DrakeMarshall

Now, this is an interesting philisophical conundrum. Are we a research group who does some cookie selling, or are we a cookie selling group who does some research?

Why do you believe an evil team has Ruin?

Yeah, I've thought about that. I kind of want another shot at being a shard vessel But I'd like to have a chat at some point. What is your favorite planet?

If that is cheating, you should have informed me of the rules Return of the King, fair play, then. Prestidigitator is a synonym for magician, and a pyromancer is a kind of magician. However, I am going to predict that the title is also referencing something that I am unaware of.

I can't speak for Elbereth, but I am almost positive that name is from LOTR. Or NetHack. According to google, your name and profile picture are both from the Young Pyromancer card in Magic: the Gathering

I am sorry. I suspect it has more to do with how you said it than what you said. Even so, I did not say I want to lynch you. With all respect, if I wanted to lynch you, I would have voted for you. Thank you. For now, Pyromancer. I may take you up on the PM.

So I am not the only one who found this remark mildy suspect. I can understand a Magestar lynch. But after consideration, I place my vote on Pyromancer. I have two reasons to do so: 1. I am wary of letting the last game inform this one too much, but Pyromancer is treating Khriss a lot like they treated Survival before the reboot. This is the best lead I can discern with the current information. 2. Pyromancer said they would be explaining their vote on Magestar soon, and this is partially a poke of encouragement to do so. I do not in principle disagree with the vote; I would just like to better understand it.

Perfect timing, I just got online. This is certainly IKYK territory, but please understand that I do find it noteworthy that you repeatedly brought up Khriss. How do you propose the other shards gang up on Odium? I'm not sure I understand. I like how you are thinking. Also though, if the people holding these shards care about playing to their current win condition, they may not want to hold on to their shards for too long. Four. Survival is still a thing. Interesting. Oh. Sorry if I said anything bad

Nice writeup. Goodnight y’all.

This is not the first time in this cycle that you have gone out of your way to namedrop Khriss. With all due respect, the last time you repeatedly brought up one particular role, it ended up being the role you possessed.

If we are discussing findings from our past alignment paths: I asked Seonid who released Survival, flavor-wise. He said it was Khriss.

To clarify, I actually only ever had a ballpark estimate for the number of conversions Hoid could field. I don't know the exact number; Seonid said he was still running simulations for balance.

That remark was not alignment indicative for quite the reasons you stated, but I suppose it was telling to be sure. Hoid/Khriss do have only a couple of conversions, that is very much correct. But also remember that Hoid can't take any attack actions. And while getting a team mate access to a kill power is doable, it complicates things when you have to find a way to protect them from being subsumed by the intent of one of the nastier shards like Odium or Ruin. Yes, I will own up to it. I was Hoid last game. You should definitely have a cookie* for that; it was well spotted. I am sad to lose Hoid, but I think rerolling to let Elbereth participate was in the best interest of the game as a whole. Also, if your guess is any evidence, I wouldn't have lasted very long as Hoid. I may believe the reroll was the right decision, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to hunt down my supplanter with extreme prejudice *disclaimer

A shadow passed over one of Silverlight's violet sphere lamps, dimming it. Funny how that works, Everen mused, glancing at his shadow. It had been an interesting day. Somebody had released one of the shards. It had been at least a century since a shard of Adolnasium freely roamed the cosmere. At least it was one of the relatively benign ones. As benign as shards could be, in any case. Everen's pondering was interrupted by a great quake. He was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling. He stood up, dusting himself off. A shadow passed over one of Silverlight's amber sphere lamps, dimming it. Funny how that works, Everen mused, glancing at his shadow. It had been an unusual day. One of the shards had breached containment. It had been more than a century since a shard of Adolnasium freely roamed the cosmere. At least it was one of the relatively harmless ones. As harmless as shards could be, anyways.

Rae, that was a splendid writeup. And now I need sleep. Goodnight.

Hello everybody. I would have made this post sooner but the time I had blocked out for this was unexpectedly taken up by other factors. Getting up to speed: I completely agree that we should have a lynch on the first cycle. As for keeping the shards contained... I have mixed feelings about that. It could be a good tactic in the early game. But later on we'd definitely need to abandon it because at some point Hoid/Khriss factions will have enough people to bust out shards even if everybody else is trying not to. Pretty sure this is a conversion game. But because of this, I think it's pretty safe to conclude that you aren't Hoid or Khrissala. Oh, so NOW you're reading the rules, hmmmmmm? As I said, I was interrupted from reading the thread four hours ago when you posted this. But, challenge accepted. I'll rank the planets. 1. Roshar. Changing types of investiture sounds very useful and adaptable, particularly since the action can be taken during a day turn. 2. Scadrial. Can only convert charges into one type (preservation), but doesn't take any action to do that, plus preservation is one of the more useful types anyhow. 3. Braize. Killing power is always useful, and this killing power isn't restricted by planet. Two investiture charges is a nontrivial cost for it though. 4. Taldain. This is a handy upgrade to actions, but I don't see planetary restrictions being as important as other things. But I'm also inexperienced with shard games so idk. 5. Nalthis. I generally don't think much of vote manips, but that's 100% personal opinion. Gotta go, back in a bit.

I have no idea how this is going to play out but it should be fun

Everen waited patiently behind the doors of Silverlight Labs, resting his hand on the access panel, imprinting the unsealed metalmind with his identity. After a short duration, an emerald fixed at the top of the panel lit up briefly. The entrance unbolted, and the door slid open. For an ostensibly peaceful organization, the 17th shard maintained an improbably strict security protocol. Light streamed in from the doorway, but Everen's shadow naturally fell towards the light. He exited the building. Cynthia chirped happily and took off from his collar, flying in circles overhead. The aviar was partial to the outdoors, and apparently the exterior of Silverlight qualified. Everen hummed a tune absentmindedly, strolling through the streets of Silverlight. For the next hour, he had nowhere in particular to be. He overheard a merchant, making a bid for a sale. "Normally, I’d demand twenty emerald broams for such a commodity, but with your wardrobe I’m sure it would fit perfectly, so I’m gonna give you a discount! How about eighteen for these?" The pitch was going to Jiam, from Silverlight Labs. As for the one making the pitch... He scanned the part of his memory dedicated to personal acquaintances. This would be Darrel, purveyor of miscellanious invested goods. "EXCUSE ME?!" He heard Jiamo cry indignantly at Darrel. "This is not 'yellow-green', my good fellow. No sir, if your eyes actually could see, this piece of exotic fabric, acquired in Taldain only after quite a bout of haggling, is VERMILION!" Everen winced. Jiamo did not take it kindly when somebody misrepresented his choice clothing. Everen watched from across the street as the situation unfolded, not sure what to do. Jiamo finished berating the merchant and stormed off, his face turning a shade that went nicely with the vermilion headscarf. Hmm. Everen sauntered up towards Darrel's booth. "Rough time of it?" he asked innocently. "Nalthian ettiquette for selling clothing is... Complex. Truth is, it can be difficult for a foreigner to make sense of the subtleties of it. Which is a singularly unfortunate fact for a worldhopping salesperson." he paused. "Incidentally, I might be able to help you in that department. You would have to find another to sell you connection to Nalthis, but... I can still grant you the memories and experience of a Nalthian." Yes I did just made a sales pitch to a salesperson.

Experience. Hundreds of lives lived, all different but all the same. There is a certain transcendent peace in the unified multiplicity of experience. Everen had his eyes closed, lost in the stream of memories. Images, sounds, colors, cycling through his mind at breakneck pace as he casually sifted through them. Impossible to look too closely at any single recollection, for it was soon long gone, forgotten and replaced by the next memory. Everen located the memory he was searching for, and allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. . . . The scientist carefully measured out a quantity of silvery powder from a bottle marked "hathsin." He poured the powder into a small beaker, mixing the solution with a glass stirring rod. He placed the beaker in a receptacle on a large steel canister. "I am now exposing the splinter to solution," he said, as he tweaked controls on the canister. Slowly, the solution was drained from it's beaker. Nothing happened for a moment. Then the canister exploded. The next few moments were impossible to track. Lights destroyed. Flashes of red emergency lights, illuminating tendrils of something large and inky black. The scientist and canister, both simply gone. Silence punctuated by rending steel and shattering glass. "Danger," an automated voice unhelpfully announced. "Containment breach." More destruction. Another flash of red, illuminating a spear of blackness reaching out. Pain. "Danger. Containment breach." Thrown through the air, a moment of free fall. Impact. Oblivion. . . . Everen opened his eyes, found himself seated comfortably in an armchair, observing as a scientist approached a steel canister marked "Splinter R6" holding an infused gemstone in a pair of tongs. "I don't think you want to do that," he said dryly, taking another sip from his mug of heartroot tea.

It should be noted that Alvron is capable of hiding his double-space habit, though he does not often do that. That said, pyromancer isn’t Alvron.

Ah, lovely. Sareth was an enjoyable character, but it sounds like Sareth is still in the equation. Any particular thoughts or ideas for RP? Is it generally allowed to send PMs before game to discuss RP? EDIT: Also the offer still stands to everybody else for RP collaboration. A larger group may take effort to coordinate, but can make something more memorable perhaps.

I have heard much of the fabled shard games, and I would not wish to miss this one. Sign me up as Everen. Everen is a Siah Aimian and resident of Silverlight. He wears a charcoal overcoat and a deep purple tie, and typically has a small black bird perched on his shoulder. He is partial to heartroot tea, and his shadow goes the wrong way. Everen buys and sells some of the more abstract commodities. Most notably memories. He owns a set of copper needles that temporarily grant clients copper feruchemy. For the right price, he can help you forget something, or grant you skills and knowledge you do not wish to take the time to learn normally. Everen is also (at least ostensibly) a member of the organization known as the 17th shard. He joined around the time the shards were being contained one-by-one, seeking to better understand the shards. He has basic access to Silverlight Laboratory and the ability to request grants for experiments involving shardic investiture, though he prefers to assist others in their own experiments. The only reason I have not signed up earlier is because I needed to write a new character for this. Speaking of which, does anybody want to coordinate RP with Everen before the game starts? @Fifth Scholar @Steeldancer @Magestar @Hemalurgic Headshot @MonsterMetroid, off the top of my head all of you were making RP characters. Any chance any of you would be interested?

Running this was fun. Wasn't always sure of what I was doing, but now I've learned more about how this is done It was also more work than I expected with 24hr cycles, and in retrospect there are some things I could have done in advance to make it easier. Now that I have a taste for how all of this works I think I can go through with some of the other games I am in the queue to run. Anyways, some things to address with the closing of this game: First order of business: Some acknowledgements are in order. Shout-out to the Hallandren Agents, for attempting to undertake a pacifist conduct. And then nearly succeeding at it. While they ultimately broke from pacifism, they still held to Lex Talionis. Also, while I did not mention it in signups, I was tracking a handful of awards for this game. There are 6 of them, and they were inspired by the paper-plate awards that apparently once existed on this forum. This isn't an exhaustive list of things worth acknowledging; these awards were aimed specifically at recognizing a handful factors that might otherwise be overlooked: For putting up with dying first: @randuir, who by the way also had the makings of a great RP character For sending the most PMs: @TheMightyLopen and @Coop772 both sent more than I can count For surviving the most votes: @Arinian, and @Shqueeves as a close second For the most audacious gambit: @Droughtbringer, who caused everybody else to share their skepticism of the rules For the best RP character: @MonsterMetroid (Roid), and @A Joe in the Bush (Jeo the Yellow) as a very close second For most contribution after death: @Elenion, whose post-mortem analysis gave the village a fighting chance Second order of business: some reflection upon the workings of this game. On the activity policy: In general, I was pretty happy with the kind of participation the activity policy encouraged. Especially at the beginning of the game, but even later on as well, everyone was participating in a meaningful way. It is very likely that I am going to use a modified version of this policy in future games. It could be said that this policy makes analysis difficult, as some votes are cast to prevent death by filter, but I would counter that people voting to avoid death are still making contribution that I think ought to be present in the game. In a normal game, there is actually some incentive not to share your thoughts unless you feel they are sufficiently well articulated, and I want to do away with that. The three deaths to the activity policy were unfortunate, particularly as they all hit the Loyalist faction (though it was probably offset by the Hallandren bid to not use kills). What bothers me most about these deaths is that the three people who were killed were for the most part genuinely participating in the game, despite a single day of inactivity. I believe MacThorstenson's suggestion (third bullet point) might be a fix for this. Some takeaways for future games: I don't think I communicated it well in this game, but if you PM me with forewarning that you will be busy on a certain day, I will gladly make allowances. This policy will probably work better on longer games, where the window to vote is that much longer. Which is well and good, because incidentally the next game I will be incorporating this policy into will have longer cycles. Following his death-via-filter, @MacThorstenson shared shared an idea in PM with me that I quite liked. Instead of allowing no-vote on the first day, just give all players a one-cycle safety net that can be used on any cycle. This doesn't significantly undermine the purpose of the filter, but it gives a little more grace to players who really are engaged but are simply having a busy day. This filter does slightly change the strategy of the game. The places you would want to look to find people flying under the radar in this game are not quite the same places you would look in another game. Ultimately, this does not change the balance of the game, because people can adapt. However, the next couple times this policy is implemented, it may be sensible to treat it as a very slight advantage to the eliminator team balance-wise, until people can adapt their analysis strategies. I'm sure there are other tweaks and ways to refine the policy. I don't want to make it too complicated, but I also want to make sure it is maximally fair and conducive to a fun game. I am hopeful about future outcomes for this. On game distribution: As an experiment, I leaned heavily on my simulator script to give this game a balanced set of numbers. Personally, I actually think it turned out pretty okay. The eliminators won, but I believe this had more to do with quite skillful playing and leveraging an unorthodox strategy than anything else. It also helped that literally every instance of RNG in this game produced the most favorable results possible for the eliminator team (and there were quite a few lynches decided by RNG). I was rather pleased with how the awakener role played out. The good/evil awakeners in the dead doc was a fun dynamic. When the eliminators had the upper hand, the awakener role acted almost like an automatic stabilizer, becoming more useful to the village awakener because more villagers were dead. This game might have had a gamebreaking strategy (village sentry self-targets, and tells a friendly awakener the identity of their killer if they die), but the fact that the eliminator awakener could roleblock prevented this interaction from destabilizing the game (I'll admit, I'm pretty sure I did not anticipate this potential game-break when I was designing the game, but I'm glad the danger was basically averted). Neither the sentry role nor the captain role ended up making a significant difference in this game. Some of that was just bad luck, though. I would consider adding another captain if I made a rerun of this, but I'm not sure about that. Seventeen players is an awkward number, balance-wise. Three eliminators isn't quite enough, and four is a bit too much, and the numbers really showed it in my simulations. To make a balanced setup, I had to either create three eliminators with powerful roles and give the village the bare minimum of roles, or create four eliminators with the bare minimum of roles and give the village a more generous spread. I went with the latter option. In retrospect, I should have gone with the former. This is because the power concentrated in a role is removed from the game when a player dies by activity filter, and this is less likely to be a consideration for eliminator teams, which as a rule tend to be a bit more active. This does not really change game balance, but it does change the swingy-ness of the game. I'd very much love to hear anybody's thoughts or comments on the activity policy or the game's balance. I'm new to this, and input of any sort would be great.

Our organization is vast enough that some members may conceivably be deliberately working against the interests of the Ghostbloods. On most fronts, our members enjoy a great deal of freedom, and we have no rules against interfering with other organizations (though many of us would consider it poor manners). That said, as an institution the Dark Alley has no quarrel with the Ghostbloods. Many of our members have done business with them at some point in time or another. Personally, I maintain good ties with certain Ghostbloods for the purposes of swapping certain rarer types of investiture. It would be very much a pity to see the Ghostbloods eradicated. This was never a concern for me, as I never had a soul to begin with (I currently have many souls, but none of them are per se mine), but I am told losing your first soul can be a somewhat traumatic experience. If you find yourself in need of one, do not hesitate to contact me, and we can negotiate something. I offer a special bargain to Dark Alley members.

"Everyone is either happy or dead." -Brandon Sanderson, Warbreaker Elien watched over the camp by night. A light, powdery snow drifted around him. The rest of the division were sleeping. Many were sleeping forever. Despite his vigilance, Eilen had never caught one of the murderers. They were like ghosts in the night... An entirely too fitting description, given the nature of the lifeless. What remained of the creatures still kept their distance around the camp, refusing to enter. Eilen heard footsteps, and turned around, spotting a figure approaching from inside the camp. Of coarse, he thought, ironically. This is the only time I see the killer coming. When I'm the target. He squinted through the darkness and weather, trying to discern the identity of his would-be killer. "Eärendil. Good evening." "Eilen," Eärendil responded, fingers curling around the grip of a knife at his belt. "A good evening indeed... For one of us." Doesn't mind alerting me: confident that I cannot escape, Eilen noted. "So, you show your true colors." "Terribly sorry about this," Eärendil said, drawing the knife. "But when I'm through, there will only be one color in this vicinity." Eärendil lunged, knife seeking Eilen's throat. A body fell to the ground with barely a sound, impact cushioned by snow that was swiftly staining red. . . . The fingers did the pointing at Roid. Roid was the one to die without battle, without honor this time... NO Roid would die killing! Roid let loose a bloodthirsty cry as he lunged for Fahmexa ready to crush her head with his bare hands. But even as he lunged forward he felt his legs collapse beneath him before he made it two paces. The pain! As he looked down he could see two neat gouges hamstringing him. The Marshal's sword dripped red with blood from the tip, even now he looked at Roid with a calm unsurprised look. Of course he would know that Roid would not give up easily. He had commanded him in too many battles. "Let Roid die on feet?" The Marshal nodded, helped him up with one hand and then stabbed him through the heart and lungs with his other hand. Roid smiled at how quick and unceremonious it was... just like a battle. "Roid thank" rattled out with his last breath. Roid toppled to the ground, blood coating his grinning dead lips. . . . When Roid had finally breathed his last, Ivy turned to the waiting Fahmexa. "Did we get them all? Is it over now?" "It is. But not in the way you think. Eärendil?" The reclusive mariner ambled over from Eilen's campsite, his knife dripping with the lifeblood of the doomed sentry. Ivy tried to strike, but Eärendil was faster, blocking her unarmed blow and ramming his blade against her throat. Ivy snarled at Fahmexa. "I trusted you! I was the one who helped you survive when the others turned against you." Fahmexa smiled broadly. "Indeed you were. For that, I am going to give you the opportunity to live through this. All you need to do is say eight little words. I believe you know what they are?" "I will not give you my Breath, colors-cursed woman. I will die with what Austre has given me, no more and no less." Fahmexa sighed heavily. "A pity. Come Eärendil. Allow her to join the rest of these rebels in death." The two survivors abandoned the ruined town before Ivy's blood had even stopped flowing, leaving the corpses where they lay. As pure, clean snow began to blanket and obscure the bloodshed that had taken place in this forgotten, nameless town, the two agents traveled back to Hallandren, their task completed. Whether delayed or disposed of, the Idrian reinforcements would not be arriving. Props to MonsterMetroid for writing their death scene! Go upvote them! Props to Devotary of Spontaneity for writing Ivy's murder scene! Go upvote them! MonsterMetroid has been lynched! Identity of the deceased: Arinian has been murdered! Identity of the deceased: The game has concluded! Hallandren Agents win! This was a very interesting game to run, especially as my first time running a game. I am composing a rather lengthy post of closing thoughts that should address everything much more fully. But for now, suffice to say: well played, everybody!!! Final Player List 1. A Joe in the Bush as Jeo the Yellow Hallandren 2. Elenion as Gormund Oscarson Idrian 3. Randuir as commander Jaaver Idrian Captain 4. Livinglegend as Lucky Idrian Sentry 5. Shqueeves as Shu Idrian Awakener 6. Bort as Bort the Brute Idrian Captain 7. BrightnessRadiant as Ivy Idrian 8. Straw as Straw Idrian 9. TheMightyLopen as Vaati Idrian 10. MacThorstenson as Mac Idrian 11. Devotary of Spontaneity as Fahmexa Hallandren 12. Ecthelion as Eärendil Hallandren 13. Coop772 as Salthis Idrian 14. MonsterMetroid as Roid Idrian 15. Droughtbringer as Zaffer Hallandren Awakener 16. RippleGylf as Sarcoline Idrian 17. Arinian as Elien Idrian Sentry Game Documents Eliminator Doc Lifeless Doc Spectator Doc Master Spreadsheet