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Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man


censuur

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The beauty of CYOA's is that it gives the reader some degree of control over the story, but in the end the only way to make a story your own is to write one yourself...

This story is going to be a "run-or-rape" CYOA, set in a "sword and magic" style world with a bit of a twist. The focus will be on escaping your would be rapists and your choices will be focussed on "how" you will escape, rather than wether or not you "try" to escape ("messing up" leading to being raped). The "rapists" in this scenario will be mainly tentacles, though possibly also other monstrosities and even humans.

I'll start with the introduction, where you get a series of choices which will shape the character into what you will be controlling during the main story, for example based on your decisions in the interlude the character can have matured into a rogue, a leader or a scholar (more options will be available) Choices made during the introduction will have a much stronger effect on the attributes of your character (things like dexterity, strength, etc) than choices made during the main story.

The attributes I will be using to decide the abilities of the character are as follows:

Strength (high strength makes you stronger, but can limit your dexterity, you do need some dexterity to be able to properly aim that power)
Dexterity (high dexterity allows you to more accurately control your body, some feats of dexterity require some strength to pull off though)
Endurance (high endurance allows you to last longer under extreme circumstances, reduces chance of psychological response as your body can better endure)
Intelligence (high intelligence allows you to figure things out and make more informed decisions, can be detrimental to your charisma, reduces increases in sensitivity, high sensitivity can cause a mental break-down)
Charisma (your ability, and willingness to properly co-operate with others, benefits from high sensitivity)
Sensitivity (high sensitivity increases the chances of a psychological response such as rage, fear, or depression)

The setting of the story is as follows: Technology is at about post-medieval level, the "magic" element is represented only through alchemy (no flashy fireballs and magic sparkles) Chemistry has advanced technology slightly, and this manifests itself in:

Weapons (acidic concoctions)
Potions (affect the body in a positive sense)
Poisons (affect the body in a negative sense)
Mutagens (can cause mutations *unstable*)
Wards (causes a scent that repels creatures)
Tools (such as a lantern with fuel that lasts much, much longer than oil)
And more

The story will take place in a very large city. The capital of alchemy in the world, people from all over the continent and beyond have gathered in this city to reap its benefits, the city is full of political strife due to different interest groups vying for power. Due to the city's rapid expansion crime is common and criminal cartels struggle for dominance, the city guard is brutal in it's attempts to restore order.

More will be explained as the story progresses.


The beginning

You wake up early in the morning, light shining through the tattered curtains covering the window of your small room. You slowly stand up and rub your sore leg, a result for not moving out of your father's way quick enough. Never a man for patience, you were fortunate he was too drunk to even walk straight and got off with just this as a result. You walk up to the window and gaze out to the sky, briefly considering your situation. In two weeks when you turn fifteen you will be married to the second son of your father's boss, a marriage arranged by your father to get him in a better position at work. His friend's son had been unable to get a wife due to his violent nature. While you're happy about escaping this place, the alternative isn't much better.

Shrugging, you quickly put on your clothes, wincing a little as you pull up your skirt, it was too small for your growing body by now. Walking into the kitchen your mother hands you a piece of bread, gently placing her hand on your head. She then quietly turns away and goes back to her work, this small sign of affection the only thing reminding you she hasn't completely forgotten you're her daughter. As you walk outside while eating your meal you turn around and take a look at your home.

You've lived here all your life, and it hasn't been easy, your father works in a warehouse near the docks and has treated you as little more than a commodity to be married out for favors. There have been plenty of times you considered simply not coming back here, but you know the stories of stray children that have ran from home into the lower parts of the city being picked up by either the gangs or the guards to be sold in the slave camps. Turning around and walking away, you think of how to best spend your day.

A: Hang out with your friends.
B: Go to master Fizban and see if he has time for a lecture.
C: You're still hungry, go and "find" some food.
D: You have a score to settle with some kid in the neighborhood.

*Keep in mind these choices will shape your character*

Current attributes
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Endurance: 7 (5+2, your harsh childhood has hardened you)
Intelligence: 5
Charisma: 5
Sensitivity: 3 (5-2, your harsh childhood has hardened you)

Proficiencies: None so far, decided based on choices made (example: damage evasion (getting into a lot of fights has taught you to avoid getting hit in vital area's as much, making it easier to avoid permanent damage or being incapacitated.))



Well, thats part one of the introduction, I would appreciate feedback as this is the first time I'm doing something like this. Let me know what you think, what I could improve on, what you'd like to see in the story etc etc. Also, try and pick a name for your character. If you have any questions so far, send them by PM and I'll answer as best I can, possibly in this thread if appropriate.
 
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dorl

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA

B. Let's "shape" some intelligence into our growing character.
 

Dracador

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA

C. Eat ALL the things
 

Kln

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA

B

As for the name, how about Julia?

The concept is interesting. I'm eager to see how it turns out.
 
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aguy

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA

C. Going rogue

Looking good, stats are always fun. Does this mean choices will involve dice-rolling?
 
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censuur

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA

Alchemical Compendium: Chapter seven
Alchemical categories: Mutagen

Attributes
One of the greatest discoveries in the field of alchemy, mutagens are concoctions that somehow alter the entity it is applied to. Mutagens usually work best on a living entity, one that is still in a constant state of change, which also means that mutagens have a much stronger reaction depending on age. In the early stages of mutagen research this led to experimentation mostly on young animals. Mutagens differ from potions in that their effect is permanent, while a potion could cause a temporary mutation, the effect of mutagens is irreversible, though it can be annulled through additional mutagens. The most fascinating attribute of mutagens is that they concoctions themselves are capable of mutating, though this also makes them unstable and unreliable. The last, and possibly more important-to-note attribute of mutagens is that there are no records of them successfully working on humans, though the reason is unclear. Human tissue seems to react violently to mutagens, injected mutagen causing organ failure and ingested mutagen seems to act like a poison. *the page contains several notes about military use at this part, suggesting coating weapons in mutagen to make them more potent against humans*

There are two main types of mutagen, depending on the rate at which the mutation occurs a mutagen is either quick effect (class one) or slow effect (class two). Class one mutagens work quickly, an example of a class one mutagen is a concoction that grows scales over the skin in a matter of minutes. Class two mutagens work slowly, but can have greater effects, and example of a class two mutagen is a concoction that regenerates a severed limb or simply grows an additional one. *a note on the page here regards the possibility of medical application of such mutagens*

A brief history of mutagen research
The focus on mutagen research has always been twofold, military application and medical application. Due to the vast differences between the two, they will be recorded separately.

Military application of mutagen involves researching mutations on other creatures to increase their abilities to serve as a tool of war. These war beasts would be alchemically enhanced to serve on the battlefield. Current research, while not advanced enough for practical application, has produced a significant amount of results. The current creature used as the main focus in weapons research can be described as fol... *The page is partially torn and there are signs the following page has been ripped out*

While the origin for the current weapon research is lost, the creature mutated beyond any recognition, there are several theories as to how it came to be what it is today One theory suggests that its unique nature implies that it developed as a mutation of mutagen itself, rather than an existing creature. Another theory argues that due to the nature of its reproduction being very similar to insects and its affinity for hardening its exterior seems to suggest an insect of sorts contaminated existing mutagens.

Medical application of mutagens is much less common in comparison to military application, due to the cruel nature of the experiments and its financial burden. Medical mutagens focus on restoring damage beyond human capacity (potions being limited to accelerating human regeneration) such as limbs regenerating, restoring damaged organs to their proper function and healing diseased organs beyond the capacity of our own bodies abilities. *the following page goes on to describe some of the horrifying experiments that have been carried out in an effort to make a mutagen that the human body doesn't reject, there are no recorded successes*



This is a quick example of the lore your character can find throughout the story, it will contain hints as to the use of items you find, attributes of your enemies and give a description of the world around you. This one teaches you to avoid direct contact with mutagens and suggests a possible application. You can find information about the nature of your enemies as well (in this case the page detailing the attributes of the tentacles is ripped out, as it might be too tempting to abuse this information, the page can be found though)
 
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MrMe

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

B. Nerd girls are fun to rape
 
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censuur

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

And you can experiment with throwing mutagens at the enemy, for potentially disastrous/hilarious results. (for example; *you throw bottle A at tentacle monster: tentacle monster's tentacles mutate and grow thicker* or *you throw bottle B at tentacle monster: causing it to slowly lose its form and melting into a slime like substance, which is still attacking you*) High intelligence would allow you to better identify (or think you've identified) items and even craft your own, should you find the right materials.

Keep in mind though folks, there are going to be somewhere between 5-8 choices, you can be a clever rogue or a frail helpless leader, or even a dumb thug. The possibilities are plenty.

I'd also like to point out that bad endings are certainly possible (rewind optional) and your character is not indestructible. While potions can restore broken bones and minor injuries there can be side effects ;)
 
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Bloodshifter

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

C rogues for the win
 

Minerve

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

B : I like Julia.
 
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censuur

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

B

Pushing your worries to the back of your mind you start walking towards the artisan quarter of the city. You had an appointment with master Fizban and being late might mean he would be too absorbed in his work for a lecture. As you briskly make your way toward his workshop, you think back at the events that led to a commoner like yourself become favored by one of the more renowned scribes in the city. An awkward character to say the least, master Fizban was one of the cities chief scribes and responsible for keeping record of the new discoveries made by his guild. Fizban himself ran a modest workshop, and had several promising apprentices to succeed him. Biting your lip slightly in irritation at the memory, Fizban's apprentices made no effort to hide their disapproval of your presence, any time Fizban spent with you was not spent on them after all.

A younger Fizban, having few accomplishments and only a minor workshop had resorted to taking a child off the streets to become his apprentice, it was either that or buy a slave, and master Fizban had explained that he couldn't afford to do so at the time. Master Fizban had picked up you and a group of others and tested you and the others for a full afternoon. Having bested the other children, master Fizban had chosen to prepare you for apprenticeship and educated you in the arts of reading, writing, cartography, and minor alchemy. As your education progressed, master Fizban's workshop thrived, but more so than that he secured a promising position as his guilds chief scribe. As master Fizban developed a reputation he was entrusted with the children of several minor nobles to be his apprentices, and as a result was too busy to continue keeping you as an apprentice. Master Fizban was a stubborn man however, and didn't want to waste the time he had spent educating you. For a long time you had long proofread his work, he claimed that "even an outsider with no intimate knowledge of the arts should be able to understand these" and used you to make sure this was the case.

It was master Fizban who told you about the slavery in the city and the dangers of the lower area's, after a particularly bad day at home you had decided to not return and had asked him to let you stay with him for a while. Master Fizban had then explained everything about what happened to stray children, and had even taken you to his guild's main slave camp to reinforce his message. Fizban himself was unable to care for you at that time, as he himself had trouble keeping his workshop going, he didn't have the money to pay my father for allowing him to keep me as his apprentice at the time, and if you stayed with him father would surely come to collect.


As you get closer to the Artisan quarter, you consider how to best deal with the guards there, notoriously suspicious, it could take a long time to deal with them directly, and you briefly consider your options.

A: Talk to the guards directly, possibly taking too long to get to master Fizban in time.
B: Try to run through the checkpoint and evade the guards.
C: You can get in through the sewers, but you might not be alone down there.
D: You can scale some nearby buildings and climb over the wall.

Current attributes
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 8 (5+3, spent part of your childhood as an apprentice)
Charisma: 5
Sensitivity: 3

Proficiencies: Educated (can read, write and perform/understand minor alchemy)
 
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Minerve

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

C (I like running everywhere in the video games ^^")
 

MrMe

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

B

Fuck Da Po-Leese
 

Dracador

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

B. ZoomZoom. For added hilarity, why not yell 'got yer nose' or something equally random while running past?
 

Genius700

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

D

Hardcore Parkour
 

Bloodshifter

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

D We Are Spider Woman except you know smarter...
 

dorl

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

D.
 
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censuur

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Re: Tentacle RoR CYOA; The Folly of Man

Fizban's teachings: Month 17, Day 24
Slavery in the city

Master Fizban sighed deeply as I entered his study, I slowly walked toward him, my limbs still sore from what happened earlier. It looked like he had just finished writing a report, something he took great care in as he aspired to fill the position of head scribe for his guild.

I was late, my father had prevented me from leaving at the usual time and due to my injuries I was forced to deal with the guards directly. I had nothing to identify myself as an apprentice and the guards were suspicious of anyone from the labor quarter trying to get to the workshops. It tried to prove my identity as an apprentice by demonstrating my ability to read and write, only to learn that this shift of guards was incapable of doing so themselves and had to wait for their captain to verify my claims. Getting by the guards would have been much easier had I been an official apprentice, but master Fizban had claimed he lacked the resources for it.

I slowly moved closer.

"Sorry for being late" I managed to meekly usher out an apology, master Fizban seemed to value his own time above all else and I was afraid to lose his favor him.

"You need to be more careful" He replied "I can't afford to raise another apprentice and you're of little use to me if you get can't fulfill your duties as an apprentice"

Master Fizban had educated me for almost a year now, and I was always eager to learn more, in return for his lessons I had to help master Fizban around the workshop. He would always warn me to avoid my father and do as I was told, but he didn't understand. I had enough, and never wanted to go back.

"I-I-I'm not going back..." I stammered, still shaken from my ordeals.

He once again sighed deeply "You know I can't afford to keep you here, what do you plan to do?" His expression showed a rare hint of concern, though I wasn't ever sure if he cared about me, or simply worried the effort he'd spent teaching me would be wasted.

"I... I can take care of myself" I weakly muttered, unable to even convince myself. "It cant be worse than home!" I exclaimed more strongly this time, gathering my resolve.

Master Fizban didn't even reply, he merely got out of his chair and moved toward his archive. Quickly searching the well organized archive he procured one of his manuscripts, as an aspiring scribe he would write down nearly everything he knew and would often make me read his manuscripts to make sure they were comprehensible. Master Fizban placed the manuscript he was holding on a table nearby and turned to me.

"Read this, you can consider it your lesson for the day, report to me what you've learned when you're done, you have until dusk."

I stood in place for a moment, master Fizban turned away and slowly got back to his seat, grabbing his writing implements and started on a fresh piece of paper.

Unsure of what to make of the situation and thinking Fizban had simply ignored what I told him, either not taking me seriously or thinking things would work out, I moved up to the table and looked at the title of the manuscript:

Biological Compendium: Volume three, chapter eight
Human studies, social: On slavery

History
Since its origin several years ago slavery has quickly spread among the city, now a common and accepted affair. The trade of slaves was initiated by several traders, hired by a renowned alchemist at the time to procure subjects for her experiments. They probably saw opportunity in the alchemists' necessity of testing their research and their business quickly thrived, bringing in more competition. While initially a small business, the demand for research subjects grew to the point where alchemists could no longer rely on willing subjects, the competitive nature of the alchemists' trade forcing them to either adapt to the new development or lose their livelihood to those that did. Over the years since, slavery has grown to an industry, slaves would be gathered from a variety of sources and people would buy slaves for reasons other than mere research.

Due to several incidents, slavery was officially banned from the city for a period two years ago. While officially illegal the demand for slaves was so deeply ingained into society at this point that the business continued illegally and not much had changed, other than the criminal cartels getting a lot more power. Seeing a substantial decline in order since the banning of slavery and slavery still being commonplace in the city the ban was withdrawn six months after it had been initiated. The damage had already been done at that point, many honest traders had left the city and criminal groups now had connections in high places, leading us to the unstable nature of slavery we have today.

Slaves
There are many types of slaves, due to the criminal background of the trade nearly anything is possible, though there are a few main groups:

Children...

*My hand stops summarizing as I start reading this part of the manuscript, I had seen child slaves on occasion while in the Artisan quarter, but some of the descriptions here made me wince in horror. I brace myself and continue, as I told myself I was no stranger to harsh conditions.*

Children are often bought for their potential, used as apprentices for low ranking alchemists or used for manual labour around the workshops, there are some minor notes about children being bought to be raised as spouse to sire children, or in rare cases simply for personal satisfaction. A more gruesome practice is the use of children in mutagen experiments, having a high aptitude for growth the younger the child the higher the aptitude for mutations. This is also listed as one of the main causes for civil unrest regarding slavery and being one of the prime causes for banning slavery two years ago.

Adolescents
Male adolescents are usually used as cheap labour, some years ago adolescents were the main subject in potion research, being more resilient to injuries should the experiments fail. Female adolescents are often bought to sire and raise successors for alchemists unable to marry, or otherwise care for the living conditions of their owners. There is also a mention of other uses for female adolescents, but the reports don't specify what those are.

Adults
Used in much the same way as adolescents, adults have lost much of their potential value with age and are rarely used as more than subjects for experimentation, in some cases a slaver will raise their slaves into professions to be sold after their training, in this case the adult slave can often purchase their own freedom however, and demand for these slaves is comparatively low.

Seniors
This category is mostly useless in a social sense, though occasionally bought to raise children, the short lived nature of these slaves limit their function to subjects for experimentation, and some alchemists make use of them in research toward extend lives.

Slavers
This part focusses on the means by which slavers obtain slaves rather than the nature of slavers themselves, due to lack of information on criminal slavers.

*Once again I briefly pause, arriving at the topic of children, the subject strikes close to home for me, and I'm convinced this is what master Fizban intended me to read.*

Children
There are several ways in which children end up as slaves, children taken in by authorities as either orphans, strays or thieves often end up being sold into slavery, or sold as slaves. It is also rumored that children can be taken from the streets or even their homes by criminals should there be a demand for them and an opportunity. There are also occasions where a parent sells a child into slavery, unwanted children are most common, but parents in debt are often tempted to resort to it.

Adolescents
Usually captured criminals end up being sold as adolescent slaves, but also enemies captured in battle, people in debt and rarely sold by family. In this case it's often the female adolescents that get sold into slavery when the family is unable to arrange marriage. It is common practice for adolescent females that lose their purity before marriage to get sold into slavery instead.

Adults
Adult slaves are usually the result of a slave not being sold earlier in life, but the main source of adult slaves is debt, an adult forced to either sell himself or his family as a result.

Seniors
In contrast to the others, senior slaves are usually voluntary, selling their last moments to provide for their families when they feel their life is coming to an end. In recent years though, it has become more common for families to force an elder to do so, and the trend might change as a result.
......................

I slowly put my pen down, finished with summarizing the manuscript, master Fizban's scheme had been successful, I had no desire to be picked off the streets by thugs in the lower tiers of the city or guards in the middle tiers and sold as a slave, and I unwillingly resigned myself to going back home...

(I plan to use things like these to give more backstory regarding the surroundings of the character, the main parts will be focussing on whatever is going on, while these parts focus on explaining the why and how etc)
 
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