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Exploration CYOA


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A

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Decision: A, dry off and return to town with the scales that we have.

She shivered, remembering the close call she'd had with the jelly, and decided discretion was the better part of valor. After drying off, pulling out the spare set of clothes she had tucked away in her pack, and vesting herself in the dry garments, she shouldered the scale, tucked the glowing amulet in her shirt and began making her way out of the cave.

[Clothes put back on, -2 Stress, -1 Spare Clothes]

In a matter of minutes she was blinking away the light from the entrance, though the harsh mid-noon light from the sun had turned to a more delicate afternoon glow. She immediately saw that she might be in a spot of trouble, however; there were two men leaning against a horse-drawn wagon, both tall and lean and dressed in nondescript, sensible traveler's clothes. One of them was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, and was armed with a short, curved sword. The other had a shock of long, blond hair pulled back in a short ponytail and was armed with a longer, straight blade. Neither of them had drawn their weapons, but the one in the hat was gazing at the adventuress with a gleam in his eye.

"Looks like you were right, partner," he said in a lazy, accented drawl. "Just had to wait for this one to do the work for us." He smiled darkly, obviously brimming with confidence, and stepped forward, fist on one weapon. "Two to one, miss," he said, tipping his hat politely. "I like those odds. What do you say you just give us the scale we came for, and we'll leave you be?" he asked reasonably.

She cursed inwardly, sliding the scale down to the ground and gripping her own weapon. She remembered her contact telling her that he'd overheard of this place... perhaps from these two. They must have seen her enter and decided to wait it out, seeing if she'd returned with their treasure... and she had. She might be in trouble if she didn't figure a way out of this.... The silent one had range on her, and she wasn't sure if she could handle both of them at the same time - they were both clearly adventurers as well, though she wasn't sure how experienced.

Choice:
A: Fight them! They weren't going to get away with trying to profit off of her work.
---A1: Try to surprise them by rushing at the one with the curved sword. Even though he has his hand on his weapon, he's closer, and she'd have less time for him to react. Hopefully she'll finish him off before the other can begin fighting her.
---A2: Try to surprise them by rushing at the one with the straight sword. He's further away, but he has his arms folded across his chest, which means she's more likely to take him by surprise. Hopefully she'll finish him off before the other can begin fighting her.
---A3: Take out her grappling hook and attempt to tangle the feet of one of them with it, taking them out of combat in order for her to dispatch the other without interference.
B: They seem well-mannered enough; perhaps she can persuade them to let her go.
---B1: Try to intimidate them with her exploits of the dungeon.
---B2: Attempt to logically explain to them that what they were doing was unfair and that they should leave her be, since she expended the effort of getting the scale.
---B3: Attempt to get them to split the profits with her in exchange for leaving her unmolested.
---B4: "Persuade" them with her body.
C: Give them the scale, perhaps attempting to barter passage on the wagon to her next destination so she wouldn't be caught with no way to get to her next source of income.
Assuming successful bartering:
---C1: Head to the mountain temple, rumored to be the lair of a rare creature.
---C2: Head to the oasis in the middle of the desert, possibly the private residence of an ancient king.

Stress: 1
Breasts: 15%
Equipment:
Amulet of Light (equipped), Grappling Hook, Breath Mask, Short Sword,
Treasure:
Shimmering Azure Wurmscale
 
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Diagasvesle

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Re: Exploration CYOA

A. A3. Lets disable them without killing.. Doubt its gonna happen but hey, I want some packmules.
 

DeMatt

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Re: Exploration CYOA

A - A3. Do NOT like the thought of losing (most of) our reward from this dungeon, and disabling one with the grappling hook seems like the best tactic towards success.
 
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Re: Exploration CYOA

[CH-CH-CHAIN UPDATE!]

She eyed them for a half-second, her quick mind running calculations and judging distances before ripping her grappling hook out of her back. Making a quick turn with it, she flung it at the far man's feet, getting the tines and the rope tangled around his ankles. Grunting and pulling hard, she ripped his feet right out from under him, and he made a heavy 'oof' sound as he struck the ground.

That was all the time she had before the other man was on her, and she was barely able to free her own blade to raise it in a block that rang with the sound of steel on steel. The man was quick, but poorly trained... it seemed he was a simple highwayman, a lowlife that was more used to brandishing his weapon than using it. She smiled and stepped back from a slice to her midsection, seeing through and blocking the rebounding strike. Unfortunately for her opponent, he had overextended himself with that panicky backhand, and she gave her weapon a little twist, sending his block wide as she viciously sliced across his neck. He fell, clutching his throat, his weapon falling from hands futilely trying to hold his lifeblood in.

Meanwhile, the other man had freed his own weapon and simply sliced through the ropes entangling him, getting up with a dark look towards his fallen companion. He didn't rush in like the man in the straw hat had; it seemed he was a little more familiar with carrying a blade. She would have to be more careful against him.

[-1 Grappling Hook]

Circling around her opponent, she sent a couple test strikes in, all of which were easily turned aside. After they both had tested the waters with shallow hits and a couple feints, they waded in, the sound of ringing metal filling the muggy swamp air as they struck and countered each other's weapons. She got careless though, and let one of his strikes through, the point of his longsword biting into her side and slicing its way out, making her cry out in pain and back off, clutching her injury with her off hand.

[+2 Stress]

Setting her jaw and shifting her grip on her weapon, she resolved to be more careful, and waded in for a quick flurry of strikes that left neither of them any advantage. When he next came at her, she ducked under his cut and kicked out with a heavily booted foot, catching her opponent in the midsection. Immediately she followed the advantage, whipping her short blade in three cuts that left the steel embedded in his chest. She shivered as she planted a boot against his chest and yanked her blade out, then planted it in his throat to ensure his death.

After doing the same check to the other man, now absent his straw hat, she wiped the blood off her weapon and sheathed it, quickly checking their pockets for any valuables they might have kept hidden. After cleaning their own swords off and claiming them as her own, she also searched the wagon to see what she could find. She also picked up the undamaged tines to her grappling hook; rope would be far less expensive to purchase than a brand new hook. She didn't find much, but both of their weapons were at least well-made, if not professional in quality; they were certainly a bit higher quality than the short sword she was using now. She also found a bit of traveling rations, which would at least make the trip back a little more comfortable for her. It was a shame that she had dealt them both mortal injuries before being able to question them; they almost certainly had a stash of gold hidden somewhere or another, based on how little they had carried with them. Oh well, no use fretting over what she couldn't change.

[+20G, +Longsword, +Scimitar, +Horse-drawn Wagon, +Hook Tines]

Her first stop, of course, was to her fence, where she was actually able to talk him up to a higher price than she expected for the scale.

[+175G, -Shimmering Azure Wurmscale]

Her second stop was to the local weaponsmith, where she would have to decide on which sword she wanted to keep - the shorter, slightly faster scimitar, or the longsword that had a few inches more of reach. She would hopefully be able to sell the other two blades back at a reduced price.

[OOC note: This vote is purely for flavor purposes. Neither weapon choice is planned to make any difference to a combat roll.]
Choice 1:
A: Scimitar
B: Longsword

[+10G from selling discarded weapons, repair of grappling hook, +Grappling Hook]

She was able to get back to town before there had been more than a two or three hours of darkness, and she debated whether or not to sleep at the inn. It was pricy, but it would completely heal all of her wounds and get her rested up for the next trip. On the other hand, she wasn't too badly wounded, and her funds were still somewhat limited. She could always return to her hideout in town and patch up her wounds, but she wouldn't get the pampered treatment that she'd get if she stayed at the inn... the soft, feather bed, the complimentary repair to her clothes, the hot meal in the morning...

[Sleep at the inn? Sleeping will set Stress to zero.]
Choice 2:
A: Sleep at the inn. Stress = 0, -100G
B: Sleep at her flat.

When she visited her source of information, she was pleased to find that he'd heard of another location with possible treasure - a mansion in a territory that was abandoned because of some terrible event some years back. It had been a rich homestead, but looters had been as yet unsuccessful in pilfering the remains because of the spirits blocking the way. If she could find some way to deal with the vestiges of the life that had once inhabited it, she might succeed where others had failed. It was some distance away, requiring quite a bit of resources to reach, but that need would be vastly reduced because of the horse and wagon she had acquired.

[OOC note: I've decided to put the shopping vote in the next post, so everybody's on the same page with which dungeon we're tackling next and can thus make decisions in concert with what to purchase. Expect a list somewhat similar to the previous shopping vote.]

Choice 3:
A: 40G: mountain temple, rumored to be the lair of a rare creature (cold hazard)
B: 75G: oasis in the middle of the desert, possibly the residence of an ancient king
C: 145G: haunted mansion, barred-off former homestead of a wealthy family


Stress: 3
Breasts: 15%
Equipment:
Amulet of Light, Grappling Hook, Breath Mask, Longsword?, Scimitar?
Gold: 205
 

Twisted1

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Re: Exploration CYOA

A -- faster is more fun!
No vote -- I want to hear other people's reasoning before I can go either way, really.
A -- just because it sounds the most interesting.
 

DeMatt

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Hmmm...

1) B - the longsword. Greater reach is better if we have to poke something whilst trying to stay out of its grasp.
2) B - stay at home, hang up her wet clothes to dry. The hotel in question must be the bloody Hilton, if it costs more for a night's stay than a pair of weapons.
3) I am sorely tempted by the third option... if only because our heroine's dealt well with her first spirit. But I'll go with option A - unless one of them's much more likely to include tentacular foes. :p
 

Archer

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Re: Exploration CYOA

A

B

B

I really can't see any naughty coming from an ice cave and if there is that means she loses her clothes....and is naked......IN THE ARCTIC!!! *facepalms* Am I the only person who doesn't live on the equator here? :rolleyes:
 

DeMatt

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Re: Exploration CYOA

I really can't see any naughty coming from an ice cave and if there is that means she loses her clothes....and is naked......IN THE ARCTIC!!! *facepalms* Am I the only person who doesn't live on the equator here? :rolleyes:
Hey. I don't live on the equator, that's why I didn't immediately rule out option A. Maybe the H consists of small things, seeking warm places to nest and/or lay eggs, in which case we get "she yelps as something chilly slithers up her pant leg, shoving itself into her crotch".

Besides, our heroine's in it for the money, not for the H. This could be a "build up resources" run, rather than a "get the heroine sexed" run.
 

Keylo

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Re: Exploration CYOA

1. B

For unless one is a Runescape (yes I went there) character or an Arabian warrior, a scimitar seems so horribly unfitting.

2. B

...That is simply way too much to pay for an inn.

3. A

...Snow maidens, ice worms...plus cold places are fun~...
 
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Re: Exploration CYOA

Hmmm...

1) B - the longsword. Greater reach is better if we have to poke something whilst trying to stay out of its grasp.
2) B - stay at home, hang up her wet clothes to dry. The hotel in question must be the bloody Hilton, if it costs more for a night's stay than a pair of weapons.
You're skimming. Neither weapon will make any difference in combat vs the other, it's just a flavor vote. And there are no wet clothes. She took them off and left them in the water tunnel (okay to be fair that was a while back and you might not remember it), basically my little way of penalizing you for not taking them off in the first place if you were going to. The clothes she put on were dry.

Also, since the vote seems to be leaning towards the dungeon with the cold hazard, I'm going to put it out there that it's not the arctic, it's not going to kill her if she's not wearing anything, it's just going to add some stress if she's not in warm enough gear. Given enough time, that might kill her as the stress accumulates, but unless we go through quite a long period without any warmth, it's not going to kill her by itself... just make other things harder via stress. Remember this when it's time to go shopping. I'm locked out of my house right now so I'll probably be updating in the next hour or so; votes are still welcome.
 

Diagasvesle

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Re: Exploration CYOA

1. B

For unless one is a Runescape (yes I went there) character or an Arabian warrior, a scimitar seems so horribly unfitting.

2. B

...That is simply way too much to pay for an inn.

3. A

...Snow maidens, ice worms...plus cold places are fun~...
Alright, the runescape got me hooked to this vote, so I'm bandwagonnering here.
 
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Re: Exploration CYOA

[OOC note: Added a new line to the status spoiler, Gear. Equipment is stuff you pay for or acquire on a quest, Gear is stuff you always have, being part of the cost of travel to dungeons. If you can think of creative ways not in listed votes of using Gear to solve an obstacle, more power to you - you might even get rewarded with an unscripted item or cache of gold! Also if anybody thinks of any gear we might have by default, PM me or suggest it in the thread.]

Votes:
1: Scimitar
2: No inn
3: Mountain Temple [-40G]

After resting up, she headed over to the shop to purchase some equipment for her future adventure. When she told the man where she was likely headed, he smiled and said he knew of the place, suggesting some warm clothes for the chilly altitude, and perhaps some extra Grappling Hooks for the inevitable climbing portions.

Starting: 165

Restorative potion (100mL): 100G
A potion that will heal some minor wounds and relax the drinker. (Maximum 1 flask, -4 Stress when used)

Oil (10mL): 35G
A small flask of a highly flammable substance, useful for setting things on fire, even if they're naturally resistant to flame. (Maximum 2 flasks)

Never-ending flask: 700G
This wondrous flask (strangely, it's somewhat cold to the touch) will store an almost infinite amount of any liquid! Popular with adventurers like her, it's a fantastic tool for traveling light yet being prepared for anything. But look at that price tag.... (Maximum 2)

Adventurer's clothes: 5G
A set of nondescript clothes for women. Occasionally, when spelunking and running and jumping and doing the other things adventurers are required to do (not to mention those dastardly monsters...), her clothes may get ripped, burned, frayed, stolen, removed, or otherwise destroyed, so it's always handy to have a spare set in your satchel.

Adventurer's parka: 30G
A warmer set of clothes than the adventurer's clothes. Slightly more resistant to being removed than ordinary clothes, but only should be used in colder climates.

Grappling Hook: 20G
An extremely versatile tool, with almost unlimited uses. Extras are almost always useful, and it comes with a fancy leather sheath for the pitons so they don't stab your other belongings in the pack. Who said merchants never go the extra mile for their customers anymore?

Stress: 3
Breasts: 100%
Equipment:
Amulet of Light, Grappling Hook, Breath Mask, Scimitar
Gear:
Rope, Torches, Rations, Tinder/Flint
Gold: 165
 

Diagasvesle

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Adventurer's parka, two of'em. An extra grappling hook. And 2.
 

thetwo

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Re: Exploration CYOA

A parka would seem to be mandatory, and you were of course so good as to remind us that a second grappling hook might be advisable.

On top of that I'd throw in a flask of oil. For emergency fires. And, you know, non-emergency fires. Just don't hesitate to use it if we need it.

(85g)
 

DeMatt

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Eh, what the hell. I'll spend more than anybody else. Buy:
  • 2 x Adventurer's Parka
  • 2 x Grappling Hook
  • 1 x Oil Flask
Total spent: 135G, leaving 30G in reserve.
 

Twisted1

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Eh, what the hell. I'll spend more than anybody else. Buy:
  • 2 x Adventurer's Parka
  • 2 x Grappling Hook
  • 1 x Oil Flask
Total spent: 135G, leaving 30G in reserve.
This gets my vote as well.
 

the64bitbot

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Re: Exploration CYOA

Eh, what the hell. I'll spend more than anybody else. Buy:
  • 2 x Adventurer's Parka
  • 2 x Grappling Hook
  • 1 x Oil Flask
Total spent: 135G, leaving 30G in reserve.
This gets my vote
 
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