The Price of Victory

[Infected Mushroom]

Please consider the following hypothetical:

In the future, Magical Dueling has become a big thing where millions of dollars can be earned and lost. In these tournaments, players face off against each other in 1 vs 1s where they take turns "summoning" magical dragons, warriors, and spellcasters to fight against each other. You can think of it as a variation of Yugioh/Magic/Pokemon TCG except with advanced magical battle technology.

You are one of the world's best Magical Duelists.

You participate in a World Cup with elimination rounds taking place in various European cities. This is the most high stake incarnation of this tournament ever. The final winner of the World Cup will not only be immortalised as a true master of Magical Dueling but will also become rich as a Lannister.

Every participant of the tournament must GAMBLE with 2/3 of all of their entire netsworth ("the entry fee"). The first prize winner gets ALL OF THE MONEY from all the participants' entry fee total (easily becoming a billionaire because of large player pool and the fact that many corporate-sponsored big names and career players are in). There is no other prize. If you lose, you walk away with 2/3 of all of your life's netsworth gone.

A win at all cost mentality is promoted. This game is considered by many to be too try hard (and borderline unethical) but nevertheless a high glory undertaking.

Cheating, hacking, and pulling strange unconventional stunts outside of physically assaulting/killing the other player is allowed (in fact, it is a tradition). Any attempts to grab, touch or hit the other player WILL cost the game though) In fact, the previous winner of the last tournament (not as high stake as this one) won the final game not in the mechanics of the duel itself but by hiring a gang of kidnappers to get to his final opponent's family and using this leverage to get his opponent to concede in the field. He returned to Helsinki where he was welcomed as a hero and the Finnish government refused to extradite him to Bulgaria; the Judges were impressed by this stunt and made him the World Champion. Under pressure from the corrupt UN, all charges against him were ultimately dropped.

You really really want to win this year's tournament and get billions of dollars.

In terms of your dream, you've always dreamed of becoming the Number One at this game.

You participate in the tournament and using your skill and knowledge of the game, defeat all of your opponents in elimination rounds in Berlin, Istanbul, and Vienna. You make it to the finals in Rome.

Your final opponent is a young French player called Emilia Leblanc.

The highly anticipated final 1 vs 1 is televised all over the world and takes place on a large floating platform high above the ground in the middle of the Italian capital. The winner will become a billionaire and also immortalised as the world's most skilled Magical Duelist (Number One).

The two of you battle it out, going in 100%. Both of you take turns summoning and commanding dragons, warriors, and spellcasters. Extremely elaborate mind games are played against each other and both of you are highly skilled in exploiting the weaknesses of each other's strategies. The game is extremely close as it gets to the end.

Leblanc is one turn away from completing a Magical Temple in the middle battlefield; if the Temple is completely built, you lose the game.

On your turn, you find a weakness of this strategy, defuse a major magical defence, and plan on telling your Wizard to blast the temple away with a powerful spell. It becomes clear that you are on the verge of winning and Leblanc can do nothing to stop this.

Before you order the Wizard to attack and win, you notice Leblanc walking to the very edge of the platform.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" you scream out at her.

Leblanc: "If you tell your Wizard to attack, you Win. However, the impact of the force of the attack and the destruction of the Temple will cause me to fall from this platform. Its up to you."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???????"

Leblanc: "I have come too far to back down now. Either I walk away the champion, or I walk away dead. That's how much I am determined to win. You can win, but you'll have to kill or injure me. Are you willing to do what it takes to win?"

"... ..."

You look around and analyse the situation:

1. The timer for your turn is coming up (30 seconds in fact)... if you don't attack and 30 seconds are up, it will be Leblanc's turn and she will win.
2. The Judges aren't intervening. This sort of stunt is what gets them high viewership and makes the game "alive."
3. There is no time or way you could hack or cheat to win at this point without destroying the Temple. If you destroy the Temple, there is 100% certainty that a shockwave will send someone standing on the very edge to fall.
4. The floating platform you are both on is about five stories high from ground level. If Leblanc falls, there's a substantial to high chance that she will die. There's also a chance that she'll only get injured but probably permanently crippled but the fatality rate is pretty high.
5. You do not have any magical capabilities that could work to rectify the situation at the time.

Your 30 seconds are coming up and you see that she's dead serious. What do you do? What is your justification?

Are you willing to do what it takes to win? Why or why not? Remember why you entered this tournament (see above)

Assume that there will be no legal consequences if you choose to attack regardless of what happens to her (although it will be the first time this has happened in the history of Magic Dueling). However, you will personally have to "live with" your decision to attack.

Due to the complexity of this hypothetical, the OP may edit with powers of clarification.

I WANT to attack but...

I think this is the part where I'm completely thrown off guard and just freeze up until the 30 seconds are up.

Then I go back to hating my life when she wins on her turn. Its going to suck.

[Sougra]

Question. Is this not the famed Seto Kaiba stunt where he does something remarkably similar?

Anyways, my take, well I doubt I'd be a person who'd do this in the first place, and if we're talking about me the person, very few things would make me kill a person. However, in the given case of the hypothetical and given the character I assume this person possesses, I'd kill her. Purely because in my head that the character is so amused that someone would try something so remarkably foolish and desperate as threatening suicide, and so they deserve to have their bluff called on and be killed, or concede just prior to my turn once they realize that I'm dead serious about this.

Me as said character, I'd kill her. Me as me, hell no. I ain't killing anyone for anything. And if I ever do, I'll have to do a lot of life-saving to make up for it by even the smallest of margins.

[Infected Mushroom]

Question. Is this not the famed Seto Kaiba stunt where he does something remarkably similar?

Anyways, my take, well I doubt I'd be a person who'd do this in the first place, and if we're talking about me the person, very few things would make me kill a person. However, in the given case of the hypothetical and given the character I assume this person possesses, I'd kill her. Purely because in my head that the character is so amused that someone would try something so remarkably foolish and desperate as threatening suicide, and so they deserve to have their bluff called on and be killed, or concede just prior to my turn once they realize that I'm dead serious about this.

Me as said character, I'd kill her. Me as me, hell no. I ain't killing anyone for anything. And if I ever do, I'll have to do a lot of life-saving to make up for it by even the smallest of margins.

Question. Is this not the famed Seto Kaiba stunt where he does something remarkably similar?

Well someone sure knows their anime. I'm impressed!

Yes I did take inspiration from that! =)

[The Free Joy State]

Question. Is this not the famed Seto Kaiba stunt where he does something remarkably similar?

Anyways, my take, well I doubt I'd be a person who'd do this in the first place, and if we're talking about me the person, very few things would make me kill a person. However, in the given case of the hypothetical and given the character I assume this person possesses, I'd kill her. Purely because in my head that the character is so amused that someone would try something so remarkably foolish and desperate as threatening suicide, and so they deserve to have their bluff called on and be killed, or concede just prior to my turn once they realize that I'm dead serious about this.

Me as said character, I'd kill her. Me as me, hell no. I ain't killing anyone for anything. And if I ever do, I'll have to do a lot of life-saving to make up for it by even the smallest of margins.

^Basically this.

Me-as-Real-Me would already have never entered any competition that would allow me to maim or be maimed with impunity, and cannot conceive of a situation where I would kill or delight in harming another human being.

This charater -- whose actions, desires, personality and motivations are utterly different and have already been laid out so exactingly -- would kill. She'd probably kill someone for looking at her funny, perhaps because there was an R in the month or because she chipped a fingernail that morning. Her sick mother is a Freudian excuse that she's using to attempt to rehabilitate what she has already planned to do. But her real aim is to be seen as a "winner" -- and this character won't care that she has to kill to get it.

Basically, the character's already been defined. Anything I would actually do is moot.

[Infected Mushroom]

Question. Is this not the famed Seto Kaiba stunt where he does something remarkably similar?

Anyways, my take, well I doubt I'd be a person who'd do this in the first place, and if we're talking about me the person, very few things would make me kill a person. However, in the given case of the hypothetical and given the character I assume this person possesses, I'd kill her. Purely because in my head that the character is so amused that someone would try something so remarkably foolish and desperate as threatening suicide, and so they deserve to have their bluff called on and be killed, or concede just prior to my turn once they realize that I'm dead serious about this.

Me as said character, I'd kill her. Me as me, hell no. I ain't killing anyone for anything. And if I ever do, I'll have to do a lot of life-saving to make up for it by even the smallest of margins.

^Basically this.

Me-as-Real-Me would already have never entered any competition that would allow me to maim or be maimed with impunity, and cannot conceive of a situation where I would kill or delight in harming another human being.

This charater -- whose actions, desires, personality and motivations are utterly different and have already been laid out so exactingly -- would kill. She'd probably kill someone for looking at her funny, perhaps because there was an R in the month or because she chipped a fingernail that morning. Her sick mother is a Freudian excuse that she's using to attempt to rehabilitate what she has already planned to do. But her real aim is to be seen as a "winner" -- and this character won't care that she has to kill to get it.

Basically, the character's already been defined. Anything I would actually do is moot.

Has the character been defined though?

Why couldn't the character just be a kind of idealistic but highly highly skilled player (who does poke at the rules but has moral limits)?

Couldn't the protagonist be one of those Japanese anime heroes with plot armor up to this point?

[Dogmeat]

I win, and she survives, because SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY!

[Purpelia]

If a person wants to commit suicide I am not going to lose any sleep over it. So I call her bluff and see what happens.

[Infected Mushroom]

If a person wants to commit suicide I am not going to lose any sleep over it. So I call her bluff and see what happens.

how likely would you say falling from five stories would result in death on her part?

[Dogmeat]

If a person wants to commit suicide I am not going to lose any sleep over it. So I call her bluff and see what happens.

how likely would you say falling from five stories would result in death on her part?

Is she a cat?

[Purpelia]

If a person wants to commit suicide I am not going to lose any sleep over it. So I call her bluff and see what happens.

how likely would you say falling from five stories would result in death on her part?

I genuinely do not care. This is basically the same scenario as when a kid clamps his nose down and goes "I am going to choke unless you do exactly as I tell you." It's false blackmail. The person is trying to blackmail me by threatening me with nothing. Because in their death I lose nothing. So that person is just an idiot. And if she wants to go through with this idiotic thing I won't lose any sleep over her getting to experience the consequence.

[Infected Mushroom]

how likely would you say falling from five stories would result in death on her part?

I genuinely do not care. This is basically the same scenario as when a kid clamps his nose down and goes "I am going to choke unless you do exactly as I tell you." It's false blackmail. The person is trying to blackmail me by threatening me with nothing. Because in their death I lose nothing. So that person is just an idiot. And if she wants to go through with this idiotic thing I won't lose any sleep over her getting to experience the consequence.

so your mind would be 100% cool with it if she dies or becomes permanently crippled because as the poll option says: "you're not responsible for her decision to stand on the edge?"

[Infected Mushroom]

how likely would you say falling from five stories would result in death on her part?

Is she a cat?

Nah

[Valentine Z]

Rather than a hypothetical situation, this actually has a very good potential to be a Portal to the Multiverse thing. I would totally take a look for such RPs.

Anyway, for this one? I will rather that I don't kill her or destroy the temple. If I let her win, I will not get the cash, but I can rest and live easy knowing that my gambling addiction did not cost someone else unrelated a life.

As for what to do with my mother? This will become an eye-opener for me, to recoup from my gambling losses and find another way to cure my mother. (In fact... can't I cure her with my magic or whatever?)

I am not going to become a cause of someone's death. The very last thing in my list.

I would say something about killing the mob and using their money for my mother's medical cost, but... this will become extremely hypocritical of me.

[The Free Joy State]

^Basically this.

Me-as-Real-Me would already have never entered any competition that would allow me to maim or be maimed with impunity, and cannot conceive of a situation where I would kill or delight in harming another human being.

This charater -- whose actions, desires, personality and motivations are utterly different and have already been laid out so exactingly -- would kill. She'd probably kill someone for looking at her funny, perhaps because there was an R in the month or because she chipped a fingernail that morning. Her sick mother is a Freudian excuse that she's using to attempt to rehabilitate what she has already planned to do. But her real aim is to be seen as a "winner" -- and this character won't care that she has to kill to get it.

Basically, the character's already been defined. Anything I would actually do is moot.

Has the character been defined though?

Why couldn't the character just be a kind of idealistic but highly highly skilled player (who does poke at the rules but has moral limits)?

Couldn't the protagonist be one of those Japanese anime heroes with plot armor up to this point?

A heel-face-turn could work... depending on the world you put the character in.

You gain control of a character in Grand Theft Auto, even in sandbox mode, you're only ever going to steal cars, sell drugs and do various other criminal acts. Why? That is the world you are in: you do criminal acts and evade the law.

Here, you are in a world where winning is the only thing that matters and you will kill and maim to get it. Ergo, when you are given control of the character who's dream is to win (and who needs to win to evade loan-sharks), you will kill and maim in an attempt to win.

Are the people who play GTA drug-dealers and carjackers in life? No. That's part of the fun. You play a character who is completely different to yourself and do morally unacceptable things you would never do.

Here, the character is similarly different: she enters an immoral anything-goes competition where

Cheating, hacking, and pulling strange unconventional stunts outside of physically assaulting/killing the other player is allowed (in fact, it is a tradition).

And she wants to win at all costs. It's all she ever dreamed of.

It stands to reason that -- in this videogame-style world -- when given control of this character, you'll play the saved-game to its end.

[Dogmeat]

Is she a cat?

Nah

Then likely.

[Purpelia]

I genuinely do not care. This is basically the same scenario as when a kid clamps his nose down and goes "I am going to choke unless you do exactly as I tell you." It's false blackmail. The person is trying to blackmail me by threatening me with nothing. Because in their death I lose nothing. So that person is just an idiot. And if she wants to go through with this idiotic thing I won't lose any sleep over her getting to experience the consequence.

so your mind would be 100% cool with it if she dies or becomes permanently crippled because as the poll option says: "you're not responsible for her decision to stand on the edge?"

Yes I would. 100%.

In fact I would be more than 100% because 100% comes from her being responsible for harming her self and than she gets extra points for having the guile to think she can blackmail me with HER safety. It's the same stupidity as hunger strikes. If you want to harm your self by all means go for it. It's your life. But unless you demonstrate how your death is bad for ME don't expect me to lift a finger other than to point in order to accentuate my laughter at the stupid.

This sort of behavior overall is the end result of a very self centered person convinced that she is so valuable the world can't go on without her and demanding everyone else acknowledge that and bow down. And frankly she is wrong. If she, my self or any one of us were to die tomorrow the world would go on. And honestly I feel she deserves to learn that first hand.

So at best I might put in a token effort to act as if I didn't hear her over the crowd just to make sure I am liability free. Even though deep down my preferred response would be to burst into laughter and go: "Seriously? You think I should care if you die? Fuck you."

[Caracasus]

Given cheating is actively encouraged, I use the tazer I snuck in to incapacitate her, blow up the temple and then win.

[Valentine Z]

so your mind would be 100% cool with it if she dies or becomes permanently crippled because as the poll option says: "you're not responsible for her decision to stand on the edge?"

Yes I would. 100%.

In fact I would be more than 100% because 100% comes from her being responsible for harming her self and than she gets extra points for having the guile to think she can blackmail me with HER safety. It's the same stupidity as hunger strikes. If you want to harm your self by all means go for it. It's your life. But unless you demonstrate how your death is bad for ME don't expect me to lift a finger other than to point in order to accentuate my laughter at the stupid.

Ok, actually... I might need to re-look at my stance. It's not me that is going to kill her in a grand scheme of things; she is blackmailing me into defeat, to play into my psyche.

I might go down as the savage dude that doesn't accept defeat and willing to do anything for money, but with that said, this is where I will quit the contest altogether. I paid the debt to the mobs ("now please leave, don't bother me again"), and my ma's fine now! Her death will give me some trauma, but at the end of the day... she did it, not me.

I'm still torn at letting her die, but hey, that's where I cheat to let her live.

Given cheating is actively encouraged, I use the tazer I snuck in to incapacitate her, blow up the temple and then win.

Or a time-stop, if my magic allows for stopping time.

[Purpelia]

Ok, actually... I might need to re-look at my stance. It's not me that is going to kill her in a grand scheme of things; she is blackmailing me into defeat, to play into my psyche.

I might go down as the savage dude that doesn't accept defeat and willing to do anything for money, but with that said, this is where I will quit the contest altogether. I paid the debt to the mobs ("now please leave, don't bother me again"), and my ma's fine now! Her death will give me some trauma, but at the end of the day... she did it, not me.

I'm still torn at letting her die, but hey, that's where I cheat to let her live.

At best she is a self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her. At worst she is a manipulative self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her and who couldn't give a care about anything other than personal victory and is willing to screw with your head to get it. So why feel sorry for her? If anything you should be feeling a mixture of anger at her behavior, disgust at her nature and smug satisfaction at being able to put her in her place.

[Infected Mushroom]

Yes I would. 100%.

In fact I would be more than 100% because 100% comes from her being responsible for harming her self and than she gets extra points for having the guile to think she can blackmail me with HER safety. It's the same stupidity as hunger strikes. If you want to harm your self by all means go for it. It's your life. But unless you demonstrate how your death is bad for ME don't expect me to lift a finger other than to point in order to accentuate my laughter at the stupid.

Ok, actually... I might need to re-look at my stance. It's not me that is going to kill her in a grand scheme of things; she is blackmailing me into defeat, to play into my psyche.

I might go down as the savage dude that doesn't accept defeat and willing to do anything for money, but with that said, this is where I will quit the contest altogether. I paid the debt to the mobs ("now please leave, don't bother me again"), and my ma's fine now! Her death will give me some trauma, but at the end of the day... she did it, not me.

I'm still torn at letting her die, but hey, that's where I cheat to let her live.

Given cheating is actively encouraged, I use the tazer I snuck in to incapacitate her, blow up the temple and then win.

Or a time-stop, if my magic allows for stopping time.

Yes, the purpose of the stunt is a bluff to get you to back off and lose. She is gambling that you won't attack and is supposedly read to die if you do attack.

[Infected Mushroom]

Ok, actually... I might need to re-look at my stance. It's not me that is going to kill her in a grand scheme of things; she is blackmailing me into defeat, to play into my psyche.

I might go down as the savage dude that doesn't accept defeat and willing to do anything for money, but with that said, this is where I will quit the contest altogether. I paid the debt to the mobs ("now please leave, don't bother me again"), and my ma's fine now! Her death will give me some trauma, but at the end of the day... she did it, not me.

I'm still torn at letting her die, but hey, that's where I cheat to let her live.

At best she is a self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her. At worst she is a manipulative self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her and who couldn't give a care about anything other than personal victory and is willing to screw with your head to get it. So why feel sorry for her? If anything you should be feeling a mixture of anger at her behavior, disgust at her nature and smug satisfaction at being able to put her in her place.

because even her life is precious or something something...

[Caracasus]

Ok, actually... I might need to re-look at my stance. It's not me that is going to kill her in a grand scheme of things; she is blackmailing me into defeat, to play into my psyche.

I might go down as the savage dude that doesn't accept defeat and willing to do anything for money, but with that said, this is where I will quit the contest altogether. I paid the debt to the mobs ("now please leave, don't bother me again"), and my ma's fine now! Her death will give me some trauma, but at the end of the day... she did it, not me.

I'm still torn at letting her die, but hey, that's where I cheat to let her live.



Or a time-stop, if my magic allows for stopping time.

Yes, the purpose of the stunt is a bluff to get you to back off and lose. She is gambling that you won't attack and is supposedly read to die if you do attack.

Well given the character I apparently am in this, I'd probably chuck a brick or two at her and scare her into thinking I am gonna kill her anyway.

Though I still don't see why I can't use a taser.

[Infected Mushroom]

Yes, the purpose of the stunt is a bluff to get you to back off and lose. She is gambling that you won't attack and is supposedly read to die if you do attack.

Well given the character I apparently am in this, I'd probably chuck a brick or two at her and scare her into thinking I am gonna kill her anyway.

Though I still don't see why I can't use a taser.

the OP says:

Cheating, hacking, and pulling strange unconventional stunts outside of physically assaulting/killing the other player is allowed (in fact, it is a tradition). Any attempts to grab, touch or hit the other player WILL cost the game though)

Using a taser or throwing bricks would count as assaulting in the broad sense

[Caracasus]

Well given the character I apparently am in this, I'd probably chuck a brick or two at her and scare her into thinking I am gonna kill her anyway.

Though I still don't see why I can't use a taser.

the OP says:

Cheating, hacking, and pulling strange unconventional stunts outside of physically assaulting/killing the other player is allowed (in fact, it is a tradition). Any attempts to grab, touch or hit the other player WILL cost the game though)

Using a taser or throwing bricks would count as assaulting in the broad sense

Eh. Then I kill her with the fallout from the blast I guess. It is far more important I win.

[Purpelia]

At best she is a self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her. At worst she is a manipulative self centered egomaniac who thinks the world can't go on without her and who couldn't give a care about anything other than personal victory and is willing to screw with your head to get it. So why feel sorry for her? If anything you should be feeling a mixture of anger at her behavior, disgust at her nature and smug satisfaction at being able to put her in her place.

because even her life is precious or something something...

No it's not. The world will keep going without her just fine. Just as it would without you or me. If anything the world is better off without manipulative psychopaths like that.