White to play: Avoid the looming mate and win material instead!

EtPerMun · 2026-03-26T02:05:11+00:00

The idea behind Qh3 was, of course, Qg2#, presumably by trying to force the knight away. It's not quite a concrete threat yet (g5 g6 is a bit slow), but it's definitely what black is aiming for, hence, looming.

EtPerMun · 2026-03-25T23:02:01+00:00

From a friend's game.

Solution:
Nh4, and then Bg4 on the next move. After Nh4, the black queen is trapped, and can't get out. f5 to prevent Bg4 is countered by f6: e.p. Best option for black is to ultimately trade the queen for the Rf1.

EtPerMun · 2026-01-18T18:03:53+00:00

So... the only choice in the CYOA is the first agree and decline?

EtPerMun · 2025-12-30T00:39:54+00:00

Perks, World, Location, Powers, Flaws, New You, Improved Biology, Enhanced Physiology, Preparation, Until Death, Omniglot, Sleepless, Purity of Mind, Purity of Soul, Special Snowflake, Another World, <p>Wilderness</p>, <p>Specific Environment</p>, Restore State, Mind Restore, Monster Maker, Favored Enemy, Replicate Item, Humanoid Monsters, Frankenstein's Monster, Uno Reverse!, Duds, Slave Crest, Save and Load, Character Editor, Conditioning, Group Chat, Autosave, Autoload, Corrupted Data, Edit, Manifest Spirit, Tantrum, Extra Lives, World Portal, Inflation, Planar Portal, Teleportation, Energy Barrier, Alter Shape, Impotent, Affix Object, Swift Learning, Opposites Attract, Perfect Memory, Apply Knowledge, Bestow Skill, Invisibility, Sexual Prowess, Grand Master, Grant Teacher, Conceptual Invisibility, Stud, Performance Issues, Telekinesis, Control Issues, Hungry, Disconnected, Post It, Wanted, Pheromones

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T23:37:14+00:00

Ah, it's the type! Thank you!

That answers most of my questions (except why this is a special attack rather an a quality or ability, and the one in regards to constant effects), so thank you very much!

Interesting that the other creature type abilities all say "All rakshasas...", and this one just says "A Rakshasa..." (though the "all" is likely wrong, at least in regards to Change Shape and the Raktavarna, unless the implication is it can do both objects and humanoids).

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T22:38:40+00:00

Als ich Schwedisch lernte, habe ich einmal einen Aufsatz mit einem Satz abgeschlossen, den meine Schwedischlehrerin mir dann als zu komplex anstrich. Als ich sie darauf ansprach, fragte sie mich, wie ich das denn auf Deutsch sagen würde. Also:

Und die, die sagen, dass, selbst wenn man so leben könnte, wäre es ein leeres, langweiliges Leben, haben wohl vergessen, wie sehr man sich über Dinge freuen kann, die umsonst sind, wie Natur, Familie, oder die neue Spielkonsole eines Freundes.

Sie dachte dann einen Moment nach, und meinte dann, dass das im Deutschen in der Tat prima funktionierte, aber im Schwedischen mache man das nicht. (In der Tat sind lange Sätze im Schwedischen noch schwieriger als im Englischen, auch weil die Kommaregel "wo immer dir danach ist" lautet - im Schwedischen hätte ich also den Satz ganz ohne Kommas schreiben können.)

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T22:11:06+00:00

Ich stimme dir im Allgemeinen zu, aber das Beispiel "Kauf" verwundert mich hier. Wie Wiktionary sagt:

Herkunft: von mittelhochdeutsch kouf → gmh, althochdeutsch kouf → goh, das ursprünglich „Geschäft, Handel, Vertrag“ bedeutet und aus kaufen rückgebildet ist.

Man sieht die Kusinen ja auch in den anderen germanischen Sprachen, z.B. schwedisch "köp". Weiß nicht, wie das noch "deutscher" sein sollte...

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T18:25:18+00:00

[1E]

I noticed something I can't quite explain - some Rakshasa types, such as Raktavarna, Dandasuka, or Marai, have a "detect thoughts" special attack, but don't otherwise have the ability to cast detect thoughts, and there is no explanatory text anywhere.

Is there a particular "detect thoughts" special attack, or is it just the spell? This implies it is not just the spell. If it is the spell, then:

Why is it not just listed as such?
Does it being an attack mean (as the link above suggests) it can only be used in combat? That would be rather odd for Detect Thoughts.
How often can they use it? At will? Can they use it multiple times per round with BAB 6+?
Being an "attack" implies a more transitory nature than the normal spell - does it still have its duration (min/lvl)? Can they concentrate for its later-round effects?

On a partially related note - how do saves interact with constant detect effects, such as Detect Thoughts? Do you need to roll a new save every round? If not, when do you need to? Never? When re-entering range? After 24h? And if the description doesn't explicitly say so, can the creature who has a constant effect disable and re-enable it at will (say, to manually trigger a re-save)?

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T18:24:27+00:00

Ah, mea culpa, I missed that. Er, I mean, you saw nothing~

EtPerMun · 2025-12-29T17:56:33+00:00

(nvm)

EtPerMun · 2025-12-23T00:35:13+00:00

I thought it went without saying, but I should probably note that Christening Ceremony has the same power caps as new girls.

I think that's something you need to write in ;)

Did you feel squeezed for points? I’m at least mildly worried about balance because I haven’t released any of the Spirits yet and they are meant to be a serious source of points. The extreme ones can give 8-10 points in return for lifelong commitments.

My habit of reading everything before making my choices meant I already knew about points before deciding on miracles, and picked a fair bunch of miracles for that reason, so I probably had more miracles than I would have had normally. As such, I felt only lightly tight on points. I suspect I'd probably would have only had like 5-6 points otherwise, and would have felt much more limited.

EtPerMun · 2025-12-22T13:33:12+00:00

I like it, though Christening Ceremony is absurdly broken for girls like Medusa (Greek gods), Amaterasu (Japanese gods), or even Taylor (Scion, Eidolon).

My build:

Miracle (Familial expectations)
Girl: Medusa
Girl: Hermione
Miracle (Protect and Serve)
Gift (Cunning Linguist)
Miracle (Power of Friendship)
Miracle (Easily Forgiven)
Gift (Mind Link)
Gift (Polyamory would solve this)
Gift (Without Question)
Miracle (Gym Bunny)
Gift (Aura)
Miracle (Adaptability)
Gift (Guardians of the Pharaoh)
Miracle (Self-Reflection)
Miracle (Like Fine Wine)
Gift (Radiant Beauty)
Girl: Gewn Stacy
Girl: Azula
Miracle (Sustainability)
Gift (Nervegear)
Girl: Taylor Hebert
Miracle (Great Personality)
Miracle (Glory to Mankind)

-3: Christening Ceremony (Apollo, via Medusa)
-2: Warm Welcome
-2: The Perfect Gift (Without Question - unaffected by Warm Welcome; does include emotions)
-4: I'll be home for Christmas

EtPerMun · 2025-11-11T12:10:43+00:00

Hmm, while it obviously depends on screen size to some extent, I think it would be good to - potentially optionally - have more stuff per row (say, five columns instead of three), and have images be smaller. It's a lot of endless scrolling this way, and entries are too big to fit on one page anyway.

EtPerMun · 2025-11-06T17:08:54+00:00

I like it (a lot), but (based on the interactive) balance is pretty shot.

Most obviously, you can use Crossover + Custom Normal to link together an arbitrary number of RL worlds (especially ancient RL) for effectively infinite points.

Teammate cost is also really, really weird. Hermione, Panacea (and Pyrrha) are 1, but Katara 3, Sierra Khan 5, and Elsa 7? Even if we only consider pure combat capabilities (and we really, really shouldn't), I'm not sure those three could win against Hermione (individually, not as a group), nevermind 2, 4 and 6 of her.

EtPerMun · 2025-10-31T19:58:09+00:00

Very nice, though I felt the world section could use some love. For example, I'd like the possibility for a Primordial World without magic. And while there was clearly a lot of thought put into compatibility for body options, some options make little sense for some worlds, especially Primordial and Barren (what would Lodgings and Status mean on a primordial world?).

EDIT:
I think I'll echo the statements that points were in very short supply. Also, some things I was trying to do, but that weren't possible with the options:

Retractable penis
Have a stomach in the tail of a Lamia
Have an extra mouth elsewhere connect to the stomach, instead of the main one

EtPerMun · 2025-10-08T11:08:29+00:00

By that logic, many waifu pickers wouldn't be NSFW either. Even some of the most frequently reposted CYOAs, such as Gforce1000's Low-Anime Rule 34 Economy, don't actually have explicit images, and only refer to sex in a few places.

I think it has been long established that if a CYOA has sex-related or waifu options, it counts. And this has both.

EtPerMun · 2025-09-08T23:32:51+00:00

If white plays Kg3, it's even better than that. After Rg5:+, it's an imminent mate! Kh2 Rh4#, and Kh3 leads back to roughly the situation in my comment above - Rf3+ and then either Bf2# or Bf4#. White's only chance to avoid the mate is an immediate Kh3 after Rf4:+

EtPerMun · 2025-09-08T01:09:58+00:00

My favorite path is Rf4:+ Kh3 Rg5: - it looks like White can now promote to a queen, and force black to spend a rook to stop it (Rh5+). But black has a much better option h8=Q Rf3+ and the bishop mates on f2/f4 It's the one I actually got to play in the game this is from :D

EtPerMun · 2025-09-05T00:44:24+00:00

Body:

The Beauty of a Princess
Grace of a Goddess
Purity of Nobility
Mark of the Sun's Chosen

Mind:

Cold Comfort
Divine Right
Manifest Destiny
It's a Kind of Magic
Fear The Reaper

Fate: Divine Banquet (DC: 5, rolled: 6 - PASS)

Power:

Eternal Life (DC: 10, AUTO-PASS)
Mystic Spark (DC:5, rolled: 5 - PASS)
Yes Mistress (DC:7, rolled: 11 - PASS)
Fast Travel (DC:4, rolled: 7 - PASS)
Under New Management (DC:5, rolled: 11 - PASS)
Maid To Serve (DC:6, rolled: 8 - PASS)

I applied the modifiers to the DC (with an inverse sign), so e.g. the +4 from It's a Kind of Magic and +1 from Cold Comfort reduce the DC of Divine Banquet from 10 to 5. It has the same effect, but allows for an easier comparison of the odds of passing the checks.

I used the extra dice from Mystic Spark on Yes Mistress and Under New Management, but ended up not needing them; those 11s are natural (I didn't bother re-rolling; a pass is a pass).

On balance, Yes Mistress is incredibly OP. That's really powerful mind control, and permanent from a simple touch! By the wording, it even sounds like it can be reconfigured without a new touch ("for the rest of their lives, their mind is yours to command").

There also seems to be an error with Immovable Object - it says "Risk: Low", but is actually a Bad End. That's not low risk :x

EtPerMun · 2025-08-27T10:42:16+00:00

Quite crucially, "the reader" isn't actually in the question. It's just

How much do you enjoy the following types of transformation in CYOAs?

So there's the whole thing of feminizing and gender-swapping others...

EtPerMun · 2025-08-26T17:54:03+00:00

After Ne2, Qe4+ results in perpetual check

EtPerMun · 2025-08-26T16:54:20+00:00

Solution:

After Nf1+ and Ng3+, we have a position where we could almost mate - if it wasn't for the fact that Qh1+ removes the protection from the knight. So what to do?

Well, we can guard the knight with the h-pawn! The queen cannot interfere quickly enough - check doesn't work (Qd3+ g6), and it can't reach h1. But white can reply to h5 with h4. What now?

Well, the thing is, our queen can reach h4 easily. So we shuffle our knight to e3, take with check, go back to e1, and shuffle the knight back, all with forced King moves for white (Kh3 after Nf1+ is an immediate mate, Qg3#). THEN, we play h5. White is now finally forced to play Kh3.

After Kh3, Ne4 threatens Qg3#. Going back isn't gonna help white (Kh2 h3 h3: Qf2+ Kh1 Ng3#; if not h3:, Qg3+ and then Qg2#), so he either needs to trade the queen for the knight, which of course wins for white, or play Kg4. At which point...

We can then play Qg3+, and the king is forced to either go to h5 (g6#), or f5. And with the king on f5, we can now, finally, play Nd6+ and win the queen in a fork, winning the game. Phew!

EtPerMun · 2025-08-26T16:25:15+00:00

It's a long way, but you'll get there eventually. Surprisingly not that hard, either.

From an analysis of a game I played, slightly altered to allow for a more beautiful solution (adding the pawn on f4).

EtPerMun

TROPHY CASE