The Art of Game Creation

[DrakeMarshall]

6 minutes ago, A Joe in the Bush said:

(Replying here to not derail the thread)

In order for that to work, there would need to be motivation for multiple shards to want to make planets. Easiest way is to tie it to win cons, where multiple shards need to have made planets to achieve their win condition. Either that or there are no PM's allowed, except the Planetary ones, so if you want to talk in private, you need to make a planet together. Then you have at least a turn of privacy before players can hop to it.

What if the game only started out with one or a few planets? (which makes sense after Ruin's rampage last game) That would be one minor incentive to make more.

One example of tying planet creation to a win condition: if Ruin's objective was to destroy X planets, then it would be completely fair game to create a planet just for the sake of destroying it (ie, exactly what Ruin was trying to do with Scadrial).

Planets would also possibly be worth creating for the sake of private communication, as you say. It might also be said that they might be useful as a means to avoid all but the most powerful of actions.

Also. In the last game, each planet offered its inhabitants a unique power. If planets could be created, this couldn't really remain inherent to the planet... So what if, similar to a shard's investment role (and also similar to Khriss' power to invest shards into planets), each shard could bestow certain effects on the planet they are currently situated on?

Not sure if this is a good idea in the scope of the game as a whole, but it was fun to examine the different facets of the idea.

[A Joe in the Bush]

10 minutes ago, Drake Marshall said:

What if the game only started out with one or a few planets? (which makes sense after Ruin's rampage last game) That would be one minor incentive to make more.

Huh, Now i want to make a Shattering game. Only Yolen starts out, but as more planets are made/discovered, more powers enter the game. The shards would scatter, and their powers would be useable on the worlds they are on. Ruin's win condition would be to destroy any planet that Preservation made.

[Herowannabe]

So I saw Ready Player One the other day (I highly recommend both the movie-on Imax and/or 3D- and the book), and now I'm thinking it would make for a fun setting for a SE game. I'm still brainstorming ideas, but right now I'm thinking of incorporating some or all of the following components:

• The contest/hunt for the egg, of course. I would have to structure it in such a way that it wouldn't be possible to just fly though the clues/puzzles and win on day 1 or 2. I'd probably do 1 puzzle for each key, and then have each key open one gate, but the gates only become available on certain cycles. 
• Instead of an overt 80's / video game theme to the puzzles and challenges, I would tweak it and make it Sanderson/Cosmere themed.
• 2 factions, with the village being 'Gunters and the Eliminators being Sixers
• Anonymous, but not in the normal Anonymous Game sense. Players would sign up as themselves, but secretly PM their Avatar's name and description to the GM. The scoreboard would only show the Avatars' names, and there would not be any public connection between Avatars and Players. Players would vote to lynch based on Avatar names, not knowing which player was associated with it. Wait, no, that wouldn't work because everyone would just lynch the Sixer Avatars. Hmm... Maybe let the Sixers come up with normal avatar names rather than numbers, or maybe have people vote for players. Yeah, voting for players makes more sense. (Like I said, still brainstorming)
• I'd probably run it as a QF, seeing as I'm at the top of the QF GM list right now and I'm not happy with my current QF game I have there- It's too complicated. 
• The winner would be the player who found the Egg first, but there would also be faction win-conditions, too (eliminate the other team and/or beat them to the egg). 
• Edit: I might incorporate a basic sort of money system, and let people bid on and buy rare artifacts that do things in the game. 

 

I would need permission from one of the contest winners since it technically wouldn't be a Sanderson-themed game, though it sort of would be with the Cosmere-themed challenges. But before I get to any of that, would people be interested in playing such a game?

Edited April 5, 2018 by Herowannabe

[DeTess]

This looks pretty interesting, Hero. I haven't seen that film, but if I remember a review of the book correctly then the goal of both factions would be to decipher a series of clues to find an object first, right?

Anyway, I do have a pass sitting around. If there's interest and you post a more fleshed out set of rules, it'll likely be yours.

[Herowannabe]

7 hours ago, randuir said:

This looks pretty interesting, Hero. I haven't seen that film, but if I remember a review of the book correctly then the goal of both factions would be to decipher a series of clues to find an object first, right?

Anyway, I do have a pass sitting around. If there's interest and you post a more fleshed out set of rules, it'll likely be yours.

Yes, something like that. I haven't figured out quite how I would translate the contest into the game. 

The premise of Ready Player One (not really spoiling anything, since all of this is revealed in the opening 5 minutes of the book/movie) is that you have this thing called the OASIS: which is basically World of Warcraft + the Internet + Virtually Reality all in one and then given a massive shot of steroids. Everybody in the world pretty much spends all of their time in the OASIS- for work, play, etc. The creator of the OASIS, a guy named Jim Halliday, dies without any heir to his 1/2 trillion dollar fortune. Upon his death a video that Halliday created pops up on everybody's OASIS consoles, informing the whole world that he has hidden an Easter Egg somewhere inside the OASIS, and the first person to find it will inherit his entire fortune as well as gain a controlling share in Halliday's company and full control over the OASIS. 

Thus begins the hunt for Halliday's Easter Egg. 

Edited April 6, 2018 by Herowannabe

[DrakeMarshall]

This game has been crystalizing in the back of my mind for a while now.

This started with Straw's "limited god" role idea, Randuir's suggested modification to it, and my intent to turn it into a Cthaeh role. Elbereth understandably said that her KKC game was complex enough as it is, but that this could dwell in a different KKC game, so here we are. I've fleshed things out significantly, and this game is definitely not only about the Cthaeh anymore.

It is still in the process of being refined, but I am ready to share draft one.

MRXX: A Midsummer Night with No Moon
"A clever mortal fears the night without a hint of sweet moonlight. On such a night, each step you take might catch you in the dark moon’s wake, and pull you all unwitting into fae. Where you will have no choice but stay."

A troupe of Edema Ruh performers have travelled by night through a forest, and have been caught on a night with no moon. Now, the realms of the Four Corners and Fae are meshed together, and nobody can quite tell one from the other. Time is uncertain, as the forest has remained in a state of evening since the troupe's arrival. Strangers walk among the troupe, clothed in glammourie. Some may be relatively benign, as fae go. Others are quite literally the demons out of folklore. In the distance, there looms a gargantuan tree, lush with dense foliage and brightly colored flowers, wreathed in a warm, welcoming light. Beckoning you to come take refuge in its branches and sustenance from its flowers...

 

Ground Rules

Spoiler

• Forty eight hour cycles. No division of day/night. Rollover at midnight pacific time.
• One vote per person per cycle. One action per person per cycle.
• Standard lynch by plurality, minimum two votes to lynch. Vote in red, retract in green.
• On the first cycle, tied votes result in no-lynch. After that, tied votes are decided randomly.
• On the third time a player casts no vote, they are killed.
• Open PMs between individual players, no group PMs.

Some More Rules

Spoiler

• There are two sorts of ability, "action" and "intrinsic". Intrinsic abilities do not require an action to use.
• Actions with a limited number of charges will not lose charges if the action fails.
• Official vote tallies will list who voted on whom prior to vote manipulation, and the voting totals after vote manipulation. Whose vote in particular was altered and how will not be disclosed, however.
• Kills will not distinguished from each other in the writeup. The majority of protective powers will be distinguished from each other, however.
• Some role traits are secret, as humans do not have complete understanding of the Fae. However each role with secret traits is explicitly listed as possessing secret traits. Certain secret traits could likely be guessed. Certain roles start out knowing about certain secret traits.
• Beyond the aforementioned secret traits, there are no other secret game mechanics.

Alignments

Spoiler

Good: Win if the Evil players are wiped out. Consists of Troupe Members and The Sithe.
Evil: Win if the Good players are wiped out. Has a doc and a faction kill. Since they already have doc communications, evil players may not PM each other.
Cthaeh: Win by becoming a kingmaker, with only one Good and one Evil player remaining.

Lovers

Spoiler

Some players are paired as lovers at the beginning of the game. This is not a role or an alignment.

Their bond, be it romantic, or between close friends, or between child and parent, is such that if one dies, the other will die too. This death cannot be prevented by any form of protection.
Additionally, lovers have a PM with each other. Lovers will not be informed of each other's role or alignment, but at the start of the game, lover pairs are guaranteed to possess the same alignment.

If lovers are of opposite alignment, they gain the win condition of the Cthaeh, and additionally must be the last two players standing. Players revert to their original win condition if this pairing is dissolved.

Role List

Spoiler

Singer
    "Sit and listen all, for I will sing a story, wrought and forgotten in a time old and gone."

Intrinsic: A singer's vote counts as double towards the vote totals.
Action: Once in the game, may sing a song about the Chandrian to redirect the Evil faction kill to oneself.

Storyteller
"All stories are true. But this one really happened, if that's what you mean."

Action: Use extensive knowledge of the troupe and of fae tales to identify the role of a target (warning, not infallible).

Actor
"We all become what we pretend to be."

Action: May spend a cycle studying one of the following troupe roles: Singer, Acrobat, Juggler, Jester, or Lutist.
Intrinsic: On the following cycle, has access to the powers of that role, and appears as that role to scanning.

Acrobat
"In the course of the fight Trip managed to break his sword, hide under a lady's dress, fence with a sausage, and perform such fantastical feats of acrobatics that it's a miracle he didn't seriously injure himself."

Action: Three times in the game, may leverage their practiced agility and speed to become untargetable.

Juggler
"Did you learn to juggle all at once? Five balls at a time? Knives too?"

Action: Three times in the game, may select two other players and oneself. Juggles the positions the players are in, transporting them with each other. Whatever order the list is submitted in, the players each move down one on the list, looping back around.

Jester
"Wearing his green and grey jester's motley, Trip could say just about anything and get away with it."

Action: A jester may choose to cast a vote with a weight of one, zero, or negative one. If not specified, the vote will have a weight of one.
Intrinsic: Once in the game, if a jester is lynched, and there are more living troupe members than fae at the time, and the jester cast a positively weighted vote, the lynch will be redirected to whomever they voted upon.

Lutist
"I raised my hands to the strings and drew their attention back to me. The room stilled, and I began to play."

Action: A lutist may draw attention from elsewhere onto themselves, redirecting a single vote from another player onto themselves.

Flutist
"It has always been that way with me. Offstage I worry and sweat. Onstage I am calm as a windless winter night."

Action: A flutist may capitalize on the attention of others, redirecting a single vote from themselves onto another player.

Tinker
"A tinker's debt is always paid: Once for any simple trade. Twice for freely-given aid. Thrice for any insult made."

Action: Can give items away to other players. Each item grants a single-use action to the holder, and may be passed to another player as an action. Each item has a cooldown of four cycles before it can be given again.
        Lodestone- A valuable, ferrous stone that can be used to roleblock one of the fae.
        Ramston Steel Knife- An uncommonly sharp blade that can be used to attack another player.
        Strawberry Wine- Inebriate the recipient, setting the weight of their vote to zero.
        Sympathy Lamp- Illuminate the way, tracking a target and discovering their target.
        Shoe Waterproofing Wax- Keeps your shoes dry. Has no in-game effect.

Tehlin Monk
"Demons fear three things: cold iron, clean fire, and the holy name of God."

Action: Use holly and iron to block a player's action and passive immunities, if they are one of the fae, or Skindancer possessed.
Intrinsic: Immune to both Scraeling powers.

Arcanist
"The law of synpathy is one of the most basic parts of magic. It states that the more similar two objects are, the greater the sympathetic link. The greater the link, the more easily they influence each other."

Action: Sympathetically link two players. For that cycle, all that affects one, affects the other.
Intrinsic: By the power of Alar, an Arcanist's vote weight may not be altered (the vote may still be nullified however).

Namer
"For he knew the name of the wind, and so the wind obeyed him."

Intrinsic: May call on the wind to send anonymous messages (send message and recipient(s) in GM PM and the recipient(s) will see the message at the beginning of next cycle).
Action: May protect (blocks an arbitrary number of attacks) or roleblock a single target each night. The wind is capricious however, and cannot be used to target the same person twice in a row.

Minor
"It gets tiresome being spoken to as if you are a child, even if you happen to be one."

Intrinsic: Each child is the child of a certain role (they will be informed which one), and if everybody with that role is killed, the child gains that role.

Ruler of the Sithe
"Wore they fresh and supple boughs, red and green upon their brows."

Intrinsic: A crown of holly grants passive immunity to Skindancer possession.
Intrinsic: The Sithe start out with a little more knowledge on the capacities of other Fae.
Action: May specify the current role of a troupe member and use grammarie to permanently alter their role to another troupe role. May be used twice.
Action: May guard a single other player from a single attack. If there are multiple attack actions, will randomly choose which to block.

Archer of the Sithe
"Rode they horses white as snow. Silver blade and white horn bow."

Intrinsic: A crown of holly grants passive immunity to Skindancer possession.
Intrinsic: The Sithe start out with a little more knowledge on the capacities of other Fae.
Action: May shoot another player with arrows of copper, killing them. Is stripped of this power if they attack another member of the Sithe, or if they fell three humans.

Hunter of the Sithe
"I am that merry wanderer of the night."

Intrinsic: A crown of holly grants passive immunity to Skindancer possession.
Intrinsic: The Sithe start out with a little more knowledge on the capacities of other Fae.
Action: May use glammourie to become difficult to see and track another player, learning their target.
Possesses secret traits.

Encanis
"Last there is the lord of the seven: Hated. Hopeless. Sleepless. Sane. Alaxel bears the shadow's hame."

Possesses secret traits.

Cinder
"You'd think a man with coal-black eyes would make an impression when he stops to buy a drink."

Action: May use glammourie to appear as any role. Glammourie takes an action to apply or change, but remains active indefinitely.
Intrinsic: If targeted while making a faction kill, will reflexively attack a random player who targeted them, instead of their original target.

Elder Skindancer
"He knew that there were demons that looked like men, or wore their skins like costumes, the way a man might hide beneath a sheepskin."

Action: Can possess a target, forcing them to take an action, and redirecting said action. Target will be informed that a skindancer possessed them. While possessing a target, appears as the role of the possessed. This power does not inform the skindancer of what role they assumed, however.

Scraeling Master
"More of the black things were scuttling out of the dark, their feet beating a quick staccato rhythm against roots and rocks and leaves."

Action: Send a horde of Scrael to pursue a target, nullifying their vote. This may be prevented by any power capable of protecting against an attack. However, this does count towards the inactivity filter, since the vote is actually nullified instead of having its weight set to zero. The target is informed they were chased by Scrael.
Action: Send a horde of Scrael to protect a target against attack. Warning: If the target survives an attack in this way, it will be distinguished from other forms of protection.

Cthaeh
"Maybe the soft creaking of your tendons as you clench your fists is like a sweet symphony to me."

Intrinsic: Omniscient. Has read access to the master spreadsheet and evil doc. May spy on up to three PM conversations at a time.
Intrinsic: Attack-Immune. As a tree-stump of doom, the Cthaeh cannot be killed by conventional means. Attacks targeting the Cthaeh will fail, as if they were roleblocked or avoided. The Cthaeh may only be killed via the lynch.
Possesses secret traits.

 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Drake Marshall
Revised Cthaeh's immortality.

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said:

Lovers will not be informed of each other's role or alignment, but at the start of the game, lover pairs are guaranteed to possess the same alignment.

If lovers are of opposite alignment, they gain the win condition of the Cthaeh, and additionally must be the last two players standing. Players revert to their original win condition if this pairing is dissolved.

None of the public rules indicate that alignment changes are possible, so I'm presuming that this is part of a secret trait. More importantly, how would the lovers end up being the last two players when the Cthaeh cannot die?

1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said:

May spend a cycle studying one of the following troupe roles: Singer, Acrobat, Juggler, Jester, Lutist, or Magician.

Is this last role supposed to be Arcanist instead of magician?

1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said:

Three times in the game, may select two other players and oneself. Juggles the positions the players are in, transporting them with each other. Whatever order the list is submitted in, the players each move down one on the list, looping back around.

Is this a redirecting action? If players A, B, and C were selected, would this cause actions that target A to affect B, B to affect C, and C to affect A?

1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said:

Actions with a limited number of charges will not lose charges if the action fails.

Does this apply to items as well?

1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said:

By the power of Alar, an Arcanist's vote weight may not be altered (the vote may still be nullified however).

This doesn't appear to accomplish anything, unless there are secret vote manipulation abilities or if it protects from the lutist/flutist abilities.

What is the order of actions?

All the yellow and blue roles are confirmed good, correct? The only exceptions are potential secret traits and that Cinder(s) will appear as a different role after the first cycle.

[DrakeMarshall]

On 4/7/2018 at 6:59 PM, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

None of the public rules indicate that alignment changes are possible, so I'm presuming that this is part of a secret trait. More importantly, how would the lovers end up being the last two players when the Cthaeh cannot die?

Is this last role supposed to be Arcanist instead of magician?

Is this a redirecting action? If players A, B, and C were selected, would this cause actions that target A to affect B, B to affect C, and C to affect A?

Does this apply to items as well?

This doesn't appear to accomplish anything, unless there are secret vote manipulation abilities or if it protects from the lutist/flutist abilities.

What is the order of actions?

All the yellow and blue roles are confirmed good, correct? The only exceptions are potential secret traits and that Cinder(s) will appear as a different role after the first cycle.

1a. No confirmations or denials here. I did consciously decide whether or not to create the mechanic you are speculating about, but I had already decided to include this part of the rules regardless. 

1b. In accord with the win conditions for Good and Evil, the Cthaeh doesn't really count towards parity. The lovers would need to be the last surviving members of each of their respective factions.

2. No, the magician is a possible role that I ended up scrapping. I forgot to delete it from the actor's list. I thought I fixed that before anybody noticed. Nothing to see here, move along 

3. Yup. Exactly so.

4. Yes, it applies to items the same as anything else. Note though that an action failing refers to it being blocked or avoided. If for an example an attack is made and the target survives, the attack was still successfully executed. It just didn't have the desired outcome.

5. It does protect from the lutist/flutist abilities. I consider the lutist/flutist abilities a form of vote weight manipulation, because they alter the impact of votes instead of altering the votes themselves (in constrast with the Scraeling power, which is the only non-secret power that can alter the votes themselves).

6. The order of actions is not locked in place yet. However, right now it is thus:

Action Blocks
Naming
Priest
Lodestone
Acrobat
Action Manipulation
Juggler
Skindancer
Sympathist
Singer

Vote Manipulation
Singer
Jester
Lutist
Flutist
Wine
Protects
Naming
Ruler
Scrael
Kills
Evil Faction
Archer
Knife
Scrael
The Lynch
Scans
Storyteller
Lamp
Hunter
Role Manipulation
Tinker / Item Passing
Ruler's Grammarie
Cinder's Glammourie
Actor's Study
Child's Inheritance

7. All the yellow and blue roles are confirmed good, yes. Also, note that in addition to the ones you pointed out, Skindancer possession is another power that can fool role-scans.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Drake Marshall
Revised order.

[Arrae]

That OoA is so long o.O I'll use my pass on this game, it sounds awesome.

[Jondesu]

That reminds me, I’ve gotta finish the rules for my LotR game so I can convince someone it’s worth a pass. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow.

[Steeldancer]

Storms alight that would need CoGMs

[DrakeMarshall]

3 hours ago, Arraenae said:

That OoA is so long o.O I'll use my pass on this game, it sounds awesome.

Really? *parties*

I have an MR coming up. I originally planned to run it as a game set in the Roughs, including a small assortment of era 2 metals, allomancers, and ferrings.

But I could just as well run this in its place and put off the Roughs game, if there is interest for this one.

I'm just a tiny bit more excited about the KKC game, but I'd truly be happy to put on either. Question to the sharders: which would you rather?

3 hours ago, Steeldancer said:

Storms alight that would need CoGMs

The important part of the OOA is the bolded parts. The non-bolded entries only matter if actions of the same general type need to be resolved against each other.

That said, I do anticipate that this game would greatly benefit from at least one co-GM, yeah. 

[Straw]

Shouldn’t action blocks and action manipulation be before vote manipulation?

[DrakeMarshall]

Point.

Update: The OOA has been revised. I have also slightly revised the Cthaeh's powers.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Drake Marshall

[DeTess]

@Drake Marshall, I'd be willing to co-gm this one. Playing it sounds great fun, but getting to see the antics of the cthaeh live sounds pretty great too.

[DrakeMarshall]

20 hours ago, randuir said:

@Drake Marshall, I'd be willing to co-gm this one. Playing it sounds great fun, but getting to see the antics of the cthaeh live sounds pretty great too.

I would be exceedingly glad to have you as co-GM, if you would like to be co-GM. Many thanks.

[Kidpen]

Alright, I had a quick idea for a premise for a game. However, I don't know how to actually fit it into the Cosmere. The basic thought is that each person has a different win condition. There are no factions, only roles and win conditions. Each person only know's their own win condition, and doesn't even know the possible conditions. So I was wondering if anyone had an idea for a setting for this. And don't worry, I know I need to play a lot more before I'm ready to run a game, and I need to flesh this out a lot. Oh, and I have no problem with anyone using this basis if they want.

[Straw]

@Kidpen There was a game link that. However, it to was super confusing, pretty unbalanced, and not very fun for the GM. Link: 

I’d probably recommend signing up for a game now, due to the fact that it usually takes a very long time for you to get to the top of the list. Also, I’d recommend starting out with something a bit more simple, and asking an experienced player to help you run it.

[Kidpen]

5 minutes ago, Straw said:

@Kidpen There was a game link that. However, it to was super confusing, pretty unbalanced, and not very fun for the GM. Link: 

I’d probably recommend signing up for a game now, due to the fact that it usually takes a very long time for you to get to the top of the list. Also, I’d recommend starting out with something a bit more simple, and asking an experienced player to help you run it.

Right. I definitely have no plans to actually run any game until I've done quite a few more as a player, and planned to probably run something less complicated beforehand. My question still stands though, although less specific to that idea. What do you do if you have an idea but don't know how to fit it into a Brandon work?

[Steeldancer]

I had an idea similar To that but not quite as crazy. It’s my Marvel Secret Invasion game, I’ve mentioned it before. Where everyone signs up as a particular superhero with particular abilities, and the skrulls invade and replace people with superskrulls. The reason I haven’t done the rules formally is because all the heroes would be a pain to balance.

[DrakeMarshall]

MR24 was a reckoner's blackout game that was nearly free-for-all. Compared to LG26 (of which my knowledge is rather limited), I would say MR24 was significantly less complicated and probably better balanced. I for one thought it was a fun game to play through. Might be a possible source of inspiration for you.

[Elenion]

3 hours ago, Kidpen said:

Right. I definitely have no plans to actually run any game until I've done quite a few more as a player, and planned to probably run something less complicated beforehand. My question still stands though, although less specific to that idea. What do you do if you have an idea but don't know how to fit it into a Brandon work?

Write it first as a non-Sanderson, and then change the names of the roles and abilities until it fits a Sanderson novel of your choice.

[Kidpen]

Alright, unrelated to what I've said above, but I have something for real now that I want feedback on.

Spoiler

This is a faction game. Each faction’s goal is to eliminate all of the other factions.

A standard lynch will happen every day turn.

Each faction has one leader. They each have a list of every member of their own faction, but can not vote or create PMs. They can not be targeted by any action. The identities of them are publicly available to see on each thread. They can still post in the thread. Each leader also has their own power. They can not be lynched. Leaders are killed as soon as their entire faction other than them is dead.

 

Factions and Leaders:

Set

The Council: You control the Set and worship almighty Trell. You receive a certain amount and types of spikes to distribute as you please throughout the players. You can delay giving out spikes if you would like, but after giving them out they can not be regained or moved.

Harmony’s Chosen

Harmony: You are the god of your people. You have the ability to see the alignment, spikes, medallions, and roles of anyone who has more than one spike. Players may PM you at will, but you may not PM back.

Southern Scadrians

Sovereign: You are the leader of the South. Once per cycle, you can make a medallion for any one allomantic role, and give it to any player. Giving it can be done at will, with an unlimited amount per turn. This medallion grants that power to the person it is given to. They can also be given away during the night phase by any owner of it to any other person.

 

Roles:

 

Spoiler

 

Kandra: Once per game, during a day turn, you may message the GM to say that you would like to absorb the lynched person. When you do this, you will, beginning on the following night turn, receive any roles and items that player had.

Lawman: During a night turn, once per cycle, you can find out if a player of your choice has written any direct lies in the thread since the beginning of the last day turn.

 

Allomantic Roles:

Spoiler

Unless stated otherwise, these each can be used once per cycle.

Steel: You can send an infinite amount of PM’s.

Pewter: You can kill one player per cycle.

Tin: Once every two cycles, you may receive a transcript of the last PM a player of your choice has posted in, other than PM's that include the GM and the player.

Zinc: You may change one person’s vote who has not voted to a player of your choice.

Brass: You may disable one player’s vote for one cycle.

Copper: You are immune to bronze, zinc, and brass.

Bronze: You may find out the allomantic roles and the way they received those roles of one player.

Electrum: You can see if there is a player who currently has an action targeted at you, other than the leaders. You will find out the action, but not the identity.

Players can not begin with an allomantic role. It must be given to them by something.

This was something I casually wrote up in a couple days, and it's no where near finished, but I figured I'd look to see if anything stands out immediately as a bad idea. Also, if anyone has any advice for what I could do with the other metals, that would be useful. I'm going to continue looking at this myself of course and making decisions about things that would make sense or things that wouldn't. Again, the only amount of thought I've put into it is what you see here, so it's very unfinished.

Edit: It kinda happened anyway, but in case someone was gonna respond, don't bother. This is super outdated.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Kidpen

[Jondesu]

I mentioned I had a LotR game in the works, but until just the other day, I hadn't done anything with it.  It still has a good bit of work to go, but there's some mechanics here that fascinate me, and I want to put it out there for people to see (and hopefully get someone to give me a pass to run it since it's non-Sanderson).  I'll adapt it to Sanderson if needed, but I've got an awesome story ready for it that I don't want to have to sacrifice.

Spoiler

Shadow in the South

General Rules:

• This is a faction game.

• PMs will be open during all cycles.  There are no restrictions on PMs, except that the GMs must be included in all PMs.  Group PMs are permitted.

• All actions must be submitted via your role PM during the appropriate cycles.  If you will be unavailable during a cycle and wish to submit your action early, let me know, and that will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

• The alignment and role of players who are lynched or killed will be revealed at the beginning of the following cycle.

• Every player must post in the thread at least once per full cycle (combined Night and Day cycles), starting from Day 3.  Anyone who does not will he left behind when breaking camp the following day cycle. Players who have been left behind may be replaced by pinch hitters if available, or will be considered dead otherwise. Sending in actions or participating in PMs will not protect you.

 

 

Roles:

• There will be three main factions in this game, with possible individual win conditions as well.

• The Companions goal is to eliminate the threats to the success of their mission, both from the Agents of Mordor and from the Gondor Spies. They win when both other factions are eliminated.

• The Agents of Mordor are secretly searching for the disguised wizard Gandalf, as well as the Prince of Greenwood and the Elven Handmaiden. They win if all three are eliminated.

• The Gondor Spies wish to divert the mission to Gondor. To do so, they must eliminate the trustworthy guides and all those who would follow them. They win if they outnumber the other two factions, or if they completely eliminate the Companions as well as the Hand of Sauron.

 

Special Roles:

• Gandalf the Grey

  • Gandalf has taken up a disguise in order to seek out the Agents of Mordor. Each night cycle, he may either scan a player’s alignment or protect a player (need to add flavor).

  • Gandalf’s win condition is the same as the Companions.

• The Hand of Sauron

  • The Hand of Sauron is Mordor’s lead Agent.

  • Each night cycle, they may place a drought in a single player’s waterskin, rendering them ill and unable to take any actions.

  • During each day cycle, they may lure a player away from the gathering, nullify that player’s vote along with their own.

• Mordor Assassin

  • Each Agent of Mordor will have access to the Assassin role, except The Hand of Sauron.

  • Each night, they may kill a player in his or her sleep, sent via their personal role PM. Only one assassin may work each night, to avoid discovery. If multiple assassination orders are sent via the player’s individual role PMs, they will be alerted to another player active in the camp and will abandon their mission that night to avoid discovery, so none of the kills will be successful.

• The Prince of Greenwood

  • Legolas Greenleaf has likewise taken up the guise of another traveler. His keen eyes and unerring aim will prove essential.

  • Each night cycle, he may spy from a distance to identify the items held by another player.

• The Elven Handmaiden

  • Arwen Evenstar has sent her personal servant to provide secret guidance and aid.

  • Each day cycle, she may secretly provide a player with an invigorating draught that gives them an extra action to take that night. The player who is chosen will be notified via PM, but no notification will be provided in the main thread.

• Eavesdropper

  • This overly nosy individual has a habit of listening in on private conversations. Each cycle they may choose two players and get a copy of any private messages sent between those players. They will not be told who else either player communicated with, nor the contents of those messages. They will receive all PMs for the full cycle, both day and night, at the start of the following day cycle.

 

Items:

• Poison vial

  • Some players will be chosen by RNG at the beginning of the game to carry a poison vial with them. During any night cycle, they may administer the vial to the waterskin of another player. The poison takes a full day to take effect, meaning that player will die the following night if an antidote is not administered.

• Antidote (name for flavor?)

  • Every player will begin the game with an antidote, which can be used in one of two ways.

  • They may take the full dose on any day cycle, which will completely counteract any poison administered the previous night cycle. It does not protect the player in advance, so it must be taken the cycle after they are poisoned, during the day cycle to avoid their death that night.

  • Instead, a player may also choose to take only a half dose, which allows them to use it twice within the game. If a player takes a half dose, the poisons effects will take longer to manifest. They will gain an extra day cycle to live, but will be unable to take any actions beginning during the night cycle in which they would have died. They may still vote the following day cycle, however.

 

Actions and restrictions:

• Each player will have two actions per full cycle (i.e. they may take two day actions, one day and one night action, or two night actions, excluding assassinations).

• Creating and sending PMs, as well as voting, are not considered actions. Possible actions include any aforementioned role abilities, using an item, or passing an item to another player. Items passed to another player will be made available to them at the beginning of the following day or night cycle, depending on when it is passed.

 

Order of actions:

• TBD

I may (probably) still add additional roles, items, and abilities, possibly including secret ones, and I haven't figured out yet if this will be able to be balanced well.

[CadCom]

I'm not sure if this is the right thread, but there is a version of werewolf, called One Night, where you only play a one night version of the game. Are there any One-cycle versions of SE out there? If not, I would be willing to create some game mechanics for one, and post it here for feedback, as a new style of game.

There is also a character that I find extremely fun, and it's called the Tanner. The Tanner's whole goal is to be the one to be lynched at the end of the night. if he is lynched, then he wins, and everyone else loses. Would there be a way to adapt a character like that into the continuous games, like "If [Hoid] is killed, then he fulfills his Win con, and sets off a timer/bomb that marks a definite end of game (for example: 3 cycles later) In order for any other teams to win, they must fulfill their wincon by that time." I think it could be fun, because then you can make very powerful characters, that would usually throw off the balance, but they would have to be more cautious to use any kill powers, because killing off the wrong guy can destroy your team