Metacognition

Let me be the first to say... HE'S PAHN KAHL!!! GET HIM!!!

Hero has a point. That was kind of my fear as well. The lose of one or even two breaths is difficult to balance against just a random chance. The ones who benefit the most for the way it is set up right now is the Phan Kahl. They can replenish their breaths while the rest of us cannot (personally, I like the idea of it taking two of them to steal breath, but that does eliminate the need for them to put their player with the biggest breath at risk, so it could go either way). I've got two ideas for how to possibly balance it: Keep it at two, but make it so that if you don't redraw the breath the next night, the Lifeless is considered lost and you can't get it back. This way, the people who are effectively 'Lurchering' are different every night. It will keep the Phan Kahl on their toes and it won't be highly effective until the other players start to form some alliances that they can trust. Increase the cost to 4 and drop everything else down a notch from that point. The negate vote becomes 2, and the strawman 3. At that point, it functions like the rest, where you can invest it, but you don't have to use it right away. This keeps it from being used by a lot of people early on, thus making it harder to come by. That's all I can come up with off hand, but I'll try to think on it a bit and we'll see. You've still got some time to decide and modify things, so feel free to tinker around! The biggest thing to be careful of is that the PKs can use each of these abilities as well, so you could be giving them Lurching abilities and multiple kills a night if they get the Lifeless Commands. This game feels like it's going to be hard mode, like my Inquisitor game was! I like it.

Gamut definitely deserves the MVP slot here. I've never seen a game with so few Spiked kills, especially one with only one Lurcher. Let this be a lesson to everyone; Gamut isn't allowed to survive long! Just kidding, but really, I think he deserves to be the Official Lurcher for this portion of the forum, just as Herowannabe is our Official Tineye. All in favor? Also, I was starting to worry if the Villagers were ever going to get a win! Well played, Spiked, but I gotta say, I'm happy we were able to take you out!

I'll admit, Joe, the fact that you voted for Erendi on the first day had me fooled. You guys had the chance to get Mabi lynched then and there and left Erendi to be an ace in the hole, but you kept your vote on him. Well played, but this gambit of another Spiked is uncalled for. Even if there is another one, there are only 3 people that are unverified. The next night, we'll be able to seek one, I'd coinshot another and if that doesn't finish the game, we lynch the third person and there is literally nothing that can be done about it. If you try to kill Chid, Gamut lurches him and we still get the results. If you kill Gamut, we still get the results. If you kill me, I still get the kill and we still get the same results. In other words, if you had a teammate, you should both step forward and gloat while you can, cause you're dead either way. (Yes, your eccentric Detective was your coinshot the entire game. As Dane so well put, even when I'm not GM, I still get the highest kill count! Mwahahaha!!! I've copied the PMs from the Trust into a Google Doc that I have gotten everyone's permission to post at the end of the game, but to quickly clarify one thing: I never used my powers for the first few days. Raubber was hit by either Asp or Bartson. Since we couldn't know which one hit him, we couldn't be sure of his alliance. Sorry Raubber!)

I love how everyone keeps adding bits about loving colors and such into their character descriptions. I kind of hope Claincy is evil enough to make each of you Idrians just to see how you try to explain it all away later!

Retirement, Hero? You've only been out one game so far. That's not retirement, that's a vacation! (Oh, and in case you didn't notice, sign ups for his game are already up, since he'll be gone over the weekend) A few questions and thoughts for you Claincy: Depending on how many players you get, it's entirely possible that people are going to run out of breath. There's just too many ways for the breaths to be lost. From the killings of the Kahls (see below for questions about their stealing of breaths), to the 2 breath Awakening, to the Returned, you could easily run into situations that make it so that, by the end of the game, almost everyone is drab! Not to mention that any breaths that are taken by the Kahls will be entirely lost when they're killed. That is the hardest part of this game to balance well. You don't want a ton of people running around with Nightbloods, but you'll also not want to run out of breaths either. I hope you have some back up plans for that, just in case. I'd like some clarification about the Kahl's ability to steal breath. Would that require two of them? Would one steal the breath and the other do the killing? Would each be considered an action, thus using up two of the Kahls for the night? What happens if the attack is countered (like with a Divine Breath)? Do they still get to steal the breaths? In other words, could you make that part a bit clearer? Can Awakened objects be used multiple nights in a row or do you have to recover the breath the next night and then wait a night before using it again? How long do you have to recover your breaths? Could I, for example, awaken a rope and never use it and just let it hold my breaths to be recovered at another time? Are we allowed to have multiple awakened objects? Also, I assume that any breaths held within an object can't be stolen if you're killed. Is that a correct assumption? I don't think the players will get much use out of the 3 breath awaken rope "Hold Things," considering that you have to make the action the night prior. Until you knew how a certain person would vote, there'd be no need to stop them from voting. Perhaps make people declare during the night cycle that they are creating the rope during the night and then they can pick the target during the day? If that is how you planned on working it, that's not the way it sounds. Some ideas for the Heightenings you don't have: The 6th could make it so that any Awakening that costs less than 5 breaths costs one less. I think that wouldn't be too overpowered, since they'd have to recover the breath to make the power work again, which would take up another night. For the 8th, you could also make it so that they can't be affected by any Awakening that requires a command (the 3 and 5 breath Awakenings). After all, you can break the commands and those are still technically commands; they're just not as elaborate as the commands for the Lifeless. One final thing, and I don't have any ideas yet, but I'd give the Idrians one more role. As it stands, they don't have a lot of breath, so they can't use Awakenings initially and they only have 3 roles that are specific to them. On the other hand, the Hallendren have their own Agent, the Lifeless Commands and the ability to Awaken right away. It's been awhile since I've read Warbreaker, so I'm at a loss for an idea at the moment, but by giving them another role, it evens things out a bit more, IMO. If I recall correctly, they are a hardy people, so maybe something similar to the Thug-type roles or a Lurcher-style role? That's all I got for now. Hopefully some of this will help.

Meta walked away from the noose feeling numb. "You lied to me fairy. You said he was bad and he wasn't. He was turning his life around and you stopped it. I'll never trust you again..." Meta swatted at something over his shoulder. Then he growled and then swung at nothing in front of him. "Stand still, you glowing wasp! No fair dodging to that side! You know that arm is broken!" Meta made his way back home within a flurry of one-armed punches and swats, all the while grumbling about lying, two-bit, no-good fairies.

Cog, the craftsman, at your service. Ever since he was a small lad, Cog was fascinated with how things worked. He would constantly get in trouble for "breaking" his toys; even if he did get very proficient at putting them back together (sometimes even making them better). His love for complexity and puzzles drove him to building his own contraptions, like a bit more sane Leonadro da Vinci. The craftsmanship, utility and variety of his works are beyond compare. He runs a shop just down the street from the Red Salmon, one known by the children as the Workshop, due to Cog's propensity to sometimes give away some of the toys and puzzles he's created. Looks good, Claincy! There are a few questions and a few clarifications IMO, but I'll ask them over in the ACR thread. This looks like it should be a lot of fun! (Also edited your post to fix the tags. It will make it easier if you decide to divide things up like I did for game 2 and if not, then at least it's uniform! )

Practice and a compulsive level to detail. Even then, I had my own hiccups in the fact that I couldn't get the write ups done in a timely fashion! You're doing great, so don't worry about it. "I've deduced that the evidence points to Wark. How, you might ask? Because this little fairy floating by my shoulder told me so. She is really quite nice, but she seems to think that Wark smells funny and she keeps making faces at him. The gnome on my other shoulder agrees and who am I to argue with mythological creatures? How I have become blessed with the ability to see them and the rest of you can't is a mystery I will have to solve another day, right after I find out why this wall is breathing!" Meta put his head against the wall and promptly passed out; a cocktail of natural painkillers still coursing through his body. Nobody could tell if he had gone insane or if some of the drugs were having an odd reaction to each other. It was also hard to say whether this was an improvement over Meta's usual self or not.

That's how I had it within the original text as well. The forum does have a filter now. I noticed it when I typed something in a PM and rather than the word I used, it replaced it with 'Chull." I kind of want to explore the filter now and see what forms of hilarity we can come up with because of it!

Even at a low count, you would need almost 30 people to have all the roles and as stated before, within that number, there is likely to be a few inactives as well. When ever you run a game with more than just the typical two factions, the need for more players arise. I'd suggest cutting down on the number of players within the side factions. Not only will that make the numbers a bit more likely, but that will give the Civilians a better chance. The major component of the game is your Civilian group and they shouldn't feel like they're just stuck in the middle of everyone else's wars. If you do that, then they'll be the first ones to go inactive on you. I'd drop the Squires completely, as they feel tacked on a bit anyways and if you can't come up with anything for Mateform, don't worry about having them. The biggest group you need to boost is your Civilians. As I said, they make up the largest portion of your audience and they feel underwhelming. I'd focus more on them and make them feel like they stand a chance. They're the only group without Doc access, they don't have a lot of abilities and the Highprinces will become targets that they can't protect because they don't have a Lurcher-style ability. They have the most negatives of any group and you've left them high and dry. I'd go with 3-4 KR, 2 Skybreakers, 5 Voidbringers and the rest Civilians. That way, everyone stands a chance. Edit: I like the Highstorm mechanic. That works out pretty well to help reign in the KR and gives a needed boost to the Voidbringers (though I'd let them choose the form [perhaps by starting them all out in Dullform and making it so that only one person can hold a form at a time?] and be able to switch out of Stormform).

Thanks. I could tell when I read through it that there were some incongruities, but I couldn't place them.

This is a big thing that I've noticed. You don't have to shoehorn everything from Roshar into one game. There's nothing that says that you have to have Radiants in your game. There's nothing that says you have to include Shardplate/blades. Maybe your group doesn't have access to fabrials. I've said it before and I'll say it again, while this style of game has been around for awhile, I'd much rather conform the game to the world rather than making the world fit the game. Especially with Sanderson's work. He does such an amazing job of providing us such expansive and beautiful worlds to work from, it feels like a shame not to explore them. Let's have a game that takes place on Purelake. Let's have another that is placed within Alethi high society. Then another as a bridge crew. My point is that not every role will fit within one game. And they shouldn't. Build roles, explore ideas, but don't forget your setting when it comes time to actually put it into play. That's where you need to balance things. Once you know whether or not you're going to need Shardbearers, then you know that you need to build your game with them in mind. Don't try to cram everything into a single game. Hell, just look at my games. I barely touched on anything other than Allomancy! If you try to include too much, it'll just bog down your game into numbers and roles. Let it breathe.

Just looking for some feedback on a short story I wrote for a writing contest my college puts on every semester. The theme is 'Unity within Diversity.' Let me know if I nailed it or not and whether there's any editing errors I need to fix. Thanks! The Dividing Mind “It is time to make the decision, Jason.” Jason sat alone in a cleared room. The only furniture was the white walls and the stained carpet. He had long since learned that anything else would eventually be destroyed, whether they be objects or relationships. “I don’t want to choose.” He said to the air. “You’re each so horrible in your own rights.” “Never the less, it is time. It won’t be long now before those you used to call friends decide to turn you in. They will claim you are insane and have you locked away. They will say it is for your own good. Then, the doctors will take all of us away from you, unless you choose.” Jason knew the voice to be right. The voice was that of Logic, one of the many voices that only he could hear. Each of them pounded against his skull every day, every hour, every minute of his life. He was a husk without them, but he was broken with them and now, it came down to this. To deciding which of these aspects he would continue to listen to while silencing, effectively killing, the others. It needed to be done, but still Jason rebelled. “And what happens if I choose none of you?” “Just try to banish me, you pathetic loser!” Passion’s voice seemed to reverberate within his skull. “I am life itself! Without me, you wouldn’t be able to feel, wouldn’t be able to weep or laugh! Is that the kind of life you want? Would you give up never being able to desire something? To never yearn for something more? Ha! You couldn’t banish me if you wanted to, because I fuel that want! Leave the rest of these constrictions behind. You and I will become free spirits. We’ll do what we want, when we want and damnation the consequences! The rest of them are holding you back! Together, we’ll be free!” Passion had said that very thing many times over and yet Jason was reluctant. To be free was what he wanted and yet he fought against it. What kind of person would he become if he gave into Passion’s pleas? One without cares; yes, but also one without lasting attachments and likely surrounded by dangers. “Careful, ever so careful,” Caution whispered. “Every step could bring disaster and this is more than just a step. Slowly, carefully, we need to make our way. What was that? Was it just the wind? We should move away from the windows. What would happen if something were to fall through them? We would be crushed. Yes, we must hide. We must be safe. For only then will we be able to keep breathing. That is how we stay alive. We are needed or else Passion would lead us to an early grave, yes?” Jason edged closer to the side of the room. His eyes darted towards the darkened corners, looking for danger, but he found none. He had already removed any and all dangers from this room. That was what made Caution so appealing; it was safe. No one and nothing could hurt him when Caution was at the forefront; mostly because they weren’t there. That was the safety Caution brought, isolation. To choose Caution would mean that Jason would forever be alone. “As you can see Jason, each of us is adamant about continuing our own relative existences, but I think you will see reason and realize that there is only one clear choice. I will expound on why you need me, Logic, if you wish to continue existing. “Without me, you will be at the whims of the moment and/or anyone who wishes to manipulate you. Without me, what life you would have would be shallow. You can’t plan or prepare for a plausible future without me. And finally, by choosing me, you free yourself from emotional distress. No more heartache, which was the origin of our situation in the first place, correct? That alone is why you will eventually choose me.” “Don’t let Logic fool you,” Morality said. “There is a right and a wrong answer here, but Logic’s path will only lead you to ruin. He would have you believe that you are free from harm, but what about the harm you would do to others? You would be nothing more than an emotionless robot. You would make decisions based on their probability of success without caring if the outcome hurt those around you. That is not life. Life is about judgments and about whether your actions are morally right or wrong. You can’t have that without me.” “I provide wonderment,” Innocence whispered in a childlike voice. “Please don’t kill me. I don’t want to die.” Jason threw up his hands to cover his ears at the cacophony of voices. There were hundreds of them; each wanting to make their own cases for why Jason needed them above all others. His efforts were in vain. The voices were already inside him. “Please,” Jason whimpered. “I don’t want to choose. I just want to live. I just want to be free.” His pleas fell on deaf ears. The voices were growing louder and louder, trying to drown each other out. If they had been audible, they would be shaking the walls. Jason curled up into a ball and rocked himself back and forth, trying to find an answer. “Logic dictates-“ “Your logic is crap! Passion drives us forwa-“ “What was that? Is someone there?” “You’re all wrong. I am the right answer.” “Please….” Jason felt like his mind should snap, but that had already happened when she died. Instead, as the chorus built to a crescendo, a moment of clarity hit him. Suddenly, it was as if he could hear each voice individually. He could feel the drive and the need of each one. He could see where they fit together, seamlessly to make a whole person. They were all so different, but together they created something more. And he knew why they had fallen out of synch in the first place. When she died, he had tried to remove the part of himself that hurt; the pain was just that strong. When he did so, he had thrown the rest of them out of harmony. Like cogs in a clock, the removal of that one piece of himself had caused the entire system to collapse and break into individual pieces. The voices seemed to fade into the background as he mentally pulled out that portion of himself that he had closed off and focused on it. A single word crossed his lips as he opened it back up. It was both a prayer and a dirge wrapped in three syllables. He allowed the memories to overwhelm him. “Angela….” He spent 2 days huddled in his room as the anguish and grief washed over him. He kicked and he screamed. He threw himself against the walls. If there had been anything left to break, it would’ve been broken. At one point, he vaguely remembered hearing a concerned knock on his door, but it was ignored in the ocean of loss he had been submerged in. He cried so much that he felt he should be literally drowning in his own tears. In the early morning hours of the third day, he felt drained… of everything. His body felt weak from malnourishment and dehydration; his emotions had been strained to their very last. There was a rapid and urgent knock on the door. “Police! Open up!” Exhausted, Jason found his way to his feet and made his way to the door. He undid the latches and locks. The very first thing that Jason noticed was the sun. It had barely crested the horizon, but already its light shown upon him. The next thing he noticed was that the voices were gone. The cogs were all back in place. Somehow, the diversity of human emotion and thought had been again unified into a whole. The cop eyed him suspiciously. “Is everything alright here, son?” Jason smiled for the first time in months and let the warmth of the sun’s rays bask him. “Finally, yes. I think so, officer.”

Meta was still groggy and dazed from all of the medicine he'd been given, but he still managed to point in the general direction of Clan with his good hand. "I knew yous were suspect! Lynch him! All three of him!"

Yay! Peng's back!

I'll leave it up to the Ghosts (with Asp heading things, considering he can be a go between for the Spiked Doc) if they would like to attempt it. If they are, we'll all send our roles and Night Orders from the last night. Once they have them all, they can do a quick write up (it doesn't need to be anything fancy guys. You can literally just say, "This person died. This person was attacked, but survived. Etc.") and we'll get the show back on the road!

Define "divine." If you mean a Return's breath, then I think it's perfectly balanced. If you mean any breath, then I think they should only learn the identity (possibly their allegiance as well) of the attacker and negating the attack. I don't actually expect you to answer (because I already know a bit about how you plan to set things up), but that is the distinction I would make between OP and not.

It's still early, so I don't want to jump the gun here, but if we don't hear from Peng soon, is it possible for one of the ghosts to finish it up? I don't know how much information the ghosts are privy to. If not, and we don't hear from Peng within 48 hours of this post (thus giving him roughly 4 days since the beginning of the night), I'll call this game a draw and we'll move on to the next game. Hopefully that sounds fair to everyone?

It's been around 49 hours, so my guess is that someone called for an extension somewhere. Either that or Peng has been uber busy. Real Life before Games. Internet Connection before Login. Spellcheck before Post.

​I would say something about my razor sharp wit, but I don't want to be responsible for all the lacerations I would cause when everyone cut themselves upon reading my words. (Thanks Chaos! And I can't wait to find out what other titles we get to claim now!)

Says the man who started it off. How are you still alive? Perhaps there is some nefarious reason for your continued survival?

He didn't throw anyone under the bus if I'm reading his RP stuff right. He makes it sound like we might have another Lurcher (Ironborn?). At least, that's how I'm reading it cause that would be awesome. At first, I thought it was just some neat RP stuff, but then Selvar said something about a mysterious stranger too, so I'm thinking I'm right.

Meta looked down at his broken arm and time seemed to slow down. "This mustn't register on an emotional level," he thought to himself. "First, take deep breaths to help keep the body from going into shock. Next, find something to wrap the arm in. Find a sling so the arm can hang relaxed, taking the pressure off of the muscles. Finally, calmly locate the town doctor and have him reset the bone and apply a cast." Meta could see himself mentally preparing each step. He looked dignified and suave as he tackled each task with the grace and intelligence of one that knew what he was about. Then time caught back up with him and it was time to put his plan into motion. He took a deep breath and... "OWWWW!!!!!" He screamed as he ran around the room, flailing his broken arm around wildly, which coincidentally made it hurt even worse. "AHHHHH!!! OW! OW! OW!!!!" He actually did manage to grab some cloth, purely by accident, but instead of wrapping it around his arm and making a sling, he stuffed it in his mouth and bit down as hard as he could. Even muffled, he still kept screaming, tears leaking down his face. Finally, he ran for the door. He tried to open the door with his broken arm and only managed to bang it against the door, releasing another wave of agony. His knees gave out and thumped to the floor. When he did manage to get the door open, he crawled in the direction he thought it was to Selvar's residence.... He was going the wrong way.

For now at least, I'm going to vote for Mac. While I'm not entirely convinced he's Spiked, like I said earlier, he waited until after there was a decent bandwagon starting on Asp to vote for him and he seems a bit obsessed with getting Mabi taken out. The chances of us hitting a Spiked with so few of them left aren't that great, so I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but we also have a lot more to go off of and I'm using that and my gut to make this call. I know this brings us to a three way tie, but not everyone has voted and I'm not suspicious of either of the other two that are higher on the list.