Strip 756 Choose your own adventure

[pendell]

You are Elan!

You have just discovered that your father betrayed the Free City of Doom to conquest by a rival empire. You witnessed that negotiation yourself.

The ambassador from the Free City of Doom is attempting to kill your father for his treachery. You are standing between the two of them.

Do you:

1) Defend your father and kill the ambassador, because he's family?
2) Stand aside and let the ambassador kill him?
3) Assist the ambassador in killing him?
4) Attempt to capture him alive and hand him over to 'proper authorities' , whatever those are?
5) Something completely random and elan like? If so, please describe.
6) Something else?

Help me out here. I confess that, if I was in Elan's shoes, I wouldn't be quite sure what to do.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[zimmerwald1915]

6) hand my rapier to daddy, sit down, and clap happily as he goes to town on the lying mean meanie head who defamed his honor. Perhaps sing a jaunty tune to accompany.

[King of Nowhere]

I think we can rule out a few of them...
1) Elan will never do that, since she is on the rigth. I don't think he'll ever side with his father after he confessed his actions.
2) I think he would feel compelled to intervene somehow. Standing aside is not how a hero would react

Now, 3 is dubious, after all Elan tried to kill his brother in a swordfigth, so he may try with his father too (nice family he got, by the way). But I don't see him attacking his father that way.

Since his father is clearly a main villain, 4) may be the more elan-ish thing to do. I wonder what kind of autorities will he try to contact...

I also feel the situation isn't much the one where he may do 5. It's way too dramatic for that.

Something else may be warning haley, who is near enough to intervene.

This is a big mess. I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
By the way, let's hope he will remember that his father has informations on girard.

[Murdim]

If I was Elan, I think I would get all serious and... Ooooooh, puppets ! :elan:

[derfenrirwolv]

Help the Ambassador kill dad, paint hair white, assume his place.

[137beth]

If I were in a situation like that I would walk out and tell Haley, and wait to see what she would do.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

He will dramatically monologue and angst about the entire situation, because it's time for character growth. It's dramatically appropriate!

[Callista]

Elan won't be blindsided by this for long. He's a bard; he knows that finding out your estranged father is evil is something that's to be expected.

[The Pilgrim]

:elan:
Dodge, Dodge, Dodge
Dodge the Psychotic betrayed woman person.

[pendell]

I think we can rule out a few of them...
1) Elan will never do that, since she is on the rigth. I don't think he'll ever side with his father after he confessed his actions.


Are you sure? Roy sided with Belkar against Miko, despite the fact that Belkar had escaped from prison and murdered a guard to do so. Miko was good and Belkar was evil, but Roy chose Belkar over Miko because Belkar was part of his team and Miko wasn't.

Tarquin is evil, but Tarquin is also family. Ms. Nameless Ambassador isn't.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[octagon]

I guess he will get upset, ask his father what all this mess is supposed to mean, receive a lie (or a cookie), be pacified by it, and happily assist his father defeating the 'meanie'. Until Haley grabs him or knocks him down.

[silvadel]

Nothing his father said was incorrect. He never said those troops were there to help the ambassador and insufficient information is available to know which side was right in that battle.

[Xefas]

6) Elan will be stricken with indecision between family and the right thing to do. Haley will have followed them using a Hide/Move Silently modifier far higher than either of their Spot/Listen, and will then intervene, possibly wounding or killing Tarquin in the process. This will set up dramatic tension between Elan and Haley later on, as he has to come to terms with sleeping with someone who killed his father which, despite being clearly evil, also gave him a host of fond memories.

[Alagaesian]

I find it interesting that, in this scenario, Elan has acted the exact opposite of what Miko would have done. Elan stops the fight as soon as he can, gaining information before getting involved.

I think Elan is going to be temporarily incapacitated by confusion over why his dad would do something so evil. Meanwhile, Tarquin goes ahead and kills the captain (he's probably at a much higher level than she is, he dodged everything she dished out). Then Tarquin tells Elan that this is all their little secret, since it would ruin his reputation as a dictator and get him hurt, and he doesn't want that, does he? And then Elan is lead back out to watch the rest of the parade, unable to say anything about it to Haley until they can get away from Tarquin again. If that anticipated gladiator event happens immediately after the parade, then this could take awhile.

This gives us enough drama to stew in for a while, opens the door for Elan's character development, and allows the Order to get involved with the upcoming gladiator match. Seriously, if someone kills or captures Tarquin right now, then all of the drama and anticipation that's been building up for Roy and Belkar's fights would turn into a sour anticlimax. If those two are going to be separated from the party, I want to see them doing something nearly as interesting as the main group.

[DaveMcW]

The Doomies are evil, they deserved it.

(Blood and Tears are evil too, but Elan doesn't need to know that.)

[veti]

Elan will be disillusioned, but he's not stupid. (Silly, yes, but it's not the same thing.) He knows it's pointless suicide to attack his father then and there - that's not the dramatically appropriate thing to do, there hasn't been enough buildup to have a final showdown yet.

My call: he persuades the woman to escape or surrender, listens politely to whatever psychotic rambling his dad has been storing up, somberly agrees, then mooches off and consults with Haley on what to do next.

[Katana_Geldar]

Never mind

[Felhammer]

5) Something completely random and elan like? If so, please describe.

Find a nonviolent solution involving Bard spells and 18+ charisma!

[valce]

Nothing his father said was incorrect. He never said those troops were there to help the ambassador and insufficient information is available to know which side was right in that battle.

I concur. There is insufficient evidence to condemn his father.

... Besides, doesn't Elan want to see the surprise*? :D

-V

*I'm predicting that Elan won't decide his father is evil right now, but will be forced to see the dark after his father shows him the surprise.

[Ender Wigin]

He should tell his father to free the city and call back the troops, and if he dosn't coroperate, gang up on him with that lady and jail him, with Elan and Haley using high Carisma to convince the empress that what Tanqulin did was wrong and Elan should become general. Then he would be able to free Roy and Belkar and ride romanticly into the sunset on an Elanasorus with Haley, then turn around outside the pannels and go wild in their bedroom. (Or do it on the dino, whichever works. Hey, they've done it in weirder places. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0690.html))

[binyamin20]

I think we can rule out a few of them...
1) Elan will never do that, since she is on the rigth. I don't think he'll ever side with his father after he confessed his actions.
2) I think he would feel compelled to intervene somehow. Standing aside is not how a hero would react

Now, 3 is dubious, after all Elan tried to kill his brother in a swordfigth, so he may try with his father too (nice family he got, by the way). But I don't see him attacking his father that way.

Since his father is clearly a main villain, 4) may be the more elan-ish thing to do. I wonder what kind of autorities will he try to contact...

I also feel the situation isn't much the one where he may do 5. It's way too dramatic for that.

Something else may be warning haley, who is near enough to intervene.

This is a big mess. I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
By the way, let's hope he will remember that his father has informations on girard.

Youre mistaking the question. It's not what Elan would do, it's what you would.

I'd kill them both and take their magic items.

[Dr Bwaa]

Certainly not #4, since (A) Tarquin is the authority and (B) jailing people through due process isn't Elan's style (unless he's reasonably sure that some good exposition will come of it--not likely in this case).

I could see a couple pretty strong options here: Elan seems to have increased his Wis a little bit recently through some character-development-fu, so we may get a "All the empires here are evil, so maybe that one was particularly evil and it was good that they were destroyed." Or, we may get veti's prediction of "wait and consult Haley later."

[SPoD]

My call: he persuades the woman to escape or surrender, listens politely to whatever psychotic rambling his dad has been storing up, somberly agrees, then mooches off and consults with Haley on what to do next.

I think this is the most likely answer so far. I think Elan has a big bucket of Denial left to drain before he's ready to acknowledge that Dad is Evil. This is a first step, but only a first step.

I think he'll try to get the two of them to talk out their differences because OBVIOUSLY this is some kind of misunderstanding. Because Dad wouldn't do that, right?

Right???

And then later, relay to Haley, possibly with extra helpings of, "You were right!" He won't turn his sword on Dad here unless something much MUCH worse comes out.

[Dr.Epic]

Provide magical and bardic support (probably mostly healing if Elan can cast any of those spells) to my father if he needed it: we have no idea if this captain is good or evil or if the country they represent is good or evil. Also, he is my father. I don't think I could attack him. He may have lied, but that's a big part of a general job sometimes: deceit. Not to mention, you kill him and you yourself may die: you're in a country where he's a celebrated general and you just killed him.

Maybe not the best choice, but really, we need to get Roy free, find Gerald, and end this save the world quest and Tarquin is a vital part of all that.

[dnixon]

Well, naturally I would stop the fight, if I could (if couldn't then defend father as I (Elan) always defend my allies).

Then listen to explanations. Since Tarquin's Diplomacy & Bluff is about 20+ higher than my Sense Motive, I'll be soon happy and continue eating ice-cream with him.

How on earth could that be explained?

1. Bluffing is what Elan and Haley do constantly (so even open lies shouldn't be matter after they have been explained)

2. Fighting to change / overthrow government is what especially Haley does constantly (Azure City, Thieves Guild and here)

3. Going into city with bluff is what the group is doing right now

4. Shortened war is good for the normal people of Free City of Doom as they were starving

If the occupying army would be ending the tyranny (not replacign it with another), the act would be in fact good. For example Paladins & Goblins of the Azure city were fighting and someone managed to bluff a company of elves inside of walls to end the war & oppression fast.

[Kareasint]

Youre mistaking the question. It's not what Elan would do, it's what you would.

I'd kill them both and take their magic items.

The first line in the first post was: You are Elan.

I took this to mean that you should roleplay his next move.

Since Dad did not tell a direct lie and did exactly what he said he would do, I would try to gather more information about which is in the right here. For all I know, the Free City of Doom was the aggressor in the war.

Immediate action would be to break up the fight and get back to Haley asap to see what she recommends next after Tarquin shows the surprise that he had waiting.

[pendell]

The first line in the first post was: You are Elan.

I took this to mean that you should roleplay his next move.


As the OP, I can confidently say you have the correct interpretation. Not that that should stop anyone from having fun with it.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Roland Itiative]

I would take the chance to confront my father about the reasons he's working for a obviously evil Em... Oh look, there are dinosaurs in the parade!

[binyamin20]

The first line in the first post was: You are Elan.

I took this to mean that you should roleplay his next move.

Since Dad did not tell a direct lie and did exactly what he said he would do, I would try to gather more information about which is in the right here. For all I know, the Free City of Doom was the aggressor in the war.

Immediate action would be to break up the fight and get back to Haley asap to see what she recommends next after Tarquin shows the surprise that he had waiting.
Hmmm. I took this to me that you are in Elan's position not Elan himself.

[King of Nowhere]

Anyway, I think the most reasonable thing to do (and somethiong elan would not object) would be to persuade the woman to surrender or escape.
I mean, since they need to know what tarquin knows about girard, they can't kill him. And I don't think elan and the woman could if they tried. So at least that way she won't be hurt and tarquin will spill the beans on girard later.

[Scarlet Knight]

Hmmm. I believe Elan would stop the fight, allowing the Ambassador to be captured. After hearing his dad start to gloat, turn to Tarquin and have a very dramatic " You are no longer my father" scene.

[Gd8908]

If I was Elan, I would get all serious and tell Tarquin, straight-out, all serious and threateningly, that - hey, PUPPETS! They have puppets!

[veti]

I concur. There is insufficient evidence to condemn his father.

Whether Tarquin told the exact, to-the-letter truth, may make him feel better about it, but it's not going to cut any ice at all with CG Elan. As for evidence, he's got his father's own confession.

Possibly this is Tarquin's "join me and together..." moment - he's hoping that Elan will side with him out of family feeling, thus betraying his own morals. If so I predict he's in for a disappointment.