Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Let's make a deal)

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-27-2012, 04:52 PM

>Hershel: Connect to Chester's session.

You choose the second option, and after a quick loading screen, a list of two pops up with a prompt to pick one. Both appear to be nothing more than a random assortment of numbers and letters, so you decide to pick the first one. You get a message telling you that this session is corrupted and that you will need to pick another. Choosing the only other option prompts you to pick a screen name, which in the name of narrative consistency shall be the same as your Chumhandle. After a moment, the screen becomes black, and text reading Player 1 to Player 5 can be seen on the bottom of the screen.

Pesterlog:

**simon.clarkstone** · 03-27-2012, 05:49 PM

> Bryn: Escape from above.
> Liz: flail wildly.
> Lindsay, Henrick, Victoria, Jon, Geoffrey: grab controllers and head over to Herschel's house/cave.
> Also get your passports, and book airline tickets on the way to the airport.
((TBH, we would hardly know yet if he lived on the Moon. Also his home has two east walls and no west one.))
> Jon: hang on where has Victoria gotten to?
> Hershel: Try yet again to influence this computer game with magic.

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-27-2012, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by simon.clarkstone

((TBH, we would hardly know yet if he lived on the Moon. Also his home has two east walls and no west one.))

Shhh! You'll ruin the surprise twist!

Dude, I need to make you my proffessional editor or something. You're always catching the little things I let slip.

That wasn't a negative comment by the way, thanks!

**trulyElse** · 03-27-2012, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by simon.clarkstone

> Bryn: Escape from above.
> Liz: flail wildly.
> Lindsay, Henrick, Victoria, Jon, Geoffrey: grab controllers and head over to Herschel's house/cave.
> Also get your passports, and book airline tickets on the way to the airport.
> Jon: hang on where has Victoria gotten to?
> Hershel: Try yet again to influence this computer game with magic.

Second.

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-28-2012, 01:58 AM

>Liz: Flail wildly.

You attempt to flail wildly against the three cloaked figures that are assaulting Bryn, and succeed on the flailing part, though not so much on the wild part. In your defense, while you are beginning to recover from whatever Bryn put your body through, you're still not in top condition. All that you really end up doing is weakly hit one of them with your umbrella before it is taken from you and you are lifted up by the biggest of the three. You continue your flailing, but this only tires you, and eventually you go limp slung over the figure's shoulder.

>Hershel: Try yet again to influence this computer game with magic.

You whisper eldritch words in long dead tongues, wave around magic charms, and even draw a mystic circle and runes around the Gamesphere, but it is all to no avail. Once again, technology refuses to mix with magic and negates it. This obviously why none of your spells have worked in the past, and not because magic is a fakey fake thing, because it is obviously very real.

Regardless, you are going to have to do something or else Liz's life could be in peril, and you are not going to lose one of your few friends without a fight!

Well, maybe not a literal fight. That would involve leaving the Cave. But you have to try something.

**trulyElse** · 03-28-2012, 02:21 AM

> Hershel: Press start.

**Xindaris** · 03-28-2012, 12:54 PM

>Tell the others what's going on in slightly more detail.

**Malrone** · 03-28-2012, 01:30 PM

Try finagling with the options/settings/command-console?

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-28-2012, 02:23 PM

>Hershel: Try finagling with the options/settings/command-console

You fiddle around but can't seem to find anything of any use! There are the camera options and the chat options, neither of which allow you to help Liz. You decide to settle for trying to get someone in the game to help her out.

Chatlog:

Well that doesn't bode well. You don't want to leave Liz, for fear that something horrible will happen to her while you're not looking, but something obviously just happened with Chester. You almost switch the screen to check on him when a second chat window opens.

Chatlog:

**Askia** · 03-28-2012, 02:28 PM

Do it

**simon.clarkstone** · 03-28-2012, 02:48 PM

> Hershel: You should really know enough about the occult to know that such offers aren't worth it.

Originally Posted by mysticCharlatan

CH: >I'VE ALREADY OFFERED MY HELP FREE OF CHARGE ONCE TODAY>
CH: >THIS TIME I'LL NEED COMPENSATION>

> Hershel: last time CH helped, Kaylyn was saved by her entering the game; maybe Liz can be saved this time by her exiting the game.

---

((darn, ninja'ed by that last update))
> Hershel: send Liz the instructions for a spell. Maybe it will work better where she is.
((Or))
> Hershel: send Liz a spell that will activate the moment her menu displays it.
> Hershel: try to identify the various species of these creatures.
> Hershel: inspect the new areas that people are discovering.
> Chester: warn people about the contents of your lab that could interact badly with the explosion.
> portal detector: annoy your owner again.

**Xindaris** · 03-28-2012, 06:43 PM

>Bartering is important here, especially if he's demanding such a high price. He wants you to agree unconditionally to do anything. Think about that for two seconds. One of the things he could order you to do is kill Liz, or come to think of it, any of your friends. Refuse his offer unless he guarantees that whatever you are to do for him will not harm your friends--that is, ANYONE you consider a friend RIGHT NOW, regardless of what you may consider them in the future, or may have considered them in the past. Furthermore, 'harming friends' includes passively standing by while they are harmed if you could have done something about it. But mention that it's okay if it hurts you, as compensation. Your argument should be that since the motivation for taking on this debt is saving your friend(s), the deal is completely off if it ultimately fails to deliver on the very reason you take it in the first place. If he won't concede this he's basically admitting that the way he wants this debt repaid is by hurting your friends, so you should not take the deal.

>If the deal falls through, search online and see if anyone else has somehow started playing this game, or played it in the past. Maybe GameFAQs has a poorly-written or overly verbose guide somewhere?

**trulyElse** · 03-28-2012, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by Xindaris

>Bartering is important here, especially if he's demanding such a high price. He wants you to agree unconditionally to do anything. Think about that for two seconds. One of the things he could order you to do is kill Liz, or come to think of it, any of your friends. Refuse his offer unless he guarantees that whatever you are to do for him will not harm your friends--that is, ANYONE you consider a friend RIGHT NOW, regardless of what you may consider them in the future, or may have considered them in the past. Furthermore, 'harming friends' includes passively standing by while they are harmed if you could have done something about it. But mention that it's okay if it hurts you, as compensation. Your argument should be that since the motivation for taking on this debt is saving your friend(s), the deal is completely off if it ultimately fails to deliver on the very reason you take it in the first place. If he won't concede this he's basically admitting that the way he wants this debt repaid is by hurting your friends, so you should not take the deal.

>If the deal falls through, search online and see if anyone else has somehow started playing this game, or played it in the past. Maybe GameFAQs has a poorly-written or overly verbose guide somewhere?

Seconding.

> While you're at it, you might want to do a bit of research into cancelation of a geas, just in case.

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-29-2012, 06:16 PM

>Hershel: Barter

Chatlog:

Well that was a needless distraction. You focus back to Liz and find that apart from being carried away by unknown captors she seems to be alright. You calm yourself. If they were seeking to kill her, they most likely would have done it by now. At worst, you at least have some time to find a way to save Liz's life.

>Hersel: Try to identify the various species of these creatures.

You examine Liz's captors as closely as the camera and the figure's cloaks will allow. They are of differing sizes, the smallest being about a foot shorter than Liz and the tallest being almost twice her size. The largest and smallest appear to be humanoid, but the medium sized one seems bent over and has an odd gait. You are pretty sure you can see four feet moving beneath its cloak. Other than that, the only physical traits that are readily apparent are their hands. The smallest's seem human enough, but the medium sized one's are thin, three fingered, and black, covered in some sort of shell. The largest one's hands don't look too odd at first, though eventually you notice that they each have six fingers instead of the usual five.

You can also gather some information by what they are wearing. For one thing, their clothing is identical. Their cloaks are dark blue and in good condition. Their hoods are drawn up to hide their features. Beneath their cloaks are grey robes, and you catch a glimpse of the same insignia sown onto each of their right breasts: a bowl with what you suppose is stylized water overflowing from it.

>Hershel: Check internet for SMyth guides.

You move away from your television momentarily to check on your computer. Knowledge is power, they say, and if you know where to look you can find almost any information you want on the internet.

You check GameFAQs first, because honestly that's one of your favourite sites. You like a good walkthrough. Heck, you'll even read one for a game you've never played if it's well written, a habit that some might find REALLY ODD if you disclosed it. But that is beside the point. Right now, you are here on a mission. You beeline straight to the section on SMyth and are surprised to find only one guide present, written by someone going by inevitableDownfall.

Originally Posted by inevitableDownfall

Part 1) Introduction [OCRP]

You're doomed.

Just letting you know that, in case you were holding out any hope. You, my dear friend, are doomed. You were doomed the second you decided to shell out money to a company that appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as quickly because of all the hype they built up. Doomed when you clicked that mouse to preorder the game, or rushed to the shop, or pirated the damn thing (you folks kind of deserve it, though). Doomed the second you took the disk out of that suspiciously nondescript case. Doomed the moment you stuck the disk into the technological affront to nature, intelligence, and all things good in the universe, the Gamesphere.

So, now that that's out of the way, you may be wondering what exactly the point of this little FAQ is. Well, at first I just wrote that stupid little paragraph up there and wanted to leave it at that. But eventually I decided that, if nothing else, I'd get a chance of working out my frustrations by writing this thing. And hey, if I made someone else's hellhole of a game a little more bearable, I suppose that's a plus for them.

So here we go. If you're wondering how to win this game, don't bother asking. You can't. That little rant up there wasn't just me blowing steam out my ass, that was unequivocal fact. The best you can do is some modicum of success, dynamically presented to you here:

COMPLETE VICTORY................................DON'T PLAY THE STUPID GAME, ASSHOLE!
SELFLESS VICTORY.................................AT LEAST MAKE SURE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE PLAYING
MINIMAL DAMAGE VICTORY.....................PLAY WITH AS FEW PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE
SPITEFUL VICTORY..................................PLAY THE GAME WITH A BUNCH OF PEOPLE YOU HATE
QUICK PSEUDO-VICTORY.........................PERFORM GROUP SUICIDE
SUCKER'S VICTORY.................................ACCOMPLISH AS MANY OF THE GAME'S GOALS AS POSSIBLE
MOST COMMON OUTCOME.......................DIE HORRIBLY

So yeah, don't say I didn't warn anyone. You are, at best, going to end up dying. You don't want to know what some of the worst outcomes are. All I'm doing is holding your hand and trying to guide you to the most painless end possible.

You're welcome.

The guide goes on a little further, but you're not sure you want to read it. Such a defeatist attitude. Perhaps this inevitableDownfall is mistaken, or maybe it's just his runthrough of the game that is doomed. You sincerely hope that is the case.

**Xindaris** · 03-29-2012, 07:27 PM

>Hm...perhaps these people worship a water-based deity, so the only reason they wanted to capture her was her association with a fire-based being? If that's the case she might even be able to explain her way out of trouble here when she comes to. Would be nice if you could inform her of this theory to avoid too much misunderstanding and/or preempt any bad answers to potentially incriminating questions...

>Might as well see, just for the heck of it, whether that username can be contacted via chat. Actually, if there's any contact info at the end of the FAQ (there's usually an E-mail or something somewhere, though I can see why there might not be in this one) try that.

>Communication is key wherever possible...report these events, including the rejected geas, to Chester for him to look at whenever he gets another chance.

He missed some important pieces of the argument, that's probably why it failed...but I suppose I shouldn't expect much better from someone under so much pressure.

Then again, it's possible that CH was dead set on being stubborn about this to begin with, in which case nothing we said would've helped.
(Please don't take this the wrong way, this is not a horrifically presumptuous 'edit your post' request, this is commentary on how overly specific command ideas get interpreted by characters and stuff.)

**simon.clarkstone** · 03-30-2012, 12:20 PM

> Hershel: get someone to look up the creatures in the Lore menu in-game.
> And the selection of gods and other supernatural creatures that this world has; there are sure to be some around.

**mysticCharlatan** · 03-31-2012, 10:17 PM

>Hershel: Report to Chester

You decide to inform Chester of everything that has happened. It appears that Liz has lost consciousness again, and you have no idea if you can get in contact with Lindsay and Henrick yet, but you should make sure that someone knows about all this. Assuming that this game isn't unwinnable, you are going to have to keep communcations open if you have any hope of victory.

Chatlog:

--------

**simon.clarkstone** · 04-01-2012, 07:28 AM

> Seems that cyclicHarvester was lying, and Chester and Kaylyn could not in fact handle themselves.
> Find Chester and Kaylyn in an embarrassing situation.
> Chester: regain communications now that you are away from the Quintessal Sea.
> What's up back at the Ellis house crater?
> Where have Mr. Dougan, Mr. Ellis, and SS got to?

**mysticCharlatan** · 04-01-2012, 07:31 PM

>Hershel: Find Chester and Kaylyn in an embarrassing situation.

You change the screen, and are greeted by a most interesting scene. Kaylyn is leaning against a tree, one hand clutching her gut and the second covering her face. At first you are worried that she might have been hurt, but as soon as her hand moves, you can see the mirth in her eyes and the laughter on her face.

Panning the camera up, it is immediately clear what she is laughing at. Suspended by his right foot roughly ten feet off the ground, Chester swings through the air with a look of annoyance on his face. He shouts something at Kay, but you don't get audio so you are not privy to the choice words he has for her. You notice that there is what appears to be a small chest about a meter away from where Chester would be standing if on the ground, and it doesn't take someone of great intelligence to piece together what happened.

Chatlog:

-------

**trulyElse** · 04-01-2012, 07:45 PM

Quick question: If you assign fist-kind, can you wield the enemy's fists?

>Chester: Look at the trap you found yourself in. Can you see any structural weaknesses you could exploit for freedom?

**Xindaris** · 04-01-2012, 08:43 PM

>Chester: If you're still wearing your coat, use its stretchy-arm-power-thingy to simply untie or otherwise foil the rope bonding your legs. If you dropped it in getting turned upside down, have Kaylyn toss it to you and attempt same.

So you know that thing where several of the well-arted MSPaint adventures were having different people pretend to step in for the author and do something incredibly silly for April Fool's Day? I think we text authors should've done the same thing, but to do so now would just be entirely too late. Unless you really wanted to or something. I mean, the joke of fooling people is ruined but the possibilities for humor within it are totally all still there.

**mysticCharlatan** · 04-01-2012, 09:40 PM

>Chester: Look at the trap.

You examine the trap that you've found yourself in. Simplistically designed, it is really just a rope tied to a treebranch somewhere above you (you can't see it, and given some of the nonsense you've had to put up with you wouldn't be surprised if it was actually just floating on nothing, however). The rope is thick and is painfully digging into your ankle, though not roughly enough to break skin thankfully. You've shed enough blood today, you think, glancing at the bandages that somehow stick cover your shoulder. Lindsay tied these up really well, or the fact that the game considers them apparel makes them harder to shake off.

A shame the same could not be said for your lab coat, currently lying in a heap on the ground.

>Chester: Do the stretchy-arm thing.

Dialog:

Your head feels like it's about to burst by the time she does so, partially from the blood that is rushing to it, but mostly out of frustration towards Kaylyn. It takes some time for her to actually get the damn thing up to you (aim is not this girl's strong suit), and it takes almost as long to put it on as well. By the end, you look about as stupid as you can, with the majority of the labcoat hanging beneath you, but for now all you will need is the sleeves. One quick snap of the (completely non-magical) extendable sleeves seems to be enough of an attack to cause the rope to break just a foot from where it wraps around your foot.

A split second later as you momentarily hang ten feet in the air with absolutely nothing supporting you, you begin to sense a flaw in your cunning plan.

The debris on the ground serves to cushion your fall. Somewhat. You are still conscious, but with the force and pitch at which Kaylyn's laughter assaults your ears, you almost wish it had knocked you out.

And there's the pain on top of that. Ow.

**Malrone** · 04-01-2012, 09:50 PM

Gather yourself together, man! C'mon.

>CAREFULLY Inspect Chest. Look for any other traps. Check if it's locked. Open it away from you.

>Kaylyn: Equip the slingshot the chest contains

**Xindaris** · 04-01-2012, 10:09 PM

>Chester: Tell Kaylyn to open the chest without setting off any more traps, if she's so smart.

>Kaylyn: Find no more traps despite recklessly just opening the thing, claim spoils.

**mysticCharlatan** · 04-02-2012, 05:20 PM

>Chester: Tell Kaylyn to open the chest without setting off any more traps, if she's so smart.

You do this.

>Kaylyn: Find no more traps despite recklessly just opening the thing.

You do this. Much to Chester's consternation, you might add.

>Kaylyn: Claim spoils.

The chest opens, and it is only with a little surprise that you see three cards rise up from it. The first two are tan bordered, which you have discovered means they are Objects, while the last is blue, a Concept.

The first Object is a BASIC SLINGSHOT. Despite not being the best at aim, it might be a good idea to take it as you are currently unarmed. You understood well enough what you needed to do to designate a weapon, but apart from fistkind (which, you were slightly disturbed to find out, was not necessarily limited to your own fists) you didn't think you had anything on you that could make a valid weapon. You can't really see yourself slaying Gremlins with your necklace or cellphone, for example. So for lack of a better option, you Deck the slingshot for consideration.

The second Object is a SLIGHTLY REINFORCED SHIRT. Your Fashion Sense Concept kicks in automatically, informing you that apart from being a stylish black, gives a mild bonus to physical resistance to the wearer. You probably won't wear it (it wouldn't match the rest of your outfit, and your Fashion Sense tells you that would result in you losing a bonus to Diplomacy if you do), but you would imagine Chester would appreciate having a shirt. Whether or not you feel like giving it to him is another matter, of course. You deck it with a mischevious smile.

The final card, the Concept, shows depicts a series of symbols that appear to create the following formula: "Tree + Tools = Chair". You deck this as well, and further inspection indicates that it is in fact a Woodcraft Concept.

You turn to offer some clever quip to Chester, to which you are sure he is already fashioning a less-clever-than-he-believes retort, but the both of you are stopped by the sound of laughter. Not the faint, ambient laughter you have decided originates from the air itself, nor that high pitched shrieking laughter from above that disturbing the fruit results in, but a deep chortle coming from just out of view.

It is followed by a voice.

"Found you at last."

--------

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