==>

Mar 252011

Armok wrote:

> Realize 4 leaf clovers can’t actually be brining luck, ’cause if they did finding them would be luck, wich’d cause a positive feedback loop, and given that luck must be a conserved property due to the commonality of zero-sum games, that’d quickly concentrate all luck into a few individuals who started out slightly above average, wich’d be lucky enough to realize this causing them to compete until all luck in the world belonged to a single individual. A good individual being the only one with any luck would not feel very lucky over it, and a bad individual would quickly just remove any other sapient and is thus excluded from reasoning due to antropic reasons. Given this, the initial assumption is inconsistent, QED. Realize this reasoning can be generalized to any luck bringer which can be found using mainly luck.

Huh, that… actually makes a lot of sense.

You’re a little disappointed; you kind of liked to think this thing was increasing your luck by some minuscule-yet-significant amount. I mean, at least until you sold it. But who would want a dumb mutant clover that doesn’t do anything special?

TheFinalWraith wrote:

My my, if it isn’t Gharug gro-Upp. What a pleasant surprise.
Greet him politely and make sure you didn’t read the map wrong and are headed in the wrong direction.

Hey Cornmuffin, fancy seeing you out here on this fine piece of trail.

You politely greet Gharug back. You’re on the road to Kvatch, right? You thought he had somewhere else to be.

He explains that earlier today he learned he had to head toward Kvatch for a business trip. It turned out there was an important meeting he had to get to, to follow through on one of his many amazing investments. It sounds as though his business is going to be very successful.

Ryavis wrote:

Ask the… (nice?) interesting Orc what his job is, anyway.

Oh, I’m a professional highwayman.

Gharug says he’ll need that five gold back, along with anything the lizard-lass gave you. He’s got to get his rob on, if you know what he’s saying.

(He’s saying he’s robbing you)

> ==>

simian says

That’s what you get for letting go of the clover. He probably would have carried her to Kvatch on his back if she hadn’t dropped it.
- SoPoR SyCoPhAnT
  
  Or some other muscley portion of his body…
  - tjk
    
    god dammit
- egg brother
  
  and just when he seemed like a nice guy
Psithief

I like how Armok’s suggestion becomes a running joke against it.
dtlux14

My friend just showed me this thing last night, and I have never played a single Elder Scrolls game, but this is great. I love it, it makes me laugh.
RoboPlop

Armok’s logic about four-leaf clovers was sound and well thought out. The assumption that they are infinite sources of luck is indeed false. Rather, clovers hold only a finite amount of luck. Most living things produce small amounts of luck naturally. Four-leaf clovers, due to some genetic defect, produce larger quantities. They may be thought of as luck “batteries”, which only charge while alive. Once plucked, a clover will discharge this luck until it becomes inert. It could be possible to carry around a pot with a living four-leaf clover growing in it to maintain luck, but the burden of the container might well make it unworthwhile.
- CardiacTasty
  
  Fascinating, that’s a clever bit of worldbuilding. I’d never considered this potential mechanic; that, over time, the luck of an item might ‘run out’, so to speak.
  
  The adjustment presented here doesn’t directly reject the original idea, that clovers increase luck. Typically saying no is the simplest way to share the creation of a story, especially when a suggestion isn’t as correct as it needs to be. However, storytellers with skill in sharing gladly accept creative input. The best storytellers also value the suspension of disbelief, which requires any inconsistencies in the world’s mechanics to be eliminated.
  
  The raw idea produced a never ending consolidation of luck; your bit neatly resolves this issue while still preserving the original intention of the idea. You clearly have some skill in this area, well done. Very nicely communicated too, your writing style is a pleasure to read. :}