Anniversary Game 5/Anonymous Game 4: One Final Blaze of Light

[Seonid he/him]

AG 5: One Final Blaze of Light

Hello, and welcome to the 5th Anniversary Game! This game is special for a lot of reasons. It marks 5 years that we've been a community here on the Shard, and 4 years since I signed up for my first long-form game. It's been a crazy wonderful ride, and I've loved the community that we've built here, even if I haven't been around as much recently.

This game is also significant for at least one other reason: over the past few months, I've been less and less involved in the Shard and the SE Community. When I started here, I was a college student, newly married, and full of energy. Now I'm graduated, with a full-time job and two children (and another on the way), and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to carve out space and time for SE games. I have writing projects I want to get to, children I want to spend time with, and ever-increasing responsibilities. Rather than keep telling myself that I'll be coming back in a month or two and eventually drifting off into full-fledged inactivity without ever saying goodbye, I've decided to officially retire. That way, I can do it on my own terms, instead of leaving you all in the lurch.

So this game is sort of my swan song, and I have chosen to have one last Shard game, to wrap everything up. Bring the whole ponderous story of Hoid and the Shards of Adonalsium (first started by @A Joe in the Bush, who will actually be co-GMing this game with me) to a thrilling and stunning conclusion. But to do that, I'll need your help. These games are long, and complicated, and incredibly fun! But they don't work very well unless everybody stays active. So, if you sign up for this game, please stay active.

This game will be an anonymous game, so please follow all of the rules for anonymous accounts:

Reminder: Rules for Anonymous Accounts:

At the start of the game, you will be issued an anonymous account. There are a number of rules associated with the use of an Anonymous Account. Please follow them carefully. Given the potential for abuse of Anonymous Accounts, any rule breaking using the accounts will be dealt with harshly.
1) Do not change the password of the anonymous account you are issued. Orlok, Joe and I will have access to all anonymous accounts for the duration of the game.
2) Do not use the anonymous accounts to PM any non-anonymous account, other than the accounts of the GMs. Please do not use your normal accounts to PM anonymous accounts.
3) Do not change anything cosmetic about the accounts, including member title, username, signature, and avatar.
4) Do not reveal your identity or explicitly claim to be another player.

Without any further ado, I give you AG5: One Final Blaze of Light.

Rules:

Spoiler

 

Actions and Turns:

Each Cycle will consist of a Day Turn and a Night Turn. Day Turns will last roughly 48 hours, while Night Turns will last approximately 24 hours. Every player may use only one action during each Turn. In addition to any actions made available by Roles, Shards, or Shardworlds, each player may use their action during the Day turn to worldhop from one location to another. The game will begin on a Day Turn. During Day 1, there will be no lynch.

 

Unless otherwise specified, non-Shardic actions can only affect players on the same world as you!

Unless otherwise specified, actions can only affect living players!

Unless otherwise specified, you cannot send PMs to other players!

 

Death and the Cognitive Realm:

When a player loses their last life, they pass to the Cognitive Realm - a doc for dead players to talk together. Their Roles and Faction are revealed, and they are no longer considered to be living players. However, they are still part of the game, and can be targeted by some abilities.

 

Players in the Cognitive Realm cannot post in the thread or in PMs with other players, or take actions. However, they retain the roles they had when they died, and can still be targeted by certain Shardic abilities.

 

Factions and Win Conditions:

The players will be divided into five different factions, each with its own unique and secret win condition. In addition to the secret win condition, however, each faction can also win the game in the following ways:

 

Last Faction Standing: If the living members of your faction outnumber all other players in the game, you win the game.

 

Adonalsium Reborn: If your faction controls all available Shards of Adonalsium at the end of any Turn, you win the game.

 

Any faction reaching one of the win conditions will end the game. If multiple factions reach their win conditions on the same round, all of the factions with completed win conditions win together.

 

Shardworlds:

At the start of the game, there will be 5 worlds available: Silverlight, Roshar, Scadrial, Taldain, and Sel. Each world except for Silverlight will have it’s own Doc that players can use to communicate privately. At the start of every Night Turn, the doc will be replaced with a new one, unless no changes to the players present there have occured. Each player will start in Silverlight. During the Day Turn, a player on a Shardworld may use their action to gain a role unique to that Shardworld, as follows:

 

Silverlight: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Researcher role.

 

Roshar: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Truthwatcher role.

 

Sel: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Elantrian role.

 

Scadrial: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Feruchemist role.

 

Taldain: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Mastrell role.

 

Creating a Shardworld: A group of Shards working together can create one of the following Shardworlds: Nalthis, Braize, First of the Sun, or Yolen. In order to do so, a Shard must use their action during the Day Turn to add a charge of investiture to the Shardworld. At the end of the Night Turn, if one of these Shardworlds has at least 6 charges of investiture (8 for Yolen), and that investiture has come from at least 3 different Shards (4 for Yolen), the world has been created and is available to worldhop to. Created Shardworlds also offer unique Shardworld roles.

 

Nalthis: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Awakener role.

 

Braize: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Voidbringer role.

 

First of the Sun: A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain the Aviar Controller role.

 

Yolen: Actions taken by a player on Yolen cannot be redirected or roleblocked. A player may use their action during the Day Turn to gain any one of the following roles: Researcher, Truthwatcher, Elantrian, Feruchemist, Mastrell, Awakener, Voidbringer, or Aviar Controller.

 

Roles:

Worldhopper: Although you have no special abilities yet, you have to be at least something special. After all, you ended up here, didn't you? Right in the middle of the most incredible events the Cosmere has ever seen. Whether you like it or not, it seems like you have inherited interesting times.

 

Shardworld Roles:

Researcher (Silverlight): You may target players on any world as if they were on the same planet as you. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Elantrian (Sel): You may use your action during the Night Turn to create a PM between yourself and another player on any planet that lasts until the end of the following turn. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Mastrell (Taldain): You may use your action during the Night Turn to target another player on the same planet as you. During the next Day Turn, the first two votes placed on that player are cancelled. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Truthwatcher (Roshar): You may use your action during the Night Turn to target another player on the same planet as you. You are told who they targeted that night. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Feruchemist (Scadrial): You may use your action during the Night Turn to target a player (including yourself) on the same planet as you. That player gains an extra life that lasts until the end of the next Day Turn. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Voidbringer (Braize): You may use your action during the Night Turn to attack another player on the same planet as you. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Awakener (Nalthis): You may use your action during the Night Turn to scan another player on the same planet as you. You are told any roles they have. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

Aviar Controller (First of the Sun): You may use your action during the Night Turn to target another player. All attacks against you made by that player’s faction are cancelled. After you use this ability, you lose this role.

 

Cognitive Realm Roles:

Returned: You return to the Physical Realm, losing any Roles you had in your previous life. However, you may use your action during the Night Turn to do one of the following: roleblock a player on any world, protect a player on any world from all attacks during a Cycle, or give another player two actions during the next Cycle, which can be used on any Turn. Using any of these actions will cause you to lose a life. If you lose all of your remaining lives again via any means, you will be removed from the game and go straight to the Spiritual Realm (the spectator doc).

Shade: During the Day Turn, you may submit a vote via your GM PM. That vote will be added anonymously to the total. During the Night Turn, you may use an action granted by a role you held when you died (except for the Vessel role) to target a player on any world. After submitting a vote or using an action, you lose the Shade role.

Shards and Investment Roles:

Spoiler

Shards and Investment Roles:

The Shards of Adonalsium are objects of immense power, capable of reshaping reality to their whim. A player who holds a Shard gains the Vessel role, and may take one additional action each Cycle which may be used in either a Day Turn or a Night Turn. Each Shard also grants the bearer a powerful ability, which may be used during the Night Turn. In addition, during the Day Turn, many Shards may choose to invest in another player, granting the targeted player an additional role until the end of the following Day Turn. A Vessel may not be invested in by another Shard, and any attempt to do so will fail as if the Shard had been roleblocked.

 

Regardless of how many actions they have available, unless otherwise specified, each Shard’s Shardic ability may only be used once per Cycle, and each Shard may only invest in one player per Cycle. Any Vessel may use an action during the Day Turn to pass their Shard to another player. If they do so, they lose the Vessel role, and the player they passed the Shard to gains it.

If a Vessel is killed, the Shard passes to the player they invested in during the most recent Day Cycle. If they did not invest in the most recent Day Cycle, or if their Shard cannot invest in another player, then the Shard passes to a random non-Vessel player within their faction.

 

Holding Multiple Shards - A player may hold more than one Shard at a time. However, they gain no abilities or actions beyond the base ability and action which they already gain for being a Vessel. In addition, a player that holds multiple Shards may only use the Shardic Ability of a single Shard in any Night Turn, regardless of how many actions they have available. If a player holding multiple Shards invested during the Day Turn, they may only use the Shardic Ability of a Shard with which they invested.

 

Shattered Shards: A Shard that has been targeted by Odium’s attack ability becomes Shattered. A player holding a Shattered Shard cannot use its Shardic Ability. Instead, they gain the Investment Role of the Shard as long as they hold the Shattered Shard. If the Shattered Shard does not have an Investment Role, the player holding it gains an extra life instead. A player cannot pass a Shattered Shard. If a Shattered Shard is unshattered while it is held by a player, then that player loses the Investment Role.

 

Fused Shards - Cultivation can fuse shattered Shards together into a single, new Shard. This Shard counts as a single Shard, but has the Shardic abilities of all of the original Shards used to make it, and the Vessel holding the new Shard may use as many of those Shardic abilities as they have actions for. In addition, a player invested by a Fused Shard gains the Investment Role of each original Shard used to make it. If one of the Shards used to create a Fused Shard cannot invest in another player, the Fused Shard cannot invest in another player either.

 

Ambition:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to target a player in the Cognitive Realm. That player permanently gains the Shade role. In addition, as a passive ability, you may communicate in the Cognitive Realm doc.

 

Investment Action - The Vessel of Ambition cannot invest in another player. Instead, they may use their action during the Day Turn to target a player. That player gains an extra anonymous vote against them in the vote count.

 

Autonomy:

Shardic Ability - During the Day Turn, you may use an action to have one of your aspects vote on any player. During the Night Turn, you may use an action to have one of your aspects which did not vote on a player roleblock a player on the same world as they are. Either ability may be used as many times as the Vessel has available actions, but each aspect may only be used once per Cycle.

 

Investment Action - The Vessel of Autonomy cannot invest in another player. Instead, they may use their action during the Day Turn to target the Shardworld you are currently on. You create a uniquely-named aspect of yourself that is invested in that Shardworld. Each Shardworld can only have one aspect of yourself invested in it. Aspects show up as players in the Shardworld's doc, and you can participate in the doc of any Shardworld you have an aspect on.

 

Cultivation:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to create a PM containing any number of players between 2 and half the number of living players (rounded up). Alternatively, you may use your action to target a player. If that player holds a Shattered Shard, that Shard is restored to its full power. If that player holds multiple Shards (whole or Shattered), the Shards are fused together into a single Shard.

 

Investment Role - The Vessel of Cultivation cannot invest in another player. Instead, they may use their action during the Day Turn to target another player. That player gains an extra action during the next Cycle, which can be used during either Turn.

 

Devotion:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to target a player. All actions targeting that player target you instead. Until the end of the next Day Turn, that player cannot be lynched.

 

Investment Role - Forger: You may use your action during the Day Turn to redirect the vote of a player on the same planet as you are.

 

Dominion:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to redirect any actions another player takes to a different player (living or dead). Any actions that do not target a player cannot be redirected.

 

Investment Role - Dakhor Monk: You gain an extra life. During the Night Turn, you may use an action to attack another player on the same planet as you. You lose a life as a result of this attack.

 

Endowment:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to target a player in the Cognitive Realm. That player is brought back to the Physical Realm and gains the Returned role.

 

Investment Role - The Vessel of Endowment does not give a normal investment role. Instead, you may give the player you invested in one of the following Shardworld roles: Awakener, Feruchemist, Truthwatcher, Mastrell, Aviar Controller, Voidbringer, or Elantrian.

 

Honor:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to protect another player against one attack. If the player is attacked by Odium, any Shards that player holds are not Shattered.

 

Investment Role - Bondsmith: You may use your action during the night turn to protect another player on the same planet as you.

 

Odium:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to attack another player. Any Shards that the target player holds are Shattered, even if the player survives the attack.

 

Investment Role - Unmade: You may use your action during the Night Turn to roleblock another player on the same planet as you.

 

Preservation:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to target another player (living or dead). Until the end of the following Day Turn, that player cannot be targeted by any actions. You cannot target the same player twice in a row.

 

Investment Role - Mistborn: You may use your action during the Night Turn to target another player on the same planet as you. If that player is targeted by an action that Night, the player that targeted them takes an attack. This does not block the original action.

 

Ruin:

Shardic Ability - You may use your action during the Night Turn to attack another player.

 

Investment Role - The Vessel of Ruin cannot invest in another player. Instead, twice per game, you may use your action during the Day Turn to target the planet you are on. That planet is destroyed. Any other players who were on that world are worldhop to a random world, and may not use any actions during the following Night Turn. After using the ability to destroy a planet for the second time, for the rest of the game you may no longer use your Shardic ability.

 

Current Signup Count: 31

 

Pinch Hitters: 3

Signups will end at 1:00 AM, MST, January 14th:

Quick Links:

 

Day 1 - A Shadow of the Past
Night 1 - Reflections in a Darkened Mirror
Day 2 - A Watchful Peace
Night 2 - Close Call
Day 3 - Unseen Strike
Night 3 - Beyond All Hope
Day 4 - Fortune or Fate
Night 4 - The Master's Malice
The Fifth Day: Innerlight
Night 5 - Secret Vigil
Day 6: Gaining Strength
Night 6:
Day 7: Quicker Than Sight
Night 7 - Trained for War
Week 2, Day 1:
Week 2, Night 1: 
Aftermath - Theosis 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Fifth Scholar

[Alvron he/him]

The Koloss sat deep in Thought.  He wasn't sure how he was suppose to achieve the task Ratel had given him.

Acquire as many Shards as you can. he said.  Failing that, learn how they are contained in the first place.

The Koloss reached up and scratched the side of his head dislodging his Hat in the process.

Careful.  It won't do to lose that.  It's brought me nothing but Good Luck.

Still deep in Thought, the Koloss stood up, straightened his Hat and set off to fulfill his task. By any means necessary.

The Collectives Thoughtful Koloss is joining.  His Lucky Hat is just along for the ride.

[Seonid he/him]

Sneaky, @Alvron, slipping in to sign up while the post was still hidden. Welcome to the game, though!

To @everyone else, signups are now open for AG 5! Get your phenomenal cosmic power while you still can!

 

To those who don't want to announce that you are playing the game (because anonymous game and so on), please include both @A Joe in the Bush and myself in your signup PM!

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Maw is coming out of Shardic retirement in disguise to collect more Shards. Count him in! 

[Young Bard he/him]

Well, I think I've participated in every Shard Game Seonid has run (missed the early ones run by Joe, though). It was a small post that Seonid made in the Random Stuff thread to try and get more players to join his LG21 Shard game that got me into this whole crazy thing. Since this game is a swan song of sorts, I may as well return to my very first character that I ever played - Vathir, the Nalthian Rambleman. (I didn't know at the time how deeply accurate that could turn out to be for me - I've been rambling on for a long time now...)

Vathir, now white haired, slowly stood up. Nalthis, his old home, had been destroyed - it pained him slightly to realise he couldn't even remember what conflict that had been anymore. So many dead... his memory was filled with people who had vanished into the mists of time. And yet, Vathir stayed on. Always returning, always watching as slowly all those he knew passed into the Beyond. And now, there was a storm on the horizon. Another day, another battle. Vathir could just... not go, but that had never been his way. Slowly, he clambered up, and began to walk towards the clouds in the distance - wondering how many of his friends he'd see die this time.

Vathir had held it all. Granted the Shard of Devotion by the Almighty, and lost it again. He'd died, and been reborn, and had died a second time. He'd changed sides more time than he could count. He'd watched the agents of Hoid rise and fall, and Shards change hands over the course of centuries. He'd had friends and enemies. He'd seen the creep of suspicion turn friends against friends, the joy of victory, and the price of defeat.

And now, it was time to see it all end.

[Amanuensis he/him]

I'm very excited to play my first anonymous game, and I'm very thankful it gets to be this one. Can't wait to see how things turn out. Count me in!

[DeTess she/her]

Since I failed to realise my ambitions last time, I'll happily take another shot at it this time.

[Straw he/him]

I'll sign up to play.

[Fifth Scholar he/him]

Well, I suppose another shot at Dominion of the Cosmere couldn’t hurt. 

Darrel, hawker and peddler of assorted Shard-invested items, former Shardholder of Dominion, and a man with an abiding hatred of rug merchants, has set his eyes on a second Shard. He has no identifying features, except a pair of pink leather gloves, dyed unevenly, from which a black steam rises and fades. 

[Hemalurgic Headshot he/him]

The streams of fate that flow unseen midst the Realms often favor some, carrying them on the currents to greatness, grandeur, or tragedy. Everyone knows their names.

But curious is the soul, normally stagnant, that is swept up in a new flood. For every metaphorical door has been opened for them.

What shall they choose?

-=------___----___---_====----

Of course I wouldn't pass this game up. Tarm is way out of his league.

[CadCom he/him]

I was so planning on pinch hitting the next LG, but I started playing SE right after the last Shard game, and was disappointed I missed it, so I will arrange my schedule to be able to play. 

Please sign me up as Bo Ring

[Mark IV he/him]

I'll sign up for an AG, whether it is anonymous or not. I think it's kind of fitting that I'm playing the last game of the first person I killed as an elim. Seonid, I still apologize for killing you N1 in AG2, especially given that that game started on a night cycle.

I don't see the point of giving my character a name beyond any sign ups post RP, so yeah. No name for me, I guess. 

Mark IV, signing up for AG5.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Mark IV

[Droughtbringer]

I'm in!

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Gotta join the AG, count me in!

[Snipexe he/him]

I’ve never played a shard game or an anniversary game, so I’m happy to sign up!

[Steeldancer he/him]

The Returned Steel compunding edgedancer will return to face his ultimate nemesis once again. The story will be told. Worlds will tremble at the speed of his passing. Steeldancer, the character, makes his triumphant Return. Hopefully this time I’ll get to finish my story before I die. 

[Elenion he/him]

I'd like to sign up to be a pinch hitter!

[Kidpen he/him]

Alright, lets do this. Of course I can handle the QF and the AG, why do you ask?  

Hoib, a bumbling fool of a worldhopper who has no special powers and nobody cares about signing up.

[Seonid he/him]

I'm happy to see all the interest in this game! We're drawing close to the minimum number of players to run this game, which is excellent (this game has a minimum of 21 players). Unfortunately, there are only 30 anonymous accounts. So, in the event that we have more than 30 players who want to play this game, the following procedure will be followed:

If we get more than 30 players, the last 15 people to sign up and anyone who joins after 30 people will be grouped together, and players from that group will be randomly chosen to fill the last 15 slots. Any who are not chosen will be signed up as pinch hitters.

Also, some slight edits have been made to the rules. First, Dominion's investment role, the Dakhor Monk has been brought back into line with the remainder of the investment roles. It now lasts only until the end of the following Day Turn instead of lasting until the player uses the ability.

Second, the Factions and Win Conditions section has been edited to clearly communicate that any faction reaching a win condition will trigger the end of the game, and if multiple factions reach their win condition on the same turn, all of the factions with a completed win condition win.

[Karnatheon he/him]

Can each player only be in one faction? 

Signing up. The game looks awesome!

[Seonid he/him]

2 minutes ago, Karnatheon said:

Can each player only be in one faction? 

Signing up. The game looks awesome!

Yep - each player is only a member of one faction. Also, each faction will have a doc to communicate in.

Other rules clarifications from PMs:

Ambition will be listed in the Cognitive Realm doc as Ambition. If they choose to provide their account name, that's a choice that is up to them.

Returned count as living players, while Shades do not.

[Lumgol she/her]

I'll sign up as N'Nairim, a Nalthian worldhopper

[Mailliw73 he/him]

These are the fastest signups I’ve seen in a long time! This’ll be great!

edit: by my count there’s 4 secret signups by now. 19 on the OP, 15 I count(not counting Lum and Karn since Seonid hasn’t edited his post since then). 

Edited January 7, 2019 by Mailliw73

[Seonid he/him]

Other questions/rules clarifications:

Ruin's planet destruction happens at the end of the round.

A roleblock cannot block other roleblocks, but you can redirect a roleblock unless you were roleblocked yourself.

Order of actions: 

Roleblock/redirect

Protect/ extra life

All other actions

Kills

Action scans

 

EDIT: I reserve the right to update this if I forgot something

Edited January 7, 2019 by Seonid

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

An anonymous game, anniversary game, and shard game that is also Seonid's last game?

Put my name in the hat, please.