Long Game 28: The Awakening at the House on the Hill

[Araris Valerian]

Wonko, the problem with that is that the eliminators can add an extra 0-5 upvotes, so we can't get very accurate numbers as to which people have powers.

[little wilson]

3 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said:

EDIT: Hey, is it against the rules to use the upvote system as a game mechanic? Because if not, all the players with useful powers could upvote, say, Hael's quicklinks as a way of announcing themselves anonymously. That way, we could get some indication of how many of you there are in the game.

Mod!Wilson here speaking as both a moderator of the SE and a moderator of the site as a whole: Using rep as a game mechanic would be abuse of the rep system. Rep abuse is not something the staff or the admins take lightly. Please do not use the rep system as a game mechanic. Thank you.

[Wonko the Sane]

3 minutes ago, Ookla the Inimitable said:

Mod!Wilson here speaking as both a moderator of the SE and a moderator of the site as a whole: Using rep as a game mechanic would be abuse of the rep system. Rep abuse is not something the staff or the admins take lightly. Please do not use the rep system as a game mechanic. Thank you.

Absolutely. I thought as much; I just wanted to check. Thanks for the ruling.

[Elenion]

20 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

But anyway, curious - why the change of heart? You were more sure of him being a village last we heard.

You're right that my read on him has reversed. For most of last cycle it appeared like a simple bandwagon v bandwagon. However, by the end of the cycle two things happened that aroused my suspicions:

1. Neither bandwagon dissolved. Village bandwagons tend to do that (at least in my experience), like the Bard-wagon in MR15, where Bard accrued 4 votes right at the start of the game and they all vanished by the end of the first cycle. Elim-led bandwagons, in my experience, tend to stick around longer because moving votes is suspicious.

2. Last-minute voting switches. Yes, I can see plenty of situations where last-minute vote switching would be a viable strategy for a villager, but the final lynch almost seemed arbitrary, decided by those who happened to be on at the time.

20 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

Heh. So when we get another eliminator, we'll know who to blame

I think it's more likely to get us another good item like Assassin had than another elim, but if we do get another elim then you can truly state that I contributed to the problem.

[Haelbarde]

30 minutes ago, Elenion said:

You're right that my read on him has reversed. For most of last cycle it appeared like a simple bandwagon v bandwagon. However, by the end of the cycle two things happened that aroused my suspicions:

1. Neither bandwagon dissolved. Village bandwagons tend to do that (at least in my experience), like the Bard-wagon in MR15, where Bard accrued 4 votes right at the start of the game and they all vanished by the end of the first cycle. Elim-led bandwagons, in my experience, tend to stick around longer because moving votes is suspicious.

2. Last-minute voting switches. Yes, I can see plenty of situations where last-minute vote switching would be a viable strategy for a villager, but the final lynch almost seemed arbitrary, decided by those who happened to be on at the time.

I think of bandwagons as players arbitrarily throwing votes on someone in quick succession with the only reason being "what he said, that seems reasonable". That wasn't really the case though. Those "bandwagons" were mostly people trying to tie up the lynch. Which is why it didn't dissolve -  half the people would only take off their vote if someone else took off theirs from the other option. And people generally being inactive or low activity, to not get on to change votes. I think Unodus had the right idea though, although I'd focus more on the low actives than complete inactives, because like a few people mentioned, inactive aren't generating eliminators - it's the people who don't talk/put opinions out there, but are active but are both not helping out, and hard to catch out in thread which are a bigger problem.

31 minutes ago, Elenion said:

I think it's more likely to get us another good item like Assassin had than another elim, but if we do get another elim then you can truly state that I contributed to the problem.

I was joking And yeah, does seem somewhat easy to get some cool stuff, if assassin is anything to go off, although she might have just got lucky...

 

[Nyali]

I think that if you've found something that gives you a useful action that you can take every night, you shouldn't explore. But, if you have nothing, exploring may still be a good idea. Dunno, it depends on how likely omens are over cool stuff. I'd expect omens to be much rarer now that there are five elims, but since the game is huuuge, that might not be the case.

[JUQ]

I have to say, this is a really great game idea.The explorations mean that the GMs can add all sorts of roles to the game, even if half of them don't end up getting used. The conversions make it interesting. Congratulations Wyrm, it's a brilliant game.

[Magestar]

8 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

I was joking And yeah, does seem somewhat easy to get some cool stuff, if assassin is anything to go off, although she might have just got lucky...

I'm not so sure.  I've explored every night, and I've gotten one dud item.  It might just be that I have no luck whatsoever, which would not be surprising to me, but I'm going to continue exploring in the hopes of finding a role or something of interest.

8 hours ago, Nyali said:

I'd expect omens to be much rarer now that there are five elims, but since the game is huuuge, that might not be the case.

I'd also expect this.  There is the possibility that the number of Elims will increase without bound, but I feel like it will be one of those things where the more we have the less we'll get.  Hopefully. 

 

[Jondesu]

11 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

I think of bandwagons as players arbitrarily throwing votes on someone in quick succession with the only reason being "what he said, that seems reasonable". That wasn't really the case though. Those "bandwagons" were mostly people trying to tie up the lynch. Which is why it didn't dissolve -  half the people would only take off their vote if someone else took off theirs from the other option. And people generally being inactive or low activity, to not get on to change votes. I think Unodus had the right idea though, although I'd focus more on the low actives than complete inactives, because like a few people mentioned, inactive aren't generating eliminators - it's the people who don't talk/put opinions out there, but are active but are both not helping out, and hard to catch out in thread which are a bigger problem.

I was joking And yeah, does seem somewhat easy to get some cool stuff, if assassin is anything to go off, although she might have just got lucky...

 

There is a big difference this game, though. Inactives can become Elims when someone else gets an omen, but if they're truly inactive they might not even realize for a little while. An inactive Elim is a bit less of a threat, fortunately, but there could definitely be Elims among the inactives in this game.

[Wonko the Sane]

6 minutes ago, Jondesu said:

There is a big difference this game, though. Inactives can become Elims when someone else gets an omen, but if they're truly inactive they might not even realize for a little while. An inactive Elim is a bit less of a threat, fortunately, but there could definitely be Elims among the inactives in this game.

I would remove the could, and say there *are* definitely Elims among the inactives. But, as you yourself pointed out, they aren't a priority, and they are harder to find than active Elims. We need to focus our energy on finding one of the easier ones, and opening the Heart to being found. Once we stop spawning Elims, this game gets a lot easier.

[Mark IV]

Finally! Some time to post! 

Sorry, I get sort of busy with studies during the week, what with barely 4 hours to myself every week day. So, yeah, expect more contribution during the weekend. Fortunately, it's a day cycle this weekend, which means more discussion than the last weekend for me.

Anyways, I have yet to give a reread to D 1, 2 and 3.  So, not much to say right now except that I apologise for my inactivity, but I'll be able to post more over the wekend.

 

Oh. and another thing. We have a thief among us. A vial of tin was stolen from me. If the person who took it could PM me, I'd be happy to ... drop charges (read: not hold a grudge)... against the thief. You can keep the vial. 

Lastly, I'm doing nothing this night cycle (unfortunately). If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to tell me. 

[Wyrmhero]

The Night is over! Please refrain from sending any more PMs.

[Wyrmhero]

Day 4: A Grave of Tomes

Moro was starting to feel annoyed. Like a lot of the others, he had not come here to purchase this House – Even at the discounted price, it was still very much out of his price range. He wouldn't have said what he was here for was strictly speaking stealing either. Certainly he wouldn't say it was now, as far as he was concerned it was fair and just compensation for the nightmare that this House had put him through.

But what irritated him the most was the fact that he hadn't found anything of worth. There was supposedly meant to be huge vaults of gold and gems hidden away in this place, the ancient wealth of the now-dead Heron line. But while this place was certainly ostentatious, none of it was particularly mobile or easily sell-able wealth. His fingerprints would be all over the paintings, and he wouldn't be able to hide them while looking for a fence. They would be worth a lot, but not his freedom or his life if he was discovered.

Still, onwards he went in the hope of finding something lucrative. He opened another door, and swore when the heavy metal handle fell off and landed on his foot. He winced and pushed it out of the way, making his way into the room.

It appeared that he had discovered a library. The sight of it almost made him turn around, kick the door in frustration and leave, but he did not. Some books could be very valuable, after all. People would pay a high price for knowledge, particularly from such a strange place as this. The issue with that though was that he didn't know that market particularly well. But considering how long it had been since the Heron family had still existed, anything in decent condition that was a first edition should be good. The older, the better. And considering the size of the library, there was bound to be something here. He felt he could practically get lost in it, and half expected to find a skeleton lying in the dust on the floor.

He put the candle that he was using on a windowsill, away from the musty old bookshelves and dried paper, and carefully slid an old leather-bound tome from the shelf. It was not helpful though, as he didn't understand it. Not only was it not written in a language he knew, but it seemed to even use a different alphabet. Still, it was an interesting curio, and it might puzzle and delight some eccentric somewhere.

He put it on the desk and selected the next. A treatise on BioChromancy, it seemed. Possibly worth something, possibly not, considering how the field advanced. The date inside the book's cover confirmed it was before the Manywar. Again, another antique possibly worth something, and it was even signed. He put it on the pile.

Slowly he took books from the shelves, opening them to the first few pages to check what they were about. The ones he thought would be worth something, he would hide and take with him when he left. The others were simply set aside for now, and would be returned later.

The candle went out, bathing the room in darkness. There was no light from the window, making it so he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He raised his hand and put it on the bookshelf, carefully feeling his way back to the desk. It was strange; in the darkness, his other senses were enhanced to make up for the lack of sight. It was only for this reason that, aside from his breathing, he heard the soft footstep behind him. Unfortunately, by the time he realised what it meant, he was too late. A thick book struck his head.

His body hit the bookshelf behind him, and fell to the ground. The bookshelf wobbled a bit back and forth. The footsteps started to walk away, pausing by the bookshelf. There was a heave, a sound of exertion from behind Moro. A heavy encyclopedia slid out and hit the back of his head again. Another textbook followed suit, falling on his back. Then the entire shelf unloaded all of its books onto him with a sickening crunch.
 

---

Despite their searching, though the debris caused by the attack was plain to see, the Explorers could not find his corpse the next day.



Day 4 has begun! It will end at 9PM GMT on Sunday 4th.
Moro (Magestar) was an Explorer with a Vial of Brass!
An Omen was discovered!

Character List

 

1. Dr Konwa Arelle (Wonko the Sane) - A biochromantic scholar.
2. Frost (Doctor12) - He changed his name to something he thought sounded cool. Coincidentally, he is no longer invited to parties.
3. Shara (Nyali) - A real estate agent that ain't afraid of no ghost, because she doesn't believe in them.
4. Stick (I_Am_A_Stick) - A thin piece of wood that has been cut off or that has fallen off a tree. - Explorer
5. Aralis (Araries Valerian) - Not all-together there.
6. Yiferien (Daniyah) - A murderous maid with her mind on the property market.
7. Exion (Unodus) - Gambling with his life...
8. Rotiart (Paranoid King) - Not suspicious at all guys.
9. Moro (Magestar) - Searching for treasure. - Explorer
10. Bugsy (Bugsy6912) - Not related to any potential crook.
11. Doctor Ryan Oglethorpe (phattemer) - Has a strange speaking problem. - Explorer
12. Quintus (Jondesu) - Entering the mansion.
13. Khaos (little wilson) - A fear junkie.
14. Isaac 'The Hammer' Jones (Elenion) - In search of treasure.
15. Nightspud (Assassin in Burgundy) - A questionably starchy person. - Explorer
16. Nathan (Nathanvanduij) - Signed up.
17. Dr Artie Neuems (Arraenae) - An old gentleman comparing about today's youth. - Explorer
18. Billy (Darkness Ascendant) - An rural man enamored by the House's appearance.
19. Arinian (Arinian) - Appearing as himself.
20. Greg Ronald (STINK) - TBA - Explorer
21. Locke (Orlok Tsubodai) - George Washington in disguise.
22. The Guy in the Red Uniform (Ecthelion III) - Too easy...
23. Aon Deag (Aonar Faileas) - Has no interest in buying, so what is he there for?
24. Sean (polkinghorndb) - Planning on asset-stripping the House.
25. C. L. Anky (Clanky) - Hired for investigative purposes.
26. Prof. Alberd Hae (Haelbarde) - Searching for the research notes of the Five Scholars.
27. The Lady of Chaos (The_Lady_Of_Chaos) - TBA
28. Jeffery Wilferson (jefrywlfersn) - TBA
29. Eques Tempore (Straw) - TBA
30. Sheon Idris (Seonid) - A shade of his former self.
31. Juq (JUQ) - TBA
32. Huxton (The Young Bard) - He means well but does bad. - Explorer
33. Kasther (Kasimir) - Intreped young estate agent. - Estate Agent
34. Kresla (Elbereth) - Wide-eyed and innocent. This cannot end badly.
35. Mark (Mark IV) - Better than Mark III.

Kasther's Pocketwatch

 

 

Edited December 4, 2016 by Alvron

[Haelbarde]

Reserved for quicklinks

[Darkness Ascendant]

Mesa wonders what the references where here

 

[Elenion]

I think this makes 6 elims (basing that off of a Nyali post from last cycle which said 5 as of then), so I'm suggesting that we go light on the exploration from here on out. We really don't want to make any more Traitors than we already have, and while I've got a few suspicions we still don't even have a single dead elim.

1 hour ago, Wyrmhero said:

BioChromancy

What are everyone's thoughts on this word? To me it sounds like a mash-up of BioChroma and necromancy, but it could also be an Awakening term that I've just forgotten...

[Dani]

2 hours ago, Elenion said:

What are everyone's thoughts on this word? To me it sounds like a mash-up of BioChroma and necromancy, but it could also be an Awakening term that I've just forgotten...

I think BioChromancy is just what using BioChromatic Breath is called.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Daniyah

[Elenion]

1 minute ago, Daniyah said:

I think BioChromancy just what using BioChromatic Breath is called.

I don't think so. I just ran a find command over my PDF of Warbreaker that I forgot that I had, and I came up with no matches for "biochromancy".

*begin suspenseful music*

[Haelbarde]

A Google search brings references to it, although not official. But still, bioChroma is all about necromancy, so it works.

Edit:

While I'm glad there are people talking in the MR, why nothing here... 

I think I'm going to throw a vote on Paranoid King. He's been on the shard recently (4 hours ago, from when I posted this), yet hasn't posted since Day 2. Has anyone called him out? Seems to me like a good candidate for someone who got turned from the N1 omen, and then went quiet, hoping to avoid attention. 

Edited December 3, 2016 by Haelbarde

[JUQ]

I'm going to throw a poke vote on Polking. Because I'm a nice person, I will also mention zim @polkinghornbd.
I've decided that it's good manners to mention people when voting for them, so I will do it from now on.

Also, I'm pretty sure BioChromancy is just BioChroma/Allomancy.

Edited December 3, 2016 by JUQ

[Elenion]

56 minutes ago, JUQ said:

Also, I'm pretty sure BioChromancy is just BioChroma/Allomancy.

If that's right, all of those vials and that Lerasium suddenly make sense! That's got to be it.

4 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

I think I'm going to throw a vote on Paranoid King. He's been on the shard recently (4 hours ago, from when I posted this), yet hasn't posted since Day 2. Has anyone called him out? Seems to me like a good candidate for someone who got turned from the N1 omen, and then went quiet, hoping to avoid attention. 

I can't think of anybody that's called him out so far, but now that I think about it he did go silent right after he nearly was lynched. That's suspicious enough for me to put a vote on him until he can give us a good explanation. PK @Paranoid King

[Darkness Ascendant]

Yay!I might get to be active a bit now!

Anyone mind giving me a concise catch up on notable things that have happened?

[Dani]

I'm curious as to why the elims killed Mage. He hadn't been that active before D3, and even after that the only post where he's stated some suspicion was this: 

Quote

Having read over the thread recently, I'm getting something off about the tone of Elenion's posts.  I'm going to go back and focus on the things he said, but after just a quick read-through that's what I got.

I'm not feeling the Arinian or Assassin lynch.  I'll read over this cycle more closely in a minute, but I'm going to tie the lynch with a vote on Arinian for the moment.  I'll try to pay more attention to this game, and I'll take a look at Arinian and Assassin, but right now I'm not sure.

I don't know if he was killed because he was onto something or to just make us think that he was on to something or to just be rid of another villager. If it's the first reason, the only thing I can see is the above quoted post where he shows a little suspicion of Elenion, and his vote for Arinian to create a tie. Elenion replies that Mage almost always thinks that his tone is off, and then this was never spoken about again. I, for one, am getting elim vibes from Len (but that could very well be bad read on my part, which happens often). So while it could be that, it could also be just to make us think that way? Seeing as Len's one of the few who are truly active, I don't know how I feel about lynching him, so I'll withhold my vote for now.   

Also, I'd like @JUQ to explain what he meant by this:

Quote

By the way, I know for a fact that Elenion is innocent at this point in time.

What made/makes you so sure that he's innocent?

[Elenion]

@daniyah I too was a little intrigued by JUQ's statement, so I PM-ed JUQ  the next night to ask him how he knew that. He didn't respond that night, but the night after he told me that he was trying to bait the elims into dying to a one-use, kill-the-attacker item he had by bluffing that he was a scanner. He used the item but nobody came, and he saw no use in not telling me after the fact (hence the cycle delay).

[Aonar]

Okay. So I found the Omen last night. It's a wee bit hypocritical I'm aware, but I have no plans to stop exploring. (For Reasons. ) It was the book written in an unknown script and bound in strange leather; I've tried to logic out the likely Eliminator role gained, but I didn't really get anywhere conclusive. (Thought process spoilered below if you want it.) Edit. Spoilers are broken and I can't get them fixed. >> Spoiler contains my thoughts on Omen analysis as well as my current suspicions.

 

Okay. Facts:

-Book is written in alphabet non-native to Nalthis.

-Book is leatherbound; somehow this is suspicious. Possibly due to colour/texture?

-Book was discovered adjacent to a text on BioChroma predating the Manywar. (If only we knew who signed it!)

--BioChroma is misspelled/spelled alternately. Intentional? Red herring?

-House Heron originated on Scadrial, and numerous Scadrian Artefacts have been found.

-However at least one artefact found has been of Selish origin, making the possibility of the book originating elsewhere impossible to discount.

 

 

Assumptions:

-If the alphabet is one of those known to the Sharders, it must be Aonic, Scadrian, or Alethi (Most likely Women’s Script; see further assumptions).

-As it is a book, I would initially assume that the ability granted is likely related to gaining or manipulating information.

-”Treatise on BioChromancy” discovered next to it. Presumably the two texts are related in some way.

-The treatise predates the Manywar, suggesting that my text is of similar age; circa 300+ years, or shortly before the events of the Final Ascension, a few hundred years prior to the reunification of Alethkar, and a couple hundred years after the Reod.

-If the text was written by one of the Scholars (Vasher or Shasharra in particular) I would think it might perhaps relate in some way to Roshar; this could explain the symbols as Women’s Script, and the strange binding as being from a Rosharan creature or perhaps being soulcast.

-Important question, however. What power would this grant? My first instinct would be something relating to fabrials, as it would transfer easily between worlds, and not require the handwaving a spen would. But still, what power?

-If “BioChromancy” was an intentional misspelling, it may relate to the Heron’s Scadrian origins; perhaps being a text on the interactions between allomancy and BioChroma. This would link my text to early Scardial…

-This does not however explain the strangeness of the binding.

-Unless perhaps it is a hemalurgic text? Inquisitors were a strange lot, after all. This runs counter to the original assumption, though.

-Still, what power? Allomancy feels unlikely, as it would require a Lerasium alloy… Feruchemy ditto, maybe hemalurgy is the best option… yet that seems like more of an offensive role...

-There is no evidence for or against it being Selish in origin, however I would perhaps posit that if it is it is likely not Aonic? More likely of Rose or Fjorden origin? If it related to bloodsealing or Dhakor sacrifice that could explain some of it’s strangeness.

-Again, what power? Bloodsealing and Dhakor seem best suited to something offensive...

 

Conclusions: Leaning away from the Elim having a Selish role, even odds (with maybe a slight bias towards Scadrial) on Scadrial versus Roshar. If Scadrian, I'm thinking probably hemalurgist, which would be bad.

14 hours ago, Elenion said:

If that's right, all of those vials and that Lerasium suddenly make sense! That's got to be it.

...House Heron is from Scardrial. (See LG...7? I think, and a couple others.) I figured that flavour was the main reason there seems to be a bias towards Scadrian artefacts. (That and they're easy to balance.) Which of course, doesn't discount the possibility that it's a treatise on the interactions of the two magics, but if it is it likely isn't relevant beyond analyzing the Omen.

I'm also getting some Elim vibes from Elenion, but I've only really played one game with him prior, and in that one I was rather suspicious of him and he was innocent. I've gotten similar vibes from JUQ, Ecthelion, Clanky and Straw, but again, not really very strong, and most of them are players I haven't played with much yet, so don't have clear feelings on.

@Elenion Hmm, now that is interesting. Raises my suspicion of you a touch, and lowers it for JUQ.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Ookla the Insufferable