[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
The initial saving of Luseng from the brink of destruction, considered impossibel, and transformation of the city into a relatively thriving Metropoilis. The still existing threats are not as pressing as that. Although I am not entirely against Ulyssian finishing them. Just not in the capacity of a governor.
The resources of the Satrapy contend with the value of whatever stashes of Odyssial we find on the way. The legion is only one-third of Ulyssians power at E4, and is understaffed. The legitimacy within the Realm is not that important considering Anys' recent actions. The Satrapy was initially meant to be used as a base of operations against her political machinations, but now personal ability is more valuable.
Zao understands the possibility of being a free agent not bound by one place. We even had an option to go murderhoboing after graduation. He can guess that there is a reason for the sudden leave. And on the other hand, do you think that Anys won't just as easily be able to spin our continued gorernance of Luseng against us?
Against Akuma!Syn and her Hell buddies? She could beat Zao with her Wracked self. Now, if she wants to kill them, she will. As for Pearl's vote of confidence, Anys can get Zao irrefutable proof of her loyalty to Odyssial, throwing any of Pearl's claims into suspicion.
A ***** of Kings
Rihaku
The Internet
A Clash of Kings
This form was still limited. He could not see as the Lord Strategos had, except for the broadest of purviews. It was useful to know the general flow of Fate within Creation, but specificity - his own likely future, and that of his enemies - was far more useful still. Likely he could not maintain this state of clarity forever. He could drop out at any time, return to the distracted being that was Sesus Ulyssian. What then would occur?
Sesus Ulyssian likely would see the reasoning behind his actions. But Ulyssian would also recoil from Odyssial's lack of attachment to those he considered dear friends. He would then turn all his faculties, all his determination and intellect, towards preventing the attainment of this state again. Odyssial knew better than to underestimate Sesus Ulyssian. Not only would such action be a distraction from the fate of Creation, it would be actively counterproductive.
Therefore a compromise was necessary. It would not do to work at cross purposes with his more distracted self, which would control this body and mind for a far greater duration than his liberated self. His normal self had to trust that, within these periods of liberation, he would not act against his own best interests. In short, there had to exist trust between selves. The alternative was to accept diminishment, and that he would not do.
What few actions he could take in his uncertain remaining time would be worth little, if his reverted self rejected the very principle of saving Creation due to instinctive horror or the desire to protect his attachments.
It was true that this state of mind lacked the emotions of empathy and fellow-feeling that lubricated most social interactions. While he was an adept liar, the Princess of Lies would see through that facade immediately. The best course of action, then, was simply to tell the truth.
It had only been a few moments since he'd last spoken. He spoke again.
"Excuse my curtness. I am presently in an altered state of mind created by the last bearer of my Exaltation; a state induced by a catastrophic failure of governance on my part. My normal self will" shortly return and be exceptionally glad to see you, Nilul and Moon. Please make your way to the Palace and tell them that I am expecting you." He nodded at them and moved to leave.
Moon reached out to him, concern evident on her face, but Nilul clasped it in her own and gently lowered it.
"The things you can tell me that don't register as lies get stranger every day, Uly," the Princess of Lies said wryly.
"Don't call me Uly," he grunted, and left.
Back at the Palace, Talomar had arrested those viziers which Ulyssian hadn't yet slain. He slew them.
As the bodies collapsed bonelessly, mannequins with puppet-strings severed, he turned to head off Talomar's shocked expression. Even as he spoke, the majority of his mental energies were focused still on the subject of his memories, brainstorming means to recover them.
"Guv'nr, what is going-"
"We will establish the precedent," Ulyssian cut him off, "that, when definitive evidence of treason is assembled, the sentence will be carried out immediately, and only announced afterwards. That will prevent well-connected traitors with supernatural means of flight from escaping, as several almost did today, even though I struck in the dead of morning. Our jails are not sophisticated enough to hold the Dragon-Blooded, and one of our own viziers was an Outcaste or Dynastic spy. He may even have been Lookshyian."
"That makes sense, sir, but-"
"Announce it," he said, "alongside the execution of Teft Luwao today. And deposit the funds seized into the Luseng Treasury. Make sure the families are watched; be especially on the lookout to see if they contact any outside parties in pursuit of succor or vengeance. I will be in my chambers if you need me."
Sunlight dappled across the scarlet pillars of the Satrapal Palace; a breeze wafted through its trees, their flowers in tremulous bloom. Dawn was breaking, and the mon of the Realm Imperial crest fluttered on a thousand flags across Luseng. Countless, across all Creation.
As he walked, Sesus Ulyssian came back to himself. He stuttered only very slightly in stride, entering his chambers before falling to a knee. The Scales, which he'd mastered with the help of The Lily, shifted to buttress him, allowing for easy recovery. That was right, the adaptive functions of the armor operated best when he was injured, so he'd planned to bring himself to the brink of death in order to achieve persistently superior performance. A worthwhile strategy as long as he was extremely confident in his ability not to get hit. He would greet Moon - and Nilul - before then, though, so as not to worry them.
His head was spinning, but he forced himself to power through the recovery, thinking furiously. He grasped for the clarity, the thoughts that were slipping away like sunlight yielding to night. Odyssial hadn't been wrong: he was not acting with the appropriate urgency necessary to save Creation. That responsibility was not his alone, but there were too many Exalts engaged in counterproductive ends, and he was no skilled diplomat. The only ones he could rely on were himself, and, in some areas, his closest friends. If the power existed, it was prudent to plan as if the whole world would be his enemy, and move down from there in worst-case scenarios.
He was not doing enough in Luseng - perhaps could not do enough, so long as he pretended to be a Dragon-Blood only. He would either have to leverage the Realm in far greater capacity, or break free of it, assuming it was even correct to stay here.
East. He knew that Lea was alive, somewhere to the East. One route for recovering Odyssial's lost memories. What else? People that had known him. Pearl, the more prominent deities in Yu-Shan, and the daevas of the Primordials.
He was not so lost in thought as to miss the arrival of Moon and Nilul, though. The cloud of joy and brimming nostalgia that their appearance elicited was tempered by memories of their brief reunion earlier. Still, they had come. They trusted him enough that, even after that earlier display, they were unwilling to abandon him.
He frowned. No, that wasn't right. His... altered self had handled that as well as it was able to, and he could see the utility of that mindset in a desperate world. It was dangerous, though, because even if there was a way to switch-off that state of mind, when he was like that he wouldn't want to. A weapon to be reserved for the most dire of circumstances, but one better to have and not need, than need and not have.
"Uly!" Moon was a gentle storm crashing into him, moving so quickly she would have been invisible to his mortal eyes. Of course, now he could easily tell that she was wearing a sundress of white, stitched with light-blue, and had discarded the bloodstained rose in her hair. Somehow - perhaps a change in his expression - she had sensed that his "normal self" was present again. "Are you alright? What happened over there? Why did you kill all those men?"
"I'm fine, Moon," he murmured gently, hugging her back. "We'll talk about it later, and I'll explain everything. For now, I'm just glad that you're here."
"You're too stressed," she said worriedly, placing a cool palm against his forehead. "They're pushing you too hard. You don't... you don't need to take so many burdens onto yourself. I'll help you however I can!"
She blushed faintly, as if embarrassed by the outburst. He found a smile of fondness tugging at his lips.
"Yay, group hug!" Nilul said agreeably, rounding the corner to embrace the two of them. She looked at him expectantly.
He looked at her blankly.
Nilul laughed. "It's good to see you too, Ulyssian," she said, chipper.
He smiled. "I'd say the pleasure is all mine, but supposedly you can detect lies."
She narrowed her eyes, voice husky. "Is that so? Well, maybe I can change that, now that we're finally free of Zao's surveillance... what do you say, Moon? Let's have a contest!"
Moon eeped.
A contest for what, he wondered? He hoped it wasn't cooking; Nilul was an atrocious cook.
Talomar was approaching; his ears could tell from the weight of the man's tread. Gently he released the two of them. As Talomar raised his hand, about to knock, Ulyssian spoke.
"What is it, Dragonlord?" He stifled his amusement as the man jerked in surprise. He had been using the excuse that he was Zao's student to justify his supernatural hearing. The ability to detect shapes simply by hearing air currents was incredibly useful; he knew now why Zao enjoyed it so much.
The door opened and Nellens Talomar stepped through. "Sir," he said cautiously, "we've carried out the execution as ordered. There's... a large gap in the civil service now. The City Spirits also report that you slew many of their brethren who were corrupt. How will we run the city?"
---
Behold, the crappy compromise option. You did not receive, nor did you lose, any XP.
[ ] Deal With It - Despite the recent depopulation of its bureaucracy, Luseng is still far better-off than most areas in Creation right now. Uncle Pan and Talomar are competent administrators, as are the Dragon-Blooded you did not kill. The situation will deteriorate, but that can't be helped. You must head East, to Lea and your memories. It has been too long already. If Moon and Nilul can be convinced to come, then they too should come. [+150,000 XP]
[ ] Philosopher-King - You will tackle this problem with the full force of your Predictionism and Moon's assistance. Deploy a sustainable examination system from which to recruit able officials, and ask Nilul to personally swear-in these new mandarins in secret, ensuring that their highest loyalty is to you, even should you be revealed as Anathema. Initiate a sequence of Predictions so as to distract the eyes of the Realm from you, to raise the loyalty of the populace to you, and to convert the systematized prayer regions into temple-schools to swiftly educate as many refugees as you can. Raise economic output, acquiring wealth to purchase records, and use those records to wield the sword of Prophecy against the entire world.
*Maximizes interaction with your friends.
*Luseng will continue to flourish; no penalties to administration this month. You will not fail your people again.
*If chosen, you will be able to vote on Major Prediction, a campaign of Prophecies that will shape the very face of Creation.
*You will also purchase God-King's Shrike, allowing you to summon an apocalypse every season, and may direct it at the target of your choice. (Takes a week of studying)
[ ] God-King - Solar Circle Sorcery is likely the tool which may be leveraged to the greatest impact, given your current mediocre strength. Perhaps you can justify the resultant effects as the product of Artifacts found from within the Emerald Mountain or something. Whatever the case, you'll have to ask Moon and Nilul to pick up the slack while you procure Sorcerous materials, set up a workshop, and get to work actually learning how to impose your will on Creation. How hard could it be?
-[ ] You may accept one of Odyssial's Defining Intimacies to lower the Flash-Buy cost by 100,000, to 200,000 XP. However, this locks you into the Odyssial Shaping Rituals. They are mechanically optimized for his style of Sorcery.
*Only limited interaction with your friends or outsiders
*Significant penalties to administration this month as the city reels from the evisceration of its entire bureaucratic and logistical infrastructure. Moon will do her best, but she'll be severely overworked...
*You will finally get Sorcery
*You will not feel like a slacker
*If chosen, you will vote on what spells to buy, your shaping rituals (if applicable), any Sorcerous Merits to purchase, and finally what your Working for the month will be. At that time I will also tell you of any unique or hard-to-procure materials for the Working effect desired, if Luseng cannot outright buy them with its absurd wealth.
This form was still limited. He could not see as the Lord Strategos had, except for the broadest of purviews. It was useful to know the general flow of Fate within Creation, but specificity - his own likely future, and that of his enemies - was far more useful still. Likely he could not maintain this state of clarity forever. He could drop out at any time, return to the distracted being that was Sesus Ulyssian. What then would occur?
Sesus Ulyssian likely would see the reasoning behind his actions. But Ulyssian would also recoil from Odyssial's lack of attachment to those he considered dear friends. He would then turn all his faculties, all his determination and intellect, towards preventing the attainment of this state again. Odyssial knew better than to underestimate Sesus Ulyssian. Not only would such action be a distraction from the fate of Creation, it would be actively counterproductive.
Therefore a compromise was necessary. It would not do to work at cross purposes with his more distracted self, which would control this body and mind for a far greater duration than his liberated self. His normal self had to trust that, within these periods of liberation, he would not act against his own best interests. In short, there had to exist trust between selves. The alternative was to accept diminishment, and that he would not do.
What few actions he could take in his uncertain remaining time would be worth little, if his reverted self rejected the very principle of saving Creation due to instinctive horror or the desire to protect his attachments.
It was true that this state of mind lacked the emotions of empathy and fellow-feeling that lubricated most social interactions. While he was an adept liar, the Princess of Lies would see through that facade immediately. The best course of action, then, was simply to tell the truth.
It had only been a few moments since he'd last spoken. He spoke again.
"Excuse my curtness. I am presently in an altered state of mind created by the last bearer of my Exaltation; a state induced by a catastrophic failure of governance on my part. My normal self will" shortly return and be exceptionally glad to see you, Nilul and Moon. Please make your way to the Palace and tell them that I am expecting you." He nodded at them and moved to leave.
Moon reached out to him, concern evident on her face, but Nilul clasped it in her own and gently lowered it.
"The things you can tell me that don't register as lies get stranger every day, Uly," the Princess of Lies said wryly.
"Don't call me Uly," he grunted, and left.
Back at the Palace, Talomar had arrested those viziers which Ulyssian hadn't yet slain. He slew them.
As the bodies collapsed bonelessly, mannequins with puppet-strings severed, he turned to head off Talomar's shocked expression. Even as he spoke, the majority of his mental energies were focused still on the subject of his memories, brainstorming means to recover them.
"Guv'nr, what is going-"
"We will establish the precedent," Ulyssian cut him off, "that, when definitive evidence of treason is assembled, the sentence will be carried out immediately, and only announced afterwards. That will prevent well-connected traitors with supernatural means of flight from escaping, as several almost did today, even though I struck in the dead of morning. Our jails are not sophisticated enough to hold the Dragon-Blooded, and one of our own viziers was an Outcaste or Dynastic spy. He may even have been Lookshyian."
"That makes sense, sir, but-"
"Announce it," he said, "alongside the execution of Teft Luwao today. And deposit the funds seized into the Luseng Treasury. Make sure the families are watched; be especially on the lookout to see if they contact any outside parties in pursuit of succor or vengeance. I will be in my chambers if you need me."
Sunlight dappled across the scarlet pillars of the Satrapal Palace; a breeze wafted through its trees, their flowers in tremulous bloom. Dawn was breaking, and the mon of the Realm Imperial crest fluttered on a thousand flags across Luseng. Countless, across all Creation.
As he walked, Sesus Ulyssian came back to himself. He stuttered only very slightly in stride, entering his chambers before falling to a knee. The Scales, which he'd mastered with the help of The Lily, shifted to buttress him, allowing for easy recovery. That was right, the adaptive functions of the armor operated best when he was injured, so he'd planned to bring himself to the brink of death in order to achieve persistently superior performance. A worthwhile strategy as long as he was extremely confident in his ability not to get hit. He would greet Moon - and Nilul - before then, though, so as not to worry them.
His head was spinning, but he forced himself to power through the recovery, thinking furiously. He grasped for the clarity, the thoughts that were slipping away like sunlight yielding to night. Odyssial hadn't been wrong: he was not acting with the appropriate urgency necessary to save Creation. That responsibility was not his alone, but there were too many Exalts engaged in counterproductive ends, and he was no skilled diplomat. The only ones he could rely on were himself, and, in some areas, his closest friends. If the power existed, it was prudent to plan as if the whole world would be his enemy, and move down from there in worst-case scenarios.
He was not doing enough in Luseng - perhaps could not do enough, so long as he pretended to be a Dragon-Blood only. He would either have to leverage the Realm in far greater capacity, or break free of it, assuming it was even correct to stay here.
East. He knew that Lea was alive, somewhere to the East. One route for recovering Odyssial's lost memories. What else? People that had known him. Pearl, the more prominent deities in Yu-Shan, and the daevas of the Primordials.
He was not so lost in thought as to miss the arrival of Moon and Nilul, though. The cloud of joy and brimming nostalgia that their appearance elicited was tempered by memories of their brief reunion earlier. Still, they had come. They trusted him enough that, even after that earlier display, they were unwilling to abandon him.
He frowned. No, that wasn't right. His... altered self had handled that as well as it was able to, and he could see the utility of that mindset in a desperate world. It was dangerous, though, because even if there was a way to switch-off that state of mind, when he was like that he wouldn't want to. A weapon to be reserved for the most dire of circumstances, but one better to have and not need, than need and not have.
"Uly!" Moon was a gentle storm crashing into him, moving so quickly she would have been invisible to his mortal eyes. Of course, now he could easily tell that she was wearing a sundress of white, stitched with light-blue, and had discarded the bloodstained rose in her hair. Somehow - perhaps a change in his expression - she had sensed that his "normal self" was present again. "Are you alright? What happened over there? Why did you kill all those men?"
"I'm fine, Moon," he murmured gently, hugging her back. "We'll talk about it later, and I'll explain everything. For now, I'm just glad that you're here."
"You're too stressed," she said worriedly, placing a cool palm against his forehead. "They're pushing you too hard. You don't... you don't need to take so many burdens onto yourself. I'll help you however I can!"
She blushed faintly, as if embarrassed by the outburst. He found a smile of fondness tugging at his lips.
"Yay, group hug!" Nilul said agreeably, rounding the corner to embrace the two of them. She looked at him expectantly.
He looked at her blankly.
Nilul laughed. "It's good to see you too, Ulyssian," she said, chipper.
He smiled. "I'd say the pleasure is all mine, but supposedly you can detect lies."
She narrowed her eyes, voice husky. "Is that so? Well, maybe I can change that, now that we're finally free of Zao's surveillance... what do you say, Moon? Let's have a contest!"
Moon eeped.
A contest for what, he wondered? He hoped it wasn't cooking; Nilul was an atrocious cook.
Talomar was approaching; his ears could tell from the weight of the man's tread. Gently he released the two of them. As Talomar raised his hand, about to knock, Ulyssian spoke.
"What is it, Dragonlord?" He stifled his amusement as the man jerked in surprise. He had been using the excuse that he was Zao's student to justify his supernatural hearing. The ability to detect shapes simply by hearing air currents was incredibly useful; he knew now why Zao enjoyed it so much.
The door opened and Nellens Talomar stepped through. "Sir," he said cautiously, "we've carried out the execution as ordered. There's... a large gap in the civil service now. The City Spirits also report that you slew many of their brethren who were corrupt. How will we run the city?"
---
Behold, the crappy compromise option. You did not receive, nor did you lose, any XP.
[ ] Deal With It - Despite the recent depopulation of its bureaucracy, Luseng is still far better-off than most areas in Creation right now. Uncle Pan and Talomar are competent administrators, as are the Dragon-Blooded you did not kill. The situation will deteriorate, but that can't be helped. You must head East, to Lea and your memories. It has been too long already. If Moon and Nilul can be convinced to come, then they too should come. [+150,000 XP]
[ ] Philosopher-King - You will tackle this problem with the full force of your Predictionism and Moon's assistance. Deploy a sustainable examination system from which to recruit able officials, and ask Nilul to personally swear-in these new mandarins in secret, ensuring that their highest loyalty is to you, even should you be revealed as Anathema. Initiate a sequence of Predictions so as to distract the eyes of the Realm from you, to raise the loyalty of the populace to you, and to convert the systematized prayer regions into temple-schools to swiftly educate as many refugees as you can. Raise economic output, acquiring wealth to purchase records, and use those records to wield the sword of Prophecy against the entire world.
*Maximizes interaction with your friends.
*Luseng will continue to flourish; no penalties to administration this month. You will not fail your people again.
*If chosen, you will be able to vote on Major Prediction, a campaign of Prophecies that will shape the very face of Creation.
*You will also purchase God-King's Shrike, allowing you to summon an apocalypse every season, and may direct it at the target of your choice. (Takes a week of studying)
[ ] God-King - Solar Circle Sorcery is likely the tool which may be leveraged to the greatest impact, given your current mediocre strength. Perhaps you can justify the resultant effects as the product of Artifacts found from within the Emerald Mountain or something. Whatever the case, you'll have to ask Moon and Nilul to pick up the slack while you procure Sorcerous materials, set up a workshop, and get to work actually learning how to impose your will on Creation. How hard could it be?
-[ ] You may accept one of Odyssial's Defining Intimacies to lower the Flash-Buy cost by 100,000, to 200,000 XP. However, this locks you into the Odyssial Shaping Rituals. They are mechanically optimized for his style of Sorcery.
*Only limited interaction with your friends or outsiders
*Significant penalties to administration this month as the city reels from the evisceration of its entire bureaucratic and logistical infrastructure. Moon will do her best, but she'll be severely overworked...
*You will finally get Sorcery
*You will not feel like a slacker
*If chosen, you will vote on what spells to buy, your shaping rituals (if applicable), any Sorcerous Merits to purchase, and finally what your Working for the month will be. At that time I will also tell you of any unique or hard-to-procure materials for the Working effect desired, if Luseng cannot outright buy them with its absurd wealth.
Why not? If he does it as Satrap, he stands to benefit alongside the people of Luseng. If he goes full murderhobo and kill them, only the people of Luseng benefit.
Anys Syn will very soon destroy her own legitimacy, if she keeps going at this rate, and if we're still in good standing with the Realm, as the leader of a productive Satrapy possessing enormous economic power and a reputation for benevolence... who knows what might happen? The legion is understaffed, but with the glut of refugees and jade we possess, replenishing its strength and acquiring more legions would be simplicity itself.
An option that we turned down; and even in that hypothetical scenario, we would have been taking missions for him, not running off on our own. And no, I don't think Anys would be able to spin our governance of Luseng against us, because unless we validate her assertions that we're uncontrollable, she has nothing to spin.
Urgh. Compromise votes are one of the reasons why I'm losing interest. I was hoping this decision would be decisive and regain my interest, but it does not seem meant to be. I'd almost have preferred to have the opposing option win, since that would be less wishy-washy.
We don't even get the exp to do a time dilation thing so we can build up Luseng properly.
Last edited:
[X] God-King
-[X] Awaken Fairest Tie
Compromise is fucking crap.
Also, Sorcery~
-[X] Awaken Fairest Tie
Compromise is fucking crap.
Also, Sorcery~
Last edited:
[X] Deal With It
I must say, all these compromise vote dont really do the quest any favors beside enforcing SV unfortunate tendencies to never want to make any decisions and stick with them.
I must say, all these compromise vote dont really do the quest any favors beside enforcing SV unfortunate tendencies to never want to make any decisions and stick with them.
Usernames
Merc gonna merc ya
Fucking Conpromise? But we have like double the votes and equal debates.
[X] Deal With It - Despite the recent depopulation of its bureaucracy, Luseng is still far better-off than most areas in Creation right now. Uncle Pan and Talomar are competent administrators, as are the Dragon-Blooded you did not kill. The situation will deteriorate, but that can't be helped. You must head East, to Lea and your memories. It has been too long already. If Moon and Nilul can be convinced to come, then they too should come.[+150,000 XP]
[X] Deal With It - Despite the recent depopulation of its bureaucracy, Luseng is still far better-off than most areas in Creation right now. Uncle Pan and Talomar are competent administrators, as are the Dragon-Blooded you did not kill. The situation will deteriorate, but that can't be helped. You must head East, to Lea and your memories. It has been too long already. If Moon and Nilul can be convinced to come, then they too should come.[+150,000 XP]
Last edited:
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
[x] Philosopher King
All of my yes. This actually made me like Clarity man, which I was not expecting going into it. He was remarkably rational and logical for the mentality of an alien god king. So what's the resulting cost/benefit from this compromise vote? EXP loss? EXP gain from fanworks? Neither? What are we talking here? EDIT: Sorry, missed the explication statement there Rihaku.
By the By, I am voting for Philosopher king because I love every single goddamn part of it. Spending time with friends? God-King Shrike? and to top it all off... MAJOR CREATION SPANNING PROPHECY? Hell yes says I!
The next decision point after this I'm thinking I'll start joining the Sorc Corps in their push, but for now, I want that epitome of Lore Power in my greedy little mitts!
All of my yes. This actually made me like Clarity man, which I was not expecting going into it. He was remarkably rational and logical for the mentality of an alien god king. So what's the resulting cost/benefit from this compromise vote? EXP loss? EXP gain from fanworks? Neither? What are we talking here? EDIT: Sorry, missed the explication statement there Rihaku.
By the By, I am voting for Philosopher king because I love every single goddamn part of it. Spending time with friends? God-King Shrike? and to top it all off... MAJOR CREATION SPANNING PROPHECY? Hell yes says I!
The next decision point after this I'm thinking I'll start joining the Sorc Corps in their push, but for now, I want that epitome of Lore Power in my greedy little mitts!
Last edited:
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
This is... Less bad than I feared, fortunately, he didn't dive fully in, even if he didn't refuse to take it for himself either.
I'm glad that the compromise won, even if a lot of people who were pushing for full supervillain because drama and "Interesting" are going to be upset. I'm just glad what arguments were available were enough to temper that shitstorm.
I'm glad that the compromise won, even if a lot of people who were pushing for full supervillain because drama and "Interesting" are going to be upset. I'm just glad what arguments were available were enough to temper that shitstorm.
Last edited:
Rihaku
The Internet
Mm, I don't think Ulyssian is indecisive or wishy-washy in the update. He's pretty clearly decided that Odyssial was more or less right, since Odyssial was a bro and did not ruin his relationship with Moon and Nilul. Nor will he be particularly opposed to Limit Break in the future. It's the players that were deadlocked, but that didn't really transmit to him.
You have enough XP to do that already...
[X] Philosopher-King
God-King's Shrike. Fuck. Yes. With this, we can wield the twin swords of prophecy and apocalypse against Anys.
God-King's Shrike. Fuck. Yes. With this, we can wield the twin swords of prophecy and apocalypse against Anys.
So... Are we still getting 2x XP from Ody's memories?
[X] God-King
-[X] Accept A Tie
I don't know what Tie I'd like most yet, but I do want Odyssial Sorcery.
[X] God-King
-[X] Accept A Tie
I don't know what Tie I'd like most yet, but I do want Odyssial Sorcery.
Windlass
A Windy Lass
- Location
- Wherever the wind is blowing
Aaaaand to the surprise of nobody at all, I'm gonna vote for:
[X] Philosopher-King
Builds on the trends we've already established and the entirety of Creation will soon dance to our tune. If they don't, then they get nuked. FSSA + stunts + Shrike = a really bad day for someone opposed to us.
[X] Philosopher-King
Builds on the trends we've already established and the entirety of Creation will soon dance to our tune. If they don't, then they get nuked. FSSA + stunts + Shrike = a really bad day for someone opposed to us.
Last edited:
From what I can tell, we get dick.
Because that's the nature of a shitty compromise.
It's shitty.
Usernames
Merc gonna merc ya
So we got nothing?
fucking hell. Compromise my ass. We had double the vote and equal debate. So why this ended in a compromise? We had more people. DOUBLE!
So why compromise when 2/3 of the quest voted for one thing?
- Location
- The savanna.
I actually really liked this compromise. Ody was rational and favored the long view, acknowledging Uly's priorities, and acting in a way to further the interests of both his states of mind. It was beautifully executed and didn't detract from the poignancy of his Limit Break.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
[X] Philosopher-King
God-King's Shrike is just wickedly broken, as is spamming Prophecies. It isn't as obvious as Sorcery, though, so it doesn't present the inescapable need to break from the Realm because wielding Solar Circle Sorcery disguised as a Dragonblooded just isn't feasible. The Philosopher-King option also provides a good setup for a campaign against Ragmar and the Fae so we can finally stabilize Luseng and, hopefully, get out of here and do something a lot more consequential before Anys Syn busts up in on Ulyssian.
Probably too late unless we leave now, though...
God-King's Shrike is just wickedly broken, as is spamming Prophecies. It isn't as obvious as Sorcery, though, so it doesn't present the inescapable need to break from the Realm because wielding Solar Circle Sorcery disguised as a Dragonblooded just isn't feasible. The Philosopher-King option also provides a good setup for a campaign against Ragmar and the Fae so we can finally stabilize Luseng and, hopefully, get out of here and do something a lot more consequential before Anys Syn busts up in on Ulyssian.
Probably too late unless we leave now, though...
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
It's not even indecisive, it's what happens when you have two lobbies that both fight tooth and nail for a given outcome,.
Of course, I was pretty much convinced that Embrace had won, because it's really hard to overcome a 12 vote malus.
Possibly. But even if Anys does bust in on us, we'll have the entire nation loyal to us, personally. I don't really like just telling Talomar and the others to deal with the results of our massacre, either. Odyssial had an objective when he snapped, which was to improve the welfare of Luseng/Creation as a whole. But Luseng was the spark that lit the flame, so we should ensure something new and better comes about as the result of our actions.
In a way, it's a microcosm of Odyssial's philosophy as a whole: destroying the world (the viziers and corrupt deities, in this particular tortured metaphor) so a better one can be made. It doesn't say anything good about us if we just destroy and neglect the restoration.
Rihaku
The Internet
It was 47 to 36, and they were slightly ahead on arguments.
Sure, you just keep telling yourself that... if this isn't the very last opportunity for you to get Sorcery with time enough to do actual Workings, that is...
Nope.
Be careful how many successes you wish for on God-King's Shrike... let's just say, you'll learn more if you visit the Emerald Mountain.
Mmm, the general plan with Philosopher-King is to turn Luseng into a fanatically loyal nation-state that produces immense wealth, and then use that wealth to spam Prophecies and thereby delay the end of Creation (or screw with the Realm, or make open Solar rule more acceptable, etc). Once you've bought that time, your horizons open up a lot more.
I think this is only the 3rd compromise option accepted out of ~60 decision points. Though yes, the voter base in aggregate seems to lack a comprehensive plan for future votes when deciding on their present ones.
I'm aware, it's just irritating on a knee-jerk level. I would've voted/argued for the Yellow option on principle if I thought this was going to end up in a compromise.
The reason why I argued so hard for Red was because I really didn't want Blue, which was...wishy-washy compromise. Then, it ends up in a compromise anyway, even if the actual results of the compromise are good.
It was the principle of the thing.
[X] God-King
-[X] Awaken Fairest Tie
-[X] Awaken Fairest Tie