Mid-Range Game 2: Servants of Honor

[Renegade]

Only 45 44 minutes until the start of the game!  Bwahahaha!  Ah, ignore that last bit.

 

By the way, if you can't join and would like to join the Speculation Doc, PM me and I'll get you added.  Seriously, it's pretty lonely in there right now...

Edited August 15, 2014 by Renegade

[Renegade]

Day 1 - Justice

“Paliadin, son of Goriel,” announced the dark-skinned man, reading off of a scroll on the pedestal in front of him.  The majority of Telmont’s population stood in the town square, before the large, looming wooden platform above.  The Justice Platform.  It was a fitting name, Reginar thought, but for much different reasons than the crowd would assume.  “You have been charged with the theft and slaughter of the Brightlord Fiedre’s prized axehound.  How do you plead?”

The young man, Paliadin, his eyes widened in feat, stepped backwards, as if that would help him escape.  If he knew who the dark-skinned man was, he would know that there would be no escape for him.  Poor boy, Reginar thought.  His bond is too weak.  If only I could save him…  Reginar clenched his fists, stepping forward.  No.  Reginar scolded himself.  Are you one of the Ten Fools?  Trying to fight him…  Reginar shook his head, slowly unclenching his fists.

“I didn’t mean to do it!” Paliadin pleaded desperately.  The youth glanced around nervously, at his bound hands, at the silent crowd before him, at that dark-skinned man.

“Silence!” bellowed the dark-skinned man.  Paliadin shrank back even more.  “I do not wish to hear your excuses, petty boy.  Now, I will say this again: you have been charged with the slaughter of Brightlord Fiedre’s axehound.  How do you plead?”

Paliadin sneered at the dark-skinned man, his bound hands forming into fists.  “Why?” he asked, barely able to contain his fear, his fury.  “Why, out of all of the people in this town that have done wrong, did you choose me?  There have been plenty of others who-”

“Stop evading the question!” the dark-skinned man spat.  “It does not matter what others have done.  The important things is that you killed the Brightlord’s axehound.  You’ve taken away a life.  Therefore, we will take yours.  Justice shall be served.”  A Shardblade, gleaming with frost, appeared in the man’s hand, its hilt inscribed with a symbol that Paliadin swore he had seen before.

“This isn’t fair!” Paliadin shouted in utter rage.  “This is not justice, this is murder!  Murder!”  The youth paused, frantically looking about for something he could not see.  “Syrin!  Where are you?  I need your light!  I need your guidance!    

Reginar winced as the dark-skinned man’s Shardblade descended upon Paliadin, cleaving his head in two.  Angerspren, like bubbling pools of blood, appeared around Reginar, and he swept away from the scene.  Even the sky seemed to respond to his anger, as clouds began to gather and thunder rumbled.  Sensing the coming storm, the crowd began to disperse, many chatting fearfully to their friends.  One man jumped up onto the Justice Platform, and began shouting that the end was near.

Reginar chuckled.  That crazy man was actually more correct than people gave him credit for.

--------------------------------------------

Reginar strode into the Eye of the Storm, soaking wet with rain.  Curse the Stormfather, he thought indignantly.  While it was no highstorm, the storm was quite powerful, and Reginar had almost lost his hat twice in the blustery wind.

Reginar was surprised by the number of people that had showed up.  Madame Quismet definitely seemed happy to take them all into company for the evening.  Reginar scanned the room, seeing several familiar faces, as well many unexpected ones.  He had hoped to get the greatest variety of people gathered, and it seemed like he had done a good job.  There was some traveler from the far lands of Shin Kak Nish, clutching onto some strange furry beast, a man who looked to be from Valhav, and even a Thalathan merchant.  Then, of course, there was Metam, but he was another matter.

“I swear I saw him!” he was shouting, banging his fists on the table.  “The Stormfather himself spoke to me!”

The others in the tavern grumbled.  The strange urchin, Famed Gamin, exaggerated a yawn.  They all knew that the doomsayer’s words were not to be trusted.  Or really heeded in any sense.  His sudden outburst only served to prove this.

“I’m telling you!” Metam continued.  “There was a face in the clouds!  He spoke of the End of All Things!  A Final Desolation!”

“Do we not have more pressing matters to attend to?” sighed Faisan, the bronzesmith.  He looked anxious.  Most of them did, after the gruesome sight they had seen earlier.

“Yes,” Reginar nodded, sitting himself down at one of the tables.  “Do any of you know where that nightsoil porter is?  He promised he’d be here.”

“The correct term is Sewage Treatment Specialist,” Wurum corrected.  “And he told me that he had other… important... matters to attend to.”

“I really would not like to know what those ‘important matters’ entail, considering his occupation,” smirked Famed Gamin, discretely rolling a few spheres around his hand that he almost certainly pickpocketed.

“Could we just get on with this?” Tunnib asked, glaring at everyone.  “At least tell me what our goal is here.”

“Right,” Reginar said, placing his hands firmly on the table.  “I have reason to believe that the Skybreakers are amongst us again.”

“AHA!” Metam shouted, leaping up from his seat.  “I told you!  I told you all!  A Desolation is coming!  The end is near!”

“Um… what exactly is a Skybreaker?” asked Aladdin, holding that strange lamp he adored.

“An excellent question,” Reginar smiled.  “Skybreakers are one of the orders of the Knights Radiant.  They had the ability to manipulate the Surges of Gravitation and Division, making them powerful adversaries, capable of flying and doing other amazing feats.  They-”

“The Knights Radiant?” Kaladen frowned, confused.  “I thought they were the good guys.  Why would we want to kill them?”

“And more importantly, how?” Rulit added, his voice gruff, hinting at an aged experience that few were aware of.

“I’m getting to that,” Reginar replied.  “Now, the Skybreakers were an order that followed the law, putting it before all else.  Unfortunately, they also believed that the orders of Knights Radiant were responsible for the return of the Desolations.  I can tell you that Paliadin, the man executed today, was most certainly a Surgebinder, and a prime target for the Skybreakers.”

“So, that executioner was a Skybreaker?” Jain asked, glancing at the black-and-white stuffed beast he held in his hand.

“In a way,” Reginar explained.  “He was Nale, one of the Heralds of the Almighty.  Specifically, the Herald of the Skybreakers.”

Many of the patrons’ eyes widened.  They had seen a Herald?  That was certainly something one did not see every day.

“Meh,” Famed Gamin yawned.  “I’ve already met Nale before.  Twice, actually.  Seemed like a pretty boring guy.  Ishar, on the other hand… I mean, that man’s got a wicked beard!  Also likes to gamble.  Definitely my kind of guy.  Not nearly as awesome, though.  Obviously.”

“Of course,” Reginar said, rolling his eyes.  “Now, Nale’s appearance here probably indicates that there are other Skybreakers in this town.  In fact, I’d even hazard to say that there are Skybreakers in this very room.”

The patrons glanced around at each other suspiciously.

“How will we know who they are?” Madame Quismet spoke, placing another mug of ale in front of Tahrin, the man that had come all the way from Valhav.

Reginar shrugged.  “You’ll just have to do your best.  But once you think you have identified a Skybreaker, notify me and I’ll… dispose of them.  The best of luck to all of you.”  With a last, stern glance across the room, Reginar tipped his hat and left the tavern, leaving the patrons with a lot on their plate.

--------------------------------------------

The game has (finally) begun!  Day One will end at 10 PM EST on Saturday (that’s 48 hours from now).  Role PMs will be sent out in the next few minutes or so.

This first cycle is designed to be primarily RP, as it is basically just a “setting things up” cycle for the Windrunners and Skybreakers/Henchmen.  However, remember that you can still PM me with a Message to be delivered to another player at the beginning of the following cycle.  Good luck to all!

Player List
1. Serji (Sir Jerric)
2. Jain (Lightsworn Panda)
3. Kaladen (Kal Dell)
4. Aladdin (Ashiok)
5. Twlv (twelfthrootoftwo)
6. Wurum (Wyrmhero)
7. Madame Quismet (Quitecontrary)
8. Rulit (Tulir)
9. Mallaw (Mailliw73)
10. Jeno (The Only Joe)
11. Faisan (AonarFaileas)
12. Famed Gamin (Gamma Fiend)
13. Metam (Metacognition)
14. Tunnib (Binnut)
15. Gart (a smart guy)
16. Tahrin Resten (Theorymaker)
17. Naihar (Alvron)
18. Lyce (luckat)

Edited June 15, 2016 by Alvron

[twelfthrootoftwo]

Twlv caught the movement in the corner of his eye, and glanced over. A crumpled ball of paper was quickly disappearing in the fireplace. A strange man - presumably the paper's owner - watched it for a moment, then looked towards the counter. Another storming traveller, and this one clearly educated. That made another person to avoid.
 

He'd been in Telmont for several months now, enough to recognise the new folk on sight. And there were far too many of those for his liking. His deal with Quismet was comfortable, but it might be time to move on.

He caught the arm of a passing serving girl. 'Tell Quismet the eaves're clean, and her ladder's beside the door round the back. And 'er chisel bent, and she owes me two clearmarks for the new one.' The girl nodded. 'And take my meal up to the loft, I'll eat private tonight.' He let her go, watching as she picked up the urchin's cleaned bowl. There was another one to be wary of, though for quite different reasons.

The chisel had only cost one mark, but he'd take everything he could get. The stash he'd escaped with was dwindling faster than he would have liked. Storming lordling. The bandits had been bad enough. But even though the mercenary salvage team had been Feradel's suggestion, the storming man had paid him less for the wine than they'd cost to hire. And then the lord went and died the night the wine was opened, and the new Lord Feradel decided the wine had been poisoned. The man was old! And even if it was poison, then surely it was the bandits. No respectable merchant would kill his clients. At least, not intentionally.

He'd left the city that night, keeping the spheres he'd promised the mercenaries upon the shipment's safe return. Behind him were his debt to Belm for the mercenaries, another to Masah for purchasing the wine, and Feradel wanting to throw him in a dungeon to rot.
 

How could he know which of the new folk might give him away?

[Gamma Fiend]

The Famed Gamin sat at his seat, idly playing with the sphere in his hand, practicing his palming and sleight of hand techniques. A life on the streets taught you to always keep those kinds of skills sharp. Of course he had recognized the man Nale when he had seen him at the sentencing. Who could forget the face of a storming Herald?

"Did I ever tell you guys about the time I ran into Ash, as well? Ever since I made fun of her nose, she's been running around, slashing and defacing all pictures of herself ever since! You'd think these Heralds had no sense of humour!" Famed Gamin looked around, seeing if anybody was actually listening to him or not, and realized they were all still distracted from the recent announcements, and were just sitting in silence and staring forward listlessly.

I wonder what in the crem got into them, he huffed. Even if it is the storming Desolation, as that deranged madman keeps proclaiming, why can't people liven up? I've survived multiple Desolations, personally. I don't see what the big deal is.

[Tulir]

Rulit watched as Reginar walked out of the tavern.  The man had said some things that sounded crazy, but given the events that had been happening recently, Rulit was inclined to believe Reginar.  Rulit looked around at the people gathered in Eye of the Storm.  They seemed a hardy lot, and he felt confident that everyone would help, as most of them loved this town.

 

More importantly, Rulit thought, if we find any Skybreakers, maybe Reginar can dispose of them without us watching.  That execution was bad enough.

[Lightsworn Panda]

Woot. The game's started. I'll come back later when I have time to RP.

[Metacognition]

Metam looked around the room. Evidently, many people were still processing the idea of a Desolation coming. It was either that or they were ignoring him, which was ludicrous. He was right after all! 

 

Fools, the lot of them. If they had listened to him sooner, they would already know a Desolation was coming! 

What did they think "Nigh" meant? Decades from now? 

 

A Herald had been seen. The Stormfather talked to him. He knew what he had to do. 

 

Metam stood straight and tall and hefted his sign. The rain outside hadn't stopped, but that was of little matter. There were people out there that weren't aware of the dangers to come and he would make sure they heard, make sure they weren't caught off guard, like this lot. 

 

With determination in every step and conviction in his eyes, Metam shouldered his way out of the tavern and out into the downpour to spread the word. The end wasn't nigh, it was here and they all needed to prepare for it. 

 

"RUN! RUN AWAY! THE END IS HERE AND WE'RE ALL DOOMED! REPENT AND BE SAVED! AT LEAST REPENT A LITTLE AND GIVE ME AN OVERHANG TO STAND UNDER! THIS WATER IS FREEZING!"

Edited August 15, 2014 by Metacognition

[Sir Jerric]

Metam nearly knocked me over as I entered the tavern. It took me a moment to locate Serji. He sat much closer to the bar than was his usual want, likely due to the eclectic collection of foreigners who'd been lounging about the place all day while some earned their keep. Serji had saved a seat at his table for me, and I plunked myself down with a sigh.

 

"You missed all the excitement," he said to me, eyes glinting. "That Reginar up and accused us of harboring Skybreakers among us; those chaps that he wants to 'dispose of'."

 

I started to object. I mean really, how could I possibly be suspected of being a Skybreaker? Utter nonsense. But Serji merely laughed my objection off. "Relax. He said he suspected the people in this room. You weren't even here at the time."

 

Nice of him to say that, but people are people, and I knew that sooner or later, someone among those over-zealous axehounds would accuse me. I hoped that they'd at least do it to my face.

 

Serji put a hand on my shoulder. "There's far finer fish to be had than this lot. We've had a long day. Lay off that hard face." I brushed his hand aside, but I sat back and heaved a long breath. Trust Serji to keep a level head even when being accused.

[Wyrmhero]

Wurum tapped the firemark on the table, a rhythmic pattern as he thought. The noise of glass on stone resonated gently through the tavern, drawing eyes towards him. As people turned to look towards him, they fell silent at the sight of him and three of his burly enforcers sitting around the table. Each of them had a mug of ale in front of them, though none of it was touched so far. Wurum himself had fruit juice, imported all the way from Shinovar, a casual expression of the lucrative nature of his business.

 

"Skybreakers... Skybreakers are bad for business," he muttered, laying the ruby-embedded bead on the table. "More than that, they're bad for the entire town," he added. Finally he looked over at the tavern's other occupants. "Skybreakers are absolute in their hatred of lawbreakers. It won't take them long to decide to purge this Storm-forsaken place of all who have benefited from 'questionable' business practices. That includes most of the town," he explained, for the dimmer-witted amongst them.

 

He drank a little of his 'imported' juice before continuing, his associates still not touching theirs, but scanning the crowd for danger. "I have seen similarly minded people before. They do not frighten me, though I am... concerned, on behalf of my town. But of course, you should all be too," he added, smirking a little at the thought of them having to help him. "Do you think they might stop at a simple businessman like me? What might happen if this town loses its Stormwarden?"

 

Wurum stood up, nodding to his guards. As one, they drank a gulp of their ale and slammed the mugs back down on the stone table. Their boss gave them a disappointed look, as they each had to take a cloth out of their pockets to clean up the spillage. "In any case, it seems we have plans to form. We can't let the Skybreakers take over, after all, with their outdated idea of the law. Let's teach them how the rules really work in this town."

Edited August 15, 2014 by Wyrmhero

[Theorymaker]

Tahrin was surprised, even a little scared, to hear the news that there were people in this town who murdered to "follow the law". But the even crazier part was that no one seemed too startled by the news. Tahrin would have to start thinking of a way to contact his brother without staying in this town.

[Alvron]

Naihar leaned back against the wall, his half finished meal long since grown cold.  It had been a couple of hours since a local had barged in and made his announcement without bothering to introduce himself.  These yokels have no manners at all.  Most of the other patrons were still at their tables talking about the news.

 

Heralds killing children and lost Radiants bringing about the Desolation?  Who would believe such outlandish lies!  This is obviously some kind of scam and that supposed doomseer is part of it.  Why else would he go charging into the rain.  Give it a couple of days and I’m sure he will start offering salvation for a sphere or two.

 

Waving over a waitress, Naihar ordered a glass of orange wine.

 

Even if it is a hoax I should probably keep an eye on everyone.  If even one of them start to panic it could spiral out of control.

 

Noticing a street urchin loitering around trying to tell everyone that he had lived through a Desolation.  That one could be a problem.  He seems a few spheres shy of a full pouch.

[Binnut]

Tunnib was confused. He was certain that the Skybreakers was the reason for him being here but why? Had someone made sure to get him there so that he could help against them? Or to make sure that the Skybreakers made the process short with him? Not that they would be able to cause him any trouble! In any case, it was probably best to lay low for a while, and see how things turned out. Maybe finding an ally or to ride this out with, unless his job became apparent of course!

[Dellexe]

Just realized, I haven't decided at all what Kaladen is like. Hmm. Maybe a trained surgeon but a skilled spearman? Maybe a tavern guard? Sure, I'll roll with that.

 

Kaladen surveyed the rustling crowd, looking for any troublemakers or rabble-rousers amongst them. One came in complaining that the madman preaching outside had nearly knocked him over as he left.

-

I should really deal with that one someday. It's bad for business, having a madman preaching the end of the world outside your door. (tempted to put in a grumble about false accusations )

[Mailliw73]

Mallaw stood in the corner of the tavern, the hood of his cloak draping a shadow over his face. "These so-called 'Justice seekers' will be destroyed for the death of my friend. Paliadin was my friend since childhood. I will se him avenged," Mallaw said in his deep voice from the back of the group. He sharpened his long knife while speaking. Continuing to look down at his weapon, he ignored the scared glances shot towards him. He finished sharpening his knife and put it in its double scabbard with his throwing knife. Grabbing his longbow, he turned and walked out of the tavern. 

[Sir Jerric]

You know, if there is one thing common among the games on here, it is that people regret the lack of early conversation. Happened in QF1, in MR1, happened to the bad guys in LG7. Are we seriously going to just RP the entire first day away?
 
Everyone in this game has the ability to send one anonymous message per cycle. Whether or not you have a doc to converse in, or rather, particularly if you don't have a doc to converse in, how are you going to put those messages to good use?
 
Do we create a flood of randomly-directed bait messages to distract and confuse anyone that tries to use a Reverse Lashing to gather info?
 
Do we try to use them like the usual PMs, knowing that the recipient has little means to confirm the author, and that your intended recipient may never get it anyway?
 
Do we try to use them to promote ourselves as potential squire candidates, even though no one really knows who sent the message?
 
Do we send out messages that list off who we thought the most suspicious in each round (and why) instead of publicly posting those thoughts, to see who replicates those thoughts to the main thread?
 
Do we slap down the person who was brave enough to try and start a useful conversation, for giving away potential strategies that could have been useful if no one else had been thinking about that possiblity? (That seems like a common result of posts like this.) =D

[Metacognition]

I've been trying to come up with a way to use the Messages to help identify the Skybreakers too, but the problem is that we only get one message per cycle. As such, you can only really have a rapport with one other person. If you try to do more than that, you're effectively behind by too many cycles. 

 

The Truthwatcher will likely be contacting people to let them know that they've been scanned and who they are, that way, if they find a Skybreaker, they can subtly make an accusation in thread or something and get them lynched. The Windrunners and Skybreakers will probably be using it for communication, though I suspect that they'll try to keep any sensitive information out of it. Wouldn't want to give away anything if it does get stolen. 

 

The best I could come up with for how to use the messaging system to our advantage would be for everyone to send their messages all to one person. That way, that person would know who sent them a message and who didn't, but that would be risky, since the Skybreakers can use that information to know who to Reverse Lash and that defeats the purpose of the Windrunners being able to communicate with it. Plus the Truthwatcher couldn't get into contact with people. And finally, how would we even decide on who? We could just as easily pick a Skybreaker to send everything to. 

 

I think our best bet is to use them as a limited PM system. We'll have multiple mini alliances going on in the background and that should allow us to feel out at least one person each. Plus, if a message is stolen, we'll know about it since the messages should just be going back and forth.

 

If you don't have an ability, then communication is your only resource. We probably should've started discussing plans long ago. The better equipped we are going into the next Cycle, then better. 

Edited August 16, 2014 by Metacognition

[Aonar]

Faisan had left the tavern early. Forging wasn't easy work, but it was far better than listening to the villagers worry over Reginar's proclamation, or worse yet, sitting through the doomsayer's near constant chorus of "I told you so."  

 

It was likely for the best, anyway. If Reginar wasn't a lunatic, then they would all be in need of swords before long, for all the good that they would do against Radiants.

 

It was said that the Radiants knew the secret to forging weapons of bright silver metal that would not bend of break in battle, but even weapons such as those paled in comparison to the Sharblades themselves, the swords that were not swords.

 

Faisan sighed, and set back to working the glowing bronze bar before him. It did no good to remind himself of how unlikely it was for them to survive. He would do all that he could, and hope that it would be enough.

 

I would comment on the the stuff about the messaging mechanic, but it seems like people have already covered the majority of that. A limited PM system does seem like the best way to go with them for now, but somehow I get the feeling people will find more... creative uses for the anonymous messages before long.

[Binnut]

There is always one final detail that prevents a plan for finding the Skybreakers using messages when I try. There has been close ones a couple of times, but there is always something at the end that breaks it all.

 

The problem I see with using it as limited PM's to one person is that there will probably be multiple persons trying to start one with the same person, and the contacted person will only have one message to send back the net turn. But if we specify who should be communicating with who in thread, then the Skybreakers can tell if the Truthwatcher or WIndrunners need to contact someone else. (If they are paired...)

 

On a similar note, Did we need to be scared of people snatching messages this turn? I have assumed so this far, but I just realized that it may not be the case.

[Renegade]

Less than three hours until the cycle ends!  If you'd like to send an anonymous Message this cycle, make sure to PM me with that message before the cycle is over.

 

Also, just so that all are aware, Basic Lashings will protect a targeted player from all uses of Division that cycle, not just one.

[+Quitecontrary]

Quis looked around tiredly at the tavern. Customers were abundant today and it should've made her happy, but instead it couldn't dispel the dark mood that has settled from the time Reginar announced what may be the worst thing that ever happened in this town.

 

She was not a stranger to killings, but she knew Paliadin, and it saddened and angered her that someone, regardless of power, took it in himself to kill a member of the town.

 

There was a blanket of dread in the room, and her girls' smiles couldn't take it away. Bad business. And she doesn't even know who these Skybreakers are. 

 

She looked around. Everyone looked suspicious at the moment, but there has to be some way for her to slip a message in to someone. 

 

She walked behind the counter and started writing her message, folded it and slipped it between her bosom. Then putting on a smile for the customers, walked out to the tavern room and interacted with everyone again.

[Renegade]

Day 2 - The Calm before the Stormfather

The morning after his announcement, Reginar looked out from Telmont’s pier, at the glimmering sun on the horizon.  It helped to calm his nerves.  As there was, indeed, quite a lot to be worried about.  The Skybreakers were a threat, yes.  A very great one to this town.  But he had heard the Stormfather’s voice, and knew its truth.

A Desolation would come.

YOU ARE DOOMED, the Stormfather had said.  YOUR BEST HOPE WOULD BE TO FLEE WHILE YOU STILL CAN.  Flee?  Flee where?  Nothing on Roshar was safe from a Desolation.  Reginar knew that much.  The Stormfather, for all his infinite might and glory, was rather unhelpful.

Reginar sighed, looking out at the sea.  Were those clouds gathering?  There wasn’t supposed to be a highstorm anytime soon… was there?  He squinted out at the sea.  Yep, those were definitely storm clouds of some sort.  “How odd,” Reginar said, before turning around, towards the center of Telmont.

A Desolation, Reginar contemplated, shaking his head in despair.  A storming Desolation.  Are the Skybreakers really an issue here?  We should be focusing on the real threat…  Reginar continued walking, quickening his pace.  It was still early, and most of the town hadn’t woken up yet.  It was actually rather calm, considering what the town would have to face very soon.

No, Reginar decided, the Skybreakers are a legitimate concern.  In this town, at least.  If they continue their purge of the Surgebinders… what will we have left to defend ourselves?  Yes, first we must remove the Skybreakers and save the other Surgebinders.  Only then can they be properly taught.  Reginar nodded to himself, rounding a corner.

Up ahead stood the town square.  And off to one side of it, in front of the town courthouse, the Justice Platform.  Reginar reeled at the sight of that horrid structure.

Why? Reginar thought, angrily.  Why must the Skybreakers be like that?  They should know that some things are above the law.  Law is not perfect.  Nothing is.  And yet, that is what they expect of everyone.  Total perfection.

Reginar stopped in front of the platform.  It was a symbol of everything he hated about the Skybreakers.  He kicked it, for all the good that did.  Then, he left, heading for the Eye of the Storm tavern.

--------------------------------------------

Reginar entered the Eye of the Storm just after Madame Quismet had opened it up for business that morning.  None of the other patrons had arrived yet, which Reginar had expected.  He sat down at a table, waiting for them to arrive.

The calm before the storm, he thought, chuckling to himself.  And, indeed, as Reginar looked out the window, a storm did appear to be brewing on the horizon.  It seemed larger than before.  Definitely seemed like a highstorm.

After returning to his seat, Reginar heard the tavern’s door open up again.  Aladdin burst in, holding his signature lamp and falling to the floor.

Reginar stood up.  “What is it?” he asked, surprised.  “Were you attacked?”

Aladdin looked up at Reginar, his eyes wide.  “No,” he coughed.  “The Stormfather… he answered me!”

Reginar looked confused, then returned to his seat.  “Yes, of course,” he mumbled.  “The Stormfather seems to be talking to quite a few people these days.  I wonder what his deal is.”

Suddenly, the tavern shook, a loud voice booming: THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING.  THE DESOLATION WILL COME.  SEEK THE PATTERNS… FIND THOSE WHO SURVIVE…

Finally, something useful, Reginar thought.  “Wait, Stormfather!  What-?”

I AM SORRY.  I MUST LEAVE YOU NOW.  THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY.

“Stormfather!” Reginar yelled, half as a curse.  Aladdin just looked extremely dazed.  Well, we’d better – what is that?  Reginar looked at the far wall of the tavern, noticing several marks scratched into the wood.

“The Desolation Comes!" the message said.  Was that the crazy doomsayer again?  Or… Reginar looked below the message, where there were a set of marks.  Three scratches etched into the wood.

Three scratches.  Three days.

“Oh, this is not good,” grumbled Reginar.

--------------------------------------------

Day Two has begun, and will end at 10 PM EST on Monday.  Voting may now commence (as well as all of the other actions)!

Player List
 

 

1. Serji (Sir Jerric)
2. Jain (Lightsworn Panda)
3. Kaladen (Kal Dell)
4. Aladdin (Ashiok)
5. Twlv (twelfthrootoftwo)
6. Wurum (Wyrmhero)
7. Madame Quismet (Quitecontrary)
8. Rulit (Tulir)
9. Mallaw (Mailliw73)
10. Jeno (The Only Joe)
11. Faisan (AonarFaileas)
12. Famed Gamin (Gamma Fiend)
13. Metam (Metacognition)
14. Tunnib (Binnut)
15. Gart (a smart guy)
16. Tahrin Resten (Theorymaker)
17. Naihar (Alvron)
18. Lyce (luckat)

Edited June 15, 2016 by Alvron

[Aonar]

A strange silence had fallen over Telmont, broken only by the steady pounding of Faisan's hammer. Nothing stirred in the predawn light; nothing had since Reginar discovered the strange message in the tavern. Any other time, Faisan would have appreciated the peace, but now it only made him feel anxious. With the threat of death hanging over all their heads, they had better things to be doing than hiding in their homes.

 

Right-o. Everybody seems just a tad quiet. Um, in case you haven't noticed, this is a mid-range, people. Things aren't going to be moving quite so fast as a quickfix, but that doesn't mean we can afford to avoid discussion. Right now, we have two Skybreakers, two Windrunners, (most likely) two Squires, (most likely) two henchmen, and a Truthwatcher. So that's about a fifty-fifty shot of hitting somebody important with a random lynch, assuming no overlap. 

 

Just a a little note here: Something I wasn't expecting was the amount of message overlap. Our limited PM system isn't going to work at all like how I was thinking. I received three messages, myself, so I'm assuming Meta or some of the others must have gotten at least four. So we can either redistribute messages, hoping to get something closer to one-to-one (rather inefficient, I think) or use the four-five people who received the majority of messages to slowly relay information. This still isn't the greatest solution, especially given that people can lie about their identities in the messages, but it might be all we can do. (So to the people who messaged me: Don't be surprised if I don't respond. I'll do my best to get around to it eventually, but I can only send one per night.)

Edited August 17, 2014 by AonarFaileas

[Sir Jerric]

I'm trying to work out a message identity security system. It's a little complicated. =)
 
Here's the basic step, that might be helpful all around.

How to add security features to your anonymous PM conversations for fun and profit

Throughout this tutorial, I shall refer to my anonymous assistants as Alex, Beth, Cara, Danny, and Eric.

Sequence Numbers: (Basic)
Alex sends Beth a Message on Day 1. Nobody can use Lashings, so this message is delivered accurately.

(1027)Beth,

I like your hair.

Sincerely,
Alex

Because of the many available causes for delays, Alex includes a sequence number. The number used didn't really matter, so long as it was unique to this conversation with Beth.

On Day 2, Beth replies to Alex in another Message. She uses her own sequence number. Let us assume for now that no one uses a Reverse Lashing on Alex.

(376)Alex,

What does my hair have to do with this game?

Irritably,
Beth

On each subsequent message, the sequence number increases by one.

On Day 7, Alex wants to send a message back to Beth, but he needs to send a priority message to Danny. He adds a line to his next public post: "Message 1030 not sent."

Beth has messages 1027, 1028, and 1029, so she now knows that Alex did not send her a message tonight, so she doesn't need to worry about it having been stolen.

Eric knows that Alex didn't send a message to someone. Lots of messages aren't sent to lots of people every cycle. Who did Alex send a message to? He hasn't said. And he might not be referring to a message on Day 7. That notice could have been an apology for not submitting Day 6's message before the write-up.

The fancy piece builds on this to identify the stated author as being the recipient of prior messages, but I've got a few more glitches to work out of that one before I share it.
 
I'm also accepting feedback on whether or not people want such a scheme shared, since the eliminators benefit along with the good guys, except in the part where anonymity is no longer as useful, and snitching messages is rather more detectable.

[Alvron]

Right now, we have two Skybreakers, two Windrunners, (most likely) two Squires, (most likely) two henchmen, and a Truthwatcher. So that's about a fifty-fifty shot of hitting somebody important with a random lynch, assuming no overlap. 

 

I have a very bad habit of misreading some rules but as far as I know there shouldn't be any squires as the cycle was mostly to set things up and rp.  No role abilities were used including squire recruiting.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Alvron

[Gamma Fiend]

Want to try and get some The Famed Gamin RP in, but I got a little bit to go over first.

I agree with Aonar that we should definitely be as active in thread as possible to promote discussion and all that (you know, the same old argument that gets made every game )  Nor should we rely solely on Messaging or back-channels to get everything done. With Aonar saying he got 3 Messages last night, that makes me feel a little better coming forward saying I personally received four messages last night, myself. >.< So it will take me even longer to respond to everyone and everything. 

I do want to warn though, I hope that we don't completely rely on Messaging to get things done in this game. Relaying secret information and the like will definitely help us out, but we really should try and hash out as much as we can in-thread.

One thing I will come forward and say though, one of the messages I received is rather interesting.

“Famed Gamin,
 
Having noted many of your past fiendish deeds, and noting in particular the occasion when a similarly named fellow suffered an ignominious death on the pointed end of your awakened shardblade, I wonder if this time you would be willing to work together on the problem of these rogue Radiants.
 
With all due respect,
{REDACTED}”

To me that sounds like the Skybreakers reaching out to me, hoping to play along my "for the lulz" behaviour I've exhibited in past games and seeing if I'd be willing to work with them*. I Redacted the name that was given at the end of the message for now, just because I obviously can't be certain if that's who actually sent me the message or not, or if it was some sort of possible set-up. But depending on what gets all posted and said this cycle, I may end up revealing what the given name was, if I think it will actually do any good.

Another thing I've been thinking about is the possible number of Eliminators we'll be facing this game. With the number of players, and the different role mechanics, if there's 18 of us and 2 Skybreakers, I would give them maybe up to Two Henchmen. If there were 3 Henchmen, that'd make the Eliminator team almost 1/3 of the players, which is just a bit too much. Even with 4 of them, and almost being a 1/4 of the players might still seem a bit strong, but with The Windrunners able to recruit people, I think 4 looks like a good number to run off of for right now. Of course, Ren could always decide to Troll us, as is the favorite past-time of GMs. (I can attest to this )

One quick thing: As both Aonar and I have revealed we've received quite a few messages each, I recommend nobody send us anything tonight on the off-chance we become the targets of a Reverse Lashing. Of course, nobody should be revealing any sort of sensitive material or anything like that so soon anyway, but just better to be cautious and make sure things get spread out as much as possible without the high possibility of interception.

*Me revealing receiving this message may put some heat on me if it was a true attempt from the Skybreakers to see if I was willing to work with them or not. Of course, I don't expect any of you to actually trust my word about it right now, as such is the nature of the game, but I still wanted to come forward and say something about it and let people know, at the very least.