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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2650 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 29, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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The last time I recall a thought experiment based on global choices being discussed on the Motte, it got quite heated and divisive. Hopefully this one will be more fun, if y'all are willing to indulge in a bit of daydreaming and power fantasy.

Pic related. TLDR: you are one of a number of people given a choice between 10 sets of powers, with corresponding agenda that make them stronger when followed and taboos that make them disappear for a time when broken.

  • Approximately 1 in a million people from those who live now, eligible from age 14 and upwards, are presented with the choice. This is a one-time event.
  • Everyone is explained the choices in the language and terms they understand.
  • Those who were not picked to participate in the choice do not know anything yet.
  • Trying to abuse or bug-test the choice mechanic results in being assigned the 10th option.
  • Everyone who's been picked knows those five stipulations.

What do you pick? What do you think the world will be like, and how do you intend to make it?

Personally, I am a bit torn between Amlia and Marked. My Amlia powers will likely not be too strong, since I don't think I'll find it in me to dedicate myself to healing the sick full-time. However, I can expect a good deal of goodwill and protection from society, and have the Sanctuary to retreat to if shit hits the fan bigly. Marked's total immortality is tempting, but I don't want to stick around floating in the void until the heat death of the universe, whether as a soul or as a body. Finally, XM sounds like a decent, if more daring, pick. (It is not clear whether XM powers are at a constant level, or shift based on an inscrutable variable).

It's Lux for me, anything that boosts your intelligence is very powerful. We live in a world of machines and mathematics.

World would be pretty fucked. However, MBTI suggests most people are inclined towards the Lawful Good end of the spectrum, so the bottom ranks wouldn't be very populous. They'd be manageable. I envisage a huge machine of Ur knights and healers, probably the most popular classes - funded and organized by Lux masterminds who control everything.

Some other CYOAs I like:

Tarots: https://imgur.com/a/y4b0UVY

I'm torn between The Magician and Strength, they're all so good! The Minor Arcanas are an afterthought and don't matter IMO.

Some long-form interactive CYOAs:

https://travellers-cyoas.neocities.org/Cultivation/ (Traveller's made quite a few but I think this is his best, the others tend to be overly complicated)

https://swcyoas.neocities.org/soyouwannarulethegalaxy/ (trending more into that overly complicated zone but there's great charm in the original Expanded Universe idea)

The World tickles my encyclopedia completionist side, I must say. How easy would it be to lift myself off my ass is arguable, even in a brand new fantasy world, though. I'd hope the sense of restlessness the card induces would compensate for my homebodiness.

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