You are a monk in the fractured, post-apocalyptic California who recently finished his training at Sa'Migel Arcangel, near the center of the empire. Once a glorious beacon of enlightenment in an unenlightened world, California has fallen to division and sectarianism, and the emperor sits trapped in the holy city of Sacremento, while the Imperial Protectors of the Five Provinces openly war against each other, paying lip-service to Elton IV Yudkow, the living Guru while blithely ignoring his edicts and commands.
You are a follower of the Way of the Cowl, a Cetic sect that promotes secrecy and pragmatism, and favors L'Ron Hubbard as the Paramount Guru. You were chosen by the administration of your monastery to spread the Enlightened Faith to the near mythical Filipines, across the Infinite Pacific Ocean. You grew up in the desert wastes of the mojave, and remember well when false honor and inaction cost the lives of many of your neighbors and the abduction of your sister by foul worshippers of the Atom.
Languages:
Classical Inglish (Literate)
Classical Espanyol (Literate)
Angeleno Spanglish (Native)
Valley Spanglish (Accented)
Fransiscan Spanglish (Accented)
Bajanese (Broken)
Jeffersonian (Broken)
Arixian Spanglish (Broken)
Possessions:
Blue Coweled Formal Robe
Grey Travel Robe
14 Imperial Dolares
A Small Dagger
Provisions for your trip to Monterey
Followers:
Shwaig, A Franciscan follower of the dove. Skilled in healing and diplomacy with peasants. Openly hostile to nobles and the rich. Vegan and Pacifist Zealot. Brings Herbs and Vegetables for the trip, but hardly and money.
Djamez, A Vallejan follower of the fist. Well armed, and a master of the martial arts. Good natured, but a bit oblivious at times. Studious, but Forgetful. Brings a Naginata, throwing axe/hatchet, dagger, 12 Valleyan Dolares, and Jerky. Obstains from all intoxicants.
"I have lived no cloistered life and hold in contempt the wise man who has not lived and the scholar who will not share. There have been many wiser men than I, but few have traveled as much road. I have seen life from the top down and the bottom up. I know how it looks both ways. And I know there is wisdom and that there is hope."
- L'Ron Hubbard
As a devotee of the way of the cowl, you have had special training in both hiding your intents and reading those of others. You are good at faking emotions and passing whatever you say off as truth, as well as seeing through falsehood and reading others like a book:
You also showed special interest in a certain part of the way of the Cowl's teaching:
A: The Prince: "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." (Bonus to intimidation and blackmail, disadvantage to "good cop" tactics"
B: The Commodre: "Certainty, not data, is knowledge." (Big, blatant deception and lies have more of a chance of working, but if it does backfire, it's far worse)
C: The Warden: "The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces." (You understand how evil and people tick very well, but this familiarity causes people in general to distrust you all the more)
D: Top Gun: "When you're enlightened, you see life, things, the way they are, in all its glory, in all of its perplexity, and the more you know as an enlightened person, the more you become overwhelmed by it." (You're extremely charismatic and good with people, but you have a hard time thinking outside the box set up for you by your teachers.)
E: I was always more of a generalist.
>>44334611
>A: The Prince: "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." (Bonus to intimidation and blackmail, disadvantage to "good cop" tactics"
>>44334611
A: The Prince: "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." (Bonus to intimidation and blackmail, disadvantage to "good cop" tactics"
Though the warden is interesting.
Here's the last thread btw.
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/44271863
>My anti-anatomist backstory got used.
So, are there going to be russians (the more "civilized" Atomicist, though the faiths developed separately) also trying to spread the faith in the filipines?
>>44334110
What's Jeffersonian?
>>44335049
Northern california/southern oregon.
>>44335049
>>44335057
Presumably as you get further north you get less and less spanish in your spanglish, and as you get further and further south the reverse, so jeffersonian is going to be the most englishy spanglish and bajanese the most spanishy.
>>44334704
>>44334817
Danke schone. Please add a 1d100 roll in the case of a tie. Voting closes at 8:30 PST. Feel free to ask setting questions while you wait.
>>44335034
It was good, so thanks.
>>44335001
I forgot this. May Imperial Favor be upon you
>>44335049
The language spoken in Nothern California and southern Oregon. It is the closest to old world English of the five Californian Tongues. It's opposite is Bajanese, which is the closest to ole world Spanish. While Angelenos, Vallejans and Bayfolk (Fransiscans) can generally understand eachother (Think Swedish/Norwegian/Danish, mutually intelligible but different) Jeffersonians and Baja Califonios have a harder time, and can't understand each-other at all.
>>44335283
Exactly
Rolled 79 (1d100)
>>44335361
roll for Prince
>>44335034
I'd be more worried about the Nipponese, Viet Minh Cao Daists and possibly even Sagrado Mexicans (who have a lot of cultural ties there. But there could be Siberians wandering around and teaching the veneration of the atom and the great Demon Tsar Bomba, yes.
>>44335469
Yes, RATIONALLY it'd be weird to be there, but since it's the most relevant to us it'd be nice.
And I mean, all the "local" faiths probably already have all the converts they're going to get. Atomicism and Ceticism could be the "new, foreign" competitors.
>>44335536
This is probably how it's gonna be. It's out of the scope of the mod itself, so I've been working on figuring out what's going on in asia. One thing I'm thinking of implementing is a revival of Taiping Tianguo, combined with Eastern Lightning, creating a theocracy in Southern China.
The Five Provinces:
1. The Valley: The Valley was the first province of the Empire. Elton, the first emperor, was originally a poor cobbler in the city of Fresno, until he received visions from the Gurus of the Infinite, and deposed the despot of the city and threw him off the Pacific Tower. The people of the Valley are poor and uneducated, but unmatched in their devotion to Ceticism. They tend to prefer the Way of the Fist. They have quick tempers and love a good fight.
2. Socal: The people of Socal are known for their business sense, and extreme income inequality. The lords of Socal are the richest and grandests in the empire, and their serfs are among the most miserable. The merchant families of Orange and Los Angeles collectively own the grandest Navy in Califonia. They prefer the Way of the Cowl.
3. Gran Francisco. The San Francisco Bay holds the collected knowledge of the entire old worlds at its universities of Berkeli and Stanford, or so it seems. the Bayfolk men clain ancestry of every corner of the earth, and the works of every guru as their heiritage. They favor the Way of the Book.
Baja California: Second to the last of the provinces to join the empire, Baja is constantly on the defensive against the mexican kingdoms of Sonora and Colima, and constantly having to put down rebellions from their wealthy middle class, consisting mostly of Chino Sagrados, who follow corrupted versions of teachings of the Guru Haysuskristos and his apocryphal saint that they claimed followed him as well. Baja is a hotbed of religious toil, and as such, favors no particular sect, as long as they support Ceticism against the Sagrados.
E. Jefferson: The Jeffersonains were the last province to fall fully under the authority of the emperor, due to the efforts of Elton II to push the Gaian Savages out of California. They are proud of their relative independence and outdoorsmanship. They favor the Way of the Dove.
"The Prince" wins the vote. You are an ardent follower of Guru Machiavelli, who realized that sometimes, you have to do evil things to achieve righteous ends.
Do you wish to do anything else before you leave?
>>44336066
Wow. Fucked that up royally.
The Five Provinces:
1. The Valley. The Valley was the first province of the Empire. Elton, the first emperor, was originally a poor cobbler in the city of Fresno, until he received visions from the Gurus of the Infinite, and deposed the despot of the city and threw him off the Pacific Tower. The people of the Valley are poor and uneducated, but unmatched in their devotion to Ceticism. They tend to prefer the Way of the Fist. They have quick tempers and love a good fight.
Second: Socal. The people of Socal are known for their business sense, and extreme income inequality. The lords of Socal are the richest and grandests in the empire, and their serfs are among the most miserable. The merchant families of Orange and Los Angeles collectively own the grandest Navy in Califonia. They prefer the Way of the Cowl.
Third: Gran Francisco. The San Francisco Bay holds the collected knowledge of the entire old worlds at its universities of Berkeli and Stanford, or so it seems. the Bayfolk men clain ancestry of every corner of the earth, and the works of every guru as their heiritage. They favor the Way of the Book.
Fourth: Baja California: Second to the last of the provinces to join the empire, Baja is constantly on the defensive against the mexican kingdoms of Sonora and Colima, and constantly having to put down rebellions from their wealthy middle class, consisting mostly of Chino Sagrados, who follow corrupted versions of teachings of the Guru Haysuskristos and his apocryphal saint that they claimed followed him as well. Baja is a hotbed of religious toil, and as such, favors no particular sect, as long as they support Ceticism against the Sagrados.
Fifth: Jefferson: The Jeffersonains were the last province to fall fully under the authority of the emperor, due to the efforts of Elton II to push the Gaian Savages out of California. They are proud of their relative independence and outdoorsmanship. They favor the Way of the Dove.
>>44336104
Grab our journal, then let's head off.
>>44336241
You grab your journal before you leave. After all, not Guru would be a Guru without a record of his works and teachings. Hell, the works of Guru Aurelius WERE his journal.
The first two days are fairly uneventful, aside from the bickering of Schwaig and Djamez.
You walk along "El Camino Real" the oldest and greatest road in California, through the Salinas Valley. It hardly rains in California, so the few great rivers are worshiped as gods, or at least as very important gurus, and the Salinas is among the greatest of them.
When you reach King City, you see the beginning of a riot brewing. A Nihongo merchant is leading a Bayfolk women and her children on a chain, and claiming they the are owed to him due to the debt of their father, The locals disagree, and insist that the merchant is a filthy slaver solely looking to make a profit.
The merchant's four guards are well armed, but very outnumbered. the peasants have the forse of numbers on their sides, but are armed with only simple clubs and pitchforks,
What do you do?
>>44336737
Well, however legal this may or may not be, it surely strikes a personal chord. Can we not help but think of how are sister surely suffered in the hands of heathens? Wrack our minds for both scripture and precedent, and if necessary perhaps Djamez will have to threaten with his Firearm... though we would truly ask him to FIRE under such mundane circumstances, is she not a faithful cetic, and are the Nihonese not heathens?
>>44336887
*would NOT truly
>>44336737
Is he Japanese? Also, Bayfolk? Is that just people from the bay area?
Our sister was abducted. Ask Schwaig how he could hope to free those poor folks in chains with merely pacifism. My idea is to incite a riot using words. Ask Djamez what our odds are, and if he's willing to fight.
>>44336929
If we do this, have the conversation in classical espanol, which the foreigner will surely not understand, but our fellows should.
Made a couple Additions for a couple extra details OP didn't provide though they look like shit
>>44336887
You're a bit angry. Your own sister was stolen away by slavers, and since then the practice of forcing humans into servitude disgusts you. The Cetic code forbids chattel slavery absolutely, but does in a certain sense promote debt slavery, stating that the children should pay their father's debts, and laws forcing them to work for their debtor are just and right.
The Nihonese are Pagans, but not the worst sort. They pray to and support the souls of their ancestors and the old world. The official line is that they are uncivilized savages, but ones who only need a guru of their own before they accept a branch of the true, Cetic Faith.
>>44336929
Nihonese s Japanese. Bayflok are the entire population of coastal California from Santa Barbara to Santa Rosa.
>>44336967
Good idea. You speak to your fellows on the more obscure of the old languages.
>>44337301
Or, we can use our Prince trait and try intimidating.
"Look around you, merchant. Soon you'll have all the peasants in King City out for your blood. Your men are undoubtedly skilled but against so many, the odds aren't great. Release them. Escape with your life."
If that doesn't work we can incite violence.
>>44337301
>the children should pay their father's debts, and laws forcing them to work for their debtor are just and right.
So that means legally he's kidnapping the wife?
>>44337392
If that's the case than say that if he releases them all we won't track down a magistrate to have him charged.
Though we should ascertain if he's telling the truth about the debt. I'd like to try intimidating first.
>>44337244
Eh. Mine did too, so it's cool
>>44336929
Schwaig suggests that you lead the populace in passive resistance, getting in the merchants way and making it exceedingly difficult for him to leave, blocking roads and passages with the sheer force of passive human bodies.
Djamez says that due to the numbers, the odds are definitely in your favor, but while you would win, many peasants would die in the process.
You could certainly incite violence with your words, the crowd is already on the edge of it as it is, and the merchant's guards, despite their superior weaponry and armor, are obviously scared.
>>44336967
You voice your concerns using classical Espanyol. Your followers are confused for about half a second, then catch on and understand you completely. The peasants can obviously get a very general gist of what you are saying, but obviously only recognized a few key words. The Nihongo Merchant it obviously trying to parse things with the Spanglish he knows, but is still in the dark in the moment.
>>44337389
If you chose to side with the peasants, this is the line you'll use.
>>44337392
Basically, yes.
>>44337416
Added to the "Side with the peasants" decision.
>>44337555
Not siding with the peasants but the people the merchant has in chains. I'm sure the merchant would make better conversation than the plebs, but we've gotta go against him, too bad. Siding with peasants, what would Nietzsche think. They smell so bad. Speaking of which, is he a Guru here?
So, yea, voting for siding with the peasants. Seems most are in favor.
>>44337431
You interrogate the merchant, and the crowd backs away a few feet.
As far as you can tell, the merchant lent te now-deceased father of the family money to start a vineyard, on the condition that The merchant, Horigoshi Kuri, would receive drastic discounts on the wine created there. Drought hit,and within two years the vineyard owner went broke. He killed himself due to stress about a year ago, and Horigoshi-san insists that by law, the children of his debtor must serve him.
"M-my lord [Lastname]-san. I am purely a humble trader desiring his honest dues. if the peasants can afford the 500 Franciscan dolares, I will gladly go on my way and release the debtors. I only wish my investment to be returned."
>>44337763
Wineyard man, couldn't you at least have offered to sell yourself into slavery? Now it's your family. Coward.
I somehow doubt the peasants have 500 dolares.
Oh, he called us san. That's cute.
We should talk to those in chains and ask if his story is true. Also, is debt slavery legal here? If so, we can quote
>The Cetic code forbids chattel slavery absolutely, but does in a certain sense promote debt slavery, stating that the children should pay their father's debts, and laws forcing them to work for their debtor are just and right.
to the peasants to calm them down.
>>44337637
It is debated whethr Nietzsche was a guru or not. On one hand, his teachings were influential in the formation of ceticism, on the other, he favored a kind of materialism that said that only the physical was reality, which contradicted the mainstream train of cetic thought. You'll never be considered an idiot or heretic for following Nietzsche, but you'll make a lot of enemies all the same.
>>44337855
Yes, but it only applies to children, he's kidnapping the wife.
>>44337763
This lore all rings a bell, is it a from a CK2 mod, or am I just dumb?
>>44337915
yes
>>44337915
It's from Ofaloaf 's mod "After The End"
