Shadow
Tentacle Monster
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2011
- Messages
- 306
- Reputation score
- 16
In an attempt to dispel my 'lurker' status, I thought I'd have a go at trying my own CYOA. I know fledgling CYOA's are 10-a-penny, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh. Hopefully it's interesting enough to capture people's interest, and open ended enough for me to give it some reasonable longevity.
On the grassy, dry plain that lay adjacent to the forest, a woman was kneeling in front of her campfire. She was garbed in the simple clothes of an adventurer – tight grey top, relaxed brown skirt… knee-high leather boots – and by her side hung her sword, secure in its scabbard.
With the light from the fire catching her long, blond hair in a rather alluring way, the woman set about her incantation. For almost an hour she chanted, with no visible effect… until the very end. From the ground around her rose one, two, three, innumerable black spheres – spirits of the underworld – each glowing with a powerful dark malevolence. Slowly they approached, drawn in by the power of the spell.
It was entirely the wrong moment to sneeze.
With that simple, instinctive action the woman’s concentration was shattered, and the spell broken. Freed of their bonds, the spirits sought shelter in the only host available - the one kneeling in front of the campfire before them.
“No!” cried the stranger, but it was too late – all the orbs flew as one towards her, and where the struck her body they were instantly absorbed, before together seizing control of her mind. Gasping, the unfortunate sorcerer collapsed, her head striking a protruding rock on the ground. Everything went black.
Several hours later, with the sun shining down from the clear blue sky, Eve (for that was her name) awoke. The spirits within her found themselves in complete control – all sensory input fed into their collective consciousness, they had full access to their victim’s memories, and motor control seemed fully functional.
Scanning through her memories, they learnt that she had attempted to summon and control the spirits to provide her with the power to proceed unharmed through the jungle ahead… in search of a legendary shrine, said to bestow god-like knowledge and wisdom on all who prayed before it.
Ah. ‘Unharmed’ being the key word, thought one of the chattering minds. The jungle was rumoured to be crawling with all sorts of dangers, some more obvious than others. Still, a second voice added, god-like wisdom and knowledge is a worthy goal, even for powerful spirits… and now they had the vessel to get them there…
Guided from within, Eve steps into the forest. Trees soar on all sides, yet the undergrowth, full of thick leafy plants sitting on a layer of detritus, is dense. In the distance she hears birds calling and insects chirping, the sounds of life. Then the humidity strikes her; it’s overbearing, bringing her out in a sweat and draping moisture along the edges of her clothes. Still, she ventures forward through the undergrowth, taking care to be stealthy – its broad daylight and it wouldn’t do to draw unwanted attention.
Eventually she comes to a small river. She knows the temple she seeks, whilst far away, lies beyond this water…
Option A) Simply swim across the river. It’s not very wide, it’s not very fast-flowing, there’s nothing in sight… What’s the worst that could happen?
Option B) Follow the path of the river round. There’s bound to be some kind of natural bridge over it eventually, and it’ll save us the bother of getting wet.
Lost in the Jungle
On the grassy, dry plain that lay adjacent to the forest, a woman was kneeling in front of her campfire. She was garbed in the simple clothes of an adventurer – tight grey top, relaxed brown skirt… knee-high leather boots – and by her side hung her sword, secure in its scabbard.
With the light from the fire catching her long, blond hair in a rather alluring way, the woman set about her incantation. For almost an hour she chanted, with no visible effect… until the very end. From the ground around her rose one, two, three, innumerable black spheres – spirits of the underworld – each glowing with a powerful dark malevolence. Slowly they approached, drawn in by the power of the spell.
It was entirely the wrong moment to sneeze.
With that simple, instinctive action the woman’s concentration was shattered, and the spell broken. Freed of their bonds, the spirits sought shelter in the only host available - the one kneeling in front of the campfire before them.
“No!” cried the stranger, but it was too late – all the orbs flew as one towards her, and where the struck her body they were instantly absorbed, before together seizing control of her mind. Gasping, the unfortunate sorcerer collapsed, her head striking a protruding rock on the ground. Everything went black.
Several hours later, with the sun shining down from the clear blue sky, Eve (for that was her name) awoke. The spirits within her found themselves in complete control – all sensory input fed into their collective consciousness, they had full access to their victim’s memories, and motor control seemed fully functional.
Scanning through her memories, they learnt that she had attempted to summon and control the spirits to provide her with the power to proceed unharmed through the jungle ahead… in search of a legendary shrine, said to bestow god-like knowledge and wisdom on all who prayed before it.
Ah. ‘Unharmed’ being the key word, thought one of the chattering minds. The jungle was rumoured to be crawling with all sorts of dangers, some more obvious than others. Still, a second voice added, god-like wisdom and knowledge is a worthy goal, even for powerful spirits… and now they had the vessel to get them there…
Guided from within, Eve steps into the forest. Trees soar on all sides, yet the undergrowth, full of thick leafy plants sitting on a layer of detritus, is dense. In the distance she hears birds calling and insects chirping, the sounds of life. Then the humidity strikes her; it’s overbearing, bringing her out in a sweat and draping moisture along the edges of her clothes. Still, she ventures forward through the undergrowth, taking care to be stealthy – its broad daylight and it wouldn’t do to draw unwanted attention.
Eventually she comes to a small river. She knows the temple she seeks, whilst far away, lies beyond this water…
Option A) Simply swim across the river. It’s not very wide, it’s not very fast-flowing, there’s nothing in sight… What’s the worst that could happen?
Option B) Follow the path of the river round. There’s bound to be some kind of natural bridge over it eventually, and it’ll save us the bother of getting wet.
A quick overview of the rules. If HP hits zero, Eve dies, and the spirits (that's you guys!) will have to possess what ever killed her. Which might provide a nice change of pace at some point, I suppose.
Being a sorcerer, Eve is capable of magic spells. At the minute she can use Fire Bolt I, Thunder Bolt I and Heal I. They're fairly self-explanatory, and each a blast of each uses up 10 MP points.
Corruption is can be raised in a variety of ways, most of which will become apparent later. As corruption increases, Eve becomes more unrecognizable as the spirits start to take over; it might manifest as horns, or wandering shadows, or what have you. Every time corruption passes a unit of 10, Eve becomes even more unrecognizable, and as spirits you become more powerful (which generally translates as new spells, greater manipulation of simple minded beasts around you, that sort of thing).
If you think of an idea that isn't suggested as an option, feel free to suggest it. At the minute decision taken is based on the number of votes, although at some point I might introduce a Head Spirit feature (similar to the Overlord in the Tentacle Lair Evolution! CYOA).
This being the Linemarvel forum, I assume it's understood that the story might contain... morally questionable elements.
HP: 50/50
MP: 100/100
Status: Fine
Eve is Corrupted.
Corruption: 5/?
Being a sorcerer, Eve is capable of magic spells. At the minute she can use Fire Bolt I, Thunder Bolt I and Heal I. They're fairly self-explanatory, and each a blast of each uses up 10 MP points.
Corruption is can be raised in a variety of ways, most of which will become apparent later. As corruption increases, Eve becomes more unrecognizable as the spirits start to take over; it might manifest as horns, or wandering shadows, or what have you. Every time corruption passes a unit of 10, Eve becomes even more unrecognizable, and as spirits you become more powerful (which generally translates as new spells, greater manipulation of simple minded beasts around you, that sort of thing).
If you think of an idea that isn't suggested as an option, feel free to suggest it. At the minute decision taken is based on the number of votes, although at some point I might introduce a Head Spirit feature (similar to the Overlord in the Tentacle Lair Evolution! CYOA).
This being the Linemarvel forum, I assume it's understood that the story might contain... morally questionable elements.
HP: 50/50
MP: 100/100
Status: Fine
Eve is Corrupted.
Corruption: 5/?