Ashbringer

Uh... who? I called my own death that game but I don’t remember anyone sacrificing themselves. (I know there’s a cycle titled “Sacrifice” but I remember what that was and that wasn’t it.)

As one of the few (probably not only and I'm not checking at 11 PM) players who have legitimately killed themselves in a game, I meant what I said Note that I'm not actually doing this, I'm just giving chaotic advice. Or maybe I am doing it. Psychology. 1/23 odds I'm right. I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

I would love to see your 23-sided dice collection.

http://www.randomnumbergenerator.com/

Anyone who wants a book should do what they want and not trust Striker and Books just because there is absolutely no reason not to trust them so far. Unless you want a book as badly as I want my Shadowblaze.

Exhibit A:

Flyingbooks42. Striker said he’d be going after you* so nobody else should, and I would like to discover if he is hiding a fellow Forgotten.

Last time Faleast was here, things didn't go so well. This time was supposed to be simpler. And yet... it was also much more complicated. Think about it, Faleast! A Shadowblaze! They're essentially a spren bond without the Stormlight, and we can get that already. We don't even have to play with the Investiture tricks to get it out of here! "Chalklings whenever we want does sound... promising. But there's also Forgotten here, and I'd really rather avoid messing with those after what... happened last time," You're just nervous that Lamentation's going to figure out that there's something even bigger than the Multiverse. "He probably already knows," Faleast said. "But the Gods Beyond are what made Him. I doubt His vision extends that far." Maybe. But you still didn't tell him. And why are you capitalizing his? His name, yeah, but Lamentation's just a guy like you. Sure, a guy who holds approximately one-eighth of the net power of one universe, but still. Faleast shuddered slightly. "So what's our plan?" I don't know. "... great. Thank you for the assist." Neither of us are acting in charge. In my opinion, that means that Lamentation doesn't really care what we do here. But getting a Shadowblaze makes doing... whatever it is we'll be doing much easier. "Well," Faleast said, tilting his head. "I don't exactly see any piles of Shadowblazes lying around. So do you have a plan to get one?" Sure, first we... oh, right. Step one no peeking no peeking no peeking no peeking, and wait for Alvron to no peeking no peeking no peeking no peeking. Then step two, no peeking no peeking no peeking be a LITTLE chaotic no peeking no peeking no peeking no peeking grab maps no peeking no peeking no peeking no peeking message people no peeking no peeking no peeking no peeking and try not to let no peeking do no peeking no peeking no peeking. Step four, we grab the Shadowblaze, run like Ishar's chasing us, and profit. "... what did you just do?" Faleast asked. White text. Fool's em every time. Especially this time. "But you can just highlight it and see what it says." That's why I encrypted it. So they won't be able to read it. "I don't think that's how encryption works, AraRaash." Well, either I'm right and that IS how encryption works, or the God Beyond controlling my thought process has no idea what he's talking about. And no, I'm not capitalizing that either. "In any case," Faleast huffed, "where's step three?" ??? "You have step one, step two, step four." Yeah. "What's step three?" ??? "AraRaash" I'm being serious. That's how you do it. Step One you do this, Step Two you do that, Step Three is ???, Step Four is Profit. Works every time. Faleast sighed and wandered into camp. This was definitely not one of Lamentation's priorities. TL;DR,am still going for the Shadowblaze.

I'll take another LG and another MR spot, because I'm feeling overly ambitious and have too many game ideas.

*Clears throat* In light of recent events considering a recent amendment to the rules... ... I'm still going after the Shadowblaze

Based on LG66, I'm pretty sure we form a Feedback Loop...

Oh, and just a warning before I get my alignment: I want to be a bit more chaotic this game, as it’s more likely I’ll have things I can do. I also want the Shadowblaze. Badly. ... Carry on!

*Cough*

Oh that one! I got vote tied with Illwei the KC and, as usual when I’m tied with Illwei, exploded into a thousand pieces.

I had one... but that was a weird one.

First let the committee know if there are secrets, and then have a few who aren’t playing the game look over the full rules.

Good. Gooooood! Let the death-retconning flow through you!

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehhehehe... Faleast opened his eyes. He hadn’t really… expected to be able to do that this time. He’d died before. He’d died the first time the kandra – AraRaash – had stabbed him with that… spike. And then… here. He looked around at the terrain – like a room, but made of sinking mist. The… Cognitive Realm? Rusts, what had happened? “Faleast? You’re… still here?” He turned. AraRaash, or some form of him, stood over him. Faleast realized he was lying on the ground, and started standing up, feeling an ache where his heart once was. No, where something else once was. A spike lay, discarded on the ground, visible in both realms. Technically it was two spikes wound together. The Blessing of Identity. The lifeblood of them both. “You ejected the spike, and didn’t have another powerful enough to sustain your identity,” Faleast found himself saying. “Meanwhile I was still chained to it… and I tried to break that chain to get back to you…” “Did it work?” AraRaash asked. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Faleast thought. “Pyria… Reginald… the People’s Republic of Elendel. But wasn’t that…” “IT WAS NOT AS NOT AS LONG AGO AS YOU THINK,” a voice resounded. The Shadow and Kandra turned, then quickly averted their eyes. A man was walking through the wall, glowing brighter than any sun. An image was burned on what functioned as Faleast’s retinas. A tall, tan-skinned man, with ornate clothing numerous ornaments on his body, some light and some dark. AraRaash fell to his knees; Faleast followed suit. “Harmony,” Faleast breathed. The man – the Shard – smiled. “YOU MIGHT SAY THAT,” he said. “IN TRUTH, I DO NOT FEEL VERY… HARMONIZED. AT LEAST IT STILL FEELS THAT WAY. BUT YOU… SEEM TO HOLD THE DUALITY I HAVE BEEN SEEKING FOR SO LONG.” “How long has it been? I hardly even recognize you,” AraRaash said. Of course he would recognize Harmony. Rusts, he probably knew him when he was Sazed. “MERE MINUTES. OR THOUSANDS OF YEARS; IT DEPENDS WHAT YOU MEAN, I SUPPOSE. IN ANY CASE, I CAN FILL YOU IN. YOU WERE DISCOVERED, AND ATTEMPTED TO ESCAPE, BUT WERE FORCED TO DROP THIS CURIOUS ARTIFACT," he said, knudging the spike with his foot. It sent a jolt down Faleast's spine. "I SUSPECT YOU WOULD BOTH PERISH IN YOUR OWN WAYS WITHOUT IT; I SHOULD KNOW. SO I… INTERVENED.” “HONESTLY… I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THE TERM HARMONY IS ACCURATE. RUIN AND PRESERVATION ARE STABILITY AND DECAY, BUT IS NOT CULTIVATION GROWTH? I WOULD THINK PRESERVATION AND CULTIVATION WOULD BE JUST AS HARMONIUS, AND RUIN AND CULTIVATION PERHAPS EVEN MORE SO.” Faleast found himself nodding. How did one refuse a Shard? But AraRaash’s eyes suddenly shot up. “Oh God Beyond… you’re not Harmony, aren’t you?” “GODS BEYOND,” the… being corrected. “I BELIEVE THERE ARE THREE. BUT YES, I AM NOT THE MAN KNOWN AS SAZED, NOR THE MIXTURE OF PRESERVATION AND RUIN. I AM NOT EVEN SURE IF HARMONY CAN BE THAT MIXTURE ANYMORE, NOT WITH WHAT I KNOW. BUT I DIGRESS. NO, I AM… SOMETHING ELSE. A LAMENTATION FOR THE WORLD.” “… Why are you here?” the two whispered, almost together. “BECAUSE I NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU. I AM A COMBINATION OF TWO SHARDS; I HAVE SIMILAR DIFFICULTIES IN ACTING ALONE. BUT YOU… YOU SHARE MUCH OF ME. THE COMPASSION OF FALEAST, THE RUTHLESSNESS OF ARARAASH. MERCY AND AMBITION. AND YET, YOU MANAGE TO WORK TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON GOAL. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I… LACK, TO SOME DEGREE.” “I HAVE A VISION. ONE WHERE THE WORLD IS FREE, THE HATRED AND PAIN SWEPT UNDER A BLOODY RUG. AND SO, I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP MAKE THAT FUTURE. A HARBINGER. OR HARBINGERS. I CAN USE MY ABILITIES TO DIRECT YOU, GET YOU PLACES THAT YOU NORMALLY COULD NOT ACCESS, AND OUT OF PLACES YOU COULD NORMALLY NOT SURVIVE. YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN SKILLS AND GATHER INVESTED ARTS, AND I WILL PROVIDE THE BASE INVESTITURE FOR YOU TO FUEL IT. “MORE IMPORTANTLY, I CAN CONNECT YOU TWO TOGETHER WITH THAT SPIKE OF YOURS, AND CREATE A BOND STRONGER THAN ANY METAL. YOU WILL NEVER LOSE EACH OTHER, OR LOSE YOURSELVES. AND I CAN RETURN WHAT LITTLE MEMORIES YOU HAVE LOST IN THE MINUTES YOU WERE DISCONNECTED.” “And… in return, what do we do for you?” said Faleast. The being – Lamentation – smiled. “IN RETRUN, I TAKE MOST OF THE MEMORIES OF THIS ENCOUNTER. AND GUIDE YOU TO WHERE I NEED YOU TO GO. YOU WILL ACT AS YOU FEEL, MERCIFUL OR AMBITIOUS. IN SHORT… I WILL PLACE YOU IN A POSITION WHERE EVERY ACTION EITHER OF YOU TAKE WILL SERVE ME.” AraRaash snarled. “I will not be a puppet for you, Shard or not.” “YOU WILL NOT. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU TWO FOR A LONG TIME, AND CREATED THIS PLAN TO BEST PRESERVE YOUR FREE WILL. SUFFICE IT TO SAY, I AM ABLE TO PREDICT WHAT ACTIONS YOU WILL TAKE, GIVEN WHAT SITUATION YOU ARE PLACED IN. THOSE ACTIONS ARE STILL YOUR OWN. IF I HAVE NOWHERE TO PLACE YOU, YOU ARE FREE TO DO AS YOU PLEASE.” “And you swear this? I… am unfamiliar with Shards,” Faleast said. Some part of him realized he and AraRaash were still on their knees, giving veneration to Harmony. Perhaps that was for the best; this Shard seemed much more… dangerous than Harmony. But he was also asking to be their… God. “I SWEAR, I HAVE NOT BEEN UNTRUTHFUL TO YOU. IT WILL BE AS I HAVE SAID. SHARDS CAN BE DISHONEST, BUT THEY CANNOT BREAK A SWORN OATH. ARARAASH KNOWS THIS.” And the kandra nodded in agreement. “BUT IF YOU WISH TO BREAK THE AGREEMENT AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE… I CAN RELEASE THE BOND, IF YOU AGREE TO FOREFIT YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF MY PLANS.” Faleast turned to AraRaash. “So… what do you think? I already had my second chance. I didn’t think I would get a third. May as well make the most of it,” Faleast said. “If you’re alright with it, so am I.” The kandra gave a chilling smile. “It sure seems like a nobler goal than playing the PRE and the Loyalists against each other . Maybe we can actually make some progress in this cosmere. Let’s do it.” The Shard gave a small chuckle. “THEN THE DEAL IS DONE. YOU WILL NOW BE THE HARBINGERS OF LAMENTATION. YOU WILL WEEP FOR WHAT MUST BE DONE… BUT LIKE MYSELF, YOU WILL DO IT ALL THE SAME. YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, AND THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE I PREDICT MAY BE SENSITIVE TO MY CAUSE...” “How do you mean?” asked Faleast, the corners of his vision starting to fade. The reConnecting must already be happening. They were losing this… vision. Lamentation laughed – a full, true laugh. “WHO SAID THAT WE WERE STOPPING AT THE COSMERE?”

Well 1) I had absolutely no idea who you were as I've only played the Ashyn game with you, and 2) at the time I actually wanted to keep you alive because you were my best PM buddy... until you exposed me and Joe. By that point we had bigger problems. And 3)... I didn't really think I could afford to refuse Orlok. We were about to be down two members, and we needed a way to get at Honor. Which does make it ironic but we didn't know that And... if you have information that leads to an Elim, 95% of the time that info should find its way to the thread. I'm more worried at how quickly that information flowed, which I think is more a mechanics issue than a people issue. I think we tried to kill Ruin and mis-guessed... although I was rather worried that hitting Valor was a possibility. That's where Lamentation originated, actually: me potentially getting exed for the Shadesmar kerfuffle after Odium hit Valor and passed the Shard to me, the turn after I had gotten Mercy... On a separate note: @Dannex! @Haelbarde! I've heard a rumor that the Splintered Shard of Ambition is not incredibly tied down to either of you. Would you be interested in donating it to Lamentation's cause? I have Honorblades...

Are we going to set a record for having more spectators/pinch-hitters than players?

I’m also like to look at how faction games become ‘balanced’, especially because my LG72 rerun will likely involve factions.

Let's see what I can do from the Champion Point of View. So, we messed up. A bunch. I had no important role as well as a seon, so I volunteered to be the "PM Guy", forgetting that 1) I'd never been a "PM Guy" in my life, 2) an AG is a very difficult place to start that, 3) seon isn't really that helpful when there's free Prudence PMs and Shadesmar, and 4) I wasn't using mobile at all so I could continue with my normal account. So... my expansion into the PM verse didn't go very well, because I had no idea what to say, so I said nothing. Then Mauve starts getting suspicion. I had a vote cancel item, and resolved to go to bed and figure it out in the morning, likely not voting but intervening. So, I woke up about 7:45 PST, about an hour and fifteen minutes before the cycle had started at 9:00 AM PST. Then, (mess up 2) of course, I learn the cycle's been closed for 46 minutes, because I didn't notice there was a two hour long rollover. To make matters worse, the vote had been tied, Mauve died, and then I figured out Mauve was Quinn, who I'd really been looking forward to playing with, especially as Elims. So... I felt really guilty about that for a while, enough for me to not really do anything for a few cycles. And then Gorilla, who Taupe had told us moments before was Invention, PM'd me "I take it you are a Champion". Turns out Taupe had accidentally outed me to Autonomy. Not the worst thing in the world, but all Invention and Survival really needed from us was the identity of two of our member. Autonomy could use our help more because they needed the game to last 9 turns without Ruin intervening, but at that point I at least felt it became much less a negotiation and more a list of demands by Invention, which is why no real info flowed in either direction until the literal last minute. Final terms were I give up another Elim once someone agreed, we not attack Azure Mouse (which proved... yeah), we be non-aggressive between Elims and Neutrals, and allow the Neutrals their votes/actions to complete win cons. In return, we got Neutral support from votes if requested (didn't happen), a Soothing item D2, and a Kill item D4. Meanwhile, Mouse had gathered all but five of the Shards together to claim, three of those Shards being the ones that the Champions held, all largely without our knowledge. The fact we had Mercy was revealed D2, and Odium couldn't really claim at all. Shadesmar blew up, Mercy moved to me so we would be actually able to Invest with Odium and kill things, I moved from 10 votes to 3 in 12 hours and activated Mercy's Shardic. And the rest is history. So... yeah. I did the Investee kill, I got roleblocked by Shadesmar blowing up, and turns out six of the Shadesmar Eight were provable Shards making me and the two most trusted villagers the three suspects. So, yeah I deserved to die there, and that wasn't really the issue. But I'm fairly sure if not for the need to re-execute Taupe, I would have just been killed then and there because... everyone just claimed to Kas or Illwei, and from my point of view - as someone not involved in the PM networks, and not just as an Elim - Azure Mouse just managed to narrow a group of nine to a group of essentially two without any thought. Which was quite bad for me, seeing as I was in fact guilty, but also very... confusing. I did like the fact Kas explained to me what claims he had with a nice spreadsheet, even if I was doomed anyway. But it still feels... I don't know. The fact that most Shards were invincible until Odium's release (contrary to popular belief, we had no kills besides Odium's and the one item from Invention) combined with openness of PMs made it really easy for Shards to claim, and so they did, making the game almost mechanically solvable from N3. Whether that's a problem with the rules of Shard games or a problem with general SE rules I'm not sure, but I feel like more should be done (or done earlier) to involve people or at least explain what was going on behind the scenes. I'll post a few more thoughts on the various discussions in the dead doc and community interactions, but that's essentially my end. Bewildered old Ash. If anyone would like to explain how PM mastering works, I would love to hear it.

Oooh... I’m planning a few House of Horror games as well... I have no idea what I’m doing with my pass, but that MR slot be for a Bridgeman game that I decided was... far too complicated to be a QF.

I have a... unique perspective on how widespread claiming with the Shadesmar Eight results in certain things, but I'll save that for later. Let's just say that I am a proponent of PM safety, and agree with Kas that some claiming is good, but having everyone end up claiming results in problems. And we can officially say more people upvoted Solemnheart becoming Lamentation than upvoted Faleast crossdressing.