Mid-Range Game 9: The Steel Ministry

[Haelbarde he/him]

*Trumpet Fanfare* The Gamma Fiend is back! All hail your Lord Ruler!

 

Now that I've had my piece of fun, and Gamma has an internet connection back, he'll be running things again. I think...

Edited November 11, 2015 by Haelbarde

[RippleGylf she/her]

Hmm, I'm not going to vote just yet. I can't decide who's more likely to be skaa.

 

Phatt, can you remind me of Deathclutch's reasoning for Ripple to be skaa? You said you agree with Creccio because Deathclutch has been right so far. But I'm not sure where/why Deathclutch said that and I don't have time to go digging through the threads.

 

He actually put me under the "meh" category if I remember correctly...

[Haelbarde he/him]

That's end of cycle. Write-up is coming eventually.

[Meandbooks she/her]

Dang it, didn't end up voting. Oh well.

[Haelbarde he/him]

Cycle 11: Deundeadification

This whole experience had not gone quite how she had expected. She'd arrived so excited, proud to become a part of the Steel Ministry, and serve the Lord Ruler directly. Though she would no longer be part of her House, her position as an Inquisitor would bring honor to it nevertheless. But then she'd been betrayed by her peers, and been subjected to Grimms blade for hours on end. She had then "died". She had stopped breathing, her neck cut. But then she woke. She ached all over, her body battered and scarred. But it was breathing. And there was a new spike. Within her stomach, she felt an familiar but different warmth. Pewter, she realized. She'd been given a Pewter spike, and been brought back essentially from beyond the brink. 

It was a few days before she could comfortably walk around, and that was while flaring Pewter. Fortunately, she had been provided with a large supply of it. It would keep her alive till she had healed, but it wouldn't protect her for further damage, like it might another. 

Eventually Grimm had appeared, a spike in hand. He offered her a deal. He had an experiment he wanted to run, and she was in a position to be of use. She agreed without asking for details. She didn't want to die again. A short while later, she now possessed the power of Zinc, the partner to her own Brass. An experiment in crowd control, Grimm had said. He'd taken away her brass stores, and instead furnished her with a few charges of Zinc, so that she could learn to use them. Then he had brought her back to the central chamber, and reintroduced her to the group. Only, the worse was still to come.

It hadn't sufficed The Deepness to just tear her apart physically. No, it had to destroy her world, and her faith in her family too. She had been cornered by the skaa infiltrators, but they had not tried to kill her. No, they had something worse. They had proof of a secret she had not known. The woman she had known to be her mother had not been. Rather, she was the daughter of some random skaa whom her father, Lord Lepinceau, had favored. At first, she had wondered why, but then she realized. She had not had any siblings for many years, but eventually she had gotten a brother. And now he was approaching adulthood. She want me out of the way! Now she knew why her 'mother' had been so pleased at the prospect of her 'daughter' joining the ranks of the Inquisitors. It got an embarrassing secret out the way, and left room for her son to be named Heir. 

As these thoughts flew through her head, she knew what she had to do. She would gladly join with the skaa infiltrators, her brethren (though she still hated them), and she would kill all present. Word would get about, and it would bring dishonor to House Lepinceau. Then she kill Lady Lepinceau. And who would dare question an Inquisitor? All would assume that the Lady had been a traitor. And they would be correct. 

And so she had worked, and one by one, they had fallen. 3 dead by her own hand. Tonight she had another target. Soon Grimm would ask for their suspect, and while the everyone was distracted, she would take out her prey. Only, she didn't get the chance, because when Grimm rose, and requested the groups decision, only two others rose with her to point their fingers. And this time, they were at her. She protested all she could, but it was two to one, and so her fate was sealed.

"Ah, Marie. You seemed to have failed the task I set you. Otherwise you would not have let these here outmaneuver you." He continued as he dragged her along. "Let's see if those spikes of yours will help you give me any more fun this time round."

***

This time, the ordeal lasted even longer. Grimm regulated the pewter she had available, keeping her on the brink, as she couldn't stop herself from instinctually  burning it when she lapsed into unconsciousness. He hadn't expected her to have new information though. Nor had he suspected that she had been skaa all along, that she'd just been unaware of it the first time round. Maybe that's why she managed to make it through. Skaa are made to be sturdier after all. In retrospect, it made sense. It also made the experience all the sweeter. And this time, when he ended it by creating a new hemalurgic spike, she would not be coming back.

---

RippleGylf was lynched. They were a Skaa Rioter.

Vote Tally:
RippleGylf(2): Creccio, Phattemer
Creccio(1): RippleGylf
 
Player List:

 

1. Venture Mistborn (Maxisum)

2. Creccio (Inor Haze)

3. The Honey Badger (Dagbert Honerion)

4. polkinghornbd (Elijah)

5. Phattemer (Axies)

6. Meandbooks (Ailyth)

---

RippleGylf (Marie Lepinceau) - Inquisitor Soother
Mailliw73 (Milon Bulvier) - Inquisitor Rioter
Alvom Halbin (Andierre Reynaud) - Inquisitor Pewterarm
Araris Valerian (Arad Penrod) - Inquisitor Seeker
Sart (Mar) - Inquisitor Lurcher
Shallan (Citona Vinid) - Skaa Coppercloud
The Only Joe (Joel Tormander) - Inquisitor Tineye
Orlok (Locke Tekiel) - Inquisitor Pewterarm
Alvron (Jak) - Inquisitor Lurcher
TheMightyLopen (Kellam Lyre) - Skaa Seeker
Wyrmhero (Wyrm Heron) - Inquisitor Seeker
Kipper (Kipper) - Inquisitor Lurcher
Alfa (Ashbringer Fadraux) - Skaa Pewterarm
Deathclutch10 (Shi Kuratchi) - Inquisitor Coinshot
Zephrer (Serech of House Huxer) - Inquisitor Augur
Clanky (Lan) - Inquisitor Coppercloud
Winter Cloud (Sophia Erikell) - Skaa Soother
IrulelikeSTINK (No Name) - Inquisitor Soother
Nicocoberru (Coco) - Inquisitor Coinshot
Kasimir (Koschei Jerzy) / RippleGylf (Marie Lepinceau) - Skaa Rioter

 
Quick Links:

 

 Rules
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
Cycle 3
Cycle 4
Cycle 5
Cycle 6
Cycle 7
Cycle 8
Cycle 9
Cycle 10

Cycle ends in roughly 48 hours time. A post will be made at some point specifying exactly when.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Alvron

[RippleGylf she/her]

Darn it. I was looking forward to surviving for once. 

Edited November 13, 2015 by RippleGylf

[Kasimir he/him]

Darn it. I was looking forward to surviving for once.

...You don't say. Hope you enjoyed your new lease of life.

Cheers,

-Kas.

[Haelbarde he/him]

Hael, you missed the kill order I sent in, by the way.

I didn't miss it.

[Meandbooks she/her]

Well, that's what you get when you're skaa. xD

 

Ooh, so does that mean someone was burning pewter? I want to figure out who she was targeting

[Creccio he/him]

Thats is something i want to know too, sounds interesting to have another pewter between us... Or she could have attacked someone with Atium

 

Honey

 

I believe she attacked Venture, but that's just me

[phattemer]

I agree, we should lynch Badger.

I don't know if I've ever lasted this long!

(Well, LG14, but I was a pinch hitter)

[Creccio he/him]

I agree, we should lynch Badger.

I don't know if I've ever lasted this long!

(Well, LG14, but I was a pinch hitter)

 

Pinch Hitter? >_>???

[polkinghornbd he/him]

How may skaa are there?  I asked it last time, but I don't think I got an answer.  I don't know about the coordinated lynching being done by Phattmer and Creccio.  They got Ripple lunched, which was good, but then vote for the same person together again.  I will vote for Honey as well, though.  If honey isn't skaa, I will be suspicious of you, but at this time:  Good job!

[polkinghornbd he/him]

By the way, a pinch hitter is a baseball player who comes in at a critical time to hit a home run or get a runner in to score a point, or that's what I got from the few games I've seen.

[Creccio he/him]

How may skaa are there?  I asked it last time, but I don't think I got an answer.  I don't know about the coordinated lynching being done by Phattmer and Creccio.  They got Ripple lunched, which was good, but then vote for the same person together again.  I will vote for Honey as well, though.  If honey isn't skaa, I will be suspicious of you, but at this time:  Good job!

Apparently. 6 Skaa

[polkinghornbd he/him]

Who will we go after next, if the game lasts that long?

[Haelbarde he/him]

Alright, cycle ends in just over 12 hours:

[Meandbooks she/her]

Yeah, let's just go with Badger.

 

After this, (though hopefully there won't be an after this) I think we should go after Venture Mistborn, because he promised a list of suspicions that never appeared, and we were all suspicious of him for a while. Plus, he's the only other inactive besides Badger who's still alive, and I think we're fairly certain that Ripple was the last active skaa.

 

Though I'd love to figure out who Ripple was targeting. It wasn't me, since I didn't burn anything last night and I'm a Coppercloud anyway...anyone feel like speaking up? Anyone burning pewter/atium?

[Haelbarde he/him]

Time's up! 

 

Write up in a mo.

[Haelbarde he/him]

Conclusion: Grimms' (Scary) Tales

Grimm walked. Alone. Strung over his back, the pack jangled with each step. So many spikes to have fun with. Fools. Every single one of them. Did they really expect that the Inquisition would send out pretty little invitations when they wanted to swell their number? Well, obviously they did, because many had turned up at his doorstep. No, the Inquistion always turned up unexpected, and created full Inquisitors from their loyal servants among the Ministry itself. Usually, that was. 

He'd given himself new spikes, created from the stronger of his 'students'. As he burnt various metals, he could feel the additional strength now afforded him. He knew that he'd be more than equipped to take on any of his 'brothers', if it came to that, as he was sure he had more than any other living Inquisitor. With more spikes left over.

The blue lines pointing to the metal sconces embended in the wall of this part of the cave were getting more spaced out, telling him he was getting closer to the entrance of the cave system. A few minutes later, and he'd reached the exit. It was stilll blocked by the the stones that had fallen. Pulling a large metal plate out of his pack, he placed it against the large rock, before moving back and bracing himself against the wall. He flared pewter and steel, and Pushed against the plate. At first, nothing happened, the force just pushing him hard against the wall, the pewter stopping his bones from breaking. But as he continued to flare Steel, pushing harder and harder, the boulder started to shake, before suddenly giving way, the metal plate flying off over the top. Grimm strode out into the fresh air, not looking back. It was a job well done. No one had suspected that he'd been the one to set up the large rock, conveniently placed near the cave's one entrance for the skaa Mistings (that he had invited) to shut them in. The skaa hadn't know he had invited them for that reason either. No one had even once suspected that the whole situation had been just a fun way for him to produce some new spikes. He smiled. He was going to have to do this again some time.

"An admiral show, Grimm...." He stopped, looking around. He couldn't see anyone. "There's nothing to see, Grimm. But there are things I can show you. Things that Hemalurgy can do that have never even imagined possible." The voice cackled. "I'll be in touch..."

---

Honey Badger was lynched. They were a Skaa Tineye.

Vote Tally:
Honey Badger(4): Creccio, Phattemer, Polking, Meandbooks

Player List:

 

1. Venture Mistborn (Maxisum) - Inquisitor Tineye

2. Creccio (Inor Haze) - Inquisitor Rioter

3. polkinghornbd (Elijah) - Inquisitor Coppercloud

4. Phattemer (Axies) - Inquisitor Augur

5. Meandbooks (Ailyth) - Inquisitor Coppercloud

---

RippleGylf (Marie Lepinceau) - Inquisitor Soother
Mailliw73 (Milon Bulvier) - Inquisitor Rioter
Alvom Halbin (Andierre Reynaud) - Inquisitor Pewterarm
Araris Valerian (Arad Penrod) - Inquisitor Seeker
Sart (Mar) - Inquisitor Lurcher
Shallan (Citona Vinid) - Skaa Coppercloud
The Only Joe (Joel Tormander) - Inquisitor Tineye
Orlok (Locke Tekiel) - Inquisitor Pewterarm
Alvron (Jak) - Inquisitor Lurcher
TheMightyLopen (Kellam Lyre) - Skaa Seeker
Wyrmhero (Wyrm Heron) - Inquisitor Seeker
Kipper (Kipper) - Inquisitor Lurcher
Alfa (Ashbringer Fadraux) - Skaa Pewterarm
Deathclutch10 (Shi Kuratchi) - Inquisitor Coinshot
Zephrer (Serech of House Huxer) - Inquisitor Augur
Clanky (Lan) - Inquisitor Coppercloud
Winter Cloud (Sophia Erikell) - Skaa Soother
IrulelikeSTINK (No Name) - Inquisitor Soother
Nicocoberru (Coco) - Inquisitor Coinshot
Kasimir (Koschei Jerzy) / RippleGylf (Marie Lepinceau) - Skaa Rioter
The Honey Badger (Dagbert Honerion) - Skaa Tineye

 
Quick Links:

 

 Rules
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
Cycle 3
Cycle 4
Cycle 5
Cycle 6
Cycle 7
Cycle 8
Cycle 9
Cycle 10
Cycle 11

Well, that's it, folks! The Inquisitors won! (Mostly)

Congratulations to those who technically survived. Hopefully a good time was had by all. 

Dead/Spectator Doc
Skaa Doc
Spreadsheet

Edited October 29, 2016 by Alvron

[Kasimir he/him]

What did it mean to receive your spikes?

It meant dying; it meant lying spread-eagled on the obsidian platform, perfectly still, a martyr, as the spikes were pounded through you, as the Inquisitors watched serenely if you twitched and cried.

Everyone did, they said, eventually. The first spike was the most painful of all: it was meant to prepare you for the true initiation. That would come later.

It was like dying, a little, Koschei thought. The pain…the way the world receded and turned black and stars danced behind your eyes…

He forced himself to meet the spike-heads protruding from Grim’s eyes with a disinterested attentiveness. Every fibre of his being screamed that he was dealing with a dangerous man; one, if he knew what Koschei was, would utterly obliterate him with about the thought one gave to swatting a fly.

There was no sign Grim knew, he told himself. The man was an Inquisitor, but he was not a god. He could not read minds: if he’d survived as a bastard son of Zadeth Jerzy for years in the Steel Ministry, there was no reason Grim could tell.

Still, he felt the nervousness; the tingling down his spine.

Finally, Grim spoke; his voice rough and raspy, as if calculated to induce more fear. “You have been found wanting.”

“Oh?”

Abruptly, he found himself kneeling, flattened against the cavern floor by the raw, primal force of Grim’s Soothing. Grim moved, slowly. Koschei struggled to breathe, to flare copper, to counter the Soothe. Gravel pressed into his palms. He could not so much as twitch.

Grim paced, languidly, around him; perfectly in control. “You see?” the Inquisitor whispered, in the cavernous darkness, his breath tickling Koschei’s ear. “Weak.”

“If I am weak, then what am I doing here?” Koschei forced himself to demand. “Why did your Canton send me an invitation?”

Grim did not blink. He could not, Koschei thought. Not with the spikes driven through his eyes. He felt the pain, once again, of the hemalurgic bronze spike pounded through his ribs.

Finally, the Soothing let up. Koschei crawled, painfully, to his feet. He did not ask for help. He locked his trembling legs and ground his teeth together. Grim, he sensed, was the sort of creature to which showing any trace of weakness would be fatal.

He shut off his copper and met Grim’s gaze again. “I’m still waiting,” he said. Almost laughed at his own boldness: was he tired of life? Perhaps. Perhaps he was tired of dying a little, each time they pounded a new spike through him. And perhaps he saw nothing to live for; not after he’d been torn away from the Canton of Finance, and with it, any hopes of alleviating the woes of House Jerzy.

No. He didn’t believe that last part. As long as he lived and breathed, there was hope. The pain from the spike was a reminder of that. He clung on to it and fought, determined to find a way. Determined to survive.

Eventually, Grim stated, “Mistakes happen. An Inquisitor was punished.” He eyed Koschei, his disdain clear, even despite his lack of expression. “We do not like to punish our own.”

“You’re saying this was a mistake.”

Grim nodded. “An invitation was meant for a Kendrick Erikell.” His lip curled. “Who is now a High Prelan in the Steel Ministry. The Canton of Finance is…displeased.”

“And me?”

Grim closed in on him and yanked. The spike ground against his ribs, and Koschei could not help screaming in pain. Grim laughed and licked his lips. “Weak,” he said, again. Koschei could almost feel it: metal slipping against bone, blood welling at the insertion site, until the spike gave way before Grim’s preternatural strength and came free.

Grim licked a drop off blood off the slickened spike, casually.

Koschei found himself kneeling, despite his promise not to; each breath coming out in a heavy gasp.

“You?” Grim said. “You are an experiment.” His mouth twisted with distaste as he went on. “An experiment in inter-Canton cooperation. Why those pen-pushers felt you were so important, I’ll never know.”

“What happens, then?”

He was still bleeding; part of Koschei wondered if he shouldn’t staunch the wound. Sod it, he decided. He ripped off his shirt and started wadding it contain the bleeding.

In a lightning-fast motion, Grim grabbed him by the shoulders; the other hand whipped around; Koschei saw something glittering in it.

He barely had the time to scream as the spike slammed through his heart.

Just like dying, Koschei thought, dimly, as the world faded to a ragged scream at the edges of his senses. He realised he was the one screaming; he wondered what the others would think. The others: he thought of Wyrm Heron, of Ashbringer Fadraux, of Kellam Lyre. Willed himself to say nothing.

“You?” Grim said. “The Inquisition does not release its own. Not willingly.” He laughed, and licked the blood off his fingers, casually. “Like it or not, you’re ours now, and you’re going to do what we tell you.”

Abruptly, Koschei realised the pain was fading; he was still breathing, somehow, still living, despite a spike rammed straight through his heart. Each heartbeat came; strong, and steady. The pain from the wound his ripped-out spike had caused was gone; his probing fingers found sealing flesh, as if the wound was several days old rather than freshly-inflicted.

How? he wondered.

He did not ask.

Grim loomed over him. “Try not to die,” Grim said, dismissively. “Go back to the Ministry, tell them we didn’t want you. Eventually, we’ll speak again.”

“You want me to be your spy?”

Grim tapped the blunt head of the spike with a single finger. “This comes out, you die,” he said, bluntly. “I can kill you at any time I desire. Remember that. Go.”

Koschei went. There was nothing more to be said.
 

---

I wrote the above segment as a challenge to myself, and for when Gamma mentioned to me he'd let Koschei live in the write-up so I could recycle him in future, for which I thank him Just thought I'd post it, at the end of the game. Anyway.

 

M'Hael, Great Lord, thank you for running this! Fellow Skaa, sorry for bailing :/ Exams went relatively okay; I acquitted myself later on, so that's fine. I def. had fun!

Edited November 14, 2015 by Kasimir

[Creccio he/him]

Good Job guys...

 

Can i have said doc to said actions?

[Haelbarde he/him]

Can i have said doc to said actions?

Okay, I've edited a link into the OP.

 

---

Now that I'm not GM'ing this game any longer, I can comment about things!

 

Polking (with Stink and Meandbooks agreeing with his sentiment), said the following:

My problem with these games isn't that there are two going on, it is that everyone else seems to have vastly greater reasoning skills than I do, so I don't know who to agree with.  That has lead to most of my inactivity, just not knowing what to say

Just wanted to comment on that.

 

Even if you don't think you can reason stuff out to the same degree as other players (though I'm quite sure everyone is capable of sound reasoning), there's still things you can do.

 

Posting a bio on each of the players in the game, giving an idea of your views on that player (and links to stuff they've said, when possible), can be quite valuable. You might pick up on something that another player has missed, allowing them to make a connection they otherwise may have missed. Alternatively, your thoughts might highlight an unjustified assumption someone else has made.

 

Have a look back over the rules. In some games, things can get a bit complicated, and people forget stuff. For example, LG15a - the village forgot about the eliminators win condition of 'Lynch the GM'. Or in this game, a few of you were confused by the fact that Ripple thought there was meant to be a Skaa kill, while I hadn't put anything in. You had a few thoughts, but the reason for it was that in the first few sentences of the rules, it says that the Lynch comes first, and then actions and the skaa kill. Because Ripple had put in the skaa kill order, by being lynched, the skaa kill was blocked. The same thing happened this cycle. 

 

Another thing you can do is go through the player list and ask the question 'What if they were an eliminator', and consider their actions in that light. In my first game, I did that, and I came up with a compelling case for how The Only Joe had opportunity to be an eliminator. I had no evidence, and his actions seemed to help the village well enough, but they would also serve an eliminator just fine. And that's exactly what he was. Now, it doesn't always work (I tried it with Meta in LG12, and he was in fact the village scanner. That being said, he did like the theory I came up with, and said it was something he'd have tried if he had been an eliminator). 

 

I don't think any of those 3 things is necessarily that hard, and neither are they necessarily done too frequently either, but they each have the potential to be quite useful, and allow you to contribute to the game. 

 

Do any of you more experienced players have any suggestions?

Edited November 14, 2015 by Haelbarde

[Wyrmhero he/him]

So apparently I inspire such fear and rage as to bring people out of inactivity just to put a kill on me, and then disappear again. ...I am very confused by this behaviour.

[Meandbooks she/her]

Yay, we won!

 

Thanks for the clarification on the lynch/kill thing - that makes a lot more sense. I didn't really think we had another pewterarm among us, so I was a bit surprised.

 

And yeah, about the analysis...a huge limiter really is time. It's hard to keep track of everything and not have to continually go back and read all the threads, which takes a while. Maybe next time I should take notes.