AMA: SE Mod Edition

[Metacognition he/him]

Do you, the illustrious SE mods, take notes on players during games? If so, what do you take notes on? Is it worth it to take notes?

 

I don't exactly keep notes. I have sticky notes open and have a player list open there during a game and every now and then, I'll add something next to someone's name, but that's about all the farther I go anymore. I prefer to just go back through the previous posts and skim through them. I remember the basic intent of most of the posts, so it doesn't take me very long and it helps me get a feel for the bigger picture. The Eliminators tend to plan ahead a bit and they try to have a reason or a goal in mind for what they do, so that bigger picture can sometimes help me see who's trying to push an agenda or who seems to be a little too accurate in their understanding of what's going on. I tend to do my individual post analysis as they happen. 

 

When I do wind up taking notes, I typically look at every post in the most suspicious way possible. If someone calls for people to be more active in thread, I question whether they're just trying to seem helpful. If they say that they don't think someone is an Eliminator, I look at it as if they're trying to defend said person or have more information than they should have. If, when looking at a post in this way, the post seems particularly suspicious, then I'll mark it down. By the time I finish, I'll have a list of suspicious posts throughout the turn and who made them. If a name pops up more often, then that person is someone that I try to keep a closer eye on.

 

Taking notes can be helpful though, especially if you're trying to build a case for why someone is suspicious. It's far easier to pull up examples and reasons for your suspicions if you already wrote them down! Just saying, "Yeah, I'm suspicious of you because of that one thing you did awhile back" probably isn't going to convince anyone, but saying, "Honey Badger, on Day 3, you urged us not to go after lurkers when everyone was voting for Wilson. Today we learned that Wilson was an Eliminator and now you want to go after Gamma because he's lurking. That doesn't seem very consistent. What do you have to say for yourself?" Now that might convince people! And it's so much quicker to do if you have notes rather than having to go back through the thread and find all of the examples again. 

 

Well, since you mentioned it... What is the Wounded Gazelle Gambit?

 

Ah, the infamous WGG, or WPG (Wounded Princess Gambit) if you ask some people. It's a tactic where an Eliminator deliberately injures themselves or makes themselves seem weak in an attempt to throw off suspicion and gain trust. It was most famously used here during LG2. 

 

In that game, the main Eliminator was a player called Princess (thus the other name for the gambit). She was an Inquisitor that had a few special abilities. The main one was the ability to convert other players to her team, but the one that is important to the gambit is that she could survive multiple attacks. 

 

Well, during one night, the other Eliminators attacked Princess instead of a regular villager. They knew she'd survive and that the rest of the village would think that she was innocent. 

 

It worked... to a degree. See, like in Scooby Doo, the Eliminators would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling villagers! Part of the reason the Eliminators went with the gambit in the first place was as a way to confirm one of the lies that Princess had said earlier when she claimed to be a different role. Unfortunately, another villager had also claimed to be that role and so the village knew that one of them had to be lying. 

 

Princess and the other person (Shivertongue) were both put up to be lynched, but the villagers believed that Princess was innocent due to her getting attacked (the gambit paying off at this point). Shiv, correctly saw straight through it and linked to a TV Tropes page about the Wounded Gazelle Gambit. It didn't save him from being lynched though and it cost the village pretty badly in that game. So the gambit worked, as it did exactly what they wanted it to do, but it didn't save Princess in the end as she was found out. 

 

 

Ever since then, whenever someone survives an attack or does something similar (surviving due to lurching or having an item that allows them to survive or anything like that) the idea of it being a WGG will typically be brought up by at least someone; which hurts the effectiveness of the gambit since it doesn't earn the level of trust that it needs to to be worth it. 

 

It's a tricky gambit, as its payoff is really good, but it can fall apart pretty quickly and if that happens, then you wasted a lot of resources for nothing. In fact, I don't think that we've had another incident with it for that exact reason! Most people seem to think that it's too costly (you'll typically have to waste a kill, a life/item/something, and you wind up putting one of your Eliminators in the spot light) for not a lot of gain (you're only slightly more trusted than normal, but not by a lot).

 

And that is the story of the Wounded Gazelle Gambit.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Metacognition

[Kasimir he/him]

Your head does. I'm not sure about the rest of you.

Was I that unworthy, Lover?

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

Do you, the illustrious SE mods, take notes on players during games? If so, what do you take notes on? Is it worth it to take notes?

 

I sometimes keep track of the vote tally in a notebook and player activity to keep track of, but I've never taken any extensive notes myself, although as Meta and Wilson have pointed out, it can be quite effective and helpful to help narrow down suspicions and track 'scummy' behavior in a game. Then some other players prefer instead to keep track of players from game to game with how prolific or high profile they can be, as more of a note to keep an eye on them, or even be able to get a feel for their typical play style in most games as to try and use that as a clue when something's off possibly. If you feel like it's something that can help, then I definitely say go for it, and I imagine it will make the games a stormload lot easier to keep track of everything!

 

 

Well, since you mentioned it... What is the Wounded Gazelle Gambit?

 

Oooh, the Wounded Gazelle, or WGG. Once again, both my fellow Mods have done quite an extensive job explaining it and it's practices, so too much more can't be said on it, other than it definitely helped open up the SE Games to a whole new level of treachery and gameplay tactics. Of course, as the forever Paranoid player that I am, I'm of course always wary of some sort of scheme or play that merits a player some sort of trust or soft-confirmation in the eyes of the villagers, but it may have gotten to almost to the point where everyone almost kind of expects the gambit, but nobody ever truly believes the Eliminator Team would actually risk going for it, which gives it the opportunity to actually succeed! (See: metagame)

 

Now, to turn things around a little bit, I have a question or two for my fellow Mods!

What Sanderson Worlds would you like to see explored more, potentially, or what in-world mechanics do you think would be neat to eventually try and capture in these games? (Or even explored further upon!)

 

And, what Non-Sanderson worlds would you like to be used at settings for in these games potentially? (Star Wars, Power Rangers, Cthulu, etc.?)

[little wilson she/her]

Was I that unworthy, Lover?

Do you really want me to answer that? You had a fling with my other lover behind my back, plus you were jumping around pretty quick between Hael, Kipper, and Wyrm. For someone who started the game never having even kissed a girl, you sure got around by the end of it.

What Sanderson Worlds would you like to see explored more, potentially, or what in-world mechanics do you think would be neat to eventually try and capture in these games? (Or even explored further upon!)

Nalthis. I think the Breath mechanic has a lot of possibilities if we could find a way to make it work and keep it balanced.

I also think we should explore more non-Cosmere games. Rithmatist, Reckoners, and Alcatraz.

A pure Nightwatcher game could be interesting. That could be tricky to build though, because you'd have to have something in place for the boons and the curses, to make sure those are balanced.... Unless those were the abilities. Like, the abilities were given based on a type of person who went to the Nightwatcher, and asked for something and she gave a set boon and curse. And there'd be 6-7 sets in the game. That could be interesting. Especially since you'd potentially be able to see multiple people juggling the same curse, which could be entertaining to see how each of them handle it. I may have to work on that idea next.

And, what Non-Sanderson worlds would you like to be used at settings for in these games potentially? (Star Wars, Power Rangers, Cthulu, etc.?)

I already built the game in the Non-Sanderson world I wanted most. Kingkiller. And I've got plenty of more ideas in that same world, so I'm all set.

[Metacognition he/him]

I keep meaning to get around to this and then something comes up. So, as I have a minute, let's get to it!
 

What Sanderson Worlds would you like to see explored more, potentially, or what in-world mechanics do you think would be neat to eventually try and capture in these games? (Or even explored further upon!)

 

I've got to agree with Wilson: Nalthis. Warbreaker has such a rich history for being contained into only one book. There is so many angles that can be explored; and not even just within the time frame of the book! 

But that brings me to the thing I'd love to see more than anything else, which is to see GMs interact more with the setting of the worlds more so than the story line. I'll try to explain.

 

Sanderson has provided us with multiple worlds and each one is incredibly fleshed out. As such, I'd like to really explore those worlds more so than a given situation that parallels something that was already presented to us in the books. Ren's Quick Fix (QF8) is a great example of that. It takes place on a train during the Alloy of Law time period. But, it has no connection to the story line that Sanderson has already written. It took a part of the world that is there in the background and created an entire story for it. 

 

I think we could do so much with those minor setting situations. How about a game on Roshar that focuses on Purelake? Or a game in a Scadrial town that has never heard of Allomancy, like a Skaa quarters or something? 

 

The point is that not every game has to be "end of the world" stakes. It just needs to feel that way to the people within those situations, in my opinion. 

 

Granted, we've had some great games along those lines (far more than I'm willing to try to list), but I'd love to explore some of the more obscure settings within some of the worlds, more so than just a singular world! 

 

Side note: I'd also love to see crazy things happening within these worlds. For example: how would the people of Nalthis deal with the dead rising from their graves? Just assume that they're Lifeless? So many possible angles for crazy hijinks. 

 

And, what Non-Sanderson worlds would you like to be used at settings for in these games potentially? (Star Wars, Power Rangers, Cthulu, etc.?)

 

There are so many story lines that we have yet to explore (and murder each other in! ) within just Sanderson's worlds alone that I couldn't pick any other one world that I'd rather explore right now.

 

That said, there have been some great games that people have suggested for other worlds (Heck, I have one myself that I'm already signed up to run! ) and we've already had a Hunger Games Game that was absolutely amazing. Obviously, Game of Thrones just makes it all too easy to set a game like this up within its setting! It would still be amazing though. Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, while a bit more difficult if you focus on Roland and Ka tet, is ripe with possible settings. Wheel of Time, while we've already done one (kudos, Gamma! ), is still a great one with still plenty to explore. And I'd be amiss if I didn't mention Tolkien. There are just so many possibilities (I really like the Cthulhu suggestion you threw out there) that choosing only one would be like choosing between being only able to read Stormlight or Mistborn; there's just no good decision!

 

I think that it really comes down to how many people have read the books in question (or watched the series, or read the comics, etc.). Personally, I love Brent Week's Night Angel series or the Lightbringer series. While any game, whether you know the setting or not, is open for any and all players, is there a enough of a following that people would want to see that? 

 

Personally, I want every game to feel welcoming (as much as a game about murdering and distrust of each other can be) to everyone that visits this site. That said, I also can't wait to see some of those games that people have created that are non-Sanderson works! They truly look amazing!

 

 

But that creates a great question; and it's open to anyone and everyone:

 

What games would you most like to see? Is there a setting or world that you'd like to be represented in our mayhem? Is there something that you think would make a great game that we haven't done yet? 

[Wyrmhero he/him]

But that creates a great question; and it's open to anyone and everyone:

 

What games would you most like to see? Is there a setting or world that you'd like to be represented in our mayhem? Is there something that you think would make a great game that we haven't done yet? 

 

The problem is that if I think of a world/setting, I tend to just make it, so I can't easily answer this question :S. Only thing I can think of is that I'd like someone to make a game based on the birds of Shadows Beneath so I can steal ideas for Awakening at the House on the Hill >> because we haven't had anything based on there yet (catch your own birds?). Maybe something with Perfect State too, though that might be a little harder to make unique. I'd quite like to see a few more board games and the like adapted for an Elimination game too, as I like the idea of combining mechanics around.

 

Here's a question for you guys, even if it is a bit weird: A player of the game comes forward and reveals, with proof, that they are actually Brandon Sanderson. Which player would cause you the most surprise, and which the least? And what do you expect would happen in all future games to him if he continued playing?

Edited July 6, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Renegade he/him]

But that creates a great question; and it's open to anyone and everyone:

 

What games would you most like to see? Is there a setting or world that you'd like to be represented in our mayhem? Is there something that you think would make a great game that we haven't done yet? 

 

I think that one of the settings where there's a lot of potential to play around with is the Reckoners world (the Fractured States, I think). Sanderson's already shown us two unique settings for games, but why stop there?  The Epics make for an obvious Eliminator choice, and since the Epics have shown to not only wreak havoc but reform their environment in their own image, there are practically an infinite number of possible settings we could create.  (And it could also mean that the death of certain Epics could dramatically change the game, both RP- and gameplay-wise.)

 

Besides that, I've been intrigued by the idea of using past events in the Cosmere books (which aren't completely explored in-depth, allowing for some flexibility) for the settings of games.  The Manywar from Warbreaker is one of the main events that comes to mind here, as it's evident that it was one of the most deadly wars imaginable, but besides a few key points about the war, we (currently) know little about it.  Same thing with the previous Desolations on Roshar.

 

I also like the idea of a political-based game, similar to LG7, where you have different people (or maybe mini-factions) trying to grapple for power.  Places like the Hallendren Court of Gods, the Alethi Warcamps, or, if we want to go non-Sanderson, maybe the Spectrum (okay, that's not a place, but you get the idea) from the Lightbringer Series, would be really interesting places to explore for more faction-oriented games.

 

Speaking in general, though, I'd like to see more kinds of Nalthis games (Awakening mechanics, or even just awakened entities, definitely add a new level of awesomeness to a game), and some more Roshar games, since Roshar's huge, and we've only barely touched the surface as to the places we could explore there. Some of the interlude settings could make for decent QF games.

 

Here's a question for you guys, even if it is a bit weird: A player of the game comes forward and reveals, with proof, that they are actually Brandon Sanderson. Which player would cause you the most surprise, and which the least? And what do you expect would happen in all future games to him if he continued playing?

 

I'd be most surprised if it were me, because that would definitely be news to me!  But no, seriously, I'd be pretty surprised if Maill is Brandon Sanderson, seeing as he's played the most games.  This is Sanderson we're talking about, of course, but if Sanderson can manage to write books at an already extraordinarily fast pace while also playing almost every Elimination game, my respect towards him would be raised by at least 250%.  I'd think that Rubix would be the most likely to actually be Sanderson (even if he hasn't technically played in a game) simply because of the genius of MR 1 (...and absolutely not just because I want the events from that game to become canon in the next Stormlight book).

 

Whoever this mystery Brandon Sanderson is, I imagine that he would not once be killed or lynched for the next several hundred games or... uh, wait a minute... forget what I said above, I am Brandon Sanderson.  Totally honest.

[little wilson she/her]

Here's a question for you guys, even if it is a bit weird: A player of the game comes forward and reveals, with proof, that they are actually Brandon Sanderson. Which player would cause you the most surprise, and which the least? And what do you expect would happen in all future games to him if he continued playing?

 

My answer to both questions is Jain. Why would I be most surprised? He's in third place in terms of games played (after Maill and Alv), he's obsessed with pandas, he's a teenager, and he lives in Australia. However, what if he doesn't live in Australia and he just has a really weird sleeping pattern that makes it seem like he lives in Australia, and he can get away with saying that? It's obviously just a cover. His erratic playstyle when joining was clearly just so he could take a break from all the writing he does, and rejuvenate his creative senses, and he's lately been "lurking" rather than actively playing as much as he used to because he's working on Stormlight 3, obvs.

 

As for what would happen if someone were to prove they were Brandon. This could go one of two ways, I think. Or possibly both ways. He'd either not die in the next couple hundred games, as Ren suggests, or he'd become a prime target to the troll players because they think it would be hilarious to poke the author and see what happens. 

[Haelbarde he/him]

As for what would happen if someone were to prove they were Brandon. This could go one of two ways, I think. Or possibly both ways. He'd either not die in the next couple hundred games, as Ren suggests, or he'd become a prime target to the troll players because they think it would be hilarious to poke the author and see what happens. 

You think people wouldn't troll him to death in hopes of getting murdered in one of his books?

[Guest]

I wouldn't treat him like a God, definitely. I would lynch and kill like any other player.

But.

If he was the GM....those writeups tho...

[Metacognition he/him]

I've shirked my duties here long enough. My only condolence is that it's been because we've been busy with other stuff.

 

Here's a question for you guys, even if it is a bit weird: A player of the game comes forward and reveals, with proof, that they are actually Brandon Sanderson. Which player would cause you the most surprise, and which the least? And what do you expect would happen in all future games to him if he continued playing?

 

Well, unfortunately, Ren stole my answer to the first one. I fully expect that he somehow got it directly out of my brain so that he could sabotage me for some unknown nefarious reason. I'm on to you, Ren!

 

Probably the most surprising would be anyone that I've met outside of the forum; even if it was just one another site like Facebook. I just don't really see what the point would be to maintaining the charade up to that point and it seems like it would be a lot more work for little gain. 

 

The least surprising would be people like yourself, Wyrm, or Ren. Basically, anyone that is really good at coming up with believable characters and is capable of some fantastic RP. I just don't think Brandon would be able to disguise his mastery of storytelling, even if it was something written hastily and on a whim for a simple game and I highly doubt that he could purposefully make his storytelling less than what he's capable of in an attempt to keep people from noticing. 

 

As far as what would likely happen.... Well, I know that I'd have to take a shot at him at least once, even if I wasn't an Eliminator. It's not everyday that you'd be able to say that you killed your favorite writer after all! I think that the first few games after he revealed would be just hectic attempts to kill him and everyone with a protection ability defending him. After that though, I'd bet everything would pretty much go back to normal. That's one of the things that I love about this game. It doesn't really matter how famous you are or how much money you have; what matters is whether or not you can figure out the subtle clues to find the Eliminators or, if you're an Eliminator, how good you are at manipulating others into thinking that you're innocent. This means that everyone is basically on an equal playing field at the start of each new game. I think most of our players understand that and they'd take Sanderson's word with as much of a pinch of salt as anyone else's once the excitement calmed down. 

 

Those first few games after the reveal though.... those would be insane. 

 

You think people wouldn't troll him to death in hopes of getting murdered in one of his books?

 

Would that work? Cause if that would work, even I'd probably have to give it a shot!  

 

I think that after awhile, Sanderson would fall into a similar pattern to what I've noticed happen with myself and the other Mods. For awhile (especially in the beginning), we get killed early just the giggles of taking out someone with authority. Then people started catching on to that pattern, so people wound up protecting us to prevent that. So then the Eliminators started going after other people first and the protectors started to protect randomly again. Which left us open to be attacked first again, so the Eliminators do so. And thus the cycle continues. 

 

I do think that you'd probably stand a better chance of getting into one of his books by consistently saving him rather than murdering him though. Build up some brownie points as it were.

 

YES. BRANDON SANDERSON WRITEUPS.

NOW. START PLAYING. OR ELSE. I WANT THOSE WRITEUPS. 

 

Did.... Did you just threaten Sanderson to GM one of our games? I don't know if we'd want that in the first place. With as crazy and bloodthirsty as these games can be, I wouldn't be surprised if he just let Odium run amok on us and killed everyone on the first day! 

 

That said, it would be a glorious death!

[RippleGylf she/her]

Ummm... how often do new SE games pop up? I really want to play one, but none have started since I joined. I also haven't read ALL of Brandon Sanderson's books, so that excludes some games.

[little wilson she/her]

Ummm... how often do new SE games pop up? I really want to play one, but none have started since I joined. I also haven't read ALL of Brandon Sanderson's books, so that excludes some games.

 

Depends on what type you're looking for. We've got three formats. Long Games, Mid-Ranges, and Quick Fixes. Long Games run back to back, with sign-ups starting after a LG ends, with sign-ups running for a week. QF's run in the middle of each LG, and MR's run between the games, starting after the QF ends and running through LG sign-ups. In theory, we always have at least one game running, and when one ends, another will start soon.

 

If you're asking when the next game starts, QF9 just ended, so signups for MR8 should go up in the next week or so. We'd love to have you (and anyone else) join us! We always love new blood. 

[RippleGylf she/her]

Depends on what type you're looking for. We've got three formats. Long Games, Mid-Ranges, and Quick Fixes. Long Games run back to back, with sign-ups starting after a LG ends, with sign-ups running for a week. QF's run in the middle of each LG, and MR's run between the games, starting after the QF ends and running through LG sign-ups. In theory, we always have at least one game running, and when one ends, another will start soon.

 

If you're asking when the next game starts, QF9 just ended, so signups for MR8 should go up in the next week or so. We'd love to have you (and anyone else) join us! We always love new blood. 

 

Mid-range sounds about right for me... just hoping it's based on a book I've read (just started WoR today) ... a Mistborn one would be fun.

[little wilson she/her]

MR's and LG's are my personal favorites. Particularly LG's, thought MR's are a nice change of pace. QF's a little too fast for me. Ren can correct me if I'm wrong since he's the GM for the next MR, but I'm pretty sure it'll be Roshar-based. I don't think it'll be spoilery though, at least not if you've already read WoK. If you want to get a look at it before signups go up, here's the link. I'm pretty sure that's roughly what it'll look like, though he could've tweaked some things since he posted it in that thread (the Game Creation thread is where we post games we create for others to comment on balance and give ideas for roles or whatever the creator is looking for).

[RippleGylf she/her]

MR's and LG's are my personal favorites. Particularly LG's, thought MR's are a nice change of pace. QF's a little too fast for me. Ren can correct me if I'm wrong since he's the GM for the next MR, but I'm pretty sure it'll be Roshar-based. I don't think it'll be spoilery though, at least not if you've already read WoK. If you want to get a look at it before signups go up, here's the link. I'm pretty sure that's roughly what it'll look like, though he could've tweaked some things since he posted it in that thread (the Game Creation thread is where we post games we create for others to comment on balance and give ideas for roles or whatever the creator is looking for).

 

That looks really fun! Just finished WoK last friday, so no spoiler worries.

[Metacognition he/him]

Ummm... how often do new SE games pop up? I really want to play one, but none have started since I joined.   I also haven't read ALL of Brandon Sanderson's books, so that excludes some games. 

 

Each Format, as Wilson mentioned above has its own duration. For example: A Quick Fix will typically last around a week, give or take. 

 

So, if there's not a game up when you check in, there should be one up before too terribly long! 

 

Another thing you can do is click the "Follow" Button for the entire SE subforum. This will alert you to any new threads that are created there. The only new threads are typically either the next cycle or turn for a currently running game and new games. It's a helpful tool.

 

As far as whether or not you've had the chance to read the books from that world, it's not nearly the roadblock that you'd think it would be. I've never gotten the chance to read The Rithmatist yet and I wound up playing a game based on that book. We tend to use the setting of the books, but we don't get into a lot of spoiler-ific stuff in any given game. We're also incredibly accommodating when it comes to such things, so if you want to try your hand at a game, but haven't read the books yet, let the GM and the other players know and I'm sure they'd be more than willing to be careful about any spoilers. 

 

I'd still suggest reading them because they're great, but they're not a necessity to play any of our games. So feel free to sign up and join in on the mayhem!

[Haelbarde he/him]

How do you guys feel about Sanderson Elimination being the last board standing in the Hurt'n'Heal 17th Shard Boards game? 

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

How do you guys feel about Sanderson Elimination being the last board standing in the Hurt'n'Heal 17th Shard Boards game? 

 

 

 

*Throws on cool-guy sunglasses*