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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

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I like both! But I feel like it's a timing thing. Pushing them to over extend and play big cards against small threats is good early on, to open them up for counterattack. But pushing them to hesitate to take openings works better later, when injuries and weaknesses have accrued.

But since we can only have one,

[X] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs.
 
[X] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs.
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I choose the first option considering I think it would be more useful in the upcoming war compared to the second option.
[ ] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs.
 
The second feels like the more flashy, more all or nothing, and I think that that's not what we want to be doing.

The most recent example of people who were "willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams" were the Meng splinter faction that pushed their elder into almost getting their clan killed. If we were the ones in power fighting rebels and criminals and maybe even external peer enemies, that'd be fine. As the ones trying to reform the system, we wouldn't be able to afford that kind of short-sightedness in our enemies. That restricts it to mostly being used in the middle of a battle, where the other is still a very nice shaping tool outside direct combat.

We can't afford too many victories like the one over the Meng conservatives, not if we want CRX to inherit something more than a smoldering heap of charcoal.
 
[X] I would wield it to encourage glory-seeking, to make them willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams.

This, I feel, would push us towards working in tandem with someone else. Push an enemy to overextend and have a group take down a focal point/champion of an enemy force. Though this would work more with the Cloud IMO, this would still be good against drawing out assassins and the like.
 
[X] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs.
 
[X] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs

The other benefit of this that I can think of is that it can also make it easier to bring a peaceful end to hostilities. Why keep fighting when the cost is so very very high?
 
[X] I would wield it to encourage glory-seeking, to make them willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams.

Please walk into the VERY OBVIOUS TRAP we've set up. For the purposes of glory!
 
[X] I would wield it to encourage glory-seeking, to make them willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams.
 
[X] I would wield it to encourage glory-seeking, to make them willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams.

I think getting people to overdo it with their resources without probing Ling Qi's defenses properly is the way to go.
 
[X] I would wield it to put them on the defense, to be miserly with their power and resources, and loathe to expend anything that is theirs.

Let us not be the sword on the field, we are the dagger that punctures the General while he worries of other things.
 
This is a tough one! A lot of good arguments for the miserly option, but as I keep mulling it over glory-seeking honestly feels like it kinda fits better both tactically and philosophically with LQ.

Obviously her fighting style focuses a lot on attrition, and both options play into that! But the overextension of glory-seeking placed them to actually be affected by that, to be worn down as they try push forwards when patience would be wise. And with her arts LQ is more than capable of weathering a few finishers from most peer-cultivators, letting them exhaust their options simply cutting at the wind.

As for the philosophically, well what does the second option actually getting to at its core? It seems to me the answer is as much Expression as it is Want, encouraging others to unrestrained pursuit of the dreams. There could be an element of Choice in there as well, where the miserly option is in a way suppressing others willingness to act and forcing them to choose inaction, though I admit that's a fairly weak argument given forcing one to act is also stripping them of choice if to a lesser extent.

Anyways, this was kinda a half finished thought and I suspect I'll have something to follow it up with tomorrow, but for now I'm going with:
[X] I would wield it to encourage glory-seeking, to make them willing to sacrifice what they should not for their dreams.
 
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