- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
This is a great CYOA, I particularly like how closely integrated the two companions are. Is it possible to not have either, but most likely that you'll have at least one?
It really depends on how the showdown between them went back in Chapter 1. Things ended pleasantly enough between them that we had enough influence to invite both of them to ride with us, but we could have headed out with just one of them or neither of them had we felt like it.
The fun part is: This isn't even the maximum number of companions we could have at this point in the game. And there's more dialogue for that as well.
But now, let's get some grub.
quote:Take a seat and fill up a plate. (+5 Preston)
"Civility usually wins out, even in these distant parts," Preston notes as you fill your plate with hot morsels.
"Let's talk about you, shall we?" Preston begins. "You were pretty quick about coming out. A steady rider I'd figure. But I haven't heard much about you. I hope you are interesting because I've had more than enough boredom."
You can tell he's got a lot to say.
1. Let the man talk.
2. "I'd rather you got on with things."
A simple choice, but there are a few different points in this conversation where you can decide if you want to let Preston talk or hurry him along, so whatever we wind up going with here is how we'll treat the rest of them.
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 05:13
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2024 08:25
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
I say let him talk while we wolf down food and let it digest.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 05:19
|
|
- The Lone Badger
- Sep 24, 2007
-
|
yeah, he likes to luxuriate in his own cleverness so let's allow him to do that and see what we learn
Unfortunately this game does not have a 'glare silently' dialogue option.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 05:54
|
|
- The_White_Crane
- May 10, 2008
-
|
What a fellow chooses to fill silence with can be quite the measure of him.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 09:37
|
|
- Avalerion
- Oct 19, 2012
-
|
Let him talk, we got eating to do.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 09:42
|
|
- Comstar
- Apr 20, 2007
-
Are you happy now?
|
2. Take a seat and fill up a plate.
No need to let good food go to waste. And lets hear what the man has to say. Never hurts to listen.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 10:01
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Unfortunately this game does not have a 'glare silently' dialogue option.
Incorrect! In fact, there's a "Stare right past him." option in this very segment. The game just doesn't display it because we don't qualify for it.
There's a bunch of different choices and options in this game that change based on your character's traits and skills- for a quick example we had the option to wait and let Preston pull out a chair for us because we're a woman, which wouldn't appear if we were a different gender.
There's about six or so different traits you can pick up in the opening segment of the game between the hanging and the recruitment, and of those traits we only picked being Chinese. One of those other traits is "Stoic", which you can get by simply not saying anything in the opening choice with the executioner and the priest. Having the Stoic trait gives you the option to be a Marshal of very few words, letting you choose to communicate by nodding, staring, glaring, pointing, gesturing, shrugging and shaking your head. I'm not sure if you can get through the entire game without saying a single word, but you can get through at least most of it without saying much.
This game has many 'glare silently' dialogue options, we just can't see them on this character. 
With that said, let's see what he has to say.
quote:Let the man talk. (+2 Preston)
He takes a sip of his coffee and dives right in.
"I made some inquiries, Miss Ruolan Shen, and near as I can tell, you've lived a sheltered life. There is something in the works here. Something I can't see, and that bothers me."
1. "Well, it bothers me that it bothers you."
2. "Too bad."
3. "Do I look like I care?"
4. "Well, as long as your bothers don't get in my way, we'll do fine."
He suspects!
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 16:38
|
|
- CourValant
- Feb 25, 2016
-
Do You Remember Love?
|
Vote: 1. "Well, it bothers me that it bothers you."
What's it to ya, fella?
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 20:25
|
|
- Avalerion
- Oct 19, 2012
-
|
4. "Well, as long as your bothers don't get in my way, we'll do fine."
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 21:17
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
4. "Well, as long as your bothers don't get in my way, we'll do fine."
I’d say this in an exaggerated southern accent. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 22:24
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Drawling our way to victory here.
quote:"Well, as long as your bothers don't get in my way, we'll do fine." (-2 Preston)
"Yeah, about that…"
Preston reaches into a vest pocket and pulls out a tin Sheriff's star; one not so different from the kind you yourself wear. He sets it down, taps one edge, and sends it spinning.
"Do you know the difference between a marshal and a sheriff? They both get a badge, but the Sheriff has to drink more coffee since he's got to mark his borders more often," Preston explains. "Maybe that's why the people of Preston Springs saw fit to make me their Sheriff."
Schmidt looks up from what is left of his bacon and hash, "Better you than me, JT."
"I felt the same way. Alas, I did not have the option of refusal," Preston replies.
1. "You? You're the Sheriff?"
2. "And?"
3. "I don't understand."
4. "I take it you are…discerning in your enforcement."
Founder, major business owner and also sheriff, what do we say to that?
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 00:28
|
|
- CourValant
- Feb 25, 2016
-
Do You Remember Love?
|
Founder, major business owner and also sheriff, what do we say to that?
He wants to know if we'll play ball. Let's ask him what playing ball means to him.
Vote: 4. "I take it you are…discerning in your enforcement."
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 00:54
|
|
- SimplyUnknown1
- Aug 18, 2017
-
Cat Cat Cat
|
Personally, I just want to know what Preston thinks this means to us.
2. And?
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 01:05
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Personally, I just want to know what Preston thinks this means to us.
2. And?
This works for me too.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 01:17
|
|
- sparkmaster
- Apr 1, 2010
-
|
Personally, I just want to know what Preston thinks this means to us.
2. And?
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 03:48
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Neutral answer deployed.
quote:And?
"I do not wear the badge and I do not patrol the streets. People here need to be able to do what they want, and pay for it. The only thing I am here for is keeping the larger peace, and making sure that some other fool isn't elected to this position and doesn't get shoved into a pine box after a week or two," Preston explains calmly and then the badge clatters to a halt upon the table. "I think you know the troubles that have plagued this town. Gunfighters come a calling, or tempers flare and pistols appear. We had four Sheriffs in rapid succession, and just as many Marshals too. Not a good time to be a law-man, though Merry, our grave-digger, would no doubt dispute the point."
A lady wearing a spotless white apron to match her fair skin strides over with a fresh platter of bacon and potato hash, a set of scrambled eggs lies on a second plate while a third sports lean little sausages. Her long blonde hair is bound up tight in an intricate French braid and cool blue eyes regard you briefly in passing. A proper bustle and full powder blue linen skirt rounds things out. If not for the saloon, you could readily imagine her in an east coast salon.
"Miss," she gives you a small smile as she goes about things.
"Thank you, Miss MacMurphy," Preston tells her. "Things were looking dire here."
"You know I hate when you tease like that," she replies as she nimbly steps away from him and heads back to the kitchen.
Once she has departed Preston lets out a little chuckle, "Don't let her fool you. She loves running this place. That's why I made her my partner. For the Babylon anyway. Now, where were we? Oh, right Tumbleweed Jack."
"What's there to say about him? I dealt with the man."
quote:"Dealt with? I hear cards when you say it like that. But yes, you sent him off for reasons I don't fully understand," Preston notes.
quote:"Yes, you let him go for reasons I don't fully understand," Preston admits.
quote:"Very well. We won't," Preston says idly."
"You know a lot about me, but I don't know much of anything about you, Mister Preston."
"Let's skip to the part of the conversation where you lay things out for me."
We elected to let him talk about himself earlier, so we're going to keep doing that.
quote:"You know a lot about me, but I don't know much of anything about you, Mister Preston."
"That's true," Preston nods amiably. "How much of my particulars do you have time for?"
Let Preston talk all he wants.
Steer him towards the particulars.
Press for only the important facts.
Force him to move to more pressing matters.
quote:Let Preston talk all he wants. (+10 Preston)
"Have you ever been to North or South Carolina? Well, you will not find more beautiful country if you journey from sea to mountains. I will not belabor my familial particulars, as we do not have all day; suffice to say, my father had a modest means but a rigid nature. He did well in the army, settled down to a simpler life afterward and I, as well as my sisters, suffered for it.
"Not just when to eat, but how and at what intervals. Everything on a list and by clockwork, that is how he would have run the world if it had been handed to him. It was not, of course, though he tried to grasp it many a time. Then came the fateful election of 1860. You may remember that, Abraham Lincoln won and was due to be sworn in as president, but long before that South Carolina seceded from the union."
Preston lets his fingers tap out a peculiar rhythm atop the table. It is a tune that only he hears, "I didn't understand it. There was to be a new president, but before he had lifted a finger, the State of South Carolina had ripped away the citizenship of every man and replaced it with the Confederacy no matter what you might want for yourself. I didn't want to be a part of any of that, indeed I was of an age where I could have walked away all together. No wife, no family of my own, not even true employment; working for my Father could not be considered as such."
"As the rebellion spread, my father went to enlist. Ninety days, he had said, and we'll whip them back to Washington. He took me with him, of course. I could not say no though army life ill suited me. Regimented marching, everything done in order and sequence. It was like being at home again…except for the gambling.
"Dice and cards, of course, but also rat races and sucker counting, a plethora of pretty diversions that I soon joined in with. Heady times, let me tell you, and they almost made up for the terror of what was to come."
quote:"Have you ever been to war? My father had been, in Mexico. He had tried to make it sound terrifying. As though at any moment the Lord could reach down and deliver unto you such pain as to grind your bones to powder. But no, it was in truth much worse."
"Our regiment went north by rail, to Virginia. The Union Army was marching down on Richmond you see, trying to take the Confederacy's capital. We fired a volley in anger at Blackburn's Ford, hundreds upon hundreds were strewn about the fields afterward and we congratulated ourselves on an immense victory. What fools we were, for the shape and scale of things to come remained beyond us."
"We fought at what they now call Bull Run, the first battle anyway. That is where my Father perished and I decided that the war was not for me. I did not renew my ninety day enlistment, but instead followed the army and pursued my new found love of gambling. It took me all over. First the south but then the north because that was where the money resided. "
"In sixty-three I had the good fortune to win a particularly large pot and circumstances dictated that I remove myself from the vicinity. That night, I dreamed; a city in the desert that catered to my vices even as it displayed my virtues. I rode west and eventually came to this little spot. Used to be called Sweet Water by the Shoshone and deservedly so. I built the town from the ground up, cajoled the populace to settle in and thus felt it fitting and proper to change the name to Preston Springs."
quote:Preston sips at his coffee and regards you with a weighty glance, "Marshal. I would like there to be an understanding between us. An arrangement to our mutual benefit. Do you understand what I am offering?"
1. "A bribe."
2. "A partnership."
3. "An understanding."
4. "No, I don't get you."
What is Preston offering us? And after this, we have the second choice of if we want to Take it, Refuse it or Haggle for more?
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 04:41
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
An Understanding & Haggle works for me too. Better be a reward for letting him talk our ear off like that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 05:19
|
|
- Added Space
- Jul 13, 2012
-
Free Markets
Free People
Curse you Hayard-Gunnes!
|
Refuse
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/03/07/haggling/
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 05:40
|
|
- sparkmaster
- Apr 1, 2010
-
|
An Understanding
And then haggle.
Lets see exactly what the man wants us to do, in exchange for what. Surely we will come into conflict, but a temporary agreement would let us establish ourselves and deal with other, pressing matters.
And we're broke, btw.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 07:02
|
|
- Avalerion
- Oct 19, 2012
-
|
Understanding & haggle.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 07:05
|
|
- Comstar
- Apr 20, 2007
-
Are you happy now?
|
Edit changing my vote
It's a bribe, and we refuse it. Not because we're better than that, because we're not. But because gently caress smug fat tinpot dictators like this guy.
Comstar fucked around with this message at 11:13 on Aug 24, 2018
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 07:22
|
|
- Lemniscate Blue
- Apr 21, 2006
-
Here we go again.
|
It's a bribe, and we refuse it. Not because we're better than that, because we're not. But because gently caress smug fat tinpot dictators like this guy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 08:08
|
|
- SimplyUnknown1
- Aug 18, 2017
-
Cat Cat Cat
|
It's a bribe, and we refuse it. Not because we're better than that, because we're not. But because gently caress smug fat tinpot dictators like this guy.
This is always the answer.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 13:03
|
|
- The Bold Kobold
- Aug 11, 2014
-
Bold to the point of certain death.
|
It's a bribe, and we refuse it. Not because we're better than that, because we're not. But because gently caress smug fat tinpot dictators like this guy.
loving agreed.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 13:10
|
|
- Slor The Destroyer
- Aug 4, 2012
-
|
"A partnership." Take it.
We can't look after everything. If Preston as sheriff keeps order in the town, that's one less thing that takes away from our own law enforcement time. And by all means, let him contribute to the marshal service if he likes; as any proud business owner should. Certainly the office could use the help.
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2018 18:22
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
What a close vote this has been. Reaching an understanding edges out the competition, and it's a 1-5-5 split between accepting, haggling and refusing, meaning we're leaning more towards the offer than away from it. We could flip a coin if we weren't completely broke so...
quote:An understanding
"Precisely," Preston nods. "I am the sheriff, this town is my jurisdiction. It ends where civilization does. You look after the country, which includes everything including the town, however, I would very much like if you were to defer to me on local matters. After all, I know the people here well and have the resources to see that your wider efforts bear fruit. Until your office is fixed up, why don't you stay at the hotel? Free of charge, of course." Your office does need work, and having a place to stay would certainly relieve the burden of paying for things with money you don't have. No doubt there would also be other benefits down the line as well.
"Do you understand our understanding?" Preston asks politely.
"Yes."
"All too clearly, which is why I reject it."
"I also understand that a free hotel room is not enough for turning a blind-eye to what happens in this town."
quote:"I shall acquire you a patch so that no one notices your troubled lens," Preston offers absently. Wells-Fargo will bring it next month.
quote:"Well, crumbs pile up. Give it enough time and you'll have your loaf."
quote:"A long-term arrangement?" Preston considers for a long moment. "Yes, those can be the most lucrative."
Preston's offer hangs in the air between you as he holds out a hand for you to take. A sealing of the deal; your non-interference in town matters in exchange for his fiscal backing of you as Marshal.
It promises to be a [highly lucrative/rather lucrative/lucrative arrangement for you| a step up from nothing]. After all, a marshal's salary isn't much, especially as everything from California has to be brought in via stage-coach. Heck, you may even be able to afford a deputy eventually.
Take Preston's hand.
Re-negotiate.
Refuse.
The interesting thing about this section is you can choose to renegotiate, which sends you right back to the start where you get to identify what Preston is offering. Your response choices vary depending on how you identify Preston's offer (had the vote gone the other way, calling it a bribe gives us almost the same set except refusing it is just "No." and it's "I need more than flecks of gold to justify my blind eye." instead of the comment about the hotel room), but the mechanics are the same (accepting, refusing, three different haggling checks based on your stats (in order: Persuasion, Intimidate, Resolve). The game fortunately tells you how well you did both in the form of Preston's initial response and changing how it describes the offer, ranging from "highly lucrative" down to "a step up from nothing." So there's nothing stopping you from feeling it out. Voting through this whole cycle would take a while, so I'll just expedite things. In our case, the only thing that gives us anything other than "a step up from nothing" is the "highly lucrative" offer that comes from the last choice, the long-term arrangement.
So let's get paid.
quote:Take Preston's hand. (+10 Preston)
"There we are. Nice and neat," Preston says as he clasps your hand. "I'll set about things as of today."
Preston walks with you toward the saloon doors. Harsh sunlight drifts in, mars the brightly colored streaks of the stained glass of the Babylon windows. His four 'deputies' set down their coffee cups to watch their boss conduct you out.
Schmidt grabs up a bit of toast then folds it into a pocket before he hurries to catch up.
Carson ceases to lean against the wall and falls in with you.
"It was good to meet you Marshal," Preston begins as you reach the swinging doors. "We have something special between us, you and I. If not comrades in arms, then something equally as deep. I hope we will be able to sustain our pleasant relations from this day forward."
A shot rings out through the morning air. A stream of cussing rises up from the Mother-Lode Saloon just down the way.
"I know the tenor of that smoke-wagon. Why don't you handle this one, Marshal," Preston says then withdraws back into the Babylon.
A bleary-eyed man in a solid blue shirt and trail trousers stumbles out through the swinging doors of the Mother-Lode saloon and a whiff of gun-smoke follows. He stumbles as he slips around you, clutches at his shirt collar where it has been recently sundered along the length; like as not by that shot you just heard.
"Miss Caraway…I was just trying to help," he all but yelps over a shoulder and then ducks as the cold clack of a revolver calls out from inside the saloon.
"Go fall in a well!" a woman snaps back like a length of wet rawhide.
The man hurries off, heedless of anything but escape.
"This oughta be fun," Schmidt offers over softly.
"I gotta get you a dictionary," Carson suggests lightly.
"Why, they got good pictures in 'em?"
1. Enter the saloon casually.
2. Draw my pistol before I enter the saloon.
3. "Whoever you are in there, I'm a U.S. marshal. Set down your gun."
4. Call that man back, get some answers.
5. "I'm coming in. Kindly set down your firearm. It'll be better that way."
Even with this arrangement we still wind up doing Marshal work in town. How do we handle this?
quote:Miss Shen Ruolan:
Traits: Chinese.
Current Companions: Dan Schmidt, prospector. Ben Carson, cowboy.
Health: Healthy and vigorous.
Wealth: Broke.
Values:
Order: 57% Freedom: 43%
Honor: 58% Arbitrary: 42%
Law: 48% Individuality: 52%
Notoriety: 0% Anonymity: 100%
Skills:
Gunfighting: 40%
Sharpshooting: 32%
Brawling: 34%
Riding: 33%
Survival: 32%
Legal: 14%
Engineering: 10%
Explosives: 17%
Persuasion: 30%
Intimidate: 34%
Stamina: 26%
Resolve: 37%
Influence:
Influence Carson: 68%
Influence Schmidt: 72%
Influence Preston: 80%
Influence Marshal James: 55%
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 00:59
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Enter the saloon casually. Best not to provoke the angry woman and three of those choices sound like they might.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 01:09
|
|
- Comstar
- Apr 20, 2007
-
Are you happy now?
|
Enter the saloon casually. Best not to provoke the angry woman and three of those choices sound like they might.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 01:36
|
|
- SimplyUnknown1
- Aug 18, 2017
-
Cat Cat Cat
|
Enter the saloon casually. Best not to provoke the angry woman and three of those choices sound like they might.
This is always the sensible option when dealing with a woman holding a weapon.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 02:06
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Just going to wander on in and see what happens.
quote:Enter the saloon casually.
You step through the still swinging saloon doors and into the Mother-Lode.
Sunlight spills through the windows in long beams to illuminate half a dozen tables and thrice as many chairs scattered on one half. Those at the back are piled with card decks while those up close are chipped and stained in places from hard use. Five paces of oak makes for a tidy bar with a bevy of steins, mugs, and cups settled on either side of a mammoth painting of a familiar place, San Francisco bay in all its grand majesty and clustered bay-side buildings too. If you squint real hard you can almost make out the hill you were to be hung on.
At the far end of the bar, perched upon a stool beside a half filled bottle of sour whiskey, waits a young woman half shrouded by a long leather duster. Her practical blue calico blouse is rumpled and dusty while her black trousers are torn and ripped at the bottom where a bloody gash has dried fair skin shut.
Smoke lingers about the barrel of a hefty revolver that is idly held in her hand; a twin to another holstered on her hip as part of a two-gun rig. From beneath a floppy brimmed hat a long length of auburn hair gathers in a pony-tail that disappears behind her duster shrouded shoulder. A hint of freckles assails the bridge of her nose while storm gray eyes watch your every move and promise thunderous retribution should you somehow escape the imminent flash of lightning.
"Hey, you're that Marshal, ain't you?" she asks with an odd sort of chuckle. "The one who sent Tumbleweed packing to Elko."
Somewhere in the distance, a dog barks amid the suddenly silent town.
"You don't look like much," Miss Caraway notes wryly in a tone that could strip rawhide straight from a steer. "What do you want?"
1. "To get a drink."
2. "To not get shot."
3. "To get you to put that gun away."
4. "To find out what's going on."
5. Back out and leave the saloon.
How are we going to handle this?
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 03:35
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Let's get a drink with this lady.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 03:47
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2024 08:25
|
|
- wedgekree
- Feb 20, 2013
-
|
A drink
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2018 05:43
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2018 05:13
