of cooldown and the low cooldown on his other active abilities!

Two more minor increases in Mana, and we improve our Mana rank, which would allow us to:
- Summon 2 Thunder Dragons instead of one, for us and Rin. That should be quite terrifying.
- Improve our wolf/tiger summoning spells, though the additional Dragon would still remain the largest bonus.
- Improve the duration of Battle Premonition by 25% (compensating for the lack of reflexes).
- Summon a Doppleganger with a rank C Mana, allowing it to cast more scary spells.
I think that this stat increase is the most meaningful out of the bunch.

Now that I think about it, I am uneasy about the A2 combination. The goblins are deathly loyal to us, but wouldn't A1 make more sense if you want Empire-building? Thus far, the human villagers see us as a powerful mage and adventurer, but we'd need to convince them that we are a whole hell of a lot more powerful than that if we want them to swear allegiance to us.

They are already convinced that we are more powerful than anything that can bother to reach them. I still think that for them to be more acceptiong of the fact you need to show them that you are not going to kill them on a whim, first - by being around for a while longer without incident, - and if after that you reveal yourself, it should not change anything for them. It's like with the gobbos - they have been a part of the scenery long enough for villagers to get used to them.

If you reveal yourself now, you risk some disgrunted villager fleeing the very next day thinking "I am not going to succumb to this madness and accept the wolf as a guardian to the herd".

 

[Baltika9]

That being said, if they hate angels, then that makes this prospect of empire-building extremely premature, IMO.

It's not the hate that worries me, but the absolute pants-shitting terror they'll feel. And not the Machiavellian kind that keeps them loyal, either, but the kind of fear that will make someone run to the capital, screaming that there's an angel around. If we're going to settle down in Erise and build our power right under the human kingdoms' noses, Illusion magic is an absolute must, in my opinion. Sooner or later, the gig will be up, we can't rely on a cloak to keep us concealed forever.

Okay, so assuming that this is all mature, male goblins (ignore Petze, let's assume the females don't fight) in their physical prime in the village of Grahferde (which makes sense, they're primitive, and anybody who can use a sling or thrust a spear is technically part of our forces), we'd have to wait five years for the first goblins in our super-secret goblin ubermenschen breeding campaign, where we utilize Robust and the elites as our "stallions" to produce our first batch of big, strong, tough, super-gobbos. Assuming there are 65 females of breeding age (equal to the number of men in my hypothetical model), at 4-6 goblins per litter, that would leave us with a maximum of 490 super-gobbos - and an exhausted, possibly dead Robust - for the first "batch" in five years.

Aren't both Rudne and Robust genetic freaks, in their own way? I don't see every single child inheriting their good/bad genetics like clockwork, even within a single litter. I'm no eugenics specialist, but isn't the spread of rare congenital traits extremely rare?

From village to locust swarm in 15 easy steps...

I dunno, man. Those numbers look mighty fine to me, but how are we going to stimulate a backwater's agriculture to feed 402,350 goblins in fifteen years (I'm assuming that each line represents a year in your table). That's a lot of land clearance they village will have to do, not to mention that not everyone might be cool with us growing a fuckhueg army of goblin battlemages off of their labor.
This Goblin Legion thing seems like a huge stretch to me, not to mention that the only way I see us amicably taking over the village from the kingdom is by agreeing to act as a governor on their behalf.

Alright, since anyone can poke holes in a plan, I ought to throw in my own suggestion: we turn Erise into Karakorum by way of trade. Erdrick has a great eye for business and we ought to exploit that. That's the only reliable way of turning a profit from this village that I see.
treave, are there any rivers close to Erise that can be exploited for trade?

 

[Nevill]

Those numbers look mighty fine to me

The numbers assume all female kids.

Which is absolutely something we should look at how to achieve if our human Empire is supposed to exist for a few decades. Could be very useful... yes, indeed.

The volatility of the current situation discourages a long-term planning for 15 years ahead. I'd rather get the present worries over with before engaging in a gobling breeding minigame. However, whether to take Erise in or not is a separate matter.

 

[Grimgravy]

Note I edited my for to A2. For some reason I initially thought the number's only applied to C votes.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

ffs. you guys are actually going to touch the crystal with the gauntlet? *sigh* time to break this out again:

 

[treave]

In the field of monster breeding, the goblin race - once wrongfully maligned - is now widely regarded by specialists to be amongst the top five races due to its domesticability, relatively short generation time, and stable traits. Although it cannot compete with the slime for sheer rate of reproduction and ease of trait manipulation, the goblin line is superior in its ability to maintain the traits selected for in previous generations. Strains such as the Rotund Rolypoly, the Molton’s Long-ears, and of course the infamous Mercant-Kimaris now possess great standing amongst the discerning monster breeder. Unlike the more prestigious dragon breeding, which requires an investment time of centuries, a new goblin line with the sought-after traits can be stabilized after a mere eight generations of breeding (about forty years) using the recent methodology developed by Grahferde-Erise Magical Laboratories, allowing for even the most impatient breeder to attain useful results in a short period of time.

This, I would say, is amongst my greatest successes in the past century beyond even the Rape of Barzam and the Nonconsensual Assault on the Dragon Horde: the elevation of the goblin race to the pinnacle of monster breeding in terms of desirability and sustainability.

It is my hope that this treatise and biography will serve to inspire the love of goblin breeding in the younger generation for years to come.

~foreword from Tales of a Goblin-Breeder: A Biography
By Erdrick Mercant, Dark Lord, M.D., K.O.D, Bam.F., Esq.

 

[Grimgravy]

Lambchop makes sense. Flop to
A2 D>B B>C B

 

[treave]

treave, are there any rivers close to Erise that can be exploited for trade?

None. But you could always make your own rivers.

 

[Esquilax]

Note I edited my for to A2. For some reason I initially thought the number's only applied to C votes.

I don't understand the appeal of A2 - all we have is a backwater shithole and a goblin village, but at the same time we need to keep a low profile to ensure that our newly formed independent state remains a secret. It has all the drawbacks of being a leader of a nation (we're tethered to this place, we are responsible for the well-being of our citizens and have to ensure that they stay safe) with none of the benefits (large army, influence on a significant level). On top of that, we have to maintain secrecy and ensure that our true identity as an angel isn't revealed for the next little while.

The goblin breeding idea was just a wacky thought that popped into my head that won't even bear fruit in a long time. It seems like a lot of effort for very little gain, the antithesis of what we are. Wouldn't it be smarter to worm our way through the power structure of a place like Methuss and seek out power from an existing structure, rather than create a new country from scratch?

 

[Bibbimbop]

The numbers assume all female kids.

Good spot. Easily corrected in any spreadsheet.

Doesn't change the fundamental nature of exponential growth, but hurray for sperging.

Aren't both Rudne and Robust genetic freaks, in their own way? I don't see every single child inheriting their good/bad genetics like clockwork, even within a single litter. I'm no eugenics specialist, but isn't the spread of rare congenital traits extremely rare?

If everyone else is blonde, then that is nearly universal as a result of mating with anyone. If no one else is blonde, it sleeps in you as a dormant carrier until a particularly blessed 1/4 of the descendants of a particularly blessed 1/4 of your offspring manage to hook up together. In a large population that mixes randomly, that can be extremely rare for recessive genes to match up again that are not already widespread. Even if the results are favourable.

In a small village, we can make the relevant parties far more likely to mate.

I dunno, man. Those numbers look mighty fine to me, but how are we going to stimulate a backwater's agriculture to feed 402,350 goblins in fifteen years

Same way these things always work. All great hordes are usually population booms that can no longer be supported by their homeland. If you looked at the Mongols, or the Vikings, and certainly colonists in the Age of Imperialism you would see people driven outward by the interplay of highly successful exponential growth and increasingly limited resources where they originated. So, by the time it reaches that point, you've used the population that already exists to control an ever wider territory. That's why it can be compared to locust.

Of course, if gobbos leverage our genetic experiments to make slight improvements to the average hunting or fishing trip that each gobbo can do, then they don't need food tribute from outsiders because their relationship changes between the units of energy expended for the units of energy harvested. The only limit becomes how many fish live in the rivers. And if the tribe becomes migratory, then not even that.

 

[Grimgravy]

I don't understand the appeal of A2 - all we have is a backwater shithole and a goblin village, but at the same time we need to keep a low profile to ensure that our newly formed independent state remains a secret. It has all the drawbacks of being a leader of a nation (we're tethered to this place, we are responsible for the well-being of our citizens and have to ensure that they stay safe) with none of the benefits (large army, influence on a significant level). On top of that, we have to maintain secrecy and ensure that our true identity as an angel isn't revealed for the next little while.

The goblin breeding idea was just a wacky thought that popped into my head that won't even bear fruit in a long time. It seems like a lot of effort for very little gain, the antithesis of what we are. Wouldn't it be smarter to worm our way through the power structure of a place like Methuss and seek out power from an existing structure, rather than create a new country from scratch?

I imagine we could request the village and surrounding area from from the prince when we visit. We get the area officially and are far enough from the seat of power to make enemies immediately.

 

[Nevill]

That, to me, is a waste of a perfectly good favor on what amounts to a title (like barony), which I remember people weren't very enthusiastic about. Except without the title.

I tend to agree with Elfberserker - the kids and the cow were the best Erise had to offer.

 

[Esquilax]

I imagine we could request the village and surrounding area from from the prince when we visit. We get the area officially and are far enough from the seat of power to make enemies immediately.

Now, would we be requesting the village and surrounding area as a representative of Methuss (i.e. we gain a minor title and use it to become a baron of the land around Erise), or as an independent state that seeks independence from Methuss? These are two very different things. Asking the Prince would mean that we remain a subject of Methuss, going A2 means that we go rogue and stop paying taxes so that we can secede from Methuss. These are two very, very different things, and I can't imagine that a Prince of Methuss, or anyone in the power structure of the country would be cool with us simply seceding from their land. Erise and the surrounding areas might be a backwater, but they still earn tax money from that shit, they are not letting it go.

Also, there are much better favours to ask, in my opinion. We could acquire a new spell (the magic of this world is new to us), seek out some wenches, get a substantial sum of money to buy cool gear, etc. A lot of cool things come to mind.

 

[Esquilax]

Same way these things always work. All great hordes are usually population booms that can no longer be supported by their homeland. If you looked at the Mongols, or the Vikings, and certainly colonists in the Age of Imperialism you would see people driven outward by the interplay of highly successful exponential growth and increasingly limited resources where they originated. So, by the time it reaches that point, you've used the population that already exists to control an ever wider territory. That's why it can be compared to locust.

Of course, if gobbos leverage our genetic experiments to make slight improvements to the average hunting or fishing trip that each gobbo can do, then they don't need food tribute from outsiders because their relationship changes between the units of energy expended for the units of energy harvested. The only limit becomes how many fish live in the rivers. And if the tribe becomes migratory, then not even that.

If you want to start a campaign for world domination, it better be more creative than a horde of goblins with F-class spells that are scrawny as fuck. The biggest obstacle is that this shit will take way too long. Five years for the initial group to mature, then five more years for that group to mature, etc. Fuck, there are a lot more efficient ways to do this, and methods that are a lot smarter, than to rely solely on a single species hopefully being able to fuck long enough for you to conquer the world.

 

[Grimgravy]

Taking the title for the area and becoming a part of Methuss power structure would constitute a contingency plan for dealing with the royal tax collectors.

 

[Elfberserker]

As fascinating as it's to see you guys planning to turn gobbos to super warriors or mages via euganics, shouldn't we wait and see if there are another monster race to breed to be warriors or mage caste?
You know like orcs?
Usually very big, strong and bloodthirsty humanoid monsters?

Look I know that gobbos are cute and lifting them from underdog level species to ubermensch level does has it appeal, but can't we wait till we see better candidates?
Goblins are fine as they are; as good scouts with some martial ability as well oddball mage or two.
Lets see, if there are fucking Orcs, trolls, dark elfs,gnolls, lizardmen or minotaures before we begin our breeding program

 

[Esquilax]

Taking the title for the area and becoming a part of Methuss power structure would constitute a contingency plan for dealing with the royal tax collectors.

You'd still have to pay Methuss. You're the landowner, responsible for taxation and ownership of the land. Since you're still a subject of Methuss, they still have to receive money from you, even if you've secretly formed a country within a country. So now you have a lot of the drawbacks of being an independent state (secrecy, having to take care of stuff) with the drawbacks of being Methuss' bitch (you have to answer to people above you, you have to pay them). That sucks.

And then, to add some salt to the wound, it would cost us a favour.

ffs. you guys are actually going to touch the crystal with the gauntlet? *sigh* time to break this out again:

It will be hilarious if it actually turns out to be nothing. Here's what we know about the gauntlet and the shard:

A jewel-encrusted gauntlet, gaudy but solid in its construction. It had been in a chest, and strangely enough wrapped in scrolls.
...
She had been confident in the invulnerability of her armour and pressing her advantage, but somehow they had produced a dagger with a translucent, crystalline blade which had slipped past her defenses as if they did not even exist. The blade had snapped off inside her and her enemy retreated while she was struggling to maintain control.

She remembered little after that, except for the voice that kept her in slumber. It called itself the Demon Lord Athos.

You had wondered if that Demon Lord still existed in the shard, which you had kept frozen safely away in a corner. But it had not really responded or demonstrated any hostility so far, no matter how you prodded it. Even when you tried sticking it into a willing goblin, with Aria there ready to behead it if it attacked, there was no response. It is a mystery indeed.

In the meantime, you are also researching the shard that controlled Rin. She had said something about a Demon Lord calling out to her, but your investigations have borne no fruit thus far. There is a breakthrough one day, however, when you are inspecting the gauntlet that had been brought back from the camp: it appeared to be useless junk so far, no matter who wore it.

However, when you bring it close to the shard, there is a reaction. The gauntlet vibrates, seeming to become more excited, while the shard trembles, as if afraid. You wonder if it means anything.
...
“Very well… Erdrick Mercant. My eyes shall be on you until the day I may regain the legacy of Demon King Kimaris, my departed father. I shall guard you from harm until that day comes to pass, as the Demon King Agares guarded his enemy’s children until he could harvest the precious gems that were their eyes.

The last bit is my speculation. I found it interesting that the story Rin told us about a Demon King also involved "precious gems". Could it be that this Demon Lord that Rin confronted is Agares? If we had asked the Barzamite mage about this, it would be different, but I just don't want t mess with this thing right now.

 

[treave]

The gauntlet will start going "Uhihihihi".

 

[Bibbimbop]

It seems like a lot of effort for very little gain, the antithesis of what we are

A lot of effort? I wasn't suggesting we join the mating ritual. You tell them which of them has shown enough magic tricks to enter the tent to the breeding orgy, you don't go inside and fuck them yourself.

Unless, well... I'm a swinging open-minded guy if you are...

If you want to start a campaign for world domination, it better be more creative than a horde of goblins with F-class spells that are scrawny as fuck. The biggest obstacle is that this shit will take way too long. Five years for the initial group to mature, then five more years for that group to mature, etc. Fuck, there are a lot more efficient ways to do this, and methods that are a lot smarter, than to rely solely on a single species hopefully being able to fuck long enough for you to conquer the world.

More creative? Like, uh...

Wouldn't it be smarter to worm our way through the power structure of a place like Methuss and seek out power from an existing structure, rather than create a new country from scratch?

"Dunno. Guess we haffa network with da powaful or some shit"

The problem with seeking power from an existing structure is that those structures weren't built for you. They exist to maintain the power of other people and other dynasties that probably prefer to elevate their own. These are not meritocratic societies, presumably. Any power in these societies is squeezed from a base of landed strength. It's feudalism. Where's your loyal base?

I saw gobbos unquestionly revere us, no matter how shitty we treat them. We are their god. How are you going to get a rank-and-file base of loyal supporters in human regions where you are too scared to even choose A1 to a bunch of grateful country bumpkins?

Test for magical aptitudes, which should be a few days of vetting for 65 gobbos, get the breeding going for this year's crop, and go do all those other things. Next year, that one fairly smart gobbo can be charged with vetting, once he knows what to look for. Breeding is not hard work if the cattle more-or-less can run their own society and clean out their own barns, shovel their own manure, etc.

 

[Grimgravy]

You'd still have to pay Methuss. You're the landowner, responsible for taxation and ownership of the land. Since you're still a subject of Methuss, they still have to receive money from you, even if you've secretly formed a country within a country. So now you have a lot of the drawbacks of being an independent state (secrecy, having to take care of stuff) with the drawbacks of being Methuss' bitch (you have to answer to people above you). That sucks.

I can't say I disagree with you about the drawbacks. I just don't like any of the other options for the first choice.

 

[profreshinal]

A>B2BAA

I think a more chaotic/unstable kingdom will be benificial in the long run, taking control of the vllage does that and I like the goblin breeding program.
The true nature of erdrick has been glanced upon but I'd rather have fairytales about it and not spell it out. It won't change anything for the villagers if they think Erdrick is "like a god of lightning"/other things they make up or if they know his true nature. The villagers will just be under protection of a really powerfull person and that's all that matters to them.

A lot of effort? I wasn't suggesting we join the mating ritual. You tell them which of them has shown enough magic tricks to enter the tent to the breeding orgy, you don't go inside and fuck them yourself.

Unless, well... I'm a swinging open-minded guy if you are...

 

[Esquilax]

I think a more chaotic/unstable kingdom will be benificial in the long run, taking control of the vllage does that and I like the goblin breeding program.

I make a silly, stupid idea off the top of my head and devote too much time to explaining it, then it ends up being just the thing to convince people to vote for the option I specifically don't want.



Why do we need to go after every opportunity the first time we see it? Like a dog chasing a car. We see a handsome prince in need of aid(s), oh cool let's help him. We see a mysterious gauntlet we know nothing about, oh cool let's try it on what's the worst that could happen? We are surrounded by a tiny goblin village and shithole human town in the middle of nowhere, oh cool let's secede from the country. Goddamnit.

 

[Elfberserker]

I make a silly, stupid idea off the top of my head and devote too much time to explaining it, then it ends up being just the thing to convince people to vote for the option I specifically don't want.



Why do we need to go after every opportunity the first time we see it? Like a dog chasing a car. We see a handsome prince in need of aid(s), oh cool let's help him. We see a mysterious gauntlet we know nothing about, oh cool let's try it on what's the worst that could happen? We are surrounded by a tiny goblin village and shithole human town in the middle of nowhere, oh cool let's secede from the country. Goddamnit.

Well, you know what they say.
Great persuading power means great responsibility.....Plus we are in codex, yoloing at first opportunity towards crazy schemes as they come by.

 

[Esquilax]

The problem with seeking power from an existing structure is that those structures weren't built for you. They exist to maintain the power of other people and other dynasties that probably prefer to elevate their own. These are not meritocratic societies, presumably. Any power in these societies is squeezed from a base of landed strength. It's feudalism. Where's your loyal base?

We have nothing right now, but building from scratch has a ton of problems too. What are we going to do, sit around in our bunker in Gobbotown and spend the next twenty years in Clevian solitude perfecting the art of making the ultimate gobbo? Manipulating people within Methuss, like the Prince is at least a stepping stone to more power, money or information regarding the larger world. I see the goblins as a dead end, really. They have nothing to offer us in the long-term, not even numbers. Well, unless we basically hunker down and wait, but I don't want to do that.

Test for magical aptitudes, which should be a few days of vetting for 65 gobbos, get the breeding going for this year's crop, and go do all those other things. Next year, that one fairly smart gobbo can be charged with vetting, once he knows what to look for. Breeding is not hard work if the cattle more-or-less can run their own society and clean out their own barns, shovel their own manure, etc.

The one "fairly smart gobbo" has a name. It's Runde. Runde will do the vetting, because nobody else can. Because gobbos r dum.

I saw gobbos unquestionly revere us, no matter how shitty we treat them. We are their god. How are you going to get a rank-and-file base of loyal supporters in human regions where you are too scared to even choose A1 to a bunch of grateful country bumpkins?

The reason why I'm not going A1 is that it's a great way to turn a bunch of grateful country bumpkins into a bunch of terrified country bumpkins. And, as Baltika said, not terrified in the good way. Terrified in the way that they'll beg for Methuss to intervene and stop us.

 

[Baltika9]

Why do we need to go after every opportunity the first time we see it? Like a dog chasing a car. We see a handsome prince in need of aid(s), oh cool let's help him. We see a mysterious gauntlet we know nothing about, oh cool let's try it on what's the worst that could happen? We are surrounded by a tiny goblin village and shithole human town in the middle of nowhere, oh cool let's secede from the country. Goddamnit.

I really don't know, I thought the appeal of the scholar character was that we'd be more deliberate with the decisions we make and think shit through. Now we've got spreadsheets for a pie-in-the-sky goblin horde that we want to grow and train right on the borderlands of at least two kingdoms. Why are we deciding long-term investments without checking out the market, maybe (my money is on 'definitely') there are better options out there than turning an entire species into something they're not.

A lot of effort? I wasn't suggesting we join the mating ritual. You tell them which of them has shown enough magic tricks to enter the tent to the breeding orgy, you don't go inside and fuck them yourself.

Looks like a lot of effort to me: first, we have to breed them, then we have to train competent trainers and competent managers, then we have to go to great lengths to conceal a quickly-developing goblin horde from the locals while fending off Methusian inspectors at the same time (I don't buy for a second that they will let this land go without a fight).
The Mongols and Norsemen joined into great hordes on their home soil. If any king had some bandits start massing under a strong leader, he would've treated it as a rebellion and squished it in its infancy.
The homeland for non-humans is the East, that's where we can build a horde without looking over our shoulder every five seconds.
I get it, we're an extremely powerful angel. Doesn't mean we're invincible and immune to fuck ups.