Long Game 96: KKC in the Modern Age

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Great game everyone! Thank you @little wilson, @Elbereth, and @Devotary of Spontaneity for running things. This was a lot of fun, despite my early expulsion. I enjoyed writing some RP, especially with the contracts available early on. Kinda lost motivation to write a lot when I got expelled + went on family vacation, so I never managed to kill the dragon.

I won my pipes T1M2, and then won 15 talents at the Loaded Dice on my second attempt there, so I ended up having access to plenty of cash. The Ruh discounts and the Arithmetic discounts were both very nice. I accepted the contract to kill Mat, and almost did, but eventually figured that attempts at killing Ash were just better.

I had fun reading everyone’s RP this game, so thanks to everyone who took some time to flesh out our game .

[|TJ| he/him]

Aight, this elim streak is getting too much for me now, GMs have mercy pls ;-;

Honestly, I had fun. I mean me and Mat have been evil together for quite a few games now, but it was the first time being evil with Ash. We all started playing SE together, and I think we're the only ones still active from the players who joined around the time we did, so it was nice. 

It did get frustrating at times and I do think the event scan is a bit too OP in its use. And I don't think it 'vote count' should be termed as an event, only vote manipulation. And again, I think it should show if the instigator of the vote manipulation is evil or not. Not the target of the manipulator. 

But we still would have probably been better than what we were if we had an active 4th teammate. I was mentioning to Kas that he'd have been the perfect 4th teammate for us and the team would also have been very accommodating for him. Of course, he ran for the hills :P. But seriously GMs, put me and Kas as evil mates in a game, it'll be fun :P. But... preferably not for another 20 games. Pls, I want my beautiful 20-game village streak back >>

Thanks for the GMs and Devotary for answering my barrage of questions in the elim doc, and I'll be back for another iteration to try for Master again :P. 

[Kasimir he/him]

On 8/20/2023 at 1:44 PM, |TJ| said:

But seriously GMs, put me and Kas as evil mates in a game, it'll be fun

Spoiler

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Kasimir

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

45 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

  Hide contents

 

But then you won't have to be concerned about e!TJ! 

[Kasimir he/him]

33 minutes ago, The Known Novel said:

But then you won't have to be concerned about e!TJ! 

E!TJ has all the survival instincts of a moth drawn to the flame. I'd then have to be concerned about keeping that pain in the pula alive >>

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

@Devotary of Spontaneity I'm glancing over this spec doc, and am a little confused by the NPC text. Their colors are claimed next to yours at the top -- is the majority of this doc just you talking to yourself?

Edited August 23, 2023 by Wonko the Sane

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

6 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said:

Their colors are claimed next to yours at the top -- is the majority of this doc just you talking to yourself?

Yes. I gave up talking too much since the first active player death ended the game. 

The spreadsheet is now available, as are more sections of the writeup. I've gotten few enough permissions to share admissions submissions that players should do that individually if they wish.

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

Quite a writeup.

I didn't get to do much but good game all

It kinda occurred to me that Szeth was an odd sabotage choice in the context it happened because it seemed like Szeth's village flip ultimately removed what breathing room the Skindancers had left, but I didn't think about it much because by the time I was free from the Crockery it was largely moot.

Anyyyways I suppose I had better keep my word >>

@Matrim's Dice @Steeldancer @|TJ| @Szeth_Pancakes @STINK

Consider all of urselves @ for not filing ur EPs

Yes I am aware of the irony that more than half of you were Skindancers

That is all

Edited August 26, 2023 by DrakeMarshall
a correction is in order

[Araris Valerian he/him]

14 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

Quite a writeup.

I didn't get to do much but good game all

It kinda occurred to me that Szeth was an odd sabotage choice in the context it happened because it seemed like Szeth's village flip ultimately removed what breathing room the Skindancers had left, but I didn't think about it much because by the time I was free from the Crockery it was largely moot.

Anyyyways I suppose I had better keep my word >>

@Matrim's Dice @Steeldancer @|TJ| @Araris Valerian @Szeth_Pancakes @STINK

Consider all of urselves @ for not filing ur EPs

Yes I am aware of the irony that half of you were Skindancers

That is all

When did I not file my EP? I got booted from the University during the first Term.

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

1 minute ago, Araris Valerian said:

When did I not file my EP? I got booted from the University during the first Term.

Oh you were in Imre.

I thought I double-checked that but apparently not

I respect the GMs for being able to wrangle that spreadsheet >>

Anyways consider yourself un-@

[Mat he/him]

40 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

 

@Matrim's Dice @Steeldancer @|TJ| @Szeth_Pancakes @STINK

Consider all of urselves @ for not filing ur EPs

Yes I am aware of the irony that more than half of you were Skindancers

That is all

I tried and just got the time zone conversion wrong ;-; ;-;

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

12 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I tried and just got the time zone conversion wrong ;-; ;-;

well it's y'know the @ is pretty much make what you will of it, if you have your reasons then you have your reasons, but I said I would @ peeps who didn't file EPs and that's what I've done have a nice day (plus Araris >>)

[Kasimir he/him]

9 hours ago, DrakeMarshall said:

well it's y'know the @ is pretty much make what you will of it, if you have your reasons then you have your reasons, but I said I would @ peeps who didn't file EPs and that's what I've done have a nice day (plus Araris >>)

Clearly your @s were more terrifying for Villagers smhhhh

The real seeker was inside u all this time!!

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

8 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Clearly your @s were more terrifying for Villagers smhhhh

The real seeker was inside u all this time!!

Unless perhaps the real seeker was the friends we made along the way?

[Ashbringer he/him]

Issal Jackson, despite all odds, was still alive. 

Broken legs. Collapsed lung. Nine severed wrist tendons. Burns. More burns. Skull fracture, or so the Physickers suspected, they hadn't seemed to have been able to find it. Blood, most of it. Nearly-broken neck. Even more burns and cuts and broken bones. He didn't even know how many ribs had or hadn't broken.

Oh, and his heart had apparently stopped for about forty-five seconds in Medica. Issal thought it was more ironic on top of everything. Both Araris and Inesta had gotten what they wanted.

But, between Volatile's Sympathy and whatever Physicking had done while he was comatose, he was alive, and with significantly less broken bones. He was still confined to a wheelchair, still only could barely use one of his hands. They weren't sure if he would regain anything in the right hand, not with the medicine here. But he was alive. And thanks to a neat little bit of surgery, the holly line encircling his brain would ensure he'd never be possessed again.

 

He wasn't a Master anymore. Volatile thought he had the potential, or at least him and Essal together, but for the time being the other Masters needed to see what he could do. It was impossible to tell how much skill had been kept within Issal and Essal, both with their split minds and sundered bodies. Issal thought he remembered most of it, but he wasn't even in any shape to teach classes, much less gruel in the lab for no purpose but to prove himself. And, the Masters had made a realization - no one had ever met the original Issal. They had never seen his true self, his true personality.

And, Issal thought grimly as he struggled to push his wheelchair with one hand, they probably never will.

Severe injury had a tendency to change one's outlook on life. Being trapped in your own mind for years while an ancient psychopath used your body and face to kill and maim, tends to do so more.

At least he could make his way to Medica on his own now, and didn't need Essal staring over his shoulder pushing him along. The Artificer he knew may have been another Skindancer, but the human ones had done a neat job on him. A brace on his back to keep his neck stable. Some Sympathetic device to help set his bones, or something. And a neat contraption that attached to his ruined right hand. He could hook it to the wheels, or store some simple things in straps or pouches. But he didn't want to use it right now. It was a little hard to maintain, because someone had decided that the best place to put the department where prosthetics and wheelchairs were made was up stairs. And, he wanted to see how far he could get on his own.

Some things you have to do yourself.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Ashbringer

[Kasimir he/him]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:38 AM, DrakeMarshall said:

Unless perhaps the real seeker was the friends we made along the way?

Spoiler

 

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:59 PM, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

Kevan leaned into his embrace, still laughing, and the buzzing in Elena’s head resolved into a symphony. The Name of Fire crackled into her mind like she’d never forgotten it as she realized that she couldn’t understand Kevan as an individual without understanding his connections with his friends and loved ones.

Awww! Is this a reference to my submission essay? Like, Kevan's warmth reminds her of her father? That's really sweet.

On 8/23/2023 at 7:30 PM, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

I've gotten few enough permissions to share admissions submissions that players should do that individually if they wish.

All right, can do.

My submission essay was written in-character, since I couldn't think of any good way to write an OOC essay on the subject of naming.

Spoiler

A letter of introduction from Elena Resterford to the Masters of the University, and most especially to Master Namer:

 

Greetings! I write today requesting admission into the University Arcanum. I recognize the immodesty of my request, and beseech that the Masters consider it all the same; you will not find in me a disappointment. Those of you who recall my family name will of course recognize the validity of my pedigree – I need not convince you that I have received an excellent educational grounding. I am, after all, the daughter of the greatest Namer of his generation.

Many appellations have been ascribed by history to my father, few of them complimentary. It is undeniable that his road has been dark, and at times unsavory; for all that, I love and admire him. If it surprises the Masters to hear that I remain fond of him, even proud, I would remind them that Teccam and Oren Velceter have their own collection of such names; and that their University stands only by my father’s intervention.

You will find attached a comprehensive summary of my education, as begun by my father and consummated by a selection of eminent scholars in a variety of fields; affidavits of authenticity have been provided, signed and notarized by each such tutor. I am prepared to face any admissions interview you care to level at me, and I am well aware that my history will earn me “special consideration”. Indeed, I encourage the Masters to do their utmost to confound me – it will prove an interesting challenge for them, I suspect.

I am, putting it succinctly, manifestly qualified for admittance into both the University and the Arcanum.

I now turn to the subject of Naming. The text that follows is only for your eyes, Master Namer; a small work of glammourie will cause your fellow Masters to instead read an inane account of my life story, sanitized of the “Faeling tales” and "campfire nonsense" to which they might object. You and I know better.

I have left my mother out of the letter above because I do not expect the other Masters to respect her name as they should, and I do not share it with those who will treat it lightly. I expect as Master Namer, you will comport yourself better. She is Caelyriel Vel-Amouen Resterford, First Listener, Tender of Song-Fires, Rider of the Dawning Sithe. For you, I include her name among my tutors above, along with Wylth Tale-Spinner, Emru of the Dayward Court, and Fifth Daughter Resterford, known to the Faen Courts as Fiffy Waytreader, Moon-Dancer, She Who Travels Roads by Night.

Starting from when I was eight years old, Aunt Fiffy has taken me to and from the Fae twice yearly; it is there I received my more valuable education. The glammourie I have worked into this letter I learned from old Wylth, whose skill with the art is famous. From my mother, I have learned some measure of grammarie, though I confess myself less adept than I’d like. 

My most important lessons, though, were with Reshi Emru. My study of Naming.

Naming is at the heart of me – unsurprising, given my parentage. I first spoke the Name of the Wind when I was eleven years old; I have found it eight other times since then. The first word I can recall understanding was the Name of Fire, spoken by my father to warm my cradle on a cold night. The Name was gentle then, and flickering; the cool quiet crackling of a hearth-fire, the still soft silence of a mother’s embrace. I have heard it other times, when it sounded differently, but to me that candle-kindled whisper is Fire’s truest name.

I suspect that with my father’s reputation, you may feel some alarm that I seem determined to follow in his footsteps. Let me then put you at ease by saying I have no such intention. My father did not seek to become a Namer; it came upon him, and he seized it as a tool to preserve what he loved. Names are, for him, a means to mastery. I am not he. I chase the wind for the wind’s sake – because I long for its sweet sing-song sibilance, its wild wayward wandering, its raw, rasping roar. I am a woman of words, you see – and Names are the truest of all words.

I seek Names not for the mastery that comes after you speak them, but for that frozen instant before; that opening of truer eyes that see without looking; when you and the world are one, and you can hear, just faintly, a song you’ve been singing since the day you were born. That brief, eternal moment, numinous and surreal, when dreams and nightmares dance, and what is real matters so much less than what is true.

I hope, Master Namer, that you can look past my father’s legacy, and see what is true in me.

 

Signed,

Elena Resterford

Prospective Student at the University

 

[Elandera she/her]

Thank you to Wilson, El, and Devo for another fantastic KKC game! This ruleset takes an incredible amount of work, and their dedication to keeping it running is amazing. Congratulations to the Students for their hard earned victory!

As always, if anyone would like to try their hand at running a game, please get ahold of Wilson, Devotary of Spontaneity, Elbereth, Araris Valerian, Elandera, or StrikerEZ, or post in the GM Signups & Discussion Thread. Not only will we get you added to the list, but we'd also be more than willing to help out in any way we can. 

You can also ask questions and get some hints and feedback from everyone in our Art of Game Creation thread. With all the games that we've run so far, we have plenty of experienced GMs that can help you refine any game you're thinking about. If you would rather keep some detail secret, or are self-conscious about posting in thread (there's really no need to be; while we do slaughter each other, we are very polite about it), then I'm sure one of our fantastic committee members (Amanuensis, STINK, Sart, Fifth Scholar, Straw, Archer, and Kasimir) would be more than willing to help you out in private.

Thanks again to everyone that played, and we look forward to killing seeing you in future games!