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Imagine you were a 20th level 10th Mythic Tier being (think Baba Yaga's level of power where she took out an entire countries army and conquered it singlehadedy in a few days) and for the past 40 years you'd been clashing with an opposing being of equal ability. No matter how final your apparent victory they always found a way back in their quest for world domination, you'd lost friends/loved ones in the fight and in the end your right back where you started only a few levels higher.
Now you know this person always kept their word barring outside circumstances (usually you). They have never said "I will do X" while fully intending not to do so its the one good trait about them as far as your concerned. There have even been occasions where due to a more powerful outside force you've been forced to form a temporary alliance with them and every time they have honoured it. Both to the letter and the spirit (that is no sudden "surprise" double cross when you beat the foe they would walk away and then try to kill you the agreed upon month after the alliance had expired).
This time they have come to you with an offer as they've realized neither of you can truly kill the other. If you agree to stay out of their affairs and never oppose them they in turn will neither harm your family and friends (unless they try to oppose them) nor target the country you live in. They get almost total world domination and you get a quiet peaceful life.
Would you take it?
Sure. If I'm an immortal 20/10 spellcaster, screw it, I'll start playing God. Make my own planet in a Demiplane, populate it with stuff, and rule that instead. Bring my family with me.
Or Terraform a different one. Plenty of planets in the solar system with stuff living on it.
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I dunno, treating reality like your own personal game of Minecraft seems pretty ambitious to me.
Spend a few millenia making a life size model of the solar system or something.
I dunno. Do sane, even-minded people get to be level 20/MT 10?
I think you have to be crazy ambitious to get there. So it's possible that I'd be incapable of accepting such a deal.
I can definitely see this perspective. Excessive, unquenchable hubris along with being completely out of touch with reality as most people know it is kind of par for the course for mages of a certain caliber... which I'm assuming is what we are talking about. And level 20/MT 10 is way beyond that.
I think it would take me longer than 40 years to reach the inevitable conclusion that I am fighting a never ending, pointless proxy war with a bitter foe that I'm not really much different than. Maybe after a couple hundred or up to a thousand years I'd probably get disillusioned and accept the terms just to do as Rynjin suggested.
Imagine you were a 20th level 10th Mythic Tier being (think Baba Yaga's level of power where she took out an entire countries army and conquered it singlehadedy in a few days) and for the past 40 years you'd been clashing with an opposing being of equal ability. No matter how final your apparent victory they always found a way back in their quest for world domination, you'd lost friends/loved ones in the fight and in the end your right back where you started only a few levels higher.
Now you know this person always kept their word barring outside circumstances (usually you). They have never said "I will do X" while fully intending not to do so its the one good trait about them as far as your concerned. There have even been occasions where due to a more powerful outside force you've been forced to form a temporary alliance with them and every time they have honoured it. Both to the letter and the spirit (that is no sudden "surprise" double cross when you beat the foe they would walk away and then try to kill you the agreed upon month after the alliance had expired).
This time they have come to you with an offer as they've realized neither of you can truly kill the other. If you agree to stay out of their affairs and never oppose them they in turn will neither harm your family and friends (unless they try to oppose them) nor target the country you live in. They get almost total world domination and you get a quiet peaceful life.
Would you take it?
It sounds like I've been aware of their tendency towards being a totally honorable opponent for a while. Chances are I've already attempted to use that against them at least a couple times. So, screw it, if I'm a CR 25 being all by myself with mythic power running in my blood, I'll divide up the world and be content to rule my half. Doesn't mean I'm not going to start up a Batman-like set of contingencies and strategies to use in conjunction with all sorts of weapons, rituals, and other elements to completely and totally annihilate anything and everything belonging to my nemesis the instant he/she steps one toe over the line. Man's gotta have a plan to protect his stuff, y'know?
40 years? only 40 years? this war has just started!!!!
Talk to me again after an Age or two.
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No. My opponent might keep his word not to bother me directly, but if he achieves almost total world domination I'm left with two choices:
(1) Deal with being bothered by people coming to me asking to be saved/liberated from the BBEG, because I'm their only hope -- only now he's much more difficult to deal with because he's consolidated a huge power base.
(2) Isolate myself into a small part of the world, cut off from people in general -- and why should I have to do that?
Better if he's kept in check all along.
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Absolutely not.
However, if he wants to retire to a small corner of the world and give me the rest, I'll go for that and let him live.
Definitely worth pondering. Are their methods acceptable if I take a minute to think about it instead of knee jerk reacting? How likely is it that their followers and descendants will keep to the deal? Does he keep his word with everybody, or just credible threats like me (as I may not be any longer once his power is consolidated)? Is the deal only for current friends/family, or how do you handle future claims?
No, I refuse to submit to my arch-rival. If I say "Oh fine, dominate the world and leave me alone" that's just letting him win! I'm admitting that his power is too much for me to overcome! Also couldn't I just convince a council of dragons to help me conquer this villain?
hell no.. you are getting the short end of the stick.
he's getting all he wants + the entire world; sure, you get a "quiet, peaceful life" but.. once he's accomplished his domination, you are next.
Gather my friends and family and do What Nex did and go some place else.
hell no.. you are getting the short end of the stick.
he's getting all he wants + the entire world; sure, you get a "quiet, peaceful life" but.. once he's accomplished his domination, you are next.
Good luck with that once you've left me to my own devices long enough to do that.
No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.
I dunno, treating reality like your own personal game of Minecraft seems pretty ambitious to me.
Spend a few millenia making a life size model of the solar system or something.
You can rule your shadow world, but I won't settle for less than Amber itself.
Of course not. These little sparring matches of ours are far too amusing to ever give up
For Puna'chong, the level 20, tier 10 Dungeon Master, at this stage in his life, yeah. I am weary and brokenhearted. I'll come out for the odd universe-threatening cataclysm, but other than that I'm good sitting in my kingdom for a while and enjoying time with my loved ones. Besides, I only have to manage one area. At some point with my mythic knowledge checks I'll figure out a new spell or whatever to annihilate my enemy with little effort, but for now a beach and some quiet time sounds great.
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No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.
Pretty much this. Though for slightly different reasons than Rorschach.
See, if they've already killed any of my friends and/or family, I will scorch the g+%@+$n Earth to avenge them. F!%& making deals. People don't get to hurt or threaten those I care about and get away with it. Ever. It's bad policy.
Besides which, even if they hadn't harmed those I care about, when left alone I'm a pretty nice guy, who mostly just wants to make the world a better place. If they've been opposing me to this extent (or I them), them ruling the world almost certainly makes it a really bad place. I'm not selfish enough to let the world pay in blood, pain, and tyranny for my own happiness.
So never, not in a million years.
Aren't they're mythic powers that by tier 10 allow you to be a minor deity capable of granting 9th level spells to your worshipers?
BTW that's the line I'd pick every time.
