Mid-Range Game 32: The Blight Encroaches

[Fifth Scholar]

Callor stepped out of the thick woods ringing Fal Dara, his white cloak with the golden sun making a splash against the darkly covered thicket that previously enveloped him. He felt vaguely uncomfortable standing there exposed, in the open between two nexuses of evil. The whitewashed tower, with its shiny exterior that fooled most, but was still full of rot within, was closer than the Dark One’s prison. However, Shayol Ghul seemed to emanate his madness. By means of the Blight spreading surely and slowly over the Blasted Lands and encroaching on the northern kingdoms, the Dark One advanced, and a strong hand was needed to intervene that did not belong to Tar Valon witches. And Callor knew whose hand that would have to be.

Smiling at his orders from the Lord Captain Commander, he took to the road fully, prepared for his presence to be announced to the Keep he neared. Let them! Agelmar would be as wet clay in his hands when he saw what the Children could do. A few minutes of warning would change nothing. The Light would shine on and protect those who resisted the Dark One at all times. And Pedron Niall stood for the Light. 

---

The guardsman on the walls of Fal Dara Keep blinked. A party had appeared, essentially out of nowhere, on a stretch of clear road empty a second earlier. He frowned, motioning his fellows to hold the gates against the newcomers. Peering closer, he was unsurprised to see an Aes Sedai and a Warder among their number, even if the man looked familiar. The guardsman tried to place him, but the name was slippery on his tongue, and he could not grasp it.

Those thoughts were driven from his head by the Aes Sedai, who serenely reached into one of her pouches and showed Agelmar’s sigil, a token of entry. Having little other choice, he let the Warder and his Aes Sedai in, glancing at the others as they passed. Mostly youth, though seemingly an Ogier among them, and an older gleeman. He did not know for what purpose they were there, but the woman had flashed Agelmar’s sign, and as such was to be allowed entry. Curious about the new arrivals, but unable to abandon duty, the guardsman contented himself with watching the north road, and the Blight as it crept slowly closer.

---

Pain. 

Pain was all Aginor felt, from head to toe. A constant reminder of his failure. A constant reminder that his recklessness had trapped him at the surface of the Wheel for three millennia, while eras came and went. The pain stayed with him for all those millennia, and it did not vanish with his release. 

Yet despite this pain, Aginor was determined to see that his body would have advantages. He straightened, shrivelled skin screaming in protest from the treatment, and looked towards the Spine of the World. His eyes, at least, were sharp enough to see the mountain range clearly, even as far away as they were, and the dark shapes in that direction coming towards him. Squinting, he made a pretense of studying the mountain ranges. Maybe its formations would be the key to finding what he searched for. Somewhere in there lay the Eye. He just needed to come upon it. Aginor chuckled aloud, loud enough for Balthamel, similarly shrivelled, to raise an inquisitive eyebrow. She did not see what he did. Looking directly at him, moving in his direction with purpose, the shadows materialised: a small contingent of Darkfriends came before him, kneeling. Then Aginor truly smiled. 

---

It’s been a month-long drought (or should I say Blight ), but welcome to MR32: The Blight Encroaches!  This game, if you didn’t catch it from the RP, is a Wheel of Time game set at the end of The Eye of the World. The Forsaken are trying to destroy, overwhelm, or use the Eye to cut off the fledgling Dragon, al’Thor, from using it against the Great Lord of the Dark. Meanwhile, the Light is frantically defending the Eye against the encroachments of both the Blight and Forsaken, and seek to drive them back and kill them to strike a major blow on behalf of the Light. This game will start at Fal Dara Keep and move back towards the Eye as it continues. 

My co-GM for this game will be Elandera (@Ookla the Rogue). Our Impartial Moderator is @Alvron. 

All of the rules for this MR may be found here, in this Google doc. If anyone has any rules questions (and I imagine they do), please do not hesitate to ask. I’ll be saving the first post for a player list and rule clarifications. It is worth noting that the rules are not technically set in stone, as the game balance committee might want me to make tweaks, so until they pass the game, consider this ruleset unfinished. That said, I will try to keep all of you updated on the status of the ruleset until it is confirmed. 

Actually, I lied about that doc having all the rules. I did not address one set of rules: those pertaining to Ooklas. I am aware that the Ooklas are a wonderful festive way to celebrate Sanderson (having assumed the role of one myself), but they can cause issues regarding identity in SE. I’d hate to have mere confusion about names and identities derail lynch discussion or confuse action orders, and as such am placing the following guidelines for Ookla users:

1. If you changed your name to an Ookla, please place your usual name within your title. 

2. If you changed both your name and profile picture, please conclude all your posts with a boldfaced line that states your regular name. Players that only changed their name are not required to do this but are strongly encouraged to, to help out your GMs. (You always have our best interests at heart, right? )

3. Once the game has begun, do not change your name or profile picture any longer. 

4. When voting to lynch on an Ookla, cast your vote in the following format: Regular Name (Ookla Name). For instance: “I vote Fifth Scholar (Ookla the White-Cloaked) for imposing pointless Ookla restrictions.” Also, it might help a lot of people could just generally refer to others by their usual names. 

5. Please just call me Fifth.  My Ookla name is just for RP. 

Thank you for cooperating with all of the above, and I’m confident that if everyone tries to adhere to it, we shouldn’t have identity-confusion issues.  

Signups for this game will close Thursday 6 December 2018, at 10:00 PM EST. (Rollovers in general will be around 10 PM EST.) The countdown site is broken, so do math if you need an exact number.  

Quick Links:

Spoiler

Day One—Thus Saith the Lord
Night One—A Bruised Ego
Day Two—Our Refuge and Strength
Night Two—An Open Mind
Day Three—Sheathing the Sword
Night 3–The Dark Flames
Day Four—Shifting Shadows
Night Four—Twelve to Go
Day 5–Don’t Send a Boy
Night Five—Droughts
Day Six—Dai’Shar Malkier
Night Six—The End is Nigh
Aftermath—The Shadow Rising

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Fifth Scholar

[Fifth Scholar]

Reserving for player list and rules clarifications. Failure to describe your character may result in me doing it for you. You may not like that.  

Players: 

1. Steeldancer (Ookla the Positive) as Ookla the Positive, an orphan with a cheery outlook on life.

2. randuir as Evelyn, an Aiel Wise Woman and well-wisher

3. Karnatheon (Ookla the Ring) as Brendan Vallerune, a gleeman totally unrelated to Jeordwyn

4. Cadmium Compounder (Ookla the Duck) as Miumpounder, a cobbler with an abiding hatred of Altarans

5. xinoehp512 (Ookla the Phoenix) as Alkoo, a reclusive Ogier tucked away in encyclopaedias 

6. Amanuensis as Nikel Fain, a man hell-bent on killing his father (totally normal)

7. Droughtbringer as Month-Long Drought, a prickly old noblewoman who only eats dried fruit

8. Rathmaskal as Jeordwyn Dormond, an Illianer gleeman who juggles knives through his enemies

9. Devotary of Spontaneity (Ookla the Heretical) as Rhodin, a countercultural Aiel whose views are about to go mainstream

10. Young Bard (Ookla the Unprepared) as Jancey, a reluctant soldier who signed up to obey his father’s will

11. Mark IV as Lars, an inquisitive young nobleman

12. Snipexe (Ookla the Sceptical) as Exepins, a scribe who will eventually admit to the superiority of British spellings

13. Furamirionind as Keisa, a grizzled veteran of the Borderland Wars, with a scar on his forehead to show for it

14. Hemalurgic Headshot (Ookla of the East) as Skern Mundy, a man from the East with many skills

15. Ark1002 (Ookla the Dragon Reborn) as Shifting Shadows, a shifty, shadowy Wolfbrother

16. STINK, a formless thread in the pattern with less than 24 hours to identify himself before the Creator does

17. MetaTerminal (Ookla the Cited) as Elak Dehlin, a merchant with severe paranoia about the One Power

18. BrightnessRadiant, a formless thread in the pattern with less than 24 hours to identify herself before the Creator does

19. Mr Doctor as Antor Vadenfort, a Illianer Warder without an Aes Sedai

20. Gancho Libre (Ookla the Libre) as Pummy'in Coach, a former sul'dam looking for a firm, guiding hand in life

Rules Questions: 

Will you actually be collating all the rules questions that people ask you here?

If I have time, yes. 

Can Padan Fain self-protect?

No, he cannot. 

What is a passive trait, and which does Fain block? How long does the block last?

Passive traits are any ability granted to a character that does not require an action to trigger. Fain blocks all passive traits, except for ones that grant access to special PMs or docs. This block only happens during the Night Fain sends in the action. 

Does the Blight's Desperate Assault Ability stacking mean its attack increases by 3 until it finally penetrates the Light defense; e.g. 2+5+8+11... 

Yes, though it’s penetration of a gate that causes it to revert. Once no more gates are left it’ll just even out to the standard X+1. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Ookla the White-Cloaked

[Steeldancer]

I'll take care of my title later, but it should be pretty clear who I am. I am the OOKLA OF POSITVITY! I am POSITIVE I am first. Ha. 
Ookla the mighty is always last
OOkla the positive is always FIRST. 
Clearly I am up entirely too late because now I'm rambling in a sign up post... 

[DeTess]

Hmm, a wheel of time game. Interesting.

Luckily I've actually read some of those books, so I shouldn't be completely lost. I'll be Evelyn, a not-that-old Wise woman.

Edit: I've taken a quick look at the rules. Is it correct that there is no way to actually kill the creeper NPC's?

Edited November 29, 2018 by randuir

[Karnatheon]

If I'm reading it right Rand can during the day attack any one Blight npc. Don't think I saw anything else though. 

Just curious how roleplay is going to work for people with specific identities? The point is for roles to be hidden right? So as soon as someone made a post from like, Lan's perspective everyone would know that was him. New to SE so maybe I'm missing something though.

[DeTess]

9 minutes ago, Ookla the Ring said:

Just curious how roleplay is going to work for people with specific identities? The point is for roles to be hidden right? So as soon as someone made a post from like, Lan's perspective everyone would know that was him. New to SE so maybe I'm missing something though.

Someone making a post from Lan's perspective would indeed give the game away. Instead you could just RP as your OC, even if you've got a role that says you're someone else. In past games, I've often worked in small sneaky nods to may actual role when I had time to RP, but avoided outright stating anything.

Edit: and I did indeed miss Rand's kill.

Edited November 29, 2018 by randuir

[CadCom]

I'll sign up. (Cadmium Compounder) 

I feel like Miumpounder the cobbler will be a good character for this game. Perhaps this time I can actually get some RP in with him, and be a bit more in role than last time

Just so you know, I may be less active(though not inactive) until after the 11th. I should still be able to post at least once or twice per cycle though.

8 minutes ago, Ookla the Ring said:

Just curious how roleplay is going to work for people with specific identities? The point is for roles to be hidden right? So as soon as someone made a post from like, Lan's perspective everyone would know that was him. New to SE so maybe I'm missing something though.

So Roleplay is done based off the role you've signed up with. The Role you are given is to be kept a secret, and gives you abilities, but for the most part, you do all of your role play based on the role you've signed up with. Not everyone signs up with a role, or is particularly avid of Role playing, so some people just do analysis-type posts. 

[xinoehp512]

I'll sign up as Alkoo.

[Amanuensis]

Admittedly I'm not a fan of the Wheel of Time. I've tried getting through Jordan's books so I could reach that sweet, sweet Sanderson, only for my motivation to peter out somewhere in the middle (The Path of Daggers, if my memory serves me right).

That said, I enjoyed the last WoT game I played a lot, and I've been itching to get back to see how everyone is doing, old friends and new players alike. Though the rules appear to be very different, I'm confident Fifth has designed something great and will run it well. Thus without me reading into this game too deeply, I have decided to throw my name into the ring.

Or, rather, Nikel Fain's.

---

Just before the break of dawn a man named Nik breached the southern edge of the woods that circled Fal Dara. His was a long journey - one that transcended two decades and a dozen countries’ borders - that until now was more akin to a wild goose chase than a quest for vengeance. Nonetheless he could sense that, one way or another, it would soon come to an end, and a horrific one at that. He knew it by the eager ache that lingered in the marrow of his bones; by the strange intermingling of hatred, fear and relief that flared with every thundering beat of his heart.

Corenne al’Daishar, he thought in the Old Tongue, remembering the last words of the Darkfriend he ran down and tortured near Drell's Crossing. In another life perhaps Nik would have regretted the atrocities he was forced to inflict upon that cursed Kandori, but in this particular life, his heart was long hollowed out by his cold, undying anger. Even thinking of the Darkfriend as the Kandori rather than the name he sobbed while Nik flayed each and every inch of his flesh - along with the names of the Darkfriend's wife and seven kids for whom he swore allegiance to Shai’tan to protect - had no ill effect on his spirit. Just as he no longer cared to count how many men and women (and sometimes even children) he had to kill to get to this moment, he no longer bothered to remember, let alone learn, the names of his victims.

Only one name mattered to him. Would ever matter to him. 

In the distance Nik made out the faint outline of Fal Dara's Keep, no more than a few hour’s worth of walking. There he would find the man who his hands yearned to choke the life from. Who his nails craved to rip and tear into, whose blood his knives thirsted for, whose limbs they lusted to dismember, whose face they dreamed to disfigure. According to the Kandori he would not be alone, either. An entire cell of Darkfriends would be gathering there, to fulfill some nefarious plot for the Dark One. If it came down to it Nik would not hesitate to decimate the lot of them, to burn down the entire city if it was required, in order to get to that man.

“Padan Fain,” Nik hissed the name, venom dripping off every syllable, as if speaking it aloud might allow his father to hear it despite the league's between them. “Can you feel it, father!?” he yelled as loud as his rage, and lungs, would allow, though no one was around to hear it. “A bloody battle is brewing, and I promise you- no, promise Sightblinder Himself, that you will not escape it unscathed...”

---

Somewhat cheated since I just edited old RP from LG22, but I think it's still relevant. Nikel Fain is here to find and kill his father. Whoever ends up being Padan, prepare yourself. I'm coming for you.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Amanuensis

[Droughtbringer]

9 hours ago, Ookla the White-Cloaked said:

It’s been a month-long drought

I'll be signing up as Month-Long Drought.

[Rathmaskal]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy, WoT was my favorite series prior to starting on Sanderson works (and, well, obviously he finished the series)

Sign me up...I'll think of a good name/description before sign-ups end.

 

OK, name: Jeordwyn Dromond, a traveling gleeman originally from Illian.  At least the blight is warm.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Rathmaskal
Name

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

I will sign up as Rhodin, an Aiel with a grudge against the Aes Sedai.

Can Padan Fain self-protect? Which traits count as passive for the purpose of his ability? I presume traits like Hardy and would be removed while traits that grant abilities and doc access cannot be removed, but can Padan Fain block contingency actions such as Last Stand and Power of Mashadar?

Edit: There doesn't appear to be any actual reason for Fain to self-protect, so that question is moot. Does the Blight's Desperate Assault Ability stacking mean its attack increases by 3 until it finally penetrates the Light defense; e.g. 2+5+8+11... 

Devotary of Spontaneity

Edited November 29, 2018 by Ookla the Heretical

[Elandera]

37 minutes ago, Ookla the Heretical said:

Can Padan Fain self-protect? Which traits count as passive for the purpose of his ability? I presume traits like Hardy and would be removed while traits that grant abilities and doc access cannot be removed, but can Padan Fain block contingency actions such as Last Stand and Power of Mashadar?

Padan Fain will not be able to self-protect. That adjustment will be made in the rules shortly.

Any abilities/actions that do not require an action to trigger would be considered Passive in this case. Actions/abilities such as Last Stand, Power of Mashadar, Joy for Battle, Warder, and Hardy are among the possible passive actions that can be blocked by Padan Fain.

EDIT: Doc access will not be included in the passive abilities.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Ookla the Rogue

[Young Bard]

(For those who don't know the setting, Fal Dara is in the Borderlands, and is a tough, heavy militarised zone, since it often has to fend off invasions from the Great Blight further north. Don't know if that will help people with character stuff at all. As for my character... Well...)

Erm. OK. Hi. I'm Jandren Elnor Riatin, but you can call me Jancey. I'm kind of new here. My father signed me up here - he said a bit of 'military experience' would do me good. He says it's important for some kind of game - he tried to explain it to me, but I never really got it.

I'm not... you know, actually expected to use a sword, am I? I... uhhh... kind of don't really like swords all that much. Or bows. Or anything that draws blood, really. You see, I, ummm... I kind of really don't like blood. Or fighting. But especially blood. It's just because when I see blood, I kind of get this strange feeling in my head, like a swarm of bees, and all of the colours in front of my eyes begin to fade out, and I hear this ringing and then I'm on the ground and people are around me asking what happened and I have this sick feeling in my stomach.

I'm sure I can still be helpful, though! I can play a little music, though, if you like that. I have a lute. I mean, yeah, three of its strings are broken, and I can only really play two songs, but that's still something, right?

---

OK. I've been saying since I started playing SE more (so, about 2 and a half years ago now) that I should RP more. I groan and mumble about it to myself, and then I ignore that advice the next game, and go back to doing things the regular way.

As such, this game, I'm going to do something different. Every single post I make this game, I will be talking in character, for the entirety of the post, until the game is over. That's going to be doubly interesting with Jancey's style of tone, I think - still, that ought to make it all the more entertaining, if nothing else.

[Amanuensis]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Rogue said:

Padan Fain will not be able to self-protect.

Good 

[Shqueeves]

I will be unable to play this game. Will there be a spec doc?

[Elandera]

3 minutes ago, Shqueeves said:

I will be unable to play this game. Will there be a spec doc?

Yes, the dead doc and spec doc will be combined.

[Mark IV]

Ooh. I have come back just in time for a WoT game. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills it seems.

Well, sign me up as Lars I guess.

 Also, what's a balrog? I assume you mean Aginor's creature?

 

[Snipexe]

I’ll sign up as exepins

I guess I’ll try to pick up eye of the world and reread it before the game.

[Furamirionind]

Oh... Well... I was planning on just spectating this one, but the ruleset looks fun so... I guess I will join as Keisa.  I apperantly really like names like that...

I bought the first book of WoT a while ago, but havent had time to read it yet as I have been working on Skyward instead... I guess I know what I am doing this weekend though.

[Fifth Scholar]

2 hours ago, Mark IV said:

Also, what's a balrog? I assume you mean Aginor's creature?

It’s a vestige from when this was a Fall of Gondolin game. I really thought I’d caught all those when I overhauled the ruleset, but apparently something escaped me. Good catch, and welcome back!

7 hours ago, Ookla the Heretical said:

Does the Blight's Desperate Assault Ability stacking mean its attack increases by 3 until it finally penetrates the Light defense; e.g. 2+5+8+11... 

Yes, though it’s penetration of a gate that causes it to revert. Once no more gates are left it’ll just even out to the standard X+1. 

Also, it’s worth noting that the health I end up giving the Eye will likely depend on how many players we get, so just a heads-up on that. It’s currently pencilled in at 30, but that may change. 

8 hours ago, Amanuensis said:

That said, I enjoyed the last WoT game I played a lot, and I've been itching to get back to see how everyone is doing, old friends and new players alike. Though the rules appear to be very different, I'm confident Fifth has designed something great and will run it well. Thus without me reading into this game too deeply, I have decided to throw my name into the ring.

Or, rather, Nikel Fain's.

Thank you, and welcome back!   I really ought to give LG22 the reread it deserves...

[Coop772]

How much of WoT does one need to understand in order to know what's going on?

[Fifth Scholar]

None, really, as I think a few people have signed up that haven’t read it. If you want to understand theme, you should be able to grasp most everything from just the first book. 

[Karnatheon]

I would like to officially sign up as Brenden Vallerune, the Gleeman. Been a long time since I've read WoT so a bit foggy on the setting, might just refresh on wiki or something. Maybe reread Eye of the World if I have time between reading everything else I'm currently working on.

 

Karnatheon

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

By popular request, it is I! The Ookla of the East, (also known as HH, but who are you to know that? The Aiel wilderness is a treacherous place...) is here to play! Skern Mundy, traveling salesman, gleeman, handyman, something-man... you name it, I can probably do it for you. But only if you pay first! *wink* At yer service! Please, no need to rush, strict no autograph policy, hey don't touch that...