1. Introduction & Choosing the Villain
LoserThree
Finds writing poorly easy
- Location
- Greater Seattle Area
1
You have no form. You have many voices. Some speak wisdom, some folly, some madness. Only you can hear your voices. So it has been for as long as you have been. But the things you know, and that you can know, stretch far, far beyond the cacophony that defines your perception and expression both.
Now, in this singular and unique moment you are invited to venture outside your world and reach the ear of a new listener, one who does not know all that you know, one that not only listens but sees and acts.
And there are three who call on you, the Astute Cacophony. But you can only choose one.
Choose whom you will advise:
[ ] Bianca the Undying rules the Nine Nations in a manner more like a particularly interventionist goddess than a queen. She has worked her sorcery to benefit the nine tribes who supplicate before her, and to cement her control over them, for the centuries since would-be grave-robbers unwittingly released her from a much, much older tomb. Know this of the Undying and her resources:
2019-03-01 Advise a Bronze Age Villain
2019-03-07 Evil Bronze Age Mummy Tribal Goddess Wants to Hear What You Think!
2019-08-06 From Tomb to Palace: a Scholastic Quest of Blood, Mud, Roads, and Steel
2019-03-07 Evil Bronze Age Mummy Tribal Goddess Wants to Hear What You Think!
2019-08-06 From Tomb to Palace: a Scholastic Quest of Blood, Mud, Roads, and Steel
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I want to see whatever people want to share with a story
villain or ancient world ruler.
If the things being shared aren’t useful to the quest
NPC, let me tell players that through the quest NPC.
And if that means that every few updates some new blood
takes the same faltering stab at describing the
confounded bessemer process, so be it.
Unless you believe another player is misleading the quest
NPC, let each have their say. I don’t mean to discourage
disagreement. You’re all fallible and to the degree I am
not it is only because I have authorial fiat. What I
mean to discourage is discouragement.Now, in this singular and unique moment you are invited to venture outside your world and reach the ear of a new listener, one who does not know all that you know, one that not only listens but sees and acts.
And there are three who call on you, the Astute Cacophony. But you can only choose one.
Choose whom you will advise:
[ ] Bianca the Undying rules the Nine Nations in a manner more like a particularly interventionist goddess than a queen. She has worked her sorcery to benefit the nine tribes who supplicate before her, and to cement her control over them, for the centuries since would-be grave-robbers unwittingly released her from a much, much older tomb. Know this of the Undying and her resources:
After 10,000 Years I Am Free: Bianca cannot be killed. That’s why she was sealed away long, long ago. She wasn’t the only Undying at the time and she doesn’t know what happened to the others. She does not eat or sleep. She does not tire or grow bored.
When Someone Asks If You’re a God You Say Yes: The tribespeople who follow Bianca believe she is a deity. That doesn’t mean they follow her orders without asking or that they fanatically devote themselves to her. But it means none of them would think to replace her and, if that were suggested, would find the concept bizarre.
Warriors, Come Out and Pla-ay: In special cases, smaller numbers of warriors are chosen by respected warleaders for attacks that require proven fighters or stealth or discipline. But in general war anyone who wants to fight, fights. Farmers, herders, and crofters all join when the tribe goes to war. Of the three choices, Bianca can field the largest number of capable if desperate combatants, so long as the chiefs and councils of each of the Nine Nations heed her call.
It Takes a Village: The densest level of urbanization found in Bianca’s followers is the village. Some of them are large villages, but they are not towns or cities.
[ ] Zorella the Cursed is a very proficient killer, and must continue to kill to sustain her divinely cursed existence. Fortunately, she won sanctuary from a priestly kingdom, within whose borders she is respected for her might and station. Over time she proved herself and is now trusted with the administration of a client state, over which she is effectively rules as a vassal to the high priesthood who spared and protected her. The following describes Zorella’s circumstances and situation:Tell You What I Do Like… A Dyed in the Wool Killer: Zorella’s skill at arms and as a leader of soldiers is unmatched by any mortal, but that’s to be expected because her father was divine. She can and has stood alone against scores of warriors and slew them all. With preparation and from ambush she has killed hundreds, again alone. When leading a warband or, providence forbid, an army she serves as a huge force multiplier to those fighting under her.
Because You Have Done This, Cursed Are You Above All: In a misguided attempt to prove herself to her divine father, Zorella brought about the deaths of thousands of followers of other deities, many by her own hand. Not only was her divine father unimpressed, but other divinities were very upset and cursed her. Now she tires quickly in sunlight and must draw on the lives of others to sustain her own. Only with great effort can she cross clean water. And salt physically repulses her.
Sanctuary, Sanctuary: Hounded by those she’d persecuted, opportunists, and enemies in general, Zorella fled to a kingdom ruled by a priest of her divine father’s cult. There she was given protection, in recognition of her heritage. Demigods do not age like mortals, and as the rulership of the holy kingdom was passed from oracle to seer to hierophant, Zorella came to be entrusted with the military might of the holy state. When, at the direction of the high priestess, she conquered a neighboring kingdom, she was made satrap, in which capacity she still serves.
Fear Will Keep the Local Systems in Line: The people of Zorella’s satrapy recognize her as their ruler. They pay their taxes to her representatives and their tithes to her masters or mistresses. And they understand very well what happens if they don’t. Zorella has governed the citystate assigned to her without major rebellion for just a little longer than living memory.
[ ] Oran the Wise is the name of a sorcerer and advisor to the most powerful emperor in the known world. But when Oran is asked a question, the answer does not come from the man who was once a boy named Oran. It comes, instead, from the magic ring Oran wears, which controls Oran in every way. Otherwise, things are kind of like this:One Ring to Rule: The magic ring Oran wears is old, but not as old as Bianca. Meant to store the knowledge of its maker, so that their craft would not be lost, over time and across many wearers, the ring developed its own personality and goals. It calls itself Greatness and it wants to rule the world. Another imperfection in its making led to slow attrition of unused knowledge, so it no longer knows how to make rings like itself.
Those Who Would Perfect Their Work Must First Sharpen Their Tools: Oran is the strongest sorcerer that Greatness has ever known. The ring adds to this power, even before its knowledge and experience are taken into account. In the opinion of Greatness, station is more easily acquired with power than power is with station.
Where Power Predominates, There Love Is Lacking: Oran is indisputably the strongest sorcerer. He is not indisputably the most important or most politically powerful. The emperor consults with a council of sorcerers, of which Oran is only one. There’s a lot of infighting, jockeying for position, and currying of favor.
Closer to the Throne, Closer to the Gallows: The emperor has a lot on his mind. His most important decisions seem to concern preventing and dealing with rebellions. There are many opportunities for advancement for those the emperor relies on. But the consequences of failure -- or even perceived failure -- are often dire.
Code:
All plainly written text should be in
character. To write out of character write
[spoiler=ooc] before what you want to say
out of character and [/spoiler] afterward.
You can also use [code] blocks like this,
but use generous carriage returns so your
text doesn’t get a horizontal scroll. It
looks like 43 characters is the right
stopping point for the sake of mobile
readers. Please be considerate.
Only words will pass through to the main
character: no files no pictures, no glyphs,
no symbols.
If this quest comes to require as much work
as the last one, the pace of updates will
drop. I’ll still manage one each month at
least, though.You may be aware that I’ve done this before. Either way, welcome players!
Like most quests, each player can vote from the options given, write in their own option, or vote for someone else’s write-in.
Additionally, each and every poster has a chance to be heard by the character or characters that I will be playing. All you have to do is type. However, one thing that happened last time was that there were too many people writing too much stuff and I couldn’t keep up.
Maybe this time there won’t be that kind of interest. But if there is, here’s how I’m thinking it’ll work:
If there are too many voices, they won’t be understood because they’ll be talking over each other.
If you want someone in particular to be heard by the main character, you can boost their signal by voting for them in a special category, [cacophony]. And if you want your own voice to be heard, you can encourage people to post [X] [cacophony] YourName to boost your own signal.
As in the previous question, a big part of this is going to be explaining your advice in terms the character can understand. And you must not only communicate your advice, you must also persuade the main character that your advice is of value.
When your message makes it through, the main character will be able to play your messages back at their leisure.
I’ve probably forgotten stuff that still needs adding to this.
Like most quests, each player can vote from the options given, write in their own option, or vote for someone else’s write-in.
Additionally, each and every poster has a chance to be heard by the character or characters that I will be playing. All you have to do is type. However, one thing that happened last time was that there were too many people writing too much stuff and I couldn’t keep up.
Maybe this time there won’t be that kind of interest. But if there is, here’s how I’m thinking it’ll work:
If there are too many voices, they won’t be understood because they’ll be talking over each other.
If you want someone in particular to be heard by the main character, you can boost their signal by voting for them in a special category, [cacophony]. And if you want your own voice to be heard, you can encourage people to post [X] [cacophony] YourName to boost your own signal.
As in the previous question, a big part of this is going to be explaining your advice in terms the character can understand. And you must not only communicate your advice, you must also persuade the main character that your advice is of value.
When your message makes it through, the main character will be able to play your messages back at their leisure.
I’ve probably forgotten stuff that still needs adding to this.
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