Fifth Scholar

Alright, got a bit distracted but I’m back. So, first, results. Xino and Drought had said very little. This means that the Eliminators and the Deepness both went for information-deprivation kills, or wanted to foster a more active thread. CadCom is an entirely different case. I had a PM with him before his death, in which I asked him for opinions on Roadwalker and Elandera. He expressed suspicion of both, though he hedged a little bit more on Elandera than Roadwalker, who he condemned fairly strongly. (Though “hedging” in this case was limited to him expressing the opinion that Elandera was always lynched early and should be spared.) Yeah, my role analysis was somewhat nulled, but not entirely so. And it seems I was correct about Bronze being an elim role, though for all the wrong reasons, it seems. I’m not confirming or denying anything about my role, but this analysis would be correct; an elim Debonair does seem unlikely by now, true, though it’s possible they weren’t on in time, or expected a tied lynch. Outdoor, quite unfortunately. Even Georgia is cold at this point, though 40 degrees Fahrenheit and windy probably seems positively balmy to some of you Northerners There could be three Elims, though that seems like an absurd number of hostiles with two kill roles that will probably hit villagers every turn, and there being at most nine villagers in this hypothetical. We would have to be quite literally perfect with our lynches, I think. A Crusade lynch can be fine sometimes, but we really can’t afford one with such a small player count. I’d like to not halt analysis or discussion in favour of lynching a mere inactive, of which it seems there are very few. Hopefully I’ll look at CadCom’s posts from yesterday and then place a vote, but my current suspects are Devotary, Roadwalker, and Snipexe, all for very different reasons. I’ll have to look at Elandera again to see where I stand on her in light of yesterday’s events.

Wow. I was at a track meet myself, but I expected a little more activity than this. Especially since we got an Eliminator. I guess ten living players doesn’t leave much to be said. I’m going to go over the thread of yesterday, the PM I had with CadCom, and then I’ll make a post and respond to everyone’s inquiries.

I apologise, Roadwalker, as I had forgotten it was your first game back; however, I do hope that you won’t be terribly offended if I vote on you tomorrow. This game, as Devotary has brought up, is looking to be very short, and you’re currently my best lead, so...I’m sorry if you die on cycle two or three? But I can’t ignore the possibility that you’re evil for very long. It sucks that the small size of this game means we have an urgency to kill but it’s kind of the way it goes sometimes, sorry. Part of my mistrust stems from your last post, which seems dishonest. I can’t speak to Cadmium, but as for myself, the last time I was on the Shard the most recent post was Ark’s, and I find your insinuation that I was somehow plotting already with a player who I’d just explicitly contradicted in-thread a tad bit premature for a villager to make. I still believe it is important to vote, however, so Elandera. This is again not my first choice, but her last post seems to be trying to sympathise with a lot of groups at once, without offering much of an actual opinion. She makes sure to give support to both sides of the CadCom/Road debate, and puts in a quick aside that she’s willing to lynch, which tends to be a good way to appear village without committing very firmly to any particular vote or course of action. Flimsy? Sure. But so is everything on D1, and it’s imperative to begin lynch discussion, however trivial, now. Alright, this is perhaps going to be one of my more controversial assertions, but I think this role is a perfect Eliminator role, and I’d be wary of anybody with it. Not enough to lynch them, but enough to take a closer look. The reasoning here is that 3 Elims in this game would be simply too many for a nine-player village to handle, even if the Deepness kills about an equal number of each. As such, this is a good role to give the Elims the voting power of a few people without actually getting the people themselves. The only thing that makes me a little more reserved is that it’d give the Elims the equivalent of four votes, which would probably be too many, unless we just have a lot of pewter users. Again, I’m not entirely sure, and we shouldn’t go around lynching by role, but this role makes me uncomfortable. I don’t have much to say about this one, other than that it’s a more likely village role, and they should be watching people they think will be killed to see if we can catch the Deepness, or an Eliminator.

Huh, I’m pretty sure we shielded him with Honour too. So that probably also helped him live.

Hmm. I don’t have a generally great reason to vote on anybody right now, as everyone has checked in (in some manner), and not much has been said about the game yet. However, letting the Deepness and Elims kill unopposed, without executing our own candidates, will leave us in a worse position than losing one innocent. As such, Roadwalker. You may be surprised to learn that by the very mathematics you suggested, we likely have a better chance of winning by killing you! (Or me, but let’s ignore that part. ) You have at least a 3/13 chance of being hostile, and despite my enjoyment of CadCom’s RP, I am currently getting odd vibes from him that I can’t quite place. Hopefully with greater activity we’ll get more reads. Statistics actually supports voting too—if we never voted, two people (or more) die each night, slowly killing the village. That’s in addition to its analytical value, which is also substantial.

Nowhere close. It’s about half the length of the longest SE doc, which is LG23’s “Venture,” an unholy blemish on the processing power of my phone. Oh, and by the way, Fura, that was an excellent job obscuring your identity. You played wonderfully this game, and I’m sorry about the bad luck that your faction consistently held. Hey, don’t you start on this. I, at the very least, tried to be fully truthful at a certain point, and as you can see several pages of the doc are dedicated to turning our lies into glorious truth. Yes, I’d like to repeat this apology to both of you. I feel especially guilty, as I killed Aman and voted against Maill (though I will say, Maill, that at the time I added my vote to your lynch, I was gripped with utter indecision, and felt awful about it). This mental idea of a dangerous Hoid was kind of stuck in my mind, and it likely influenced my views on you too much. Joe, Seonid, thank you for running this. Despite everything I said in-thread, which was deceptive and theoretical in the extreme, our win condition was a delicate balance (as you can see by reading our doc), and wasn’t boring, but a complete blast, and I’m glad you balanced the complicated mess these games can be so finely. I’d also like to thank my team, who were great to work with (especially Devotary, who helped me fill up a lot of empty doc space), all of our Returned (who we were trying to select by second-chance methods when possible), and Penguin, my only PM contact, and who was a lot of fun to talk to. I also couldn’t resist reforming our old alliance in AG4.

Alright, I’m back to a more dedicated posting schedule, I hope. However, this will probably be the last thing I say tonight, as I’m busy with real work and the AG. I’m going to do a bit of role analysis. Here we go. Pewter Dark Terris Magicks is inefficient, costing the user two votes to attain one extra. However, if the Feruchemist can survive, the extra vote becomes potentially more powerful as the player list quickly thins. I could see this in both Eliminator and Village players, as vote manip is useful to both factions. Probably village, as Elims would IMO be more likely to get Debonair (which I’ll explain below). Tin Dark Terris Magicks is very intriguing. I recommend that all players reply to their PMs as quickly as possible to attempt to ferret out who is using this ability, as I’d like to be aware of who has the potential to snoop in on my conversations. It’s also worth noting that if you’re one of those people that likes roleclaiming, best to get it over with this cycle, as it’s the only one in which you have no chance of being seen. I’d place higher odds on an Elim having this, as the Elims won’t have incentive to PM anything incriminating so a villager with this role likely won’t turn up much. Unless people can have double-roles, Bronze seems to be exclusively an Eliminator ability. There’s no need for extra actions if nothing can be done with them, and killing is the only possibility that springs to mind when examining the rules. I might be wrong about double-roles though. @Young Bard do those exist? If so, there’s a more plausible case for a village Bronze Magicker. Ooh, so this is interesting. Protecting Doctors and Defenders would be the best idea with this, and the sacrificial nature suggests to me that it’s a village role. If the Elims had a central role, however, it is possible that they got one of these as well. Overall I think Decoys should refrain from using their role unless they’ve got a good idea of who they’re targeting. Fairly straightforward protection role as long as we’re cautious about WGGs—with a serial killer there’s more reason to give the Elims one of these. Well. Between the lynch, Deepness, and Elims, this role has next to zero chance of existing in a thirteen-player game. ^Was my original reaction to this. Now I notice that the Eliminators have no explicit ability to kill. With that in mind, they may have this role instead, and a Decoy or Doctor to protect them. So with one of these presumably floating around somewhere, likely with the Elims, there should be three deaths a cycle, about. On the off chance a villager does have this, I recommend taking down semiactives and lurkers so we don’t waste lynches on them. I’ll analyse Debonair and Packman later when I have the time, as I’m on the cusp of simply going to bed.

Hello all! Just checking in really quickly, as I won’t have sufficient time to make a real post right now, and probably shouldn’t without giving the roles a good reread. Also, I’ll likely be able to commit a lot more to this game after the AG ends, so give me 48 hours or so to adjust and I’ll be posting as I usually do.

Well, I mean...I think I’ll bring back Duilin for this game, if everything has to start with “D.” Birdwatcher, archer, and most importantly, dead over a thousand years after this timeline is supposed to happen. So you shouldn’t kill him, eh, Lackeys? Couldn’t have a ghost having been lynched in LG45. Also, in spirit of the “D” theme, I propose the Feruchemist role be renamed to “Dark Terris Magicks.”

Let’s see if anyone understands this whole code business. I personally suspect that most of these are bluffs, but some are intriguing. Maybe I’ll start making my own. Oh, and @MrakeDarshall, thank you for that tidbit. It’s noted, though I doubt I’d want to rig this game to where a situation in which everyone won would happen. It’d feel cheap, and I’d rather play out Sart’s game properly than subvert it. Though it may be interesting, to let an alliance win together at the end.

Normally, as there’s no longer terribly much to discuss other than odd developments, it’d be a great time for me to RP. Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten around to reading the Rithmatist, so I likely won’t be participating much in the story, which is unfortunate. All we can hope to do then is simply all submit our actions and hope for the best.

I think the Ballantain Defence is the most dangerous, as it guarantees the elimination of a target of the drawer’s choice C1. That said, as Len has already pointed out, this weakens your own defence somewhat, but unless kills are traced it becomes a lot harder to find the user until later in the game when they’ve potentially gotten off several kills. This, combined with the fact that tiebreaks are decided by kill number, will honestly be the most popular defence IMO. People like to kill in SE (I’ve seen that firsthand, and am hardly an exception). Honestly the Matson Defence looks to be the most promising of the three, avoiding both the early-game susceptibility of Taylor and the fragile nature of Ballantain, and the more stodgy and defensive players will likely take this one, as well as anyone looking to eliminate a specific target. Taylor Defence is definitely the riskiest, and will likely be chosen by those who enjoy gambits. Given, as I’ve theorised, the prevalence of Ballantain (and perhaps Matson), Taylor users are taking a massive gamble, and would likely be drawing mostly Making and Forbiddance until very late in the game to try to drag out their survival. TL;DR—Most people in the thread are probably lying and will go for Ballantain or Matson hoping to strike quickly or settle into a position of knowledge with their ally. Taylor will be used, and is helpful, but its users will probably be killed before anything is accomplished. I’m playing this game as though I’m dying C2 at the latest, and as that holds for most players in this game, I advise everyone to make this a quick game and use Ballantain or Matson.

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.

This looks to be amazing. I can’t wait for the bloodshed to begin. Also excited to finally join a QF, though I’ll likely only post twice a day. I’ll be Miffed, who is shocked and disgusted at everything that doesn’t go his way. Most notably that the countdown site is up just after he finished GMing.

The dwindling party huddled around a small cooking fire, rubbing their hands from the cold in silence. Behind them, the broken fortifications of earth announced the Blight’s presence here, its foul tendrils slowly creeping towards the camp the nine remaining men of the expedition had set up. Cookpots and other items previously carried in bundles on each man’s back were now hanging from the horses’ saddles, their riderless forms an ominous guard against the terrors that came with the setting of the sun. Strange creatures that Moiraine Sedai had testified came from a Forsaken, Aginor, who she believed was among them. Each man shivered at the thought. It was bad enough to contemplate the Forsaken loose to begin with, but the idea that they were within the camp itself was terrifying to the nine that remained—who could face a Forsaken in open combat? Or in any way, for that matter? And there was the matter of the Blight itself. How long before their entire camp—and the Eye with it—was breached? The Green Man’s fortifications were gone, and the Eye itself undefended. A gentle breeze stirred the half-rotted treetops and flared the fire to a sudden brightness. The flash of light clearly illuminated the face of one Brendan Vallerune. The gleeman had come along, ostensibly to be at the center of new stories being woven by the Pattern, but everybody in the camp knew his attachment to the boys from Emond’s Field. Seeing the morose looks they were casting at the ground, he stood up slowly. Procuring a knife from beneath his sleeve, he tossed it up, deftly catching it by the handle as it dropped. A second and third followed, the knives seemingly issuing from thin air, rather than whatever compartments the gleeman had beneath his patched cloak. As the fourth and fifth knives were added to the circle, their juggling motion enrapturing Rand and Mat, Vallerune suddenly pivoted. As quickly as they had entered the circle, all five knives spun out, heading straight for Nikel Fain. And stopped, a hair's breadth from his neck. The knives collided, but none fell to the ground. Or touched Fain, for that matter. Rand’s skin prickled, feeling an unknown power being used, and sudden intakes of breath were audible around the circle, hands flying to sword and dagger hilts. Mat clutched his ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth, looking ready to jump at any man who moved. For his part, Vallerune’s face was stark white, gazing at Fain in amazement. He forced out words, though. “That man...the sorcerer...whatever he is, he is Padan’s Fain son, and a he’s a Darkfriend just as his father!” Lars stood, facing Nikel. “Do you deny this charge, my fellow warrior?” Fain smiled. Drawing himself up to his full height, his eyes shone in the dull firelight, his hand going to his sword-hilt with a speed that shocked Rand. His voice was thick, slurred, but mocking all the same. “So, it seems one of you ragged lot has the capacity to think,” he sneered. “It is, however, far too late. I have come with the Blight to destroy this place—and all of you who dare defy the Great Lord of the Dark.” The fire blazed up, its flames reaching above the heads of the company. Through them raced five daggers, guided by flows of Air deftly woven. When the flames plummeted to mere glowing coals, plunging the open land into darkness, Brendan Vallerune was dead, five daggers embedded in him before he hit the hard turf. As Lars shouted something, and the sound of a drawn sword was heard, Rand was halfway up the steep hill, heading for the Eye. The last hope against whatever faced them now. The din of clashing swords behind him lent wings to his feet. Lars had no time to think. Upon hearing Fain’s pronouncement, his sword flew out of its sheath, and he jumped at the Darkfriend with the energy of desperation. Fain seemed surprised, and he was slow to react, pivoting towards Lars with the tip of his sword. Lars’ sword slid off the edge of Fain’s, but the Warrior’s momentum sent his bulk crashing into the other man. The two tumbled in a heap, swords useless as the pair rolled across the coals of the fire. Fain yelped, being crushed between Lars and heat, but managed to extricate himself, rising with startled and pained gasps. His coat was burnt from the flames, and his ribs were likely broken from Lars slamming into him, but he would live. Grimly, he set his feet, prepared to take the Warrior on. Why hadn’t “Miumpounder” channelled to interfere yet? He shook his head. He could not afford to let such thoughts distract him. He had defeated too many foes conventionally to begin relying on channellers now. Advancing with sword-tip forward, still coughing up blood—his ribs were definitely broken—Fain launched into a series of attacks, flowing from one form to the next. Unlike others, he had never bothered to set to memory all the stances and attacks the men of the Borderlands used. But he intuited his way through them. A slow, momentum-building series of slashes was met with quick thrusts from Fain, halting the assault bearing down on him. He countered with a sweep under Lars’ legs, which he parried before Fain could take his legs off, then a two-handed overhand blow that swept to the side at the last second, which Fain barely saw in time to block. Driven back in a circle, he quickly stabbed at Lars’ arm, drawing blood. Snarling, the man leapt forward again, a relentless assault that drove Fain back towards the fire, slowly but inexorably. Lars was clearly the superior swordsman, and Fain was bleeding in a dozen places where his sword had grazed him. The Warrior’s sword appeared to his eyes as a circling wheel of light, one he could only counter, not drive away. Thrust, parry, slash, one flowing into the next, and with a mesmerising fluidity Fain managed to ward them off. He could feel his limbs growing tired, though. It was time for a change in tactics. When Lars disengaged for a brief moment, a momentary pause that served only as an opportunity for him to regroup and execute a final attack, Fain flung himself backward, using every remaining scrap of energy to vault himself over the fire. Switching his sword to his right hand only, still exhausted but set with a grim determination to finish Lars, he re-engaged. The warrior’s two-handed stroke easily batted aside Fain’s sword, and rose again for a killing blow. However, Fain had not been idle. With his free left hand, he whipped his sheath out of his belt, connecting it with the side of Lars’ head. Falling, dazed, he never saw Fain’s sword dart, impaling the middle of his chest as his own sword dropped from numb fingers. He never saw anything again. Evelyn faced the shadow across from the fire. She had never imagined that the Aiel, who had sent her across the Dragonwall to seek out He Who Comes With the Dawn, would have placed her in a situation as horrid as this. She had found the Car’a’carn—along with Shadowrunners and Aes Sedai, of course—but she had no way of protecting him. Worse, those others who had been planted in “Emond’s Field,” the absurd name these wetlanders had given their hold in the forests and mountains, were apparently seeking to sabotage the efforts of the Car’a’carn to eliminate Shadowspawn, an offence Evelyn could not countenance. However, her place was not to directly interfere in affairs, having broken her spears and renounced her status as a Maiden years ago. As such, she chose to avoid confrontation. Sticking to the shadows and waiting to see the true countenance of the man across from her, his face cloaked in shadow, seemed a wiser course of action in an excursion in which everything else seemed to have gone wrong when direct action had been taken. Suppressing a wince as the fool gleeman arose, no doubt to perform one of his simple juggling tricks, Evelyn resigned herself to another night of speaking with the Shadowrunner across from her. She was befuddled; why was she not killed by the Shadow’s forces for knowing one of their number? She leaned over the fire, speaking softly to her unknown companion. “Why am I not finished yet?” she muttered, readying flows of Air to immobilise him with saidar. A wolfish grin spread across the man’s mouth, lit by the uneven light of the fire. “Because you posed no threat, even when we needed concealment. But the time for concealment is past. I am trusted, and you…you will be dead.” The fire suddenly roared, and the bulky man’s face was illumined: Miumpounder, the cobbler from Emond’s Field. A man she had suspected, but never thought—well, who ever did think their closest companions were Shadowrunners? As the gleeman’s daggers flew back towards him, guided by the hand of the man facing her, Evelyn no longer looked to see if Vallerune was dead. A male channeler, potentially a Forsaken, faced her. Her flows of Air became Spirit, and she slid a shield between Miumpounder and the One Power. Utter shock registered on his face for one brief, beautiful second. “Aiel wilder channellers?” he stammered, sounding more like a statement than a question, and then Evelyn felt her shield shattered as if a giant hammer had smashed into it. Recoiling from her shock, she screamed, without shame; for who could face the Forsaken alone? The Car’a’carn had wisely fled, but another figure seemed to draw near to her. Keisa—a Borderlander—had changed somehow. Was changing, into an enormous living tree, its leaves and branches enfolding Miumpounder, who was crushed within the viselike grip of the...Green Man? That was the wetlanders’ name for him, and he had somehow been Keisa the entire time? Evelyn shook her head in wonderment, but had little time to waste. The Forsaken—Aginor, judging by the twisted features—was trapped, and she would take advantage while she could. Scrabbling for her belt knife, she drew it, then froze at a snuffling behind her. One of Aginor’s immense, twisted creatures snarled at her with open teeth, and almost seemed to be...sniffing? The Forsaken gurgled, no doubt a command to attack, but the beast was still for the time being, unable to decipher his master’s instructions through the chokehold the Green Man maintained. Backing up slowly, as she would with a wolf or bear, Evelyn set her knife in its sheath in the ground. The Creature seemed to turn, looking away, and Aginor’s face became purple with fury, or perhaps simply lack of breath. His finger squirmed out from the mass of leaves, and pointed directly at Evelyn. A flash of light, and she frowned. Nothing seemed changed about her. She rubbed her hands, and started in surprise. They were...slick...with some sweet-smelling liquid, yellow in colour, that she realised now coated her entire skin. Honey? The Creature turned, its eyes suddenly intrigued, and sniffed the air. Evelyn froze. Slowly, excruciatingly so, the beast turned towards her. And lunged. The Green Man averted his eyes as the Wise Woman was consumed, turning them instead to Aginor, an ancient foe, who finally lay trapped within his arms. Slowly—the man’s entire channelling and physical efforts went towards resistance—he began to choke the Forsaken, his roots and shoots and vines forming an ever-contracting noose about his neck. Aginor squirmed helplessly, unable to halt Nature. The forces that held back the Blight would kill this agent of it. Triumphantly holding up his prisoner, like an offering to the Creator, the squirming of his prey an exhilaration, the Green Man did not notice a tickling sensation touch his ankle. He noticed, but did not take heed, when it enveloped his leg. He would not care about the Blight, which had crept up on his domain, until its Creepers had devoured him, setting Aginor down on a bed of rotted leaves as his throat began to work again, desperately gasping for air. The Green Man’s corpse was quickly devoured by the poisonous flora, a longstanding enemy killed at last, and the Blight swept over the remaining distance to the Eye. A bush in the corner seemed oddly resistant to the Blight, Creepers and tendrils dying as they approached it. Aginor had gone up to the Eye, but Shirley U. Jest, the final Friend of the Dark, went over to investigate it. Primarily responsible for allowing the Blight to overrun the Eye, Jest would not tolerate any outposts enduring the Shadow’s advance. Strolling through a carpet of rotted vegetation, Jest smiled mirthlessly when he saw the bush clearly. Joseph stood there, sandwiched within the bush’s central branches, frantically hacking away at the advancing Blight with his belt knife. Jest strolled up, and delivered a solid kick to Joseph’s hand, knocking the knife clean out. Leaving a terrified man to be torn apart by the poison of the Great Lord’s touch, he strolled away, seeking the Eye. All the Friends of the Dark would see the Dragon destroyed there, and eliminate their final obstacle in seizing the world for the Great Lord. Inside, flashes of light announced al’Thor’s presence, and Jest quickened his step. Nikel Fain did as well, beside him. Neither wished to miss the end of their last enemy. Rand gasped, out of breath, as he stumbled into the cavern of the Eye. Had he not already been winded, the sight would have taken his breath away, but as it was, he stood for a moment in numb admiration, gazing at the reservoir of saidin with wonderment. The crystals, though half-dimmed, still cast an eerie yet beautiful light in the shadowy cavern. Power-wrought, no doubt, yet that was not what drew his eye. The liquid within the well, clear yet seeming to swirl and mingle reflections, was the essence of the male half of the True Source. An immense source of power with the capacity to enable its channeller to achieve greatness—or to overwhelm and consume him. Moiraine had cautioned him that seizing saidin would not be easy, and that she could not teach him to use it. Well, she could not teach him to do anything now, and his friends were endangered, perhaps dead. The sounds of conflict and screaming had died down, leaving a dead silence that seemed to be filled with soft footsteps and rustling, damp leaves. With revulsion, Rand saw a man mount the hill, his face scarred and warped beyond mortal recognition, flanked by Nikel Fain and Shirley Jest. Desperately, unwillingly, gladly, for the first time in months, he formed the Flame and the Void. As his emotions burned away, the light filling the Void seemed to be stronger than usual. Rand hesitated one last time. He had never before consciously seized the Source, never tried to touch the tainted One Power that had driven the Dragon and his Hundred Companions raving mad. But, as he reminded himself, he had no choice in the matter. Reaching into the light, he discovered it was actually two lights; one, the saidin he knew, glory and life besides sickness and midden, and the second a new source, untainted and immense, yet not unending like the first. Yet it was clean. Desperately, he reached for it. And found his way blocked. On the far end of the cavern, Aginor smiled with triumph, his skin seeming to glow as he drew in the saidin, even as he used some to block Rand off from the Source. Secure in the Void, Rand scrabbled for tainted saidin, his mind floundering against the slick barrier which cut him off from the Source. Growling, he seized his sword, whipping it out of its sheath and lunging towards Aginor. Bright white fire, brighter than the sun, sprang from the Forsaken’s hands. Even as they averted their eyes, the purple afterimage still seared into the eyes of Jest and Fain, and the midnight sky became as day. The bar of white fire continued, stretched back through the Pattern even as it groaned with the thread of a ta’veren being burnt out further and further back. Still onwards it burnt, back, back. Gone was al’Thor in Caemlyn, Rand climbing a palace wall. Gone him in Shadar Logoth, Mordeth visited by two ta’veren and not three. Gone Emond’s Field at Bel Tine, gone his years as a sheepherder, all gone, until the saidin at the well was used up and Rand al’Thor was naught but a memory, and the Pattern groaned with the burning of his thread. The designs of the Wheel, of the Creator, were foiled. A new vessel would need to be chosen. Many leagues hence, a boy named Olver had his past rewritten, the ripples across the Pattern destroying even as they attempted to compensate for its central ta’veren being removed. A new vessel for Lews Therin Telamon has been selected. Yet the repercussions were great, and the Shadow triumphed even as the Blight burned away the Eye, ever closer to Shai’tan being unleashed on the world. Without a proper Dragon to face him. Aginor laughed from the Spine of the World, uncaring of his vision burned away by the brightness of his balefire, uncaring of anything save his future status as Nae’blis. Two other Darkfriends stood with him, exulting in their triumph, and only waiting their recognition from the Great Lord. The trio made its way away from the ruined Eye, picking through Creepers to report their triumph to the Pit of Doom in Shayol Ghul. And for once, no spikes would brush their heads descending. MR32 is over! Mark IV was attacked, but survived. However, as the Blight’s triumph was numerically certain, the forces of the Shadow have achieved both primary and secondary win conditions. My thoughts on this game can be found in TL;DR form in the spec doc, which is linked below, but I intend to make a very thorough post covering balance in a few days after the holiday craze at my house has subsided. Speaking of which, that’s why this aftermath took two Ages of the Wheel to get done. Sorry about that. I hope it was worth the wait. I’d like to thank all of you for playing, as I’m incredibly grateful to each of you that volunteered your time to try this crazy experiment of a game out. Docs: Outside of Time Servants of the Great Lord Warriors of Fal Dara Emond’s Fielders Moiraine’s Circle [master spreadsheet to come in a bit] Final Playerlist: 1. Steeldancer (Ookla the Positive) as Ookla the Positive, an orphan with a cheery outlook on life. Rand al’Thor, Moiraine’s Circle 2. randuir as Evelyn, an Aiel Wise Woman and well-wisherEmond’s Fielder 3. Karnatheon (Ookla the Ring) as Brendan Vallerune, a gleeman totally unrelated to Jeordwyn Moiraine’s Circle 4. Cadmium Compounder (Ookla the Duck) as Miumpounder, a cobbler with an abiding hatred of Altarans Aginor, Emond’s Fielder 5. xinoehp512 (Ookla the Phoenix) as Alkoo, a reclusive Ogier tucked away in encyclopaedias Roleless 6. Amanuensis as Nikel Fain, a man hell-bent on killing his father (totally normal)Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 7. Droughtbringer as Month-Long Drought, a prickly old noblewoman who only eats dried fruit Roleless 8. Rathmaskal as Jeordwyn Dormond, an Illianer gleeman who juggles knives through his enemies Lan Moiraine’s Circle 9. Devotary of Spontaneity (Ookla the Heretical) as Rhodin, a countercultural Aiel whose views are about to go mainstreamPerrin Aybara, Emond’s Fielder 10. Young Bard (Ookla the Unprepared) as Jancey, a reluctant soldier who signed up to obey his father’s will Warrior of Fal Dara 11. Mark IV as Lars, an inquisitive young nobleman Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 12. Snipexe (Ookla the Sceptical) as Exepins, a scribe who will eventually admit to the superiority of British spellings Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 13. Furamirionind as Keisa, a grizzled veteran of the Borderland Wars, with a scar on his forehead to show for it Green Man 14. Hemalurgic Headshot (Ookla of the East) as Skern Mundy, a man from the East with many skills Roleless 15. Ark1002 (Ookla the Dragon Reborn) as Shifting Shadows, a shifty, shadowy Wolfbrother Emond’s Fielder; Fal Dara Warrior 16. A Joe in the Bush as Joseph, a man who has mastered the art of squeezing into very small spaces in bushes Roleless 17. MetaTerminal (Ookla the Cited) as Elak Dehlin, a merchant with severe paranoia about the One Power Moiraine’s Circle 18. BrightnessRadiant as Fifi Balthamel 19. Mr Doctor as Antor Vadenfort, a Illianer Warder without an Aes Sedai Moiraine 20. Sart as Shirley U. Jest, a Cairhienen noblewoman who takes life far too seriously Agent of the Blight

Okay, if everyone hasn’t inferred it the game is over. I don’t have a ton of time the next few days, especially for an aftermath writeup, but if I’m still not done by Christmas Eve I’ll post an aftermath without a writeup, which I’ll edit in when I finish, so I don’t mess up the scheduling of the next QF. Thank you all for playing, and I hope to have you all thoroughly killed in a day or two.

This cycle is over. Rollover will take a little longer as Elandera and I sort things out, but it’ll hopefully be up in an hour or two as usual. Edit: make that “within 24 hours.” This writeup is long and I need sleep. Hopefully it’ll be up soon.

This cycle will be extended 24 hours, to end Thursday 20 December at 21:00 EST, or Friday 21 December at 2:00 GMT. Mainly, church and family coming over tonight have left me too busy to conduct rollover fully, and Elandera is also occupied. I hope this does not inconvenience anybody, and I apologise for the short notice-- I would have posted earlier had I remembered. As such, you should all have plenty of time to get orders in

Moiraine Aes Sedai her quick rise did devise With her wise allies to organise, scrutinise The Tower as filtered through disguised eyes and spies Which would be synthesised while Siuan supervised Moiraine Aes Sedai her journey revitalised Through the cries of the dying she came to realise Her knowledge of the world she would need to apprise To her allies still fighting the Father of Lies Moiraine Aes Sedai her demise traumatised Still missing Lan’s eyes to watch and scrutinise For possible threats that may rise from dark spies She was pulverised, died, ending her wise advice Night 6 has begun! It will end in 23 hours’ time at 21:00 EST, or 2 AM GMT, December the 19th. Mr Doctor was lynched! He was Moiraine! (I’ll let him explain to you how that equates with him being a severed Warder. I’m not trying to do that. ) Vote Count: Mr Doctor (4): Steeldancer, Randuir, Joe, Furamirionind Furamirionind (2): Mr Doctor, Sart The newly summoned Creature, Rathwearsa Mask, was attacked! It died. There are no more Creatures left! (For now) The Eye has 32 health remaining. No rings of defence are remaining. Rand al’Thor’s Channeling, and Loial’s Treesinging, have been unlocked. The Blight is currently attacking for 11. A correction has been made: Lan was a member of Moiraine’s Circle. I noticed I had not informed the thread when going through last cycle’s writeup, so my apologies if this affects anything too much. I just haven’t been a very on-top-of-things GM this game, which I apologise for. A new Creeper of the Blight has appeared: Plague! It will Send Runner D8 unless stopped. Jadis is still alive, and will Send Runner N7 unless stopped. Nailicis and Nogard are still alive, and will Send Runner tonight unless stopped. Screwtape has Sent Runner, and is now dead. Please remember that PMs are closed. 1. Steeldancer (Ookla the Positive) as Ookla the Positive, an orphan with a cheery outlook on life. 2. randuir as Evelyn, an Aiel Wise Woman and well-wisher 3. Karnatheon (Ookla the Ring) as Brendan Vallerune, a gleeman totally unrelated to Jeordwyn 4. Cadmium Compounder (Ookla the Duck) as Miumpounder, a cobbler with an abiding hatred of Altarans 5. xinoehp512 (Ookla the Phoenix) as Alkoo, a reclusive Ogier tucked away in encyclopaedias Roleless 6. Amanuensis as Nikel Fain, a man hell-bent on killing his father (totally normal) 7. Droughtbringer as Month-Long Drought, a prickly old noblewoman who only eats dried fruit Roleless 8. Rathmaskal as Jeordwyn Dormond, an Illianer gleeman who juggles knives through his enemies Lan Moiraine’s Circle 9. Devotary of Spontaneity (Ookla the Heretical) as Rhodin, a countercultural Aiel whose views are about to go mainstreamPerrin Aybara, Emond’s Fielder 10. Young Bard (Ookla the Unprepared) as Jancey, a reluctant soldier who signed up to obey his father’s will Warrior of Fal Dara 11. Mark IV as Lars, an inquisitive young nobleman 12. Snipexe (Ookla the Sceptical) as Exepins, a scribe who will eventually admit to the superiority of British spellings Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 13. Furamirionind as Keisa, a grizzled veteran of the Borderland Wars, with a scar on his forehead to show for it 14. Hemalurgic Headshot (Ookla of the East) as Skern Mundy, a man from the East with many skills Roleless 15. Ark1002 (Ookla the Dragon Reborn) as Shifting Shadows, a shifty, shadowy Wolfbrother Emond’s Fielder; Fal Dara Warrior 16. A Joe in the Bush as Joseph, a man who has mastered the art of squeezing into very small spaces in bushes 17. MetaTerminal (Ookla the Cited) as Elak Dehlin, a merchant with severe paranoia about the One Power Moiraine’s Circle 18. BrightnessRadiant as Fifi Balthamel 19. Mr Doctor as Antor Vadenfort, a Illianer Warder without an Aes Sedai Moiraine 20. Sart as Shirley U. Jest, a Cairhienen noblewoman who takes life far too seriously Good luck to all!

The Day is over! Results to come in an hour or two.

There are precisely 4.1 hours left for you to submit orders. Please get them in

Skern Mundy, trader from eastern Wastes For the Shadow had potent distaste Him Aiel had taught The Blight must be fought And its great evil repelled face-to-face Once had a demon attacked his wall, Yet yielding not and standing up tall Mundy it repelled While Rand al’Thor felled Creepers advancing, though they were small Yet a second attempt was then made The forces of the Light, though arrayed To defend each other Instead were smothered And Skern Mundy was slain in the raid A gleeman that rarely did smile A oath to fulfill without guile Why did he appear? The answer is clear: To put his devotion on trial. A face made of hard angles and stone A life of fighting Shadows alone Lan was his real name, the one with a claim To Malkier’s empty, long-lost throne As Warder to Moiraine he would fall Keeping back the great Creatures from all And when Mundy fell, he charged with a yell Killing Creatures, and himself, for y’all. So go kill some people in his honour! Day 6 has begun! It will end in 23 hours’ time at 21:00 EST, or 2 AM GMT (whichever comes first), December the 18th. Steeldancer was attacked, but was protected! Hemalurgic Headshot was attacked by Randuir IsRand (again)! He was actually killed this time and is Roleless. Rathmaskal was attacked by BrEn Memorium! He was Lan! Randuir IsRand was attacked, and died! BrEn Memorium was attacked, and died! The newly summoned Creature, Rathwearsa Mask, was attacked! It survived. The Eye has 36 health remaining. The current layer of defence has 7 health remaining, and is the Seventh Ring. The Blight is currently attacking for 11. This is not a typo; the Blight is attacking for eleven. A new Creeper of the Blight has appeared: Jadis! It will Send Runner N7 unless stopped. Nailicis and Nogard are still alive, and will Send Runner N6 unless stopped. Screwtape is still alive, and will Send Runner today unless stopped. Emond’s Fielders’ Message: There is a lynch today. Please remember that PMs are closed. 1. Steeldancer (Ookla the Positive) as Ookla the Positive, an orphan with a cheery outlook on life. 2. randuir as Evelyn, an Aiel Wise Woman and well-wisher 3. Karnatheon (Ookla the Ring) as Brendan Vallerune, a gleeman totally unrelated to Jeordwyn 4. Cadmium Compounder (Ookla the Duck) as Miumpounder, a cobbler with an abiding hatred of Altarans 5. xinoehp512 (Ookla the Phoenix) as Alkoo, a reclusive Ogier tucked away in encyclopaedias Roleless 6. Amanuensis as Nikel Fain, a man hell-bent on killing his father (totally normal) 7. Droughtbringer as Month-Long Drought, a prickly old noblewoman who only eats dried fruit Roleless 8. Rathmaskal as Jeordwyn Dormond, an Illianer gleeman who juggles knives through his enemies Lan 9. Devotary of Spontaneity (Ookla the Heretical) as Rhodin, a countercultural Aiel whose views are about to go mainstreamPerrin Aybara, Emond’s Fielder 10. Young Bard (Ookla the Unprepared) as Jancey, a reluctant soldier who signed up to obey his father’s will Warrior of Fal Dara 11. Mark IV as Lars, an inquisitive young nobleman 12. Snipexe (Ookla the Sceptical) as Exepins, a scribe who will eventually admit to the superiority of British spellings Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 13. Furamirionind as Keisa, a grizzled veteran of the Borderland Wars, with a scar on his forehead to show for it 14. Hemalurgic Headshot (Ookla of the East) as Skern Mundy, a man from the East with many skills Roleless 15. Ark1002 (Ookla the Dragon Reborn) as Shifting Shadows, a shifty, shadowy Wolfbrother Emond’s Fielder; Fal Dara Warrior 16. A Joe in the Bush as Joseph, a man who has mastered the art of squeezing into very small spaces in bushes 17. MetaTerminal (Ookla the Cited) as Elak Dehlin, a merchant with severe paranoia about the One Power Moiraine’s Circle 18. BrightnessRadiant as Fifi Balthamel 19. Mr Doctor as Antor Vadenfort, a Illianer Warder without an Aes Sedai 20. Sart as Shirley U. Jest, a Cairhienen noblewoman who takes life far too seriously Good luck to all!

Cycle is closed! Day six to come.

Please remember to submit all your actions! Only three and a half hours left in the cycle.

Stopped was Month-Long Drought: dried-up, withered, old. The Blight took her, merciless, Though she was driven in. In, driven, was she though? Mercilessly her taking, Blight, the old, withered-up, dry drought, month-long, was stopped. Month-Long Drought was far past old, past caring The Dark One seemed to her but a man erring And not a great force Without shred of remorse To whom many would spend their lives swearing She took up with Moiraine to advise her Yet never made the woman apprise her As an adviser And none the wiser Others frequently sought to chastise her The conflict would resolve itself one day When six came over intending to slay With Drought surrounded And quickly bounded She turned into the Blight’s latest prey Night 5 has begun! It will end in 23 hours’ time at 21:00 EST, or 2 AM GMT, December the 17th. Droughtbringer was lynched! He was Roleless. Vote Count: Droughtbringer (6): randuir, Mark IV, Furamirionind, Hemalurgic Headshot, Mr Doctor, Karnatheon Mr Doctor (2): Sart, Steeldancer Mark IV (1): A Joe in the Bush The Eye has 36 health remaining. The current layer of defence has 6 health remaining, and is the Sixth Ring. The Blight is currently attacking for 11. This is not a typo; the Blight is attacking for eleven. Wormwood was killed! Nailicis and Nogard are still alive, and will Send Runner N6 unless stopped. Screwtape is still alive, and will Send Runner D6 unless stopped. Randuir IsRand and BrEn Memorium will continue attacking people tonight unless stopped. Please remember that PMs are closed. 1. Steeldancer (Ookla the Positive) as Ookla the Positive, an orphan with a cheery outlook on life. 2. randuir as Evelyn, an Aiel Wise Woman and well-wisher 3. Karnatheon (Ookla the Ring) as Brendan Vallerune, a gleeman totally unrelated to Jeordwyn 4. Cadmium Compounder (Ookla the Duck) as Miumpounder, a cobbler with an abiding hatred of Altarans 5. xinoehp512 (Ookla the Phoenix) as Alkoo, a reclusive Ogier tucked away in encyclopaedias Roleless 6. Amanuensis as Nikel Fain, a man hell-bent on killing his father (totally normal) 7. Droughtbringer as Month-Long Drought, a prickly old noblewoman who only eats dried fruit Roleless 8. Rathmaskal as Jeordwyn Dormond, an Illianer gleeman who juggles knives through his enemies 9. Devotary of Spontaneity (Ookla the Heretical) as Rhodin, a countercultural Aiel whose views are about to go mainstreamPerrin Aybara, Emond’s Fielder 10. Young Bard (Ookla the Unprepared) as Jancey, a reluctant soldier who signed up to obey his father’s will Warrior of Fal Dara 11. Mark IV as Lars, an inquisitive young nobleman 12. Snipexe (Ookla the Sceptical) as Exepins, a scribe who will eventually admit to the superiority of British spellings Hardy Fal Dara Warrior 13. Furamirionind as Keisa, a grizzled veteran of the Borderland Wars, with a scar on his forehead to show for it 14. Hemalurgic Headshot (Ookla of the East) as Skern Mundy, a man from the East with many skills 15. Ark1002 (Ookla the Dragon Reborn) as Shifting Shadows, a shifty, shadowy Wolfbrother Emond’s Fielder; Fal Dara Warrior 16. A Joe in the Bush as Joseph, a man who has mastered the art of squeezing into very small spaces in bushes 17. MetaTerminal (Ookla the Cited) as Elak Dehlin, a merchant with severe paranoia about the One Power Moiraine’s Circle 18. BrightnessRadiant as Fifi Balthamel 19. Mr Doctor as Antor Vadenfort, a Illianer Warder without an Aes Sedai 20. Sart as Shirley U. Jest, a Cairhienen noblewoman who takes life far too seriously Good luck to all!