Long Game 65: Dancing through Life

[Elbereth]

Note: Your Money sheet says that the Bloodless in the Apothecary is 8 talents. It is not; it's actually 10. Oops. (We don't know why that happened, but you can change it yourself if you like - it won't break anything - or we'll get to it some time tomorrow.)

[Haelbarde]

Seoras shivered. He didn't know if it was due to the cold, or watching a fellow student be dragged struggling out of Archives, seemingly insane and destined for a place in the crockery. Of all the tales of the university he'd collected, he had thought the ones of students rapidly going insane had to have been fiction. That there was more truth to those tales that he thought was definitely unsettling. 

He shook his head to clear it, not wanting to dwell on what he'd just seen. He reached into his pouch to find the comforting texture of the wooden flute he kept with him. He had some time before his next class. Perhaps he could find a warm spot to sit, play a few melodies, and perhaps catch up with any classmates who happened to wonder by. Leaving the instrument where it was, he slung his bag back over his shoulder, and went hunting for a place to pass the next hour. 

After a few minutes, he found himself a nice spot. There were a few other students in the area, though none yet that he'd talked to, he thought. Taking a seat and getting out the flute, he played a few lines. No one seemed to object, so on he played.

---

Thanks again for that great writeup.

I think I'd agree with Elkanah. A WGG doesn't seem like a great idea - I haven't checked, but I didn't think that any more than maybe 3 people have broken out of the Crockery across LG18 and LG33, and even if someone breaks out, I don't think they can get elevated so they'd be stuck with out abilities. It also feels like you wouldn't give up having a nobles income unless you had a two of them. I'm pretty happy to consider Headshot as student if he does ever break out. 

I think the final vote tally was:

Vote Tally
Elandera(1): DeTess{1}, Elkanah{1}
Devotary(1): DeTess{2}
Lumgol(1): Zillah{1}
Karnage(1): Straw{1}, Headshot{1}
Headshot(1): Karnage{1}
Rover(1): Xino{1]
Araris(1): Xino{2}, Exp{1}
Straw(1): Elandera{1}
Coda(1): Lopen{1}
Lopen(1): Silberfarben{1}, Straw{2}
Walin(1): Coda{1}
Exp(1): Rover{1}
Bard(1): Devotary{1}
Rathmaskal(1): Hael{1}
Burnt(1): Straw{3}
DaTess(1): Burnt{1}
Sart(1): Karnage{2}
Xino(1): Rathmaskal{1}
Silberfarben(1): Araris{1}
Zillah(1): Exp{2}
Stink(1): Striker{1}

So, everyone had a vote on them except the Ruh. Spreading out the votes I think was worth it, but as evidenced by Coda's Conduct Unbecoming, still doesn't avoid harsh consequences. As Devotary points out though, it's probably not helped by there being a number of individuals staying in the Golden Pony. The guess of 5-6 of the 20 players with DP (I think order of actions means that Headshot would have gone insane before DP was assigned) seems reasonable, though I feel like Yllish and Aturans are likely to be the more common commoners and nobles so I wouldn't be too surprised if it were more like 7 or even 8. But short of people volunteering where they were staying and voting accordingly, there's not a lot we can do about that, unless people decide to change accomadation. And I wouldn't recommed people sharing where they were lodging anyway, on top of the fact that potentially double voting on people in the Golden Pony would both get the complaint and a DP from having two complaints on them (I don't know if the Golden Pony affects the 2 complaints = 1 DP thing).

Edited May 2, 2020 by Haelbarde
I hadn't reduced the vote number for Lopen after Straw's removal

[Burnt Spaghetti]

Moment of silence for those the dice did not favor. That's unlucky on codas part, specially since its definitely too early for them to happen to have nahlrot to avoid those lashings. Least the others got lucky with avoiding severe punishments (though, there's still tuition increase I believe, which isn't fun. since bard and xino were both commoners, I hope you guys weren't cealdish because if so, that's rough. Manageable still, but still unfortunate)

Sorry to see you crack so early too HH, Crossing my fingers for you that you get out of there alive someday

Hm. The voting before was entirely votes for tuition and spread right? Do we have anything to look into... vote wise possibly not. Though I guess as lopen asked, if people had been talking to HH that would be useful info, but hm.  It's very possible the skin dancers just hit a random noble. But then also as lopen said, there's the chance of them being at the horse and four and having that possibility for protection. Mind you its very possible that that wasn't considered, or it was and they chose to roll the dice regardless. Its definitely true that a sabotage on a commoner is a safer option, being at this point a guarantee, but then again, nobles are going to be the only ones who can afford to buy protection or assassins early game (Not this term, but next term for sure) whereas commoners and edema are just academic competition for the most part. Risk and reward. Cause the last thing a skindancer will want to do is wait until late game to try kill off a vint who has by that stage collected multiple grams and bloodless because their stupid rich  (on that note, I highly recommend you nobles build up a supply of that stuff as soon as you can. Its worth it)

[DeTess]

@Elbereth, @little wilson, a quick question about elevations: do they happen every turn, or every term?

I don't think there's much to be gained from discussing whether HH was a WGG or not right now, but I don't think it was. In addition to it being a very high-risk trick, it would make more sense to target a non-noble skindancer if that was the case, as any noble skindancers would be better used trying to get bodyguards before the village can. Unless, of course, all skindancers are nobles (makes note for a future pamphlet).

I'm actually ever so slightly suspicious of striker for bringing up the WGG theory, as it could be an attempt to side-track the village on something that can't really be figured out right now. I'm not suspicious enough to want to vote on him, especially because it won't actually reveals his alignment, but it is something I'm going to have to keep in mind.

Regarding votes, I think I'll put one on Devotary again for now.

***

Evelyn once again found herself in the stacks, surrounded by books. This time, most of them where on the medical sciences. She’d long since finished her assignment for the physicking course she was following, and she was now working on a new pamphlet. She had heard a rumor about a student going insane, and that was something she couldn’t just let go. This ‘cracking’ was obviously the result of a poor student being forced to work way too hard to earn enough money to make tuition next term.

In all honesty, she was feeling the pressure a bit herself. She had barely enough to pay tuition if the masters where kind, and lodging would be a real issue afterwards. Still, she couldn’t exactly ignore the plight of her fellow students, and if she didn’t write and distribute these pamphlets, who would?

“Isn’t it a bit odd though?” Evelyn could hear a pair of students walking through the stacks nearby, talking way too loudly. “I mean, it’s rare for a noble to be pushed that far.”

“Eh, it can happen to anyone.” The other student responded. “Blue blood doesn’t make you immune to insanity, you know.”

Hearing this shocked Evelyn. “The one that had cracked was  a noble?” This invalidated the entire argument  she was trying to make in her newest work.

Though… the master of Rethorics had said something about the importance of flexibility and adaptability in political discourse, so maybe she could still salvage things?

“Yes… this noble must have been the hard-working, impoverished kind. Not so different from us commoners. And if even he was getting into trouble, then the pressures on the rest of us…” Yes, she could definitely work with that.

[Furamirionind]

Yikes, these 36 hours turns are going to be rough for me to get used to... : /

[Haelbarde]

Time passed. The air had been too dry to continue to play for too long, so he had put the flute back into its pouch. As he sat, enjoying the warmth of the nearby hearth, he took the opportunity to appreciate the moment of quiet. Moments like this, while easy to find out while roving about the countryside a short distance from your troupe, were few and far between in town, and particularly in the university itself.

Soon enough though, the moment passed, and it was time for his next class. 

...

An hour later, he had less answers and more homework. Great. Because lots of book work is going to help me outside of this building. This part of the university most certainly had not featured any any poem or song about this place. He supposed he could compose such a thing. Maybe even justify it at homework somehow. Somehow, he didn't think a poem would satisfy the requirements of a paper on the history of written numeracy of the Adem. With a sigh, he sent off for the archives. He really didn't want to fall behind in any of his classes, so starting now was as good a time as any. Surely there'd be something in the archives on the subject. It's not like they'd set impossible homework tasks, would they?

The dusty smell of old books meant he drew close. Stepping in to see the masses of books, he looked around. He was going to need someone to help him navigate this place.

[Experience]

Shard shook Caia's hand, then sat down. He was grateful that she didn't appear to put up a barrier between them, so he answered, "I'm thinking about studying in the Archives. I'm just worried that a lot of other students will as well, like they have in the past." Shard paused for a moment, then continued to speak, "What about you, have you decided what you want to study?" Shard hadn't really met anyone at the University, and he hoped that he could get to know Caia better so he could have at least one friend in the hard times. 
Right after Shard had asked the questions, the professor started to speak. Shard tried to concentrate, he really did, but it was hard with the other students talking. By the end of the lecture, Shard was more positive that he wanted to study in the Archives. He really hoped that there would be peace and quiet when he got in, unlike the state of the class at the moment. He started to get up and get up to leave, but then realized that Caia hadn't had a chance to answer his questions. He sat back down and asked her again. 
 @Lumgol

 

[Coffeecat]

Lord was still shaken.

That oh-so-honorable noble had…

well.

He hadn’t seemed like a noble then, but in spirit, all nobles were the same.

 

Those friends he had met in the introductory class still made him feel happy. Hopefully, he would meet them again this term.

He seriously hoped none of them were nobles.

 

And then Lord saw him.

He was being dragged out of the archives, cobwebs still clinging to his rich robes. He barely looked human, so was his face and motions beatified with anger. He clawed to the students holding him like they were the fae.

Lord was left speechless.

A noble, a rich one by his clothes, flaying with his arms like a wild beast to be taken to the slaughterhouse.

It didn’t feel correct. Lord knew he should be happy, one less of those filthy thieving nobles left in the world of sanity. Yet it didn’t feel correct.

 

And then suddenly Lord grasped something he had missed up to that point.

All humans were the same, despite what family they were born into, they were all humans.

It was something that nobles should better remember, but didn’t.

Now Lord realised that many commoners didn’t understand that either.

[xinoehp512]

Oh, no... I completely forgot about the Horns tuition inflation.   2 Talents? That's... wow, nearly my entire contribution for last month. Guess I'll have to do extra to make up for it this month, then. Definitely not a good time to have one's money tab glitched. :\

Which, of course, means more RP. Luckily, I have some ideas.  And being brought on the Horns has, I think, given me an opportunity.

----

The Crockery...

Rumors passed in quiet whispers through the softly murmuring background of the lecturing hall. Apparently someone - a rich noble, by the sound of things- had gone mad only the night before. Accounts varied, but most seemed to agree that it had been overwork and anxiety that had caused the untimely end to his career.

Maern shivered. He could imagine all too well what could have led the poor man up to this- long, constant hours slaving away at schoolwork, constantly seeking out and doing anything and everything that he could do to make a good impression... things slowly building up, one at a time until one day he just- cracked. And that was that.

Not exactly the most inspiring of tales, he thought, for those hoping to escape that fate. If even a noble could break, what was to stop him- a mere commoner- from doing the same? Unlike Onur, Maern had to worry about making enough to pay for his tuition, and his lodgings- both things that he had great cause to worry about. Unless he could get his tuition down a significant amount, he was likely going to be forced into less expensive accommodations. Further away accommodations, which would make it all that much harder to impress the Masters- which in turn, would probably cause his tuition to be higher.  

----

Forgive me for my potential ignorance, but... wasn't there supposed to be students raised by Masters this turn?  Oh, I see. For some reason I thought it would happen during rollover- but of course that doesn't work for PC Masters, does it?  

As a side note, is 'impressing a Master' simply filing IP at all (no elevation required) and therefore counts for the tuition reduction? If so, that would be quite excellent indeed for my strained finances. (Especially since I've also only just realized that you only get a tuition reduction for your first vote, not your second.)

One final, unrelated note that most people have probably noticed anyways- the 1 talent tuition reduction perfectly counterbalances the cost of the performance. So yeah, it's basically free- you just have to have the talent upfront to pay it. (And not have your tuition maxed out, I guess- but if you have that, you probably aren't particularly worried about money.)

[Haelbarde]

5 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

Forgive me for my potential ignorance, but... wasn't there supposed to be students raised by Masters this turn?  Oh, I see. For some reason I thought it would happen during rollover- but of course that doesn't work for PC Masters, does it?  

As a side note, is 'impressing a Master' simply filing IP at all (no elevation required) and therefore counts for the tuition reduction? If so, that would be quite excellent indeed for my strained finances. (Especially since I've also only just realized that you only get a tuition reduction for your first vote, not your second.)

One final, unrelated note that most people have probably noticed anyways- the 1 talent tuition reduction perfectly counterbalances the cost of the performance. So yeah, it's basically free- you just have to have the talent upfront to pay it. (And not have your tuition maxed out, I guess- but if you have that, you probably aren't particularly worried about money.)

Impressing a Master is filing EP (elevation points), yeah. With no elevation required. So yeah, unless you were to go to the Imre for a turn, you can get that 5 jot deduction from filing EP. But then you can get other deduction from going to the Imre, so that balances out if you do go there. For example, if you were to come up with and submit a contract on the black market, that should net you an equivalent 5 jot deduction I think. Provided it was a contract relating to the game and not just roleplay stuff (past games I know there were some random RP contracts available in the Imre).

As far as students not being raised by Masters this turn, elevations happen based on the previous cycles EP (so that PC Masters have a cycle to determine who to elevate I suppose). Because at the start of the game we don't start with any EP already filed, we didn't have EP for the masters to elevate us with during 1.1. Elevations will happen starting from this turn however, based on what EP everyone filed last turn (i.e. if you filed EP in one field last turn and a different one this turn, you won't have a chance of getting elevated in the different one this turn. You'll only have a chance of being elevated in the field(s) you put EP into last turn).

[Young Bard]

Nethwyl got up on the podium, feeling absolutely ridiculous. She hadn't even made it one month, and she'd been brought on the Horns for being too lax in her studies, and 'Undignified Mischief'.

"I'm, uh, really sorry about being lax with my studies. I'll be more attentive in future. Even in Archiving - I'm sure I'll warm to the idea of studying the postal service of Ancient Cealdan sooner or later."

A couple people chuckled under their breath, but mostly people just stared at her. Nethwyl cleared her throat a couple times, then continued. "And, uh, I swear the fire in the Fishery was a complete accident, so, I'm sorry about that. I'm just eager to experiment and learn these things, I really am, so I may have gotten a little... overenthusiastic, you see. But who knew how combustible sulfur was when mixed with hydrogen gas, anyway? So, yeah, um, sorry. Won't happen again, I promise. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like there was too much damage - it doesn't seem like I'm the first person to nearly burn the place down, so... that's good."

Was that it? Nethwyl certainly hoped so. She climbed down, greatful that at least she'd managed to avoid lashings, unlike poor Catalan. Still, it's not an experience she wanted to repeat anytime soon.

---

Alright, I'm here - sorry for the delay, still trying to get my head around the rules of this game. I started typing a post last turn (last month? That makes me sound even slower than I actually am. ), but I got the rollover time wrong so wasn't able to post it in time.

The 'main' 2 parts of the game seem to be the fields and Imre. As far as the fields go, they're all honestly pretty useful, so I definitely don't think there's a 'wrong' pick in terms of field selection. Others have already discussed the benefits of each one in a fair amount of detail, so I don't feel the need to rehash that.

As for Imre, I don't think that's been discussed as much. It seems as though different areas will work for different people - the Talent Pipes are great for the Ruh as an equaliser (assuming they get it), the Loaded Dice are good for the Cealdish. Deni's good for... OK, I'm honestly not sure why people would go to Deni - if you don't have enough money, then it's fairly likely the next term you still won't have enough money and now you have extra debts to pay back. Maybe if you knew you had a windfall coming in and needed to do something urgently, but that's a fairly niche case. Or, of course, people who don't need to worry about mommets of them becoming available, which again, is likely to be fairly niche. Although, maybe you could make the Skindancers waste their coin on a mommet that doesn't work and botch a kill, which would be funny. Or maybe, by posting that, I can second guess them into not buying mommets of people, thereby depriving them of a source of extra kills. IKYK's are fun when you're the one doing them.

The most interesting mechanic, to my mind, is the Black Market contracts - it's open-ended enough that you could really do anything with them - I hope they see some use, because they could be fun.

[xinoehp512]

Maern trudged across the path between University buildings, his worry about poor Onur shifting into worry about the state of his own finances. Maybe I shouldn't have given Kendal those drabs, he thought, then quickly dismissed the idea. The music really had been worth it, and he knew for a fact that the man needed the money far more than he himself did. Besides, he had spare funds- as long as he didn't get targeted by a thief, and as long as he'd made enough of an impression on the Masters for a decently low tuition, he should have enough to pay for both that and lodgings during the next term.

It's the one after that I really have to worry about. 

All of a sudden, a Master stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Maern looked up and into a discomfitingly stern face.

"Greetings, Master Rhetorician," he said respectfully. "Did... did you need something?" His voice faltered slightly as the man's eyes bored into him.

"It is my duty to inform you," said the man succinctly, "that a complaint has been filed against your name. You are to be brought on the Horns to face charges of Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Arcanum. Please report to the meeting room promptly once you have finished your subsequent instructional period."

With that, he turned and walked away. Maern could only stare after him in disbelief, dread crawling like a worm in the pit of his stomach.

-----

It's at this point in time that votes should start to be determined based on the previous actions of individuals. Of course, the information that we have is rather limited so far, due to the fact that the lynch has not (and likely will not) provide us with significant alignment indicative information. Really, all I have is my gut; and what my gut is telling me is rather conflicted as of yet. I think that I will reread the thread and try to pick out someone suspicious... but I'm probably just going to end up sticking it on a noble anyways.

We still do have to worry about the full 45 DP from NPC masters however- which means that a wide vote spread continues to be essential. The probability of certain occurrences will be harder to calculate now that people have had the chance to move to their desired locations and therefore control the outcome in secret ways, but as we can see the current setup was not enough to ensure that people avoided harsh penalties. Whether this was due to simple bad luck or a unusually high number of individuals staying at the Golden Pony is hard to say.

Finally, a question- if someone were to be expelled on a charge of Conduct Unbecoming, would the thread be informed? @Elbereth

Edited May 2, 2020 by xinoehp512

[Guest Coda]

Catalan stalked out of the room, shaking with fury. Lashes for having mud on his boots. This was absurd! He'd be writing home about that stupid noble that complained about him. Leo... His bitter enemy. From now until the End of Days, they would be bitter enemies. This he swore upon his family name. The fool probably wouldn't even realize they were feuding, but that was no matter. It would only make it easier. 

He didn't have any nahlroot, and he didn't have time to buy any before his lashings. He would be forced to stay in the Medica for months, not able to do anything. His fury was unparalleled. Leo would pay for this. Even if he had to die to get rid of that impudent brat, he would have his revenge. First, a complaint concerning the impugning of his honor. Next, a letter to his parents.

The whipping went as well as one could expect. The Re'Lar that tended to his wounds was very professional, and according to Master Physicker, the wounds would heal with only mild scarring. The news only made him angrier. Permanent marks upon his skin, all because of that brainless moron, Leo. He would have to write home about the absurdities of the University's punishment system. 

After some thought, he didn't tell his family about his feud. This was something for him to settle alone.

 

So, that was something. Lopen, I'm voting on you for RP reasons. You can reciprocate the feud, or just be oblivious. 

[Elbereth]

9 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

And I wouldn't recommed people sharing where they were lodging anyway, on top of the fact that potentially double voting on people in the Golden Pony would both get the complaint and a DP from having two complaints on them (I don't know if the Golden Pony affects the 2 complaints = 1 DP thing).

It does. The Golden Pony takes off 1 complaint / .5 DP. 

8 hours ago, DeTess said:

@Elbereth, @little wilson, a quick question about elevations: do they happen every turn, or every term?

Every turn/month. Hael is correct about that - all the filed EP has now been delivered to the Masters, and they will announce their decisions at the end of this turn.  

2 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

As a side note, is 'impressing a Master' simply filing IP at all (no elevation required) and therefore counts for the tuition reduction? If so, that would be quite excellent indeed for my strained finances. (Especially since I've also only just realized that you only get a tuition reduction for your first vote, not your second.)

Impressing a master is filing EP. 

36 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

Finally, a question- if someone were to be expelled on a charge of Conduct Unbecoming, would the thread be informed? @Elbereth

Yes. 

[Straw]

I'll vote on Elandera to spread the votes out again. I'm rather surprised that the eliminators targeted Hemalurgic Headshot. He was a noble, and therefore had a very good chance of staying at The Horse and Four, which has a 40% of blocking sabotages. I'm pretty surprised that someone actually got on the second level of the horns. I wonder if it's due to bad luck, or if there are a lot of players staying at the Golden Pony. I didn't realize that elevations are essentially delayed one turn. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I got elevated in my chosen field. One interesting thing about this game is that only one third of the players will be elevated per turn as this stand at the moment. This means that most players will have to wait a bit in order to be elevated. However, those who have to wait longer but keep investing in the same field will likely progress faster, as they'll have their leftover EP. Another thing that I just thought of is that most abilities that the Skindancers would want tend to cause insanity. Due to this, I think that Skindancers might go into Physicking so they can use the counseling ability on their fellow Skindancers. The roleblock and self-protect would also be useful for them.

[Burnt Spaghetti]

The halls were full of chatter. A student had been taken to the Crockery. Already? Its only been a month! That can’t be right at all. Maybe if we were approaching end of year exams then sure, I could see how someone would crack under that pressure, but we’ve only just started! A concerned frown crossed her face. Surely it had to be something serious that had happened to this poor student for this to happen. What even could send someone insane so suddenly. Was this even a sudden thing? Some things developed over time didn’t they…? But he’d seemed fine earlier… It can’t be natural...could it?
This demanded research.
Excusing herself out of the current discussion, Bryn slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way to the archives.

As she entered, her face moved into an expression that can only be described as “ugh”. Books were the bane of her existence. Just let her create things from scratch or learn from demonstrations, but reading was very much a chore to her. where do I even start… and how do I ask for help without sounding like i’m trying to make someone go insane…. She especially didn’t want to ask any official about what books to find and then get blamed for the insanity of other students because she seemed to take interest in it. 

There was another student nearby who was looking equally as overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books. She wasn’t too hopeful, but maybe they have a chance of helping her find a right section, and might not so easily misread her interest in this.

Worth a shot.

 

She approached the student, who hadn’t noticed her so far it seems. A cheeky smirk growing, she reached out and tapped his left shoulder, quickly stepping around to his right.

“Hey, do you know anything about how books are sorted here or are you as clueless as I am?”

 

@Haelbarde

[Elkanah]

Kendel was, shockingly, in class for once. Not only that, but he was actually enjoying the material. Linguistics might be the topic he needed to study. The assignment was on ancient epics. People passed these epics from generation to generation through song. How inspired. We still tell some stories through song, Kendel reminded himself. Somehow these stories should not count. Oh to go back to when all language was music. That would be wonderful.

Ever since written language caught hold, music became more and more trivialized. People still would use some music for entertainment, but the songs lost their meaning somewhere along the way. Aaand he was off track again. 

He listened intently trying to figure out where they were in the discussion.

"The stories held in these songs were passed down for dozens of generations. We see this trend holds true even now as some noble families still require their heirs to learn their heritage going back to the beginning of civilization. Some even have tunes to help them remember." The master continued.

Ah, yes. That made sense. Although, why would nobles need to memorize their family. The tune thing was interesting, but surely it was all written down. 

[xinoehp512]

Maern sat fidgeting in the chair as the Master's discussed what his fate would be. He felt warm, hot even- how had he ever thought the temperature was freezing? He tried to pay attention to to the Masters, but he could barely focus on anything besides how horrible the consequences of this could wind up being. Luckily, most of what he heard seemed favorable- but there were a few unfavorable comments here and there.

Suddenly he realized that the Masters had finished speaking and were turning to look at him. The worm of dread in his stomach twisted and grew into a serpent of terror.

One of the Masters cleared their throat. "We are pleased to inform you," they said, "that you have been cleared of all charges. You are free to go."

Maern exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, relaxing back in his seat in relief. Cleared. Whatever it was that they thought he'd done, they'd realized that he hadn't done it.

They never said what it was that I was being charged for, did they? he suddenly realized as he stood to leave. Only that it was Conduct Unbecoming. That wasn't usual, was it?

"A moment, if you would," said the Master Rhetorician as Maern passed by him on the way to the exit...

----

A quick review of the thread has not guided my gut any further towards a choice of vote. I did, however, collect a player post count list, which I will post below:

1. @Haelbarde(Edema Ruh)	3
2. @Elandera (Noble)	8
3. @Burnt Spaghett(Commoner)	7
4. @DeTess(Commoner)	7
5. @Elkanah (Edema Ruh)	12
6. @Straw(Commoner)	10
7. @xinoehp512 (Commoner)	8
8. @Lord_Silberfarben(Commoner)	8
9. @Coda (Noble)	3
10. @Karnage (Noble)	6
11. @Hemalurgic Headshot (Noble)	2
12. @StrikerEZ (Edema Ruh)	5
13. @Lumgol (Noble)	2
14. @Experience (Commoner)	3
15. @Devotary of Spontaneity (Noble)	7
16. @CadCom (Edema Ruh)	2
17. @Sart (Commoner)	1
18. @Furamirionind (Edema Ruh)	4
19. @Zillah (Commoner)	4
20. @Araris Valerian (Noble)	2
21. @Rathmaskal(Commoner)	1
22. @STINK (Commoner)	1
23. @Kynedath (Edema Ruh)	4
24. @Walin (Commoner)	1
25. @GreenRover (Noble)	1
26. @Young Bard (Commoner)
27. @TheMightyLopen (Noble)	6

The only person who did not post last turn was Walin, but he's already posted this turn (and he got brought On the Horns, so we probably shouldn't vote for him anyways). Of the Nobles, Green Rover  @GreenRover  has posted the least- so I'll echo my vote from last turn. 

Interestingly enough, the category of people that posted the most on average was, in fact, the Commoners- and not by much, either. Commoners posted an average of 4.25 posts per turn, while Edema Ruh posted 4.16 and Nobles 4.11. I did not check for money earned per post, so I'm not sure how the trends regarding that statistic fall. Perhaps I will complete that task at a later date, or perhaps another will complete it for me.

Anyways, 4 posts per person certainly seems like great overall activity- let's keep it up! Posting more can only help you more in your pursuit to purge the fae evil from our school. (Unless you’re a fae, of course, in which case posting will help you destroy our school. But even so, posting more will help us identify you better, so… do it anyways!)

Edited May 2, 2020 by xinoehp512

[Sart]

Sagaer Murtoy sighed. it appeared the crucial element for success in studying was focus. Unfortunately, taking care of a baby was one of the most distracting things known to man. His daughter was mercifully asleep, so now he could focus on his studies. Unfortunately, focus was hard to find these days. Everyone at the university was too noisy, chatting about this and that without focusing on the real problem at hand. The Skindancers were here. No matter what the administration might say, Onur was clearly their first victim, and there would be more if they weren't careful. However, most people were making trivial arguments in order to receive tuition deductions. He could sympathize, since his funds were also getting scarce. Still, they needed more focus. He had noted that @Walin Lin Was (Walin) had promised to give his thoughts on the matter, but Sagaer had heard almost nothing from him. So, while it was still a stab in the dark, he hoped his complaint would spur further action.

Still not gathering enough focus for his studies, Sagaer decided to stretch his legs. An evening walk might help him collect his thoughts. With the Skindancers running around, he was nervous about going out alone though. He wondered if anyone would care to join him, and started asking around.

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

Open call for joint RP if anyone wants to go on a walk with me.

[Straw]

2 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

A quick review of the thread has not guided my gut any further towards a choice of vote. I did, however, collect a player post count list, which I will post below:

1. @Haelbarde(Edema Ruh)	3
2. @Elandera (Noble)	8
3. @Burnt Spaghett(Commoner)	7
4. @DeTess(Commoner)	7
5. @Elkanah (Edema Ruh)	12
6. @Straw(Commoner)	10
7. @xinoehp512 (Commoner)	8
8. @Lord_Silberfarben(Commoner)	8
9. @Coda (Noble)	3
10. @Karnage (Noble)	6
11. @Hemalurgic Headshot (Noble)	2
12. @StrikerEZ (Edema Ruh)	5
13. @Lumgol (Noble)	2
14. @Experience (Commoner)	3
15. @Devotary of Spontaneity (Noble)	7
16. @CadCom (Edema Ruh)	2
17. @Sart (Commoner)	1
18. @Furamirionind (Edema Ruh)	4
19. @Zillah (Commoner)	4
20. @Araris Valerian (Noble)	2
21. @Rathmaskal(Commoner)	1
22. @STINK (Commoner)	1
23. @Kynedath (Edema Ruh)	4
24. @Walin (Commoner)	1
25. @GreenRover (Noble)	1
26. @Young Bard (Commoner)
27. @TheMightyLopen (Noble)	6

The only person who did not post last turn was Walin, but he's already posted this turn. Of the Nobles, Green Rover  @GreenRover  has posted the least- so I'll echo my vote from last turn. 

Interestingly enough, the category of people that posted the most on average was, in fact, the Commoners- and not by much, either. Commoners posted an average of 4.25 posts per turn, while Edema Ruh posted 4.16 and Nobles 4.11. I did not check for money earned per post, so I'm not sure how the trends regarding that statistic fall. Perhaps I will complete that task at a later date, or perhaps another will complete it for me.

Anyways, 4 posts per person certainly seems like great overall activity- let's keep it up! Posting more can only help you more in your pursuit to purge the fae evil from our school. (Unless you’re a fae, of course, in which case posting will help you destroy our school. But even so, posting more will help us identify you better, so… do it anyways!)

I've been keeping my own activity count and got the same numbers. Do you mean Bard instead of Walin? I think Walin posted last turn. It's interesting that people's posting count varied so little based on social class. I would be very interested to see the differences in money earned per post, as some people have been doing quite a lot of RP. I agree about the activity! It's great to see so many people talking. Hopefully we can get just as much discussion as we did last turn.

I'm still upset that game related discussion posts count for so little. I believe I've made nine so far (including this one), for a total of only five jots  and five drabs off of my tuition. I'll try to RP a bit more later on today. I have about 50 words left in my RP post draft.

For voting behavior this turn, I think we should probably just do the same thing as last turn, as that seems to have worked out decently well (sorry Coda ).

Don't forget to complete the activity checklist this turn! Apparently the tuition reductions are per turn, not per term. This means that everyone should be able to get a 3.2 talent tuition reduction without that much effort. This should make things easier for Edema Ruh. Most Ruh will be paying ten talents of tuition and five jots for lodging for a total of 10.5 talents. With 3.2 talents from activity checks and a stipend of 5.87, this means that they have to raise 1.63 talents in order to break even.

---

Straw Altiora had enjoyed his first month at the university, even though he hadn’t really socialized much with the other students. His studies had been somewhat enjoyable, even if they were occasionally boring. Unfortunately, this month had started out with a new student suddenly going insane, and several other students being punished for unknown offenses. There had been a flood of drama and minor complaints in the first month, but Straw hadn’t really seen any real animosity between students. It was probably just the masters getting revenge on the students who they disliked. Everyone knew the masters were corrupt, even if they had punished that one noble, Catalan.

As Straw walked into the archives, ready to find some books for class, he noticed Bryn from his introductory class talking with some other student. Hopefully, they’d be able to help him find his way around the archives. Bryn was a bit too social for his liking, but she’d talked to so many other students that she probably knew more about the archives than he did. Eventually, Straw walked up to Bryn and greeted her, “Hello, I’m Straw Altiora. You can call me Straw, but please don’t try to shorten my name any further. It never sounds good. So, do either of you two know how to get around this place?”

( @Burnt Spaghetti @Haelbarde )

Edited May 2, 2020 by Straw

[Zillah]

"Finally!" Amila shouted gleefully as the last wooden pieces slid into place and the box opened. She glanced around the room quickly, to make sure nobody had heard her. Thankfully this corner of the university's library was empty, which made sense given the titles surrounding her. At the centre of the box was a small wooden trinket, the prize for solving the puzzle, but for Amila the prize was the feeling of accomplishment when she was completed. For some reason she felt a small urge to share this victory with someone, a feeling that took her by complete surprise. 

Shaking her head she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind. What replaced it was that energetic beet lady, Traelynn. "I'm just hungry I guess." She muttered under her breath, after all that beet had been delicious. Quickly she stopped off at her room and grabbed a new, smaller puzzle box, as well as her coin purse.

Walking through the brisk air Amila made her way down to the stairs where she had last seen the beet lady. When she arrived, and saw only an empty staircase she felt a pang of sadness that she couldn't quite place. Sighing, she went over to the bench she had sat at the previous day, and began to work on solving the box.

---

@Kynedath

[Furamirionind]

Hmm, that's interesting Xino.

Honestly though, I'm not sure what to post at the moment. I'm not feeling my RP right now, and despite the rules being so complicated, I'm really not sure what can be expanded upon. I don't want to crowd the thread with meaningless analysis about things either already discussed or unimportant topics. Player analysis is going to hard this game, as by the very nature of the ruleset, it encourages quantity of content and not quality. I'm not going to have the time to sift through the amount of posts people have already made. I don't want to feel like I'm playing on MU again xD

I mean, the Archives are probably the best in finding the elims, and they don't seem like they would be very helpful to elims, so I doubt they would pursue that powerset.
Artificary also doesn't seem super useful for the elims, however if there is an Edema among them, as players aren't allowed to transfer money, Artificary would probably be a good option as it provides ways to get money, and stealing money from players will be a good way for elims to try and slow others down.

Alchemy looks like a really good field for elims to go into. All of the items help the elims, with the Tenaculum and Bone-tar both being particularly helpful as offensive abilities.

And I just hit 200 words, so I guess I'll stop talking.

[Kynedath]

"Amila! Ol' buddy ol' pal, you look so sullen! I can smell rain in the air, is that from you? Can you control the weather? That would be so incredibly useful when farming beets! Man alive, my business would be booming with you working the operations with me! Given any thought to my offer yet? It still stands! as it is, not too much traction taking over the university food market yet, I could really use your weather control powers. It would be our key into the market!"

Traelynn set her crate of fresh beets down on the bench beside Amila and slapped her on the back with a familiarity that she probably hadn't earned. But dang it, that was who Traelynn is! It's in her blood!

"I've been trying some new selling locations lately, but none of them were as good as this here main thoroughfare so I figured I'd come back, at least for a while again." Traelynn finally looked down at what Amila had been working on. "Say, what's that you've got there? Some sort of treasure chest? Jeez, I thought treasure chests would be bigger. Oh! Your surprised expression reminds me of the apparent skiindancer epidemic that the University is going through! Did you hear about the kid that went insane? Man, scary thoughts. If people start abandoning this place then the economy is going to rot and won't give me no compost! I need this place to hold up if I'm gonna be master of agriculture!"

"Aw heck, I shot like seventeen different questions at you didn't I? Sorry 'bout that pal! I'll let you have a turn to talk now!" @Zillah

[Araris Valerian]

I'm not really sure that there is much to say at this point in the game. I'm going to continue my complaint against Lord Sib, this time for having "lord" in his name, while being a commoner.

Arael, though not yet admitted into the Arcanum, began reading up on the more mystical subjects taught at the University; Alchemy, Naming, Artificery, and Sympathy. As he collected some texts for his introductory courses, Arael kept his eye out for other books that might be enlightening. During his search, he mused that the Archives were a good fit for his personality. It was easy to avoid other students, and the low lighting kept a shadow cast over his face. This would be a good place to spend his study time, regardless of the subject he ended up pursuing.

[Elandera]

I have no idea what to make of HH being sabotaged. It makes me wonder if the elims chose a target at random.

Current Votes:
Devotary (Noble) (1) - DeTess
Lopen (Noble) (1) - Coda
Elandera (Noble) (1) - Straw
Green Rover (Noble) (1) - Xino
Walin (Commoner) (1) - Sart
Lord Sib (Commoner) (1) - Araris
Karnage (Noble) (1) - Elandera

Don't forget to get your votes in. I suggest we don't vote on Coda, despite his status as a Noble. It would be rather unfortunate if he were brought on the Horns again. That leaves Araris and Lumgol as the only nobles without a vote so far, plus the many commoners. I do think it is important to spread out the votes as much as possible, especially after Coda reached the second level last turn. That RNG is not helpful.

2 hours ago, Furamirionind said:

I mean, the Archives are probably the best in finding the elims, and they don't seem like they would be very helpful to elims, so I doubt they would pursue that powerset.

They may pursue it simply to attempt to gain Master and control who is elevated. They could also destroy it, but that would automatically reveal the elim, so it would have to be a desperate effort. They also may try for it to keep other people from elevating in that field before anyone can reach master, since elevations are limited. The same idea goes for pretty much all of the fields. There is potential for 5-6 elims in a game this size. One or two are probably focusing on fields that will most help them with their goal, while the others would likely focus on fields in an effort to sabotage (not Sabotage) the students efforts to progress.