Sanderson Elimination: Questions & Answers and Game Meta Discussion

[Straw he/him]

2 minutes ago, Spren of Kindness said:

I'm interested in this, but I'm absolutely horrible at remembering rules and what contexts to use them for.  Is it possible to shadow someone who knows what they're doing to get a feel for the game?

The closest thing to this would be spectating a game. That would allow you to talk with more experienced players who are watching, and also talk with dead players. Currently, LG66 is running and has a spec doc. I'd recommend joining the LG66 spec doc (I can give you the link if you're interested) and then possibly joining QF45 if you feel like you've got a good feel for the basic rules by the time it starts. QF45 has minimal rules, so it'd be a good starting game. It also has a lot of new players playing, so you'd be in the same boat as most other people.

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

18 minutes ago, Straw said:

The closest thing to this would be spectating a game. That would allow you to talk with more experienced players who are watching, and also talk with dead players. Currently, LG66 is running and has a spec doc. I'd recommend joining the LG66 spec doc (I can give you the link if you're interested) and then possibly joining QF45 if you feel like you've got a good feel for the basic rules by the time it starts. QF45 has minimal rules, so it'd be a good starting game. It also has a lot of new players playing, so you'd be in the same boat as most other people.

Mmm, no thanks.  But thanks for letting me know!

[BringerOfLight]

I'm sure this question gets asked a LOT, but I want to join Elimination and I'm really not sure where to start- Someone help please?

[|TJ| he/him]

6 minutes ago, BringerOfLight said:

I'm sure this question gets asked a LOT, but I want to join Elimination and I'm really not sure where to start- Someone help please?

Hello, welcome to SE! 

Check out the rules here.

The best way to understand the game is go through some of them. Here's the thread of an ongoing game. Go through it to get a brief idea. There's also a spectator doc for a currently ongoing game which I'm sure @Orlok Tsubodaiwill be sure to provide. There's also an upcoming game to sign up for here once you feel you've got the grasp of it. 

[BringerOfLight]

Just now, TJ Shade said:

Hello, welcome to SE! 

Check out the rules here.

The best way to understand the game is go through some of them. Here's the thread of an ongoing game. Go through it to get a brief idea. There's also a spectator doc for a currently ongoing game which I'm sure @Orlok Tsubodaiwill be sure to provide. There's also an upcoming game to sign up for here once you feel you've got the grasp of it. 

Thank you so much! This is actually a huge help- I feel like you have this on a doc to quickly paste onto here whenever a newbie asks what the heck to do.

[|TJ| he/him]

1 minute ago, BringerOfLight said:

Thank you so much! This is actually a huge help- I feel like you have this on a doc to quickly paste onto here whenever a newbie asks what the heck to do.

You're welcome! Well, no. I searched for the links after you asked them

I'm quite new at this as well, just playing my third game! Just helping out a fellow newbie.

[Kynedath]

2 hours ago, BringerOfLight said:

Thank you so much! This is actually a huge help- I feel like you have this on a doc to quickly paste onto here whenever a newbie asks what the heck to do.

We've pretty much all asked the same question and seen it answered a bunch of times, so even though there isn't a doc it's almost always the same response! 

Be sure to read through the whole of the rules thread that TJ sent you, there is a lot of really useful information on there like useful terms that will probably come up and a guide to how the games are formatted and scheduled.

[Ashbringer he/him]

Where do people propose game ideas? I have an idea for a Roshar game that I think would be cool.

I know I’m way too new at this to GM a game, but working to design one would be fun to do!

Spoiler

Synopsis: after the events of Oathbringer, Szeth and a band of infiltrators (Elims) invade the Shin High Council (Village). Instead of Radiants (aside from Szeth and perhaps a Kaladin role), players instead have Honorblades they can pass around and use for surges. Along with a few, shall we say... guest stars (Hidden Roles). 

Could be a little meta-game dicy because it’s extrapolating what will probably really happen in Rhythm of War, but I think it’s a cool idea.

[|TJ| he/him]

21 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

Where do people propose game ideas? I have an idea for a Roshar game that I think would be cool.

I know I’m way too new at this to GM a game, but working to design one would be fun to do!

You post it here in "The Art of Game Creation" thread.

[theTruthshaper]

I wanted to ask about PMs, what is the etiquette when using them? And when are PMs useful?

Edited June 27, 2020 by The_Truthwatcher

[|TJ| he/him]

You're talking about PMs during games? Well, there's no special etiquette when it comes to using PMs. Just behave like you would in-thread. Different games have different PM rules. If you want to start a PM for the game you're currently playing, add the player you want to talk to, and GM and co-GM. As to when they are useful, well that's for you to decide. You could use it to start alliances with other players to plot. Or to relay sensitive information that would not be suitable to reveal in-thread. Basically, it's your wish to use however you like. 

Edited June 27, 2020 by TJ Shade

[Straw he/him]

It also makes things easier for the GM if you title it something like this:

Quote

[Format Abbreviation][Game Number]: [Player #1] and [Player #2]

Ex: LG67: Elbereth and Kasimir

[Mat he/him]

So, I didn’t really know where to put this. It’s not a game question. But I found this at my aunts house, for piano teaching xD:

@DrakeMarshall

Edit: Not sure why it’s sideways 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Matrim's Dice

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

Wait what??? 

That's great. I have no idea why it's there but clearly whoever put it there has eminently good taste 

[Mat he/him]

Probably just the names of two piano students, but still a specific coincidence 

[DramaQueen she/he/neopronouns]

Wasing the wanting of joining the game.

[|TJ| he/him]

38 minutes ago, RadiantDramaQueen said:

Wasing the wanting of joining the game.

Brilliant! If you have not read the rules, check out this thread, and read the whole thing. There are no games open for sign ups now, as both the Long Game (LG) and the Mid-Range (MR) have been up and running for a while. There's a spectator doc for both those games where you can watch the proceedings and discuss it with fellow spectators and players who are dead. @Straw and @Kasimir would be happy to provide you the links for the same. I'd reckon the earliest a game can end is in about a week time. I'll tag you in the next game's sign ups if you miss it.

Edited July 11, 2020 by TJ Shade

[DramaQueen she/he/neopronouns]

5 minutes ago, TJ Shade said:

Brilliant! If you have not read the rules, check out this thread, and read the whole thing. There are no games open for sign ups now, as both the Long Game (LG) and the Mid-Range (MR) have been up and running for a while. There's a spectator doc for both those games where you can watch the proceedings and discuss it with fellow spectators and players who are dead. @Straw and @Kasimir would be happy to provide you the links for the same. I'd reckon the earliest a game can end is in about a week time. I'll tag you in the next game's sign ups if you miss it.

Oh, wait. I'd rather not give my email for this game. Sorry for the bother.

[|TJ| he/him]

Umm, I'm not sure where I was misunderstood. You do not need to give your email ID at all. 

[DramaQueen she/he/neopronouns]

Just now, TJ Shade said:

Umm, I'm not sure where I was misunderstood. You do not need to give your email ID at all. 

In order to have the docs shared with me? 

[|TJ| he/him]

They'll just send the links via Personal Message here on the Shard. You can access the links anonymously, without logging in with your email. 

[Kasimir he/him]

3 minutes ago, RadiantDramaQueen said:

In order to have the docs shared with me? 

My spec doc is shared via a link in PMs. I can add you to the PM, if you want: we generally don't ask for emails here except for those one or two games (MR1 and MR7 coming to mind...) but fair warning: the spec doc for my game is deader than a Triton moon, though I do have a few dead players inside!  

[DramaQueen she/he/neopronouns]

Just now, Kasimir said:

My spec doc is shared via a link in PMs. I can add you to the PM, if you want: we generally don't ask for emails here except for those one or two games (MR1 and MR7 coming to mind...) but fair warning: the spec doc for my game is deader than a Triton moon, though I do have a few dead players inside!  

Oh, ok! I'd like to join the spectator doc, then.

[Straw he/him]

Do you also want the spec doc link for LG67?

[Arraenae]

Ways to find eliminators: an uncomprehensive list

I sent this in a PM to a new player, and thought that it would be worth reposting in here.

Here are some strategies for finding villagers and eliminators that I've used: comparison to standard player analysis, player-specific analysis, gut reads, connection analysis, and process of elimination. These aren't official names, just ones that I made up to categorize them.

Comparison to standard player is when you're comparing people to how you think the standard villager or eliminator will act. For example, eliminators generally want to keep their teammates alive, so they might vote to lynch a random villager over their teammate. If Player A makes some bad arguments for keeping Player B alive, and later you find out that Player B is an eliminator, Player A could be an eliminator who wanted Player B to live. Another thing is that eliminators want to seem like they're contributing to discussion without actually contributing to discussion, so pay attention to people who are using a lot of words to say very little, especially if they never mention who they are suspicious of and who they trust. Alternatively, look at players who post just enough to remind you that they're alive, but not enough to make their opinions very noticeable. Keep in mind, however, what makes up standard eliminator behavior can change over time. One eliminator activity is called bussing, where they will purposely lynch a teammate to gain trust, because lynch teammates is not considered standard eliminator behavior. Now that bussing has been around for so long, however, it's been accepted as something that some eliminators will do, and is a somewhat expected standard eliminator behavior. Standard villager behavior generally looks like someone who is trying very hard to find eliminators and lynch them. If someone has lynched multiple eliminators, they're almost definitely village. People who talk a lot are more likely to be village, but there are a few players who are very good at talking a lot even when they're eliminators.

Player-specific analysis is like comparison to standard player analysis, except that you compare people to how they've acted in previous games when they were certain alignments. For example, you might know that Player A always posts less often when they're an elim than when they're village. You might also know that Player B always gets lynched early when village, so you might decide to vote for someone else instead of Player B because they're probably village anyways. This can be confounded by players deciding to change their playstyle just because. Easier to do after playing a few games with people in this community.

Gut reads/tone reads are when you look at a player and decide that you don't like how they feel, but you're not sure why. Maybe their posts feel too slimy, or you don't like how they're weaseling around other player's questions. Alternatively, you look at someone and decide you trust them, but again you're not sure why. Gut reads are based off of your subconscious picking up cues that your conscious mind is missing. Some people have very accurate guts, other people don't. However, since gut reads are so difficult to explain, it's harder to convince people to vote along with you, and they're difficult to defend against.

Connection analysis is when you pay no attention to what people say and instead pay attention to what they do. Break everything down into votes, attacks without votes, defenses without votes, and defenses with votes (as in saying someone is village so you vote to lynch someone else). If you know that Player A is an eliminator, and Player B kept stating suspicion of them from very early on the game and voting on them, Player B is likely to be village. However, if Player B only ever half-heartedly stated suspicion of A, and never voted on A, they might be an eliminator trying to do some distancing. Usually eliminators don't care if villagers are up for the lynch, but they do care if their teammates are.

Process of elimination is when you figure out everyone in the game who you trust. Sometimes abbreviated as PoE. Usually the number of eliminators is around 1/5 of the number of players, or the square root of the number of players. Let's say a game had 25 players, and now it's down to 10. You think there are 5 eliminators. You know you are village, and you trust 4 other people, so the ones that are left must be eliminators. Generally a good thing to start doing towards the end of the game when there are fewer players.

These are the strategies that I know about. Other players use other strategies, so this isn't the one and only way to play the game. If you're lost, though, this list might give you some ideas on how to get started. I hope this helps.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Arraenae