Ashbringer

I might have more GM Thoughts, but these are the main ones from what I've seen. One - just the general start of the game. For those who don't know, the first turn did not go as expected. Hoid (The Wandering Wizard) attempted to convert Khriss (Matrim's Dice) and failed, while Khriss (Matrim's Dice) attempted to convert Bavadin (DrakeMarshall) and also failed. Once Shards Breach (yeah right), failed conversions become easier to explain away, but Night Zero? The only ways that that can happen are both factions trying to convert the same target, that target being warded by Frost, or them being one of Frost/Bavadin/the other Converting Elim role. So the factions (particularly Standard of Unity) figured out information about the game state quickly, at the cost of major tempo. Then of course, only 2 Shards Breached the entire game, one of them being Odium which randomly went to Drake. Which... yeah. That resulted in many cascading things due to lack of Shards and abundance of Investiture (including, but not limited to, both major attempts of the Standard of Unity acting against Drake resulting in a swift NK heading their way). Two - inactivity. We hit the 20-player threshold, but as predicted it came with a pretty big cost. 4 players ended up needing pinch hitters or inactivity kills (5 including Kasimir), and 3 of those needed the kill option. And even besides those 4 there were a lot of players who didn't put actions in through being on Shardworlds or just being generally less active. A lot of people suggested I lower the threshold for Breaching Shards back to 3. The truth is, it really wouldn't... matter. Still only Ruin and Odium would Breach N0 and N1. Then instead Ambition would Breach N2 and Invention and Endowment would successfully Breach during the N4/N7 Heist attempts. But even if the players who tried to Siphon those Shards later instead Siphoned the "right" Shards, that would only add a Mercy Breach N4. Definitely a lot to change the game up, but still, only 6-7 Shards in a 16 Shard game. This had other ripples too. The Adonalsium's Chosen faction was just generally inactive (Wiz and Walin were around and sometimes putting actions in, but only rarely, while Fadran died to inactivity and Archer was AC for a single turn), and while the Village had some of the more active players they didn't have many of the most active. And even when they did, they couldn't coordinate enough to get much to happen (say, 4 Siphons to the same Shard, or an exe on Drake). Three - Intent Conversion. So, this cropped up a few times, and I don't know really were the conversations ended on, so I'm not going to go into detail here. But Intent Conversion is a pretty big part of this game. That lets anyone not one of the Power Four who gets a Shard, find an alternative Win Con to go for. So that means, for an individual player - they can still win even if they act against the wincon they currently have. So compared to any game, that should be happening more, if anything. Is that a good thing? Maybe. Probably not the best, but it is an option. Four - Rerun? I don't think this game is broken. I think if anything it was more broken by inactivity, and then how the cards fell. I do think, if I rerun this game in this same ruleset there's a few things I'd change. Changing the Siphoning rules somewhat (perhaps being an aggregate Siphoning, so once 7 Charges total across Cycles are Siphoned then a Breach occurs), changing Intent Conversions so that 17th Sharders keep their 17th Shard wincon and can win with either that or the Independent (like how it works for AC or SoU), and perhaps changing Bavadin a bit (some special abilities in exchange for not potentially gaining the Power of Hatred... maybe). Maybe maybe add those Dawnshards I was thinking about. I'm more looking into running a similar ruleset as a more traditional Shard Game, with the Shardic Coalition facing down Odium's Champions alongside an Autonomy faction and perhaps some Neutrals. There would be... a lot of changes to that, like ensuring the Elim kill isn't tied to Odium the Shard and perhaps doing away with Investment Roles altogether. And perhaps some Cognitive Shadow rules I want to work on. (Oh! Another thing I'd change. A spoiled dead doc. I would make one of those >>) Would either of those happen soon? Probably not. I have too many games to run and also too much work to do to have steady rollover times, apparently. Also, I have thirteen Shards now. Gonna have to figure out what to do with those. I officially have Ambition for my Lamentation, which is nice. And still the only copy of Mercy. The rest might be used for something else

Working on the Docs now!

He’s been that the whole game

LG95 Aftermath: A Solemn Crescendo There were six souls left in the struggle. Ivam the Mad, namesake from the chaos that came with the first Shardic Breaches, now present with some measure of lucidity. Evgeny Karmazov, who had clearly changed even with the same face, had hands on the table, staring Intently at the others. Liene, the one who spoke with utter calculation, icy eyes watching the room. Al, the one who kept putting forth ideas for Silverlight with an air of almost envy. Jai, who threw around ideas to use, but the dark mist leaking from their fingertips gave away that they had what they wanted already. And Adjunct Professor Uther. The Broker. The one who by now, everyone knew, was a face of Bavadin. (I can say that, now. It means you know what is coming. But you did already, did you not?) "You can't turn this around on me, Frost," Uther said, looking directly at Liene. "Not yet. I can accept my end. To finally join the others. But my dream will not die. I won't let it, and my forces still equal yours even if you can somehow convince Ruin to aid you." Liene did not deign respond, and Jai simply gave a grin. "If Trukal was aligned with Hoid, then only Ivan of the 17th Shard agreed to my terms. The rest did not. So, I ask again. Here, directly. Do you accept?" The 17th Sharders looked at the table in front of them, trying to etch out the game. Bavadin had offered it, a test, but they hadn't made much progress. Al hadn't participated at all. "What do we have," Evgeny's whisper carried. "Not enough," was Al's reply. "We need-" "Time," Uther said. "Fortunately Ruin here is offering you some." Liene suddenly vanished, replaced with the form of a well-dressed man, skin slowly freezing at the edges. "And if we don't accept? If we find our own way?" Lorn Haemtes stepped into the room, Word on his lips. Bavadin had been wounded before, the Dawnshard should be able to kill her. Could kill anyone here, except perhaps Jai. But that could be Bavadin's plan. So he remained silent. Uther did not react, aside from perhaps a small twitch as his eyes darkened with a barely-controlled anger. "It's not up to you," he finally said. "Of course, it's not up to me, either. It's up to him." All eyes turned to Ivam the Mad, suddenly seeming further away. Glowing with power. Glowing with the power of Autonomy. "He said he could help. And help he can." A line of power jumped between the two of them. The others began to speak but were silenced by two sparks shooting from Bavadin's eyes. Lorn began to speak, but a resounding blast of sound grabbed and twisted his head, facing towards Jai. "DE-" he bit off, and Jai grunted but stood firm. The remaining researchers of the 17th Shard could only watch as the sound of the Avatars resounded. Resounded on every planet Ruin had left standing. For their time had passed. And thus began another Age of Autonomy. * * * JNV was executed, but survived! Vote Count: JNV (3): The Known Novel, JNV, SAXOPHONE DrakeMarshall (1): _Stick_ Szeth_Pancakes (1): DrakeMarshall SAXOPHONE (0): Szeth_Pancakes, |TJ| Congratulations to the Autonomous (@The Known Novel, @DrakeMarshall) have met their Primary Win Condition of having all Autonomous players + all Avatars outnumber all other players!... And to @JNV, who has met their Ruin Independent Win Condition to have Scadrial Destroyed and to Destroy two non-Scadrial planets! Thank you all for playing! I will have some GM thoughts up soon, but it's late and I have to get up early tomorrow so they won't be today. Also Docs may be a bit of a mess to get up ready. So for now, a huge thank you to @Amanuensis who I definitely would not have been able to do this without. Docs That Shall Go Here: Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

And that's time!

Final ruling is that Win Cons are checked at the very end of the OoA, after Intent Conversion.

It doesn’t work that simply, that’s for sure. Can’t have the 17th Shard elimination Win Condition trigger at the same time as the Autonomous Outnumber. The first part is generally true, win conditions are at the end (which is relevant for a few things, including Avatar creation vs Avatar death). The tricky part is… hmm. In the hypothetical scenario where the last Autonomous player is exed the same turn a 17th Sharder attempts to Intent Convert to Autonomy, with no living SoU or AC, then what happens? Because that 17th Sharder would win with the 17th Shard, that turn, if not for Intent Conversion. And Intent Converison itself is at the bottom of the OoA/OoO. I’m inclined to say that the Intent Conversion goes through and the 17th Shard win con goes unfulfilled, just because in other circumstances they wouldn’t necessarily know that would be happening. What happens at the end of the turn then depends on the end-of-OoA gamestate. Also I should check with Devo.

LG95 Day Nine: Not Over Yet Several things happened last night, but Lorn wasn't around to see most of them. He was beginning to schedule other things in his life. Vacations, books, jobs - can't put of everything for the end of the world. Yes, this is self-reflective. * * * Walin was killed! They were an Adonalsium's Chosen Researcher! TROMBONE was killed! They were an Avatar! Scadrial has been Destroyed! Whimsy has Breac- oh, no, no it hasn't. Who put this on my desk? * * * Day Nine has begun! This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on July 2nd, in ~48 hours. Not sure how busy I'll be. Also, please remember to avoid SP3 spoilers! I may not have much time to read it. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

LG95 Night Eight: Proven The Broker had proved effective, and lived another day. Sitting down with the other six, one of which still had to be Frost, a deal was perhaps made. The Broker lived another day. Instead, another life was taken. Perhaps they thought that life would not be innocent. But Araris Valerian certainly allied with the 17th Shard. That was proven. * * * Araris Valerian was executed! They were a 17th Shard Researcher! Vote Count: Araris Valerian (2): Szeth_Pancakes, Walin |TJ| (1): Araris Valerian, SAXOPHONE JNV (1): The Bald Brandon The Bald Brandon (1): DRUMS * * * Night Eight has begun! This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 30th, in ~24 hours. Just a note with this rollover - I've got work again so, might be busy. Also, SP3 is right around the corner! Please remember to not spoil things. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

LG95 Day Eight: Return to Sender Nothing much happened today. Perhaps that was a good thing, perhaps it wasn't, perhaps it was the natural result of such a momentous yesterday. But it is what happened. * * * No one has died! No Shards have Breached Containment! No Shardworlds have been Destroyed! No other Announcements are necessary! * * * Day Eight has begun! This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 29th, in ~48 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

Time! Rollover Shortly (ish (but normal ish this time)).

LG95 Night Seven: The Wanderer and the Broker Lorn Haemtes had not been torn to shreds. Not yet. Someone had tried, in some darker night, but killing the bearer of a Dawnshard is no simple matter of glass knives and Odious Investiture. Even Shards feared it. Some all too much. Then again, Lorn feared the Shards. He might have to try and kill one today. The kindly Professor Uther had claimed to be Bavadin's new face. For a while none had responded to it, but now came the accusations. That Autonomy had ended them once, and could do so again. Uther instead directed them towards the one known as the Poet, one who had been quieter since late events. Accused them of being Hoid in disguise. And so the two faced off. The Poet and the Professor. The Wizard and the Marshall. The Wanderer and the Broker. The First Gem and the Pantheon of Dieties. Allegedly, of course. Although when the votes were cast, the Avatars of Autonomy certainly came in support of Uther. And when Lorn Haemtes told the Poet what the Last Word was, it was certainly Cephandrius who collapsed in front of him. * * * The Wandering Wizard was executed! They were Hoid! Vote Count: The Wandering Wizard (5): The Bald Brandon, JNV, DrakeMarshall, Walin, VOCALS, DRUMS DrakeMarshall (4): _Stick_, Szeth_Pancakes, |TJ|, Araris Valerian * * * Night Seven has begun! This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 27th, in ~24 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

Time! Rollover via hotspot shortly-ish.

I know!

LG95 Day Seven: For Those Who Mourn Writeup to come - or not. These days, does it matter? For nine entered into that good night, and nine have returned. The songs are still sung. The Autonomous Jazz Band still plays. The only ones who have lost are those who already mourn. * * * Threnody was Destroyed! ... and pretty sure that's it. * * * Day Seven has begun! Just as a note - the good news is, I'm not working this rollover! The bad news is I'm going camping instead, and while I will have cell coverage (if the internet hasn't lied to me) it may be spotty and rollover may be done over a hotspotted connection to a half-dead laptop. This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 26th, in ~46 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

Somehow, Rollovet Returned.

LG95 Day Six: Shreds The cosmere refused to stay silent. Hoid dreamed of his Harmony. Khriss her melody. But neither seemed to listen towards the true Tones of the Cosmere. Tessa DeLoren was outside the Shardic Containment Facility, which with the removal of the deadliest Shards had proven to be one of the safer places to be. There were more cards to look for. The Knight of Wands, reversed. STINK was found dead on the surface of a planet, one of Khriss's last journals clutched in their grasp. The Justice card. Fadran was found near where Oliver Cosmos had been, attempting to mix Investitures that should have remained seperate. It was a sense of progress. But it wasn't done. Hoid was still out there. Bavadin was still out there. Tessa had to keep going, had to keep searching. The Ten of Swords. And Tessa DeLoren was found in the Shardic Containment Facility, lifeless, the last card she drew in her hands, torn to shreds. * * * DeTess was killed! They were a 17th Shard Researcher! STINK was killed! They were a Standard of Unity Researcher! Channelknight Fadran has died to inactivity! They were an Adonalsium's Chosen Researcher! No Shards have Breached Containment! * * * Day Six has begun! @The Last Fæ and @Turtle are being warned for inactivity! If you don't post this turn, you will be replaced by a pinch hitter or killed. (And note, I don't have any pinch hitters at the moment.) This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 23rd, in ~48 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

Time! Rollover Shortly.

About 2 hours to get in your actions!

LG95 Night Five: Unanimous Antagonist Lorn was having quite a week. Frost had waltzed in and taken control of his organization, then gone into hiding. Autonomy was loose and creating childish Avatars Braize-knows-where, and Braize wasn't even there anymore. They'd found Khriss, but with her tricks he couldn't even be sure she was dead, just that she wouldn't be a problem for the near future. They'd found another of her co-conspirators, though. Telan. That was a decent start. * * * Elandera was executed! They were a Standard of Unity Researcher! The Avatar TROMBONE was created by an irresponsible parent on Threnody! Vote Count: Elandera (6): The Bald Brandon, Kasimir, Szeth_Pancakes, |TJ|, DeTess, Araris Valerian Hopefully that's accurate but I may have missed votes somewhere. The end result should be the same. * * * Night Five has begun! @Channelknight Fadran is being warned for inactivity! If you don't post this turn, you will be replaced by a pinch hitter or killed. @The Last Fæ and @Turtle, you will get an official warning for next turn if you don't post this turn and will be replaced/killed end of D6. This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 21st, in ~24 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

This implies Ash doesn’t have time to properly initiate or investigate an inactivity filter >>

LG95 Day Five: A Case Study of the Inevitable It was another long night. A quiet night. With leads into the affiliates of both Hoid and Khriss, business had returned to somewhat normal. People talked and went to restaurants. Studies were published. Shards of Adonalsium stayed in their containment vessels. But not all was still. Sir Arren Brocket was pacing through the halls. The release of Ruin, again - the destruction of Braize, again - something wasn't right. Something he had to get to the bottom of. It was a different goal than he usually did, these days. But an old one. He carefully went towards a blank wall and stepped through. "Khriss," he whispered harsly. "Are you there?" Sir Arren Brocket slipped out from the shadows of the room. "Of course," they responded, in a feminine voice. The Brockets shook their heads a bit. Even for disguises, this was... complex. A Cognitive Scan had been replicated, mimicing Brocket's soul. It would fail in a matter of days, of course. Even with the power of ten Shards that cannot be sustained. It would fail, inevitably. But for now it functioned. "How goes it?" "Easily enough. I can get more out of the system." "Alright. And Gunther?" "Unfortunate." "Aye." "Were you followed?" "No." "Yes." The Brockets turned. That last part had not been their voice. And the silence of Silverlight turned to an explosion. * * * Matrim's Dice was killed! They were Khrissala! No Shards have Breached Containment! * * * Day Five has begun! I think everyone who needed to post posted (except I think @Channelknight Fadran), but just a reminder to please post/engage when you can. This turn will end on 10:00 PM PDT / 5:00 AM GMT (+1 Day) on June 20th, in ~48 hours. Shard Status: Player List: Clarifications:

Archer's last voting post is this one?

Vote Count: Archer (6): The Bald Brandon, Kasimir, Szeth_Pancakes, |TJ|, DeTess, Matrim's Dice The Bald Brandon (1): Archer I think that's right? Yesterday was a lot so I haven't been paying super close attention.

If both Khriss and Hoid try to convert the same player (and assuming neither is roleblocked), both conversions fail. Conversions failing is distinct from being Roleblocked, but does not distinguish from the different ways they can fail (target being AC/SoU/Auto, target being Frost, target being protected from Conversion by Frost, target being a Vessel, target being attempted to be converted by both factions… think that’s all the ways).