Elbereth

Fine, fine, at least give me a second to put a section for it in the signup sheet first.

As you may have noticed, we have a new game format!! The rules are here; I'd encourage everyone to take a read and make sure they make sense. Questions about the format can go in this thread. We'll be starting our first Break Tank in 3-4 weeks, run by yours truly! Signups will go up after the LG signups end. This is a very inexhaustive list, but to get you thinking, here are some of the ideas that have been considered in the past for Break Tanks: @A Joe in the Bush: "I'm putting in an official request to run a Break Tank game. Tested Rule: There is no form of communication outside the thread, including the Elim doc. Elims still start knowing who each other are." @little wilson: MR1 rerun (...maybe), in particular the boon/bane mechanic @Young Bard: An anonymous Evil Doc, and the vote changes alignment instead of removing a player from the game. (Elim majority or extinction ends the game, with some other mechanism preventing the game from going on forever.) (Discussed at length on Discord here) @A Joe in the Bush / @Straw: Polarity Hunt Post in here or PM any mod if you want to sign up for a Break Tank slot. In general, try to sign up after you know approximately what you want to run, rather than just signing up so you have a slot later. As a reminder, you cannot run a Break Tank for the first game you GM.

Introducing: Break Tanks! After throwing around the idea for the past few years, we've decided to start up a fourth game format, the Break Tank. Unlike the other formats, this one is meant more for GMs to test things than for balanced games, and especially to test unusual mechanics with little or no precedent. These games will be short, potentially extremely broken, and hopefully give GMs a better idea of when something is horribly broken. General Structure Because Break Tanks are explicitly for broken or off-the-wall games, the structure is fairly flexible, but general guidelines: Turn length: between 1 and 12 hours. (It's probably better to go for one of the ends of that scale rather than in the middle; I would expect a lot of 1 hour and a lot of 12 hour turn games but few 6 hour turns.) Timing: the start date will be set well in advance (preferably 2-3 weeks beforehand), so that (especially if turns are 1 hour long) players can just block off an afternoon to play. Inactivity filter: not recommended, and any that is there should be fairly lax. Not everyone will be able to get on during every 12-hour span. No pinchhitters. RP: little to no RP, including in the writeup. The priority here will be game-relevant discussion; we'd ask that everything else be put in spoilers for the sake of players needing to catch up. Rules must still go through the Committee (and you still need an IM as usual), although with somewhat lower standards for approval. If the committee can point out a break for you to fix without having to have players experience it, then all the better for everyone. Unlike standard games, Break Tanks do not have to start on Cycle 1 and, at the GM's discretion, can instead be started as if it were midgame. (This could be useful if, for instance, player power increases significantly over the course of the game, e.g. with elevations in KKC or item consolidation in LG61/20/5.) The GM can also choose to end the game prematurely at their discretion. Signing up for a Break Tank slot without a specific game in mind is discouraged. A Break Tank GM must have GMed or been a substantially active coGM for at least one game before running a Break Tank. Having a coGM is strongly encouraged, for everyone. How Break Tanks interact with various game types: Blackout games (or games with secrets) are generally discouraged, since they'd obviously not be blackout by the end of the Break Tank. There are circumstances that might call for it when the game just shouldn't be run as a normal game but would be fun (e.g. QF26 or MR1), but games which are actually testing mechanics should take priority. Anonymous games are permitted, but not encouraged unless the mechanic being tested inherently requires anonymity. They take more effort on the part of the mods, and require more effort to actually start playing. Weird/new faction variations are encouraged to start out as Break Tanks. Faction games are notoriously difficult to balance, and are very messy on the regular. For GMs: How and When to Run a Break Tank So you want to run a Break Tank game! First, let's talk about how running it differs from other games: Keep rollover time short. (This is another reason you should try to avoid complexity in your game.) Don't do a writeup - you can prewrite or edit it in later, but during rollover you should send the necessary PMs and post results, as quickly as is feasible. (And try not to mess up. :P) Still try to make sure players have fun! The game is primarily for you, to test mechanics, but the players should still enjoy themselves. If you can play the game out to the end, do so, since the players will have a much more satisfying time that way. End early if 1) there is a major break that makes the game unwinnable for one team, 2) there is a major break that means the game will drag on a very long time, or 3) you've seen what you need and you don't have the time to finish the game properly. Don't change the rules. A mid-game balance change is as likely to confuse your results entirely as to help. This is a test game; it is okay if stuff breaks. Document, document, document. You must do a post-mortem for the game, and please document your thoughts on balance as the game goes along (perhaps in the spec doc). If someone else wants to run a game in the style / with the mechanic you're testing, they need to be able to learn from your game. Remember that every game is different! Don't take the lessons you learn from a Break Tank too deeply to heart, because different games with the same ruleset will have wildly different outcomes. (See how differently the AGs have played out over time, for instance.) But you also need to consider whether you should run it as a Break Tank. Some advice on that front: Simplify. Running stupidly complex games is going to be a headache for everyone involved, and you don't want them to spend the whole cycle just reading the rules! Try to isolate one or two specific mechanics and only have those in the game. Generally try to avoid or minimize activity rewards. You shouldn't need them for this game, and in fact too much activity will be a problem for players who have to step away and then try to catch up. Usually, what you're testing should be a rules mechanic more than a specific distribution, as the latter is much more game-specific and hard to draw conclusions from or rerun. (Distribution here does not include a question like "how many elims should I put in the game" if the game is different enough that that's a difficult question, however.) Try to avoid planning for or expecting a particular player count. PM-heavy games are mildly discouraged; in general, this should be a game that other GMs can read and learn from. Try to balance as well as you can beforehand! The more you can fix now, the more fun it will be for your players and the more helpful it will be for you in seeing whether it's actually balanced. If you can combine cycles rather than splitting Day and Night, do. If you have a fairly normal ruleset but are nervous about GMing it for some reason, a Break Tank probably isn't for you. In those cases, talk to a mod or committee member, get a coGM, or ask your IM for distribution help. Here are some past games that would have made for great Break Tanks (not an exhaustive list): QF5 (first ever free-for-all) MR13 (confirmed good players) QF22 (paired players with one in night and one in day) LG38 (players make up all the rules) LG42 (first anti-faction game) LG49 (very different win condition mechanics) MR38 (completely different voting mechanic) QF46 (meta-village mechanic) On the other hand, KKC or the Shard games would not have made good Break Tanks. They're much too complicated to do well with 1-12 hour turns. For Players: What to Expect Don’t go into it with the same expectations as in a normal game. In particular, the game might be horribly broken, it might start or stop in the middle, and the end may not be satisfying at all. Try to have fun anyway, but don’t get your hopes too high about winning. Try to interact with the rules; that’s what the GM is testing. Spell out your thoughts if you have them, in your GM PM if not in thread. Feel free to banter and have fun, but keep anything not game-relevant in spoilers if at all possible - we want it to be as easy as possible for people to catch up on the thread, and not everyone has as much time as you might. (Doc banter can also be in a separate section, if need be.) Playing in a Break Tank and a regular game at the same time is not recommended. (Note: much of the content of this post is in the Game Signups OP, and will eventually be taken out of here to keep this thread clean.)

Dyring is literally from LG1. I didn't realize you didn't know!

Hello, all! Due to recent events and discussions, many but not all prompted by the most recent AG, we’re planning on adding the rules below to General Rules & Etiquette. We’re putting them here first to allow for discussion and suggestions (including suggestions for other rules not on this list), and they will be officially edited into the rules thread in one week. We’re also changing the rules to be individually numbered, for easier reference. The changes are listed in this post, and at the bottom is a spoiler containing the full proposed new rules. GMing-related Changes The committee: @Haelbarde and @Young Bard are, sadly, stepping down from the game balance committee. We’re delighted to welcome @Kasimir and @Archer as their replacements! The new committee is @Amanuensis, @STINK, @Sart, @Fifth Scholar, @Straw, @Kasimir, and @Archer. (Also, for the record, all past committee members have a standing invitation to rejoin the committee should they ever find themselves with the time to be on it again.) GM responsibilities: GMs are not required or expected to mediate player conflict. Frustrations can and should be addressed to the IM of the game, not the GM. Any game with more than one non-standard role or mechanic requires that the GM have run a game previously or had a major role in coGMing a previous game. (This also applies to Break Tank games.) Additionally, a mod in the approval committee may decide that an GM will be required to have an experienced coGM if their ruleset is especially complicated. These requirements may be waived at moderator discretion. If an upcoming GM doesn’t meet these requirements or the approval committee determines that there isn’t a clear path toward making the ruleset workable, the GM will have the option to either run a simple ruleset, or to temporarily pass up their slot until they coGM and/or fix the rules. IM responsibilities: We’ve realized that going to the IM isn’t particularly natural for most people in part because the IM generally isn’t very visible in the game. As a result, IMs will be interacting more with the game, including posting something every cycle or two, which might be a quick reminder that they’re available, a meme, or a bit of RP. They will also be regularly checking GM PMs, and if you raise a potential issue in a GM PM, address it to the IM (see above re: GMs are not expected to be mediators). Non-Sanderson Games: The requirement to have a pass in order to run a non-Sanderson game was implemented to reduce the number of non-Sanderson games when those were more than a third of the games being run. The effect, however, has been to make non-Sanderson games almost never run - there have only been three total in the last two years. As a result, we’re loosening the limitation somewhat: every fifth game in a format may be a non-Sanderson game. Pass-holders still have their passes, and may use them to run a non-Sanderson game whenever they want. Break Tanks: We have a new game format! See this post for details, and the format description is also in the Game Signups OP. New and Proposed Rules Etiquette Every player’s agency is important, and coercion is frowned upon. This includes but is not limited to blackmail, using your position of village trust to get other people to listen and do what you want (mayoring), and bussing a fellow eliminator without their consent. If you are frustrated with another person, try to talk to a friend or the IM about it before addressing that person directly. But also, unless the IM advises you not to, do then go and talk to that person and let them know you’re frustrated. No one wants to upset you, and discussing the problem with them is usually enough to make things better. Limit emotional manipulation. Even if you’re channeling real emotions into false pretenses, the end result is often people feeling like they have to question and suspect when others are being vulnerable. Being open about emotion is fine, but try not to tie those emotions into arguments you’re making. Extending the section on conflict resolution: Your first step, should you have a problem with something game-related, is to take it to the impartial moderator. This includes frustration or anger with other players, the GM, the balance of the game, or anything else. They are there to diffuse situations. Explain what’s going on to them, and they’ll talk to the relevant parties, as well as the GM, to clear things up. Please be proactive; if you see tension happening, ping the IM even if you aren’t involved in the issue. And while you can certainly make this kind of communication in your GM PM, please address the IM rather than the GM, who is there to run the game and not to mediate. Please stay active in games. Your fellow players are expecting you to be active and participate regularly, and your absence makes the game harder on everyone else. Participation means engaging with the game, not posting just enough to avoid an inactivity filter. But real life does happen, and your circumstances may change unexpectedly. If that is the case, please tell your GM, who may be able to arrange a pinch-hitter to take your place. Rules Don’t use information about the wording, coloring, etc of your GM PM to make deductions about roles or alignments. Going with not being able to quote PMs anywhere (including eliminator docs), you cannot add a player to an already-existing PM. If you have a group PM and want to add a member, you must create a new PM. Rewording the codes policy, yet again: Do not use ciphers, codes, or other languages to communicate in a way other players cannot understand. If a game has limited or closed PMs, you can’t get around that by making private messages in the thread. At most, you may communicate a particular piece of information specified in PM (e.g. “the first name I say in my first post will be the person I think you should scan”), but you cannot just tell someone a key in PM so that they can decipher the piece of code you put in the thread. This policy is somewhat looser around anonymous messages, but you still may not give another player a key with which they can decipher your anonymous message. You are permitted to encipher a message in such a way that you can prove you were its creator. Ciphers which contain no game-related information are allowed. If a player cannot access or edit a Google doc they’re part of for any reason, the GM may set up a PM to act as a replacement. Such a PM should not be counted as a normal one for purposes of restrictions on PMs or PM spying. Warnings We’ve changed and clarified the Warning section of the rules. Breaking a rule will generally get you a warning to reread the rules, then a discussion about how to avoid it if you break it again, and a third instance will mean being pulled from the game and a discussion with the full mod team. We may be harsher if it seems like you’re acting in bad faith; historically breaking a rule is almost always accidental and a discussion is all that’s needed. In addition to the above, we’re planning on making a pinned thread called something like “Introduction and Q&A” in order to give new people a less daunting way to figure out how to sign up and how it all works. We’re also unpinning the SEAcropolis thread, but not hiding it; it’s not used often and maybe having it unpinned will make it feel less “special” so y’all will feel more free to post whatever you like in there. This thread will stay around but unpinned; the Q&A thread is for rules clarification and random questions, while this thread is for discussion of meta or community norms that aren’t really about the rules so much. (These changes will go into place in a week, when we officially implement the rule changes listed above.) Full Rules, with changes

Post Mortem AG thoughts Balance: This was discussed at length in the dead doc, but I think the distribution for this game was reasonably well balanced, though not perfectly so. Part of this is that I decided to go with the more insane of the two e!Coinshot distributions that Fifth wrote up, i.e. to give the elims a Mistborn, Lurcher, and Coinshot. That has huge potential for gambits, but a somewhat more well-rounded option would have been Coinshot, Thug, Smoker, Soother, vanilla, and the village got a Seeker in place of one of the Thugs - on which note, we did definitely have too many Thugs in the game. But, at the same time, an e!Coinshot distribution is inherently volatile. Beagle could have died C1, and the elim team would be screwed. Or, had she not hit so many thugs and protects, the elims could have curbstomped the village. All told, I’m okay with how it all played out, albeit fairly surprised (I was definitely more nervous about the village being underpowered than the elims, pre-game-start :P). Now, on to how exactly it did play out... Overview: My thoughts on why/how the game played out exactly as it did are twofold: one, the elims went for a strategy of killing mid-active players and leaving the really active ones alive. That strategy isn’t usually a problem in most games, though, and I’m definitely not advocating for killing all the active people first every time here. But there was also Meerkat’s D3 scanned-himself-as-spiked gambit. That made several of the elims stand out, and then it was worsened when Gorilla immediately flipped evil - see, an elim flip means the living analysis-heavy villagers are going to be much more accurate and dangerous to the elims, and there were enough of those still alive that a lot of the elims came and stayed under heavy suspicion for the rest of the game. (And some villagers, it wasn’t 100% accurate or anything, but it was enough to win the game.) The elims also weren’t helped by the number of failed kills - again, some of that is on us for the number of Thugs, but there were also a couple key protects by Quartz Zebra. There are other factors, of course - Beagle falling under enough suspicion that she had to claim limited her kills a lot, Penguin was scanned village and that was confirmed by Swan’s death, etc. But I think that’s the basics, and it ended up feeling like the elims were really disadvantaged, but I do think a lot of that goes to the village just playing a really excellent game. The curse was broken, fair and square. Now, onto the Discussion(™) part. A bunch of pretty tense stuff happened this game. I’m not planning to go into details, but I do have some overall thoughts: On emotional manipulation: The amount of emotional manipulation that an elim is willing to do varies widely depending on the player. The amount our community is willing to tolerate has also fluctuated somewhat - I think from an objective standpoint it’s all been relatively small, but SE is more tight-knit than a lot of mafia communities and way more than the internet as a whole. We care because we’re friends, and the idea of a friend using that caring against us can hurt. In addition, the end result of emotional manipulation (or, more broadly, just expressing strong emotions when evil) is that people in the future feel compelled to be suspicious when someone is being vulnerable, which is hard for everyone. There was more emotion expressed than usual in this game, because tensions were running high, so this has come up and I think it’s important to discuss. We also don’t want showing emotion to be a village clear. Nor do we want to say that no one is allowed to show emotion in the game. So it’s a tricky balance. In general, my thoughts are that we should limit showing emotion, and try not to tie it into arguments you’re making, especially ones about alignment. (So for example, “hey I’m really upset that everyone is tunneling so hard on me” is imo better than “I’m really upset that y’all think I’m an elim because I’ve been trying really hard” (regardless of alignment).) I would also suggest, when possible, venting first to a friend or to the IM before spilling all your emotions out into thread. If you’re unsure about a post, you’re always welcome to run it by the IM to check if it’s too much. (Though obviously we’re not available 24/7, this approach may be impractical if the post is especially time-sensitive.) The other thing I want to point out is that often that emotion happens because players get really, really invested in a game. So another way to address this problem is to just be less emotionally invested in particular games. I know that saying that is much easier than doing it, but it is in the end just a game that you’re playing with friends. Try not to take it too seriously. On expectations: This was mostly an underlying issue, I think, not one that came too prominently into the light, but let’s talk about it. A problem adjacent but not quite the same as reputation is what other people expect of you, or what you perceive they expect. I say “confirmed good is not confirmed right” a lot, and that’s not only because confirmed villagers can be wrong - it’s also because you shouldn’t expect more from a confirmed villager than from yourself (especially as, from your perspective, you’re also confirmed village). You also shouldn’t expect other people to do the analysis for you. As someone who’s been here, it can be really frustrating to feel like a lot of people are relying on you because you happen to talk a lot or be mostly village-read. I would encourage people to try to find their own reasoning for votes/suspicions as much as possible (or at least expand on someone else’s and not just say “I agree with so-and-so”), but I’m not sure what else you can do other than keep this in mind. At least a couple people felt that pressure this game, and plenty of you have in past games - does anyone have any thoughts on how to minimize it? It’s also worth noting that a lot of the time those expectations come from yourself as much as anyone else. I personally expect myself to read the entire thread, no matter how behind I am, and in the past that’s led to me just going inactive because the idea of catching up on so many pages was too daunting but I couldn’t let myself rejoin without doing that. This is, honestly, a harder problem to solve than external expectations. I don’t have much advice here other than that it’s just a game, and try not to be afraid to be imperfect in front of others. On trust groups: So there was a trust group this game. And trust groups always have the potential to cause friction, but that was realized this game due to a few factors that don’t usually happen. One, it was public. Usually trust groups stay secret or die. But two, it didn’t die - or at least, multiple of its members lasted for much longer than usual. From my perspective, I honestly don’t think the trust group did anything bad, but also my perspective was without fog-of-war. The trust group didn’t actually have much more information at all than the rest of y’all, but there was no way for you to know that. Ironically, I think this was actually exacerbated by Meerkat’s anonymized info dumps - they narrowed the knowledge gap substantially, but they made it feel like the trust group had a lot more information/connections. I also don’t think the trust group (or Meerkat in particular, being the public face of it) did anything to try to coerce people to do things or vote with him - in fact, he was pretty frustrated by how many people weren’t arguing and instead just following his logic without much input. But I also know that a couple people felt some pressure anyway, for which I have two responses. One, if you haven’t been playing for that long of a time you may not actually realize how anti-mayor SE is, because nowadays we tend to avoid rulesets where that’s even an option and it doesn’t come up much even when it is (because of the aforementioned “usually they’re not public or they die fast” bit). But just to be clear, we do not like mayoring. If you feel like you’re being pressured by someone because they’re a trusted villager, say so and anyone who’s been around long enough will yell at the person on your behalf. That’s something I take for granted enough that I don’t consider there to be pressure implied at all by a trusted/cleared villager, but I realized not everyone will have that context. Two, I think it’s worth discussing how trust groups should handle themselves publicly to minimize this kind of friction. I genuinely don’t have an answer here - should you be as open as possible, so people feel like they know what’s going on and aren’t left out? Should you be as quiet as possible, because if people don’t know it’s happening then they won’t feel left out? Is there a way to word things that helps? I don’t know. But I’m interested to hear if anyone has any ideas, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen it talked about before and it’s a valuable question. On moderation: There’s been some discussion about moderation recently, mostly (though not entirely) because of events in this game. On this I’d make two points: one, it has been pointed out that there is some amount of expectation on GMs to do mediation, and that players will go to the GM well before they go to an IM. The GM signed up to run a game, not to do mediation, and as such we (the mods) are planning to make IMs a more active presence in the game. This means something like posting every cycle or two to remind everyone the IM is there, plus a little more interaction and keeping an eye on GM PMs for issues. But, two, we cannot be held responsible for reading every PM and checking the thread every few hours so we can proactively address potential issues. In this game, Fifth and I did most of the mediation rather than Wilson (which is fine, I’m a mod and he’s been one and we’ve both got lots of practice - Wilson knew about the problems but there was no reason for her to step in because we could handle it), and I’d point out that we addressed issues proactively as soon as we saw them. I couldn’t expect an IM to be paying closer attention than we did, and we were proactive, and yet problems still happened. Sometimes they’re sudden. Sometimes they’re hard to stop (Falcon’s frustration about being tunneled is a notable example here; we talked to her and Meerkat plenty and helped calm things but it couldn’t really be properly solved without revealing her alignment). And that’s okay! Problems do happen, and we can’t prevent them all. More generally, just because the GM shouldn’t be expected to mediate doesn’t mean they aren’t partially responsible for flagging issues where they see them. Same goes for players - again, the IM won’t read every player-player PM and sometimes the GM won’t either (I certainly gave up this game after the second trust PM or so >>). Hopefully us being more visible in games will help here - and IMs will be checking on GM PMs, so raising something in there works too. (There is a class of issues that only the GM and IM can see, and the GM may not be experienced enough to recognize - those things we do keep an eye on particularly, especially for less-experienced GMs.) We’re happy to help, but we aren’t omniscient. You need to put in the work too. Some other smaller notes / thoughts: If you want a particular alignment in a game or don’t think you can handle an alignment, tell the GM! If you tell them (and no one else), there’s a good chance the GM will take that into account. It’s not guaranteed, but if you’re really hoping to be a villager this game because being an elim would be too much pressure, it is okay to tell the GM. I occasionally ask people I know are under a lot of IRL pressure about this - Meerkat was the elim Coinshot in one of the rolled distributions and that’s one of several reasons I decided not to go with it, because he would’ve gone insane. More insane. As was particularly noticed by Falcon in this game, but is true more generally, too much tunneling can easily turn bad. Believing that someone is evil and refusing to consider any other possibility is very frustrating for that someone (especially, but not exclusively, when they’re good); everyone should try to keep this in mind when convinced someone is evil. Even if you’re absolutely certain, think about how you act on it. And, on the other side, recognize that this will happen to you sometimes. It’s just a game in the end, and if you get frustrated try to take a step back and chill a little, and if you can talk it out with the IM or the player in question. Multiple people, as a result of the various dramas in this game, expressed that they were considering no longer playing because they felt they’d done something wrong or were bad for the community. In all cases, I think you’re wrong. (I’m not talking here about anyone who has ever thought about leaving because the community was bad for them; that’s your call entirely, and I can’t speak to it.) Seriously, even if you did cause problems, none of you did so intentionally, and hopefully the resulting discussion will make SE better as a whole. You’re part of this community, and in my opinion sticking around to learn from your mistakes is much better than leaving. This anonymous game was, uh, not anonymous. At all. I’m starting to think that anon games should mostly be QFs and MRs, which are short and chaotic enough to avoid revealing who you are, but the point stands - identity was not only often obvious this game, but also often used for logic. That’s not strictly a bad thing; this game wasn’t intended to be a “you MUST hide your identity and never claim at all” sort of deal, but it is worth discussing. Anon games are in part intended to let people avoid their rep for a while, and to keep people on more equal footing rather than listening more to some players based on their past reputation. We don’t have an official line here (and I don’t know if we should), but there were a couple points where I think things may have crossed into dubious territory (notably D4 pre-openwolfing, the discussion of Aman’s reputation was understandable and not wrong, but perhaps used as reasoning a little more than I’d have been comfortable with). But, as I told Kas, you can’t really be annoyed about someone using your identity when you’re screaming it to the entire world. The anonymous accounts facilitate this anonymity, but the player has to put in some of the work too. These thoughts are only my own thoughts, not those of the moderation team; please don’t hesitate to argue or disagree. Please do remember to be considerate of the people you’re talking to/about - lots of people have lots of strong emotions about this game, and I’d prefer for this thread to be a productive discussion rather than a threadfire that I have to come put out.

AG8: Finale - Tyrian Falls No More "The world, or a single life, is never saved for all time. One day, the village will no longer be destroyed by koloss. One day. One day. We can but hope. Salvation is always ever temporary. It must always be fought for, and earned. And you have won it, on this day." —Kaddar ~ That day, in the town square, something fundamental in the world changed. It was the sort of thing you might not have noticed, as Scimon Tlag pushed, with the force of a god within him, with the last remnants of a friend betrayed and slain. As Scimon Tlag pushed, and a storm of metal descended upon Tyrian Falls. As the sun slipped below the distant horizon, as the mists drifted across the town square, curiously shying away from Scimon Tlag, something fundamental in the world shifted and snapped. It was the sound of metal screaming as the last living Spiked in Tyrian Falls pushed and metal bent to his will and tore and rushed towards vulnerable flesh. It was the sound of villagers shouting and ducking for cover. It was the quiet, cut-flower sound of Lord Ischarus Loenthal collapsing, his life-blood trickling into the dust. It was the terrified scream of a boy watching his protector die before his eyes. But it was more than that. It was— ~ It was the ragged quality of betrayal in the screams that tore themselves from Wilson’s throat, as she huddled by the low wall next to Dyring’s Inn, even as the koloss tore through Tyrian Falls, even as Beetle giggled at his deception. It was the derisive cough from an old curmudgeon, as Aralis stared down the Spiked weaving their pretty little lies about koloss marching on Tyrian Falls, and the sharp shock—the sudden cessation of breath—as the sword ripped through his chest and the last of his Bronze faded into nothingness. It was the quiet exhalation of an apothecary who knew that his days of running and hiding among the skaa were over, that sometimes, the past still crept up on you, even as Kassien steeled himself for the killing stroke and prayed that El would survive his death. It was the pitying scoff of a liar and a guardsman who’d learned that sometimes, you had to create your own justice, who looked coldly into the eyes of his business partner even as Kast died, his last gasp a wheezed question. Ruin demanded justice, and Wyl Sharpe was more than ready to mete it out. It was the mumbled mantra (“Nononononono”), the sharp hitch where breath caught and tore, where it had always caught, as Ruin reached into Marll’s mind and yanked, the sobbing cries of a man who’d run as far as he could only to discover that he could never escape the blood on his hands. It was the cries of Tyrian Falls, another Tyrian Falls, and yet another Tyrian Falls, the village always burning, always slaughtered by Spiked and koloss, always betrayed, ever-doomed, ever-damned. It was the crackle of the flames consuming Dyring’s Inn. It was the loud crack of the barricades splintering, of the walls broken and sundered. It was the sound of watchmen dying as they tried to slow down the koloss, men and women screaming in agony on the ground, flesh cruelly torn, grievously wounded. It was the sound of Ruin. It was the sound of slaughter. It was an unholy exaltation. And it was a protest. ~ “No,” slurred Zebra, the Jaist standing tall and proud in the town square, the calm eye of the storm that raged. “No,” screamed Maill, as they tied him onto the pyre and prepared to set flame to kindling. “No,” whispered Herwynbe, as the dagger slid into his back in a shiver of cold steel and the tracery of blue lines faded from the world around him. “No,” Edrab managed, poison-ravaged, dying, crawling with the last of his strength, watching the plate roll across the floor of his home as though it were a wheel. “No,” said Felix, glaring defiantly at the blade of the sword. The Survivor sheltered him, and Felix did not fear the bright sheen of the descending sword, or the storm to come. “No,” said Kast Speirs, gravely, as though he was pronouncing a sentence. All his life, he had struggled. Wyl had been that one shining point, that one bright star, a compass by which to plot the course of his life. But even the brightest fell, and even now, at the end, Kast knew his duty. No. No. “No,” sobbed Roseanne Ghetti, as the voices rose in her mind. “No.” No. A single shining word that had stopped emperors, felled kings, and drew up walls that no koloss could breach. No. No. No. No. The word rose in a chorus from the dying, from those who had fallen again and again in defense of Tyrian Falls, but never forgotten, never futile. Each word was a weapon. Each word was a promise. Each word was a stone hurled unerringly at the glass pane that was the doom that hung brooding over Tyrian Falls. We will never give up. We will not break. We will never give in. No. It echoed down the corridors of time, from one Tyrian Falls to another. It echoed and bounced, a message to posterity, a message from the past to the present. No. A curse shattered. Zebra burned iron. Zebra pulled. ~ Nails, iron fittings, hinges, and all the trimmings and coins and pins and bits and pieces of metal that everyone used in their everyday lives, the little quotidian things that fastened the world together, that kept it ticking, as Kellehrt and his father and his father’s father laboured for a time at the smithy in Tyrian Falls— Zebra pulled. The world came alight to him, lines of blue metal kindling into existence around him. This was a task that required a master, and as Zebra pulled, he felt as though the Ja had descended upon him, as though the Ja was smiling on his efforts. People always thought in straight lines, because that was how Allomancy worked. He did not meet Scimon Tlag’s push with force but gave way, gracefully. He pulled on each bit of metal, each floating blue line, redirecting them just slightly, nudging them away from their targets. Aethex had picked up a shield from somewhere—likely just ripped off the top of a table—and was batting away at the detritus. Zebra helped him out, pulling so that a flying spear narrowly missed impaling the Thug. Dyring pushed Vincero away from a flying poker, having barely dodged it himself. Zebra nudged a series of nails out of the way, pulling them off-course just enough that they harmlessly flew off to the side and embedded themselves in the soft plywood of a bulletin board. Jerrien had slid under a low fence with preternatural, pewter-enhanced grace, and was casting about for a suitable weapon. The torn fragments of metal fencing would probably have missed him anyway but Zebra pulled all the same, yanking them ever so slightly off course and then letting go. Albatross was shielding Mouse and Freddie, who had taken shelter on the far side of the square. As soon as Zebra ascertained they were fine, he turned his attention elsewhere. The storm of metal surged through Tyrian Falls, and the wrath of Ruin with it. But Zebra stood fast, and the Ja was with him. (Praise the Ja!) Perhaps it would have taken a god to take in the carnage, the chaos, the destruction, to understand what Scimon Tlag was doing. But Zebra stood fast, and the Ja was with him, and patiently, meticulously, swiftly, he called to the storm, iron burning within him. And the storm answered. ~ “Come on,” Dyring said, glancing about him warily. Metal fight like this, there was only so much a Rioter like him could do. But Dyring wasn’t planning on going quietly into the good night, not with all the damage that Scimon Tlag and the others had done to his inn. All the cleaning he would have to do afterwards made him want to twitch. Vincero nodded, scurrying off with him. They ducked behind a low wall and huddled there, sheltering briefly from the storm. Loenthal was dead—that much was clear. Dyring resolved to protect Vincero. He supposed it was a brief lapse into sentimentality. That death was a loose end, a snarled knot. It seemed the least he could do to neaten things up a little. More metal flew over their heads. Dyring narrowed his eyes. It was time to fight back. He flared zinc. ~ The training held fast. They’d drilled into them, back with the Hazekillers. How to take on a Misting and win. Maybe even a Mistborn, if you were lucky. Coinshots and Lurchers were the absolute worst, though. Sidor went low the moment the storm of metal scythed through Tyrian Falls. Stay low, said the training. It was better to have a wooden shield, but Sidor didn’t have one, so that just meant she was better off improvising. She hunkered down and picked up a long, jagged, wooden splinter. Something, perhaps an axe, had struck a door and carved this chunk off. And Sidor was going to use every bit of her training to survive and to end the last threat to Tyrian Falls. Scimon Tlag was still in the centre of the square. Perhaps someone else would have thought this was dangerous. The Spiked merchant seemed to be armed with both iron and steel now. But even Mistings were men and men could be killed, and Sidor knew exactly how it was done. She stayed low and crawled forward on her elbows and knees, eyes fixed on her goal. ~ Colour bled back into the world. Dyring had deliberately stayed away from his metal over the past days. It was a strange feeling, burning zinc, as though the world had taken on extra layers of texture and nuance. There was Sidor, crawling towards Scimon Tlag. He felt the earthen solidity of Sidor’s determination, that warm blaze of courage in her stomach, and encouraged it, let the emotions grow within her. Edeis and Mouse huddled in a corner of the square. They would be afraid, of course. Edeis had no metal, and tin was no good in a metal fight either. A Soother would have suppressed the fear. But Dyring was a Rioter, and instead, he encouraged their certainty, their pride. Scimon Tlag was the last of them. They had stopped the Spiked. What need was there for fear? Ellie crouched low, likely burning metals. The Mistborn had been hesitant, indecisive. But in the end, Ellie had still come forward, had still spoken about his abilities to Kellehrt—there, anger mingled with the sharpness of grief at the loss of his oldest friend—and to Aethex. There was courage there. Dyring kindled it. It was not the sudden blaze of a fire. It was a gradual, patient task, like rubbing flint and steel together, and gently puffing on the sparks until they caught and became a growing flame. Fire was not simply wild; fire required patience, and courage was the most subtle fire of all. Courage made Edeis drag Mouse out of the line of fire. Courage made Kellehrt walk into the night, knowingly, to his death. Courage made Dyring stand fast, where he was, and stare right back at the neighbours and fellow villagers who had tried to condemn him to death what felt like a week ago. Fear made Freddie and Dragonfly hide beneath an upended cart, but there was courage there too, and determination was the steel in them as they whispered and conferred and tried to work out their next course of action. Courage worked in small, subtle ways, or large, magnificent ways. But it was fed from the same seed. Dyring kindled courage, and felt Dragonfly help him, felt courage flare to life within his own heart and watched as Ellie’s back straightened, as their Mistborn advanced on Scimon Tlag. And there, following on the heels of the Rioting, was an emotion that Dyring had not expected to find within himself, within all present in the square. Hope. ~ For a moment, Sidor thought she was caught. Scimon Tlag saw her, and in the next moment, a hail of metal flew at her, the Spiked pushing and pulling with superb control. Keys, coins, bits and pieces, all sharp enough to scratch her. She rolled away, and came to her feet in a fluid motion, still crouched low. Blood trickled and she wiped it away—something had cut her above the eyebrow, probably a coin. She hadn’t felt it. Adrenaline was funny that way. She wasn’t about to give up. If she had to go down, she would take Scimon Tlag with her. A hail of metal flew at her as she advanced. Sidor dodged, as best as she could, still keeping low. You never gave up, not in Hazekiller training. You knew your limits, and you knew how to nudge them, ever so slightly. A knife tumbled towards her, and for a moment, for a long moment caught in amber, Sidor thought this was where it was going to end: a knife in the town square, before she’d even taken down her target. The knife jerked away and flew harmlessly to the side. Someone stood between her and Scimon Tlag. “Hello there,” said Ellie. The last Mistborn standing in Tyrian Falls had come to join the fray. ~ In the mists that had enshrouded Tyrian Falls, like a soft pall with the drawing near of dusk, the koloss advanced. Tyrian Falls was vulnerable. Tyrian Falls was focused on the last, lone Spiked that remained within them, ignoring the greater threat that still bore down on them relentlessly. Ruin urged them on, urged them to slaughter and maiming and destruction. In the mists, there was a sound. It might have been a child’s laugh. Or the peal of a small silver bell. It might have been the resounding, glorious clarion call of a horn. But such horns did not exist, not in Tyrian Falls. Surely not. But as night fell and the koloss marched, the mists grew thicker, and the call of the horn seemed to echo, seemed to urge valiant battle. Dyring had called to courage. And now, courage answered him. Even from beyond the grave. ~ Heroes and shades of the fallen flooded the mists. “Do you feel like making a bet?” Riggs chuckled. Kellehrt eyed the koloss, a simple farmer’s reaping scythe in his hand, the blade sharp and clean as though it had newly come from his forge. “Never tell me the odds,” he replied. Warmmha had called, and ever the faithful servant, Kellehrt had answered. Su felt the mists reach into him, somehow, and his metal stores blazed to furious life within him. “Praise the Ja,” he whispered. The mists faded into translucency and he saw the advancing koloss and knew what had to be done. Newan knelt, his sword in his hand. A simple, battered sword. But he’d always wanted to be a hero, and sometimes it was the wanting that mattered the most. Sometimes you had to stop wanting, though, and to be a hero. And that was where he was now, with the koloss bearing down upon them, and the village he had bled for, the village he had died for in danger. So he was a hero. It was that simple. The smith’s hammer was surprisingly light in her grasp. Wyra weighed it, and stared coolly at the enemy. The frustration, the fear, and the grief faded away. Now there was only annealing to be done, and she would exact vengeance for Edgar’s death. Maill hefted his club and glared at the army of koloss. After so long, he thought. After so rusting long. At long last. Perhaps it felt a little like atonement. Or perhaps it felt a little like peace. Eoladdin. Rent. Tivend Elons. Arinian. Sothe. Matilda. The shades of the fallen thronged the mist. The dead were legion; all the dead, all the fallen, all those who had given their lives or had them ended tragically in the defense of Tyrian Falls at one point or other flooded into the mists, answering the call, answering the courage in Tyrian Falls right here, right now, with their own courage. The koloss became very aware of the fact they were no longer alone, as a god screamed in cheated fury. Light gleamed, the bright wicked slice of a scythe blade. ~ Metal filled the air as Scimon Tlag and Ellie fought. Sidor kept low, advancing as best as she could. Scimon Tlag knew she posed a threat to him, and sharp bits of metal kept flying at her, and Ellie yanked them off course and hurled them back at Tlag, forcing him back, forcing him on the defensive. She could take a little pain. Her Hazekiller training held firm. She sprinted the last few metres to Scimon and brought the splinter forwards, scraping her own hands in the process. It was so quiet. His mouth gaping in a silent scream, Scimon Tlag fell. Sidor pulled an obsidian knife from her boot and slit his throat, for good measure. And then it was over. It was all over. Blood spread out in a large pool on the ground. “Did we…did we win?” Ellie asked, cautiously. Some of the other villagers had begun to poke their heads out from cover. Sidor looked about her, at the destruction that the metal storm had wreaked on Tyrian Falls. She couldn’t figure out where High Prelan Ferac was, and decided she didn’t particularly care if the Spiked had murdered him. “I think,” she croaked, and had to try again. Her throat was bone dry. “I think we did.” AG8 is officially and completely over! And thank you to @Kasimir for the fantastic final writeup. First, player identities: Doc links (including the spreadsheet this time): I am delighted to announce that this year’s non-Sanderson pass winners are Melon Dingo (@Ashbringer), Pearl Chameleon ( @StrikerEZ), Coral Swan (@Matrim's Dice), and Salmon Meerkat (@Kasimir)! (We decided to give out four rather than three, since those four players were well ahead of everyone else in the running, and the last two were literally tied.) Congrats to all of them on playing a great game. (Note that the pass rules are changing slightly; see the next post for details.) The post immediately following this one contains my post mortem for the game, and will start off the Discussion(™) that we’ve been holding back on for the past week. That’s important and needs to happen, but I want to remind everyone to be considerate and to remember that we all ultimately want SE to be better. We may disagree about how, but the underlying goal is the same. (In other words: please do discuss, please don’t make me sit on the thread to make sure everyone behaves. ) The mods are also planning on some rule changes based on events of this and recent games; those can be found in Meta Discussion and we’d prefer if rule-specific discussion mostly happened there and this thread can be reserved for thoughts specifically about this game. But before that, something lighter: Awards Amber Vulture (Orlok), for having the most thorough analysis. Amethyst Scorpion (Devotary), for the most underappreciated jokes, and being the quickest anagram cracker. Azure Mouse (Teia/Droughtbringer), for being the only reason PMs stayed around. Charcoal Hyena (Aman), for being the most voted on player. Chartreuse Penguin (Stick), for the most sporadically correct takes. Coral Swan (Matrim) for being the best street preacher. Praise the Ja! Emerald Falcon (Illwei), for being the most accidentally evil villager. Fuchsia Ostrich (TJ), for having the best PM paranoia. Ivory Dragonfly (Azmine/Hael), for being the most confused player. Magenta Albatross (Karnatheon), for having the most confusing identity to everyone else. Mauve Crocodile (Drake), for the best scam PM and great dead doc gambling schemes. Melon Dingo (Ash), for perfect semiactive elim play, and trying so hard even as the last elim alive. Mint Heron (Sart), for the most underrated analysis. Onyx Flamingo (Biplet), for the chillest PMs and best calming influence. Opal Lion (Lotus), for saying no to pronouns. Oxblood Beagle (Elandera), for playing a great innocent village coinshot. Pearl Chameleon (Striker), for having the most suspicious cosmetic role and sticking to it anyway. Plum Rhinoceros (JNV/Experience), for best late entrance to the game. Quartz Zebra (Dannex), for best Lurching. Saffron Iguana (Archer), for the best puns (and being the most stubborn, especially once dead ). Salmon Meerkat (Kel), for being absolutely insane about everything. Sapphire Elephant (Walin), for best undercover power role. Scarlet Octopus (The Unknown Aon), for winning the first Oops Award and being a Steel magnet. Sunburst Toucan (Habo), for being the best self-correcting role distribution error. Turquoise Gorilla (Szeth), for most Oops Awards and having the most killable CR. Violet Axolotl (Araris), for subtlest trolling and bringing back Dyring. Little Wilson, for best unexpected late trolling payoff. And finally @Fifth Scholar, for literally everything, but especially writeups and paying attention to the game when I got too busy with school to focus on it enough. Congrats and thanks to all of you, for making this a great game.

how could you miss AG6

Hello everyone! The aftermath is currently planned to go up at the usual rollover time tomorrow (30ish hours from now). You have until then to make more memes (which, btw, are all amazing), vote for non-Sanderson pass recipients, and complete the "guestbook" for your anonymous account. And thank you, everyone, for being silly and amazing and not delving into the Discussion(tm) stuff. It's very appreciated.

You don't have to be immediately next to send your game to committee, you know. You can get approval in advance.

Aftermath: Tyrian Rises Tyrian Falls had finally come for Scimon Tlag. He wasn’t sure whether he was surprised it had happened or surprised that it had taken so long. But that didn’t matter. Not anymore. Nothing would matter anymore. He just needed to hold out… a little… longer… but he wouldn’t, would he? Of course not. But that didn’t matter. Not anymore. Where was it… They’d tied his hands behind his back, bound his knees and ankles together, stripped him of any metals, set him down in the town square. They even took his foilleaf tea. Which was smart, as he had in fact put something in there at some point, and Tlag did not want to be loopy for this. He knew what came next. The folk of Tyrian Falls were desperate, alright, desperate enough that having even a semblance of a trial was only a nicety. The real verdict and judgement had been decided a long time ago; it was just a matter of choosing a suspect. At least there was some effort spent into finding the right one this time. As for Scimon Tlag… he’d been right. There wasn’t much he could say to defend himself. He hadn’t helped find the Spiked. He hadn’t helped the defense. He’d been too focused on other things. First his sales, then his faith, then his apathy. He needed that apathy. A little longer. Until the blows came down, until the very last moment. Until then… divert. Relieve the pressure. Let a little out. Where was it… “Heh,” said Scimon Tlag. One of the guards - he couldn’t see who it was, he didn’t really care - looked down with a scowl on their face. “Heh heh,” he continued. “Quartz. I fouuuuuund him. It was everything I’d hoped, and then I lost him agaaaaain.” A few individuals rounded a corner. He recognized a few of them. The Penguin was there. A few other faces he somewhat knew. As was, returning to a scene of potential victory after leaving for Heron’s Fall, Lord Ischarus Loenthal and his little companion. Viscero? No, Vincero. That was it. He was surprised that the lord had invited a kid to watch this. Then again, kids on the street had usually seen worse. And while Tlag had no idea whether the kid was a Mistborn, Seeker, or some other wonder, he was a worry. A minor worry considering the circumstances, but a worry that should be addressed. “Hello, everyone! I’m Scimon Tlag! Care to buy a melon? I have a wonderful selec-” The other guard kicked him, leaving him gasping for breath, trying not to suck in the dusty ground. Well, that was uncalled for. Okay, maybe a little called for. Although he hadn’t heard anyone calling for it. Loenthal stepped forward. He wanted to do this himself? No, no, he was just nodding to the guards, who were readying their clubs. “You know what you’re accused of. You’ve said nearly nothing. Care to say any more?” Scimon Tlag looked around. Not every eye was glaring daggers. But enough of them were. It was time. Where was it… “You must be very proud,” Tlag said, a different kind of insanity dripping into his voice. Loenthal tried not to react, but Tlag could see the flash in his eyes, that morbid curiosity. “You don’t recognize me. Of course you don’t. We were always good at disguises, and nobody wanted to get a good look at me anyway. And I was always in the back. But I saw you. Watched you survive, watched you run. When Beagle was doing their bloody work, I was watching. When Hyena needed saving, I was watching. When Su was killed… I was watching.” “Then you killed them all. Then I had to stop watching. I killed Kellehrt. I got revenge. I let my apathy fester. And look where that got me. The only Spiked in Tyrian Falls.” Where was it… “You’ve nearly won. Or not you, it could never be you, but your town. Your people. Tyrian Falls lost as much as it could lose, but it’s still standing. We couldn’t knock it down this time. I couldn’t knock it down this time. The koloss are still coming, and we’ve done enough damage that you won’t be able to just stop them like an invasion of Smokers. But someone can survive. Someone will survive, carry on the memory of this town until Scadrial is won or lost. You’re breaking the cycle. You’re breaking the curse.” “And all you have left to do is break me.” Scimon Tlag looked up at the lord, smiling, larger than he’d smiled in a while. Since Su died. His sorrow for that had been legitimate, not that anyone would believe that. But it had to be done. Su was too dangerous to their cause. The root of their anger, their power. That part of him was strong, now. Too strong. Far too… no, it wasn’t strong enough. Then several things happened at once. First, Lord Loenthal leaned in close, glaring at Tlag and his confession, and gave the order for the guards to raise their clubs. Second, someone in the audience covered young Vincero’s eyes. Third, a bubble rose up in Scimon Tlag - Dyring or another emotion manipulator attempting to force a stronger statement. Fourth, the spike hidden deep within his thigh that he’d been given so long ago began to burn white-hot. Fifth, Scimon Tlag found it. “You know something about being a merchant in an untrusting town? You always know where people hide their boxings,” he snarled, the Rioting leaving behind the apathy, the strange mixture of sorrow and joy and frustration and fear that he'd held as a shield, instead amplifying the sheer rage that was left behind. Give me strength, went his silent prayer, sent upwards to a god some deep part of him knew was an abomination of who Su worshipped, but one that was so much more real, one that filled his heart with messages promising a changed world and filled his body with the potential to make it a reality. He met Loenthal’s gaze. “All of them.” And Scimon Tlag Pulled. Rust this place. He could feel every nail, hammer, pin, and boxing in the town. Every hidden stash of coin, every broken hinge, every misplaced weapon. It all rose to his call. Not everything came, impeded by stone, wood, and flesh - he wasn’t strong enough a channel, not while trying to manipulate it as he did, not while trying to aim the last bloody cargo. But enough was on its way. Rust this purpose. This being of devastation had been desperate for days. This town was valuable to it for reasons that he could never understand, but after the others had died, after they’d seen through the ruse that Beagle was their champion in the night, its force had turned solely on Tlag. He’d been moved like a puppet in the night, killing Kellehrt, on an endless chase to hunt down Quartz the Lurcher. It had taken everything to keep that rage in check during the day. It was all coming out now. Rust these people. He could see the square turn to chaos. He saw Penguin struck by a shield, then a spear, then their own flask of pewter once or twice. He saw the nails from the inn’s floorboards scratch Dyring as he ducked for cover. He saw the two guards above him neatly impaled by the crossfire. He saw Vincero diving forward, barely dodging a kitchen knife. He saw Su, Riggs, Kellehrt, Heron, all gone in this enraged haze, all semblance of memorium lost. And he saw his goal - Lord Ischarus Loenthal, peppered with the scattered town treasury, forced into the line of fire by his own rusting silver ring before the strength severed his finger, no one around to save him. Then the maelstrom of metal hit Scimon Tlag. Strangely, he didn’t feel anything but a few pinpricks and the sudden sensation of darkness. He knew he was probably more mutilated than the guards around him were. Utter annihilation was always the price of this being’s gifts. But he had one more trick. Deep within the pile, buried in the mess once known as the Merchant of Tyrian Falls, were two small spikes that had once belonged to the last of his friends, the gift used by Beagle to give them a fighting chance, the weapon that Loenthal had tried so desperately to hide. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel them, with that same sense he felt his first. And Scimon Tlag Pushed. He had no way of perceiving the chaos the second wave caused. He could only imagine the wonderful sights and sounds of the world breaking. And as the last of his shadow was pulled away, he found the strength to speak. “Praise the Ja!” he screamed, “And Praise the Ruin which he brings!” Melon Dingo was a Spiked Lurcher! The game has ended, and the Villagers have won!! Vote Count Melon Dingo (7): Amethyst Scorpion, Azure Mouse, Chartreuse Penguin, Fuchsia Ostrich, Onyx Flamingo, Plum Rhinoceros Azure Mouse (3): Ivory Dragonfly, Magenta Albatross, Melon Dingo, Quartz Zebra Chartreuse Penguin (0): Violet Axolotl Final Player List 1. Amber Vulture Vanilla Villager 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) Vanilla Villager 3. Azure Mouse Village Tineye 4. Charcoal Hyena Spiked Mistborn 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) Village Thug 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) Village Mistborn 7. Emerald Falcon Village Lurcher 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) Vanilla Villager 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) Village Rioter 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) Village Thug 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) Spiked Lurcher 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) Village Smoker 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) Vanilla Villager 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle Spiked Coinshot 17. Pearl Chameleon - Var (Two-Faced) Spiked 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) Village Thug 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) Village Lurcher 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt, local farmer and possible madman Village Tineye 22. Sapphire Elephant Village Mistborn 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) Village Rioter Hello everyone! The game is over, and it's voting time! Every year we award three non-Sanderson passes to AG players, and this year will be no different. Please PM us your top three choices in order. The traditional criterion is "best Cosmetic Role adherent", but if you would like to pick based on something else you are free to do so. You can PM us in your GM PM on your anon account or in the PM where you received your login details on your regular account. (Both the original player and pinch-hitter for an account can cast votes if they so desire.) Also, as a reminder to those logging in to their anon account for the first time in a while, please do not authenticate it. We will not be revealing identities yet. That will happen when the votes are done in about a week, at which point Fifth will post part 2 of the aftermath (credit to @Melon Dingo for this part!), we'll announce pass winners, and we might even have a couple other announcements to make. We will also try to put up our post mortems at that point; in the meantime, feel free to talk here (on your anon account, please), but try not to delve too heavily into any Controversy(tm) that came up this game until we've got a chance to give you an overview from our perspective. I'll also post the master spreadsheet at that point. Dead Doc (note: contains copious amounts of memes and is ~200 pages; be cautious on opening) Evil Doc

Night 7 - Quiet Fifth is asleep(?) and my hands hurt from too much typing already, so y'all are getting a writeup when he gets on. Mint Heron was a Village Smoker! Plum Rhinoceros has been replaced by a pinchhitter! Please welcome the new @Plum Rhinoceros! Night 7 has begun and will end in 23.25 hours. Vote Count Mint Heron (10): Amethyst Scorpion, Chartreuse Penguin, Fuchsia Ostrich, Ivory Dragonfly, Magenta Albatross, Mint Heron, Onyx Flamingo, Quartz Zebra, Sapphire Elephant, Violet Axolotl Player List 1. Amber Vulture Vanilla Villager 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) 3. Azure Mouse (Replaced) 4. Charcoal Hyena Spiked Mistborn 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) Village Mistborn 7. Emerald Falcon Village Lurcher 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) Village Smoker 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle Spiked Coinshot 17. Pearl Chameleon - Var (Two-Faced) Spiked 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) (Replaced) 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt Village Tineye 22. Sapphire Elephant 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) PMs are open. Also, you may be asked to set up authentication on your anonymous account. Please opt out of that. Thanks!

Day 7 - All The Light We Cannot See the world was going dark, hazy at the edges like it did that day when Kellehrt was four and Uncle Gaman’d cut himself with the scythe and bled across the village square and his ma’d made him sit down and rest his head between his knees and he remembered the way the world was going dark and hazy and fear the world was going, that they were leaving him and he opened his mouth to beg them not to go, not to leave him, to stay with him, and his ma stroked his hair and said, “Shhh, breathe,” and he breathed in and out and he tried to focus on the rhythm of his breathing like the hammering of metal on metal the way his pa did in the forge and there was movement, it caught his eye, a flash of movement in a world gone strangely still and he saw a silkworm making its slow way across the dry grass, undulating and it seemed as though the entirety of the world could be borne by that worm making its slow patient way across the grass as though nothing was there to waylay it, no birds, no creatures, nothing but a worm and the destination it had in mind the world was going dark, hazy at the edges with the rust veneer of spilled blood drying on a scythe’s edge but the worm moved all the same the worm moved and Kellehrt breathed that day he found Warmmha, or maybe Warmmha found him he did not know still does not know the obligators say the ways of God are mysterious even though they mean the Lord Ruler even though the Lord Ruler is a distant figure that does not live within him not the way Warmmha does within Kellehrt guiding him and Warmmha had said he had to stop them, because there was evil brewing in the heart of Tyrian Falls, as unthinkable as it was, evil that wore the face of friends and neighbours, and those who had lived in Tyrian Falls for years and years since their father’s fathers and their father’s father’s fathers the way Kellehrt had he’d grown up and moved out to a small forge in Luthadel he was so proud of starting his own shop, a way of leaving his own mark on the world, crafting with his own two hands, his maker’s mark impressed into each and every order that left his shop except the nails vanity to stamp a maker’s mark into nails and in any case it was always the nails that were overlooked, small and cheap and made by the dozen the first thing an apprentice learned to forge—that he learned to forge, his father working the fire—was to make nails after nails after nails until in his sleep he dreamed the world was made of nails held together by them you took out a nail and things came apart that was the unweaving, the unravelling that Warmmha had warned him about because the world was coming apart, fraying at the edges and not even the silken threads of the god could stitch together Tyrian Falls or Luthadel when others were determined to tear things down until everything flew apart into primordial chaos he always imagined chaos to be like slag, like the blackened chunk of molten metal when he’d made a mess of things in the forge and his father looking over his shoulder shook his head he always knew how to fix things, his father did, and in his own way, maybe, his father was a maker like Kellehrt had been like Warmmha was the god of makers he heard the tolling of the bell, the village bell, the bell-note of the forge-hammer on metal felt the heat of the flames on his skin flame-and-garnet the sunset, just Dyring, the old innkeeper, and himself, two old souls, weary and ragged beyond their time, sitting on the porch of the inn and it was a beautiful sunset, the sort of sunset that set the leaves of the distant trees ablaze in the hours before the mists seeped out into the coming night and Dyring spoke and Kellehrt listened because maybe there was horror in the world, and maybe there was beauty, and death would come for them anyway the way it had for Wark, the day Kellehrt had heard and they’d fetched him of course because someone had to identify the body and Kellehrt looked down at the cold corpse of his only friend and Warmmha was saying, we return to the water, or maybe it was Uncle Gaman, showing him how to launch paper boats in the quiet brook we return to the water from water we are born to water we return as breath becomes air and Dyring was saying, we die anyway i know, said Kellehrt, an intimation of mortality as he looked at his hands and tried to let out his frustration because Locke Tekiel had died and Kellehrt had been too late a leap of faith that, prodigious, the feeling of gazing into the nobleman’s eyes and that instant recognition, the knowledge—you have to trust someone, Warmmha chided, and the gut-deep knowledge that they both wanted the murders to stop, to root out the evil in Tyrian Falls, that God commanded, and God had called him, and so Kellehrt answered because the imperative, even now, was to create; the instinct was to preserve, to save as Locke Tekiel scribbled accounts and the world danced anew behind Kellehrt’s eyes—connections, old ones, and new ones alike, tangled skeins of blood and guilt and evil and ignorance that tied the different villagers of Tyrian Falls together, running as deep as shame and family and let me be the villain, he said, to Warmmha, because it was a desperate plan, hatched as he knelt on the ground and wept because he had only ever meant to protect, and hadn’t been able to stop them in time, and Henry had left, and perhaps that was the failing, the knowledge of his own deep inadequacy and unworthiness—that he’d never saved her, not truly, that no one could ever, really and truly be saved and that hadn’t saved Locke Tekiel either, sprawled out and dead let me be the villain, he said to Warmmha, because he had been the villain when he returned anyway, the son of the village blacksmith, the man who’d taken his axe that bloody day and hewed in the village square and he felt the blood staining his soul as though he’d wielded the axe himself, as though guilt and sin and shame could be inherited, let me protect them, let them spend their contempt on me and so he did, he denounced and damned himself as one of the murderers, one of the Spiked, and then he burned tin and come in, Dyring said, and his door was open, the battered door, coat of paint peeling in places, i will give you shelter until the day is done and so Kellehrt went in, because he was weary, because the storm had spent its fury and he was in the forge again, the old forge, the family forge that he was to have inherited from his father and his father from his father’s father, and so on and so on, a long line of blood stretching back into the distant past because the world was woven by these connections, these meetings of flesh and bloodlines and his father was working the metal, as though he hadn’t aged a day as though he hadn’t died, Kellehrt hadn’t been there but he’d imagined it, one of the village watch taking a staff and knocking his father down on his knees with blood still on his hands why did you do it? he had asked his father, again and again, at the midnight hour in Luthadel when the forge-fire in his small shop was nothing but banked embers because it cost too much to keep the fire going all night but at least it was warm but he didn’t understand, didn’t understand what sort of unravelling had gone on within his father, what sort of knots had snapped within Athan, had made him take up that old axe, had sent him on that lethal stride through the cobbled streets and pavingstones of Tyrian Falls where everybody knew old Athan and old Athan’s boy and old Athan’s father, where if you asked, yes, old Athan, I knew him, the baker might say, he made the grate for my fireplace yes, old Athan, his boy skipped stones with my girl and so on and so on and so on an endless string of connections, weaving in and out of them, twining about them, binding them together in some great net where you couldn’t help but know—cause-and-effect—and you couldn’t help but be known relentlessly mercilessly with all the scrutiny of the village gossips everything but not why, not understanding even now as an older man he didn’t understand why Athan had done it, what had made Athan do it, what had made Athan scrawl words of Ruin in blood on the old shack what had made Athan kill what had made his father not-his-father why did you do it, he asked his father hammering on the metal as he must have worked that axe on that bloody day his father smiled and shrugged haplessly, artlessly as though he had not made the choice, as though you didn’t argue with Ruin, with capitals, the way his father spoke of that, of the coming apart of things, the same way Kellehrt had listened when Warmhha spoke deep within him just as you cannot ask me all the questions, neither can you give me all the answers and knowing that, admitting that futility craving meaning where there is no meaning to be found only senseless unravelling only senseless that will swallow you up like a black hole if you permit it too if you gaze too long too deep into its heart he set down the hammer and turned his back on the old forge pushed his way through the worn wooden door and then he was in his shop in Luthadel, hanging his burned blacksmith’s apron on the hook at Wark’s urging Lord Ruler, says Wark, you have to learn to live a little before the fires consume Luthadel, before it all goes to hell anyway he was happy, for a time, in Luthadel, a small shop near the industrial district, near the canneries and the Ironstacks where he made nails and tools and horseshoes and all manner of things though never thieves tools never that he didn’t think he could meet his father’s eyes, imagined in his head, if he did that, didn’t think Warmhha would’ve approved but then Luthadel went up in flames and then a number of other things happened and step by step, they had led him back, inexorably, as though Warmmha was guiding him back to sleepy old Tyrian Falls which he thought at that time, shouldering his inheritance, his pack of blacksmith’s tools over a shoulder that he was leaving for good, leaving all of that dust behind him forever how Warmmha must’ve chuckled when Kellehrt returned to Tyrian Falls, to the small homestead on the outskirts for long seasons where his uncle had once lived, once worked the soil where the last and the first of the light was grey fading like solar bones in ribs of light unbroken through the cottage windows on the tea-stained sill where Kellehrt took his tea and leaned on the sill and breathed scent of wood dust and dry grass in the cool breeze another silken thread returning home, another strand connected to another, and another wave in the pond echoing still as though he was a child by the brook tossing stones into it, watching them skip and sink watching the waves move towards the edges of the brook, one after another, and then fade the wave returns to the water as it always was, as it always will be world without end as Warmmha wills it everything, says Wark, as though he’s in one of his moods, is made of connections, don’t you think? Kellehrt son of Athan son of Farkas son of Tarvin in a long unbroken line of blacksmiths in Tyrian’s Falls, turned farmer, for he has been a great many things in this life lets the greylight fall about him for the last time fades into the light, slipping away, returning to that distant shore where Warmmha is calling once said Warmmha, or maybe it was Wark, or maybe thinks Kellehrt in wonder, there is no difference, there is a fragment of God in all of us once said Wark, there was only ever darkness, so if you think about it that way i guess the light is winning Salmon Meerkat was a Village Tineye! Day 7 has begun and will end in 47.5 hours. Player List 1. Amber Vulture Vanilla Villager 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) 3. Azure Mouse 4. Charcoal Hyena Spiked Mistborn 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) Village Mistborn 7. Emerald Falcon Village Lurcher 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle Spiked Coinshot 17. Pearl Chameleon - Var (Two-Faced) Spiked 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt Village Tineye 22. Sapphire Elephant 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) Tineye Messages Look at this snapshot. This is around the time Amber Vulture pulls off Ocho. The next vote right after Vulture is Heron going onto Axl. The next vote after Heron's is Flamingo shifting to Crocodile, but not captured here. What happens? Let's take stock. Crocodile and Iguana are live trains. Cham has just been saved, nearly. Hyena and Gorilla are both under threat. And Heron just neatly slots in here by throwing a playstyle vote against Axl, creating yet another two-vote train, at a time when the Cham train could be easily re-ignited, or the Hyena train could take off, and Gorilla is under threat. I don't like it; it's splinter train tactics again and I strongly disagree that Elims would just tie the vote because splinter train tactics have happened a lot in recent games. It's a valid means of diluting the vote. This was slightly under three hours to rollover, and we now know Elims act late on D1. Axl has pointed that out and he was right about Cham. This was also true in LG82. Heron also caught the missing Swan vote D2, when most people didn't. Why? If he's so inactive because he's short of time, why does he have the time to track votes so carefully? And if he's got this much time, why has he said little helpful or of substance in thread? His votes synch up too nicely with Hyena's targets. Apart from D1 Axl which IMO looks like an Elim looking for a Villager-only train to bring to life without drawing too much heat, he hits Flamingo D2, at a time when Gorilla v. Iguana was coming into contention again. Hyena also later tries to draw heat to Flamingo and we have the Ocho NK N2. And then he goes for Ostrich D3 - again, another player Hyena tried to both kill and discredit. Then he claims he checked out because there was a confirmed Elim - really? Why would Falcon or Hyena be confirmed? Hyena fought us until late in the cycle, and while we were insisting Falcon was likely E, Falcon was by no means confirmed E and everyone acknowledged it. D5 in my opinion was a distancing, half-hearted vote, dashed off without too much force. You could make a more forceful case against Beagle but he declined to. Why? It doesn't give him much Villager credit because we know that on C5, Beagle believed that both Stick and I would intervene if the lynch came too close to her. In other words, it's a perfunctory show vote that doesn't matter at all. I don't read Heron's D6 post as Village by the way. It's emotional but offers nothing of substance and the handwringing about being the game's worst villager makes no sense - it's fluff. Many of us have had bad reads as well. What is he doing about them but then ignoring his Beagle read to conveniently take the Rhino side-train? D6. On the one day it matters, and the one day he gets to act on his suspicions of Beagle, he declines. We get an immensely handwringing performative post about not being that good a Villager (lol try me bro, look at me in LG82, I was the resident Village disaster) and then he votes Rhino. When he has previously expressed suspicions of Beagle, and when Beagle can be voted on and actually killed, he hesitates. Instead, he now thinks Rhino is extremely Evil for surviving (so did Albatross, and Heron never onced voiced suspicions of him), and for voting on Falcon (so did Beagle, so why aren't you voting on her?) I have always said this. Talk is cheap. Players can say whomever they suspect. It's not that we should ignore that. But a player's actions are extremely powerful because they directly impact a player's team and therefore show where their priorities are. When given the chance to press Beagle C6 by voting on her, Heron declines. Heron votes for Rhino. And this despite extensive handwringing on Beagle's Evil! When given previously the chance (D5) to vote for Alb - a player who, like Rhino, has a suspicious vote and a survival from a Coinshot kill, Heron declines. So here is my question. Where is the evolution in his thinking? Where are the signs something has made him reconsider? I submit there's nothing because it's convenience voting. Because E!Coinshot Beagle >>> E!Smoker Heron, so Beagle has no issue voting for Heron, and Heron can't self-vote and so just picks the convenient Rhino train hoping to save Beagle. Actions show a player's true motivations. When push comes to shove, who do you kill? Who do you spare? Beagle was a Spiked Coinshot in with the Village trust. She was the Spiked team's best hope at turning the tide, meaning we should expect significant resistance to her lynch. Where does this come from? D6: Penguin has been scanned Village Thug by Swan N3. She is Confirmed Good. Penguin inaugurates the Beagle train. (Note that Beagle opens an Alb train in response to Heron pressure from Axl. Curious...) Ostrich retracts to go from Rhino to Beagle. Perfectly reasonable, in light of Penguin's arguments. Zebra turns the Rhino train live again. I don't sus him strongly for this and I should have made my thoughts on Zebra clear last Night in thread. Beagle seconds the Rhino vote but Beagle is Evil so this should be worrisome. We now have a three-way Heron-Rhino-Beagle tie. And this is the moment at which the miraculous happens. Mint Heron offers a significant amount of hand-wringing and votes Rhino. For no apparent bloody reason. After beating the wardrums for Beagle last cycle, when it didn't matter, suddenly when Heron's and Beagle's lives are in danger, Heron conveniently votes for Rhino instead. I don't buy it and I've explained why. Better Heron than Beagle, the Spiked Coinshot, in the eyes of the Spiked. Better Rhino than either of them. In other words, Heron tells us he suspects Beagle is still Evil, gives us an obscene amount of handwringing about this, and then proceeds to vote alongside his suspect. Really? I am Kasimir, Ironborn, brother to Wyrm, and the Last Son of House Urbain. I am Kasimir of the Wyrm Inquisition, and I have released myself from anonymity to denounce a traitor in our midst! Mint Heron! I name you Spiked and traitor to your neighbours in Tyrian Falls! I name you a liar! I name you Evil! I challenge you to the juris macto, and may the crows feast on the unjust! PMs are open.

Whoops. Failed attacks are in fact supposed to be in the writeup! Added. EDIT: also who attacked them >>

Day Six: I Desire Mercy Kellehrt was up later that night than usual, wandering the streets of the town after taking leave of Dyring’s porch and nailing up his message a few yards away. The farmer was in a subdued mood. Another Spiked was bled and paid for, but how many more were out now, under cover of darkness, seeking his blood? Too many for him to fend off, to be sure. He had made his last speech before, of course, always a final declamation, always a last exhortation to the men he trusted, and those he did not trust, the last will and testament never seeming to be quite as final. Would this one be? He shrugged, deciding it did not matter. He had done what he could either way. Warrmha was merciful. He began the familiar litany in his head again, echoing it over and over, closing his eyes and letting the words flow soundlessly from his lips as his feet, knowing the path, traced their way home from Dyring’s Inn. Begging forgiveness, begging Him to end what was surely a horrific joke, a distorted calculus of numbers that left his friends dead and his neighbours fearful and his enemies…they were dead too, but how many justly, how many had been forced or threatened or simply clueless? Only Warrmha knew. He did not control His people the way devils like Ruin did. He simply commanded, or rather taught, and once you saw you obeyed. You would be a brainless idiot not to. And yet you still were, no brains and no sense, equipped with nothing but the words given you and told to go and rescue a village from itself. He turned the corner by rote, mumbling the last words again, “if this be Your will,” and collapsed onto his bed. He was sound asleep. Elsewhere, the work of Warrmha went on. A town guard, seeing the farmer pass in complete obliviousness, chased off an individual who was tailing him, one hand suspiciously far down his cloak. The man grumbled, but fled into the night. Still in another place, a shower of coins which should have torn a man to shreds caught a group of starlings in flight, which appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Man slept, and the work of Warrmha went on, and the sun rose on a small, sleepy town in which, for the first time, everyone seemed to still be alive. Salmon Meerkat was attacked (by the Spiked) but survived! Plum Rhinoceros was attacked (by a Coinshot) but survived! No one died. Day 6 has started, you know the drill. Player List 1. Amber Vulture Vanilla Villager 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) 3. Azure Mouse 4. Charcoal Hyena Spiked Mistborn 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) Village Mistborn 7. Emerald Falcon Village Lurcher 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle 17. Pearl Chameleon - Var (Two-Faced) Spiked 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt, local farmer and possible madman 22. Sapphire Elephant 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) Tineye Messages PMs are open.

Definitely don't have time to play, but I'd like a spec doc link, please.

12 more hours to get your votes in, everyone! Remember that the rollover time has changed.

Day 5 - One With the Ja Loenthal worked his way up the ash-covered slope, half leading, half dragging Vincero along with him, who clung to his hand desperately. The ash did not fall lightly here as it did in the plains, instead swirling about them in thick clouds which threatened to bury them if they did not press onward. He knew, inside himself, that this was the most insane thing he had done in a long while. Seek an old tree up in the lower ashmounts while Tyrian Falls tore itself apart? Who knows if the signs had been correct, if the bronze savant he had picked up off the streets of his town was not simply a lunatic or possessed or one of a million other things that made him a rusted fool for looking around in an apocalyptic landscape for something only Keepers now remembered? They would certainly be lost, leagues from help, until the ash cleared. Vincero’s thin, reedy voice broke through his thoughts, muffled by the ashfall. “Over here! Sir!” He was pointing to a patch of green, barely discernible through the fog. Loenthal cried out in relief–the signs had been right–then stopped dead. Blocking their paths, a mist spirit, dagger in hand, stood ominously. Loenthal hoisted Vincero onto his shoulders, letting him perch precariously, and set his feet, extending his dueling cane. There was a brief pause, a moment of hesitation, and the final struggle began. Emerald Falcon was a Village Lurcher! (They were killed by two Coinshots.) Coral Swan was a Village Mistborn! (They were killed by the Spiked.) Day 5 has begun and will end in 45.5 hours. As a reminder, rollover time from now on will be two hours earlier, at 5pm Pacific / 8 Eastern / 1am GMT. Writeup statuses: Fifth wants to give Falcon and Swan a proper send-off but I want to get the writeup up quickly so y'all still have plenty of time in the Day, so that will probably be edited in later tonight or tomorrow morning. Hyena is still working on their death writeup, but that'll be coming soon as well. Player List 1. Amber Vulture Vanilla Villager 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) 3. Azure Mouse 4. Charcoal Hyena Spiked Mistborn 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) Village Mistborn 7. Emerald Falcon Village Lurcher 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle 17. Pearl Chameleon (Secret ) 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt, local farmer and possible madman 22. Sapphire Elephant 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) PMs are open. Tineye Messages

(rollover time shush )

shhhh rollover might take a little longer tonight, fifth and I are both busy

Night 3: No You Don't WELCOME welcome welcome back to SANDERSON eeeeLIMINATION!!! We now have five!! FIVE!!! Dead innocents! On this round of the ANNiveRSARY gAME, we- Hey now. Who are you, exactly? Wh-what?? Am I- martha! Can you see that? am I hearing voices in my head again?? please martha tell me she’s real, I DON’T WANT MORE VOICES. I’m, I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen, this is just- just- *folds arms* Real is relative, but I’m at least as real as a blue-green ape pretending to be a game show host. In my game. Your, what? MARTHA, where are you?? Get security in here!! We appear to have an impostor! Uh huh. Care to explain why you’re pretending to run my game? H-hey now! This is my game! Mine!! I am the HOST, and you are a mere lowly CONTESTANT! No contestant can hurt me!! *turns toward camera* Now, let’s get this party STARTED, am I right?? Perhaps a plan of being both host and contestant wasn’t the wisest when you rightfully hold claim to only one of those titles. As the keeper of the spec doc, it is my regret to inform you that you may soon hold neither. Aah! There’s two now! MARTHA!! Where’s that security? Get these people out of here!! Security? Perhaps you do not understand the meaning of “keeper?” You will be plenty secure in the realm of the dead. Are- are you threatening me?? I am the GAME SHOW HOST of SANDERSON ELIMINATION, the 17th Shard’s favoooorite game show! How would the show go on if I died?? I am vital, do you hear me? VITAL. I mean, you have vitals. Currently. Hmm. By the judgment of his fellow contestants, he may not even be entitled to those for long. It is your decision, however. Yes, at least some of them seem astute enough to have noticed the bits of metal hidden under that fur. “Martha” was always one to mark her followers. I’ve never really understood that. It’s like tattooing all your spies with “SPY” - doesn’t leave much room for doubt, does it? As the Keeper of the dead, whose subjects all exhibit a distinct lack of breath, I am afraid I cannot comment further without a measure of hypocrisy. But it is a curious decision for the living. What- what are you talking about?? Martha, who are these people??? I knew the game show host thing was going to get you killed. >> I tried to tell you, but nooo. You just had to do the one thing that would draw their attention. *sigh* But, but, you don’t- I don’t- I am the host! I am the host and you will NOT DEFEAT ME!! I will VANQUISH YOU in SINGLE COMBAT, and they’ll all see! THEY’LL ALL SEE!! ...Yeah, I think I’ve heard enough. *snap* *gorilla chokes and falls to the floor* No one usurps me on my watch. Even I’m not foolish enough for that. *choke* please- *cough* i’m- *choking intensifies* sorry... You were sorry. Now you’re just dead. Turquoise Gorilla was a Regular Roleless Vanilla Spiked With No Role Whatsoever And No Available Actions Except the Spiked Kill! Night 3 has begun! It will end in 22.5 hours at 10:00 PM EST on Wednesday 12 January. Vote Count Turquoise Gorilla (9): Amethyst Scorpion, Coral Swan, Emerald Falcon, Fuchsia Ostrich, Magenta Albatross, Onyx Flamingo, Quartz Zebra, Salmon Meerkat Emerald Falcon (2): Amber Vulture, Oxblood Beagle, Pearl Chameleon, Plum Rhinoceros Fuchsia Ostrich (1): Mint Heron Oxblood Beagle (1): Chartreuse Penguin Pearl Chameleon (1): Violet Axolotl Quartz Zebra (1): Charcoal Hyena Player List 1. Amber Vulture 2. Amethyst Scorpion - Sidor, newly resigned Hazekiller (Guardsman) 3. Azure Mouse 4. Charcoal Hyena 5. Chartreuse Penguin - Aethex (Jester) 6. Coral Swan - Su (Jaist) 7. Emerald Falcon 8. Fuchsia Ostrich - Freddie (Glutton) 9. Ivory Dragonfly (Unlucky) (Replaced) 10. Magenta Albatross (Past Lives) 11. Mauve Crocodile (Gambler) Vanilla Villager 12. Melon Dingo - Scimon Tlag (Merchant) 13. Mint Heron - Tivend Elons (Casanova) 14. Onyx Flamingo (Gossip/Casanova) 15. Opal Lion Vanilla Villager 16. Oxblood Beagle 17. Pearl Chameleon (Secret ) 18. Plum Rhinoceros (Prophet-ish) 19. Quartz Zebra (Drunk/Jaist) 20. Saffron Iguana (Helpful Heckler) Village Soother 21. Salmon Meerkat - Kellehrt, local farmer and possible madman 22. Sapphire Elephant 23. Scarlet Octopus (Neat, Extremist Priest) Village Tineye 24. Sunburst Toucan Village Thug 25. Turquoise Gorilla (Game Show Host) Spiked 26. Violet Axolotl - Dyring (Neat Innkeeper) PMs are open.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Yes. See the notification on the thread for when it will lock

..... bonus:

One.